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Molecular Beam Epitaxy,
Thin Film Deposition, &
Atomic Layer Deposition Systems
SVT Associates, Inc. (SVTA) is a world leading manufacturer of Molecular Beam Epitaxy systems (MBE), Atomic Layer Deposition equipment (ALD), and Thin Film Deposition tools for both R&D and production environments. Since 1993 SVTA has been providing customers with innovative solutions in thin film technology, spanning electronics, photonics, coatings and renewable energy and other applications.
SVTA also manufactures deposition sources used in applying Thin Film Photo Voltaic layers, for both development as well as linear and large area sources used in pilot production and production.
We produce Custom UHV systems, often with multiple chambers and unique requirements for sample handling and processing or analysis. Ultra High Vacuum deposition systems with demanding vacuum requirements to provide the purest deposited thin films and the cleanest interfaces is our specialty. We produce not only the systems, but also custom deposition sources, process monitoring tools, and other components to meet your requirements.
SVTA's Laboratory offers thin film epitaxial and process development services, as well as contract research. Our lab scientists are experts in epitaxial growth of semiconductor and optoelectronic materials. We have expertise in the deposition of oxides – for example oxide MBE including Plasma Enhanced MBE and Laser MBE. Our Lab has cutting edge publications in nitride MBE including the development of unique high power HEMT structures and UV detectors. Our work with MBE of antimonides includes InAs/InGaSb Superlattices for Infrared Detection and Imaging.
SVTA has demonstrated exciting new application areas for Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD), using the characteristics of ALD to create effective barrier layers using very thin deposits. | <urn:uuid:a8c443e0-bb25-469c-8159-5330ded510d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.svta.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914291 | 374 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Posted: Oct 14, 2012 3:51 PM
ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (AP) - Officials are warning motorists to watch for deer on the roadways in Kentucky.
October is the beginning of a three-month period that is the peak season to see deer on roadways around the state. The Department of Fish and Wildlife says that's because it is white-tailed deer mating season, which means the animals are more likely to cross roads as bucks chase does.
The Kentucky Farm Bureau told The News-Enterprise (http://bit.ly/Tpf2si) that almost half of all collisions with deer in the state happen in October, November and December.
Hardin County Sheriff's Office spokesman Greg Lowe says deer are most often seen either early in the morning or late at night.
Lowe said one way for drivers to spot them is that their eyes will glow when headlights shine on them.
"(Drivers) just have to be on the lookout for them," he said.
However, he noted that the animals move in unpredictable ways. For instance, he says sometimes it appears they will stay on the edge of a road, but then they dart into it at the last second.
Kentucky State Police Post 4 spokesman Norman Chaffins said the animals are typically seen near rural roads, but it isn't uncommon to see them on bigger highways such as parkways or interstates.
He says the safest response is to let off the gas and, if it is unavoidable, to hit the deer. Chaffins, a longtime accident reconstructionist, said hitting the animal may cause damage to a vehicle, but he has never worked a wreck where such an impact killed the driver.
"One of the worst things you can do is swerve at a high rate of speed to avoid an animal in the roadway," he said.
He said that can lead to a vehicle overturning or hitting something even worse, like a tree.
According to state police data from 2011, there were 2,938 collisions with deer reported in which three people died, 20 suffered serious injuries and 55 had minor injuries.
Information from: The News-Enterprise, http://www.thenewsenterprise.com
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) | <urn:uuid:84cc9840-b56b-458c-b08b-80ebfd27af0b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lex18.com/news/peak-season-has-begun-for-deer-on-roadways/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97046 | 481 | 2.5 | 2 |
Discount : Get 15 % Discount as a early bird registrations. Use Promo code CGO15
As industry has been looking to reduce costs, improve efficiency, the FDA has begun to more closely scrutinize the industry effort to make certain that the above mentioned controls are in place. In this effort the FDA is focusing on supplier control and sampling issues.
The benefits of systematic reduced testing program include increased compliance, smaller inventory cycles, less testing, less handling, and increased productivity and efficiency.
Reduced testing test permits a medical product manufacturer to reduce testing of incoming components provided there are adequate controls on specification control, material qualification, supplier qualification & monitoring, material validation, and collaborative testing. Industry practice in the performance of reduced testing has resulted in new and modified expectations and requirements.
Why should you attend :
• To reduce costs and increase efficiency in the handling of incoming materials and components.
• To gain knowledge applicable to the control and qualification of suppliers that will increase compliance and improve efficiency
• To understand the compliance and quality requirements for reducing incoming material testing on pharmaceutical and medical device components.
Areas Covered in the Session:
• Advantages and disadvantages of reduced testing
• Basic review of quality systems.
• Brief review of regulatory requirements.
• Differences between suppliers and contractors.
• Interdepartmental roles in establishing and maintaining a reduced testing program.
• A study of the reduced testing lifecycle in graphical format , including specification control, material qualification, researching and selecting suppliers, supplier auditing (including selection of audit team members) and qualification, corrective actions, handling certificates of analysis, maintaining supplier quality and control, supplier change control, and handling problems suppliers.
• Logistics of implementing a reduced testing plan
Who will benefit:
• Quality Control
• Laboratory Manager
• Warehousing Purchasing Managers
• Procurement Managers
• Laboratory Analyst
• Cost Accounting
About the speaker:
Howard enjoys sharing his 30 years plus experience in starting up, developing, implementing, managing, and remediating pharmaceutical and medical device quality systems. One of his favorite areas is material and supplier control from which he receives great satisfaction in applying his knowledge for improvement. | <urn:uuid:0bd0e3a4-d6d2-465e-bb66-66d6a13ca93c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.prlog.org/11604220-applying-gmp-quality-principles-to-establish-reduced-testing-program-by-compliance2go.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.919663 | 451 | 1.59375 | 2 |
There are several ways get tinnitus relief. However to arrive to do with an effective solution, neither the refer to it as nor the individuals should be in the habit of generating drugs that are accessible over-the-counter (OTC). In any case, these OTC medicines come with undesirable side effects that appear to be in greater proportion approach actual benefits provides.
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Per form of tinnitus, the book procedes to explain the associated with food you consider in order in order to the symptoms. In fact at one point in book there can be a mention of a supplementary form of attention which is spontaneous and which may possibly help bring down common completely. | <urn:uuid:59ff9e57-c0a4-41d3-90d5-c4c997dc95aa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.journalofinternationalservice.org/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951845 | 799 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Last month saw the centenary of International Women's Day, and in London The Southbank Centre celebrated with a series of shows and lectures, crowned by Annie Lennox's 'EQUALS' concert. One of the musicians chosen to play alongside Lennox, Kate Nash, has done more than most in the last year to help female musicians, especially young or emerging talent. After the great success of her debut album, Nash wanted to give something back to the industry that had nurtured her. It being the music industry, she also wanted to plant something positive in what she knew firsthand to be an often unforgiving place for women. The result was a trust fund for new music, and the resulting record label, Have 10p Records. As well as this, Nash spent the time after her second album visiting schools, donating instruments, and has recently kicked off the fantastically-titled 'Kate Nash Rock N Roll For Girls After School Music Club', based on similar, riot-grrl inspired projects in America.
The After-School Club Tour will do exactly what it says on the label, and bring Nash and her young protege, Brigitte Aphrodite, to schools around the country, speaking and inspiring young women to express themselves through music. Or, indeed, Rock n' Roll. Future lectures, workshops and events are in the pipeline as well.
As well as a confirmed After-school Club speaker, performance poet, glitter aficionado and acoustic punk-rocker Brigitte Aphrodite will be the first release on Have 10p Records. A mixture of spoken word, performance art, and poignant, affecting songs about growing up in Bromley, Aphrodite's live show is a singular experience. On record, she is a lyrical Poly Styrene, with echoes of John Cooper Clarke and Life Without Buildings. Her first single, I Dream Myself Awake is out April 6th on Have 10p Records, and one does hope it's followed by an album soon.
You’ve just started a new record label, Have 10p Records, which is funded by a trust fund you set up to support new artists. Please can you tell us a little more about these two things?
After I finished touring my first record I felt like I really wanted to put something back into the arts out of what I'd earned. I set up a trust fund called have 10p. The idea is that I can support artists and talent that I believe in by funding them however necessary. I started by working with a writer and actress called Sarah Solemani (Him & Her, Suburban Shootout, Mrs Henderson Presents) She was funded with a monthly grant (which doesn't need to be paid back) so she could write and work on particular projects. It worked really well because a piece Sarah was writing ended up in the soho theatre for a residency period and things progressed from there. The second person that I wanted to use the grant for was Brigitte Aphrodite (a singer/songwriter from london). I turned the have 10p trust fund into have 10p records and I've just released her first single. I got Ryan (Jarman) and Nick Scott to design the logo and Peter from Genepool records helped me with distribution. I believe in putting money into art and I think it's important to support other artists, if you can give someone a leg up or a break then you should, art should be about creating a community.
The first signing to the label is Brigitte Aphrodite. Tell us about how you discovered her, and why you thought she would be the right person to launch your label with.
I first saw Bri perform in a play with 2 other girls somewhere in London and then again when she took that play to Edinburgh. The next time I saw her perform she'd turned into a one woman theatre/music show. That time was during a time when I was feeling exhausted with the industry and slightly depressed. I cried after her show because I had been so into it and so inspired. It was the first thing I'd seen in so long that felt so genuine and real and also imaginative and kind of magic, it made me feel so happy. I was really glad to find an artist that made me feel like that again. She just kept developing and now she's like a rock n roll glitterball that crawled out of the sea. We did a few shows together and I asked if I could put out her first single. The trust fund funded a recording session and now the label is putting out the 7 inch.
What is it about Brigitte that drew you to her music?
It's funny and honest and wild and raw and there really is nothing like it.
Are you acting as A&R for your record label? How involved do you want to be in the creative side of your label? Where would you like to be guiding Brigitte towards as she continues to make music?
I kind of just want to help her when and if she needs me. Sometimes we meet up and if she wants advice then I'll give it to her. Creatively I don't feel the need to get involved, it's her thing and I just want to help get it out into the world if I can.
When would you like her to be recording an album and how do you see your involvement when she does?
When we finish tour I think it would be great to get Bri back into the studio and let her record more. Then I guess we'll do a second single. After that we'll work towards making a record, but just seeing where it takes her. If another label came along I wouldn't mind because I see have 10p records as a platform at the moment. Obviously I will do everything I can to do a good job as a label if we put out the record together.
Do you think that there’s a tendency for labels to try and fit young female artists to a particular mould? As a female label boss who has experience on the other side – how would you like to change this?
I personally feel it's not the label's job to get involved creatively. I think it's down to the act/band that you're working with. The label's job is to get the music out there and help the band progress as much as possible. But only in a way that works for that act. Both men and women should be free to develop in that way if they're true artists.
Are there any labels that you look to for inspiration? Any that you would like Have 10p to follow in the footsteps of?
I love fiction, and kill rock stars, moshi moshi and wichita. I think for now I would like to keep things focused on small footsteps as that's the time that I have to dedicate to it and I want to do justice to the acts I work with.
You’ve taken Brigitte on tour with you at the moment. Any fun tour stories?
It's a really cool vibe on tour. Lot's of lovely people around, Bri's band are awesome and I just got a new girl band. I think our best night was probably in the rescue rooms in Nottingham, we had time to party after the show together. There's just lots of hanging out and eating and drinking together, we had a classic 'Travelodge party' last night. take-away curry and leftover booze off the rider in the room. My drummer Fern is from wales and her nan sent a ton of home-made cakes and biscuits to the venue in Cardiff which was pretty delicious. Also Bri carries a lot of glitter with her, i think she actually produces it now and if you've been anywhere near her or anywhere near where she's been you'll be covered in glitter spots for a long time after. I also saw 2 cows having a fight in a field and all the other cows were running away when we were driving to a venue once.
I have to ask about the Kate Nash Rock n Roll for Girls After School Club.How did it begin and what shape will it take over the next year?
Last Summer I was invited to talk on a panel chaired by Miranda Sawyer for Birds Eye View to discuss the gender gap in the Music Industry. At this discussion I was informed that in fact even less women were writing their own music than I realized, that shockingly only 14% of songwriters in the UK that receive PRS are women. I was also asked in an interview 'why I didn't do scandalous photo shoots and why I didn't care about being sex'. I felt fed up of feeling like primarily I'm judged by the way that I look and what I do with my body by the mainstream media and angry that this was obviously having an affect on other women and was actually stopping them from making music. I watched an interview with Kathleen Hanna in which she mentioned summer camps that were run in New York and Portland. I thought it would be great to bring something like that to the UK but we don't really have that summer camp culture. I thought after-school clubs might work better and that if i did it this way I also wouldn't have to focus on just being in London, I could bring it to more than one town in the UK. My aim is to bring a decent music programme to the schools, encourage girls to write their own songs and music, give them confidence in themselves and to do a big gig that they run, they play, they help do sound, lights, setting it up, DJing, promoting it. I want to dispel the myth that girls are bitchy too, they can create supportive networks amongst themselves and encourage each other and younger girls too. I want to help change the statistic and an attitude towards women in music.
You’ve reference riot grrl groups as your inspiration for this project. What do you see in them that you want to bring to After School Club?
I think the riot grrls were all about a sense of community and involvement and entitlement. You could be who you wanted to be without being judged, you could be involved in music even if you weren't trained or experienced. You had a supportive network of other girls that helped you and joined in and made it fun and made you feel comfortable. I hope we can create something like that again within girls in music.
Tell us what you’ve learned from being a woman in the music industry, and what you want to see changed.
I've been attacked by media for the way that I look primarily, people have tried to push me into corners, I've had to explain why I don't use my body to sell my music and I've been encouraged to bitch about other girls. I've definitely experienced sexism. I've also played a lot of live shows, released 2 records, travelled the world, played festivals and done what both men and women in the industry have done. I want to be taken seriously for what I do just like every other musician. I don't want to be judged so politically.
How’s the After School Club going so far? Any fun stories?
I've met such lovely kids, I got a couple of performances from a few of them which was cool. I just love asking them what their opinion is on the issue. It's so fresh and honest, some of the stuff they come out would make great t-shirt slogans but a lot of it makes me feel sad and really makes me want to help them get confidence. what else... I almost left my bra in a headmasters office when I was getting changed today. And I've met two head masters called Mr.C Hunt.
Any advice for young women out there who want to make music?
Just be yourself, be brave and do your first show! Be tough and don't let negative comments get you down. Write loads of songs and figure out what kind of songwriter you want to be. And know that you are entitled to be there and to be doing whatever kind of music it is that you're making. Go with gut instinct and don't let people in the industry push you into corners just because you're a girl.
- In Photos: Kate Nash @ Haunt, Brighton
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- Spotifriday #86 - This week on DiS as a playlist ft. Deerhunter, Kate Nash, PJ Harvey
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- In Photos: Kate Nash @ Bush Hall, London
- The Neptune Music Prize: Tarot Sport voted best album
- In Photos: V Festival 2010 @ Hylands park, Chelmsford
- V Festival 2010 - 10 Not To Miss Sets: The DiS preview | <urn:uuid:05f79ef8-6fc5-4475-b2ee-8a676b5039e9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4142387-don-t-let-people-in-the-industry-push-you-into-corners-just-because-you-re-a-girl---dis-meets-kate-nash | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983102 | 2,618 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Researchers find controlling element of Huntington's disease
A three molecule complex may be a target for treating Huntington's disease, a genetic disorder affecting the brain. This finding by an international research team including scientists from the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Bonn and the University of Mainz was published today in the online journal Nature Communications.
Huntington's disease, also known as Huntington's chorea, is a hereditary brain disease causing movement disorders and dementia. In Germany, there are about 8,000 patients affected by Huntington's disease, with several hundred new cases arising every year. The disease usually manifests between the ages of 35 and 50. To date, it is incurable and inevitably leads to death. It is caused by a specific genetic defect: In the patient's DNA, which is the carrier of genetic information, there are multiple copies of a certain motif. "Repeats like this are also found in healthy people. However, in cases of Huntington's disease, these sequences are longer than usual," explains Dr. Sybille Krauss from the DZNE in Bonn.
The long DNA sequences in Huntington's disease lead to changes in a certain protein called "Huntingtin". The DNA is like an archive of blueprints for proteins. Errors in the DNA therefore result in defective proteins. "Huntingtin is essential for the organism's survival. It is a multi-talent which is important for many processes," emphasises Krauss. "If the protein is defective, brain cells may die."
In the spotlight: protein synthesis
In the current study, the scientists around Sybille Krauss and the Mainz-based human geneticist Susann Schweiger took a closer look at a critical stage of protein production – translation. At this step, a copy of the DNA, the so-called messenger RNA, is processed by the cell's protein factories. In patients with Huntington's disease, the messenger RNA contains an unusually high number of consecutive CAG sequences – CAG representing the building plan for the amino acid glutamine.
These repetitive sequences have a direct consequence: more glutamine than normal is built into Huntingtin, which is therefore defective. Sybille Krauss and her colleagues have now identified a group of three molecules, which regulate the production of this protein. "We were able to show that this complex binds to the messenger RNA and controls the synthesis of defective Huntingtin," says Krauss. When the scientists reduced the concentration of this so-called MID1 complex in the cell, production of the defective protein declined.
"If we could find a way of influencing this complex, for example with pharmaceuticals, it is quite possible that we could directly affect the production of defective Huntingtin. This kind of treatment would not just treat the symptoms but also the causes of Huntington's disease," says Krauss.
Three molecules come together
The complex consists of MID1, from which it gets its name, and the proteins PP2Ac and S6K. "Every single one of these proteins is known to be important for translation. We have discovered that in the specific case of Huntington's disease, they together bind to the CAG sequences. This was previously unknown. We also found that binding increases with repeat lengths," says Krauss. "In sequences of normal length, we found only weak binding or none at all."
The Bonn-based molecular biologist and her colleagues investigated the effect of the MID1 complex and the interaction between its components in a series of elaborate laboratory experiments. "This project took several years of research work," says Krauss. Along with biochemical procedures, the scientists used cell cultures and analysed proteins from the brains of mice. The mice's genetic code had been modified in such a way that it contained elongated CAG-repeats as it is typical for Huntington's disease.
From previous studies it was already known that the protein MID1 tends to bind messenger RNAs. The scientists were now able to show that MID1 also attaches to messenger RNAs with excessively long CAG sequences. Furthermore, experiments showed that PP2Ac and S6K also bound the RNA in the presence of MID1. However, if the MID1 was depleted, this binding did not occur. "From this, we can conclude that these three proteins form a molecular complex, which binds to the RNA. MID1 is a key component. It actually seems to keep together its binding partners," Krauss comments on the results of the experiments.
Complex controls protein production
The researchers were also able to prove that the MID1 complex controls the translation of RNA with excessively long CAG sequences. For this, they investigated various cell cultures. The cells produced either normal Huntingtin or – due to excessively long sequences in their DNA – a defective version of this protein. The scientists reduced the occurrence of MID1 inside the cells using a procedure known as "knock-down". The elimination of this protein, which is a major part of the MID1 complex, had direct consequences: the production of defective Huntingtin declined. "However, it did not affect the production of normal Huntingtin," emphazises Krauss. "This further proves that the MID1 complex specifically targets RNAs with excessively long CAG sequences."
The Bonn-based molecular biologist sees this specific influence as a chance to treat Huntington's disease: "The MID1 complex is a promising target for therapy. It indicates a possibility to suppress the production of defective Huntingtin only, while not affecting the production of normal Huntingtin. This is of particular significance, because the normal protein is also being produced in the patients' bodies and it is important for the organism."
A suitable active substance has yet to be found, says Krauss. However, the next developments are in sight: "We now want to test potential substances in the laboratory," she says.
More information: "Translation of HTT mRNA with expanded CAG repeats is regulated by the MID1-PP2A protein complex", Sybille Krauß, Nadine Griesche, Ewa Jastrzebska, Changwei Chen, Désiree Rutschow, Clemens Achmüller, Stephanie Dorn, Sylvia M. Boesch, Maciej Lalowski, Erich Wanker, Rainer Schneider, Susann Schweiger, Nature Communications, DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2514
Journal reference: Nature Communications
Provided by Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres
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Classical and Quantum Mechanics via Lie algebras
Apr 15, 2011 I'd like to open a discussion thread for version 2 of the draft of my book ''Classical and Quantum Mechanics via Lie algebras'', available online at http://lanl.arxiv.org/abs/0810.1019 , and for the...
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Since the discovery of Prontosil in 1932, sulfonamide antibiotics have been used to combat a wide spectrum of bacterial infections, from acne to chlamydia and pneumonia. However, their side effects can include serious neurological ...
33 minutes ago | not rated yet | 0 | | <urn:uuid:cebffe86-70b5-4fdb-ba06-ccde8872126b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-element-huntington-disease.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948278 | 2,276 | 3.625 | 4 |
U.S. Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-Quitman, today released the following remarks following President Calderon's address to a joint session of Congress:
"As neighbors, Mexico and the U.S. must continue to improve relations between our countries for the betterment of our communities -- on both sides of the border," said Alexander. "However, I strongly object to Mexico intervening in our sovereign matters.
"We have every right to enforce measures that protect the American people, and we should be able to do so without international interference.
"Moreover, I was discouraged that President Calderon did not address the illegal flow of immigrants onto American soil in a manner that would deliver concrete solutions.
"For far too long, the United States has had to carry the burden of policing this issue. To the detriment of our citizens, the influx of illegal immigrants has increased crime, such as human and drug trafficking, as well as taken away jobs that would otherwise go to those who are here legally.
"Our countries need to work together to discourage and finally put an end to illegal immigration. This must start with securing our common border." | <urn:uuid:59872c35-f242-4bfb-ae0f-4f4b74526255> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://votesmart.org/public-statement/510390/alexander-responds-to-president-calderons-address-to-todays-joint-session-of-congress | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964442 | 232 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Extremely powerful ARM microcontrollers have been around for ages now, but only recently have they been available for just a few dollars with a good enough toolchain for some serious development work. [Jose] wanted to develop something awesome with an ARM chip he had lying around, so he built a PDA (Spanish, translation) that can be used as a game console, an oscilloscope, a clock, or a wristwatch. Basically, it’s a portable homebrew computer that can do just about anything.
The hardware is built around an ARM Cortex M4 chip clocked at 170MHz. Included on the PCB is an SD card slot, a JTAG interface, a USB port (only used for charging the battery at this point), and a touch screen LCD controller.
After designing the PCB and enclosure, [Jose] looked around the Internet for a decent GUI library without much success. He eventually found Gwen, a lightweight library for programming GUIs that is easily ported to [Jose]‘s hardware.
So far, [Jose] has a few GUI demos up and running on his homebrew PDA, but nothing very useful yet. Still, the fact that [Jose] can get a full-featured ARM tablet-like piece of hardware off the ground without a team of developers brings a smile to our face. We can’t wait to see the state of homebrew ARM devices in a few years when everyone has the requisite hardware and software knowledge. | <urn:uuid:4966d5a2-5ad7-4992-af5c-4f841c0d1d24> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hackaday.com/2012/09/02/building-a-pda-from-scratch/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958695 | 300 | 2.1875 | 2 |
While they’re protected under the Commonwealth Environment Protection & Biodiversity Conservation Act, evidence suggests seadragon numbers are falling. The World Conservation Group has classed the seadragon as “near threatened” on its Red List of threatened species.
The plan is to conduct detailed surveys of weedy seadragons living along the rocky reef at Kurnell. In April the first group of “researchers” donned scuba gear and got to work, underwater cameras in hand.
The Seadragon survey day starts at 9:30am with some basic training on how to spot, sex photograph and make basic observations of the seadragons. The divers are broken up into teams of 5 and then we heat out to Captain Cook Park at Kurnell and do 2 dives. During the dive the divers record the location of the seadragons they observe and take photos of tell-tale markings on their flanks. The dorsal spots are like fingerprints, and these identification photographs are used to identify individuals and monitor them over time.
Abyss Scuba Diving runs regular Free divemaster escorted shore dives in locations where seadragons can be seen on a regular basis. For those who would like to get more actively involved in helping to find out more about the weedy seadragon the Weedy Seadragon Survey is a perfect way to do it. If you want to get involved then check out the Sydney Diving Calendar or simply book on for the next seadragon survey. Please note, numbers are limited.
Do you want to be adventurous, have you ever wanted to be an explorer?
Scuba diving enables you to satisfy my thirst for adventure as you explore an entirely new world.
Becoming a scuba diver is a about exploring the other two thirds of the world. Giving dives you the opportunity to go places and do things that other people only dream of. This exploration can be as simple as exploring some of the great scuba diving around Sydney on a Sunday afternoon. On the other hand as a diver you have the opportunity to travel to remote tropical destinations or even remote Antarctica and see an entire other another world both above and below the surface.
Scuba diving is a family activity allowing generations of the same family to enjoy nature in only a way divers can. By taking the kids diving, parents and grandparents can show then the wonders of the world first hand while doing an activity which will bring them all closer together.
Scuba Diving is a wonderful activity which enables all participants to leave their day to day lives and enter a world of exploration and adventure. So be amazed, be a diver…
The equipment we use as scuba divers is what keeps us alive while underwater. It is “life support equipment” that must be repaired, adjusted and tested only by qualified individuals with the correct training.
Even for mechanically minded people, the procedures required to keep this life support equipment in as new factory condition is not intuitive and requires explanation, and access to specialized service outlines and also custom tools to do it properly.
Abyss Scuba Diving is happy to announce that we have just released a manufacture authorized Scuba Service Technician Training Course which will provide eligible participants with formal training in the repair and maintenance of scuba diving (Open Circuit) equipment produced by 3 of the industries leading brands; Oceanic, Hollis and Aeris.
Carl Fallon, Our ‘Platinum’ PADI Course Director recently travelled to San Francisco in the USA to the HQ of American Underwater Products where he did Service Technician Instructor Training for all three of these brands.
Who is this course for?
There are several reasons why you would benefit from doing this course.
- Dive professionals looking at increasing their career opportunities and those wanting a more thorough understanding of the workings or dive equipment and their features and functions.
- For Dive Center owners and those planning to set up in business it is a comprehensive course that will enable you to offer these services to your customers. This is part of a Dive Center Managment training course run by Abyss.
- PADI Instructors wanting to achieve their Equipment Specialist Instructor rating can combine the PADI Instructor rating with this training and easily achieve both qualifications.
Who can attend this course?
This training is designed only for dive professionals doing their traing through Abyss Scuba Diving. This is because we want every on of our candidate to have a base knowledge of dive theory and basic equipment functions prior to starting.
To attend you must be one of the following
- PADI Instructor or other Instructor who is from another agency doing a crossover with Abyss.
- PADI Divemaster’s who are currently undertaking a dive internship within our Career Development Center may also attend this program. Please note that Dive Masters are unable to attend the PADI Equipment Specialty Instructor training portion.
What does the training include?
This is an approved course covering all aspects of service, repair of maintenance of Oceanic, Hollis and Aeris Scuba equipment.
The course has several modules including:
Overview and History of American Underwater Products
- Consumer maintenance recommendations
- Initial product inspections and testing
- Troubleshooting and evaluation of symptoms
- Specialty tools and cleaning supplies for proper service
- Procedural steps used in cleaning components
- Use of specialized service procedures
- Testing & tuning 1st stages regulators
- Testing & tuning 2nd stage regulators
- Testing and repairing procedures for Buoyancy Compensators (BCD’s)
- Testing and repair procedures of Inflator mechanisms.
The course is designed to give as much emphasis on practical knowledge and skills with a large proportion of the course devoted to ‘hands on‘ practical work.
A highly practical course, with hands on experience in a real scuba workshop within our busy service center.
Costs & Special Add-ons
The cost of the manufacture authorized Scuba Service Technician Course is $500 (AUD).
To include the PADI Equipment Specialty Instructor Course it is just another $150 (AUD).
Courses run every 6 weeks all throughout the year.
For more details please contact us at Abyss Scuba Diving on (02) 9583 9662 or email us at [email protected] for more details. | <urn:uuid:089d764f-e7f9-43dc-b98a-cf807572f498> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://diving.abyss.com.au/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936115 | 1,300 | 2.90625 | 3 |
We instill a sense of adventure in our Scouts
Our Scouts are modern day heroes Â
Heroes of the Past
The sense of adventure instilled during adolescence often does not accompany many into their adulthood. When we were younger, we boasted of our superhero qualities, bragged about our new six-shooters, boots and hat and enjoyed lazy summers, where we joined in the adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. When we wore our superhero outfits, we believed we were superheroes. We acquired noble identities. We were as fast as Wilma Rudolph. We had white horses like George Washington. We walked on the surface of the Moon like Edwin “Buzz†Aldrin. We were prepared to “boldly go where no one had gone before.â€Â The explorers who embarked on their journeys of discovery did not close the book on adventure. As modern Scout Program, there are chapters yet to be written, and we seek to instill a life long sense of adventure in our Scouts. Â
There was a time when youth had the opportunity to acquire heroes who did not disappoint. The Lone Ranger and Tonto, Hop Along Cassidy, and superheroes abounded who supplied wholesome entertainment to youth and taught them values of honesty, trustworthiness, loyalty, and the importance of friends and family. It is getting more difficult for parents to find entertainment they feel comfortable allowing their children to watch. It also seems like genuine heroes are getting much harder to come by.Â
We encourage our Scouts to live their lives with the fullest sense of wonder and adventure they can. Our Scouts yearn to live their life to the fullest, squeezing every minute into the pages of their life. Adventures can be large or small. Our Scouts have the opportunity to go places and see things few have, such hiking in Yellowstone or hiking up Mt. Baden-Powell in Southern California. But adventures also exist in small places and day-to-day activities. Our Scouts live lives of adventure when they ride their bike for the first time without training wheels, or catch their first fish. However, whether the adventure is large or small, in every instance, we instill a deep appreciation of the wonder and awe to life.Â
One of our duties as a Scout Program is help our Scouts grow into contributing members of society as confident, resourceful adults. However, there is one thing we hope our Scouts never fully grow out of and that is living a life of adventure. We want our Scouts to understand it is not necessary to give up FUN and adventure entirely in order to grow up. Adults lead healthier, happier lives when they include FUN, and we want our Scouts to never lose what is best about being a kid – the sense of wonder and awe that makes every experience an adventure and every new person a friend.Â
We Instill AdventureÂ
We offer our Scouts a passport to adventure. Since our Scouts choose, organize, and lead their own meetings, programs, and activities, they get the opportunity to craft their own adventures from concept to completion. Because our Scouts personalize their own adventures, they become invested in the process and appreciate their adventures all the more as their own choice.Â
We value the opportunity to be part of our Scouts’ entire lives, inspiring adventure in them lifelong.
Adventure is an attitude. It is comprised of interpreting our experiences, in a way in which we can turn the mundane into the mythic. If we look at the world, diversity rules! That is because adventure is individual. Our Scouts participate together and know there is strength in numbers, but each of our Scouts is an individual, empowered to create their own FUN and adventure.
Our Scouts are Modern Day HeroesÂ
We have no desire to turn back the clock and we recognize the “good old days†were not always so good for everyone. Many things have improved in the modern world, including youth protection, particularly in our Scout Programs. However, the loss of heroes kids could count on is a blow for all of us. The world can be a harsh place, and as adults we must learn to find our place in it, but we feel the world would be a better place if a kid could just be a kid for a while and not feel obligated to measure up to standards of perfection often displayed in the media and that equally as often are impossible to reach.Â
In today’s day and age the dragons we slay are busy schedules, computers that do not work, cars that breakdown, jobs that offer no time off, and a thousand little annoyances of everyday life. All of the pleasures of modern life, which we were told would save us time and energy, seem to do the opposite. But we just do not see anything wrong with a kid wanting to slay a real dragon once in a while!Â
That is why part of Scout Programs hearken back to another era. Our Scout Programs employ the building blocks of self-esteem: such as making sure all our Scouts participate, all cross the finish line, and putting the emphasis on our Scouts safely having FUN, rather than winning at all costs. If your child wants to have FUN, they will have FUN here. If your child is not a joiner, they will find others like them here. If your child wants to play sports, but may not have a high skill level, they will play and have their confidence built up rather than torn down. This is because all our Scouts play. If we have 15 Scouts who want to play and the teams are supposed to have 7 Scouts on each team, one will have 7 and the other will have 8. All our Scouts play the same amount of time, even on our intramural teams. Our goal is for our Scouts to have FUN and play the sport they love, which they cannot do if they are sitting on a bench!Â
Our Scouts dress up as their favorite superhero, hold themed dinners, go camping, and pretend to be cowboys. We have a program, Make a Dream Come True, exclusively dedicated to making our Scouts’ dreams a reality. We do all this because it is okay to just be a kid and have FUN in our Scout Programs. | <urn:uuid:acb7ed34-c520-4f7d-b710-1554812124f9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://adventurescoutsusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=89&Itemid=109 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964452 | 1,318 | 2.53125 | 3 |
The Springboard Foundation was created to reach and provide underserved children access to the same academic support opportunities as children from higher income communities.
Springboard’s af ter school programs promote academic improvement and higher academic performance for public school children of all ages. Springboard’s formula for success combines assistance, guidance, and crucial support in a supervised environment that allows children to have fun with their peers while being given the tools to understand and complete assignments issued to them by their teachers during the day in public school.
Researching traditional day care centers and standard after school programs showed that these models are dated and do not provide the curricula necessary to place children on the best academic development path. The Springboard Foundation developed a system to address this void. Our program has been explosively successful in our after school programs by offering a Win-Win solution for our students, their families and their teachers.
Springboard’s Win-Win System
Win-Win for Springboard Students: half the after school afternoon combines game playing or sports with friends and peers, while the other half of the afternoon provides help and support with academic studies. Homework is completed, but even better is that our staff works with our students so the students gain a solid understanding of the subject matter. Our students feel good about being prepared for the next day’s school experience.
Win-Win for Teachers: When students are prepared, they have more confidence in their capabilities to learn new topics of study. With better prepared students, teachers can devote more class time to new material instruction instead of constant review and re-drill exercises.
Win-win for Schools: With better prepared, more confident students eager to absorb new material, performance is enhanced. The enhanced performance will be reflected in better school-wide test scores.
Win-Win for Parents: Knowing their children’s assignments have been completed with an understanding of the subject reduces after work/after school stress. With stress levels reduced, there is more quality family time.
A Win-Win for the Family Budget: Because Springboard understands how financial strains can create family stress, our programs are affordably priced as opposed to tutoring companies such as Sylvan and Huntington that charge $100-$150.00/hr. But, don’t take our word for it; see what parents and teachers have to say.
Does it really work in disadvantaged schools?
In 2007-2008, the Springboard Foundation opened an after school program at the Skyline Vista Grade School outside Denver, CO in an attempt to provide educational services to as many children as possible in this underserved area. 25% of the Skyline school enrolled in Springboard and our impact was immediately felt.
The Springboard Foundation enlists financial contributions from companies and wealthy individuals who, like you, recognize the importance of bringing affordable educational services to families of modest income in underserved communities. Contributions and monies raised from these companies and concerned individuals is applied to support our teachers, supplies, and to maintaining low cost, high quality services. After all, your children are our future business people, leaders, and educators. It is in everyone’s best interest to have an educated work force. | <urn:uuid:40e4257d-c022-4109-9612-2a820161ef5b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.springboardschools.com/springboard-foundation.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96163 | 651 | 1.914063 | 2 |
Visit additional Tabor Communication Publications
December 02, 2005
The Barcelona Supercomputing Center - Centro Nacional de Supercomputacion (BSC - CNS) is the Spanish National Supercomputing Center. Established in 2005, it has inherited all the tradition of CEPBA (European Center for Parallelism of Barcelona) and hosts MareNostrum, the most powerful supercomputer in Europe and fifth most powerful in the world according to the Linpack benchmark (June 2005). The mission of BSC - CNS is to investigate, develop and manage information technology in order to facilitate scientific progress.
BCS - CNS' aim is to become a research center in supercomputing (with specific emphasis in Deep Computing and Computer Architecture) as well as in additional eScience fields that demand high performance computing resources such as Life Sciences and Earth Sciences. Following this multidisciplinary approach, BSC - CNS brings together a critical mass of researchers, high performance computing experts and cutting-edge supercomputing technologies in order to foster scientific progress.
Would you like to use MareNostrum, the first supercomputer in Europe?
BSC - CNS is giving the worldwide scientific community the opportunity to use its high performance computing resources. BSC - CNS is looking for Grand Challenge proposals to use its resources. Due to its level of research experience in Deep Computing, BSC will guarantee to improve the performance of the selected applications.
-- Grand Challenge of international scientific interest
-- Highly scalable applications (thousands of processors)
All candidates will be evaluated and prioritized by the BSC Access Committee. Successful proposals will be informed and dealt accordingly. We kindly request you not send proposals that do not conform to the requirements mentioned above.
Submissions should be made via the online application form located at www.bsc.es/grandchallenge. Participants are encouraged to submit projects where BSC - CNS' resources and expertise help to accelerate relevant contributions to research areas where intensive computing is an enabling technology. The deadline for accepting proposals will be December 31, 2005.
For further information, please visit www.bsc.es
Large-scale, worldwide scientific initiatives rely on some cloud-based system to both coordinate efforts and manage computational efforts at peak times that cannot be contained within the combined in-house HPC resources. Last week at Google I/O, Brookhaven National Lab’s Sergey Panitkin discussed the role of the Google Compute Engine in providing computational support to ATLAS, a detector of high-energy particles at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
The Xeon Phi coprocessor might be the new kid on the high performance block, but out of all first-rate kickers of the Intel tires, the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) got the first real jab with its new top ten Stampede system.We talk with the center's Karl Schultz about the challenges of programming for Phi--but more specifically, the optimization...
Although Horst Simon was named Deputy Director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, he maintains his strong ties to the scientific computing community as an editor of the TOP500 list and as an invited speaker at conferences.
May 16, 2013 |
When it comes to cloud, long distances mean unacceptably high latencies. Researchers from the University of Bonn in Germany examined those latency issues of doing CFD modeling in the cloud by utilizing a common CFD and its utilization in HPC instance types including both CPU and GPU cores of Amazon EC2.
May 15, 2013 |
Supercomputers at the Department of Energy’s National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) have worked on important computational problems such as collapse of the atomic state, the optimization of chemical catalysts, and now modeling popping bubbles.
May 10, 2013 |
Program provides cash awards up to $10,000 for the best open-source end-user applications deployed on 100G network.
May 09, 2013 |
The Japanese government has revealed its plans to best its previous K Computer efforts with what they hope will be the first exascale system...
May 08, 2013 |
For engineers looking to leverage high-performance computing, the accessibility of a cloud-based approach is a powerful draw, but there are costs that may not be readily apparent.
05/10/2013 | Cleversafe, Cray, DDN, NetApp, & Panasas | From Wall Street to Hollywood, drug discovery to homeland security, companies and organizations of all sizes and stripes are coming face to face with the challenges – and opportunities – afforded by Big Data. Before anyone can utilize these extraordinary data repositories, however, they must first harness and manage their data stores, and do so utilizing technologies that underscore affordability, security, and scalability.
04/15/2013 | Bull | “50% of HPC users say their largest jobs scale to 120 cores or less.” How about yours? Are your codes ready to take advantage of today’s and tomorrow’s ultra-parallel HPC systems? Download this White Paper by Analysts Intersect360 Research to see what Bull and Intel’s Center for Excellence in Parallel Programming can do for your codes.
In this demonstration of SGI DMF ZeroWatt disk solution, Dr. Eng Lim Goh, SGI CTO, discusses a function of SGI DMF software to reduce costs and power consumption in an exascale (Big Data) storage datacenter.
The Cray CS300-AC cluster supercomputer offers energy efficient, air-cooled design based on modular, industry-standard platforms featuring the latest processor and network technologies and a wide range of datacenter cooling requirements. | <urn:uuid:4cfc6540-6613-4ceb-9abd-c8ef1113ad2d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hpcwire.com/hpcwire/2005-12-02/call_for_proposals_for_use_of_hpc_resources_at_bsc-1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.90565 | 1,168 | 2.15625 | 2 |
[Mominun 23:28] "And when you and those with you have safely boarded the ship say, All praise is to Allah Who has rescued us from the unjust. "
[Mominun 23:29] And pray, "My Lord! Cause me to alight at a blessed place and You are the Best of all who bring to settle."
[Mominun 23:30] Indeed, surely in this are signs and indeed surely, We were examining.
[Mominun 23:31] Then after them, We created another generation.
[Mominun 23:32] So We sent among them a Noble Messenger from among them (saying), "Worship Allah, you do not have any other God except Him; so do you not fear?"
[Mominun 23:33] And said the leaders of his people, who disbelieved and denied the confronting of the Hereafter - and We had given them comfort in the worldly life that, "He is nothing but a human like you, he eats from what you eat and drinks from what you drink."
[Mominun 23:34] "If you were to obey a human like yourselves, then surely you are losers!"
[Mominun 23:35] "Does he promise you that when you die and turn into dust and bones, you will be raised again?"
[Mominun 23:36] "How remote, (really) how remote is the promise you are given!"
[Mominun 23:37] "There is nothing except our life of this world, we die and we live, and we are not to be raised."
[Mominun 23:38] "He is just a man who has fabricated a lie against Allah, and we are not going to believe him."
[Mominun 23:39] He said, "My Lord! Help me as they deny me."
[Mominun 23:40] Said Allah, "They will soon wake up at morn, regretting."
[Mominun 23:41] So the true Scream seized them - We therefore made them like rotten hay; so away with the unjust people!
[Mominun 23:42] Then after them, We created other generations. | <urn:uuid:8f38faa2-95cc-4783-bb8f-5f10b057c39b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.alahazrat.net/alquran/Quran/023/023_028_042.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00073-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960534 | 470 | 1.679688 | 2 |
(CNN) -- The Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission asked mobile communications companies in Saudi Arabia to halt BlackBerry service in the kingdom beginning August 5, the official Saudi Press Agency reported Tuesday.
The mandate applies to businesses and individuals "because the manufacturer of the devices couldn't meet the regulatory requirements of the commission and it is not in accordance with the regulations and conditions of licenses issued to service providers, at its present state," it said.
It did not elaborate.
Research In Motion, the Canadian company that produces the BlackBerry, did not immediately respond to a request for reaction.
Tuesday's decision comes a day after the United Arab Emirates defended its decision to suspend BlackBerry internet service, with its ambassador in Washington arguing the United States requires the same "regulatory compliance" for national security reasons.
The statement from Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba came after a U.S. State Department spokesman criticized the UAE's decision to restrict BlackBerry e-mail, instant messaging and Web browsing. Al Otaiba said the comments were "disappointing and contradict the U.S. government's own approach to telecommunications regulation."
"In fact, the UAE is asking for exactly the same regulatory compliance -- and with the same principles of judicial and regulatory oversight -- that BlackBerry grants the U.S. and other governments and nothing more," the ambassador said. "Importantly, the UAE requires the same compliance as the U.S. for the very same reasons: to protect national security and to assist in law enforcement."
The state-run Emirates News Agency reported Sunday that the UAE would suspend BlackBerry's data service as of October 11. The announcement said certain services "allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national security concerns for the UAE."
U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley called the move "a dangerous precedent." He told reporters Monday that the United States supports the free flow of information, "And we will be clarifying with the UAE their reasons for making this announcement."
"It's about what we think is an important element of democracy, human rights and freedom of information and the flow of information in the 21st century," Crowley said. He said the United States understood the emirates' concerns "about how information can be used by those who wish to attack the UAE or others," but added, "We think this is not necessarily the best way to accomplish it."
On Sunday, Telecom expert Abdel Rahman al Mazi told CNN that BlackBerry is considered to have the most secure operating system, "but on that same wavelength, you have to think that some of the activities that go on within the BlackBerry user community could need to be monitored by some government agencies for security reasons."
Research in Motion has yet to provide any official response to CNN about the issue. But the UAE has said it has tried to reach a solution to the issue with the company.
"It is regrettable that after several years of discussions, BlackBerry is still not compliant with UAE regulatory requirements even as it complies with similar policies in other countries," Al Otaiba said. | <urn:uuid:80477248-4d02-45b1-8548-9d3c1d85f15e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/08/03/saudi.arabia.blackberry/index.html?eref=rss_world&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_world+%28RSS%3A+World%29 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959463 | 630 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Mental Health services are administered through county Mental Health/Mental Retardation (MH/MR) program offices. The county MH/MR offices serve as a referral source. Most actual mental health services are delivered by local provider agencies under contract with the county MH/MR office. The county MH/MR office determines a person's eligibility for service funding, assesses the need for treatment or other services, and makes referrals to appropriate programs to fit treatment and/or other service needs.
For a list of county MH/MR office locations and contact information visit: MH/MR Program Administrators Association of Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Network of Care is a web resource which provides information and tools, such as:
- Information & service directories for every county in Pennsylvania
- Research library
- Free online trainings available in multiple languages, including American Sign Language
- Local, state and national links to government resources and organizations that specialize in mental health
- Bill tracking to follow current state and federal legislation
- Social networking
- Secure storage of personal folders including health information, reference materials, WRAP plans and Mental Health Advance Directives
You can also find services in your county by using the Human Services Provider Online Directory
Pennsylvania's Approach to Mental Health
A Call For Change
- A Call for Change Towards a Recovery-Oriented Mental Service System for Adults: establishes a firm foundation for the Pennsylvania transformation to a recovery-oriented mental health system. It offers an understanding of how we have arrived at this time of recovery transformation, provides a concise definition of recovery, and further consideration of what a recovery-oriented system is and is not. Indicators are provided to serve as critical reference points for services, agencies and county mental health programs looking for more specific strategies for transforming to more recovery-oriented services. A Call for Change highlights the challenges we have yet to address and the need for us to engage in open, honest discussion and debate about these issues.
Community Support Program (CSP)
- The Community Support Program helps to provide consumers, family members, and professionals a forum to help shape the continued transformation of the mental health services in Pennsylvania into a recovery-oriented system. The CSP in Pennsylvania has developed into four regional committees which support the development of local committees and coalitions, all committees are comprised of mental health consumers, family members and professionals. Both the regional and local CSP committees provide a community-based avenue for CSP principles, education, information-sharing, and for the collective input on major successes and concerns regarding community mental health services. Concerns and recommendations are then shared with the OMHSAS Adult Advisory Committee. To learn more about CSP and to find local contacts, visit the Pennsylvania Mental Health Consumers Association web site: www.pmhca.org
Positive Practice Resource Team (PPRT)
- The Positive Practices Resource Team is a joint initiative between the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) and the Office of Developmental Programs (ODP) to serve those individuals with a developmental disability who are demonstrating at-risk behavioral challenges and who the support team determines may be needing enhanced levels of support not readily known or available to them.
For specific information on OMHSAS initiatives regarding Recovery and Resiliency visit: PaRecovery.org
For information and resources related to co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders visit: Pa-Co-Occurring.org | <urn:uuid:bb05efe8-043d-49d0-8e9b-994ce65aafca> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dpw.state.pa.us/fordisabilityservices/mentalhealthservices/index.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905543 | 697 | 1.773438 | 2 |
I had an interesting question this week from someone in my network. Their IT decision makers have chosen to host their email and calendars in Gmail. My contact and her colleagues would all prefer to keep using Outlook 2010. She wanted to know how that was possible.
Well, it is possible using IMAP to connect the Gmail account to Outlook. Start by clicking on the File tab and Add Account. Enter all the information about your Gmail account and if prompted, choose IMAP. You’ll notice it now in the left-hand Navigation pane in Outlook.
It might be slow to load it the first time and a bit pokey thereafter, but you will be able to use most of Outlooks tools on your Gmail, such as Quick Steps and some of your Conversation Tools. If you can deal with the speed issue, you might be fine. You will have follow-up flags, but not be able to set them due for specific times. And, your color categories are also off the table. There may be more little things that are different, I’m still poking around.
In order to make sure your Outlook and Google calendars stay in sync, you’ll want to use a tool called Google Calendar Sync to make sure that what’s on Google is also what’s in Outlook and vice versa. http://www.google.com/sync/pc.html
[caption id="attachment_30522" align="alignleft" width="293" caption="Google Calendar Sync"]
Both sides of the argument (Google and Microsoft) will tell you both that it’s doable and that a pure solution of either one is best. For myself, I’m a Microsoft Office girl to be sure. I understand the cost savings of Google Aps. But it is not an apples to apples comparison. The robust toolset in Office makes sense for my business. For those that like their apples and oranges mixed. The IMAP solution may be for you.
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Having a root canal done on a tooth is the treatment of choice to save a tooth that otherwise would die and have to be removed. Many patients believe that removing a tooth that has problems is the solution, but what is not realized is that extracting (pulling) a tooth will ultimately be more costly and cause significant problems for adjacent teeth.
Root canal treatment is highly successful and usually lasts a lifetime, although on occasion, a tooth will have to be retreated due to new infections.
Signs and symptoms for possible root canal therapy:
An abscess (or pimple) on the gums.
Sensitivity to hot and cold.
Severe toothache pain.
Sometimes no symptoms are present.
Swelling and/or tenderness.
Reasons for root canal therapy:
Decay has reached the tooth pulp (the living tissue inside the tooth).
Infection or abscess have developed inside the tooth or at the root tip.
Injury or trauma to the tooth.
What does root canal therapy involve?
A root canal procedure requires one or more appointments and can be performed by a dentist or endodontist (a root canal specialist).
While the tooth is numb, a rubber dam (a sheet of rubber) will be placed around the tooth to keep it dry and free of saliva. An access opening is made on top of the tooth and a series of root canal files are placed into the opening, one at a time, removing the pulp, nerve tissue, and bacteria. If tooth decay is present, it will also be removed with special dental instruments.
Once the tooth is thoroughly cleaned, it will be sealed with either a permanent filling or, if additional appointments are needed, a temporary filling will be placed.
At the next appointment, usually a week later, the roots and the inside cavity of the tooth will be filled and sealed with special dental materials. A filling will be placed to cover the opening on top of the tooth. In addition, all teeth that have root canal treatment should have a crown (cap) placed. This will protect the tooth and prevent it from breaking, and restore it to its full function.
After treatment, your tooth may still be sensitive, but this will subside as the inflammation diminishes and the tooth has healed.
You will be given care instructions after each appointment. Good oral hygiene practices and regular dental visits will aid in the life of your root canal treatment. | <urn:uuid:6f5d773c-4ff3-4a3b-86cb-ed8c36e702b1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://virginvalleysmiles.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=71&Itemid=70&fontstyle=f-default | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9455 | 498 | 2.984375 | 3 |
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Nature of the Work | Working Conditions | Employment | Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement | Job Outlook | Earnings | Related Occupations | Sources of Additional Information
While lawyers assume ultimate responsibility for legal work, they often delegate many of their tasks to paralegals. In fact, paralegals continue to assume a growing range of tasks in the Nations legal offices and perform many of the same tasks as lawyers. Nevertheless, they are still explicitly prohibited from carrying out duties which are considered to be the practice of law, such as setting legal fees, giving legal advice, and presenting cases in court.
One of a paralegals most important tasks is helping lawyers prepare for closings, hearings, trials, and corporate meetings. Paralegals investigate the facts of cases and ensure all relevant information is considered. They also identify appropriate laws, judicial decisions, legal articles, and other materials that are relevant to assigned cases. After they analyze and organize the information, paralegals may prepare written reports that attorneys use in determining how cases should be handled. Should attorneys decide to file lawsuits on behalf of clients, paralegals may help prepare the legal arguments, draft pleadings and motions to be filed with the court, obtain affidavits, and assist attorneys during trials. Paralegals also organize and track files of all important case documents and make them available and easily accessible to attorneys.
In addition to this preparatory work, paralegals also perform a number of other vital functions. For example, they help draft contracts, mortgages, separation agreements, and trust instruments. They may also assist in preparing tax returns and planning estates. Some paralegals coordinate the activities of other law office employees and maintain financial records for the office. Various additional tasks may differ, depending on the employer.
Paralegals are found in all types of organizations, but most are employed by law firms, corporate legal departments, and various levels of government. In these organizations, they may work in all areas of the law, including litigation, personal injury, corporate law, criminal law, employee benefits, intellectual property, labor law, and real estate. Within specialties, functions often are broken down further so paralegals may deal with a specific area. For example, paralegals specializing in labor law may deal exclusively with employee benefits.
The duties of paralegals also differ widely based on the type of organization in which they are employed. Paralegals who work for corporations often assist attorneys with employee contracts, shareholder agreements, stock option plans, and employee benefit plans. They may also help prepare and file annual financial reports, maintain corporate minute books and resolutions, and secure loans for the corporation. Paralegals also occasionally review government regulations to ensure the corporation operates within the law.
The duties of paralegals who work in the public sector usually vary in each agency. In general, they analyze legal material for internal use, maintain reference files, conduct research for attorneys, and collect and analyze evidence for agency hearings. They may then prepare informative or explanatory material on laws, agency regulations, and agency policy for general use by the agency and the public. Paralegals employed in community legal service projects help the poor, the aged, and others in need of legal assistance. They file forms, conduct research, prepare documents, and when authorized by law, may represent clients at administrative hearings.
Paralegals in small and medium-sized law firms usually perform a variety of duties that require a general knowledge of the law. For example, they may research judicial decisions on improper police arrests or help prepare a mortgage contract. Paralegals employed by large law firms, government agencies, and corporations, however, are more likely to specialize in one aspect of the law.
A growing number of paralegals use computers in their work. Computer software packages and the Internet are increasingly used to search legal literature stored in computer databases and on CD-ROM. In litigation involving many supporting documents, paralegals may use computer databases to retrieve, organize, and index various materials. Imaging software allows paralegals to scan documents directly into a database, while billing programs help them to track hours billed to clients. Computer software packages may also be used to perform tax computations and explore the consequences of possible tax strategies for clients.
Paralegals employed by corporations and government usually work a standard 40-hour week. Although most paralegals work year round, some are temporarily employed during busy times of the year, then released when the workload diminishes. Paralegals who work for law firms sometimes work very long hours when they are under pressure to meet deadlines. Some law firms reward such loyalty with bonuses and additional time off.
These workers handle many routine assignments, particularly when they are inexperienced. As they gain experience, Paralegals usually assume more varied tasks with additional responsibility. Paralegals do most of their work at desks in offices and law libraries. Occasionally, they travel to gather information and perform other duties.
Paralegals held about 136,000 jobs in 1998. Private law firms employed the vast majority; most of the remainder worked for corporate legal departments and the various levels of government. Within the Federal Government, the Department of Justice is the largest employer, followed by the Departments of Treasury and Defense, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Other employers include State and local governments, publicly funded legal service centers, banks, real estate development companies, and insurance companies. A small number of paralegals own their own businesses and work as freelance legal assistants, contracting their services to attorneys or corporate legal departments.
There are several ways to become a paralegal. Employers usually require formal paralegal training obtained through associate or bachelors degree programs or through a certification program. Increasingly, employers prefer graduates of 4-year paralegal programs or college graduates who have completed paralegal certificate programs. Some employers prefer to train paralegals on the job, hiring college graduates with no legal experience or promoting experienced legal secretaries. Other entrants have experience in a technical field that is useful to law firms, such as a background in tax preparation for tax and estate practice or nursing or health administration for personal injury practice.
Over 800 formal paralegal training programs are offered by 4-year colleges and universities, law schools, community and junior colleges, business schools, and proprietary schools. There are currently 232 programs approved by the American Bar Association (ABA). Although this approval is neither required nor sought by many programs, graduation from an ABA-approved program can enhance ones employment opportunities. The requirements for admission to these programs vary. Some require certain college courses or a bachelors degree; others accept high school graduates or those with legal experience; and a few schools require standardized tests and personal interviews.
Paralegal programs include 2-year associates degree programs, 4-year bachelors degree programs, and certificate programs that take only a few months to complete. Many certificate programs only require a high school diploma or GED for admission. Programs typically include courses on law and legal research techniques, in addition to courses covering specialized areas of law, such as real estate, estate planning and probate, litigation, family law, contracts, and criminal law. Many employers prefer applicants with specialized training.
The quality of paralegal training programs varies; the better programs usually include job placement. Programs increasingly include courses introducing students to the legal applications of computers. Many paralegal training programs include an internship in which students gain practical experience by working for several months in a law office, corporate legal department, or government agency. Experience gained in internships is an asset when seeking a job after graduation. Prospective students should examine the experiences of recent graduates before enrolling in those programs.
Although most employers do not require certification, earning a voluntary certificate from a professional society may offer advantages in the labor market. The National Association of Legal Assistants, for example, has established standards for certification requiring various combinations of education and experience. Paralegals who meet these standards are eligible to take a 2-day examination, given three times each year at several regional testing centers. Those who pass this examination may use the designation Certified Legal Assistant (CLA). In addition, the Paralegal Advanced Competency Exam, established in 1996 and administered through the National Federation of Paralegal Associations, offers professional recognition to paralegals with a bachelors degree and at least 2 years of experience. Those who pass this examination may use the designation Registered Paralegal (RP).
Paralegals must be able to document and present their findings and opinions to their supervising attorney. They need to understand legal terminology and have good research and investigative skills. Familiarity with the operation and applications of computers in legal research and litigation support is also increasingly important. Paralegals should stay informed of new developments in the laws that affect their area of practice. Participation in continuing legal education seminars allows paralegals to maintain and expand their legal knowledge.
Because paralegals frequently deal with the public, they should be courteous and uphold the ethical standards of the legal profession. The National Association of Legal Assistants, the National Federation of Paralegal Associations, and a few States have established ethical guidelines for paralegals to follow.
Paralegals are usually given more responsibilities and less supervision as they gain work experience. Experienced paralegals who work in large law firms, corporate legal departments, and government agencies may supervise and delegate assignments to other paralegals and clerical staff. Advancement opportunities also include promotion to managerial and other law-related positions within the firm or corporate legal department. However, some paralegals find it easier to move to another law firm when seeking increased responsibility or advancement.
Paralegals are projected to rank among the fastest growing occupations in the economy through 2008. However, stiff competition for jobs should continue as the number of graduates of paralegal training programs and others seeking to enter the profession outpaces job growth. Employment growth stems from law firms and other employers with legal staffs increasingly hiring paralegals to lower the cost and increase the availability and efficiency of legal services. The majority of job openings for paralegals in the future will be new jobs created by rapid employment growth; other job openings will arise as people leave the occupation.
Private law firms will continue to be the largest employers of paralegals, but a growing array of other organizations, such as corporate legal departments, insurance companies, real estate and title insurance firms, and banks will also continue to hire paralegals. These organizations are expected to grow as an increasing population requires additional legal services, especially in areas such as intellectual property, health care, international, elder, sexual harassment, and environmental law. The growth of prepaid legal plans should also contribute to the demand for legal services. Paralegal employment in these organizations is expected to increase as paralegals are assigned a growing range of tasks and are increasingly employed in small and medium-sized establishments.
Job opportunities for paralegals will expand in the public sector as well. Community legal service programs, which provide assistance to the poor, aged, minorities, and middle-income families, will employ additional paralegals to minimize expenses and serve the most people. Federal, State, and local government agencies, consumer organizations, and the courts should also continue to hire paralegals in increasing numbers.
To a limited extent, paralegal jobs are affected by the business cycle. During recessions, demand declines for some discretionary legal services, such as planning estates, drafting wills, and handling real estate transactions. Corporations are less inclined to initiate litigation when falling sales and profits lead to fiscal belt tightening. As a result, full-time paralegals employed in offices adversely affected by a recession may be laid off or have their work hours reduced. On the other hand, during recessions, corporations and individuals are more likely to face other problems that require legal assistance, such as bankruptcies, foreclosures, and divorces. Paralegals, who provide many of the same legal services as lawyers at a lower cost, tend to fare relatively better in difficult economic conditions.
Earnings of paralegals vary greatly. Salaries depend on education, training, experience, type and size of employer, and the geographic location of the job. In general, paralegals who work for large law firms or in large metropolitan areas earn more than those who work for smaller firms or in less populated regions. In 1998, full-time, wage and salary paralegals had median annual earnings of $32,760. The middle 50 percent earned between $26,240 and 40,960. The top 10 percent earned more than $50,290, while the bottom 10 percent earned less than $21,770. Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of paralegals in 1997 are shown below:
According to the National Association of Legal Assistants, paralegals had an average salary of $34,000 in 1997. In addition to a salary, many paralegals received a bonus, which averaged about $2,100. According to the National Federation of Paralegal Associations, starting salaries of paralegals with 1 year or less experience averaged $30,700 in 1997.
Several other occupations call for a specialized understanding of the law and the legal system, but do not require the extensive training of a lawyer. These include abstractors, claim examiners, compliance and enforcement inspectors, occupational safety and health workers, patent agents, and title examiners.
Disclaimer: Links to non-BLS Internet sites are provided for your convenience and do not constitute an endorsement.
General information on a career as a paralegal can be obtained from:
For information on the Certified Legal Assistant exam, schools that offer training programs in a specific State, and standards and guidelines for paralegals, contact:
Information on a career as a paralegal, schools that offer training programs, job postings for paralegals, the Paralegal Advanced Competency Exam, and local paralegal associations can be obtained from:
Information on paralegal training programs, including the pamphlet "How to Choose a Paralegal Education Program," may be obtained from:
Information on acquiring a job as a paralegal specialist with the Federal Government may be obtained from the Office of Personnel Management through a telephone-based system. Consult your telephone directory under U.S. Government for a local number or call (912) 757-3000; TDD (912) 744-2299. This call is not toll-free, and charges may result. Information also is available from their Internet site: http://www.usajobs.opm.gov
Last Updated: March 30, 2000
|2000-2001 Handbook Contents...||UMSL Govt. Docs...||UMSL Libraries...||UMSL Home...| | <urn:uuid:c554c326-8583-4016-b97e-f14c4d77c4c6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.umsl.edu/services/govdocs/ooh20002001/239.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939869 | 3,120 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Cultural impacts on health
Culture impacts every aspect of our lives, including our health. Culture dictates our diets, clothing and environments, all of which change our risk of a number of diseases. Rituals can also effect pre-existing conditions.
This phenomenon is already really established in public health trends. With the relationship between stomach cancers and the Japanese diet, longevity and the Mediterranean diet, depression and MS amongst northern latitude countries such as Scotland and Scandinavia. Nuns are known to have rickets and vitamin D deficiency, while skin cancers are common among surfers, sailors and skiers.
There has been some new research about the impact of the fasting tradition of Ramadan on patients who have pre-existing chronic kidney disease. Published in the Saudi Journal of Kidney disease and transplantations ( http://www.bioportfolio.com/resources/pmarticle/73929/Fasting-Ramadan-In-Chronic-Kidney-Disease-Patients-Clinical-And-Biochemical-Effects.html ), the study found that Ramadan did not have a negative impact on patient’s kidney disease. Such dramatic changes to eating could have an effect, which would be important to determine.
This study highlights the importance of considering the patient in their full environment when thinking about diagnosis and treatment plans. Potentially, reactions of conditions to traditions could tell us more about the condition, possibly helping form better management plans. As we understand more about the body and live in a more multi-cultural world, the importance of the impact of culture is only going to become greater | <urn:uuid:2d881a09-9504-4f91-914e-5b3849a194e0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bioportfolio.com/news/article/1118081/Cultural-Impacts-On-Health.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939407 | 324 | 3.1875 | 3 |
Since the inception of the RTI Act in 2005, the role of Central Information Commission (CIC) has been exemplary. Barring some instances, the commission has been appreciated for ensuring that public authorities are accountable to the people. Along the way, it has dealt successfully with various serious issues like disclosure of information related to mercy petitions, phone tapping and bank details to name a few.
However, since the commission has to function within the existing framework, it also faced dead ends related to certain policy matters, declassification of old documents being one of them.
Transparency sans declassification
While the RTI Act has ensured transparency in many areas of decision making, the Indian government and defence forces are still refusing to part with certain information related to past events even if the disclosure is in national interest. Law stipulates that all files older than 25 years should be declassified, but several ministries are not downgrading the status of such files to 'declassified'.
Absence of a well-framed declassification policy is an impediment that has cropped up time and again when documents related to defence, intelligence or external affairs are sought.
One of these cases includes that of an RTI request filed by veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar with the Union Ministry of External Affairs seeking information on negotiating positions of India and Pakistan during 1963 talks. The said eight files of documents contained file notings, communications between various officials and dignitaries of both the countries over six rounds of talks, outcome of the dialogue between the two ministers during each round of talks, and position and viewpoint of each of the nations upon arriving at conclusions after each round of talks, with reference also to representatives of the British and US governments. The information was denied by the MEA claiming that these were classified documents. However, Nayar pointed out that MEA's Pakistani counterpart was willing to share the information on the same subject with the Pakistani nationals but not with Indians because of the absence of any such agreement between the two countries.
On receiving the appeal against this decision, the CIC advised the MEA to revisit the declassification policy with respect to information, existing in the form of old documents, particularly those comprised of information relating to any occurrence, event or matter which has taken place, occurred or happened 20 years before the date of request.
In another case filed by journalist Sandeep Unnithan, seeking report and debrief of the survivors of INS Khukri which sank during 1971 Indo-Pak war, the CIC observed that armed forces of free, democratic nations should have a proper disclosure of vital information policy especially in respect of events connected with engagement of our armed forces with the forces of other countries in theatres of war. It also recommended that “the Indian Navy and, in fact the Indian Armed Forces build up their storehouse of information, as mandated u/s 4(1) of the RTI Act, 2005 for disclosure at the appropriate time for the benefit of the students of India’s defence and to enhance the people’s trust in the armed forces’ undoubted capacity to ensure national security.”
Anit Mukherjee, a research fellow at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis, also faced the hindrance when seeking information on defence ministry's organisational structure from 1940s to 1980s. The army denied declassification claiming the documents were still sensitive to national security. Even the appellant's request to excise details found to be sensitive and provide the rest of the information was denied. However, the CIC dismissed the appeal saying “I can't substitute my own judgment with that of the Army top brass”.
Details related to various inquiry commissions set up to probe into the mystery surrounding death of Netaji Subhash Chander Bose are other documents awaiting declassification. In 2006, RTI application seeking this information was stonewalled with excuses that the disclosure may affect national security, sovereignty and integrity. However, the Ministry of Home Affairs was unable to justify its stand before the CIC which asked it to re-examine the case and not to depend on facile hypothesis since the matter was of national importance and also related to larger public interest. The ministry was also asked to send these records to the National Archives as required under the Public Records Act, 1993.
A year and a half later, the process of transferring the record was still in progress and the applicant again complained to the CIC which ordered that the declassification process could not go on indefinitely.
Phone tapping and RTI
From deals between mafia dons and Bollywood stars to the most recent Radiatapes, eavesdropping through phone lines has been an important tool for intelligence gathering. Those under surveillance have always objected to such intrusion into their private lives. No wonder then that they have also used RTI Act to know the justification for such a measure.
Under Section 5(2) of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, the messages can be intercepted “in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States or public order or for preventing incitement to the commission of an offence.” This is in consonance with exemptions under Section 8(1) (a) of the RTI Act which is why the RTI requests for information on the same have been flatly refused.
On June 6, 2006, S P Singh, a resident of Noida, sought a copy of the report on basis of which the orders to intercept his telephone were given by the Ministry of Home Affairs. The request was rejected under Sec 8(1)(a) and while hearing this case, the CIC also observed that “appeals such as this have been reaching the Commission in increasingly larger numbers. This is a category of appeals by Government employees facing investigations, enquiries and criminal proceedings for their acts of omission and commission. The reasons for the affinity of this category of employees for the Right to Information Act are not difficult to speculate.”
However, CIC has taken variant stands depending upon details of the case. For instance, one Dharambir Khattar filed an appeal for information on the proposal sent by the CBI to Ministry of Home Affairs seeking permission to tap his phone. On perusal of the documents the CIC found that the information contained in the proposal was in the nature of generic statements and without any specific and concrete allegations against the accused which would invite any of the exemptions and hence allowed the appeal. In another case involving Khattar, the CIC asked the Ministry of Home Affairs to disclose information related to review committee's meeting which decided on tapping of his phone. The CIC observed that the appellant had already come into possession of almost all the information connected with his phone-tapping case through a court case so a small part of the residual information can also be supplied after excising any part offensive to Sec 8(1).
Mercy petitions and RTI
The issue of mercy petitions has been generating a lot of heat for a while. As many as five applicants have approached the CIC after their requests for information on mercy petition of 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru were refused.
However, it was the mercy petitions related to three convicts in Rajiv Gandhi's assassination case that laid the ground for definition of information which can be provided to the applicants. In an application made to the President's Secretariat, Mayilsamy K sought information on complete correspondence relating to mercy petitions of three convicts. The application, which was transferred to the Ministry of Home Affairs, was denied by the PIO claiming it could affect the security interests of the country, endanger physical safety of officials involved in the process and impede investigations.
However, after examining the documents, the CIC ruled that except the advice rendered by the Minister to the President of India which is protected from enquiry in any court under Section 74(2) of the Constitution of India, all other communication should be supplied after excising names of public officers involved in the process to ensure their physical safety.
Bank details in open
The immunity granted under economic interest of the state has been another widely used provision under Sec 8(1)(a). Of the 24 total appeals received by CIC challenging this exemption only one was dismissed, 45 per cent were allowed, five remitted to appellate authority for a relook and in four cases partial information was given. In three cases, the information had already been given before the hearing took place.
Most of the time, CIC has cited public interest under Section 8(2) of the RTI Act as the reason for disclosure of information which lies with banks and financial organisations in a fiduciary capacity. The provision reads: “ Notwithstanding anything in the Official Secrets Act, 1923 nor any of the exemptions permissible in accordance with sub-section 8(1), a public authority may allow access to information, if public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm to the protected interests”.
In a case where NABARD refused to disclose information related to non-performing assets of the Mahahrashtra State Co-operative Bank Ltd., the CIC observed that “disclosure of the inspection reports and related correspondence of a co-operative bank such as MSCB must be shared with the public in a proactive manner. This kind of disclosure would certainly serve public interest, as mandated under Section 8(2) of the RTI Act.” However, the Delhi High court later stayed the order.
In another application filed by one Abhishek Chowdhury, he sought details from SEBI regarding annual net investments made by each foreign institutional investor in India. Besides the exemption under economic interests of the State, the information was also denied for being third party. However, the CIC asked the appellate authority to again go through the issue since there is larger public interest involved.
Info with Parliament, Cabinet
An allowance given to common citizens through the RTI Act is that any information given to the Parliament can't be denied under any exemption provisions. However, this handout also come with caveats which became clear with an application filed with the Lok Sabha Secretariat seeking copies of probe conducted by Parliamentary Committee on the Purulia arms drop case and stand taken by various concerned Ministries on the issue.
The information was denied citing security reasons with the report being confidential and sensitive in nature. The CPIO contended that the information requested had not been placed in table of the House and hence can't be provided to the applicant. Also the information was disclosable only to the Special Select Committee constituted for the purpose and appointed by the House Speaker. CIC ruled that the information in this case is the information available to a Select Committee of the Parliament and its proceedings cannot be disclosed even in the House which is why the information should be denied to the applicant.
The CIC has also dealt with the issue of Cabinet papers in detail through separate orders. Cabinet papers are generally exempt from disclosure under Section 8(1)(i) of the RTI Act but the Act does not define what “Cabinet papers” are.
Earlier, in 2008, the CIC asked the environment ministry to reveal all documents related to amendments in the Environment Impact Assessment notification that could end up before the Cabinet for finalisation. The appellant had stated that the process of finalising the draft was a one-way process in which the stakeholders were not kept informed at different stages of evolution of the draft whereas the ministry contended that the draft was prepared on the basis of inter-ministerial consultations and then put in public domain for 60 days soliciting comments and then finalised.
The CIC asked the ministry to disclose the papers even before the government finalises the draft. It also urged the ministry to consider making the whole notification amendment process more participatory by sharing all evolving drafts before they are finalised.
In another case heard in 2010, the CIC ruled that exemption clauses of the RTI Act related to Cabinet documents will apply only when proposals formulated are "actually" taken up for consideration by the Cabinet. The information which went into preparation of a cabinet note "but is not a part of it" will qualify for disclosure.
In yet another case seeking information on appointment of former CVC P J Thomas, the CIC ruled that the government cannot deny information on framing of rules and its relaxation on the ground that these are Cabinet papers. | <urn:uuid:64c9fee3-0853-42c2-83a0-c362d6c86c03> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thehoot.org/web/home/story.php?storyid=5840&mod=1&pg=1§ionId=9&valid=true | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964601 | 2,516 | 2.640625 | 3 |
I found some good tips on blogging from the course reading, ‘Blogging thoughts : personal publication as an online research tool‘ (download)
I explicitly quoted from the reading though, the order of words is not the same as in the article. I re-ordered and/or slightly changed words to be seen as a virtual conversation between me and the authors.
-What to post?Say something about what concerns you. In some manner, you are putting your daily experience into a larger context, discussing micro events in relation to the wider universe of events. -Do I only have to write what concerns me? You may write anything on blog that you don’t want to disappear. That means you can use a blog as a permanent archive (as long as the writer preserves the archives and the server remains online).
-Is it really ok to say anything that I’m interested in?Each individual can use weblogs as he or she feels fit, there is no tyranny of news values to decide what is worth writing about or, as the term is: what is worth blogging. Just allow yourself to write half-thought, naked ideas and show them to others rather than saving them for fully fleshed out carefully thought through papers.
-Even if you say, I have ‘total editorial control’ on my blog, it doesn’t necessarily mean that my blog contains only good stuff. What is a good blog?A good blog contains a tension between the two spheres: private and public. Blogs exist right on this border between what’s private and what’s public, and often we see that they disappear deep into the private sphere and reveal far too much information about the writer. If it were only for oneself, a private diary would be more useful. If it were only for readers, and not a tool for oneself, a more polished and finished form of publication would probably be more appropriate. | <urn:uuid:9a566bb3-1053-4261-a4d5-1ec75fb35387> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://raws.adc.rmit.edu.au/~s3209458/blog2/?p=41 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968654 | 396 | 1.757813 | 2 |
POSTED: 06:52 a.m. HST, Jul 18, 2012
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia >> Cambodia is closing all kindergarten and primary schools two weeks before a regular vacation to try to stop the spread of a virus that has killed hundreds of young children around Asia.
Deputy Education Minister Mak Van said more than 2,700 kindergartens and 7,000 primary schools closed Wednesday to try to cope with the menacing form of hand, foot and mouth disease known as enterovirus 71 strain, or EV-71.
The victims sometimes suffer high fever, brain swelling, paralysis and respiratory shutdown, though they may have been infected by people with few or no symptoms. The recent deaths of almost 60 Cambodian children raised the alarm over the disease.
Vietnam and China have also had outbreaks. And in neighboring Thailand, three schools in Bangkok closed Wednesday over new cases in students. | <urn:uuid:52dec01b-d4c3-4845-89f1-1f47c1c88c24> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/162890166.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969334 | 186 | 1.625 | 2 |
Published on Tuesday, December 5, 2000 by Agence France Press
US Presidency Change Puts Gun Against Heads Of Climate Negotiators
PARIS - Key industrialised countries meet on Wednesday in the hope of salvaging an international agreement on cutting the "greenhouse gas" emissions which cause global warming before a new US president takes office on January 20.
Without an accord, George W. Bush, a Republican who is a declared opponent of the Kyoto Protocol to fight global warming, will find it easier to walk away from the world's most important environment accord if he becomes the next incumbent of the White House, analysts said Tuesday.
Negotiators from the European Union, the United States, Australia, Canada and Japan will meet in Ottawa on Wednesday for two days of informal talks, and could reconvene next week in Oslo with other countries if there is progress, concurring sources said.
But the meeting has been so hastily arranged -- less than two weeks after the failure of an international forum in The Hague which was to have wrapped up a deal on global warming-- that exactly what they will discuss seems unclear and what can be achieved is limited.
"There's secrecy and haste," said Bill Hare, the climate campaign director for the environmental group Greenpeace.
"There's secrecy, in that if they can't reach agreement, they don't want to do it publicly. The haste is obviously linked to the Clinton administration. The clock is ticking," he said.
Tony Carritt, head of the environment practice at the Brussels consultancy Adamson BSMG Worldwide, said Bill Clinton was eager to lock in the Kyoto accord -- or as much of it as possible -- before he leaves office.
"Maybe the US strategy is: it would look bad for Bush to walk away from a deal that would have been done, so to that extent it would lock him in at least morally or politically," he suggested.
Kyoto, a skeletal agreement approved by UN signatories in 1997, binds industrialised countries to trimming output of fossil-fuel gases that scientists say are dangerously warming the Earth's atmosphere.
But a three-year effort to hammer out the actual contents of the accord collapsed in The Hague in the early hours of November 25, largely due to differences between Europe and the United States -- the world's top producer of greenhouse gases.
Part of the reason was an EU-US rift about the now-notorious "sinks" -- how far forests should be considered carbon-absorbing sponges that could be used to offset a country's national gas emission output.
The EU had opposed US claims for a generous definition of "sinks", suspecting a sleight of hand by which America could simply write off the emissions from its fuel-guzzling cars yet do little to curb the pollution problem itself.
Amid sometimes chaotic scenes, EU and US negotiators came close to a deal on "sinks" that would let the US write off some emissions thanks to its forests, but only a fraction of what it originally wanted.
But that deal came to grief at the last minute because of divisions within the EU, notably from Germany, which said the concession was too much.
According to an EU source in Paris, the new talks will try to cover the sinks issue as well as three other big questions that bedevilled the Hague talks.
These are compliance provisions to punish treaty violators; funding for Third World countries to discourage them from become carbon polluters in turn; and whether to impose a cap on "carbon trading mechanisms" like the forest sinks.
But Hare said the final day's haggling at The Hague was so frenzied there was widespread confusion as to what the tentative deal had actually been.
In any case, an agreement among the industrialised countries would probably be limited to the sinks, as the other issues need an accord from the Group of 77 bloc of developing countries, he said.
In that case, the only prospect for Ottawa is a mini-deal that will not have been formally approved by a full session of Kyoto countries, which is unlikely to take place within the next six months.
"This would make it much harder" for Kyoto's supporters to claim the US was locked into a major deal that would have to be honoured by a Bush administration, Hare said.
Copyright © 2000 AFP | <urn:uuid:e94b4fdb-7ebb-4685-9296-ac9cddf7d26d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.commondreams.org/headlines/120500-03.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965516 | 881 | 2.296875 | 2 |
My Daily Visitor Home
Give me life, O Lord, and I will do your commands.-- Psalm 119:(see 88)
Mass readings: 1 Maccabees 1:10-15,41-43,54-57,62-63 / Luke 18:35-43
Margaret (1045-1093) was no stranger to hardship. Her family was exiled in Hungary due to the Danish invasion of England. During her youth, the family fled the invading army of William the Conqueror, and along the way, their ship was wrecked. They were saved by King Malcolm of Scotland, who later married Margaret, making her Queen of Scotland. Queen Margaret, however, did not recline in the lap of luxury, but used her position to serve the cause of justice and worked hard to improve social conditions for the poor.
In today's Gospel, a blind man cries out to Jesus for help. When Jesus restores his sight, the man begins to follow Jesus, glorifying God, and his testimony leads many to praise God. Jesus saves us -- then sends us out to serve in His Kingdom.
Prayer: Jesus, my Savior, strengthen me in Your service today.
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Catholic Faith Resources | For Catholic Parishes | Order OSV Products | RSS | Advertise | About Us | Contact Us | Jobs | <urn:uuid:06e26464-60db-455f-aaf6-b5ccb754e51e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.osv.com/tabid/7627/itemid/5343/November-16-St-Margaret-of-Scotland.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00054-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958906 | 280 | 2.25 | 2 |
Starting next school year, K-12 students must have two doses of varicella chickenpox vaccine, or have documented history of having chickenpox.
The Indiana State Department of Health announced on Wednesday school immunization requirements for the 2013-14 school year for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
Currently, students in grades K-2 and 6-12 must have two doses of varicella vaccine and students in grades 3-5 are only required to have one dose. The new requirement “fills in the gap” between those grade levels, according to Amanda Turney, spokeswoman for the department, and addresses recent cases of chickenpox in the state.
“We’ve had five outbreaks of chickenpox in the last six months, and three were school based,” Turney said.
Students in kindergarten through fifth grade will have to have their history of chickenpox documented by a health care provider, according to Turney.
The department also recommends students in kindergarten have two doses of Hepatitis A vaccine and students in 11th and 12th grades have booster dose of meningococcal conjugate vaccine.
The issue of immunization can be a hot topic among parents who fear side effects.
Parents in Indiana may opt out of vaccinating their children due to religious beliefs or medical conditions. A written statement declaring these reasons must be submitted to the child’s school.
On the web
• Immunization records for Indiana residents are available through https://myvaxindiana.in.gov. A complete listing of all school immunization requirements is available at www.state.in.us/isdh/17094.htm. | <urn:uuid:51173fbb-aa82-43f6-834b-f68e86d06aba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://newsandtribune.com/clarkcounty/x964870756/2-doses-of-chickenpox-vaccine-required-next-year/print | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948296 | 345 | 2.6875 | 3 |
Nature's Newborns is the cutest show on television - find out why in this gallery.
Vincent's frightening crash scene
Brooke Vincent was terrified stepping in front of a moving car for Sophie's crash scene
Coronation Street star Brooke Vincent has revealed her upcoming car crash scene required "100 per cent concentration" to avoid anything going wrong.
The 20-year-old's character Sophie Webster faces the possibility of never being able to walk again when she is struck by a car while trying to save pal Ryan Connor from getting knocked down.
Brooke told The Sun: "However much the stunt co-ordinator told me the cars wouldn't touch me, because the stunt drivers knew exactly what they were doing, it went against every instinct to step into the road.
"The cars were so close and doing 20 to 30mph, and your reaction is to move out of the way.
"But it was all so cleverly done. It required 100 per cent concentration and there had to be a lot of communication to make sure everyone knew what they were doing. If just one person was out of time it could have easily gone terribly wrong."
Sophie is told she may never walk properly again after the accident.
Brooke said: "It makes you realise how hard it is for people who experience this in real life."
related stories on msn
latest tv videos
Glee's Matthew Morrison visits a school in London and gives an inspiring speech to pupils about how to succeed.
Date 10 hrs ago, Duration 1:26, Views 21 | <urn:uuid:234d9a17-2901-4112-91b4-890a56aa03ae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tv.uk.msn.com/news/vincents-frightening-crash-scene-2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980028 | 322 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Secretary Sebelius announces innovative public-private partnerships to turn the tide together in fight against HIV/AIDSDate: July 22, 2012Source: Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)URL: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2012pres/07/20120722a.html
In a speech at the opening session of the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012), Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced a series of innovative public-private partnerships in the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
The four initiatives include (1) using text messaging to improve patient management of disease; (2) partnering with a national pharmacy chain to develop an innovative medication therapy management; (3) creating a common, easy to use form for HIV patient assistance program applicants; and (4) launching online education modules to better train providers to treat people living with HIV/AIDS.
“We are reminded over and over again that we need a collective response to turn the tide against HIV/AIDS,” Secretary Sebelius said. “That’s why we’re making a new effort to reach out to community-based organizations, businesses, foundations, non-governmental organizations, faith-based organizations and other partners to ask how we can work together. These public-private partnerships will help make a difference in people’s lives.”
The four specific public-private initiatives that will improve access to HIV care and align with the administration’s goal of an AIDS-free generation are:
Common Patient Assistance Program Application. HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration worked with eight leading pharmaceutical companies and foundations to create a single application form for AIDS medications offered through their patient assistance programs. The eight companies, Abbot Laboratories, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Gilead, Genentech, Johnson and Johnson, Merck, and ViiV, will begin accepting the common form starting Sept. 1, 2012.
This single common form will allow uninsured individuals living with HIV to apply for multiple assistance programs, providing coverage for an entire course of antiretroviral therapy regardless of manufacturer.
By reducing barriers to medication access for those living with HIV, this streamlined process will encourage eligible patients to begin or continue their needed treatment. A sample form is available at http://hab.hrsa.gov/patientassistance/index.html.
UCARE4LIFE. HHS, in partnership with the MAC AIDS Fund, will launch a mobile texting pilot program called UCARE4LIFE to help patients get important reminders and tips for managing their disease. This two-year project will focus on southern states, where the epidemic is rising fast among youth. It consists of developing a message library for delivering timely phone text reminders in English and Spanish to HIV-positive individuals for medical appointments and for taking medications as prescribed. Many people living with HIV have trouble adhering to the strict regimen that accompanies their medication, and this initiative aims to improve retention in care and medication adherence. This project is a part of MAC AIDS Foundation’s larger $4.5 million Care for Life Initiative.
HHS and PEPFAR are also partnering with MAC AIDS Foundation on a project to ensure that the global provider community, along with the people living with HIV involved in these programs, fully leverage global lessons on expanding treatment access and retaining people in HIV care. The project will bring together international leaders to explore the lessons learned through PEPFAR that could be applied to the U.S. The information shared at this meeting will be compiled in a report for use as a resource on best practices in treatment access and retention.
Pharmacy Medication Therapy Management. HHS’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will partner with Walgreens to develop an innovative medication therapy management program to learn how pharmacies can help patients stay on their medications and in care. The 3½ -year project is entitled “Improving Retention in Care, Adherence, and HIV Prevention Behaviors of Persons with HIV through Medication Therapy Management of HIV Disease in Community Pharmacies.” The project will evaluate new collaborative agreements between health care providers and community pharmacists designed to deliver drug therapy management and other supportive services to improve (1) retention in care, (2) adherence to drug treatment regimens, and, ultimately, (3) health outcomes among their HIV-infected patients. Walgreens is providing nearly $1 million in in-kind services.
Online Physician Training Programs. HHS’ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services worked with Medscape, a provider of online continuing education for U.S. clinicians, to create new training programs to help health care providers better understand and address the needs of patients with HIV. Three new training modules have been created for physicians, nurses and other medical professionals to review the basics of evaluation, monitoring, and treatment initiation in HIV-infected patients; explain the benefits of starting HIV treatment earlier; recognize and evaluate potential barriers to access to HIV care; and understand how to bridge the financial barriers to care, particularly under the Affordable Care Act. This new training will benefit the 60 percent of physicians who receive continuing medical education through Medscape. The training modules are available at: http://www.medscape.org/viewprogram/32555?src=cmsaca .
In addition, on July 19, HHS announced nearly $80 million in grants to increase access to HIV/AIDS care across the U.S. The funding will ensure that low-income people living with HIV/AIDS continue to have access to life-saving health care and medications.
Approximately $69 million will be sent to 25 states and territories through the Ryan White AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), and based on estimates provided by the states, will eliminate any waiting lists.
The more than $10 million remaining will be distributed to Ryan White community-based health clinics nationwide to expand access to 14,000 new patients for essential medical and support services for people living with HIV/AIDS. A portion of this funding was made available through the Affordable Care Act. A list of grantees and awards is available at: http://www.hrsa.gov/about/news/2012tables/120724hiv/.
The Affordable Care Act is already making a difference in the fight against HIV/AIDS. It prohibits lifetime caps on benefits, creates pre-existing condition insurance plans for people who are denied private insurance, requires that HIV testing is available through insurance plans without cost-sharing, and makes drugs more affordable for Medicare beneficiaries.
“In the 22 years since this conference was held on American soil, we have made long-awaited breakthroughs in science and treatment. Today, someone diagnosed with HIV and treated before the disease is far advanced can have a nearly normal life expectancy,” said Secretary Sebelius. “Now is not the time for easing up, slowing down, or shifting our focus. If we are going to reach our ultimate goal of an AIDS-free generation, we must all challenge ourselves to do more – to work collaboratively and creatively in public private partnerships, to reach even more people, to make programs even more effective and accountable, and to push the boundaries of science even further.” | <urn:uuid:b6569cab-3651-4eec-9ed8-f5ca0ebea4fc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://aidsinfo.nih.gov/news/1265/secretary-sebelius-announces-innovative-public-private-partnerships-in-fight-against-hiv-aids | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933966 | 1,497 | 1.898438 | 2 |
Dates: July 15th-26th
Students in this module will learn about and develop complete robotic systems from the ground up. Examples of current robotic systems employed throughout the world (and solar system) will be discussed and lightly analyzed as well. Components, systems, and behaviors of robots that will be discussed includes motors and their control, sensors and their integration into the system, microcontrollers, and communications with external systems using XBee radios (as easy to use as Bluetooth), and autonomous vs. remote-controlled behaviors. Students will build their own robots using the Arduino microcontroller platform and sensors designed for the Arduino platform. At the beginning of the module, the students will start by designing robots that are capable of doing simple tasks, such as line-following and obstacle detection. As their skills and confidence grow, and while exploring the more fun side of robotics through various small challenges and competitions, they will advance their robots to be able to perform more complicated tasks, such as sumo wrestling and obstacle avoidance. Throughout the module, the level of autonomy of the robots will be slowly increased as well; starting as remote controlled vehicles and ending as fully autonomous systems. At the end, students will have developed a differential drive robot capable of autonomously navigating a large maze-like obstacle course.
If time permits, and the students make sufficient progress, we hope to introduce them to the concept of improved controls through cyber-physical systems. We will show students how to develop a 2D virtual world with a virtual robot, and how to integrate the data being transmitted by their robots into the computer world so that their virtual robot does exactly what their real robot does!
Finally, at the end of the course, we will demonstrate an advanced cyber-physical system and the concept of networked robots with a demonstration we are currently developing: we will fly a quadcopter over the top of the obstacle course, use the quadcopter’s onboard cameras to map the course before the students’ robots enter the course, and then display the course as a virtual world on a computer. The students and their robots can use this virtual world to assist in moving through the obstacle course.
This module is not for the faint of heart. Building and programming cool robots is complicated and tedious. It requires a great deal of perseverance and self-motivation. If you choose this module, be prepared to work hard. However, if you come and work hard, you'll learn a lot and have a lot of fun!
"I was born and raised in the Mat-Su Valley. As a kid, I enjoyed hockey, running, skiing, reading, and music. After graduating from high school, I went to college at UAF where I continued to play with Legos and make robots. After working as a Peace Corps volunteer in Bangladesh for a while, I returned to Alaska. I went back to school to become a teacher and then taught at Burchell High School for two years. I now work at Twindly Bridge Charter School where I teach two robotics classes, and I also teach another robotics class after school at Fronteras Charter School.
I try to spend as much time as I can with my wife and two kids (ages two and four), and often take them swimming, ice skating, or hiking. Aside from teaching, I enjoy playing with robots, working with computers, reading and helping people. I look forward to the day when my kids are old enough to build and program robots with me."
Steven is a graduate student at UAF working toward a PhD in Computer Engineering. In addition, he has started a company with a couple other UAF graduates, developing scientific payloads for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Steven’s research revolves around using multiple robots in a group to accomplish tasks faster than a single robot could, or to accomplish tasks that one robot alone could not. Steven has plenty of robotics experience too: over the last six years Steven has been involved in 5 robotics projects, at various levels of complexity. The most advanced robot he has built was an autonomous robot called a “micromouse”, with which he has competed in a yearly competition for the last six years. He and his team have won the competition 5 of the 6 years and taken 2nd place the other year. In his free time, though, Steven explores several different exciting hobbies, including photography, flying airplanes (full size and scale/radio-controlled), and has lately been developing projects that are a confluence of art, electronics, and 3D printing. His belief is that art should be functional: with microcontrollers being so small, low-powered, and inexpensive, there is no reason why our art must only look good: it should be capable of performing some function as well. His functional art lately has focused around artistic clocks that use RGB (Red, Green, and Blue) LEDs so that the clock can change color over time. There are endless possibilities for using the changing color of these clocks, including as a way of displaying temperature (blue is cold, red is warm, etc…), or as a countdown to a big event (turning slowly from blue/red to red/green as Christmas approaches). Anything is possible; it just takes an idea and the desire to build it! For a look at a few of Steven’s projects, visit his YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/wingsoalaska | <urn:uuid:949c3be7-1de9-4102-983c-889a38284e00> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.uaf.edu/asra/summer-programs/high-school/2013-modules/robots-networks-and-ardui/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969863 | 1,105 | 3.984375 | 4 |
[img: a black and white drawing of several punk archetypes hanging out in a street. a text box over top of the image reads, “thou shalt not talk about the white boys’ club: challenging the unwritten rules of punk”.]
after over a year in the making, this zine is finally finished!
Thou Shalt Not Talk About The White Boys’ Club: Challenging The Unwritten Rules of Punk
Touted as being a home for society’s rejects, outcasts, and ‘alternative’ political stances, punk unfortunately often ends up reinforcing oppressive mindsets and ideals by setting up numerous unwritten rules for dress, behavior, personal choices, identifications, and so much more. This zine, written by sari of Hoax and You’ve Got a Friend in Pennsylvania, aims to direct conscious attention to the nuances of being a marginalized person, namely a Gender and Sexuality Minority (GSM), in the punk community. Includes questions intended to incite dialogue among readers and their friends as well as a short list of recommended resources concerning marginalized experiences in punk. B&W, 34 pages, & text heavy. US$2.50. [etsy / well-hidden cash or other]
THE 7 PUNK COMMANDMENTS (EXERPTS)
I. Thou Shalt Not Get Dressed Without A Mirror
[gendered expectations for dress & behavior]
Even though many of us would like to think that punk is a place in which we can escape from the claws of dominant US culture for a period of time, mainstream beauty standards are still very much in place. Women and gender non-conforming individuals still face harsh judgments for our bodies and modes of dress while punk men’s fashion is of lesser importance and more open to interpretation.
II. Thou Shalt Fear The Feminine
[perpetuating misogyny & girl hate]
A general issue for punks is the level of commitment to it, in terms of appearance modifications in various situations, and the straight white punk boys who successfully embody punk masculinity are often free to sit back and let women subtly fight each other for their attention—proof positive that men are the only ones who benefit from this competition.
III. Thou Shalt Not Talk About The White Boys’ Club
[demographics & unwritten punk rules]
Punk feeds off of marginalized folks disassociating from our own experiences in favor of generalized perspectives of white/straight/male people. Punk, as a group or community, needs certain requirements met for inclusion and identification, and not discussing them or actively questioning them means we often fall prey to standards we don’t agree with or align ourselves with, thus continuing the cycle of alienation and disconnection.
IV. Thou Shalt Play In A Band (Or Try Like Hell To Do So)
[creative participation & going behind the music]
Along with having their gender consistently at the center of discussions about their ability to play instruments, women in bands are often, if not always, put on a pedestal. They are pressured to only write about issues that can somehow promote gender equality or ‘further the cause’, and any women just talking about partying or having fun (read: like dude punks do) risk being seen as somehow wasting the spotlight.
V. Thou Shalt Not Take Mercy Upon The Weak
[mosh pits, the cult of masculinity, & normalized assault]
…one of his female friends chastised me for pushing him and told me that if I didn’t want to get knocked into, I should have stood in the back of the room where she herself was perched the whole time. After a few choice words about what I thought of both her and her friend, I commented that if the boy didn’t want to get knocked on his ass, he should have stayed with her in the rear of the space.
VI. Thou Shalt Be Pure
[purity in politics, behaviors, & interests]
When it comes to music, punks get fucking defensive about their interests. I can’t count the amount of conversations I’ve heard centered around how long someone has been punk, how true they are to some abstract “punk lifestyle”, and, the annoying icing on the cake, which specific types of punk they’re into. The expression “Punk Points” sums up this mathematical game of macho posturing that aims to assess just how loyal to punk one really is, like some kind of fucked up nationalism.
VII. Thou Shalt Not Shake Shit Up
[trying to incite positive change in the scene]
Be aware of our inclusion of others. It’s probably safe to say that most, if not all, kids who turn to punk do so out of a desire to find a supportive place that aligns with their non-traditional politics, life decisions, home lives, and so on. Since so many of us were outcasts in other social scenes, finding a place to belong is a really reassuring and important experience. But unfortunately, our in-group feelings can quickly turn into cliques that further exclude others, and it’s not just white boys who are complicit in this. | <urn:uuid:bbe99224-4dd4-4f1b-a473-e23052b1cbc6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hoaxzine.tumblr.com/post/34463626700/inmidnightblood-img-a-black-and-white-drawing | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941342 | 1,086 | 1.585938 | 2 |
My kids and my husband were off to do something fun, and I readily admit, I wanted to go and share their afternoon with them. I wanted to be with those I love, have some fun, and see and hear about what they were enjoying.
However, somewhere in my brain, and perhaps my heart, I knew I had work to do and I also knew I needed to get it done while I was fresh and alert. At the end of a tiring and busy day, my writing would suffer.
So, I opted to stay home and write and sent my family on its merry way to enjoy beautiful Southeast Texas together. This decision caused me to begin thinking about self-discipline and why some have it and some never seem to get it. How does one acquire a good dose of self-discipline? Is it necessary for success? Are there areas in our lives where we know we have not conquered the matter? (By the way, I don’t always make the right decision and exercise self-discipline about a matter, but I am working on it even at this stage in my life. I am also trying diligently to teach my grandchildren about the trait and how important it is to their young lives.)
I read many definitions of self-discipline, some by famous orators and others by friends who were willing to share their thoughts with me. I have combined some of the best thoughts and want to share them with you. I believe that self-discipline is the ability to motivate oneself in spite of negative surroundings, peer pressure, or our own emotional state. The three attributes I associate with it are willpower, hard work and persistence.
One man wrote that self-discipline is the product of persistent willpower. And willpower is the strength and ability to carry out certain tasks in the manner you have chosen for your life. When we exercise self-discipline based on character choices we have carefully made, we then can count on our self-discipline to step up to the plate and handle the situations we face daily in life. And yes, it is very necessary for any measure of success in anything we undertake to do.
Riding home in the car from a day trip to Lake Charles, I was talking earnestly to my almost 14-year-old granddaughter. Callie is beautiful, bright, fun, intelligent and has lots of friends. We jokingly say she is the social butterfly of our family, and there’s seldom a long span of time that she doesn’t receive phone calls and texts from friends. She went to a private Christian school before deciding to finish her high school education in a large public school where she can take part in a broader music, drama and science program, as well as other academic explorations. She has a tiny bit of anticipation about her choice, but feels strongly that it is the right one for her. Both of her parents agree.
I did my best to teach her that she has enough self-discipline in her young life to make good choices based on what she has been taught. I also told her that she would very likely face peer pressure to participate or become involved in things that are not best suited for her. And I urged her to rely on her own self-discipline to overcome the temptation.
Callie seemed to understand the need for self-discipline, and I am praying for each of my grandchildren as they start a new school year. I honestly think we, as adults, have no idea of the pressures that are on the children of our generation. While we’re praying, let’s also remember our teachers and administrators, coaches, staff members, bus drivers and medical personnel that work with our kids. This is a different world than many of us grew up in, I have come to believe.Oh, that the adults practiced self-discipline in many of their life choices as well.
Brenda Cannon Henley can be reached at (409) 781-8788 or at brendacannonhenley [at] yahoo [dot] com. | <urn:uuid:208af7f2-de44-4d92-96a8-24743b56e068> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://theexaminer.com/print/9121?page=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987201 | 833 | 1.8125 | 2 |
So, for those of you who weren’t here last week, just a quick word to orient you to what’s going on with this summer worship series. We’re following a set of readings called the “semi-continuous series” that trace the rise of the House of David in Israelite history, the stories of how God’s people went from being a loose confederation of tribes governed by a series of judges to a nation under the rule of a king.
Since last week, I’ve given this series a name — which you’ll see on the front cover of your bulletin. I’m calling it “A Game of Thrones” after the books and the HBO series by the same name. These books by George R. R. Martin (who has been hailed as the American J.R.R. Tolkein) tell the story of seven noble families fighting for control of the throne in a medieval fantasy setting. After watching two seasons of the television show, I’ve finally started reading the novels this summer, and I’m hooked. Like, up reading into the wee hours of the night hooked. They’re good.
And so are these stories from the books of 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings. When I was a very young boy, I remember that these were my favorite stories in my illustrated children’s bible. Even as I grew older, once I had my first “real” bible, these were the stories I wanted to read the most. It’s not hard to understand. For a kid who gravitated to comic books and sci-fi/fantasy, these stories felt familiar. A boy hero who fells a giant with a slingshot isn’t all that different from the boy wonder, sidekick to the caped crusader. Children look for images of other children in story books and movies as they are growing up to give them glimpses of who they might become.
Quite a bit has happened in the gap between last week’s story, where the people demand from the prophet Samuel a king like the other nations, and this week, where Samuel travels to anoint David, the son of Jesse. In between, there’s been a whole other king, Saul.
Like David, Saul tended to his father’s animals in the field. His father, Kish, was a man of wealth and Saul is described as tall and handsome. The scriptures say, “there was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he; he stood head and shoulders above everyone else.” Saul sort of stumbles into the monarchy, out in the fields looking for his father’s lost donkeys. Instead he finds Samuel, who has been waiting on God to show him who to name as Israel’s king. In their initial exchange Samuel says to Saul, “And on whom is all Israel’s desire fixed if not on you and on all your ancestral house?” Saul answers, “I am only a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel, and my family is the humblest of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin. Why have you spoken to me in this way?”
This introduces a theme that runs through our scriptures this morning, that God consistently chooses what is small and weak to upend what is mighty and established. In the opening chapters of First Samuel the prophet’s mother, Hannah, has sung a song remarkably like the magnificat that Jesus’ mother, Mary, will later sing. Both women declare that the greatness of God lies in the fact that God casts down the mighty and raises up the weak. Later, Jesus shares a similar vision for the reign of God come near, offering a parable of the mustard seed — “which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
A friend of mine, Dr. Jeremy Posadas, who serves as Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Austin College in Sherman, Texas, dropped the following bit of theology in a recent Facebook post. He writes,
The central message of the Bible is NOT God’s UNCONDITIONAL LOVE, but rather God’s PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR. In my heyday as a church-based organizer for LG(BT) inclusion, I proclaimed and trained others to proclaim that “the central message of the Bible is God’s unconditional and redeeming love for humankind.” But I realize now how much that framework subtly reinforces Christian / churchly tendencies toward INDIVIDUAL care rather than SYSTEMIC revolt – toward INCLUSION (of others) rather than DISRUPTION (of our own ways) – toward CHARITY, rather than JUSTICE. God does NOT love the part of humankind that leaves the poor to die – in fact, God HATES that part of humankind and wants to destroy it in all forms. And God DOES set a condition for participating in God’s love: be metanoia’d [to repent, my addition] from structures and practices that perpetuate poverty, or you cannot take part of the reign of God.
Yes, there are people who post heavy-duty theology on Facebook.
This is not to say that God doesn’t love us, but that this may not be the only, or even the central message of scripture. That, beyond being loved, we are called to participate in the love of God, that takes sides. That picks a king from the humblest of all tribes, that picks a king who is the youngest among his brothers, that picks a king born among an occupied people. God’s consistency is rather remarkable. God takes sides, and God sides with those who have the least and need the most, because God has the most to give — and those who belong to God are called upon to give the most as well.
So, Samuel anoints the Benjaminite, Saul, to be king. Things begin well enough. Saul rallies the people behind him and, together, they drive off the Ammonites — some vicious bullies who had threatened to gauge our the right eye of every Israelite (I’m telling you, these stories are good!). Samuel, believing that he has successfully transitioned the people from his care into Saul’s rulership, delivers a farewell address that reminds everyone of his misgivings with the whole idea of kings, but hopes for the best.
Saul begins a series of military campaigns, and as he grows more and more successful, he becomes less and less faithful. He offers inappropriate sacrifices to God, and sets up a monument to himself upon the mountain. The word of the LORD comes to Samuel: because Saul has rejected God’s authority, God will reject Saul’s authority. He will no longer be king. Samuel confronts Saul with this word, which is hard for Saul to accept. Finally though he admits, “I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, I pray, pardon my sin, and return with me, so that I may worship the LORD.”
But Samuel knows that there is no coming back from the taste of power Saul has experienced. Kingship has gone to his head, which was the worry all along. He tells Saul, “I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel.” And as Samuel turns to leave, Saul reaches out and grabs the hem of his robe, and it tears. In a retort worthy of any prime-time drama, Samuel responds, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this very day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.” After that, Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, and the search was on for a new king.
Now, before we allow David onto the scene, I think we need to debrief the tragedy of Saul’s short-lived reign. Remember, that before Samuel came and anointed Saul with the mantle of the monarchy, he was simply the tall, good-looking son of a wealthy donkey herder. He was enjoying some measure of prosperity, but he does not appear to have been looking for more out of life. It is the people who call out for a king, and it is Samuel who transforms that mandate into a monarch. Then, once he has been made king, Saul tries his best to unite the people, he wins them some victories against their foes — which is exactly why the people had cried out for a king — and he begins to get a sense of himself as a strong, military leader. Soon he is offering sacrifices and erecting monuments, but he says that he has simply done what the people wanted “because [he] feared the people and obeyed their voice.”
The people got the king they wanted, the king they called out for. They got a strong military leader who defended them against the wrath of neighboring lands. But God sees that, in the process, they have transferred their trust wholly to this king. Now the king offers sacrifices. Now the king is the object of their adoration. The king, whom the people asked for out of fear, has begun to rule the people out of fear of their disapproval. It’s not that God has become jealous of Saul, the king. It’s that the people and their king are ruling one another in a cycle of uninterrupted fear, and fear is the root of all kinds of evil.
People of God, where do you detect fear ruling the nation? Take a second to think about this question. Where do you sense that our way of life as a people is governed by fear? If it would help you to think through this question, feel free to turn to someone sitting next to you and ask them, “where do you see fear ruling our nation?” I’ll give you about a minute to mull this over together.
Alright. Now I’m going to ask you to try a fill-in-the-blank exercise. I’ll give you the beginning of a sentence, and I want you to come up with the ending. As you think about that aspect of our life together as a nation where you sense that we are being governed by fear, how would you complete this petition: “Lord, give us the courage to .”
Jot that down somewhere, maybe on the back of your bulletin, and when we come to the prayers of the people, I’d invite you to consider offering that simple, one-sentence prayer for courage.
It takes courage for Samuel to hit the road in search of a new king. He had grown to love Saul, even though he could no longer support him. His allegiance was to something larger than any candidate, any king. His allegiance was to God, and the world God was working to bring into being by and for the young, the weak, and the small. People like David, the shepherd-boy. This time Samuel is not drawn in by the height or appearance of his older brother, Eliab, or any of the qualities possessed by his other brothers.
Instead, Samuel sees with the eyes of God a person filled with courage, a boy will will topple the giants that surround him, a man who will rule out of love, not fear. Samuel anoints David, a candidate for king so unlikely that his father had not even bothered to call him in from the fields.
If one so small could be used to do such large things, then who is to say that God doesn’t have equally grand, or even greater, plans for you? Baptized into the body of Christ, you have been united with the one we call king of kings and lord of lords. When you were brought to the font and washed in these waters, you also were anointed with oil and marked with the sign of the cross, signifying your royal lineage and your calling to take part in toppling the giants of this day and age and creating a world ruled by love and not fear.
As a child, I loved to read the stories of the boy who became king. They gave me a place to imagine myself as one called by God to do great things. What I was too young to realize was, I was right. God is calling me to do great things with my life, and God is calling you to do great things with your life. God is calling all of us to set aside any story about ourselves that disqualifies us from acting powerfully. God is calling us to set aside the fears that coerce us into giving up our power and looking for someone taller, or better-looking, or wealthier, or stronger to solve our problems for us. God discourages us from worshipping at those altars, and calls us instead to be faithful to the one who has created each of us in the image and likeness of God. No matter how small you have been made to feel, or you believe yourself to be, on this day and every day, God reminds you that God takes sides with the small and the weak, and uses them to build a world where God’s love and God’s justice are one and the same.
We read these stories for glimpses of who we might become. Today, looking at you with the eyes of God, I see kings and queens. Accept your anointing and join the story once again. | <urn:uuid:d4063f1d-2790-4d96-8c6a-8b24543fef70> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://byproclamation.wordpress.com/2012/06/17/sermon-sunday-june-17-2012-a-game-of-thrones-pt-2-the-unexpected-king/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974211 | 2,883 | 1.898438 | 2 |
July 2, 2011 Scientists have designed a micro aircraft that will be able to flap, glide and hover like a bird.
Researchers from the Biomimetics-Innovation-Centre in Germany have been inspired by birds to produce a new versatile design of Micro air vehicle (MAV) that combines flapping wings, which allow it to fly at slow speeds and hover, with the ability to glide, ensuring good quality images from any on-board camera.
"In birds, the combination of demanding tasks like take-off, travelling long distances, manoeuvring in confined areas and landing is daily practice," explains PhD researcher Mr. William Thielicke, who is presenting this work at the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Conference in Glasgow.
This innovative design was inspired by one bird in particular, the swift. "We know that swifts are very manoeuvrable and they can glide very efficiently. So we thought these birds would be a very good starting point for an energy efficient flapping-wing MAV," says Mr. Thielicke.
While fixed wing MAVs are energy efficient, their manoeuvrability is low. The new design would allow the flapping wing MAV to glide, improving energy efficiency and ensuring good images but when needed it can also slow its flight and manoeuvre in confined spaces.
"Although the models are not yet ready to be used, initial tests are positive and we hope that this design will combine the best of both worlds," says Mr. Thielicke.
Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead. | <urn:uuid:aefdd538-f598-43fd-ac6a-41f3abd263ed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110701203725.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947745 | 329 | 3.734375 | 4 |
Arts and Humanities
Sun December 9, 2012
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year: Holiday Shows Key to Missions, Bottom Lines
For arts patrons who aren't fans of Christmas shows, this isn't exactly the most wonderful time of the year. The so-called "sweet weeks" between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day are packed with Christmassy fare, with Tiny Tim duking it out with the Sugar Plum Fairy and the entire populations of Bedford Falls and Santaland competing with holiday films and parties for family entertainment dollars and time.
Woe to the company who spurns tradition to stage "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" or "La Traviata" instead, and arts companies aren't just going through the motions when they stage the same play for decades in a row. While there's no arts equivalent to retail's Black Friday, holiday shows are the closest thing to a license to print money that the nonprofit performing arts have. But that's not the only reason why we see the same types of shows every December.
No Substitute for Some Traditions
The Louisville Ballet has produced "The Nutcracker" since the 1960s, and ticket sales from the winter wonderland ballet cover a full quarter of the company's annual budget. Last year, the production brought in about $600,000 in sales, says artistic director Bruce Simpson, and not necessarily from ballet stalwarts.
"Most people who come see 'Nutcracker' won’t necessarily come see another ballet," says Simpson."And most people who buy a subscription will come see all of the ballets, maybe with the exception of 'Nutcracker.'"
Simpson attributes this spike in attendance to the power of cultural traditions that are especially strong around the Christmas holidays.
“It’s also generational,” says Simpson. “I know so many people came to Nutcracker when they were young, brought by their parents, and now they’re bringing their kids and grandkids.”
“Families are looking for great entertainment around the holiday period, and they want to make sure it’s a safe environment, an appropriate environment, and Nutcracker covers those bases,” he adds.
But for the Ballet, "The Nutcracker" isn't some sacred cash cow. Because it's an attractive option for school groups, the company's weekday matinees give hundreds of kids their first taste of the ballet every year.
"So many communities in America have never been to the theater, have no experience of being in a theater, of how to behave, how to get to the restrooms, what to do when the lights go out," says Simpson.
In other words, holiday shows help hook 'em while they're young, with hopes they'll return when they are older, even if it's just once a year with their own kids to see Clara's nutcracker prince battle the Rat King. But why "The Nutcracker?" Isn't there some other ballet they could swap in every other December? Simpson says that's an unequivocal "no."
"There’s some really good versions of 'Peter Pan' out there that would be quite attractive to younger people, and there are quite a few 'Draculas'," he says. "But one that has such an extraordinary broad range of entertainment, of beauty and magic for the entire intergenerational situation, no, I don’t think so."
Familiarity Breeds Comfort
The intergenerational appeal of tradition is one reason why Actors Theatre of Louisville has been producing "A Christmas Carol" for 37 years and counting. Managing director Jennifer Bielstein says the same tradition of families attending the show help the theater fulfill a key part of its mission.
"We want to serve a broad range of people in this community and we have multiple streams of programming to do so. We see 'A Christmas Carol' as something that provides a point of introduction for people who have never been to the theater," she says. "We love that tradition that people have of going year after year. The memories that adults recall from their childhood days of going with their families, it piques their interest to go to other shows."
Bielstein says about 13,000 people see "A Christmas Carol" every year, and as with the theater's other holiday shows (Halloween's "Dracula" and other recurring Christmas shows like "A Christmas Story" and "A Tuna Christmas"), "A Christmas Carol" is a safe financial bet.
"Our annual productions are the only shows that cover their direct expenses and do a little better," she says. "For the super majority of the shows we do, we have to have funding to cover expenses for a show."
That's ticket sales at work, and in Bielstein's experience, holiday shows are easier to sell to a general audience than other plays.
"Often the work that is done through the rest of the season, whether it’s a new play in the Humana Festival of New American Plays or a contemporary play in the Brown-Forman series, our mainstage series, it’s not a known entity to some people," she says. "They feel more comfortable going to something that they know and have a history of attending."
Or have a history with the material already, from "very special episodes" of beloved television shows that use the Scrooge/redemption structure to teach their protagonists important lessons to film adaptations starring the Muppets, Mickey Mouse and Bill Murray.
A Communal Experience
But familiarity with source material isn't the only thing holiday plays have going for them. Timing is everything, and during the holidays, people are more likely to go looking for entertainment outside of the home.
"It’s a communal experience," says Bielstein. "And also I think people are moving towards focusing their resources on experiences with others, versus just products."
The Bunbury Theatre Company has seen the lure of the communal experience overcome the power of the known quantity in their holiday programming. For more than a decade, the company produced William Gibson's Nativity comedy "The Butterfingers Angel, Mary & Joseph, Herod the Nut & the Slaughter of Twelve Hit Carols in a Pear Tree," but when producing artistic director Juergen Tossman started messing with tradition a few years ago, adding in original material like his "A Hanukkah Christmas with Klurman and Goldstein," there were no riots in his aisles.
"Actually, the attendance is just about the same," says Tossman. "Our audiences know who we are and they’re looking to Bunbury to present a show worthy of their ticket price. I believe that we have a good enough reputation that they believe we’ll do something worthy and artistically challenging."
Tossman does see bigger houses for the holidays. Part of that he attributes to season ticket holders bringing friends and family with them to the holiday play, whatever it might be in a given year. (This season's "The Last Hanukkah Christmas," written by Tossman, opens Dec. 13 in the Henry Clay Theatre). Holiday shows feel special, he says, because they're a once-a-year event.
"For people who don’t often go to the theater, it has to be a destination for them," he says. "When the theater becomes an event, you start to see bigger houses. It’s a time people can come and share together, and if they get a warm fuzzy feeling around the holidays, they’re more likely to try theater again."
Warm Fuzzy Feelings
Those "warm, fuzzy feelings" are key, says Doug Schutte, executive director of The Bard's Town Theatre, the company he and artistic director Scot Atkinson run out of their Highlands restaurant and bar of the same name. The Bard's Town is closing its second season the same way they closed their first, with a holiday production of Schutte's own "The Kings of Christmas," an irreverent take on the good old fashioned fun family Christmas complete with a dead cat and the ghost of an Elvis impersonating magician, with a narrative structure loosely borrowed from "A Christmas Carol," which Schutte sees every year at Actors Theatre.
"It is funny how holiday shows can be done again and again. If you had your exact same season the following year, it would not do well," Schutte says with a laugh.
He didn't plan on starting a new tradition with "The Kings of Christmas," but the play did well last season and he had requests to see it again, despite its decidedly non-traditional story. He speculates on why people flock to the theater during December—'tis the season for unusual events?
"Decorating, spending money, parties all the time," says Schutte. "People spend like it’s going out of style."
"We’re thankful for it, I know that," he adds. "For us, the way that our theater is set up, it’s intimate, so we typically can fill up any show we do, so for a Christmas show, it becomes an issue of turning people away or adding nights to a run."
While The Bard's Town hasn't seen a dramatic difference in ticket sales during the holidays, Schutte says what is significant is the size of group reservations. Most of the advance ticket reservations go to couples and foursomes, but for "The Kings of Christmas," he sees groups of ten and more who want to sit together—that's an event. Schutte thinks these shows re-kindle traditional beliefs in the spirit of the holidays that have nothing to do with, as he puts it, "knocking people over in stores to buy toys," and that feeling is what people are chasing when they buy their annual tickets.
"You know the type of experience you’re going to get," he says. "You’re going to leave feeling good." | <urn:uuid:18fd83a5-e77e-4198-bf2a-2e8cd7321a80> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wfpl.org/post/most-wonderful-time-year-holiday-shows-key-missions-bottom-lines | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968905 | 2,087 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Commodities, ideas, facts, instruments, texts, techniques, and people all travel – but selectively. Knowledge, both implicit and explicit, does not spread simply because it is true or useful; nor do the paths it takes cover the globe. The “Science in Circulation” project focuses on which knowledge circulates and where, how, and with whom it does so. Although the questions posed by the project potentially apply to many epochs and cultures, the project concentrates on the period 15th-18th centuries and the geographical areas of the Mediterranean basin, the Atlantic, and Central Asia because the opening up of new trade routes and markets, advances in navigation, military and colonial initiatives, and religious migrations all conspired to set an unprecedented number of things, people, and thoughts in motion. The Working Groups devoted to this research project combine the perspectives of the history of science and technology with those of social and economic history and the geography of knowledge.
Three Working Groups in Department II address this topic: Before Copernicus (organized by Rivka Feldhay, University of Tel Aviv, Israel, and Jamil Ragep, McGill University, Canada; to be completed in 2013), Testing Drugs and Trying Cures in the Early Modern World (organized by Elaine Leong, MPIWG, 2012-17), and Itineraries of Materials, Recipes,Techniques, and Knowledge in the Early Modern World (organized by Pamela H. Smith, Columbia University; to begin in 2014). See also the related projects The Globalization of Knowledge and its Consequences and Art and Knowledge in Pre-Modern Europe. | <urn:uuid:8604e023-ce4f-4dd1-ba93-af27125d001f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/en/research/projects/DeptII_Science_in_Circulation/index_html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922038 | 330 | 2.75 | 3 |
The SaneVax Team knows just how devastating vaccine injuries can be. Most medical professionals are not fully aware of the side effects that can be associated with vaccination. When they are aware that vaccine injuries occur, often they do not know how to treat them.
The following is a list of medical professionals who have had some success treating vaccine injuries.
If they are not located in your geographic area, they may be able to refer you to a medical professional near you who is experienced with vaccine injuries.
HealthWise Clinical Nutrition
Dr. Mark Flannery, Woodland Hills, California
Dr. Mark Flannery is a functional medicine practitioner and clinical nutritionist who has helped Gardasil victims from around the world. Based in the Los Angeles area, he consults long distance with his patients and uses the most cutting-edge, scientifically backed methods to support a return to wellness.
Functional medicine focuses on correcting physiological function versus overriding the problem with drugs or surgery. Because vaccine injury typically triggers brain inflammation, functional medicine offers many tools to tame brain inflammation and restore neurological and metabolic function.
Other principles of functional medicine Dr. Flannery uses for vaccine injury include regulating the immune response, repairing the immune barriers, balancing hormone function, and supporting neurological function.
Although Dr. Flannery provides professional, experienced guidance using some of the most advanced lab testing today, success in recovering from a vaccine injury depends primarily upon the patient. Recommendations include dietary and lifestyle changes that initially can seem drastic. For example, eliminating common and well-loved foods may be necessary to reduce inflammation and allow neurological function to return. The patient may also need to follow a customized nutritional therapy protocol that includes specific nutraceuticals.
Although it has been heartbreaking for Dr. Flannery to witness the physical, emotional, and financial toll this vaccine has brought upon so many families, it also has been extremely rewarding for him to help so many young people get their lives back.Please visit his website at: http://drflannery.com/
Dr. David Clark, Dallas Texas
In 2005 Dr. Clark became one of less than 1,000 board-certified Chiropractic Neurologists in the world. Chiropractic Neurology is the newest, state of the art diagnostic and treatment technique. It brings together current research findings from fields such as psychology, neuropsychiatry, neurology, neurophysiology and nutrition—and uses this knowlege to bring hope to the sick, unhappy and hurting of all ages.
Dr. Clark combines functional neurology, endocrinology, blood chemistry analysis, immunology, vestibular rehabilitation and clinical nutrition to treat the patient, not their symptoms.View his website here. Call for information at: 214-341-3737
Hyperbaric Medical Treatment Center of New Mexico
Dr. Kenneth P. Stoller
The Hyperbaric Medical Center of New Mexico—a place where you and your family can find answers and hope for your child with brain injury or developmental issues.
Dr. Stoller is currently consulting on patients with brain injury and children misdiagnosed as having autism, PDD-NOS, ADHD, etc. These labels are incorrect in most cases as affected children have a mitochondrial dysfunction and damaged detoxification kinetics. It would be better to call what they have Mitochondrial Neuro-Gastro-Immune Encephalopathy/Encephalomyopathy (MNE). Dr. Stoller will not be the primary care physician for your child, but many times will work with your primary care physician to provide the best possible care for your child.
Dr. Stoller has personally overseen the treatment of a young girl left with serious brain injury after Gardasil vaccination. This girl has recovered more than half of her original abilities.View his website here. Call for information at: 505-955-8560
Natural Healing & Wellness Center, St. George Utah
Dr. Lyman, Dr. Graf, and Dr. Scott
The physicians and staff at the Natural Healing & Wellness Center believe optimal wellness requires you to be a proactive agent for your body. You need to treat it well and not wait until you hurt before you decide to take care of it. Health is not merely the absence of disease any more than wealth is an absence of poverty. Health is not simply ‘feeling fine’, for we know that problems may progress for years without causing any symptoms whatsoever.
This clinic was referred to SaneVax by a young woman suffering from severe adverse effects after vaccination with Gardasil. She was pleased enough with her treatment here that she went the extra mile to refer them to the SaneVax team.Visit their website here. Call for information at: 435-674-5454
Real Child Center
Mary Coyle, DIHom
Mary Coyle is a certified homeopathic practitioner who consults with families of children with chronic health issues for over 10 years. Applying the model of Homotoxicology, Mary explains the benefits of using European drainage remedies, low-potency homeopathic detoxification remedies, and supplementation to assist the body in regaining health. She has a practice in New York City, and has presented at Autism One, National Autism Organization – NYC, LIA, and TACA. Mary has also hosted a radio show on Autism One Radio on the benefits of Homotoxicology.
Arcanum Wholistic Clinic
Rebecca Carley, MD
Dr. Carley was trained as a surgeon, but left traditional medicine after her only child was brain damaged from vaccines. She started studying how vaccines corrupt the immune system, and came to realize that all autoimmune diseases, non-traumatic seizures, cancer and genetic damage, in people and in pets, are actually VIDS (Vaccine Induced Diseases; the biggest epidemic the world has ever known). She subsequently developed the Hippocrates Protocol which uses homeopathics and natural supplements to reduce the effects of vaccine injuries.
Dr. Carley no longer practices medicine, and does NOT give medical advice. Rather, she teaches her students what she would do if she were you after reviewing your individual history of assaults to your body’s immune system.Visit Dr. Carley’s website here. Call for consultation: 828-294-0662 Toll free from the US, Canada or the Caribbean: 888-321-6751 Via Skype – drcarley1
Dr. Sin Hang Lee, Milford CT
Sin Hang Lee M.D., F.R.C.P. (C), FCAP has over 50 years’ experience in general/surgical pathology and clinical microbiology. He is qualified to practice in the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Dr. Lee is currently a practicing pathologist at Milford Hospital, in Milford CT, and the Director of Milford Medical Laboratory, which is an industry leader in the development of molecular diagnostic procedures. One of their goals is to facilitate the transfer of advanced PCR/direct DNA sequencing technology into community hospital laboratories.
Milford Medical Laboratory’s (MML) molecular diagnostics department has introduced the nation’s first routine DNA sequencing-based no-false positive HPV genotyping, Neisseria gonorrhoeae opa gene DNA amplification assay, and Chlamydia trachomatis cryptic plasmid DNA amplification assay for women’s health care management. MML also assists CLIA-certified laboratories establish their own in-house molecular sequencing programs.
Doctor Lee is quite concerned about the potentialo negative consequences of replacing an already safe and effective method of preventing cervical cancer with vaccinations that may, or may not be safe or effective. He will be happy to answer any questions on safe cervical cancer prevention methods. He is also available for advice on what to do should you experience an abnormal pap smear after HPV vaccination.
Please email any questions you may have to [email protected]. We will forward them to Dr. Lee for his response.
Becca Millar, Glasgow Scotland
Becca has over fifteen year’s experience of working within the Health and Nutrition industry and has a BSc in Nutritional Medicine. She believes that good nutrition is the foundation of good physical and mental well being and maintains that, very often, just a few simple changes are all that are needed to bring the body back into balance, increasing energy and overall health.
The most common tests performed under her care are food sensitivity and hair testing. Food sensitivity testing consists of allergy and intolerance testing which speeds up the identification of possible food and inhalant allergens that may be contributing to a variety of health symptoms. Hair testing consists of a mineral analysis to provide indications of imbalances, deficiencies or excesses of essential minerals and toxic metals. It also acts as an excellent indicator of many metabolic processes occurring within the body.
Functional testing of blood, urine and saliva using the most up-to-date technology can sometimes help to get to the root of a persons health problems very quickly by identifying imbalances and dysfunctions in normal physiology.
Becca works closely with clients on a one to one basis, either within one of her city centre clinics or at their home, to tailor programmes that meet their individual needs and gain maximum results.
Laura Murphy, Spain
Laura is a Biologist and a practitioner of Natural Medicine, she is a qualified Naturopath, Homeopath, Herbalist and Nutritionist. Her passion is natural medicine, especially in regard to cancer, but, the scientist in her likes to see the evidence.
Laura gives lectures and educational seminars worldwide in addition to treating patients. She handles many consultations and referrals via phone.View her website with contact information here. Also, take a look at her ‘Conscious Health Natural Therapy’ website, and ‘Dangerous Prescription Drugs’ site. | <urn:uuid:427a7a0c-7940-4922-8feb-cd9cef540df6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sanevax.org/medical-professional-listing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942708 | 2,028 | 2.21875 | 2 |
Congress seems bent on simultaneously debating the fiscal cliff, where the remedy is a short-term widening of the deficit, and the fiscal crisis, where the remedy is a long-term narrowing. Difficulties of reaching an agreement over both problems at the same time make it increasingly likely that the fiscal cliff, or more accurately the tax shock, will not be averted before January.
One part of that shock has so far gone little noticed: Tax refunds may get delayed until the second quarter, with more than $200 billion at risk. In the first quarter of this year, the Internal Revenue Service cut checks totaling $212.8 billion to 75.3 million taxpayers, with each check averaging $2,826. Similar figures apply to first quarter 2011.
The risk of a delay in sending out these huge sums is not based on mere speculation. Paul Cherecwich Jr., chairman of the IRS Oversight Board, warned in a Nov. 19 letter to the Senate Finance Committee that "more than 60 million taxpayers would have to wait until late March or later to file their returns and receive a refund."
If, as the IRS official warned, any substantial portion of those refund checks gets deferred to the second quarter, there could be a noticeable hit to consumer spending in the first quarter. Over the past four quarters, consumer spending in nominal dollars has increased by an average of $90 billion per quarter. If $100 billion in refund checks gets deferred, that alone could put consumption in negative territory.
While there would no doubt be a bounce-back in the second quarter, when the money would get sent out, it might not be enough to offset the first-quarter effect. Now add the automatic hit to paychecks from the rescission of the payroll-tax holiday, which will reduce take-home pay by an average of $30 billion per quarter. Add also that, another part of the tax shock, the rise in rates on the 2% of taxpayers, worth about $25 billion per calendar quarter, will probably not be reversed.
Even if all other parts of the tax shock get blunted early next year, you have the makings of an economic downturn in the first quarter.
The problem faced by the IRS, as Acting IRS Commissioner Steven T. Miller explained in a detailed letter of Nov. 13 to the House Committee on Ways and Means, is a classic example of how a key agency of government has to engage in educated guesswork -- in Commissioner Miller's words, "a risk-based decision" -- on what the politicians will do next. It mainly involves the alternative minimum tax, or AMT. Geared to exact an extra tax on incomes above a certain threshold, the AMT has been consistently "patched" to prevent it from being imposed on middle-income taxpayers. Accordingly, Miller "instructed IRS staff again this year to leave our core systems 'as is' with respect to AMT." Unless the patch is reinstated, "the magnitude and complexity of the changes" required would take "until late March, if not even later," to take effect. For that period, nearly everything else would grind to a halt.
In a talk he delivered Dec. 6, Commissioner Miller was asked how soon he would need to get new guidelines on the AMT. His reply: "As soon as possible would be great."
SPEAKING OF CONSUMER SPENDING, it's been said that books make terrible presents. The naysayers have a point. Unless you know in advance that the recipients want to read the tome you've bought for them, it's presumptuous to make such a huge claim on their time.
Accordingly, these four stocking-stuffers do not have to be read straight through, but can be dipped into, like literary finger-food. All four are collections of pieces, although on unified themes.
Perhaps the best value for the money is a collection by economist George Reisman, The Benevolent Nature of Capitalism and Other Essays, available only for e-readers at $2.99. I especially recommend the third essay, "Capitalism: The Cure for Racism," the clearest presentation of this important idea that I have ever read.
A collection with even shorter takes is The Maxims of Wall Street: A Compendium of Financial Adages, Ancient Proverbs, and Worldly Wisdom, compiled by economist and investment advisor Mark Skousen. A Barron's reviewer (not me), called this book "welcome on Father's Day." Now in its second edition, it would be even more welcome any day.
Building Blocks for Liberty: Critical Essays by Walter Block is an entertaining tour of the playful and persuasive thoughts of economist Walter E. Block. Try him especially on "Environmentalism and Economic Freedom: The Case for Private Property Rights," which if it doesn't change your mind, might at least alter your way of thinking about such issues.
Finally, the collection Hypocrites & Half-Wits was called by a Barron's reviewer "the perfect stocking-stuffer for the friend or relative who has everything -- except the economic wit and wisdom of [author] Donald Boudreaux." That astute reviewer was me.
Comments? E-mail: [email protected] | <urn:uuid:6fd67624-7c5f-413d-8fbc-bf42c664d012> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://online.barrons.com/article/SB50001424052748703496404578171411675041492.html?mod=BOL_fa_popcomment | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955303 | 1,078 | 1.578125 | 2 |
The European Union is withdrawing its election observers from Sudan's Darfur region, just four days before Sudan begins national elections.
EU mission chief Veronique de Keyser told reporters of the move Wednesday, after flying into the North Darfur capital of El-Fasher to meet the team of six monitors. De Keyser said earlier that she was concerned about the observers' safety, and that they would not have sufficient access to credibly evaluate the polls.
President Omar al-Bashir has threatened to expel international observers who push for a delay in the elections. He also threatened to cut the tongues out of any observer who "insults" Sudan.
Sudan is due to begin three days of presidential, parliamentary and regional elections on Sunday. However, a number of opposition parties have declared a boycott of the presidential vote.
Late Tuesday, the main political party in Sudan's southern region said it also will boycott the legislative and local polls in the north of the country.
The parties accuse the ruling National Congress Party of preparing to rig the results.
The government has rejected opposition calls for a delay, insisting that the first multi-party elections in Sudan since 1986 will take place on schedule.
These elections are a key part of the 2005 peace accord that ended a 21-year civil war between Sudan's northern and southern regions. This is a prelude to a referendum scheduled to be held in January on whether the semi-autonomous south will become completely independent.
The war in Darfur, a separate conflict, has raged since 2003. The United Nations says the fighting and related violence has killed up to 300,000 people and displaced some 2.7 million others. Sudan puts the death toll much lower, at 10,000.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters. | <urn:uuid:188dfc02-0afb-4fd9-8e2d-f8d6308424ab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.voanews.com/content/eu-withdraws-election-observers-from-darfur-90097482/115465.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00057-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963039 | 367 | 1.867188 | 2 |
Friday, April 3, 2009 at 3:25 PM
On Google Earth for iPhone we already have Panoramio pictures all over the globe and Wikipedia articles for many locations, letting you explore interesting places by reading about them and seeing what they look like.
Today we are going to help you explore even more deeply by introducing the "Places" layer into the Google Earth for iPhone experience. This new layer uses the same data you're used to seeing in the "Places" layer on the desktop Google Earth client, but with a brand new styling designed to fit better to the iPhone.
To use the "Places" layer, just open up the Google Earth for iPhone client and fly to your favorite location. "Places" are marked by a icon.
Tapping on a place brings up a details page for that location. Without leaving Google Earth you can read articles, view photos, and watch videos about a location or its nearby areas.
We are very excited by this new layer. We hope you enjoy it as well! | <urn:uuid:43514893-c541-4e15-bd3b-f2bd769b51ed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2009/04/learn-more-about-your-surroundings-with.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939108 | 212 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Scones are a traditional English favourite, (similar to what is known in the USA as biscuits) often eaten warm with lashings of butter or cold with cream and jam.
This simple recipe is a vegan version, fast to make and fast to cook. The use of brown sugar rather than white, and dates gives a slightly caramel taste.
3 cups of self raising flour
80 grams vegan margarine
brown sugar (non bone char)
1/2-3/4 cup soy milk, or other plant milk
1/4 cup dried dates, chopped and soaked in a little hot water for 10 minutes
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F)
In a large mixing bowl add the flour, well sifted.
Add sugar, depending on taste. Stir through.
Add the dates, reserve the liquid. Mix well.
Add milk to the reserved date soaking water, until it reaches half a cup. Add to the flour mix and combine.
The dough should not be sticky to touch. If the mix is too dry add more milk, a tablespoon at a time.
When combined, roll the dough out on a floured board and break out small balls of dough. (Or leave in the mixing bowl and scoop them out)
Place these on a greased baking tray.
Bake for 10 minutes or until brown and a wooden toothpick comes up clean. | <urn:uuid:c667f25c-efac-4a28-9414-c6db4c250317> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://redglitterx.wordpress.com/2010/11/09/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.900331 | 289 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Hey homeschoolers, are you one of those families that struggle with math. Well look no further. Below I have compiled a few practical sites that have helped us in our homeschool and hopefully can help you get over those math blues.
Join the community:
Like us on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/homeschoolnetcast
Follow us on twitter - http://www.twitter.com/hsnetcast
Subscribe to us on youtube - http://www.youtube.com/homeschoolnetcast | <urn:uuid:44b81873-564c-4f8b-9253-7f2b326f3432> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.homeschoolnetcast.com/blog/2011/8/15/practical-math-help-for-homeschoolers.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.902576 | 109 | 1.5 | 2 |
When I was a very young boy attending prayer meetings and feeling it a matter of pride to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and stand for Him, a simple question from a traditional Christian brother, "What was the need for Jesus Christ to die for us?", did not receive a convincing answer from me when I just said "Because He loved us", even though the love of God was the main driving force for Him to give Himself for us, much more was in the mind of God when He chose to die for us.
"For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth." Hebrews 9:16-17 (NKJV)
The testament mentioned above also means a will which is effectual after the death of the person who prepared it, then all the assets, property and blessedness belongs to them who are mentioned as the beneficiaries in the will.
Christ initiated the will and died for us, we are now inheritors of all the blessedness from God, we have the responsibility to use this blessed life from God for Him. Christ rose again and is alive with us, to help us live this life for Him always.
Here's also how Paul identifies us...
" and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together." Romans 8:17 (NKJV)
God sees us no longer as children's who can be excused and need not be responsible, rather God has entrusted us with His blessedness and that is a great responsibility as much as it is a blessing.
Thus the death of Christ blessed us, gave us a new life and a new opportunity to live this new life responsibly for God.
Read more articles by ABRAHAM PULICKAL or search for articles on the same topic or others. | <urn:uuid:e86d4e24-9b85-450b-a667-703dbbd9e320> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=137404 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964992 | 408 | 1.734375 | 2 |
|"Am I not here, who am your Mother?"|
December 12, 2009. The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe
dwells in Mexico City, but her reach goes far beyond
the boundaries of Mexico and the Americas. Stories of her
miraculous intercession appear all over the world, and people from
hundreds of nations cherish a personal devotion to the Mother
whose tender words never fail to touch the heart: “Am
I not here, I, who am your Mother? Are you
not under my shadow and protection? Am I not the
source of your joy? Are you not in the hollow
of my mantle, in the crossing of my arms? Do
you need anything more? Let nothing else worry you or
In an effort to help more people develop a
closer relationship with Our Lady, the Pilgrim Queen of
the Family apostolate was founded in early 2005. The program
itself is simple: a triptych image of Our Lady of
Guadalupe circulates among ten families, spending three days with each
family. During the three days that a family hosts the
image, they gather to pray the Rosary in front of
her. After their three days are up, they send the
image on to the next family in their network.
very wide mantle
Since its creation in January of 2005, Pilgrim
Queen of the Family has spread to over 50 countries,
gathering over 18,000 families to host a triptych image of
Our Lady of Guadalupe and pray the Rosary together.
29,600 shrines are currently in circulation among various networks of
families and friends, serving as a reminder of Our Lady’s
presence in their lives.
The Empress of the Americas is
welcomed in families in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, the United States,
Canada, El Salvador, Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela, Bolivia, the Bahamas, Costa
Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico,
Across the ocean, there are also shrines and families
in Africa (Madagascar and South Africa), a sprinkling in Asia
(China, India, Korea, the Philippines, and Singapore), and a discreet
presence in the Middle East (Iraq, Afghanistan, and Israel).
is a shrine in Australia, plus many more in European
countries (Austria, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Ireland, Belgium, Monaco, Sweden,
Switzerland, England, and Poland).
Aside from her physical presence in various
countries, the Pilgrim Queen also has an internet presence on
the Pilgrim Queen of the Family web site, which is
full of resources, articles, and testimonies on Our Lady of
Guadalupe and St Juan Diego.
Visit the web site in
English at this link. | <urn:uuid:9727e1c0-6e15-4452-bba9-a613655dce17> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.regnumchristi.org/english/articulos/articulo.phtml?id=28247&se=364&ca=196&te=782&csearch=196 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911836 | 599 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Dáil Éireann - Volume 322 - 11 June, 1980
Adjournment Debate. - Radio 1 Reception.
An Leas-Cheann Comhairle Sean Browne
An Leas-Cheann Comhairle: Deputy O'Keeffe has 11 minutes and the Minister six.
Mr. O'Keeffe Mr. O'Keeffe
Mr. O'Keeffe: I am raising the problem of reception of Radio I in west Cork and other areas along the western seaboard. The background to the situation is that there were considerable difficulties in the past about reception from Radio Éireann in my own area and all along the seaboard. After considerable pressure and agitation these difficulties were resolved by transmitting programmes on a VHF fréquency. The problem has reared its head again because of the introduction of Radio 2 on VHF. This has meant that Radio 1 has been taken off the VHF frequency. When Radio 2 was introduced, RTE decided to allocate the VHF frequency to that new channel. The result now is that listeners in the remoter parts of the country who have been accustomed to listening to Radio Éireann — which is now Radio 1 — are in many cases unable to receive the signal on that channel. This decision was made in Dublin without either a knowledge of or any concern for rural areas.
It is important to remember that this is not just an issue which affects a few cranks. In west Cork the junior chamber of commerce in Skibbereen conducted a pilot survey recently and of those surveyed they found that well over 90 per cent disagreed with the present policy of RTE in removing Radio 1 from the VHF frequency. Even though this was not a survey of the entire population of west Cork it involved 3,700 people. This makes it clear that there is a massive rejection of present RTE policy in this matter.
I raised this problem in the Dáil last October and I was then told by the Minister that RTE were considering the question of how to provide reception of Radio 1 on VHF throughout the day. But nothing happened. The difficulties continue and there has been no change. The matter was referred to by the Minister in the debate on his Estimate on 30 May. He acknowledged that the decision to allocate the VHF frequency to Radio 2 had drawn much criticism. He said that from the point of view of a further VHF frequency being available there would be a delay of a least a further five years. At that stage, therefore, he said that an early solution to the problem would have to be found within the framework of RTE's existing frequency allocation.
This is the nub of the issue as it now stands. I want to impress on the Minister and the House that for very many people their only enjoyment in life is to be able to listen to their radio. many of these people would not have television and live in areas where there is no television reception, another problem in rural areas that I have often referred to as the “no-channel areas”. Many of these people would be elderly.
The Minister may say Radio 1 is available on VHF at certain times of the day but these are people who would not be able to adjust their sets frequently so as to be able to get reception even during those times when it is available on VHF. Common practice with such people would be to have their radios permanently tuned, in the past to Radio Éireann and now to Radio 1 if they could receive it. In effect, the result now is that these people are being deprived of the radio reception to which they have grown accustomed. Therefore, I demand immediate action in this area. I know that the Minister is from a rural area and very probably part of his own constituency would be affected by this problem — I am not too sure of the exact boundaries of his constituency. But, as somebody from a rural area, I am sure he will appreciate that this is a very small, basic demand for those people in rural areas.
I ask the Minister to ensure that there will be an immediate change in policy by RTE and that Radio 1 will be restored to VHF. If this is not done there will be a continuing descrimination against people living in rural areas. It is not an answer to suggest that they can receive Radio 2. The type of programme transmitted on Radio 2 is not the type of programme they have been used to or the type they wish to hear. They have their favourite programmes which they have listened to over the years and they are unable to receive those now on any regular basis. I demand from the Minister that there be an immediate change of policy in this regard and that Radio 1 be restored to VHF.
Minister of State at the Department of Posts and Telegraphs (Mr. Killilea) Mark (Jnr.) Killilea
Minister of State at the Department of Posts and Telegraphs (Mr. Killilea): I welcome the change of attitude of the Deputy this evening compared with that adopted today at Question Time when I thought I was rather courteous and kind in replying to him at the time. Obviously, for some unknown reason, it was not acceptable. I would like to start my reply on the notion with which Deputy O'Keeffe finished when he demanded that the Minister ask RTE to change the situation concerning the major problem in West Cork and other rural areas around the country.
A fortnight ago, when we were discussing the Estimate for the Department of Posts and Telegraphs, most speakers of the Deputy's party told us we had no right to demand anything from RTE, that RTE were an authority on their own and we had no right to make any demand from them — we have no right to demand anything from them; RTE are an autonomous authority independent of this House. I am afraid I cannot demand anything from them. If I did the allegation would be made that we were using our influence to change the situation in RTE.
The Deputy, for that reason, will understand that I have no right to demand something from them. As I indicated in my reply today, I looked up the Official Report to find out the exact situation concerning RTE vis-à-vis VHF, particularly with regard to Radio 1. I know there has been much criticism of this decision. We are controlled by the Geneva Conference in relation to extra allocations of VHF frequencies and it will be 1985 before we can do anything about that.
There is, however, a responsibility on RTE to make certain adjustments within the system as it stands. I would go so far as to say that not alone as a result of the Deputy's question but in response to many other representations, the Minister has courteously asked RTE to look into this problem immediately.
I will bring the Deputy up to date in relation to the facts. The problem is that RTE Radio 1 is broadcast on the Tullamore and Cork medium wave transmitters and on the Radio na Gaeltachta VHF network, when that is not being used. RTE admit that difficulties in providing satisfactory reception on RTE 1 are being experienced in South West Cork, South Kerry and other rural area since the change in the assignment of VHF frequencies took place with the introduction of Radio 2 on 31 May 1979.
The Deputy said he brought this question up in the Dáil last October. I wish to refer him back to last July when he asked a question from my predecessor. I should like to quote part of the reply which is relevant. It is in Volume 315, column 1797, of the Official Report of 10 July 1979. The Minister said to Deputy O'Keeffe:
If the Deputy wishes to supply names and addresses of individual complainants to RTE, they will be happy to investigate their complaints.
Mr. O'Keeffe Mr. O'Keeffe
Mr. O'Keeffe: This was sent to RTE.
Mr. Killilea Mr. Killilea
Mr. Killilea: It might have been sent on to RTE but it certainly was not sent on to us to enable us to help any way we can. The responsibility for solving this matter rests with RTE and not with the Department or the Minister. I want to bring this point home clearly to the Deputy. We will use our influence in whatever way we can and I assume the party opposite will appreciate that we are using our influence for the betterment of the service in RTE 1. I hope that in future allegations will not be made against us that we were using it for political reasons or any other reason they may deem fit to allege at the appropriate moment — that we were interfering with the RTE authorities.
We are seeking the same as the Deputy is seeking. We want to remedy the problem which, as I said, had already got the attention of the Minister who made certain suggestions to RTE. I hope this will be appreciated by Deputy O'Keeffe. I hope in future when he asks a question in the House that he will remember the facts and not get up on his high horse making false allegations against me and the Department about a matter over which we have no control whatsoever.
The Dáil adjourned at 9 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 12 June 1980.
Dáil Éireann 322 Adjournment Debate. Radio 1 Reception. | <urn:uuid:bd21463c-1d13-45ed-8143-73217edac539> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0322/D.0322.198006110045.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98276 | 1,942 | 1.601563 | 2 |
is the origin of life, and what is the origin of sin?" In general the philosophers held (and most of what science says concerning these matters is not science but speculative philosophy) that matter was eternal and simply asked how it came to its present state. One group, the materialists, held that an active principle inherent in the matter working through long ages, brought about the present state of things. Another group, the pantheists, held that every thing emanated from a common divine substance, working everywhere in nature. But this brief story lets at rest all this inquiry. It informs us that matter was not eternal nor did it come into existence by chance, but it was created out of nothing by our eternal God. The story incidentally sets forth the majesty and glory of God and man's dependence upon and his obligation to God. It also explains the origin of sin and of all man's ills and death.
Creation of Man. The Story of the preparation of a residence for man is told in five brief paragraphs. F | <urn:uuid:7983e39e-dc5d-48aa-8599-735013f40389> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://manybooks.net/titles/tidwellj15771577115771.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975464 | 208 | 2.984375 | 3 |
Bachelors And No Women
By Justin McCurry
and Rebecca Allison
09 March, 2004
the most populous nation on Earth, could find itself dealing with the
combined frustrations of as many as 40 million single men by 2020 because
its one-child policy is creating a shortage of female babies.
In an unusually frank speech on China's looming demographic crisis,
Li Weixiong, who advises the country's political consultative conference
on population issues, said a cultural preference for boys was creating
an artificial disparity between the number of boys and girls that represents
"a serious threat to building a well-off society".
Mr Li said the dearth
of women would lead to a dramatic rise in prostitution and the trafficking
of women. "This is by no means a sensational prediction,"
The search for love
is leading traditionally staid Chinese men down unfamiliar paths. There
are reports of men placing ads in major newspapers begging women to
respond. If the ads are anything to go by - with some ads emphasising
the possession of a good bathroom - the way to a modern Chinese woman's
heart is a spacious apartment and a decent salary.
Wealthier men are
reportedly taking their search beyond China's borders, a risky tactic
given that many Chinese households have been less than welcoming to
Unmarried men with
less money often have no choice but to turn to illegal brokers, who
dupe rural women into moving to the city with bogus job offers.
The widespread introduction
of ultrasound testing has enabled a much larger number of Chinese couples
to choose to abort female foetuses in the hope that the next pregnancy
will produce a son.
Mr Li said the gender
ratio had stayed relatively normal up until 1982 - two years after the
Chinese authorities imposed the one-child rule - at 100 girls born for
every 108 boys. But by 2000, the ratio had shifted significantly to
about 117 boys to 100 girls.
The disparity is
even bigger in rural areas, where the boy-to-girl imbalance is estimated
to be as high as 130 to 100.
Abortions are not
the only cause of the imbalance. There is alarming evidence that the
intense pressure on couples to make sure their only child is a boy has
prompted a resurgence of female infanticide, despite official attempts
to stamp out the centuries-old practice.
Rural families are
said to be particularly tempted to kill female offspring, such is the
pressure to produce a child capable of coping with the physical demands
of farming and prevent cash-strapped farming households from being plunged
even deeper into poverty.
In some cases, according
to reports, other girls are hidden from the authorities, or die at a
young age through neglect.
Even in urban areas,
boys are generally preferred because they are regarded as more able
than girls to provide for their families, care for elderly relatives
and continue the family line.
stung by accusations from child welfare groups that it is turning a
blind eye to the practice of girl-killing, has allowed some provinces
to grant couples permission to have more than one child provided they
pay a fine to register each extra birth.
In some villages,
local officials have placed dozens of posters bearing the message: "Daughters
are as good as sons!"
evidence of the enormous social cost of their one-child policy, officials
in Beijing insist there are no plans to relax the measure, which they
regard as the most important weapon in China's battle to keep its population
below 1.6 billion until 2050.
policy has had some success. The communist authorities say it has prevented
well over 300 million births since it was introduced in 1980 and is
fulfilling its initial aim of ensuring that China can combat rural poverty
and improve standards of living across the board.
According to the
UN, China's population stood at 1.3 billion in 2003 but independent
estimates believe couples with extra children are hiding them from census
authorities, meaning the actual figure could be as high as 1.5 billion.
As the country's
economy continues to grow and transform at an unprecedented rate, pressure
to relax the policy looks likely to intensify if Mr Li's worst-case
scenario of social unrest, exploitation of women and crime turns out
to be correct.
gender disproportion poses a major threat to the healthy, harmonious
and sustainable growth of the nation's population and would trigger
such crimes and social problems as abduction of women and prostitution,"
His claims are supported
by official figures showing that police freed more than 42,000 kidnapped
women and children in 2001 and 2002. Many of the victims are believed
to have been sold into marriage or prostitution.
professor of Chinese anthropology at the School of Oriental and African
Studies in London, said she welcomed Mr Li's warning as it would remind
China's leaders of the magnitude of the problem they face.
"It is not
a new trend," she said. "Demographers in China as well as
foreign analysts have been expressing concern for some years. In the
last census it was quite clear that this was an upward trend and it
is forecast that there will be a shortage of potential marriage mates
which will lead to some social instability."
Several years ago
the government prohibited doctors from telling couples the sex of their
child, but the measure seems to have had little effect. Mr Li called
for a ban on mid-term abortions, except in cases with health concerns.
could prove a lesson to other countries in the region whose populations
are also being skewed by gender imbalance.
Prof Croll said:
"It is an Asia-wide problem affecting many countries including
Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam and India. It is something that is increasing
with development instead of decreasing."
The professor, who
wrote about the issue in her recent book Endangered Daughters: Discrimination
and Development in Asia, said it was a mistake to blame girl infanticide
in China only on a resurgence of "old ideas".
For many families,
she said, the preference for a son makes simple economic sense as they
are less likely to leave the family home after marrying and, as higher
earners than women, are more able to provide for the extended family.
Prof Croll said
more families in China's rapidly expanding cities were favouring sons,
partly because a decline in pensions over the past decade had made older
people less secure and more reliant on their children.
If the authorities
are reluctant to lift the birth limit, possible long-term solutions
to the looming dearth of eligible women may be even more unpalatable.
They include altering the traditional marital balance of power and bringing
women's pay more into line with that of men, enabling them to better
support their families. | <urn:uuid:5e0a30ac-864c-4c42-9c18-b062016c5f4d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.countercurrents.org/gender-allison090304.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00072-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95295 | 1,430 | 2.234375 | 2 |
STEP 2: Respond to the request.
Ask " How Would I Find Out ? "
STEP 3: Generate the result.
Ask " What does the result tell me? "
The problem and diagram were inspired by the outstanding COCKPIT PHYSICS provided by the USAF Academy Physics Department. The site is a must for students and teachers of introductory physics in high school and college. High school physics teachers are urged to use the site as an integral part of their course. | <urn:uuid:0b784fbc-9dd3-4d5c-b538-aa4f1b3fe994> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hawaii.edu/suremath/k4_12dir/cockpit2.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973561 | 99 | 2.265625 | 2 |
A U.S. military war tribunal is weighing a question that might seem better suited to a history class than a courtroom: How long has the United States been at war?
Al-Qaeda’s al-Nashiri faces trial for war-time offenses. But his lawyers say that since the U.S. wasn’t at war at that time, the 47-year-old shouldn’t be tried at Guantanamo.
His alleged crime is orchestrating the bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen in 2000 as well as attacks on two other ships.
“The fact of going to war is a decision by the political branches, either Congress or the president or both,” attorney Richard Kammen said Monday. “It’s not something to be arrived at retroactively by a bureaucrat who is not appointed by Congress because it has huge consequences.”
Al-Nashiri’s lawyers say that the U.S. wasn’t at war until after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and then-President George W. Bush did not certify the existence of hostilities of any kind in Yemen until September 2003.
Al-Nashiri’s lawyer described the serious nature of the situation.
“If he is acquitted he does life without parole in Guantanamo. If he's convicted he gets life without parole or death in Guantanamo,” Kammen said.
The alleged senior member of al-Qaeda, he was held for four years in the CIA’s secret network of overseas prisons, where he was subjected to the “enhanced” interrogation program that included at least two instances of the simulated drowning technique known as waterboarding.
Al- Nashiri has been held at Guantanamo Bay since 2006.
In making the case for the military tribunal, prosecutors lay out the history of what they see as al-Qaeda’s escalating war against the U.S., starting with an August 1996 declaration by Osama bin Laden calling for the murder of U.S. personnel serving on the Arabian peninsula, though it wasn’t until a week after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that Congress and Bush approved an authorization for military force.
Al-Nashiri’s lawyers say that former President Bill Clinton repeatedly noted that the country was at peace in the aftermath of the Cole attack.
A group of retired admirals and generals who served as senior military legal officials called for the military charges to be dismissed and for the case to be shifted to a civilian criminal court.
They also argued that the definition of war was being improperly expanded to include non-war offenses in the al-Nashiri case, and that such a use of the military courts could put U.S. soldiers and citizens in jeopardy in the future if other countries did the same thing to them.
“If countries can retroactively decide we were at war and chuck people from the civilian court systems into prisoner of war systems with the attendant lack of protections, that road runs both ways,” Kammen said. “Once you get to go back in time and rewrite history that's a very, very dangerous precedent.”
Prosecutors say in court papers that it will be up to the jury to decide whether the war crimes were properly filed in this case, and that it’s too early for the judge to rule on the question. | <urn:uuid:07b44309-3bba-4e0a-8662-1893db58eb90> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/10/23/245519.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974799 | 699 | 2.328125 | 2 |
“I’m a 20-year-old student of biology at the capital’s Mustansiriyah University. I was a victim in an explosion in Tayran Square, in central Baghdad, on 12 December 2006. In the incident I lost my left leg and sustained some injuries on my arms. At the time I thought I was lucky because I did not die - some 70 people were killed in that explosion. But today I realise that had I died, at least I would have been spared the discrimination that I now suffer.
“When the explosion happened I was a bride looking forward to my marriage on 27 December. My fiancé, Salah Youssef, who is also my classmate and a fellow Shi’ite from a traditional Muslim family, was the only person I loved in all my life. We fell in love on the first day we met in college.
“But when I lost my leg things changed. His love for me has evaporated. One week after my leg was amputated, he asked his mother to come to my home in Baghdad’s Kadhimiya district to cancel our engagement. Hear Kawkab Barakat's voice
“The reason he gave for wanting to end our dream was that I was now a disabled person and a dashing young man like him could not be seen with a woman who has only one leg because his friends would laugh at him.
“I couldn’t believe that my fiancé had dumped me just because I’d become disabled.
“My life has since turned out to be a disaster. To be frank, I no longer want to go back to university. I’m shy because I’m disabled. And in our community, a girl who has been dumped by her fiancé is considered a bad woman and sometimes is even seen as a loose woman.
“Even though I know why I was spurned by my fiancé, I cannot stand this stigma. It has hit me psychologically so much that I am shy to reveal myself as a one-legged woman.
“I thought Salah loved me but I now realise that he was only in love with my body and beauty. Arab men don’t know what love is. Sometimes I ask myself what I would have done if what had happened to me, had happened to him. I know the answer. For sure I would have continued loving him and would have been the most dedicated wife in the world.
“My father has been mistreating me since my engagement was broken. He says that having a girl rather than a boy was already unacceptable and now, on top of that, I have become useless.
Because I’m a Muslim, I will not commit suicide. But if I did not have God in my heart, as I have, I would have killed myself a long time ago. “My mother cries all day long. She is the only person in my family who stands by me. But I cannot be blamed for the violence in this country. A friend of mine has promised to look for an NGO that deals with the disabled. I am pretty useless myself, spending all my time in bed because I am still recuperating.
“I’m an innocent victim of this world and I am paying a huge price for not being killed in that explosion.
“Because I’m a Muslim, I will not commit suicide. But if I did not have God in my heart, as I have, I would have killed myself a long time ago.” | <urn:uuid:c2817287-a851-4c6f-bb84-51de0fed0e8b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://iraqslogger.powweb.com/index.php/post/984 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00076-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987855 | 739 | 1.539063 | 2 |
St Petersburg, whose historic centre is an official UNESCO World Heritage Site, is affectionately referred to by locals as the gorod muzei or city museum; and with good reason.
The former capital of a vast empire which once reached from the Barents Sea to the Silk Road and from Central Europe to the Pacific Ocean, St Petersburg is brimming with the history and turmoil that is so beautifully-documented in some 200 museums dotted in and around the city.
The most famous is surely the Hermitage Museum. With more than 1,000 rooms playing host to one of the world's greatest collections of Western European art - some 14 million items in all – it also enfolds the Winter Palace, formerly the residence of the Russian Czars, later ransacked by Bolsheviks.
For a true picture of the life and culture of Russia’s 100 ethnic groups, a trip to the widely-acclaimed Russian Ethnographic Museum will be a must, as will the Kunstkamera, founded by Peter the Great in 1727 as Russia’s first museum and now showcasing curios from around the globe. | <urn:uuid:bf05031c-ff9c-4ad5-aec9-b498a8d912d5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://corinthia.com/de/Corinthia-Hotel-St-Petersburg/StPetersburg-guide/museums/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942555 | 232 | 2.03125 | 2 |
What is competitive coal leasing?
The most common form of federal coal leasing is known as "competitive leasing," which provides an opportunity for any interested party to competitively bid for a federal coal lease.
Why are most federal coal leases issued competitively?
The Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1976 (FCLAA), amended Section 2 of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 to require that all public lands that are available for coal leasing be offered competitively. Two notable exceptions are:
Are there unique requirements that are part of a federal coal lease that is issued competitively?
Yes, several specific requirements that are part of every competitively issued lease exist:
A royalty rate of 12.5 percent for coal to be mined by surface mining methods and 8 percent for coal to be mined by underground mining methods.
A diligent development requirement that requires commercial quantities of coal be produced from the lease within 10 years of lease issuance.
Commercial quantities of coal has been defined by regulation to be 1 percent of the coal that potentially could be mined, including any coal that has already been mined. Failure to meet this requirement will result in termination of the lease.
A lease can only be issued if the competitive bid for the lease meets or exceeds the BLM's estimate of fair market value.
Are all competitive leases issued using the same procedures?
No, two distinct procedures for competitive leasing include:
- Regional leasing, where the BLM selects tracts within a region for competitive sale
- Lease by application (LBA), where an application from the public to lease a particular tract of coal is submitted
What are some of the specifics about how the regional leasing process works?
Regional coal leasing requires BLM to select potential coal leasing tracts based upon regional land use planning, expected demand for coal resources and potential environmental and economic impacts that could result from leasing. This process has not been used in recent years because demand for new leasing only has been for maintenance tracts for existing mines, which is done under the lease by application process. The key features of regional leasing include:
- Consultation with local government and citizens through a federal/state advisory board known as a Regional Coal Team (RCT).
- Balance of supply and demand for undeveloped coal.
- Leasing performed under an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that considers regional coal development.
- Extensive opportunity for public participation.
What is the process if I wanted to get a coal lease using the lease by application (LBA) process?
The general LBA process follows:
File an application with the appropriate BLM State Office indicating your interest in a specific coal tract. Each BLM State Office
can provide you with further details of what is required in this application.
BLM will review your application to assure that it conforms to pertinent land use plans and determine that the coal tract you propose to lease is appropriate for coal leasing. BLM at this time will also review geologic information for the area to ensure the tract is reasonably configured so that federal coal will not be bypassed.
Your application is then reviewed by the RCT at a public meeting. Based upon all available information and public comment, the RCT recommends to BLM whether to continue with your application as applied for, to modify your application or to reject your application.
At this point, the preparation of an Environment Assessment (EA) or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the tract you proposed to lease is started. The EA or EIS requires preparation and publication of a draft document, receipt and analysis of public comments and publication of a final document. During this period, BLM will consult with other government agencies. Depending on the specific requirements and conditions of the coal tract you have proposed to lease, this could include a surface management agency, the state, Indian tribes or bands, the Department of Justice, or other agencies as needed. BLM will publish, at the expense of the successful bidder, public notice of the lease sale. This notice is published in a newspaper in the area of the tract and in the Federal Register. This notice provides some basic information concerning the tract and provides detailed sale and bidding instructions to anyone who might desire to bid on the tract.
An estimate of fair market value is prepared. The lease sale begins with the receipt of sealed bids prior to the sale. The sealed bids are opened at a public lease sale. The apparent high bid is accepted contingent upon it meeting or exceeding BLM's estimate of fair market value (FMV), that all adjudication requirements are met, and that the appropriate fees and payments are attached. At a minimum, one years annual rental payment ($3.00 per acre or fraction thereof) and one fifth of the bonus bid is required to be attached to the bid. The remaining four fifths of the bonus bid can be paid in equal installments over the next four years. By statute, half of the bonus bid and subsequent royalty are shared equally with the State in which the coal lease is located.
The minimum bid for a tract is $100.00 per acre or fraction thereof. The mimimum bid is not intended to represent fair market value. | <urn:uuid:e0cdfa43-9d7f-4d25-afd8-ac8f09dbac67> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/programs/energy/Coal_Resources/coalfaqs/competitive_leasing.print.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954163 | 1,039 | 2.484375 | 2 |
Many animal advocates seem to think that we don’t need any theory. We just need to act “for the animals”; we can worry about theory later on.
That view is mistaken in at least two respects.
First, if we do not have a theory, how are we to choose what things we should promote? If I want to do something today to help the animals, and I do not have a theory as to the moral status of animals and what things I ought to do, how will I choose what to do?
If I want to spend this afternoon talking with a group of people about animal exploitation, and I do not have a theory, how will I choose what to talk about? How will I choose whether to argue that they ought to consume no animal products or that they ought to consume supposedly “happy” animal products?
The answer is very clear: we cannot make any intelligent or informed choice if we don’t have any theory that guides our choice. Before I talk with people; before I decide what activism to pursue, I have to be clear as to whether the correct moral position is that we ought to consume “cage-free” eggs, or whether it is that we should eat no eggs; I have to be clear as to whether the correct moral position is to eat chicken that has been gassed rather than electrocuted, or whether it is to eat no chicken.
It is interesting that most of those who claim that we don’t need a theory to act “for the animals” right now do have a theory: they embrace the theory that the issue is not that we use animals but how we use animals; that it is acceptable to use animals as long as we treat them in a “humane” manner. So these people claim that we should not bother ourselves with the abstractions of theory; we should just go out and promote “cage-free” eggs or gassed chicken or whatever.
But their position is informed by a theory.
And that brings me to my second point.
Sometimes, some ideas are so much a part of our culture that we are not even aware of the extent to which they shape our reality. One such idea is that men are, as a group, more valuable than women and that women are valued more for their appearance as providers of sexual services than for their abilities. That idea is so much a part of our culture that many of us are not even aware of it; we see as “normal” the way that women are represented culturally and we do not see that representation as reinforcing patriarchy.
Another such idea is that animals do not care about whether we use them but only about how we treat them. That is an idea that we can trace back historically and it is the very foundation of the animal welfare position that dominates our thinking about the human-nonhuman relationship just as patriarchy dominates our views about the value of women.
In the 19th century, progressive social reformers, such as Jeremy Bentham, argued that we should include animals in the moral community because, even though they were different from humans in various ways, they could, like humans, suffer and that was sufficient to ground our moral obligations to animals. According to Bentham, although a full-grown horse or dog is more rational and more able to communicate than a human infant, “the question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?” But this did not mean that we could not use and kill animals for human purposes as long as we treated them well. According to Bentham, animals live in the present and are not aware of what they lose when we take their lives. If we kill and eat them, “we are the better for it, and they are never the worse. They have none of those long-protracted anticipations of future misery which we have.” If, as Bentham apparently maintained, animals do not as a factual matter have an interest in continuing to live, and death is not a harm for them, then our killing of animals would not per se raise a moral problem as long as we treated and killed animals “humanely.”
And that is exactly how most of us think about the matter of animal use. Bentham’s view is explicitly promoted by Peter Singer and even rights theorist Tom Regan maintains that death is a greater harm for humans than for nonhumans because the latter have fewer opportunities for satisfaction than do the former.
I would suggest that this view-that our use of animals, if “humane,” is morally acceptable-is, in one form or another, accepted by just about everyone. That is, even those people who have never heard of Jeremy Bentham or Peter Singer buy into this theoretical view that is so pervasive that no one even recognizes how much it shapes our view of the human-animal relationship.
And, like the pervasive sexism of our culture, it is wrong.
The theoretical view that animals do not have an interest in their lives and do not care about whether we use and kill them as long as we do so “humanely” is based on the notion that to have an interest in continuing to live requires a sense of self-awareness that we associate with normal humans.
And as I discuss in my most recent book, The Animal Rights Debate: Abolition or Regulation? and in Introduction to Animal Rights: Your Child or the Dog?, and on this website, that is a speciesist position in that it arbitrarily privileges humanlike self-awareness.
This theoretical view about the lesser value of animal life is the 800-pound theoretical gorilla in the room. Whether we like theory or not, we need to come to grips with this idea before we undertake animal advocacy. If we agree with Bentham and Singer and with the dominant theory of animal welfare, then we promote welfare reform; we promote “cage-free” eggs; we promote consuming chickens who have been gassed rather than electrocuted; we support “happy” meat/dairy labels; we promote “flexitarianism” and view veganism simply as a way of reducing suffering. If we don’t support that theoretical view, and if, instead, we regard all sentient beings as having equal moral value for the purposes of not being used as a resource, then we promote veganism as a non-negotiable moral baseline.
And we cannot claim to accept equality but support reform for the reason that people are going to continue to consume animals anyway. Putting aside that if we really believe in equality, promoting welfare reform is similar to promoting “humane” slavery or pedophilia, animal welfare does not work as a practical matter. Animals are commodities; they are property. It costs money to protect their interests and the most “humane” treatment schemes will never rise above the level that would be characterized as torture were humans involved.
Try as you will, you cannot avoid theory. You can only choose a theory of equality or choose to accept the dominant theory of welfare, which assumes that animal life is of lesser moral value.
But choose you must and your activism will necessarily be informed by the choice that you make.
If you are not vegan, go vegan. It’s easy; it’s better for your health and for the planet. But, most important, it’s the morally right thing to do.
Gary L. Francione
©2010 Gary L. Francione | <urn:uuid:944335f2-b8ed-4076-a93e-49dde387274a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/the-necessity-of-theory/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968783 | 1,553 | 1.867188 | 2 |
Ancient biblical SHEKEL OF TYRE, "30 PIECES OF SILVER"
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All Items: Antiques:Regional Art:Ancient World:Holy Land:Coins: Pre AD 1000: item # 1143454
Aweidah Gallery - Jerusalem based gallery
P.O.Box 51067 - Jerusalem, ISRAEL
Directly from Jerusalem, Aweidah Gallery is pleased to offer this RARE- ancient Greek Silver Tyre Shekel “ The thirty pieces of Silver which was paid to Judas for betraying the christ”
Dated year 159 - 33/34 C.E.
Reverse: Eagle standing lt. with rt. foot on prow of ship, palm branch over rt. shoulder, date and club in field to left. Surrounded by crude inscription "OF TYRE THE HOLY AND INVIOLABLE"
TRADITIONAL YEAR OF THE CRUCFIXION
Measurements: 22 mm – 14.6 grams
A classic coin for Christian collectors. CLEARLY dated and fully centered on a large flan with good metal and great style! About as nice a crucifixion year coin that you will ever find!! These coins bearing the "KP" monogram were postulated by Y. Meshorer to have been minted in Jerusalem. Today many contemporary scholars disagree but place the location at different mints either in Phoenicia or Israel Originally, the silver shekels, both the full and half shekels, were produced in the city of Tyre. By the half century before the birth of Christ, they had become the predominant coin in the Judaeo-Phoenician area of the world. After Rome occupied Israel, Israel was no longer authorized to mint their own currency. Since the Jewish Talmud required the Temple tax to be paid with a coin of high purity of silver, the Tyre shekels and half shekels were the only acceptable coins available that met Jewish law requirement.
Judas' 30 Pieces of Silver - Matthew 26:14-15 "Then one of the 12, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, and said unto them, 'What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you?' And they covenanted with him for 30 pieces of silver." -- Matthew 26:14-15. Shekels of Tyre were the only currency accepted at the Jerusalem Temple and are the most likely coinage with which Judas was paid for the betrayal of Christ. The silver shekels and half-shekels of Tyre were minted from c. 126 B.C. until c. 57 A.D. Any coin minted prior to 34 A.D. may have circulated in Jerusalem during Jesus' lifetime.
The Temple Tax Coin "...go to the sea and cast a hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou has opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them [the temple tax collectors] for me and thee." Since the tax was one half shekel per man the coin would have to be a shekel to pay the tax for both Jesus and Peter. Matthew 17:24-27 | <urn:uuid:c65b5e7d-ef56-45c1-a2b6-bfdafd5fce9c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aweidah-gallery.com/items/1143454/item1143454store.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948108 | 679 | 2.25 | 2 |
Friday, January 04, 2013Author: Richard Daugherty
(Last modified: 2013-01-04 16:45:51)
Source: The Herald-News
January takes its name from the Roman god Janus who was the god of doors, gates, beginnings and endings. He is often depicted with two faces—one looking ahead and the other looking backwards. It seems to me that this is a fitting metaphor for January itself, for, while we do not completely forget the past, we are now ready to look ahead to the New Year.
With the beginning of the New Year comes much talk about resolutions, which someone has defined as a “to-do list for the first week of January!” I also read somewhere that the most made resolution is “to lose weight,” so to get you jump-started on that plan, there are some good recipes to help get you started.
To see the full story, please pick up a copy of The Herald-News.
Copyright © 2013, The Herald-News | <urn:uuid:2b34f755-3f3f-4f2c-97aa-3477d4cc68e7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rheaheraldnews.com/printstory/21542 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974933 | 215 | 1.59375 | 2 |
A unique workshop on “The Spirit of Aikido” will be presented by Professor John Stevens. AiKiDo is “the Way of a Spirit of Harmony.” This spirit of harmony has many dimensions. Kototama (Sound Spirit) is one of the means in which the body is trained to move with breath and sound sources. This is usually thought of as a power enhancer (KiAi), However, the most subtle yet highly connective life essence placed into a body movement, sword cut, brush stroke, or musical instrument are all part of Kototama. Misogi (cleansing) also brings into existence, and into the “here and now,” the many dimensions of life and activity. Kototama and Misogi are two of the spiritual foundations of Aikido. They are reflective of Eastern concepts of mastery.
Zen Calligraphy is also one of the pursuits which reflect the mastery of these spiritual foundations. Such mastery includes the ability to “spiritually” brush both the “male” and “female” (yin/yang) as well as the “horse/dragon.” The essence is that one has the ability to perform and dwell in the total dimensions of life. Therefore one of the dimensions of a master in Eastern Martial Arts is the totality of the tactical mastery reflected in the “brush” (Sword and Brush).
Aikido is unique in the martial arts because of the aspects of “AiKi.” The spiritual implications of blending and harmony are a never ending pursuit.
Morihei Ueshiba brings all these internal/spiritual concepts into his martial art of Aikido. Understanding Ueshiba’s philosophy is critical to understanding the path of his Aikido; as well as making Aikido perform as he intended (or did.)
Professor John Stevens will present a workshop on “The Spirit of Aikido” this Fall. Info is in the “Events” section of aikidojournal.com. | <urn:uuid:f14bd502-3c90-4ec6-be7c-e7b812c83abc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.aikidojournal.com/2009/07/17/the-spirit-of-aikido-workshop-by-gary-ohama/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95909 | 432 | 2.203125 | 2 |
Mom's Intuition vs. Diagnosis
What to do when your intuition says one thing and baby's doc says another.
Good question -- and one that many moms have experience with. When Jodi Schulz, attorney and mommy blogger (jodifur.blogspot.com) brought her three-year-old to the ER with a fever and a rash, she was sure the doc was joking when he announced that he was admitting the toddler. "Michael was running around like a lunatic, as if there was nothing wrong with him. They'd already run a bunch of tests and the nurse said they all looked fine." The doctor did not immediately explain himself. "In retrospect I should have kept asking questions," says Jodi. "I should have pushed harder."
Eventually, doctors informed her that her son was potentially at risk for a rare disease called Kawasaki, even though everyone who examined him said he didn't appear to have it. Though her gut (yep, that mother's intuition) whispered that her child was fine, she didn't initially push back. "You don't want to be the parent who demands your child be released and it turns out there's something wrong," she says.
Over the next 24 hours, her son was placed on IV, poked, prodded, and awakened at 6 a.m. so staff could look at his rash. Eventually Jodi reached a breaking point and demanded Michael's release. "I should have insisted much sooner," she says. "Some of the nonsense could have been avoided."
Jodi's hesitancy to voice her intuition is hardly unique, particularly when it counters the opinion of medical professionals. Even when your gut is screaming that the doc is off, it's tough to know how to handle the situation. Read on to find out how to keep Jodi's experience from happening to you.
Get Familiar With the Patient's Bill of Rights
This handy document comes straight from the top -- the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Nationwide, hospitals and medical plans have adopted its tenets, which promote communication and understanding between patients and their health care providers. And how does this bill of rights apply to you? Well, when we're talking mommy's intuition, the most important thing to note is that insisting on getting all the info and being involved in decision-making doesn't mean you're pesky or difficult -- it means you're standing up for your child. More info on the two points that relate most to this situation:
The Right to Be a Full Partner in Health Care Decisions
Patients have the right to fully participate in all decisions related to their health care (or the health care of their children). Translation? Your inner mommy voice carries more weight than you might think. Don't be afraid to make it heard. It’s not only acceptable to want to be looped in on every single decision that affects your child while he or she is under medical care -- it's your right!
The Right to Information
Patients have the right to receive accurate, easily understood information to assist them in making informed decisions. Meaning, keep asking questions! By staying up to date on the situation, you'll be able to voice any objections you might have in the moment -- rather than after the fact. From little things, like asking if your child's temperature can be taken digitally rather than rectally, to bigger things, like choosing to forego unnecessary testing, remaining actively involved is the way to avoid any nasty surprises.
Go to the Top
Always ask to speak directly to whoever's in charge of making decisions. If the person you're talking to can't answer your questions, ask them to page someone who can. The faster you connect directly with the person in charge, the faster you'll start seeing results. If you aren't being taken seriously over the phone, demand to be seen in person. "At 37 weeks pregnant I had a fever and felt strange about the baby,"says Kimberly, from Raleigh, North Carolina. "I called the obstetrician who told me they don't see women for fevers and to go to my regular doctor. I insisted, and when they finally saw me my son wasn't moving on the fetal monitor! They rushed me to ultrasound and then admitted me. I delivered my son by C-section a few hours later. See my regular doctor, huh?"
Take Miss Manners With You
Though it's never easy (especially when the safety of your child is at stake), do your best to refrain from getting hysterical. No matter how frustrated you become, the second you raise your voice or drop an F-bomb is the same second you stop being heard. When voicing your disagreement to doctors or nurses, go out of your way to do so politely. The last thing you want is to shortchange your child on medical attention because you’ve alienated the staff.
Get a Second Opinion
If your gut still says something isn't right, ask for a second opinion. Mothers often express regret that they didn't take this step sooner. Worried about insulting their current doctor, or appearing presumptuous, they drag their feet -- even when their intuition tells them to do otherwise. Often, it turns out a fresh pair of eyes is just what the doctor ordered. "I fought with my daughter's pediatrician for six months before I got sick of him pooh-poohing my 'rants' and went with a new doctor," says Sarah, from Sheboygan, Wisconsin. "Turns out I was right -- my daughter didn't have a hand preference; she had suffered a stroke and couldn't use her entire right side! Sometimes doctors do know everything and mothers do."
Call in the Reserves
It's nearly impossible to focus on your child while trying to deal with medical bureaucracy, so try to find someone to split the load with you. Having a friend or family member available to bounce things off of could be just the affirmation (or reality check) that you need. In Jodi Schulz's situation, her husband focused on their toddler while she dealt with medical staff. She also enlisted family members to research Kawasaki online, which is how she discovered that there was virtually no chance her son had it. "I understand erring on the side of caution," says Jodi. "But you need to have five out of five symptoms to have Kawasaki, and Michael barely had two." In other words, score one more for mom's intuition!
See More: Baby Doctor Visits , Baby Basics , Newborn Basics
recently added questions | <urn:uuid:75bb9707-8d08-49c8-9f31-69b3561b1f4a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pregnant.thebump.com/new-mom-new-dad/newborn-basics/articles/moms-intuition-vs-doctors-diagnosis.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979444 | 1,348 | 1.632813 | 2 |
This is an American Muslim’s response to the tape recorded message dated February 11th, 2003 by fugitive-terrorist Osama Bin Laden.
Mr. Bin Laden,
In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Benevolent.
I begin by reciting some important principles of Islam to remind you that there is more to Islam than just a call to arms.
1. Islam was sent as a mercy to humanity. (Qur’an 4:79)
2. Do not make mischief on the earth. (Qur’an 29:36)
3. People, We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes that you might know one another. The noblest of you before God is the most righteous of you. (Qur’an 49:13)
4. There are among the People of the Book (Jews and Christians) upstanding nations that recite the message of God and worship throughout the night, who believe in God, who order honor and forbid dishonor and race in good works. These are the righteous. (Qur’an 3:113-114)
I am writing this to make it clear that there are Muslims in America and in the world who despise and condemn extremists and have nothing to do with Bin Laden and those like him for whom killing constitutes worship.
Islam was sent as a mercy to humanity and not as an ideology of terror or hatred. It advocates plurality and moral equality of all faiths (Qur’an 2:62, 5:69). To use Islam, as a justification to declare an Armageddon against all non-Muslims is inherently unIslamic - it is a despicable distortion of a faith of peace. One of Allah’s 99 names in the Quran is “Al Salam” which means Peace. Thus, in a way, Muslims are the only people who actually worship peace. Today this claim sounds so empty, thanks to people like you, Mr. Bin Laden. You and those like you are dedicated to killing and bringing misery to people wherever they are. God blessed you with the capacity to lead and also endowed you with enormous resources. You could have used your influence in Afghanistan to develop it, to bring it out of poverty and underdevelopment and show the world what Islam can do for those who believe in it. You chose to provoke and bring war to a people who had already been devastated by wars.
Yes, many innocent people lost their lives in America’s war on Afghanistan and many more might lose their lives in Iraq. This is indeed regrettable. But, we must never forget as to how the West is divided over this and how nations and people within nations are agonizing in Europe and in America over this decision to go to war in Iraq. While many Americans and Europeans oppose the war, Muslim nations have already agreed to cooperate in this war.
No Muslim leader has tried to play the role of a statesman on this issue. It is a tragedy that there is not a single Ted Kennedy, Jimmy Carter or Nelson Mandela in the entire Muslim world who would stand up and speak for justice!
Before we rush to condemn America, we must remember that even today millions of poor and miserable people all across the world are lining up outside U.S. embassies eager to come to America, not just to live here, but to become an American. No Muslim country today can claim that people of other nations and other faiths see it as a promise of hope, equality, dignity and prosperity.
Yes, we American Muslims will continue to challenge the Bush administration’s proposal to wage war against Iraq. We think a regime change in Washington is as necessary as a regime change in Baghdad, but that is an intramural affair. Once the war is declared, make no mistake Mr. Saddam Hussain and Mr. Bin Laden, We are with America. We will fight with America and we will fight for America. We have a covenant with this nation, we see it as a divine commitment and we will not disobey the Qur’an (9:4) - we will fulfill our obligations as citizens to the land that opened its doors to us and promised us equality and dignity even though we have a different faith.
I am sure Mr. Bin Laden, you can neither understand nor appreciate this willingness to accept and welcome the other. Sure at this moment out of anger, frustration and fear, some in America have momentarily forgotten their own values. I am confident that, God willing, this moment of shock and insecurity will pass and America will once again
become the beacon of freedom, tolerance and acceptance that it was before September 11th. On that day Mr. Binladen, you not only killed 3,000 innocent Americans, many of whom were also Muslims, but you signed the death warrants of many innocent people who will die in this war on terror and many more who will live, but will suffer the consequences, the pain and the misery of war.
Before September 11th, the U.S. was giving aid ($45 million a year) to Afghanistan and was content to wait for the Iraqi people to free themselves and the rest of the world from their dictator. On that day you changed the rules of the game and Muslims in many places are suffering as a direct consequence.
When the Prophet Muhammad (saw) and his companions fought in the name of Islam, Allah made them victorious and glorified them in this world. They made Islam the currency of human civilization for over a millennium. You and your men, on the other hand, face nothing but defeat, global ridicule and contempt and run and hide like rats in caves and dungeons. You live in the dark. Your faith neither enlightens you nor enables you to live in the light and you have made Islam the currency of hate and violence.
Let me tell you that I would rather live in America under Ashcroft and Bush at their worst, than in any “Islamic state” established by ignorant, intolerant and murderous punks like you and Mullah Omar at their best. The U.S., Patriot Act not withstanding, is still a more Islamic (just and tolerant) state than Afghanistan ever was under the Taliban. Remember this: Muslims from all over the world who wished to live better lives migrated to America and Muslims who only wished to take lives migrated to Afghanistan to join you.
We will not follow the desires of people (like you) who went astray and led many astray from the Straight Path. (Qur’an 5:77).
I conclude by calling upon you Mr. Bin Laden and your Al Qaeda colleagues and Mr. Saddam Hussain to surrender to International Courts and take responsibility for your actions and protect thousands of other innocent Muslims from becoming the victims of the wars you bring upon them. | <urn:uuid:ccbb22f4-e99d-49b2-8cff-641410744b83> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/memo_to_mr_bin_laden_go_to_hell | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960086 | 1,393 | 1.757813 | 2 |
US retail giant, Amazon will allow its users to return Amazon-derived gifts before the order has been shipped. The company has received a patent for an automated system that will allow gift exchange.
The site will soon feature an automated program that allows recipients to return items bought from the site even prior to being shipped. The system has been named as a “gift conversion” system in the patent application and let users set rules for gifts.
The application says that a user can set a rule that automatically converts "all gifts from Aunt Mildred" into gift certificates as "the user believes that this potential sender has different tastes than the user."
The system will send a thank-you card for the original gifts even if the receiver has converted them into gift certificates. The system is simple for users but observers point out that it could millions of dollar of shipping costs for online retailers like Amazon.
The company had filed an application for the patent with the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2006 and received approval in November 2010. | <urn:uuid:9c45354c-0992-489a-9c77-aeee5cfcd953> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://topnews.co.uk/217511-amazon-allow-users-return-amazon-derived-gifts-shipping | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963548 | 211 | 1.679688 | 2 |
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U.S. Patent June 20, 1978 Sheet 2 of 2 4,095,695
STUFFED SEALED ENVELOPE ASSEMBLY AND
METHOD OF MAKING
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF 5
This invention relates to a series of connected stuffed sealed envelope assemblies and method of making the same, and, more particularly, to a method and article which overcome the drawbacks of the prior art. 10
A widely used mailer is that described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,104,799. This featured a series of connected stuffed, sealed envelopes which are made from continuous webs of paper by a forms manufacturer. At the time of manufacture, certain information or indicia common 15 to all of the envelope assemblies can be printed on the webs, viz., the name of the sender, a framework or pattern for the inscribing of invoice information, etc. These assemblies are zig-zag folded and shipped to a user (frequently a manufacturer) who operates a com- 20 puter to print invoice information or the like through the envelope onto the interior plies. Thereafter, the assemblies are separated one from another and mailed to the manufacturers' customer. Thus, there are three distinct phases in the life of a mailer assembly where opera- 25 tion can be optimized: manufacture, computer printing, and recipient handling.
At the outset, it should be appreciated that this is a large volume business: the three largest business form companies in the U.S. plus a number of smaller compa- 30 nies produce about a billion mailer forms annually, representing many millions of dollars of sales. Thus, anything that can be done to conserve on paper usage can be meaningful — even though the savings per form might seemingly be slight. 35
Another problem or challenge associated with the manufacture of mailer forms is the need for registration or alignment of the control margins of the various plies. The control margins are the widely employed \ inch wide integral portions along the longitudinal sides of 40 each web that are equipped with line holes. The line holes are engaged by pin belts for advancing the various webs during manufacture and in the subsequent usage for computer printout are engaged by similar pin belts for advancing the webs at intermittent, high speed. 45 Normally, the pins have a diameter of 0.150 inches while the line holes are normally 0.156 inches, yielding a small clearance of 0.006 inches. When a number of plies are assembled, small misregistrations or misalignments in the various webs during manufacture can ere- 50 ate a problem during the computer printout. It will be immediately apparent that the more plies that must be aligned, the greater the problem of keeping the line hole openings clear enough for the pins. Hence, manufacturing speeds have had to be limited in order to get proper 55 alignment of the line holes in the various plies. It will be appreciated that small misalignments occurring during the laying down of the various webs one on another can, in the aggregate, seriously reduce the net line hole opening so that when the mailer form is advanced to the 60 computer, there is faulty engagement and possible stoppage of work. This frustrates one of the principal advantages of mailer forms, i.e., high speed, continuous computer printout.
A third problem or challenge that exists during the 65 manufacturing operation and which has a definite effect during the use thereof in conjunction with the computer printout is the phenomenon of "tenting". Tenting is a
condition which results when several plies of paper (which have been fastened rigidly by gluing) are folded. The innermost ply has the shortest path. Each outer ply must be folded around a larger radius — with the result that a misregistration occurs, i.e., a given position on one ply does not correspond to the same position on another ply. This occurs particularly when the glue dries, after folding.
If the glue dries before folding, as might be accomplished by running at slow speeds or using hot melt glues, then the problem is different. First, some tenting occurs because the different radius problem still exists. Secondly, some tearing of the cross perforation ties occurs which helps relieve stress. If the ties are wide enough to start with, enough strength remains. Third, that portion of the difference in radius path which is not absorbed because of tenting or cross perforation tie tearing shows up in a fluffiness of the pack due to the unequal length of the various plies between folds. This fluffiness (the pack of forms does not lie flat and solid) results in wrinkles that become ironed into the plies by the weight of the pack and tight packing in the carton — resulting in an unacceptable appearance.
This misregistration is particularly serious when it is understood that mailers are printed from the outside, i.e., from the envelope front. This unavoidable misregister becomes even more disadvantageous when the form is unfolded, incident to feeding through computer printout equipment. The outer plies that follow the longer path can no longer slide back into register because the glue is fully dried while the forms are in the folded pack so that they form a peak that sticks up, giving the business form a much greater thickness at that point. The peak interferes at the computer pin feeding mechanism, causing jam-ups, tearing of forms, and even damage to the computer equipment.
Another problem exists in the need for maintaining a fairly close register of the various plies within the mailer. Should one of the plies shift relative to the others, the printout information will fall in an improper location, possibly vitiating the usefulness of the entire mailer.
Still another problem exists when the mailer is received by the intended recipient. By the time the mailer is sent through the mails, the control margins have usually been removed so the recipient gets an envelope which is characterized by a line of perforation along one side. Normally this line of perforation is characterized by a thumb-notch so that when the small strip is removed from the envelope side or end, a portion of the interior plies is exposed through the thumb notch for convenience in removal. Some mailers provide this feature but others by virtue of their construction and method of manufacture are inherently incapable of providing this advantageous opening mechanism. Thus, depending upon the particular form, the recipient may mutilate or even destroy the mailer and its contents in the attempt to open the same. This may result in the loss of a return envelope or other important information. Manifestly, it would be desirable to provide a foolproof opening feature in a mass produced, mass inscribed mailer.
In some instances, those in the art have tried to achieve registration by employing a perforated connection on the insert plies at the end thereof opposite the tear strip. When this feature is employed, the manufacturer usually tries to instruct the recipient to "snap out" the inserts, a procedure that can be made to work by | <urn:uuid:55cd7eda-8d36-4b85-8527-7e9329077456> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.google.com/patents?pg=PA2&dq=7,134,016&id=xpI1AAAAEBAJ&output=text | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948979 | 1,439 | 2.0625 | 2 |
Snapclass Connects Online Influencers With Their AudienceBY: Corey Cummings | July 30, 2012
Chicago-based startup Snapclass wants to help online experts connect with their main audience, enabling them to easily organize and even make some cash off of scheduled web seminars or one-on-one counseling sessions. Online experts can focus on planning and carrying out their upcoming sessions, while leaving the set up and payment processing to Snapclass.
Snapclass was conceived by Scott Mandel and Ryan Nichols in October of 2011. Mandel found himself struggling to find legal information online, either turning up unhelpful YouTube videos or legal documents too long and complicated to decipher. “I just wanted to talk to a real person and get my questions answered,” said Mandel. The CEO soon found the problem of direct and easy access to online experts to be an issue worth solving, and it became the inspiration for pursuing a new online venture.
“I think all good businesses start by trying to solve a real problem and great businesses start by solving real painful problems,” Mendel wrote. “Our goal at Snapclass is to further engagement online. Rather than talking to your followers, talk with them. Have real conversations instantly and connect with people you normally wouldn’t have access to.”
The service has been built to allow any online individual, called an “influencer” by the company, to their specific group of “followers.” According to Snapclass, followers can be customers, fans, readers, or even followers from social networking sites like Twitter. Snapclass is mutually beneficial to both ends, allowing influencers to earn money off of their expertise, and avid followers the opportunity to connect with their favorite online personalities in a meaningful way.
Mandel and Nichols eventually launched the Snapclass beta less than two weeks ago. The service charges 10 or 15 percent of classes that require participants to pay a fee, depending on whether or not the class originates from the influencer’s blog or the Snapclass marketplace. According to Mandel, online conferences will soon be capable of hosting sessions for up to 1,000 attendees.
The Snapclass team is currently bootstrapping out of The COOP in downtown Chicago. Mandel said the company is looking to begin seeking funding in the near future. | <urn:uuid:6dd8dc8b-7c02-4ced-96c6-c324609edd63> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://techli.com/2012/07/snapclass-chicago-startup/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953964 | 477 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Part III of The Constitution of India guarantees Fundamental Rights to citizens of India which includes right to freedom of speech and expression. However, with series of recent incidents that have taken place, it seems that it is available only to few people who have reach and means to show their clout – physical or monetary. And the recent incident of the arrest of 2 girls for posting their point of view (totally harmless from any perception) only aggravates this view and issue. Have we totally lost it?
The FB comment posted by Shaheen Dhada, one of the girl arrested for “hurting religious sentiments” just mentions that there was no need for the bandh because one leader of a political party has died. And just asked why can’t anyone remember the great martyrs like Bhagat Singh, Azad, Sukhdev or any of the likes because of whom we are living in a free India. But are we really living in a free India? Or we are living on the whims and mercy of the political mafias and gundas?
And the police seems to lost it totally. There is a saying in Hindi,
पढ़े पर गुड़ें नहीं
Read but neither understood nor imbibed. (rough translation)
The policemen (barring few) are just doing jobs because they couldn’t clear any other exam. Or it was the last resort for them. How do you expect such people without passion for their job do the rightful thing?
And what Shiv Sainiks are talking about. They can say anything they wish and want. They can go on blabbering hatred comments and no one will take action against them. But a common Indian doesn’t even have the right to say something on something as trivial as Facebook.
What a Shame?
- Why I can’t pay tribute to Thackeray (justicekatju.blogspot.com)
- Outrage Erupts After Two Women Arrested In India Over Facebook Post (huffingtonpost.com)
- ‘Mumbai shuts down due to fear, not respect’ (thehindu.com)
- Mumbai girls held for Facebook post against Thackeray (thehimalayantimes.com)
- Two girls held for FB post over Thackeray funeral (thehindu.com)
- Arrest for Facebook ‘Like’: Friends accused of breaking speech laws (examiner.com)
- Right to speech under threat? Mumbai girls’ Facebook post on Bal Thackeray landed them in jail for ‘hurting religious sentiments’ (dailymail.co.uk)
- Outrage at India Facebook arrests (oddonion.com)
- Drop Charges Against Indian Women Arrested for Facebook Status (forcechange.com)
- Indian Woman Arrested over Facebook ‘Like’ (newsfeed.time.com)
- Shaheen Dhada, Renu Srinivasan, Indian Women arrested for hitting ‘like’ on Facebook (americanlivewire.com)
- Outrage at India Facebook arrests (bbc.co.uk) | <urn:uuid:2d06a90f-a381-4aff-a4e0-b1ea410573fa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://palakmathur.wordpress.com/tag/freedom-of-speech/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938798 | 677 | 1.882813 | 2 |
Boerne to Kerrville distance, location, road map and direction
Boerne is located in USA
at the longitude of -98.73 and latitude of 29.79. Kerrville is located in USA
at the longitude of -99.14 and latitude of 30.04 .
Distance between Boerne and Kerrville
The total straight line distance between Boerne and Kerrville is 48 KM
(kilometers) and 327.82 meters. The miles based distance from Boerne to Kerrville is 30
miles. This is a straight line distance and so most of the time the actual travel distance between Boerne and Kerrville may be higher or vary due to curvature of the road .
Boerne To Kerrville travel time
Boerne is located around 48 KM away from Kerrville so if you travel at the consistant speed of 50 KM per hour you can reach Kerrville in 0.97 hours. Your Kerrville travel time may vary due to your bus speed, train speed or depending upon the vehicle you use.
Boerne To Kerrville road map
Boerne is located nearly east
side to Kerrville. The given east direction from Boerne is only approximate. The given google map shows the direction in which the blue color line indicates road connectivity to Kerrville . In the travel map towards Kerrville you may find enroute hotels, tourist spots, picnic spots, petrol pumps and various religious places. The given google map is not comfortable to view all the places as per your expectation then to view street maps, local places see our detailed map here.
Boerne To Kerrville driving direction
The following diriving direction guides you to reach Kerrville from Boerne. Our straight line distance may vary from google distance.
Travel Distance from Boerne
This website gives the travel information and distance for all the cities in the globe. For example if you have any queries like what is the distance between Chennai and Bangalore ? and How far is Chennai from Bangalore? It will answer those queires aslo. Some popular travel routes and their links are given here :- distance between Boerne and Austin
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- Travel queries and other relavent information related to this page. | <urn:uuid:afdabe86-0fb9-425d-b956-dcf036dc9091> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://distancebetween2.com/boerne/kerrville | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.902489 | 601 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Free Exercise of Religion Before the Bench: Empirical Evidence from the Federal Courts
Cornell Law School
Gregory C. Sisk
University of St. Thomas School of Law (Minnesota)
U of St. Thomas Legal Studies Research Paper No. 12-07
Cornell Legal Studies Research Paper No. 12-21
We analyze various factors that influence judicial decisions in cases involving Free Exercise Clause or religious accommodation claims and decided by lower federal courts. Religious liberty claims, including those moored in the Free Exercise Clause, typically generate particularly difficult questions about how best to structure the sometimes contentious relation between the religious faithful and the sovereign government. Such difficult questions arise frequently in and are often framed by litigation. Our analyses include all digested Free Exercise and religious accommodation claim decisions by federal court of appeals and district court judges from 1996 through 2005. As it relates to one key extra-judicial factor — judicial ideology — our main finding is that judicial ideology did not correlate with case outcomes. While judicial ideology did not emerge as a significant influence in the Free Exercise context, however, other variables did. Notably, Muslim claimants fared poorly, cases involving exemption from anti-discrimination laws were significantly more likely to result in pro-accommodation rulings, and Asian and Latino judges as well as judges who were former law professors were particularly amenable to Free Exercise and accommodation claims. On balance, our results paint a more complex and nuanced picture of how extra-judicial factors inform Free Exercise and accommodation litigation outcomes as well as judicial decisionmaking more generally.
Number of Pages in PDF File: 37
Keywords: religious liberty, religious freedom, freedom of religion, free exercise, free exercise of religion, religion clauses, first amendment, Muslims, judicial decision-making, empirical legal studiesworking papers series
Date posted: March 19, 2012
© 2013 Social Science Electronic Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This page was processed by apollo8 in 0.344 seconds | <urn:uuid:aac92fd7-6e9a-4b45-ba60-c1c2b4162651> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2025149 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933807 | 395 | 1.617188 | 2 |
EFI Made EasyTech Tips
Electronic Fuel Injection or EFI can be very intimidating to the uninitiated but I think I can tell you everything you need to know to take care of the system on your new EFI Royal Enfield in one short article.
The EFI system replaces the carburetor and is actually a much simpler device. It consists of an injector unit, a throttle body, a computer, and several sensors. The sensors relay information to the computer which then tells the injector device how much fuel to put into the cylinder and the throttle body how much air to insert at any given time. This allows the bike to create bike a perfect, predictable mixture.
The sensors measure the engine temperature, oxygen in the exhaust stream, crankshaft position, manifold pressure, and throttle position. These sensors feed data to the computer and it, in turn, controls the precise air-fuel mixture. The result is more reliability, better driveability, improved fuel economy, lower maintenance, and a cleaner-running engine.
The “bad” news is that there isn’t much to take apart or repair, but that is also the good news. People get intimidated by all of the electronics because all of the sensors and the computer make it harder to take things apart and looking for a glitch in the unlikely event that something does go wrong. EFI has been a turned into a big mystery by the industry when in fact it is much easier to diagnose and repair than a carburetor because it has so few moving parts it is so much more reliable.
Typically, you take your bike/car to the repair shop, they plug in a diagnostic computer which tells them which sensors or unit are not working correctly. Since they are all electronic, this is a very easy task. You then replace the unit and you’re on your way. The trouble is that the diagnostic tools are very expensive – often running between $1,500 and $2,500 each. In our case, Royal Enfield contracted with Keihin, who is the best in the business. As you might expect, the tool required is very good, but also very expensive.
However, Royal Enfield is also aware that many customers have long preferred to do their own repairs. For this reason, they insisted that a mere mortal with no special tools should be able to diagnose and repair this system. Any EFI can be made like this, but most manufacturers choose to make it a deep, dark mystery to keep the revenue flowing.
With our system, the “Check Engine” light will go on if something is not right. If that happens you take the following steps.
- Remove the seat
- Find the wire that is attached to nothing. This wire comes from the EFI “brain”.
- Touch that wire to the frame or any other ground
- The check engine light will start to blink in a sequence of long and short blinks. For example, six short and six long. The sequence indicates which component is malfunctioning.
- Look in the shop manual to decode the sequence. In the example of six short and six long blinks, the sequence indicates that the crank sensor is not working correctly.
- Check the wiring connection to that device. If this clears the blinking, you’re done. If not, replace the sensor and then you’re done. If more than one unit is bad, when you clear the first sequence another will start but that is very unusual.
The Royal Enfield is very well-mapped, which means the stock computer unit programming is excellent. It evens compensates for changes in altitude that would require jetting changes in a carburetor bike.
An interesting side note is that Royal Enfield required that Keihin map the unit to over 18,000 feet. They took an instrumented to the Himalaya’s to test drive it on the world’s highest road. As a point of reference, oxygen is required after 14,000 feet in an aircraft, and most normally-aspirated planes fly no higher than about 13,000 feet. However, the Royal Enfield is used extensively at high altitudes by adventure bikers (try that with your GS1200). Those of you in Denver should be well-covered!
This will take care of 98% of all repairs on the EFI unit of the Royal Enfield. Now how simple was that?! | <urn:uuid:770d6630-2ecf-483d-a064-b3021a73f9a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/blog/2009/01/efi-made-easy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952099 | 918 | 1.953125 | 2 |
Toxic toys are on the minds of parents and grandparents this holiday shopping season. Lead, the environmental scourge that has scandalously been painted on and then sent to babies, toddlers and children by some of the biggest, formerly most-trusted names in childhood play, can cause serious neurological damage to our young.
Definitely not something for under the tree.
The Daily Green has reached out to Made-in-USA toy manufacturers all over America to find out what's available this holiday season for kids whose parents are willing to take that extra step to keep their kids (and homes) safe from this deadly environmental toxin.
4 Tips for Buying USA-Made Toys:
1. Shop early. Lots of parents are looking for these toys. No last-minute shopping. This means now.
2. Shop local independent retailers. Big-box retailers don't have the time or interest in stocking many of these kinds of toys. You do. So do the smaller toy shops in your local community selling smarter, more creative toys like these.
3. Check out online resources: Let your fingers do the walking across the keyboard to start your search for these toys.
4. Be prepared to pay more. There's a reason those other toys are so cheap. These are made by Americans earning fair wages. Your solution: Buy fewer, better quality toys.
Even choosing US-made toys, there's no panacea. No absolute guarantee. Parents still have to monitor their kids' toys, and any toy can potentially be a danger. But at least with these toys, the chance that they've been dipped in poison paint or laced with a date rape drug by an unknown manufacturing subcontractor thousands of miles away is vastly reduced and unlikely. The key: Do your own research. If you're unsure, call the manufacturer. Ask questions. Our kids are too important to take any chances.
To compile this list, The Daily Green started with "Made in the USA" toy lists from specialty toy Websites and toy stores. If "Made in the USA" was not clearly articulated on each recommended manufacturer's Website, we contacted the company directly. The list relies on the information provided by individual toy companies, their distributors and public relations representatives.
Enter your city or zip code to get your local temperature and air quality and find local green food and recycling resources near you. | <urn:uuid:e6eac8f4-f8cd-44c8-a2d3-f357a21218e7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/250-lead-free-toys-501101 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949231 | 479 | 2.203125 | 2 |
I’ve never had problem before saying NO to people/request and I didn’t understand people who has problem with that. Well… until recently, until I saw myself struggling, stressed out simply because I was afraid to say NO and to put a limit to abusive people around me. Why it’s hard to say no? Because we’re afraid of what others might think about us, we’re afraid of the consequences if we say no to them, because we want to feel useful. But you know what? NONE of these is more important than our SPIRIT, our MORALE. If they can’t accept it, it’s their problem, not ours. We need to put ourselves in FIRST priority.
I’ve been having this problem lately and it has been hard. Yesterday I finally made the decision and declined the request. It was liberating!!!
Variations of How to Say no (source)
Plain No: All you do is say no and move on. This is the least effective of the various techniques.
Mirroring No: This variation involves sympathy where you communicate an understanding of the person’s situation and follow it up with your declining statement. Your child’s sports coach asks you to be the team manager. You could respond with a mirroring no by saying, “I understand your after a team manager. It must be tough trying to organize the team… but I won’t be the team manager this season.”
Reason-why No: Many studies have proven that if a person provides a reason for carrying out an action then the action is more likely to be accepted. If a charity worker asks for a donation you can say, “No I won’t donate because I’ve donated to another organization last week” or “No I won’t donate because I don’t want to.” The second example’s reason for not donating seems stupid but even though no new information was provided the reason adds persuasive power.
Delayed No: Just say “You’ll get back to them at a later time.” In the mean time, the person may find someone else to do the job or the problem may have been solved.
Conditional No: You state the conditions that you would accept the person’s request and if these conditions aren’t met you will decline their request. Only use this technique if you are willing to accept the request. The person may end up adjusting the initial request for you under your listed conditions which will put the burden on you to follow the adjusted request. Your child’s sports coach again asks you to be the team manager and you respond with, “I will be the team manager if you can guarantee that it requires no more than 2 hours of work a week. If not, I’ll have to say ‘no’.”
Painful No: This variation of saying no involves stating the future pain the person would receive if you declined their request at a later time. Your boss asks you to take on an extra assignment and you reply with, “For both our sake I’m going to say no. The quality of my work declines when I’m not focused on one assignment and I don’t want to give you bad work, hurt my position here at the company, and as a result make you get someone else to redo the assignment at a later date.”
Respectful No: Firstly, use one of the above variations. If the person persists with their request then use the respectful no variation. What you say communicates your wishes for the person to respect your decision. An example is “Please don’t make the same request again. I’ve said ‘no’ so can you please accept that?” Do this with “soft” body language so you don’t come across as aggressive.
These are useful tips, I wish I’ve read them earlier
First oatmeal this summer (or end of it): blueberries + AB + flax meal + blueberries, topped with cottage cheese
mmmmm……it was good but I still prefer some bread now
Throw together salad continued: lettuce, tomato, steamed broccoli, mozzarella, 3 tbsp olive + 1 tbsp balsamic.
and steamed corn. Enjoyed watching TV at home! Working at home is good! .
I know some lady likes sweet dessert… but I don’t have sweet tooth, so I had edamame instead ;)
Took a powerful 30 min nap and back to work! Working at home is good x 2
I didn’t feel like snacking anything solid, so I made a black rice and lotus seed drink
look how many drinks I had in my desk
I went to the gym for 40 min ET while watched the night news (fancy gyms are good! ) and a power yoga class. It’s indeed a gym yoga class, a lot of flow and core work at the end, and lady gaga music as background. Yeah~ picture it… doing yoga with lady Gaga’s song.
Dinner time!!! FIRST HOMEMADE PIZZA!!!
okay.I’ve made unconventional pizza but I didn’t make the crust. So, crust was on the project.
I made the dough few days ago and freeze it. It was easy and convenient to make a big batch and save it for later.
I like thin crust pizza so I rolled it well
as topping, I shredded a large zucchini, put it in a milknut bag
squeeze it well to drain the extra liquid
ricotta cheese + nutritional yeast + S&P
base was simply tomato paste
top with dry and fresh basil
bake at 400F for 20-25 min. Meanwhile… I snacked some more edamame and roasted kabocha
homemade PIZZA!!! I LOVE IT!!!!
the crust is perfect, thin, chewy and crunchy!!!
Side dish was black fungus and shiitake mushroom salad.
A fusion dinner right?
Q1: Do you find hard to say no?
Q2: What’s your favorite type of pizza crust? thin, thick? | <urn:uuid:469fbdd3-7304-4c3e-9d4b-e7f9b31e694c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://balancejoyanddelicias.wordpress.com/tag/edamame/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946065 | 1,329 | 2 | 2 |
- Contract Packaging
- Packaging Leaders
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This content was submitted directly to this Web site by the supplier.White Paper | January 30, 2006
Tips: Stop RFID Tag Damage Caused by Static
RFID tags can be damaged by static. Receive Tech Tips brief from Simco on how to reduce damage from direct electrostatic discharge.
RFID is a method of remotely storing and retrieving data using devices called RFID tags. An RFID tag is a small object, such as an adhesive sticker, that can be attached to or incorporated into a product. RFID tags contain antennae to enable them to receive and respond to radio-frequency queries from an RFID transceiver. The microchip contained in an RFID tag can be damaged by static electricity. Learn how to prevent damage caused by static charges. | <urn:uuid:336fc5cf-ba64-4ce7-987c-cbb231f3df90> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.packworld.com/machinery/labeling/tips-stop-rfid-tag-damage-caused-static?qt-videos=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00058-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926027 | 172 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Sound Consumer archive
by Steven M. Hall, MD, and Patti Pitcher
Chances are, if you’re an American, you know the importance of eating a heart-healthy diet. You know not to smoke, to watch your cholesterol, and to stay active ... but despite all these precautions, you’re still more likely to die of heart disease than any other cause, including cancer.
The Washington Health Foundation (WHF) is launching the 2007 Healthiest State in the Nation campaign, the largest civic-engagement campaign focused on health in our state’s history. So far, nearly 30,000 people, 200 schools and 750 organizations are participating in the WHF campaign.
Sleep is the ingredient that a number of researchers are pointing to as the missing link in weight loss plans. It’s the reason some people struggle to lose weight and can’t seem to get their appetite under control. Sleeping more cannot guarantee that anyone will lose weight, but sleeping less certainly can contribute to weight gain.
This month the Trust reports on The Bennington Place Farm and their upcoming farm field trip on Saturday, March 31. Also a fundraising progress report on the Ames Creek donation challenge. | <urn:uuid:355d89a7-a3c6-466b-9650-ae068d6fd043> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/sc/0702/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927747 | 248 | 2.453125 | 2 |
Vehicle Struck by Lightning
POSTED: Thursday, April 5, 2012 - 1:00am
UPDATED: Thursday, April 5, 2012 - 1:14am
Lightning struck a woman's car Tuesday in Michigan as she was driving along a highway.
She and her four-year-old son were on their way to do some shopping.
After the lightning struck, the car stopped running and the airbags blasted open.
The woman and her four-year-old son were trapped in the vehicle.
She was forced to bust out a window to escape with her son.
Chris Boden of The Geek Group actually makes lightning for demonstrations.
He said what kept Marvau safe was that she was inside the metal car.
The old myth that rubber tires will not allow for lightning to hit is truly a myth.
Boden says electricity will always find ground.
There will be a second bolt between the car and the road but the metal frame of the car will form a cage.
Marvau knows the truth and is just glad that nothing worse happened. | <urn:uuid:d9b03580-28e7-4085-9bf3-7c7ae8162398> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ketknbc.com/news/vehicle-struck-by-lightning | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980341 | 226 | 1.992188 | 2 |
Running time 108 minutes
Written by John Collee
Directed by Jon Amiel
Starring Jennifer Connelly, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Northam
reation is a sluggish tome on the life of Charles Darwin and his long and painful creation of The Origin of Species, the controversial work of revolutionary thinking about evolution advancing the theory that man was descended not from Adam and Eve, but from monkeys. It caused a sensation throughout the world when it was published in 1859, and changed the history of scientific thinking. This long and wearying movie is about how hard it was to write and publish, and survive the wrath of organized religion that followed. It arrives on the 150th anniversary of the book, and the baroque direction by Jon Amiel is determined that we should live every single minute of it.
Charles Darwin and his wife Emma, played by real-life husband-wife team Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly, were first cousins in an uptight Victorian milieu who forged a marriage based on love that surmounted all obstacles, including religious differences and the early death of their 10-year-old daughter Annie, which caused Darwin to lose his faith in God. The film focuses on a short period in Darwin’s life in the mid-19th century, between Annie’s death and the book’s publication, when he spends long, tedious days studying earthworms and barnacles in a microscope. Busy selecting breeds of birds to determine which species nature had selected for survival, Darwin becomes an object of curiosity and suspicion for scholars and neighbors alike, his face grimacing, his shoulders hunched and his brow wet with nervous perspiration. With no time to play husband and father to a growing household, his work is so demanding and repetitive that it drives him into feverish illnesses that take a toll on his mental and physical health. It never is clear what’s wrong with him. I chalked it up to overwork. Constantly throwing up, his eyes red-rimmed and glued to his test tubes, he may be a brilliant scientist in the research lab, but what a miserable sod in the parlor.
The film makes a stab at tracing his theory of evolution from a question as simple as “Where do babies come from?” to an obsession with an orangutan at the London Zoo named Jenny, an obsession that convinces him she’s an ancestor of every human being. He splits with the family minister (Jeremy Northam) to the horror of his wife, who suggests he’s at war with God—“a battle you cannot win.” His love of science is shared only by his worshipful daughter Annie, who sides with her father’s belief that “God’s plan” cannot explain 900 species of wasp caterpillars who can turn into butterflies. After Annie dies, Emma takes further refuge in religion, and Charles in the science lab. The movie is not so much about the masterpiece that results from so much tribulation, but about the agony Darwin endures while writing it. As he retreats from society and almost every human contact, the film has an alienating effect. For a movie dedicated to one of the most exciting, groundbreaking books ever written, Creation is disappointingly dull.
The movie is confusingly nonlinear in structure, with the action taking place out of sequence and leapfrogging all over the place, cutting between the naturalism of Darwin’s love for Annie and his anguish over her premature death (he rarely even speaks to his other four children) and the stylized dream sequences where he talks to Annie’s ghost. Despite the efforts of director Amiel and screenwriter John Collee to humanize the domestic side of Darwin’s struggle between faith and reason, too many surreal images and pretentious camera angles disrupt the flow of concentration, and the viewer loses grip. Every time Charles and Emma draw swords, he skips off for a closer look at a rock formation. Creation would have been more interesting if it concentrated more on the marital conflicts between Emma, a devout Christian, and Charles, who thinks the Bible is divinely inspired hogwash.
Despite my misgivings with the film itself, the acting is first rate. Tall, gangly, sandy-haired and bony, with a deeply receding hairline that shows the veins throbbing through his scalp, Paul Bettany is never remotely handsome, but according to the drawings I’ve seen of the real Darwin, he’s remarkably authentic-looking. And Ms. Connelly, who won her Oscar as the wife of another tortured genius, played by Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind (2001)—the film where she met Bettany—is familiar with the risks faced by wives of great men. Their reactions to each other and the untrained actors who play their children are full of trust and intimacy, even if her grating British accent is less convincing. The story doesn’t entirely work for me, though Darwin did live through his debilitating illnesses to become a national hero, his marriage eventually produced 10 children and Emma stuck by him until his death, at 73. He is buried in Westminster Abbey.
I guess you’re pretty much on your own here. Creation is respectable and worthy of attention, but its future seems doubtful in a divisive country where, according to a Gallup poll conducted in February 2009, only 39 percent of Americans believe in the theory of evolution.
Follow Rex Reed via RSS. [email protected] | <urn:uuid:2799798a-7c9d-4097-b23a-486c941a468e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://observer.com/2010/01/evolutionary-road/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972646 | 1,138 | 2.109375 | 2 |
The Penn State scandal has certainly been one of the biggest sports stories in a generation. The absolute tragedy of the crimes committed, the criminal activity of those in power, and the tarnishing of a legendary sports figure and football program are just a few of the aspects to this story that have been covered by the sports media and media at large. And now that the NCAA has handed down its crippling penalties to Penn State, there's another chapter to the story that will continue to unfold for years to come.
But one word kept striking me throughout yesterday's NCAA announcement... culture. NCAA President Mark Emmert claimed it was the football culture at Penn State that had to change. That it was a football culture run amok that was responsible for where Penn State finds itself today. And it was the football culture at other schools that was put on notice by the sanctions at Penn State. Take a look at some of these quotes:
"The fundamental message here, the gut-check message is, do we have the right balance in our culture? Do we have, first and foremost, the academic values of integrity and honesty and responsibility as the drivers of our university? Or are we in a position where hero worship and winning at all costs has subordinated those core values?"
-Mark Emmert, NCAA President
"The decree (from the NCAA) states the evidence against Penn State "presents an unprecedented failure of institutional integrity leading to a culture in which a football program was held in higher esteem than the values of the institution, the values of the NCAA, the values of higher education, and, most disturbingly, the values of human decency."
-Lester Munson, ESPN legal analyst
"For next several years PSU can focus on rebuilding its athletic culture, not worrying about whether it’s going to a bowl game."
-Mark Emmert, NCAA President
Certainly though, Penn State's football culture didn't devolve on its own. While the NCAA would like to hand out punishment and act like the grownup in the room for once, they and their member institutions are responsible for this current athletic culture. Likewise, the sports media will spend the next several days sanctimoniously nodding their heads in approval of the NCAA's sanctions while they (and ever more extreme fan bases) are just as responsible in creating, exploiting, and enabling the "win at all costs" football culture that Emmert denounced yesterday.
Let's revisit one of the more bizzare things said during the course of the last several weeks, from Red Sox advisor Bill James. For some inexplicable reason, James tried to make the case that Penn St. head coach Joe Paterno should not be held accountable for the coverup that allowed Jerry Sandusky to continue his monstrous abuse of children. That is, of course, before the Red Sox told James to kindly stop his nonsensical ramblings, which included an embarrassing appearance on Doug Gottleib's radio show.
Lost amidst James' controversial remarks though was a key point of contention regarding who is and was to blame for enabling Sandusky's criminal behavior within the Penn State football culture. Here's the key quote from James:
"The people who are responsible for it are the media,” James said on ESPN Radio’s “The Doug Gottlieb Show.” “The media created this smokescreen behind which Sandusky operated and then they’re trying to blame Paterno for the fact that they were covering up for Sandusky.”
James is referring to Sandusky's reputation in the media prior to the terrible truth being revealed, such as this 1999 profile in Sports Illustrated upon his retirement.
Of course, James' comments to blame the media are troublingly simplistic, but it does bring to the front an important question and consideration regarding the media's role in the creation of the pristine image of Joe Paterno and Penn State football. Nevertheless, this is a question not just for the media to consider, but for the entire culture of college football as well. Is the "smokescreen" James referenced actually the culture created by Joe Paterno, fans, and media alike at Penn State?
A religious fanatacism has enveloped college football and the media is just one vehicle caught up in the frenzy. With the never-before-seen sanctions at Penn State, is this moment a turning point not just for that university, but for college football and the way we view and consume the sport as well? Can the events of Penn State actually do some good by reversing the troubling culture of college football?
Stop for a moment and consider how college football has been elevated in this country to a place each Saturday where games are promoted as a "showdown" or a "statement" or a battle between eternal foes. The life-and-death nature of college football has been around as long as the sport itself. In fact, in its infancy, the sport was a matter of life and death, which is why the game was almost banned under President Theodore Roosevelt. Since then countless figures like Rockne, Bo, Woody, Bryant, and yes, Paterno have been elevated on an untouchable pedastal with fans all too willing to fall prostrate worship at their feet. Countless rivalries have become unholy wars fought each year between 19 and 20 year old kids. It is the #2 sport in America behind the NFL. And yet they still call it college football.
But in recent years, it's like a flip has been switched to make everything about college football's culture so much more meaningful, so much more personal, so much more lucrative, and so much more polarizing than it already has been. ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit was literally run out of Columbus by the fringe 2% of Ohio State fans. Entities like the corrupt bowl system continue to generate millions upon millions of dollars while student-athletes are punished for trying to reap the meager benefits of their work.
Events surrounding the Alabama-Auburn rivalry, for example, have tested both the common sense and decency of media and fans in recent years. Many remember the insensitive writings by one ESPN.com author who, after the death of 'Bama OL Aaron Douglas, immediately began pondering how the young man's death would effect the Crimson Tide's depth chart. What does it say about the lust of media towards college football where tragedy can be immediately turned into something so hollow and meaningless as playing time? And of course, there was the Toomer's Corner poisioning by a deranged Alabama fan that showed how far some were willing to go in the name of rivalry.
In many ways, the media acts explicitly and implicitly to fan these flames. Rivalry games are given larger-than-life meaning. Collegiate coaches are turned into God-like figures merely for their ability to win games while building "fine young men." Of course, the phenomenon of building "fine young men" is not exclusive to collegiate athletics, but that hasn't stopped these mortal men from being granted immortal status. Why, we are a little over a year removed from the ESPN special "Difference Makers: LIfe Lessons from Paterno & Krzyzewski." In some places - you win a championship, you get a statue as if coaches are golden calves deserving of worship.
Jay Bilas and others have mentioned that Penn State was a prime example of "total control" by a football program over the university instead of a "lack of institutional control." Just how did Joe Paterno get complete autonomy at PSU, where other administrators and even the president of the school were expected to bow at the feet of a football coach? Jerry Sandusky operated for so many years in the shadows because of an environment at Penn State where the well-being of young children was less important than the reputation of a football program. And it was that same warped view of reality that required a coverup by Paterno, Spanier, Curley, and Schultz.
Certainly, the underlying theme in each recent NCAA scandal - from something as trivial as tattoos, to something as dishonest as academic fraud, to the horrible crimes of child abuse - was the insatiable need for these programs, administrators and coaches to succeed and profit on and off the field to satisfy the football culture that has been created by schools, media, and fans.
And while the NCAA may finally be serious about enforcement and cleaning up college athletics with their actions towards Penn State, they are no white knight. The organization only pulls out words like "values" and "responsibiity" when it suits their own self-serving interests. It is still one of the most hypocritical entities in sport, right along with FIFA and the IOC.
Just take a minute and research the Ed O'Bannon lawsuit brought up by Dan Wetzel on our latest podcast. While NCAA President Mark Emmert talks about the evils of a football program overtaking a university at Penn State, its FBS Championship Game will be sold to the highest bidder. It has continued to stand on the sidelines while universities and conferences pillaged each other in the name of the almighty dollar. Does one positive action by Emmert undo years of incompetence or guarantee the NCAA will act accordingly in the future? Hardly. Emmert's silence on old pal Graham Spanier was telling.
Undoubtedly, the unprecedented situation at Penn State leaves the NCAA and the culture of college football at a crossroads with many questions left to be answered.
Will the NCAA continue to take the steps necessary to change the "win at all costs" mentality of big-time college athletics? Or is it more likely that Emmert's commitment to culture change and keeping the mission of a university in proper perspective fades away into the ether of the college football machine?
Will college administrators remove the power from autonomous coaches and remember the first goal of higher eduction is to... educate? Or, is it more likely universities and their leaders continue to use "student-athletes" as a vehicle to obtain more wealth, glory, and power?
Will fans across the country pause and consider the destructive culture they have fed by turning college football into a religion? Or, is it more likely what has happened is washed away from the minds of fans across the country when our teams take the field again?
And what will the media do? Will they investigate the NCAA and its universities more thoroughly? Will they show some reserve and healthy skepticism in deifying programs and coaches? Will they hold Emmert's plea for culture change to a wider and higher standard? Or, is it more likely the same vicious cycle of scandal and sanctimony continues ad infinitum because college football is just too good for business?
WIll we all continue to partake and promote these false religious experiences held every Saturday in the largest outdoor churches in the world just to seek fleeting victories on the gridiron?
Make no mistake, what happened at Penn State can happen anywhere when powerful individuals abuse their absolute power. Scandal driven by power and money is not unique to college football. However, the calls for culture change at Penn State must be applied to the rest of collegiate athletics as a whole in order for it to mean something in the years to come. I hope this current culture of college football that has been exploited by the NCAA and universities, enabled by the media, and embraced by fans across the country comes back to reality some day in the not too distant future, so that the sins of the past won't be repeated.
@awfulannouncing thanks for blaming the fans! For a scnd there I thought you were Gna blame espn for a fan poisoning another..
The truth is, American culture is win at all costs. College football is just a microcosm of the bigger picture that mostly everyone can relate to, either in being a fan of the sport, alumni of the university, or family member of those involved. It reaches the population on a level that not even professional sports can emulate. College football is built off of emotion more than any other sport, and that emotion is what drives the runaway train.
jd4000, while you make some good points, I disagree that Sandusky was ultimately at fault. His role was that he started a situation that challenged the values of the individuals in power and they failed to act appropriately. Sandusky is the one responsible for the horrors inflicted on the boys that were abused, but the downfall of the program is on everyone else who failed to put the needs of the kids in front of the needs of the program.
@awfulannouncing You need to have athletes read the bad messages and tape it like Kimmel does with celebrities. Turn it into something good
jerry sandusky is ultimately at fault for the downfall of penn st. however, the media can share some blame.
they deified joe paterno and the penn st football. they were beyond reproach. before the scandal, how many times did we hear how joe paterno stood for virtue and penn st did everything the right way?
the media time and time agian keep thinking "wins = morals." after, tiger, kobe, big ben and others, when will they learn to stop treating these guys like gods just because of they are a great interview. | <urn:uuid:2d374850-c9eb-457b-8da4-95302c264183> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.awfulannouncing.com/2012-articles/july/the-fallout-at-penn-state-brings-the-culture-of-college-football-to-a-crossroads.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968944 | 2,715 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Villainous Abilities (3.5e Variant Rule)
From D&D Wiki
These rules are for the villainous classes (villainous fighters, villainous sneaks, villainous spellcasters) who gain many abilities unique to being villains. They may choose from the following abilities with the bonus villainous abilities that they gain, as well as any feats that they gain. Most of these abilities are not intended for player character use and will produce an overpowered character. These abilities listed are for kit-bashing together a villain with appropriate abilities without having to resort to magic items.
These abilities are intended for Humanoid NPC's.
Some abilities have prerequisites. Some abilities specify class levels. Assume that any necessary class levels refer to the villain's class level.
Some abilities provide minions or other creatures. These minions act to increase the CR of the encounter with the villain.
Villains may have any template that you assign to them. If the template compliments the character's strengths, add the level adjustment to the villain to determine the villain's ECL. If the template adds other abilities, add 1/2 the normal level adjustment.
As the creator of the encounter, you may choose to apply template.
Alternate Form (Su)
The villain gains a single alternate form. The form may be Humanoid, Giant, Animal, or Vermin types. The villain gains the creature's natural attacks, movement modes, size, and special abilities related to the senses (vision, smell, hearing, etc). The villain retains all other features of his base form, including AC, Strength bonus, abilities, and Hit Points.
Additional Good Save (Ex)
One of the villain's weak saving throws is now a good saving throw.
Augment (Ex or Su)
Villain becomes an Augmented Humanoid. It's primary type changes to some other type. It gains any special abilities or properties of the new type. It does not gain creature level adjustments based on its new type (hit die, saving throws, etc).
Base Package
Requirements: 1st Level
The villain needs some unrelated or semi-related abilities to make the villain's game role work as intended.
Buff Up (Sp)
The villain gains a +4 enhancement bonus to a single ability as if from a bull's strength or similar spell cast by a spellcaster of the villain's level with a spellcasting attribute of 12. The buff is a swift action.
Class Ability (Ex) or (Su)
The villain gains a class ability not listed here, along with all its prerequisite abilities.
Creature Ability (Ex) or (Su)
The villain gains an special ability that belongs to a creature.
Cunning Bastard (Ex)
Damage Reduction (Ex)
Prerequisite: Villainous Fighter
The villain gains Damage Reduction equal to his deflection bonus. Damage reduction can reduce damage to 0 but not below 0.
Death Trigger (Su)
On dropping, this villain produces one final effect (spell or power) at the moment of its demise. The effect's maximum spell level is ECL/4. The Caster/Manifester level and primary attribute are the minimum necessary to cause the effect.
Disciplined Fighting (Ex)
Once per round, when this villain attacks a chaotic opponent, the villain gains an additional attack action where he may trip, disarm, sunder, or aid another. This bonus attack does not trigger an attack of opportunity, even if the villain does not have the required feat.
Disguise (Ex)
Prerequisite: Villainous Sneak
This villain gains the Disguise skill with ranks equal to his ECL and Skill Focus (Disguise). One per day, as a full-round action, the villain can change his appearance to a different disguise. At ECL 10+, this ability also grants the alter self spell, usable at will.
Encyclopedic Knowledge (Ex)
The villain gains the bard's Bardic Knowledge ability at his ECL.
Evasive (Ex)
Prerequisite: Villainous Fighter or Villainous Sneak
Evil Pact (Su)
This villain has made a pact with an Outsider. Once per battle, as a swift action that does not trigger an attack of opportunity, the infernal powers restore all the villain's hit points and remove all harmful magical affects, excluding death.
Familiar (Su)
Fast Movement (Ex)
The villain gains the barbarian's Fast Movement ability.
Feat (Ex)
The villain gains a general feat. He need not fulfill any prerequisites for this feat.
Fists of Iron (Ex)
The villain gains the Improved Unarmed Strike feat. The villains unarmed damage increases as if her were a monk of his ECL. The villain gains the monk ability Flurry of Blows. The villain gains DR (Con modifier)/lethal. (In other words, the DR only applies against nonlethal damage.
Get Out of Dead Free (Su)
This villain has a knack for coming back from oblivion. The only way to kill him is via a specific action, whether that be blessing the corpse with holy water, killing him with a holy crossbow bolt, or some other obscure action. Very few villains should have this feat. Use it with care. Classic examples include vampires and werewolves.
Get Out of Jail Free (Ex)
The villain can escape if anyone stops looking at him. The villain may only use this ability once.
Hostage Taking (Ex)
This villain may start a grapple check without triggering an attack of opportunity, and then attempt to pin his opponent. If successful, the villain may threaten to kill the hostage if the heroes do not back off or otherwise follow his commands. Once he have issued this ultimatum, he may coup de grace the hostage with a light weapon as a immediate action, even if it is not his turn. If the players do not allow the villain to finish his threat, the villain may still coup de grace the hostage.
Immunity (Su)
Magic Resistance (Su)
This villain gains spell resistance equal to his ECL+7. This villain may not cast spells or use powers. Few villains should have this ability.
Magical Protection (Sp)
Prerequisite: Villainous Spellcaster, not Warcaster
This villain has magical protections. At first level, the caster gain a continuous effect of mage armor. At fourth level, he gains shield. At eight, he gains protection from good. At twelfth, he gains lesser globe of invulnerability. At sixteenth, he gains globe of invulnerability. Each spell's caster level is equal to the villain's ECL. Any armor enhancement or shield enhancement bonuses that the villain has stack with the magic protection.
Minor Psychic (Ps)
The villain gains one power at (ECL/2)-1, one at (ECL/2-2), and one at (ECL/2-3). This villain also gains (ECL x 3 - 6) power points.
Minor Spellcasting (Su)
Gain one spell at your (ECL/2)-1, one at (ECL/2-2), and one at (ECL/2-3). These spells are not subject to casting penalties.
One with the Shadows (Ex)
Prerequisite: Villainous Sneak
Orator (Su)
- This ability operates as the bard's fascinate ability with the following exception. The villain speaks with the player characters, and expounds upon his evil plans while his minions sneak up on the heroes. The ability may be used as an Immediate action.
- Mass Suggestion (Ex): The villain can use the bard's ability to mass suggest.
Poison Use (Ex)
This villain safely uses poison. He no longer has a chance of affecting himself. He begin any battle with his weapon already poisoned.
Rage (Ex)
Prerequisite: Villainous Fighter
The villain gains the barbarian's Rage ability (+4 Strength, +4 Constitution, +2 Will save). At ECL 10, this increases to Greater Rage (+6 Strength, +6 Constitution, +3 Will save).
Sentry (Ex)
Savage Pet (Ex)
The villain gains one or more creatures as minions whose total CR is two less than his villain level.
Sharpshooter (Ex)
At first level, and every three levels afterward, this villain gains a ranged oriented feat. The villain also gains Weapon Finesse.
Sneak Attack (Ex)
The villain gains sneak attack damage equal to a rogue of his ECL if a villainous sneak, and half that if not a villainous sneak.
Swashbuckle (Ex)
Prerequisite: Villainous Fighter or Villainous Sneak
When using a light weapon, this villain gains his shield enhancement bonus to his armor class even though he is not carrying a shield. He gains the Superior Expertise and Two-Weapon Fighting feats. At 8th ECL, this becomes Improved Two-Weapon Fighting. The villain may use his BAB or his Use Rope score (whichever is better) when swinging on ropes.
Trapped Lair (Ex and Su)
This villain has traps in his lair whose CR is equal to the villain's ECL.
Warcaster (Ex)
Prerequisites: Villainous Spellcaster
Wildshape (Su)
The villain gains the druid's wildshape ability, but with fewer possible forms. He gain the ability to wildshape into one form per five levels.
Woodsy (Ex)
The villain and his minions gain the druid's Woodland Stride (Ex) and Trackless Step (Ex) abilities. The villain now has Move Silently, Hide, Knowledge (local), Spot, and Listen as class abilities with ranks equal to his ECL. He now has the Track feat.
Undead (Su)
This villain gains the undead type.
Unfair Fighting (Ex)
Once per round, when this villain attacks a lawful opponent, the villain gains an additional attack action that may be used to trip, disarm, sunder, or aid another. This bonus attack does not trigger an attack of opportunity even if the villain does not have the required feat.
Unnatural Influence (Su)
Minion Control Abilities
Villains may enhance their ability to boss around their minions.
Extra Minions [Villainous]
You get extra minions whose hit dice equal your total encounter level. You may gain no fewer than four minions and no more than eight minions with this feat. These minions are totally loyal to you, no matter how stupid that may seem. This feat may be taken multiple times. These minions can be repopulated by gaining one new recruit per day.
Get Them (Ex)
This villain drives his minions into a Rage as if they were barbarians. This rage lasts for three rounds. When the rage ends, the minions suffer all the effects from an ended rage. This increases to Greater Rage at level 11, and the rage duration increases to five rounds.
Inspire Fear (Ex)
This ability is identical to the bard's ability Inspire Courage with the following exceptions. The ability is used as a swift action. The villain threatens his own minions. All minions present in the encounter gain the benefit of this ability. This ability gives a +1 bonus at first level, +2 at eight, +3 at fourteenth, and +4 at 20th.
Lieutenant [Villainous]
The villain gains a lieutenant villain whose total ECL is two less than his. He brings his own minions. He also brings his own agenda. This usually involves killing the villain and taking over the operation. This feat may be taken multiple times. If the lieutenant dies, he can usually be replaced by spending one day per level searching for a suitable replacement.
Loyal Lieutenant [Villainous]
The villain has a single lieutenant who is actually loyal to him. If he dies, he can not be replaced. The villain may not have more than one Loyal Lieutenant at a time. This feat may be picked more than once, allowing the villain to replace a Loyal Lieutenant.
Mass Buff (Su)
Overbearing (Ex)
Snap Out of It (Ex)
The villain gains the bard ability of Counter song with the following exceptions. This ability may be used as a immediate action. The ability affects all your minions present. The ability is expressed by the villain haranguing his minions.
State the Obvioius (Ex)
The villains learns to direct his minions more effectively. Once per battle, as a swift action, the villain tells his minions how to fight. His minions then gain the benefit of any single fighter bonus feat for the remainder of the battle. The minions must have the appropriate prerequisites to use this feat. For example, a villainous wizard order his minions to "wrestle them to the ground!", then his minions gain the Improved Grapple feat for the remainder of the battle. | <urn:uuid:f30d1ba3-9b08-443a-9d25-caba531566d8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Villainous_Abilities_(3.5e_Variant_Rule) | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911106 | 2,693 | 1.515625 | 2 |
CS 5010 is the mandatory introductory course for students in the MS
program. The course has two distinct objectives. First, it will ensure
that all MS students have the same background in designing programs. This
encompasses the entire design cycle, from problem analysis to the
development of test suites. Second, the course will also introduce students
to programming as a people discipline. Students will work in pairs,
present code to panels, sit on review panels, and learn to cope with an
evolving code basis. The course will require a serious commitment to
practical hands-on programming from the student.
The course comes with a lab course, called CS
5011. Students must register for both courses to receive
These and other frequently asked questions are answered in the FAQ list;
see tab on the left. | <urn:uuid:c4965d13-5ff5-4a53-a265-039d00247d9b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/matthias/107-f09/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937275 | 170 | 1.804688 | 2 |
The issue consists of three categories for writings, poems and music. A number of articles and pictures vividly featuring the Vietnamese-Cambodian friendship and co-operation and development of the traditional relations existing between both countries are featured.
Various touching notes that former Vietnamese voluntary soldiers wrote during their trips to revisit Cambodia - their second homeland - are among contents spotlighted in the issue.
The issue also introduces emotive poems and songs highlighting strong feelings and good memories about the people and nation of Cambodia, such as “Thuong anh bo doi” (Love for the soldier), “Vietnam-Cambodia”, “Glorious Angkor” and “January sunshine” composed by Le Duc Tho, Vu Mao, Huu Thinh, Thu Bon.
On the occasion, a meeting was held on the same day for families sponsoring Cambodian visiting students, here in Vietnam.
At the meeting, members of the Vietnam-Cambodian Friendship Organisation reviewed their work in linking both countries’ businesses and strengthening the solidarity of the two countries.
In 2012, 14 members of the organisation sponsored 49 Cambodian students who are studying at universities in Hanoi.
The Union of Friendship Organisations and the Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Association in Ho Chi Minh City also hosted a get-together on June 20 on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of Vietnam-Cambodia diplomatic ties and the Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Year of 2012. | <urn:uuid:e8ccbc05-78a0-438b-86c4-e57a55c774a2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://en.baomoi.com/Home/cultureart/www.nhandan.org.vn/Special-publication-celebrates-VietnameseCambodian-ties/276434.epi | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945573 | 312 | 1.632813 | 2 |
15 Jan 2013
- Written by Charles Sims Jr.
It's not a good sign when people raid their retirement plans to pay bills, college tuition, or auto repairs, but more workers have been borrowing from their accounts or taking hardship withdrawals in the past few years.
At the end of 2010, 28 percent of active 401(k) participants had outstanding account loans, and another 7 percent took early withdrawals. In 2011, retirement savings account loans rose by 20 percent across all demographics.
Although it's understandable that people might turn to their retirement accounts for a source of ready cash, it is generally not a good idea. Fifty-five percent of employees who took a cash distribution when changing jobs said they regretted having done it.
Keep your money working
With certain exceptions (explained later), a 10 percent federal income tax penalty applies to early withdrawals (before age 59½) from tax-deferred plans such as IRAs and employer-sponsored retirement plans. That's a significant deterrent in itself, but the greater penalty could be the loss of future earnings needed for retirement.
Consider the impact of a $10,000 early withdrawal from a traditional IRA. Not only could the distribution be subject to the penalty ($1,000) but also income taxes ($2,800 for someone in the 28 percent tax bracket), which could leave a net amount of $6,200.
On the other hand, if the $10,000 principal was left in the tax-deferred account, in 20 years it would have the potential to more than triple, assuming a 6 percent average annual return; in 30 years, it might reach $60,000. This hypothetical example is used for illustrative purposes only and does not reflect the performance of any specific investment; actual results will vary.
If you change jobs, you may be able to leave your retirement account assets in your former employer's plan. Another option is to roll the assets to a traditional IRA. A properly executed trustee-to-trustee transfer to your own IRA could help preserve the tax-deferred status of the funds and potentially avoid unwanted current tax consequences and penalties. It may also give you more control of the assets, open up additional investment options, and help you manage overhead costs.
Exceptions to the penalty
If life deals you a bad hand, or you have other reasons to access your retirement funds earlier than planned, there are circumstances in which the penalty is waived on early withdrawals before age 59½ (although distributions would still be subject to ordinary income tax):
Your death or permanent disability.
A series of substantially equal periodic payments (based on life expectancy) from an IRA or a former employer's plan that continue for at least five years or until age 59½, whichever occurs later.
Payment of unreimbursed medical expenses that exceed 10 percent of adjusted gross income (in 2013).
Employer plans only: If you are at least age 55 when you terminate or sever employment (or turn 55 by December 31 of the same year), all distributions avoid the penalty.
IRAs only: The penalty is waived when the funds are used for qualified higher-education expenses or a first-time home purchase ($10,000 lifetime maximum).
If you take an early withdrawal from a tax-advantaged retirement account, you could lose the opportunity for that money to continue growing on a tax-deferred basis. This might lead to falling short of your retirement income needs.
(Charles Sims Jr. is president/ CEO of The Sims Financial Group. Contact him at 901-682-2410 or visit www.SimsFinancialGroup.com.) | <urn:uuid:7f1c843e-90d0-4044-b776-37201b43508a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tsdmemphis.com/index.php/business/9850-early-retire-ment-plan-withdrawal-will-cost | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954691 | 736 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Health benefits 5.6 percent of total compensation
July 05, 2001
In March 2001, private industry health benefit costs averaged $1.16 per hour or 5.6 percent of total compensation.
In goods-producing industries, health benefit costs were $1.68 per hour (6.9 percent of total compensation) compared with $1.01 (5.1 percent of total compensation) for service-producing industries.
Employer costs for health benefits ranged from $1.34 per hour and 6.9 percent of total compensation for blue-collar occupations to 49 cents and 4.7 percent for service occupations. In white-collar occupations, employer costs for health benefits averaged $1.29 (5.1 percent).
The compensation data in this report are produced by the Employment Cost Trends program. Compensation costs (also known as employment costs) include wages, salaries, and employer costs for employee benefits. Find out more about compensation levels in "Employer Costs for Employee Compensation," news release USDL 01-194.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Editor's Desk, Health benefits 5.6 percent of total compensation on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2001/july/wk1/art03.htm (visited June 18, 2013).
Spotlight on Statistics: Productivity
This edition of Spotlight on Statistics examines labor productivity trends from 2000 through 2010 for selected industries and sectors within the nonfarm business sector of the U.S. economy. Read more » | <urn:uuid:0d82678d-661b-4eee-a5d2-67b6f20c2f53> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2001/July/wk1/art03.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00053-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926611 | 321 | 1.96875 | 2 |
Geirr Tveitt - Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 5. Piano Concerto No. 1 in F major, Op. 1; Piano Concerto No. 5, Op. 156. Håvard Gimse, piano; Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Bjarte Engeset, cond. Naxos 8.555077 (52'10).
Geirr Tveitt (1908-81) was, along with Harald Sæverud (1897-1992), the most important Norwegian composer of his generation. Sæverud was the more outward looking of the two composers -- Lorentz Reitan writes that he never used a folk tune in his music -- while Tveitt collected and used them obsessively. Indeed his most popular surviving collection of music, the Hardanger Tunes, consists of straight-forward transcriptions of folksongs. Unfortunately, Tveitt's achievement is difficult to assess since so little of his prolific output survived a fire in his home in 1970 (of a corpus of over 300 works, around 90 are known to have survived).
Given Tveitt's reputation as a folklorist, the two piano concertos recorded here have a surprisingly cosmopolitan flavor. The Piano Concerto No. 1 (1927) written when Tveitt was a 19-year-old student in Leipzig is a remarkably assured work There's a touch of Rachmaninov in the swelling finale, but the quiet coda is ineffably Norse. The work opens quietly as well with a haunting modal tune introduced by the piano with minimal accompaniment. Some intensely beautiful passages follow as the horns and woodwinds trade phrases with the piano. The central movement is a fleet, dancing scherzo centered on a cadenza which is finally overwhelmed by a rhythmic conclusion. The work has a compact, arch-like structure, suggesting the influence of Bartók, although Tveitt's idiom is much less radical.
The Piano Concerto No. 5 (1954) dates from a period when Tveitt was living in Paris and touring the world as a conductor and soloist. It's a tuneful and dramatic work, a real crowd pleaser; however, it suffers from an overreliance on neo-Romantic clichés. The first movement opens with a quotation from the "Uranus" movement of Holst's Planets. Several other themes, some quite interesting, are introduced and then explored by the soloist, but the movement fails to cohere. Fortunately, the second movement, entitled Dance aux campanules bleues (The dance of the bells in the Blue [Mountains]) finds Tveitt in a more characteristically Norse mode. Monothematic, ethereal, and concise, the movement is everything one would hope for from the composer of the Hardanger Tunes. The finale, based on folk dances, returns to the heterogeneity of the first movement. This time it is far more successful, perhaps because of the distinctive rhythms that propel it. I imagine the piece would work better in the concert hall where its showiness would be more effective.
Håvard Gimse is an excellent soloist, maneuvering his way through the Fifth Concerto's thorny Rachmaninoviana with ease. At times the Royal Scottish National Orchestra sounds a bit complacent and tired, but overall they provide solid support. This is an interesting release for anyone who has been seduced by the magicof the Hardanger Tunes and would like to discover other facets of Tveitt's talent. | <urn:uuid:278438a3-eb9f-447e-bac3-581fbdac2c15> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.classical-music-review.org/reviews/Tveitt.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954823 | 734 | 1.648438 | 2 |
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Browse through our extensive list of free Business, Computer, Engineering, Trade magazines and white papers to find the titles that best match your skills and interests. Simply complete the application form and submit it. Remember to fill out the forms COMPLETELY. All publications are absolutely free to professionals who qualify. | <urn:uuid:31e5bb37-d7f4-4aba-ad5b-dcc021b1f1fd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.allyoucanread.com/top-10-literary-magazines/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00043-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922192 | 489 | 1.53125 | 2 |
The Center for East Asian Studies Hosts the Midwest Japan Seminar
summary by Kate Page-Lippsmeyer
Posted: February 13, 2009
Dr. Gates' research centers around Japanese Foreign Minister Uchida Yasuya, who headed the Japanese foreign ministry during parts of the 1910s, 20s, and 30s. The paper presented at the conference was primarily focused on a discussion of Uchida's positions on the theory of Pan-Asianism as well as the policies he interacted with and shaped. One of the issues at stake is the difficulty in clearly defining and or categorizing Pan-Asianism. Gates suggested there are two underlying concepts that help to define Pan-Asianism: first that there is a cohesive culturally, geographically or racially defined "Asia," and second that the West is an imperialistic threat to this entity so much so that the Asian nations should band together to face that threat. The position of Japan as the leader of this collective is reflected in a number of interpretations, although it became apparent during the discussion that there is no clear cut definition that applies in all discussions of Pan-Asianism.
Gates' analysis of Uchida suggested that, through a close examination of his early memoirs and a discussion of a novel he wrote notes for (but never completed), Uchida could be viewed in a Pan-Asianist light. Uchida was very concerned about the threat of the West, and often discussed the need to band together with China (in particular) in order to face that threat. However, during the lively and spirited discussion, much of the conversation centered around Uchida's pragmatic perspective, his intense loyalty to Japan, and the possibility that some of his more Pan-Asianist policies and perspectives were developed out of a sense of pragmatic statesmanship, rather than a fiercely rabid ideological stance.
Dr. Sokolsky's paper arose out of her new research into Taiwanese women writers who wrote in Japanese during Japan's rule of Taiwan. Her paper focused primarily on an analysis of writer Yang Qianhe's short story "Hana saku kisetsu" (The Season when Flowers Bloom), that appeared in an anthology of colonial Taiwanese literature titled Nihon tochiki Taiwan bungaku: Taiwanjin sakka sakuhinshu (Taiwan literature during Japan's Rule: A collection of works by Taiwan writers). Yang, as a woman growing up in Japan-controlled Taiwan had access to a level of education women of previous generations did not. She attended Taihoku joshi koto gakuin (Taipe's Women's College), a two-year finishing school, an "elite and hybrid space of culture" where both Taiwanese and Japanese young women were educated. She was also one of three female reporters working for the Japanese run Taiwan nichi nichi shinpo (Taiwan Daily News) in the early 1940s.
Sokoslky's reading of Yang's coming-of-age story about a young woman graduating from college who fears she will no longer remain in touch with her fellow female students is glossed by Yang's memoir, written in the latter years of her life. The story itself has a number of interesting elements, including opening with a quote from French author Andre Maurois' 1939 The Art of Living (L'Art de vie), a discussion of the colonial make up of the narrator's graduating class, and a constant discussion, on the part of the narrator, of the pull between marriage and "knowing herself." Sokoslky suggested that although "Hana saku kisetsu" is not overtly political, the unrest of the times, Yang's unique position as a woman who was educated under the auspices of a colonial power, a newspaper woman, and her admitted awareness of the political climate all demand a more nuanced reading of the short story. The vigorous discussion centered around possible nuances to Sokoslky's reading of Yang's short story and the implications of women's narratives. Sokoslky concluded by delineated her future avenues of research, which include plans to find other stories by Taiwanese women writing in Japanese. | <urn:uuid:ab52b833-1eba-4c86-bb18-21ea7ccca8aa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/eastasia/news/358 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974983 | 838 | 2.375 | 2 |
Beware the Sales Pitch
“Hey I’ll give you two toys next week if you give me yours today.” To a 6-year-old, this may seem tempting, but it still doesn’t solve the problem of being toy-less now. Sales people have the same motive as an eager 6-year-old: they want your toys. But think back to when you were a child; would you have really given up that toy? As you prepare for holiday shopping, be wary of special offers like these:
- Time-contingent: “For a limited time only!” Anytime a person feels that they may miss out on something, rational thinking tends to slip. And “limited” sales often continue past their advertised end-date, or come back a week or so later.
- Limits: “Only 4 per customer.” Just like with time, when a person feels limited, they’re much more likely to make rash decisions. So remember, just because you can buy only three turkeys, doesn’t mean you need to.
- “Free” Gifts: Oh the temptation of that free commemorative glass, free lamp, or free shipping. Slap “free” across just about anything and you get people’s attention. But if you’re $10 away from a “free” gift, that gift is costing you $10 more than you were going to spend in the first place.
- Discounts: OK, so discounts can be a great deal, if they’re for something already on your list. Stores are great at catching shoppers’ attention with 30% off this and $50 off that, but the discount is only as good the actual savings you receive. Why save $50 on a new TV if you’re going to end up spending $250 more than planned?
- Watch the promotional credit traps. For example, 0% interest sounds great to start, but once it lapses your interest will likely be in the teens to high twenty's percentage rate. Sometimes the fine print will read that if you don't pay it off during the promotional time the interest accrues and then that gets added to the balance. Now you've increased the amount due on the original purchase.
- Buying in Bulk: 2 for 1, 3 for 5 . . . sure it’s a great discount, but do you really need two toasters? Even though you’re getting a discount, if you were not going to buy multiples of something to begin with, don’t let bulk get the better of you.
- Accessories: Stores love to place all sorts of enticing extras right where you can’t miss them—the register. Maybe it’s that matching necklace, or clearance pair of gloves. Either way, don’t let last minute temptations get the better of you.
If you’re in the market for a new stove, and there happens to be one with a promotion, great! Just remember, if it’s not on your list, do you really need it? Writing out a shopping list before you enter a store is always a good idea to help you avoid becoming a victim of the holiday sales come-ons. | <urn:uuid:c88a7914-7c81-474f-802b-ab2741395e9c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.360financialliteracy.org/Topics/Budgeting-Spending/Holidays/Beware-the-Sales-Pitch | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953968 | 688 | 1.953125 | 2 |
EMERGENCY ANIMAL CARE PROCEDURES IN THE EVENT OF A PANDEMIC OR OTHER SIGNIFICANT EXTENDED EMERGENCY
IACUC MISSION: RWU’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) will continue during disaster situations, natural or human, to oversee and monitor all research projects and laboratory classes utilizing vertebrates with the same integrity and dedication as regulated by OLAW and USDA.
BACKGROUND: Institutions must adhere to provisions of the PHS Policy, the Guide, and the commitments detailed in their Animal Welfare Assurance with OLAW. This includes advance planning for conditions that could arise as a result of a disaster situation (e.g. human pandemic such as influenza, hurricanes and other natural disasters) that could jeopardize the health and wellbeing of animals because of a lack of personnel to care for the animals and/or to conduct IACUC official business. OLAW DEFINITIONS:
OLAW Mandated Policies
RWU Plan for Emergency Animal Care
The RWU IACUC will adopt the PHS policy provisions for animal care measures in the event of an emergency or pandemic situation including:
OLAW Reporting Responsibilities
PHS Policy (IV.F.3) describes three rather specific circumstances that require a prompt report to OLAW: “The IACUC, through the Institutional Official, shall promptly provide OLAW with a full explanation of the circumstances and actions taken with respect to: a. any serious or continuing noncompliance with this Policy; b. any serious deviation from the provisions of the Guide; or c. any suspension of an activity by the IACUC1.”
It should be apparent to most that there will likely be significant deficiencies and serious deviations from the Guide after a natural disaster. OLAW has published guidance on what constitutes “significant” and “serious” in the two slightly different contexts of semiannual reporting and prompt reporting5. “The term ‘significant deficiency,’ used in the PHS Policy and the USDA Animal Welfare Regulations, refers to any facility or program deficiency that is or may be a threat to the health or safety of animals. Program or facility deficiencies, including accidents and natural disasters, which cause injury, death, or severe distress to animals, are, by definition, ‘significant’. Although it is not possible to provide an exhaustive listing of examples, some illustrations of significant facility deficiencies include failures in heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems and their associated electrical systems; inoperative watering systems; and general power failures of sufficient duration to affect critical areas such as isolators, barriers, surgical suites, and intensive care units…. When deficiencies involve serious or continuing noncompliance with the PHS Policy, serious deviations from the [Guide], or the IACUC suspension of any activity, the circumstances and actions taken must be reported promptly to OPRR [now OLAW] as required in section IV.F.3.a–c. of the PHS Policy. Reporting of such deficiencies should not be deferred for inclusion in the institutional annual report5.”
Answers to the question of when to report will vary depending on the circumstances, but OLAW would like to hear from institutions as soon as possible after the acute crisis phase, and before the inevitable inquiries start coming in from other sources. One of those other sources may be the NIH director asking OLAW about how all those NIH-funded animals at (insert name of your institution) are doing. Animal rights activists may take such an opportunity to initiate complaints, as we saw immediately after Tropical Storm Allison. It is extremely important for us to be able to reassure ourselves and other interested parties that we know what is happening and that everything possible is being done to take care of the animals. The most common way for you to report promptly to OLAW is by telephone; however, fax, email, and other forms of communication all qualify as a “prompt report.” Other reasons to call, aside from being a requirement, include the possibility that we can be of assistance; we may have access to resources or contacts that can help your institution deal with the problems.
As institutions begin to emerge from the acute crisis phase, there will undoubtedly be actions that take immediate priority because of the need to mitigate or prevent further losses. Such priorities include relocating animals, saving frozen tissues and samples, and recovering essential computer files and other records. Although this article does not attempt to elaborate on the disaster preparation phase, an institution’s ability to minimize secondary losses will depend substantially on the effectiveness of that preparation. For example, accurate risk assessment and appropriate prevention strategies may keep animals and other critical assets out of harm’s way for certain types of emergencies.
Next is the difficult task of rebuilding. At this stage, OLAW really does need to know more about the institution’s “reasonable and specific plan and schedule1” to get back to a fully compliant state. PHS Policy does allow for certain deficiencies to exist at Assured institutions provided that they have been identified, along with credible correction plans. These plans are often negotiated with OLAW through the prompt and annual reporting processes and become an integral part of the institutional Assurance. Longer-term disaster recovery efforts may be viewed in the same context as correction of other more routine facility or program deficiencies. Though often on a different scale of importance, the semiannual facility inspection and program review process provides a good model for addressing the disaster recovery phase, which should include establishing specific target dates for correction and should monitor progress on an ongoing basis until completion.
Sometimes a recovery plan requires the development of interim plans. While some damaged facilities may not be suitable for their original design function, they may still be satisfactory to support a more limited role. For example, a damaged building HVAC system may not provide adequate ventilation for animal housing at full capacity, yet it may be acceptable for reduced population loads or lower levels of isolation or containment (OLAW 2009). | <urn:uuid:222ad4cd-b496-45a5-965d-ff5cb74aade4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rwu.edu/about/administration-governance/committees-governance/iacuc/emergency-animal-care-plan | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937117 | 1,230 | 2.15625 | 2 |
There were several auto mechanics on the Island, some of the very good; Johnny “Boo” (Willis), “Blacky” (Louie Caffrey Willis), and Thomas Lee (Willis) to name just a few. But there was just one garage and full service station, and that was what we called R' J.'s.
R. J. Chadwick's little shop and store, just a stone's throw to the west of the intersection of the main highway and Ferry Dock Road, was the one place that had service bays, a hydraulic lift, a tire machine, and basic repair parts on hand. It was right smack dab in the middle of the Island and it was where owners who could afford it, or didn't trust themselves to do the job, took their cars to get serviced, repaired, or just “worked-on.”
The number of vehicles on the Island mushroomed in the boom years that followed the end of World War II. There were “filling stations” at several points from Tommie Lewis's store at the east'ard to Claude's store at the west'ard. But gas, and maybe a quart of oil or a gallon of anti-freeze, was about all they had to offer in terms of service. R. J. and his parade of mechanics or helpers could do anything from changing a set of spark plugs to overhauling an engine. It was while doing the former that something occurred that has remained a part of the folklore of the Island ever since.
R. J. reserved most of the difficult jobs for himself, but he usually relegated the more routine stuff to one of the several helpers that he employed over the years. One of those was a veteran of the war who had met and married a local girl and then made the Island his home; quite possibly because that had been part of the “pre-nuptial agreement” that almost all Island natives make with their future spouses.[Just ask my wife Susan.]
The helper-mechanic had worked in an army motor-pool while on active duty, and he appeared to have had ample experience at all the standard service jobs. Such was the case when a local driver bought in his late-model sedan for a tune up. The car was driven around back, to the main service bay, and in short order the oil was changed, brakes were adjusted, and a new set of spark plugs was installed. But when the car's owner started it up to drive away, the engine was “missing” so badly that he was unable and unwilling take his car out on the road.
R. J. himself decided to check out the situation to find out what was causing the problem. After more than an hour of troubleshooting everything from the carburetor to the vacuum pumps he finally was able to pinpoint the issue as coming from the new set of spark plugs that had just been installed. Pulling them out one at a time, he found that each of them had an improper gauge; the miniscule distance between the tip and the base of the plug. When he asked his mechanic how such a mistake had happened, the young worker seemed a little dumbfounded himself. He had followed the standard procedure for setting the plugs; specifically he had used a dime, a standard 10¢ piece, as the template for measuring the proper spacing.
It was only after extensive questioning that the new mechanic volunteered that he had not adhered exactly to what was the accepted norm for measuring the gauge. “I knew you were supposed to use a dime to set the thing,” he admitted, “but I didn't have a dime in my pocket, so I used two nickels.” | <urn:uuid:d5cbff4c-4e8a-4fe2-a062-92ef3ca8ab4b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jghislandstories.blogspot.com/2011/11/no-80-i-dint-have-dime-in-my-pocket-so.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.992167 | 771 | 1.570313 | 2 |
[Enter VALENTINE and PROTEUS]
- Valentine. Cease to persuade, my loving Proteus:
Home-keeping youth have ever homely wits.
Were't not affection chains thy tender days
To the sweet glances of thy honour'd love,
I rather would entreat thy company
To see the wonders of the world abroad,
Than, living dully sluggardized at home,
Wear out thy youth with shapeless idleness.
But since thou lovest, love still and thrive therein,
Even as I would when I to love begin.
- Proteus. Wilt thou be gone? Sweet Valentine, adieu!
Think on thy Proteus, when thou haply seest
Some rare note-worthy object in thy travel:
Wish me partaker in thy happiness
When thou dost meet good hap; and in thy danger,
If ever danger do environ thee,
Commend thy grievance to my holy prayers,
For I will be thy beadsman, Valentine.
- Valentine. And on a love-book pray for my success?
- Proteus. Upon some book I love I'll pray for thee.
- Valentine. That's on some shallow story of deep love:
How young Leander cross'd the Hellespont.
- Proteus. That's a deep story of a deeper love:
For he was more than over shoes in love.
- Valentine. 'Tis true; for you are over boots in love,
And yet you never swum the Hellespont.
- Proteus. Over the boots? nay, give me not the boots.
- Valentine. No, I will not, for it boots thee not.
- Valentine. To be in love, where scorn is bought with groans;
Coy looks with heart-sore sighs; one fading moment's mirth
With twenty watchful, weary, tedious nights:
If haply won, perhaps a hapless gain;
If lost, why then a grievous labour won;
However, but a folly bought with wit,
Or else a wit by folly vanquished.
- Proteus. So, by your circumstance, you call me fool.
- Valentine. So, by your circumstance, I fear you'll prove.
- Proteus. 'Tis love you cavil at: I am not Love.
- Valentine. Love is your master, for he masters you:
And he that is so yoked by a fool,
Methinks, should not be chronicled for wise.
- Proteus. Yet writers say, as in the sweetest bud
The eating canker dwells, so eating love
Inhabits in the finest wits of all.
- Valentine. And writers say, as the most forward bud
Is eaten by the canker ere it blow,
Even so by love the young and tender wit
Is turn'd to folly, blasting in the bud,
Losing his verdure even in the prime
And all the fair effects of future hopes.
But wherefore waste I time to counsel thee,
That art a votary to fond desire?
Once more adieu! my father at the road
Expects my coming, there to see me shipp'd.
- Proteus. And thither will I bring thee, Valentine.
- Valentine. Sweet Proteus, no; now let us take our leave.
To Milan let me hear from thee by letters
Of thy success in love, and what news else
Betideth here in absence of thy friend;
And likewise will visit thee with mine.
- Proteus. All happiness bechance to thee in Milan!
- Valentine. As much to you at home! and so, farewell.
- Proteus. He after honour hunts, I after love:
He leaves his friends to dignify them more,
I leave myself, my friends and all, for love.
Thou, Julia, thou hast metamorphosed me,
Made me neglect my studies, lose my time,
War with good counsel, set the world at nought;
Made wit with musing weak, heart sick with thought.
- Speed. Sir Proteus, save you! Saw you my master?
- Proteus. But now he parted hence, to embark for Milan.
- Speed. Twenty to one then he is shipp'd already,
And I have play'd the sheep in losing him.
- Proteus. Indeed, a sheep doth very often stray,
An if the shepherd be a while away.
- Speed. You conclude that my master is a shepherd, then,
and I a sheep?
- Speed. Why then, my horns are his horns, whether I wake or sleep.
- Proteus. A silly answer and fitting well a sheep.
- Speed. This proves me still a sheep.
- Proteus. True; and thy master a shepherd.
- Speed. Nay, that I can deny by a circumstance.
- Proteus. It shall go hard but I'll prove it by another.
- Speed. The shepherd seeks the sheep, and not the sheep the
shepherd; but I seek my master, and my master seeks
not me: therefore I am no sheep.
- Proteus. The sheep for fodder follow the shepherd; the
shepherd for food follows not the sheep: thou for
wages followest thy master; thy master for wages
follows not thee: therefore thou art a sheep.
- Speed. Such another proof will make me cry 'baa.'
- Proteus. But, dost thou hear? gavest thou my letter to Julia?
- Speed. Ay sir: I, a lost mutton, gave your letter to her,
a laced mutton, and she, a laced mutton, gave me, a
lost mutton, nothing for my labour.
- Proteus. Here's too small a pasture for such store of muttons.
- Speed. If the ground be overcharged, you were best stick her.
- Proteus. Nay: in that you are astray, 'twere best pound you.
- Speed. Nay, sir, less than a pound shall serve me for
carrying your letter.
- Proteus. You mistake; I mean the pound,—a pinfold.
- Speed. From a pound to a pin? fold it over and over,
'Tis threefold too little for carrying a letter to
- Speed. [First nodding] Ay.
- Speed. You mistook, sir; I say, she did nod: and you ask
me if she did nod; and I say, 'Ay.'
- Proteus. And that set together is noddy.
- Speed. Now you have taken the pains to set it together,
take it for your pains.
- Proteus. No, no; you shall have it for bearing the letter.
- Speed. Well, I perceive I must be fain to bear with you.
- Proteus. Why sir, how do you bear with me?
- Speed. Marry, sir, the letter, very orderly; having nothing
but the word 'noddy' for my pains.
- Proteus. Beshrew me, but you have a quick wit.
- Speed. And yet it cannot overtake your slow purse.
- Proteus. Come come, open the matter in brief: what said she?
- Speed. Open your purse, that the money and the matter may
be both at once delivered.
- Proteus. Well, sir, here is for your pains. What said she?
- Speed. Truly, sir, I think you'll hardly win her.
- Proteus. Why, couldst thou perceive so much from her?
- Speed. Sir, I could perceive nothing at all from her; no,
not so much as a ducat for delivering your letter:
and being so hard to me that brought your mind, I
fear she'll prove as hard to you in telling your
mind. Give her no token but stones; for she's as
hard as steel.
- Speed. No, not so much as 'Take this for thy pains.' To
testify your bounty, I thank you, you have testerned
me; in requital whereof, henceforth carry your
letters yourself: and so, sir, I'll commend you to my master.
- Proteus. Go, go, be gone, to save your ship from wreck,
Which cannot perish having thee aboard,
Being destined to a drier death on shore.
I must go send some better messenger:
I fear my Julia would not deign my lines,
Receiving them from such a worthless post. | <urn:uuid:19e429f9-c997-467f-9dc1-5e44929aa6a6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/play_view.php?WorkID=twogents&Act=1&Scene=1&Scope=scene&LineHighlight=121 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.901437 | 1,900 | 1.882813 | 2 |
CHEEKTOWAGA, NY (WKBW) - To merge or not to merge? That is the question parents are asking in the Town of Cheektowaga where four districts educate more than 7,000 students.
"I think it should be looked at because there should be able to be some cost savings," said taxpayer Beth Flynn.
Cheektowaga Central, Cheektowaga-Maryvale, Cheektowaga-Sloan and Cleveland Hill school districts voted to study the concept, which will not necessarily save taxpayers money, according to experts.
"Well actually there's no evidence that any regionalism and consolidation leads to money-savers," said Dr. Rick Timbs, with the Statewide School Finance Consortium. "Because sometimes what happens is where we save money on what item we may decide to increase opportunities and programs on the other hand."
Dr. Timbs held an informational seminar for parents at Cleveland Hill High School on Monday night when the Cheektowaga Joint School Board met.
But even if taxpayers do not save any money under a merger, some parents and educators say it could expand opportunities for students.
I don't think it's equal that in each of the districts -- Cleve Hill for example has such little tax base compared to some of the other districts," said Flynn.
"Some of the classes at Cheektowaga Central -- some of our children could really use -- some of them when they graduate, going into college," said Cheektowaga-Sloan School Board President Gary Sieczkarek. "Some of ours are getting a little further back because they don't have that opportunity." | <urn:uuid:58b2d4ab-933f-489d-ac18-07993cae8eb1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wkbw.com/video/Cheektowagas-4-School-Districts-Consider-Merger-188781861.html?vid=a | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957526 | 348 | 1.726563 | 2 |
The defence of provocation
In its report on the partial defence of provocation
the Law Commission described the partial defence of provocation:
"Partial defences are only available in homicide cases. They apply in circumstances that, but for the defence, would constitute murder. They result in a lesser conviction, usually for manslaughter. Historically, the rationale for this was to avoid the mandatory sentence for murder (formerly capital punishment, and subsequently life imprisonment) in cases with mitigating circumstances. However, in New Zealand, under the Sentencing Act 2002, a sentence of life imprisonment for murder is no longer mandatory.
"New Zealand’s partial defences include provocation. In relevant part, section 169 of the Crimes Act 1961 defines provocation as follows:
(1) Culpable homicide that would otherwise be murder may be reduced to manslaughter if the person who caused the death did so under provocation.
(2) Anything done or said may be provocation if—
(a) In the circumstances of the case it was sufficient to deprive a person having the power of self-control of an ordinary person, but otherwise having the characteristics of the offender, of the power of self-control; and
(b) It did in fact deprive the offender of the power of self-control and thereby
induced him to commit the act of homicide."
Judicial interpretation of Section 169
The Law Commission pointed out that the use of the word "sufficient" ("the sufficiency test") in Section 169(2)(a) is the "most troublesome" aspect of the provocation defence.
"In broad terms, over the years two approaches have been taken to the interpretation of section 169(2)(a), and the equivalent legislation in the United Kingdom" "The first approach is that the relevance of the offender’s characteristics is limited to their effect on the gravity of the provocation; the self-control exercised in response must be the self-control that would have been demonstrated by an ordinary person in the face of provocation of equivalent gravity. The second approach is that the offender’s characteristics are regarded as relevant in all circumstances, including when they have reduced his or her power of self-control; the objective question for the jury under this
approach is “how much ought society to expect of this accused”? There has been considerable vacillation in the courts in both New Zealand and the United Kingdom as to which approach is preferred.
"The leading authority in New Zealand is R v Rongonui 2 NZLR 385; (2000) 17 CRNZ 310 (CA), in which the majority took the first approach. Their Honours held that jurors are first to assess the gravity of the provocation (actual or perceived) to the particular defendant, taking into account all of his or her characteristics, on an abstract scale from 1 to 10. Having determined the gravity, they must then decide whether a person with ordinary self-control would have lost that self-control in the face of provocation of such gravity. The minority preferred the second approach, holding that the underlying consideration is whether the accused “ought” to have restrained himself or herself. If the effect of a particular characteristic is that the accused cannot exercise ordinary self control, the statute does not require enforcement of that standard. The majority indicated some sympathy for the minority view, but for the wording of the statute; they also repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the present law.
"In England, the equivalent legislation has been considered by the House of Lords or the Privy Council on five occasions between 1978 and 2005, and numerous times by the English Court of Appeal. In R v Smith (Morgan) 1 AC 146; 4 All ER 289 (HL ), the House of Lords divided 3:2 in favour of the second approach (i.e. the approach that had been preferred by the Rongonui minority). However, only a few years later, the Privy Council in Attorney-General for Jersey v Holley UKPC 23 (PC) divided 6:3 in the opposite direction, preferring the first approach (the approach of the Rongonui majority). Like the majority judges in Rongonui, Lord Nicholls writing for the majority in Holley expressed views to the effect that the law is unsatisfactory and beyond rescue by the courts.
"The present position of the English Court of Appeal is that Holley – somewhat unconventionally, given its status as a Privy Council decision pertaining to Jersey – should be taken as the leading authority for the purposes of English law. At present, therefore, the English and New Zealand appellate courts are aligned in their approach to provocation, as is the High Court of Australia. However, historically, provocation has caused considerable and continual difficulty in the courts. The extraordinary number and frequency of appellate decisions, and the lack of consensus apparent in them, illustrates the fraught nature of the defence. History demonstrates that the law is susceptible to change as appellate benches change, and ongoing pressure for change can be expected in New Zealand, because there is considerable dissatisfaction with the present state of the law. One problem is that New Zealand lacks the “companion” defence of diminished responsibility that has done much to persuade English academics and judges that self-control can justly be objectively assessed".
The need for reform
The Law Commission has the view that " ... the volatile nature of the case law clearly indicates a need for either repeal or reform. Not only is it volatile; its practical application is also difficult. As a matter of legal theory, the approach articulated by Tipping J for the majority in Rongonui is impeccably expressed. Nonetheless, we consider that it is debatable whether, in practice, juries are able to apply it. In our view, appellate courts and juries have struggled (and continue to struggle) to come to grips with the provocation defence for one very simple reason: the defence is irretrievably flawed. Some of the flaws are such that the defence does not in fact fulfil its policy purposes"
"First, it purports to be a partial excuse, but arguably does not give effect to the spirit of excuse philosophy (recognition of human frailty), because defendants who through no fault of their own are unable to demonstrate an ordinary facility for self-control are excluded from the scope of the defence.
"Secondly, it envisages a “bifurcation” between a defendant’s perceptions of heightened provocation
gravity, which may be affected by particular characteristics, and their capacity for ordinary self-control, which must be wholly objectively assessed.
"Thirdly, it assumes that there is in fact such a phenomenon as a loss of self-control.
"Fourthly, if the phenomenon of loss of self-control exists, it further assumes that the ordinary person, faced with a severely grave provocation, will in consequence resort to homicidal violence, when in fact it is arguable that only the most extraordinary person does this.
"And finally, the tensions that can be observed in the legal development of the provocation defence can arguably be seen as a response to liberal motives – that is, a desire to meaningfully recognise increasing social diversity. However, in its practical application, we would suggest that the provocation defence backfires in this regard, because of the stereotypical effect of requiring defendants to define their characteristics, and the defence’s bias in favour of the interests of heterosexual men".
"There is one further and final issue, that to our minds is much more fundamental than the legal, conceptual and practical difficulties already canvassed. Section 169 excuses a homicidal loss of self control, in the face of a provocation of such gravity that it would have prompted a person with ordinary self-control to do likewise. The defence is thus open-ended about the precise emotions that might
be driving the defendant; in other words, on its face, provocation is not necessarily confined to an angry loss of self-control, as opposed to one prompted by fear or sympathy. However, anger is the context in which it is commonly understood to operate, and is most frequently used. We would thus argue that the defence puts a premium on anger – and not merely anger, but homicidally violent anger. This, to our minds, is or should be a central issue in considering whether reform is required: out of the range of possible responses to adversity, why is this the sole response that we choose to partially excuse? Ultimately, issues such as the sexist and heterosexist bias of the provocation defence, that are accorded considerable weight in the literature, strike us as relatively immaterial, when weighed against the larger question of how we, as a society, wish to choose to respond to violence.
"Set against all of the problems identified with the partial defence of provocation, and notwithstanding the abolition of the mandatory life sentence in New Zealand, there are said to be some sound reasons to retain it". ... "The same reasons surface repeatedly, throughout the literature and other forums from which we have sought feedback. They are, first, that it would be fundamentally wrong in principle for the criminal law to fail to tangibly recognise a degree of culpability short of murder, and the provocation defence is a desirable mechanism for achieving this. Secondly, a majority of jurisdictions
with which New Zealand typically compares itself still offer a provocation defence. And thirdly, practical problems are thought to be likely to arise when attempting to address provocation at the sentencing stage. It is certainly true that the majority of our fellow jurisdictions still retain a defence of provocation, but the majority of them also still have a mandatory life sentence for murder. While the abolition of provocation does not follow automatically from that change (the partial defence has been retained in the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales, notwithstanding the abolition of the mandatory sentence in both of those states), the weight of opinion in Commonwealth jurisdictions that, like New Zealand, have discretionary sentencing for murder is quite different. Arguments relating to a majority of jurisdictions retaining a partial defence of provocation are misconceived: the appropriate comparator is jurisdictions that have abolished the mandatory sentence for murder.
"We have significant reservations about the argument that a partial defence of provocation is the best mechanism by which to recognise reduced culpability in murder cases. Many of the assertions made in support of this argument in fact tend to implicitly support reform of the partial defence framework to broaden its scope. The argument also turns upon three highly debatable assumptions that a murder conviction carries a unique stigma, relative to a lesser conviction such as manslaughter; that the label “manslaughter”, when attached to a provoked killer, does in fact label that person accurately and fairly, in the light of society’s general understanding of the manslaughter concept; and that the provocation defence is accurately capturing the groups of defendants to whom society would wish to show sympathy.
"In particular, our current terms of reference [for the Law Commission's enquiry] were founded on concerns about the risk of prejudice to mentally ill or impaired persons arising from provocation’s repeal. We have not found any basis for such concerns. The theory, now widely accepted in almost all jurisdictions, is that provocation is a partial defence for those who are in a broad sense mentally normal; diminished responsibility (which does not exist in New Zealand) would be the appropriate defence for the mentally ill or impaired. The practical effect of this is to limit the extent to which section 169 benefits mentally ill or impaired persons. This conclusion is borne out by reviews of case law. Furthermore, it may be that reliance upon the provocation defence is in fact disadvantaging mentally ill or impaired defendants, because of the disjunction between legal and psychiatric considerations. Provocation requires a binary approach – the defendant is either convicted of murder or of manslaughter – and if they are convicted of murder, the judge is likely to be constrained in his or her ability to take account of the alleged provocation on sentence. By contrast, the sentencing forum permits a more rounded consideration of the issues, unhampered by the legal definition of
provocation, including the extent to which mitigation may be appropriate by reason of mental impairment.
"The English Law Commission has recently considered these issues in two reports: Partial Defences to Murder (No 290, 2004) and Murder, Manslaughter and Infanticide (No 304, 2006). It concluded that partial defences should be retained as long as the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment for murder is also retained. Reconsideration of the mandatory sentence had been excluded from the Commission’s terms of reference. It was thus considering the issues in a quite different context from New Zealand’s, in which the mandatory life sentence was abolished in 2002. However, in every other respect, their thinking bears considerable similarity to our own. In particular, the Commission concluded that any argument for the retention of partial defences that is based on fair labelling (i.e. avoiding the label “murderer” for less culpable killers) is of secondary importance compared to the sentence mitigation principle; and that under its new proposed structure, those who succeed with a partial defence should be convicted of second degree murder rather than manslaughter.
The recommendation of the Law Commission to abolish the partial defence of provocation
"Given the level of support that we identified for partial defences as a mechanism for recognising reduced culpability, we considered the merits of the various ways in which this might be achieved.
The options are: a redrafted partial defence of provocation; a smorgasbord of partial defences; a generic partial defence; degrees of murder; and culpable homicide".
"Ultimately, we do not consider any of them viable, and consequently do not recommend any of them; our preferred option is instead for judges to deal with provocation issues on sentence, aided by a sentencing guideline.
"We recommend that the partial defence of provocation should be abolished in New Zealand by repealing section 169 of the Crimes Act 1961; the defendants who would otherwise have relied upon that partial defence should be convicted of murder; and evidence of alleged provocation in the circumstances of their particular case should be weighed with other aggravating and mitigating factors
as part of the sentencing exercise.
"There are some issues around sentencing that will need to be considered and addressed if section 169 is repealed and provocation removed to the sentencing arena".. . "Sentencing guidelines may assist in this regard". | <urn:uuid:30979f9b-f4d4-4ecf-a513-1f32b1379b41> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.parliament.nz/mi-NZ/PB/Legislation/Bills/BillsDigests/8/1/8/49PLLawBD17041-Crimes-Provocation-Repeal-Amendment-Bill-2009-Bills.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959788 | 2,912 | 1.984375 | 2 |
Germany is a country that, generally speaking, enjoys aspects of American life- or things that are perceived to be American. American culture is very popular, such as books, movies, TV shows or music. Wal-Mart expanded to Germany in 1997, thinking that Germany with its big economy and large population would be an easy market to conquer. In 2006 Wal-Mart gave up and left Germany, the company lost about 1 billion Dollars in the process. What happened?
Do Germans not like discounters? Do they prefer small neighborhood grocery stores? No, that was not the problem. In fact, grocery costs in Germany are about 40% lower than they are in France or Great Britain. However, at the time Wal-Mart tried to enter the market Germany already had a large number of well-established grocery store chains, among them Aldi (which also operates in the US and owns Trader Joe’s) , Lidl and Real. That means competition for low prices is though - profit margins are slim. Germany also has much stricter laws protecting workers and the cost for labor is higher. That meant that Wal-Mart could not translate the US concept entirely to Germany because they had to abide to the worker protection laws. It also meant that employing people just to bag groceries was very expensive.
Another aspect that caused the defeat of Wal-Mart in Germany was the company’s ignorance towards cultural differences. In German supermarkets you have to bag your own groceries (labor is more expensive in Germany, labor laws are stricter). Most people also bring their own bags and stores charge you if you need plastic or paper bags. Wal-Mart still insisted on employing people to bag customer’s purchases, a practice that many Germans did not like. Customers were also irritated by the “overly-friendly” Wal-Mart employees. They were instructed to act the way a Wal-Mart employee would act in the USA.-smiling and asking customers “How are you?”. Germans are used to the cashier at the check-out not being all smiles and when someone asks you how you are in Germany the person generally really wants to know how you are. Wal-Mart also tried to ban their employees from dating co-workers, which caused an outrage in Germany and led to an employee lawsuit, which Wal-Mart lost. The company also ignored simple things, for example, they tried to sell American-size pillows in Germany, were pillows are a different size, and so nobody bought pillows at Wal-Mart.
Wal-Marts complete failure in Germany illustrates how important cultural sensitivity is. Just because something works well in one country does not mean it will work in another, even if the countries might seem similar at first glance. | <urn:uuid:15c51f20-ba1d-48bf-a967-640a0bbc461c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thinktransatlantic4.com/2012/04/americanization-of-germany-wal-mart_10.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983674 | 560 | 2.5625 | 3 |
What we do value most or better yet, what we are passionate about largely depends on our core values. Once we understand our own core values and those of others, it becomes much easier to achieve results we seek, achieve success that we feel good about. Then the path to create those results also becomes clearer, whether this may be for personal or business achievement.
More often than not we make choices without thinking about them. What are your most important values? Whether we aware of it or not, whether we accept it or not, it is our core values that define our preferences, thus what we value most and to what degree; to the point of being very passionate about it. Clarity on your core values is an essential leadership skill for direction and to achieve sound sustainable success.
Even when it comes to, for instance, determining the value of a tangible item such as a car, a house, or a piece of jewelry, there could be as many opinions as there are people in the world. In the case of something intangible such as developing a new service, creating a software application, or a vision for an organization, it could be much more subjective than that. This is because we each have our own set of values through which we perceive the same exact things and what it means to us at any one time. This is the second fundamental cause of all obstructions towards achieving success, in particular, achieving commonly shared success, the alignment of values into shared values.
Through our values we make our decisions and it is what carries a person, an organization, or community to greatness or mediocrity. It is what influences our buying decision to get that new car we want, or that nice jewelry for a loved one; or, to buy-in or not to buy-in into an idea.
Although in the end, we do make our own choices, we do certainly also get help. One way this happens is well illustrated in the following presentation delivered through TED.com, where Rory Sutherland, “makes the daring assertion that a change in perceived value can be just as satisfying as what we consider ‘real’ value — and his conclusion has interesting consequences for how we look at life.”
What do you value most? Once this is clear, it is much easier to build, create, buy, and go after what we are most passionate about and reach the results that we seek. Here is a perspective that points to one possible starting point to answer that question:
“Out of love making and birth; so chaotic, messy, with vast improbable possibilities; comes such a one and only miracle that is, U!”
If we value our own most inner essence, we are most likely grounded in valuing other aspects of our lives in a way that allows us to make the choices and achieve more sustainable success, which makes us feel good.
So, to more effectively get the results that really matter to you or your organization and that really makes a lasting difference:
- Clearly define and communicate the values that you seek. In the case of an organization, ensure that these values are also commonly shared through a consensus building dialog process such as Open Space Technology (OST).
- Then map out a path to align to and meet those values.
- Get the resources necessary.
- Then take action, guided by these core values.
After all, achieving results that makes us feel good is an important aspect of what matters most to us. That provides us with the inspiration and enough passion for the next challenge. | <urn:uuid:59bef50b-2096-43f5-af29-f9890e59bfa4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.stargue.com/en/blog/tag/perception/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951005 | 719 | 2.3125 | 2 |
Research group New Carbon Finance came out with a report today suggesting that the cap and trade policies in Europe are indeed helping to limit pollution. Total carbon output sank 3% in 2008 as compared to 2007 in European nations partaking in the carbon trading scheme.
While the global recession is cutting output, and thus reducing carbon output, their research suggests that carbon pricing policies are responsible for 40% of the fall in carbon output. The recession accounts for 30% of the fall.
New Carbon Finance chalks the decrease up to a shift in energy sources on the continent. Total electricity usage rose .3%, while emission from power sources dropped 2%. An increase in the use of natural gas, as well as slight lifts in wind, hydroelectric and nuclear power use, all contributed to lowering carbon output.
For this reason, New Carbon Finance contends that "the design of the scheme is working
as originally intended by the European Union."
(via Green Inc.) | <urn:uuid:7fcc7324-ad63-46c9-b7f3-4537685d6853> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.businessinsider.com/not-just-the-recession-carbon-caps-keeping-emissions-low-too-2009-2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914271 | 192 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Home detention may be imposed as a condition of probation or supervised release, but only as a substitute for imprisonment.
1. "Home detention" means a program of confinement and supervision that restricts the defendant to his place of residence continuously, except for authorized absences, enforced by appropriate means of surveillance by the probation office. When an order of home detention is imposed, the defendant is required to be in his place of residence at all times except for approved absences for gainful employment, community service, religious services, medical care, educational or training programs, and such other times as may be specifically authorized. Electronic monitoring is an appropriate means of surveillance and ordinarily should be used in connection with home detention. However, alternative means of surveillance may be used so long as they are as effective as electronic monitoring.
2. The court may impose other conditions of probation or supervised release appropriate to effectuate home detention. If the court concludes that the amenities available in the residence of a defendant would cause home detention not to be sufficiently punitive, the court may limit the amenities available.
3. The defendant’s place of residence, for purposes of home detention, need not be the place where the defendant previously resided. It may be any place of residence, so long as the owner of the residence (and any other person(s) from whom consent is necessary) agrees to any conditions that may be imposed by the court, e.g., conditions that a monitoring system be installed, that there will be no "call forwarding" or "call waiting" services, or that there will be no cordless telephones or answering machines.
Background: The Commission has concluded that the surveillance necessary for effective use of home detention ordinarily requires electronic monitoring. However, in some cases home detention may effectively be enforced without electronic monitoring, e.g., when the defendant is physically incapacitated, or where some other effective means of surveillance is available. Accordingly, the Commission has not required that electronic monitoring be a necessary condition for home detention. Nevertheless, before ordering home detention without electronic monitoring, the court should be confident that an alternative form of surveillance will be equally effective.
In the usual case, the Commission assumes that a condition requiring that the defendant seek and maintain gainful employment will be imposed when home detention is ordered. | <urn:uuid:8a6d8615-8036-4e43-8d56-439806a3360a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ussc.gov/Guidelines/2006_guidelines/Manual/5f1_2.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938135 | 461 | 2.03125 | 2 |
VERY RARE ITEM -- OREGON BOOT prison shackle patented in 1876 & used by the old west prisons, marshals, & sheriffs....... OREGON BOOT comes complete with its DONUT, STIRUP, SHOE, KEY & even a nice wood display & carrying case..... THIS - OREGON BOOT has been pictured & featured in several mags & booklets over the years..... no cowboy, prison, or restraint collection is complete WITHOUT an OREGON BOOT & in most collections, the OREGON BOOT would be considered the center piece !!! - eBay (Ends 28 June 09)
This Oregon Boot has an opening bid of $3,950 and a 'Buy-it-Now' price of $4,500 (Plus $35 Shipping). No telling when the next one will come around...
Here are some more details about the Oregon Boot:
A Brief History of the Oregon Boot
The Oregon Boot, or Gardner Shackle as it was properly known, was patented July 3, 1866 by , then Oregon State Penitentiary Warden, J.C. Gardner. The shackles were manufactured at the Penitentiary by prisoners.
Each shackle consisted of a heavy iron band that locked around one ankle. This iron band was supported by another iron ring and braces which attached to the heel of a boot. These shackles weighed between 5 and 28 pounds apiece.
The Boot was placed on one leg only. This kept the inmate off balance and deprived him of agility.
At the time the Oregon Boot was invented, the territorial Prison and later the Penitentiary had an enormous escape problem. Mr. Gardner and subsequent wardens felt that the inmate population could not be adequately controlled without using the Gardner Shackle on each and every prisoner.
When Gardner was replaced as the warden, he obtained a court order preventing the use of the shackle without payment to him. The Oregon Legislature did authorize the payment of funds to Gardner that same year.
Wearing the shackle for extended periods of time caused extreme physical damage. Inmates would be bedridden for weeks at a time in extreme pain. The Gardner Shackle became known as a man-killer to the prisoners who wore them.
In 1878 Superintendent Chadwick discontinued the use of the shackle on a full time basis. Chadwick still used the shackle for disciplinary purposes. Virtually all counties and municipalities shackled their inmates when transporting them.
It isn´t known when the last time the Oregon Boot was used. As late as 1939 a prisoner was "ironed out" in Mill City, Oregon so that he could be transported to the Penitentiary. - Oregon.Gov | <urn:uuid:f5a47fc1-e9e4-40e7-adcc-da098d557227> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://restraintsblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/oregon-boot-for-sale.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954362 | 554 | 2.453125 | 2 |
Sample from Main Screen
Please remember that
many of these have video so you may not be able to see the entire
sequence. The key words are illustrated with photos and video
in the "Words" section.
| Students hear a main sentence accompanied
by a photo or short video clip. They are then challenged by a
wide variety of activities (correlated to CASAS) that build upon
the basic sentence, including: a picture glossary, related questions
and answers, and sentence reconstruction (cloze). A "speak"
feature allows students to say the sentences, questions, answers,
and vocabulary items, play them back, and compare their pronunciation
to the model voice.
This site is under construction. I will add screen
shots, scripts, activities, and handouts from workshops. The
community of teachers using Sound Sentences are welcome to add
Please send an email | <urn:uuid:979b84f1-79f8-4d43-b151-4914874b3657> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.createdimage.com/esl/SoundSentences/3.ny.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.916634 | 186 | 3.09375 | 3 |
According to a report from China’s official news agency Xinhua, “thousands of dolphins” recently prevented an attack on Chinese merchant ships by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden. Xinhua’s Web site published the photograph above, and three others, which first appeared on the Web site of China Radio International on Monday.
It has to be said that none of the photographs actually shows the boats said to contain Somali pirates being blocked by the dolphins, but Xinhua reported news of the dolphin intervention as fact. Xinhua’s English-language report, about a group of merchant ships escorted through the dangerous waters by vessels from the Chinese navy, contains some translation errors, but describes the efforts of the newest members of the anti-piracy coalition in glowing, even poetic, detail:
The Chinese merchant ships escorted by a China’s fleet sailed on the Gulf of Aden when they met some suspected pirate ships. Thousands of dolphins suddenly leaped out of water between pirates and merchants when the pirate ships headed for the China’s.
The suspected pirates ships stopped and then turned away. The pirates could only lament their littleness befor the vast number of dolphins. The spectacular scene continued for a while.
Xinhua does not suggest that the cetacean force may have been part of a classified military program, but given that we know that the United States military has at least tried to train dolphins to work for the government, The Lede is not yet willing to rule out the possibility.
In 1989 Timothy Egan, who now blogs for The Times, reported in the newspaper that the United States Navy was working on a plan to use dolphins to guard a nuclear submarine base and had already spent millions of dollars on training, though there had been some problems:
As part of a top-secret program expanded in the Reagan administration, the Navy has spent nearly $30 million in the last four years trying to put the highly intelligent marine mammals to military use. [...]
Critics question the ethics of using what is seen as a benign creature for military tasks and charge that dolphins, known to be independent and unpredictable, are not reliable guardians. [...]
Navy officials admit that dolphins and sea lions, which are also being trained for military use, have occasionally been absent without leave or have refused to obey orders.
While that Dr. Evil-like plan was officially abandoned in 1991 because of budget cuts after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and former dolphin members of the Soviet Navy were reportedly finding new lines of work in 1997, there were reports in the wake of Hurricane Katrina that, as the Guardian suggested in 2005: “Armed dolphins, trained by the U.S. military to shoot terrorists and pinpoint spies underwater, may be missing in the Gulf of Mexico.” The Guardian report cited concerns that the dolphins may have been trained “to shoot at divers in wetsuits who have simulated terrorists in exercises,” and added, not so reassuringly, that “the U.S. navy admits it has been training dolphins for military purposes, but has refused to confirm that any are missing.” | <urn:uuid:2c43ad0b-66f0-47bd-bcba-b445c46c05ba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/15/china-reports-dolphins-foiled-pirate-attack/?hp&apage=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96907 | 639 | 2.421875 | 2 |
Are you aware of your thyroid? I'm not. I couldn't even tell you where it is exactly.
SinceJanuary isapparently thyroid awareness month, (can you believe we almost missed it?!) I thought we could find out together. The Healthy Women website states that the thyroid gland is at the base of your neck, just below the voicebox or larynx. (They say it's butterfly-shaped. Lovely!)The thyroidproduces hormones that impact the body's metabolism, among other things.
Why does this matter to women with postpartum depression? Because, as Dr. Shoshanna Bennett explains in Postpartum Depression for Dummies:
"About 10 percent of new moms develop postpartum thyroiditis, which means that the postpartum gland is inflamed. This condition can result in temporary hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid) or hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid). Some of the symptoms of hyperthyroidism are weight loss, anxiety, panic attacks and insomnia. Symptoms of hypothyroidism are tiredness, depression, weight gain and loss of memory … If[a new mom's]depressed due to a thyroid imbalance, all the antidepressants and therapy in the world wouldn't fix it."
I was never given a thyroid test, so I won't ever know whether it could have contributed to my symptoms. Odds are it didn't, becauseonly very few women who present with postpartum depression symptoms actually have postpartum thyroiditis. As Dr. Ruta Nonacs writes in A Deeper Shade of Blue, "… it appears that only a small number of cases of postpartum depression can be attributed to thyroid dysfuntion." The American College of Endocrinology also reports that it's pretty rare.
Nonacsdoes go on to say, though, as does Bennett, that it would be a good idea for doctors to screen women who have depressive symptoms during pregnancy or postpartum for thyroiditis. Makes sense to me.
Interestingly, nowhere in Healthy Women's downloadable brochure "Fast Facts for Your Health: Thyroid Disease & Women" does it mention that a poorly functioning thyroid can lead to symptoms that mimic postpartum depression. I also checked WomensHealth.gov. They mention postpartum thyroiditis, but never mention the fact that ithas the potential tobe misdiagnosed as postpartum depression. I know it's rare, which is probably why they don't mention it. But for those few, it seems to me it would be wrong to put them on antidepressant meds or some other such thing if that's not what they need at all.
Anyway, wish your thyroid a happy celebration month. I wonder what flavor of cake Thyroid would like …
P.S. Be sure to read the comments below fromsome moms who had both postpartum thyroiditis and postpartum depression. They share what happened to them. Thanks ladies! | <urn:uuid:c2bff030-44f3-46ae-a6cf-17cf938dd9ce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.postpartumprogress.com/is-your-thyroid-making-you-depressed | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956406 | 603 | 2.28125 | 2 |
Why the color Purple?
Many years ago a friend introduced me to the color Purple. I was impressed by the power behind the color. At the time I was teaching students with learning disabilities and needed a way to convey the importance of inner strength and commitment to promote learning success.
Today, all of my present and former students K-5 are proud to be members of the
If you are a member of the Purple Power Club:
You are imaginative, sensitive, artistic and sophisticated.
You have noble ideals and a keen appreciation of the cultural.
You are alert, demanding, foresighted, confident, resourceful, spontaneous and highly independent.
You take delight in the beautiful,the gracious, the sensitive, but maintain an attitude of critical appraisal.
You are active in the support of things you believe in, and are concerned with the pursuit of truth and other human values.
You take chances and believe that you must do so to make the most of what life has to offer.
Purple is an exclusive color, mystical in quality, blending the two extremes of the spectrum, red & blue.
Purple represents splendor, dignity, royalty, rank & wealth.
Purple is a unique color, and it is a truly unique individual who holds it dear. | <urn:uuid:2389850e-2a52-4f84-91b2-b52405a27f10> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.teachpurple.com/home.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943537 | 261 | 2.25 | 2 |
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Possible Link Between Childhood Separation Anxiety and Adulthood Personality Disorder in Patients With Anxiety Disorders in Japan
Akira Osone, M.D., and Saburo Takahashi, M.D.
Objective: The aim of this study was to examine whether childhood separation anxiety symptoms associate with adulthood anxiety disorders or personality disorders.
Method: Separation Anxiety Symptom Inventory (SASI), Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis II Personality Disorders (SCID-II), and Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) were administered to 134 outpatients with anxiety disorders and SASI was administered to 176 healthy volunteers (controls) recruited in Japan from April 1999 through November 2003.
Results: SASI scores were not correlated with age or sex in controls. In contrast, SASI scores were higher in patients with anxiety disorders than in controls, especially in women. SASI showed good test-retest reliability (Pearson correlation coefficient = 0.8). One hundred thirteen patients (84.3%) had no comorbid anxiety disorder while 21 (15.7%) had any, and those with comorbid anxiety disorder tended to show higher SASI scores (p = .053). In total, 60 (44.8%) of 134 patients had at least 1 personality disorder, and the most frequent disorders were from cluster C (36.6%). The subgroup with comorbid personality disorders showed earlier onset (p < .01), higher SASI scores (p < .01), and poorer recovery of global functioning (p < .05) than the noncomorbid subgroup. Stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that SASI scores were higher in female (p < .05) and younger (p < .01) patients and most strongly correlated with number of comorbid personality disorders in adulthood (p < .01).
Conclusion: These results suggest that there is a continuum of anxiety disorders from childhood to adulthood, the severity of separation anxiety appears to increase the risk of severe anxious-fearful personality disorders in adulthood, and those with severe separation anxiety, particularly females, may progress to suffer from comorbid adult anxiety disorders.
(J Clin Psychiatry 2006;67:1451-1457)
Received Feb. 13, 2006; accepted May 18, 2006. From the Department of Psychiatry, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo (Dr. Osone); and Saitama Kounan Hospital, Saitama (Dr. Takahashi), Japan.
Drs. Osone and Takahashi report no financial affiliations or other relationships relevant to the subject of this article.
Corresponding author and reprints: Akira Osone, M.D., Department of Psychiatry, Tokyo Women's Medical University, 8-1 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8666, Japan (e-mail: [email protected]). | <urn:uuid:b7b3b353-beee-4e81-bbf0-eb907e939bcd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.psychiatrist.com/abstracts/200609/090617.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910781 | 642 | 1.78125 | 2 |
As I sit here and reflect back, I remember my youth. I am surprised at how rebellious and disobedient I was, and often still can be: not just to my parents back then, but more importantly to God, my Heavenly Father, today. If someone today was to tell me, "You practice witchcraft," needless to say I would be very offended. I'd say, "NO WAY!" But let's see what God says about rebellion in his Word, the Bible:
1st Samuel 15:23: "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft (divination), and stubborness is as iniquity and idolatry."
WOW! Even though God was speaking through Samuel to Saul, those words still ring true to us all today. Don't think for a minute that the word "rebellion" had a different meaning in that scripture quote than it does today. As the Spirit enlightens me on this concept, I'm able to draw several spiritual analogies concerning myself as a rebellious youth, a donkey's colt, and a Ford Mustang (Colt). My Webster's Dictionary defines the word colt as: "A wild, untamed mustang or young donkey's colt." The world today seems to be filled with all kinds of "rebellious colts": not just the four-legged kind but the two-legged, young and old, human kind.
I can think of a little story concerning another fictional type of "Rebellious Mustang (Colt)." The colt in this story doesn't have four legs but four tires.
I know where there is an old Ford Mustang (Colt) that is waiting to be restored or recreated, if you will. One day my parent will recreate that old rusty thing into a new creation, one of true beauty. Let's pretend for a moment, that he has already done so. How proud he would be of all his hard work and labor. It is the day of the first test drive. Just imagine his reaction when he sits behind the wheel and turns the car on, only to find out that something is wrong. When he pushes on the gas for the car to go, it stops! When he pushes on the brake to stop, it goes! When he tries to turn the car right, it goes the wrong way. It seems that the creation (the car) might believe that even though it was created by the Ford Motor Company, it has no faith or belief in the one that created it for his purpose. It has no will to obey its creator. It strives to exercise its own self will. If one didn't know better, they'd think that the car was possessed, or under spell of, what - witchcraft? Certainly its creator would not tolerate that rebellion.
Now we know that in real life, cars do not and cannot act that way. But we, as God's creations, can and often do. God desires us to obey him, but he directs us to go and we stop. He wants us to go the right way and we go the wrong way instead. Like that Rebellious Mustang (Colt), we were created for a purpose, too.
John 1:3 "All things were created by him (the Word, that is, God or Christ); and without him was not anything made that was made."
John 1:10 "He (the Word - God, made flesh - Christ) was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not."
Hebrews 1:2 "(God) hath in these last days spoken unto us by his son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made (created) the worlds (ages)."
Colossians 1:18 "For by him (Jesus Christ) were all things created that are in heaven and are in (on) the earth, visible and invisible....all things were created by him and for him."
Revelation 4:11 "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."
Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose."
The vessel was marred - its usefulness thought lost.
Shattered and broken, its beauty was sin's cost.
But hope still remained - just one tiny ray,
For at the feet of the Master Potter Creator it lay.
He knelt and picked up each little piece.
Compassionate, tender- his touch brought such peace,
And hope that, although there would be much pain,
All would be well and whole again.
The Master Potter Creator remade, with love and with skill,
A vessel of great value, for his purpose and will.
Though shattered and broken, cast down in defeat,
There's hope for broken vessels at the Master Potter Creator's feet.
If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
Resist verbally complaining and boring others with your troubles;
If you can eat the same food everyday and be grateful for it,
And understand when your loved ones are too busy to give any time;
If you can take criticism without blame or resentment,
Ignore a friend's mistakes and never correct them;
If you can always treat your rich and poor friends the same;
If you can face the world without telling lies and deceit,
And conquer tension without medical help;
If you can honestly say deep in your heart that you have no prejudice
Against creed, color, religion, or politics;
Then, my friend, you are almost as good as your pet!
Written by Bob Hudson
In the sight of the Lord.
In the sight of the Lord;
And He shall lift you up
Higher and higher,
And He shall lift you up. | <urn:uuid:a4710fe3-7329-4e67-bb2f-3daf0d8d6ab8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.angelfire.com/journal/unbound/GREGORY/bgmay00.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980342 | 1,228 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Jonathan Granoff, Global Security Institute
Jonathan Granoff is currently the president of the Global Security Institute, an international organization dedicated to nuclear disarmament. As a lawyer and international advocate, he has been a vocal opponent of nuclear proliferation, serving on the advisory boards of the NGO Committee on Disarmament at the United Nations and the Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy as well as being the UN Representative of the Lawyer's Alliance for World Security.
Mr. Granoff is also the author of over 50 publications on the moral, ethical and legal implications of nuclear weapons. As a peace activist, he has represented the International Peace Bureau at the annual Nobel Peace Laureate Summit since 2002.
1. What are your current priorities in your work as the president of the Global Security Institute?
Convince the governments of nuclear weapons states and nuclear weapons capable states to begin the preliminary process of negotiating a legally enforceable universal non discriminatory ban of nuclear weapons by either a treaty or framework of legal instruments. By such action many threat reducing non proliferation efforts will be enhanced and the political currency of these horrific devices reduced dramatically.
2. Will economic austerity in Europe and the United States have a detrimental effect on global security?
Of course. When people are afraid for their future well being their capacity for thinking in a manner that understands the perspective of those different than themselves diminishes. Fear diminishes compassion. Security enhances human sensitivities toward others and if there is quality needed to advance global security it is trust. The psychological dimensions of economic insecurity are enomously important.
3. What is the greatest challenge to transatlantic security today?
A distorted myopic interpretation of state interest and the pursuit of state security to the detriment of human security. The challenges of protecting the climate, the oceans and the rainsforests require new levels of cooperation and a new attitude toward economic growth that places harmony with the natural world as a critical imperative. This will require changes in our economic theories and must be done globally to succeed. Nationalistic perspectives on these global realities is a challenge we must overcome.
4. What advice would you give to students interested in pursuing a career international relations?
Travel, listen to people different than yourself, and listen with an open heart. | <urn:uuid:74bc9c8e-11aa-4b16-afd4-5f3f0c57e06c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://archive.atlantic-community.org/index/Global_Must_Read_Article/Jonathan_Granoff,_Global_Security_Institute_ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933241 | 451 | 1.765625 | 2 |
The other day in a conversation about social media, its influence and is it worth measuring. As part of that conversation the collective came up with the term “Talkonomics”. So here is my attempt at a definition.
“Talkonomics” – the study and measurement of conversations in social media.
And in a business context you could add,
“Talkonomics” – the study and measurement of engagements (mentions and interactions) with groups or brands.
What do you think? Any other definitions? | <urn:uuid:76a7e5b3-da46-4b5c-a19c-bcd9a3d20479> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.adrianland.co.uk/business/business-jargon-politics/talkonomics/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00068-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.924284 | 112 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Known as the 568 Presidents' Working Group, the two-year-old organization seeks technical improvements in need analysis that will bring greater clarity, simplicity and fairness to the process of assessing each family's ability to pay for college.
The group's name is derived from Section 568 of the Improving America's Schools Act of 1994, which permits institutions practicing need-blind admission to establish common principles of financial aid. Among the group's members are Cornell, Duke, Yale and Stanford universities, the universities of Notre Dame and Pennsylvania, and Amherst, Dartmouth, Middlebury and Wellesley colleges.
"We are honored to be a member of this group," said Academic Vice President and Dean of Faculties John Neuhauser. "This is a tremendous opportunity for us to work on the public policy issues involved in financial aid."
Earlier this month, the group announced an agreement on new guidelines for determining who is eligible for financial aid. The guidelines, bucking a current trend in which aid is awarded to the most desirable students rather than just the neediest, are likely to result in larger scholarships, with increases of several hundred dollars to more than $1,500 for many students. All of the institutions agreed that they would not reduce their total aid, although some students might receive less.
The 568 Group guidelines, which are expected to take a year or more to implement, call for institutions to consider the higher cost of living in cities such as New York, San Francisco and Washington, DC, and to make allowances for parents who are not covered in retirement programs.
Under the guidelines, colleges and universities will not expect families to contribute a larger share of money in tax-advantaged college savings accounts than they do of other family assets. Institutions will consider only home equity that does not exceed 2.4 times the family income, thereby protecting moderate-income families who have seen their home values increase dramatically. In cases of prospective students whose parents are divorced or separated, universities will try to learn more about the financial status of parents and stepparents but include only two - rather than three or four - when figuring a student's ability to pay.
Administrators in the 568 Group said that while some institutions already use these approaches, the guidelines would bring greater consistency among financial aid offers.
Return to July 26 menu
to Chronicle home page | <urn:uuid:26ebb5cb-0e57-4827-b5ff-6c47d5ff3464> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/rvp/pubaf/chronicle/v9/jl26/568group.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00045-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958064 | 478 | 1.9375 | 2 |
By Maan al-Biyari
Translated By Maggie Proctor
28 January 2013
Edited by Daye Lee
Jordan - Addustour - Original Article (Arabic)
Hillary Clinton, age 65, obeyed her doctors and removed her contact lenses to wear the prescription glasses she appeared with after she left the hospital, where she was treated for a blood clot in her brain. Some think these are special glasses to treat "double vision.” The blonde Secretary of State wore glasses through several stages of her youth — from her secondary studies in Illinois when she was a fervent right-wing, conservative Republican, to her arrival in Washington and her studies at Yale University, where she met classmate Bill Clinton and became a fervent liberal Democrat. But saying that the American State Department can see well does not mean that its calculations are based on clear perceptions. It is possible, on rare occasions, that wild speculations proffered in casual discussions happen to approach the truth. Hillary didn’t avoid giving answers in her most recent hearing before Congress last Wednesday. She said that the leaders who took power in North Africa during the Arab Spring “have no experience with democracy, they don’t have any real experience among the leaders in running countries and doing security.” [http://freebeacon.com/six-key-takeaways-from-hillary-clintons-benghazi-hearings/] In this, she points out that the Arab revolutions disturbed the established power dynamics and led to a security vacuum as well as to the rise of extremism. Her diagnosis does not unequivocally mean her position is opposed to the path the Arabs have taken in their nascent revolutions.
Mrs. Clinton’s speech was additional evidence of the U.S.’s lack of enthusiasm towards favoring — as she had previously promised — other Arab countries, but the important part in this is that she showed the persistence requires to rise up and conquer her illness. Regardless of whether she seemed to have lost weight or appeared uncertain when she replied to Sen. John McCain, she still confirmed her need for a good public image. When the senator accused the Obama administration of misleading Americans about the killing of the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Hillary acknowledged this event with courage and took responsibility for it.
We don’t recall any uncertainty in Madam Clinton during the storm around the discovery of the relationship between her husband — then-President of the United States Bill Clinton — and Miss Monica Lewinsky in the White House. Instead, the First Lady was said to be composed throughout and did not ask for a divorce, which would have served her interests. Ambitious and intelligent since adolescence, at the time of the scandal she had her eye on making Bill Clinton the First Husband. When she later lost the Democratic presidential nomination, Obama knew how to invest the potential of his opponent and she became the Secretary of State for the next four years, visiting over 110 countries and traveling more than a million miles.
This elegant American woman will be absent from our screens. It was rare for her appearance to cause frustration or tension — remember Albright and Condoleezza Rice? — given the fundamental fact that the U.S.’s commitment to Israel’s security is rock solid. This old lawyer will leave diplomatic leadership behind and perhaps she may recover from her double vision, but she might still surprise us in another prestigious position, be it American or international. It is rumored that Obama is considering nominating her to the post of Secretary-General of the United Nations. Others say she might try to run for president a second time. We leave her here after a long acquaintance, burdened with the failures of the U.S. perspective in other issues that concern us — the Arabs and the Third World — and the activities surrounding them. We do not associate Mrs. Clinton with any significant impact. Farewell none the less.
CLICK HERE FOR | <urn:uuid:e1b8e104-a83f-486c-a878-08050599bbd9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://watchingamerica.com/News/193775/farewell-hillary/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967032 | 803 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Question: What do you hope to accomplish by applying physics to cancer research?
Paul Davies: A couple of years ago I had a call from the deputy director at the National Cancer Institute, Anna Barker, with an amazing proposal. She said "Well, we’re spending billions of dollars worth of taxpayer’s money on the famous war on cancer and most of this is going to cancer biologists, oncologists, geneticists following sort of the well trodden path that those very brilliant people have trodden and they’ve accumulated a vast, vast amount of information. Here is a subject about which an enormous amount is known, but unfortunately very little is understood." And so she had this very bold proposal that maybe physicists and physical scientists generally, including mathematicians and chemists and so on might be able to lend a hand, not by giving the cancer biologists a new death ray, but by lending some of the concepts in, say, fundamental physics to the problem of cancer. Physicists think about the world in a very particular way. They go about solving problems in a certain manner. The whole culture of physics is really very different from that, biology, so maybe physicists have got something to contribute. Now this is obviously a bold venture, but as a consequence of two or three workshops exploring that possibility the National Cancer Institute announced about a year ago that they will be funding 12 centers around the country and Arizona State University has one and I’m principle investigator. There are about 12 people on my team, a similar number in the other centers, and it is early days yet, but it’s an experimental as well as a theoretical program.
Because I’m completely new to the field I’m having
very fast. My own contribution is
in running workshops, brainstorming workshops questioning the hidden
assumptions that go into our current folklore understanding of cancer. If you open a textbook or talk to an
oncologist you will be taught all sorts of things about the nature of
stuff which may be true, but it may not be true, and it’s always good in
science to say "Well how do you know that?" and "Are you really sure?"
there be an exceptional case?" And so my job really is, I call it
grandly a "cancer
forum." I run a cancer forum in
which I bring together from time to time about 20 people from different
and we’ll pick a particular subject.
The next one is applying evolutionary mathematics to cancer and
focus on that and we’ll really try and come up with a totally new way of
thinking and hopefully with a new research agenda. It’s
all about coming up with new ideas, but we’ve got to be
able to test those ideas in the lab or at least with computational
see if we can move forward, so what we’re aiming for is the big
the penicillin moment, which cancer research has never had. If you look at the mortality rate from
cancer it has largely unchanged in 40 years whereas almost all other
have had enormous success and so there hasn’t been that really major
breakthrough, that now we’ve nailed it type of moment where the cancer
tackled to make a really dramatic difference in the mortality rate. There are one or two cancers that have
been cleared up. Childhood
leukemia, has been huge success there, but you know it’s odds and ends. The overall picture of the major
killers, breast cancer, lung cancer, stomach cancer, and so on, the
there are really pretty dreadful and I think all of us working in this
feel that if we can make a contribution by coming up with a genuinely
tackle the problem in a completely different way, then this could be
have really waited a long time for, which is that big breakthrough that
going to maybe halve that mortality rate.
That’s my ambition.
Recorded April 15, 2010
Interviewed by Austin Allen | <urn:uuid:9cbdc9b0-a6e7-4e2e-b6e0-65422460d861> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bigthink.com/videos/could-physics-cure-cancer | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953668 | 836 | 2.453125 | 2 |
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