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Nonprofit organizations rely on fundraising to keep them afloat, whether it’s needed to reach their objectives or operational expenses. Find out below how to effectively raise money for your nonprofit. Those who wish to put up a nonprofit organization would usually have to come up with a fundraising activity in order to have sufficient money to go around and become successful in their mission. Whether your nonprofit organization is to benefit your locality, or you put it up for a national cause, below are some fundraising tips that could help you out. Minor Donor Groups This targets those who give about $50 to $500 per year. Use the minor donor groups to target the smaller givers and encourage them to continue being supportive to your organization and donate a consistent level each year. Come up with a name that is catchy for your minor group plus a small list of benefits for its members such as e-newsletters exclusively for the group, bumper stickers and stuff to that effect. The difference of a minor donor group from a major donor group is the amount of time and resources you would be willing to spend. An example of which is where a major donor group holds meetings once a month or once every quarter, while for your minor donor group, you can have annual meetings. This one is quite similar to putting up a minor and major donor group. It will be composed of a network of people who are willing to support your organization and raise money on your behalf. The difference of this group from your minor and major donor groups is that the people involved in the affinity group have something in common which forms part of the foundation of the effort of the group. The affinity group can be composed of doctors, lawyers or young professionals’ group. Given that the group members have something in common, they are likely to grow virally because the members will surely invite new people to join, particularly those who share the common interest of the group. The efforts of each member are multiplied in time as well as the resources you will spend on the group. This is a fundraising tactic that has been borrowed by several nonprofit organizations from political fundraisers. With Super Events, you contract many event hosts to be in-charge of holding smaller fundraising events on behalf of your organization which is done on the same night with the same theme applied. The event will be tied together by a conference call with the key supporters, board chair or executive director of the nonprofit organization done via the internet or video call. This type of fundraising event usually works because it influences your efforts. Unlike in most cases wherein the amount of time you would have to spend on supporting hosts who wish to hold small fundraising events could not be worth your time and effort because the returns are quite small too. With super events, you can support a network of hosts who are all trying to raise money on your behalf with much higher returns.
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has awarded $28.3 million to 43 Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Other Related Disabilities (LEND) programs to help improve the health of infants, children, adolescents and young adults with neurodevelopmental and other related disabilities, including autism spectrum disorders. LEND programs in communities across the United States prepare trainees from a wide variety of professional disciplines to assume leadership roles, ensure high levels of interdisciplinary clinical competence, and enhance the ability of clinicians to diagnose, treat, and manage complex disabilities in youth and adolescents. The programs also promote culturally competent, coordinated care and integrate families in all aspects of training and service. “Building on a strong history, LEND grants improve systems of care for those with special needs,” said HRSA Administrator Mary K. Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N. “These programs have been instrumental in training leaders to meet the varying needs of children and youth with disabilities and their families.” Currently 43 LEND programs span 37 states, forming a network that works to identify the special needs of children and families on state, regional, and national levels. The programs conduct continuing education activities, provide technical assistance and consultation, and develop and disseminate educational materials. A list of awards follows. University of Alabama at Birmingham University of Alaska Anchorage University of Arizona University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles-School of Physical Therapy University of Colorado HSC University of Miami Georgia State University Research FDN., INC. University of Hawaii at Manoa University of Illinois at Chicago Indiana University, School of Medicine University of Iowa University of Kansas Medical Center Research Institute University of Massachusetts Medical School Kennedy Krieger Institute, Inc. Regents of the University of Minnesota Curators of the University of Missouri - Columbia University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Trustees Of Dartmouth College University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center New York Medical College Albert Einstein College of Medicine University of Rochester Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents, Nevada System of Higher Education, University of Nevada, Reno University of Cincinnati Ohio State University University of Oklahoma HSC Oregon Health & Science University University of Pittsburgh The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Medical University of South Carolina University of South Dakota Vanderbilt University Medical Center University of Tennessee at Knoxville The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston University of Utah Salt Lake City Virginia Commonwealth University University of Vermont West Virginia University Research Corp. University of Washington University of Wisconsin - Madison For more information about LEND programs, visit: http://mchb.hrsa.gov/training/projects.asp?program=9. The Health Resources and Services Administration is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. HRSA is the primary Federal agency responsible for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated, or medically vulnerable. For more information about HRSA and its programs, visit www.hrsa.gov.
OTTAWA - Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the pace of housing starts fell in November for a third straight month. The agency says there were 17,646 actual starts last month, which translates to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 196,125 units, down from 203,487 in October. The decrease was mainly attributed to declines in single-detached and multi-unit housing construction in Ontario and British Columbia. A 45.6 per cent drop in starts in Atlantic Canada was primarily due to a decrease in multi-unit housing construction in Halifax, following higher than normal activity in October. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts decreased by four per cent to 174,323 units in November, with urban single starts off by 5.4 per cent to 58,606 units and urban multiple starts down 3.2 per cent to 115,717 units. November’s seasonally adjusted annual rates of urban starts fell 14.3 per cent in Ontario and 16.5 per cent in British Columbia, but rose 15.4 per cent in Quebec and 16.1 per cent in the Prairies.
Living among the eco-unconscious is not easy. In fact, sometimes I believe that it's going to be the very thing that destroys me. I find this quote by Mahatma Gandhi to be something to hang on to in daily life, "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." I am accused of living in my own little world, a "bubble" that most would refer to as crazy. I am often mocked for not being able to "just enjoy life." The irony is that I have never enjoyed life more. I appreciate everything more than ever. I am now more connected to my food and all of my purchases. Everything tastes better and looks better. I feel great, and don't worry as much about what I can't control, because there are so many things that I can control. I am acing that part of life and learning how to do better every day from other passionate people who are grounded and determined to make a difference. I know that has to be better than floating around in a bubble. I wonder how people can drink bottled water with all of the information (and scientific proof) about how awful it is for us and our world. Even though most people have read, seen or heard that most of the foods on supermarket shelves contain visible and hidden ingredients that are probable health hazards, they still get purchased by the cart load. Isn't it reckless behaviour when schools are cleaned with toxic chemicals, when safe and effective options are so readily and affordably available? We eco-freaks are not the ones in the bubble, we are not insulating ourselves and hiding from the issues that we need to face. We are open to learning, admitting our mistakes and are committed to doing better. Together. Stop ignoring. Stop laughing. Stop fighting. You can join the winning team when you want, at whatever pace and strength you can. Embrace change and don't worry about what you haven't done right, worry about your next choice -- and making good ones. Because, when we win, it'll be much more fun to celebrate all together. Most who are trying to deliver a new perspective, or encourage positive, healthier change, are not doing it for themselves, they are doing it for everyone. Nothing is more upsetting than getting bullied or mocked and having to stand alone amongst our peers. Our children deserve and need a kinder, gentler, and greener planet to grow up on, and it's up to all of us to give it to them. We need to empower our children to take action when they or their precious planet are being bullied. I will continue to live outside of the bubble. I don't want to ever block everything out around me because there is so much goodness out there and a healthier life and a hopeful future is what I'm striving for. The real wins are not the personal wins for me, they are the wins for ALL of us. I adore the people that I have met and continue to connect with who work everyday for everyone, and I thank them for their friendship, support and for inspiring me constantly. For those of you who think I'm crazy -- I'm good with that. Because I'm sure that you mean that I'm crazy about my family and my world. Which I am. Certifiably. Follow Lisa Borden on Twitter: www.twitter.com/lisaborden
Our world is in the midst of an emotional meltdown. As a psychiatrist, I've seen that many people are addicted to the adrenaline rush of anxiety, known as the "fight or flight" response, and they don't know how to defuse it. An example of this is obsessively watching the news about natural disasters, trauma, economic stress and violence, and then not being able to turn bad news off. Also, people are prone to "techno-despair" -- a term I coined in my book, "Emotional Freedom." This is a state of high anxiety that results from information overload and Internet addiction. It's also related to our super-dependence on smartphones and the panic of feeling disconnected if technology breaks down and we can't access emails or other communications -- a new version of what's psychiatrically known as an "attachment disorder." I've helped many patients address the adverse effects of techno-despair, such as insomnia, nightmares, restless sleep and ongoing angst. You, too, can break your addiction to anxiety and lead a more peaceful life. Am I Addicted To Anxiety? To determine your current level of anxiety, ask yourself: - Do I worry about many things every day? - Is it difficult to stop watching anxiety-provoking news on TV or the Internet, though I try? - Do I experience separation anxiety when I can't access my smartphone or computer? - Do I make problems larger, not smaller? - Do I worry about things that no one around me worries about? - When one anxiety is solved, do I immediately focus on another? If you answered "yes" to all six questions, worry plays a very large, addictive role in your life. Four to five "yes" answers indicate a large role. Two to three "yes" answers indicate a moderate role. One"yes" indicates a low level. Zero "yes" answers suggest that you're more warrior than worrier! To quiet anxiety and turn off your flight-or-flight response, it's important to re-train your brain to send chemicals to counteract this powerful biological response. Otherwise, anxiety can become an addiction. In contrast, with a calm biology, you can generate endorphins -- the blissful natural painkillers in your body. To master your anxiety, practice the techniques below to quiet your system. They will help you achieve immediate and long-term results. 7 Strategies To Overcome Anxiety (From "Emotional Freedom") - Eliminate caffeine, sugar and other stimulants. These fuel the "fight or flight" response. - Avoid people who reinforce your fear, whom I call "emotional vampires." They are biological irritants. Stick close to positive people. (See my previous post, "Who's the Emotional Vampire in Your Life?") - Stay away from violent newscasts, arguments, the Internet, paying bills or other stress inducers, especially before sleep. - Set healthy limits and boundaries. To combat stress, it's important to realize that "No" is a complete sentence, and a healthy way to set limits and boundaries with stress-inducing people and situations. - Pause when agitated. Make this vow: "I will never have a conversation with someone, send an email, or make a decision when gripped by anxiety." No matter what the upset is, do not act until you have gained calm and composure. - Use this Progressive Relaxation Technique. In a comfortable position, sitting or lying down, take a few deep breaths while letting your body go as limp as possible. When you're ready, begin by tightening the muscles in your toes. Hold to a count of 10, and then relax. Enjoy the relief of tension melting. Do the same with flexing your foot muscles, and move slowly through your entire body: calves, legs, stomach, back, neck, jaw and face, contracting and releasing each area. - Stay in "the now." Try not to project negative scenarios about the future. Stay solution-oriented in the present moment and be grateful for what is positive in your life. Being aware of what triggers your anxiety and mindfully making choices to cope with them provides emotional freedom. Then you won't simply be reacting when your buttons get pushed. You will be better able to take charge of your emotions and your life. Follow Judith Orloff MD on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JudithOrloffMD
Have you ever had someone throw a wet blanket on your idea? It's horrible. You come in all excited about something, then someone you care about (your spouse, boss, teacher, parent) responds with anxiety and doubt. As a hugely enthusiastic person myself, I've had this happen a lot. I used to get hurt and annoyed. But I've come to realize that people aren't intentionally trying to dampen your energy. Sometimes they're just afraid. Here are five reasons why people are afraid of enthusiasm and how to overcome it. 1. Fear of disappointment. Many people (mistakenly) believe that if you "don't get your hopes up" you can't ever be hurt. When my daughter was applying to colleges, well-meaning counselors warned, "Don't get your heart set on one school." My daughter's response: "Too late, my heart is already set. I have a back-up plan, but right now I need to be enthusiastic about the dream plan." She also let them know she could handle disappointment. "If I don't get in," she said, "I'll cry my eyes out for two days, then move on to Plan B." It's easier for people to get excited when they know you're prepared to deal with potential failure. 2. Fear of making the wrong decision. Enthusiasm is scary because it moves fast. People are often afraid in the rush of excitement you (or they) will overlook details. Informed optimism is a better approach. Reassure people that you're not going to make the final decision today; you're just getting excited about the possibility. Timing is key. Enthusiasm comes first; due diligence comes second. Let them know that your optimism won't color your decision-making. When people see that you're committed to being careful, it frees them up to jump on board. 3. Fear of looking silly. Some people believe it's more "professional" to temper your emotions. This is a false choice; enthusiasm coupled with accurate information is the best approach. If someone wants to keep things contained, remind them when Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone he didn't temper his enthusiasm -- he brought it to center stage, where it spread like wildfire. 4. Fear of being unappreciated. My friend brought her 20-year-old son back into her home after he had problems living on his own. Her husband, the young man's stepfather, wasn't thrilled with the idea, but he agreed it was the best option. Unfortunately, the stepfather made his reluctance known at every step, thinking that it would make his wife appreciate his sacrifices. She finally said, "If we're going to do this, I'll appreciate you more if you support me with delight rather than reluctance." Sometimes, people don't realize they're having a chilling effect on things. Let them know that enthusiasm warms your heart and makes you appreciate them more every time they show it. 5. Fear of success. A friend from a small town says, "People don't like it when someone else gets over the wall." Enthusiasm often means moving above and beyond where you came from. It can make others feel threatened and insecure. They're afraid of getting left behind and also afraid to move forward. Reassure them, "I'm going over the wall, you can come with me, or you can stay here, either way, I'll love you just the same." Here's the bottom line: Quelling enthusiasm doesn't reduce the risk of disappointment or failure; it only reduces the likelihood of success. Nothing bad happens when you get excited about something. (c) Lisa Earle McLeod Lisa Earle McLeod is a sales leadership consultant. Companies like Apple, Kimberly-Clark and Pfizer hire her to help them create passionate, purpose-driven sales forces. She is the author of The Triangle of Truth, which the Washington Post named as a "Top Five Book for Leaders." She has appeared on The Today Show, and has been featured in Forbes, Fortune and The Wall Street Journal. She provides executive coaching sessions, strategy workshops, and keynote speeches. Copyright 2012 Lisa Earle McLeod. All rights reserved. For more by Lisa Earle McLeod, click here. For more on emotional wellness, click here. Follow Lisa Earle McLeod on Twitter: www.twitter.com/lisaearlemcleod
There's a march and demonstration taking place today (Wednesday, June 20) to protest money's corrupting influence in our political process. We'll be marching on the headquarters of Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS organization in Washington, D.C., to protest the corrupting, debasing and anti-democratic influence of money in politics. I'll be there, and you should be too. Why? I'm glad you asked. Hey, I marched when I was in junior high school. Like many other people, I thought those days were over. Maybe you did did too. News flash: They're not. Maybe you're like me and rediscovered the power of protest by joining the Occupy movement. Or maybe you're still sitting on the fence. If you've got doubts about whether or not to join us, here are twenty questions (and answers) that should help you make up your mind. 1. March? Really? On foot? That's so retro, so sixties! Weren't demonstrations just something that was fashionable when guys wore Nehru jackets and women wore granny skirts? Actually, no. Public demonstrations for "redress of grievances" are as old as the Republic itself -- older, in fact. Nonviolent demonstrations defeated the British Empire in India. They triggered the American Revolution. They gave working people their rights, created the middle class and led to the greatest prosperity in our history during the 20th century. More recently, public demonstrations helped bring down the Iron Curtain and sparked the Arab Spring, a fight that's still underway but which has already changed the political landscape of the Middle East. Protest marches are a pure form of democracy in action. That's something that never goes out of fashion. 2. But don't we do all of that political stuff on the Internet now? Blogging and social media are great tools for political change. But there's no substitute for the physical presence of human beings as they make their presence felt to those they oppose. Human proximity creates a different kind of social momentum. (And hopefully to more news coverage, too.) Occupy Wall Street reminded us all of the power of human presence. Here's another way to put it: Being in the same physical space as lots of other people is -- well, it's the new Internet. A big crowd is still the best form of "social media" ever invented. 3. Don't you ever feel stupid when you're protesting? To be honest, I used to. Then I read an anecdote in Paul Loeb's book Soul of a Citizen (or it might have been his other one, The Impossible WIll Take a Little Longer) about the sixties antiwar movement. One of that movement's most influential leaders was Dr. Benjamin Spock, whose book on baby and child care was on almost every parent's bookshelf back then. Dr. Spock's conversion to the antiwar cause helped make being a "peacenik" socially acceptable and increased pressure to end the Vietnam war. Paul's book includes the account of an early antiwar protester who stood outside the White House in 1963 or 1964 with a few other "Mothers for Peace." There were only three or four other people there, and she talked about feeling very silly standing in the snow with a sign. She wondered what she was doing there. Later, after he had become an influential leader, Dr. Spock was asked how he got involved. He said he had been invited to lunch at the White House, and on his way inside he saw three or four women standing in the snow. And he got to wondering why they felt so strongly ... That protester felt silly, but that one afternoon's protest had an enormous impact. You never knew when or how, but your actions may make all the difference in the world. 4. Mitt Romney says it's "envy" when you criticize rich people or their influence in politics. Hey, they robbed us! That's like stealing your wallet and then calling you "envious" when you ask for it back. It's true that, once he's robbed you, the pickpocket has a wallet and you don't. But acting to get it back isn't "envy": It's justice. 5. If they robbed us, why aren't they going to jail? Look at the testimony of JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon before the Senate Banking Committee. How are you going to grill, much less prosecute, somebody who's been giving you money -- and whose money you're going to need to get if you want to be reelected? 6. Why was the House's questioning of Dimon this week ever-so-slightly rougher than the Senate's? Members of the House don't need as much money for their elections campaigns as senators do -- at least not yet. The difference between the House's treatment of Dimon and the Senate's is no coincidence. Like they used to say: Follow the money. 6. Hasn't there always been money in politics? Sure, but not like this. As Dave Gilson pointed out in Mother Jones, "Barack Obama spent $730 million getting to the White House in 2008 -- twice as much as George W. Bush spent 4 years earlier and more than 260 times what Abraham Lincoln spent in his first election (as measured in 2011 dollars)." Senate elections, especially in the bigger states, went up exponentially too. And the cost of Congressional elections is beginning to soar too. 7. Does the Citizens United ruling really mean that rich people and corporations can spend as much as they want to spend on elections? 8. How can they justify that? The corporate-funded far right had a long-term plan to capture a lot of judgeships and impose a bizarre theory called "corporate personhood." It says that corporations have the same rights as people -- but none of the penalties or obligations. Then they said that corporate "people" use money as their "speech," so it's unconstitutional to deny them their "right." 9. Wow, that theory is completely bizarre. And thanks to the Supreme Court, it's now the law of the land. That's just ... insane. I'm sorry, but I can't respond to that. Our format today is kinda like Jeopardy!. Even if you think you have an answer, your answer must be given in the form of a question. If it isn't, you will hear the sound of this buzzer. 10. Okay, here's my question: Is that the weirdest legal theory ever, or what? It gets even weirder: Right now it's not clear that campaigns (or closely related super PACs) are obliged to disclose who corporate and wealthy individual donors even are. And the Right is fighting the DISCLOSE Act, which lets people know who's contributing to political campaigns, at the national and state levels. By their logic, corporate speech is real speech -- but it's the only kind in which the speaker is allowed to exercise its "right of speech" without ever being heard. No, it doesn't make sense. It doesn't have to. Judges just have to declare that it does. 11. The bankers and big corporations are incredibly powerful. They have the media, their ad campaigns and billions of dollars. How can we possibly stop them? They can't be defeated. They said that about the Soviet Union, too. And apartheid. They said that about the British Empire and the Axis powers. They said that in this country in the 19th century, when the robber barons owned everything. They always say that. Sure, it's going to be tough. Victory is never guaranteed. But unless we act, defeat is guaranteed. 12. You're marching on Rove, but aren't Democrats part of the problem too? Some of them are. The worst symptom of money's corrupting influence usually comes bearing the "bipartisan" label. A good example of this bought-and-paid-for "bipartisanship" is the new venture between former Republican Party official Michael Steele and Lanny Davis, a former Clinton White House official whose pandering work for dictators has made him the symbol of everything venal about today's insider political process. I think they're going to call it "Purple Nation Solutions" or something, supposedly because red for "red states" and blue for "blue states" would make purple if they were mixed together. But purple is also the color of royalty, people who rule without democratic process. So remember: Look for the "purple" label. And when you see it, Protest! 13. If there are big-money Democrats, why aren't you marching on the Democratic equivalent of Crossroads GPS? Because it doesn't exist. And while the Dems have their big-money donors, frankly they're pretty small potatoes when compared to the deep-pocketed, anti-Democratic funders of the GOP like the Koch Brothers and Sheldon Adelson. At least these executives have made some good movies. And when Bill Maher's funny, it's on purpose. What've the Koch Brothers and Adelson done except take your money at their casinos and rape the environment? Those GOP contributors want carte blanche from the government, in the form of deregulation, so they can break the law, or the rules of fair play, and harm the rest of us. What rules do the entertainment types want to break -- the rule against expository dialogue? The three-act screenplay format? Sure, they'll expect help on intellectual property issues, but that's about it. Agree with them or not, they're mostly spending the money because of their beliefs. They're certainly not out to undermine democracy like the big-money guys are. Besides, it all comes down to dollars. Katzenberg, Maher and their peers have given contributions in the $1 million to $2 million range. Adelson? $70 million to $100 million. There's no contest. The Republicans and their corporate backers have gone absolutely crazy, not just in buying elections but in pushing a multi-pronged strategy to undermine democracy that includes: 1) appointing more radical judges to overthrow democracy until corporations have the rights of people, but people don't; 2) cooking the books by throwing legitimate voters off the role if they belong to groups (minorities, students, etc.) that traditionally vote democratic; 3) rigging the electoral process -- and on and on and on ... That makes the GOP and its corporate sponsors the logical first targets for demonstrations like these. We can slam the Democrats when they pander to big-money interests. (I do, often.) But we can't criticize them for trying to please big-money donors if that's the only way anybody can win an election. The system will be corrupt until we get big money out of it. On the other hand: If you ever organize a demonstration at Lanny Davis' place, count me in. 14. What else can we do? We can push back against companies who use their money to distort our politics, the way Target did. Citizen action forced Target to back down. It also forced Coca-Cola and many other corporate sponsors to withdraw their support for ALEC. We can also support Sen. Menendez's "Shareholder Protection Act," which would require a vote of shareholders for any political contributions over $50,000 and would also force the company to publicly disclose its expenditures. 15. I'm in. What day does the march take place? Today. (Wednesday, June 20.) We meet at the Take Back the American Dream Conference, which will conclude at 12:45 pm. That's at the Washington, D.C. Hilton (1919 Connecticut Ave NW.) 17. Where will it end? At the headquarters of Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS, 1401 New York Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 19. What will happen there? A demonstration. We'll be doing everything we can to make our voices heard -- peacefully and democratically. 20. Last question: If this is part of a great struggle to reclaim our democracy, how long will it take us to win? It could be a long, tough road. We could be marching for a while. But as the old saying says: A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Follow Richard (RJ) Eskow on Twitter: www.twitter.com/rjeskow
Report released on work needed at Coon Rapids Dam A major refurbishment needs to be completed on Coon Rapids Dam to provide a 50-year or greater life span and deal with dam safety issues, and this work needs to begin as soon as possible. These are two recommendations from a recently completed assessment of the dam. Coon Rapids Dam, on the Mississippi River in Minnesota, was built in 1913 and impounded water for a hydroelectric facility. The dam was abandoned in 1966 and subsequently taken over by the county park districts to be used as a regional recreation area. In 1009, a concrete section of the dam broke up. The concrete was part of the downstream apron, and the resulting scour hole is about 12,000 square feet in size. It was located below the midsection of the dam about 50 feet from the gates. Although it was determined that the scour hole was not affecting the safety of the dam, repair was needed to avoid long-term damage. Thus, the Minnesota legislature formed the Coon Rapids Regional Dam Commission in 2010 to study options and make recommendations for the future use of the dam. The seven areas of interest discussed by the commission are: - Barrier for invasive fish species (Asian carp); - Maintain the pool for recreational use; - Maintain the pool for economic value and development; - Maintain the pool from an ecological perspective; - Governance of the dam; - Future funding strategies; and - Option of hydroelectric power. Engineering firm Stanley Consulting was hired to study whether the dam could act as an effective fish barrier and research the cost for such work. The firm’s report indicated that an improved dam structure and modified operating procedures could serve as an effective fish barrier 99.9 percent of the time. The report estimated the capital cost for improvements to the dam were about $16.9 million. The commission used the resulting report to develop its recommendations. The commission developed five recommendations: - Complete a major refurbishment of the dam for a 50-year or greater life span. This work would include replacing the spillway gate system, mitigating downstream scour, and maintaining recreational pool at the summer level all year; - Begin work on the dam refurbishment as soon as possible. Coon Rapids Dam is nearly 100 years old, and two scour holes have been found in the past 10 years; - Use state funds to complete the refurbishment work. Limiting the migration of invasive species is a statewide issue affecting the annual fishing, water recreation, and tourism industries; - Keep the commission in existence for up to 12 months to continue studying the issues of governance, ownership, and operation of the dam. Agreement has not yet been reached on governance of the dam; and - Refurbishment of the dam should not impede future installation of hydroelectric power. Keeping this option open allows for the opportunity to create an additional energy source and potentially provide revenue to help pay for dam maintenance and other operational costs. — The Coon Rapids Regional Dam Commission Report, released in February 2011, is available on the Internet at www.crdcommission.blogspot.com. Spillway, canal work needed for 27.7-MW Minidoka To ensure the safety of Minidoka Dam, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation will construct a new spillway, dikes, and canal headworks. The 27.7-MW Minidoka Dam project is on the Snake River in Idaho. Minidoka is an 86-foot-tall zoned earthfill structure that began operating in 1909. In September 2010, Reclamation issued a record of decision calling for replacement of a spillway and canal headworks cited in an environmental impact statement for the dam. The agency said the concrete of the 2,237-foot-long wood and concrete spillway, stoplog structure piers and canal headworks has deteriorated to the point where it could fail soon. In addition, the headworks for the canals that run on the north and south sides of the dam show visible signs of deterioration. Reclamation will hire a contractor to furnish and construct a new south gated spillway, north and south roller-compacted-concrete dikes, north and south side canal headworks, and north and south roller-compacted-concrete overflow spillways. Work also includes modifications to the existing north gated spillway. The work is valued at $10 million to $25 million. Dam safety work to be performed at East Branch Dam The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to hire contractors to perform dam safety work at East Branch Dam on the Clarion River in Pennsylvania. East Branch is a rolled earthfill embankment dam that experiences seepage problems. Dam repairs initially were performed in 1957. However, the dam has since been determined to be potentially unsafe, prompting the Corps to take precautionary measures to ensure safety of East Branch Dam, pending implementation of a formal dam safety modification program. Work is to include exploratory and preparatory grouting and construction of a two-component, 300-foot-deep cutoff wall within the existing embankment dam. The work is expected to cost $100,000 to $250,000. UPPCO begins refilling reservoir behind Bond Falls Dam Upper Peninsula Power Co. (UPPCO) began refilling of the Bond Falls Reservoir in late March. The reservoir was drawn down about 20 feet below the normal summer pool to complete spillway construction, as required by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. This work, which began in May 2010, involved replacing the single main spillway gate with a remotely-operated two-gate structure to increase spillway capacity. The new capacity, designed to pass the inflow design flood, is 13,800 cubic feet per second (cfs), compared with the previous 4,600 cfs. The dam, on the Ontonagon River in Michigan, was built in 1938 and impounds water for the 12.2-MW Victoria plant. If snow melt and precipitation are close to normal, refilling is expected to take two years, says Virgil Schlorke, manager of regional generation for UPPCO. Once refilled after the spring runoff in 2012, the reservoir will be operated at higher levels than it was in the past. A.V. Watkins Dam to undergo seismic evaluation The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation plans to perform a seismic and static issue laboratory evaluation of A.V. Watkins Dam, a 36-foot-tall, 14.5-mile-long zoned earthfill dam that forms Willard Bay Reservoir near Ogden, Utah. Portions of the embankment were built in 1955, 1964, and 1989. The 10,000-acre Willard Bay off-channel reservoir behind the U-shaped dam was designed for a capacity of 215,000 acre-feet and usable storage area of 198,200 acre-feet. This evaluation is needed to determine the increase in seismic risk associated with the proposed raising of the dam crest and maximum water surface elevation by 5 feet. Reclamation has developed alternatives to achieve this goal, which is designed to provide additional storage to meet future water supply needs, and begun geotechnical analyses. This dam nearly failed in November 2006 as a result of piping and internal erosion of foundation soils. Reclamation and the Weber Basin Water Conservancy District determined a portion of A.V. Watkins Dam’s foundation had eroded, leaving a small number of 2- to 5-foot-wide sinkholes near the toe of the dam. The evaluation is expected to be complete in the fall of 2011, at which time the results will be incorporated into the feasibility study.
Intel has released two additional toolsets aimed at making parallel and distributed processing easier. Intel has released Intel® Parallel Studio XE 2011 and Intel® Cluster Studio 2011 for Linux and Windows. The most important components are arguably the latest C/C++ and Fortran compilers, but clearly what you think is important depends on what you rely on. The compilers can be used from within Visual Studio - a simple switch changes from Intel to Microsoft. Linux users can choose between the Intel and GCC compiler under Eclipse or from the command line. The tools are bundled into three offerings and you can opt for a C/C+ version only. The original Parallel Studio released earlier in the year is still available. The XE version bundles with it additional tools and supports both C++/C and Fortran on both Windows and Linux. The Cluster studio extends the parallel model to include distributed processing. You can download a 30 day trial and if you are a teacher or open source developer you can request a free edition. The cost for a package without Fortran is around the $1000 mark. Intel Threading Building Blocks 3.0 Perils of the Parallel For
Moving the INIS-JINR-ICSTI Cooperation Forward 3 October 2007 - Visiting the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna near Moscow on 2 October, INIS and NKM Section Head Mr. Robert Workman met with Professor Alexei N. Sissakian, JINR?s Director, to discuss potential cooperation between INIS, JINR and ICSTI, the International Centre for Scientific and Technical Information. Joint activities, already outlined in a tripartite INIS-JINR-ICSTI framework document that was signed in Vienna in May 2007, will include, e.g. information exchange and the organisation of events such as training seminar and workshops for the young generation of nuclear scientists and engineers to support innovation and technology development. Discussion at JINR with Prof. A.N. Sissakian (left) Mr. Workman gave an overview of current activities of the International Nuclear Information System (INIS) and the IAEA's nuclear knowledge management programme, and was interested to learn about JINR?s international cooperation programmes in nuclear research. A tour of the Institute?s nuclear research facilities, including JINR?s cyclotrons, concluded the visit. Tour of the JINR nuclear research facilities The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) is located in Dubna, ?a town of science? near Moscow. The Institute is a world-known centre for fundamental nuclear research combined with applied investigations and university education. At present, JINR has 18 Member States: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cuba, Czech Republic, Georgia, Kazakhstan, D. P. Republic of Korea, Moldova, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. Established in 1956, JINR now employs over 6000 people, including 1000 scientists, and 2000 engineers and technicians.
Education = Better Lives. To grow as people and to grow in our careers, we need to be lifelong learners. That's why IAWP is committed to helping its members achieve their education and training goals. Check out the educational benefits of being an IAWP member. Grants and Scholarships Individual and chapter funding is availabe for up to $350 for individuals and $750 for chapters. The International Educational Conference offers hours of general sessions and workshop pertinant to the life-long learning of workforce professionals. Workforce Professional Development Program (WPDP) This reference and study guide program measures the knowledge and experience of those in the workforce sytem. Certified Workforce Specialist (CWS) Designation Using success on the testing portion of the WPDP, professionals can obtain a certification designation. Want to learn a new skills or take a refresher? This list includes free and low-cost online training classes and programs for workforce professionals. The IAPES Foundation (the educational non-profit arm of the association) has partnered with ReadyMinds to offer the Distance Credentialed Facilitator (DCF) Online Training program to IAWP members. EDUCATION IN YOUR AREA Training where you live . . . District: On average, 1,500 members benefit from more than 100 hours of training presented at multi-chapter (district) institutes. Chapter: Chapter institutes and conventions offer more than 600 hours of training to an average of 5,000 attendees per year. Subchapter: Training is available at the local level through subchapter institutes, where an average of 2,500 members participate in more than 300 hours of educational activities. Check the calendar of events for opportunities in your area. Old Website \| 3rd Dimension Design Web Development \| Admin \| eAlert \| User
New Defender's Study Bible Notes 8:24 there was a calm. How could Jesus control the sea? “The sea is His, and He made it” (Psalm 95:5). That is how! And what about the stormy wind? He “bringeth the wind out of His treasuries” (Psalm 135:7). Then, “He maketh the storm a calm” (Psalm 107:29).
Demise of the Shoe Tree A local landmark north of Priest Lake was recently torched. A beloved local landmark was lost to what appears to be a mindless act of vandalism last week, when the Shoe Tree was burned down. Located north of Nordman, Idaho, not far from Priest Lake, the Shoe Tree was an old ponderosa pine that resided among old-growth cedars. Back in the '40s, folks started tossing their tied-up shoes over the branches or nailing them to the trunk. The quirky practice caught on, and over the decades, the tree was adorned with hundreds of cast-off shoes. While Priest Lake District Ranger Dick Kramer sympathized with the loss to the community last week, he also discouraged the public from "creating another shoe tree." Shoes dangling among the pine cones surely detract from the natural ambiance of a cedar grove. But decorating things with cast-off clothing is not unheard of here in the Inland Northwest. There's the bra tree up at Schweitzer, located within easy underwear-tossing distance from the Sunnyside Chairlift. There are the telephone poles alongside the highway to Ainsworth Hot Springs, north of Nelson, B.C., each sporting a necktie. Pecky Cox, Priest Lake blogger, is honoring the shoe tree with an online memorial and video. Perhaps that will be enough keep mourners from flinging their footwear into the branches of other trees around Priest Lake.
NEW PAPERBACK EDITION Keynes, the Keynesians and Monetarism is a major contribution to the continuing debate on macroeconomic policy-making. Tim Congdon has been a strong supporter of monetarist economic principles for over 30 years. His writings in the newspapers and for parliamentary committees, as well as in academic journals played an influential role in the transformation of British macroeconomic policy in the 1980s and 1990s. This book brings together the main papers written by the author since his 1992 collection, Reflections on Monetarism . It challenges several conventional wisdoms about UK macroeconomic policy (and thinking about policy), arguing for example that the Keynesians advocacy of incomes policy and fiscal activism in the immediate post-war decades did not have a clear basis in Keyness own writings. The book denies that the UK had a Keynesian revolution, in the sense of a deliberately pursued fiscal activism to promote full employment. Implicit throughout the volume is a distinctive view of how the economy works, with an account of the transmission mechanism (from money to the economy) in which movements in asset prices and aggregate demand are strongly influenced by the quantity of money. Congdon uses this approach to demonstrate that monetary policy has had more powerful effects on macroeconomic activity in the post-war period than fiscal policy. He also suggests that the now fashionable New Keynesian view of policy-making acknowledges the primacy of monetary policy and would be better termed output gap monetarism. In short, Keynes, the Keynesians and Monetarism contends that monetarism defeated Keynesianism in the battle of ideas in the 1970s and 1980s. The achievement of greater macroeconomic stability in the last 15 years is largely due to the impact of monetarist thinking on policy-making. The book is clearly and attractively written, and covers topics that are fundamental to macroeconomic thinking and policy-making. It will be a provocative and appealing read for scholars at all levels of economics, macroeconomics and monetary theory. It will also find an audience among policymakers in central banks and finance ministries, business economists working in companies, and financial economists in the City of London and other centres. 'Tim Congdons book revisits the intellectual battlefields of British monetary theory and policy. A doughty advocate of monetarism, he is stimulating, controversial and entertaining.' Professor Charles Goodhart, London School of Economics and Political Science 'Whether rescuing Keynes from the Keynesians or finding support in his earlier works for a distinctly British version of Monetarism, Tim Congdon writes with engaging and provocative enthusiasm. This is a timely collection too, coming from a long-standing exponent of ideas that policy makers are once again beginning to take seriously. It deserves the careful attention of anyone interested in British monetary policy.' Professor David Laidler, University of Western Ontario, Canada 'As with all Tim Congdons writing, beautifully written and vigorously argued.' Lord Skidelsky 2007, Published by Edward Elgar Publishing, ISBN 978 1 84720 139 2, 344pp, HB Money and Asset Prices in Boom and Bust by Tim Congdon
The annual Molokai to Oahu canoe race has come a long way from its beginnings back in 1952, as I was reminded when watching news of this year’s race. Only a handful of teams competed in that first race, including the Waikiki Surf Club, shown here. What follows is a repeat of an entry first posted back in November 2009. In 2002, my father was asked for his recollections of the founding of the Molokai to Oahu canoe race on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. It became an opportunity for him to record some memories of that period in the history of Hawaii’s competitive surfing and canoeing. I’ve found several drafts of his short history, each containing different details, names of people and descriptions of events. The race was started as part of Aloha Week by the Junior Chamber of Commerce “Oldtimers”, a group of men active in the Jaycees who had aged out of the organization. He recalls Harry Nardmark, the group’s first president, and several others, who threw themselves into organizing of a range of events, along with the members of the Waikiki Surf Club, which had a committee for surfing and canoeing which was headed by Wally Froiseth, assisted by George Downing. “Toots” Minville had been talking about the potential for a Molokai-Oahu race for years, based on his experience of conditions in the channel. His idea was picked up by the “Oldtimers”. Toots was called in and he went to work in an effort to get organized clubs with outrigger canoes to participate. Outrigger and Hui Nalu were the only organized clubs at the time, other than the newly organized Waikiki Surt Club. Wally Froseth, the head of the canoe committee of the surf club, relished the idea of the event and was the first to volunteer and entry. Henrietta Newman, a resident of Molokai, also was interesting in competing but did not have a canoe to paddle–Toots went to work and obtained the use of an outrigger owned by Doris Duke Cromwell that was loaned for the event. And so it went. Canoe owners were reluctant to allow their boats into the race, fearing damage from the often treacherous conditions of the Molokai Channel. The Outrigger Canoe Club declined to loan its equipment to others for the race, but George “Dad” Center, a prominent Outrigger member, personally offered his 40 foot Koa racing canoe, the “Malia”, to the Waikiki Surf Club. There’s a funny story unrelated to the Molokai-Oahu race. When my dad arrived in Honolulu in 1939, he needed a place to store the two surfboards he had brought with him from California. He quickly found out that the only place on the beach was the Outrigger, but its facilities were available to members only. Membership at the time was $10, so he applied for membership and two lockers for his boards, a solid board shaped by Hoppy Swartz of Venice, California, and a 17′ hollow paddle board. When I took the boards into the Outrigger Club area, a little dark skinned Hawaiian boy greeted me with, “Hey, haole, where you goin with the ‘Pineapple barge’?” This little guy was Blue Makua, my first introduction to Waikiki. Blue must have been around 12 years old at the time (maybe younger). Of course, Blue Makua went on to become one of the best known of the Waikiki beachboys. In any case, it all makes for interesting reading. A September 1953 editorial clipped from the Star-Bulletin or Advertiser lauded my father’s role in promoting surfing and canoe racing in the post-WWII years, among other things as a leader in organizing the Hawaii Surfing Association before the outbreak of WWII, and after the war being among the founders of the Waikiki Surf Club and the Hawaiian Canoe Racing and Surfing Association. The editorial quoted from the 1953 season canoe program: Lind’s indefatigable perseverance, organizing ability and great interest in preserving the art of canoe paddling has, with the help of many devoted members of the association, made possible the carrying on of the 1952 ad 1953 races. Next week will mark the third anniversary of his death, but he left his mark, didn’t he!
Public school principals will have greater ability to deal with underperforming teachers when an updated teacher improvement program is introduced in NSW schools next term. Teacher performance is measured against standards set by the Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards, including knowledge of content and lesson delivery. Education minister Adrian Piccoli said teachers who fail to meet these standards can be stood down in 10 weeks, about half the time it currently takes. NSW Teachers Federation regional organiser Nicole Calnan said this was the main change under the revised program, which was developed in consultation with the union and arose from the terms of settlement in the award. She said the improvement process now had to be settled in 10 weeks over a period of 12 weeks, whereas it previously had to be completed over 18. ‘‘It’s rare that these procedures have to be used,’’ she said. ‘‘What we need to make sure of is all teachers are supported by their employer and have access to professional learning to help them improve and strengthen the profession.’’ Corrimal High principal Mark King, a member of the state assembly of the NSW Secondary Principals’ Council, said schools had been aware of the upcoming changes. ‘‘It would be a very rare principal who needs to use these processes as the majority of staff in our schools are meeting and working beyond the standards,’’ he said. ‘‘The support is still there, as it always will be and always should be. ‘‘The difference is the clarification on the maximum amount of time to be spent on the improvement program, and that works to the benefit of the teacher, the school and the students.’’
CANCUN (ILO News) – The International Labour Office (ILO) praised the 16th Conference of Parties (COP16) on climate change for including social and decent work dimensions in the outcome document, signaling broad recognition for a “just transition” to a low-carbon economy with decent work and greener jobs. “We are glad to see that countries recognize that it is not necessary to choose between emissions reduction and sustainable development,” said Peter Poschen, Director of the ILO Enterprise Department and head of the delegation to Cancun. “In fact, well designed climate policies and measures can promote social protection, food security, decent work opportunities and create new income. By including social and decent work dimensions into the outcome of these negotiations we create the right environment for a just transition from a carbon-intensive economy to a low-carbon one. The Cancun Agreement is a first step to achieve it”. The ILO organized a series of side events involving other UN agencies to discuss decent work and the social dimensions of climate change, showcasing progress made by countries with the ILO Green Jobs Programme, such as Brazil, China, India and Costa Rica. The ILO agenda for Green Jobs promotes a socially fair transition, in which vulnerabilities, changes in the labour market and new business models and opportunities are addressed through an inclusive social dialogue. A “Just Transition” for the workforce and the creation of decent work are part of the shared vision for long term global action of the Cancun Agreement. The Conference concluded on a series of steps towards an international framework to address climate change. The Cancun Agreement recognizes the importance of linking labour issues with climate change impact and responsive policies. The agreement signals that addressing climate change requires a major shift in the way the world produces and consumes. This structural change will have significant impacts on enterprises and workers, both negative and positive. The challenge is to create and seize the opportunities for new and greener jobs to off-set the losses in sectors that may jeopardize sustainable development. “If addressed wisely, benefits will outweigh costs. A fair and inclusive structural change to a sustainable economy can be achieved creating millions of much needed jobs and significant advances in reducing poverty”, added Mr. Poschen. In Cancun further progress has been made, with the creation of the Cancun Adaptation Framework, technology development and transfer – among others. Other key steps are measures to reduce deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries. An important achievement is the set up of the fast-start climate fund of USD 30 billion for the period 2010-2012, and a longer term perspective of mobilizing USD 100 billion per year by 2020 to address the need of developing countries.
How do we understand faith and prayer, and what of miracles? August 1925 on a Danish farm. Patriarch Borgen has three sons: Mikkel, a good-hearted agnostic whose wife Inger is pregnant, ... See full summary » Carl Theodor Dreyer Emil Hass Christensen, Preben Lerdorff Rye A historical view of witchcraft in seven parts and a variety of styles. First, there is a slide-show alternating inter-titles with drawings and paintings to illustrate the behavior of pagan... See full summary » A young man is elected by a small village to be its parson. As part of his duties, he is required to marry the widow of the parson before him. This poses two problems--first, the widow is ... See full summary » The judge in a Danish town sees his illegitimate daughter facing a trial for the murder of her newborn child, and is rather sure that she will be sentenced to death. She became pregnant ... See full summary » Carl Theodor Dreyer Young traveller Allan Grey arrives in a remote castle and starts seeing weird, inexplicable sights (a man whose shadow has a life of its own, a mysterious scythe-bearing figure tolling a bell, a terrifying dream of his own burial). Things come to a head when one of the daughters of the lord of the castle succumbs to anaemia - or is it something more sinister? Written by Michael Brooke <[email protected]> Not your usual romp with the un-dead, but for a particular brand of movie-geek, there are some extraordinary things going for it Carl Theodor Dreyer will always be a household name among directors for me after viewing his Passion of Joan of Arc, one of the most emotionally wrenching, stylistically groundbreaking, and thoughtful of religious treatises. There not only did he reveal the eye of a cinematic genius, but he also had Renee Falconetti, one of only several people to truly pull off a performance by using the eyes to talk more than the voice. So, I read up on Dreyer and found that he also directed several sound films after the tragedy that was the butchering and loss of Joan of Arc. One of them was this film, a piece of experimental horror/mystery dealing with the supernatural, the occult, the damned- Vampires. The story at times becomes a little too hard to follow, even beside the point that the film is meant to be surreal or nightmarish or what-have-you. What I did make out of it was that a man named Allan Gray (Julian West) somehow gets lured by his own curiosity comes upon a chateau where an old man (Maurice Schultz, one of the finest hair/face-styling jobs I've seen in an old-style horror movie) and his two daughters reside. Inter-cutting between excerpts of a book detailing the ABC's of vampire facts, bizarre and sad occurrences go on in the chateau, both to Alan and one of the daughters. I suppose saying that the film at times veers off into haunting imagery is almost a compliment, but for some audiences this could be a turn off. On top of the fact that the film contains fewer lines than in any other vampire film I can think of, the whole tone and look of the film is, not to put a snob touch on it, unique. This would not likely be the kind of film to hang out with adolescent friends and drink beers to (that kind of film in the genre would be From Dusk Till Dawn). The one minor flaw in the film as well is, unlike Joan of Arc, the performances are less than brilliant, outside of the girl in the bed and at times West (Schultz, while believable in the look of the character, is a little too 'shocked' in most scenes). But what the film has going for it are two main elements- Dreyer and Joan of Arc cinematographer Rudolph Mate. Despite the film, when being viewed today on video and DVD, having a low-quality transfer with specks and scratches and all, nearly every image and camera move is perfect. For this kind of film, Dreyer takes an approach that lends the story and characters to another plane- these are people caught in the grip of a force that only has one purpose, to kill in a controlled state. Certain scenes are like terrifying little masterpieces of gothic torture- the droplets of blood falling onto the ground from the bed; the coffin point of view of the world; the close-ups; the way Dreyer moves around the chateau and outside; the creepy, somehow appropriate over/under exposure of shots. Overall, this is definitely a horror film with a an artist that doesn't sell himself short of the goods in his arsenal. Vampyr is recommendable, if for nothing else (however the story seems like it would be easier to figure out on a repeat viewing, it would lessen the effect it leaves the first time), for the sheer vision. Although it has dated, Dreyer's take on the myths and terror of a group of citizens held in the grip of a vampire's grip is a technical landmark, and one of the early essentials alongside Nosferatu and Dracula. The dreadful score by Zeller is a good touch as well. A 31 of 39 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you?
Last time Patrick Leigh Fermor explained how he met Bala?a Cantacuzčne in Athens, then lived with her in the Peloponnese for about six months, and then returned with her to her family home in Baleni, Moldavia, where they lived for over a year. The idyll was interrupted only by the declaration of war in September 1939, whereupon Paddy returned to England to volunteer for the army. The resut of the War was that Rumania fell under Russian control. Even though the Communists before the war had been a negligible force in Rumania, under the Russians they held power and a dark night of Communism enveloped the country. One by-product was the reduction of a country, rich in all natural resources, to poverty and hunger. In the final months of the Third Reich, Adolf Eichmann proposed a plan to sell the Hungarian Jews to the Western allies for trucks (see Guinness and Israel 4). In an echo of this plan (which was never carried out), the Rumanian Communists began to sell their political prisoners to the West for cash, a scheme through which Richard Wurmbrand escaped from his years of imprisonment (see Persecuted). Patrick Leigh Fermor writes how he was finally able to return to Rumania to find Bala?a and her sister - Sir Patrick Leigh Fermor The sisters had been nurses during the war; the land was confiscated; and on a grim morning in the late 1940s, a truck drove up with police and a commissar. They were allowed a suitcase each, and a quarter of an hour to pack. (The Cantacuzčnes had been there for many generations.) Villagers in tears filled their arms with loaves, cheeses, eggs and poultry; then a truck drove them away for ever. The painter-sister and a male cousin tried to escape down to the Black Sea to Constantinople in a rowing boat, but they were betrayed and imprisoned. (Her cousin was lucky not to have been sent, like several of their relations, to die in the Danube-Black Sea canal. Never completed, this horrible trench was a dustbin for 'elements of putrid background' - this was the official term; it is said to have killed off 100,000 undesirables.) After their eviction, their family were taken 200 kilometres from where they belonged and put in a garret in a Carpathian foothill-town. The moment the veto was lifted I went back to Rumania in 1965, with a short-term visa. Mixing with foreigners incurred severe punishment, but harbouring them indoors was much worse; so the visit had to be made by stealth, at night, and on the back of a motorbike borrowed by the Ophelia niece, who was working as a draughtman in Bucharest. We found them in their attic. In spite of the interval, the fine looks of my friends, the thoughtful clear glance and the humour were all intact; it was as though we had parted a few months ago, instead of twenty-six years. Their horrible vicissitudes were narrated with detachment and speed: time was short and their were only brief pauses for sleep on a couple of chairs. The rest of our forty-eight hours - we dared risk no more - were filled with pre-war memnories, the lives of our friends, and a great deal of laughter. It was a miraculous reunion. the sisters now eked out their state pittance by teaching French, English and painting. Other Rumanian meetings came later, when they were eventually allowed abroad for two or three weeks now and then. there were joyful visits to friends in England and France and Greece. Early thoughts of leaving Rumania lapsed in the end, they resisted the idea partly from feeling it was too late in the day; also, they said that Rumania, after all, was where they belonged; secretly, perhaps, they shrank from being a burden to anyone. One by one the same dread illness carried them away. Nobility of character marked them all. They wrote many and brilliant letters and contact was unbroken. for many people under alien regimes, life is lived vicariously, pen in hand. Words of Mercury Taken from the article Rumania-Travels in a Land before Darkness Fell, Daily Telegraph Weekend Magazine, 12 May 1990 included in WORDS OF MERCURY (Patrick Leigh Fermor, ed Artemis Cooper, John Murray 2003). Hey there, simply start seeing your site via Search engines, determined that it's truly educational. I am going to look for brussels. I'll be happy in case you carry on this specific in the future. Several individuals will likely be had good results away from your publishing. Many thanks!
We imagine innovation as a trickle-down process. Companies in places such as the United States, Europe, and Japan deploy sophisticated technology to produce premium products for developed markets. Then they strip out some features, maybe substitute cheaper materials and eliminate most options, and ship their diminished creations to presumably less-demanding customers in Africa, Asia, and South America. But the days of rich countries' hegemony over innovation may be numbered. In their new book, Reverse Innovation: Create Far From Home, Win Everywhere (Harvard Business Review Press), Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble describe the developing world as a fertile research and development lab for companies in any market. The authors, both professors at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business, argue that increasingly, breakthrough ideas will sprout in poor countries and be replanted here. Govindarajan spoke with Inc. editor-at-large Leigh Buchanan about how U.S. entrepreneurs can take advantage of this bidirectional model. What are some products or business models that moved from the developing to the developed world? A well-known one is microfinance, which originated in Bangladesh in 1983. It is now operating in more than 100 countries, including the richest country in the world, the United States, where it is transforming people's lives. An earlier example also started in Bangladesh, where Western doctors had gone to treat a cholera epidemic. They found the local people there giving patients carbohydrates and sugar to keep them hydrated. The doctors found that very surprising, because medical opinion at the time said that if you put carbohydrates and sugar into someone suffering from diarrhea, the diarrhea will get worse. But the local people had been using this treatment for hundreds of years, and when the doctors saw how effective it was, they published a paper about it in a British medical journal. That was picked up by doctors at the University of Florida, who were trying to concoct a drink to rehydrate their football players fast. Their team was the Gators, so they called the drink Gatorade. Do companies here sometimes innovate for developing markets and then reimport those innovations? Walmart is a good example of that. The main concept in the United States is the big box. But when Walmart went into South America, what it found was that the dynamics of shopping are different. Consumers there are poor. They can't buy large quantities of a product and store it at home, because they don't have the money and they don't have the room. They also don't have huge SUVs to load up. Walmart decided to innovate a small-store format in these countries. The beauty is that, even in a small store, Walmart's products will be cheaper, because they have economies of scale at the back end. This was a very big success in South America, and now Walmart is bringing the small-store format into the United States. It will open them in cities that are too crowded and expensive and in rural areas that are too sparsely populated to support a big box. The companies practicing reverse innovation in your book are all global corporations. Are there opportunities for smaller businesses as well? The kinds of innovations you see in poor countries are ideally suited for start-ups, both homegrown and from the developed world. That's because they don't require a lot of resources. And start-ups, of course, are starved for resources. They do, however, require creative thinking, which entrepreneurs are good at, also. In these circumstances, entrepreneurs should flourish. Do you have any sense that entrepreneurs in poor countries are imagining products for their home markets but also eyeing rich ones? I think they're focused on their own markets. Their passion is to create business opportunities in those countries. Entrepreneurs here should have a venture fund or something to monitor these innovations. Then, when they see an opportunity in a poor country, they should partner. There are lots of people in developing countries looking for alliances of this sort. Another example from health care: I was in India two weeks ago, and there was an entrepreneur who had started a business making hospital beds. Currently, hospital beds in India are supplied by a large American manufacturer. They cost $10,000. This entrepreneur's beds cost the same, but they take up 40 percent less space, which means you can fit in more patients. Of course, you can't shrink a hospital bed, so instead, this guy had incorporated all the things that take up room around it. He built an IV pole into the bed and the hand-soap dispenser and a space for patient records. He built a cupboard underneath the bed for the patient's clothes and personal effects. He has just started production and already has a backlog of orders. This is a very smart guy, but his aspiration is just to be in India. I can imagine an entrepreneur here striking a deal with him to bring this hospital bed into other emerging markets, or even the United States, where hospitals have problems with space. How do you recognize mainstream developed-world demand for developing-world innovations? If you're an entrepreneur considering bringing an innovation to a developed country, you need to take three steps. First, don't bring it to the rich world right away. Think about poor countries instead. And, by the way, when I use the words poor and rich, I'm not making any value judgment. It's the World Bank definition. You take the GDP per capita and find the average for the world. A country above the average is rich. Any country below the average is poor. According to that definition, there are 164 poor countries, with a total GDP of $30 trillion. Thirty trillion dollars! And those countries are growing faster than the rich countries, at 5 percent. That's $1.5 trillion of incremental growth every year. So if you're a U.S. entrepreneur looking for a market for an innovation from India, look to the developing world first. Step Two is, come into the rich world, but don't go straight to the mainstream. There are always poor people in rich countries, just like there are rich people in poor countries. So target that group first. Step Three is, think of the mainstream. What are the marketing challenges for products imported from the developing world? You have to convince people low cost does not mean poor quality. That takes some convincing. What are the greatest obstacles to developed-world business leaders' recognizing and capitalizing on the potential of developing-world innovations? The biggest obstacle is the mindset. In the developed world, we have been so successful for so long catering to a very sophisticated customer, supplying premium products with high margins. That dominant logic does not work in poor countries. It is a fundamentally different customer set with fundamentally different problems. Sometimes, countries can become insular when they are so successful. For American entrepreneurs to tap into this opportunity, they have to be curious about the problems of people in poor countries. This curiosity—if you can acquire it, then you can succeed.
Google says over 30 million people using Google Apps Tuesday 21 September 2010 Google said Monday that more than 30 million people are using Google Apps, as the company unveiled enhanced security features for the Web-based suite of office tools. "As of today, more than three million businesses have gone Google, and over 30 million users within businesses, schools and organizations now depend on our messaging and collaboration tools," Google said in a blog post. Google Apps include products or services such as Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Docs and are seen as the Mountain View, California company's challenge to Microsoft's popular Office software. Google said it was enhancing the security of Google Apps, which are hosted on the Web instead of on a user's personal computer and accessed through a browser, with a new secure sign-in capability called "two-step verification." With two-step verification, a user enters a password and a verification code is then sent to their mobile device. "This makes it much more likely that you're the only one accessing your data: even if someone has stolen your password, they'll need more than that to access your account," Google said. Life & Style blogs Alexander McQueen at auction: What makes a really great piece of fashion? A bottle of wine a day is not bad for you and abstaining is worse than drinking, scientist claims No female ejaculation, please, we’re British: a history of porn and censorship Stressed nurses are 'forced to choose between health of patients and their own' Pornhub: Kim Kardashian's sex tape is the most-watched porn video of all-time Disgruntled RBS worker writes hilarious open letter to Russell Brand after anti-capitalist publicity stunt leaves him hungry Nigel Farage's approval rating hits 'record low' as popularity suffers in wake of Ukip sex scandal Nigel Farage defends Kerry Smith 'ch***y' comment: 'If you are going for a Chinese, what do you say you’re going for?' Pakistan school attack live: Taliban kill at least 132 children in 'horrifying' massacre Sony hack: Angelina Jolie branded 'seriously out of her mind' in further embarrassing leaked email saga Panic Saturday: 13 million Britons spend £1.2bn – while 13 million others across the country live in poverty unable to afford food - 1 Nigel Farage: Me vs Russell Brand on Question Time – he's got the chest hair but where are his ideas? - 2 Harry Potter fans can apply to the Hogwarts-inspired College of Wizardry - 3 Jessica Chambers: 19-year-old woman 'doused with lighter fluid and burned alive' in the US - 4 Russell Brand calls Nigel Farage 'poundshop Enoch Powell' in BBC Question Time debate - 5 Orange Wednesdays are no more iJobs Gadgets & Tech £50000 per annum + 26 days holiday,pension: Ashdown Group: A highly successful... £30 per hour: Ashdown Group: An industry leading and well established business... £20000 per annum: Ashdown Group: A highly reputable business is looking to rec... £28000 per annum: Ashdown Group: A highly reputable business is looking to rec...
Consuming Issues: How to cash in on sunshine Saturday 29 August 2009 Until now, householders have lavished large sums on solar panels to help the planet rather than themselves. Scientists are concerned that climate change will plunge hundreds of millions of people into hunger, provoke mass migrations, and cause increased storminess, flooding and extreme heat in the UK. Putting that aside for the moment (this is the Your Money section, after all) are solar panels also a good investment? The answer is that they are now, if you apply for a £2,500 grant before April, because of a sharp change in government policy. When the Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, unveiled the UK Low-Carbon Transition Plan in July, the headlines screeched about the impact on most customers: higher bills and "smart meters". Lurking in the accompanying Consultation on Renewable Electricity Financial Incentives 2009 was a significant shift. From next year, it proposed, owners of solar panels and wind turbines should be paid for all the electricity generated, regardless of whether they used it at home or sent it back to the national grid. These payments are worth hundreds of pounds a year and transform the financial case for installing solar power. At present, householders installing solar panels can receive £2,500 from the Government under the Low Carbon Buildings Programme. Electricity companies pay them for whatever power they sent back into the grid, though the tariff varies by company and is often low. The Government is expected to end its grant regime next April, replacing it with more generous annual payments. From next year, its new "feed-in tariff" will give every household with photo-voltaic (PV) panels 36p for every unit generated, funded by a small levy on all energy bill payers. PV systems will also earn 6p for every unit sent back into the grid. What's more, the feed-in tariff will apply for 25 years. Unfortunately, there is a lack of official information about how these proposals will change the affordability of solar power. The Government's Energy Saving Trust explains how the panels work, and how much power they generate, but its website is bereft of meaningful figures; it refers only briefly to the seismic government proposals. Similarly, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has a dismal record on renewal energy. Last September, it claimed that solar panels would take up to 171 years to pay their installation costs. Rics ignored any grants available, and the likelihood of rising electricity prices, and also got its generation sums wrong. Despite asking, it declined to give me its latest calculations. I have done my own. The key question is: would you be better off by leaving your capital in a bank earning interest or investing in solar panels? Over 30 years, my calculations suggest solar is better. They rely on some assumptions. First, although manufacturers guarantee solar panels for 20 years, industry figures say they should last well beyond their warranty period and I have assumed they will last for 30 years. I have also assumed annual inflation of 4 per cent and annual electricity price inflation of 10 per cent, which is reasonable, given diminishing oil and gas reserves; energy prices rose 40 per cent last year. Now, the costs of installing a system. A modest but well-sited 2kWh PV system, suitable for an average, preferably not north-facing home, costs about £11,500. Deduct £2,500 from the £10m in the grant kitty before April, if you are lucky, and the cost is £8,000. You can expect to earn £657 for the feed-in tariff and an extra £45 from electricity sent back to the grid and save £118 on your annual electricity bills. The panels would pay for their costs in 10 years, though you would not have your capital. If you did have £8,000 in the bank, as the years tick by, solar slowly catches up, and overtakes the bank deposit by year 26. After 30 years, compound interest would turn the £8,000 in a savings account to £27,568. Assuming the money from solar (the feed-in tariff and electricity savings, etc) is deposited in a bank after the installation costs have been paid off at year 10, harnessing the power of the sun would be worth £40,654 after 30 years. Heroes & Villians Villain: Lloyds TSB The high street bank has the heaviest charges for mortgage customers who fall into arrears. After three months' arrears it charges £206, compared with Abbey's £40, NatWest's £35 and £30 at RBS. Hannah Skenfield, of moneysupermarket.com, which published the figures, said: "It's outrageous that borrowers who are clearly already struggling are being hit with such high fees. This risks exacerbating their problems." Heroes: M&S, Co-op, Sainsbury's They are in the running for the People's Choice Award for increasing animal welfare, and you can decide which wins. Many of Britain's 926 million farm animals endure poor conditions, but some retailers are acting, after campaigns by the likes of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver, left. The Co-op has given more space, ventilation and a more stimulating environment to 20 million chickens; Marks & Spencer has banned continental white veal in favour of higher-welfare British rose veal; Sainsbury's has banned cage eggs and moved its Scottish salmon to the RSPCA's Freedom Foods scheme. The winner of the award, sponsored by The Independent, will be announced at Good Business Awards on Wednesday, 7 October. You can vote online via the Independent (www.independent.co.uk/voterspca) or by texting either MANDS, SAIN or COOP to 60022. Independent Partners; request a free guide on NISAs from Hargreaves Lansdown - 1 Nigel Farage: Me vs Russell Brand on Question Time – he's got the chest hair but where are his ideas? - 2 Harry Potter fans can apply to the Hogwarts-inspired College of Wizardry - 3 Jessica Chambers: 19-year-old woman 'doused with lighter fluid and burned alive' in the US - 4 Russell Brand calls Nigel Farage 'poundshop Enoch Powell' in BBC Question Time debate - 5 Orange Wednesdays are no more Disgruntled RBS worker writes hilarious open letter to Russell Brand after anti-capitalist publicity stunt leaves him hungry Nigel Farage's approval rating hits 'record low' as popularity suffers in wake of Ukip sex scandal Nigel Farage defends Kerry Smith 'ch***y' comment: 'If you are going for a Chinese, what do you say you’re going for?' Pakistan school attack live: Taliban kill at least 132 children in 'horrifying' massacre Sony hack: Angelina Jolie branded 'seriously out of her mind' in further embarrassing leaked email saga Panic Saturday: 13 million Britons spend £1.2bn – while 13 million others across the country live in poverty unable to afford food iJobs Money & Business $200 - $350 per annum: Carlton Senior Appointments: Managing Producer Office... $125 - $225 per annum: Carlton Senior Appointments: San Fran - Investment Advi... Up to £70,000 per annum + benefits: Sheridan Maine: Are you a qualified accoun... Up to £65,000 per annum + benefits: Sheridan Maine: Are you a qualified accoun... 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How the internet will solve an Olympian puzzle Millions of spectators and tourists are expected to flock to London this summer, placing a huge strain on essential services. Rhodri Marsden looks at IT's role in keeping things running Rhodri Marsden is the Technology Columnist for The Independent; he has also written about crumpets, Captain Beefheart, rude place names and string. He's also a musician who plays in the band Scritti Politti, and won the under-10 piano category at the 1980 Watford Music Festival by playing a piece called "Silver Trumpets" with verve and aplomb. Monday 02 April 2012 Most of us weren't around when the Olympic Games last came to London, in the summer of 1948, and few of us have had the experience of living and working in an Olympic city during the Games. Those who do remember 1948 will recall the "The Austerity Games", an event whose budget was pared to the bone in the aftermath of the Second World War: no new venues were built and there was no Olympic Village for the athletes to relax in. This summer, however, presents London with a wildly different prospect. The area around Stratford in East London has been completely transformed, with additional arenas for hockey, basketball and water polo surrounding the main Olympic Park. An estimated 11 million people will be descending on the capital to witness the spectacle – presenting a challenge that has been described as "Britain's largest peacetime logistical exercise". More than 10,000 athletes and their teams, more than 100 heads of state and millions of spectators and tourists will all have to be housed, fed, entertained and moved backwards and forwards. This undoubtedly presents a tremendous economic opportunity for businesses – after all, these people will all be spending money. A study by Visa has estimated that consumers will spend an extra £750m over the seven-week period of the Olympic and Paralympic Games; most of that sum will come from foreign visitors, Visa reckons. The estimate dwarfs the amount spent at the last three Games, in Sydney, Athens and Beijing, largely because of London's status as an international transport hub. This shopping spree is predicted to lead to a stimulus worth £5.1bn to the UK economy by 2015, a forecast that's welcome in a time of economic uncertainty. But there will be a price to pay for Londoners over the period of the Games, in terms of disruption to our routines. We'd be wise to pay heed to the words of Colin Hansen, a former British Columbia minister during the Vancouver Winter Olympics, who said afterwards that "the scale of the event was much bigger than anyone expected". Fortunately, while many of us have had our heads in the sand, others have been doing some feverish planning. Perhaps the most obvious strain on civil infrastructure will be London's transport network. Sixty-five per cent of London's stations and 70 per cent of the road network should be unaffected by the Olympics, but there will still be hundreds of thousands of additional people using a system that's notoriously overstretched during peak hours. The last few years have seen a number of developments that will help ease congestion; these have included new stations, the London Overground upgrade, and getting thousands of people off public transport and onto bicycles. But this summer will still prove to be a huge test, both for the network and for those of us using it – especially as other big events, such as the Diamond Jubilee celebrations and the Notting Hill Carnival, will be taking place around the same time. In addition, 109 miles of London's roads will be designated as the Olympic Route Network – a contractual obligation that's essential for the smooth running of the Games. About a third of this road network will have special Games Lanes that aren't open to normal traffic. As a result, the Games will affect businesses and individuals in ways that many of us probably haven't considered. A survey by BT earlier this year found a huge disparity between the number of businesses that see the Games as a business opportunity (73 per cent) and the number that have prepared themselves for the challenges likely to be posed by an exceptionally crowded London (29 per cent). Businesses in and around the capital face two main problems: first, keeping the supply chain moving by getting goods from A to B; and second, getting staff into the workplace. One solution to the latter problem is to increase provision for home working. This is not something that every company can take advantage of, but for office-based businesses it's perfectly possible for digital networks to take the strain when transport networks find themselves under pressure. Tim Passingham from BT Conferencing sees it as a watershed moment for flexible working, which could continue to grow after the Games have finished. "As well as presenting a great opportunity for businesses commercially," he says, "it will also allow them to trial flexible working options and see how they suit their organisation – whether they're in the public or private sector – and it could mark a real change in the way they work." BT's own offerings such as WebEx (for real-time document sharing through a web browser) and MeetMe (audio conferencing with people in up to 40 different locations) are just two of numerous products that can eliminate the need to travel and help speed up decision making. This summer could see many businesses experimenting with innovations such as video conferencing and cloud-based working for the first time.This isn't the only additional load to be placed on computer networks. Much of the discussion surrounding the impact of the Games on businesses ignores the fact that many employees will be keen to watch the events. Back in 2000, 28 per cent of businesses in Sydney experienced higher absenteeism, as people either headed to the arenas or stayed at home in front of the television. Online video has surged in popularity over the last four years, and many people will by now think nothing of sneakily watching events streaming to their browser window at work – which, of course, massively increases data consumption. Many critical services (banking, security, transport, emergency services) rely on data connections to operate properly; those connections will be tested as never before this summer. Cisco's Technical Assistance Centre is one support network that has expanded its capabilities in preparation; its involvement in previous global sporting events has given it a good idea of what to expect. "We have a lot of customers who we've put under the Olympic umbrella who aren't directly involved in the Games," says Cisco's services marketing manager, Cecilia Atkinson. "They all operate crucial services, and while their relationship to the Games is only tangential, all kinds of people could be affected if their networks go down." A special incident room set up by Cisco is just one measure that has been taken to ensure that this doesn't happen. "It's critical that all our customers are confident that their network infrastructure works all the time," says Neil Crockett, managing director of London 2012 for Cisco. "That's the case whether they're running the greatest sporting event in the world, or an enterprise critical network." The lynchpin of the Games is clearly the London 2012 Organising Committee (Locog), which has been working towards making the event a success from the time London was given the honour of hosting the event in the summer of 2005. Locog faces a herculean task dealing with the athletes and spectators who arrive for the events, but it does at least have a precise idea of how many people are turning up and when. For the rest of London it's going to be much more of a guessing game, the answer to which will only become apparent when the Games kick off in a few months' time. But don't think you won't notice they're happening. Because you most certainly will. Weather bomb in pictures: Storms cuts power for tens of thousands – and snow is on the way Jessica Chambers: 19-year-old woman 'doused with lighter fluid and burned alive' in the US Russell Brand calls Nigel Farage 'poundshop Enoch Powell' in BBC Question Time debate Russell Brand was rendered speechless on Question Time by this man Fury at Airbus after it hints the super-jumbo may be mothballed - 2 Harry Potter fans can apply to the Hogwarts-inspired College of Wizardry - 3 Jessica Chambers: 19-year-old woman 'doused with lighter fluid and burned alive' in the US - 4 Russell Brand calls Nigel Farage 'poundshop Enoch Powell' in BBC Question Time debate - 5 Orange Wednesdays are no more £50000 per annum + 26 days holiday,pension: Ashdown Group: A highly successful... £50000 per annum + 26 days, pension, private medical : Ashdown Group: A highly... £25000 per annum: Ashdown Group: IT Service Desk Analyst - Chessington, Surrey... £35000 - £40000 per annum: Charter Selection: This renowned and well establish...
Rumours of Primakov sacking sweep Moscow Wednesday 12 May 1999 Several Russian news outlets yesterday led their broadcasts with claims that the President is about to sack his premier, Yevgeny Primakov, and replace him with an obscure railways minister, Nikolai Aksenenko. Speculation has been simmering in Moscow for weeks that Mr Yeltsin will throw out Mr Primakov, triggering domestic political turmoil in the midst of severe economic depression and an international crisis. But yesterday this gained momentum as parliament prepared to launch long-threatened impeachment proceedings tomorrow. Relations between the two men have been steadily deteriorating, and are now hostile. The President has been affronted by his Prime Minister's attempts to lessen the Kremlin's power and generally dislikes his ties to his arch-enemies, the Communists. Pro-market elements in Mr Yeltsin's inner circle regard the government of Mr Primakov - a popular figure who is seen as a front-runner for the presidency - as a throw-back to the moribund Brezhnev years. A presidential spokesman said yesterday there was "no reason to discuss" Mr Primakov's dismissal, but there were strong suspicions that the Kremlin was the source of yesterday's rumours. Mr Yeltsin has publicly humiliated the premier several times, and the Kremlin has made clear that Mr Primakov is dispensable. If the Prime Minister is fired, a showdown between Mr Yeltsin and parliament - which must approve any replacement premier - is certain. The veiled threats to Mr Primakov may be an attempt by the Kremlin to intimidate the State Duma, parliament's lower house, before the impeachment hearings, which threaten to divert attentionfrom a meeting between Mr Yeltsin and Jacques Chirac. The French President arrives in Moscow today to discuss Kosovo. The Communists, the chamber's largest party, are keen to keep Mr Primakov in place as he has secured them more power than they have previously held in the Yeltsin years, and has treated Western market reforms with caution. Yesterday the house leadership decided to hold three days of hearings, beginning tomorrow, in an effort to get the impeachment proceedings off the ground. Mr Yeltsin faces five charges, including bringing about the collapse of the Soviet Union and launching an illegal war in Chechnya. Although the 450-strong chamber could muster the 300 votes needed to launch an impeachment it is extremely unlikely to threaten Mr Yeltsin's remaining 15 months in office. - 2 Harry Potter fans can apply to the Hogwarts-inspired College of Wizardry - 3 Jessica Chambers: 19-year-old woman 'doused with lighter fluid and burned alive' in the US - 4 Russell Brand calls Nigel Farage 'poundshop Enoch Powell' in BBC Question Time debate - 5 Orange Wednesdays are no more Weather bomb in pictures: Storms cuts power for tens of thousands – and snow is on the way Jessica Chambers: 19-year-old woman 'doused with lighter fluid and burned alive' in the US Russell Brand calls Nigel Farage 'poundshop Enoch Powell' in BBC Question Time debate Russell Brand was rendered speechless on Question Time by this man Fury at Airbus after it hints the super-jumbo may be mothballed Disgruntled RBS worker writes hilarious open letter to Russell Brand after anti-capitalist publicity stunt leaves him hungry Nigel Farage's approval rating hits 'record low' as popularity suffers in wake of Ukip sex scandal Nigel Farage defends Kerry Smith 'ch***y' comment: 'If you are going for a Chinese, what do you say you’re going for?' Pakistan school attack live: Taliban kill at least 132 children in 'horrifying' massacre Sony hack: Angelina Jolie branded 'seriously out of her mind' in further embarrassing leaked email saga Panic Saturday: 13 million Britons spend £1.2bn – while 13 million others across the country live in poverty unable to afford food £65000 - £80000 per annum: Recruitment Genius: Finance Director required to jo... £15000 - £25000 per annum: Recruitment Genius: This is a unique opportunity fo... £50000 per annum + 26 days holiday,pension: Ashdown Group: A highly successful... £27000 per annum + pension + holidays: The Jenrick Group: A Quality Technician...
Long before the television and the Internet became de rigueur modes of entertainment, folks sought enjoyment and escape in the art of storytelling. Throughout history, raconteurs traveled from town to town, captivating listeners with their engaging tales. This weekend, Ojai will play host to a two-day celebration of the storyteller. “One of the things that makes our festival unique is the innovative programming, and this year is no exception,” said Brian Bemel, artistic director of Performances to Grow On, the nonprofit organization behind the festival, which takes place at the Libbey Bowl on Thursday, April 29, through Sunday, May 2. For tickets and info, visit ojaistoryfest.com. Below you’ll find three reasons to check out the festival. 1. The Music: For centuries, music has played a large role in art of storytelling. Therefore, the Ojai Fest has slated two nights of musical entertainment. On Friday, April 30, Ojai resident Alan Thornhill will take the stage at the Libbey Bowl. Thornhill is an award-winning guitarist and songwriter who incorporates a range of musical influences—from the Everly Brothers to Sam Cooke to Chet Atkins to the Beatles. Bring a picnic, and settle in for some inspiring tunes. The following evening, Saturday, May 1, Ugandan-born singer Samite will perform. When he was a small boy, his grandpa taught him to play the African flute. At 12 years old, he was introduced to Western flutes and has since become one of East Africa’s most acclaimed flautists. Samite is now a multi-instrumentalist—he plays the kalimba (finger-piano), marimba (wooden xylophone), litungu (seven-stringed Kenyan instrument), and various flutes—and sings both original and traditional songs in his native language. 2. The Workshops: Each year the festival has several workshops to help attendees tap into their inner storyteller. This year’s offerings include “Traveling the Story Road: Useful Tools and Skills for Exploring a Story’s Path.” Led by Angela Lloyd, attendees will “explore the role of the Narrator, and a variety of ways to bring the story’s imagined world to life.” Be sure to bring the text of a folktale, fairy tale, or personal story of your choice as a point of reference for the activities, as well as pens and paper. Other workshops offered include “Spontaneous Acts of Funk: A Recipe for Serious Delight,” led by David Gonzalez, and “From You to Universal: Transforming Personal Experience into Powerful Story,” led by Nancy Donoval. 3. The Storytelling: Some of the nation’s best-known storytellers are attending this year’s fest, including Ed Stivender, called the “Robin Williams of storytelling”; Motoko, who weaves ancient lore, original stories, movement, and traditional music into her tales; and Hobey Ford, known for his animal puppet “foamies” who help bring his tales to life. And for adults only, check out “Naughty Tales in the Tent,” featuring Nancy Donoval (“My Pastey Collection”); David Gonzalez (“Why She Moans”); and Willy Claflin (“Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll”).
San Onofre nuclear power plant will go a second summer without providing Southern California Edison customers any electricity due to the release of radioactive vapors from the plant’s recently replaced steam valves. Edison provides Santa Barbara with most of its electricity, and energy officials are concerned that without San Onofre online, the state might find itself more vulnerable to power outages if backcountry fires break out at the same time and bring down Edison’s power lines. At full operation, San Onofre produced enough electricity to power 1.4 million homes. The utility company is hoping the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will allow the plant to operate at less than full capacity under the operating theory there won’t be sufficient vibrational energy to cause further rupturing of the steam valves. That option, however, is unlikely to secure the necessary approvals by this summer.
Indiana Wesleyan University is taking the next step in helping students utilize their college experience to fully realize their life's purpose as it opens the School for Life Calling and Integrative Learning this fall on the residential campus in Marion. "This school's primary responsibility is helping bring coherence and integrity to the 'First Two-Year Experience' for our students," said Dr. Brian Fry, associate dean of the new school. The flagship course of the new school is LDR-150: Introduction to Life Calling. Required for all freshmen and transfer students, the class helps ground new students in the University's mission to develop every student in character, scholarship and leadership, and applies Christian principles to their understanding of their purpose in life. Dr. Bill Millard, IWU's Terry Munday Endowed Professor of Life Calling, developed the course, which is also taught for college credit in more than 40 high school across the United States, as well as schools in Panama and Hong Kong. The course has been taught at IWU for a number of years but is only now becoming a campus-wide requirement. "It's really good for helping students discern their life calling, understanding their giftedness, some of the liabilities that perhaps come with those gifts and having a plan for your life," Fry said. "It's trying to teach them to think that college isn't a pause in your life-college is a part of your vocation." In addition, the School for Life Calling and Integrative Learning will oversee general education, advise pre-declared majors, offer life coaching and leadership studies and work with other departments, like the Dean of the Chapel Office and Student Development, to ensure a unified experience for students across the University. "We're just kind of asking ourselves, 'How can we cooperate?" Fry said. The new school is an outgrowth of the Center for Life Calling and Leadership that has received national recognition as a center for life calling research and assistance in higher education. Indiana Wesleyan University is an evangelical Christian comprehensive university of The Wesleyan Church, which has its world headquarters in Indianapolis. The University was founded in 1920, and is committed to liberal arts and professional education. More than 3,200 students are enrolled in traditional programs on the University's main campus in Marion. Another 12,200 adult learners attend classes at education centers in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, and online.
Niagara has had many different faces since the arrival of the Europeans in the late 17th century. Perhaps the most exciting and missed period of Niagara's rich history deals with the "daredevils." A daredevil is one who decides risk his or her life for fame with necessary precautions and survive. The late 19th century Niagara saw the arrival of a new breed of adventurer who was ready, willing and able to go over the falls or walk over the falls for a few brief minutes of fame. The long list of Niagara Falls daredevil history starts with Annie Taylor and the spirit of adventure continues in various forms in Niagara Falls. Due to various reasons stunting and adventures were banned in Niagara Falls till Nik Wallanda's Historic Wire Walk over the Falls in 2012, which was started with James Hardy in 1896. Their daring acts are chronicled here in our Daredevil Gallery.
Tim Rushby-Smith and Lawrie Douglas Download article (738KB) Many Paralympic athletes need bespoke or adapted equipment tailored to their capabilities to enable them to maximise their potential. There is an increasing focus on developing these not only for comfort and ease of use but also for aiding high-performance athletes in their chosen sport. Ingenia asked people and companies involved in Paralympic technology for examples of recent innovation. When the British Paralympic team enter their respective arenas on 29 August 2012, it will mark the culmination of four years’ work training the athletes and developing and refining their equipment to give them the best possible chance to win. The 2008 Paralympics in Beijing saw Team GB finish second with a haul of 102 medals, 42 of them gold. For London, the aim is to exceed that total. UK Sport, the organisation responsible for investing £100 million of public funds each year in high-performance Olympic and Paralympic sport, took a decision to adopt a ‘no compromise’ policy, directing resources toward the sports that were most likely to deliver medals at the Games. An important element of this strategy was the development of a research and innovation team. Designers, sports equipment manufacturers, large engineering firms and universities were keen to offer their expertise. Partnerships were developed between universities and industry with a view to optimising the equipment for elite sport performances while ensuring the health and wellbeing of the athletes. The technology and innovation derived from these partnerships can often trickle down into development of equipment for everyday use among the wider disabled population. Paralympic athletes have been blasted in wind tunnels, modelled in plastic and covered with probes and sensors in order to collect information that enables them to have the best possible opportunity to realise their potential at the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Wheelchair athlete Shelly Woods undergoing wind-tunnel testing. She was spinal cord injured at the age of 11 and became a wheelchair athlete in her teens. She holds several course records for half-marathons as well as being the British record holder for best marathon time. Shelly competed in three events at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games, winning a silver medal in the 1,500 m and a bronze medal in the 5,000m © BAE Systems The best-known Paralympic athlete is the South African, Oscar Pistorius, who runs on prosthetic ‘running blades’. Originally designed by inventor and amputee Van Phillips, the blade-shaped prostheses are now produced by a number of different companies. Otto Bock is the official prosthetic, orthotic and wheelchair technical services provider for the London 2012 Paralympic Games and makes a wide range of prostheses, including running blades. The company has customised the socket liner and prosthesis to which a carbon fibre running blade is attached. They make each blade by building up more than 80 layers of carbon fibre, which are laid one at a time over a mould while pressure and heat are applied to fuse and harden the carbon layers. Carbon fibre is flexible and its damping property reduces the energy lost through vibration. Running only uses the front part of the foot, so the carbon fibre blades are designed without a heel, with spikes fitted to the running blade. When the blades are fitted onto athletes without lower limbs, the potential energy of the runner is converted into kinetic energy as the amputee moves forward. As load is applied to the prosthesis, the energy is converted into elastic strain energy, which is then returned as the runner ‘unloads’ the prosthesis, helping to restore the potential energy and allowing the cycle to begin again. The more efficiently this process is carried out, the less energy the amputee needs to put in to the system to maintain a given speed. The carbon fibre blade has evolved through the needs and responses of both athletes and everyday users. As prosthetic limbs became more dynamic, the activity levels of amputees increased, which opened up the possibilities of the running leg. While the sprinter’s use of the carbon fibre blade only requires the ‘toe’ section of the foot, prosthesis manufacturers Blatchford have developed a prosthetic foot that utilises the same properties of carbon fibre to provide a responsive heel for everyday use. Leaf spring heels are now a fundamental part of foot design. By storing and releasing energy at the right time, they enable users to develop an efficient and ‘natural’ gait. Fastest on three wheels Draft has helped athletes to win 23 medals over three Paralympics, including silver and bronze in Beijing for Team GB wheelchair athlete Shelly Woods. While blades maximise the flexibility of carbon fibre, when it comes to track wheelchairs, top performance requires rigidity to ensure the maximum amount of the athlete’s power is transferred to the track. To test the rolling resistance, a rig is set up for the wheelchair chassis, with radio-controlled steering. Telemetry is used to give a velocity slope for design improvements, and the wheelchairs are built with American aerospace-graded aluminium 6061T6 tubes, chosen for their strength and durability. To improve aerodynamic performance, the connections forged by UK Sport’s research and innovation programme led to Shelly Woods and other athletes being installed with their equipment in BAE Systems’ wind tunnel at Warton, Lancashire. BAE is supporting 140 British athletes and has provided 15,000 hours of expertise to UK Sport over the last four years. Instead of blasting air at Mach2 speeds designed to replicate the effects of jet-powered flight, airflow was kept to about 45 kmph. Testing revealed that most drag-inhibiting performance comes from the athlete, not the chair. Posture was one of the first things examined. The positions of each athlete’s hands were studied, adjusted and corrected for best performance. Woods was encouraged to lean forward and subtle modifications were made to her sitting position, which reduced drag by up to 10%. Other tests gathered more data on rolling resistance, the friction of the tyres, axles and mechanical parts of her wheelchair. There are two types of resistance with wheelchair racing: rolling resistance, from the tyres on the ground, and air resistance, the aerodynamic drag. This computational fluid dynamic model depicts areas of aerodynamic drag on the wheelchair and athlete with areas of high drag shown in red and orange. Higher speeds are achieved in the longer wheelchair races with an average speed of 16-20 mph being maintained in races above 1,500 metres © TotalSim UK Sport then turned to partner TotalSim to provide complementary Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling. This enabled them to predict and improve the aerodynamic performance of the athletes and their equipment in partnership with tunnel testing. The process begins with the scanning of the athletes to generate a computational model that could be used for CFD simulation. A baseline CFD model is then generated from each athlete’s scanned measurements to determine potential drag savings, ranging from body positioning to equipment changes. The design development is then carried out in a computational environment, using advanced optimisation techniques originally developed for the automotive industry to test changes to both equipment and athlete positioning. This approach minimises the need to make expensive parts for testing and allows for rapid development. The next part of the process tests equipment prototypes with directions for athlete positioning in a wind tunnel. To increase the amount of testing time possible in the wind tunnel, and to minimise disruptions to the athletes’ training schedules, rigid mannequins were made to each competitor’s scanned measurements. The performance gains and drag reductions achievable were fed back to Draft, who were able to make the design modifications. With the difference between first and third places sometimes being only tenths of a second, Shelly hopes that her new posture and refined wheelchair will make her a medal contender again at the London Games. Derek Derenalagi lost his legs on active service in Helmand Province, Afghanistan in 2007. He recovered sufficiently to be chosen with a dozen other British ex-soldiers to train as competitive athletes. He is now Britain’s leading Paralympic discus thrower and shot putter. Seated discus throwers produce a tremendous amount of energy and pressure on their frame. The charity Remap tailor-made a frame strong enough to perform, yet light enough to travel with. It also had to be quick to set up to fit in with competition regulations © Remap Not all developments in Paralympic Sport technology require computer modelling or other high-tech solutions. Discus thrower Derek Derenalagi needed a lightweight, adjustable throwing frame. To fulfill athletic competition criteria, the device needed to be secured to the ground and assembled within a specific timeframe. Sport England got in touch with the charity Remap, a network of 1,100 volunteers who are organised into 80local panels across the UK. Volunteers include many people with engineering backgrounds as well as craftspeople, technicians, healthcare professionals and skilled helpers. This wealth of expertise enabled Remap to design and construct a one-off piece of equipment perfectly tailored to Derek’s needs, and he will be a major contender for a medal at this summer’s Games. It’s difficult to predict what sporting technological innovations will filter through and have an impact on the day-to-day living of people with disabilities. The blade with the heel is one example of a sports prosthetic that has become an everyday item. And wheelchairs have benefited from sports advances with full carbon fibre wheelchairs now being produced weighing just 2.1 kg. This is a boon to those wheelchair-user drivers who have to reach and lift a chair into their vehicle once they are in the driving seat. One thing is certain, that Paralympic sport will remain at the forefront of innovation for the disabled. And many of the ideas forged for track and field events offer the opportunity of real benefits for those who face the challenges of disability in their everyday lives. Side by side: innovation in engineering A programme of events inspired by the Paralympics, combining an international conference, lectures, a reception and an exhibition at the Forum for engineering, 3 Carlton House Terrace, London from 27 August – 14 September 2012 with further details available at www.raeng.org.uk/events
Hi-Lo Inline Skates Explained Hi-Lo set ups change the composition of the skate mainly the frame length and wheel size which directly impact the acceleration and maneuverability of the skates. There are ups and downs of a hi-lo system as there is with a standard set up as well. These differences will adhere to different skating styles and situations making hi-lo setups better in some instances and standard set ups better in others. Whether in a hi-lo set up or standard set up of skate wheels the size is going to determine the way the wheel is going to perform in differing conditions. Let’s talk briefly about the sizes of wheels and how a smaller diameter wheel is going to perform in accordance to a larger wheel. Smaller Inline Skate Wheels – 80mm Wheels or Smaller 80mm used to be the largest wheel available but as the sport of inline skating progresses so does the equipment. Now considered a smaller wheel size anything 80mm or lower is going to offer a few upsides; smaller wheels are going to accelerate faster and offer better control and maneuverability. Larger Wheels – 84mm and Larger Larger wheels are made for speed and for going greater distances. Being larger in diameter these wheels are going to take a bit longer to accelerate to top speed but once you get to top speed you will receive a smoother and faster ride overall. Larger wheels will ride over debris smoother and be greater for longer distance skates where you find yourself striding at speed for long distances. The Combination of Smaller and Larger Wheels, Hi-Lo With there being great upsides to both a smaller and larger wheel it was only a matter of time until a company decided to put the two together. When this happened the hi-lo inline skate set up emerged and with it a new era of skating was rung in. Mixing Acceleration, Maneuverability and Speed What a hi-lo set up essentially creates is a skate that offers great acceleration, top end speed and a smooth skating experience. Mixing smaller wheels in with larger wheels you are able to accelerate from a stand still quicker and once accelerated you are able to coast and gain extra speed due to the larger wheels. The larger wheels also offer a stable platform for rougher terrain. Different Styles of Hi-Lo Setups This variation was one of the first set ups offered for the hi-lo generation; originally with inline hockey skates this set up changed how skaters accelerated. This is a fairly aggressive hi-lo set up in comparison to others and offers a great amount of get up and go with two smaller front wheels. The slight downfall to this design is splitting between two small and two large you will not get the most top end speed. This lack of top end speed makes this set up ever popular in inline hockey set ups and not found as regular on marathon or fitness inline skates. This set up is found in roller hockey skates but has become more common in regular fitness inline skates. Offering a good amount of acceleration mixed with a good top speed and consistency this set up is becoming more popular in more skate models. The one smaller wheel allows the skates to offer a shorter frame length which aids in maneuverability. Who Does Not Want a Hi-Lo Set Up? A hi-lo set up sounds great but there are instances where a hi-lo set up is not going to be the best go to set up. There may be more but here we will cover the two most common times when a standard wheel set up may fair better than a hi-lo set up. Although a hi-lo set up is evenly set with the frame so all wheels touch the same it can be intimidating for a complete beginner to skate with differing sized wheels. A standard set up will give the skater the confidence in knowing all the wheels are the same size. Distance Marathon Skaters Those skating many miles at great speeds find that all the same sized wheels in a larger diameter is going to offer the greatest and smoothest top end speed. This top end speed is worth the lack of acceleration as the amount of time spent accelerating is minimal compared to the time spent at top speed. As you can see there is some easy explanation of hi-lo setups on inline skates which are not rocket science. Hopefully with this information you can make an informed decision when looking at skates with hi-lo and regular set ups.
Stanford researchers may have solved a riddle about the inner workings of the brain, which consists of billions of neurons, organized into many different regions, with each region primarily responsible for different tasks. The various regions of the brain often work independently, relying on the neurons inside that region to do their work. At other times, however, two regions must cooperate to accomplish the task at hand. The riddle is this: what mechanism allows two brain regions to communicate when they need to cooperate yet avoid interfering with one another when they must work alone? In a paper published today in Nature Neuroscience, a team led by Stanford electrical engineering professor Krishna Shenoy reveals a previously unknown process that helps two brain regions cooperate when joint action is required to perform a task. "This is among the first mechanisms reported in the literature for letting brain areas process information continuously but only communicate what they need to," said Matthew T. Kaufman, who was a postdoctoral scholar in the Shenoy lab when he co-authored the paper. Kaufman initially designed his experiments to study how preparation helps the brain make fast and accurate movements – something that is central to the Shenoy lab's efforts to build prosthetic devices controlled by the brain. But the Stanford researchers used a new approach to examine their data that yielded some findings that were broader than arm movements. The Shenoy lab has been a pioneer in analyzing how large numbers of neurons function as a unit. As they applied these new techniques to study arm movements, the researchers discovered a way that different regions of the brain keep results localized or broadcast signals to recruit other regions as needed. "Our neurons are always firing, and they're always connected," explained Kaufman, who is now pursuing brain research at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York. "So it's important to control what signals are communicated from one area to the next."Experimental design Remember, the goal was to help build brain-controlled prostheses. Because the neurons in the brain always send out signals, engineers must be able to differentiate the command to act from the signals that accompany preparation. To understand how this worked with the monkey's arm, the scientists took electrical readings at three places during the experiments: from the arm muscles, and from each of two motor cortical regions in the brain known to control arm movements. The muscle readings enabled the scientists to ascertain what sorts of signals the arm receives during the preparatory state compared with the action step. The brain readings were more complex. Two regions control arm movements. They are located near the top center of the brain, an inch to the side. Each of the two regions is made up of more than 20 million neurons. The scientists wanted to understand the behavior of both regions, but they couldn't probe millions of neurons. So they took readings from carefully chosen samples of about 100 to 200 individual neurons in each of the two regions. During experiments the scientists examined the monkeys' brain readings at two levels. On one level, they considered the activity of individual neurons – how quickly or slowly the neurons fired signals. At a higher level, the scientists also identified patterns of changes in the activity of many neurons. This is a relatively new technique for neuroscience, called a population and dimensionality analysis. Its goal is to understand how neurons work together in entire regions of the brain.Hunting for the signal As the monkey prepared for movement but held its arm still, many neurons in both of the motion-control regions registered big changes in activity. But this preparatory activity did not drive the movement. Why? The scientists realized that, during the preparatory stage, the brain carefully balanced the activity changes of all those individual neurons inside each region. While some neurons fired faster, others slowed down so that the entire population broadcast a constant message to the muscles. But at the moment of action, the population readings changed in a measurable and consistent way. By looking at the data, the scientists could correlate these changes at the population level to the flexing of the muscles. This change at the population level differentiated action from preparation.Broader ramifications Kaufman said he was about one year into what turned out to be a three-year project when he realized there might be broader ramifications to this population-level and dimensionality identification idea. He was presenting an early version of the brain-to-muscle results at a scientific conference when a question from one his peers caused him to think. He had found population-level signals between the brain regions and the muscles. Did the two brain regions, each partially in control of the action, couple and uncouple with each other in a similar way? "I started the analysis in my hotel room that night at one a.m.," Kaufman recalled. "Soon enough, the results were clear." "The serendipitous interplay between basic science and engineering never ceases to amaze me," said Professor Shenoy, who is also professor of neurobiology (by courtesy) and bioengineering (affiliate), and a Bio-X faculty member. "Some of the best ideas for the design of prosthetic systems to help people with paralysis come from basic neuroscience research, as is the case here, and some of the deepest scientific insights come from engineering measurement and medical systems." Also contributing to this paper were former postdocs Mark M. Churchland, now a professor of neuroscience at Columbia University and co-director of the Grossman Center for the Statistics of the Mind, and Dr. Stephen I. Ryu, now a consulting associate professor of electrical engineering at Stanford and a neurosurgeon at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. Principal funding for the work came from the National Science Foundation, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the NIH Director's Pioneer Award. Tom Abate \| EurekAlert! A "GPS" for molecules 19.12.2014 \| Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn Trigger mechanism for recovery after spinal cord injury revealed 19.12.2014 \| Universität Basel 08.12.2014 \| Event News 01.12.2014 \| Event News 21.11.2014 \| Event News 19.12.2014 \| Earth Sciences 19.12.2014 \| Physics and Astronomy 19.12.2014 \| Ecology, The Environment and Conservation
-some people say you can use suction cups or a plunger to pull the dent. I couldn't make it work in this case, but it's easy and worth a try. -if you can get behind the dent, you may be able to push it out -You should try to pull the dent as soon as possible. If you wait too long, there will still be a trace of the dent when you pull it. Plastic creeps when it's under stress for a long time. -if you use a ceramic flower pot for this, you might break it -you may scratch the paint a little if you're not careful enough -I imagine this process works on metal too, but I haven't tried it. Step 1: Tools and materials Tools and Materials: -vacuum cleaner (ordinary household may work, or a shop vac, use the strongest one available) -tape (duct tape or masking tape) - flower pot or bucket with hole in the bottom. The stiffer the better, and large enough to cover the dent. If there's more than one hole, you can tape over the other holes. -soapy water in a bucket -towel you don't care about Step 2: Clean off dirt You'll want the tape to stick well, so clean off the edge of the pot and the car where the tape will go. After cleaning, dry off with a towel so tape will stick. You might want to apply tape to the edge of the pot to prevent scratching the car's paint.
Turns out the plug we had is NEMA 6-50. You can probably figure out what yours is from a chart. If it's close, measure the lengths of the prongs and compare to what is listed. Once you know your plug type, find a mating receptacle on Amazon or somewhere else - probably about $10. Now go check your breaker box. In most US residential neighborhoods, you'll have two thick wires coming in from the street. These are the mains 240V alternating current (oscillates between 120V positive and 120V negative). Each of the 120V AC outlets in your house uses one of the lines from the 240V pair and one "neutral" line (which has a 0V potential), so the total potential at the outlet is 120V. But we want 240V so we'll have to draw from both lines (poles) at once. For that, we'll need a double throw (2 pole) 50 or 60 Amp (lots of current for a welder!) circuit breaker. Also available on Amazon for about 10 bucks. Before fiddling around in the box, turn off the main breaker where the mains lines come in! Now fit in your new breaker - it's big enough to span two of the tabs protruding from the rails in the back of the box (one from each pole). Get three lengths (one of each red, black, and green) of AWG 8 insulated copper stranded wire (again, very thick for the big currents we're handling) from your Home Depot or wherever. Strip the ends a centimeter or so. I only needed to run my wires a few feet into my garage, but you may have to route a longer distance. Poke out another one of those tabs in the side of your breaker box to make room for the new wires. Screw in your green wire into the ground rail. Screw your red and black into your newly installed breaker. Screw the other ends of the wires into your receptacle. If you're not installing the receptacle in a wall, be sure to cover the back with some insulating tape to ensure that you don't accidentally short the two liver terminals.
With Instructables you can share what you make with the world and tap into an ever-growing community of creative experts. share what you made with text, photos, video, and files gather your favorite instructables together Cast levitation level 7 on your books! Book Good sized "L" Bracket Carpet Knife Pen Small wood screws (of the flat headed variety) Large wood screws Tape Measure or Ruler Glue A Stack of Bo... Measure the half way point, make a mark, set down your bracket, draw an outline, measure again, cut out a hole deep enough that the bracket will set f... Use your knife to make a notch for the "L" bracket so the book can sit flush against the wall. ...or at least place your small wood screws to secure the "L" bracket in place, and one on either side toward the edges of the book to secure the page... The glue will hold the bottom cover of the book in place, and the screws hold the pages together. Put the stack of books on top of the whole deal and ... Did you think I was kidding? ...sorry to switch books, but I wanted to finish the Instructable while the glue was drying. use a large wood screw to attach the whole mess to the w... put some books on it to cover your handiwork. make sure you put enough books to cover the bracket, don't leave it like this picture. ...and wait for the crazy looks on peoples faces when they notice it and can't figure it out. We have a be nice comment policy. Please be positive and constructive. The Invisible Bookshelfby lukethebook333 Inverted Bookshelfby fungus amungus Skateboard Bookshelfby frenzy Lion Brand Magic Stripes Knitted Socksby jeanchaney Sparkleball (no-melt) for the Holidays!by sparkleball_lady quality duct tape walletby dan Organization Tricksby PiggyBacon21 Handmade Coastersby scoochmaroo How to Make and Install Hungarian Shelvesby juliofo The 59 Minute Bookshelfby Mr. Rig It Download our new apps for iOS, Android and Windows 8! © 2014 Autodesk, Inc. By clicking "Create Account" you are indicating that you have read and agree to the Terms of service. Already a member? Login » Enter the email associated with your account and we will send you your username and a temporary password. Not a member? Sign Up »
Russian PM defends Facebook, TwitterComment on this story Moscow - Russians access to Facebook and Twitter is safe if Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has a say in the matter. The government leader rebuked a communications official for saying in an interview published yesterday that Russia has the right to fully block online social networks if they don’t uphold new legislation tightening control over the Internet. “Certain bureaucrats, responsible of developing sectors, need to use their brains and not give interviews announcing the closure of social networks,” Medvedev wrote on his Facebook page, after saying that both users and networks should obey Russian legislation. President Vladimir Putin urged his government last month to impose greater control over information flows through the Internet, which the former KGB colonel called a creation of US spy agencies. A week later, he signed a law that requires companies such as Google to locate servers handling Russian traffic inside the country from August 1, similar to Chinese rules, and store user data for six months. The legislation also will oblige Russian-language bloggers with 3,000 or more readers to register with the communications watchdog and will make both them and their hosts liable for content. “We can block Twitter or Facebook in Russia tomorrow, in a matter of minutes,” Maxim Ksenzov, the deputy head of communications regulator Roskomnadzor, said yesterday in an interview published in the Izvestia newspaper. “We don’t see any big risks in that. If at some point we judge that the consequences from ‘turning off’ social networks is less significant than the damage caused to Russian society from the unconstructive position of management at international companies, then we’ll do what we’re legally bound to do.” Ksenkov defended his words on his Twitter feed, thanking those who supported him yesterday and saying those who don’t can at least see that “clear problems” are being discussed. The Communications Ministry, which oversees the regulator, gave Ksenzov a warning for overstepping the bounds, Itar-Tass reported today, citing the ministry’s press service. - Bloomberg News
Tshwane residents at risk: DAComment on this story The Tshwane metro is exposing residents to a health hazard by not running sewage treatment plants properly, the Democratic Alliance said on Friday. Citing the Green Drop Progress report released by the department of water affairs, DA spokesman Darryl Moss appealed to the municipality to act. “The report shows that for 13 out of the 17 Tshwane (sewage treatment) plants, the risk rating has increased,” said Moss. “These include the major plants like Baviaanspoort, Daspoort, Rietgat, Rooiwal East, Rooiwal North and Sandspruit.” The report revealed that in Gauteng, Tshwane had dropped from eighth position in 2011 to last position in 2012, going from a risk rating of 61 percent to 71 percent. Moss said the DA was concerned about the “serious deterioration” of the metro’s operational capability. He said the report indicated that in most of the troubled plants, effluent quality was identified as the highest risk area. None of the plants attained acceptable compliance levels to finally discharge effluent into rivers. “People using water from the rivers and streams, including farmers and informal settlement dwellers without access to formalised water and sanitation systems, are being exposed to potentially dangerous chemicals and organisms.” Tshwane should approach national government for financial assistance to fast-track planned improvements, said Moss. The municipality has not responded to the DA's assertions. - Sapa
I have absolutely no problem with enforcing patent rights, and frankly I don’t think it should matter how the patents were acquired, but there is something exceptionally seedy about the use of shell companies and taking a back-end on revenues like Intellectual Ventures is routinely accused of doing. But if there is infringement of solid patents then there should be recourse. Having said that, it would be naive to pretend that there is not real evil lurking in the patent infringement realm. Stories of $500 to $1,000 offers to settle and avoid patent infringement litigation that would cost millions of dollars to defend abound. Some courts have openly acknowledged what feels like “extortion-like” activity. See Indicia of Extortion and Troll Turning Point? That there are bad actors is hardly surprising, particularly given the lucrative nature of the business model and the fact that many district courts feel as if they do not have the tools to do anything other than allow their courtrooms to be used as the main prop in the extortion-like shakedown. Of course, despite what some district court judge say, there are considerable powers that can be exercised if judges really do want to stop the bad behavior. See Judges Can Make Patent Trolls Pay. But the shell game played with the ownership of patents does add a layer of complexity to figuring out what is really going on and who is calling the shots. Why is it so necessary to have such secrecy? As Justice Brandeis once said “sunlight is the best disinfectant.” The troll industry could use some disinfecting. It is a sin that these nefarious actors tar those innovators with real, strong patents that are infringed. Prior art research is playing an increasingly important role for companies with potential exposure to IP litigation. Companies are spending millions of dollars in legal expenses to understand the true value of patents. In some cases, entire industries are threatened by growing litigation from non-practicing entities (NPEs). Look no further than the now infamous Lodsys lawsuit filed against the App Developer community, including Angry Birds developer Rovio, which is facing a much bigger threat than pesky evil pigs. It is essential that these companies perform the most complete prior art search to defend in this litigation. Crowdsourcing for prior art has recently emerged to revolutionize the patent research space and overcome the limitations of traditional search techniques. Traditional searches generally involve Western-language based digitized searches. For foreign non-patent publications, only the abstracts are digitized for inclusion in Western-language based digitized databases. The research thus misses the full text and footnotes. It also is important to note that, for digitized publications, critical content is not digitized – such as tables, figures, graphs and photographs. In addition, whole classes of publications besides historical publications (e.g., out-of-print books) are not digitized. These include editorials, business materials, physical products, out-dated manuals on products, software, and standards meeting notes. Recently several of my articles have been critical against patent trolls. This is not something new for me, I have been critical of patent trolls for quite some time. Over the years I have also been very supportive of patent owners having the right to bring patent infringement lawsuits to enforce rights that have been granted in the patent; after all, if you cannot enforce a right is it really a right? I think not. This has lead me to at times champion the patent grant and oppose any watering down of the rights of patent owners, as was contemplated in years past with previous versions of patent reform. For some my pro-patentee and anti-patent troll positions have been difficult to reconcile. I have been contacted privately by some who have urged me to tone down my use of the term patent troll, and that is a fair point. After initially resisting using the term for a great while I embraced its usage years ago, back when earlier versions of patent reform were seeking to curtail the right of a patent owner to obtain due compensation (in the form of damages) for infringement by a defendant. Periodically the Supreme Court has even raised the issue of patent trolls in a casual manner as justification for one bad ruling or another. Typically most use the term “patent troll” to refer to non-practicing entity, but doing that is simply absurd. So I turned to embracing the term. Does it feel right to call a university a patent troll? I think not, and I think most would agree. So not all non-practicing entities can be patent trolls, can they? See how the usage of the term starts to really crystallize the issues? On Thursday, July 21, 2011, attorneys for Lodsys LLC, a company rapidly becoming a reviled patent troll, filed an amended complaint in the United States Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. (*) As a result of this amended complaint some big names in the gaming world have been brought into the ongoing patent litigation battles being waged by Lodsys. Lodsys had already sued a number of Apple App developers and others such as Best Buy and the New York Times, see here and here. More specifically, as a result of the filing of this latest complaint Lodsys has brought patent infringement charges against Atari Interactive, Inc. and Electronic Arts, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS), among others. But in the mind of the general public the highest profile defendant to date will almost certainly be Rovio Mobile Ltd., the maker of the extraordinarily popular game Angry Birds, which is available for iPhone, iPad and Android, among other platforms. Article One Partners is at it again, this time with four patents in the cross-hairs owned by the company suing Apple App Developers for patent infringement — Lodsys. Article One Partners has made a name for itself as the premiere crowd sourcing, prior art locating company in the world. Now they have three different studies (see below) aimed squarely at the four Lodsys patents. In addition to being used against Apple App Developers, these four patents were also used earlier this week to sue the New York Times and others, and earlier still against Best Buy, Adidas, CVS and others. Indeed, it seems that Lodsys is becoming quite a nuisance for defendants, which places them at or near the top of the patent troll most wanted. Earlier today Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) poked a finger straight in the chest of alleged patent troll Lodsys, LLC, saying in no unmistakable terms — back off Apple App developers! For several weeks Lodsys has been sending threatening letters to Apple App developers (see ComputerWorld report) and Apple has had enough and isn’t going to take it any more! Indeed, in a letter from Apple’s Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Bruce Sewell, Lodsys was told in no uncertain terms: “There is no basis for Lodsys’ infringement allegations against Apple’s App Makers. Apple… is fully prepared to defend Apple’s license rights.” According to the letter sent to Mark Small, Lodsys’ Chief Executive Officer, Apple is a licensee of each of the four patents in the Lodsys portfolio and the terms of the license allow Apple to grant sub-licenses to Apple App developers. According to Sewell’s letter, “Lodsys’s infringement allegations against Apple’s App Makers rest on Apple products and services covered by the license.”
Some people narrowly interpret politics as whatever is related to the election of public officials. They say it has to do with power plays in the government. That's all part of politics, to be sure, but there's much more to politics as we see it. We cannot forget that, in our democracy, the government is representative of the people as a whole. That doesn't just mean that we elect representatives to government positions. It means that the structure of the government reflects the identity of the American people as a whole. If the government is uncaring, it's because we citizens are apathetic. If the government is corrupt, it is because we citizens are willing to be corrupted ourselves. Irregular Politics is based upon the idea that good citizens in a democracy don't just vote in an election. They form the character of the government through the action or inaction they elect to take every day. Get involved. Get active. These days, that's a radically irregular thing to do. Find peculiar political shirts at Irregular Wear Vote to retain your idiosyncracies. Stay with the Irregular Times Irregular Times run against the clock. Fight against the big voices of our time. Talk back in the Irregular Forum
Prof. Dr. Andreas Speer a.r.t.e.s. Graduate School for the Humanities Cologne University of Cologne Year of completion in progress language of dissertation German - Discourse Analysis - Demographic Change \|Areas of Research\| - Political Sociology - Language and Society \|German discourses of demographic change are characterized by alarmist scenarios. Especially since the turn of the millennium, a growing number of publications address population aging and shrinking by depicting mostly dystopian future scenarios. Allegedly inevitable consequences with fundamental relevance for society are often proclaimed in the media and social-scientific discourses. Although most demographers alert to the fact that population projections should not be interpreted as prognoses, they are often employed as irrefutable knowledge as well as camouflage for normative positions. Complex demographic measures are frequently misinterpreted by journalists, who consequently produce “garbled demography” (Teitelbaum 2004). Mass media's hegemonic discourse (mis-)uses of demography are supposed to prompt individuals to react to ”objective” scientific facts. It often includes the figures of ”experts” and ”prophets” that Michel Foucault (2011) developed in his later works as types of ”veridiction”. The ”prophets” misinterpret population projections as ”objective” statements about the future of society and camouflage their own normative positions. According to their statements, the state will soon no longer be able to provide social security systems and society will suffer from a ”generation-conflict”. Migrants will replace ”Germans”, who doubtlessly ”will become extinct in six generations”, as the major tabloid BILD wrote in 2006, referring to Prof. Herwig Birg as a demographic ”expert”, whose questionable but powerful writings (2001, 2005) follow a strong apocalyptic tendency. This tendency is shared by the influential ”spin doctoring” of lobby organizations and think tanks, which expects citizens to care about private pension insurance, healthcare insurance, and other forms of insurance as well as ”correct” their reproductive behavior towards fulfilling the implicit national-conservative expectations of explicit pro-natalists like Birg. However, the “demographization of the social”(Barlösius 2007) turns out to be more complex than a misunderstanding or a distortion of “neutral” scientific facts. Foucault’s works provide a framework of suitable complexity in order to analyze the depth-structures of both discourses and their interrelations. This project will examine and describe relevant conditions of existence of demographic knowledge orders, their rules of formation, and discursive regularities in order to shed light on the demographic ontology of the present. These depth structures will be related to the results of a discourse analysis of 2900 press articles from leading German newspapers and journals covering the period of 2000 to 2014. In the dissertation's conclusion, both strands will be related to the governmentality of the present, philosophical implications we be discussed, and first contours of a recently emerging post-alarmist discourse will be outlined. First insights are provided in Messerschmidt, Reinhard: “Garbled demography” or “Demographization of the social”? – A Foucaultian Discourse Analysis of German Demographic Change at the Beginning of the 21st Century. In: Historical Social Research 39 (2014) 1, 299-335, DOI: 10.12759/hsr.39.2014.1.299-335.
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Sheikh Ali Al Adiq Asus is an important man in Tripoli. He is actually the most decisive figure in the city's Mansura district, assuming the role of arbitrator in disputes, chief administrator and, in effect, district mayor. It is not that he was elected to carry out these functions, but rather it is because of who he is. The imam is a respected and trusted figure in Mansura, and individuals like him keep public services running in the Libyan capital. There is no state or real administration, but the city still functions. The police are nowhere to be seen? Instead, militiamen wearing inventive uniforms stand on the streets and wave their arms about. This doesn't improve the situation much, but the city's drivers are serene in their acceptance of the makeshift authorities. The city waste disposal workers have not picked up the rubbish for weeks? Then Sheikh Ali's people get on the job. Residents of the 17 districts in the capital Tripoli – a city with 1.5 million inhabitants – have been forced to resort to self-help. Walls are plastered with admonitions like "Young people of Libya – respect private and public property!" and "Stop firing into the air! It is dangerous and traumatizes children." Civil society has taken control of the city and, remarkably, much seems to be functioning. By Werner D'Inka; Translated by John Bergeron [Excerpt—See accompanying URL for full original text]
Israeli NGOs join the world’s largest breast cancer organization to fight breast cancer with a series of events in October. A week of events in mid October will launch the Israel Breast Cancer Collaborative, a major partnership between Susan G. Komen for the Cure and non-governmental organizations in Israel. The goal is to enhance advocacy, awareness, screening, and treatment of breast cancer. This inaugural initiative by the world’s largest breast cancer organization has been in the planning for more than a year with the City of Jerusalem, Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, and Israeli health advocates and scientists. “In terms of research and development, Israel is in the top five countries in the world – medically way more advanced than any other country,” event coordinator Rena Riger informs ISRAEL21c. “If it is caught and treated early, the breast cancer survival rate in Israel is 92 percent.” At the same time, breast cancer in Israel remains the most common form of women’s cancers, accounting for nearly 30 percent of all new cancer cases in the country. About 4,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer in Israel each year, and the age of detection is dropping. Israelis at higher risk for breast cancer Riger says that Israel’s population, though relatively small, includes both women and men at genetically high risk for the disease due to damaged BRCA genes that ordinarily suppress tumors. These mutations are carried by one out of 400 people in the world, but for Jews of Ashkenazi (Eastern European) descent, it’s one out of 40. Komen awarded its first international research grant to Israel 16 years ago. It has provided nearly $2 million to Israeli institutions including the Weizmann Institute of Science and Hebrew University-Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, as well as service organizations such as Beit Natan, a support organization for the ultra-Orthodox community, and Life’s Door, which helps with the spiritual, emotional, and interpersonal needs of those facing serious disease. “We have enjoyed longstanding friendships and productive collaborations in Israel,” says Komen founder and CEO Nancy G. Brinker, a Jewish American who named the organization in memory of her sister Susan. The Israel Breast Cancer Collaborative aims to continue Komen’s long-standing partnerships in Israel and around the world with organizations such as the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. It also aims to forge new collaborations with organizations including the Israel Cancer Association. The effort is co-chaired by US Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman and his wife, Hadassah, with former Ambassador to the Bahamas Ned L. Siegel and his wife, Komen Advocacy Alliance board member Stephanie Siegel. Race round the Old City The centerpiece of the October events will be the first Susan G. Komen Israel Race for the Cure, to take place October 28 around the ancient walls of Jerusalem’s Old City. “Nothing like this has ever been done in Israel,” says Riger. “We’re hoping to get 10,000 people to Jerusalem of all shapes, sizes, colors, and religious denominations.” Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, a long-distance runner, helped map out the route of the race, which is actually a non-competitive fund-raising and awareness-raising walk. The event will be covered live by Jennifer Griffin of Fox News, a breast cancer survivor who was based in Israel for several years, as well as the Christian Broadcasting Network. An opener at the Israel Museum’s Shrine of the Book – to be bathed in pink light for the occasion – will afford about 50 high-level donor Komen Ambassadors from around the world a chance to meet Israeli “movers and shakers” such as fashion designer Dorin Frankfurt, the honorary race chairwoman. On October. 27, US Ambassador James B. Cunningham and his wife will welcome delegates and sponsors at their home. “Still far more work to do” “Komen is providing opportunities to participate in this historic trip as a delegate at several levels,” Riger relates. Partner organizations in North America and Great Britain are recruiting participants along with Hadassah, the women’s Zionist organization. “With our Virtual Israel Participant [VIP] program, you can contribute to sponsor a runner or contribute generally if you are unable to attend.” “From our decades of work in Israel and in our outreach in other countries, we know that there is far more work to do to address this critical threat to women’s health,” says Hadassah president Nancy Falchuk. “We are looking forward to adding the energy of 300,000 Hadassah members worldwide behind this important and life-saving effort.” As part of the October 25-29 initiative, an invitation-only think tank on early detection is to convene at the Weizmann Institute. About a dozen Israeli and global experts are charged with exploring new screening methods for women’s cancers and issuing a white paper concerning a major research project. A variety of national women’s and health organizations are also participating. For example, Beit Natan will sponsor a Day of Women’s Health at Jerusalem’s National Convention Center for its target population. In addition, the international Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life will run programs for students on women’s health. To register as an actual or virtual participant or to donate to the Israel effort, go to komen.org/Israel.
Iran Still Complying with Nuclear Deal, Says IAEA Iran is still sticking to a partial nuclear freeze agreed in a November interim deal with world powers, the UN atomic watchdog said in a report seen by AFP on Thursday. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that two months into the six-month halt, Iran was still not enriching uranium to medium fissile purities, as agreed in November. It was also continuing to dilute and convert its stockpile of medium-enriched uranium and had not made any advances at its Fordow and Natanz enrichment plants or at the Arak nuclear reactor, the IAEA said, according to AFP. Iran had also "provided daily access to the enrichment facilities at Natanz and Fordow" and to "centrifuge assembly workshops, centrifuge rotor production workshops and storage facilities, and provided information thereon," the IAEA added. Several weeks ago, IAEA chief Yukiya Amano confirmed that Iran is reducing its most proliferation-prone nuclear stockpile as required by the deal, but also said that much work remains to be done to resolve all concerns about Tehran's activities. Under the interim agreement, Iran committed to limit its uranium enrichment to five percent, halting production of 20 percent-enriched uranium. In return, the European Union and the United States have eased crippling economic sanctions on Iran. In return, Iran is gradually winning access to $4.2 billion of its oil revenues frozen abroad and some other sanctions relief. The funds will be paid out in eight transfers on a schedule that started with a $550 million payment by Japan on February 1. Iran and the six powers - the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany - want to turn the November deal into a lasting accord by July. This week the sides had a second round of talks effect in Vienna, with both sides saying progress had been made but that hard work remained to be done. The next round is from April 7-9.
If you've recently made the move to Windows 8, you might be finding it tricky to adjust to life without a start menu. So, for this Friday's tip of the week, we explain how to add a start menu to Windows 8. Because Windows 8 doesn't have a start menu at all, the best way to add one is to download and install a program that does the same job. We like Classic Shell, because it's free and closely mimics the start menu from previous versions of Windows. Here's what you need to do: Go to the Classic Shell website and click the Download Now! button. Once the file has downloaded, run it to start the installation process. Just follow the instructions on the screen. When it asks which features you want, leave the defaults selected. Once Classic Shell has finished installing, you should see a shell icon at the bottom left of your screen (see right). Click it. This should bring up your new start menu. To control how it looks, go to Programs > Classic Shell > Classic Start Menu Settings. (You may find the settings box opens as soon as you click the shell. If so, don't worry - that's where you want to be.) Now you can choose between styles of start menu. Just click the one you feel most comfortable with. Then click OK. That's all you need to do to add a basic start menu to Windows 8. You can play around with the advanced settings in Classic Shell if you like.
Think headlines about data theft and leakage have nothing to do with you? Think again. Many of these incidents have a common theme: Privileged access. It's your job to make sure your organization doesn't fall victim to the same fate by at the very least examining your existing insider threat program, and perhaps doing a major revamp. Edward Snowden's theft and release of National Security Agency data, Army Private First Class Bradley Manning's disclosure of sensitive military documents to information distributor WikiLeaks and the shooting at the Washington Navy Yard by a credentialed IT subcontractor have given IT executives across industries pause to reconsider their security policies and procedures. Tips for insider-threat mitigation - Build a multidisciplinary team consisting of IT, HR, legal and key lines of business - Target people and areas with privileged access - Look at data flows -- within the company and anything going out - Understand the information needs of customers, employees and suppliers - Balance the needs of employees with the company's security requirements - Create guidelines, and communicate them in employee handbooks and elsewhere - Use technology to enforce your guidelines - Create whistleblowing programs to keep anonymity intact -- of both the accuser and the accused -- Sandra Gittlen "A crescendo of discussions is happening in boardrooms everywhere about the impact an insider could have on corporate assets," says Tom Mahlik, deputy chief security officer and director of Global Security Services at The MITRE Corporation, a government contractor that operates federally funded research and development centers. The Washington Navy Yard incident cost 12 people their lives; the full impact of the WikiLeaks and Snowden data releases cannot yet be quantified. "These incidents have added another dimension to the threat paradigm -- privileged access," Mahlik says. Mahlik suggests that existing insider threat programs must increasingly be focused on users with elevated or privileged access to critical information. To that point, he is leading an overhaul of MITRE's own program. His goal is to understand the threats insiders pose and to deter those threats via a program that synchronizes people, policies, processes and technology. "We are in the nascent stage of this effort," he says. Realizing the new threat For a new or rehabbed insider threat program to be successful, the CIO, CISO or CSO first has to gain boardroom buy-in and illuminate the value such a program would have to a company in detecting and preventing harm to people, property and company reputation. A thorough assessment of the known or existing vulnerabilities and threats, weighed against the overall company risk appetite, is essential. For example, if a company manufactures a unique product, then intellectual property would be a key focus area for the insider threat program. But if a company provides medical services, then protecting patient records would be the emphasis. "A crescendo of discussions is happening in boardrooms everywhere about the impact an insider could have on corporate assets," says Tom Mahlik, deputy chief security officer The MITRE Corporation. Don't try to create an insider threat program during an attack or suspected attack. "That is the worst time to build any program with efficacy," Mahlik says. "You can't build relationships in a time of crisis." Instead, companies should tackle planning, design and baselining as a necessary and continuous business process. "Institutionalizing a playbook and conducting [drills] before the crisis is the ideal," Mahlik explains. In most cases, the first place to look for gaps in security is the flow of data in and out of the company. "People can move lots of data around very quickly today," says Dan Velez, senior program manager for Raytheon Cyber Products' SureView insider threat detection and prevention product line. "While that's good for business, it's bad for risk," he notes. Traditionally, organizations have been good about protecting the perimeter but not what's inside it. "It's time to pull the covers back and examine more closely what's happening on our networks," he says. Focus on data flow, Velez advises, because newer technologies such as cloud computing and mobile computing are being introduced to the organization on a daily basis, potentially altering the pool of privileged users. In addition, some companies continue to outsource pieces of the business, giving access rights to humans and machines beyond the company's immediate control. Defining the threat "When we talk about the 'insider threat,' we are talking about someone or something with authorized access [who] could use that access to do harm," Velez says. Mahlik agrees, adding insiders could be employees, business leaders or supervisors, contractors, subcontractors or supply chain partners. Before you can renovate your insider threat program, you have to form a multi-function team that understands the information needs of employees, contractors and service providers. The insider threat program needs to balance the protection of the company with the rights and needs of employees. A multidisciplinary approach is essential. "The goal is preventing or intervening before the crisis, and this requires a programmatic approach, one that is not exclusive to the security department," Mahlik says. Already, Mahlik's team is partnering with human resources, legal and business groups along with IT for MITRE's insider threat program. Team members consider the life cycle of an employee, from job candidate to exit, and brainstorm areas of risk to detect and mitigate threats. IT has to make every effort not to institute policies or procedures that impede productivity and innovation. "The last thing you want to do is deploy a system that degrades overall performance," Mahlik says. With an insider threat prevention and mitigation team in place, you are able to quickly recognize appropriate and inappropriate behavior for employees, contractors and service providers with privileged access. Doing so helps establish baselines that can fuel anomaly alerts, according to John Pescatore, director of emerging security trends at The Sans Institute, a security training firm. "Setting guidelines can help vet third parties such as contractors, temporary workers and service providers, as well" as employees, says John Pescatore, director of emerging security trends at The Sans Institute. One way to start this process is to narrow down what positions are considered sensitive because of their access and what behavior would be a red flag or intolerable. Applying these standards to job candidates could help an organization avoid serious issues, Pescatore says. If, say, an applicant for a sensitive position belongs to hacker forums, then HR and the hiring manager immediately can determine he is not a fit. "Setting guidelines can help vet third parties such as contractors, temporary workers and service providers as well," Pescatore says. After the employee is hired, access rules should be enforced. A customer service representative trying to download a database should cause an alert because that is outside her access rights. Similarly, a database administrator looking through one record at a time should evoke concern. Storage administrators doing backups outside of assigned windows also should be considered an anomaly. Pescatore calls this basic security hygiene and a key element of an insider threat program. Where technology comes into play Once you establish guardrails for user activities, then you can start to use technology to ensure users steer clear of them. Some companies shy away from implementing an insider threat program because they worry the cost of technology to back it up would be prohibitive or that it would be too cumbersome for employees. But experts say insider threat programs can be implemented in most part by removing privileged access where it is not needed or too risky, and by using the tools already embedded in the network. Robert Bigman, CEO of consultancy 2BSecure and a former CISO at the Central Intelligence Agency, points to aged applications that require privileged permissions as a good place to start shoring up your network, as they are prime targets for overseas hackers. U.S. soldier Bradley Manning ultimately received a sentence of 35 years in prison for leaking classified documents to Wikileaks. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Some legacy programs written in early versions of C, such as those used in the oil and gas industry to do calculations for market pricing, require users to be logged into Windows environments with administrative privileges. "If they need to run those applications on the internal network, then don't allow them to connect to the Internet," Bigman says. IT also can isolate these vulnerable applications by putting them in a virtual environment with a sandbox, in effect isolating them but still providing access to the Internet while protecting them from exploits. Bigman adds that contractors, such as Target's HVAC company, should never be allowed to operate on the same logical network layer as sensitive customer data. "IT should be checking the Service Level Agreement to make sure it accounts for connectivity separate from corporate data," he says. Something as simple as workstation audit logs can turn up critical information about an insider threat. "Audit logs show when processes start and stop, or when files are moved or changed and, therefore, can reveal a user that is manipulating security controls on a workstation," says Raytheon's Velez. Also, the typical network data flow monitors can show anomalies in traffic type or volume. If a user suddenly starts transferring piles of documents, data flow monitors would pick it up. However, Velez warns that traditional tools only go so far and that organizations need a process in place to respond to alerts. "While you can get indications and warnings that data transfer volumes have gone up, you also need the ability to peer inside and check that those activities are appropriate and authorized," he says. Where the human meets the machine Few people join a company with the intention of becoming an insider threat, says MITRE's Mahlik. "The majority of those who become insider threats have had some sort of life-altering incident or a developing circumstance that would push them to the brink." It's imperative, he says, to have an employee population that is sensitive to normal behaviors and that's encouraged to speak up when they see anomalies. The federal security community has been very focused on helping businesses mitigate their insider threats and has put together several guidelines: - An analysis of the types of insider threats collected by CERT, most of which fall into three categories: sabotage (24%), fraud (44%) and theft of intellectual property (16%) - A list of insider-threat resources compiled by CERT - A primer by the FBI; a downloadable (PDF) version is available - A list of insider threat resources curated by Gideon T. Rasmussen, a security consultant -- Sandra Gittlen However, companies also have to ward off false positives by applying analytics to observed behavior. Executives must view the program as part of the company's risk management framework and employees must see the program as part of the company's responsibility to ensure a safe and secure work environment. He adds: "There are effective IT tools available in the market that are passive, not intrusive, and that don't degrade productivity or network performance." Larry Knutsen, president of the Laconia Group consultancy and a retired senior intelligence officer, likens the steps in a proactive insider threat detection program escalation process to rumble strips that alert drivers when they are straying from the road. For instance, if someone starts to visit a hacker site on his work computer -- and is ultimately blocked from doing so -- but the insider threat detection program receives an alert from its endpoint monitoring system, is this grounds for immediate dismissal? Most likely not, says Knutsen. Instead, a representative of the insider threat team could approach the individual and explain why the behavior is unacceptable. The team could then keep an eye out for continued anomalous behavior. (Knutsen says the views he expresses are his own.) Knutsen also believes that most employees are not out to do harm and can be deterred with education, training and well-thought-out policies. "The rumble strips/secret sauce should not be disclosed, as the goal of insider threat detection programs should be to save valued employees and quickly remove nefarious ones," Knutsen says. "This is paramount as companies expend valuable resources identifying candidates, then hire them, integrate them into the workforce, train them and promote them," he says. "A well-defined process is critical to protect the privacy and reputation of individuals involved and intellectual property." says Larry Knutsen, president of the Laconia Group consultancy. Also, you must have a separate process for identifying and reporting questionable behavior that is outlined along with other policies in a user handbook -- thus ensuring disclosure and consent. For instance, if an employee observes another employee doing something wrong, then he or she should be able to contact the insider threat management team via phone, email or online form or in person. And then that complaint should be worked through a well-defined process to exonerate the employee, escalate monitoring or invoke termination while protecting the privacy of both the accuser and the accused. You also want to hide the existence of the incident. Having a proactive insider threat detection program and safe reporting structure can mitigate situations such as a hostile employee, significant data loss or even liability from false accusations. All complaint resolution processes that require monitoring, logging or other technological activities should be carried out on a segregated network, Knutsen advises. Investigators should be audited on this segregated network to ensure they abide by corporate guidelines. "False positives can cripple an insider threat detection program when companies don't do enough planning regarding the rumble strips and the procedures for follow-up," Knutsen says. "A well-defined process is critical to protect the privacy and reputation of individuals involved and intellectual property." If you protect everything, you protect nothing As Mahlik digs deeper into revamping MITRE's insider threat program, he is well aware that it is impossible to protect everything. He is prioritizing threats by helping the internal threat team pinpoint areas where problems would most likely brew. He's optimistic that with proper planning and closely coordinated policy, human and technological systems, MITRE will have its insider threat framework in place by year-end. "The magnitude of the issue is clear, and the employee population is sensitive to the need for these programs," he says. Along these lines, Mahlik says, it's key to understand who and what cyber thieves might be targeting within the company, "which almost always includes those in the company who have privileged access to information of value." As he says, "we all understand a threat to one is a threat to all." Sandra Gittlen is a freelance technology writer in the Boston area. Contact her at [email protected]. Read more about security in Computerworld's Security Topic Center. This story, "Revamping your insider threat program" was originally published by Computerworld.
What's the Missing Super Capacitor Component?by Forrest M. Mims III When electronics instructor Ollie Circuits arrived at the pet store, he headed straight to the aquarium section. There he found just what he needed to complete his do-it-yourself super capacitor, a sheet of activated carbon filter material used to purify water in an aquarium. How It Works To make C1, Ollie first cut four 2-inch squares of paper towel and five 1.75-inch squares of activated carbon aquarium filter material. He stacked the paper and activated carbon filter squares as shown in Fig. 2. He then placed the two PC boards as shown in Fig. 2 (copper sides facing toward one another) to form a sandwich-like structure that he held together with a rubber band. After the assembly was ready, he dripped some lemon juice into the four sides of the sandwich. Figure 2. How the homemade super capacitor is assembled. Ollie's super capacitor demonstration circuit is shown in Fig. 3. In operation, C1 is charged by switching S1 to position 1 for a minute. This will charge C1 to about 3.3 volts. When S1 is switched to position 2, the LED will glow for 15 seconds or more. C1 can then be recharged for another cycle. Figure 3. The mystery component in Figure 1 is a homemade super capacitor like the one shown in Fig. 2 and used here as C1. Many web sites describe the theory and operation of super capacitors, which are also known as ultra capacitors and by various other names. For example, see Electropaedia, Wikipedia, Ultracapacitors.org Details about the do-it-yourself super capacitor can be found in reference 1. The circuit in Fig. 3 can be easily modified by connecting B1 and the LED directly to terminals 1 and 2 of S1 and by moving R1 (1K) between C1 and S1. (R2 is not needed in this arrangement.) Just be sure that the LED is connected to C1 through a current limiting resistor. You can experiment with the design and construction of C1. For example, do the layers constitute separate capacitors in series? Can the more layers be added to increase the voltage C1 can store? Can the capacitance be increased by increasing the area of the layers? What happens when you use an electrolyte other than lemon juice? 1. Forrest M. Mims III, "Super Capacitor," Science and Communication Circuits & Projects, Radio Shack and Master Publishing, 2007, p. 17. About the Author Forrest M. Mims III has been an electronics and science writer and photographer since 1969. He received an IR 100 Award from Industrial Research Magazine for developing an eyeglass-mounted infrared travel aid for the blind. He received a Rolex Award in 1993 for developing a handheld instrument that measured the ozone layer accurately enough to find an error in a NASA ozone satellite. He was named by Discover Magazine (December 2008) as one of the "50 Best Brains in Science." See his home page and publications here and follow him on Twitter.
SpringSource Spring Framework tutorials and examples. Focusing on Spring 3 and above. In an earlier post, I showed you how to integrate Hibernate with Spring using the annotation oriented persistence. For those still interested in the standard way I outline how you can accomplish that below. The key to the standard way is to use a Hibernate org.hibernate.SessionFactory for all access to the database through the domain objects. The Java configuration for the SessionFactory is shown below. Java Code: package com.acme.springexamples.car.dao.config; In our previous tip, I gave an introduction to Spring’s persistence technology agnostic approach to data access. In this tip, we will show you how to use Spring with one of the most popular persistence technologies, Hibernate. Hibernate is an open source persistence framework that is one of the most successful persistence frameworks in the developer community. The reason for this is that it is a full featured object relational mapping (ORM) tool. It provides all the features you’d expect from a
Java Native Interface (JNI) - problem with javah to generate header file salam, anyone here know about Java Native Interface (JNI)...it is a tool that function to be as communicator between Java and C/C++ language.....i want ask about generate of header file thats developer must text "javah -jni HelloWorld" in their command prompt...that command will be written after we succesfully created HelloWorld.class that derived from compilation of HelloWorld.java through this command "javac HelloWorld.java"....so, anyone familiar with these things since our company are mastered in Perl, not in Java...i hope i can get something from you all...i already check in internet, they said have problem at classpath....n until now, i dont know how to make classpath correctly...thank you for a reading.. (^_^) ...they said in command prompt that 'javah' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.. (^_^) Re: Java Native Interface (JNI) - problem with javah to generate header file The first thing to do is to make sure you have the Java Development Kit downloaded and installed. You will get that message if the javah executable is not on the path. (This has nothing to do with the classpath). The best way to check the configuration of your installation is to write, compile and run a simple HelloWorld program. There are instructions in Oracle's Tutorial (that link assumes you are using Microsoft Windows). they said in command prompt that 'javah' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file Towards the bottom of that page their is a link to the Common Problems (and the solutions) page whose first item is the error message to which you refer. It is discussed in the context of not being able to locate the javac executable rather than the javah one, but the principle (and solution) is the same. Much of the Tutorial will be of use if you are unfamiliar with Java. Some familiarity is required to use jni as discussed, for instance, in the JNI Technology chapter of Oracle's "Advanced Programming for the Java 2 Platform".
The winter months are upon us, which means an increased frequency of phone calls from customers with mouse concerns. But how do mice enter our homes and what can we do to keep them out? All mice need is a gap the size of 1/4th of an inch to enter your property and start breeding. How big is 1/4th of an inch? That’s about the size of opening a pencil can fit through. Mice can potentially contaminate your food supply and even in some instances spread diseases. Rodents like mice will sneak into your house in various ways, sneaking through cracks and crevices in your foundations, open or damaged windows, holes in exterior walls, chimneys and even broken roof tiles. To make it more difficult for mice to enter your home, make sure you keep your home as clean as possible and seal all potential entry points. Unsure if you have mice? Keep an eye out for droppings, dirty smudges along floor boards and furniture or wiring that appears to be gnawed. Mice are primarily nocturnal so it is unlikely that you will spot a mouse during the day. - As it grows colder outside (usually during the fall), mice will migrate indoors in search of warmth, food and shelter. - Once mice become established inside a home or building, they can be difficult to control because they are nocturnal creatures and prolific breeders. - Once indoors, mice are well-adapted to living there year-round, and will not be inclined to move back outdoors in the spring. - Mice can cause a significant amount of damage to household items such as food, clothing and furniture by gnawing on them, or by contaminating them with their droppings and urine. - Mice can also transmit diseases such as bacterial food poisoning-pathogens, when food is contaminated with infected rodent feces. - Mice typically build their homes close to their food sources as they will eat up to 20-30 times in a single day - Female mice can give birth up to 10 times in a single year - Most mouse species can jump 18 inches in the air Follow Sean Heffernan on Google+
March 15, 2011 Learn about mammography using Hologic's new 3D digital breast tomosynthesis system, now available at the John C. Lincoln Breast Health and Research Center. Valley women will have access by early April to the nation's first lifesaving three-dimensional mammography at John C. Lincoln's Breast Health and Research Center, director Sherry Gage, RTRM, announced today. The new technology, Selenia Dimensions developed by Hologic, Inc., is a 3D digital mammography system known as tomosynthesis. Selenia Dimensions hardware was installed at John C. Lincoln's Breast Center last year, but could only be used for two-dimensional breast imaging, pending federal approval for 3D use. Soon, with installation of software approved Friday by the federal Food and Drug Administration, when Valley women are screened for breast cancer at John C. Lincoln's Breast Center, they will have access to ground-breaking, superior tomosynthesis 3D imaging technology. Tomosynthesis provides a clearer picture and eliminates confusing overlapping of tissue that is seen in conventional mammograms that may hide lesions or cause benign areas to appear suspicious. It was designed to reveal the inner architecture of the breast, free from the distortion typically caused by tissue shadowing or density. Benefits of Digital Breast Tomosynthesis Traditional mammograms produce 2D imaging, while the Hologic tomosynthesis mammograms allow both 2D and 3D screening all under one compression, in just seconds, at a combined x-ray dose below the FDA's acceptable maximum guidelines for screening mammography. This will give radiologists and doctors the ability to compare a patient's previous standard 2D mammogram side-by-side, as well as review more thorough information in a 3D format. In clinical studies, radiologists reading 2D plus 3D mammography (breast tomosynthesis) compared to 2D mammography alone demonstrated superior clinical performance in specificity, the confidence to rule out breast cancer without recalling the patient for further study, and also demonstrated improved sensitivity, the proportion of mammograms which include breast cancers that were correctly diagnosed. "This is critically important, especially for younger women with dense breast tissue, because it means we will be able to find and identify cancer at an earlier, more treatable stage," Gage said. "The bottom line? With this system we can save more lives." The medical device had previously been approved and is in use in Europe, Latin America, Asia, Canada and Mexico. Ahead of today's approval, the systems installed in the United States were used exclusively for 2D imaging. Now that final FDA approval is in place, Hologic can upgrade systems to perform 3D functions. New Technology Means Fewer Patients Recalled For Follow-Up Imaging A statement made Friday by the FDA said, "The limited technology (of traditional mammography) requires some women to have additional testing. Reviewing an additional 3D image helped doctors find more cancers than with 2D images alone." The FDA noted that improved accuracy in detecting cancers with Hologic's tomosynthesis system decreased the number of women radiologists recalled for a diagnostic workups. Historically, approximately 10 percent of women who get screening mammograms undergo additional testing for abnormalities that are later determined to be noncancerous.The National Cancer Institute recommends women ages 40 and older have a mammogram every one to two years. Nearly 40 million mammograms are performed each year in the United States. John C. Lincoln Breast Health and Research Center is now scheduling appointments for 3D mammograms beginning in April 2011. For more information about 3D mammography or to schedule and appointment, visit JCL.com/breasthealth or call 623-780-HOPE (4673). Return to main News page.
'It Can't Happen Here;' an inquisition at Purdue The hardworking and dedicated faculty, staff and students of Purdue University should not have been subjected to the insult in an item that appeared last week in Purdue Today, titled "Purdue Hotline accessible online, by phone: A co-worker stealing packages of pens and paper from the office supply cabinet. A colleague working on a freelance project during normal business hours with university resources. If faculty or staff suspect that someone is engaging in unethical or illegal behavior, the Purdue Hotline provides a safe, anonymous way to 'Speak Up'..." This might be a paragraph from Orwell's "1984," Sinclair Lewis', "It Can't Happen Here," the 1950s McCarthy era, or the Spanish Inquisition. What is the level of understanding of ethics possessed by the authors and sponsor of this request? What unknown persons or tribunal on the other side of the "Hotline" have been granted the authority to determine unethical behavior sight unseen, no questions asked, and to consider such ethically weighty matters as to whether a transfer of paper and pens is or is not authorized? Is it the Delphic Oracle, or an agent of the Inquisition? Will persons found to be guilty be required to wear a scarlet letter? If this operation is allowed, will persons be endangered who cheer for IU at the ball game? It is suggested that the individuals responsible for this proposal and its publication redirect their work for the university. Perhaps they can get together on a plan for discounted purchase of pens and paper? William A. Cramer Depraved society, indeed; we wonder why When a deranged man uses firearms to slaughter innocent people in a shopping mall, a movie theater or an elementary school, or when a woman stabs a man "she loved" 27 times, we call out to God, seeking answers. But we soon forget that faith element. Not long ago, I thought of taking my grandchildren to see a movie. Unfortunately, no local theater was showing even one movie suitable for their eyes. There was plenty of profanity, sex, violence, horror, witchcraft ... plenty of moral depravity. Human beings have gorged themselves on a steady diet of such depravity - on TV, in movie theaters, on the radio, on the pages of written books and with deplorable video games. And then, we wonder, "How on Earth God could allow such violence to occur" at the hands of people who were fed this ugly diet from childhood. Human life has been devalued. Our society has become desensitized. Haunted mansions, haunted farm fields and now a "bloody valentine" charity event. Good grief! Even after so many bloody killings in the past few months, the thirst for violence and blood still has not been quenched. I, for one, don't think it's a bit funny; and I ask, "Dear God, will you ever be able to wake us?" And I'm reminded that he gave each of us free will - the freedom to make the choice between right and wrong, good and evil. He must be quite saddened by our choices. How can WL allow a hut on Salisbury? Twenty-five years ago I moved to West Lafayette. It was my community of choice for myself and business. Recent actions at West Lafayette city hall perplex me. How can West Lafayette be selling a city-owned vacant lot zoned R1 to a business which will construct a commercial "hut" there? This is in the midst of single-family homes. How can West Lafayette consider a business "hut" as appropriate on Salisbury Street - a gateway street? How can West Lafayette, which has a Tree Fund, encourage that four healthy, mature trees be removed for a company "hut?" How can West Lafayette, with its support for parks, be ignoring the opportunity for a valuable pocket park? How can West Lafayette have a Go Greener commission and support the removal of green space for a commercial "hut?' How can West Lafayette residents believe the city will implement and follow neighborhood plans? How can West Lafayette urge developers to have public meetings with affected neighbors, but, when a city-owned property is involved, have only one public hearing? The public hearing will be 8:30 a.m. Tuesday during the city's board of works meeting. If West Lafayette's answers to these and your own questions are important, attend Tuesday's public hearing.
Have you heard the word ‘greenway' and wondered what it means or what it is? The term ‘greenway' is synonymous with the wide ‘sidewalk' or linear park running through Jefferson City near Wears Creek. A Greenway system includes small strips of land, typically beside a road or stream, and parcels of land maintained in a natural condition where development is limited. Pathways for public use connect the strips and blocks of land. The greenway is a multi-use trail designed to provide a safe alternative to walk, jog, bike, or skate away from busy city streets. There are approximately 15 miles of greenway trail throughout Jefferson City providing additional opportunities for outdoor recreation, relaxation and enjoyment. See the inset box below for specific trail sections and lengths. The greenway trail system is always expanding by connecting parks, neighborhoods, schools and businesses throughout the city. If you would like more information on the Jefferson City Greenway, if you have ideas on where or how the greenway should be extended, or if your organization or neighborhood can provide volunteer labor or funding, contact the Parks and Recreation office. We are always working to make Jefferson City a nicer place to live.
After you choose Code Style \| Line Breaks and Wrapping in the left pane of the ReSharper Options dialog, it looks as follows: These settings affect the way ReSharper reformats your code. - Choose a code style feature you would to adjust. A preview appears in the bottom pane featuring a typical code example using this code style feature. - Select different options to see the impact they have on the code example. - Don't forget to click OK to save your changes. ReSharper Options \| Visual Studio Settings \| Code Style \| Code Reformatting
Yossi Cohen, a Tel Aviv taxi driver, is taking it easy these days. He has been slicing time from his usual 10-hour shifts because there just aren't many clients out there. At the same time, he wouldn't consider leaving Israel for anywhere else. "What, I need to be a cabbie in Queens?" asked Cohen, 47, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm right where I need to be, here, in my homeland, offering my bit of support." That's one of the typical reactions offered by Israelis after more than a year of violence. They're tired of the drive-by shootings, the suicide bombings, the endless cycle of death and destruction. But they're hunkering down in Israel, because this is their homeland and they're not leaving. But there also is an opposite reaction -- the Israelis who decide to leave because they can't take it any longer. They want to feel safe and secure. They want good jobs and nice homes and safe futures for their children. However, they don't leave without a certain amount of guilt over "abandoning" their homeland. The continuing Palestinian intifada, coupled with the global economic downturn -- Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics announced this week that the country officially is in a recession -- has forced more than a few Israelis to consider a temporary or permanent move. "The decision to leave is very complex and usually comes about because of a number of factors," said Danny Gordis, who made aliyah with his family shortly before the intifada began in September 2000. "People are out of work and they're hurting financially. You can sense a general societal unhappiness." Yet being in Israel during the intifada forces Israelis to reexamine why they are here in the first place, Gordis pointed out. "I think this has clarified for a lot of Israelis the degree to which they're committed to the Jewish State," Gordis said. No statistics have been gathered by Israeli organizations or government ministries on the number of Israelis who have left since the intifada began. According to the Jewish Agency for Israel, aliyah from Western Europe and North America has been affected slightly since last fall. There were 1,159 emigrants from North America between January and October 2001, an 11 percent drop from the previous year. Another 1,382 Western Europeans made aliyah during the same time period, a 19 percent drop from the same period in 2000. "The reasons for the drop could include the intifada and the current economic situation," said Yehuda Weinraub, a spokesman for the Jewish Agency. "But we can't be certain." Yet despite depression over the continuing violence and the worsening economic situation, only a small minority of Israelis -- both Arabs and Jews -- are considering emigrating, according to the monthly Peace Index. The survey, conducted by the Center for Peace Research at Tel Aviv University, asked 580 Israeli Jews and Arabs in August whether they have considered emigrating as a result of the situation. Fully 80 percent of Jewish respondents said they had no plans to emigrate even if they could, and only 14 percent said they would leave due to the situation. Of the Arabs surveyed, 94 percent said they had no intention of emigrating. "It would seem that neither pessimism about chances of attaining peace, nor uncertainty about the present state of affairs, have caused the public to change its daily way of life," wrote Ephraim Ya'ar and Tamar Hermann, who run the center. "The ability to cope with the situation, as reflected in maintaining daily routine, is also reflected in the low numbers who announced that they were considering leaving the country, which is surprising." Yet everyone seems to know someone who is leaving. People often say they're going away for a few years, just to take a break. Some call it a sabbatical, others a breath of fresh air from the tension of life in Israel. For Sissy Block, an American who made aliyah nine years ago and is now heading to New York, it's a matter of weighing opportunities. "The decision to leave was agonizing, because I had an image of being a successful Zionist," Block said. "I definitely [will save] Israel as an option, but I'm going. " We welcome your feedback. Your information will not be shared or sold without your consent. Get all the details. Terms of Service JewishJournal.com has rules for its commenting community.Get all the details. JewishJournal.com reserves the right to use your comment in our weekly print publication.
US and China Alliances of convenience have become the order of the day in the Tumultus Post-Americanus. With China laboring to intimidate her neighbors in the South China Sea, the US and still-socialist Vietnam have rediscovered each other. A busy Defense Secretary Leon Panetta also “signaled” in late June that the road was perhaps being paved for a strategically obvious US military relationship with Myanmar (formerly Burma, back when we disapproved of the ruling military junta). If the path to reform in Myanmar continues under President Thein Sein, and the US obtains new engagement opportunities there, the Obama administration will have an important success. Its significance should not be overstated – Myanmar will remain a client of China, and we should be extremely wary of shipping arms to Myanmar under any circumstances – but having the entrée with this long-closed regime is a positive change for the US position in the region. It is also a move China considers provocative. And the momentum from unified strategic purpose is with China at the moment. The US is all over the place: instead of stating clear interests and objectives and tending our relations with our longstanding allies on that basis, we are proclaiming the region “important,” rooting around for new allies, and effectively shifting our strategic position by abruptly but vaguely signaling new decisions on where to put forces and conduct military operations. It’s by no means a bad thing for our military posture in the Far East to undergo changes. But the jerky, impolitic manner in which the changes have been insinuated (or blurted out) has been detrimental, overall. Rather than trying to promote a set of positive conditions in the region, we are mainly maneuvering against China – and it shows. If our desired end-state is merely a cowed China, we have chosen a narrow and negative goal, one it will be impossible to achieve. This approach is as unsustainable as the approach of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations in Vietnam. China, meanwhile, is acting on positive – if undesirable – goals. Recent reporting confirms the establishment of a new strategic missile brigade in Guangdong province, overlooking the South China Sea (SCS). Heroic claims about the capabilities of the “carrier-killer” DF-21D missile need not be given credibility for the geographic reality to be obvious: China can rain missiles down on the entire SCS and much of the archipelagic littoral surrounding it, including the Philippines, China’s rival for seabed resources off of the Philippines’ north coast. The most basic American interest in the SCS is as a vital seaway for global commerce from the Pacific to the Strait of Malacca. Wielding influence over a sea as island- and shoal-infested as the SCS is as much a matter of influencing the adjacent coasts – i.e., the decisions of their political owners – as it is of navy-versus-navy confrontations. China’s intentions go beyond protecting her maritime claims; Beijing wants to establish a veto over anyone else’s activities in the SCS, and to that end has pursued a coordinated effort to claim mastery. Navies leading the charge The tactics have been modified with time, however. As recently as a year ago, the Chinese navy reportedly “harassed” an Indian warship heading through the SCS for a port visit in Vietnam. In May 2012, however, an Indian naval task group heading from the Philippines to South Korea was given an unsolicited “escort” from the Chinese navy as it transited international waters in the SCS: [W]hen the Indian naval squadron led by ‘INS Shivalik’ was on its way to South Korea from the Philippines, the People’s Liberation Army Navy provided an unwanted escort. Although the Indian ships were in international waters, a Chinese frigate sent a message “welcoming” the contingent to the South China Sea and sailed along for the next 12 hours. Airborne reconnaissance patrols are one thing; we would expect China to conduct those, as we do off of our coast. An exchange of naval signals when warships encounter one another is normal. But the Chinese “escort” goes well beyond the formalities that are appropriate in international waters. It is a gesture of ownership, implying that foreign navies are in the SCS at China’s sufferance. Such a signal is not sent because China wants to start a conflict or necessarily force other navies out, but rather to create a pattern of “enforcement” and de facto governance. This Chinese initiative could clearly tip over into a posture that would become unbearable for other nations, including all those whose ships and goods move through the area. About the Author: J.E. Dyer is a retired US Naval intelligence officer who served around the world, afloat and ashore, from 1983 to 2004. If you don't see your comment after publishing it, refresh the page. Our comments section is intended for meaningful responses and debates in a civilized manner. We ask that you respect the fact that we are a religious Jewish website and avoid inappropriate language at all cost. If you promote any foreign religions, gods or messiahs, lies about Israel, anti-Semitism, or advocate violence (except against terrorists), your permission to comment may be revoked.
Media Section Index \| Page 7 Here is an excerpt from the VRML FAQ: "Java3D is a programming API, and the model it uses is that people will write programs which cause geometry to appear and do things. VRML is scene bas...more Java 3D has its own version of AWT Canvas object named Canvas3D. Since javax.media.j3d.Canvas3D is derived from java.awt.Canvas, the developer faces the same problems faced when mixing Heavy-Weigh...more There is a step-by-step procedure on how to use Java3D in an applet at the following site: http://www.j3d.org/faq/browser.html In your paint() method, add the following hint at the top of the method: ((Graphics2D)g).setRenderingHint (RenderingHints.KEY_ANTIALIASING, RenderingHints.VALUE_ANTIALIAS_ON); [FAQ Manage...more Besides Sun's official FAQ at http://java.sun.com/products/java-media/3D/forDevelopers/java3dfaq.html, the Java 3D community site has one available at http://www.j3d.org/faq/.more Sun maintains a list of implementations available at http://java.sun.com/products/java-media/speech/forDevelopers/jsapifaq.html#implementation. Many of the implementations, like IBM's include exam...more Java Media Framework may be your best hope - http://java.sun.com/products/java-media/jmf/index.html Plus the new functionality in JDK1.3 may be useful too - http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.3/docs/...more The basic answer to sound support in Java is to check out the Java Sound API which is part of the Java Media Framework API. If you just want simple audio playback from an applet, check out How...more Until the 2.0 specification comes out, it looks like providers are few and far between. IBM does have an implementation for the 1.2 specification available from http://www.alphaworks.ibm.com/tech/...more You get Sun's reference implementation from http://java.sun.com/products/java-media/jmf/index.html. Here are some useful links for obtaining more information on JTAPI: JTAPI home page@Sun http://java.sun.com/products/jtapi/ Archives of [email protected] http://archives.java.sun.com...more While it looks like the developers of the class intended for it to support additional media types, the AWT MediaTracker will only track the loading of Image files. Support for audio recording is not part of the core Java libraries. Instead, you need to use the Java Media Framework (http://java.sun.com/products/java-media/jmf).more Sure. Just get an AudioClip for each sound and call play() or loop() for each one. Short of using the Java Media Framework (JMF), there is no support for discovering when an audio file is done playing.
Continued appreciation of the dollar relative to the euro and other currencies, together with a prolonged, global industrial slump and certain other factors, could trigger a massive influx of low-priced imports into the U.S., with devastating consequences for U.S. industries and their employees (or would-be employees). Producers in countries with weaker currencies, of course, have incentives to increase exports to the U.S.: the ability to lower prices with less adverse impact on revenue in their home currency; enhanced opportunities to undersell domestic producers and acquire U.S. market share; and offsetting anemic demand in their foreign markets, exacerbated recently by European austerity measures. Whether the dollar’s upswing will continue, and whether there will be another exodus from euros into dollars, as happened in May following the Greek debt crisis, is anybody’s guess. But with a persistent danger of government insolvency spreading to other European countries, further dollar appreciation remains a distinct possibility. Nor would many analysts rule out an extension of the international economic downturn. Domestic producers may naturally look to unfair trade law as a remedy or deterrent to surging imports. Unfortunately, the same favorable exchange rate that beckons foreign producers to increase shipments to the U.S. stands to undermine the effectiveness of relief under the anti-dumping statute. Before turning to more hopeful prospects under a separate provision, it’s worth considering how the currency exchange may affect the outcome of “less-than-fair-value” investigations. To be considered unfairly traded under the anti-dumping statute, and thus subject to duties, the price of imports sold in the U.S. must be lower than the value of comparable products in the foreign market. This is known as “normal value.” If the price of imports is lower than normal value, a duty is calculated to offset the difference. Otherwise, the case terminates. In comparing the price of U.S. imports to foreign value, the foreign side of the equation is converted to dollars. Thus, when the dollar appreciates relative to the exporting country’s currency, “normal value” falls proportionately. In the abstract, then, the higher the dollar rises, with all other things being equal, the lower the imports may be priced without incurring a dumping duty. Though in practice normal value computations and adjustments are complex — and sometimes counterintuitive, particularly if based on constructed value, or if exchange rates fluctuate — a large, sustained appreciation of the dollar, as we’ve seen this year, can facilitate a savvy foreign producer’s ability to reduce or eliminate dumping duties. Indeed, a 2006 University of Washington study found that in periods following a large and sustained rise of the dollar, there were declines in the number of anti-dumping investigations initiated. Current conditions not only may thwart an effective remedy, therefore, but preclude the foreign producers’ cost of litigating in the first place, giving them another incentive to flood the U.S. market. At the same time, a stronger dollar tends to help a domestic producer in the injury phase of anti-dumping cases, where it must show that imports are the cause of its injury. Although the price of the American-made product has no direct relevance in the assessment of dumping, it is a key factor in establishing the causal link between imports and injury. If foreign producers were taking advantage of the stronger dollar for the reasons described, underselling would likely be in evidence, making an affirmative injury determination more likely. That result is useless, however, if the case is nullified by a negative dumping determination. If only there were a remedy for surges of imports that are technically sold at or above fair value but nonetheless cause serious injury. In fact, there is: The Section 201 “safeguards” statute allows for temporary relief, in the form of quotas, duties or both, when increased imports cause injury, or threat thereof, to a domestic industry. Section 201 involves no investigation into whether imports are traded unfairly. Several advantages attend the use of safeguards. First, it eliminates the problem of finding dumping with the appreciation of the dollar. Second, the aspect of the stronger dollar that helps the petitioner — price comparisons between U.S.-made products with weaker currency imports — remains a key factor in the causation analysis in a safeguards action. Third, because there is no “fair value” investigation — the most complex and labor-intensive aspect of preparing and litigating unfair trade cases — a safeguards action is considerably less expensive than the typical anti-dumping case. Although a successful case under Section 201 occurs in two phases — one in the U.S. International Trade Commission, the other before the president’s Trade Policy Staff Committee — both phases, unlike dumping cases, center on the same questions, and rely on facts established during a single proceeding. Finally, a safeguards remedy is consistent with the objectives of the Obama administration to make jobs a top priority. Because a primary objective of Section 201 is to safeguard U.S. jobs, from a political and policy perspective, there’s good reason to believe the White House would implement an affirmative recommendation by the ITC. Roger Banks is an attorney in Washington with wide-ranging experience in international trade and customs issues who served as Of Counsel in a successful safeguards action on behalf of the U.S. wheat gluten industry. Contact him at [email protected].
Q. I know how to link data from a cell in one worksheet to another worksheet, but how can I transfer a formula? A. To transfer data, enter them in sheet 1, go to sheet 2 and the cell in which you want the linked number to appear and enter the equal ( = ) sign. Then go back to sheet 1 and the source cell and press Enter. Now, to transfer a formula: Assume the formula is in sheet 1, cell A1. Highlight A1, Copy (Ctrl+C) it, go to the cell in sheet 2 where you want the formula to go and Paste (Ctrl+V) it. Excel will adjust the formula to =Sheet1!A1.
Learn to make a realistic magnifying glass using Jquery and CSS3. Hover above the image to see the action. The code uses CSS3 box-shadow and border-radius properties to create the magnifying glass. Jquery is used to position it at the cursor coordinates and change the background position accordingly. Moving the cursor away from the image gently fades out the magnifying glass bringing the image back to the default state.Tags: Image Hover Effect
View personalization options below This limited edition Ketubah is by Jerusalem artist Archie Granot. The text adorning this ketubah decoration is an extract from a poem written for a wedding in the ghetto of Mantua in the early 17th century. It is the work of an anonymous poet and, for that wedding, was set to music for an 8 voice choir by Salamone Rossi, the most important Jewish composer of that period. The poem begins: "Le'mi echpots la'asot yakar..." and the translation begins: "Whom should I honor? Surely these souls who enter into a union as man and wife..." You must specify one of these Available Texts: (click to see wording) Traditional Aramaic (RCA Orthodox) Conservative with Hebrew only. Egalitarian (Reform) - Hebrew and English Also available blank with no text. English texts on all Ketubahs are interpretations and not literal translations. Your Rabbi can fill in the necessary information on your Ketubah, or for a caligraphically uniform look, you can have the Ketubah personalized by the artist for an extra charge (see below). Click here for the Ketubah information form. Please specify the desired text in the field below. NOTE: If you are ordering a NON personalized ketubah you must still specify the date of the wedding so we can get the ketubah to you in time! Fill in the field below. - Item #49775 has a ground shipping cost of $20.00 each plus the one time $4.95 per order charge.
Hi. Welcome to JustAnswer. If the answer I provide for you is helpful, please click 'ACCEPT'. I won't be paid if you don't. Thank you. Please see the screen shot below for the diagnostics for the LoDc error. Please let me know if you require further assistance, or information. If not, please click on "ACCEPT". After you accept, please leave feedback.Thank you. Alot of wires behind access pael to back of frig. what wires do I select to test voltage? Give me a couple of minuets and I will upload a service manual for you to work from. Please click here to download the manual. Please see the picture of the control board on page 40 to locate the input terminals. Hand full of wires enter the black box in the access area behind the frig. I do not see a drawing that lays out this. I want test DC wires that enter the black box? Right? Yes. You need to test the DC input wires. the black box, is it held on the back of the unit by a few 1/4" hex head screws? If so remove them and the plastic cover will come off.
I am occasionally asked via email or Twitter or even in person, to post a recipe that is Asian but not Japanese. In most cases, I have to say that I have no idea how to make it. Well that wouldn’t be exactly true: I could look it up online or in cookbooks and replicate a recipe here. But then, so could you. So could anyone. Just because I am of Asian descent, does not mean I know anything about most Asian cuisines other than Japanese, and the Asian cuisines that have established themselves in Japanese culinary culture. For instance, certain types of Chinese cooking have been made popular by the resident Chinese communities in Japan (the city where my mother lives, Yokohama, has a vibrant Chinatown for instance, as does Kobe). Because of the long and complicated history between Korea and Japan, not to mention attempts in recent years for the two countries to establish a closer cultural relationship, Korean cuisine is also well known and loved in Japan. So, I can tell you how to cook some dishes from those cuisines. Then again they are versions of those cuisines that are popular in Japan, and probably differ in varying degrees from the way they are in their countries of origin. The longer their history in Japan, the more they’ve been adapted to Japanese tastes. For example, Japanese gyoza dumplings differ quite a bit from the ones you get at Hong Kong style dim sum palaces. Japanese style steamed buns are also rather different from the originals. That doesn’t make them less tasty, but they are adaptations for sure, that have developed over decades. (See the chuuka category for Chinese-style Japanese dishes) I’ve never been to any country in Asia other than Japan - a situation I hope to be able to rectify eventually. But the point is, my familiarity with most other Asian cuisines is far less than my familiarity with some European or North American cuisines. I grew up in Japan, England and the U.S., and have lived for most of my adult life either in the U.S. or Europe. I know more about Marmite or how to make a home-style Swiss fondue , than pad thai or pho. I love those dishes, but I don’t feel confident writing down how to make ‘authentic’ versions. On the other hand, if you want a strong opinion about what makes for good himono (half-dried fish), or how handmade soba or udon should taste, or why nukazuke pickles are so tricky to get right…well you’re in the right place. And don’t even get me started on the whole subject of sushi or wagashi, or what makes a good Japanese style curry or tonkatsu. (And now that I live in southern France, I’m fairly confident that my version of soupe pistou is as good as any.) I do of course like to experiment and try out new things as much as anyone. I’m fine with posting deviations of classic recipes, or something that is ‘of the style of’. But when it comes to writing down the directions for real classic dishes, I tend to stick to what I know, the dishes that I grew up with, or the ones transmitted to me by better, wiser cooks than I. So, that’s why you don’t see much not-Japanese, general Asian cooking here. You’ll see some results of experiments in that area - Maki’s versions as it were. On the other hand, I have all the weight of the experience of the women (and some men) of my family behind the classic Japanese dishes I post here. They are hovering over what I write, for real (my mother and one of my aunts check out my site all the time and give me feedback, especially if I get something wrong) as well as in spirit.
ST. LOUIS PARK, Minn. - For as much change that has come down Cedar Lake Road in St. Louis Park in the last half century one thing has remained the same. 93 ½ -year-old Bud Bushway has raised a tradition that flies sun up to sundown 365 days a year. "I moved here in 1954 and I probably started putting the flag up in 1955 or 1956," Bushway said of the flag he raises on his front lawn flag pole every single day, and takes down every single night. It's not a chore to this World War II veteran to hoist the flag up his 25 foot pole every morning at seven, it's an honor. An honor because during the routine he checks in with his prayer. "Thank you Lord for another day, I sure do appreciate it. Which I do at my age, you got to appreciate every day," Bushway says here cites each day. He also, right after that prayer, checks up on his bride, Bev. Raising that flag into the sky brings him just a little closer to where she is now, he says, in heaven. "I talk to Bev. Tell her what I plan on doing, if I got anything extra to do and tell her I still love her," Bushway says. Bud and Bev's love is the lore of legend. Married in 1951 Bev suffered a stroke that left her bound to a wheelchair years ago but that never kept her away from Bud. "I pushed her on the wheelchair for 16 years.I wore out two sets of tires up and down Cedar Lake Road here," Bushway recalled of the years after the stroke, and before Bev died in 2007. It's that kind of loyalty that drives this man to never miss a day of hanging that flag. It isn't about a holiday or politics. It's about an Army Sergeant beginning and ending his days with gratitude for his days, his freedom, and his girl. "I just like to put it up and take it down.To me that's the proper thing to do," Bushway said.
Kaspersky Lab patents technology for optimized scanning of network traffic 19 Mar 2014 Corporate News, Product news Kaspersky Lab has successfully patented technology that enhances the effectiveness of network traffic scanning for the presence of cyberthreats. Patent 8650646 issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) describes a method for minimizing the volume of checked data without affecting the reliability of a protection system. Rospatent, the Russian Federation Patent office, earlier issued patent RU2488880 for the same invention. Thanks to Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) that analyze the data that passes through a corporate or home network, comprehensive security solutions are capable of detecting and intercepting cyberthreats before they penetrate a computer. However, as network streams grow, more and more resources are required to analyze the data in them, which causes delays when working on a network. In a corporate environment this can have a negative effect on business processes. There are a number of methods to speed up scanning of network data streams in order to identify threats, but they often entail a loss of effectiveness; an increase in processing speed brings with it an increased likelihood of network threats passing through unnoticed in the data stream. However, the patented technology can reduce data processing times without impacting the level of security. This is achieved by selectively checking data in network streams. These selective checks are generated using databases that store statistics about previously detected threats. For the method to operate properly, at least one element in the security system has to check all network traffic for the presence of threats. This enables the databases to receive new information that can optimize the work of other network nodes that are monitoring traffic streams. Traps set to attract the attention of cybercriminals – so-called honeypots – can also act as a source of information. These resources can gather information about cybercriminal activity and the types of tools they use. Implementation of the system does not require all its elements to be deployed in a single local network. The security solution vendor can maintain the databases and resources used to gather information about threats. This allows customers to enjoy the benefits of the patented method and receive up-to-date information about the latest network threats from the vendor’s online services without having to deploy their own honeypots. The patented technology is currently implemented in Kaspersky Lab solutions for home users, small businesses and corporate customers that are equipped with the IDS module. This includes Kaspersky Internet Security, Kaspersky PURE, Kaspersky Small Office Security and Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business. As of early February 2014, Kaspersky Lab’s intellectual property portfolio included over 190 patents issued in the US, Russia, EU and China. Over 240 other patent applications have been filed with patent authorities.
The National Hurricane Center starting issuing advisories and forecasts on Tropical Depression Two Monday morning. High resolution satellite showed an area of circulation in the Northwest Caribbean, near the Coast of Belize. At the initial advisory, winds were sustained at 35mph with a west / northwest movement of 13mph. As the system is quickly approaching Belize, there will be little time for further intensification into a tropical storm, at this time. Once the storm crosses into the Bay of Campeche, there could be enough development to become the next tropical storm, which would be named Barry. High pressure in the mid-levels of the atmosphere keeping the forecast for South Texas hot and primarily dry, will also keep this tropical system well south of the Lone Star State and the United States. Due to Tropical Storm Andrea being named as of that storm's first advisory, the classification "Tropical Depression One" was skipped during this hurricane season. To comment, the following rules must be followed: Comments may be monitored for inappropriate content, but the station is under no legal obligation to do so. If you believe a comment violates the above rules, please use the Flagging Tool to alert a Moderator. Flagging does not guarantee removal. Multiple violations may result in account suspension. Decisions to suspend or unsuspend accounts are made by Station Moderators. Questions may be sent to [email protected]. Please provide detailed information.
Iran foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said that world powers to stop “believing in the illusion” that there is a military solution to the conflict in Syria for peace. “They still continue to believe that there is a military solution… I think the Western powers have to abandon that illusion in order to achieve a cease-fire and in order to achieve cessation of hostilities,” Zarif said further. His comments came on the same day that Doctors Without Borders (MSF) blamed Iran’s ally in Syria, Russia, for bombing a hospital supported by the charity in the northwestern part of the country, killing seven people. A top diplomats from the International Syria Support Group meeting in Munich agreed to work toward a temporary “cessation of hostilities” and securing deliveries of humanitarian aid to besieged towns and villages. But Zarif warned the agreed “cessation of hostilities” should not be used by world powers to mobilize their allies. “ we agreed in Munich is cessation of hostilities not to pause to allow the allies of certain regions to regroup and that is extremely important,” he said. Zarif also warned countries should not use “diplomacy in order to provide a human shield for terrorist groups such as Daesh and al-Nusra etc in Syria. “As soon as some of our regional neighbors understand this reality and abandon the illusion that they can take advantage of this in order to advance their political agenda – delusional as it may be – then we are moving towards realization of the comprehensive cessation of hostilities and cease-fire,” he said. “People cannot use diplomacy to provide a human shield for al-Nusra and Daesh working as a leverage,” Zarif said. ANKARA: Turkey, Iran and Iraq have agreed to consider counter-measures against Kurdish northern Iraq over a planned independence referendum, Turkey&rs... More SRINAGAR: Authorities in India-held Kashmir claimed that suspected militants hurled a grenade at motorcade of a local government minister on Thursday,... More Fifteen people drowned and up to 15 more were missing on Friday after a fishing boat carrying migrants sunk off Turkey's Black Sea coast, the coas... More Iran's President Hassan Rouhani vowed on Friday that Iran would boost its missile capabilities despite warnings from Washington that it is ready t... More Dozens of activists staged a demonstration in the capital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Tuesday to condemn the alleged violence and discriminatio... More Japan's defence minister on Tuesday said North Korea's latest nuclear test was more powerful than initially estimated, with a yield that was a... More
In this groundbreaking book about how women perceive, are prepared for, and cope with ambition and achievement, psychiatrist Anna Fels examines ambition at the deepest psychological level. Cutting to the core of what ambition can provide—the ... 12;the essential elements of a fulfilling life—Fels describes why, for women but not for men, ambition still remains fraught with often painful conflict. Fels draws on case studies, research, interviews, and autobiographies of accomplished and celebrated women past and present—writers, artists, architects, politicians, actors—to explore the ways in which women are brought up to avoid recognition and visibility in favor of traditional feminine values and why they often choose to nurture and defer to rather than compete with men. She poses invaluable questions: What is the nature of ambition and how important is it in a woman’s life? What are the forces that promote or impede its development? To what extent does ambition go against a woman’s very nature? And she challenges currently held theories about the state of mind and the needs of men. Incisive and highly readable, Necessary Dreams is a unique exploration of the options and obstacles women face in the pursuit of their goals. It is a book that every woman will want—and need—to read.
\|Home\|\|» Products\|\|» Demineralised Plant\|\|» Demineralisation Plant\| Backed with an adept team of professionals, we are offering a wide range of Demineralisation Plant that is manufactured using the most-modern machinery and advanced technology. This plant demineralizes water effectively as it is coupled with two pressure vessels which have cation & anion exchange resin. Our offered Demineralisation Plant is custom made as per the specifications of clients after having proper interaction with them. Some of the salient features of this plant are excellent performance, strong construction, low maintenance, easy installation and reliability. Such type of Plants deliver the highly demineralized water by using of ion ( H+ and OH- ions ) exchange process, that removes ions and mineral salts from water, So in this way Such type of Plants is known as A Demin Plant or Deionising Plant, such type process is known as demineralization process, And also delivered water by using this plant and process is known as Demineralized water Or Deionized water, that is completely free of dissolved mineral salts, this plant is suitable when high purity water or distilled water is required. So Today's we are largest manufacturers & suppliers a wide assortment of Dematerializing / Deionising Plants for different industrial sectors. Cations : Calcium (Ca2+), Magnesium (Mg2+), Sodium (Na+), Iron ( Fe+), Copper (Cu+) & Potassium (K+) Anions : Chloride ( Cl-) , Bicarbonate (HCO3-), Nitrate (NO3-), Carbonate (CO32-), Sulphate (SO2−) There are various types of purified water and some of the most important treatments of water purification that has commercial popularity as well as industrial application is distilled, demineralized and deionized water. Apparently these are all the same in sense as after such water treatment it no more contains chemicals and minerals but just water essentially. Nonetheless, the process of maintenance changes the quality and it most often depends on how it is stored. “Demineralised Plant & All about their process” is very well maintained and it has become one of the dominant industries in recent times. Demineralized water is considered as the purest form available in the shops but is quite different from packaged mineral water as the term itself suggests. Any type of water treatment plant offers best and specialized servicing to help the various industrial sectors. We are often mistaken and often compare deionized water with bottled water that is available in the market. But this very type of processed liquid is unlike typical commercial or marketable ones sold at stores. “Demineralised Plant & All about their process” in different companies purify it to some extent so that it gets deionized. This kind of water is basically used for industrial purposes like manufacturing and maintenance. We may take the example of the case of cleaning equipment that requires the application of pure water during the final stage of rinse. Chemical laboratories and clinical sectors take the help of such water and use it for the purpose of cleaning glassware and different surgical and instrumental devices as using normal water may cause spots and scales which is not at all desired. Industrial operation with the most advanced technology solutions or technical sophistication maintains the task of water treatment process within the means of supply. Domestic users can also take the help of various leading service providers connected with “Demineralised Plant & All about their process” for the maintenance of the old equipment designed to purify water. Installation could be the best process and on the request of the client various large scale market sectors and leading companies supervise commission and installation of every single unit and to set up or arrange your installation they provide the latest services available in the existing market sector. For the purpose of setting up your installation system engineers and technician can be sent all across the world. Specialized consulting engineers provide onsite consultation to carry out field test and plant analysis on demand all over the world. Technician or industrial experts provide general courses or technical training for our facilities required in the field of project specification. Pilot testing, transport and packing are some other related industrial process used for several processes like desalinization. Paint manufacturing, cosmetic manufacturing, electronics manufacturing, chemical manufacturing, textile manufacturing, glass or mirror manufacturing, plating manufacturing, boiler feed, hospitals and medical sector, printing manufacturing, food & beverage are some of the sectors that have extensive uses of “Demineralised Plant & All about their process”. AQUASHAKTI WATER SOLUTION All Rights Reserved.
From: Steve Marak <samarak at arachne.uark.edu> on 1997.12.02 at 11:50:18(1688)\| My procedure is very like Kathy's. It sounds like I am using much less leaf area per cutting (my cuttings may be 3-4 inches long at most) and that I am less careful about them (I don't bother to trim anything before potting them up). Probably I would do better than 67% if I were as careful as she is. I also get up to perhaps 6 cuttings from a leaf, since I want to leave some surface area for the original plant to use. On a large plant, I'm sure I could get many more. I'm a firm believer in benign neglect (or, less charitably, I'm just lazy and want to minimize my time invested) so I have a very hands-off approach. I dip the lower end of the cutting in a standard garden-center type rooting compound, the kind with a small amount of IBA and some fungicide in some inert base (talc?) up to the point they will be inserted in soil, and tap off the excess. I use my standard potting mix, thoroughly wetted, using something flat to open a slit in which to place the cutting without wiping the rooting compound away. I usually put these in small plastic seedling trays, put the whole thing in a plastic bag, fold over the top but do not seal it completely, and forget it. (Ok, I do check every few weeks to be sure they have not dried out Over weeks to several months, the cuttings will slowly yellow, wilt, and start decomposing among the mosses and liverworts and such that have begun growing on the surface of the soil. When the last have pretty much wilted, I open the plastic bag further to let things dry out and kill off the pteridophytes. After some further time - I'm sorry that I haven't paid more attention - I'll see leaves coming up from the tubers formed on the cuttings that "took", and I remove those soil plugs and pot them up. It's my impression that the cuttings which remain green the longest are most likely to root, but all cuttings of species which I consider likely prospects will remain green surprisingly long. In addition to Amorphs. bulbifer and konjac, I have had success with albispathos and TAFKAP ("The Amorphophallus Formerly Known as Parvulus"). I haven't tried titanum because the leaf just doesn't look promising to me, and I'd rather have that surface area producing food for the tuber than rotting away and not rooting. I could be wrong, of course. Someone asked about my very nonscientific criteria for judging which will and won't root. This may be as silly as reading tea leaves but here goes: if the leaf is relatively shiny (reflective) and smooth in texture, and of what an orchid breeder would call "light substance" when referring to a flower, I can't seem to make it root. If it is more of a matte surface, less reflective, and of heavier substance, it seems likely to root. Perhaps others can compare some of the species we've succeeded with, and, if I'm not imagining this completely, do a better job of describing it. Even if I'm right, it doesn't rule out someone who uses more care succeeding where I've failed, of course.
ASEAN KEY DESTINATIONS Home >> Daily News >> ASEAN ANALYSIS Building a Peaceful and Democratic Society: Lessons for Thailand from Southeast Asia By Michael Vatikiotis This is an edited version of a speech delivered in public at the Thai Government-sponsored ‘Uniting for the Future Special lecture series‘ on September 2, 2013. The entire speech was broadcast nationally and published in the Bangkok Post. Southeast Asia is no stranger to the challenges of unity and reconciliation. The early phases of nation building were characterized by struggle and upheaval stemming from the reluctance of established conservative elites to share power. Democratic forms of government were deemed unsuited to societies that were organized along hierarchical lines and dominated by narrow interest groups. By the mid-1970s, however, popular protest movements had begun to exert pressure on conservative elites, partly by harnessing popular support but also by threatening a communist-led takeover. The resulting compromise was a system of partially open, semi-democratic systems that generally promoted a broader base of wealth and prosperity but still limited freedom. By the mid-1990s, this compromise was coming undone. Economic crisis and the aspirations of a young generation better connected with the outside world combined to generate new pressures for change, which resulted in popular reform movements in countries like Indonesia and Malaysia. The resulting broadening of democratic space in Indonesia was at first a driver of conflict and disunity. Yet, confounding predictions the country would fly apart, Indonesians worked together to heal social divisions in society and established a firm basis for open, democratic government. This broadening of democratic space has proceeded in fits and starts across the region, most recently in Myanmar and now Cambodia. Why has this transition taken so long? And why has it generated so much conflict in society? Popular protest and the harsh security reaction have cost thousands of lives. Much of the protest was simply about demanding rights and freedoms already enshrined in laws and constitutions, but not implemented. The main reason for the slow pace of democratic change in Southeast Asia is that powerholders claim reform is a threat to national unity. They hold up traditions and institutions as symbols of identity and sovereignty and warn of impending disaster if they are tampered with or reformed. Thus certain institutions, such as the military, maintain that without protecting their strength and privilege, the country’s unity would be put at risk. Even with democratic change, in countries like Indonesia and Myanmar, it is taking a long time for these institutions to recognize that their role must change. The quality of democracy cannot be judged solely by the quality of elections; one important yardstick is the honesty and integrity of elected officials to serve the people. Corruption and criminal activity in the political arena is a universal affliction. In Southeast Asia it is hard to eradicate because of the weakness of effective checks and balances. As democracy has taken root, so has the popular demand for transparency. The trouble is that institutions created to act as checks on the abuse of power have come under attack from the politicians and officials who are subject to scrutiny. Another major issue across the region is that political leaders doubt the capacity of ordinary people to think for themselves. There is a prevailing paternalistic, top down culture. For this reason, people who feel attached to ethnic or regionally specific identities are mistrusted and there is a reluctance to permit genuine local autonomy. This is a hangover of two historical legacies: first the pre-modern tendency to believe in the mystical sanctity of the center, without which the periphery would perish; the second is the centralized authority of government imposed by colonial rulers. These two tendencies reinforce one another and inhibit the devolution of effective government authority to the community level, which is the norm in modern democratic states. This reluctance to trust people with the management of their own affairs explains why Southeast Asia is still home to a range of small wars and conflicts that cost thousands of lives. Governments fear that if allowed a greater measure of autonomy regions with particular ethnic or religious identity will seek to separate from the state. But as the experience in Indonesia and the Philippines has shown, these fears are misplaced. Negotiated agreements in both countries have been brokered with separatist groups that offer a high degree of autonomy under the framework of the state, in return for an end to hostilities. The three main lessons to be learned from the experience of promoting peace and democracy in Southeast Asia are: First, historically the main obstacle to democratic change and reform in Southeast Asia is not that people are untrustworthy to govern themselves, but that political elites are reluctant to share power. This has made for a long and protracted struggle in society that has bred conflict. Second, the key to promoting peace and harmony in society is to trust the people, devolve authority as much as possible to the grass roots and give civil society a greater say in how people are governed. Third, a key ingredient of a healthy and peaceful democracy is clean government. Corruption must be tackled effectively and for this to happen, the courts and special agencies that are tasked with rooting out corruption must remain above politics. This is still not the case throughout most of Southeast Asia. Mr. Michael Vatikiotis is the Asia regional director of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, based in Singapore. Courtesy: This post originally appeared on the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington D.C. cogitASIA blog Letters that do not contain full contact information cannot be published. Letters become the property of AseanAffairs and may be republished in any format. They typically run 150 words or less and may be edited submit your comment in the box below
Cold sores or fever blisters are formation of sores on sides of lips, inside mouth and nose when the body is affected by herpes Simplex Virus Type1. Small red colored blisters filled with translucent liquid appear on the affected area. Symptoms of cold sores vary from one person to the other and include pain around mouth, swollen glands and high fever. It can be healed with the help of several herbal remedies for cold sores. In this article some of such herbal remedies for cold sores have been discussed. Best Herbal Remedies For Cold Sores This iodine rich herb is highly effective in naturally curing cold sores. Black walnut also contains certain natural antiseptic properties which are beneficial in healing cold sores. This herb can be taken both orally or topically. In order to reduce the pain caused by the cold sores apply 2-3 drops of the extract of black walnut on the cold sores three times a day. For better result use it before the blister appears. When consumed orally, the water extract obtained from black walnut will reduce the further complications of cold sores. This aromatic herb possesses certain substantial antiviral properties. The leaves and water extract consists of rosmarinic acid which effectively restricts the functionality of the herpes virus. The caffeic acid is another organic compound present in lemon balm which prevents the Herpes Simplex Virus 2 from multiplying. Brew one tablespoon of lemon balm in cup of boiling water. Drink the tea infusion two to three times daily. Apply six to seven drops of this tea infusion on the cold sore affected area four times a day. The lemon balm tincture will eliminate itchiness of the sores. - Top 6 Natural Cures For Cold Sores - Best Food That Cure Cold Sores - Perfect Home Remedies for Cold Sores Aloe Vera is one of the most famous herbal remedies for cold sores. The fresh gel obtained from Aloe Vera speed up the recovery process by drying the cold sore. Peel off the green colored skin of the leaf of Aloe Vera and rub the gel on the sores. Clean this with a damp cotton cloth after twenty to thirty minutes. Follow this procedure three times a day. Continue this treatment until the sore falls. The scars formed by the cold sores will fade out by application of this gel. Drinking a half cup of Aloe Vera juice daily is also beneficial. This herb completely wipes away the basic causes of the cold sore. Certain compounds present in Echinacea boosts the immunity system helping it to fight against several harmful bacteria and herpes virus. Intake of twenty to thirty drops of an Echinacea tincture three to four times a day is beneficial. Follow this regime for ten consecutive days. You can also prepare a decoction using one teaspoon of Echinacea root’s juice and consume it three times a day. This will maximize the protection from herpes virus. Tea Tree Oil The essential oils obtained from this herb exhibit smoothing effects, if topical application is done on the cold sores. Tea tree oil contains natural antiseptic elements which help to speed up the healing process cold sores. An essential oil can be prepared by mixing five drops of oil of this herb with four to five tablespoons of olive oil. Apply this essential oil on the cold sore two to three times a day. This will cure the sore rapidly. Daily intake of a half cup of an herbal concoction prepared from tea tree will heal the cold sore within four days.
This site Celebrates the history of the Balaban and Katz Theater Corporation. Buy the first book from the Balaban and Katz Historical Foundation entitled," The Chicago Movie Palaces of Balaban and Katz." You may order the book .at www.buy.com, www.amazon.com, www.walmart.com or other fine retailers.Simply put the search word,"Balaban" in and you will see the listing. Order now! We are working on an extremely detailed Balaban and Katz television documentary featuring Hollywood personalities, former Balaban and Katz employees and family members .....to be released soon. Stay tuned for details! First, A little bit about the company... The Balaban and Katz Theater Corporation perfected the movie "palace"concept in Chicago, creating an extremely popular past time that contributed greatly to Chicago's cultural identity. The Balabans started in the movie theater business in 1908 by leasing the 100-seat Kedzie Nickelodeon on Kedzie Avenue. Balaban brothers Barney and A. J dreamed of operating 5000 seat Movie Palaces so, in 1916, they joined family friends Sam and Morris Katz to form the Balaban and Katz Theater Corporation. Their mission was to offer an un- rivaled theater going experience with the finest live performances and service, They built hundreds of ornate theaters, such as the Chicago, the Uptown, and the Oriental Theaters, filling them with fine furnishings, antiques, and artwork. Balaban and Katz produced live stage shows between the movies, with the likes of Bob Hope, Louis Armstrong, and Benny Goodman. Sadly, only a few of these gorgeous theaters still stand today. "The Chicago Movie Palaces of Balaban and Katz" traces the company's history through vintage images contributed by the Chicago Historical Society, the Theater Historical Society of America, the Balaban and Katz Historical Foundation, and the Chicago Transit Authority. Author, David Balaban, named after his grandfather, one of the five Balaban brothers who ran Balaban and Katz, grew up on stories of his grandfather and uncles' movie theaters. David's grandfather managed the Uptown, Riviera and Norshore Theaters in the 1920's and was Director of Theater Operations for B and K when he died suddenly in 1949. In addition to the book, Mr. Balaban is producing a documentary for television about the Uptown Theater and the Balaban and Katz Company as a whole. If you have a Balaban and Katz memory, an idea to share, or you would like more information about the Balaban and Katz Historical Foundation Please email us at [email protected]
28 Aug Credit Cards Lending Not Badly Squeezed — Yet. Despite the current credit crunch, Paul Davis of American Banker reported the sale of credit card-based bonds are still being sold while subprime mortgage bonds are going wanting. In the odd world of consumer securitization, loans like credit cards are apparently seen as safer than home loans. Credit card debt is packaged and resold by lenders as a type of bond, just like the mortgages that have caused so much disruption in the credit markets this year. While one is covered by a lien on property which presumably has a concrete value, buying credit card debt is a bet on a person’s willingness and ability to repay. Davis’ article indicates that the price investors are willing to pay for such investments have gone down and the banks are setting aside greater reserves for losses in these portfolios (which will provide more confidence to investors in those securities). Yet banks are finding buyers. Why would bond investors buy a bond based on a credit card before buying one secured by someone’s home? A simple reason could be greed. The credit card-based bond will usually have a higher yield and the investors may be willing to take greater risks of default in return for the higher potential payoff. And they might believe the bankers did a better job identifying credit card risks than they did with mortgages. Much of mortgage lending in the last few years has been based on the value of the real estate, not on the realistic ability of a borrower to pay. In simple terms, they didn’t care if you could pay it back so long as the house was worth enough. But with a credit card, they don’t have that luxury, so they have to identify a borrower who is more likely to repay the debt out of future income — not rely on property values. They may also think bankruptcy reform in 2005 will actually protect them. According to Davis’ article, between 30-50% of credit card charge-offs relate to bankruptcy filings. Due to lower rates of bankruptcy filings since October, 2005 when BAPCPA went into effect, banks have been able to project lower default rates. Will this mean that these investors will really do better? Prior to BAPCPA, bankruptcy filing rates typically increased between 10 and 20% each year, roughly matching the increase in consumer debt during the same periods. In the most recent quarter, bankruptcy filings increased over 40%. To imagine the current credit squeeze — which make it hard for consumers to refinance their way out of payments they can’t manage — would do anything but trigger an increase in consumer filings, would be astonishing. So if institutional bond investors are betting on credit card-based bonds to really hold up, they may discover the banks bet here was as optimistic as the property appraisals underlying subprime mortgages. The one thing we can all count on: The higher risks and costs of selling some of these bonds — or the simple need to meet profit targets — will likely mean rising rates on credit cards for consumers. Wouldn’t that mean more defaults and bankruptcies? Latest posts by Wendell Sherk, Missouri Bankruptcy Attorney (see all) - Payday Loans Are Not “Cash Advances” Under Bankruptcy Law - January 31, 2017 - Bankruptcy Avoids Judgments That “Cloud” Your Rights - February 2, 2016 - Harvey Miller: Brilliant Bankruptcy Lawyer, 1933-2015 - April 29, 2015 - Why Replace Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Trustees Now? - May 21, 2014 - How To Talk To A (Bankruptcy) Lawyer - January 25, 2014
George Soros has been well-known as a leading hedge fund investor and a political donor but the majority of people in the world know the founder of Soros Fund Management as a philanthropist through his work as the head of the Open Society Foundations. Born in Hungary in 1930, Soros fled his native country in 1947 following the end of the Nazi Occupation of the nation and the totalitarian regime of the Soviet Union following the end of hostilities during World War II. George Soros would make his way to the U.K. and study at the London School of Economics, a period of time allowing Soros to become familiar with the needs of millions of people living normal lives as he worked as a kitchen porter to pay for his studies, according to Forbes and Follow his Twitter. To begin his career as an investment specialist, George Soros began working as a merchant banker in London before making his way to New York in the mid-1950s to build his fortune in a planned five years before returning to Europe. Living in Greenwich Village at the height of the rise of the counterculture in New York led to Soros changing his plans and making his home in the U.S. after he discovered the success available through the development of his own hedge fund; by 1969, Soros struck out on his own as a hedge fund manager with an initial investment of $12 million rising in 2017 to an estimated $30 billion in managed assets. In his bid to make sure he provides the best possible opportunities to develop a democratic and free society, George Soros has established the Open Society Foundations to push forward the liberal-leaning agenda he feels will benefit the majority on the planet. Although he has now entered his ninth decade in age, George Soros remains an active participant in the work of the network of charitable groups he has developed alongside a hand-picked team of advisors, The Open Society reports and more information click here. George Soros has spent a large amount of his recent career looking to develop a better sense of community for all groups across the planet. In completing these actions, Soros has sought to make an impact by backing groups seeking to fight for the voting rights of minority groups, legalize medical marijuana, and fight for same-sex marriage. These are just a few of the programs and organizations Soros has backed in his bid to bring a higher standard of life to the people of the world and learn more about George Soros.
Tradition asserts that, sometime around 560, he became involved in a quarrel with Saint Finnian of Moville over a psalter. Columba copied the manuscript at the scriptorium under Saint Finnian, intending to keep the copy. Saint Finnian disputed his right to keep the copy. The dispute eventually led to the pitched Battle of Cúl Dreimhne in 561, during which many men were killed. Columba’s copy of the psalter has been traditionally associated with the Cathach of St. Columba. A synod of clerics and scholars threatened to excommunicate him for these deaths, but St. Brendan of Birr spoke on his behalf with the result that he was allowed to go into exile instead. Columba suggested that he would work as a missionary in Scotland to help convert as many people as had been killed in the battle. He exiled himself from Ireland, to return only once again, several years later. So St. Columba made an “illegal” copy of someone else’s property and so defended his right to make such an unauthorized copy that he was willing to go to war over it. Sounds like a lot of Net pirates I’ve encountered. Photo of Cathach of St. Columba in the public domain via Wikipedia Commons.
Ingrown Toenails are one of the most common toenail problems. They may be caused by improperly trimmed toenails, excessively curved edges of nails, chubby toes , shoe pressure or repeated trauma to the feet from normal activities. Frequently the pain can be made worse due to a corn or callous in the groove of the toenail as well. Most cases will require conservative treatment, the Podiatrist will clear the area that is causing pain. This is never recommended for you to do yourself, as you can increase the risk of infection as you do not have sterile instruments. Also this may lead to more damage of the nail edge making it more of a challenge to repair. Our instruments are designed specifically for this task. With the Podiatrist’s skill we can often correct an issue very quickly and reduce pain instantly. Other Ingrown Toenails may need a more permanent fix. Our Podiatrists do this with a minor surgical correction which is done in our rooms, under local anaesthetic in the affected toe. The whole nail is not removed. We only remove the small portion of nail that is causing the problem. You can walk straight out after surgery, but you will have a dressing on your toe. The procedure itself does not hurt, local anaesthetic ensures no feeling during the procedure. You can read a book, listen to music or play a game on your phone during the procedure. There is no need to put up with Ingrown Toenails and painful infections.
“We should not allow our faith to be drained by too many discussions of multiple, minor details, but rather, should always keep our eyes in the first place on the greatness of Christianity. I remember, when I used go to Germany in the 1980s and ’90s, that I was asked to give interviews and I always knew the questions in advance. They concerned the ordination of women, contraception, abortion and other such constantly recurring problems. If we let ourselves be drawn into these discussions, the Church is then identified with certain commandments or prohibitions; we give the impression that we are moralists with a few somewhat antiquated convictions, and not even a hint of the true greatness of the faith appears. I therefore consider it essential always to highlight the greatness of our faith – a commitment from which we must not allow such situations to divert us.” —Pope Benedict XVI to the bishops of Switzerland, 2006 And orthodox Catholics didn't get all upset because Benedict is so safe and predictable (except he wasn't and often surprised the public!). Francis is not predictable. H/T: Why I am Catholic
So you have a draft of content that needs to be perfectly polished for publish. How do you know what to do next? Depending on how critically you want it reviewed, you have to know the steps involved or what to ask for. So the first thing to figure out is if you will be proofing or editing it yourself, or having someone else do it. In this post, we’ll go over both scenarios so you have the tools for each. But first, what’s the difference between proofreading and editing? Here’s a quick guide … Proofreading is a quick review of content, considered a “light sweep” to identify any glaring issues. Proofing the content analyzes it with grammar, spelling and punctuation criteria in mind, fixing issues on the fly. Know that if you don’t provide a style guide that your company uses for content, the editor will typically default to their own. Here at bizbuzzcontent, we default to AP Style. Editing is more in depth, and takes a critical look at what’s being said, how it’s being said, the format of the content and storyline, and makes recommendations on how to improve it to a professional level. A full editing process also includes proofing to look for any grammar, spelling and punctuation issues. Different professionals define editing in different ways. Some editors may want to go further than asked because it’s hard not to make suggestions if you see opportunities for improvement, while others may only look for typos when what you really wanted was critical feedback on the structure. Make sure you articulate what you want ahead of time. Editing Your Own Writing You can learn to proofread and edit your own materials, you just need a repeatable process. Here are some tips you can borrow to create your own: - Some recommend writing freely, and worrying about editing later. This is so as not to stifle creativity and productivity. For me, I like to edit as I’m writing each section. So before I go on to the next section of the content, I reread and make adjustments to the first. This is really a preference thing but do what works for you. - Sleep on your draft, and start the proofreading and editing process the next day. I promise your words are going to look much different in the morning versus after the fifth time you’ve read it same day. - Sit in a quiet place when you’re editing, free from any noise or distraction. If you find yourself reading the same sentence seven times and wondering why it’s taking so long, you need a better space for editing. - Read the first draft with a proofreading mindset, looking for any spelling, grammar and punctuation issues you can fix. On the second read, start taking a more critical look at the flow and structure with your editing “hat” on. You’ll likely want to tweak the introduction once the whole piece is complete, and come up with a couple headline options at that point, too. (p.s., there’s a plugin for WordPress that allows you to split test your headlines if you can’t choose just one.) - Take a final pass, and even read it aloud. Editing and proofreading is as much about making the content polished as it is about how the words sound together and roll off the tongue. This is where you might switch one word for another for more impact. Dealing with Multiple Reviews and Approvals for Content If you work in an environment where you have multiple levels of approval for content, it’s important that everyone get on the same page about the review and editing process, or things can get very messy. Here are some tips on process based on how we do it here at bizbuzzcontent. This is assuming you’ve written the content on behalf of someone else, and it has already gone through the internal editing process … - Make sure there is always document version control, so only one person is reviewing the document at a time, and that there is established nomenclature for the different versions – for example, the person’s initials added to the end or something else. - Establish ahead of time how many reviews are included in the process (for example, two rounds of edits). Remember, if you have a thorough content creation process, you minimize the amount of edits in the review process, because the content you’ve delivered is targeted. That typically means stakeholders have approved the direction of the content before it is written (in the form of a content brief or outline) so there are no surprises. - Encourage the reviewers to either make edits directly or use the comments feature in Word to articulate what they want. I recommend using Word documents for reviews of content with “track changes” on to capture edits. This is the most simple way to track what people want where, and you can modify their suggestions in the next round. - Don’t have everyone and their brother review the content. To help make the process most efficient, only involve those that truly need to be – for example, the “author” you are writing on behalf and a supervisor. If you’re in a position where multiple people need to be involved, think of ways to temper the situation by focusing on the efficiency of only involving the select few (nobody wants deadlines to extend weeks past just because Bob down the hall can’t seem to get to a review). So that process was assuming you did the writing and put it into review for approval. But other times, you’re handed someone else’s content in rough draft format, and asked to take it from there. When you’re editing for another, you want to be as helpful as possible, applying your own proven process for proofreading and editing, and thinking of “bigger picture” things, too. Here are a few tips for an editing process for someone else’s work: - Perform a grammar, spelling and punctuation review. - Edit so the tone and messaging is consistent, making it feel like a professional, branded piece of content for that person or company (sometimes this means you go the extra mile to establish what that is, if it’s in your wheelhouse). - If you’re editing multiple pieces of content, for example, a series of reports, you’ll want to ensure the format is consistent across all papers, meaning creating a template for layout that each report follows for the beginning, middle and end of the report (like how to treat the headers, subheads, the different sections of the report, imagery, etc.). - Always cite questions when statements or data is unclear, and point out areas for expansion to improve it. - Add data points or references where applicable from third parties that would back claims up (look for the most recent research from reputable sources only) or cite areas where they should include additional data points. Well there you have it. I hope this quick guide helps you in your review process the next time you want to publish content or help someone polish theirs. Happy editing!
[Image: Diagram of Taipei 101’s earthquake ball via the Long Now Foundation]. Earlier this week, the Long Now Foundation looked at earthquake dampers inside skyscrapers, focusing specifically on Taipei 101—a building whose unanticipated seismic side-effects (the building’s construction might have reopened an ancient tectonic fault) are quite close to my heart. As it happens, Taipei 101 includes a 728-ton sphere locked in a net of thick steel cables hung way up toward the top of the building. This secret Piranesian moment of inner geometry effectively acts as a pendulum or counterweight—a damper—for the motions of earthquakes. [Image: The 728-ton damper in Taipei 101, photographed by ~Wei~]. As earthquake waves pass up through the structure, the ball remains all but stationary; its inertia helps to counteract the movements of the building around it, thus “dampening” the earthquake. It is a mobile center, loose amidst the grid that contains it. [Image: Animated GIF via Wikipedia]. However, there’s something about discovering a gigantic pendulum inside a skyscraper that makes my imagination reel. It’s as if the whole structure is a grandfather clock, or some kind of avant-garde metronome for a musical form that hasn’t been invented yet. As if, down there in the bedrock, or perhaps a few miles out at sea inside a submarine, every few seconds you hear the tolling of a massive church bell – but it’s not a bell, it’s the 728-ton spherical damper inside Taipei 101 knocking loose against its structure. Or it’s like an alternate plot for Ghostbusters: instead of finding out that Sigourney Weaver’s New York high-rise is literally an antenna for the supernatural, they realize that it’s some strange form of architectural clock, with a massive pendulum inside—a great damper—its cables hidden behind closet walls and elevator shafts covered in dust; but, at three minutes to midnight on the final Halloween of the millennium, a deep and terrifying bell inside the building starts to toll. The city goes dark. The tolling gets louder. In all the region’s cemeteries, the soil starts to quake. (Thanks to Kevin Wade Shaw for the link!)
* Estimated price converted from UK retail price Catalogue No: HL00230106 Shop Product Code: 257388F HL00230106 - Hear It and Sing It: Exploring the Blues, with Judy Niemack. This is an effective tool for learning to sing and improvise on blues. Designed for people who love to sing, as well as students and teachers in vocal jazz programs, it includes a step-by-step process for understanding blues lyrics, forms, harmony, scales and improvisation, with a brand new repertoire of songs. 2 CDs include full tracks with Judy, Sheila Jordan, Darmon Meader and Mark Murphy, plus accompaniment only tracks Write a Review. The best reviewer each month wins 20% off their next order! There are currently no reviews for this product.
Bedford’s iRobot Corp. said Wednesday that it has been awarded contracts totaling $7.2 million from the Brazilian government for robots that can help provide security as Brazil gears up for a World Cup soccer tournament, a scheduled papal visit this summer, and the 2016 Olympics. The company makes several kinds of robots. Some, such as the Roomba vacuum-cleaning robot, are designed for home use by consumers. Another line is designed to let doctors interact with patients remotely. The company’s military and law-enforcement robots, meanwhile, can perform such tasks as battlefield reconnaissance and detecting explosive devices. After big cuts in Pentagon spending, iRobot has generally been putting more emphasis on its nonmilitary robots. Frank Wilson, senior vice president and general manager of iRobot’s Defense and Security business unit, said: “IRobot continues its international expansion, and Brazil represents an important market for the company’s unmanned ground vehicles,” Wilson said. “IRobot is excited to be providing the company’s state-of-the-art robotic technologies to Brazil as the country prepares for several high profile international events, including the 2014 FIFA World Cup.” Chris ReidyChris Reidy can be reached at [email protected].
WASHINGTON — President Trump said the United States ‘‘will continue to be the cleanest and most environmentally friendly country on Earth’’ as he announced a US pullout from an international accord designed to curb climate change. But facts muddy that claim. Data show that the United States is among the dirtiest countries when it comes to heat-trapping carbon pollution. One nation that has cleaner air in nearly every way is Sweden. ‘‘The US is well behind other countries in having the cleanest and most sustainable environment,’’ University of Michigan environmental scientist Rosina Bierbaum said in an e-mail. The United States emits more carbon dioxide than any other nation except China. In 2014, the nation spewed 237 times more carbon dioxide into the air than Sweden, according to figures by the Department of Energy. ‘‘On pretty much any climate-related indicator, the US will not look good,’’ said Glen Peters, a Norwegian climate scientist who’s part of the Global Carbon Project that ranks worldwide emissions. The United States is No. 2 in per person carbon dioxide pollution among 35 developed nations plus China, India and Brazil, Energy Department data show. That’s 19.1 tons of carbon dioxide per year for the average American, compared with 4.9 tons for the average Swede. Taking into account economics, the United States ranks 10th highest in carbon pollution per gross domestic product.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The world’s chemical weapons watchdog was preparing Friday to launch a risky United Nations-backed mission into the heart of Syria’s deadly civil war to verify and destroy the country’s chemical arsenal in a matter of months. The risks inspectors will face were underscored when a car bomb exploded outside a mosque north of Damascus, killing at least 30 people, the latest victims of a civil war which has claimed more than 100,000 lives and driven another 7 million — around a third of the country’s pre-war population — from their homes since March 2011. Law experts, meanwhile, said discussions were underway to set up a war crimes tribunal for Syria to punish perpetrators from all sides of atrocities. A late-night meeting at the Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was expected to approve a plan to rid Syria’s regime of its estimated 1,000-ton chemical arsenal by mid-2014, significantly accelerating a destruction timetable that often takes years to complete. The United Nations Security Council also was meeting Friday night in New York to discuss Syria and vote on a resolution to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons that will underpin the OPCW plan. The draft agreed upon Thursday by Russia, China, the United States, France and Britain includes two legally binding demands — that Syria abandon its chemical stockpile and allow unfettered access to the chemical-weapons experts. If Syria fails to comply, the draft says, the Security Council would need to adopt a second resolution to impose possible military and other actions on Damascus under Chapter 7 of the U.N. charter. President Barack Obama called the Security Council deal ‘‘potentially a huge victory for the international community.’’ The agreement shaping up for approval Friday represents a breakthrough after 2½ years of paralysis in a deeply divided Security Council. Diplomatic efforts to find some agreement on Syria gathered momentum in the aftermath of an Aug. 21 poison gas attack that killed hundreds of civilians in a Damascus suburb and Obama’s subsequent threat to use military force. The U.S. and Russia agree that Syria has roughly 1,000 metric tons of chemical weapons agents and precursors, including blister agents such as sulfur and mustard gas and nerve agents like sarin. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the U.N. Friday that progress in Syrian chemical disarmament ‘‘should give an impetus to’’ moves to establish a zone ‘‘free of weapons of mass destruction and means of their delivery in the Middle East.’’ Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the U.N. General Assembly he hoped the Security Council resolution would be adopted ‘‘to support the OPCW in launching the verification and destruction of chemical weapons’’ in Syria. He said China was prepared to help fund the disarmament mission. A draft of the OPCW decision obtained by The Associated Press calls for the first inspectors to be in Syria by Tuesday. Meanwhile, a group of U.N. inspectors already in Syria investigating the alleged use of chemical weapons said Friday they are probing a total of seven suspected attacks, including in the Damascus suburb where hundreds were killed last month. That number was raised from three sites previously. Attacks with conventional and makeshift weapons continued unabated. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist group that monitors the civil war, said a car bomb struck as worshippers were leaving the al-Sahel mosque after Friday prayers in Rankous, 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Damascus. Residents quickly held funerals for some of the bombing victims in line with Islamic tradition of quickly burying the dead. At one funeral, several rockets fired by government troops fell nearby, wounding some of the mourners, activist Mohammed Saeed said. Car bombs, shelling and airstrikes have become common in Syria’s civil war, heavily damaging cities and Syria’s social fabric as the conflict has taken on increasingly dark sectarian overtones that pit a primarily Sunni Muslim rebel movement against a regime dominated by Assad’s Alawite sect. The unrelenting violence led a group of international law experts to call for the creation of a war crimes court in Damascus to try top-ranking Syrian politicians, soldiers or rebels when the civil war ends. Professor Michael Scharf of Case Western Reserve University told The Associated Press that draft statutes for such a court have been quietly under development for nearly two years. Scharf said the group is going public now to push the issue of accountability for war crimes in Syria in hopes that will deter combatants from committing further atrocities. Syria is not a party to the International Criminal Court — the permanent war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands — so the ICC does not have jurisdiction over crimes there. The OPCW destruction plan calls on Syria to give inspectors unfettered access to any site suspected of chemical weapons involvement, even if Syria’s government did not identify the location. That gives the inspectors unusually broad authority. Once the plan is approved, it gives Damascus a week to provide detailed information on its arsenal, including the name and quantity of all chemicals in its stockpile; the type and quantity of munitions that can be used to fire chemical weapons; and the location of weapons, storage facilities and production facilities. All chemical weapons production and mixing equipment should be destroyed no later than Nov. 1. In an indication of the enormity of the task ahead, the OPCW also appealed for donations to fund the disarmament, saying it will have to hire new weapons inspectors and chemical experts. In Geneva, the U.N.’s top human rights body on Friday condemned what it called ‘‘systematic and widespread’’ rights violations by Syrian government forces. The Human Rights Council, meeting in Geneva, voted 40-1 with six abstentions to approve a resolution condemning ‘‘continued gross, systematic and widespread violations of human rights ... by the Syrian authorities and affiliated militias’’ and ‘‘any human rights abuses’’ by opposition groups.Associated Press writers Edith M. Lederer and Matthew Lee at the United Nations, Toby Sterling in Amsterdam and Albert Aji in Damascus contributed to this report.
What Void Is Your Addiction Really Trying To Fill? With the organic craze gathering steam over the last decade everyone seems to be looking for a more holistic way to deal with life challenges. These all-natural methods of tackling life’s problems are in response to the rising cost of healthcare and education and are also rooted in ancient teachings that extend back for civilizations. This article is all about treating your addictions more holistically by understanding the basic principles of Psychology to engage in personal growth. What does the word “holistic” mean? Before we begin the first thing we need to look it is what the word holistic really means. The concept of holism is all about treating the whole person rather than just the sum of its parts. This is in opposition to doctors who prescribe conventional medicines for a variety of symptoms when there may only be one underlying cause. This more recent practice in modern medicine is usually done for profit and results in rising healthcare costs, a greater need for insurance, and lastly the insurance subsidies that are provided through the Affordable Care Act, aka “Obamacare”. The practice of holistic healing has its roots in the Easter Orient which believes in the mind-body connection, as opposed to the allopathic medicine which focuses more on knowledge and money and separates these two. Once a patient understands this connection between their mind and their body then modern medicines will no longer work; thus they will have to find the underlying issue and deal with it. Many who have been unable to afford the insurance to get their medicines were “forced” to make lifestyle changes which they discovered later worked better than the medicine. A holistic way to treat addictions Because of the mind-body connection, this means that even addictions can be treated more holistically. Addictions themselves are psychological, just like many physical illnesses, with the underlying issue that drives us to cave in to our addictions having a more psychological basis. Thus by giving ourselves to the study of Psychology we get a better understanding or what makes us tick and can further take steps toward greater self-development and personal growth. A few examples of addictions and how to treat them holistically In this section we will look at a few addictions and how to treat each one holistically: · The biggest addiction is sexual addiction. This is more common men as they are more physical but also found in some women too. In and of itself sex is beautiful in the right context between two people who love each other. It gets corrupted if it is lust, or physical only because it leads to perversion. At its core sex is all about intimacy. All humans are sexual beings whether we are sexually active or not. A holistic way of dealing with sexual addictions is to form healthy and loving relationships with like-minded people that we can be intimate with; this does not necessarily mean have sex with though it can when we find that special someone we want to share our lives with. The greatest person we need to love before we can do such is ourselves though or we will be unable to love another human being. · There is also a group called Workaholics Anonymous. Yes work can be an addiction to. Like every other addiction we can use work to fill a void, either because we are afraid to run out of money or we are addicted to the power that our wealth gives us. Of course our addiction doesn’t have to be grounded in anything as corrupt as greed or power; it could simply because we were created for a calling that is bigger than ourselves, therefore we throw ourselves into whatever our hands find to do in an effort to find it. · All other addictions related to food, drink, and drug use are usually signs of emotional problems that we haven’t learned to manage. In many cases when we cater to an addiction it is due to stress from work or a bad relationship. The addiction then becomes an escape from reality that we can run to for solace. As we learn to manage our emotions by practicing mindfulness or simply keeping life simple we have less of a need for an external substance to medicate our stress levels. By understanding the basic principles of Psychology and the world of holistic healing we get a better understanding of the mind-body connection. This leads to greater personal growth which gives us the energy to move onto further self-development with all the energy that we freed up by not giving into addictive habits which more often than not will only leave us physically, mentally, and emotionally drained to the core. - Erwin Wooten The Daily E Blog STOP Depression & Anxiety Get the #1 Long Distance Friendships Venus & Mars: Men & Women How to Leave Your Dead End Job Discover Your Multiple Intelligences Bring Your Sexual Passion To The Bedroom Stress Relief & Relaxation Techniques Depression: Just Take Advil & Aleve? Can Meditation Help With Anxiety & Depression?
William Henry Simons was born in 1840 in Nottingham, the son of a glazier/plumber. In 1864, he joined the Robin Hoods – the 1st Nottinghamshire Volunteer Rifle Corps as it then was – and in due course rose to the rank of Colour sergeant. In the same year, he married Sarah Jane Abbott and the couple went on to have eight children: three daughters and five sons. William followed his father into the building trade, as a joiner and builder, and became one of the pioneer builders responsible for the development of West Bridgford when land was released from the Musters Estate.1 Once he had moved to West Brigford, William became firmly embedded in local life, being elected to the Local Board when it was created in 1891. He was also part of St Giles, being a Churchwarden for a number of years and, indeed, signed the contract for the extension of the church building. Sarah died in 1918 and the family donated a stained glass window to St Giles in her memory. William and Sarah’s middle son, James Abbott Simons, born in 1870, very much followed in his father’s footsteps. In the First World War he served in the 3rd Battalion of the Nottinghamshire Volunteer Regiment as temporary Honorary Lieutenant and Quartermaster.2 James also became a joiner and followed his father into the family building business, which his father had established in 1881. They formed a partnership as W & J Simons, with James running the business from 1897 onwards.3 The partnership was formally dissolved in 1919 with James taking over the business, before turning it into a limited company.4 Reporting a celebration to mark fifty years of being in business, the Nottingham Evening Post reported that “all along the line success has attended the undertaking”. William died in 1928. James served on the West Bridgford Urban District Council for many years and was twice its Chairman.5 Amongst his other interests was bowls: he was President of the Notts. County and District Bowling Association in 19326 and donated the J A Simons Thursday Cup.7 Like his father, James was also part of St Giles and supported its activities generously. In 1945, when St Giles’ was raising money for a new church building at the southern end of the parish, he and his wife donated £500.8 Then, in 1947, James donated a stained glass window to commemorate his sixty years as a chorister there.9 This was the same year that he celebrated his golden wedding, having married Alice Emily Richards at St Giles on 29 July 1897.10 James died in 1953. 1. Nottingham Evening Post 14 April 1928 2. London Gazette 22 January 1917 3. Nottingham Evening Post 1 June 1931 4. London Gazette 6 February 1920 5. Nottingham Evening Post 14 April 1928 6. Nottingham Evening Post 20 October 1932 7. Nottingham Evening Post 6 April 1939 8. Nottingham Evening Post 7 December 1945 9. Nottingham Evening Post 1 October 1947 10. Nottingham Evening Post 29 July 1947
YouTube revealed earlier this week that its users are now uploading video content to the site at a rate of one hour of video per second, or if you prefer, a day of video every 24 seconds, 9 months every 2 hours, a decade a day or a century every 10 days. However you look at it, it’s an amazing milestone. Additionally, the average YouTube visitor spends an average of 15 minutes a day on the site, accounting for a total of 4 billion video views per day, yes, BILLION. To visualise this information the good folk at YouTube have created www.onehourpersecond.com. This fun microsite helps put the numbers in to some perspective, for example; To list them all would spoil the fun, so head over to the site and experience it for yourself. This milestone is of course impressive, but for YouTube the stats could prove to be a valuable asset in drawing advertisers to the site. With sites such as LoveFilm and Netflix also looking to increase their share of the online video market, there’s more competition than ever. Will numbers alone be enough?
MCLEAN, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hilton Worldwide and its portfolio of 10 distinct hotel brands announced today its participation to celebrate Earth Hour 2011 from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, March 26, 2011. As more than a billion people and organizations around the world turn off their lights in support of energy conservation, Earth Hour will be recognized at thousands of hotels in Hilton Worldwide’s portfolio of brands including Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Hotels, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton and Hilton Grand Vacations. “As a global company with more than 3,600 hotels in 82 countries, Hilton Worldwide is always looking for ways to reduce energy consumption,” said Paul Brown, President of Global Brands & Commercial Services, Hilton Worldwide. “We intend to make a big difference through our sustainable actions, and Earth Hour is a unique opportunity for the Hilton Worldwide portfolio of brands to show its continued commitment to this important effort.” Earth Hour will be celebrated across the company’s brands and regions through a variety of activities including: - Switching off main building exterior lighting and rooftop neon signage - Shutting down business center equipment - Dimming interior lights in lobby and reception area - Encouraging guests to switch off their room lights - Staging special candle-lit dinners and events to raise awareness Hilton Worldwide has also encouraged properties within its portfolio to get creative with their Earth Hour celebrations. The Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu will encourage guests to turn off their lights and televisions and join in its second annual hour of storytelling titled “Ghost Stories, Myths & Legends of Hawaii” with one of Hawaii’s master storytellers, while the Mersin Hilton in Sokak, Turkey, is organizing a show for local students to increase their knowledge about the environment. Additional properties including the Hilton London Kensington, the Hilton Cartagena in Colombia and others around the world will recognize the initiative by creating special drinks and menus with a “green” theme, as well as preparing only cold menu items. A number of DoubleTree by Hilton properties from Malaysia to Michigan will also participate in Earth Hour by collectively flicking off hundreds of power switches around the globe. The DoubleTree by Hilton Chicago-Magnificent Mile will offer guests a chance to enjoy an eco-friendly dinner menu that uses no power to produce, and the DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Orlando at Sea World encourages guests to enjoy a complimentary organic wine tasting, as well as family-friendly nature movies at its torch-lit pool. Commitment to Sustainability Participation in Earth Hour is another step in Hilton Worldwide’s commitment to sustainability. In 2010, Hilton Worldwide became the first major multi-brand company in the hospitality industry to make sustainability measurement a brand standard with the implementation of LightStay, a sustainability tracking system developed to improve hotel performance and drive economic returns while decreasing the company’s overall impact on the environment. LightStay analyzes performance across 200 operational practices, such as housekeeping, paper-product usage, food waste, chemical storage, air quality and transportation. The system also measures energy, water use, waste and carbon output at hotels globally. In addition to its function as a measurement system, LightStay provides a “meeting impact calculator” feature that calculates the environmental impact of any meeting or conference held at a property. By December 31, 2011, all 3,600 properties within Hilton Worldwide’s global portfolio of brands will use LightStay, making the company the first major multi-brand company in the hospitality industry to require property-level measurement of sustainability. About Earth Hour Earth Hour is a global initiative in partnership with WWF. Earth Hour started in Sydney, Australia, in 2007 through a partnership between WWF Australia, Leo Burnett and Fairfax Media, when two million people in one city switched off their lights. Individuals, businesses, governments and communities are invited to turn out their lights for one hour to show their support for environmentally sustainable action. By 2010, Earth Hour had created history as the largest voluntary action ever witnessed with participation across 128 countries and every continent. About Hilton Worldwide Hilton Worldwide is the leading global hospitality company, spanning the lodging sector from luxurious full-service hotels and resorts to extended-stay suites and mid-priced hotels. For 92 years, Hilton Worldwide has been offering business and leisure travelers the finest in accommodations, service, amenities and value. The company is dedicated to continuing its tradition of providing exceptional guest experiences across its global brands. Its brands are comprised of more than 3,600 hotels and 600,000 rooms in 82 countries and include Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Hotels, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton and Hilton Grand Vacations. The company also manages the world-class guest reward program Hilton HHonors®. For more information about the company, visit http://www.hiltonworldwide.com/.
I have some money I want to invest. What do I need to know? There are many different ways you can invest your money, including property, the share market, commodities (e.g. gold), interest bearing savings accounts, and term deposits. How you decide to invest your money will ultimately depend on: - how much money you have to invest - how long you will invest it for - whether you want to earn income from your investment or grow your investment - whether you want to be able to get money out easily - how much risk (of losing your investment) you can accept You might also want to think about whether you prefer ethical investments i.e. in companies which aim to be environmentally or socially conscious. For general advice and tips on choosing a suitable way to invest your money, you will find free and independent information in the Sorted guide to investment or the Financial Markets Authority web pages. For more personalised advice you could look for a financial adviser. A specialist financial adviser can give you information and advice on investments you may be interested in. Financial advisers include financial planners, insurance companies, sharebrokers, banks, asset managers, independent advisers and some lawyers and accountants. You should shop around until you find a financial adviser that you feel comfortable with, who knows about the particular area in which you would like to invest. Read the next two questions for more information about financial advisers. Back to top Does a financial adviser have to be qualified, or can anyone do it? Many financial services organisations, e.g. banks, financial advisers, share brokers, accountants, insurance companies, and some law firms, have investment advisers who can help you invest your money. Under the Financial Service Providers Act, everyone who provides, or offers to provide, a financial service is required to register on the Financial Service Providers Register (FSPR) as a Financial Service Provider. The Act only allows for certain people to provide financial advice services, and there are different disclosure and conduct requirements according to the complexity of, and risk posed by, the advice given. Nobody can offer financial advice unless they are on the Financial Service Providers Register or are exempt under the Act. There are three main types of financial advisers: - Authorised Financial Advisers can advise you on complex investment products and offer to manage or plan your investment portfolio. Their licence sets out what types of products and services they may offer. - Registered Financial Advisers can tell you about simple investments such as bank term deposits. - Qualify Financial Entity advisers are people employed by a Qualifying Financial Entity to provide advice about the investment products which they are employed to tell you about e.g. insurance, bank term deposits, mortgages. Back to top What should I look for when choosing a financial adviser? First of all, if the adviser, is not on the register of Financial Service Providers (see the previous question), then move on to the next one. When you approach a financial adviser they must provide you with a printed Disclosure Statement before they start to give you any advice. The Disclosure Statement will tell you their contact details, describe the services they offer, provide a general description of how they are paid and provide other information about their obligations. The document will also tell you about their complaints procedure. If you are using an Authorised Financial Advisor they must also give you disclosure about the exact service they are going to provide for you including what it will cost, and how you will be charged. They also need to tell you about any commission or other incentives they receive and anything else which might influence the advice they give you, or the products they recommend. More advice on choosing a financial adviser is on this Financial Markets Authority web page and this Sorted page. If you have a complaint to make about a financial adviser, see our Financial Services Complaints page. Back to top How do I go about buying and selling shares? Do I need to go through a stock broker? If you own shares in a company then you own part of the company. If the company makes a profit you’ll be paid a portion of the profits (this is called dividends). You can also earn money by selling your shares for more than you paid for them (or lose money by selling them for less!). If you want to buy or sell shares listed on a stock exchange (whether it’s the New Zealand one, the Australian one, or that of another country) you generally need to do so through a registered share broker. There is a list of these on the NZX (New Zealand Stock Exchange) website. You can also look in the Yellow Pages or check with your bank. Share brokers charge you a fee for buying or selling shares on your behalf (called a brokerage). Once you have signed up with a share broker, they can set you up with an account, and you will be able to buy and sell by phone or Internet. Some brokers offer advice and recommendations (though they may charge a higher brokerage), so if you’re a “newbie” in the stock market you might want to consider finding such a broker. Back to top I received a letter – out of the blue - from someone offering to buy my shares – but they are offering less than what they’re worth. Should I take them up on their offer? Some companies or organisations use this method to obtain shares cheaply from people who either don’t realise they are underselling their shares, or who could do with the money and like the fact that they won’t have to go through a share broker. These offers to buy your shares at low prices are called “low-ball” offers and the Financial Markets Authority has a brochure about it which you can download from their website. It isn’t illegal for companies to do this, but think carefully before taking them up on the offer – if you don’t need the funds right now, you may as well wait to sell them at a better price through a share broker. Back to top I’ve been putting money into a managed fund for years, and it seems to be worth less now than five years ago. What can I do? When you invest in a managed fund, your money is combined with that of other investors and a fund manager puts it into a range of investments. This lets you spread the risk of your investments more widely than if you just invested in a property or one or two companies. Fund managers charge regular fees for this service, and these will vary depending on the fund manager and the type of managed fund you sign up for. KiwiSaver is a type of managed fund. If your managed fund isn’t performing as well as you’d hoped, it can be tempting to withdraw your funds and take it elsewhere. It would pay to check the terms of your investment contract though, because there might be restrictions about whether you can withdraw funds and how much you are allowed to withdraw. If you are able to withdraw your funds, they may charge you fees for doing so. You should also remember that some investments may lose money over the short or medium term, but gain in the longer term. It’s best to talk to your fund manager about your concerns and to discuss your options. If you have a financial adviser, they can also help you decide how to proceed.
Support leads to success stories It’s always nice to read an inspiring story, and in last week’s Cabinet, there was the tale of Olivia Smith, who graduated last week from Souhegan High School, and how she overcame the early tough times in her life to rise to college acceptance. Here’s the crux as we reported and that Smith and her grandmother told us: Through most of her life, she was plagued by anxiety so severe, it would send her running out of the classroom, and medication didn’t always work. Eventually, she realized how worried and distraught her problems were making her grandparents, who had obtained custody of her when she was about 8 and have been caring for her since she was a baby. So she changed. She began to meditate, she started to use breathing to center herself, she braided locks into her hair. “I found my style,” she told The Cabinet. She sure did, to the point where in the fall, she will enter Keene State College, something she once thought impossible. Smith didn’t make her brave fight alone. Her grandparents – Bev Smith-Gaulin and Bob Gaulin – stood with her for years, her English teacher Frank Gallo pushed her to apply to Keene State and her school social worker, Sheelu Joshi Flegal, made herself available to Olivia every day. They all had faith, and that helped her to find herself. There are two lessons here: Don’t count anyone out, and especially don’t count yourself out. Yes, a kid’s life can be tough, often for reasons having nothing to do with him or her directly, but most of the kids are sturdier than they think, tougher than they give themselves credit for. Olivia Smith found that out. And adults, reach out, especially to your family. What might have happened to Olivia Smith had it not been for her supportive grandparents? Thankfully, we’ll never know. They jumped in and helped her get through the tough years. And teachers, you can often be the key to helping a young person find the way, as did Frank Gallo. What would Olivia Smith have done after high school had he not pushed her toward Keene State? There are many Olivia Smiths out there who don’t have Bevs and Bobs and Franks willing to extend a hand. Perhaps you could.
Kymab believes one of its antibodies could hold the key to treating a host of auto-immune diseases. The company, which produces human antibodies using mice, has announced that KY1005 has just completed the third round of dosing in a clinical trial focusing on psoriasis patients. It means 24 patients have now been dosed, with the study targeting a final cohort of 88. Final results are expected to be announced in the first half of next year, and Kymab CEO Dr David Chiswell is optimistic about its potential. He said: “KY1005 is the first of a series of products we are developing focused on autoimmune diseases, immune-oncology, haematology and infectious disease. Our vision is to build Kymab into a major global biopharmaceutical company. “This, the first of what will be a steady stream of clinical trials, is an important step towards realising our vision. Indeed, the potential of KY1005 is such that, on its own, it could treat a number of immune and inflammatory disorders. We are confident that this will be the first of several trials on this antibody alone.” There are over 80 types of auto-immune disease, including psoriasis and others such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. All together, the conditions affect 50 million patients in the UK alone. It is hoped KY1005 can correct an underlying immune system inbalance in many of these patients. “I am delighted that we have reached another important milestone for Kymab,” added Professor Allan Bradley FRS, CTO and co-founder of Kymab. “Since our foundation only seven years ago, we have generated a number of best-in-class drug candidates using our exquisite antibody platform, which we developed to contain the entire repertoire of human antibodies, making it the most comprehensive antibody development platform available. “To now have our first antibody firmly on its clinical development pathway, with a rich pipeline of future products following, is a significant milestone and a testament to the unique qualities of the antibody drugs produced by our proprietary antibody platform as well as the performance of the Kymab team in progressing them rapidly through development and into the clinic.”
- LAST MAN STANDING - CLUB NEWS - CLUB SHOP - CONTACT US - DETAILED CODE FOR COACHES - CODES OF PRACTICE - PLAN YOUR SPORTS SESSION - CELTIC FC PARTNERSHIP - COACHING CORNER - ROLL OF HONOUR 2016 - YOUNG PEOPLE'S HEALTH IN MIND - GARDA VETTING FORM - LOTTO BINGO - LAST MAN STANDING DOCS - MANAGERS 2017 Code for Coaches The good coach will be concerned primarily with the well-being, health and future of the individual player and only secondarily with the optimising of performance. A key element in a coach/player relationship is the development of independence of the player. Players must be encouraged to accept responsibility for their own behaviour and performance in training, competition, and in their social life. The relationship between coach/player relies heavily on mutual trust and respect. In detail this means that the player should be aware of the coaches’ qualifications and experience and must be given the opportunity to consent to or decline proposals for training and performance. Coaches must not encourage players to violate the laws of the game and should actively seek to discourage such action. Furthermore, coaches should encourage players to obey the spirit of such laws. Coaches must not compromise their players by advocating measures which could be deemed to constitute seeking to gain an unfair advantage (cheating, diving, bullying). Above all, coaches must never advocate the use of proscribed drugs or other banned performance enhancing substances. Coaches must treat opponents and officials with due respect, both in victory and defeat and should encourage their players to act in a similar manner. Coaches must accept responsibility for the conduct of their players insofar as they will undertake to discourage inappropriate behaviour. Lead by Example and Demand Best Practice Standards Coaches are given a position of trust by parents/guardians and players, and are therefore expected to show the highest standards of behaviour whilst in the company of under age players. As a coach of under age players, you act in “loco parentis” and therefore your duty of care is more onerous than that of a coach to an adult team. The coach must consistently display high personal standards and project a favourable image of the game and of coaching - to other players, coaches, officials, spectators, the media and the general public. Personal appearance is a matter of individual taste but the coach has an obligation to project an image of health, cleanliness and functional efficiency. Coaches should not drink alcohol so soon before coaching that their judgement may be impaired and the smell of alcohol will still be on their breath when working with players. Whilst players are present, consumption of alcohol should be avoided. When the event is a social one, with players present, consumption should be moderate. As persons responsible for the well-being of young people, it is inappropriate to smoke in their presence or to behave in any fashion inconsistent with your position of responsibility. Coaches/volunteers must respect the rights, dignity and worth of every human being and their ultimate right to self-determination. Specifically, coaches/volunteers must treat everyone equally within the context of their activity, regardless of sex, ethnic origin, religion or political persuasion. Coaches have a responsibility to ensure the safety of the players with whom they work as far as possible within the limits of their control. Therefore coaches should seek to create a safe and enjoyable environment in which to play and train. Injuries should be recorded, with a note of action taken in relation to each one. It is recommended that each club maintain an accident/incident book with a specific report form to be completed by the coach/manager. A first aid kit should be available at all training sessions and matches. Parents/guardians should be notified of injuries/illness which their children incur while participating in a sporting activity. It would also be advisable for coaches to inform parents if their child becomes upset for whatever reason. The reason why the child became upset may then be clarified. It could be that a child has miss interpreted something that has been said or it could be an indication of bullying. Parents/guardians should be informed of the starting and finishing times of training sessions and matches. Besides necessary manipulation of limbs in teaching technique, physical contact is not appropriate. In the sporting context certain types of coaching requires a “hands on approach” i.e. it may be necessary to support a child in order to physically demonstrate a technique. This should only occur when necessary and in an open and appropriate way with the knowledge, permission and full understanding of the child concerned and where appropriate the parents/guardians. Coaches should not treat injuries out of sight of others. Use a "Two-Deep" (two personnel, or two players) supervision system. Only personnel who are qualified in administering First Aid or treating sports injuries should attempt to treat an injury. The comfort level and dignity of the player should always be the priority. Example: Only uncover the injured area, or cover private areas of the athlete's body. Generally, physical contact between players or coach and players should not involve touching genital area, buttocks, breasts, or mouths and should only occur when others are present. (“Two Deep” supervision) Any doubts of a medical nature should be passed on to a suitably qualified medical person. Coaches should not play injured players. Comforting/congratulating players is an important part of the relationship between coaches and players. Guidelines for this type of touch are: Limit touching to "safe" areas, such as hand-to-shoulder. It should not involve touching genital area, buttocks, breasts, or mouths. Make your intention to congratulate or comfort clear to the player. Get permission from the player before embracing them - remember that personnel are in the position of power. Respect a players discomfort or rejection of physical contact. Be sure that touching occurs only when others are present. Coaches are responsible for setting and monitoring the boundaries between a working relationship and friendship with their players. This is particularly important when the coach and players are of opposite sex and/or when the player is a young person. Young players need a coach whom they can respect, therefore it is important that coaches should lead by example. Young players play for fun and enjoyment therefore skill development and playing for fun take precedence over highly structured competition. Winning is not the only objective. Coaches should set realistic goals for both the team and individual players and should not push young players into inappropriate or over competitive adult like competitions. In relation to young players, coaches should ensure that all players participate and “average” players require and deserve equal time and attention. Do not over-burden younger players with too much information. Coaches should help and encourage young players to develop basic skills and sportsmanship and they should avoid over-specialisation in positional play during their formative years. Coaches should ensure that all players are aware that “bullying” whether verbal or physical will not be tolerated. Coaches should advise players and parents on how and whom to go to if they wish to make a complaint. All clubs should have a systematic complaints procedure. A coach must not attempt to exert undue influence over the player’s performance in order to obtain personal benefit or reward. The coach must realise that certain situations or friendly actions could be misinterpreted, not only by the player, but by outsiders motivated by jealousy, dislike or mistrust and could lead to allegations of sexual misconduct or impropriety. Therefore coaches should be aware of, and avoid all situations conducive to risk. The coach will on occasion be required to travel and reside with players in the course of coaching and competitive matches. On such occasions, ensure separate sleeping accommodation for officials and players. Coaches who use their own vehicles to transport players must ensure that they have adequate insurance cover and be careful not to carry more than the permitted number of passengers. Coaches should be careful not to expose children especially younger participants to extreme weather conditions. Decisions in this regard should be made from the child’s perspective. Where the team is composed of both genders, there should be a male and female official present. The coach should never be in a room or similar alone with a player. Where this is unavoidable, leave the door open and be within earshot of others. (“Two Deep” supervision) Officials should avoid situations where they are alone with young players in changing rooms. Wherever practicable, there should always be two or more adults in changing rooms. Physical relationships with under-age players are illegal. Children are defined in Irish law as any person under the age of 18 years. The use of drugs, alcohol and tobacco should be actively discouraged as being incompatible with a healthy approach to the playing of the game. Coaches should strive to eliminate all unfair practices, including the use of drugs which effect performance. The Football Association of Ireland has amended its rules to include a child protection element in line with recent child welfare legislation and Government Guidelines. Specifically coaches/volunteers are required to operate within these recommended codes of conduct and best practice. Breaches of this code may constitute a disciplinary offence. Where possible, coaches should avoid: spending excessive amounts of time with children away from others taking sessions alone (always employ “Two Deep” supervision) taking children to their homes taking children on journeys alone in their car Coaches should not use any form of corporal punishment or physical force on a child exert undue influence over a participant in order to obtain personal benefit or engage in rough physical games, sexually provocative games or allow or engage in inappropriate touching of any kind. make sexually suggestive comments about, or to a child. take measurements or engage in certain types of fitness testing without the presence of another adult. (“Two Deep” supervision) undertake any form of therapy (hypnosis etc.) in the training of children. ridicule or shout at a child for making a mistake or losing a game put undue pressure on a child to please or perform well
Cannabis farmers are always searching for ways to optimize productivity. Larger yields, higher quality and ways to cut costs top the directives. Within this industry however, there seems to be an overuse of synthetic fertilizers with little understanding of the biological systems involved in nutrient uptake and disease control. Many inexperienced growers overuse synthetic fertilizers, hoping that more nutrients means higher yields. All that really happens is a massive salt buildup, which leads to dead microbes, nutrient lockout, and a lot of flushing. Many others overdo synthetic fungicides without really targeting “the root” of the problem. Over the last 20 years, compost tea has been clearly gaining traction as an important variable on organic and sustainable crop production. Anecdotal evidence, now coupled with considerable scientific research now proves various types of compost teas can suppress plant pathogens and diseases while also boosting yields and quality through microbial activity, effectively eliminating the need for hazardous agrochemicals. What is Compost Tea and How Does it Work? Technically, compost tea is where beneficial microorganisms are extracted from compost, humus or vermicompost (worm compost). When provided with the right food source, their populations can effectively multiply into the billions. Jeff Lowenfels, the author of Teaming With Microbes, reports that the bacterial population in 1 teaspoon of compost can grow from 1 billion to 4 billion in an aerated compost tea (ACT). So when compost tea is brewed, you are literally creating life by facilitating the population growth of diverse groups of microorganisms. High quality compost tea will have all of these organisms working synergistically in the soil to optimize conditions that facilitate nutrient uptake and plant health. Many nutrients used in compost tea recipes function as a fertilizer for the plants as well. Some benefits from using compost tea include: • Enhancing plant health while suppressing disease • Using less fungicides, fertilizers & maximizing nutrient uptake • Working synergistically with biological pest controls • Recharging the old soil with fresh microorganisms • Increasing water holding capacity of soils • Building farmable horizons of poorly structured soils Compost Tea Dynamics When you utilize compost tea, your soil and plants receive a concentrated dose of microorganisms that you have created in a bucket. Luke A. Besmer, a biologist who runs a business out of Humboldt County called TeaLab, breaks it down a bit by saying, “A good compost tea is a living soup of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and nematodes that help to provide your garden with essential nutrition, and also protect it from disease. Some of the microbes directly benefit the plant, while others are there to help create and maintain a complete and healthy soil system.” The ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture Program provides helpful insights into the benefits of foliar spraying. They explain, “When compost teas are sprayed onto the leaf surface, these beneficial organisms occupy spatial niches on the leaf surface and gobble up leaf exudates that pathogenic organisms would otherwise feed on to prosper; other microbes directly interfere with pathogenic organisms through antagonism. Pathogenic organisms that land on the leaf surface simply cannot compete with the beneficial organisms and therefore have a greatly reduced chance to initiate disease in the first place.” Root drenching with compost tea allows microorganisms go to work in the soil and provides a similar method of antagonism as the foliar spray. There is an amazing process of communication between the plants roots and the microbiology found in the growing medium. The plants roots exude (release) a variety of molecules into the rhizosphere (root zone). These “exudates” include things like acids, sugars and enzymes, which create an optimal chemical environment where the bacteria and fungi intermingle. There is an exchange that takes place. Mycorrhizal fungi, for example, bring water and nutrients to the plants roots in exchange for certain exudates. Protozoa eat bacteria, releasing nutrients that the plants roots can readily uptake. The relationships of these microorganisms work synergistically with the plants root systems to modulate nutrient uptake and optimize plant health. The best way to describe it is “probiotics for plants”! Bacterial vs. Fungal Tea Using the right tea depends on what you are trying to achieve with your soil or phyllosphere (above ground plant matter). High sugar teas will produce teas high in bacterial populations. Teas brewed with humic acids, kelp and bokashi will produce a fungal dominated tea. A well-balanced tea facilitating both bacterial and fungal populations would provide sensible ratios for cannabis. If you are planting in native soil, different ratios will be more beneficial depending on soil type. Types of Compost Tea and Parameters Today when industry talks about compost tea, they are typically referring to aerated mixtures. These are called aerated compost teas (ACT). There are other types of “compost teas” less commonly used. They are called non-aerated compost tea, anaerobic compost tea, manure tea, compost leachate and fermented plant teas. This article will solely address the use of ACT. Dr. Elaine Ingham is an American microbiologist and soil biology researcher and founder of Soil Foodweb Inc. and is considered by many to be the pioneer into microbial analysis of compost teas. She clearly stipulates the most important ingredient in compost tea is the quality of the compost since all the organisms in compost tea come from the compost itself. The typical base ingredients used in brewing compost tea are: Compost, Vermicompost (worm castings) and Humus. The high-end organic versions of these provide the highest ratio of beneficial microorganisms with the highest quality and cleanest inputs. A general rule of thumb is to find OMRI listed compost. Vital Earth makes an excellent OMRI certified compost. Alaskan Humus Soil is another favorite. Foods & Nutrients Food sources are what facilitate the explosion of microbial populations. Many ingredients that are food for your microbes actually double as a nutritive fertilizer for you plants. A typical list of ingredients being used throughout Humboldt County and the Pacific Northwest include: Fish Hydrolysate, Kelp, Insect Frass, Alfalfa, Glacial Rock, Azomite, Bokashi, Humic/Fulvic Acid, Molasses, Yucca and Guanos. The ingredients will also determine whether your tea is bacterially dominated vs. fungal dominated. There are many decent recipes found on the web and in hydroponic stores that carry compost tea. There is also a handy app called the Compost Tea Calculator that provides recipes and instructions. Properly controlling oxygen input into the water is critical. Dr. Ingham describes, “A large problem in making highly beneficial teas is when microbial growth rapidly uses up a significant portion of the oxygen such that anaerobic conditions ensue, and materials that are toxic to plant growth are produced in the tea.” Oxygen probes are desirable for larger operations that can afford to invest in the equipment. Aerated compost teas thrive at dissolved oxygen levels above 6 ppm. Most of the brewing kits provide large enough air pumps to meet the 6ppm threshold. Temperature and Time There is a temperature range that works best for compost tea and it is around 65ºF-85ºF. Any colder and the microorganisms will take longer to populate or not even reproduce. Any hotter and the tea may bloom too fast and have heavy dieoffs, making the tea go anaerobic and prone to pathogen growth. The general rule of thumb is the warmer the tea the faster it will brew. Typical brewing times extend from 24-48 hours depending on temperature. With the right management program integrating compost tea, you can use ½ to 1/3 fewer nutrients and still get increased yields, higher quality and clearly superior flavor. A very successful regime observed in Humboldt County involves transitioning between traditional fertilizers, watering, and compost tea applications. So one would use their liquid fertilizer on the first watering, the second watering would be the compost tea and the third watering would be plain water. You can repeat that schedule or mix and match in different patterns depending on other variables your dealing with. Some growers dilute the tea and some apply it as full strength. Some growers simply pre-amend their soils with organic fertilizers and then apply water and compost tea periodically throughout the growing cycles. Buying the right equipment can save lots of time in the long run. The first step is to access how much tea you will need to treat your farm and whether you are going to be foliar spraying or root drenching. A 5 gallon batch of compost tea used for foliar spraying can cover 1000 square feet, where it could take 50-200 gallons of compost tea to root drench. As you scale up in systems, so do the costs. Air Blowers, Large Tanks, Pumps, cleaning equipment are typical purchases when operating +100 gallon systems. A couple companies that make really nice larger kits are Vital Garden Supply, BioLogic Systems, Synergy and Microbe Makers. Time and resources spent cleaning the equipment should also be considered. Small systems 5-50 gallons are fairly streamlined and easier to wash. Larger systems, like 100-1000 gallons can require pressure washers or full hydrogen peroxide rinses. If brewed improperly, aerated compost tea can actually do more harm than good by adding detrimental pathogens to the soil. Teas that smell sour, putrid or rotten typically have gone anaerobic. Discretion is warranted and sometimes teas need to be discarded. Without the use of microscopes and knowledge of microbiology, the compost tea brewing process has a level of subjectivity to it. The smell of teas is complex and depends on the input ingredients. A tea brewed with just molasses and worm castings will smell much different than a tea made with fish hydrolysate, kelp and compost. Having a microscope to view growth provides precision to know when your teas peak in populations. Careful management is integral in producing high quality teas. Foliar spraying compost teas during flowering should be avoided. As the industry evolves, analytical laboratories are becoming more stringent with their microbial residue testing, with good cause. Compost tea should not be applied to cannabis sold as flowers. If cannabis is grown for concentrate production, studies need to be performed to determine that spraying throughout flowering will not impact microbial counts in analytical tests. Ideally it would only be foliar sprayed during vegetative growth and used as a root drench during flowering. More studies need to be conducted to determine if compost tea can be applied in the first several weeks of flowering. Compost teas are considered to be an integral component of many ecologically minded cannabis farmers. The bottom line is that using compost tea will save you money by cutting down on expensive nutrient lines. It will help reduce fungicide use, intensify the terpene profiles and when used properly with other organic fertilizers, it will synergistically boost yields beyond what standard practices could do alone. By: Cannabis Horticultural Association
On April 15, 2013, two homemade pressure-cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Three people, including an 8-year-old boy, were killed. Hundreds of others were seriously injured. The city of Boston was paralyzed by a gripping manhunt for two suspects — two brothers. Days later, 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed during a shoot-out with police following the death of an MIT police officer and carjacking. Tamerlan’s younger brother, 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was injured and subsequently captured. Dzhokhar was charged with using and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death and malicious destruction of property resulting in death. Dzhokhar now awaits trial and is facing the death penalty in Massachusetts. At the time of the manhunt, the brothers allegedly were plotting together to detonate more explosives in Times Square in New York City. Meanwhile in Boston, after decades on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted List,” James “Whitey” Bulger Jr. was about to stand trial on 32 counts of racketeering, money laundering, extortion, weapons, and murder charges. In the summer of 2013, Whitey was found guilty on 31 of the charges and was sentenced to two consecutive life terms. During Whitey’s trial, his younger brother, William Bulger, was in active retirement after 18 years as the president of the Massachusetts Senate as well as president of the University of Massachusetts, a position he resigned in the wake of controversy surrounding his refusal to testify about his brother. In contrast to Whitey, William was an army veteran and lawyer whose life was characterized by education and public service. What do these two divergent tales of brothers teach us about sibling relationships? How is it that one pair of siblings bonds together to walk the same course while other siblings seek opposite pursuits? Characteristics of sibling relationships Children in the United States are more likely to grow up with their siblings than with their fathers. Over the course of their lifetimes, most children will spend more time with their siblings than they spend with anyone else, including their parents. Despite this reality, research and interventions for children focus on the parent-child relationship as the primary source of influence on child outcomes; the effects of siblings on child behavior and health are often underestimated. However, recent research reveals what brothers and sisters have recognized all along — that siblings play a key role in child development and behavior. The differential power and roles between siblings are related to their broader cultural context. Cultures define who is considered a sibling, the meaning and importance of the relationship, and the obligations siblings have within the family and to one another. These cultural proscriptions are often dependent on immutable structural characteristics of the sibling relationship, such as birth order, gender, and age spacing. Prince William and Prince Henry (“Harry”) of Great Britain’s royal family provide a vivid public example of how the structural features of a sibling relationship can be institutionalized and shape expectations and life trajectories. Sibling relationships are not elective; children pick their friends but not their brothers and sisters. Emotions between siblings are characteristically intense and can cycle rapidly between love and hostility. During early childhood, siblings are often primary companions as well as competitors. This is believed to provide a fertile training ground for the development of social skills and future relationships. The impact of a warm and supportive sibling relationship or a conflictual, unsupportive one is lifelong. Warmth in the sibling relationship is associated with significant social and emotional advantages in later life. For example, compared to only children, children who have at least one sibling at home display greater social competence and peer acceptance from kindergarten through their early school years. Adolescents who report positive sibling relationships have better peer relationships and fewer depressive symptoms later in life. Warmth and closeness in the sibling relationship are also associated with greater ease and intimacy in romantic relationships. Finally, during middle age and old age, mood, health, loneliness, and depression are related to how people feel about their sibling relationships. Having a close, positive relationship with one’s siblings is not only a source of life satisfaction, but can also provide a buffer from stressful events, such as parental absence, marital conflict, and illness. Younger siblings tend to imitate and “look up to” their older siblings. If the older sibling responds in an attentive and caring manner, the seeds of similarity are planted. If the older sibling is rejecting of the younger child, their paths are more likely to separate. Conflict and aggression between siblings is very common. It has been suggested that one way siblings learn to manage competition and conflict is by differentiating themselves, carving out different identities or roles within the family. Thus, one child becomes known as the reckless, defiant one, while the other sibling becomes the easygoing, conservative one. Even when siblings pursue very distinct identities and life courses, their bond can be very enduring. Think of the case of the Bulger brothers. One brother led a life of crime and the other a life of public service. William was not able or willing to overcome the sibling bond to testify about his contact with his brother, thereby forfeiting his position as president of UMass. Physical aggression occurs among siblings in the majority of families (i.e., 70% of families). Sibling conflict has been measured up to eight times in a single hour and is the number-one reason for discord between parents and children. However, parents will also dismiss levels of violence between siblings that they would never conceive of tolerating if they occurred outside the context of a sibling relationship. Violence between siblings is the most common form of child abuse and is significantly related to later substance use and delinquency. Sibling – strong effects within the family Sibling relationships do not occur in a vacuum. Siblings share parents, relatives, and school and other social environments, as well as their genes. Siblings raised in a home with authoritarian, harsh parents are more likely to be at odds with one another. How parents handle sibling conflict has a significant impact on the sibling relationship. When parents intercede in sibling conflict to determine which child is most at fault or “who started it,” the sibling relationship sours. Siblings often compare themselves to one another and compare how they are treated by others, particularly parents. When children perceive favoritism or unfair differential parental treatment, the quality of the parent-child and sibling relationships suffers. For the less favored sibling, differential parental treatment is associated with lower self-esteem, more depressive symptoms, and more antisocial and delinquent behavior, as well as more substance use. One area of particularly strong sibling influence, even stronger than the influence of parents, is in the development of antisocial attitudes and conduct, and health risk behavior. The process of “sibling deviancy training” refers to the situation in which (generally older) siblings model, encourage, and reinforce antisocial behavior in their younger siblings. Younger siblings who shadow and hang out with their older siblings are introduced to their antisocial peers and behavior and begin to display negative behaviors more than siblings who do not hang out with their antisocial siblings. Eventually, the sibling relationship transitions from deviancy training to partners in crime; older and younger siblings begin to conspire together in more antisocial behavior and substance use. Even after controlling for the effects of parent substance use, siblings are four times more likely to smoke if their older sibling smokes, and are twice as likely to drink alcohol if an older sibling does. Finally, younger sisters are five times more likely to become pregnant if they have an older sister who was pregnant. The power of the antisocial or behaviorally risky older sibling is magnified when parents are unstable or absent. Think back to the Tsarnaev brothers, whose parents, after years of struggling in the United States, returned to Russia, leaving the younger brother under the influence of his elder, radicalizing brother. Conclusions and implications Siblings hold the power to inspire as well as corrupt. Given the intensity and longevity of their bond, how can we engage this power for positive change? It is time to move beyond family interventions that are directed solely at parents (i.e., mothers). When working with children and adolescents, inquire about siblings — their relationships, strengths, and challenges. How much time do they spend together? How are they similar and where do their interests overlap? Be attentive and responsive to reports of sibling violence; do not dismiss these as “normal” and, therefore, acceptable. Consider how recommendations regarding one child might affect other children in the family. Is the heightened attention expected from parent-directed intervention likely to plant negative feelings of differential parental treatment among the other children? Actively help families understand that the investment made early in the sibling relationship has value that lasts a lifetime.
Easy Steps to Chinese, Picture Flash Card, Level 1, Simplified This flash card is an effective and fun approach in teaching Chinese as a second language. Easy Steps to Chinese series is a task based program designed by popular learning Chinese resources authors which was mainly patterned from the suggestions and feedback they gathered from teachers who used previous textbook series in the classroom. Easy Steps to Chinese Picture Flash Card is part of an effective learning program which includes: a textbook with an audio CD, workbook, teacher's book with a CD and a words card. Great to use as a supplement or follow on Easy Steps to Chinese, Textbook, Level 1
Posting negative comments on the Web about products and services is fast becoming the most popular channel for Chinese consumers to vent their spleen. Yet, behind this veneer of free expression lies a murky world of cyber bullies and unscrupulous webmasters who are manipulating the media to either promote or smear a company's image for profit. In a country with nearly 400 million Web users, online marketing has become a big business and has spawned a legion of Internet public relations agencies. Their services include not only getting a product seen but also removing any negative feedback they find. "Real estate, cars, electronics: These are usually the most lucrative when it comes to deleting negative posts," said Ma Mingdong, a 25-year-old Beijing blogger and online marketer. "Many people think it's complicated to delete posts but it isn't." He said it costs just a few hundred yuan to bribe staff at a website or forum to delete posts, and if that fails, "paid posters" - netizens hired to leave fake comments and delete genuine ones - can use software to copy the official documents and identification that websites need before they agree to remove a comment. Posts can be deleted legitimately when a company or individual provides a copy of their ID card or business license, while many websites, including Baidu Post and tianya.cn, have issued statements saying they provide the service for free. Several chat groups on QQ, the instant messaging service, have even become mini-trading centers where PR firms regularly advertise for paid posters, otherwise known as shuijun, the "water army". However, industry experts argue that the use of shuijun undermines consumer trust in the Web, as well as underlines the need for stricter policies to protect the rights of netizens and ensure fair competition. The China International PR Association also released guidelines shortly after World Consumer Rights Day - March 15 - that specifically bar marketers from paying to have genuine negative comments removed. With the vast amount of information uploaded every minute, though, the rule is virtually impossible to enforce. "Deleting posts and comments is part of our daily job," said a Beijing Web editor named Zhang who works at a popular online forum and has to review more than 2,000 comments each day. "There are so many topics that need to be monitored, and comments need to be deleted (for legitimate reasons) all the time. It would be very easy for me to delete negative posts about a company if I wanted to." More worrying, perhaps, is the growing use of fake negative comments by websites to pressure businesses into advertising with them. Wang Yu (not his real name) worked as a Web editor for a property website in Jiangsu province after graduating from college in 2007. He said his job involved copying various articles about real estate agents from other sites and then leaving fake complaints about them under any number of pre-registered usernames. "Negative comments are like intangible assets," said the 26-year-old, before explaining that the companies usually responded to his comments "about poor service and bad construction" by offering to advertise with the site - on condition that the posts are deleted. It is a common problem faced by many Chinese businesses, and can be particularly hard on small, family-run firms that cannot afford to hire a PR firm to protect their reputation. "Deleting news articles is difficult, but deleting posts from online forums is very common nowadays, only the price changes," said Li Haigang, founder of Caogen PR, an Internet marketing company. "If one of my clients gets negative posts on certain online forum, everyone would say, 'Oh, they are in trouble' - but only because this forum charges more than the others. "Of course, no one would list 'post deleting' as part of the contract," he added. "The deals (between the website and the companies) are made in the name of advertising." Although arguably ethically wrong, there is no law stopping this practice and is deemed legitimate if both sides reach an agreement. Zhao Chaofeng stares over a laptop at the Beijing branch of 315ts.net, a consumer protection website on June 3, 2010. Zhao keeps a watch on the Internet's consumer forums by deleting posts that are proven to be fraudulent and helps to take customers' complaints. [Johnah M. Kessel China Daily] "Since these websites are private companies, they have the right to manage their content, which includes deleting posts," said Zhang Zhisheng, a lawyer with Beijing Zhongyin Law Firm. Wang Yu wrote about his experience and posted it online because he wanted to tell people not to pay too much attention to harsh comments. "Some of it is simply manipulation by Web editors, who are trying to cause a debate so that people can keep the conversation going," he said. Websites often run the risk of being sued for defamation if they refuse to delete comments about certain products. The most high-profile case was in 2007 when 315ts.net, a consumer protection website based in Beijing, was taken to court by two companies over posts they claimed damaged their image. Doctor Bai, a cosmetics firm, and BiosTime Inc, which makes health food for children, both filed lawsuits claiming the site had faked comments about their products. Judges eventually ruled in the website's favor because there was no evidence to suggest the posts were not genuine. "Enterprises have an obligation to tolerate criticism," was all Wang Fushan, chief executive of 315ts.net, would say about the outcome. China has almost 400 million Web users, which has made Web marketing a big business. [China Daily file photo] Since the website was launched in 2005, it has received more than 700,000 complaints from customers across China. After the lawsuit, users were asked to register and provide contact information to ensure the validity of their comments. "We receive at least five calls a day from people asking us to remove complaints from our website," said the CEO, who insisted that his 30 staff members only delete content when a customer's problem is solved. "You can't depend on people's conscience to do the right thing, though," said Wang Fushan, who receives an e-notification every time a post is deleted. "You need a good system to prevent abuses from happening." Like many websites, 315ts.net generates its income from advertising and selling data analysis of its customer complaints. Before filing the lawsuit, Doctor Bai paid 5,000 yuan ($730) to place a product safety announcement on the site. However, Wang stressed: "Our advertising is completely separate from our content. Even if a company advertises with us, customers can still file complaints about them." The CEO said that although the websites that accept money to delete posts are breaching netizens' trust, the real problem lies with the companies that pay them. "No companies went bankrupt because of bad comments, they go out of business because of other problems," he added. The growing demand for deleting posts deals a real blow to the ongoing efforts to protect consumer rights in China. Many have turned to the Web to air their grievances because the other mechanisms on offer are slow, complicated and ineffective. People unhappy with products can file complaints with industrial and commercial bureaus, but as there are few institutions that provide independent tests, it is difficult for customers to back up their claims, especially when it comes to property, automobiles and electrical goods. Legal procedures are also expensive and time-consuming. The situation has led many consumers to believe that the best way to have a complaint heard is through publicity. A worker at 315ts.net reviews posts on the consumer rights protection website. [Johnah M. Kessel China Daily] A recent online survey by sina.com, a Chinese news website, found that one-third of the 783 netizens polled see the media as the most efficient way to solve a dispute. "Not all the disputes can be solved this way but I like to report my complaints to warn others that there is a problem," said Qu Lingdi, a network engineer in Beijing. Although PR expert Li Haigang said he believes deleting posts is still a "necessary measure", he admitted that "papering over the cracks" of a problem usually only leads to crisis in the future. "Communication is the best solution," he said. "If these bad comments are being generated by competitors, then we can find out the source and tell them to stop. Otherwise, we will fight back." However, the current law is too slow to prevent the fast spread of information on the Internet, he argued. "Do you know how long it takes a company to file a lawsuit against libel?" he asked. "Netizens' attention spans are very short, so it could be too late once a bad impression is made." For those people who have noticed their posts being deleted, however, they say they have already lost faith in what they read on the Web. "I don't trust websites anymore," said blogger Ma Mingdong, who has given up posting negative articles. "My posts are just tools for these websites to make money." Related Reading: A paid poster who refuses to delete More cover stories
Adapted by screenwriter Terence Winter from the personal memoir of Jordan Belfort, The Wolf of Wall Street indicates that when Belfort first attempted to establish himself on Wall Street, he did so in a more traditional and honest manner. However, Belfort’s twisted boss, Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey), quickly dismisses and distorts any notion of pursuing a morally just path to success and convinces Belfort that drugs, sex, and greed are a necessity to prosper on Wall Street. After being laid off during the market crash of 1987, Belfort takes Hanna’s advice to heart and starts his own “chop shop” brokerage in a converted garage, ripping off people by selling them unregulated penny stocks over the phone. Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill) joins Belfort in this business venture early on and quickly becomes Belfort’s right hand man, as well as his wingman in their unending conquest of money, drugs, and prostitutes. By giving their business an old money name, Stratton Oakmont, Belfort and his employees gain the confidence of higher income investors, and through “pump and dump” operations, they find ways of turning enormous profits. Ultimately, the presentation of their savage pursuit of money and power is where the film truly succeeds. In the earlier scene with Hanna, there is one point where he thumps a drum pattern on his chest while humming along. Eventually this becomes the anthem of Belfort’s firm and largely operates as a tribal, barbaric song for the ruthless pursuit of more material goods, revealing the central premise of the film that more is never enough. In addition, it provides depth to the animalistic nickname of “the Wolf” that Belfort is given. However, despite being a rather corrupt and menacing businessman, DiCaprio’s performance and witty narration as Belfort makes him an oddly likable scoundrel. Furthermore, the stylistic inclusion of narration naturally brings to mind Scorsese’s earlier films, Goodfellas and Casino. But whereas each of these earlier pieces made use of mild distancing through the narration, in The Wolf of Wall Street, we are always right in the thick of things, which yields a suffocating effect that quickens the pace of the film and enhances our understanding of the chaotic lifestyle that Belfort and his staff embraced. Aided by excellent acting from DiCaprio, we truly see how warped Belfort’s mentality becomes from his pursuit of capitalist excess. In one scene, Belfort talks about a depressed employee who killed himself, but quickly moves onto another topic. In another scene, Belfort explains how the brokers classified prostitutes by cost and attractiveness, referring to them as “blue chips,” “NASDAQs,” and “pink sheets.” Nevertheless, through DiCaprio’s eccentric performance, we are largely blinded to how squalid the majority of The Wolf of Wall Street actually is. Although Scorsese is now in his early 70s, The Wolf of Wall Street feels very much like a younger man’s film. While the three hour long film does tend to drag at moments, I still believe that the film’s intended depiction of capitalist addiction resounds quite strongly. By the film’s end, even though Belfort is removed from his position at Stratton Oakmont, he doesn’t seem to show any sort of remorse for his unethical actions. Instead, Belfort becomes a motivational speaker that seeks to sell the “American Dream.” Through this ending, we are forced to evaluate our own views on capitalism and really question greed in America. Overall, given the film’s strong acting, excellent directing, and relentless storytelling, it seems quite evident that Scorsese is still capable of producing great movies, furthering his legacy as one of America’s finest directors of all time.
Office of the General Solicitor for Minors and Wards of Court The General Solicitor for Minors and Wards of Court is a solicitor in the service of the state appointed by the President of the High Court to act in certain wardship matters. The General Solicitor is accountable to the High Court for all monies and assets under his/her control relating to the affairs of a minor or ward.The General Solicitor is entitled to costs in respect of the work carried out. These costs are generally paid from the ward's funds. These bills are measured by the registrar for Wards of Court or are taxed by the Taxing Master. The General Solicitor can only act as solicitor in those matters assigned to them by the registrar of the Wards of Court. The General Solicitor cannot take on private clients like a solicitor in private practice. In addition to acting as solicitor in respect of the legal affairs of individual wards, the General Solicitor also undertakes the following legal work: - The issue of wardship proceedings in respect of an individual. If that individual ward is brought into wardship the General Solicitor may or may not be appointed committee - Where a solicitor brings a wardship bill before the Taxing Master to have costs measured, the General Solicitor may be requested by the registrar of the Wards of Court to act as opponent before the Taxing Master in respect of the costs claimed. - In certain instances where the General Solicitor is not committee of an individual ward, she may be directed by the President of the High Court to represent a particular interest in proceedings before the court which involve a ward or have a bearing on wardship matters. Further information is available from the office of the General Solicitor for Minors and Wards of Court in the 15-24 Phoenix Street North Tel:+353 (0)1 8886000
Stem Cell Research Products Move your research from cells to discovery At every step, our extensive selection of tools for the isolation, culture, engineering, differentiation, and analysis of stem cells will allow you to push your experiments forward and address your questions. Stem Cell Generation Cell reprogramming is often the first step for both basic and translational researchers using iPS cells. We offer reagents for both viral- and transfection-based delivery of reprogramming factors. Xfect Transfection Reagent can be used to efficiently deliver reprogramming factor-encoding plasmids to adult cells. Xfect reagent is a biodegradable transfection polymer that has been used to transfect a broad range of cell types with high efficiency and very low cytotoxicity. Our high-titer, high-purity, ready-to-use lentiviral particles deliver reprogramming factors. Both constitutive and inducible expression systems are available. Stem Cell Culture Stem cell culture is accompanied by extra challenges, and it is critical to maintain genetic stability, ensure stemness, and prevent spontaneous differentiation. Cellartis media and supplements are optimized for derivation, maintenance, and expansion of pluripotent cells. iMatrix-511 is a xeno-free recombinant laminin fragment for ES or iPS cell culture substrate; iMatrix-511 provides greater adhesive properties than full-length laminin, vitronectin, or reagents containing an undefined mixture of basement membrane. Stem Cell Modification CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing can be used to modify pluripotent stem cells, providing an opportunity to create customized disease models. We offer a complete suite of tools for genome editing. Stem Cell Differentiation Stem cells offer the opportunity to obtain homogeneous populations of terminally differentiated cell types that may be difficult to isolate in their native form. Start with our highly pure human pluripotent cell lines, or let us do the work and use our high-quality human iPS cell-derived cells for your toxicity or discovery studies. - Cellartis Enhanced hiPS-HEP cells are a highly homogeneous population of iPS cell-derived hepatocytes that express functional enzymes and are ideal for use in drug metabolism studies, toxicity testing, and other applications that require large amounts of functional human hepatocytes. - Cellartis Cardiomyocytes are a highly homogeneous population of cardiomyocytes derived from human iPS cells. These cells have an electrophysiological profile resembling that of adult human primary cardiomyocytes and are ideal for cardiotoxicity testing. Directing stem cell differentiation requires optimized culture methods and reagents in order to ensure a reproducible and reliable outcome. - NDiff 227 is a defined, serum-free medium supplemented with N2 and B-27 for neural differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells. - RHB-A is a defined, serum-free medium that can be used to differentiate mouse and human neural stem cells into functional neurons, and to differentiate mouse ES cells into neuronal precursors. Stem Cell Characterization Your experiments may require sensitive methods to identify and characterize differentiated cells. We offer a variety of antibodies for characterizing pluripotency, monitoring differentiation, identifying and sorting differentiated cells, and tracking transplanted human stem cells.
An overwhelming number of visitors to Community Care’s website believe the training provided to frontline children and families social workers is inadequate. Eighty-five per cent said the training was not adequate, and only 15 per cent said it was sufficient. The findings reflect a Community Care survey which revealed that a majority of social workers working with children and families believe they have not received the training they need. This week’s question asks: Should UK social services departments recruit social workers from countries, such as South Africa, that have severe social problems and a shortage of social workers? Dr Zola Skweyiya, South Africa’s minister for social development, told delegates at last week’s Community Care Live conference that Britain was “robbing” South Africa of its social workers. He called on the government in this country to discourage the recruitment of key workers from South Africa.
The position of legendary figure is usually reserved for a deceased musician who has played two decades before. It usually requires this posthumous status and span of time, for the various stories concerning him to grow into a legend but it took a very much alive Thelonious Monk only five years to surround himself with an air of mystery and receive the title "High Priest of Bebop" in the Forties. Perhaps this element of weird glamour prevented many people from enjoying Monk's music to the fullest extent. Certainly he is always low man on the totem pole whenever the triumvirate of the founding fathers of bop is evaluated. This is due in part, no doubt, to the greater solo prowess of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, but Thelonious's contributions in time, chord patterns, and the original lines resulting from them were unjustly minimized. Actually they were the basis for much of the jazz of the Forties and Fifties. Today he stands as an individual, a highly original musician who is the mentor of many young musicians in New York and the influence of countless others all over the globe. In his writing and playing, he consistently proves his right to the often misapplied title of creator. November 13, 1953 was a Friday. At WOR Studios preparations were being made for the recording date that would soon commence. Despite the obstacles, three tunes were cut with the third ending just before the studio closed for the day. "Friday the Thirteenth," which is not heard here, will be reissued at a later date. "Let's Call This" a languid, rolling line with solos of extended length by Sonny, Julius, and Thelonious. "Think of One" is opened solo wise by Monk, followed by Sonny and Julius. Then Monk chords another bit with Percy coming through strongly. Both takes are presented here. In take 2, the line is played better. Take 1 has superior solos. The spring date found Monk with an entirely new personnel surrounding him. From the ranks of Count Basie's band, tenorman Frank Foster brought his lilting swing and hard sound. Frank is a devotee of Sonny Stitt but not a slavish imitator. His vibrant solos which stand out in Count's band are even more effective in the small group. He is not like certain big band musicians who become fish out of water when asked to play sustained choruses. Ray Copeland, who had missed the previous quintet session, was on the scene for this one. He had been associated with Monk before but this was his first important recording date. His style is a happy combination of Dizzy, blues, and undertones of swing with a fresh sweetness that is never cloying. Art Blakey, one of the all-time greats of jazz history, has been Monk's rhythmic partner on numerous records and in-person appearances. Monk's music leaves the openings that Art's special grammar seems to punctuate so well. One of the solid rocks in contemporary rhythm, Curly Russell rounds out the group with his big sound and articulate notes.

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