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Printable Version Pronunciation: e-vê-nes-ênt Hear it!
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Fleeting, dissipating softly, tending to evaporate or simply disappear softly into thin air.
Notes: Today's Good Word is the daughter of the verb evanesce and the mother of the noun evanescence. Objects in a fog tend to come in and out of view evanescently, the adverb. There is a softness in the sense of evanescent that enhances the beauty of its sound.
In Play: Because today's Good Word is also one of the most beautiful in the English language, it often finds itself in romantic situations: "The sight of Abby's evanescent breath in the chilly air made Ford's heart race a little faster yet." However, it makes the rounds in others, as well: "You don't realize how evanescent youth really is until you are older."
Word History: Today's Good Word is Latin evanescens "vanishing", the present participle of evanescere "to vanish", barely disguised in English. This Latin verb comprises e(x) "from" + vanescere "to vanish", a verb that also ended up in the English lexicon, a bit more disguised, as vanish. At the root of this verb is the adjective vanus "empty", which shares a source with English wane and vain, each referring to its own kind of emptiness. It is also related to Latin vacare "to be empty", which underlies several English borrowings from Latin, such as vacant, vacation, not to mention vast. (Let's assure Colin Burt that our gratitude for suggesting today's Good Word will not be evanescent.)
Dr. Goodword,
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Animal Studies Bibliography
Field, Peter B. 1989, October. Animal images in college psychology texts. The Animals' Agenda , p. 14.
Whether or not animal issues are dealt with explicitly in college psychology textbooks, students receive an implied image of animals based on the way the textbook treats them. There is considerable variation in how the textbooks treat animals. In older textbooks, animals are generally presented in an academic pure science setting. They are shown in research apparatuses (mazes, etc.) which take the focus off the animal itself, and the text focuses on the principles involved and does not address the animals' feelings or suffering from the research. Newer textbooks take a more humanistic approach, focusing on the benefits and applications of psychological research rather than the discipline's methods. As a result, they often include accounts of how research has improved the lives of both animals and humans, about the importance of animal-human interaction, and descriptions of research that shows animals' intelligence. As such, these more recent textbooks tend to have a more positive image of animals. Whereas older textbooks implied that animals are controlled by biological drives, newer ones respect animals and show their similarities to humans. Of course, most textbooks include a mix of these tendencies. Psychology has the potential to help animals by teaching people to understand and respect them. Psychology has been pushed toward this goal by PsyETA, and perhaps the trend toward better animal treatment in textbooks is a result of this pressure as well.
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This is the new Let's Go Flying site.
Born to Fly
But when should training start?
Is it possible to start flying too young?
We’ll answer that with another question: Are some people born to fly? Are there kids for whom, no matter when they start, learning to fly will be easy and safe? Are there tiny babies with twists in their DNA—maybe carried over from a former life as an eagle—that say they will spend their life in the air?
If you look around at young people in general, then at young people who fly, it’s easy to find contradictions, but not answers. We are bombarded with stories of youngsters who, on their sixteenth birthday, solo three or four airplanes. Every one of those kids beams at the camera with enthusiasm and handles the reporters with confidence. Born to fly? Hard to tell, but it certainly seems that way.
For each of those media marvels is there a large number of young people who started to fly but quit because they were more interested in, say, enjoying childhood than being a sprouting aviator? Keep in mind, too, that we have no follow-up studies that tell us what became of the soloed-on-my-sixteenth-birthday wunderkind. The question of when to teach a youngster to fly has nothing to do with whether they can acquire the skill or not. In fact, they’ll often embarrass the older generation with the speed at which they are able to learn. But if we push a kid to fly—especially one for whom the spark isn’t generated internally—do we risk souring him on something that could have become a passion if we had given him a few more years to mature?
Putting it in other words: How many kids pester their parents into letting them learn to fly, and how many parents push their kids into learning to fly? There’s a critical difference there.
Certainly most parents who fly would like to see their offspring fly, although this seems to be more true of dads than moms. We all strut a little taller when we can say our kid just soloed or earned her pilot certificate. Too often, however, this is our dream, not our children’s dream, and sometimes we haven’t thought it through.
Two questions
There are only two questions about someone who wants to learn to fly, and they apply to potential pilots of any age—but they’re especially important for 14- to 16-year-olds:
1. Are they mature enough to handle the responsibility and risks?
2. Do they really want to learn?
The federal aviation regulations permit glider students to solo at age 14, and powered airplane students can solo at age 16. However, we really need to look beyond the minimums at the realities and make the judgment accordingly.
When it comes to maturity, anyone who has raised more than one teenager will agree that individual teens mature at wildly different rates. In most families, siblings are often so different they might as well be from different species. For that reason alone, it’s impossible to say that a child will have developed the maturity to handle an airplane at a given age. It has to be done on a case-by-case basis, and the parents usually aren’t capable of making that judgment.
The only common factor that applies across the board to this age group is the fact that their hormones are increasing faster than their common sense. But different youngsters handle it differently. All of them are discovering themselves and the opposite sex, both of which are guaranteed to confuse. Still, many young people at that age are rather mature. Some would be judged mature for any age. A number of programs have shown that exposure to aviation can stimulate a young person’s interest in math and science. But the potential for improved academic performance should never be the reason to nudge a young person into flying; it seems to work best as an incentive when peers are involved, and the youngsters have to want to do it.
Assessing individuals
One of the problems with bringing young people into aviation is that parents may be the worst people on the planet to judge their own child’s maturity or passion. As a parent, it’s always interesting when someone comes up and says, “I just love Bobby. He’s so mature and respectful.” Our response may be, “Are we talking about the same Bobby? Our Bobby? You have to be kidding!”
We’re not exactly revealing a secret of behavioral science when we say that the teenager who storms around the house and is convinced his parents are idiots often relates to the rest of the world quite differently. Here too, however, there are huge distinctions between individuals. We have to ask ourselves whether a kid who is angry at the world and rails at school authority belongs in a cockpit. At the same time, an argument could be made that putting him in a cockpit may be exactly what he needs. But that’s a really tough call. Someone who is not part of the family dynamic needs to decide when a kid is, or is not, capable of flying at a given age—but who?
Enter the experienced flight instructor.
What we’re about to say may sound prejudiced toward older, more experienced instructors, but it’s not meant to be. Trying to sense a kid’s level of maturity and separating that from the ability to fly is a challenging endeavor. Can a high-time, 40-year-old instructor do that better than a 20-year-old CFI?
You’d think that when it came to judging maturity and cockpit suitability, older would be better. However, it could also be that a younger CFI, closer to the same age, might see things the 40-year-old would miss. Questions, questions. The fact that he has sat in the cockpit with a wider range of student types than a younger CFI might give an older CFI a better perspective on the issue.
Do they want to?
After we’ve determined the relative maturity level of a teenager comes a more important question: Do they actually want to do it, or are they just trying to please a parent? Will the parent know the answer to that? Deep down in his heart, he probably will, but if the answer isn’t what he wants it to be, he may well ignore it. The reigning logic is, “They’ll like it. They just don’t know it yet.”
Kids generally fall into one of three categories when it comes to whether or not they want to learn to fly. The first is a kid whom you have to chain to the hangar door to keep out of the cockpit. The passion, the interest, the drive—it’s all there.
The other extreme is the “Naw, I don’t want to learn to fly. I want to hang with the guys or surf the ’net.” In either of these examples it’s easy to see who is and who isn’t being forced.
The third group—those who float on a cloud of muted indecision—are hard to figure out.
So many kids between the FAA-approved ages of 14 and 16 may not have drifted into the belligerent, self-assertive stage yet, but they’ve grown out of being the shadow people who actually like their parents. A percentage of these still want to be the person their parents think they should be. They’ll go along with the flying thing because dad wants them to—not necessarily because they want to. This is good and this is bad.
It’s good because exposing them to aviation may well fan a spark. Or it may be bad and generate a huge amount of pressure that the kid just isn’t ready to handle.
Try to picture yourself at that age. The last thing you needed was more pressure from your folks. If you wanted to do something yourself, that was cool. But, if you had to buckle under and do something just to please them, it really ticked you off. This is exactly how we do a negative sales job on aviation.
It’s impossible to come up with a guaranteed sales pitch here, but it certainly should involve a lot of empathy and understanding. If you sense resentment toward flying, back off and let them see it from a distance. Don’t force. Take them and their friends for trips (impressing their friends is a serious sales tip); hit an airshow or two. Let them see the fun aspect of flying and hope that they decide on their own to try it out.
Do not push. As parents, we don’t know for sure what’s happening under those surly little brows, but it’s a fact that passion and interest are never the result of coercion.
Training options
Let’s assume we sense a positive attitude on the part of the teen. What’s the best route?
Gliders offer a lot of pros and only a few cons. One advantage is that you can start the student younger and maybe get aviation inserted into his or her brain before hormonal disruptions start. Also, gliders are less expensive and in some ways easier to learn to fly because the mechanical aspects are simpler and require less technical understanding. Some early glider time always results in a better pilot. Coordination is better; planning and judgment are enhanced. It’s a good introduction to flying for anyone, at any age (see “Gliding Your Way to a Pilot Certificate,” May 2002 AOPA Flight Training).
The regulations don’t specify when someone can start taking lessons—only when they can solo. So, in theory, a youngster can start taking lessons in the family Bonanza at 12 years old, but obviously you need to apply some common sense here.
Although it will vary with the individual, 14 seems a good age to start anything, including powered-plane flight instruction. Since they can’t solo until age 16, that may be jumping the gun. If the boy or girl is enthusiastic about the training, he or she likely will be ready to solo much quicker than Dad was. For that reason, you don’t have to start power plane training until a few months before the magic age.
It won’t hurt to start them earlier, although some may get a little frustrated. Then, when they finally do hit 16, they’ll be more than ready to solo. Some young people will start at age 14 or 15 and fly once a month or so; while the learning might not be as efficient as with more frequent instructional flights, it can keep help to keep the student interested.
In any of these scenarios the instructor is critical. He or she has to be someone who can work well with the energies and eccentricities of the teen-aged mind. While we’re on the subject of suitable instructors, here’s a basic, do-not-violate rule of aviation: Do not try to teach your child to fly. Few marriages are strong enough for one spouse to teach the other—or an offspring—how to fly. Trying to do so almost always guarantees screaming matches that won’t be confined to the cockpit. It has been done, but it takes an extremely unusual family unit to pull it off successfully.
During the learning process, the parent’s role is simple: Butt out! Stay out of it unless your fledgling asks you something directly. This is their training and the last thing you want to do is interject doubt into the instructor/student relationship by second-guessing the instructor over the family dinner table. If you hear something you disagree with, take it up with the instructor and don’t say a word to your child.
If you have a family airplane and are going on trips while your child is in training, don’t try to instruct. Point out the differences between your airplane and the training aircraft, but leave it at that. Let them sit in the right seat while you’re flying and help with some of the cockpit tasks.
Back to the original question: is it possible to start flying too young? The answer is a thoroughly unsatisfying “Maybe, maybe not.” It depends entirely on the young person involved. In addition, it requires a willingness to trust the decisions made by an outside party (the CFI) concerning the suitability of someone whom you are convinced you know better than almost anyone else.
No one ever said raising kids is easy. Neither is raising a new pilot. But the goal is to protect them and give them skills that will stand them in good stead for a lifetime. So, don’t be in a hurry, don’t be overbearing, and above all, don’t be disappointed if the outcome isn’t what you want. Love, after all, isn’t based on the ability to fly.
As originally published in August 2008 edition of Flight Training magazine.
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Plum Pox FAQ - More information about plum pox outbreaks in the U.S.
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More information about plum pox outbreaks in the U.S. —
Have trees in the U.S. been infected?
In September 1999, PPV was found in Adams County, Pennsylvania. Since then, it has also been found in Franklin, York and Cumberland counties in Pennsylvania. To ensure that the PPV was eradicated, more than 1,600 acres of commercial orchards and homeowner trees had to be destroyed at a cost of over $40 million.
In July 2006, USDA confirmed the presence of plum pox virus in New York within five miles of plum pox eradication zones in Canada (The virus was discovered in Canada in 2000.) Plum pox virus was also identified in Michigan in August 2006.
In May 2007, USDA declared an extraordinary emergency in Michigan and New York due to plum pox virus and provided funds to assist with eradication expenses.
Where did plum pox originate and where have infected trees been found?
The disease was originally found in Bulgaria in 1915 and has spread throughout Europe where it has destroyed well over 100 million stone fruit trees. In the past decade, plum pox has spread from Europe to India, Egypt, Lebanon, the Azores, Chile, and most recently, Canada, Argentina, China, and the state of Pennsylvania.
How did the virus get here?
How the virus spread to Pennsylvania is unknown, but it is most likely to have been through the introduction of infected material.
How are trees infected?
PPV is spread from tree to tree by aphids, which are small insects that feed on sap, and through grafting infected budwood onto non-infected plants.
Are other trees susceptible to the virus?
More than 40 Prunus species are now known to be susceptible to this virus. These include trees native to North American woodlands such as wild black cherry, a valuable lumber species, wild red cherry, sand cherry, choke cherry, big-tree plum, beach plum, chickasaw plum, American plum, and popular flowering Prunus ornamentals such as flowering cherry and dwarf flowering almond.
Other stone fruit trees, including peach, nectarine, plum, apricot and cherries, are also susceptible.
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16 May 2013 - QA 5
How can one get rid of guilt?
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:
Why do you want to get rid of guilt right away? A little guilt is actually good for you. A little pricking of that guilt will save you from repeating the same mistake again and again. So it is okay to keep a little guilt. But if it becomes too much, then we will see. | <urn:uuid:17a99b38-be8c-4988-8b67-19b7c3d71e9c> | 2 | 1.617188 | 0.612552 | en | 0.968682 | http://www.artofliving.org/wisdom-q-a-16-may-2013-qa-5 |
Blame who for debt, recession?
Reader Input
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We hear the two parties accuse and complain about the national debt and the economy all the time. So, which party is the big spender and on whose watch do the recessions occur? I recently did some research going back to the start of the Reagan years and found that of the $9.77 trillion of debt created since the Carter years, the Republican Party was responsible for 85 percent of it. During George H. W. Bush’s tenure, recession and high unemployment began and got him unelected. Clinton solved the recession before his second term which got him re-elected but not before he lost a majority in Congress. Does this sound familiar? It should because it is happening right now. During Clinton’s administration the only decrease in national debt in memory occurred in his last year. George W. suffered through two recessions including the big one that still hasn’t left us. The national debt increased by $5 trillion which was more than the total accumulated since 1976. The American voters need to be careful what they wish for. History has a way of repeating itself. Michael Douglas, Auburn | <urn:uuid:2255db4e-f9ac-41ae-b5f0-a024993e1de1> | 2 | 2.234375 | 0.090189 | en | 0.980605 | http://www.auburnjournal.com/article/blame-who-debt-recession |
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Some people say they're made from distilled water, is this true?
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Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009 (HR 1207)
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Under normal circumstances, I don’t see it necessary for the Fed to disclose the contents of their FOMC meetings. This creates a problem for the attendees because if they are 100% forthcoming in their meetings, it could come back to haunt them. This might make the “official” meeting a joke and push true discussion behind closed doors.
However, during this economic crisis, the Fed has given trillions of dollars in loan guarantees and hasn’t disclosed what they got in return. This is a problem because it’s those trillions belong to you, me, and our children (and our children’s children!). As the dollar hits historic lows versus other currencies and faces the real threat of losing reserve status, the money we’ve earned is worth less and less because of these actions.
I don’t want to increase the bureaucracy in Washington but I think transparency, in this particular case, is crucial.
The Senate version of this bill is S. 604, cheerily named the Federal Reserve Sunshine Act of 2009, has 30 sponsors and was last referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs back in March (this means it’s most likely dead in that form).
What do you think about this bill? Should the Fed be more transparent (at least to Congress)? Or are we wasting time and scrutinizing too much?
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{ 4 comments, please add your thoughts now! }
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4 Responses to “Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009 (HR 1207)”
1. Jason says:
Regulation, rules and transparency keep systems from descending to the lowest common denominator. I think whether or not some one sees this as ‘bureaucracy’ has to do with how the new rules affect them.
The Fed is a very strange and unique institution with incredible power over our lives. I don’t think any level of transparency greater than we have now (almost none) would be bad.
2. Yes, we absolutely need transparency of the federal reserve. When we have that it will become apparent what is going on in this crisis. Some people know why we are having this crash: massive expansion of the money supply causes malinvestment. The root of this problem is central banking (The Federal Reserve in the U.S.)
Here is what happens in laymans terms (according to my understanding). New money is created (lowered interest rates). This signals that now is a good time to invest. Overinvestment occurs, resources run out due to overinvestment, massive correction and disruption of the economy.
There is a school of economics that has predicted this crash: Austrian Economics. It makes sense, but is less known, because it is not endorsed by the federal reserve (go figure). :-)
3. Damon Day says:
It is absolutely essential that we have this, but my guess is that even if this passes we will still not have real transparency at the fed. What has been done can be called nothing else but outright theft from the American people. They will never disclose the full extent of the damage they are causing our country.
4. Bret says:
The Federal Reserve needs to be audited and held accountable to American taxpayers. The current level of secrecy is a massive red flag, that can only signify problems or discrepancies. I recently read an article that claims if the Fed was audited, congress and taxpayers would demand that it be closed down.
What is bizarre is that the Fed is grabbing for more power at every opportunity, despite the fact they have failed the American public. Their latest request is to regulate any industry they deem critical to the financial system. To give a quasi-public entity like the Fed unlimited discretion to regulate is both unwise and unconstitutional.
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RADON 119 Legal Issues in the Radiologic Sciences • 2 Cr.
Introduces students to communication and conflict resolution skills pertinent to health care. Other topics include an overview of ethical theories and current legal and ethical issues in health care (specifically in oncology). Prerequisite: Acceptance into program.
After completing this class, students should be able to:
• Compare and contrast specific ethical theories as they relate to the radiologic sciences.
• Explain how medical professional codes of ethics are related to specific ethical theories.
• Apply ethical principles to the practice of radiation oncology.
• Describe a process for ethical decision-making and apply it appropriately to specific ethical problems in the radiologic sciences.
• Explain the relationship between patient autonomy and informed consent. Describe situations in which the informed consent process may legally be eliminated.
• Identify the purpose of confidentiality in the health care setting and identify legal exceptions to the disclosure of information.
• Define tort, negligence and malpractice. Identify the ethical obligations of a radiation therapist regarding risk management.
• Identify ethical and legal end of life issues as they apply to the radiation oncology.
• Discuss specific justice issues in health care. Explain how distributive justice issues effect the quality of health care delivery in the US.
• Identify ethical issues that occur specifically with non-dominant cultures. Demonstrate ways to work ethically with non-dominant cultures in the radiation oncology department.
• Identify and analyze legal and ethical issues involving the radiation therapy student, making specific applications to the student’s own clinical practice.
• Analyze and apply student’s own ethical perspective on specific issues in health care such as confidentiality, risk management, patient rights and dying issues.
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brain sizes: Einstein's and women's
Bob LeChevalier lojbab at
Fri Aug 30 15:44:05 EST 2002
"John Knight" <jwknight at> wrote:
>Israelites and jews are two completely different and separate people today,
>and they have been for several millennia.
There are NO "Israelites" today.
Pure nonsense with no scriptural basis.
>NEVER from jews, and most jews today CLAIM to be descendants of Ashkenaz
Prove that ANY jew claims to be a descendant of Ashkenaz.
You've been told time and again that Ashkenazi refers to the ritual
that they practice and not to their ancestry (though usually
traditions are passed down in families, they are really more
geographical in nature), and the Ashkenazi practices are those of the
land of Ashkenaz or Northern Europe.
>Your "logic" is even worse than your inability to comprehend the written
>word, which is even worse than you spelling, which is even worse than your
All of which is still better than your logic.
>Let's re-read lojbab's STUPID statement once again:
>> > > All of them were by your reasoning, since you've stated that all
>> > > Israelites are racially pure and would never think of miscegenation.
>> > > Therefore all of them must have been, and therefore Jews were
>> > > Israelites.
>It's hard to imagine that this is so difficult to grasp. It's also hard to
>imagine how you could believe this totally baloney paraphrase when it's
>exactly the opposite of what was originally posted.
>Exactly who said "Israelites ... would never think of miscegenation"?
You have.
>Israelites did
>"think of miscegenation" and in fact engaged in miscegenation, and the
>adverse effects of that miscegenation are abundantly documented in the Holy
>Bible, as is the solution.
>What they did "think of miscegenation" is that it was a violation of God's
>Law, so they put away any bastard born to an Israelite who miscegenated with
>anyone (jews or otherwise).
But they did NOT put away products of miscegenation EXCEPT at one
particular point when Ezra and Nehemiah told them to after the exiles
returned to Jerusalem (at which point the Israelites who returned to
Jerusalem were called "Jews"). They had been practicing miscegenation
for generations while in exile and probably before they went into
exile. Wither the exception of the Jews who purified themselves of
strangers on the return to Jerusalem, the people of Israel, the
"Israelites" were LOST. They ceased to exist as a distinct people.
They are ALL mongrels.
But the Jews who returned were mongrels as well; there are NO "pure"
bloodlines. They merely put away their foreign relatives and
rededicated themselves to the traditional religion. But this does not
purify the genetic line.
>Yes, "Israelites are racially pure",
>but that means that they can not be jews, not that they must be.
It is your pure imagination that "Israelites" and "Jews" in the Bible
are not near-synonyms.
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D9 The type of double bets using hard hands.
D10 The bet type that is done using 10 or 11 value cards.
Discard Cards that are generally not considered in the game play. These are also referred as burned cards.
Double Deck The game play that makes use of two decks of cards.
Deck Penetration This is the amount of deck dealer makes use of before reshuffling the cards.
Doubling down When player is allowed to place second bet on the same round using the same amount of betting money. So if you bet $ 2 on any round then doubling means to wager $4 for same round.
Double down rescue The rule that is mostly used in casinos that are not regulated. Players can always try and return the double bets with an aim to finish the game play. It is also very much similar to surrendering when playing the game.
Double double down A Spanish type of blackjack that allows player to make use of extra card and doubling his betting amount.
Downtown Vegas Blackjack A variation of the game play that follows similar set of rules as standard version of the game play. Players are allowed to split their hands to make separate hands that can help them win blackjack.
Double exposure Blackjack A type of Blackjack variation where dealers cards are dealt face up. The game play also makes use of new set of rules to increase the house edge.
Dealing Seconds This is a second type of cheating players make use of in this game play. The dealer generally deals the second card from the top instead of first card. This is generally done with an aim to avoid players from making Blackjack.
Deviation Using strategy that diverts from standard strategy used in the game. This is generally done to make more profits from the holding cards.
Double after split Players are allowed to double their bets after splitting the cards they are holding. The rules of the game play might vary from one game to another depending on the online casino.
Draw The term used when any player tries to draw one or more card from the deck to make winning hand.
Drop The term stands for any amount of deposit that is made in the poker box. This money is generally exchanged for poker chips to play the game.
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The Camp Fire Girls Do Their Bit eBook
“That’s he!” he exclaimed. “The very same! Eugene Prince is Waldemar von Oldenbach himself!”
Then he told about him.
“Waldemar von Oldenbach! His father is a German count, his mother was an American. He was educated in England and afterward came to America and entered Cornell. That’s where I met him. He was the cleverest scapegrace that ever lived. He could sing like an angel, draw like St. Peter, and knew more languages than an Ellis Island interpreter. He made friends wherever he went. To look at him and hear him talk you would never think he was a German; he’s the picture of his American mother, and being in England so much he had learned English perfectly. At the same time he could make himself up like a Frenchman and you’d swear that he and all his ancestors were born in the shadow of Notre Dame. He was a great old actor, all right. After he’d been in America a year or so he went back to Germany and entered the navy and became a first lieutenant on the Eitel Friederich. That’s where he was when the war broke out and the Eitel Friederich was interned. But Von Oldenbach wasn’t interned with her, not much. He got away before they had a chance to photograph him and label him, and so no official search was ever made for him as it was in the cases of the other sailors from the Eitel Friederich who escaped. I have often wondered what became of him, because I knew he was on the Eitel Friederich when she first came into port, but his name didn’t show up among the ship’s officers when they were interned. Someone on board said he had died the day before the ship was seized and that was all anybody knew about him. He must have been quietly cruising around the country ever since, disguised and posing as an artist, working himself into one locality after another where he could get information that was of service to his fatherland. These drawings here are mostly of airplane parts which he’s picked up in various places and his sketches are mostly all rivers and bridges.
“Eugene Prince, indeed! ’Prinz Eugen, der edle Ritter,’ that’s what they used to call him in college, after an old student song. He had such winning ways he could take up with anybody. Nobody on earth was proof against his charm. You see how it has worked with yourself, Mr. Wing. He made himself such a delightful companion, and became of such real service to you in your work of trailing enemy agents that you never suspected he wasn’t the most patriotic American alive. You would have staked your soul on it. When he found out you had this letter which tied up old Prince Karl Augustus with your strike case, he managed to get it away from you and so scored one for the Prince, who is a good friend of his. At the same time he was clever enough to throw suspicion over onto this little Hungarian girl friend of yours, and if this goat hadn’t butted in just at the right time he probably never would have been found out. As it is, he’ll
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Chapter 18 Notes from Their Eyes Were Watching God
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Their Eyes Were Watching God Chapter 18
Janie notices Indians leaving town and heading east. When she asks one of them where they're all heading, he says that a hurricane is coming. A couple of days go by and more Indians move out. The animals start to leave as well. Soon, people on the muck begin to leave. A friend of Tea Cake's and Janie's asks them if they need a ride, but Tea Cake refuses. He doesn't think the hurricane will ever come--it's just a little storm. People are most worried about the lake overflowing. Those that stay on the muck spend their time gambling, singing, dancing, and having fun. They are still making money from picking beans, too.
While a few of them are playing with the dice and having a good time, the wind and the lightening start to pick up. The weather worsens and everyone wonders about God and their fates.
"They huddled closer and stared at the door. They just didn't use another part of their bodies, and they didn't look at anything but the door. The time was past for asking the white folks what to look for through that door. Six eyes were questioning God." Chapter 18, pg. 150
The water starts to rise and come into the house. Tea Cake looks for a car to take them out of there, but there are none. He tells Janie to gather their money and insurance papers because they have to walk. They leave and begin to make their way through the wind and the rain. Everything is going well until big Lake Okechobee bursts through its walls. They find a tall house and go in for a while as a refuge. They fall asleep, but Janie wakes up to the sound of the lake coming. Tea Cake urges Janie and their other friend to leave to seek higher ground, but the friend stays; he's too tired to go on. Tea Cake and Janie leave and they have to swim because the water is too deep. Janie can barely make it and Tea Cake has to help her along. They reach dry ground and Tea Cake rests. Janie gets up to get a piece of roofing to cover Tea Cake with, but she gets swept away into the water. She grabs onto the tail of the cow, but a mean dog on the cow tries to attack her. She slides down the tail, away from the reach of the dog, and Tea Cake rushes into the water with his knife. He kills the dog, but is bitten on his cheekbone. They finally reach land again.
They make it to Palm Beach and the storm ends. With their saved money, they find a place to sleep. Tea Cake feels guilty about bringing Janie with him to the Everglades, but she doesn't care what she has to go through, as long as she's with him:
"'Once upon uh time, Ah never 'spected nothin', Tea Cake, but bein' dead from standin' still and tryin' tuh laugh. But you come 'long and made somethin' outa me. So Ah'm thankful fuh anything we come through together.'" Chapter 18, pg. 158
Topic Tracking: Identity 11
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Do you remember the little people from the Tiny Street Art Project by Slinkachu? Now take these tiny guys to the beautiful Foodscapes by Carl Warner and you’ll get something similar to what you’re about to see.
Minimiam (meaning “Mini Yum”) is a creative union of husband and wife who create tiny worlds of food with their little people doing their little chores here. Akiko Ida is Japanese and Pierre Javelle is French. They met studying photography at the Paris “Arts Decoratifs” art school. [Read more...]
Since childhood, Akiko has always been attracted to the world of gastronomy. As a child, she elaborated and baked different sorts of bread which she subsequently photographed and classified in a notebook. At the same time, she invented tiny characters that filled entire pages of her journal. Akiko became a renowned Food Photographer, and has already taken part in more than 30 cookbooks.
Piere hails from Burgundy. He grew up on a comics diet. Attracted by drawing, illustrations and photography, art school was his refuge. The likes of Doisneau and Cartier-Bresson were major influences in his choice of photography as a medium. | <urn:uuid:98d1d0cb-647c-479c-a996-1a75dbd72762> | 2 | 1.53125 | 0.077005 | en | 0.979314 | http://www.boredpanda.com/minimiam-little-people-in-the-world-of-food/ |
The End of Human Evolution
So says Dr. Al Mohler in his blog post: “The End of Evolution?” Is it possible we’re moving into a post-evolution scientific era? Geneticist Steve Jones at University College London seems to think so. At least where it involves human evolution. Mohler references a recent lecture by Jones:
Basically, reproduction and human behavior are failing to follow evolutionary patterns. (I’ve always wondered why humans haven’t evolved into something better by now.) Mohler suggests that Jones’s observations point to a larger lesson about the “inherent limitations of the evolutionary worldview.” He writes:
Ultimately science does not operate free of human experience. Eventually the two intersect. And sometimes the result is a step in the right direction. | <urn:uuid:43e2dca5-eac8-4559-9027-9d59061cd9c8> | 2 | 1.976563 | 0.408996 | en | 0.918866 | http://www.boundless.org/blog/the-end-of-human-evolution/ |
harassment, bullying, sexual, sex, discrimination, racial, race, sexism, racism, mobbing
Half the population suffer bullying, harassment and discrimination ... most only recognize it when they read this
Bullying, harassment and discrimination
including sexual harassment, sex discrimination, racial harassment, racial discrimination
What is harassment?
Harassment is termed sexual harassment if the unwanted behaviours are linked to your gender or sexual orientation. The EU definition of sexual harassment is "unwanted conduct of a sexual nature or other conduct based on sex affecting the dignity of men and women at work".
Racial harassment is when the behaviours are linked to your skin colour, race, cultural background, etc. In countries with sectarian tradition (eg as in Ireland) the term sectarian harassment is often used if the behaviours are linked to your religious beliefs or perceived religious origin or inclination. If the harassment is physical, the criminal law of assault may be appropriate. If the harassment comprises regular following, watching, repeated unsolicited contact or gifts, etc, the term stalking may be appropriate.
Discrimination is when you are treated differently (eg less favourably) because of your gender, race or disability.
The differences between harassment and bullying are summarised on the page on bullying. Briefly, harassment tends to have a strong physical component and is usually linked to gender, race, disability or physical violence; bullying tends to be a large number of incidents (individually trivial) over a long period comprising constant unjustified and unsubstantiated criticism. To see quickly if you're being bullied click here.
Areas of UK law that apply to harassment
The principal areas of UK law relating to harassment comprise:
Bullying is the common denominator of harassment, discrimination, abuse, violence etc, so see other relevant laws on the legal page and case law page. The source of most bullying and harassment can usually be traced to one individual. Most people know one person in their life with this profile - who is it in your life?
Bullying and harassment (at work, in society, at school and at home) is a major cause of injury to health, both physical and mental. To see how prolonged negative stress (such as that caused by bullying and harassment) causes injury to health, click here. Over time, bullying and harassment result in trauma, which is a psychiatric injury, the collective symptoms of which often constitute Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. Click here for details; the page also tell you the difference between mental illness and psychiatric injury - important for re-empowerment and legal action.
Sexual harassment Internet resources
Where now at Bully OnLine?
How can I recognise that I'm being bullied?
What is bullying and why me? | Definitions of bullying
Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about bullying
Overcoming myths, misperceptions and stereotypes
The answer to Why don't you stand up for yourself?
Bullying and vulnerability
Why have my colleagues deserted me?
What's the difference between bullying and mobbing?
What is harassment and discrimination?
Why grievance procedures are inappropriate for dealing with bullying
The difference between bullying and management
UK National Workplace Bullying Advice Line statistics
Antisocial Personality Disorder | Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Paranoid Personality Disorder | Borderline Personality Disorder
Bullies and attention-seeking behaviour
Munchausen Syndrome and MSBP
Information for nurses | Information for voluntary sector employees
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Bullying of lecturers in further education
Bullying of lecturers in higher education
Bullying in the social services sector
Bullying in the public sector - the political dimension and
why trade unions fail to support their members
Bullying in the military | Bullying of students
Scheduled training and conferences on bullying | Other events about bullying
Articles on bullying available online
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Requests to take part in surveys etc | Bullying issues needing research
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The Secret Tragedy of Working: Work Abuse - PTSD Chauncey Hare
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Remembering Elmore Leonard
Legendary novelist Elmore Leonard published more than 40 books and short stories in his long career. Born in New Orleans, Leonard moved to Detroit at a young age and lived there for the rest of his life. Known mainly for his early western novels and later gritty crime fiction, Leonard has left an immense legacy. Many of his works have been made into successful films and are available on audio.
Freaky Deaky Get Shorty Hombre
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The Ultimate Insiders
Stock or commodity trading on “inside information” has been illegal since the early 1960s. Yet there is one group that frequently has access to nonpublic information that can greatly affect stock prices, to the extent of making or breaking a company or even an industry, and these “insiders” are considered exempt from prosecution by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The insiders I refer to are members of Congress and their staffs. They have prior knowledge about which companies or industries will or will not be “bailed out,” have their taxes raised or lowered, be subject to costly new regulations or exempted from such regulations, receive government contracts, etc. However, because the members of Congress and their staffs do not obtain their information from employees of the companies affected, they are not considered insiders.
There have been a number of recent news stories about how the average member of Congress showed an increase in net wealth over the past couple of years, while the average American was losing net wealth. The obvious conclusion is that members of Congress knew things the rest of us did not and acted on this knowledge to their own advantage — no surprise. A new study that empirically demonstrates this, “Capitalizing on Capitol Hill: Informed Trading by Hedge Fund Managers,” has just been published by the Social Science Research Network. The authors of the study, Jiekun Huang and Meng Gao, found that hedge funds connected with lobbyists, relative to non-connected ones, outperform by 1.6 percent to 2.5 percent per month in politically sensitive stocks compared to nonpolitical stocks. These results suggest that hedge-fund managers exploit private information, which can be an important source of their superior performance.
We are in the process of finding out what actually was in the 2,000-page-plus health care bill and financial “reform” bill. Those bills have many winners and losers — which previously were known only to the lobbyists and the members of Congress and their staffs who put in the specific deals. This is why House Speaker Nancy Pelosi famously said, “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.” It will never be known who gained financially from the inside information that was acted on as these bills were being passed, but you can bet the gain was in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
A bill was introduced early in this current Congress (H.R. 682: Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act) which would prohibit the sale and purchase of securities or commodities’ futures based on knowledge gained from a member of Congress, an employee of Congress or other federal employees. The proposed legislation is so broad and at points so vague as to be unenforceable in a consistent manner.
This proposed act makes the same mistake that the SEC often makes in dealing with “inside information,” in that there is an underlying assumption that the uncontrolled dispersal of information about the health or prospects of companies is bad and that known information can be controlled.
The recent release of highly classified information from Pentagon sources by WikiLeaks again shows the near impossibility of controlling even the most sensitive information. Time and time again, the U.S. government has shown that it cannot protect sensitive information, from atomic secrets to sensitive financial data held by the Internal Revenue Service. Those who tell us that any information is safe when held by the U.S. government are both supremely arrogant and ignorant of history, including the news of recent weeks.
The SEC has a long history of not knowing what it should have known (e.g., Enron, Bernard Madoff) and at the same time trying to stop the dispersal of information about companies that is necessary for markets to operate properly. The SEC is in the process of trying to find ways to criminalize those who (outside a firm) find better ways of doing research or modeling what they think is going on in a firm, even though they have received no direct, nonpublic information from real insiders. This approach eventually could kill the whole field of securities analysis. Only government employees at the SEC could dream up a scheme to try to keep everyone ignorant and call it “progress.”
Professor Henry Manne, dean emeritus of the George Mason University Law School and arguably the nation’s greatest scholar on “insider trading” issues, observes that the decades of failure at the SEC show that enforcement of insider-trader laws is not feasible and often is counterproductive. Also, there has never been a clear definition of insider trading either from Congress or the SEC. Mr. Manne says it is time to “rethink any current policies based on a view of pricing in which we exclude the best-informed traders.” Because insider or informed “trading clearly makes the market process work more efficiently, it aids capital allocation decisions and informs business executives through market-price feedback of the best predictions about the value of new plans.”
Outsiders are best served in making their buy and sell decisions when all of the information about a company is incorporated in its market price, even if comes from insiders. As for Congress and their staffs, given that a prohibition of the use of inside information is nearly impossible, the effort should focus on more transparency. This, in part, would mean legislation being passed in small, understandable increments so that outsiders would be able to determine who benefits or loses when the legislation or regulation is proposed.
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The Real MaryThe Real Mary
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The Real Mary
By Scot McKnight
CBN.comWhere Is the One Who Has Been Born King? - Woman of Witness
What the real Mary witnessed began to add up. She heard from Gabriel, she heard from Joseph that he had heard from Gabriel, and she heard from Elizabeth who had heard from Zechariah who had heard from Gabriel who had heard from God. (Don't worry, the string doesn't get any longer than this.) She also heard from the shepherds who had heard from the angels who had heard from God.
What Mary witnessed added up to the promise that her son would establish the long-awaited Davidic dynasty. Gabriel, as we read in Luke's first chapter, declared that her son "will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." Those were same words that were used in the promise given to David back in the seventh chapter of Second Samuel.
These promises that Mary witnessed led her to think that God would soon set her son on David's throne in Jerusalem, defeat the Romans with their own swords, escort them to a Roman road in their own chariots, or send them back to Italy in their own boats:
These were her conclusions to the words she heard and the visions she witnessed. There would be more to come, not the least of which was the significance of holding a baby in her arms, the result of a miraculous conception.
Witness of a body
Jesus' birth was real in spite of what we hear in the sentimental Christmas song Away in a Manger. Notice these words:
Away in a manger,
no crib for his bed,
the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.
The stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay,
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay.
The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes,
But little Lord Jesus no crying he makes.
This scene is tranquil, peaceful, idyllic, oozing with warm thoughts and gentle feelings-like a Thomas Kinkade painting.
All we need is a flush of amber and mauve and a toasty fireplace. The cattle are lowing and they awaken Jesus with his cute, sweet head. The song continues with "no crying he makes." But real newborns do cry-that's one of the rules.
I know that when Christmas comes this year, I'll probably toss my own voice into the mix when our church sings this carol again, but it has little to do with the realities of Jesus' birth.
Here's what most likely happened to Mary at Jesus' birth. While Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem, the time for her delivery came and, because there was no room in the "inn," they laid baby Jesus in a manger. The word translated inn in most of our Bibles does not refer to a hotel. Why? A small hamlet like Bethlehem wasn't large enough for a hotel. Most historians today think they were more likely guests in a home where there were two parts to the home: family quarters (upstairs), which is sometimes called an "inn," and animal quarters (downstairs) where the "manger" was.
Either because Mary preferred-out of a sense of decency or purity-more room for the privacy of a birth or because there were too many other guests in the "inn," she moved downstairs into the animal quarters for the birth. Moving into those quarters probably had nothing to do with unkind innkeepers or inhospitable homeowners, even if that makes for a good story.
The birth of Jesus was real. When Mary gave birth, she probably had a midwife, because in the Jewish world women gave medical care to women. In the absence of a midwife, Joseph would have performed the duties of a midwife. Mary probably delivered Jesus from a birthing stool with a back and grips, which was also shaped with a crescent-shaped bottom so the baby could slide through into the safe grasp of the midwife. Like all mothers, she was in pain. The midwife (or Joseph) would have then taken care of the baby and Mary as well as the blood and afterbirth. Mary then, Luke's Gospel tells us, wrapped the baby in "swaddling cloths" to keep Jesus warm and safe, and they she laid Jesus to rest "in a manger." Think of a shelf of stones with a slight depression or (less likely) a feeding trough constructed of wood. Such things are not designed for babies, especially one with a "sweet" head.
It matters that Jesus had a real body. For Jesus to be really human he had to be born, as the apostle Paul wrote in the fourth chapter of his letter to the Galatians, of a woman and not just through a woman. God didn't just use Mary as a "rent-a-womb" but actually became DNA-Mary's. The theological expression at work here is "incarnation," and the underlying principle is this: What God becomes, God redeems. God becomes what we are-with a real body-so we can become children of God.
That's why Jesus' real body is important for our faith. For Mary there was another issue. When Mary held that newborn little body in her hands, Mary witnessed the living reality of the promise Gabriel had made to her nine months earlier. She was holding the promise-come-true. The real body she held proved to her that what God said really would take place.
For theologians, the birth of Jesus is about the "incarnation." That is, that God became real human flesh. Yet, for Mary the birth of Jesus was about "coronation." I doubt Mary thought in the terms theologians use today. I doubt she wondered if her son was God and human or the God-man or what about his natures and person-how they were related. That's the stuff of theological discussion. For the real Mary that live body named Jesus may have been a messy, fussy, physical little body, but that real body was an undeniable witness to the truth that God could work miracles. If God could bring a pregnancy from a miraculous conception to a real birth, then the promise that her son would be the Davidic king on the throne in Israel was also the next promise to be fulfilled.
And what happened next proved this to her.
Witness from the Magi
Matthew's second chapter informs us that some Gentile Magi from the East came to Mary's home and worshiped Jesus, giving him extravagant gifts. Originally, the word Magi referred to a priestly caste in Persia, but the term came to mean "magician" and "astrologer" as well. Magi were widely known and respected in the Gentile world for their capacity to interpret dreams. Because Magi were always censored in the Bible for dabbling in the mysteries that belong exclusively to God, their cosmically guided presence before Mary surprised her.
It is difficult to know what Mary thought. When they offered their gifts to her Messiah son, did she think their action was an indication that astrology and magic were coming to an end? Or, did she think that this was just one more extraordinary event in the list of things she had recently witnessed? Or, was her mind in tune with the many Old Testament passages where Gentiles, would stream to Jerusalem to worship Israel's God when the kingdom arrived? Was she remembering Isaiah's eleventh chapter, where we read that, when the Messiah, came he would "stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him"? Or Jeremiah's third chapter: "At that time they [Judah] will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the Lord"? How could she not also have thought that these were the foretold Gentiles of the Scriptures, who would offer gifts to Israel's future king?
A related fact deserves our consideration: Matthew's Gospel brings the Magi into personal contact with none other than Herod the Great, the one who was himself threatened by the arrival of Jesus the Messiah. The Magi, Matthew's second chapter tells us, went immediately into Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?" Herod summoned the biblical interpreters together to find out where the Messianic king would be born. They informed him that this king would be born in Bethlehem, and they quoted Micah's fifth chapter to prove their conclusion: "But you, Bethlehem ... out of you will come for me a ruler over Israel." Because of the Magi's knowledge that a rival king was now alive in the Land of Israel, Herod the Great, not aware that the future king was in Bethlehem, "called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared." He then informed the Magi to report back to him after their visit so that he, too, could worship the king. As we read the Gospel of Matthew's story about these and subsequent events, it is clear that Herod was lying-he wanted to know where Jesus was so he could kill him and end any rival to his dynasty.
Connecting the Magi with Herod brings into living reality what Mary declared in the Magnificat: Jesus is king, Herod the Great is not. When the Magi found their way to Herod the Great, they didn't fall on their faces before him. Yet Mary witnessed the Magi offering her son gifts meant for a king, gifts Herod the king might have expected for himself. If you simply back up to what Mary had witnessed-angels declaring her son to be king, relatives doing the same, and shepherds making the same claim, you would arrive at Mary's conclusion: Jesus will be king and Herod the Great will not be.
The Gentile Magi "bowed down and worshiped" Jesus, and then, as we read in Matthew's second chapter, "they opened their treasures"-as one would do for a king. It must have been a strange sight: Gentiles -to begin with, Magi on top of that, a suspicious encounter with Herod the Great and the ruling priests in Jerusalem, and then an unannounced visitation of these Magi at the home of Joseph and Mary.
But who were the real Magi? We are not sure how many Magi there were, we are not sure of their origin (Babylonia or Persia perhaps), we are not sure they were kings even though we were taught to sing We Three Kings from Orient Are at Christmastime, and we are not sure where they visited the holy family. We infer that there were three Magi because there were three gifts-"gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh." Some early Christians gave them names and they have stuck-Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. We are not even sure they visited the holy family in Bethlehem or two or more years later in Nazareth, though the text of Luke suggests they came to Bethlehem, and Matthew's account reads as if their visit happened immediately after the birth. But we really don't know.
What we do know is that Mary witnessed Gentile Magi arriving at her home with gifts for a king. How could she not have thought that this meant her son would have significance well beyond the borders of the Land of Israel? How could she not have also thought that her son might have significance all the way to the throne in Rome? Mary was too sharp not to have made these connections: When you witness such wonders things begin to add up.
There's plenty more to add before some subtraction begins.
Witness from a star
In the ancient world it was not uncommon for a report to circulate that a star appeared when a king was born. Tacitus, a first-century Roman historian, once said during the reign of Nero that the "general belief is that a comet means a change of emperor." Trailing the Magi into the home of Mary and Joseph was the story of a star that guided them from their foreign country to the very place where Jesus was.
How do we explain the star? Some suggest the star appeared as a supernova. Others suggest that a comet's appearance in about 12 or 11 BC should be connected to the Magi's star. Yet others, through the study of historical records, conjecture a planetary conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn and Mars. Johannes Kepler estimated that such a conjunction occurred in 7 or 6 BC. And yet others, who are more likely here to be on the side of the angels, think this is a miracle star.
Whether or not Mary saw the star, she would have been told about that star by the Gentile Magi. A little newborn body, some Gentiles, and now a star-all witnesses to her son. And this great cloud of witnesses was growing.
Witness from angel
Everything added up to the word danger. Mary's baby was a threat to Herod the Great and to Caesar Augustus, and now people from all over the world knew thanks to the news from the Magi. Mary knew Herod would soon be on the prowl for her son Jesus. What would Mary do to protect her son?
That's why God created angels-like Gabriel.
When we first met Gabriel he was a conception-message angel: He told Zecharialr that Elizabeth would conceive, Mary that she would conceive, and Joseph that Mary had conceived. He was also a birth-message angel: He told the shepherds that Jesus had been born. But Gabriel (we assume it is the same angel) was also a protection-message angel: He informed the Magi not to go back to Herod and to return home another way..
The angel then appeared to Joseph to inform him that, as Matthew's second chapter informs us, "Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." Therefore, Joseph was to "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt." Joseph did as the angel told him. During their sojourn in Egypt, Herod-on the prowl for newborn kings-slaughtered the infants of Bethlehem-an act consistent with Herod's mania for power. After the good news that Herod had died (in 4 BC), the protection-message angel appeared again to Joseph in a dream and declared to him that he could return to Nazareth safely. And they made the long trek back.
Mary witnessed these angelic events.
By the time she and Joseph returned to dwell in Nazareth, we have to think that Mary was asking God, "Haven't we had enough?"
Mary as witness
At this point in her journey, Mary had pondered a story that marched rather boldly in one direction: Her son would rule from Jerusalem as the Davidic king, and he would establish the Davidic dynasty once and for all. From the first word out of Gabriel's mouth to the arrival of the Magi, everything added up in one direction: Jesus would become king and neither Herod the Great nor Caesar Augustus would be. Mary was a witness of these extraordinary promises about her son who would become king. And God's protecting the child from Herod, along with the family's brief sojourn in Egypt, also informed her how protected his kingship would be.
But what happened next would lead Mary to reshape the story of her son. In the next chapter and the chapters that follow we will discover a different Mary: a Mary who struggled, sometimes rather demandingly, with the details of her son's life and ministry. Her struggles, if we follow her in her real world, were also the struggles of every person around Jesus. In the simplest of terms, Jesus neither acted like the Messiah they expected nor taught what Mary and his disciples expected. Mary struggled with Jesus because he didn't conform to her all-too-common image of what the Messiah's life and rule would look like.
But that's getting ahead of our story.
For Mary, things were about to change. On Jesus' fortieth day of earthly existence, Luke's second chapter tells us that Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the Temple for a dual ceremony. Mary's purification and Jesus' dedication. At the Temple, they encountered an old man who challenged Mary to modify her story of Jesus. What was starting to be an exciting game of addition of witnesses was about to become a game of subtraction.
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Chegg Textbook Solutions for Welding: Principles & Practices 4th Edition: Chapter 13
Chapter: Problem:
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There are two major groups that metals are separated into, ferrous and nonferrous metals.
Hence the correct choice is.
Ferrous metals are classified as metals that have a high iron content, such as steels and cast iron, while nonferrous metals are those metals that are almost completely free of iron, such as copper, aluminum, nickel, and brass.
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History shows us to carefully monitor how government monitors us
by Robert Tyler |
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." — George Santayana, philosopher and poet
I have recently read and heard political leaders and writers who have expressed concern regarding our democratic form of government. In one instance, presidential candidate Ron Paul was quoted as warning that the United States is "slipping into a fascist system where it's a combination of government and big business and authoritarian rule and the suppression of individual rights of each and every American citizen."
While some commentators think that this statement is too extreme, there can be no question that our individual liberties are, in fact, eroding. In a similar vein, I have recently read comparisons of the progression that is occurring in the United States to the progression that occurred in Nazi Germany.
In the 1930s and 1940s, the world watched in horror as Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany, sought dominion throughout Europe and orchestrated one of the most deadly genocides then known to mankind. It is easy to look back at history from our vantage point and ask: "Where were the German Christians, and why didn't they confront this tragedy en masse? Why didn't they do more to protect life, individual rights and religious liberty?"
We must ask ourselves these questions now, or generations to come may look back at this very time in history and ask: "Why did my parents, grandparents and other Christians silently allow the government to take away our individual liberties? Why didn't the Christian church take a coordinated public stand in defense of religious liberty?"
I am not saying that our government is akin to Adolf Hitler and his murderous regime. However, the suppression of individual liberties in America today, like the suppression of individual liberties in Germany before the war, can only be accomplished when the conscientious citizens of this nation are silent and do nothing.
In the early 1930s, when Hitler became chancellor of Germany, he stated his belief that Christianity was the "unshakeable foundation of the moral and ethical life of our people," yet the ultimate ideals of the National Socialist movement were hostile toward religion. Leading into the Holocaust, Hitler instituted a plan to strip away the religious liberties of German citizens.
Hitler slowly eroded the rights of the Christian church. He permitted a remnant of worship but eliminated the church's cultural influence. After signing a concordant with the Catholic Church and establishing the German Christian Church, which upheld Nazi principles, Hitler and his administration gradually began to suppress the rights of evangelical Christians and Catholics—ending denominational and youth organizations, prohibiting denominational schools, and widely defaming and imprisoning clergy of the Christian church who refused to be silent about the truth.
The goal was to get the German people away from the church's conservative beliefs and on board with the Nazi's radical plan of racism and aggressive warfare.
Shallow reverence
In modern day America, we often hear our leaders voice a shallow reverence toward our Christian heritage, while the actions of those same leaders show little respect for our heritage. Even though our current administration has stated a belief in the faith of our founding fathers and the importance of religious liberty, many of its actions undermine the rights of religious institutions.
Most recently, "ObamaCare" requires all businesses, including many religious organizations, to provide birth control and sterilization services free of charge to employees. When the Catholic Church, whose teachings prohibit the use of any type of birth control, spoke out against this policy, President Barack Obama offered a feeble "compromise," saying the insurance company, instead of the church or religious business, would pay for the birth control. But who ultimately pays the insurance company?
We see an increasing progression of hostility by government officials and media toward Christians for expressing their faith in the public arena. Christian student groups, such as the Christian Legal Society, are banned from recognition on campuses. Christian groups are banned from using public facilities. The so-called "separation of church and state" is beat like a war drum by government officials while the IRS threatens religious organizations with removal of tax-exempt status for taking a stand on political issues.
'Suspicious' activity
Even our "war on terror" has adopted an alarming perspective.
A new report from the Department of Homeland Security, issued in January, details what activity to look for in a potential terrorist through its campaign titled "If You See Something, Say Something."
The campaign encourages Americans to report suspicious behavior which includes the following characteristics: fiercely nationalistic, reverent of individual liberty, anti-abortion, speaking out against government policies, holding gold and stocking up on more than seven days of food.
My point is that we must not succumb to a hopeless attitude when our God-given, inalienable liberties are being eliminated by our government. This is why we fight for our clients and against policies that limit our individual and religious liberties—because we believe that if we don't take action now, there may be a time in the future when it is too late to fight.
Please take courage and make your stand now—in the voting booth, in the public square, at work and in your schools. Raise the awareness and cherish your liberty.
Tyler is the founder and general counsel of Advocates for Faith & Freedom in Murrieta. He has been a featured guest on Fox News, MSNBC, TBN and PBS. For more information, visit www.faith-freedom.com.
Published, May 2012
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Chapter 2: Visualizations of Data
Created by: CK-12
Chapter Outline
Chapter Summary
Part One: Questions
1. The mode is 1.
2. mean < median.
3. median < mean
4. The distribution is skewed left.
1. 16
2. 24
3. 32
4. 68
3. Tianna was given a graph for a homework question in her statistics class, but she forgot to label the graph or the axes and couldn’t remember if it was a frequency polygon, or an ogive plot. Here is her graph:
1. Endy collected and graphed the heights of all the 12^{th} grade students in his high school.
2. Brittany asked each of the students in her statistics class to bring in 20 \;\mathrm{pennies} selected at random from their pocket or bank change. She created a plot of the dates of the pennies.
4. Jeno bought a large box of doughnut holes at the local pastry shop, weighed each of them and then plotted their weights to the nearest tenth of a gram.
1. Which of the following box plots matches the histogram?
Part One: Answers
1. b
2. c
3. It must be a frequency polygon. At one point in the graph, there is a decreasing line. An ogive plot represents the cumulative data up to that point, so it can never decrease.
4. b
5. d
6. a
7. c
8. a
9. a
10. d
Part Two: Open-Ended Questions
Building City Height (ft)
Taipei 101 Tapei 1671
Shanghai World Financial Center Shanghai 1614
Petronas Tower Kuala Lumpur 1483
Sears Tower Chicago 1451
Jin Mao Tower Shanghai 1380
Two International Finance Center Hong Kong 1362
CITIC Plaza Guangzhou 1283
Shun Hing Square Shenzen 1260
Empire State Building New York 1250
Central Plaza Hong Kong 1227
Bank of China Tower Hong Kong 1205
Bank of America Tower New York 1200
Emirates Office Tower Dubai 1163
Tuntex Sky Tower Kaohsiung 1140
(a) Complete the table below and draw an ogive plot of the resulting data.
Class Frequency Relative Frequency Cumulative Frequency Relative Cumulative Frequency
(d) Find the 90^{th} percentile for this data (i.e. the height that 90 \% of the data is less than)
Year^* Adults Jacks
1971-1975 164,947 37,409
1976-1980 154,059 29,117
1981-1985 169,034 45,464
1986-1990 182,815 35,021
1991-1995 158,485 28,639
1996 299,590 40,078
1997 342,876 38,352
1998 238,059 31,701
1998 395,942 37,567
1999 416,789 21,994
2000 546,056 33,439
2001 775,499 46,526
2002 521,636 29,806
2003 283,554 67,660
2004 394,007 18,115
2005 267,908 8,048
2006 87,966 1,897
Figure: Total Fall Salmon Escapement in the Sacramento River. source: http://www.pcouncil.org/newsreleases/Sacto_adult_and_jack_escapement_thru%202007.pdf
• During the years from 1971 to 1995, only 5-year averages are available.
In case you are not up on your salmon facts there are two terms in this chart that may be unfamiliar. Fish escapement refers to the number of fish who “escape” the hazards of the open ocean and return to their freshwater streams and rivers to spawn. A “Jack” salmon is a fish that returns to spawn before reaching full adulthood.
(a) Create one line graph that shows both the adult and jack populations for those years. The data from 1971 to 1995 represents the five-year averages. Devise an appropriate method for displaying this on your line plot while maintaining consistency.
Island Approximate Area (\mathrm{sq}.\mathrm{km})
Baltra 8
Darwin 1.1
Española 60
Fernandina 642
Floreana 173
Genovesa 14
Isabela 4640
Marchena 130
North Seymour 1.9
Pinta 60
Pinzón 18
Rabida 4.9
San Cristóbal 558
Santa Cruz 986
Santa Fe 24
Santiago 585
South Plaza 0.13
Wolf 1.3
1. Create a back-to-back stem-and-leaf plot for all the cities located in each of two geographic regions. (Use the simplistic breakdown found at the following page http://library.thinkquest.org/4552/ to classify the states by region).
Part Two: Open-Ended Answers
1. (a)
Class Frequency Relative Frequency(\%) Cumulative Frequency Relative Cumulative Frequency(\%)
[1100-1150) 1 7.1 1 0
[1150-1200) 1 7.1 2 7.1
[1200-1250) 3 21.4 5 14.3
[1250-1300) 3 21.4 8 35.7
[1300-1350) 0 0 8 57.1
[1350-1400) 2 14.3 10 57.1
[1400-1450) 0 0 10 71.4
[1450-1500) 2 14.3 12 85.7
[1500-1550) 0 0 12 85.7
[1550-1600) 0 0 12 85.7
[1600-1650) 1 7.1 13 92.9
[1650-1700) 1 7.1 14 100
(d) approximately 1625 \;\mathrm{ft}
1. There isn’t necessarily a wrong way or right way to create this graph and to interpret the different time intervals, but a year should be the same distance apart for the entire graph so that the rate of change of the lines means the same thing across the entire plot. In this case, we plotted the average as a point in the middle of the five-year interval. It is possible that a student could devise a better representation, as long as the relationship in the data is clearly and correctly represented.
2. Answers will vary, but comments should focus on features of the plot that are placed in the context of the actual situation. For example, the plot of adult salmon increases dramatically after 1995 to a peak in 2002. This could be due to many factors, one of which was the inclusion of the Chinook salmon under the endangered species act. The plot for the Jack salmon stays relatively horizontal, indicating that the Jack population remained relative constant until the most recent downturn. Other comments could be made and interested students might be encouraged to research things such as climate conditions or changes in the management of the salmon populations that may have led to the increases or decreases.
1. (a) The various plots are shown below: The only plot that does not seem to be a good fit is a stem-and-leaf plot. There is an extremely wide spread with the outlier, and creating meaningful stems would be difficult. (b) The plot is spread very widely, extending from a group of islands with almost no significant area, to the largest island, Isabela, which is so large at 4600 \;\mathrm{mi}2 that it is an extreme outlier. Even without the outlier, there is still a significant variation in the remaining islands. Ignoring Isabela, the distribution is still significantly skewed right. You can see this in all three graphs and it shows that most of the islands in the archipelago are smaller. The box plot does not appear to have a left whisker, but it is in fact, so small in relation to the scale of the graph, that it is indistinguishable. Here is a box-and-whisker plot without the outlier that has been rescaled. The center would most appropriately be measured by the median because the extreme skewing and outliers will raise the mean substantially. The median island size is approximately 42\;\mathrm{square} kilometers.
2. .
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Uncovering Criminals in China's Radio and TV Broadcasting Network
Uncovering Criminals in China's Radio and TV Broadcasting Network
The radio and TV broadcasting network in Mainland China serves as a propaganda tool to persecute Falun Gong. This network is controlled directly by the Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). From the end of the 1980's to the beginning of the 1990's, great strides were made in its development. Especially in the 1990's, heavy investments were made towards developing radio and TV broadcasting technology. At that time, China did not have communication satellites. It leased a foreign communication satellite transponder to launch China Central TV (CCTV) programs and those of other provincial TV stations. Meanwhile, heavy investments were directed towards developing China's own communication satellite. By the late 1990's, CCTV and provincial TV stations switched from TV towers to communication satellites. While developing the satellites, cable TV networks were being developed, too. Cable TV makes up 90% of all TV coverage. Previously, one TV set could only receive several programs; now one TV set can receive dozens of programs.
Since July 20th, 1999, the CCP has used radio, TV, and cable network to spread its slanderous propaganda about Falun Gong to every household. The broadcasting network has become a tool of the CCP to spread lies to poison sentient beings. When practitioners tapped into nationwide cable TV networks to broadcast the truth about Falun Gong in 2002, government officials were seriously panicked. They issued orders at every level, from provinces to cities, districts and streets to implement every possible means to prevent the broadcasting network from being tapped. Cable TV systems are closely monitored. Special organisations to counter Falun Gong sprang into existence; equipment to monitor network security has been purchased; and staff are assigned patrol duty to guard their areas. Especially during the 16th CCP Congress, so-called emergency methods were used to prevent Falun Gong practitioners from tapping into the network. Everyone in the network was assigned specific tasks.
The authorities used every conceivable method to guard the cable TV system amplifiers. The 6-10 Office (an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems) assigned this task to the bottom level neighbourhood committees. During the conference, one person in the neighbourhood committee had to promise to guard the amplifiers with his or her life. That person would earn 100 yuan (Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China) for doing so. The cost of guarding the TV system amplifiers in the downtown area of a city in Southwest China totals around 3,000,000 yuan. The cost for patrolling TV systems totalled about 2,000,000 yuan, and this was only in 2002. This only includes the major cable TV networks in the downtown area for one city. Taking into account all the cable TV networks in all cities in China, the cost to monitor the cable networks during this period of time is huge. The result is the persecution of sentient beings and the concealment of lies at the taxpayer's expense.
The chief executives of the TV broadcasting networks, radio stations, and cable companies and the journalists, editors, and anchors have sold their consciences by adding fuel to the flame and poisoning sentient beings for a little bit of personal gain. All the media that have participated in the defamation and slander of Falun Gong have committed sins, and the people who have been involved will receive retribution for their acts. The retribution is happening right now. For example, the ex-chief of the propaganda department of Chongqing City Zhang Zonghai, the ex-chief of the Chongqing radio and TV broadcasting bureau Zhang Xiaochun, the ex-general manager of the Chongqing Internet company Ding Jiyuan, and the vice manager Du Hongzhi have all been convicted on huge corruption charges and given prison sentences in 2003. These corrupt officials behaved quite arrogantly at the time. At their work meetings, they were waving flags and shouting out plans to slander Falun Gong. It created an evil environment of misinformation, which made the persecution of Falun Gong more severe. All of these political media criminals will ultimately be brought to justice.
* * *
| <urn:uuid:301cdb5b-72d6-4141-9b9c-810c345d4a6b> | 2 | 1.976563 | 0.085905 | en | 0.961652 | http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/a25102-Uncovering-Criminals-in-China-s-Radio-and-TV-Broadcasting-Network.html |
A health-tracking system you can swallow
Novartis plans to seek regulatory approval for a pill for transplant patients that carries a microchip activated by stomach acid and can track health data.
The silicon and metal sensor sends data via a faint radio signal to a patch on the patient's skin. Proteus Biomedical
"We hope within the next 18 months to have something that we will be able to submit to the regulators," global head of development Trevor Mundel told the Reuters Health Summit in New York this week. "The regulators all like the concept and have been very encouraging. But...they want to understand how we are going to solve the data privacy issues."
The silicon and metal sensor, which sends data via a faint radio signal to a patch on a patient's skin that then transmits the information wirelessly to a designated smartphone, e-mail account, etc., is first being studied in a drug for transplant patients that helps avoid organ rejection.
Since the drug itself is already approved and established, Novartis might be able to forgo clinical trials and simply conduct bioequivalence tests to show the second-gen pills have the same effect as the originals. (The main difference being that the patient now has a microchip to pass.)
The technology, initially envisioned to monitor whether patients take their meds in the right doses at the right times, could conceivably work with many different drugs to track a wide range of data, including heart rate and body temperature.
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Basic Preventive Maintenance Could Save Millions in Failures
Analyzing Past Failures for a More Successful Future
2011 ABB Automation & Power World ABB LinkedIn
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Plant managers are saving pennies on the dollar to cut back on fundamental cleaning steps and other basic preventive maintenance, meanwhile missing out on perhaps millions of dollars that could be saved through reduced failure rates. Despite the analysis, managers all too often still make the decision not to implement the basics, according to Steve Murray, director of reliability systems for ABB.
Murray spoke Thursday morning at this week's ABB Automation and Power World event in Orlando about the need to analyze past failures for a more successful future. "I don't know how those maintenance guys are surviving. It's amazing the lack of preventive maintenance in place," he said privately after his presentation. "They're just not doing it. So the maintenance guys spend all their time running around troubleshooting."
Murray even went so far as to say that he thinks such neglect is often responsible for decisions to move production from the U.S. or Europe to cheaper locations such as China or Mexico. Eventually, the company manager gets tired of the failure rates and expenses, and decides to move the factories offshore.
What makes this trend particularly disturbing is that there are a great number of expensive failures that are easily preventable when the correct steps are taken. Murray pointed to a recent case in which his team analyzed failures on a case packer that was being used to package cans for a major cola manufacturer. The packer was responsible for taking the filled can, introducing the packaging, then marrying the two together. It operated at very high speeds (nominal capacity was 30 cartons per minute), with a lot of electronic components involved in the process.
But the case packer saw a high rate of failure, Murray said. For one year, lost product was 166,500 cases. One process alone, in which the sides of the boxes are brought up and folded over, accounted for 63,000 lost cases and $441,000 in lost revenues.
The ABB team analyzed the situation and ultimately made some simple recommendations, including indexing the fold section regularly to calibrate timing; every 24 hours cleaning the fold section and the sensors, which collect dirt and dust from the cardboard; and inspecting various machine parts for wear. "This was a PM that was getting done, but it wasn't being done properly," Murray said. "We added details on how to do the work."
"This was all really simple stuff; nothing really jumps out," Murray added, noting that in some cases workers simply were not properly skilled or trained. "A lot of these jobs are simple like this. Plant management knows it needs to be done. They know it's not being done. But they're still not doing it."
But taking these steps pays off in the end. In the case packer situation, after ABB's recommendations were implemented, the number of cases increased by 32,000 per year, putting $224,000 more revenue in the company's pocket. In addition, maintenance took less time, lowering the maintenance cost per case.
"Everything that we do with reliability in industry has to have a dollar value. Otherwise there's no point in doing it," Murray said, excepting employee safety and the environment aspects.
Another often neglected measure is the relationship between overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and profitability. In a pulp and paper mill, OEE was analyzed at 60%, and the mill's profit was about $11.3 million. By raising the performance of OEE's three components—availability, performance and quality yield—by just a few percentage points, and raising overall OEE to 70%, profit nearly doubled, to more than $20.6 million.
This kind of improvement is more important now than ever. "A lot of industries, especially in the U.S., are downsizing or moving operations overseas," Murray said. "They're reducing the number of plants, so the existing plants have to be able to produce more." This scenario makes machine availability a significant factor, he added.
Failures occur for a number of reasons, including environmental, maintenance and operations errors, overstress on the machines, poor design, temperature, variations, and wear over time. "In automotive and all industries we go to, errors are one of the biggest problems," Murray noted. The automotive industry also saw more than its share of failures in the late 1980s because of poor design of robots, which were being hydraulically operated. The food industry is often plagued with small, high-frequency type failures, he added.
Managing failures requires developing an asset hierarchy, and evaluating each level of the hierarchy, Murray said. His team tries to push preventive maintenance in order to start catching potential failures before they become catastrophic. But that doesn't mean that procedures have to be implemented for every component of every machine. "One of the things we always stress is you can't cover every asset in your plant," Murray said. "So what you have to do is focus your attention on the heaviest hitters; the ones that will hurt you the most." He added later, "There's always a financial or safety reason why we're doing something. If it doesn't pan out, we generally leave it."
Ultimately, though, failures really shouldn't happen at all, according to Murray. "Unacceptable failures are the result of unmanaged risks," he said. "Most failures can be prevented or at least mitigated."
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| <urn:uuid:28178ff1-5681-4ea8-b7ee-36bd5677e5e3> | 2 | 1.578125 | 0.028537 | en | 0.970701 | http://www.controlglobal.com/articles/2011/abb2011-apw14/ |
protected virtual member function
int_type uflow();
Get character on overflow and advance position
Returns the character at the current input position, and advances the input position pointer.
This virtual member function overrides the inherited member basic_streambuf::uflow, called by members such as sbumpc to request a new character when there are no read positions available at the get pointer (gptr).
The behavior of this member function is similar to that of underflow, except that this function advances the input position.
Return Value
Data races
Modifies the basic_filebuf object.
Exception safety
See also | <urn:uuid:95ed1b0e-e980-4d8c-80eb-bc18dce52b03> | 2 | 2.125 | 0.035698 | en | 0.860729 | http://www.cplusplus.com/reference/fstream/basic_filebuf/uflow/ |
5 Seemingly Harmless Things That Are Stressing You Out
#2. The Geomagnetic Field
The geomagnetic field is a giant wave of magnetic energy that extends from the Earth's core all the way to space, where it meets the sun's solar wind. Occasionally, the sun will let off what is essentially a giant fart into said wind. This causes an eruption of freaking huge solar flares that can reach the size of 10 Earths, heading right at our geomagnetic field with all the subtlety you'd expect of a gargantuan star fart.
Next on Sy-Fy: Giant Magnetic Octopus vs. the Sun.
This disturbance hits Earth with a host of wacky effects, such as sudden changes in weather and the electromagnetic grid. The geomagnetic field can even stop your toilet from working, because the universe enjoys petty dickery like that. But having to call the plumber and explain to his carefully maintained poker face that space broke your toilet again is not the really stressful part about the geomagnetic field. No, it goes directly for your brain.
The Stress Factor:
Scientists have found fairly damning connections between periods of high geomagnetic activity and stress. Not just any kind of stress, either -- we're talking dangerous depression here. Over the course of the last five decades, the peaks of geomagnetism and suicide rates tend to match up. Another study found that 10 to 15 percent of the population appears to be constantly affected by geomagnetic activity.
People in Britain are always bumping into that thing.
While the hows and whys behind the phenomenon aren't entirely clear, the reigning theory suggests that the geomagnetic storms are screwing up our pineal gland -- the part of our brain that senses magnetism much in the same way many animals do. However, the pineal gland doesn't use its magnetism powers for the same reason as the animals (they use it for navigation). It uses its magneto-sense to preside over the circadian rhythm (our internal clock) and melatonin production. Yep, it comes back to melatonin again.
"Could someone turn off the wonders of existence now?"
So just as the dim lights in your bedroom messed up your melatonin production, so does this. And as we established just minutes ago, melatonin helps decide what kind of mood you're in today. Which apparently depends on how flatulent the sun is feeling at the moment.
#1. Smartphones
The smartphone is the defining object of the 2010s, much in the same way iPods were in the 2000s and cocaine was in the 1980s. Everyone and their mother has one, and it's easy to see why: It enables you to read your email while you commute, your calendar is always with you and when you're heading into that important meeting and think you're missing some key information, you can bring up an Internet browser and look at some nice porn to take your mind off it.
It's hard to see how a gadget like that would cause stress. If anything, it should relieve it. Isn't playing a fun iPhone game at the dentist's office better than waiting in silence? Isn't knowing your wife can call you if there is trouble better than not knowing?
But "forgetting" your phone avoids those awkward questions about who you sold your children to.
The Stress Factor:
Have you ever felt "phantom vibrations"? You know what we're talking about; it's where you think you feel a vibrating notification from your phone, yet when you check, nothing has happened. Boom! That's smartphone-induced stress, right there in your face.
It's called the "helpful-stressful cycle," and it works like this: You buy a smartphone with the thought that it would help you manage your workload and schedule. But the rest of the world now knows you have it. Your ability to stay in contact while on the road (or at home, or at a party, or in church, or ...) isn't treated as a nice bonus by the rest of the world. They now expect it. So now it's not just nice that you can be reached if something comes up, it's assumed that you're staying on top of every situation. Sure enough, research has found that your stress levels increase with the number of times you check your texts and emails.
"Huh. I still have no friends."
And that makes it nearly impossible to focus on the task at hand, even if that "task" is a picnic with your wife or a child's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's. Every time you check your email, it takes 64 seconds before your mind can get back to whatever you were doing before. For people who check every few minutes, this can waste hours upon hours of perfectly good brain-time every week.
People wind up obsessing over the blings and buzzes of their phones for the same reason gambling is so addictive; if a person only gets rewarded (with a notification/gambling win) occasionally at random intervals, he'll still keep checking and repeating the action -- because the reward could come aaaany time now.
"Please confirm you received the 40 identical kitten photos. Mom xx"
Find more from XJ at nocabooks.
For more things you didn't know about, check out 6 Secret Monopolies You Didn't Know Run the World and 6 Classic Movies You Didn't Know Were Remakes.
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The neuron has specialized protein machinery.
Nissl substance is the RER of the neuron.
Hippocampal, cerebral eosinophilic granules. Signs of degenerative changes.
These Negri bodies probably mean someone was bitten by a skunk because they are seen in rabies.
These eoisinophilic granules are found in
Substantia Nigra, Pars Compacta,
Brainstem and Cortical
Lewy's bodies of Parkinson's disease.
Microtubules have these scaffold proteins in neurons:
Tau proteins. How are they damaged and what results?
Hyperphosphorylation of Tau proteins leaves mictubules to their own devices where they form filaments. The filaments are the infamous Neuro Fibullary Tangles.
Tau protein abnormalities cause this diseases.
Lou Gherig's
Trisomy 21
In Alzeimer's what neurons are affected?
Limbic, Cholinergic in nucleus of Meynert, and some cortical
In diabetes, there is disruption of microtubule structure by glycosylation. Which viruses would this affect?
Horse Radish Peroxidase
Herpes, Rabies, Polio. Don't forget tetnus toxins.
Which viruses affect what?
Herpes hangs out in the sensory ganglia and rabies and polio affect the skeletal muscles
How does Polio present?
Red Throat! Muscle Pains, Spasms, Respiratory Failure, Urinary retention. 95% of people are asymptomatic.
These Cholinergic Neurons in the midbrain are
Ascending arousal system.
1. Type
2. Synthesis
3. Cycles?
2. Glutamine
3. Astrocytes interconvert glutamine to glutamate.
What is excitotoxicity?
Ischemic stroke patients don't have the ATP to
What is th mechanism of Glutamate toxicity
cause CA flux through NMDA. The CA builds up and starts causing water to rush into the cell.
These two are the principal inhibitors
GABA and Glycine
How is it synthesized?
GABA is synthesized from Glycine
This is a motor disease. It is caused by the loss of these neurons in the basal ganglia
Parkinson's is caused by loss of Dopamine in the basal ganglia.
I am a catecholamine and am unique because I am synthesized in the synaptic vesicle. Ca can affect my levels?
Locus ceruleus, lateral tegmentum,
Epinephrine is made from me.
Loss of dopamine in the mesocortical regions
Negative symptom schizophrenic picture
Loss of dopamine in the mesolimbic regions
Positive symptoms of schizophrenia
Tryptophan hyroxylase is the limiting step in these reactions.
Serotonin synthesis
I am used by neurons in the hypothalamus and am similar to norepi and acetylcholine when it comes to arousal.
Substance P
found in cortex, basal ganglia, and hipocampus.
NMDA glutamate. long term potentiation happens here.
AMPA long term depression
This is not lockjaw(tetanus) it causes flacid paralysis. Polio is also a flacid.
Where does curare bind
nicotenic receptor. It is not an acetyl cholinesterase inhibitor. | <urn:uuid:81b2e7ac-cf99-4241-aaca-c2fb112db5ac> | 3 | 2.828125 | 0.096319 | en | 0.827605 | http://www.cram.com/flashcards/neuro-cards-2-functional-units-1314145 |
Understanding Scientology, by Margery Wakefield - Next - Previous
Chapter 10
Religion Inc. -- The Selling of Scientology
-- Religion, by L. Ron Hubbard
I entreat you students not to be carried away by the claims that any and many "teachers" or "masters" make. ESPECIALLY, BEWARE OF ANY TEACHER, OR SCHOOL, WHICH CLAIMS TO HAVE ABSOLUTE TRUTH AND ESPECIALLY WATCH YOUR MONEY DONATIONS.
-- The Art and Practice of the Occult, by Ophiel
During the 1930s, L. Ron Hubbard had acquired a formidable reputation as a writer of pulp fiction and science fiction. Fans looked forward to his swashbuckling tales each month, and they were rarely disappointed. Whether it was westerns, full of the drama and dust of the West, or adventures set in the exotic Orient, or eerie science fiction tales -- Hubbard seemed to have tapped into an inexhaustible supply of plots and characters. His fertile imagination, coupled with a prodigious writing talent, his capacity for an amazingly prolific verbal output, made him the envy of many of his fiction-writing peers.
Any lesser man would have been satisfied with the success that Hubbard had found as an adventure writer. But Hubbard was no ordinary man. Burning inside him was, as he once confided in an associate, "an insatiable lust for money and power." He had made remarks more than once to friends that he was considering starting his own religion. He told one friend that he had not decided whether to destroy the Catholic Church, or "merely start a new one." (1)
And the now famous quote which he made to a writer's conference, that it was silly to write for a penny a word, and that the real way to make a million dollars was to start your own religion.
Scientology is about money. In Governing Policy Hubbard wrote:
Hubbard was probably one of the, if not the, most successful con men that ever lived. He was able to convince thousands of people to sell their homes, liquidate their assets, and give everything they had to him, in exchange for the questionable commodity of spiritual salvation for eternal lifetimes to come. And not only did they buy it, but they bought it fully believing they had made the best of the bargain.
A recent issue of Impact, a Scientology magazine, contains a revealing list of "Patrons of the Association," a list of 972 people who have donated money to the International Association of Scientologists. What is remarkable about this list is that of the 972 donors listed, 844 had donated more than $40,000, 99 had donated more than $100,000 and 29 had donated over $250,000 for a grand total of over 50 million dollars!
That kind of "giving" by parishioners might well be the envy of many other churches.
It has always been difficult for outsiders to ascertain certain information about Scientology, because of the secrecy of the organization about its financial and membership statistics, and the tendency of the organization to inflate or deflate those statistics to their advantage.
For example, as far back as 1978, Scientology claimed to have 5,437,000 members internationally. For the past ten years they have been claiming to have 6 million members around the globe. Yet in an internal church memo released this year, Scientologists were told that the membership of the church was twenty five thousand, and they were exhorted to work to increase that figure by a factor of four so that the church could have 100,000 members.
Conversely, the church has systematically underreported its income and assets; however, reports from defecting members have provided some clues as to Scientology's finances.
In the September 1981 issue of Reader's Digest it was reported that at that time Scientology was grossing $100 million a year, a figure substantiated by courtroom testimony a year later in which a recent defector from Scientology reported that the church was grossing 2 million dollars a week. It was also reported that the church in Clearwater alone was grossing a million dollars per week, and that the staff was put on a diet of rice and beans when this quota was not met.
The same court testimony produced the information that at least 100 million dollars had been illegally smuggled out of the country and stashed in various foreign accounts in Lichtenstein and Luxembourg. And Forbes magazine in 1986 reported the net worth of the church at that time as 400 million dollars.
Scientologists, especially those working as "staff," are constantly under pressure to increase the flow of funds into the organization. An example of this is what one writer has dubbed "the billion dollar caper."
In a taped briefing to his staff, Hubbard said: "MONEY! REPEAT MONEY! REPEAT MONEY! REPEAT MONEY!" (2)
Scientology had long had a network of "missions," small Scientology organizations accessible to the public which offered beginning Scientology services. The owners of these missions were probably the only entrepreneurs in Scientology, and many of them did very well financially with the missions.
Until 1982, these missions were loosely organized by the Scientology Missions Office World Wide. But in 1982, Scientology, under its new leadership, and presumably masterminded by Hubbard, decided to "nationalize" these missions and milk the affluent owners of their assets.
It was announced to these mission holders that a new umbrella organization was being established, the Scientology Missions International. Many of the mission holders were required to buy a $35,000 "mission starters packet" even though their missions had been operating for years.
To add insult to injury, the mission holders were informed that their missions were to be visited by the "International Finance Police," who would be going over their finances -- a privilege for which the mission would be billed at the rate of $15,000 per day. The "International Finance Police" were organized by an "International Finance Dictator."
Through these and other acts of terrorism, a full scale purge took place throughout Scientology in which many of the long standing Scientologists were thrown out or forced out of the organization by the new management, the children who had grown up under Hubbard and who now ruthlessly seized power in the organization.
"I have never lied to you," Hubbard once assured his followers. And yet, in an article called What Your Donations Buy, he wrote benevolently:
I know that Dianetic and Scientology services should be free and I wish they were.
Personally I have tried to do my part in this. None of the researches of Dianetics and Scientology were ever actually paid for out of organizational fees. With my typewriter I paid for the research myself.
Independent of research costs, the 13-1/2 million dollars that churches owed me for services rendered, the usual author's royalties, lectures, loans, things paid out of my own pocket, I forgave and never collected.
So the donations you make for services do not go to me....
Hubbard then claimed that the money from Scientology was spent in "keeping the church alive and functioning and the environment safe."
So where did Hubbard get his money?
In the 1960s, Hubbard told a reporter from The Daily Mail in England that he had 7 million dollars in a Swiss bank, money he claimed, that he had inherited in oil lands in Montana.
Defectors from Scientology in the early 1980s portray quite a different picture. According to the Forbes magazine issue of October 27, 1986, in 1982 at least 40 million dollars had gone directly to Hubbard, channeled through various Scientology corporations.
One defector, Homer Schomer, says that in 1983, he was personally making out checks to Hubbard each week for a million dollars from Scientology funds. In other words, Hubbard was making 52 million dollars a year from Scientology. A dozen different corporations were set up to disguise these payments to Hubbard. According to one ex-member:
The problem was how were we going to get the money for Hubbard? He was not supposed to take the money personally. So separate corporations were set up. This is RRF, Religious Research Foundation. We used to call it Ralph. That was a code name.
Money would be put into Ralph, that would be accounts in Lichtenstein. This is a Liberian Corporation. And he would draw from it. So in other words all of this money actually made its way over to Ralph. It went through these various people and various organizations, and from Ralph, then it went right to Hubbard. (3)
Later, an even simpler means of channeling money to Hubbard was devised, which was for Hubbard to bill Scientology retroactively for his various services and research. For example, the church was billed 85 million dollars by Hubbard for the use of the E-meter, which he claimed to have developed.
If not already obvious, the mercenary nature of Scientology can be clearly seen in many of its policies and practices.
One example is a policy by Hubbard called How to Sell Scientology, which is an interesting title for the policy of a "church" In this policy he instructs his followers to talk about the brutalities of psychiatry, saying that "if you get real insistent, even oddly accusative of listener, even slightly angry on this point and stress it over and over, you should get some people willing to come to a (lecture)."
Another bulletin announces the "Overwhelming Public Popularity" campaign, in which a media blitz in the San Francisco area will "get the broad general public knowing about and wanting Scientology."
How many churches have a trained corps of salespersons working on a commission basis to provide a constant supply of paying public to the organization? How many churches offer "rebates" on the services purchased by parishioners?
In Scientology, salespersons called FSMs (Field Staff Members) are trained to recruit people for Scientology services. The FSMs earn a 10-15% commission on everyone they "select" for a Scientology service, depending on the type of service.
FSMs are drilled on the "dissemination drill," in which they learn to locate a person's "ruin." The dissemination drill is a four step drill, consisting of the steps: 1. contact; 2. handle; 3. salvage; and 4. bring to understanding.
The FSM contacts a potential recruit in any of a variety of ways, "handles" any objections the person might have about Scientology, then probes through conversation to discover the person's "ruin," the one thing in his life he will pay almost anything to overcome. Once the "ruin" is discovered, the person can be "brought to understanding" by being told: "Scientology handles that (problem)."
Once the new person is on the Communication Course, he will be shepherded onto subsequent courses by the FSM, who will receive commissions for everything his selectee does in Scientology.
FSMs go through an intensive training course, on which they are given tips on how to increase their commissions. They are trained in the use of "Come-on" dissemination, in which they learn to create some "mystery" to attract the new person into Scientology. They are taught to use books, primarily the Dianetics book, to lure people into Scientology. They learn a technique called the "casualty contact," in which they go as "ministers" into a hospital and recruit people to Scientology.
FSMs are taught that their purpose is to "help LRH (Hubbard) contact, handle, salvage and bring to understanding the individuals and thus the peoples of earth." (4)
For successful FSMs, there is even the "FSM of the Year Award," at which the FSM with the "highest statistics" for the year is awarded a silver cup.
When a new person begins a course in Scientology, he is told that if he doesn't like the course, he can get a full refund. What he is not told is to what lengths he will have to go to get the promised refund. A dissatisfied person applying for a refund in Scientology is first subjected to an extensive "routing form," requiring him to go around the organization and be interviewed by at least a dozen people as to the reason he is requesting a refund. Even after completing this tortuous procedure, there is no guarantee that he will ever receive his refund. He may find that letters and even repeated phone calls will go unanswered indefinitely, until he will finally require the services of an attorney to recover the promised refund.
Another Scientology policy is the "freeloader's bill." A person who signs on as "staff" in a Scientology organization by signing either a 2-1/2 year, five-year or billion-year contract of employment is technically entitled to free services (auditing or training). However, if the person becomes dissatisfied and decides to leave staff, he will immediately receive a "freeloader's bill," in which he will be billed for all services received as a staff member, but at full rates.
Since the charges for auditing range from $300 to $1000 per hour, this bill can be quite intimidating to the staff person, particularly since they are often threatened with expulsion from Scientology or a "lower condition" unless they pay the bill. Since most Scientologists believe that their spiritual survival for the "next endless trillions of years" is dependent on Scientology, the threat of being expelled or having their relationship with Scientology jeopardized is no small matter.
There is an even more ominous policy in Scientology having to do with defectors from the organization. The person in Scientology undergoing auditing is continually told that his auditing file is confidential. This is so he will feel comfortable divulging the most personal things to the auditor. Yet, unbeknownst to the person being audited, there is a policy in the organization, GO Order 121669, which explicitly orders the culling of confessional folders for information to use against people who are "security risks."
In one such case, a letter is written by a Scientologist to a member who is obviously disaffected, informing him that: "the review (of his folder) shows that you actually make more money than you report to the IRS and that you are skimming around $2500 off the top prior to reports," and threatening to make this information public should the person not come into line.
One judge who looked into Scientology called it: "the world's largest organization of unqualified persons engaged in the practice of dangerous techniques which masquerade as mental therapy." (5)
Is Scientology a religion?
Or is it a business masquerading as a religion?
Let the reader judge for himself.
1. Miller, p. 144
2. Corydon, p. 200
3. Ibid, p. 199
4. Hubbard policy of 9 May 1965, "Field Auditors Become Staff"
5. Justice Andersen, Supreme Court of Victoria, Australia
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Public school vouchers: not a good idea
PUBLIC school vouchers will receive increasing notice over the next few months as a promising way to improve elementary and secondary education in the United States. This attention will come at a time when proponents of tuition tax credits for private schools concede little chance for their proposals to pass Congress. Public school vouchers are viewed as more acceptable on Capitol Hill by advocates of ``family choice'' in schooling. As a political strategy to break the nation's commitment to traditional public school finance, the voucher on the surface looks promising. It doesn't divert public funds to private schools, and what could be more democratic than family choice? But proponents vastly oversimplify the funneling of dollars to educate individual students, and they ignore the erosion of public control over schools under a voucher system.
Although special-education students are more expensive to educate than ``regular'' students -- a special formula would be necessary under a voucher system to pay this expense -- there also is a range of costs of regular students, which few people understand. If the average cost of schooling at Hometown High School is $3,000 a year, the assumption is made that every family would qualify for a $3,000 voucher per student. But the actual expense of educating a ``regular'' student might range from $2,200 to $4,000 or more. No school spends close to the same amount on each student; all schools subsidize the education of some students. A subsidized student cannot buy the education he currently receives at another school with a $3,000 voucher. If he moves, he gets fewer resources. If he stays and the ``inexpensive'' students move with their $3,000 vouchers, then he also has fewer resources back at the home school. It's an interesting dilemma for a nation committed to promoting the general welfare by educating all students to their potential.
Some of these expensive students are enrolled in remedial courses with class sizes of 15 students. Others are in technological or vocational classes with expensive equipment: The space to be heated, lighted, and cleaned may be three times that of a history classroom. They are also students in slower classes, where extra assistance is needed. Also, they are students who use counseling or psychological services frequently. Twenty percent of the students use 80 percent of a counselor's time.
Recommended: Could you pass a US citizenship test?
How do we assign a voucher that fairly matches the actual cost of the student's education? Do we price out the schooling of each student and give $3,600 to one family and $2,600 to another? This would be absurd. So would be the alternative of allocating the same amount of dollars for each student. All schools would recruit the college-bound students with good grades, because they are the easiest and the least expensive to educate.
The most rational financial system is one that takes the sum of resources available for schools in a community and directs them in the fairest way possible to all the students in that community. The traditional approach to school finance is the most flexible, the least bureaucratic, and the most beneficial in the long run. Services to individual students flow from the sum of resources available for all students.
A second deficiency of public school vouchers is that community control of school policy would be eroded. Under a voucher plan, parents would gain power, since the vouchers would become theirs to spend. The general citizenry, however, would become disenfranchised, because policy would be determined by private expenditure. It would be the ultimate example of private consumerism at public expense. But the public possesses a vital interest in its basic economic resource, the educated human mind. The public must maintain this interest.
Finally, the red flag of the Alum Rock School voucher experiment should be raised. In the late 1970s, under an $8 million federal grant, the Alum Rock School District, near San Jose, Calif., launched a five-year public school voucher plan that offered parents a choice of 54 programs. The Rand Corporation evaluated the experiment and concluded: (1) Student and parent interest in transferring to another school was very low after the initial year, despite free transportation; (2) the experiment made no significant difference in student attitudes or achievements; (3) community interest was insufficient to sustain the voucher system after federal funds were withdrawn.
Public school vouchers appeal at first glance. But if the public's general interest in developing brain power for the future growth of the nation is legitimate, along with a parent's particular interest in a child, then the power to make educational policy must be shared. And if we want a new engine to improve schooling, let us first avoid installing an old and defective part.
Scott D. Thomson is executive director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
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Drinking water is often advised as a way to quicken the weight loss process. However, a nutrition expert from the University of Alabama in Birmingham says water isn't the "magic bullet" for losing weight.
"There is very little evidence that drinking water promotes weight loss; it is one of those self-perpetuating myths," said Beth Kitchin, Ph.D., R.D., assistant professor of nutrition sciences. "I'm not saying drinking water isn't good; but only one study showed people who drank more water burned a few extra calories, and it was only a couple of extra calories a day."
Kitchin says another "water myth" is the old advice to drink eight 8oz glasses per day.
"Yes, people do need to get fluids; but it does not have to be water," Kitchin said. "There's no evidence that it melts away fat or makes you feel fuller, so if you don't like water it's OK."
She notes that water is the best hydrator, but in terms of fluid replacement other options will work, including green tea or mineral water/juice combinations.
Caffeinated beverages such as coffee also provide hydration.
The idea that cold water burns more calories, as the body has to work to raise the temperature, is also a myth, according to Kitchin.
The professor recommends following a long-running, research-based weight management program such as EatRight by UAB or Volumetrics.
"These plans were built on the premise that if you eat lower-calorie, 'heavier' foods, you're not going to magically lose 25 more pounds than somebody on a different diet, but it might help you feel fuller and not hungry," Kitchin said. "While drinking water may not help you lose weight, a focus on eating foods with high water content like fruits, veggies and broth-based soups can." | <urn:uuid:5d33ee3b-569e-4695-bbb0-6510d3069b84> | 3 | 2.984375 | 0.811617 | en | 0.98033 | http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/water-not-a-magic-bullet-for-losing-weight-nutrition-expert-says-1.1731389 |
Check Out The Secret High-Tech Circuitry That Controls Apple’s $49 Thunderbolt Cable
As if on cue, the first teardowns of Apple’s Thunderbolt cable have hit the Internet, and prepare to be surprised: that $49 retail price isn’t just the usual Apple tax, but a fair asking price for the advanced circuitry within!
The guys over at iFixIt tore down Apple’s new cable. Amazingly, it’s not just a bunch of copper. Rather, each cable is what is called a “smart” or “Active” cable that contains both circuitry and firmware.
Inside each Thunderbolt cable you’ll find two Gennum GN2033 chips, one in each connector.That’s in addition to 12 other support chips, resistors and electcal components.
What does the Gennum chip do? It’s a transceiver that enables “reliable data transfer at cutting-edge speeds over low cost, thin-gauge copper cables.” Put another way: at data rates above 5Gbps, you need to have chips to adjust for cable attenuation and dispersion properties to maintain a high signal-to-noise ratio.
Here’s the best part of Apple’s Thunderbolt cable: it’s future proof. While the current version uses standard copper, future versions of the Thunderbolt spec call for optical cabling… but when Thunderbolt evolves, your old cables will work just as well as they ever did.
So it seems there’s a lot more going on with Apple’s Thunderbolt cable than it appears at first glance. The only depressing aspect of all of this is that it seems that Thunderbolt cabling will remain extremely dear for awhile, because of the cost of the circuitry within. Don’t expect to pick up a spool of Thunderbolt at Monoprice for pennies on the dollar anytime soon.
• Tomas
Seems a shame that the spec isn’t put together well enough so that the electronics are all BEFORE you get to the cable, so they are only bought once, instead of in each and every cable so one buys “active cables” over and over.
An adaptive interface with the complexity – and electronics – built into the device rather than the cables is, indeed, a more difficult problem, but…
(The idea would be to have the chips in the device interface and only the few passive components that tell the chip what to do to customize the interface for the particular cable in the cable.)
(Disclaimer: Retired telco transmission engineer…)
• 300AShareMakesMeSmile
Oooh! Apple Monster cables.
• Sean Cheesman
How does the device know how long the cable is? What type of cable? By building it into the cable, you take a lot of error control and “guessing” away from the device and allow it to transmit at its full potential. Let the cable manufacturers ensure that the chips are programmed for their specs.
• Tomas
By simply including a few passive devices in the cable connector to tell the chip in the device how long and what type, so that the device chip can can set itself to match the cable.
Ever notice when an Apple monitor is plugged into an Apple computer how the computer knows the monitor’s specs and adjusts to the proper resolution, etc?
Simple fixed passive coding from the monitor.
With Thunderbolt what you have is essentially an active equalizer, and with something like that one can put the “instructions” in the cable and the actual equalizer in the device.
(Of course doing it this way, with the entire active equalizer in the cable, Apple eliminates having to fight the third party makers of cheap cables, and can lock a customer into only buying cables from Apple – at a profit, of course.)
• Bob Forsberg
Is it only me or do I see another betamax thing here vs USB3…USB4.
2′ cable…. 3′ max? Not many peripherals yet and HDMI is still absent on most Apple products.
• oriorda
The price is cheap when you figure what you’re getting. For example, cost/MB/sec.
As soon as there’s volume, someone will come in with low cost, but even if they do, my guess is serious I/O users will opt for the Apple cables. Why risk problems just to save a few bucks?
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Posted in News | Tagged: , , , | | <urn:uuid:5f397168-bf15-4962-bae1-1c60afdeae64> | 2 | 1.820313 | 0.023663 | en | 0.908307 | http://www.cultofmac.com/102985/check-out-the-secret-high-tech-circuitry-that-controls-apples-49-thunderbolt-cable/ |
The first non-static "Santa Rosa" platform
ECS gives a glimpse into the future
Comments Threshold
Won't Robson run out of cycles?
By protosv on 6/6/2006 3:06:40 PM , Rating: 2
While Robson will provide faster boot times, isn't it true that NAND flash memory has a limited number of read/write cycles before sectors start to fail? Wouldn't an HDD, with its high number of read/writes only be able to effectively use the flash memory for a limited number of times before it becomse useless?
By epsilonparadox on 6/6/2006 3:21:41 PM , Rating: 2
If its just the OS on there, then it shouldn't matter unless you're constantly installing new OS.
RE: Won't Robson run out of cycles?
RE: Won't Robson run out of cycles?
RE: Won't Robson run out of cycles?
By DallasTexas on 6/6/2006 3:45:36 PM , Rating: 2
Good observation but a NAND controller (hardware) has ECC built in and a NAND file manager (installable) is able to do "wear-leveling" as implied above as well as block reallocation much like a HDD controller remaps bad sectors.
Also, faster boot is just one positive here. Faster application load, lower energy consumption and buffering will result in a significant platform level improvement. Super Intel technology here.
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Autopsy, Psychological
The first psychological autopsy study was most likely Gregory Zilboorg's investigation of ninety-three consecutive suicides by police officers in New York City between 1934 and 1940. In 1958 the chief medical examiner of the Los Angeles Coroners Office asked a team of professionals from the Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Center to help in his investigations of equivocal cases where a cause of death was not immediately clear. From these investigations, the psychiatrist Edwin Shneidman coined the phrase "psychological autopsy" to describe the procedure he and his team of researchers developed during those investigations. The method involved talking in a tactful and systematic manner to key persons—a spouse, lover, parent, grown child, friend, colleague, physician, supervisor, and coworker—who knew the deceased. Their practice of investigating equivocal deaths in Los Angeles continued for almost thirty years and allowed for more accurate classification of equivocal deaths as well as contributing to experts' understanding of suicide.
In the 1970s and 1980s, researchers using the psychological autopsy method investigated risk factors for suicide. Psychological autopsies have confirmed that the vast majority of suicide victims could be diagnosed as having had a mental disorder, usually depression, manic depression, or alcohol or drug problems. Other studies focused upon the availability of firearms in the home of suicide completers, traumatic events in person's lives, and other psychological and social factors.
There are two major trends in the use of psychological autopsies: research investigation and clinical and legal use. Research investigations generally involve many people who died by suicide and comparing the results with another group, for example, accident victims, in order to see if some factors are important in discriminating between suicides and other deaths. Clinical and legal use of psychological autopsies involves investigations of a single death in order to clarify why or how a person died. These often involve descriptive interpretations of the death and may include information to help family and friends better understand why a tragic death occurred. They also may lead to suggesting means of preventing suicides, for example by suggesting improvements in hospital treatment or suicide prevention in jails.
Psychological autopsies have been conducted for literary interpretation of the deaths of famous people. Of note is Shneidman's analysis eighty-eight years later of the death of Malcolm Melville in 1867, the son of Moby Dick author Herman Melville. They also have been used in legal cases to settle estate questions concerning the nature of death; for example, the death of the billionaire Howard Hughes. Psychological autopsies have been used in criminal investigations of blame, including one case where a mother was found guilty of numerous abusive behaviors toward a child who had committed suicide.
There is no consensus on the exact procedure for conducting a psychological autopsy. However, psychological autopsy studies for research purposes often use complex methods to ensure that the information is reliable and valid. All psychological autopsies are based upon possibly biased recollections. Nevertheless, the psychological autopsy constitutes one of the main investigative tools for understanding suicide and the circumstances surrounding death.
See also: Autopsy ; Suicide Influences and Factors: Alcohol and Drug Use, Mental Illness
Friedman, P. "Suicide among Police: A Study of 93 Suicides among New York City Policemen, 1934–1940." In Edwin S. Shneidman ed., Essays in Self-Destruction. New York: Science House, 1967.
Jabobs, D., and M. E. Klein. "The Expanding Role of Psychological Autopsies." In Antoon A. Leenaars ed., Suicidology: Essays in Honor of Edwin S. Shneidman. Northvale, NJ: Aronson, 1993.
Litman, Robert, T. Curphey, and Edwin Shneidman. "Investigations of Equivocal Suicides." Journal of the American Medical Association 184, no. 12 (1963):924–929.
Shneidman, Edwin S. "Some Psychological Reflections on the Death of Malcom Melville." Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior 6, no. 4 (1976):231–242.
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Aug 12, 2008 @ 6:06 am
I found this article to be very informative annd it has helped me in a course I am currently taking
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Nov 20, 2009 @ 5:05 am
Excellent points on the history of Psychosocial autopsy. We here in Kerala State of India is planning to do Psycosocial Autopsy of 100 cases. can you help and guide us by sending a standard protocol for such a work ?
Autopsy, Psychological forum | <urn:uuid:2080f964-55a0-4fa3-b992-f68714e1c7aa> | 3 | 3 | 0.028229 | en | 0.924779 | http://www.deathreference.com/A-Bi/Autopsy-Psychological.html |
WASHINGTON — Citing the principle of equality that drove the nation's founding, President Barack Obama spoke out Friday against California's ban on same-sex marriage and said the Supreme Court should strike it down.
A day after his administration filed a friend-of-the-court brief unequivocally calling on the justices to strike down California's Proposition 8 ballot measure, Obama said he thought there was no way for his administration to avoid the case.
The nation has gone through the same evolution he has gone through about how same-sex couples should be treated under the law, said Obama, who once opposed same-sex marriage but changed his position last year during his re-election campaign.
The administration's brief outlined a broad legal argument that could ultimately be applied to state prohibitions across the country but stops short of the soaring rhetoric on marriage equality Obama expressed in his inaugural address in January.
Obama said the brief didn't explicitly argue that same-sex marriage should be made legal in every state because the case before the court deals specifically with California.
| <urn:uuid:f05cb742-6478-4b37-91f3-532091ba0af7> | 2 | 1.8125 | 0.101969 | en | 0.974358 | http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_22700137/gay-marriage-obama-says-it-was-important-get?source=rss |
STORIES FROM THE FIELD logo competition
Competition Details
Logo for The United Nations Documentary Film Festival
by Darya Zaitsava
The logo presents by three ryes in three different colors united by the film stripe. Each color represents one of the Millennium Goals. The orange represents the warm, energy and happiness, which mean that UNO will help to bring in every need home the warmth, happiness and food. This will reduce amount of poverty, mortality and hunger.
The green is the color of growth, environment and health. This mean that trough the festival people all over the world will get messages and will help to ensure environmental problems, fight against diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and other.
The blue color is the color of peace, education and hope, which represent the following goals: achieve universal primary education, promote gender quality and empower of women.
The film stripe represents the development of a global partnership for development. The amount of ryes is three, which is symbolizing a lucky number for this campaign. These three rye themselves is the harvest of the festival and all job that was done by UNO members.
Short version: Trajan Pro
Full version: main-Trajan Pro; secondary – Helvetica Neue LT | <urn:uuid:89b07ece-6d83-4c06-91ec-544aa7d86897> | 2 | 2.1875 | 0.043585 | en | 0.926679 | http://www.design21sdn.com/competitions/9/entries/2412/gallery?show_all_entries=false |
Breeds Home > Breed List > Ba-Shar
Ba-Shar Breed Information
Recognized By: DBR , IDCR
Mispellings: Bashar
Caring for a Ba-Shar
Feeding: If the Ba-Shar is kept on a good diet they will not need lots of food.
Living with a Ba-Shar
Family Dog: The Ba-Shar makes a great family dog.
Training: The Ba-Shar can be stubborn and should be trained early.
Behavior: The Ba-Shar loves to show-off and get attention. They tend to be laid back but they will guard their home and owner if needed.
Barking: The Ba-Shar is not a huge barker.
Exercise: The Ba-Shar does not need a ton of exercise but they do like to have a romp occasionally.
Ba-Shar Appearance
Appearance: The Ba-Shar is low to the ground with a long Basset body and large skull.
Size: A Ba-Shar can weigh between 30 to 60 pounds when fully grown.
Companionship: The Ba-Shar loves to cuddle.
Eyes: The Ba-Shar has brown eyes.
Ears: The Ba-Shar has long, floppy ears.
Forequarters: The Ba-Shar has short legs.
Gait: The Ba-Shar may appear as if they have 'wiggly hips' when they walk like a Basset.
Tail: The tail of the Ba-Shar is long and curved with a curl at the end.
Ba-Shar Facts
Life Expectancy: The average life expectancy of the Ba-Shar is 8 to 10 years.
Characteristics: The Ba-Shar has a high chase instinct and love to chase toys and wild animals.
| <urn:uuid:7be31f70-f025-46c3-8079-038fbe64cdcc> | 2 | 2.203125 | 0.021625 | en | 0.91381 | http://www.designermixes.org/breed_info/48/ba-shar.aspx |
Stool Infinite (Stool) by Fernanda Marques
In the middle of the last decade, the brazilian architect Fernanda Marques began their research in order to produce contemporary furniture design. For a long time, Fernanda has been interested in giving a more authorial approach to their interior projects: then came the idea of giving a bigger autonomy to their creations.
a furniture of strong presence, and particular sinuosity, that reproduces the movement of a centipide. More than that, a pice that has in the versatility one of its strengths and incorporates definitely the idea of moving to design. Expressing the requirements of the architect, the stool was made of certificated wood and was designed to provide continuous growing, by the attaching of new units to each furniture. In fact, consistent with the concept of design, there are no limitations on the number of units of wood that can be attached to each piece, by means of metallic junctions.
Design Challenges
Fernanda Marques did not encounter any design challenges while designing the award winning Stool Infinite Stool.
Production Technology
From an engineering point of view, the Stool Infinite Stool by Fernanda Marques is a good example of a highly-developed project. | <urn:uuid:17be8236-d755-4fd5-9228-22de53a8b953> | 2 | 1.90625 | 0.032104 | en | 0.941585 | http://www.designmag.org/design.php?ID=25531 |
The White Cliffs of Dover
Known throughout the world, the iconic White Cliffs are internationally recognised, so much so they were voted Britain’s most popular stretch of coastline. They have witnessed much action and invasions throughout centuries – the historic Dunkirk evacuation was even planned from within them. Today they provide a welcome sight to the millions of visitors who visit White Cliffs Country.
The White Cliffs of Dover are one of Britain's most instantly recognised natural landmarks. Rising out of the English Channel to over 300ft high in places, they are a dramatic and inspiring sight from the sea and provide superb views out across the Channel towards France. The cliffs stretch for 10 miles between Folkestone to the west and Walmer to the east. | <urn:uuid:adcc4b70-2020-4bb7-90cc-29daddca0940> | 2 | 2.1875 | 0.02188 | en | 0.956696 | http://www.dover.gov.uk/welcome/cliffs.aspx |
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An Introduction to Intel QuickPath Interconnect
The authors are engineers for Intel and authors of Weaving High Performance Multi-Core Processor Fabric on which this article is based. Copyright (c) 2009 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved.
The invention of the microprocessor started a revolution in computing. The Intel 4004, the first commercial single chip microprocessor, was very basic in its design and architecture with very modest instruction and data rates. These rates matched well with the memory technology of the day, and very useable and balanced systems could be constructed by directly connecting the processor to memory. A system bus served as the interconnect mechanism and carried the data between the memory subsystem and the processor.
The architecture of the microprocessor evolved over time and the clock rates increased manyfold with improvements in the micro-architecture and advancements in silicon technology. This increase in computing power required greater data rates from memory, but corresponding improvements were made in DRAM technology and the requirements for data were readily met by the memory systems of the day. The technology of signaling also improved and the data rate of the interface kept up with the rest of the system.
Things changed in the 1980s with the advent of more sophisticated, pipelined architectures of microprocessors, such as the 80486. The DRAMs could no longer keep pace with the data rates required and cache memory was introduced. This high speed memory is built with fast SRAM technology. It has low latency and the high data rates required to keep the processor operating without stalling while waiting for data from the relatively slower DRAMs. However, cache memory has to be small in order to provide the greater speed required of it. As a result, the caches store a small portion of the data in the main system memory. They rely on the fact that typical programs are composed of small sequences of straight line code that loop back to repeatedly execute the same code many times, and that programs tend to operate on the same set of data entities for a while before moving on to next set of data.
The cache exploits these characteristics to provide a significant reduction in latency and high data throughput. It does so by fetching sequences of data from system memory beyond that which is immediately requested by the processor and storing it for fast access when it is needed. The system interconnect evolved to serve as the interface between the cache and the system memory and typically carries sequential bursts of data called cache lines. A cache line can be anywhere from 16 to 128 bytes of sequentially addressed data depending upon the design of the cache. The DRAMs of the system memory are well suited to provide such a burst of data at high speed from an open page. The signaling technology of the interconnect also evolved to run at higher data rates, keeping up with the needs of the faster processors.
The next change in computers and interconnect systems occurred in the early 1990s with the introduction of multiprocessor systems. Two or more processors were connected to a common, shared memory system over the system interconnect. These processors operated in concert to share the overall workload and provided higher performance over a single processor. The system interconnect had to evolve yet again to efficiently handle requests from all the processor systems in the system. This was achieved by fairly handling requests between all the processors and pipelining their requests to memory to use the interface efficiently. The signaling technology was updated to handle the electrical loads of multiple processors on a single bus at high transfer rates. The system interconnect was also enhanced to properly share the data in the caches in the processors.
The Intel Pentium Pro microprocessor was the first Intel architecture microprocessor to provide a system interconnect, the Front Side Bus (also abbreviated as the FSB), which supported symmetric multiprocessing. The Front Side Bus can connect up to four processors, a memory controller, and an I/O controller. The FSB can pipeline up to eight transactions for high throughput. GTL signaling is used to operate at clock rates of 400 MHz and data transfer rates of up to 1.6 Gigatransfers per second. The FSB also provides mechanisms to ensure that all the processors' caches share data from system memory properly and do not use stale data that has been modified in another processor's cache. Sharing data coherently between caches is a very key capability required in any high performance interconnect and we will delve into it in detail.
The Front Side Bus served the needs of the Pentium Pro family of processors and was then enhanced to meet the needs of Pentium 4 processors that followed. The improvements in bandwidth were achieved by increasing the data transfer rates up to 1.6 gigabytes per second. This was achieved by reducing the number of processors connected to a single bus down to two and eventually to one. Thus a four-processor system required four Front Side Busses to connect the four processors to a single central memory controller. This proved to be a very expensive solution in that the memory controller required over a thousand pins just to accommodate the four Front Side Busses and more to handle the interface to memory. Moreover the single memory controller became a severe bottleneck in the system and limited both the memory size and bandwidth that could be built into a system.
The Intel QuickPath Interconnect starts by taking a fresh look at the architecture of the entire system and provides a complete solution to address these limitations. It is a very high performance fabric that is at the heart of very scalable and high performance systems with low system and silicon cost. The Intel QuickPath Interconnect architecture has been designed for the future generations of Intel processors and provides plenty of headroom for growth in performance and features. The Intel QuickPath Interconnect achieves these goals through the use of a narrow, high speed point-to-point links that require less than half the number of signals of the Front Side Bus for lower cost and yet provide fifty percent more bandwidth for higher performance. The Intel QuickPath Interconnect is also far more flexible and allows one to build very scalable systems around multiple processors, memory controllers, and I/O controllers. Systems based on Intel QPI can choose to integrate the memory controller and I/O controllers on to the same die with the processor and create a very scalable system that can be upgraded in a modular fashion. Every processor added to a system will bring additional memory bandwidth and capacity with its integrated memory controller and providing a very cost effective upgrade that offers a well balanced system. The Intel QuickPath Interconnect also provides efficient means to resolve cache coherence between multiple processors.
Let us look at the issues created by multiple caches in a system and the ways to keep them coherent so that all processors get the most up-to-date information. We will then describe the high performance cache coherence mechanisms in the Intel QuickPath Interconnect and how they can handle from two to as many as 128 or more caches in a system.
Solving the Cache Coherency Problem
Whenever multiple processors, each with its own cache, cooperate to access and modify data in a shared memory system, they run the risk of accessing stale or outdated data that may have been modified by one of the other processors. This cache coherency problem can be best illustrated by an example from the real world.
Let us say that Mary, an attorney in a law firm, has to draw up a legal contract. She pulls together a team of experts, Robert, Janice, Patty, and Tom, who will all help to create the final document. Mary starts with boilerplate for the contract and creates a table of contents assigning page numbers to each section. She shares this with her team. She then prints out the boilerplate document and places it in a central location accessible to the entire team.
Robert decides he needs to study pages 7 through 10 and makes copies of those pages and take them to his office for his own use. Similarly Janice decides he needs pages 8 through 10 and copies and takes them. Similarly Patty and Tom make copies of pages that are of interest to them and all four team members have pages in their respective caches. Multiple copies of any page can exist and each individual can refer to his or her own copy.
If Robert decides that he has no further use for page 9 he can destroy his copy of that page. This ability to cache copies of pages works well as long as no member makes any changes to the pages in his or her office. However if Robert decides to change the contents of page 10 then he must take steps to ensure that Janice is not working with obsolete information on her copy of that page. If Janice too decides to update page 10 she makes the problem even worse. This is the basis of the problem of cache coherency.
The team must institute a set of rules on how to handle updates to ensure that they have a graceful way of collaborating to produce a coherent document. This set of rules can range from something very simple but restrictive and with much overhead to one that is more sophisticated and lets each team member to work much more autonomously. Let us look at two ways of keeping the caches coherent.
Write-Through Caching. The team can follow a simple set of rules whenever anyone decides to update a page. In our example above when Robert is ready to update page 10 he tells the other team members that he is doing so, giving them the page number. They all check to see if they have copies of the pages and if so destroy their copies. Robert then makes the change to page 10 and places it at the central location and can choose to keep a copy for himself, if he desires. If Janice now decides to make a change to the same page she must go the central location for the latest copy as she destroyed her copy of the page when Robert announced his intention to update page 10. She too must announce to all that she is about to change page 10 and they all, including Robert, must destroy their copies of that page. Once she makes her update she too must place a copy of the updated page in the central location. In case both Robert and Janice decided to make the change simultaneously they can toss a coin to decide who goes first. The other will then have to fetch the updated copy from the central location to merge in his or her updates. This mechanism, referred to as write-through caching, is the simplest form of a cache coherence mechanism for handling updates. A simple and efficient mechanism is required to announce which page is being changed. Each team member must always take the time to put the most up-to-date copy of the page in the central location after every update, for all the others to use.
Write-Back Caching. The team members decide that this is unnecessary overhead and should be able to keep the pages they have modified as they are likely to make several more updates to them again. However they would forward it to other members when requested. This is write-back caching and is the cache coherence mechanism used on modern microprocessors.
Let us see how our legal team would work under the rules of write-back caching. Robert starts by getting copies of pages 7 through 10. He announces to all the others that he has done so. Next Janice get pages 8 through 10 and announces to all members that she has done so. Robert, Patty, and Tom check their copies of pages to see if they have any one of the ones Janice has fetched. Robert sees that he does and makes a notation on his copies of pages 8 through 10 that they are shared and he also lets Janice know that he has copies of those pages. Janice now marks her copies of pages 8 through 10 as shared with someone else. Note that Robert is the only one with a copy of page 7 and it exclusively in his cache as long as no one else fetches a copy.
When Robert is ready to make his updates and starts with page 10 he sees that it is shared with someone else. So he announces his intention to modify the page and looks for a response from the rest of the team. All the others check their copies of the pages and destroy their copies as none of them has made any changes to their copy. So Janice throws away her copy of page 10. Robert now makes the change to page 10 and keeps it with him. At this point he has the only copy of the most up-to-date contents of that page so he marks it as such, as having been modified. When Janice is ready to make a change to page 10 she goes to the central location to get a copy but also announces to all her desire to change it. Robert, seeing that he has the most up-to-date copy he modified informs Janice of this. He then gives her the page he modified leaving him without a copy. Now Janice has the only copy and she can update it or store it in her cache. However she must not destroy it as this is the only copy of that page that is up-to-date. If Robert and Janice had both decide to update the page simultaneously then one of them would have gone first and then handed the modified page to the other for further updates.
Recapping each team member can hold copies of pages as long as they keep track of the state of the page in the system. The page can be:
• Shared with one or more members of the team. The team member can destroy this page at any time if he or she no longer needs it and does not need to inform anyone of that action.
• Exclusive in only one cache. This exclusive copy of the page has not been updated but can be updated by the owner of that page without informing anyone else of the change. The owner can destroy her copy if she no longer needs it as this page is up to date in the central location.
• Modified. This page can exist in only one cache. The owner can make further changes to it at will without informing the other team members. The owner must forward the page to anyone else who needs it. If the owner no longer needs the page then she or he must put it back in the central location as it is the only up to date copy.
The team members must communicate with each other to properly share the pages of their document. All of the communication for this purpose is termed coherence traffic. However, the team members may also send messages to each other for other purposes. For example, if Janice decides to take a coffee break and invites Robert to join her, messages between them about breaking for coffee would have no bearing on the shared document and would be termed as non-coherent traffic in computer parlance.
Tying It All Together
Multiple processor systems operate under very similar rules for sharing data described in our example above. The caches, represented by the team members above, can hold multiple entities of data called cache lines. Each cache line is typically composed of 64 bytes of data and is the smallest entity handled and tracked by the cache-akin to the page in our example. The cache controller tracks the state of each cache line and marks it as Shared, Exclusive, or Modified and responds accordingly. If a cache line is no longer up to date in a cache the controller marks it as Invalid. These, taken together, are referred to by their initials as the MESI states. The central memory in a computer system is the common repository of the document in our example above. A typical computer system has at least one memory controller that interfaces with the banks of DRAM memory.
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Prototype Superconducting Rectifier is Magnetic-Field-Tunable
Fri, 01/08/2010 - 3:00am
(Goddard Space Flight Center) - Superconducting electronic components have been developed that provide current rectification that is tunable by design and with an externally applied magnetic field to the circuit component. The superconducting material used in the device is relatively free of pinning sites with its critical current determined by a geometric energy barrier to vortex entry.
The ability of the vortices to move freely inside the device means this innovation does not suffer from magnetic hysteresis effects changing the state of the superconductor. The invention requires a superconductor geometry with opposite edges along the direction of current flow. In order for the critical current asymmetry effect to occur, the device must have different vortex nucleation conditions at opposite edges.
Alternative embodiments producing the necessary conditions include edges being held at different temperatures, at different local magnetic fields, with different current-injection geometries, and structural differences between opposite edges causing changes in the size of the geometric energy barrier. An edge fabricated with indentations of the order of the coherence length will significantly lower the geometric energy barrier to vortex entry, meaning vortex passage across the device at lower currents causing resistive dissipation.
The existing prototype is a two-terminal device consisting of a thin-film superconducting strip operating at a temperature below its superconducting transition temperature (Tc). Opposite ends of the strip are connected to electrical leads made of a higher Tc superconductor. The thin-film lithographic process provides an easy means to alter edge-structures, current-injection geo - metries, and magnetic-field conditions at the edges. The edge-field conditions can be altered by using local field(s) generated from dedicated higher Tc leads or even using the device’s own higher Tc superconducting leads.
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Product Releases
Micro-USB Connector with a Small Footprint
Wed, 09/26/2007 - 10:31am
Tyco Electronics Corp. introduces its miniature Micro-USB connector cthat enables portable device makers to miniaturize real estate in devices such as mobile phones, MP3 players, GPS navigation systems, digital cameras and digital video cameras. This connector meets the USB Implementers Forum specification which supports the current USB On-The-Go supplement, allowing communication between portable devices without going through a host. The connector has a design feature that helps to prevent wire pinching, and the latch mechanism helps prevent accidentally pulling out the plug. Other features include a minimum extraction force of 8N after its rated 10,000 mating cycles, RoHS compliance, and receptacle profiles on the circuit board of 2.4 mm.
Tyco Electronics Corp.
610-893-9800, www.tycoelectronics.com
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IT IS tempting to be jaunty about piracy. So what if a few Robin Hoods in skiffs nick the odd tanker off the Horn of Africa? Often enough, the owners pay ransom and nobody gets hurt. Everyone needs a living in these hard times. And if the worst comes to the worst, gunboats can always be dispatched to clean the problem up, just as the British and Americans did off north Africa's Barbary coast at the turn of the 19th century.
It is tempting, but it is wrong. The Barbary pirates caused immense human and economic damage, and the current spate of piracy in the waters of east Africa is now getting out of hand too. On November 15th pirates operating hundreds of miles from the coast seized the Sirius Star, a supertanker carrying 2m barrels of Saudi oil (see article). A dozen or so other vessels are already held by pirates. One of them—surrounded by American and Russian warships—contains a cargo of 33 T-72 tanks, enough to tip the balance in a small local war.
The last thing the world needs right now is disruption of one of its busiest shipping lanes and a spike in insurance premiums. But the cause of the present surge of piracy is no less worrying than its consequences. What has made the pirates' audacity possible is the collapse of Somalia. The existence of a vast ungoverned space in Africa's Horn does not just provide a useful haven from which pirates can hunt their prey at sea. It also threatens to transmit shockwaves through a seam of fragile and strife-torn African states from Sudan to the Congo.
How did this happen, and how can it be resolved? The first question is the easier to answer. About 50,000 peacekeepers are currently deployed under United Nations or African Union auspices in east and central Africa in an effort to dampen down various conflicts. In Somalia in 2006, however, the Bush administration tried something different: war by proxy. It gave a green light for Ethiopia to invade Somalia. The plan was for Ethiopia to squash an Islamist movement and reinstate a Somali government that had lost control of most of its territory.
Two years on, the plan has backfired. Abdullahi Ahmed, Somalia's increasingly notional president, admitted on November 15th that a variety of Islamist insurgents once again dominate most of the country, leaving only two cities, Mogadishu and Baidoa, in the hands of his increasingly notional government. Neither Ethiopia nor the African Union ever sent enough soldiers to impose order. Worse, the strongest of the insurgent groups, the Shabab, is even more radical than the Islamic Courts movement which the Americans and Ethiopians originally took on. It is suspected of being linked by money to the pirates (who hand over a slice of the ransom in return for protection) and by ideology to al-Qaeda.
So how to resolve the issue? It is not enough just to send more gunboats. Although an Indian warship sunk an alleged pirate vessel this week, and a bigger naval effort could help to keep the sea-lanes a little safer, a long-term solution demands much more. This includes establishing stability inside Somalia itself, depriving the pirates of a sanctuary, and preventing the jihad-tinted anarchy there from spilling over Somalia's borders. But since there are no serious military forces available to defeat the insurgents, a proper answer will entail reshaping the country's politics and stepping up attempts to woo the more biddable Islamists—if there are enough left and a deal with them is still possible. Maybe not so jaunty, after all. | <urn:uuid:dd07682b-a942-4cff-b5dc-0a8206bf1ca1> | 2 | 2.203125 | 0.099141 | en | 0.954627 | http://www.economist.com/node/12637009?zid=304&ah=e5690753dc78ce91909083042ad12e30 |
This Bad-Ass Truck Is Made From 11,000 Pounds of Ice
So this is Canadian tire truck that’s made entirely of ice–11,000 pounds of it, to be specific. The coolest part? It actually works. The truck was commissioned by Canadian Tire to ‘prove how reliable the MotoMaster Eliminator Ultra AGM battery’ is in extremely conditions. Looks like they were successful.
The truck itself was made by Ice Culture.
We did something that has never been done before. We tested our Motomaster Eliminator Battery. We’ve frozen our battery to -40 degrees celsius, and really put it to the test. We thought what better way to do it then a truck made out of ice.
On December 12, 2013 the Canadian Tire Ice Truck attempted to set a World Record for being the first, self-propelled ice creation to drive. Not only did the Ice Truck drive but it travelled 1.6 kilometers in its record-setting attempt. | <urn:uuid:66b45f9a-1410-4ad1-8bd5-20c2c185ea99> | 2 | 1.804688 | 0.130403 | en | 0.96872 | http://www.egotastic.com/2014/01/this-bad-ass-truck-is-made-from-11000-pounds-of-ice/ |
Iraq says 3,000 inmates freed amid demos
Iraq says 3,000 inmates freed amid demos
Sun, 03/02/2013 - 18:17
A top Iraqi minister said Sunday that the authorities had released 3,000 prisoners over the past month in a bid to appease weeks of angry demonstrations in Sunni-majority areas of the country.
Deputy Prime Minister Hussein al-Shahristani's announcement is the latest in a series of government steps to curb the protests against the alleged mistreatment of the Sunni minority at the hands of the Shia-led authorities.
"We have released 3,000 prisoners from Iraqi prisons in the last few weeks, and we transferred all women prisoners to prisons in their home provinces," Shahristani, who heads a cabinet committee tasked with addressing protesters' demands, told AFP during a visit to Mosul, a Sunni-majority city.
The two issues — Sunni detainees being wrongfully held and poor treatment of female Sunni prisoners — were among several that demonstrations in the north and west have focused on since they began in late December.
According to Shahristani, about 30,000 people are in Iraqi prisons, including those convicted of a range of offenses and those being held without charge.
He estimated that about 17,000 were either convicted or accused of crimes unrelated to "terrorism."
The remaining 13,000 were around 6,000 convicted of terror-related offences, and a further 7,000 being held without charge or accused, but not yet convicted, of terror offences.
Shahristani was speaking after meeting Sunni tribal chiefs, religious leaders and representatives of demonstrators in Mosul, one of several cities where rallies have been held.
Protests have also called for reform of anti-terror laws that demonstrators say are used to target Sunnis, and in recent weeks they have increasingly called for the ouster of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who is Shia. | <urn:uuid:a5e9d212-8698-416b-a4db-ec6da7306d1c> | 2 | 1.585938 | 0.027619 | en | 0.973808 | http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/iraq-says-3000-inmates-freed-amid-demos |
Mimicking the way the human eye works, Philips has created a camera lens that can focus without any moving parts and is made entirely out of two non-mixing fluids.
The supposed advantage of the FluidFocus lens is that because it has no moving parts it can be manufactured cheapily and easily, meaning that focusing lenses could be brought to all sorts of things (like cameraphones and low-end digital cameras) which usually only have fixed-focus lenses.
The Devil Duckie | <urn:uuid:3a612a32-f45d-496f-8e07-bfae464cf781> | 2 | 1.71875 | 0.99626 | en | 0.936341 | http://www.engadget.com/2004/03/04/the-fluidfocus-lens/ |
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Dangers of eating popcorn
Popcorn has little or no side effects when prepared with caution.
Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for MTV
Air-popped popcorn is a nutritious snack, but with numerous chemicals and ingredients added to many packaged popcorn brands, it becomes a junk food. Generally, packaged popcorn is cooked in a microwave, which releases fumes from the steamy bag.
These fumes may contain chemicals from the ink, glue, and butter flavorings, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. There is also the issue of unhealthy fats, sugar and calories found in many packaged popcorn brands, which can contribute to health conditions, such as heart disease.
Popcorn Lung
Diacetyl, an organic substance that contributes to butter's taste is found in many foods and is considered harmless. However, when it’s heated up in popcorn butter flavorings and breathed in, it can cause bronchiolitis obliterans -- also known as popcorn lung. The condition primarily affects workers that manufacture the packaged popcorn.
However, those who microwave packaged popcorn frequently can also develop this condition. There is a case of a popcorn enthusiast who contracted the condition by eating two bags of popcorn daily and inhaling the fumes. Although it is an isolated case, it is still a cause for concern, according to Cecile Rose, MD, the director of occupational and environmental medicine clinic.
Salt or Sugar?
Packaged popcorn, such as caramelized or flavoured kettle corn is usually sugar-laden or heavily salted, depending on the brand. These extra flavorings can contribute to chronic disease and an impaired immune function. Excess sodium from salted popcorn or sugared popcorn can raise your high-blood pressure and contribute to type 2 diabetes.
15 to 20 cups of popcorn -- the equivalent of a large popcorn from a movie theater -- can contain up to 1,500 milligrams of sodium, which is more than half of the daily recommended intake of 2,400 milligrams.(ref2,3,4)
Calories and Fat
Packaged popcorn usually contains butter or oil that is high in saturated fat, LDL cholesterol and trans fat, which can contribute to heart disease from arterial blockage. While arterial blockage can take years to build up, the effect of the high-calorie intake from popcorn is more immediate.
A small portion of packaged popcorn can contain 500 calories while a large portion of 15 to 20 cups can contain over 1,000 calories. High-calorie snacks, such as packaged popcorn can contribute to weight gain and lead to obesity. Read packaged popcorn labels to avoid brands with trans fats or saturated fats.
Avoid Adverse Effects
When prepared the right way, popcorn is one of the healthiest snacks you can eat. It is low fat, sodium and cholesterol and rich in fiber, folate and manganese. Eat packaged organic popcorn, or prepare your own air-popped popcorn with packaged corn kernels.
Flavor your popcorn with healthy toppings such as lemon pepper, cinnamon, balsamic vinegar or nutritional yeast. Those who are allergic to corn or suffer from an intolerance should avoid popcorn. | <urn:uuid:d2362865-dee9-4f61-aed8-382ae853ae5d> | 3 | 3.046875 | 0.042926 | en | 0.936229 | http://www.examiner.com/article/dangers-of-eating-popcorn?cid=rss |
How to Repair a Water Softener
By the DIY experts of The Family Handyman Magazine
One day
Under $20
Similar Projects
Rejuvenate a faulty water softener
There are some simple reasons why a water softener malfunctions, but before getting into the fixes, first let's briefly review how it works.
Untreated water enters the brine tank and becomes saturated with sodium (salt). The sodium-saturated water then enters the resin tank, where millions of tiny polystyrene beads attract the sodium molecules and the extra salt water is purged. The brine tank is refilled and unsoftened water enters the resin tank, where the minerals that make water hard—calcium and magnesium—trade places with the sodium and attach themselves to the beads until there are no more sodium molecules to make the trade. At this point, the cycle starts over when the water softener regenerates by scrubbing the hard minerals off the beads and draining the wastewater. To get your soft water flowing again, here are three fixes you can easily perform.
Fix 1. Clean the brine (salt) tank:
Make sure the salt hasn't formed a hard dome or crust inside the brine tank. The salt dome can result from adding too much salt or adding it too frequently. It will look as if you have salt even though there's a big air pocket underneath. Break up the salt with a broomstick, then dispose of it. Remove any sediment with a shop vacuum. Use soap and water to thoroughly clean the tank (and the brine well inside the tank if you have one) and rinse it.
Fix 2. Clean an iron-fouled resin bed:
If your water contains iron, it will eventually “foul” the resin bed that removes the hard water particles and replaces them with sodium. To refresh the bed, run Iron-Out through the system. Follow the directions for the amount to add to the brine tank, then run your softener through a manual regeneration to purge the wastewater. To do this, remove the cover from the control valve and find the regeneration knob. Use a flat-blade screwdriver to depress the knob and turn it counterclockwise to “Service.”
Fix 3. Clean the resin tank injector:
The injector sometimes gets plugged with sediment caused by dirty salt. To clean it, first engage the softener's bypass valve to shut off the water. Next, relieve the water pressure by running the softener through a manual regeneration. Finally, remove the caps on both sides of the softener head. Thoroughly clean the injector (right side of the head) and the injector screen (left side).
Five Steps for Keeping Your Softener Healthy
1. Use pure salt with iron remover. Standard rock salt is less expensive, but the contaminants it contains will cost you more in the long run. Rock salt can cause inches of sediment to build up in the brine tank and the sediment can clog the injector and the softener's control valve.
2. Don't add salt until almost all the salt in the tank is used up. Then refill the tank no more than two-thirds full.
3. Use Iron-Out once a year to clean the resin bed and the parts in the control valve.
4. Clean the brine tank once a year. Even pure salt contains contaminants.
5. Make sure the softener's drain line isn't pushed down into a floor drain. The end of the softener's drain line should be above the grate of the drain to prevent accidental siphoning of sewage into the softener.
Using pure salt, instead of rock salt, and Iron-Out
helps keep your water softener clean.
Save Money with Repairs
Before you replace your softener for $600 to $1,000, have it checked out by a water softener specialist. The most expensive repair probably won't exceed $200. The softener head can be overhauled for $60 to $100 or the resin bed can be replaced. Search online or look in the yellow pages under “Appliance, Repair” and ask companies if they work on softeners.
Required Tools for this Project
• 4-in-1 screwdriver
• Bucket
• Shop vacuum
Required Materials for this Project
• Iron-Out
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Baba Shiv: How to Make Better Decisions
Baba Shiv demystifies the brain chemistry that controls our decision making, and explains how you can regulate it to make better decisions. He also answers the question, “Is it better to make decisions in the morning or the afternoon?”
What happens when the day begins to progress is there is a natural decline in the level of serotonin. As a result of which, when you’re making decisions in the afternoon you will tend to be more risk averse. And therefore, there will be a tendency to gravitate towards the status quo bias.
One tip Shiv offers to help make better decisions: have a high quality protein breakfast.
(h/t @aaker)
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Sugar Replacement (Sweetener)
You know when you prepare cakes or breads or anything sweet, it normally
takes half or more cups of sugar. I was wondering, can you replace the
sugar by some artificial sweetener like "Equal"?? Will the consistency
of the cake be the same?? And also, how many envelopes of sweetener
should you use per cup of sugar you are trying to replace?
Thank you everybody for all the recipes with Sour Cream!!!
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General Question
buster's avatar
Why are 2x4's actually 1.5x3.5?
Asked by buster (10216 points ) August 6th, 2009
When I tear into an older home doing remodeling generally built in the 60’s and earlier they have true 1×4’s, 2×4’s 2×6’s, 2×8’s etc. Nowadays all the lumber you get is still called a 1×4, 2×4, 2×8 etc but they aren’t really that size. A 1×4 is actually .75 inches by 3.5 inches. A 2×4 is actually 1.5 inches x 3.5 inches. 2×6’s are 1.5 inches x 5.5 inches. When you get up to 1×8, 2×8, 2×10,2×12 you lose another quarter of an inch. A 2×8 is 1.5inches x 7.25 inches. A 2×10 is 1.5 inches x 9.25 inches. A 2×12 is 1.5 inches by 11.25. Why did the size change?? As I mentioned before this happened in the 60’s. They used to be made of oak commonly also which is very hard and can be hard to drive nails into. Now they are almost all some type of spruce or pine. Did we run out of oak or did people get tired of bending nails over and switch to pine and spruce?
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8 Answers
dpworkin's avatar
They did it because engineers found that at code spacing the smaller sizes still offered enough tensile integrity to the structure, and you could get a lot more “2×4s” out of the same amount of timber than real 2×4s. Also softwood grows a lot quicker, and hardwoods are now prized for the beauty of their grain, so are more likely to be made into veneers.
ratboy's avatar
Lumber just hasn’t been able to keep up with the general expansion of the universe.
gernreich's avatar
I believe 2×4 is the rough cut out of the sawmill, then to clean them up more is taken away, then making the dimensions smaller.
Judi's avatar
It’s all about $$$$$!$
how many more 2×4’s can they sell if they shave a little off each one. They aren’t using big old growth timber any more so they are getting less out of every tree.
Harp's avatar
It used to be that the lumber for various markets was produced locally; the lumber used in construction depended on trees locally available, and transportation was a negligable expense. For some time now, that hasn’t been the case. Now, construction lumber is shipped cross-country, or internationally, and a huge portion of the cost of lumber is transportation of the finished product. Reducing the size standards for lumber may get a few more boards/log, but the main savings comes in shipping those smaller boards.
Even before the 60s though, a 2X4 wasn’t 2” X 4”. Standards from the 20s were loosely based on the rough-milled green board dimensions, before surface finishing and drying shrinkage. For decades after that, the standards continued to nibble away at the dimensions. By the current standards, the boards were never 2” X 4”, even when rough-cut.
As for why hardwood isn’t used much in framing these days, there are a few reasons:
Slower growth rate=more expensive
Heavier= greater transportation cost
Easier to get longer, straighter boards from conifers
freerangemonkey's avatar
I am not sure about a few of these answers… I’m not saying that they’re wrong or that there isn’t some bit of truth to them, but I don’t think there is an international conspiracy to cheat users of dimensional lumber.
In reality, the 2×4’s, 4×6’s and other dimensional lumber “sticks” you buy at the lumberyard still come from the same size full sawn members. These full sawn shapes start out with the same nominal and actual dimensions (i.e. a full sawn 2×4 is actually 2“x4”). And these members are still available to purchase from many lumberyards if you want that old-timey rustic feel. Then the mill rips them down to the rough sawn size, which is 1/8 smaller that the nominal—this is done to remove inconsistencies in the outer surface and make a better finished product. The problem is that these members have some disadvantages that were recognized early on. For one, they make bad finish material on anything but those rustic house because the grain is still exposed and can seem unsightly in certain applications. Also, because the grain is exposed, it is much harder to get good paint coverage with a thick exterior grade paint (more likely with full sawn than rough sawn), so there is more likelihood of rot. Even in interior (or interior wall cavity) application, these rough sawn members are more susceptible to rot or mold due to the fact that the pores are all open and therefore more able to harbor moisture and fungus. Finally, by planing the rough members down into the dimensional members we are used to today, lumberyards and mills are able to more accurately guage the quality of the wood and rate it appropriately. There is a significant difference between, say, DF-1 and SS members of the same species.
Therefore, the mills take those initial sticks cut from the logs and saw them down to the rough size. This is what is referred to as S4S, or “sawn four sides”. It is not possible to get a 2×4 dimensional lumber piece without starting with the bigger piece, so there is not savings at this point by the mill. However, most wood these days is some form of engineered lumber anyway. You don’t see as much of this at your local Home Depot, but if you were to observe the construction of many larger homes and smaller commercial buildings, you would see that most of the “plywood” is actually OSB (you can see the strands of wood chips in the material as opposed to continuous plies of wood), many of the floor and roof joists are i-joists with dimensional lumber top and bottom chords and OSB webs (the vertical part of an “i-beam”), and even studs are being made out of OSB type processes. All of this material in the engineered wood products comes from the waste that is cut down from the original full sawn and rough sawn members to make the nominal sized dimensional lumber.
Here is a link to Google that describes the different types of members:
Harp's avatar
Here’s more than you ever wanted to know about the history of lumber dimensioning standards. The following excerpt is from there:
“This varies with the mill, but a representative situation is about as follows: To make dimension lumber 1–½ inches thick dressed at 19 percent maximum moisture content requires a “set-out” of 1–7/8 inches. Subtraction of 3/16 inch for the saw kerf leaves 1–11/16-inch rough green thickness.”
So right off the saw, the green rough-cut “2X4” is only 1–11/16 thick.
“S4S”, by the way, stands for ”surfaced four sides”, in other words planed on all four sides to remove saw marks.
freerangemonkey's avatar
@Harp good catch. Going from memory…and college was a while ago ;)
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Food Additives Go Au Natural
Wed, 03/19/2014 - 4:19pm
Holly Henschen, Editor, @foodmfged
A quick Google search of “food additives” yields first-page results including the terms “avoid,” “scariest,” “evil” and “sketchy.” The court of public opinion has handed down a verdict that food manufacturers would be wise to heed. By popular demand, the natural additives are coming.
Shorter, simpler and therefore “cleaner” food labels are in high demand by health-conscious consumers. Manufacturers face a reformulation challenge: consistently adapt the product to the previous version’s flavor, color, mouthfeel and shelf stability. Some large food manufacturers are complying piecemeal with natural additive demand while attempting to maintain the quality of their products.
Kraft Foods is on a natural-additive tear. Last October, Kraft vowed to cut artificial dyes from three varieties of mac and cheese that come in kid-friendly pasta shapes. In February, the company pledged to remove artificial preservatives from its most popular varieties of Singles cheese slices by replacing sorbic acid with natamycin. This naturally occurring anti-fungal agent, produced by bacteria during fermentation, is commonly found in soil. What’s so bad about sorbic acid? It’s just not “natural.”
“Natural” lacks legal definition, but has generally agreed-upon parameters. The FDA washes its hands of total authority, admitting that “[b]ecause of inherent limitations of science, FDA can never be absolutely [emphasis theirs] certain of the absence of any risk from the use of any substance.” Hence consumer demand for natural food additives.
What’s all of the food fuss about? I trace the current wave of the new American food consciousness to Michael Pollan. The author, in his 2008 New York Times Best Seller “In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto,” postulated that it’s healthiest to abstain from eating foods and ingredients your grandmother wouldn’t recognize. Pollan refers to highly manufactured foods as “food-like substances.” Cue the rush to all things natural in order to promote health in an era riddled with obesity and chronic disease.
As international trade erases borders, consumers are increasingly turning to foods whose sources and ingredients are more transparent. People who spend their days inundated by technology are finding comfort in simple, classic foods and home cooking. But most food purists simply can’t spend all of their extra hours in a flour-dusted apron. The next-best alternative? Eat processed foods that contain as few ingredients as possible, preferably natural. That’s where manufacturers come in.
Consumers want transparency and choice. If they can afford it, they’ll avoid health risks. In the information age, consumer sentiment is forcing the government’s hand.
For instance, the FDA is currently investigating caramel coloring in soft drinks and other foods after Consumer Reports tested them for chemical 4-methylimidazole (4-Mel), an impurity formed at low levels in some caramel coloring during manufacturing. The FDA hasn’t established a maximum 4-Mel level, though Consumer Reports urged the agency to set one.
When it comes to additives, the FDA is charged with finding reasonable certainty of no harm to consumers when used as suggested. Note that recently banned trans fats were considered innovative when Proctor & Gamble began selling “crystallized cottonseed oil,” branded as Crisco, in 1911. They were effectively banned mere months ago. Wary consumers might be ahead of their time.
Manufacturers’ investigations into more natural ingredients encourages a shift in the additive market. Packaged Facts has acknowledged slack and falling demand in several artificial food additive categories, and forecasts that R&D within the natural additives industry will lead to development of new natural additives and colorings. This transition to natural ingredients will be easier for large manufacturers whose economies of scale afford them more flexibility, but eventually small manufacturers are likely to go with the natural additive flow.
Is your company considering changing formulations to reduce artificial additives? Drop me a line at @foodmfged if you’d like to discuss your product reformulation strategy and experience.
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Bill Flax Contributor
I explore the intersection of economics and culture. full bio →
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Forget What The Media Say, Republicans And Minorities Are Made For Each Other
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, at campaign e...
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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• Mr. Flax,
You wrote:“Shifting population subsets are real, but the GOP has never excluded minorities, nor do Republican voters prefer white men.”
Really now, that is a bit much, even for you. The Republican Party is The White Man’s Party. The Republican Party has had an an explicit strategy of winning white voters at the expense of non-white people. In the linked NY Times article[1], Mr. Phillips addresses the question of the “Negro vote”.
• Bill Flax Bill Flax, Contributor 2 years ago
Mr. Delosangeles,
Hope you’re well today, but rehashing tired Democratic scare tactics doesn’t cut it. Sure it beats addressing how liberalism has wreaked havoc in many black communities, but scaring people about GOP bogeymen is counterproductive. It gets Democrats elected, but does nothing beneficial for blacks and other minorities.
a) The vaunted Southern Strategy supposedly crafted under Nixon is silly. Nixon lost much of the South in 1968 to George Wallace. Unless he was clairvoyant, it’s hard to accept that he foresaw George Wallace being gunned down during the Democratic primaries in 1972. Otherwise, he probably would have lost the South to Wallace again. As it is, he didn’t need the South, which then didn’t contain nearly as many electoral votes as it does today anyway. BTW, Dems again took almost the entire South in 1976.
b) Don’t confuse Republican outreach to minorities being fruitless as excluding minorities. That’s a silly non sequitur. Romney and many of his predecessors reached out to the NAACP, but blacks have not reciprocated. That Republican strategists choose to focus where there is more bang for the buck is not the same as excluding blacks from the party.
c) Unless you’re trying to promulgate conflict between the races, attracting one race need not exclude other races. We’re not collective globs of putty to be assigned to demographic buckets. It’s about what’s best for the country, not what promotes one race at the expense of others. Democrats have employed such shady tactics for decades, first to attack blacks and now to attack white males.
Are Republicans saints, nope. Do they live up to their principles, if only. Are there racists in the party, probably. Have some done similarly than what I describe above about Democrats, assuredly. But here’s the thing. Liberalism does not appear to be working for minorities. It does great things for self-appointed minority leaders, but the higher incidence of crime, poverty, illegitimacy, pathetic schools, etc. indicate liberal policies do more harm than good.
Thank you for reading,
• Mr. Flax,
You clearly did not read the linked New York Time piece from 1970. The Southern Strategy was developed by the Democratic Party but by the Republican Party and they were not too shy to say so at the time.
However, consider the problem from the opposite end. In this election, 88% of the people who voted for Gov. Romney were white. Almost every Republican member of congress is white. The overwhelming majority of delegates to the RNC this year, as every year, were white. How did that come to pass? Was it just an accident? Did the Republican Party just wake up one morning and suddenly realized “Gosh, where are all the colored people?”.
The recent anti-immigrant laws passed in Arizona and Georgia by Republicans speak far louder and effectively to the racist policies of the Republican Party than the linked New York Times article could. These laws were adopted exactly to appeal to white people and repel Hispanics.
• Bill Flax Bill Flax, Contributor 2 years ago
Mr. Delosangeles,
You’re still off on this side issue, smearing a majority of Arizonians and Georgians as racist notwithstanding. As if concerns about illegal immigration are strictly racial, wow, that’s just silly. And your statistical evidence reinforces my point. Democrats have successfully polarized the races. Free markets will serve minorities (and the nation as a whole) better than racial identity politics.
Clearly, as the article tries to illuminate, Republicans need to do better projecting their ideas into minority communities. You claim their failing to do so is deliberate. You’re wrong, but that still leaves us with the point you keep evading: liberalism has been a disaster. The Left’s racial polarization could lead to Balkanization.
Again, it’s about ideas, not about race. If you can’t get past that who is it that has the racial issues?
• Mr. Flax,
Hispanics and Asians do not think so. Why do you think that they did not vote for Republicans in general or Gov. Romney in particular? How much louder do you think that they could say so. There are other reasons as well. Many Asians are not Christians and they are uncomfortable with a party that openly advances the hegemony of Christianity over other religions. Hispanics and Blacks are fond of the PPACA and did not want to see it repealed. Women, particularly younger and single women, did not like the Republicans Party attacks upon reproductive rights of women.
The prove of the pudding is in the voting. They did not vote for the Republican Party because they do not like its policies.
You wrote:“Democrats have successfully polarized the races.
The Democrats are the one who united the races. Mr. Obama won because he got large majorities of Asians, Hispanics, Blacks, and whites while Gov. Romney could only attract white people.
I am not claiming it, the Mr. Phillips in the linked New York Times articles is the one openly proclaiming it. Mr. Phillips was a strategist on voting patterns for a number of Republicans, including Richard Nixon’s 1968 campaign. He wrote extensively on this topic including his book, “The Emerging Republican Majority”. All I am doing is reporting here what he said and pointing out that the Republican Party did indeed implement what he suggested that they do.
The problem is not that the Republican Party has failed to deliver their message but that they have been successful. Minority communities do not like the message.
You wrote:“The Left’s racial polarization could lead to Balkanization. This is not so, in fact the opposite is true. It is the Republican Party that has divided the country along racial lines. As noted earlier, 88% of the people who voted for him where white. It was Mr. Obama who won a broad alliance of all races, including white people. 44% of the people who voted for Mr. Obama were white.
• Bill Flax Bill Flax, Contributor 2 years ago
Yes, as the article covers, Democrats portrayed Republicans as sexist, racist old fogeys. It is disingenuous, but successful. Republicans studiously avoid racial topics. Democrats have harped on race for more than a century. First to demean minorities, now to demonize Republicans as racists. Elections are popularity contests. Truth isn’t.
Identity politics will be America’s downfall. It’s about principles, not race.
• Mr. Flax,
You wrote:Elections are popularity contests.
Yes, that is exactly the point, is it not? You blog was about winning elections and how the Republicans have not. If you do not like elections, that is certainly your prerogative. However, the entire point of being a political party in a republic is to win elections. The only way to win elections is to appeal to the voters and if they do not like your policies they will not vote for your party.
Whether you think Republican policies are racist or not is beside the point, it is what minority voters think and they think that those policies are racist..
By the by, if you want to see just the kind of talk that really alienates minority voters, read alecto’s posting below.
• Bill Flax Bill Flax, Contributor 2 years ago
Yes, that’s perfect. The Democrat’s take on democracy. Pathetic, but perfect. It’s not about what is right, about what is true, about solving problems, about preserving life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Nope it’s about winning elections.
Cart out bankrupt old ideas that harm the very constituencies you pretend to help while falsely demonizing your opponents. Just win.
• cwbird cwbird 2 years ago
It seems to me that Rosey Grier (pro football player, ordained minister since ’83, and the fellow that was guarding Ethel Kennedy when Bobby Kennedy was assassinated, and who also got the gun and subdued the assassin, Sirhan Sirhan.) said it best quite a few years ago: “I did not leave the Democratic party. They left me.”
It seems to me that people who have voted for Obama, in particular, and for Democrats in general (certainly there are exceptions), just have not taken the time to view what’s really best for this country. That’s not to say that Republicans are always the best answer, because in most elections I would not call any of the candidates really good for this country.
The recent presidential election is a case in point. On religious grounds, the real choices were both losers. Notwithstanding his putting forth the appearance of being a Christian, Obama has publicly admitted to being a Muslim. Certainly his actions demonstrate a real preference for that. But if that is not true, he is certainly a narcissist, which is almost tantamount to his being his own god. On the other hand, Romney is a very religious member of the largest of the “Christian” cults, Latter Day Saints or Mormons.
On business grounds, Obama is a certainly a socialist and probably a wannabe communist, while Romney is a capitalist of the Wall Street variety.
Yes, in my mind, both candidates are flawed and neither could ever be considered my dream candidate. There is a proverb that dominates my thinking about any candidate and provokes this last statement: “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.” (Proverbs 29:2). While I mourn deeply for our country with the reelection of Obama, I could not have rejoiced with the election of Romney.
That said, I voted for Romney because Obama is so much worse than Romney. At least, I could have had some hope that Romney would have taken some pains to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution,” the heart of the Oath of Office, whereas Mr. Obama appears to consider the Constitution to be an obstacle to his ideas and programs.
I just don’t understand Democrats particularly those that voted for Obama. Even a dog won’t make a mess in its doghouse, yet the people who voted for Obama have voted for a man who has clearly already demonstrated that he is for things that will make a mess of this country, two of which I have already mentioned: Islam and socialism, while having the alternative of voting for Romney, who is clearly for things that haven’t such a path of destruction: Wall Street capitalism and Mormonism.
• alecto alecto 2 years ago
Bill, overall I think you explained the Republican position well, but that won’t change the problem: a misinterpretation of the 14th amendment which confers citizenship to those who in no way ought to have it by any logical measure, 50 years of third world immigration by people who expect to be handed everything, and lack of forced assilimation. When people came during the mass immigration of the early 20th century, no safety nets existed. Our ancestors walked that tightrope without one. It forced them to learn English, get jobs, and eventually start businesses. And yep, that included people from every country on the planet from Lebanon to Liberia.
Now immigrants expect and demand everything and no they don’t value American society or culture. And as far as the current hispandering going on in both parties, it’s pathetic. Call me whatever you want but a group of people who show up uninvited, barge their way in and demand to be handed citizenship and a bunch of goodies should be the butt of jokes and face scorn and derision, and deportation, not a bunch of handouts. Yep, you got that right, I am anti-immigration from now on! | <urn:uuid:a83cb188-2a65-47f5-86e5-88c3a7c74a17> | 2 | 1.664063 | 0.023139 | en | 0.957987 | http://www.forbes.com/sites/billflax/2012/11/27/forget-what-the-media-say-republicans-and-minorities-are-made-for-each-other/?commentId=comment_blogAndPostId/blog/comment/1308-1295-986 |
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FSA's, HSA's, HRA's, oh my!
You like to save money on your groceries, clothes, and other merchandise, right? So why is it that many Americans pass up the opportunity to save hundreds of dollars to put towards medical expenses each year?
It could be that many medical benefits are relatively new, and it’s easy to be intimidated by the information. Does this sound like you? If you answered yes, it’s time to think about these benefits as medical savings accounts, giving you more control over a portion of your health expenses. That’s it, nothing more. The next step is to learn about the different options so you can make the best choice.
So here we go: FSA, HSA, and HRA… What are they?
FSA (Flexible Spending Account): This account is set up through an employer and sets aside pretax dollars for health-related expenses.
FSA's cover costs of co-pays, prescriptions, and even bandages. It’s helpful for parents and others who expect medical bills.
Currently, you must spend the money in the account by the end of the calendar year, or it goes to your company. Most importantly, in order to get reimbursed, it’s important to keep all of your receipts!
Helpful hint: Be sure to check with human resources about what’s covered. You could be compensated for things like massages, or even gas mileage for a doctor’s visit!
HSA (Health Savings Account): HSA’s are available through employers and financial institutions. This account can be invested, the cash rolls over, and you can withdraw the money at the age of 65.
In order to sign up, you must have a high-deductible insurance policy of at least $1,250 for an individual, and $2,500 for family. Depending on the plan, you can contribute before taxes or after and take the deduction. Just know that many accounts have fees, so make sure to ask a benefits manager about them. Also make sure to avoid using the money for nonqualified medical expenses before 65, as you could pay an extra percentage on your taxes.
Helpful hint: If you choose this account, it may be best to talk to a financial planner.
HRA (Health Reimbursement Account): This is the only health savings account that your employer pays for completely.
It’s just free cash from your employer, who receives a tax deduction. Some require you to file claims for reimbursements, while others give you a card for health expenses.
If you consider making a career change, just remember you do not get to keep the money in your HRA if you leave your job.
Helpful hint: Some companies allow you to use the money for your retirement if you’ve been there long enough. Be sure to see what’s available for you.
So there you have it! Painless, right? Now that you have information for each option, which do you think is best for you?
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Daily Telegraph
London, Wednesday, January 12, 2000
Mass gassing of Jews not feasible, says Irving
By Neil Tweedie
DAVID IRVING, the historian, denied yesterday that millions of Jews were systematically murdered in the gas chambers during the Second World War.
Giving evidence in a libel action, Mr Irving claimed that the mass gassing of Jews by the Nazis was not possible, and that there was no evidence of a systematic programme of extermination sanctioned by Adolf Hitler. The 62-year-old author said he had removed the word Holocaust from the second edition of his book Hitler's War because the term was too vague and imprecise.
bookMr Irving, one of Britain's most controversial historians, is suing Deborah Lipstadt, an American academic, and her publishers, Penguin Books, for libel after she claimed in her book Denying the Holocaust, that he was one of the world's foremost "Holocaust deniers" and had manipulated fact to prove his beliefs. The defendants plead justification.
Yesterday Mr Irving, who is representing himself, went into the witness box for cross-examination by Richard Rampton, QC, the counsel for Prof Lipstadt and Penguin. The historian stood by comments he made in Calgary in 1991 in which he claimed that that the gassing of millions of Jews in "factories of death" was "just a legend".
A million bodies weighed 100,000 tons, making disposal a "major logistical problem". He did not believe gassing had been carried out on anything other than an "experimental" level by the SS, and that Jews who had not been worked or starved to death had been killed by shooting, clubbing or hanging.
When asked if he believed that Jews had been gassed in great numbers in the Treblinka and Sobibor concentration camps, Mr Irving said he had no evidence of it. He said: "I deny that it was possible to liquidate millions of people in the gas chambers." Mr Irving also put the number of Jewish dead at between one million and four million, as opposed to the generally accepted figure of six million.
Miss Lipstadt, a professor of Modern Jewish and Holocaust Studies at Emory University, Atlanta, accused Mr Irving of being an admirer of Hitler who kept a portrait of the Führer in his Mayfair flat. Mr Irving denied having a painting of the Führer, but said: "There was a time when he [Hitler] was on the right course, but he went off the rails.
"You can't praise his racial programme or penal methods, but he did pick up his nation out of the mire after World War One, reunified and gave it a sense of pride again." He also denied being a fascist sympathiser, describing himself as a laissez-faire liberal who had once been a member of the Young Conservatives.
Mr Irving said that like most fellow Englishmen of his background and age he regretted the passing of "the old England". He said:
"I sometimes think that if the soldiers and sailors of the Normandy beaches in 1944 could have seen what England was like at the end of the century, they would not have got 50 yards up the beach. They would have given up in disgust."
He said he paid no attention to Prof Lipstadt's book until 1996, when he was trying to market his biography of Goebbels, which took nine years to write and which he considered the crowning achievement of his career. He said: "In many bookstores the head of the history department took an aversion to me and after visiting a number of stores, it became quite plain that the reason was that they were selling Denying the Holocaust."
In 1996 his American publishers decided not to go ahead with the Goebbels biography. He decided he had no choice but to take legal action against the book which he considered the cause of his difficulties.
The libel case continues.
Thursday, January 13, 2000 | <urn:uuid:3db72e57-b18a-4f24-aca1-d4b24770aee5> | 2 | 2.234375 | 0.126968 | en | 0.986216 | http://www.fpp.co.uk/docs/press/items/DTel130100.html |
Group Levitation Trick
By Michael Daniels
An interesting levitating stunt where a person is lifted up into the air by the fingertips of a group. Interesting and mystifying theory. Read how it's done here.
Effect: A person becomes seemingly weightless and may be lifted from a chair on the index fingers of four other people.
Stage 1: The person to be lifted ( choose a fairly heavy person ) should be relaxed but upright on a firm chair. Feet should be on the floor and their hands on their lap
. The four assistants should stand two on each side of the person, one by each shoulder and one by each knee. Each assistant should make fists with both hands, then extend the two forefingers and touch them together, gently but firmly the two assistants standing by the shoulders, place their extended forefingers under the seated persons right or left armpit.
The other two assistants place their forefinger under the seated persons left or right knee The person to be lifted thinks "down" and imagines him or herself to be sinking into the chair. In this position, the four assistants should try to lift the person.
Stage 2: The assistants should now place their palms on top of the seated persons knee or shoulder and together, exert a steady downwards force. While they are doing this someone counts out loud from one to ten. On the count of nine, the four assistants quickly take their former positions with extended forefingers under the armpit or knee. On the count of ten, they try again to lift the person. The seated person should think"up" and imagine himself or herself rising into the air. If these instructions are followed carefully, the person will soar straight up into the air on the forefingers of the assistants.
This trick is very visual and can really entertain a crowd.
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Search Result for "aggrandizement":
Wordnet 3.0
NOUN (1)
1. the act of increasing the wealth or prestige or power or scope of something;
- Example: "the aggrandizement of the king"
- Example: "his elevation to cardinal"
[syn: aggrandizement, aggrandisement, elevation]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Aggrandizement \Ag*gran"dize*ment\ (?; 277), n. [Cf. F. agrandissement.] The act of aggrandizing, or the state of being aggrandized or exalted in power, rank, honor, or wealth; exaltation; enlargement; as, the emperor seeks only the aggrandizement of his own family. [1913 Webster] Syn: Augmentation; exaltation; enlargement; advancement; promotion; preferment. [1913 Webster]
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Introduce /H/
From FreeReading
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Activity Type: Introduce
Activity Form: Standard
Grade: K
Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class
Length: 5 minutes
Materials: Letter card (print it here)
Items: H
What to do
1. Write the letters H and h on the board; make them at least a foot tall. Alternatively, use letter cards large enough for the whole group to see easily.
2. The sound for these two letters is the same. What's the sound for this letter? Point to the lowercase h. Good. So what's the sound for this letter? Point to the uppercase H. Right! This is called a capital letter. Remember, when you say /h/ (Say the /h/ sound as in hot.), your mouth is open and air comes out: /h/. Again: what's the sound?
4. We use the /H/ sound to begin words like hand, help, her, him, house. Can you tell me some other words that begin with /H/?
5. Erase H and h. Now write 12 letters on the board (arrange them randomly): 4 of the letters should be H and they should be interspersed with 8 other letters dissimilar in appearance to H, such as y and u. Don't include lowercase h.
8. If a student says the sound for one of the other letters (not H), point to H and say: You only need to make a sound for this letter. When I point to any other letter, stay quiet. Ready? Look for individuals who are saying nothing when you point to H. Have those students try letters individually until they have it (but don’t call only on struggling students). Keep going until everyone has it.
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Day of the (totally secular) Dead
Year after year, the Divine Mrs. M.Z. Hemingway has -- as our resident liturgical Lutheran -- played the role of liturgical enforcer here at GetReligion. This is not a small role, since so many of the traditional holidays in various faiths (can you say Chanukah? Or Hanukkah?) have been turned into secular festivals or twisted into forms that have almost nothing to do with their historic meanings. This, of course, affects the mainstream news coverage of these holy days.
The normal GetReligion post focusing on these calendar issues features a two-part message. We tend to note that the typical sort-of-holiday story has a brief paragraph about the religious origins of the event, which is almost comically perfunctory, which is then followed by tons of details about the real, secularized celebrations.
What we are dealing with, most of the time, is a missed opportunity. Let me stress that our journalistic goal is not to ignore the secular reality, of course. We like to note that journalists can, from time to time, try to find out what happened to the religious rites, which often turns out to be an interesting and overlooked topic.
However, today's Washington Post contains something unique. Hang on.
The dateline, of course, is Mexico City.
Once upon a time, it was the Day of the Dead, but now it is the days of the dead.
A reverent, rural tradition of making picnics at the cemetery, of building a home altar of marigolds for the dearly departed? That continues.
But like Halloween in the United States, Dia de los Muertes in Mexico has become a bit of a free-for-all, a five-day weekend with parties and drinking, a smash-up where dad dons a Spider Man costume and mom dresses up as a naughty French maid -- to honor their ancestors, of course. It’s more pop, more pagan and more commercial. There’s even some trick or treating, which would have been unheard of a decade ago.
OK, the word "reverent" offers a hint of what's missing.
I kept reading, waiting for the obligatory paragraph that would say something like this:
But there was no obligatory background paragraph at all. None. Zip. Zero. Nada. Niente.
Now it can be argued that this Post story is really about some of the giant folk-art festivities that now surround the Day of the Dead. Yet the story opens with the reality that what was once a singular celebration has exploded into something larger. The innovation, of course, is that the story tells the reader (a) absolutely nothing about the sacred origins of this secularized holiday, (b) absolutely nothing about the true meaning of the events and (c) absolutely nothing about what is left of the liturgical celebrations of the real holy days (which one must assume still have some minimal meaning for practicing Catholics in Mexico).
You think? Let me stress that I know the story is about the secular events.
I get that. The question for me is whether the reader can make any sense of these secular rites without know at least a little bit about the sacred rites that came first. Is there no connection, today, between the symbols surrounding the millions of people in Mexico's streets and the hundreds of thousands gathered at altars?
Maybe there could be room for one sentence? I'm not asking for a whole paragraph or a sidebar or anything really idealistic.
Just saying.
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Siberian tiger
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Three Siberian tigers killed a man who climbed into a Copenhagen Zoo enclosure in Denmark.
Video and images of tigers being abused at animal parks in China are met with outrage and public condemnation.
New genetic research helps to explain big cats' size and diet, and could provide helpful data for conservationists.
Siberian tiger
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Gotham Gazette
The Place for New York Policy and politics
Citizens Union
City Government
Harlem's Heyday
by Gotham Gazette Staff, Apr 10, 2006
The following is an edited transcript of a meeting of the Gotham Gazette Book Club on March 29 with guest Kevin Baker, author of Strivers Row.
GOTHAM GAZETTE: Kevin Baker is back for the third time to round off our discussion of his history of New York City by novel. We've discussed Paradise Alley, which takes place in the draft riots of the 1860s; Dreamland, which takes place during the large scale Jewish immigration during the early 1900s; and now Strivers Row, which takes place in Harlem during the second World War.
GOTHAM GAZETTE: How much of the Harlem that you write about is still left?
KEVIN BAKER: Thanks for having me. Not that much is actually left physically of that Harlem. The great dancehalls – the Savoy, the Cotton Club – are all gone. Small's Paradise, a great club where Malcolm X used to hang out as a young man that figures prominently in the book, that's now an I-Hop. A lot of those things have kind of vanished.
Strivers Row – the book's namesake – is still there. It's located on 38 and 139th streets – still two of the most beautiful streets in the city.
GOTHAM GAZETTE: How much of the mood or spirit is left?
KEVIN BAKER: Some of it is still there. There's still a lot of vibrancy in the community, even if it's no longer a place that really thinks of itself as the cultural capital of Black America.
By the time I'm writing the book – 1943 – the Harlem Renaissance has already been crushed by the Depression. A lot of those earlier dreams – that the black community was going to come to equal terms with whites – had already been disillusioned. But it was still a place of incredible creativity. It was still a place with amazing music coming out.
One reason that it has changed so much is that Harlem was a ghetto. That's a term we use interchangeably with "slum", but there really is a difference. A ghetto is a place where all members of a certain religion or race are forced to live – whether they're Jewish or, in this case, black. That meant that everyone lived together. At Strivers Row you had not only doctors, lawyers, ministers, but also great musicians, composers – Hubie Blake lived there, WC Handy – prizefighters, all sorts of people. Anybody who made money in the community. That feeling is kind of gone now. There's less of a black elite there.
These are the ways that cities changed. It was a good thing that New York changed – people aren't kept in this ghetto anymore – but of course something is always lost when communities change.
Harlem is still changing and probably will change for good. What this will mean, I don't know. It will probably mean some good things – money coming in. It will probably also mean some people being forced out, which isn't so good.
It will probably be much less black than it has been.
GOTHAM GAZETTE: You wrote in an article in the New York Times that Harlem was a fluke. Can you explain what you meant by that?
KEVIN BAKER: Harlem was planned for this white elite – and that's the natural place for wealthy suburbs: on the periphery of the city.
It had been this sleepy Dutch and then Irish and other white ethnic village for years. Various parts were known as Goatville or Pigville, for the different animals that would run free in the streets. So it was made first into a snappier upper middle class white neighborhood, and was then being set up to be this blockbuster white elite neighborhood. But it was being developed too fast; people weren't moving up there that fast. Developers looked around and panicked.
At the same time, African Americans were coming all the way north. They had lived in a distinctive community since the Civil War Draft Riots, basically for their own protection as much as anything else.
Developers knew they could charge black people two or three times what they charge whites in the city, because the black people had very little choice about where to live. Between 1915 and the First World War Harlem was really established.
GOTHAM GAZETTE: Your trilogy discusses three distinct eras in New York City history. Why these three eras as a way to explore the city's history?
KEVIN BAKER: Manhattan particularly and New York in general has always been the most contested ground in America. From the slave rebellion of 1712, the supposed slave rebellion of 1741, the many riots of the 19th century, the draft riots, to the labor struggles, and movements for women's rights, civil rights, and gay rights, all these things were really fought out here as much as anywhere in the country.
The three eras I write about were crucial moments in New York City's – and therefore America's – history. Outsider groups forced their way into what was very white Anglo society that didn't really want them here except in a completely subservient position:
The Civil War was a crucible for Irish Americans who came here because of the potato famine, as I describe in Paradise Alley. They started this Draft Riot, opposing a draft into the Civil War. It was horrible; it featured many lynchings and horrible killings of black people in the streets of the city. But it was also put down in large part by Irish police and the military. This was their decision to be part of America – and being an American citizen might mean shooting your friends and neighbors in the street.
With Dreamland, it's the uprising of the 20,000 – the garment workers and the Jewish American experience. This to me was much more about calling America on its promises. The political machinery of the city had a certain democratic feature to it, but was run as this closed Irish clan – you could get everything as a favor but nothing as a right. And here were Jews very idealistically saying "No, this is what America promises and you have to deliver on this." This led to this huge garment strike and then, after that, the tragic events of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, which is the central event of Dreamland (and which we just passed the 95th anniversary of). This would change New York and America forever.
In Strivers Row you have African Americans, who aren't immigrants as we usually think of the term – they'd been here in New York as early as the Dutch. But they are far and away the most outsider group, and this is them forcing their way into the American democracy – whether other people liked it or not.
So it's these three groups and the three folkways they pursued towards getting equal rights. These are the great stories of our democracy. So much of our culture came from Jews, Blacks and the Irish. These are hard stories; they are more brutal stories than we are generally told. But they are great stories and I've tried to capture them.
BARBARA HIGGENBOTHAM: How you do your research?
KEVIN BAKER: I did most of the research for Strivers Row at the Schomburg Center, which is a fantastic, underused research center in Harlem. I went to many of the great black writers of the time. I also did a lot of reading of the Amsterdam News at the time, which was then as now the leading weekly in Harlem. Terrific paper then, and had some great stuff particularly from a guy named Dan Burley. He was covering everything – politics, entertainment, sports, and great little mood scenes in Harlem, jotting down every word he heard, all this great slang in Harlem in the early 1940s. You can't go wrong with these sources.
With Dreamland, a lot of the terrific Jewish writers of the age helped. Haunch, Paunch and Jowl; and Michael Gold's Jews Without Money. Leon Stein's the Triangle Fire. Triangle, by David Van Drehle, came out after I wrote the book. It's fantastic.
Mostly, I used secondary sources in the books. I'm not writing history here.
I know EL Doctorow likes to say, apparently, do as little research as you can get away with. Certainly Doctorow does this better than any of us, so there's that to be said too. I like to dig in as much research as I can find. It's the little things that tell you so much – the stuff you weren't expecting to find.
GOTHAM GAZETTE: It's great that you mention those books, some of which have been previous selections in this book club, and you can read the transcripts online.
Doctorow was also a guest here, actually. He said that "history written by historians is clearly insufficient", and that novelists also have an important part to play. " The important thing is that over the years there's a consensus about literature," he said. "Some of it makes it and most of it doesn't. The books that make it have, in some way, struck people as somehow true."
KEVIN BAKER: I think that's a very good point. Whether you're writing fiction or not, truth is what you're going for. Does this ring true? The novelist is interested in truth as much as the nonfiction writer. The novelist is looking for what is true in terms of how people act and how the world of human emotions works.
JAYNA GOODMAN: Don't you think that the history that you are going back and looking at can be made up to an extent? History oftentimes is written from oral history that has been passed from generation to generation. People naturally like to exaggerate in their storytelling, so history that wasn't necessarily documented at that very moment is already an extension of the truth.
KEVIN BAKER: One of the things that labeling it fiction enables you to do is speculate more – to kind of indulge.
GOTHAM GAZETTE: One of the differences between this novel and the others in the series is that while today there isn't that much of a controversy about Tammany politics or European immigration of past eras, racial issues are still a flashpoint. Did you approach this subject differently than the subject of your past books?
KEVIN BAKER: Obviously it's something you're aware of. Race has been this undercurrent of American life for 400 years. There's no getting around it. You'd be in denial to say you're not conscious of it. But I think it is something that does not get better by being left alone. I think it's only going to be through exploring it – through fiction, through nonfiction – that we attempt to make it better. And this is a very sympathetic portrayal of the Harlem community.
Maybe it's audacious to take on the topic, but all writing is an act of audacity. I think in some ways I'm as unqualified to write about Harlem as I was to write about Jewish immigrants and Irish immigrants. I was completely ignorant of all three.
GOTHAM GAZETTE: So it sounds like you don't think there's any sense of in-authenticity about a white author writing about the black experience.
KEVIN BAKER: No. It sounds clichéd to say it, but I think there is a basic humanity that connects us. In some ways, I think it's no more audacious than a male writer writing about a woman. All writing is this attempt to put yourself into different lives, different eras. If we don't attempt that, then writing will be this very shrunken, disfigured thing.
You draw upon things in your life. Malcolm X [one of the two main characters of Strivers Row] had this horrendous childhood, this very hard life. I can't say I know exactly what it's like to go through that in America. On the other hand, I was fairly poor growing up, we were off and on welfare, public assistance, and you get a little bit of a sense from that to know what it's like to be poor – to be an outsider. Again, not to the level that Malcolm experienced. But that is something you draw on.
MARTHA SOFFER: Did you get any negative feedback from the Afro-American community?
KEVIN BAKER: No, I haven't gotten any negative feedback. In fact, I have gotten more African American audience members than ever before – and glad for it. The emotion has been curiosity for the book. The worst response I got was from a white reviewer who thought I was unfair to the Irish. I'm mostly Irish myself. What can I say?
GOTHAM GAZETTE: Why did you decide to pick Malcolm X as the main character, someone who people know so much about, instead of picking a fictional young man who goes to Harlem, especially since what you write about happens before Malcolm X really becomes a public figure?
KEVIN BAKER: He is a really classic American character, caught between race in a way that kind of defines the way that America deals with race. He was a black kid who ends up going to these white schools in Michigan. He was very smart, he was like third in his class, and was elected school president. At the same time, he goes to the school dance and is not allowed to dance with any of the girls there. Physically these white guys surround him and nonviolently but adamantly wall him off from the dance floor. His whole life is about being allowed a foot in the door but nothing more. His story really sums up the frustration of race in this country in that way.
Also, the Autobiography of Malcolm X this great, iconic American text, but there are obviously parts where Malcolm is doing things for a political purpose. It's a conversion story, and a story in which he's trying to claim leadership of the Civil Right Movement in the 1960s. So he exaggerates what a bad guy criminal he was, and various other things. Oddly, he also underplays how badly he had it at home as a child. The odd thing about Strivers Row in a way is that it is using fiction to get to the truth of Malcolm's nonfiction.
GOTHAM GAZETTE: Is it hard to write fiction about a historical figure when almost everyone has read his autobiography and seen that Denzel Washington movie about him?
KEVIN BAKER: Yeah, it is somewhat, and I have to admit I was picturing Denzel Washington at times, and I was picturing Delroy Lindo as West Indian Archie at times, too.
I've had major historical figures in these books before, but never in as central a role. Of course you feel more of an obligation to get stuff right. In Dreamland I was really terrified about getting the stuff about Freud wrong – of course, nobody seemed to really notice it afterwards.
I think, though a lot of people have seen the movie or read the book, there are a lot of Americans who really don't know a lot about Malcolm or the Nation of Islam. They think of Malcolm as this X hat or a poster with the finger jutting forward and the "By Any Means Necessary" caption. Our heroes and our iconic figures tend to get reduced to these clichés, and I think it is a good thing to try to bring out some more of where he came from to people. I hope I succeeded at this.
GOTHAM GAZETTE: What's next?
KEVIN BAKER: I have a contract right now to write a nonfiction book about New York City baseball.
But I also have other historical novel ideas about New York, and elsewhere, and a contemporary one or two. That's kind of frowned on in publishing; they've kind of declared fiction dead. But it's not. I'll be working in this field for a while now, I think.
Editor's Choice
| <urn:uuid:9c59a6d0-f5ca-4ecb-9ec2-8fec42356239> | 2 | 2.34375 | 0.149887 | en | 0.981718 | http://www.gothamgazette.com/index.php/topics/open-government/3210-harlems-heyday |
Make a family cookbook
By GreatSchools Staff
Families make history every day in the kitchen and around the dinner table. Your aunt's blueberry pie and your special turkey stuffing are the ingredients of memory. Collect these special recipes into a holiday gift book and you've also helped your child explore family history and develop reading, writing and organizing skills.
Here's how to get started:
1. Decide on a theme. It can be holiday recipes or ethnic specialties. Or maybe you want a general cookbook with a few recipes in basic categories, such as main dishes, vegetables, salads, soups and desserts. Special bonus: This will help your child learn about the food groups that make up a balanced diet.
2. Collect the recipes. If your family is gathering this holiday season, ask each person to bring along a copy of a favorite recipe. Or ask relatives to send them by mail or email.
You might want to set up a form to make sure a crucial instruction - the oven temperature, for example - isn't forgotten. It could include this information:
3. Choose illustrations. Your child can illustrate the cookbook with his own drawings. If you have access to a scanner, you can also use family photos as illustrations. Ask relatives to send you photos or look through your own collection for pictures of memorable family moments. You can also scan mementos: An invitation you've saved from your child's birthday party could be used to illustrate a cake recipe or the handwritten recipe from a great-aunt can be used on the page that tells how to make her special coffee cake.
4. Prepare the recipes. Have your child help you read them over to make sure all the necessary information is included. You can simply photocopy them if you've set up a form for your contributors to follow. Or you can type them into your computer and print them. Put the recipes in categories and alphabetize them; both are good skills for your child to practice. Make a table of contents.
5. Write a short introduction. Ask your child to help or let her dictate it to you. Be sure to include the date.
6. Ask someone else to proofread.
7. Assemble. If you have a big family or lots of recipes, you may want to leave the printing to a copy shop. A three-ring binder works well as a cookbook because you can add recipes in years to come. Use notebook dividers with pockets in them so the recipient can stash extra recipes in each section. Use plastic sleeves on the pages to splatter-proof them.
Your cookbook doesn't have to be in book form: You can make a CD-ROM of the contents and send it to far-away family members. Or have a tech-savvy relative design a family Web site to display your efforts.
Additional Resources
If you're feeling ambitious but don't know how to create a Web site, Creating Family Web Sites For Dummies by Janine Warner is designed to help beginners. It's available in paperback or can be downloaded as an e-book. | <urn:uuid:e300a7a1-9795-4ab4-bd17-c5af297b98ea> | 3 | 2.734375 | 0.047004 | en | 0.947702 | http://www.greatschools.org/print-view/students/activities/157-make-a-family-cookbook.gs?fromPage=1 |
Dan Ariely
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The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty:
How We Lie to Everyone − Especially Ourselves, by Dan Ariely. Harper, 285 pages, $27
Raised in Israel and now a professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke University, Dan Ariely is one of those best-selling, globe-trotting, charm-the-pants-off-the-reader authors who use the results of psychology lab experiments, engaging storytelling and pop-culture references to explain to us why we humans behave in the seemingly irrational and venal ways that we do (and, implicitly, what we should do about it). It’s a fraternity that also includes Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner (authors of “Freakonomics”), Malcolm Gladwell (“The Tipping Point”) and, in his recent book “Thinking, Fast and Slow,” the godfather of behavioral economics, Israeli-born Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman.
In his new book, “The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty,” Ariely makes the case that various forms of what he calls “dishonest” behavior (more on that label below) are the result less of rational, cost-benefit calculation than of a range of irrational, subconscious emotions and influences, including conflicts of interest, self-deception, rationalization, “everyone-else-is-doing-it” reasoning, psychological distance, fatigue and even altruism. In support of his argument, Ariely offers a range of fascinating data − culled from his own and others’ ingenious empirical studies − as well as a collection of mostly amusing (though sometimes self-indulgent) personal anecdotes and cultural commentary.
Much of this is quite fascinating. For example, in one experiment, subjects were given designer sunglasses to wear. Some were told that they were authentic, some that they were counterfeits, and others, nothing (in fact, they were all authentic − Ariely, ever the charmer, had somehow convinced the Chloe company to lend him $47,000 worth of luxury goods). The subjects were then given a task designed to test their honesty by self-reporting their success in solving various number problems. Ariely found that while (a still significant) 30 percent of those who had been told their glasses were the real thing dishonestly reported solving more problems than they actually had, a whopping 74 percent of those who believed they were wearing fakes engaged in misreporting. Ariely speculates that “once we knowingly put on a counterfeit product, moral constraints loosen to some degree, making it easier for us to take further steps down the path of dishonesty.”
Similarly intriguing is Ariely’s tongue-in-cheek discussion concerning the common phenomenon of college students’ sending e-mails to their professors reporting the sudden “death” of their grandmothers. According to a study conducted by biology professor Mike Adams, and related by Ariely, “grandmothers are ten times more likely to die before a midterm and nineteen more likely to die before a final exam.” The vast majority of the students, of course, are lying. Consistent with his view that fatigue makes people more likely to cheat and lie, Ariely theorizes that “students become so depleted by the months of studying and burning the candle at both ends that they lose some of their morality.” Perhaps. But a better explanation may be simply that, as the day of the exam approaches and study time grows short, the prospect of failure rises, and students have more incentive to cheat. Here, as elsewhere, Ariely seems to succumb to a kind of confirmation bias, finding in the data support for just the conclusion he’s looking for.
Throughout the book, Ariely seeks to puncture the idea, first advanced by classical economist Gary Becker, that people cheat and lie because it’s in their rational interest to do so. Surely Ariely is right that people do not engage in criminal activity solely as a result of weighing the benefit to be gained from criminal behavior against the expected punishment if caught and the probability that they will be caught. But Ariely misses an important element of rational calculation by failing to acknowledge that people fear not just actual jail time but also the stigma and ostracism they will suffer if their wrongdoing is detected. Indeed, Ariely’s own studies, which he says support the view that cheating is “infectious,” can in some cases just as easily be interpreted as supporting the view that cheating is more probable when detection is unlikely.
Another, albeit minor, complaint I have about “The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty” is that, charming as Ariely often is, he has a tendency to blow his own horn a bit too much − about his academic accomplishments, his famous friends, his busy speaking schedule. For example, Ariely tells us that a “typical itinerary” of his recently took him from his “home in North Carolina to New York City, then on to Sao Paulo, Brazil; Bogota, Colombia; Zagreb, Croatia; San Diego, California; and back to North Carolina” and a “few days later,” to “Austin, Texas; New York City; Istanbul, Turkey; Camden, Maine; and finally (exhausted) back home.” There’s really no reason to include all of this, especially when it has almost nothing to do with the otherwise interesting point he’s making (about the “infectiousness” of immorality); indeed, it distracts from the interest of his argument, and a good editor should have taken it out. (Nor, I suspect, do most readers really need to be told that San Diego is in California or that Istanbul is in Turkey.)
My biggest problem with Ariely’s book, however, is that it tends to treat a collection of key moral concepts − including dishonesty, cheating, deception, lying, conflicts of interest and stealing − as if they were interchangeable.
They are not. As we normally understand such concepts, cheating consists of violating a rule with an intent to obtain some competitive advantage. Lying involves making a statement that is not only intended to deceive, but is also literally false. Other forms of deception do not require literal falsity. Stealing consists of unlawfully depriving another of her property rights. Conflicts of interest typically involve a breach of loyalty. Dishonesty is something of an umbrella term that signifies some moral defect, but need not involve deception, stealing, cheating or disloyalty.
Ariely, unfortunately, makes no such distinctions, and the result is a good deal of conceptual confusion. To take just one characteristic example, Ariely says: “Companies also find many ways to cheat. ... Think about credit card companies that raise interest rates ever so slightly for no apparent reason and invent all kinds of hidden fees and penalties (which are often referred to, within companies, as ‘revenue enhancements’). Think about banks that slow down check processing so that they can hold on to our money for an extra day or two or charge exorbitant fees for overdraft protection and for using ATMs. ... [I]t is important to discourage ... [these] forms of dishonesty.”
No one, certainly no consumer, would disagree that it’s annoying that credit card companies and banks engage in these kinds of practices. But before we can determine whether any of this involves cheating, or even dishonesty, we need to know more facts. For example, was the credit card company legally prohibited from raising its rates or adding fees? If so, then we can justifiably say that it cheated. But what if no rule was broken? In that case, we might still say that the company was behaving aggressively or avariciously or perhaps even exploitatively − but not that it cheated, and perhaps not even that it acted dishonestly.
These kinds of distinctions matter, in law and in morality. Consider someone who’s misrepresented his income or claimed deductions he is not entitled to. In moral terms, we can say that this person has cheated and, in legal terms, that he has committed the crime of tax evasion. By contrast, a person who aggressively claims every deduction and exemption that he’s entitled to has engaged in nothing more than lawful tax avoidance − not a crime, not cheating, and perhaps not even dishonest behavior. Similarly, one who, while testifying under oath, lies about a material matter, has committed perjury, a serious crime that, in the United States, can lead to a punishment of up to five years in prison. But one who offers literally true testimony, even when it is misleading, has not lied, and therefore has not committed perjury.
Such distinctions matter from a psychological perspective as well. The fact that “everyone else is doing it” makes people more likely to cheat on Ariely’s numbers problems doesn’t necessarily tell us anything about the effect of such rationalization on their propensity to commit adultery or illegally download software from the Internet (to use two examples of what Ariely seems to regard as cheating). Similarly, the fact that people who were tired were more likely to cheat on a multiple-choice quiz about the history of Florida State University tells us little or nothing about their inclination, when tired, to steal or to run red lights (again, all examples given by Ariely).
The point is not that Ariely’s experiments aren’t valuable or intriguing; they are both. But his failure to recognize significant differences among various forms of unethical and antisocial behavior, and to treat them all as if they were fungible, causes him to claim too much for the significance of his data. In the end, Ariely’s account misses much of the subtlety that makes our moral lives so richly perplexing. And it may blind him to the need for further study.
Stuart P. Green is the author of “Lying, Cheating, and Stealing: A Moral Theory of White Collar Crime,” and, most recently, “Thirteen Ways to Steal a Bicycle: Theft Law in the Information Age.” | <urn:uuid:59e676dc-0430-494d-9bb6-23ea3927936e> | 2 | 2.203125 | 0.020166 | en | 0.970364 | http://www.haaretz.com/culture/books/everybody-lies-especially-to-themselves-1.451462 |
Find the correct Condensers for your car
Or select your car from a list
Still can't find your car?
Your local store will be happy to help.
Although most modern cars don't use them, before 1980 almost every car used a points/condenser ignition system. In layman's terms, the condenser in a coil ignition circuit reduces the spark at the contact points, which makes sure they don't get burnt.
Burnt contact points can seriously reduce the life of an ignition system, so having working condensers is pretty important.
Although the physics behind it can sound a bit baffling, we intend to make things as straightforward as possible for all our customers.
If you get a bit stuck and need a hand finding the right parts for your car, just ask one of our colleagues in-store, who'll be more than happy to help. If you already know what you need order it online and you can pick it up in-store the next day. | <urn:uuid:55f956d5-e647-4f94-a1b3-6ccf18888f0f> | 2 | 1.78125 | 0.196851 | en | 0.936494 | http://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-parts/ignition/condensers |
Premodern Places
Wallace, David
Date published:
May 2006
This book recovers places in the mental mapping of medieval and Renaissance writers, from Chaucer to Aphra Behn. Beginning with Calais, peopled by the English from 1347 to 1558, and ending with Surinam, traded away for Manhattan in 1667, this well-illustrated book recreates the distinctive cultural life of a range of locations: from Flanders, which led the world in technological innovation; to Somerset, which provided a fitting home for Dante; to the Canaries (the Fortunate Islands), which formed the limits of western dreaming. The book's exploration of premodern places features fascinating vignettes, such as an English merchant learning love songs in Calais, coupled with insights into broader economic narratives of political, technological, religious, and economic change. In particular, it provides long geneaologies of blackness and whiteness, race and slavery, in the premodern world. | <urn:uuid:88d83c7b-3f29-46ee-af25-f8d0bf5049c8> | 3 | 3.125 | 0.059717 | en | 0.901707 | http://www.history.ac.uk/history-online/book/isbn/1405151528 |
Illicit liquor: What you see is not what you get
Illicit liquor: What you see is not what you get
Pages: 1 2 3
Smuggling goods across porous borders is another problem that seems uncontrollable. Adrian Lackay, spokesperson for the South African Revenue Services, says that the source for cane spirits, often used as a base for fake brandy, are countries that grow sugar cane like Swaziland and Mozambique. Namibia has recently accused South Africa, Angola and the DRC as the countries of origin of illegal brandy and whisky. But calling culprits is futile as the illegal trade is widespread.
It seems as if it is impossible to stop the illegal alcohol trade. According to SALBA the profits made from illicit sales by far outweigh punitive measures. Fines, seizures and arrests are only temporary hiccups for the illegal trade. To quote Kruger: “It is a never-ending cycle and we (and the authorities) never actually get it (the illegal trade) under control.”
How to detect fake liquor
1. The price of a bottle of spirits According to SALBA, the cost of producing a bottle of brandy, that includes the raw materials, packaging, excise duty and VAT amounts to almost R50 ($6.12). Vodka and cane is slightly less at about R45 ($5.50). So spirits for sale below R50 a bottle is suspect. The adage: “if it is too ‘cheap’ to be true, it probably is”, is applicable.
2. The quality of the bottle Luxury bottles of spirits normally have an appearance of quality and have distinct shapes and characteristics. When How we made it in Africa was shown two bottles of vodka, of which one was counterfeit, we were unable to point out the fake one. A brand protection agent pointed out discrepancies in the contours of the bottle and duller and less accurate paint work. Bottle tops are often made of inferior material and tend to bend or crumble on opening. Also, loose bottle tops and broken seals indicate a tampered with or inferior product.
3. Labeling This is one of the most obvious places to detect a suspicious product. Since many counterfeit products are made in non-English speaking countries, spelling mistakes is a sure give away. Labels that are not straight and glue marks indicate that it has been stuck on by hand. Counterfeit alcohol will often not indicate the name or address of the manufacturer, or the country of origin. The absence of revenue stamps and government health warnings are also telltale signs.
4. Bottles filled to different levels Since small-time illegal operations often fill bottles by hand, the levels are not always accurate.
5. Smell One of the most obvious indications of a fake product is the smell. Fake vodka apparently smells like nail varnish or acetone. The absence of the distinct aroma that is associated with certain brands of vodka, or whisky, etc. or the presence of “funny” smells should alert the consumer.
Pages: 1 2 3
| View article on single page
Related articles:
• Kenya’s new middle class demanding fine liquor
• Diageo boss calls for balanced reporting on Africa’s opportunities and risks
• Case study: Adding value with bottle filling equipment | <urn:uuid:723e073c-44c4-4693-a612-3f6ac6ed02cf> | 2 | 1.898438 | 0.139634 | en | 0.949047 | http://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/illicit-liquor-what-you-see-is-not-what-you-get/18567/3/ |
Noise in Quantum and Classical Computation and Non-locality Falk Unger Abstract: Quantum computers seem to have capabilities which go beyond those of classical computers. A particular example which is important for cryptography is that quantum computers are able to factor numbers much faster than what seems possible on classical machines. In order to actually build quantum computers it is necessary to build sufficiently accurate hardware, which is a big challenge. In part 1 of this thesis we prove lower bounds on the accuracy of the hardware needed to do quantum computation. We also present a similar result for classical computers. One resource that quantum computers have but classical computers do not have is entanglement. In Part 2 of this thesis we study certain general aspects of entanglement in terms of quantum XOR games and non-locality. | <urn:uuid:f5fed862-f72d-4e9b-96fb-ba71303b6370> | 2 | 1.984375 | 0.488912 | en | 0.940129 | http://www.illc.uva.nl/Research/Publications/Dissertations/DS-2008-06.abstract.txt |
IMF Executive Board Discusses the Application of the Debt Sustainability Framework for Low-Income Countries Post Debt Relief
Public Information Notice (PIN) No. 06/136
December 7, 2006
On November, 27, 2006, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) discussed the application of the debt sustainability framework (DSF) for low-income countries after debt relief in the context of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC) and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI). The discussion was based on a report prepared jointly by the staffs of the World Bank and the IMF.
The Executive Boards of the IMF and the World Bank endorsed the DSF for low-income countries in April 2005, and in April 2006 reviewed its use as well as the implications of the MDRI. The Boards considered the framework broadly appropriate but thought that additional guidance was needed on the application of the framework to address the new policy challenges created by debt relief.
The joint paper proposes to strengthen the application of the DSF itself, reinforce its built-in safeguards, and provide clearer guidance on the design of underlying growth and macroeconomic scenarios. This should enhance further the rigor and quality of debt sustainability analyses, while still allowing for a consistent and flexible treatment of debt accumulation across member countries. The paper also examines the role of nonconcessional debt in countries that have benefited from debt relief, the rising importance of private external creditors, and ways to integrate better domestic debt in the DSF.
The effectiveness of the DSF depends on its broader use by debtors and creditors. The joint paper considers a number of options in this regard, including strengthening the link between the results of debt sustainability analyses and policy advice, further outreach to official creditors, and the development of medium-term debt strategies that balance development needs with the risk of debt distress. The broader use of the debt sustainability framework would also facilitate communication and coordination on debt-related issues among creditors and between creditors and debtors.
Executive Board Assessment
Executive Directors welcomed the opportunity to discuss the application of the debt sustainability framework for low-income countries (LICs) post-HIPC Initiative and -MDRI debt relief, following up on their consideration of this topic in April 2006. Today's discussion focused on how best to integrate into the DSF the policy challenges arising from the perceived increase in borrowing space created by debt relief in some LICs, from the emergence of new creditors, and from the rising weight of domestic debt. While welcome, these developments also raise new risks that need to be addressed as countries continue to make progress towards implementing prudent debt management policies. In light of this, Directors called for improvements to the rigor and quality of debt sustainability analyses (DSAs) and for increased effectiveness of DSAs by fostering their use by borrowers and creditors.
Improving the Quality and Rigor of DSAs
Directors recalled that, at their April discussion, they had supported the development of specific recommendations and guidelines on the implementation of a case-by-case approach, which takes due account of country-specific circumstances for assessing the appropriate pace of debt accumulation in countries with debt below the DSF thresholds. They had emphasized that guidance is needed to ensure that such an approach provides a rigorous, consistent, and evenhanded treatment of debt accumulation across countries. Most Directors viewed staff proposals as striking an appropriate balance between rules and discretion. They welcomed the proposed guidelines for the design of more realistic baseline macroeconomic and growth scenarios that reflect the country's policy and institutional setting, the external environment, and the likelihood of external shocks.
Directors generally supported a strengthening of the precautionary features already built into the DSF, including a more active use of historical scenarios to detect undue growth optimism. Cases in which the baseline scenario includes very large upfront borrowing or in which growth accelerations are critical to the avoidance of debt distress would call for a detailed review of macroeconomic assumptions and policies. In this respect, most Directors felt that an annual increase in the net present value of public external debt or total public debt above the range of 5-7 percent of GDP would be an appropriate "caution flag", based on empirical evidence. A few Directors saw scope for greater use of explicit guidelines on debt accumulation that would provide incentives for improved debt management; in this context, it was suggested that Fund-supported programs could use indicative targets on debt accumulation. Some other Directors cautioned against too exclusive reliance on historical scenarios, arguing that this could fail to capture the higher growth rates that can be expected from good quality investment.
Directors reiterated that concessional flows remain the most appropriate source of external finance for LICs and, in this context, called for continued efforts by the international community to improve the availability and predictability of concessional financing. However, they recognized that consideration should continue to be given—on a case-by-case basis—to nonconcessional finance depending on the impact on debt sustainability and the overall strength of a debtor country's policies and institutions, as well as of the quality of the investment to be financed and of the overall public expenditure program. While the availability of concessional financing will clearly be a consideration in this assessment, many Directors emphasized the need for prudence, implying that the lack of such financing should not be the only justification for supporting recourse to nonconcessional resources.
Directors noted that private external creditors' interest in LICs' sovereign debt instruments, including domestic debt instruments, has increased. While welcome, these new investments may give rise to new vulnerabilities, which need to be monitored carefully. Directors agreed that in such cases additional analysis, focusing on short-term debt-related vulnerabilities, should be used more systematically in conjunction with the DSF.
Directors discussed how to integrate domestic debt better in the DSF, given that domestic debt is substantial in many LICs and is relevant for the risk of external debt distress. In view of the conceptual challenges involved, they felt that it is not feasible to incorporate domestic debt into the existing thresholds. However, Directors considered that scope exists for integrating domestic debt more systematically into the assessment of debt sustainability and the risk of external debt distress. In particular, they stressed the need to ensure that all LIC DSAs include a public debt DSA, which should assess more thoroughly the vulnerabilities related to domestic debt. DSAs should also explicitly flag situations where the inclusion of domestic debt in overall debt and debt-service prospects would lead to a different classification from consideration of external debt and debt service alone. A few Directors cautioned against discriminating domestic debt accumulation in favor of external debt.
Towards More Effective DSAs: Fostering Use by Borrowers and Creditors
Directors underscored that the effectiveness of the DSF in avoiding excessive debt buildup ultimately depends on its broader use by debtors and creditors, including as a device for better communication and coordination between creditors and borrowers, and among creditors. Although the use of the DSF is expanding, it is still limited, and Directors stressed the need for further outreach to official creditors, including towards emerging creditors. While recognizing that the primary responsibility for avoiding debt re-accumulation lies with the borrowers, a number of Directors called for further exploration of ways to encourage responsible lending by all creditors.
Directors stressed the crucial importance of timely, high-quality data on borrowing and lending operations, and saw an important role for the Fund and the Bank in supporting sustained further efforts aimed at improving the quality and availability of data on overall financial flows to low-income countries. In this regard, a number of Directors called on borrowers and creditors to disclose data on these operations on a timely and accurate basis. To promote data transparency and dissemination, Directors encouraged Fund staff, working with Bank staff, to disseminate more broadly and effectively the results of DSAs. Directors welcomed the creation of a dedicated webpage on the Fund's website where DSAs can be easily located, and supported the establishment of a similar webpage on concessionality, including a concessionality calculator and relevant information on the Fund's concessionality policy. They saw merit in allowing public access to the illustrative DSA templates in order to increase transparency and broaden the framework's acceptance among creditors. They also suggested that staff post on the website a summary table listing the countries for which an LIC DSA has been undertaken, their dates, and whether they have been published.
Directors underscored the critical importance of ensuring that debt-related vulnerabilities identified by the DSF are adequately taken into account in the formulation of a country's policies. They urged staff to strengthen further the link between DSA results and Fund policy advice in both surveillance and program contexts. This could include the use of indicative targets on the overall fiscal deficit or debt ceilings, where appropriate. More generally, Directors stressed the importance of using the DSF as an upstream device to inform staff's broader dialogue with the authorities. Directors noted that regular DSAs should become part of sound policy design, and supported using DSAs as a cornerstone for the elaboration of country-owned, medium-term public and external debt strategies (MTDS) that would be closely linked to countries' fiscal frameworks. A well-designed and operational MTDS would thus become an important tool in supporting a country's development objectives, including its progress towards reaching the Millennium Development Goals, while containing risks of debt distress and macroeconomic vulnerability. It could also help guide creditors' decisions.
Directors noted that the design and implementation of an MTDS raises significant operational challenges, and will require substantial capacity building in public debt management given that the ownership and responsibility for the MTDS should rest firmly with the borrowing country. Directors stressed the importance of coordination with the Bank and other technical assistance-providing institutions and agencies, especially in light of resource constraints and the potentially significant costs involved. They looked forward to further clarification—including in the context of forthcoming discussions based on the work of the External Review Committee on IMF-World Bank Collaboration—of the role that the Fund will have to play in this capacity-building effort. It was also suggested that countries should rely as much as possible on existing financial and policy frameworks as a basis for developing and strengthening their debt management policies.
Directors considered that there is no need for revising the existing debt distress categories at this time. Most Directors broadly supported the use of a three-year moving average Country Policy and Institutional Assessment score to determine the appropriate indicative threshold for debt distress.
Going forward, Directors stressed that consistent and effective implementation, on the part of LICs and their creditors, of the debt sustainability framework will be crucial. They encouraged the Fund staff to continue to work in close coordination with Bank staff, as they further develop and refine this important tool in light of experience.
Public Affairs Media Relations | <urn:uuid:0ac636b5-ccfa-4115-8b12-894ab4f79927> | 2 | 1.703125 | 0.038615 | en | 0.946291 | http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pn/2006/pn06136.htm |
With the New Year comes the perfect opportunity to get the financial side of your business in order. You need accurate numbers in order to make intelligent decisions. So sweep out the mistakes and clutter that have made their way into your financial statements and kick the New Year off right.
Here are five smart things you can do to put your financial house in order.
1. Clean Up the Balance Sheet
Have your accounting department (or accountant) prepare a thorough analysis of each account on your balance sheet. More often than not, there are some significant balances that need adjustment. It's very dangerous to be making business decisions about things like accounts receivable and inventory when the account balances you are looking at are wrong.
2. Benchmark Your Performance
Get with your industry associations and find out what kind of financial benchmarks and statistics they provide. One of the best ways to evaluate your financial performance is to compare your results against other companies in your industry. What if your gross profit percentage is 41%, but the average in the industry is 47%? This would be critical information that you may not be performing as well as you should, and it could be the wake up call you need to get your team focused on making your business more profitable. This is key to continuous improvement.
3. Create a Budget
A budget is critical to managing profitability. Without a budget you're flying blind each month. The process of creating the budget forces you and your team to really think about your business plan and what is most likely to happen next year. It helps you determine what has to happen in order to achieve your financial objectives. It creates accountability for yourself and your team.
You need to create your budget down to the detailed account level, so you can enter that budget in your accounting system. Then every month you can review your income statement with the budget numbers, by account, right next to the actuals. This will make your monthly review of the numbers fast and easy.
4. Create Monthly Cash Flow Projections
Cash flow projections are the secret to taking control of your business. Your budget projects specific revenue and expense categories and arrives at budgeted net income. But net income is only one component of your cash flow. You also have your collection of accounts receivable, purchase of inventory, debt service, capital expenditures, accounts payable, and other items that affect your cash flow also.
Your cash flow projections help you answer this critical cash flow question "What do I expect my cash balance to be over the next six months?" It also helps you answer questions like:
Can I buy the new equipment I need?
Can I make the balloon payment coming up on my loan?
Can I hire a manager to help run the business?
How fast can I pay off all my credit card debt?
(My December 2004 column provides a template and step-by-step instructions for formatting easy-to-understand cash flow projections.)
5. Make Accountability Important
It is very important that you hold everyone in your company accountable for financial results. Everyone should have very specific financial targets that you have agreed to each month. Then the secret is to sit down and review their actual performance against those targets every single month. You'll be amazed how fast you can improve your profitability when you hold people (including yourself) accountable for specific financial results.
Use this season to give your business a little holiday gift. Make a commitment to the financial health of your business, and it will page huge dividends for you all year long. | <urn:uuid:e498bad4-b0c9-41f9-932a-577ea3093fdf> | 2 | 1.867188 | 0.030429 | en | 0.942066 | http://www.inc.com/resources/finance/articles/20051201/checkup.html |
Always-on virtualization
Virtualization is becoming increasingly important in the datacenter as a way to respond quickly to the varying server demands. Depending on time of day and day of the week, as well as events in progress and many other factors, loads on any given machine may vary by factors of 100 or 1,000 or more. Giving a server more or less computing power, running multiple instances of the same server for load balancing purposes, or allowing failover from one virtual instance to another are increasingly important capabilities.
That's where HADR (high availability disaster recovery) tools come into play. High availability tools ensure that applications running in a virtual server session remain available even during failures of hardware, server OS, or application software. Disaster recovery tools enable the quick recovery of functionality after loss of hardware and are oriented toward restarting services at new locations.
[ See the Test Center reviews of VMware Infrastructure 3 with ESX Server 3.5 and VirtualCenter 2.5 and Microsoft's Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V and Virtual Machine Manager. Track virtualization news and reviews through InfoWorld's Virtualization Topic Center and reading David Marshall's Virtualization Report. ]
HADR is complex enough when working with one OS per server. When you add in the multiple virtualization platforms out there, the numerous OSes, as well as all the storage and network settings and the additional complexities of boot images used by the hypervisors, HADR for virtual servers becomes even more complex. Just as there is no single solution for HADR in general, there is no single solution within virtualization: Different products address different areas, including backups, failover, deployment, and storage virtualization.
These HADR products range from software that is installed on either the virtualization server or on a separate server to hardware-software combinations that are installed separately. There are even specialized platforms that enable just one aspect of HADR for virtualization, such as DataCore's SANmelody, which enables storage systems to respond to the changing requirements of virtual servers as they are moved from one instance to another.
HADR can be H-A-R-D
HADR is fraught with complexity, due to the intricacies of virtualization itself. For example, moving a server instance from one physical server to another can be complicated by differing subnets, differing hardware from system to system, differing access to storage (the logical units or LUNs on a storage system are typically mapped to a specific piece of hardware), and other factors. Because there is generally no single overarching tool for this, management of the overall system is exceedingly complex.
There's an additional complexity: the boot image. This image is the file stored on disk that encompasses the file system, boot sectors, boot files, operating system files, application files, and so forth required by an operating system. VMware can save the entire thing as a single image file on the local disk, but moving the instance from the local disk to a SAN requires converting it to a block device. This conversion process is not a problem, but an image converted to a block device cannot always be converted back to a local image. There are similar issues with other virtualization products.
Notably, some of the virtualization vendors are already baking HADR functionality into their wares to address these types of issues. VMware, for example, has unveiled several such features. There's Virtual Machine File System (VMFS), which supports storing OS images on shared volumes. Additionally, there's VMotion, which supports moving instances from one VMware server to another without having to bring the instance down first. Moreover, Site Recovery Manager provides central management of instances across multiple ESX servers. VMware HA (High Availability) can restart instances that stop responding, or restart them on other ESX servers if necessary. Finally, VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) allows dynamic reallocation of resources to servers when loads increase or decrease on a given instance.
In this round-up, however, we'll be looking at third-party offerings intended to supplement virtualization products such as VMware, Microsoft's Hyper-V, Virtual Iron, and Parallels, as well as XenSource and other products based on Xen, as well as KVM, VServer, and other open-source virtualization platforms. The products include DataCore's SANmelody, Marathon Technologies' everRun VM for Xen, Scalent Systems' Scalent software, Stratus Technology's Avance, and Vizioncore vRanger Pro. Each addresses a different aspect of HADR for virtualization.
Tale of the HADR tape
SANmelody virtualizes storage and works with emBoot to enable VMware server instances to boot from the SAN rather than the local hard drive, making it easier to move instances from one system to another. The boot instances stored on the SAN can also be backed up using the snapshot functionality of the system, as well as being replicated on a second system.
everRun VM for Xen enables failover modes for Citrix's XenServer so that instances that fail on one system continue to be available on the second. This provides true continuous availability, with both the primary and secondary instance having the same IP address and even the same MAC address. There is no detectable interruption in service if one of the two instances fails.
Scalent offers an infrastructure virtualization system that provides an integrated platform for deployment, migration, and failover of virtual instances, allowing instances to be converted from local to SAN-based. It also automates changes in network settings, SAN settings, and more as instances are moved. It offers a uniquely flexible, quick and easy system for deploying, moving, or re-deploying server instances.
Avance integrates with Citrix's XenServer and provides automatic failover from one instance to another if a server fails. It uses a dedicated, hardened version of XenServer modified to provide rapid failover and high security. Each instance is separate, and there can be slight delays in responses to client systems during the switchover.
vRangerPro is a backup utility for VMware that allows both full and incremental backups of server instances, allowing for greater flexibility than the simple creation of an image allowed with the core VMware functionality. It can also back up a physical server and then restore it to a virtual instance, allowing for a disaster recovery strategy that uses far fewer servers at an alternate datacenter.
None of these products directly competes with each other; rather, they all help fill in some part of the large puzzle that is HADR for virtualization.
DataCore SANmelody 2.0
SANmelody from DataCore is not simply virtualization HADR software. Rather, it's storage virtualization software that encompasses many types of storage features. A couple of those features, however, make the product extremely useful in an HADR environment for virtualization.
The SANmelody software, which installs on Windows Server 2000 or Windows Server 2003, essentially turns a commodity Windows server plus storage into a SAN storage platform, with high-end features such as thin provisioning, support for boot from SAN, snapshot, and replication functionality. It works with internal storage and direct attached storage, as well as iSCSI or Fibre Channel SAN storage -- anything that Windows supports.
The aforementioned boot from SAN features are of particular note in the context of HADR: Boot from SAN allows administrators to easily create a flexible and resilient virtualization environment. The feature makes SANmelody a nice complement to versions of VMware previous to ESX 3.5, which don't support booting directly from SAN volumes: It integrates with emBoot's netBoot/i to enable boot from SAN with iSCSI as well as FC.
Because it works with emBoot, it should also work well with any open-source hypervisors that support it. Moreover, Datacore has worked with other manufacturers to ensure that SANmelody works with XenServer, Microsoft Virtual Server, and Virtual Iron.
Additionally, SANmelody simplifies the deployment of multiple instances of the same OS. Admins can create one boot volume, install an OS instance to it, then create snapshots and copy them to additional volumes very quickly.
Installation of SANmelody is no more difficult than any other Windows application, and because hardware support is based on Windows support, any hardware that runs Windows will work. After the software is installed, management of the storage system can be accomplished locally on the Windows server or via browser. The interface is clean and easy to navigate, and creating boot volumes for VMware or XenServer is simple.
Marathon Technologies everRun VM 4
Scalent Systems Virtual Operating Environment
Stratus Technologies Avance 1.3
Vizioncore vRanger Pro 3.2.4
Narrowing your choices
InfoWorld Scorecard
Ease of use (20.0%)
Management (25.0%)
Value (10.0%)
Functionality (25.0%)
Features (20.0%)
Overall Score (100%)
Vizioncore vRanger Pro 3.2.4 8.0 9.0 9.0 9.0 9.0 8.8
DataCore SANmelody 2.0 9.0 8.0 9.0 7.0 9.0 8.3
Scalent V/OE 2.5 9.0 10.0 8.0 9.0 9.0 9.2
Stratus Technologies Avance 1.3 9.0 9.0 9.0 9.0 9.0 9.0
Marathon Technologies everRun VM 4 8.0 9.0 9.0 9.0 8.0 8.6
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In "God Loves Uganda," Academy Award-winning filmmaker Roger Williams takes a circuitous route that begins with well-meaning, if not naïve, young missionaries at the International House of Prayer, a megachurch located in Kansas City, Mo, and concludes Uganda is a bastion of hatred, legalized discrimination and death.
For 90 minutes, one becomes privy to how the gospel of Jesus is transmuted in a manner that justifies the systematic dehumanization of gays and lesbians.
Uganda possesses significant natural resources, fertile land, regular rainfall and mineral deposits. In his book "Aid and Other Dirty Business," author Giles Bolton contends Uganda could feed all of Africa.
But, according to a report released by the United Nations Economic and Social Council, Uganda remains in a suffocating poverty that has it ranked among the poorest nations worldwide.
Such dichotomies are ripe with the seduction of fear. It is how dehumanization can be legitimized into mainstream orthodoxy.
Whether intended or not, the anti-gay message offered by the theology of Pentecostal megachuches aligns perfectly with a Ugandan government seeking a boogeyman as convenient misdirection away from the abject poverty that plagues the nation.
It's unnerving to watch Martin Ssempa, who was educated in the U.S., give anti-gay messages with graphic images that include coprophilia, which he advocates, along with child molestation and recruitment are central to the so-called "gay agenda."
Ssempa hosts a television show where his religious-based homophobia is broadcast unabated into Ugandan homes.
It is medieval thinking, cloaked in 21st century garments that become the theological justification for Uganda's Anti-Homosexual Act that was signed into law earlier this year.
The law would broaden the criminalization of same-sex relations in Uganda. It carries provisions for extradition for Ugandans engaging in same-sex relations outside of Uganda; and it penalizes individuals and businesses that know of gay people or support LGBT equality.
Like its distant cousins in the antebellum South, in Germany during Hitler, and in South Africa during Apartheid, the church played a role in the malevolence.
But unlike its nefarious relatives, "God Loves Uganda" persuasively shows the church this time is imported, it origins are made in America.
This is the climate that prompted a Ugandan tabloid newspaper to publish the names and photographs of 100 individuals calling for their execution as homosexuals in 2010. Roughly two months later, David Kato, a LGBT activist, was murdered.
While it may have been Pentecostal fervor and naivety that led younger missionaries to Uganda, several older members admitted on camera their anti-gay stand is motivated, at least in part, by their personal experiences with certain sexual dalliances.
This is another tragic, but typical, phenomenon. Individuals use a narrow understanding of religion to work out their particular brand of discomfort. But it doesn't stop with their uneasiness, others must also reach the same conclusion for them to realize a sense of peace.
"God Loves Uganda" will leave one to ponder: How can a portion of the church, with centuries of documented evidence of being on the wrong side of human suffering, conclude it has found the illusive asterisk to justify this latest abomination?
How can any church that allegedly has love at its foundation sit in deafening silence as people are driven underground by the philosophy they promote?
No matter how sincere the religious claims may be, if the fruit it produces is the bitter nectar of hatred, I don't know what you would call it, but I don't see how it is consistent with the teachings of Jesus.
"God Loves Uganda" premieres on Independent Lens, hosted by Stanley Tucci, on May 19 on PBS, check your local listings.
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March 3, 2015
Posts by dany
Total # Posts: 19
Psych 42 (Stats)
A comprehensive study of juvenile delinquency is conducted in every state-run reform school in Canada. A scale called the Antisocial Beliefs Scale is given to all juvenile delinquents. The mean (μ) of the scale is 71 and the standard deviation (σ) is 5. Assuming that...
February 23, 2015
Assume that the mean hourly cost to operate a commercial airplane follows the normal distribution with a mean of $2,325 per hour and a standard deviation of $240. What is the operating cost for the lowest 5 percent of the airplanes?
October 9, 2014
help to solve problem Many ways one can order the 24 letters of the Greek alphabet
June 12, 2014
A country seen its population grow each year than 1/8 it was last year. At that time the population will have doubled and tripled
June 10, 2014
Help please A bottle containing 10 liters of alcohol one liter of alcohol is removed and replaced with water. After a liter of the mixture was removed and replaced with water, the operation being carried out 7 times in total. Then that amount of alcohol remains in the container.
June 10, 2014
The arithmetic mean of two numbers is 9 and their geometric mean is 3√5. Find these numbers
June 10, 2014
Find the reason for the geometric progression in which a1 = 1, n = 3, S3 = 157
June 10, 2014
The probability that a positive divisor of 60 is greater than 9 can be written as a/b, where a and b are coprime positive integers. What is the value of a+b?
May 15, 2013
Ariel makes a sandwich using four kinds of Italian lunch meat: A, B, C and D and two kinds of Italian cheese: X and Z. Ariel's sandwich has a single layer of each type of meat and a single layer of each kind of cheese, but he also wants to make sure that the two types of ...
May 15, 2013
determine the secon termof an A.P whose sixth term is 12 and eighth term is 22?
February 9, 2013
chemistry 12
2Li^++2I^-==>2Li+I2 would 2I^- be oxidised and 2Li be reduced reaction?
July 24, 2012
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use the standard potential reduction potentials table to balance the following redox equation: H2O2+I-+H+==>H2O+I2 would what i did be correct H2H2+I^-+H^+==>H2O+I2 H2H2+H^+==>H2O And I^-==>I2 Give us H2H2(aq)+2H^+(aq)+2e-==>2H2O(l) And 2I^-(aq) ==> I2(s)+2e...
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electrical physics
In Hydrogen atom , if an electron jump from n2 level into n1 level . Prove that the wave number (reciprocal of wave length) of emitted radiation is : 1/λ=me4 /8ε02h3c (1/n22 -1/n12)
January 24, 2012
What is the electrons velocity that made its momentum equal to the momentum of photon whose wave length 5200A?
December 28, 2011
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October 5, 2011
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January 14, 2008
Grammatical Corrections in my Essay...?
The mysterious statue One day one guy named Chad he buys a garden a really big garden and he built a cemetery it was the most famous cemetery in all America!! It was really clean, preatty, with so many roses that the entire garden smells to roses they have water fountains ...
November 10, 2006
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Bay Area Mosaic
Index of Mosaic FilmsThat's a Family
Understanding Families With Gay and Lesbian Parents
Download: PDF
Grade Level K through 6
Subject Areas Language Arts, Social Studies
In this chapter we meet Josh, who lives with his sister and two moms; Breauna, who lives with her two dads; and Dominique, Alma and Taquisha, who live with their two moms. Their stories are framed by other families where the parents are Gay or Lesbian.
Currently in the United States The American Bar Association estimates that between 6 and 10 million children live with Lesbian, Gay, or Bisexual parents. Until 2000, children from two-parent Lesbian or Gay households were considered by the census as being raised by single parents. Today about 20 percent of all Gay and Lesbian households have a child in the home.
Gay and Lesbian families are an integral part of American society, with Gay couples residing in 99.3 percent of all counties across America. According to 2000 U.S. Census Bureau figures
• same-sex partners head households in nearly every county in the country.
• Gay and Lesbian couple-led homes totaled nearly 600,000 nationwide.
• Texas, with 7 percent of U.S. households, had 7.2 percent of same-sex homes.
Growing numbers of children have parents who are Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual or Transgender. Children with Gay parents may be in mixed-race families, single-parent families or adoptive families. They may be the biological children of one parent. Gays or Lesbians may have decided to become parents while in committed Gay relationships, or they may have had their children earlier in life while involved in a relationship with a person of the opposite sex.
Students should be able to
• describe six different family structures.
• identify four different ways families can be mixed.
• define all vocabulary words and use them in original sentences.
• tell how their own families are similar to and different from the families in the video.
• list specific ways they can support classmates whose families are different from their own.
Videotape That's a Family! Segment highlighting families with Gay and Lesbian parents.
The Sneetches by Dr. Suess (optional)
Go over the general ideas and vocabulary presented in the video. You may wish to make a poster of the below points and display it during the unit.
General Ideas Presented in the Video
• There are many ways to be a family.
• Families come in all sizes and configurations.
• Families of all kinds have things in common.
• Conflict is part of being a family.
• Families are not happy all the time.
• Individuals can interrupt teasing and be allies for others.
• Families change, just like people change.
Key Vocabulary and Other Related Terms
Gay: Describes a man who loves a man in a romantic way and a woman who loves a woman in a romantic way.
Lesbian: A woman who loves a woman in a romantic way.
Straight: Another word for heterosexual.
1. Review the model of using windows and mirrors in the Before You Begin section of this Web site. Ask students to think about the questions below while watching the video segment.
• Windows: In what ways are these families different from your family?
• Mirrors: In what ways are these families similar to your family?
Activity One
This activity is for students to process the information presented in the film segment about Gay and Lesbian families.
1. Use the following questions for discussion or as suggestions for journal writing (these can be done individually, in pairs, or in small groups).
• What did you learn from this video about families with Gay parents? What else would you like to know?
• Was there anything in this part of the video that surprised you?
• Who is in Josh's family? Who is in Breauna's family? Who is in Taquisha's family?
• List the activities each family likes to do together (doing homework, playing board games, gardening, bowling, celebrating birthdays and so on). Which of these activities do you do with your family?
• Josh describes one mom as playful and one as more serious. How would you compare and contrast the different members of your family?
• Josh says his two mothers are "the main things in each other's hearts, except for me and Mara." What do you think he meant by that?
• What is challenging about having two dads or two moms?
• Breauna says her dads are the best dads in the whole world. Give some examples of what makes them a strong and loving family.
• Josh says he wishes people understood that it's OK to be different. What do you think he meant by that? What other ways are people different?
• Sometimes Josh says he hears people use bad words to describe gay and lesbian people. Do you ever hear people use words like "faggot" (see definition below) or phrases like "that's Gay" to put someone or something down? What happened? How did you feel about it? What could you do the next time someone uses these words around you?
• Do you think when kids use anti-Gay names they really think the person they are teasing is Gay? What do you think they are really trying to say? Why do you think someone would call another kid an anti-gay name?
• Breauna says she doesn't think if you have gay parents that you will grow up to be Gay. "You could or you could not." Why did she say that? What do you think?
• Have you ever heard someone say something mean or insensitive to someone who has a Gay or Lesbian family member? What did you do? What could you do if you heard that again?
• If you are in a Gay- or Lesbian-headed family, what would you like the world to know about your experience?
• Alma says sometimes people with Gay parents are afraid to tell other kids at school. How could you support a classmate who has a Gay or Lesbian family member?
2. Use these quotes from this chapter to prompt class discussion and journal writing or to make bulletin boards or posters:
"I like having a mom that's more playful and a mom that's more serious."
"My moms are the main things in each other's hearts."
"The only hard thing about having two moms is that kids use mean words for Gays and Lesbians."
"I wish they knew that it is OK to be different."
"My moms are Lesbians... That means they only like men for friends..."
"You're not Gay when you grow up just because you have Gay parents."
"I wish more people understood."
3. With older children, talk about the word "faggot" and the phrase "You're so Gay!" which are often used by children as put-downs. Research shows children as young as first and second grades begin to use the word "faggot" as an insult without understanding what it means. Ask, "Do you know the history of this word?"
Explain what a faggot is (a bundle of sticks or twigs, bound together and used as fuel). In the Middle Ages, many people were burned at the stake because they were accused of being witches. Most of the time, these women were actually midwives or healers, or widows with property that other villagers coveted. Gay men were also discriminated against and persecuted. Some estimate that 9 million women lost their lives during this time. When witches were burned, men accused of being Gay were dipped in oil, set afire, and used as the faggot to light the burning pyre. This word has a history of torture and discrimination and death. It is not an acceptable word. It hurts people that you don't know you are hurting.
Activity Two
1. Have each child make a booklet about this segment of That's a Family! each page describing the different kids from the video and featuring a picture of that family. This could be a ribbon book- students glue 3- by 5-inch cards onto a ribbon so they fold into a book or hang with the story sequenced from top to bottom. Have them finish the following sentences (or similar ones) for each family in the video:
• Josh's family likes to...
• Josh's parents are Lesbians. That means...
• The people in Josh's family are...
• Josh's family is like mine because...
• Josh's family is different from mine because...
2. Think about this segment of That's a Family! and complete some of the following phrases:
I feel... Maybe...
I know... I can't really understand...
I question... I noticed...
I believe... If I had been...
I wish... I was reminded of...
I hope... I can't believe...
3. Have the students make connections between the families in the video and people they know. Do they know anyone who is Gay or Lesbian or has Gay people in their family?
4. Read The Sneetches by Dr. Seuss to the class. Help them talk about how we form groups in which people belong or don't belong. Ask: "Have you ever been left out of a group? How do you feel when you are left out? How do you feel when you are part of a group?"
Home Activities Students Can Do With Their Family
2. Work with your family to complete the family tree assignment given by your teacher.
4. For each of the segments of the video, fill out the following chart (find an adult in your family to help you fill in this chart):
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Acoma Pueblo is not called the Sky City for nothing. It stands on top a mesa, 350 feet above the desert floor. The pueblo has been there perhaps 1,000 years, making it the oldest continuously inhabited community in North America - although there are some who would disagree with that claim.
Besides the pueblo, there is San Estaban Del Ray Church, built in 1629. Constructed of adobe bricks hauled on puebloan backs up a steep path, the church's walls are 9-feet thick. The vigas came from Mount Taylor, 40 miles away. They too were carried on the backs of men who never let them touch the ground. One did and they refused to use it to support the roof.
Near the center of the plaza is a cistern, where residents planted three cottonwood trees for shade. Only one of the three trees survived and is about the only plant life growing on the mesa.
Ask about the tree, and you'll get a smile and joke. Residents call their solo cottonwood the Acoma National Forest.
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WVC 16 - 29 A- 19 §16-29A-19. Exemption from taxation.
The exercise of the powers granted to the authority by this article will be in all respects for the benefit of the people of the state, for the improvement of their health, safety, convenience and welfare and is a public purpose. As the operation and maintenance of hospital facilities will constitute the performance of essential governmental functions, the authority shall not be required to pay any taxes or assessments upon any property acquired or used by the authority or upon the income therefrom. All bonds and notes of the authority, and all interest and income thereon, shall be exempt from all taxation by this state and any county, municipality, political subdivision or agency thereof, except inheritance taxes.
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Cleopatra (Schiff) - Discussion Questions
Discussion Questions
1. Stacy Schiff writes, “It is not difficult to understand why Caesar became history, Cleopatra a legend” (page 5). What are the differences between the two? How are these differences related to gender?
2. Discuss the role of subjectivity in historical records. How does Schiff factor that subjectivity into her account? Do you think it’s possible to document events that are close to us in time? Or do chroniclers’ subjectivities necessarily bias their accounts?
3. How do you think Cleopatra felt as she traveled to meet Caesar for the first time? What are the differences between that meeting and her first encounter with Mark Antony? How did the circumstances of the initial encounters set the tone for the relationships?
4. Despite her political ambition, Cleopatra has been painted as a seductress and siren rather than as a powerful and adept ruler. Do you think it’s still the case that men are said to strategize where women manipulate?
5. Discuss women’s roles and rights in ancient Egyptian and Roman society. Did they surprise you? Why or why not? Women in Egypt enjoyed an equality close to what they enjoy today; it was then lost for some two thousand years. Could that happen again?
6. Although Cleopatra came from a long line of strong female rulers, do you think she felt out of place on a political stage dominated by men? Is there any indication that she doubted her abilities? Can you imagine her in a Roman military camp, for example?
7. Cleopatra lived in an era of rampant murder, covert political alliances, and fierce betrayal. Has human nature changed in two thousand years? In what ways is it different and in what ways is it the same?
8. Do you think that Cleopatra loved Caesar and Mark Antony, or were their relationships purely for political leverage? What makes you think so?
9. What do you think of Cleopatra as a woman, mother, lover, partner, and ruler? Was she admirable or detestable? Why or why not?
10. Can you retell Cleopatra’s story as one of her subjects might have written it? How does it diverge from the Roman account?
11. Why has Cleopatra’s story captivated artists and audiences for over two thousand years? Why does she interest you?
12. Are there any modern women who you would compare to Cleopatra? Who? What characteristics do they share with her? Discuss how these women are depicted in histories or in the media today.
(Questions issued by publisher.)
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Climate resilience comes to the Pentagon
the latest guest post from George Leopold:
The old saw in the U.S. military holds that many of its members don’t care much about climate change but weather affects everything it does. As the Arctic region’s environment changes, and with it the security situation at the top of the world, that attitude also appears to be evolving.
Chuck Hagel, the U.S. defense secretary, laid out an Arctic security strategy in a Nov. 22 speech at a conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The U.S. strategy focuses on something relatively new in the world, akin to the Strait of Malacca separating Malaysia and Indonesia and connecting the Pacific and Indian oceans. It’s called the Northern Sea Route.
Given the growing international tensions over an increasingly ice-free Arctic, it’s telling that Hagel and the Defense Department are using the Russian designation for the region rather than European, the Northeast Passage.
The opening of the Arctic due to climate change has resulted in an unprecedented increase in human activity. Hagel estimates that traffic along the Northern Sea Route will increase tenfold this year.
The “challenge of global climate change, while not new to history, is new to the modern world,” Hagel told the Halifax International Security Forum. “Climate change does not directly cause conflict, but it can significantly add to the challenges of global instability, hunger, poverty, and conflict. Food and water shortages, pandemic disease, disputes over refugees and resources, more severe natural disasters – all place additional burdens on economies, societies, and institutions around the world.”
Hagel cited the recent devastation in the Philippines caused by Typhoon Haiyan. With most of the infrastructure wiped out in coastal cities like Tacloban, it was logistics provided by the U.S. military that finally delivered and distributed meaningful amounts of food and clean water to the region.
Meanwhile, DOD’s Arctic strategy “reflects America’s desire to work closely with allies and partners to promote a balanced approach to improving human and environmental security in the [Arctic] region,” Hagel continued.
The region includes more than 22,000 U.S. military personnel and another 5,000 reservists. It is also home to major Navy installations that operate a fleet of vessels that include nuclear submarines. The Navy released its Arctic roadmap in 2009, and U.S. military commands in the region were realigned in 2011 to reflect the accelerating changes in the Arctic.
As tensions grow with Russia and China (which has asserted that it, too, is an Arctic nation) over issues like energy rights, an Arctic Council has been formed to promote engagement and cooperation. It includes Canada, Denmark (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States.
Not surprisingly, DOD’s eight-point Arctic strategy begins by reasserting U.S. sovereignty over territorial waters around Alaska and preserving freedom of the seas. But it also calls for public-private partnerships to improve understanding of what’s happening to the Arctic environment.
“This is the first new frontier of nautical exploration since the days of Ericsson, Columbus, and Magellan, and it provides a clear opportunity to work together to ensure we have accurate observations, maps, and models of the Arctic’s atmospheric, oceanic, and sea ice conditions,” Hagel noted.
The plan also addresses how the Navy must adapt its operations to account for shrinking sea ice in the Arctic.
Hagel has inherited a mess at the Pentagon as the Obama administration attempts to wind down the longest war in American history. The defense secretary also must decide how best to allocate scarce resources as a consequence of budget sequestration. Given those realities, it’s heartening to see Hagel thoughtfully addressing the consequences of climate change for one of the largest enterprises on Earth.
-George Leopold
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Phantasmic Post Mortem Miracles Count? Seriously Rome?
pope-john-paul-iiPope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII were both made “saints” last Sunday in Rome. One of the requirements is to have performed two miracles which are verified and documented by official church investigators. However in these cases, it seems the standards have been dramatically relaxed. The so called miracles were not actually performed by the men but rather their ghosts.
According to news reports John Paul’s first miracle occured in 2005 shortly after his death. A nun, Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, prayed to the deceased pontiff soon after his death and then recovered from Parkinson’s disease. Obviously a nun, like Simon-Pierre, devoted to John Paul II was predisposed to credit him for her healing no matter how it occurred. It’s hardly convincing. His second “miracle” is similarly dubious. Floribeth Mora Diaz claimed the papal apparition appeared to her on the day he was beatified and healed her of an inoperable brain aneurysm. How it was verified that the papal phantasm accomplished either healing is not explained.
Pope Francis by passed the standard qualifications and approved John XXIII’s sainthood with only one so called miracle. It also allegedly occurred after the Pope’s death. An Italian nun, Sister Caterina Capitani, prayed to the pope in 1996, who had died three years earlier, and later recovered from a stomach tumor. Of course, this is again less than impressive.
Such conditions go into remission all the time and there is simply no way to prove that the ghost of either pope is responsible. Worse yet this is idolatrous sin of the worst kind. Prayer is an act of worship. Praying to deceased humans is idolatrous and necromantic. It is called an abomination in scripture (Deuteronomy 18:11). In my new book The Supernatural Worldview, I explain in detail why it is not wise to attempt such ill-advised communication with dead, despite the anti-biblical proclamations of Rome.
Reply to Chris Pinto on Tares Amongst the Wheat
By Cris Putnam
TaresIn reply to Chris Pinto:
I would like to thank Chris Pinto for his civility in engaging my questions and concerns. My difficulty with the alleged conspiracy is the lack of a discernible pay off for the conspirator. Pinto clarified that the purpose of the conspiracy was simply to undermine Sola Scriptura, the reformation doctrine that “scripture alone” as the standard for Christian faith and practice by way of calling biblical inerrancy into question and, as a result, to promote the ecumenical movement toward a one world religion. First he clarified that the film is centered on German scholar, Constantine von Tischendorf and his discovery of Codex Sinaiticus and then he connects this to Rome’s agenda to undermine inerrancy. Pinto writes:
Second, the purpose of Rome (as we understand it) was not to promote Catholic theology, but rather to destabilize the foundation of the Biblical record by shattering the concept of Biblical inerrancy. Her reason for doing this was to open the door to ecumenical compromise and the promotion of a one world religious movement. This is why the film ends showing the Parliament of World Religions in 1893. This was the beginning of the modern day ecumenical movement, the promotion of the idea that there are many paths to finding God, and that Christianity should be seen as just one religion among many.
I do not understand how a manuscript copy can possibly shatter the concept of biblical inerrancy. Accordingly, I am concerned that Pinto’s definition of inerrancy is too fragile. Protestant theologians widely agree that inerrancy applies exclusively to the original autographs by the first century writers like Paul and John. The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy was formulated in October 1978 by more than two hundred evangelical leaders at a conference sponsored by the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy (ICBI), held in Chicago. Article X states:
Thus, a later copy like Codex Sinaiticus could not really affect the doctrine of inerrancy as it reflects mistakes by later copyists rather than the original inspired authors. In the nineteenth century when Tares claims this conspiracy was being perpetrated there is evidence to the contrary.
In his encyclical Providentissimus Deus (On the Study of Holy Scripture), Pope Leo XIII emphasized that the Bible in all its parts was inspired:
Why would the Pope write this if there was a long term plan to undermine the Bible? This encyclical, dated November 18, 1893, was written to specifically refute what Pinto claims Rome was promoting. Seeing the threat of Darwinism, Pope Leo XIII wrote that true science cannot contradict scripture when it is properly explained and that what seems to be proved by science can turn out to be wrong. The idea that Rome had an organized agenda to discredit the Bible and promote Darwinism at this point in history is not supported by the evidence albeit that developed later in twentieth century as documented in Exo-Vaticana. Of course Rome has now fully embraced the Darwinian ideas that Leo XIII was standing against, an inconsistency that counts against the notion of an infallible papacy and teaching magisterium.
On the Text-type Argument
It seems inconsistent for him to quote scholars like Bruce Metzger to dispute the text type argument because textual scholars agree that Codex Sinaiticus is authentic. The only experts in Tares are KJVonlyists. So if he is willing to use the authority of Metzger to dispute the existence of text types, why not accept it for Sinaiticus? Metzger wrote that Sinaitics is an ancient, handwritten unical copy of the Greek Bible.[2a] Furthermore, Metzger expressed technical arguments over text types, which he thought to be an oversimplification, it doesn’t dismiss my previous point. Sinaiticus matches so many known ancient sources it renders the forgery claim implausible. Even so, it is widely accepted in general terms that there are three basic manuscript families. I am concerned that neither of us is qualified to accurately discuss the issues involved in textual criticism. Here is in excerpt from Dr. David Allen Black and Thomas D. Lea’s seminary level textbook The New Testament: it’s background and Message:
The Practice of Textual Criticism
Textual scholars have developed rules for carrying out their studies to arrive at the best reading. Of course, these principles cannot be applied unthinkingly, nor do all apply in each instance of textual variation. These principles are based either upon the external evidence or the internal evidence.
External evidence seeks to determine which reading is supported by the most reliable witnesses (i.e., the Greek manuscripts, versions, and Church Fathers). These witnesses have been divided into three basic families or “texttypes”: the Alexandrian, the Western, and the Byzantine. Most modern scholars believe the Alexandrian text most closely approximates the original text of the New Testament. Other scholars prefer the Byzantine text.
The basic principles of external evidence include the following: (1) prefer the reading attested by the oldest manuscripts; (2) prefer the reading that is the most widespread geographically; and (3) prefer the reading supported by the most number of texttypes.
The basic principle of internal evidence is that the reading from which the other readings could most easily have arisen is probably original. This principle has several corollaries: (1) prefer the shorter reading; (2) prefer the more difficult reading; (3) prefer the reading that best fits the author’s style and diction; and (4) prefer the reading that best fits the context.
As we have said, the application of these principles is not a merely mechanical process. Skill and judgment are demanded in assessing the evidence and in determining the most probable reading.
We can be grateful that the materials for the practice of New Testament textual criticism are quite numerous. By contrast, the materials for determining the text of the writings of Plato or the Roman poet Virgil are few in number and are separated from the originals by as much as fourteen hundred years. New Testament textual criticism has assisted us by providing access to substantially the same text which the first-century writers produced.[3]
The goal of text criticism is to get back to the original autographs and because archeologists have discovered thousands more ancient sources since the reformation period, today’s scholars are in a much better position to make these determinations than a Roman Catholic monk like Erasmus working with only six late copies and the Latin Vulgate. I want to put the best defense forward in arguing for the veracity of scripture and modern conservative scholarship is our strongest ally. Pinto’s movie calls it all into question.
Playing Into the Hands of Bible Skeptics
As someone with training in apologetics, I have familiarized myself with the basics in order to address the claims popularized by Dr. Bart Ehrman, author of books like: Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don’t Know About Them); Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why; Forged: Writing in the Name of God–Why the Bible’s Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are. As one can readily see from the titles, Ehrman has made a career out of attacking the veracity of scripture. Scholars like David Allen Black and Daniel Wallace are evangelical champions of Biblical inerrancy and are uniquely qualified to address the likes of Ehrman. I highly recommend the following video:
Unfortunately, it seems that often skeptics have a better grasp on text-critical issues than the average believer. Often Ehrman’s arguments are used to destroy the uninformed believer’s faith. I am concerned that Pinto’s film Tares Amongst the Wheat plays right into the hands of these skeptics by promoting widely discredited scholarship from Textus Receptus advocates. Without going into specifics here, a modicum of open-minded research should dispel the notion that Textus Receptus is superior.[4] Textus Receptus was compiled by Erasmus, a Roman Catholic scholar, using only six very late manuscripts and even back translation from the Latin Vulgate when he was missing a Greek source.[5] Doesn’t it seem inconsistent that Protestant scholars like Daniel Wallace and James White are disputed in order to exalt the work of the Catholic monk Erasmus?
Putnam asked: Where’s the payoff for Rome?
The answer to his question is the ecumenical movement. The answer could be seen in the ecumenical activities of Billy Graham in the 20th century, joining with Catholic priests and nuns in his crusades, or in the 1994 document Evangelicals and Catholics Together. With this, it could also be seen in Assisi, Italy in 1986 when Pope John Paul II met with religious leaders from all over the world, with Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, American Indian Shamans, etc. As he joined hands with them in prayer he told them, “We are all praying to the same God.” An inerrant Bible that is taken too literally would be destructive of unity between the various “Christian” groups, and the differing religions of the world. Destroying the concept of Biblical inerrancy opens the door to compromise and apostasy through ecumenism
Pinto argues that modern biblical scholarship undermined inerrancy and this led to the ecumenical movement. However, he failed to show any evidence for this connection. It seems to me that the rise of Darwinian evolution did the damage rather than biblical scholarship. It also seems like the Roman Catholic Church is in decline. If they are really going to lead a global religion then a non-linear event of transcendent proportion will need to occur (this is the reasoning behind Exo-Vaticana). Although I do not agree with Evangelicals and Catholics Together (along with John MacArthur and R.C. Sproul who I quoted in Petrus Romanus ), correlation does not equate to causation. Even so, most of those who did sign it like Billy Graham and Charles Colson also affirm biblical inerrancy. So the argument is a non sequitur—it just doesn’t follow. My original criticism stands, Tares Amongst the Wheat is a conspiracy theory without an actual conspiracy and, unfortunately, I am more concerned that it undermines conservative evangelical biblical scholarship which is our best line of defense in an increasingly anti-Christian culture.
[1] The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy: (accessed September 18, 2013).
[2] Pope Leo XIII “On the Study of Holy Scripture”, (accessed September 18, 2013).
[2a] Bruce Metzger & Bart D. Ehrman The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical Editions and to the Theory and Practice of Modern Textual Criticism, (New York – Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005) 62.
[3]Thomas D. Lea and David Alan Black, The New Testament: Its Background and Message, 2nd ed. (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2003), 77–78.
[4] Douglas S. Chinn and Robert C. Newman, “Demystifying the Controversy Over the Textus Receptus and The King James Version of the Bible”, (accessed September 18, 2013).
Ψευδοπροφήτης (False Prophet) Francis Encourages Atheists Again
By Cris Putnam
The Problem With the Roman Catholic Mass
By Cris Putnam
Exo-Vaticana and the Millennial Deception (part 1)
By Cris D. Putnam
Exo-VaticanaWhen Peter wrote “in the last days scoffers would come” (2 Pt 3:3), he would never have imagined the church would have entered what historians now call the “space age.” On one hand, the prodigious progress of science has afforded great luxury and benefit, but on the other hand, it promotes arrogance and imagined self-sufficiency. Theologian Merill Unger described the modern church as, “boastedly wise and scientific but utterly blind to God’s truth.”[1] Amongst the nominal church, the demonic realm has been demythologized and forgotten. Yet, the Bible predicts an unparalleled demonic deception prior to Christ’s return. Because we live in an increasingly post-Christian society that has elevated scientists as the ultimate arbiters of truth, it seems likely that such an unprecedented deception will be clothed in the credibility of science. The Copernican revolution’s toll on the Renaissance church’s authority has led to what is known as the Copernican principle, the idea that the earth is a mediocre planet amongst many and that humanity is an evolved primate of no special significance. These widely accepted anti-biblical presuppositions contribute to the wide spread belief in intelligent extraterrestrial life.
In recent years, the science of astrobiology, the study of alleged extraterrestrial life, has gained long sought respectability. Of course, the media has pumped out a myriad of science fiction films and documentaries promoting belief in benevolent ETs. More concerning, beginning with Eric Von Danniken’s Chariots of the Gods (1968), is the idea that the biblical authors mistook advanced aliens as divine beings, an idea which has gained cultural traction. Even the Vatican, who hosted an astrobiology conference in 2009, has issued controversial statements through its Jesuit astronomers concerning the baptism of extraterrestrials.[2] Monsignor Corrado Balducci, a high-ranking Vatican demonologist, has stated publically that modern extraterrestrial encounters “are not demonic, they are not due to psychological impairment, and they are not a case of entity attachment, but these encounters deserve to be studied carefully.”[3] Accordingly, a broad foundation is in place for public acceptance of extraterrestrial beings. While neglected by most skeptical scientists, the UFO phenomenon, particularly the abduction and contactee reports, have led credible experts to conclude that deceptive entities are posing as space aliens. Since the time of Israel’s reformation, there has been a near exponential increase in such phenomena. This has led an increasing number of theologians to the hypothesis that these entities play a pivotal role in the end time deception predicted in scripture. To some this might seem like an assertion on the fringe of evangelicalism but that is not the case. A Senior Fellow at the Family Research Council, Timothy J Dailey PhD has written:
“One thing is apparent: We are witnessing a masterful satanic subterfuge that appears to involve the appearance of ‘angels’ and ‘aliens.’ Many are asking whether the coming of Antichrist can be far removed. From the Bible we learn that such an evil day surely lies ahead. The question for our consideration, then, is this: Are we in the throes of that final otherworldly deception now?”[4]
Dailey connects the end time rise in demonic activity to the UFO phenomenon and so-called extraterrestrial contactees and abduction victims. Due to the well documented increase in sightings, wide spread belief in aliens by the public and the scientific creation myth known as directed panspermia, his thesis is compelling. Belief in spiritually superior extraterrestrial beings uniquely provides a credible epistemological basis for the secular world to accept and offer worship to an individual who claims deity.
Coming soon…
[1] Merrill F. Unger, Biblical Demonology: a Study of Spiritual Forces at Work Today (Wheaton, IL:Scripture Press Publications, 1952), 203.
[2] Alok Jha, “Pope’s astronomer says he would baptise an alien if it asked him” The Guardian, September 17, 2010 (accessed 12/07/2012).
[3] Richard Boylan “Vatican Official Declares Extraterrestrial Contact Is Real” UFO Digest (accessed 12/09/2012).
[4] Timothy J. Dailey, The Millennial Deception: Angels, Aliens, and the Antichrist (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Chosen Books Pub Co, 1995), 11. | <urn:uuid:21af1c96-ffe7-42d8-a045-ea408aa181c8> | 2 | 1.742188 | 0.025639 | en | 0.94908 | http://www.logosapologia.org/tag/romanism/ |
‘I’ve seen a 14-year-old commanding 30 or 40 kids’: Romeo Dallaire
From the archives: Retired Lieutenant-General Romeo Dallaire on girl soldiers and life post-Rwanda
This interview was originally published in Maclean’s on March 12, 2007.
Major-General Romeo Dallaireat in a picture taken at the Kigali airport on Aug. 1, 1994. (Ryan Remiorz/CP)
Q: You’re writing a book about child soldiers. There are about 300,000 child soldiers around the world, right?
A: At any given time. There are many casualties, of course. It’s estimated that two million have been killed in the last 10 years or so.
Q: Which current military conflicts involve large numbers of children?
A: The LRA [Lord's Resistance Army] in northern Uganda, which is also operating in southern Sudan and even a bit in the Congo. The Congo itself. Sierra Leone, which is now pulling itself out of its conflict. Burundi, also. Sri Lanka is using child soldiers extensively. In some countries, like Burma,it’s part of government policy to use children below the age of 18 in government troops.
Q: Is this a new phenomenon?
A: Yes. Of course, we can go back to the Greeks, where they used to take young boys and train them for years and years, and when they achieved adulthood, whatever was perceived to be adulthood at that time, they went off to war. But in the late ’80s and early 1990s, we saw, first of all, the introduction of girls as child soldiers, doing everything from front-end fighting troops and leading other children — girls can be just as ruthless if not more so than boys — to running the logistics base, the bivouacs, and being sex slaves and bush wives. The second phenomenon is the decreasing age of child soldiers: they’re right down to eight or nine years old now, and the primary reason for it is that weapons are so light that a nine-year-old can carry them, maintain them and shoot them reasonably effectively.
Q: Are kids good soldiers?
A: Interestingly enough, once you put an AK-47 in their hands, they are as effective as adults. They can shoot, mutilate, kill, manoeuvre, overwhelm a position — on the actual battlefield, they are doing everything adults can do, and sometimes with even more verve than an adult might. They can be influenced so strongly, and their ability to retain values and ethics and rules is much more limited than adults’ ability, so they’re in one sense more flexible.
They can be good leaders, too. I’ve seen a 14-year-old who’s been a child soldier for three years commanding a platoon of 30 or 40 other kids, and they show enormous deference to him. You can see the innate leadership skills of the individual, and he’s experienced, but has been totally warped by the nature of the conflict and also by dependency, often on drugs.
Q: In Sierra Leone in particular you hear about the kids being given stimulants to rev up for battle. So this is widespread?
A: Sometimes it’s booze, sometimes drugs, depending on availability and the nature of the conflict. Other times, it’s just outright fear: the kids are more scared of the adults behind them than what they might be facing upfront. There are cases, as in the LRA, where they use mystic voodoo, and say that children are impervious to bullets, and give them artifacts from the more pagan dimensions of the culture, and the kids become convinced that they’re invincible.
Q: Are they typically recruited or forced into military service?
A: The vast majority are simply ripped right out of their villages and hauled into the bush. They’ll kill a few to establish discipline immediately,and then they’ll pair them up; if one escapes, the other is killed outright. They indoctrinate them, feed them information about who’s killing their parents and things like that, and on occasion they’ll bring them back to their original village to kill or mutilate someone, so they can never return.When we are able to demobilize them and rehabilitate them and reintegrate them, the boys are easier because these are male-dominated societies, and the boys can do their warrior thing. Although it’s in extremis, the societies can handle that and their families can handle it. You teach them traditional skills, how to be a cobbler, carpenter, so they’re coming back with something. But for every 10 boys you demobilize, you’ll get maybe one or two girls.
Q: Why so few?
A: The reason is the girls are too important an asset: not only can they shoot and kill and fight, they also run the logistics and they’re the sex slaves, and often have maybe one or two children by the commanders. Secondly, when we do get them out, they are nearly impossible to reintegrate, because in these cultures, the girls are viewed as “spoiled” if they’ve been raped or maybe given birth to a child, and that makes them unacceptable to the family and the society, so they are left aimlessly bouncing around in refugee camps or between villages. I think the worst thing is that the girls actually feel guilty about their plight.
Q: Are there any strategic advantages to using children as soldiers? Such as, adults won’t fire on them?
A: The advantage that’s to be gained is, as far as I’ve been able to discern, very practical and pragmatic. In some cases there aren’t enough adults, because of AIDS and so on, and in other cases these rebel groups don’t seem to be able to convince the adults, so they abduct children. And in some countries they use them because they’re cheaper than adults as government forces. You know, there’s a whole bunch of NGOs and academics researching the recruitment side of this, and a lot of people have been working on demobilization, reintegration and rehabilitation, which is absolutely essential. But what I discovered is, nobody’s looking at the actual use of child soldiers. Why is this child soldier weapon system the most sophisticated, low-technology weapon system on the battlefield today?What makes that weapon platform so effective? In my research, I am dissecting that in order to neutralize it, to render it ineffective.
Q: Given the apathy of much of the developed world toward these conflicts in the first place, how do you get people to care about the fact that young kids are involved?
A: If you look at our horror of using chemical weapons, or biological weapons or nuclear weapons — how come we’re able to accept that children can actually be exceptionally effective instruments of human destruction? If I were a cynic, or a pessimist, I would simply say everything is based on the self-interest of the developed countries — the fear of casualties, and simply not wanting to commit any political capital to operations or situations that have risk and are not involved in our security — and I would say to hell with the whole damn thing and stay home. I believe, however, that because we’ve seen so much movement on human rights, because we have seen in fact the optional protocols [banning the use of soldiers under the age of 18]and the work done in the UN, because the international criminal court now exists and is starting to indict people who actually use child soldiers,because rape is now a crime against humanity, and the girls are raped and some boys are too, and ultimately because the use of child soldiers is now becoming more identified as a crime against humanity, I think we can break the logjam. I’m not saying we’ll do it overnight.
But there are all kinds of alternatives my research has tried to bring forward. Like, if you know you’re facing child soldiers, why not use non-lethal weapons instead of lethal ones? Or a different set of tactics in order to get at the adults leading them versus the children?
Q: You’ve spoken openly about your struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder after heading the UN peacekeeping mission in Rwanda, and your subsequent suicide attempts. Are you concerned that immersing yourself in a cause like this, and in a fresh set of horrific images, will re-traumatize you?
A: I’ve been eight years in therapy. I still take my medication. And I remain vulnerable when some circumstances present themselves. But it hurts less when you’re busy like this. Getting something done that might be of use seems to override everything else.
Q: Don’t you feel, though, that you’re once again tilting at windmills?
A: Don Quixote is my hero, so I’ve got no problem with that!
Q: In Canada, you’re widely viewed as a hero because of your attempts to mobilize the UN both before and during the Rwandan genocide. But you don’t see yourself as a hero.
A: No. My mission failed. I don’t consider that particularly mature on our part, to fling “hero” left, right and centre, the way we do.
Q: Is your sense of guilt, both about what you could’ve done better and your survivor guilt, exacerbated by being called a hero?
A: There were years when I would rebel against it, and it created enormous,enormous tension both within me, and with the people who would mention it. Now I don’t even listen to it anymore. The only positive I pull out of this stuff is when I left Rwanda I promised I’d never let the genocide die.
Q: The movie version of your book Shake Hands with the Devil is coming out this year. Do you ever long for a more private life?
A: I had some very terrible times with living. One of the issues was that I would never be able to be who I was before, meaning returning to what was normalcy before Rwanda and the traumas, and not having Rwanda around my neck.
And realizing that this thing is going to be with me for the rest of my life, and that I will never be able to separate myself from it. That requires some hefty work with my therapist.
Q: Aside from work, what do you enjoy doing?
A: Watching the Super Bowl with my sons. I also enjoy watching golf on TV. I think that’s got to be the most therapeutic, calming thing you can invent:the beauty of the colours, even the announcers speak softly.
Q: Is joie de vivre possible, after what you’ve been through?
A: You know when you have that warm, fuzzy feeling in your tummy, of serenity and joy, when your tummy is laughing? I haven’t found that yet. Maybe someday.
Q: What do you view as your greatest professional accomplishment?
A: I don’t. I don’t have one.
Q: Bearing witness to the Rwandan genocide isn’t an accomplishment?
A: No, that’s a responsibility. A duty.
Q: What do you view as your greatest personal accomplishment?
A: Having failed to kill myself.
Q: Since we’re on the topic, what do you hope it says on your gravestone?
A: I don’t know. We finally have started the creation of a national cemetery for our military, in Beechwood in Ottawa, and one of the incredibly significant criteria is that whether you’re a three-star general or a private who’s been in for a year, your headstone is exactly the same as everybody else’s.
Q: You want to be buried there rather than with your family?
A: Yes.
Q: Why? It seems that your family has been so crucial to your recovery.
A: But it was life and death with the soldiers who were with me.
1. Our tough on crime CRAPers have a child soldier locked up in a Canadian penitentiary.
• Yes, no rehab, no reintegration, no therapy…..instead they are afraid of him …and they’ve let the whole world see it.
2. A good man. And far braver than he realizes.
Rwanda was in the 90s. This marks the first time the issue of child soldiers hasn’t faded with time.
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Computers have had a major impact on society due to a rapid increase in computer use. E-mail - education - e-commerce
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Computers have had a major impact on society due to a rapid increase in computer use. 25 years ago most computers were centralised, stored in locked rooms. In 1989 one in three persons aged three and above used a computer in the USA. In 1997 in USA 37% of households with children owned a computer and 56,416 people over 18 own a computer. (www.census.gov). Use has increased dramatically since 1997 with the majority of households now owning a personal computer. There are positive and negative impacts which have resulted from an increase in technology and computer use. Computer technology nowadays is encountered almost everywhere at work, home, in finance, communication, education and retail. Therefore it affects various people including the elderly, poor children and businesses. I will assess the advantages and disadvantages of computers and predict the situation in ten years time. E- Mail Email is a very common use of a computer. Millions of emails are sent every day. It is a fast and efficient means of communicating. However face-to-face contact is obviously lost. "About 20% of the secretaries surveyed by the Diebold Group (1984) reported less face-to-face contact with their peers. 22% of the managers and professionals also reported a decrease in face-to-face contact." (www.ccs.neu.edu). It can improve family and friend relationships and aid businesses. ...read more.
The information is always available and therefore it is easily accessed if extra learning is needed unlike traditional teaching. E-Commerce E-commerce is very successful. It is now very easy to purchase goods on the Internet. Internet shopping is done in a secure environment using cryptography to make the credit card number unattainable apart from the intended receiver. The advantages for the users is that they do not have to leave their home therefore saving time and money from fuel consumption. This is especially useful for disabled people. Internet banking is a new service, which is now used by many major banks allowing access to your balance, list of transactions, and money can be transfered between accounts under the same bank. However this is probably not as secure as traditional banking. ???? Virtual conferences can be held to bring various companies together to overcome delegates having to travel long distance to meetings, thereby saving the company money. As a result of current technology, conferences can be held with high resolutions, sound and little delay. Businesses can send projects to various L.E.D.Cs (Less Economically Developed Countries) where computers are used as the wages are lower. (delete this doesn't make sense?? ) Virtual reality is used to produce a simulation of a real world concept e.g. pilot training etc. ...read more.
This can save the employees a lot of time and effort. One advantage for the police department for example is that a digital camera will save lots of time when processing fingerprint data. However viruses are an example of Internet crime. Another Internet crime is the illegal use of credit card transactions online e.g. interception. Personal details are readily used for recognition on websites i.e. cookies. However these details are not very secure and can be accessed and then used for email spamming and other purposes. The Data Protection Act has rules, which limits the use of personal data i.e. kept for no longer than necessary. I believe in the next 10 years that computer use will be even greater. Everything will be closely linked to a computer. Due to the increase in technology, communication will be improved e.g. conferencing software, will be better and faster than the current versions. Virtual reality worlds will be even more realistic with the equipment reduced in price and possibly smaller due to new manufacturing techniques. Voice connections at present have a delay and are of moderate quality, in the future this will be improved. Using dedicated IP networks and using packet switching will improve it. Video conferencing will be as easy as making a phone call. Even more businesses will be using computers in one way or another. CUA B Computers and Society Anthony Carbutt psyvac1 - 1 - ...read more.
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November 26, 2012 09:30 ET
Harper Government Designates Captain John MacDonald of Glenaladale as National Historic Person
CARDIGAN, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND--(Marketwire - Nov. 26, 2012) - On behalf of the Honourable Peter Kent, Canada's Environment Minister and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, the Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of National Revenue, today designated John MacDonald of Glenaladale as a national historic person for his important contribution to early Canadian settlement.
"The exceptional written record Captain MacDonald left behind - his memoirs, letters and petitions - have proven invaluable in understanding this early period of our history," said Minister Shea.
John MacDonald, a Scottish noble, played a lead role in encouraging Scottish settlement of Prince Edward Island and left exceptional written records of this early period in the history of the province.
"The arrival of the first Scottish setters, and their establishment in Prince Edward Island, their struggles to survive and challenges from landlords to colonial practices are fascinating chapters of our country's early pioneering history," said Minister Kent.
The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada was established in 1919 and is supported by Parks Canada. It advises the Minister of the Environment regarding the national historic significance of places, persons and events that have marked Canada's history. On behalf of the people of Canada, Parks Canada manages a nationwide network of National Historic Sites that makes up a rich tapestry of Canada's historical heritage and offers the public opportunities for real and inspiring discoveries.
Born in 1742 at Glenaladale in Scotland, John MacDonald received his education in Rathisbon, Germany, at a college operated by the Benedictine monks of St. James Abbey. He learned to write and speak seven languages and was considered "one of the most finished gentlemen and perfect scholars in his part of the country." He returned to Scotland around the time of his father's death in 1761 and two years later he became the Eighth Laird of Glenaladale and Glenfinnan.
In the years and decades following the Battle of Culloden, major economic change came to the Highlands and John MacDonald, like many, began looking to emigrate. He reached an arrangement with leaders of the Scottish Catholic Church whereby he would take the lead in convincing Highlanders, mostly from Clan MacDonald lands, to emigrate to Prince Edward Island (then called St. John's Island), while the Church secured the funds for those unable to pay passage. MacDonald was then responsible for recruiting, transporting, and providing the necessities of settlement for the largest number of settlers to arrive in Prince Edward Island in its early years as a British colony. His 214 settlers sailed from Scotland in 1772 and were the first group of Catholic Scottish Highlanders to emigrate to Prince Edward Island. They took up residence on MacDonald's lot, 20,000 acres on the east side of Tracadie Bay. MacDonald provided supplies and implements for their first year until the settlers began to harvest their own crops. Several years later, in 1775, MacDonald was awarded his commission as a captain in the Royal Highland Emigrants at the outbreak of the American War of Independence.
His tenure as a proprietor, or landowner, is a remarkable example of the struggles at this time between the landowning class and the Island's colonial authorities. The proprietors owned large plots of land, rented it to their settlers, and forwarded the proceeds to the colony's treasury to pay for its administration. However, few proprietors, including MacDonald, could afford to pay their yearly assessments, called quitrents, and most owed large sums of money. These quitrents were to pay salaries for the Island's governor, Walter Patterson, and other administrators, and without them, these authorities received a fraction of their salary and moved to seize lands in lieu of money owed.
MacDonald fought his battles with Patterson and his clique through printed works, correspondence and personal meetings with authorities in England. He spent several years in London pressing his case, and finally received relief of the charges against him. While MacDonald was away, his sister Nelly managed his household and lands. In the end, John MacDonald's memorials, petitions, and letters dating from the arrival of the first Highland Scottish settlers in 1772 to his death in 1810 are an exceptional written record of Prince Edward Island's history.
Contact Information
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Office of the Minister of the Environment
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Meditation how can it help students achieve better grades?
by Master Meditation on January 17, 2012
meditation Meditation how can it help students achieve better grades?
Meditation can massively help Students, Workers and anyone else achieve better results.
I have been teaching meditation and about meditation as well as stress relief for a long time now. Recently I have been working with more and more students. Stress and students the two often go hand in hand for various reasons. But everyone gets stress right. Basically just about everything that is performance related.
So if:
• You are studying for exams
• You have a high pressure job
• You feel squeezed by the pressure to do more
Then this article can massively help you.
Stress gets in from the pressure generated by feeling a requirement to perform at a higher level. This pressure can come from parents, lecturers, bosses or even from yourself. Yes, regardless of whether we are students, workers or whatever, we can create appalling levels of stress from being hard on ourselves.
This pressure and the stress that results from it have a terrible affect on the mind. Many people say that they need stress to perform at their best. That is their own belief, and in reality comes from the fact that it is the best way they have found to operate. That said, there are other ways of working which likely most people have never tried, that can yield quantum leaps in performance.
Imagine yourself being able to work in totally relaxed way, whilst also being able to achieve far greater results than ever before.
Something that would create a far more enjoyable living for you right. Being able to work highly effectively, and in a relaxed way. Working stress free. Never needing to generate or feel heavy pressure as you can just focus and do what you have to. Easily and effortlessly.
So how do you do this?
Well, many people believe that stress can sharpen their mind. As such they look to create it in order to generate that edge. Effectively that edge comes from the adrenalin created by the stress. Over time this leads to fatigue though, something which dulls the mind considerably.
When you have adrenalin pumping around your body it is constantly on edge. It never truly gets the chance to rest. This causes negative effects over time. Neural activity becomes less effective, and mental processes dull. The tiredness which ensues due to lack of rest and relaxation causes questioning of any information that does come through.
As such you question your own knowledge and thought processes. Which leads to diminishing mental responses and performance. Knowledge that was once clear and absolute becomes clouded, even on things that you had excellent recall on. Fatigue sets up a conflict pattern within your mind that hazes things and blocks effective working patterns.
So how can you best get the edge without any of the downsides associated with an adrenalin crash and fatigue? Very simply by using meditation on a regular basis. Through cultivating a mind using meditation you are able to sidestep the negative aspects of stress. The unpleasant emotions that go with it, as well as the negative impact it has on health. Whilst at the same time increasing your focus and ability to concentrate and output.
Moreover you see clearer and can achieve memory recall in a highly effective manner.
Meditation enhances your mind in a number of ways. The relaxation brings with it a deeper acceptance and surety of the information coming through. Because the information comes in a calm and clear fashion. The mind accepts this knowledge as it comes easily, efficiently and cleanly. So the absence of duress brings clarity.
On top of this regular meditation enhances neural pathways and their effectiveness. With regular meditation your neural pathways strengthen as you get to know your own mind better. It’s like when you go to a new town or city. When you first arrive you have difficulty finding what you need. Over time you get to know the place better and you relax more. When this happens you can find your way around easily and effortlessly.
The same is true for your mind.
When you buy into building a more effective mind, when you buy into how easily you can improve your own mind you move streets ahead.
When you take time getting to know your own mind you are able to navigate it easily. You can recall things easily because the pathways are known and simple to navigate. You instinctively know where everything is and so you stop having to search. Effectively you say to yourself “I know where that is” and just go get it, the searching stops.
So how can you set about creating this kind of enhanced brain patterning? Regular meditation is the way to go. Even if just for a few minutes each day. There are of course many different way that you can meditate, working through zazen or zen meditation is an excellent way to increase this rapport with your mind, with the side benefit that you clear away excess and unwanted thoughts. Something which further increases efficiency.
Zazen requires mental discipline, as such when starting out can be a challenge for some people. So if you wish to do things in an easier way then working with guided meditation is a good route forward. In using guided meditation you are still working with your neural pathways and improving them, yet it can be more relaxed and you are free from any pressure. You just relax with the guidance and flow with the words.
Guided meditation will also aid you with stress relief too.
So at times when you feel stress or pressure, taking time with a guided meditation will improve your overall outlook. It will aid your mental, emotional, spiritual and physical restoration. Guided meditation helps to build you up stronger and make you more effective.
Building an effective and efficient mind is easy. All that is required is the commitment to do it. A decision, taking the time to actually do it and the use of whatever resources you require for the meditation you wish to do. If you have a meditation space great, incense is good too, and it can all be simple and easy.
So through meditation:
• You can achieve greater results
• You can improve your memory function
• You can improve your memory recall
• You can achieve fantastic stress relief
• You can work effectively from a point of relaxation
The resources within this site in the guided meditation, chakra meditation, meditation ebooks and resources sections have been designed to help you with this. So if you really wish to be more effective and achieve more in your life then check them out and start working with what is going to be best for you.
Also the meditation forum is there to help you. Within the meditation forum you can get advice and wisdom that will aid you with moving to more effective heights with your meditation.
Wherever you are and whatever you are doing or studying I wish you great prosperity, amazing results and serene meditations.
Stephen Frost
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Posts Tagged ‘CAPTCHA’
So you thought all CAPTCHAs were an evil, unnecessary nuisance?
September 18th, 2009
So you thought all CAPTCHAs were an evil, unnecessary nuisance?
CAPTCHAS invoke a number of reactions amongst both designers and users. They are a common source of frustration, consuming screen real estate and more importantly the user’s time spent deciphering and completing them. Studies have shown that they are generally bad for business.
However they are still widely used as they are considered a necessary evil in protecting websites against bots by generating tests that humans can pass but current computer programs cannot.
As you may have heard Google recently purchased ReCAPTCHA to accelerate its massive efforts to scan tens of millions of books and periodicals.
What you may not know is just how Google is utilising this technology to actually use the (re)CATPCHAS you’re filling out. By completing a reCAPTCHA you are directly helping Google in their quest to digitise the world’s books.
Here is a surprisingly interesting presentation on what is a generally dull topic: Why Nerds Rule: Luis Von Ahn and reCAPTCHA
UPDATE: CAPTCHA’s: Tough on Sales & Common Way to Test User Tolerance | UX Booth
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Cholecystectomy Content Supplied by NHS Choices
Surgical removal of the gallbladder is one of the most common operations performed by the NHS. More than 60,000 gallbladder removals are performed each year.
The medical term for gallbladder removal is cholecystectomy.
Why does my gallbladder need to be removed?
The gallbladder is a small, pear-shaped pouch in the upper-right part of your abdomen (tummy). It stores bile, which is the digestive fluid produced by the liver that helps to break down fatty foods.
Bile is made from cholesterol, bile salts and waste products. When these substances are out of balance, small, hard stones called gallstones can form. Gallstones often cause no symptoms and, in many cases, remain undetected.
However, in a small number of cases, gallstones can become trapped in a duct (an opening or channel), irritate and inflame the gallbladder, or move out of the gallbladder and into other parts of the body.
This can lead to a range of symptoms, such as:
• a sudden intense pain in your abdomen
• feeling and being sick
There are several non-surgical ways to break down gallstones, but they are only effective in around less than 1 in 10 cases and are rarely a viable option.
For most people with painful gallstones it is recommended that their gallbladder is removed.
What happens during gallbladder removal surgery?
There are two main ways of removing a gallbladder.
Laparoscopic (keyhole) cholecystectomy
This is the most common type of operation to remove your gallbladder. It involves using a tiny camera and surgical instruments that are inserted through small cuts (incisions) in your abdomen.
Open cholecystectomy
In open cholecystectomy the gallbladder is removed through one large incision in your abdomen. This technique is called open surgery. It is a more invasive operation than keyhole surgery. You need to be in hospital for longer and it takes longer to recover.
Open surgery is now usually only used if there are medical reasons why laparoscopic cholecystectomy cannot be safely performed, or if the surgeon decides that it would be safer to switch to open surgery during the procedure (this is known as conversion).
Both techniques are usually carried out under a general anaesthetic, so the person having the operation is asleep during surgery and will feel no pain.
Read more about how a cholecystectomy is performed.
Recovering from gallbladder removal surgery
It doesn't take long to recover from laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Most people can leave hospital the same day or the next morning.
You can get back to normal activities within two weeks and it should be safe to do strenuous exercise after a month.
It takes much longer to recover from an open cholecystectomy. It may be three to five days before you can leave hospital and it could be six weeks before you are feeling back to normal.
Read more about recovering from a cholecystectomy.
Both laparoscopic and open cholecystectomies are generally safe procedures with a low risk of complications.
The most common complication is infection at the site of the incision, which happens in around 1 in 15 cases.
Read more about the complications of a cholecystectomy.
Living without a gallbladder
You can lead a perfectly normal life without a gallbladder. The organ can be useful but it's not essential. Your liver will still produce bile to digest food.
However, some people who have had their gallbladder removed have reported symptoms of bloating and diarrhoea after eating fatty or spicy food. If certain foods do trigger symptoms, you may wish to avoid them in the future. Read more about making changes to your diet after gallbladder surgery.
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CONE1100 – Electrical Safety pdf
Credits: 1 (1/0/0)
Description: This course provides students with an understanding of occupational safety practices and requirements associated with working in the electrical industry. It also covers the purpose and enforcement of general safety rules.
Prerequisites: (None)
Corequisites: (None)
1. Identify electrical hazards.
2. Explain lockout and tagout procedures.
3. Identify personal protective equipment.
4. Explain general safety rules.
MnTC goal areas: (N/A)
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Europe's Road to Nowhere, Part 1
Financially futile, economically erroneous, politically puzzling, and socially irresponsible, the December 2011 European summit was a failure.
Only the attending leaders and their acolytes believe otherwise. German Chancellor Angela Merkel's post-summit homilies about the "long run," "running a marathon," and "more Europe" rang hollow.
Fiscal Bondage
The centerpiece of the new plan was a commitment to a new legally enforceable "fiscal compact" requiring government budgets to be balanced or in surplus, with the annual structural deficit not to exceed 0.5% of nominal gross domestic product.
The fiscal compact did not countenance any write-downs in existing debt. It also did not commit any new funding to support the beleaguered European periphery. Germany specifically ruled out the prospect of jointly and severally guaranteed eurozone bonds. Instead, there were vague platitudes about working toward further fiscal integration.
Whatever the long-term merit of greater budget discipline, the compact recycles previous treaties, which have been honored in the breach rather than the observance. Since 1999 or from the time of their entry, eurozone member countries have recorded nearly 70 breaches of the existing Stability and Growth Pact, including nearly 30 occasions when budget deficits exceeding 3% of GDP were allowed because of recessions. Germany and France have been in breach on at least six occasions each.
Just as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher favored "sado monetarism" (a term coined by Denis Healey), the German plan for Europe is "fiscal B&D" (bondage and discipline).
The plan may result in a further slowdown in growth in Europe, worsening public finances, and increasing pressure on credit ratings. This would make the existing debt burden even harder to sustain. The rigidity of the rules also limits government policy flexibility, risking making economic downturns worse.
Fiscal controls may not prevent future problems. Until 2008, Ireland, Spain, and Italy boasted a better fiscal position and lower debt than Germany and France. The weak economic fundamentals of these countries were exposed by the global financial crisis, leading to a rapid deterioration in public finances.
Irrespective of the treaty's provisions, enforcement will be difficult. The Excessive Deficit Procedure call for "automatic consequences unless a qualified majority of euro area Member States is opposed." The provision defines how any breach and automatic sanction can be waived rather than the consequences of failure to comply. It is difficult to see France and Germany voting to levy sanctions on each other. In 2003, there was an ignominious episode where France and Germany each breached the deficit ceiling but voted against condemning each other.
Recalling John Maynard Keynes' observation about the Treaty of Versailles, if actually implemented and strictly followed, the compact will skin Europe, especially those in the weaker economies, alive year by year.
Rebranding Bailouts
Instead of dealing with the financial problems of the central bailout mechanism (the European Financial Stability Facility), European leaders chose the re-branding option.
The EFSF will remain active until mid-2013 and then be subsumed into the permanent European Stability Mechanism, or ESM. The ESM will be implemented by July 2012 once 90% of member countries have ratified it -- "rapid deployment" in European terms.
Crucially, the overall ceiling of the EFSF/ESM remains at 500 billion euros, but will be reviewed in March 2012.
Given the indifference toward various leveraging proposals, especially from emerging nations like China, the ability to reach the target of at least 1 billion euros in capacity remains in doubt.
Long-standing problems of the original EFSF structure remain unaddressed. The creditworthiness of Italy and Spain (which make up around 30% of the EFSF's supporting guarantees) remains questionable. The European bailout fund is under threat of being downgraded.
Currently, the EFSF is only issuing short-term bills to finance its commitments (under the bailout packages agreed for Greece, Ireland, and Portugal). Its long-term funding costs are nearing the rate it is permitted to charge borrowers. The EFSF was even forced to deny reports that it would need to include a health warning about the risk of a rating downgrade and also the breakup of the euro in documentation for any new fund-raising.
Given the problems of the EFSF, especially the ratings threat, the acceleration of the ESM initiative is an attempt to reduce the reliance on the member nation guarantees. The ESM will have paid-in capital (80 billion euros) that member countries can contribute.
Like its predecessor -- the EFSF – it is leveraged: 80 billion euros supporting 500 billion euros, equivalent to six times leverage. Continuing the circularity, nations like Italy and Spain will borrow to contribute capital to the ESM to allow the ESM to buy Italian and Spanish bonds. The ability of the ESM, like the EFSF, to raise the additional 420 billion euros is also uncertain.
Calling in the Cavalry
Eurozone nations and other EU members were asked to provide (up to) 200 billion euros to the International Monetary Fund to be lent, in turn, back to eurozone countries. As with the ESM, it is unclear how some countries will finance their contributions and the wisdom of countries de facto lending to themselves. The curious arrangement was necessary to avoid breaching existing European treaties.
The arrangement, most likely, will be an IMF-administered account, with the full risk being taken solely by the providers of funding. In the unlikely event that the IMF used its general resources, all members would have to bear the risk.
Full involvement of the IMF is difficult. A loan on the required scale represents a serious concentration risk for the fund. In addition, the funding would be released in tranches subject to meeting IMF conditions. IMF loans also have seniority over other obligations. So IMF involvement may reduce the relevant country's access to commercial funding.
To date, European countries have only committed 150 billion euros. Britain is a notable absentee, having rejected the treaty changes, refusing the invitation to join the Europeans on the maiden voyage of the Titanic. The IMF (Influential Monied Friends) have proved reluctant, with the US and others unwilling to get involved. Only Russia has indicated a willingness to contribute (20 billion euros).
Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann observed that Germany would only release its contribution (45 billion euros) if "there is a fair distribution of the burden amongst the IMF members. If these conditions are not fulfilled, then we can't agree to a loan to the IMF." He noted that, "If large members, for example the USA, were to say 'we're not taking part,' then from our point of view it is problematic."
Don't Bank On It
Parallel to the Summit, The European Banking Authority (or EBA) updated its stress tests, increasing the amount of capital that European banks need to raise to 115 billion euros. The increase was necessary to cover a fall in the value of sovereign bonds held by the banks. As the data used was dated, further deterioration of the value of holdings may mean that more capital will ultimately be needed.
Italian, Spanish, and Greek banks have the largest capital requirements. Italian banks need to raise 15 billion euros. UniCredit, which holds around 40 billion euros in Italian government bonds, needs to raise 8 billion euros. Spanish banks need 26 billion euros, with Banco Santander (STD) needing 15 billion euros. German banks also need capital, with Commerzbank (CRZBY.PK) the country's second-largest bank, needing 5.3 billion euros.
With share prices down significantly (40% to 60% for the year) and the likelihood of weak profits driven by write-offs and lack of balance sheet growth, European banks face difficulties in raising capital. The most likely source is national governments providing the capital, adding to their debt problems. Germany has already reactivated its bank bailout fund for this purpose.
Banks can also lift their capital levels by reducing the size of their balance sheets. Asset sales by European banks to improve capital are acceptable to the EU as long as they "do not lead to a reduced flow of lending to the EU's real economy." Withdrawal from foreign markets is already having a noticeable impact in Eastern Europe and Asia. A slowdown in these economies will indirectly affect Europe, reducing demand for European exports.
Editor's Note: This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Stay tuned for the second tomorrow!
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Friday, March 9, 2012
The Descendants Study Guide & Features
Good Mourning
When the matriarch of the King family passes away, Matt and his daughters perform a beautiful Hawaiian ritual of scattering her ashes in the ocean along with three leis. Here, we'll showcase some other cultures that have interesting death rituals, including sitting Shivah in Judaism, and the burning of oil lamps in Hinduism.
Theravada Buddhism
In Theravada Buddhism, death is a time of transitioning to a yet another rebirth. Given such, the living participate in acts that transfer merit to the departed. For the living, ceremonies marking another’s death are a reminder of life's impermanence, which is a core aspect of the Buddha's teachings. Death rites are generally also the only life cycle ritual that Theravada Buddhist monks get involved in, which makes them of great importance. Some funeral customs include “mataka-vastra-puja” (offering of cloth on behalf of the dead), “mataka-bana” (preaching for the benefit of the dead), and “mataka-dana” (offering in the name of the dead).
Death is not seen as the final "end" in Hinduism; rather, it is a turning point in the endless journey of the “atman” (or soul). Because of this belief, Hinduism prohibits excessive mourning as it may hinder the passage of the soul to its next destination. Hindu mourning begins immediately after the body is cremated and last for 13 days. Immediately following the death, an oil lamp is lit near the deceased and kept burning for three days. The immediate family of the deceased is also prohibited from performing religious ceremonies, visiting sacred places, and attending social functions. The family must also bathe twice per day and eat simple meals. White is also the color of mourning, and men will not cut their hair or shave and women will not wash their hair for 10 days following the death. On the 13th day, a Shraddha ceremony is performed, which is a fire sacrifice wherein offerings are given to ancestors and to gods.
In Islamic cultures, mourners observe a three-day grieving period. In accordance with the Qur’an, widows observe an extended mourning period called Iddah, which lasts for four months and ten days. During Iddah, widows may not remarry, move from their home or wear anything decorative. Weeping is allowed, but shrieking, wailing and causing destruction are expressly forbidden as forms of grief in Islamic cultures.
In Judaism, there is a series of customs that allow mourners to re-enter society. The first stage (and the most well known) is Shiva, and it is the first seven days following the funeral. During Shiva (also commonly referred to as “sitting Shiva”), people adjust their behavior to express their grief. Customs include covering mirrors, making small tears in clothing, and sitting low to the ground when receiving condolences. The second stage is called Shloshim, which is the 30 days following the funeral. During Shloshim, mourners are prohibited from getting married or attending celebrations, and men refrain from shaving and cutting their hair.
Tiffany Z said...
good story , sound like the movie will be good too.
Laura Lane said...
I'll bet this was interesting. | <urn:uuid:35f4200e-963b-4640-a1a7-d028317b2550> | 3 | 3.4375 | 0.073425 | en | 0.957829 | http://www.mommykatie.com/2012/03/descendants-study-guide-features.html |
Affects of drug use in pregnancy
(12 Posts)
Hi all
Can anyone point me at any good 9easy to understand) sites that explain about the affects of drug use in pregnancy? Please? Is it normal/possible/occasional that drug users will also drink when pregnant and would it be clear if a child was affected by drugs or alcohol or drugs and alcohol in pregnancy, please?
Thanks so much.
Moomoomie Sun 10-Nov-13 21:14:45
If a BM is addicted to drugs the chances of them also drinking alcohol is very high. Alcohol is what causes the organic brain damage which is referred to as FASD. Drugs themselves tend not to cause long term affects. Which is amazing to hear, especially as many pregnant woman will drink alcohol during pregnancy but not shoot up heroin.
Babies born to a drug dependant mother often have horrendous withdrawal, our dd3 was very poorly when she was born, six weeks in SCBU, taking Oramorph, jittery, high pitched cries, low birth weight etc.
I would ask more questions re alcohol consumption than illegal drugs.
AngelsWithSilverWings Sun 10-Nov-13 21:24:41
I struggled to find much info when we were deciding if we could adopt a child who had been exposed to drugs. What little info I managed to get told me that we could cope with drugs but not alcohol.
Our dd was born drug dependant and all I can say is that she is just like any other 5 year old girl now. Her foster carer had a tough time with her though.
We consulted a medical advisor and she couldn't give us any real idea of how the drugs may affect dd as she gets older.
I hope someone else will be along soon with some more helpful advice!
Thanks both of you.
Lilka Sun 10-Nov-13 21:41:30
As Moomomie said, the vast vast majority of illegal dug addicts also drink (though aren't necesarily alcoholics)
In terms of danger to the baby, alcohol is the most dangerous - definitely more likely to cause long term issues than heroin, cocaine, meth etc etc.
It wouldn't necessarily be clear at all that a child has been affected by drugs - if a child has FAS (ie. the facial features) then it's obvious that alcohol has caused this problem. Also as Moomoomie said, drugs which cause physical dependency (eg. heroin) will cause physical dependency in the fetus as well, so after birth the baby has to go through withdrawal which can just be awful to see and requires specialist medical care. That will also be obvious at the time
Otherwise, you're talking only seeing issues years down the line, frequently sensory issues, ADHD, behaviour issues, learning issues and so on. The problem is that you can't easily pick apart, and may not at all be able to tell which drug caused an issue, or whether you're dealing with something which the child would have had anyway even if they weren't drug exposed
Apart from physical withdrawal, physical problems in pregnancy and soon after birth (prematurity etc) and all the alchohol related disorders, we don't really have any conclusive evidence that a certain drug causes certain issues later in childhood. Some drugs are linked to behaviour issues, sensory issues etc, but it's not definitive, and anecdotally you'd find massive variation - children who have been exposed and seem to have major difficulties and children who've been exposed to many drugs and are doing brilliantly with few or no apparent issues. Basically the only conclusive stuff is around things like miscarriage risk, low birth weight risk etc, not learning or behaviour issues, except with alcohol
I can't really help with a website because I've never seen a very good one which has helpful explanations for each drug, especially related to issues later in childhood.
Personally I would be most worried about alcohol exposure because there's definitive proof it can have very serious effects, which will be permanent
Thanks Lilka you all said alcohol is worse but also said people who abuse drugs also drink, is it less likely that drug abuser would be alcoholic so less likely to be be FAS related in children?
Moomoomie Mon 11-Nov-13 08:57:10
I dont think it is less likely to abuse alcohol as well as drugs. Alcohol is a lot easier to get your hands on, many of these BM started drinking at a very early age and have progressed to drugs.
Remember too, you will never know the exact amount a mother has drunk during pregnancy.
One doesn't need to be an alcoholic to produce a baby with FASD.
Devora Mon 11-Nov-13 12:01:53
This issue is riddled with uncertainties. First off, a huge proportion of children available for adoption will have been exposed to drugs and/or alcohol in utero - whether or not their social worker knows it. So you have to consider that it may be a risk, even if it's not one flagged up to you.
As others say, you can be born addicted to drugs, clear them out of your system, and move on. Though I would question whether you can ever say 'unaffected' - my dd was in special care on oromorph for nearly two months, with no visitors, then in intermittent screaming pain for the next six months (often the gut is affected). I think that has to leave some kind of impact.
With alcohol, there is even less certainty. For a start, don't go onto FASD websites to check out pictures of children with FAS features (as I did) then try to reassure yourself that your child doesn't look like that. Apparently alcohol at different stages of pregnancy can affect whatever part of the foetus is developing then. So some birth mothers are teetotal for parts of the pregnancy, lapsing into binge drinking at others, and that will affect the imapct.
IME, reading up on FASD is very scary and it's scarier still when you realise how common drinking alcohol is, how understandably motivated birth parents are NOT to share the details of their drinking habits with social workers, and how impossible it is to rule out alcohol-related damage in the first few years of life. So do your research on it, then take a deep breath and accept that this may be part of that leap of faith you are preparing to take smile
Devora Mon 11-Nov-13 12:25:23
Just to add that I don't think people who take drugs are less likely to drink alcohol. 30 or 40 years ago, I think addictions were more substance-specific. These days, people can get their hands on all kinds of stuff and are far less likely to prize loyalty over opportunity.
Also remember the big overlap between substance misuse and mental health problems. People who misuse drugs and alcohol will often experience on impact on their mental wellbeing; people with mental health problems often self-medicate with drugs and alcohol. Again, only some parts of this may have been identified by social services, let alone communicated on to prospective adopters.
Maiyakat Mon 11-Nov-13 13:47:32
DD was exposed to drugs in utero. So far there are no obvious effects, but she is still very young. I was told BM did not drink, but as everyone has said drug misuse and alcohol misuse often go hand in hand so I've taken that with a pinch of salt.
One issue with drug misuse is the increased risk of exposure to blood-borne viruses (HIV, Hep B, Hep C), and you often don't get a definitive answer as to whether a child has been affected until they are well over 1 (spent this morning with DD at the hospital for her last blood test to check if clear - she was so brave! [proud mummy face]).
When looking at young children's profiles I noticed there was a lot of statements such as 'X's mother misused alcohol in pregnancy. X has been seen by a geneticist/has had a blood test and does not have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome'. I makes me so mad that this kind of utter rubbish can be put in profiles, especially when it was blatantly obvious from the photo that the child had facial features of FAS. There are others on here that know far more than about FAS than I do, but I'm pretty sure you cannot diagnose or exclude it via a blood test!!
Devora Mon 11-Nov-13 15:01:01
Maiyakat - a paediatrician friend of mine, who often sat on adoption panels, told me that these kind of perky statements used to drive her mad. Her own rule of thumb was by the age of 3 you usually have a pretty good idea whether a child has some kind of significant physiological issues. Though clearly after that you can still get minor/behavioural/learning issues emerging.
Don't know if she had that right, but that's what she said.
IGH, I hope this thread isn't too depressing a read for you. The risks ARE higher than with birth children, but of course you have to remember that with adoption you are kind of confronted with all of life's 'what ifs' in a way that we don't usually have to face up to.
Remember, too, that there are kids (like my dd) who was definitely addicted and ?FASD, who are doing great.
Thanks so much.
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Gioacchino ROSSINI (1792-1868)
String Sonata No. 1 in G (1804) [12:57]
String Sonata No. 2 in A (1804) [13:12]
String Sonata No. 3 in C (1804) [10:54]
String Sonata No. 4 in B flat (1804) [13:39]
String Sonata No. 5 in E flat (1804) [15:09]*
String Sonata No. 6 in D (1804) [15:36]*
I Musici
rec. La Tour-de-Pelz, Switzerland, June 1971, *September 1971
NEWTON CLASSICS 8802041 [37:00 + 43:54]
Since Rossini was all of twelve years old when he composed these sonatas, you might, as a reflex, dismiss them as juvenilia, rather like Mendelssohn's String Symphonies. This would however be unfair, for the composer is already well on the way to his mature style.We hear the singable melodies of the kind that would grace his operas, here outfitted with the sort of decorative figurations that come so naturally to stringed instruments. The opening movements have their flashy moments, but they're light in spirit. Stately, lyrical slow movements bring in a measure of gravitas, while the finales are lively and infectious.
The "string quartet" for which the sonatas were composed isn't the standard complement, dropping the viola in favour of the double-bass. The cello is thus freed for contrapuntal and harmonic duty, making for unexpectedly rich textures whether the pieces are performed one-to-a-part or, as here, by a chamber orchestra. Nor is the bass relegated to supplying the foundation: it gets its melodic moments in the sun, as in the opening movements of the A major and C major sonatas.
These performances are absolutely delightful. I Musici's recordings of Bach and Vivaldi, marked by discipline, musicality, and warm, burnished tone, were among my favourites. Here this accomplished modern-instrument ensemble moves into early-Romantic repertoire with grace as well as dash: the violin sections get to show off their virtuosity in the runs of the A major sonata, without scanting the music's appealing lightness.
The sound reproduces the warmth of the originals while sharpening definition of the individual lines, especially the bright, focused basses. On the minus side, digital processing exposes a few dryish moments in the high violins and the occasional unseemly grunt, hitherto obscured, from those buzzy basses. The disc timings are short; I suspect that the producers had planned to fit everything on a single CD, but felt that eighty-one minutes might have been pressing their luck. Still, you ought to have this.
Stephen Francis Vasta
Absolutely delightful. Discipline, musicality and warm, burnished tone.
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Evan Vucci / AP
Justice Antonin Scalia makes a point during his joint appearance with fellow Justice Stephen Bryer on Thursday in Washington.
By Tom Curry National affairs writer
updated 1/14/2005 12:43:18 PM ET 2005-01-14T17:43:18
It was not Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier, but by Washington standards it was a glamorous sparring match: Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Stephen Breyer jousting at the American University law school late Thursday afternoon over whether American jurists should look to foreign legal precedents when making their decisions.
Scalia, the conservative, was the more vigorous of the two in his making his arguments and made Breyer, generally part of the court’s liberal wing, sound a tad defensive.
But the tone was cocktail-party cordial, sometimes comical, as the two justices sat across from each other in upholstered chairs with moderator Norman Dorsen between them. Although the two justices supposedly represent opposite ideological poles on the court, in fact in the 16 cases decided so far this term, they have disagreed with each other in only four.
For the non-lawyers in the audience, the event, which was broadcast live and then re-broadcast on C-SPAN, served as a preview of what Americans might see in Senate confirmation hearings if Scalia is nominated as chief justice when William Rehnquist steps down.
If this was a kind of off-Broadway tryout, Scalia came across as learned, a bit sarcastic at times, but collegial.
At times, Scalia gave a glimpse of his fast-talking, night-club comedian's persona.
When law school dean Claudio Grossman introduced the justices to the audience as “two towering figures on the United States Supreme Court,” Scalia broadly mugged for the audience, glancing over at Breyer with an exaggerated expression, as if to say, “Hey, not bad, huh?”
And when Professor Michael Rosenfeld asked both Breyer and Scalia an interminable, multi-pronged question that was a near-parody of academic bloviation, Scalia looked out at the audience and asked if anyone could remember Rosenfeld's original question to him.
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'Dangerous' practice
Although not mentioning Justice Kennedy by name, Scalia said that Kennedy’s decision in Lawrence vs. Texas arbitrarily used foreign precedents: “not all foreign law, just the foreign law that agreed with the disposition of the case.”
Scalia said he uses foreign precedents only when it comes to interpreting treaties, such as in a case last year, Olympic Airways vs. Husain, which involved the 1929 Warsaw Convention on air travel.
Sticking to the text
For Scalia, the rejection of foreign precedents is part of his larger rejection of any reading of the Constitution that does not stick to the document, as it was written and understood in 1787 (and as amended since).
For his part, Breyer minimized the importance of his use of foreign precedents. He said he looked at foreign law simply to learn how judges overseas approach problems comparable to what he must face, a process he called “opening your eyes to things that are going on elsewhere.”
Breyer’s most cogent argument for using foreign precedents was more of a diplomatic than a legal one.
“There are institutions and courts trying to make their way in societies that didn’t use to be democratic,” he explained. “They are trying to protect human rights; they are trying to protect democracy. ... For years, people all over the world have cited the (U.S.) Supreme Court, why don’t we cite them occasionally? They will then go to their legislatures and others and say, ‘See, the Supreme Court of the United States cites us. That might give them a leg up.”
In other words, by citing foreign judges’ rulings, Breyer will help boost their prestige in fledgling democracies.
Breyer confessed he’d made what he called “a tactical error” in a 1999 death penalty case, when citing a judicial decision from Zimbabwe to help prove his contention that too long a delay in administering a death penalty makes the execution cruel and inhuman.
Zimbabwe, he said wryly, is “not the human rights capital of the world.”
© 2013 msnbc.com Reprints
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Why Do We Wear Pants? Because of Horses
Why do we wear pants? Even if you're currently dressed "blogger style", you've no doubt worn pants in the past. How did his fashion develop? Peter Turchin, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Connecticut, says that the domestication of horses led to pants:
Turchin details how the Romans eventually adopted braccae (known to you now as breeches) and documents the troubles a 3rd-century BC Chinese statesman, King Wuling, had getting his warriors to switch to pants from the traditional robes. "It is not that I have any doubt concerning the dress of the Hu," Wuling told an advisor. "I am afraid that everybody will laugh at me." Eventually, a different state, the Qin, conquered and unified China. They just so happened to be closest to the mounted barbarians and thus were early to the whole cavalry-and-pants thing.
Link -via Robb Allen | Photo: jdj 150
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1 καὶ εἶπον οἱ υἱοὶ τῶν προφητῶν πρὸς Ελισαιε ἰδοὺ δὴ ὁ τόπος ἐν ᾧ ἡμεῖς οἰκοῦμεν ἐνώπιόν σου στενὸς ἀ{F'} ἡμῶν 2 πορευθῶμεν δὴ ἕως τοῦ Ιορδάνου καὶ λάβωμεν ἐκεῖθεν ἀνὴρ εἷς δοκὸν μίαν καὶ ποιήσωμεν ἑαυτοῖς ἐκεῖ τοῦ οἰκεῖν ἐκεῖ καὶ εἶπεν δεῦτε 3 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ εἷς ἐπιεικέως δεῦρο μετὰ τῶν δούλων σου καὶ εἶπεν ἐγὼ πορεύσομαι 4 καὶ ἐπορεύθη με{T'} αὐτῶν καὶ ἦλθον εἰς τὸν Ιορδάνην καὶ ἔτεμνον τὰ ξύλα 5 καὶ ἰδοὺ ὁ εἷς καταβάλλων τὴν δοκόν καὶ τὸ σιδήριον ἐξέπεσεν εἰς τὸ ὕδωρ καὶ ἐβόησεν ὦ κύριε καὶ αὐτὸ κεχρημένον 6 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ἄνθρωπος τοῦ θεοῦ ποῦ ἔπεσεν καὶ ἔδειξεν αὐτῷ τὸν τόπον καὶ ἀπέκνισεν ξύλον καὶ ἔρριψεν ἐκεῖ καὶ ἐπεπόλασεν τὸ σιδήριον 7 καὶ εἶπεν ὕψωσον σαυτῷ καὶ ἐξέτεινεν τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔλαβεν αὐτό 1 There was a time when his disciples complained to Eliseus that they had no room to live there in his company; 2 and they asked leave to take the road for Jordan, cut down, each of them, his load of timber from the forest, and build themselves a house there. Then, when he had given them leave, 3 one of them said to him, Master, do thou come with us. Come with you I will said he, 4 and bore them company. So they reached the Jordan, and began felling wood. 5 It chanced that one of them, in felling a beam, let his axe-head fall into the river; and at that he cried aloud, Alas, alas, master! It was a borrowed axe, too! 6 Where fell it? the prophet asked; and when the place was shewn to him, he cut a stick and threw it in there; whereupon the iron floated to the surface. 7 It is there to thy hand, said he, and the disciple put out his hand and took it. 1 Dixerunt autem filii prophetarum ad Eliseum: Ecce locus in quo habitamus coram te, angustus est nobis. 2 Eamus usque ad Jordanem, et tollant singuli de silva materias singulas, ut ædificemus nobis ibi locum ad habitandum. Qui dixit: Ite. 3 Et ait unus ex illis: Veni ergo et tu cum servis tuis. Respondit: Ego veniam. 4 Et abiit cum eis. Cumque venissent ad Jordanem, cædebant ligna. 5 Accidit autem ut cum unus materiam succidisset, caderet ferrum securis in aquam: exclamavitque ille, et ait: Heu! heu! heu! domine mi: et hoc ipsum mutuo acceperam. 6 Dixit autem homo Dei: Ubi cecidit? At ille monstravit ei locum. Præcidit ergo lignum, et misit illuc: natavitque ferrum, 7 et ait: Tolle. Qui extendit manum, et tulit illud.
8 καὶ βασιλεὺς Συρίας ἦν πολεμῶν ἐν Ισραηλ καὶ ἐβουλεύσατο πρὸς τοὺς παῖδας αὐτοῦ λέγων εἰς τὸν τόπον τόνδε τινὰ ελμωνι παρεμβαλῶ 9 καὶ ἀπέστειλεν Ελισαιε πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Ισραηλ λέγων φύλαξαι μὴ παρελθεῖν ἐν τῷ τόπῳ τούτῳ ὅτι ἐκεῖ Συρία κέκρυπται 10 καὶ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ βασιλεὺς Ισραηλ εἰς τὸν τόπον ὃν εἶπεν αὐτῷ Ελισαιε καὶ ἐφυλάξατο ἐκεῖθεν οὐ μίαν οὐδὲ δύο 11 καὶ ἐξεκινήθη ἡ ψυχὴ βασιλέως Συρίας περὶ τοῦ λόγου τούτου καὶ ἐκάλεσεν τοὺς παῖδας αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς οὐκ ἀναγγελεῖτέ μοι τίς προδίδωσίν με βασιλεῖ Ισραηλ 12 καὶ εἶπεν εἷς τῶν παίδων αὐτοῦ οὐχί κύριέ μου βασιλεῦ ὅτι Ελισαιε ὁ προφήτης ὁ ἐν Ισραηλ ἀναγγέλλει τῷ βασιλεῖ Ισραηλ πάντας τοὺς λόγους οὓς ἐὰν λαλήσῃς ἐν τῷ ταμιείῳ τοῦ κοιτῶνός σου 13 καὶ εἶπεν δεῦτε ἴδετε ποῦ οὗτος καὶ ἀποστείλας λήμψομαι αὐτόν καὶ ἀνήγγειλαν αὐτῷ λέγοντες ἰδοὺ ἐν Δωθαϊμ 14 καὶ ἀπέστειλεν ἐκεῖ ἵππον καὶ ἅρμα καὶ δύναμιν βαρεῖαν καὶ ἦλθον νυκτὸς καὶ περιεκύκλωσαν τὴν πόλιν 8 When the king of Syria went to battle with Israel, he would hold a council of war, and name some place where he would lay an ambush; 9 and ever word came from Eliseus to the king of Israel, Beware how thou marchest by such and such a place; the Syrians are lying in wait there. 10 Then the king of Israel would send and make sure of the place the prophet had told him of; and so he avoided danger, not once but many times. 11 At this, the king of Syria’s mind much misgave him; and at last he summoned his council and asked, was there no learning the name of this traitor that revealed his plans to the king of Israel? 12 Whereupon one of his courtiers told him, Nay, my lord king, it is the Israelite prophet, Eliseus, that discloses to him the secrets of thy council-chamber. 13 Why then, the king said, go and find out where he is, so that I can send and take him prisoner. And when news came that Eliseus was in Dothain, 14 he sent horses and chariots and the pick of his army there, to surround the city at dead of night. 8 Rex autem Syriæ pugnabat contra Israël, consiliumque iniit cum servis suis, dicens: In loco illo et illo ponamus insidias. 9 Misit itaque vir Dei ad regem Israël, dicens: Cave ne transeas in locum illum: quia ibi Syri in insidiis sunt. 10 Misit itaque rex Israël ad locum quem dixerat ei vir Dei, et præoccupavit eum, et observavit se ibi non semel neque bis. 11 Conturbatumque est cor regis Syriæ pro hac re: et convocatis servis suis, ait: Quare non indicatis mihi quis proditor mei sit apud regem Israël? 12 Dixitque unus servorum ejus: Nequaquam, domine mi rex, sed Eliseus propheta qui est in Israël, indicat regi Israël omnia verba quæcumque locutus fueris in conclavi tuo. 13 Dixitque eis: Ite, et videte ubi sit, ut mittam, et capiam eum. Annuntiaveruntque ei, dicentes: Ecce in Dothan. 14 Misit ergo illuc equos et currus, et robur exercitus: qui cum venissent nocte, circumdederunt civitatem.
15 καὶ ὤρθρισεν ὁ λειτουργὸς Ελισαιε ἀναστῆναι καὶ ἐξῆλθεν καὶ ἰδοὺ δύναμις κυκλοῦσα τὴν πόλιν καὶ ἵππος καὶ ἅρμα καὶ εἶπεν τὸ παιδάριον πρὸς αὐτόν ὦ κύριε πῶς ποιήσωμεν 16 καὶ εἶπεν Ελισαιε μὴ φοβοῦ ὅτι πλείους οἱ με{Q'} ἡμῶν ὑπὲρ τοὺς με{T'} αὐτῶν 17 καὶ προσεύξατο Ελισαιε καὶ εἶπεν κύριε διάνοιξον τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τοῦ παιδαρίου καὶ ἰδέτω καὶ διήνοιξεν κύριος τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶδεν καὶ ἰδοὺ τὸ ὄρος πλῆρες ἵππων καὶ ἅρμα πυρὸς περικύκλῳ Ελισαιε 18 καὶ κατέβησαν πρὸς αὐτόν καὶ προσηύξατο Ελισαιε πρὸς κύριον καὶ εἶπεν πάταξον δὴ τοῦτο τὸ ἔθνος ἀορασίᾳ καὶ ἐπάταξεν αὐτοὺς ἀορασίᾳ κατὰ τὸ ῥῆμα Ελισαιε 19 καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς Ελισαιε οὐχ αὕτη ἡ πόλις καὶ αὕτη ἡ ὁδός δεῦτε ὀπίσω μου καὶ ἀπάξω ὑμᾶς πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα ὃν ζητεῖτε καὶ ἀπήγαγεν αὐτοὺς εἰς Σαμάρειαν 20 καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς εἰσῆλθον εἰς Σαμάρειαν καὶ εἶπεν Ελισαιε ἄνοιξον δή κύριε τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν καὶ ἰδέτωσαν καὶ διήνοιξεν κύριος τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν καὶ εἶδον καὶ ἰδοὺ ἦσαν ἐν μέσῳ Σαμαρείας 21 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεὺς Ισραηλ ὡς εἶδεν αὐτούς εἰ πατάξας πατάξω πάτερ 22 καὶ εἶπεν οὐ πατάξεις εἰ μὴ οὓς ᾐχμαλώτευσας ἐν ῥομφαίᾳ σου καὶ τόξῳ σου σὺ τύπτεις παράθες ἄρτους καὶ ὕδωρ ἐνώπιον αὐτῶν καὶ φαγέτωσαν καὶ πιέτωσαν καὶ ἀπελθέτωσαν πρὸς τὸν κύριον αὐτῶν 23 καὶ παρέθηκεν αὐτοῖς παράθεσιν μεγάλην καὶ ἔφαγον καὶ ἔπιον καὶ ἀπέστειλεν αὐτούς καὶ ἀπῆλθον πρὸς τὸν κύριον αὐτῶν καὶ οὐ προσέθεντο ἔτι μονόζωνοι Συρίας τοῦ ἐλθεῖν εἰς γῆν Ισραηλ 15 The prophet had a servant that was early abroad next day, and found the whole city beleaguered by armed men and horses and chariots; and as he brought the news, he cried out, Alas, alas, master, what shift will serve us now? 16 Do not be afraid, said he; we have more on our side than they on theirs. 17 Open his eyes, Lord, Eliseus prayed; give him clear sight. Thereupon the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and clear sight came to him; all at once he saw the whole mountain-side beset with flaming horses and chariots, there about Eliseus. 18 Then, as the enemy closed in upon him, Eliseus prayed to the Lord anew, asking that this whole multitude might be smitten with blindness; and sightless the Lord smote them, at Eliseus’ prayer. 19 Eliseus would have it that they had taken the wrong road and reached the wrong city; Come with me, he said, and I will shew you the man you are looking for. So he led them to Samaria; 20 and once they were there, he prayed anew, that their eyes might be opened, and clear sight given them. In Samaria, then, they found themselves, once their eyes were opened; 21 and the king of Israel, upon sight of them, asked Eliseus, My father, shall I strike them down? 22 Strike them down (said he) thou shalt not; they were not captured by sword or bow of thine, and wouldst thou slay them?[1] Set food and drink before them, and let them go home to their master. 23 So a great banquet was made for them, and when they had eaten and drunk their fill, back to their master he sent them. And Israel was rid, for a while, of freebooters from Syria. 15 Consurgens autem diluculo minister viri Dei, egressus vidit exercitum in circuitu civitatis, et equos et currus: nuntiavitque ei, dicens: Heu! heu! heu! domine mi: quid faciemus? 16 At ille respondit: Noli timere: plures enim nobiscum sunt, quam cum illis. 17 Cumque orasset Eliseus, ait: Domine, aperi oculos hujus, ut videat. Et aperuit Dominus oculos pueri, et vidit: et ecce mons plenus equorum et curruum igneorum in circuitu Elisei. 18 Hostes vero descenderunt ad eum: porro Eliseus oravit ad Dominum, dicens: Percute, obsecro, gentem hanc cæcitate. Percussitque eos Dominus ne viderent, juxta verbum Elisei. 19 Dixit autem ad eos Eliseus: Non est hæc via, neque ista est civitas: sequimini me, et ostendam vobis virum quem quæritis. Duxit ergo eos in Samariam: 20 cumque ingressi fuissent in Samariam, dixit Eliseus: Domine, aperi oculos istorum, ut videant. Aperuitque Dominus oculos eorum, et viderunt se esse in medio Samariæ. 21 Dixitque rex Israël ad Eliseum, cum vidisset eos: Numquid percutiam eos, pater mi? 22 At ille ait: Non percuties: neque enim cepisti eos gladio et arcu tuo, ut percutias: sed pone panem et aquam coram eis, ut comedant et bibant, et vadant ad dominum suum. 23 Appositaque est eis ciborum magna præparatio, et comederunt et biberunt, et dimisit eos, abieruntque ad dominum suum, et ultra non venerunt latrones Syriæ in terram Israël.
24 καὶ ἐγένετο μετὰ ταῦτα καὶ ἤθροισεν υἱὸς Αδερ βασιλεὺς Συρίας πᾶσαν τὴν παρεμβολὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀνέβη καὶ περιεκάθισεν Σαμάρειαν 25 καὶ ἐγένετο λιμὸς μέγας ἐν Σαμαρείᾳ καὶ ἰδοὺ περιεκάθηντο ἐ{P'} αὐτήν ἕως οὗ ἐγενήθη κεφαλὴ ὄνου πεντήκοντα σίκλων ἀργυρίου καὶ τέταρτον τοῦ κάβου κόπρου περιστερῶν πέντε σίκλων ἀργυρίου 26 καὶ ἦν ὁ βασιλεὺς Ισραηλ διαπορευόμενος ἐπὶ τοῦ τείχους καὶ γυνὴ ἐβόησεν πρὸς αὐτὸν λέγουσα σῶσον κύριε βασιλεῦ 27 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ μή σε σώσαι κύριος πόθεν σώσω σε μὴ ἀπὸ τῆς ἅλωνος ἢ ἀπὸ τῆς ληνοῦ 28 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ ὁ βασιλεύς τί ἐστίν σοι καὶ εἶπεν ἡ γυνὴ αὕτη εἶπεν πρός με δὸς τὸν υἱόν σου καὶ φαγόμεθα αὐτὸν σήμερον καὶ τὸν υἱόν μου καὶ φαγόμεθα αὐτὸν αὔριον 29 καὶ ἡψήσαμεν τὸν υἱόν μου καὶ ἐφάγομεν αὐτόν καὶ εἶπον πρὸς αὐτὴν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ δευτέρᾳ δὸς τὸν υἱόν σου καὶ φάγωμεν αὐτόν καὶ ἔκρυψεν τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς 30 καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς ἤκουσεν ὁ βασιλεὺς Ισραηλ τοὺς λόγους τῆς γυναικός διέρρηξεν τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ καὶ αὐτὸς διεπορεύετο ἐπὶ τοῦ τείχους καὶ εἶδεν ὁ λαὸς τὸν σάκκον ἐπὶ τῆς σαρκὸς αὐτοῦ ἔσωθεν 31 καὶ εἶπεν τάδε ποιήσαι μοι ὁ θεὸς καὶ τάδε προσθείη εἰ στήσεται ἡ κεφαλὴ Ελισαιε ἐ{P'} αὐτῷ σήμερον 24 Some time after this, Benadad, king of Syria, mustered all his forces, and went to the siege of Samaria. 25 And Samaria was famine-stricken; so long beleaguered, that men would pay eighty pieces of silver for an ass’s head, or five for a pint of dove’s droppings. 26 And one day, as the king was making the round of the battlements, a woman cried out to him, Help me, my lord king! 27 Help from the Lord is none, said he, and what means of help have I, in threshing-floor or wine-press? What wouldst thou have of me? And she told him, 28 This woman who is with me bade me kill my son, to be food for us that day; hers should be our food the next. 29 And then, my son’s flesh already cooked and eaten, when I bade her kill hers next day, she kept him in hiding. 30 Upon hearing this tale, the king tore his garments across; and as he made his way along the battlements the people, one and all, could see how his shirt underneath was of sackcloth. 31 May the Lord punish me as I deserve, said he, and more than I deserve, if I leave Eliseus the son of Saphat a head on his body by nightfall! 24 Factum est autem post hæc, congregavit Benadad rex Syriæ universum exercitum suum, et ascendit, et obsidebat Samariam. 25 Factaque est fames magna in Samaria: et tamdiu obsessa est, donec venundaretur caput asini octoginta argenteis, et quarta pars cabi stercoris columbarum quinque argenteis. 26 Cumque rex Israël transiret per murum, mulier quædam exclamavit ad eum, dicens: Salva me, domine mi rex. 27 Qui ait: Non te salvat Dominus: unde te possum salvare? de area, vel de torculari? Dixitque ad eam rex: Quid tibi vis? Quæ respondit: 28 Mulier ista dixit mihi: Da filium tuum, ut comedamus eum hodie, et filium meum comedemus cras. 29 Coximus ergo filium meum, et comedimus. Dixique ei die altera: Da filium tuum, ut comedamus eum. Quæ abscondit filium suum. 30 Quod cum audisset rex, scidit vestimenta sua, et transibat per murum. Viditque omnis populus cilicium quo vestitus erat ad carnem intrinsecus. 31 Et ait rex: Hæc mihi faciat Deus, et hæc addat, si steterit caput Elisei filii Saphat super ipsum hodie.
32 καὶ Ελισαιε ἐκάθητο ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι ἐκάθηντο με{T'} αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπέστειλεν ἄνδρα πρὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ πρὶν ἐλθεῖν τὸν ἄγγελον πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ αὐτὸς εἶπεν πρὸς τοὺς πρεσβυτέρους εἰ οἴδατε ὅτι ἀπέστειλεν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ φονευτοῦ οὗτος ἀφελεῖν τὴν κεφαλήν μου ἴδετε ὡς ἂν ἔλθῃ ὁ ἄγγελος ἀποκλείσατε τὴν θύραν καὶ παραθλίψατε αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ θύρᾳ οὐχὶ φωνὴ τῶν ποδῶν τοῦ κυρίου αὐτοῦ κατόπισθεν αὐτοῦ 33 ἔτι αὐτοῦ λαλοῦντος με{T'} αὐτῶν καὶ ἰδοὺ ἄγγελος κατέβη πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ εἶπεν ἰδοὺ αὕτη ἡ κακία παρὰ κυρίου τί ὑπομείνω τῷ κυρίῳ ἔτι 32 So he sent a man on before him, to find Eliseus where he sat at home, in conclave with the elders of the people. To these, before ever the messenger reached him, Eliseus said, You must know that my head is in danger. The murderer is on his way, sent by the murderer’s son. When he comes in, look to it that you keep the doorway barred; I hear his master’s tread not far behind him. 33 Even as he spoke to them thus, in came the messenger that had set out to find him. And this was the king’s word, See what ruin the Lord has brought on me! Folly it were to expect relief from the Lord any longer.[2] 32 Eliseus autem sedebat in domo sua, et senes sedebant cum eo. Præmisit itaque virum: et antequam veniret nuntius ille, dixit ad senes: Numquid scitis quod miserit filius homicidæ hic, ut præcidatur caput meum? videte ergo: cum venerit nuntius, claudite ostium, et non sinatis eum introire: ecce enim sonitus pedum domini ejus post eum est. 33 Adhuc illo loquente eis, apparuit nuntius qui veniebat ad eum. Et ait: Ecce, tantum malum a Domino est: quid amplius expectabo a Domino?
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Trying to make sense of the "quantitative easing"
The federal reserve stopped the quantitative easing towards the end of last year. At the putset of QE many commentators were expecting a tidal wave of inflation.
The QE was to the most part sterilised by the financial institutions (presumably those who sold the toxic assets to the federal reserve). By sterilised, I mean the money created was held, to the most part, from entering normal circulation. Thereby limiting inflation.
I believe that by subtracting out the excess reserve figure from the federal reserve balance sheet, we get a figure which perhaps shows more clearly the amount of dollars entering circulation as a result of the Federal Reserve actions. See the following graphs for more information.
AMBNS AMBSL minus EXCSRESNS Monetary base minus Excess reserves
AMBNS AMBSL minus EXCSRESNS Monetary base minus Excess reserves
AMBNS or AMBSL Many will be familiar with the Federal Reserve monetary base AMBSL. AMNNS is the non-seasonally adjusted monetary base.
EXCSRESNS Excess Reserves not seasonally adjusted. One of these series have been discontinued, but there is a continuing series, just a little harder to find at the St Louis fed.
At the time of this analysis, it is early 2015, so I will take data points:
DateAMBNS - EXCRESNSCompund rate of change per year
Conclusion: The US federal reserve has been putting new USD into circulation at a significantly faster rate after the 2008 financial crisis than before. It would be reasonable to expect singnificant inflation. This has perhaps shown up in the stock market, and has been suggested in food prices, which may perhaps come down a little since oil prices have dropped.
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Fueling the Fires Within
Cold weather and water present a variety of challenges to boaters who want to extend their season into fall, winter and spring. First, you need to choose Layering for Cold Water Boating appropriate for the season and your type of boating. If you need help in choosing the best pieces of your protective layering system, give us a call at 877.677.4327 or email us at [email protected].
Fueling the Fires WithinJust as important as the right apparel and gear for your safety and protection are proper nutrition and hydration to keep your body fueled and warm. Your body produces heat in three ways: the metabolism of food, shivering and exercise. The “thermostat” that regulates your heating and cooling systems is located in the part of the brain called the hypothalamus. The sensors that feed information to the hypothalamus are located in your skin and body core.
Your baseline heat production from the digestion and metabolism of food goes on around the clock with most of the heat being produced by the internal organs in your body core. When you get chilled, the sensors rev up your metabolic rate, as much as doubling it. The “fuel” needed for a quick crank up of heat is glycogen, a form of the carbohydrate glucose, which is stored primarily in the muscles and liver.
When your core temperature drops 2-3ºF, your thermostat triggers that uncontrolled contraction and relaxation of muscles that we call “shivering.” It can increase your baseline heat production five to seven times. It too depends on your body’s supply of glycogen to fuel this heat production.
The most efficient way your body produces heat is by voluntary exercise, a heating process up to 15 times more abundant than your baseline heat production. Exercise is not only more efficient than shivering; it does useful work – like paddling or rowing, or in a survival situation, building a fire or an emergency shelter. Once again, you need that glycogen fuel to power your exercise activity.
Cold weather itself doesn’t increase your body’s need for more food calories. However, some cold induced conditions necessitate more fuel intake. It takes a surprising amount of heat energy to warm the air you breathe in during activity in the cold. Heavier, more restrictive clothing causes you to burn more calories. And as mentioned earlier, shivering and exercise draw down your glycogen reserves. Much of the research on calorie need in cold weather has been done by the military. Their studies show that soldiers operating in cold conditions require up to 40% more food calories than in temperate conditions.
Surprisingly, dehydration is all too common in cold weather. Cold temperatures interfere with the proper metabolism of food and reduce your appetite. Cold weather impairs the shivering response and leads to lethargy and low energy levels. Cold also reduces your urge to drink fluids. We often avoid drinking because increased clothing layers make it more difficult to pee. Dry winter air pulls a lot of water out of our body. As we breathe, water humidifies the air going into our lungs and is then exhaled (hence, “seeing your breath”).
Fueling the Fires WithinAnother form of fluid loss in cold weather is “cold induced diuresis.” When you get cold, your heat regulatory system constricts blood vessels in your extremities to protect the body core from heat loss. With this shrinkage of volume of the vascular system, the signal goes to the brain that there’s more blood than the body needs. The brain tells your kidneys that they need to get rid of some water. This explains your needing to pee more often when out in the cold.
So, you can see the importance of good nutrition and hydration to keep your body in the most efficient and comfortable condition for high performance in cold weather. Here are some dos and don’ts to help you stay warm and safe; so you can get the maximum enjoyment during cold season boating:
• Do eat nutritious high-carbohydrate foods prior to boating or other exercise in cold weather. High carb intake one to four hours before exercise will restore liver glycogen. To get glycogen to the muscles, the carbs need to be eaten several hours earlier.
• Do continue to eat snacks high in carbohydrates throughout the day. There are numerous energy bars, gels, and granola bars on the market. Dried fruit, trail mix, crackers, and cookies are good sources. Choose sources high in complex carbohydrates and low in simple sugars for a steadier supply of energy. Simple sugars provide a quick spike in energy, with a corresponding dip or crash.
• Do drink lots of fluids during the day. Drink small amounts often. Drinking a large volume in a short amount of time is more than your body can absorb, so most of it just passes out through the kidneys. Some sources say consume at least 5 ounces every 20 minutes. As long as you’re eating a well-balanced diet, plain water is sufficient. During prolonged heavy outdoor exercise you may want to supplement an electrolyte/carbohydrate replacement sports beverage.
• Do try to consume warm foods and beverages when out in the cold. Your body has to use energy to warm cold food and drinks, creating a chilling effect. Warm stuff is also a great psychological morale booster.
• Do moderate your caffeine consumption. Caffeine is a diuretic; it draws water out of your system. Hot cocoa is a great winter drink, as well as hot cider and soup.
• Do replenish your energy supplies at the end of a day’s boating. Take in some good carbohydrates and a bit of protein within two hours of hitting the beach. Eating some food before you go to bed will help you stay warm when you’re curled up in your sleeping bag.
• Don’t practice any restrictive diets during times when you’ll be spending significant times outdoors. You need to keep your body supplied with lots of good fuel for cold-weather comfort.
• Don’t consume excessive alcohol when out in the cold. It may feel like it “warms” you up, but it actually causes your peripheral blood vessels to dilate, bringing more blood to your body’s surface and radiating your heat out into the cold.
• Don’t adopt a high-fat diet right before going on a boating trip. Yes, it works for the Eskimo and other northern natives, but it takes at least a couple of months for your body’s metabolism to adapt to the diet and give you the glycogen fuel you need for those winter conditions.
Modern layering, insulating and technical outer garments have opened up the entire year for boating and enjoying the great outdoors. Dress right, eat well, drink often and enjoy some great cold weather boating! | <urn:uuid:c270d130-4c40-410f-ae68-c2ef154db3ac> | 3 | 2.859375 | 0.236329 | en | 0.935653 | http://www.nrs.com/safety_tips/fuelingfireswithin.asp |
The poison gas attack this week against Tokyo subway riders has evoked a thrill of horror and revived memories of the ghastly casualties inflicted by chemical warfare agents during World War I. But although eight people were killed and thousands made ill in the Tokyo incident, future terrorist gas attacks could be far worse.
Sarin, the nerve gas used in the attack, is among the deadliest of all war gases, but it is relatively non-persistent; it is a liquid that evaporates rapidly and is dispersed fairly quickly in an environment with good ventilation. By contrast, its nerve-gas cousins, Tabun and Soman, can contaminate even ventilated areas for long periods.
Sarin, however, has one great advantage for a terrorist: it can be prepared just before use by mixing two fairly benign ingredients, one of them ordinary isopropyl alcohol. America's "binary" poison gas shells, manufactured to deploy sarin, mix the two precursor ingredients on impact, and are safe to handle until then. These shells are now being destroyed under a 1993 international agreement banning such weapons.
Little can be accomplished by legal means alone to assure that poison gas attacks will not recur. Although the 1925 Geneva Protocol and several later international agreements ban the use of chemical weapons, terrorists can readily obtain the materials. Moreover, some of the worst chemical weapons were never excluded by any international agreement.
White phosphorus, for example, is considered to be an incendiary weapon, not a chemical weapon, and under the ambiguous rules of war is acceptable for military use, both for creating smoke screens and for starting fires. But this waxy substance adheres to flesh, and when it is exposed to air, it bursts into flame. The seven allied bombing raids that leveled the German city of Hamburg in July and August 1943 started a firestorm with white phosphorus. Many of the city's phosphorus-smeared residents sought refuge in Hamburg's two lakes, but when they stepped out of the water the phosphorus on their bodies reignited. Some were shot by German troops to end their suffering. Hamburg suffered more than 50,000 killed, many of them victims of white phosphorus.
In the final months of World War II, the firebombing of Tokyo virtually destroyed the city, and another chemical agent, napalm, was the main weapon. Napalm consists of gasoline jellied by the addition of an aluminum-based soap invented at Harvard University. This substance, like white phosphorus, is not classified as a war gas. But one of its main effects is to deplete the air of oxygen, and when napalm is used in a cave or bunker, it often asphyxiates the defenders without burning them.
Some deadly poisons are not considered weapons at all, yet they have been used to kill and terrorize, and may be used again. One is rycin, probably the most lethal of all known chemicals, which is derived from castor beans. Agents of the Soviet K.G.B. impregnated tiny balls from ballpoint pens with rycin to kill several anti-Soviet campaigners, including the Bulgarian defector, Georgi Markov, killed in London in 1978. The little ball that hit him was shot from a K.G.B. spring-loaded umbrella, it was later proved.
Part of the horror associated with sarin, the chemical weapon used this week by the Tokyo terrorists, has to do with its origins as an invention of the Nazi war machine.
But nearly 80 years after it came into use during World War I, many military experts still regard another chemical agent -- mustard gas -- as the most vicious of all weapons. The New York Times reported the first use of mustard gas in battle on Sept. 8, 1917, some two years after less devastating war gases like chlorine and phosgene had first appeared on French battlefields. During one 10-day period, the Germans fired one million artillery shells filled with mustard gas into Armentieres, killing or maiming most of its inhabitants.
Mustard gas, a liquid, burns any flesh it touches, including the lungs and eyes, and unlike sarin, which can be treated with atropine, has no antidote. It is so persistent that even 40 years after World War I, tree stumps in France contaminated with mustard gas still caused casualties when farmers sat on them to rest.
During World War I, only about 600 of the 126,000 Americans killed in action died of mustard gas. But far more were disfigured or disabled by the substance; in the 1930's and 1940's, veterans whose faces were pitted by scars and who spoke in croaking voices through vocal chords seared by "King Mustard" were a familiar sight.
A substantial amount of liquid mustard gas dispersed in a subway or building could cause casualties for years, unless every nook and cranny were scrupulously decontaminated.
Chemical weapons can be traced as far back as 2,500 years; during the Peloponnesian War between Sparta and Athens in the fifth century B.C., burning pitch and sulfur were used to produce suffocating gases. In the 1930's Japan used poison gas against China, and fascist Italy used it against Ethiopia. In the 1960's Egypt used gas in Yemen, and in 1988 Iraq used it against its own Kurds. | <urn:uuid:711a047f-5139-456e-943c-6c2f7bcec436> | 3 | 3.421875 | 0.156726 | en | 0.966594 | http://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/22/world/terror-tokyo-poison-sarin-just-one-many-deadly-gases-terrorists-could-use.html |
WITH winter approaching, and the prospect of higher energy prices a distinct possibility, now is the time, plumbing and heating experts say, for building owners and managers to make sure that the heating systems in their buildings are operating as efficiently as possible.
''My standard advice for every property owner is to take their heating system on a test drive right now instead of waiting for the first cold day of winter,'' said Dan Holohan, a Bethpage, N.Y., consultant and expert on steam heating systems. ''Unfortunately, very few people actually take that advice.''
Mr. Holohan, who maintains a Web site providing advice and information about heating systems (www.heatinghelp.com), stressed the importance of taking the time now -- before the system is needed to actually deliver heat -- to make sure that the boiler or furnace is running as well as it can. And while energy efficiency is important to any homeowner, it is critical in multifamily buildings, in which a number of relatively minor problems can add up to a significant waste of money and energy.
Fredric Goldner, president of Energy Management and Research Associates, an energy consulting company in Brooklyn, said that the first thing that every property owner -- and particularly owners of multifamily dwellings -- should do is to have an annual combustion efficiency test performed on their heating system.
''And now is the time to do it,'' Mr. Goldner said, pointing out that plumbing and heating contractors are much more likely to be available now than they will be next month -- a factor that becomes even more important if repairs are necessary.
The combustion efficiency test is made up of four separate tests, he said, adding that all four tests can typically be completed in one short visit and should cost $150 to $300. The four tests include a measure of the ''stack temperature,'' or the temperature of the combustion gas just after it leaves the boiler or furnace; a measure of the amount of carbon dioxide present in the exhaust gas, which indicates the richness or leanness of the air-fuel mixture; the so-called draft, or the amount of exhaust gas being produced by combustion; and, for oil burners, a smoke test, or, particularly for gas-fueled systems, a test of the amount of carbon monoxide produced by the burning of natural gas.
''By taking those four readings, a professional can determine the efficiency of the heating plant,'' Mr. Goldner said, defining efficiency as basically a measurement of how good the system is at turning fuel into usable heat.''Every system should be at least 80 percent efficient. If you're below 80 percent, your boiler almost certainly needs to be tuned and cleaned.''
In fact, Mr. Goldner said, raising the efficiency of a boiler from 70 percent to 80 percent will result in approximately a 12.5 percent savings on fuel costs. ''And we find many buildings running at 70 percent efficiency,'' he said.
Another thing that can significantly affect the efficiency of the boiler, Mr. Goldner said, is soot that accumulates in the combustion chamber. ''Just one-sixteenth of an inch of soot will reduce combustion efficiency by 4 percent,'' he said. ''And it's not unusual for us to see soot deposits of a quarter of an inch or more.''
Henry Gifford, who owns Gifford Fuel Saving Inc., a Manhattan heating and ventilation design and consulting company, said that building owners who wanted a fairly simple way of determining whether their heating system was functioning properly could invest as little as $100 for a thermometer that could be used to monitor the exhaust stack temperature after the boiler had been tuned and cleaned by an expert.
''The thermometer should be mounted in the exhaust pipe just after the boiler,'' Mr. Gifford said. ''If the temperature rises more than about 50 degrees Fahrenheit above what it was after the tuneup, there's definitely something wrong.''
It also makes sense, he said, for building owners to contact the manufacturer of the heating system and its components for instructions and specifications for the system being used. ''Every burner has certain adjustments that are critical,'' he said. ''And it's unreasonable to expect a boiler mechanic to memorize all the settings for every piece of equipment they are asked to work on.''
Just ensuring that the boiler is operating efficiently, however, is no guarantee that fuel is not being wasted elsewhere. ''Uneven heating in a building wastes energy,'' Mr. Gifford said. ''But the waste is so far away from the boiler that it will not always be obvious to someone working on the system in the basement.''
In fact, he said, one of the most effective ways of determining whether there is uneven heating in a building is to stand outside the building on a cold day and look for open windows.
''What happens in a lot of big buildings is that people in some of the apartments call the superintendent and tell him they're not getting enough heat,'' Mr. Gifford said. ''So the super goes down to the basement and sends up more heat building-wide.''
And while doing that might make the people who were cold a little more comfortable, he said, it will also make the people who were comfortable a little too hot. And when that happens, Mr. Gifford said, people in the hot apartments open their windows and the fuel dollars go sailing out.
In most cases, he said, the reason that some residents have too much heat while others do not have enough has little to do with the amount of heat being produced by the boiler but is instead attributable to an imbalance in the heat distribution system.
Multifamily buildings that are heated by steam, he said, use either a one-pipe or a two-pipe system. With a one-pipe system, Mr. Gifford said, steam generated by the boiler travels through pipes in the building to radiators in individual apartments. A vent on each radiator allows air in the system to escape, making room for steam to enter the radiator, where it then condenses and returns as liquid through the same pipes that delivered it.
With such a system, Mr. Gifford said, apartments that are not getting enough heat can usually be made comfortable by installing vents with larger openings in those apartments or preferably by installing vents with smaller openings in rooms that are getting too hot or by installing master vents at the end points of the supply lines to the colder parts of the building.
Balancing heat in a building with a two-pipe system, on the other hand, is a bit more complicated. With such a system, Mr. Gifford explained, condensate returns to the boiler through a second set of pipes at the outlet of each radiator.
At each outlet, however, there is a what is known as a steam trap, which, when it is working properly, allows air and water to pass into the return lines while keeping steam out of those lines. However, Mr. Gifford said, steam traps often fail, allowing the steam to enter the return lines, where it then prevents the venting of air from radiators in nearby apartments, thereby making it impossible for steam to enter those radiators and heat them as it should.
''And that creates a lot of banging and clanging and uneven heating in the building,'' he said, adding that the only way to rectify that situation was to identify and replace the defective traps or, better yet, to replace all the traps in the building at the same time. That can be an expensive proposition, however, he said, adding that the cost for each radiator would be about $100, including labor.
Drawing (Tom Bloom) | <urn:uuid:8e11f5fa-555e-4224-bec8-94d752180180> | 2 | 1.8125 | 0.041738 | en | 0.965928 | http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/23/realestate/your-home-test-driving-heating-unit-before-frost.html?src=pm |
Federal judges in South Florida are considering a proposal to limit secrecy in litigations, including a ban on secret settlements. Federal judges in South Carolina have proposed similar rules. The Florida study was prompted by the concerns of Judge James Lawrence King of Federal District Court, who recently declined to sign a blanket confidentiality order in an age-discrimination case. ''The founding fathers intended that American courts would no longer conduct 'star chamber' proceedings,'' Judge King wrote. Adam Liptak (NYT) | <urn:uuid:9b53bd7f-6967-4685-9303-732a366eb8ca> | 2 | 1.757813 | 0.039227 | en | 0.95108 | http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/20/us/national-briefing-south-florida-secrecy-in-litigation.html?src=pm |
Lost U-Boat found off in Gulf of Mexico
Jan 1, 2003
The location of a sunken World War II German submarine hasbeen discovered in the Gulf of Mexico. However, it was not found by archeologists, but by an oil industry survey team.
BP and Shell discovered the wreckage of U-166, the only submarine known to have sunk in the Gulf of Mexico during the war, while the companies were surveying a planned underwater pipeline route.
The discovery was made with a one of a kind, unmanned remotely controlled submarine, or autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), operating in waters almost a mile deep. The vessel, Hugin-3000, was developed and is operated by C & C Technologies Inc. of Lafayette, La. The AUV uses sonar and other equipment to provide detailed images of the sea bottom needed to determine optimum pipeline routes.
BP and Shell found U-166 in May 2001 but did not announce the discovery until June 8. Before announcing the find, the companies funded a video investigation using a remotely operated vehicle to capture detailed images of the wreckage, which archeologists will use to document the discovery of the submarine.
U-166 was found in approximately 5,000 feet of water, 45 miles from the mouth of the Mississippi River, near the wreckage of its last victim, the previously located 375-foot passenger/freighter Robert E. Lee. U-166 torpedoed the vessel on July 30, 1942. The tugboat Underwriter and two Navy vessels, PC-566 and SC-519, rescued most of the passengers and crew from Robert E. Lee, but 15 crew members and 10 passengers were killed.
Now that the location of U-166 has been confirmed, the discovery that the sub is lying in a six-foot deep impact crater with 50 feet of its bow blown away from the rest of the submarine is leading historians to rethink the history of the German vessel. Since 1942, a U.S. Coast Guard patrol plane was thought to have sunk U-166 with depth charges two days after and 120 miles away from the Robert E. Lee attack. The evidence now suggests that U-166 was actually sunk by the patrol vessel PC-566, which was escorting Robert E. Lee at the time of the attack. When U-166 torpedoed Robert E. Lee, PC-566 attacked dropping six depth charges, apparently delivering the fatal blow to U-166 and its 52-man crew.
The BP and Shell crew discovered U-166 during survey work associated with the Okeanos Gas Pipeline, a joint project that will transport natural gas to shore from the Na Kika and Crazy Horse ultra-deepwater fields currently under development. BP and Shell notified the Minerals Management Service of the find and elected to re-route the Okeanos pipeline farther away from the site.
BP and Shell are continuing to work with the U.S. and German governments to provide information about U-166.
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In the Mood
Glenn Miller Orchestra
Glenn Miller has been dead since 1944, but someone forgot to tell his group. The legendary jazz trombonist led one of the best-known big bands during the late 1930s/early 1940s thanks to "Moonlight Serenade," "Tuxedo Junction" and "In the Mood," among others. The crash of his flight from the United Kingdom to France ended his wildly successful run, but his estate quickly created a band to tour the country and perform Miller's charted hits. The current American incarnation is led by trombonist Larry O'Brien and attempts to re-create Miller's trademark blend of melody performed by a tenor saxophone and a clarinet while three other saxes harmonize on a lone octave. This swinging style wasn't invented by Miller, only perfected. America went nuts over the band leader's precision arrangements. Still don't get it? Ask your grandparents.
Sat., March 29, 8 p.m., 2008
My Voice Nation Help
Anaheim Concert Tickets | <urn:uuid:d54fc5b7-79cc-4332-b52a-1bc289235ffe> | 2 | 1.578125 | 0.180589 | en | 0.968606 | http://www.ocweekly.com/2008-03-27/calendar/in-the-mood/ |
Subsets and Splits