text:
The hon. member will have four minutes to conclude her remarks following question period.
We will move on now to statements by members, the hon. member for Fort McMurray—Athabasca.
House of Commons Hansard #93 of the 39th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was nations.
An Act to establish the Specific Claims TribunalGovernment Orders
1:55 p.m.
The Acting Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer
The hon. member will have four minutes to conclude her remarks following question period.
We will move on now to statements by members, the hon. member for Fort McMurray—Athabasca.
Birthday GreetingsStatements By Members
1:55 p.m.
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak today about Mrs. Charlotte Mitchell of Fort McMurray, Alberta, who celebrated her 100th birthday on May 2nd, just two weeks ago.
Speaking with Mrs. Mitchell during her birthday party, I was humbled to think of what she had experienced while living in the most progressive century of our time and in the most progressive city of our time.
One hundred years ago today, Fort McMurray was home to only a few hundred people and just beginning its transformation from a Hudson's Bay trading post into an epicentre of prosperity.
Mrs. Mitchell and her family were pioneers of the community, supporting its tremendous growth as oil exploration and production turned my small town into a vibrant city of now over 80,000 people and a pivotal force in the Canadian and global economy.
Charlotte Mitchell has built a legacy to be proud of, so today I say congratulations and happy birthday. We are all so very proud of her.
Scopus AwardStatements By Members
2 p.m.
Anita Neville Liberal Winnipeg South Centre, MB
Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday, May 14 a distinguished citizen of Winnipeg, and indeed of the world, will be honoured by the Winnipeg chapter of Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University. Dr. Frank Plummer will receive the Scopus award given to those individuals who have demonstrated real humanitarian concerns throughout their careers.
A graduate of the University of Manitoba, Dr. Plummer is currently distinguished professor at the University of Manitoba, as well as senior adviser to the Public Health Agency of Canada, among other things.
Dr. Plummer spent 16 years in Kenya researching sexually transmitted diseases and HIV-AIDS. Although the world reviewed HIV-AIDS as a homosexual disease, Dr. Plummer revealed that heterosexual women could also be infected. During his study of 500 Nairobi prostitutes, he found that two-thirds of them had HIV-AIDS. However, he discovered among them a group of women who did not contract AIDS. This discovery suggested that those women had natural immunity to the disease and that a vaccine could be developed.
Dr. Plummer has been recognized worldwide for his groundbreaking work. It is most appropriate that--
Scopus AwardStatements By Members
2 p.m.
The Acting Speaker Conservative Andrew Scheer
The hon. member for Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou.
Gala des OlivierStatements By Members
2 p.m.
Yvon Lévesque Bloc Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, QC
Mr. Speaker, the 10th annual Gala des Olivier, hosted by Martin Petit, was held yesterday. The gala highlights and rewards the outstanding achievements of comedians on stage and television. The gala also promotes the comedy industry, contributes to the industry's development, and showcases the industry's artists, writers, producers and comedians.
Several Quebec comedians received awards at the gala. Martin Matte was honoured four times in the comedy show, writer—with François Avard and Benoît Pelletier—comedy DVD and most popular show of the year categories. Rachid Badouri's debut show was awarded two Olivier awards, and Louis-José Houde was named comedian of the year.
My Bloc Québécois colleagues and I are delighted to congratulate the winners, paragons of Quebec-style humour, all.
HealthStatements By Members
2 p.m.
Tony Martin NDP Sault Ste. Marie, ON
Mr. Speaker, tomorrow I will be in Sault Ste. Marie to hear Sault resident Jonathan DellaVedova speak as the newly elected president of the Canadian Federation of Medical Students. Jonathan will speak on protecting public medicare and why it is a Canadian imperative to defend it.
Jonathan studies at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. He is the first student board representative with Canadian Doctors for Medicare.
His speech is timely. A local crisis continues because of too few beds and doctors. Emergency room physicians are threatening to withdraw services citing unsafe patient conditions.
The answers are clear. The NDP is calling for long term, home care and nurse practitioner programs within public health care. As Canadian Doctors for Medicare and the students say:
A public system is better for everyone because it means health care dollars are spent on patient care rather than private clinic profits, and services are provided in accountable facilities rather than ones that are not nationally regulated.
From Tommy Douglas decades ago to Jonathan DellaVedova in 2008, we vow to protect public medicare.
Team CornwallStatements By Members
2 p.m.
Guy Lauzon Conservative Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry, ON
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to tell the House and all Canadians about an organization I am very proud to belong to. That organization is Team Cornwall.
Team Cornwall was established to spread the good news about Cornwall's positive attributes. Team members, acting as ambassadors, use their own networks to deliver timely information about the community and its economic opportunities.
Today we can be proud of our accomplishments. By working together we have created a sales force of over 340 individuals, including the Prime Minister of Canada, who became an honorary member in August 2006. Team Cornwall members travel across the country informing Canadians of the many advantages of living and doing business in Cornwall and the surrounding area.
I encourage all Canadians looking for a community, where they can work, invest and raise a family, to visit Team Cornwall's most recent initiative online at www.choosecornwall.ca. I want to thank each and every member of Team Cornwall for the outstanding job they are doing promoting the wonderful city of Cornwall.
Pharmaceutical IndustryStatements By Members
2:05 p.m.
Lloyd St. Amand Liberal Brant, ON
Mr. Speaker, Canada's generic pharmaceutical industry is a true success story, wonderfully reflected in the Apotex facility in my riding of Brant. The industry, however, is justifiably concerned about, and surprised by, recently published regulatory amendments.
These changes are contrary to the best interests of consumers, changes which will delay generic competition and will extend monopolies for brand name companies.
Almost all generic drugs sold in Canada are made here in Canada by 11,000 highly skilled people. The government should withdraw proposals which will harm a dynamic industry and will increase prescription drug costs for Canadians.
The message to the government is to do the right thing and withdraw these amendments.
NoradStatements By Members
2:05 p.m.
Laurie Hawn Conservative Edmonton Centre, AB
M. Speaker, I rise today to draw attention to the 50th anniversary of the North American Aerospace Defence Command.
Canada has a long and successful history of security and defence cooperation with our southern neighbours. As one of the longest standing military agreements between Canada and the United States, Norad remains a cornerstone of the Canada-U.S. defence relationship.
Canadians and Americans work together 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to monitor and defend the skies over both countries, including the Arctic. For half a century Norad has evolved to address emerging threats.
In May 2006 this government renewed the Norad agreement and added a maritime warning mission to help ensure the safety of North American maritime approaches and waterways.
To honour this important milestone, the Minister of National Defence will join his American counterpart and members of the armed forces of Canada and the United States for celebrations at Norad headquarters in Colorado Springs. There will also be a military parade and flypast in celebration of Norad's anniversary in Winnipeg on May 30.
I invite all members to honour the vigilance and hard work of the men and women who serve in the defence of North America.
Inter-Parliamentary Union 2010 AssemblyStatements By Members
2:05 p.m.
Christiane Gagnon Bloc Québec, QC
Mr. Speaker, by insisting on reserving the right to refuse participants at the Inter-Parliamentary Union assembly, instead of promising to welcome everyone as required by IPU regulations, the federal government risks compromising Quebec City's chances of hosting the 1,500 parliamentarians expected to attend the event in 2010.
This intransigence could prove very costly for the Quebec City area, when we know that an international convention of this scope brings in economic spinoffs of at least $500 a day for every convention delegate. Losing the chance to host the IPU assembly could cost the Quebec City area some $4.5 million in loss of revenue for such an event.
Given the circumstances, the federal government should reverse its decision and show greater flexibility so the 2010 IPU assembly can be held in Quebec City. Conservative members from the Quebec City area must prove that they are here to serve the interests of their region, the Quebec City region.
HealthStatements By Members
2:05 p.m.
Raymond Simard Liberal Saint Boniface, MB
Mr. Speaker, this past weekend in St. Vital I participated in two extremely important events to raise funds and awareness for two very different but very devastating diseases.
The first was a community barbecue to raise money for Crohn's and colitis. This disease is particularly devastating because it hits at a very young age; mostly in the teens. It affects the digestive system and causes the intestinal tissue to become inflamed, form sores and bleed easily.
The second event was a walk for lupus at St. Vital Park. Lupus is an autoimmune disease where something goes wrong with the immune system so that it makes antibiotics attack the person's own tissues. Women develop lupus up to 10 times more than men and it occurs in women between the ages of 15 and 45.
I would like to congratulate all the wonderful volunteers who got involved to put a dent in these life altering diseases. I would also like to thank Crohn's victims Jason Brown and René DeMoissac for their insight and courageous work. It was also great walking with Kendra Gaede, a lupus victim with remarkable determination.
We can all make a difference and we should all be doing everything in our power to annihilate these crippling diseases.
Bloc QuébécoisStatements By Members
May 12th, 2008 / 2:10 p.m.
Daniel Petit Conservative Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, QC
Mr. Speaker, one year ago today we might have thought that the Bloc leader finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel when he promised to return to the fold in order to "kick the PQ's butt". He was rejected by headquarters and before he could even get to Trois-Rivières he was already back in Ottawa. The Ottawa-Quebec City return trip has never been so quick.
The leader of the Bloc decided to keep collecting his federal pay, and what did the Quebec nation get? Nothing.
For 18 years, Bloc MPs have been doing nothing but talk. They do not present legislative measures that become law. They do not draft any budgets. They do not make any investments. The Bloc struts about Quebec empty handed, simply to create division, with the sole purpose of justifying its presence in Ottawa.
Today, the permanent leader of the Bloc will rise to ask questions on an imaginary scandal, to try to tarnish this government, because the Bloc has no leadership, no consistent policy and no reason to be in Ottawa.
Arthur KroegerStatements By Members
2:10 p.m.
Mauril Bélanger Liberal Ottawa—Vanier, ON
Mr. Speaker, today we mourn the passing of a dedicated public servant and great Canadian. Arthur Kroeger passed away last Friday surrounded by his loved ones.
In 1958, following studies at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, Mr. Kroeger joined the Department of External Affairs, thus beginning a public service career that spanned five decades.
From 1993 until 2002, he served as the Chancellor of Carleton University, which is now home to the Arthur Kroeger College of Public Affairs; a tribute to his enduring efforts to promote the ideals of civic involvement in young Canadians.
Known as the "dean of deputies", he always remained true to his pledge of public service.
In 2006, he wrote Hard Passage: A Mennonite Family's Long Journey from Russia to Canada , a book that helps understand the formidable strength of character that forever inhabited Arthur Kroeger.
Our country has lost an outstanding citizen.
I know all members of this House will join me in offering our sincere condolences to his family and loved ones.
Human RightsStatements By Members
2:10 p.m.
Judy Wasylycia-Leis NDP Winnipeg North, MB
Mr. Speaker, one thing we can agree on in this House is that anti-Semitism must be stopped because it is an attack on all Jews and it is a barometer of hatred against all minorities.
We are united in our opposition to anti-Semitism and we need to be united in our efforts to stop it.
The last thing we need is a Prime Minister who alleges anti-Semitism among members of Parliament. What we really need is leadership, the kind that addresses growing anti-Semitism in Canada, which is up 11% this year.
We need the kind of leadership shown by citizens of Israel, whose pride in their 60th anniversary and confidence in their right to exist as a state does not prevent differences of opinion about their government or the peace process.
We need the kind of leadership that governments used to build from our strength not divide on the basis of any elements that seek to destroy our society.
ChrysotileStatements By Members
2:10 p.m.
André Bellavance Bloc Richmond—Arthabaska, QC
Mr. Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is joining the Chrysotile Institute, the United Steelworkers and Quebec's Mouvement PROChrysotile to denounce the NDP position on banning chrysotile.
This position does not take into account recent studies on the safe use of chrysotile. The NDP does not have the necessary expertise to take the place of the expert committee set up by Health Canada. Union representatives believe that the NDP did not take into account the work of the Chrysotile Institute and the worker's movement to respect the Geneva Convention and promote the safe use of chrysotile. The NDP has simply dismissed the jobs related to this industry. The Bloc Québécois is asking the government to implement the unanimous report of the international trade subcommittee recommending that it adopt a chrysotile policy based on information, promotion and safe use.
That is another example of how only the Bloc Québécois understands and is defending the interests of hundreds of workers in the Asbestos and Thetford Mines regions.
Atlantic CanadaStatements By Members
2:10 p.m.
Michael Savage Liberal Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister and the Minister of National Defence are in Halifax today.
Now those are two guys with a long history and a lot to answer for in Atlantic Canada.
A "culture of defeat" is the way the Prime Minister described Atlantic Canada and Atlantic Canadians.
However, Atlantic Canadians are not being defeated by the Prime Minister. Let us take the member for Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley who stood up to the Prime Minister and showed hm that Atlantic Canadians were not as easily defeated as the Prime Minister would like.
Tracy Parsons, soon to be our Liberal candidate in that riding, would agree. She is yet another former Progressive Conservative who sees nothing progressive about the Conservatives.
The governing Conservatives do not understand Atlantic Canada, as highlighted by the trashing of the Atlantic accord and the frantic cover-up, trying to convince Nova Scotians that this deal was as good as the Atlantic accord.
We want what we had: the Atlantic accord. In fact, when the next election rolls around, the words "culture of defeat" may only apply to Conservative candidates in Atlantic Canada.
Liberal Party of CanadaStatements By Members
2:15 p.m.
Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
Mr. Speaker, recently the member for Ottawa South said that his party's internal debate over biofuels was over and that the Liberals would vote in favour of Bill C-33, but then, on the same day, his colleague from Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca said that the measure should be defeated.
Canadians are mystified about the Liberals' inability to take a stand on the renewable fuels industry.
Our Conservative Party is the only party that stands for renewable fuels, even though during the last campaign everyone was for it.
Biofuels are good for farmers, good for the rural economy, good for the environment and good for Canadians. When people, such as farmers, truckers, and ordinary Canadians, are struggling with high fuel costs, the Liberals are only interested in taxing fuel another 50¢ or 60¢ a litre.
High taxes, extravagant spending and pulling its support for agriculture is the culture and the opposition's strategy but it is certainly not what Conservatives believe in.
Foreign AffairsOral Questions
2:15 p.m.
Michael Ignatieff Liberal Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON
Mr. Speaker, under previous governments, Canada invented and promoted the doctrine of the responsibility to protect at the United Nations. That doctrine holds that when a country is unable or unwilling to protect its own people, other countries have a responsibility to step in.
I have a simple question for the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Does the government still support the doctrine of the responsibility to protect and does it believe that it commits Canada to action on Burma?
Foreign AffairsOral Questions
2:15 p.m.
York—Simcoe Ontario
Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform
Mr. Speaker, Canada has been taking a leadership role on Burma, both before the recent disaster and subsequent to the recent disaster.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs has been in touch with the United Nations Security Council to impress upon it the need for collective action by the United Nations Security Council to ensure there is access for aid workers with aid from around the world who are seeking to get into Burma to help those people who are very much in need. Canada has taken a leadership role and will continue to do so.
Foreign AffairsOral Questions
2:15 p.m.
Michael Ignatieff Liberal Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON
Mr. Speaker, I did not get an answer to my question. The question was in two parts. The question about Burma had some kind of answer but I heard no answer on the question of principle, which is whether the government continues to support the crucial principle of the responsibility to protect, which would commit Canada to specific action in Burma.
Does the government support the responsibility to protect?
Foreign AffairsOral Questions
2:15 p.m.
York—Simcoe Ontario
Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform
Mr. Speaker, the government has committed to specific action with regard to Burma in the past. We committed to specific action in the form of sanctions, the toughest sanctions in the world, on a regime that has oppressed its people and kept their freedom from them.
With regard to the current disaster, we have committed to specific actions in the form of $2 million worth of aid. DART, the disaster assistance response team, is available to enter the country. We are working together with our allies, as is the appropriate way with the United Nations and other concerned countries, to gain the access that is urgent to help out the Burmese people in this great time of need.
Foreign AffairsOral Questions
2:15 p.m.
Michael Ignatieff Liberal Etobicoke—Lakeshore, ON
Mr. Speaker, I will take that as a no to my question of whether the government supports the responsibility to protect.
But in Burma, the military regime continues to deny entry to humanitarian experts and to hijack supplies meant for the victims. Tyranny is winning out over compassion. That is unacceptable. When a country refuses to help its own people, it is the responsibility of other countries to take action.
What is the minister doing with the UN or anyone else to demonstrate this leadership they have been talking about and to require Burma to open its borders to humanitarian aid?
Foreign AffairsOral Questions
2:20 p.m.
York—Simcoe Ontario
Peter Van Loan ConservativeLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister for Democratic Reform
Mr. Speaker, we are still urging the Burmese government to stop playing games and to let international aid workers into the country during this time.
We have committed up to $2 million in humanitarian aid. But the regime must allow the NGOs to enter the country. It must stop delaying the issuing of entry visas for international aid workers. We are asking it to allow entry to the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination team, which is waiting in Bangkok.
The EconomyOral Questions
2:20 p.m.
Martha Hall Findlay Liberal Willowdale, ON
Mr. Speaker, in Listowel, 500 jobs lost; in Ottawa, 1,100 jobs lost; and in Oshawa, 900 jobs lost. This morning the finance minister was in Toronto misleading Canadians again and claiming that the government has done such a great job with the economy.
Unfortunately, also this morning, General Motors announced the loss of another 1,400 jobs in Windsor.
Instead of pretending that the economy is rosy, when will the government wake up and smell the coffee and actually start doing something?


text:
MakaiOcean needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 148 designs submitted by 45 freelance designers.
"Makai Voyager", or "Voyager" for short
Makai (http://www.makai.com) has developed a new software product called "Makai Voyager" with many similarities to Google Earth. Users can freely fly to any point on the earth, look at imagery on the terrain, and load models of buildings/structures. Like Google Earth, the software runs on multiple platforms (i.e., PC, Mac, Linux).
The differentiating aspect of Makai Voyager is that it incorporates visualization and graphics capabilities for looking at scientific data. For example, users can look at weather patterns, atmospheric events like hurricanes, and ocean temperature or water current data. The software renders data in true 3D (latitude, longitude, and altitude space around Earth) using scientific visualization algorithms, and incorporates time as a dimension within the environment (making the software "4D"). For example, you can load a hurricane data set spanning several days and play the hurricane data like a movie to watch how the cloud cover and eye of the hurricane changes over time. You can even fly though the hurricane and take slices through the hurricane to analyze the data at a particular place and time. Hurricanes are only one example of volumetric data. We also do quite a bit of work for the Navy who uses volumetric ocean data to examine ocean currents, salinity, temperature, and more to see how these variables change in depth and over time. More information concerning the product itself can be found here (http://www.makai.com/v-index.htm).
The design will be used on our web site, brochures and as icons for Windows, Mac and Linux. If possible, vector-based graphics would be best. I have attached our current logo/icon which we intend on replacing with the new logo. Feel free to call Michael at 808-259-8871, Hawaii time for more info.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
About Translational Research
To improve human health, scientific discoveries must be translated into practical applications. Such discoveries typically begin at "the bench" with basic research -- in which scientists study disease at a molecular or cellular level -- then progress to the clinical level, or the patient's "bedside".
Scientists are increasingly aware that this bench-to-bedside approach to translational research is really a two-way street. Basic scientists provide clinicians with new tools for use in patients and for assessment of their impact, and clinical researchers make novel observations about the nature and progression of disease that often stimulate basic investigations.
Translational research has proven to be a powerful process that drives the clinical research engine. However, a stronger research infrastructure could strengthen and accelerate this critical part of the clinical research enterprise. The NIH Roadmap attempts to catalyze translational research.
Translational research includes two areas of translation. One is the process of applying discoveries generated during research in the laboratory, and in preclinical studies, to the development of trials and studies in humans. The second area of translation concerns research aimed at enhancing the adoption of best practices in the community.
This translation may seem like an automatic part of research and medical practice, but in reality it is a major stumbling block in science, medicine, and public health. This is partly due to the compartmentalization of research training. Basic scientists are not generally trained to think of the clinical application of their work, clinicians are often not taught to formulate research studies based on clinical observations, and public health scientists may not have a strong background in basic or clinical research (but have the knowledge of the community the other two groups may lack). These three groups have long collaborated, but as our knowledge grows and research becomes more complicated, it has become apparent that new ways of approaching basic health problems are needed for seamless translation.
The first area of translation, from laboratory findings to clinical practice (and visa versa.from clinical observations back to the laboratory for further testing) is often called "bench to bedside and back" or T1 translation. The aim is to change paradigms so that biomedical investigators and clinicians automatically include T1 translation in their day-to-day research and patient care activities.
The second area of translation, to the community and back, is called T2 translation. T2 translation has long been the purview of public health scientists, who study and facilitate the application of research findings to the community.
View more news...
View more seminars & events...


text:
Candleonwater wrote:Most of this thread goes right over my head. We live in Virginia, and my daughter is begging me to find ways for her to watch more games... her first thought was to just take her to pittsburgh... that gets quite expensive! We have comcast ( which sux!). What is my best LEGAL way to watch the most games? I don't have a problem listening through the app, but "radio" doesn't keep her attention.
I live in Virginia as well and I used NHL Center Ice the last 2 years through Verizon FiOS. It is great because you get most games and since I have the standard cable package I got VS/NBCSN and NBC for nationally broadcast games. The only issue I had is when the NHL Network would broadcast the Pens (which seemed to be every 3rd game in the shortened season) and I couldn't get it.
This year, I just cancelled NHL Center Ice yesterday and am signing up for NHL Gamecenter. It's a little cheaper and it seems I'll be able to get the same service (all games minus ones on NHL Network) plus I have the versatility of watching it on the TV through my Xbox or on my laptop if it is Friday night and the wife wants to watch those stupid wedding/bride shows on TLC. I was also enticed by the ability to watch games after they've happened so I don't have to use up space on the DVR.


text:
By Phil Collin
email@example.com @philcollin1 on Twitter
CHIVAS USA vs. VANCOUVER
Kickoff: 7 p.m. today, BC Place, Vancouver
Radio: KWKU 1220
Update: Three consecutive wins by a 1-0 score, with all three goals scored by Erick "Cubo" Torres, have Chivas (5-7-5) brimming with confidence for the first time this season. "This is a great little boost for us midseason," defender and captain Carlos Bocanegra said. "I don't know the exact standings, but it got us out of the relegation zone, so to speak." … Chivas will lose a bit of depth at midfield when Marky Delgado reports to duty next week with the U.S. under-20 team. … Chivas tied Vancouver 1-1 on March 16 at StubHub Center. Torres, naturally, scored the goal for the Goats and has 12 of the team's 17 goals. … With three consecutive shutouts, Chivas appears to have settled on a back line of Bocanegra and Bobby Burling at central defense with Donny Toia and Tony Lochhead on the wings. … Vancouver (6-3-7) holds the fifth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference standings of MLS. Chivas is five points behind the Whitecaps.


text:
Digital First Media friends and other journalists, members of the community and fans of journalism are invited to take part in a Twitter chat Wednesday at noon, Eastern Time, to talk about all things journalism.
Today we're talking about what can newsrooms and users! do to combat the spread of fake and misleading news in your communities. There are lots of ~takes~ about the rise and spread and who's to blame and woe is us, but what concrete things can journalists and news organizations do when these pests appear? Bring your ideas, tools, and the Talk Such As That Is Real.
If you want to be in the post chat archive, post a comment in the container or a tweet with the hashtag "#dfmchat" so it can automatically appear below.


text:
Really Bad Idea: Make ISPs Liable For Cybercrime Efforts
from the oh-come-on dept
Schachtman has numerous caveats and is pretty specific in his plan that it only apply to a specific list put out by a trusted independent third party, that the methodology for being on the list is clear and that an appeals process also be explicit. On top of that, he says that it should be limited to "universally recognized crimes, like theft, fraud, and criminal trespass" and is clear in saying that it "wouldn't work for politically inflammatory speech or copyright infringement; they're too open to abuse and overly broad interpretation."
Also, in reading the report, it's clear that this isn't just something he came up with overnight, or some random blogger or reporter dashing off a column on some fragment of a thought they had an hour before deadline. He's put a lot of thought and research into this. But I still think the idea is dreadful and shortsighted. It wouldn't solve the problem it seeks to deal with, at all, and (even worse) it would open up all sorts of collateral damage or unintended consequences.
First off, it wouldn't solve the problem it's trying to solve. We've seen this time and time again with attempts to shut down any kind of "rogue" behavior online by going after intermediaries. The bad players just figure out some other place to go, and they often go further underground in ways that makes it tougher to find or track them and their activities. Even Schachtman admits that many would likely jump to ISPs elsewhere. So, if it's not actually stopping the behavior, then what's the value?
Second, while Schachtman is clear that this shouldn't be used for those other things, chipping away at third party liability protections in any arena is quite dangerous, because it's not hard to see lobbyists using that to push for such rules to be expanded to cover their pet area. Anyone who thinks that the RIAA and MPAA wouldn't pounce on this and work hard to add copyright infringement to the list simply hasn't been paying attention. What Schachtman describes in terms of the ability to sue an ISP for third party actions has been the legacy entertainment industry's wet dream for over a decade. Anyone who thinks that politicians would distinguish the types of crimes that Schachtman focuses on from garden variety claims of copyright infringement is living in a dream world.
And, honestly, I'm still at a loss as to why this is actually needed. It seems like there remain much more effective ways to deal with issues like this that don't involve giving up basic concepts of properly applying liability to the actual party responsible. The first is actually targeting those responsible for the crimes. If they're using known ISPs, then it seems like there is a record trail that can be traced back to go after those actually breaking the law to try to put them out of business. Second, if the concern (as it appears) is that some US ISPs are doing this and that's a shame, then deal with that publicly, by more publicly shaming ISPs who are popular among criminals. Use public pressure to get them to (a) either help law enforcement or (b) to enforce reasonable terms of service. Trying to make them liable as a third party will make life difficult for them, but not the actual scammers.


text: Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums :: View topic - Travel Taiwan Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!" FAQ Search Memberlist Usergroups Register Profile Log in to check your private messages Log in Travel Taiwan Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Travel View previous topic :: View next topic Author Message Lala changJoined: 05 Oct 2010Posts: 3 Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2010 10:16 pm Post subject: Travel Taiwan Taiwan is known for its towering mountains, and is reputable as a "Mountainous Island". The island is spotted with numerous mountains over 3,000 meters. It is also home to the Northeast Asia's tallest mountain, Yushan, which is nearly 4,000 meter in height. Besides mountains, beautiful coastal scenes are also part of Taiwan's great natural asset Wen-Rung, Chang Tainai, Taiwan Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Travel All times are GMT - 8 Hours Page 1 of 1 Jump to: Select a forum Student Forums----------------ComputersCurrent NewsCultureEnglish SchoolsFamilyFilm and CinemaFoodHealth and FitnessHelp CenterHobbiesHolidaysLearning EnglishLiteratureMaking FriendsMusicOpinionsPetsScienceSportsThe Strange and MysteriousTOEFL and Other English ExamsTravel You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum Dave's ESL Cafe is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling. Banner Advertising | Bookstore / Alta Books | FAQs | Articles | Interview with Dave Copyright © 2018 Dave's ESL Cafe | All Rights Reserved | Contact Dave's ESL Cafe | Site Map Teachers College, Columbia University: Train to Teach English Here or Abroad Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group


text:
Even the alumni are unhappy with what the Mets did over the winter. Darryl Strawberry, speaking at the 30th Annual Thurman Munson Awards dinner last winter, wasn't pleased with GM Omar Minaya's work.
"I'll put it like this: It could've been better," Strawberry said. "You could've put a couple more pieces into that puzzle for them. I know they signed Jason Bay, but the big loss was the (Carlos) Beltran (injury) situation."
The Mets, believing they'll get Beltran back sooner than later once the season starts, just used patching.
Strawberry also said the Mets needed more pitching. Minaya did nothing to upgrade their starting rotation. There's little, if any, quality left on the pitching market. Kind of like the last scraps at a buffet table.


text:
Welcome to the Alvin & Company, Inc. wholesale website.
From here, feel free to browse our entire range of products.
Please note that Alvin sells only to retailers and does not sell direct to consumers or designers.
In addition to the many brands that we distribute, Alvin also has numerous exclusive brands that we manufacture.
Alvin & Company is a manufacturer and wholesale distributor committed to meeting our retail customers' high expectations for service and product selection. We serve today's needs - and tomorrow's - for graphic arts, drafting and fine arts products. Since 1950, Alvin has been distributing products to service retailer needs for drafting supplies and drawing equipment, fine art materials, hobby and craft supplies, office and stationary products , and drawing room and studio furniture.


text:
KANSAS CITY (AP) - A Roman Catholic priest in Kansas City pleaded guilty Thursday to producing child pornography in a federal case that also led to charges against the diocese bishop for failing to report suspected child abuse.
The Rev. Shawn Ratigan, 46, had been scheduled for trial later this month. He was charged with child pornography in May 2011 in Clay County after police received a flash drive from the priest's computer that contained hundreds of images of children, most of them clothed, with the focus on their crotch areas.
Prosecutors alleged he photographed girls, sometimes under their skirts, in and around churches where he had worked in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.
Under terms of the plea deal, Ratigan pleaded guilty to four counts of producing child pornography and one count of attempting to produce child porn. Eight other counts against Ratigan were dismissed, but sentencing guidelines suggest he'll serve a minimum of 15 years in prison.
The case opened old wounds for the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, which in 2008 agreed to pay 47 clergy abuse victims a total of $10 million and promised to train its priests about sexual abuse awareness and to report any suspicions that children were being placed in danger.
The case also led to misdemeanor criminal charges against the diocese and Bishop Robert Finn - the highest-ranking Catholic official in the U.S. to be charged with shielding an abusive priest - for failing to report suspected child abuse to the state. Both have pleaded not guilty and are scheduled to go to trial in September.
Ratigan was an acting priest whose behavior was reported to diocese officials in May 2010, seven months before hundreds of disturbing images were found on his laptop and a full year before church officials reported him to police.
Instead of reporting Ratigan to the state Division of Family Services, as required under Missouri law, Finn sent the priest out of state for a psychological examination then ordered him to stay at the Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Eucharist, a facility in Independence, where he wouldn't be around children and could say Mass for the sisters.
Finn also ordered Ratigan to avoid contact with children. Later, after the diocese received reports Ratigan had attended a St. Patrick's Day parade and a child's birthday party at the invitation of the child's parents, Finn ordered police be given copies of the photos recovered from Ratigan's laptop.
After Ratigan was charged with child pornography, Finn apologized for how he had handled the situation.


text:
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Mardi Gras!
15 comments:
- Eric and Flynn said...
Happy Mardi Gras. We are glad your mum is feeling better.
- February 21, 2012 at 5:26 PM
- Brian said...
Well you dook darn fancy handsome Herman!
- February 21, 2012 at 5:48 PM
- FURKIDSMOM said...
Happy Mardi Gras!!! Why do Moms give us good stuff and then take it away as soon as we start having fun?
The Florida Furkids
- February 21, 2012 at 7:01 PM
- Tillie and Georgia said...
Happy Mardi Gras herman!!!
Those beads will get you in the spirit and that is to have fun !!!!
We think you've got it!!!
Purrs Tillie and Georgia,
Tiger, Treasure and JJ
- February 21, 2012 at 7:01 PM
- meowmeowmans said...
We think you look great in your beads, Herman. And we're glad your mom feels better!
Happy Mardi Gras, dear friends!
- February 21, 2012 at 7:29 PM
- The Island Cats said...
Happy Mardi Gras, Herman. Our mom made us wear beads today too. We find them to be fun to play with!
- February 21, 2012 at 7:54 PM
- Sparkle the Designer Cat said...
I am lucky my human was too busy to drag out her beads to put on me!!
- February 21, 2012 at 9:45 PM
- Andrea and the Celestial Kitties said...
Nice beads. If you really dont like them, then you can toss them at the girl kitties!
- February 21, 2012 at 9:47 PM
- Clooney said...
Herman, I'z so happy to see that you followed the advice on how to end up with beads! Good going buddy and Happy Mardi Gras!
- February 22, 2012 at 12:12 AM
- William said...
Beads are OK for Mardi Gras, Herman. My mom used to put them on me every Fat Tuesday...I think this year they were "lost" in the move.
- February 22, 2012 at 7:29 AM
- Mark's Mews (Ayla, Iza, and Marley) said...
We are pretty sure it is OK fer mancats ta wear beads at Mardi Gras, Herman! You just toss them to pretty girlcats...
- February 22, 2012 at 10:28 AM
- Admiral Hestorb said...
I hope you had a happy Mardi Gras Herman.
Mom was over on Admiral's blog posting a picture but this is Katie speaking. Hope to see you one day. xoxoxox
- February 22, 2012 at 7:37 PM
- Shaggy, Scooby and Scout said...
We missed the celebration of course. You look fabulous with the beads! We had some purple ones last fall and they were fun to bat across the floor. Moved like snakes!
- February 23, 2012 at 8:31 AM
- Katie and Glogirly said...
Don't worry about the beads infringing on your mancatliness. ; ) Glad mom is better. But YOU better look out!!!
; ) Katie
- February 23, 2012 at 9:48 PM
- AttieCattie said...
oh my, you did not has to FLASH anybuddy did you?!
- February 25, 2012 at 7:39 PM


text:
Cordelia P. "Cordy" Gilbert, a homemaker and flower arranger, died Nov. 24 of complications from Alzheimer's disease at Towson's Edenwald retirement community.
She was 91.
A daughter of farmers, Cordelia Phillips was born and raised in Laurel, Del., where she graduated in 1939 from Laurel High School.
She attended the University of Delaware for a year and was a graduate of Goldey Business College in Wilmington.
Mrs. Gilbert worked during the early 1940s at the DuPont Co. in Wilmington as a secretary.
In 1946, she married Charles Gordon Gilbert Sr., and the couple lived on Blenheim Road in Rodgers Forge. They later moved to a 1746 farmhouse on Ridge Road in Baltimore County.
Mr. Gilbert, a real estate appraiser, died in 2007.
Mrs. Gilbert was an accomplished flower arranger who earned many blue ribbons for her arrangements. She liked playing bridge and was an Orioles, Baltimore Colts and Ravens fan.
She was a member of the Johns Hopkins Club and the Baltimore County Club.
Mrs. Gilbert was living in the Woodbrook neighborhood of Baltimore County when she moved to Edenwald in 1999.
She had been a lifelong member of Grace United Methodist Church, where she had served on the Altar Guild and had headed Circle Ten.
Services will be held at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at her church, 5407 N. Charles St.
Surviving are two sons, Charles C. Gilbert Jr. of Guilford and Stephen P.W. Gilbert of Woodbrook; two daughters, Caroline G. Moore of Avalon, Baltimore County, and Phyllis G. Smith of Columbus, Ohio; and nine grandchildren.


text:
Sports Birthdays for November 24 — Oscar Robertson and More
Here are some of the people in the sports world celebrating birthdays on November 24:
Oscar Robertson
Age: 74
Profession: Retired NBA Player
Best Known For: A 12-time All-Star guard nicknamed 'The Big O,' Oscar Robertson played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks from 1960 to 1974. He is the only player in NBA history to average a triple-double for an entire season (1961-62). Robertson was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1961. He was a member of the Bucks' team that won the NBA title in 1971. Robertson played on the U.S. men's national team that won the gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1980. An antitrust suit filed on his behalf by the NBA Players Association helped pave the way for free agency in basketball.
Steve Yeager
Age: 64
Profession: Retired MLB Player
Best Known For: An excellent defensive catcher, Steve Yeager played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Seattle Mariners from 1972 to 1986. While with the Dodgers in 1981, Yeager shared the Most Valuable Player Award of the World Series with teammates Ron Cey and Pedro Guerrero. In 1976, Yeager was injured when a broken bat hit him in the throat in the on-deck circle. He became the first catcher to wear a throat protector.
Cal Eldred
Age: 45
Profession: Retired MLB Player
Best Known For: Cal Eldred was a starting pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals from 1991 to 2005.
Keith Primeau
Age: 41
Profession: Retired NHL Player
Best Known For: A two-time All-Star center, Keith Primeau played for the Detroit Red Wings, Hartford Whalers, Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers during his career from 1990 to 2006. While playing with the Flyers in 2000, Primeau scored the game-winning goal in the five-overtime, Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the longest game in modern NHL playoff history.
Ryan Fitzpatrick
Age: 30
Profession: NFL Player
Best Known For: Ryan Fitzpatrick is the quarterback of the Buffalo Bills. He has played with the St. Louis Rams, Cincinnati Bengals and Bills since entering the NFL in 2005. Fitzpatrick played college football at Harvard, where he was the Ivy League MVP in 2004.


text:
And the Babe of the Week is…Ashley Emma!
Why does Ashley look so relaxed? Well folks, that's the face of a champion.
Ashley swept the competition snagging nearly 30% of the vote from the 6 other unreal babes (who are worth a second look, by the way). She now moves on to battle for May's Babe of the Month. Check out these pics to find decide if she's got your vote:
Here's the deal: At the end of the week, each Babe of the Day will compete for your votes and the winner will become Babe of the Week. Each week's winner will then face off to become Babe of the Month, and those winners will then duke it out for – you guessed it – the Babe of the Year title. Only those lucky ladies will be inducted into GuySpeed's Hall of Fame, an honor reserved for the hottest of babes.


text:
Illegal immigrant identities pose challenge for large Arizona border morgue
TUCSON, Ariz. – The body of Ildefonso Martinez arrived on a Friday night last April as John Doe, Case No. 12-01000. He wore black Nike shoes, a Perry Ellis belt, jeans with a 34-inch waist, a Casio watch.
For medical examiners at the Pima County morgue, his was an unusual case. Not in how he died — making the same arduous journey that has claimed thousands of illegal immigrants — but rather because he was identified so quickly.
The death of migrants crossing the border has long been a tragic consequence of illegal immigration and, many say, the increase in U.S. border enforcement. For some, the problem is a powerful motivator in pushing Congress to act this year on immigration reform. But critics say proposals offered so far call for more enforcement with few specifics on how to save lives.
"The language coming out is alarmingly more of the same," said Kat Rodriguez of Coalicion de Derechos Humanos in Tucson, who gathers information on missing migrants from family and friends to give to medical examiners trying to identify the dead.
Thousands more Border Patrol agents, hundreds of miles of fencing, and cameras, sensors and aircraft have made it more difficult to enter the U.S. illegally, prompting smugglers to guide migrants to remote deserts. People walk up to a week in debilitating heat, often with enough bottled water and canned tuna to last only days.
While illegal crossings have dropped dramatically in past years, hundreds of bodies are still found annually on the border. Border agents conduct more than 1,000 rescues each year, and humanitarian groups have placed water stations along the boundary in hope of helping.
In the last 15 years, at least 5,513 migrants have been found dead along the 1,954-mile border with Mexico, including 463 in fiscal year 2012, the Border Patrol reports.
The Tucson sector — which since 2001 has accounted for more migrant deaths than any other Border Patrol sector — located 177 bodies in the last fiscal year. Texas' Rio Grande Valley saw the greatest jump in bodies found: 150 last year compared to 66 in 2011.
In that state, migrants cross the Rio Grande, catch a ride north and then hike for days on vast ranches in Brooks County to avoid a highway checkpoint. The county has no medical examiner and does not test DNA of deceased migrants, who are buried in unnamed graves at a cemetery in the town of Falfurrias.
The situation is similar to what Pima County authorities faced when Arizona became the busiest corridor for illegal crossings more than a decade ago.
"We had no idea this storm was on the horizon," said Bruce Anderson, a forensic anthropologist in Tucson.
At the Pima County Forensic Science Center on The University of Arizona Medical Center campus, file cabinets hold dossiers on more than 700 unidentified corpses discovered since the late 1990s. Many bodies were too decomposed to identify. Others carried false identification or no identification.
Coolers for 262 corpses and refrigerated trucks on call with room for another 45 give the nation's 30th-largest city one of the country's largest morgues.
"Nobody has this problem. Nobody," said Dr. Gregory Hess, Pima County medical examiner. His office rules on more than 2,000 deaths a year by murder, suicide and other causes, but migrants pose the biggest challenge because they so often cannot be identified.
Since 2001, the office has examined the bodies of 2,067 border crossers, the vast majority of them Mexican men. Men like Ildefonso Martinez.
Martinez, 39, was born and raised in a farming village in the central Mexican state of San Luis Potosi. After paying a smuggler some $200 to get him across the border, he settled in the San Diego area in the early 1990s and worked whatever odd jobs he could find.
Then last March, he agreed to watch the cash register at a friend's convenience store. A sheriff's deputy who required a signature on a regulatory notice turned suspicious when Martinez produced a Mexican consular identification card. The deputy called the Border Patrol, and Martinez was deported.
Left behind in California were his wife, Juana Garcia, and five children and stepchildren. Desperate to return to them, Martinez tried crossing three times in the mountains east of San Diego but was caught.
Then he decided to try his luck in Arizona. "It will be one night and one day, and we'll be there," Martinez told another crosser, Isaac Jimenez, whom he convinced to come with him.
Jimenez would later share with The Associated Press what happened during the two men's journey north.
At 7 p.m. on Friday, April 20, he said, they crossed into the U.S. with 19 others at Lukeville, a border town 150 miles south of Phoenix. For 10 hours the group traipsed through the desert before resting in a cave. They had resumed their trek under a blazing sun for four more hours when Martinez collapsed.
"'I'm too young to die,'" Jimenez remembered him saying.
"Then he said he didn't know who I was. He began to go crazy, to lose his memory," Jimenez told the AP.
The smuggler insisted the group abandon Martinez, but Jimenez said he stayed, rubbing alcohol on his friend's hot, swollen body and starting a small fire to draw attention. About two hours later, when Jimenez left in search of cellphone coverage, Martinez's eyeballs were rolling and he had stopped talking.
What happened next is unclear. Jimenez said he dialed 911 after about three hours of walking and insists the Border Patrol agents who drove him back to Mexico assured him they would find his friend. The Border Patrol said in a statement that agents arrested Jimenez but that it had no record of him pleading on behalf of Martinez.
Five days later, after frantic phone calls from Martinez's stepdaughter to U.S. and Mexican officials, Border Patrol agents met Jimenez at the Lukeville border crossing and he quickly led them to the body. Birds circled above.
At the Pima County Forensic Science Center, the cause of death was listed as probable hyperthermia. Typically, investigators measure bones and examine teeth to determine gender, date of death, age and other characteristics. If the skin is dried up, they may soak a hand in fluid called sodium hydroxide, rehydrating it to get fingerprints.
Relatives searching for missing loved ones are pressed for details. Any chipped or gold teeth? Tattoos or scars? Broken bones?
"It's like a puzzle," said Robin Reineke, a cultural anthropology graduate student at The University of Arizona who interviews families and feels comforted when her work helps ease their anguish. "I've talked with some of these families for five years. They've been waiting for that long for an answer."
One in three migrant corpses remains unidentified, forcing investigators to send bone or blood samples out for DNA testing. Some bodies stay in coolers for more than a year.
Until the mid-2000s, unidentified remains were buried in Tucson. Now they are cremated to save money. Lockers at the center store the keepsakes of those who go unclaimed: a digital music player, $20 bills, paper with scribbled phone numbers.
With Martinez, investigators had a lot to go on: The personal belongings his family eventually would identify, including a business card for his dentist back in California. Examiners were able to obtain his dental records and make a positive match.
The Mexican government will pay to bring corpses home, but Martinez's family scraped together $16,000 to bury him near their San Diego apartment, the living room walls lined with portraits of his mustachioed face.
"Here we go see him every weekend," said stepdaughter Gladys Dominguez.
Juana, 43, speaks warmly of Jimenez for attempting to save her husband's life. He settled in Fresno, Calif., after sneaking back across the border, and said he wanted the widow to know her husband's last words.
"He did all that he could," she said. Now she hopes that the U.S. government finds a way to do more to prevent such deaths.
"People like my husband need immigration reform," she said. "There are lots of people like him."
Martinez was buried last May, on Gladys' 19th birthday. The gravestone bears a photo of him with Juana at their 2010 wedding and reads, "Juntos Por Siempre." Together Forever.


text:
|2012-10-04, 21:35
|Link #101
Knight Errant
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Age: 30
And even if you can hear a difference, it's nigh impossible to pinpoint which is which, or which is better.
Of course, I wouldn't ever go so far as to say that you can't hear the difference at bitrates below 196kbps. At 48, you're committing a sin against sound.
|2012-10-04, 21:36
|Link #102
Join Date: Sep 2012
That is to say, when you listen to the AIFF, you can hear all the imperfections in the recording. If these imperfections are problematic then the MP3 will sound better.
|2012-10-04, 21:57
|Link #103
Knight Errant
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Age: 30
An important thing to note is not necessarily if they sound different, but if you can pick out which one is which?
I often can hear small differences between my MP3s and the original recording, but I can't tell which is the compressed file, because at high bitrates the differences aren't very consistent. It's a tossup as to which sounds better or worse.
|2012-10-04, 22:04
|Link #104
Join Date: Sep 2012
I think that if you were listening to your own recordings that you mixed yourself it would be very easy to tell the difference and to also know which was which.
But you are right that it is very hard to do with other people's recordings. That's why I never put my AIFF's on the web because 95% of people won't be able to tell the difference and I could host 35 MP3s in the same space as one AIFF.
|2012-10-05, 03:03
|Link #105
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Unspecified
Man Gets Suspended Sentence for Uploading Case Closed via Share Program
|2012-10-05, 11:32
|Link #106
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Tennessee
Age: 31
They considered giving a guy a year and a half in prison for uploading a single volume from a manga? Oh, for fuck's sake... that is absolutely, inexcusably, if-you-disagree-with-me-you're-crazy-and-take-this-shit-way-too-seriously ridiculous.
(Unless the prison sentence was for uploading 1,800 volumes, which makes more sense, but the opening line makes it sound as though this was for Detective Conan volume 74 alone...)
|2012-10-05, 13:54
|Link #107
Deadpan Snarker
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: The Neverlands
Age: 41
The trouble is that anime has the value of bubblegum
(along with anything in the media or software industry)
you chew on it as long as it tastes good, then spit it out
The whole problem is justifying $30 on a pack of bubblegum
Not the people buying, but the people selling
There has been such a surge in media production that it's more abundant than wheat or drinkwater
especially with the loss of 'tangible product' making copies as if they were reprinting money untill it's monetary value is the price of the paper its printed on
(or in this case: the cost of having a internet connection)
There is more anime released than there are waking hours in a year
Together with the fact that supply exceeds demand at an unthinkable scale for the 'product' itself
but ultimately it doesn't reflect the price
Then there is the story around the highest cost for producing an anime
Which oddly are not the productioncosts, but the broadcasting
(which not apply to the 'homevideo market')
and that works like this
Pay to get Anime aired - attracts viewers - attracts advertisements - attracts money - profit
Now if an anime doesn't attract enough viewers
-With the abundance at the rate its poured out means trying to get as much flies attracted to a very small piece of pie
(a slowly becoming a very unimaginitive piece I might add, and they're wondering why quantity doesn't attract enough fans)-
It won't pay its investments back
it might be possible to recuperate some money in apparel, or the homevideo release
But here, they're pricing things at such a price that a lot can't afford EVERYTHING that is released, and even toning down to one thing is an expensive hobby
(hurrah for complaining the market isn't growing!)
Injury to insult: For something seen for FREE 2 months ago
More insult: an anime often is an advertisement that was made to sell toys, posters etc. so they're trying to make money on the promotion as well
So, now after they killed any hope of a healthy industry in Japan, it piecemeal starts reaching our parts of the world
...months too late
Instead of trying to approach fans here fast through PPV internet broadcasting (slowly coming up, "Welcome to the digital age mediaproducers, we already knew about your new show a year ago!"),
they hastle with distributors, louzy-to-nonexistant-promotion, narrowminded networks
and the flooding of fansubs because they couldn't be arsed to try and outrun the internet translators
I'm not trying to make a point here, but I'm willing to bet there are a few things in there that may be very good reflection of the current situation onf anime (and much of it's media kin)
|2012-10-05, 17:14
|Link #108
Join Date: Dec 2003
Age: 36
Affording "everything" that is released for all the anime that someone sees is not really the intention of the Japanese market (and is actually a funny notion introduced by Overseas licensors). There are different products at different price points aimed to capture different parts of the market. On the low-end of the market, there are books, magazines, CDs, and various character goods/toys. In the middle-tier you have games, figures, and more expensive character goods. And then, at the top-tier, you have the Blu-Ray/DVD releases. Most of the viewership is not expected to purchase the Blu-Rays/DVDs because they've already seen it, and in many cases they could just as easily rent it if they want to see it again. The home media market in Japan is really reserved for collectors who are willing to spend the money to own a keepsake for shows they really enjoyed.
Again, this is talking mostly about late night anime (the kind that pays for viewership). Mainstream shows that air in primetime or weekend morning slots have a different funding model, and very rarely see any significant sales of the higher-end products like Blu-Rays/DVDs.
All in all... I'm not exactly sure what you're proposing, but I'm not sure if I can follow your logic in terms of what the problems are, or what the solutions are that help address these problems.
|2012-10-05, 20:52
|Link #109
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Philippines
Age: 42
In the next few weeks, we'll be seeing limited content, not just anime, but also music and live-action dramas, as the sources will have to hide their tracks and attempt to play dodgeball.
It's damn sad that not everyone has the privilege of access, as the majority of watchers here rely on streaming for their fix.
|2012-10-05, 21:44
|Link #111
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Dai Korai Teikoku
|2012-10-06, 06:31
|Link #112
Senior Member
So they are actually enforcing this.
Even if said enforcement is very random and sporadic, I do find that a bit worrisome. I hope it doesn't send too big a chill amongst those who regularly upload anime episodes.
|2012-10-06, 09:02
|Link #113
Also a Lolicon
Join Date: Apr 2010
|2012-10-06, 10:33
|Link #114
Senior Member
There are things that people might risk a financial penalty for, but they wouldn't risk prison time for.
|2012-10-06, 12:11
|Link #115
The Voice of Reason
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: The Netherlands
Age: 42
1. The new law is about downloading of copyrighted material.
2. The guy was uploading manga, which has been illegal for quite some time.
3. The authorities had him in their sights for quite some time, before this new law came into effect. In fact, it's a direct follow-up to this story.
At the very least, this is the first publicized prison sentence that I know of. Whether or not it actually is the first reported case of an uploader getting a prison sentence remains to be seen.
|2012-10-06, 13:03
|Link #116
Augumented Paranoia
Join Date: Nov 2003
and Japan does have one of the most effective and strictest enforcement of camrips in the theatre.
|2012-10-06, 13:19
|Link #117
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
P.S: these are objective factual statements not representing any views I may hold
|2012-10-06, 13:25
|Link #118
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Tennessee
Age: 31
|2012-10-06, 14:39
|Link #119
Augumented Paranoia
Join Date: Nov 2003
Thing is Japan aint exactly the most socially progressive of the democracies in Asia (an understatement since even by civil right standards. Eastern Asians have on average don't have as much worker rights as the Western world had, given the lack of a social revolution during industrialization)
|2012-10-06, 17:22
|Link #120
Boo, you whore
|Thread Tools


text:
World's largest home cleaning network provides basic cleaning and customized services including oven cleaning, window washing, packing and unpacking.
From family friendly trips with kid friendly activities to local plumbers lawyers, spas, and contractors. Judy's Book has millions of listings and reviews for the best and not so great. Whether you're looking for a specific business or just trying to discover great places we make it easy. We're a family oriented site focusing on bringing trusted reviews and recommendations to moms and others. Green and Sustainable places are becoming more relevant to Judy's Book users, have a favorite place? Write a review and tell users why it's Green!


text:
The weirdest thing about this annual pass to me is that there's no BUY THIS NOW button that lets you shell out for your 12 months in advance in a single payment. ie. hit this button, pay this money, get your free horsie/ D3/ beta access/ 12 month WoW sub. I wasn't planning on buying it myself but when I checked out the website, I was expecting to see a button like that.
Even if it cost exactly the same as two six-month subscriptions, that would be a simpler way for players to pick up the pass than signing some sort of contract by which they agree to pay for a year's worth of subscriptions. (And might also lend itself to Christmas presents if anyone has family who throw that kind of money around on gifts.)


text:
Featured News - Current News - Archived News - News Categories
While Lewiston readies for its first-ever Cocktail Festival in March, folks up in the Village of Youngstown have been busy in their own forms of fun to help ward off the winter doldrums.
Each Wednesday for close to a year now, musician Dave Thurman of the local Dave Thurman Band has hosted open-mic sessions at Brennan's Irish Pub in Youngstown. The weekly gig has grown in popularity with visiting artists presenting musical genres ranging from traditional Scottish bagpipes to rock, blues, jazz and more. Above, Thurman and company jam before a full house this past Wednesday at the Main Street pub.
On Saturday, Jan. 19, Brennan's will team up with Old Fort Niagara to present something truly different - The Old Fort Niagara Winter Music Festival - starting at 6 p.m. and continuing till 11 p.m. "We are doing an impromptu first annual Winter Music Festival to raise funds for the fort," says Old Fort Niagara board member Aaron Dey. "Admission is free, and it is an evening of period music and 'jollification' provided by dressed volunteers and re-enactors." The event is open to the public and will feature evening food and drink specials. All net proceeds will go to Fort Niagara.
And the good times do not end there for Youngstown. Coming up in March, the village is gearing up for a festive St. Patrick's Day kickoff event on Saturday, March 16, beginning at noon. Presented by the Youngstown Business and Professional Association as a tribute to the late Youngstown Mayor Neil Riordan, the event will feature village trustees, YBPA members and local musicians joining in celebration of St. Patrick's Day at the corner of Lockport and Main streets. Proclaimed by YBPA as a "very green weekend" in the village, revelers will "parade" their way from the Stone Jug to Brennan's for some green beer. Area businesses will also be joining in the fun. Stay tuned to the Sentinel for details. (photo by "Miss Jane")


text:
Senate Bill 1361, introduced in the Michigan Senate on June 3, 2008, and referred to the Senate Committee on Education, is yet another "academic freedom" bill aimed at undermining the teaching of evolution.
When the South Carolina legislature adjourned on June 5, 2008, Senate Bill 1386 died in committee.
"A battle looms in Texas over science textbooks that teach evolution," Laura Beil reports in the June 4, 2008, issue of The New York Times, "and the wrestle for control seizes on three words.
Due to last-minute cancellations, there is a spot (and possibly two spots) open on NCSE's 2008 Grand Canyon excursion -- as featured in The New York Times (October 6, 2005). From July 30 to August 6, 2008, NCSE will again explore the wonders of creation and evolution on a Grand Canyon river run conducted by NCSE's Genie Scott and Alan ("Gish") Gishlick.
Beginning with the molecular origins of life and culminating with the latest findings on human evolution, eighteen of the world's leading experts reported on research spanning three billion years of evolution at a two-day symposium at Rockefeller University on May 1 and 2, 2008. Videos from the "From RNA to Humans" symposium were available on-line for everyone to view.
National Center for Science Education, Inc.
1904 Franklin Street, Suite 600
Oakland, CA 94612
fax: 510-788-7971
For Reporters | Store | Events


text:
School is a responsive WordPress theme for schools that want to have an online presentation. Some of the features that the school theme includes are multiple columns, recommended shortcodes, responsive layout (built on top of Twitter Bootstrap boilerplate), full width pages, pages with sidebars and more.
No themes found. Try a different search.


text:
Husband of M.L. Luker
November 12, 1826 - June 11, 1864
Contributed on 9/27/14
Record #: 80045
On this site you can upload gravestone photos, locate ancestors and perform genealogy research. If you have a relative buried in Tennessee, we encourage you to upload a digital image using our Submit a Photo page. Contributing to this genealogy archive helps family historians and genealogy researchers locate their relatives and complete their family tree.
Submitted: 9/27/14 • Approved: 9/29/14 • Last Updated: 8/15/15 • R80045-G0-S3


text:
Operation Hope, a solution combating one of the major causes of climate change, has been named the winner of the 2010 Buckminster Fuller Challenge. The winning strategy transforms parched and degraded Zimbabwe grasslands and savannahs into lush pastures with ponds and flowing streams, even during periods of drought.
Operation Hope won $100,000 to further develop its work at a ceremony recently.
The Buckminster Fuller Challenge recognizes initiatives that take a comprehensive, anticipatory, design approach to radically advance human well being and the health of Earth's ecosystems. The 2010 finalists provide workable solutions to some of the world's most significant challenges including water scarcity, food supply, and energy consumption.
Operation Hope is a project of the Africa Centre for Holistic Management in Zimbabwe and its sister organization the Savory Institute in Albuquerque, N.M. Savory's holistic management process re-establishes the symbiotic balance between plant growth and the behavior of herding animals, returning unusable desert back into thriving grasslands, restoring biodiversity, bringing water sources back to life; combating global climate change, and increasing crop yields to ensure food security for people. The approach is currently being practiced and producing results on more than 30 million acres worldwide.
Berlin-based Watergy was named runner up of the Challenge. Watergy has developed and implemented a closed system greenhouse that provides extremely efficient farming capabilities in water-scarce communities. The approach, being demonstrated in Almeria, Spain, allows a dramatic shift in resource efficiency for the supply of water, food and renewable material, and can be deployed across urban and rural conditions.
The other four finalists were:
The Buckminster Fuller Challenge originated in 2007 and awards $100,000 annually. Support for the program has been provided by the Atwater Kent Foundation, The Civil Society Institute, The James Dyson Foundation, The Highfield Foundation; The Jewish Communal Fund, and the members of The Buckminster Fuller Institute.


text:
The North Central College football team enjoyed a promising start to the 2013 campaign, breaking open a close game in the second half and setting a single-game school record for total offense in a 41-24 victory at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
The sixth-ranked Cardinals compiled 674 total yards, breaking the previous North Central record of 669 set against Millikin University in 2011. They ran 90 plays and completed six touchdown drives which covered at least 73 yards each. North Central put the game away with three straight scores in the second half and matched its highest opening-game point total since a 44-27 win over Benedictine University in 2005.
Leading the offensive charge was senior quarterback Spencer Stanek, who completed 26 of 35 passes for 330 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for a team-high 106 yards and two scores on 15 carries. His passing yardage total is the second-highest of his career, eclipsed only by a 361-yard outing at Cornell College in 2010, while his rushing total was just six yards shy of his output from the entire 2012 season.
"It was great to come out here and win," Stanek said. "It's always nice to start the season like this. We were communicating well on the field and completing plays to maintain that momentum."
After allowing the game's first touchdown, the Cardinals' defense stepped up its performance as well, ending seven Eagle drives in three plays or less and limiting the hosts to 264 total yards, more than 200 less than UW-La Crosse recorded in last week's season opener against the University of Dubuque.
"I'm really happy for the guys," said North Central head coach John Thorne. "This is a good program here, and our guys worked hard and came together the way they were supposed to.
"I thought we were moving the ball quite a bit, but I didn't realize we had that many yards. More and more programs are going to this faster system. We practiced it all spring and through camp, and that's what we're going to try to do. You have to have a lot of depth, and I don't know if we have enough depth on defense, but we did a good enough job on offense to get them enough rest."
The Eagles (0-2) traveled 57 yards in eight plays on the game's first drive, scoring on Andy Sires' eight-yard touchdown pass to Chris Stackhouse. North Central started its first drive on its own nine-yard line, but a six-play drive, highlighted by a 35-yard pass from Stanek to Chad O'Kane and a 21-yard run by Oshayne Brownfinished with Stanek running for a 12-yard TD with 10:30 on the first-quarter clock.
After a UWL punt, the Cardinals ran the ball seven times in a 10-play, 73-yard drive and pulled ahead for the first time when Stanek ran 13 yards for a second touchdown with 4:39 still remaining in the opening period. A trio of first-down completions moved the Eagles into North Central territory on the following possession, and a 22-yard field goal from kicker Matt Van Druten narrowed the lead to 14-10 near the end of the first quarter.
Stanek nearly added a third rushing TD in the second quarter, covering 23 yards on a pair of runs to leave the visitors just one yard short of the goal line. Matt Randolph dove into the end zone with 3:01 left in the half, increasing the Cardinals' lead to 21-10, where it would stand at halftime.
North Central opened the second half on offense and drove to near midfield before losing a fumble. Eagle linebacker Andrew Walsh scooped up the ball and returned it 53 yards to the end zone, closing the gap to 21-17 less than two minutes after play resumed.
The Cardinals responded with a 10-play, 75-yard drive which featured 14-yard runs by Randolph and Stanek before Stanek found A.J. Thomas in the end zone for an eight-yard touchdown pass. After forcing UWL's offense to go three-and-out, the Cardinals tacked on another score. Stanek completed a 22-yard first-down pass to O'Kane on third-and-12 and threw a 20-yard strike to Peter Sorenson to put North Central on the one-yard line before Ryan Kent covered the remaining distance for a 35-17 lead with 3:58 left in the third quarter.
North Central's final scoring drive of the day started at the Cardinals' 15-yard line. An 11-yard pass to Kent and a 35-yard toss to Randolph got the guests into enemy territory, and Stanek's eight-yard run set North Central up with a first down at the Eagles' 11. Tyler Dicken entered the contest at quarterback and ran the ball on the final two plays of the possession, including a six-yard TD run with 5:12 to play.
O'Kane and Sorenson each established new career highs for receptions and receiving yards, as O'Kane made nine grabs for 105 yards and Sorenson caught eight passes for 142 yards. Randolph gained 80 yards on 11 rushing attempts, while Kent gained 76 yards on 13 carries and Brown ran 10 times for 54 yards. Stanek passed NCC Athletic Hall of Famer Luther Selbo '68 for third place on the Cardinals' all-time list in passing yards (4,384).
The Cardinals' defense was led by Nick Slezak's nine tackles, while John Focosirecorded three tackles for loss and two quarterback sacks. Shane Dierkingintercepted a pass in the second quarter, giving him nine for his career to tie for eighth all-time at North Central.
Cardinal kicker Nick Dace connected on five of six extra-point attempts, giving him sole possession of North Central's career scoring record (289).
North Central opens the home portion of its schedule next Saturday, hosting the University of Wisconsin-Stout (2-0). Kickoff at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m.
No. 6 North Central Posts Record Yardage Output in Opening Win
|No. 4 North Central (Ill.) (1-0)
|UW-La Crosse (0-2)
The North Central College football team enjoyed a promising start to the 2013 campaign, breaking open a close game in the second half and setting a single-game school record for total offense in a 41-24 victory at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.


text:
On Jan. 2, Ed Mangano took the oath of office and was sworn in for his second term as county executive. I was pleased to be asked to speak at the ceremony, alongside Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Sen. Chuck Schumer, Congressman Peter King and others, recognizing Mangano and celebrating his inauguration.
Together, Republicans and Democrats were more than pleased to come together for Mangano and his family, and we all noted that he is a good and decent person who has done a commendable job as Nassau County's leader.
Most notably, all of the dignitaries who spoke mentioned Mangano's steadfast leadership during Hurricane Sandy. He was a tireless advocate for Nassau County who, working hand in hand with Governor Cuomo, coordinated with federal and state officials, advocating for more aid, faster help, expanded support and an expedited recovery.
In my speech, I noted that Mangano's first victory, in 2009, was a minor miracle, but he pulled it out, winning by 386 votes. His first four years weren't easy, and he beat back the critics day-in and day-out. He faced an almost insurmountable deficit, and was forced to sit back as the county's finances were taken over by the Nassau Interim Finance Authority.
Yet he helped create and retain approximately 20,000 jobs across the county. Now, four years later, his freezing of property taxes combined with the creation of local jobs has resulted in lower unemployment — in fact, at 5.1 percent, Nassau County has the lowest unemployment in the state.
Mangano has created public-private partnerships that have benefited our residents and enhanced our quality of life, particularly the privatization of the county's bus system, an initiative that has saved taxpayers over $30 million a year.
Nassau County residents also have a lot to look forward to, especially the successful public-private partnership that will transform the aging Nassau Coliseum into a state-of-the-art sports and entertainment complex at no cost to taxpayers. This project alone will trigger tens of millions of dollars in additional investment in the Hub and throughout the county.


text:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Lipscomb track and field squad will split up and head to different events this weekend, with the Raleigh Relays March 30 and the Ole Miss Invite March 31.
Head coach Bill Taylor will take the distance runners to the Relays, hosted by North Carolina State, while assistant coach Luke Syverson leads the remaining Bison and Lady Bison athletes to Oxford. This will be the first appearance for Lipscomb at either meet.
At last weekend's Vanderbilt Black and Gold Invite, sophomore Tucker Peabody won the 100m dash with a 10.99s, earning the fourth outdoor individual title of his career and 10th individual victory overall.
Freshman Kendra Lobley broke her third Lipscomb record, finishing runner-up in the 3000m run with a 9:40.80s mark. She destroyed the previous school-record by nearly 27 seconds. She also owns the 5000m and the mile run school-bests.
The Raleigh Relays, one of the nation's most prestigious events, will be held at North Carolina State's Paul Derr Track. The Lady Bison will be among 80 colleges and universities competing.
The Ole Miss Invite will feature a smaller field but a strong contingent of teams from around the Southeast. Alabama, Southern Illinois and Memphis will be among the competing schools at the Ole Miss Track and Field Complex.
The track and field teams will pull double-duty again next weekend, sending most athletes to Auburn's Tiger Track Classic in Auburn, Ala., with select athletes being chosen to go to Palo Alto, Calif. for the prestigious Stanford Invite.
Check LipscombSports.com for all the Lipscomb cross country and track and field news, and be sure to like us on Facebook (Lipscomb-university XC-track) and follow us on Twitter (@LipscombUTrack).


text:
March 12, 2009
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The U. S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced its indoor track & field regional award winners on Wednesday and MIT junior Stephen Morton was honored as the New England Field Athlete of the Year. Morton, who is competing at this weekend's NCAA National Championship at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, secured four top-three finishes at the Division III New England Championship in February.
Morton has dominated the long and triple jumps all season and will hope to add All-America honors in both events this weekend. The junior owns the third best triple jump in Division III this year, as well as an Institute record, at 48-6.75 feet. He was the runner-up in the event at the Division III New England Championship. Morton captured the New England Championship with a long jump of 22-7.75 feet. His season high of 23-3.25 feet is the seventh-best mark in the country and the second-best in school history.
In addition to his strong performances in the field, Morton has also been a solid sprinter. He finished second in the 200 meters (22.41) and third in the 55m dash (6.56) at the NCAA Regional meet.
Morton will be joined at Nationals by teammates Greg Tao in the pole vault and Yermie Cohen in the mile.


text:
Acne Treatment Gallery
Coming Soon…
Coming Soon…
*The LipoSurgery Clinic is extremely professional. Dr. Finder and her staff are all very helpful and knowledgeable. The care has always been exceptional. I have come back for more surgeries and would recommend this clinic to any and all!
*I am absolutely thrilled with the results of my liposuction procedure. Before I had the typical "muffin top" that would hang over my pants. Dr. Finder did an awesome job sculpting this problem area away and giving me a beautiful hour glass shape! I also had stretched skin from pregnancy and the laser helped to tighten that skin as well. I should have done this a long time ago!
*Comments from all success stories and reviews are the expressed opinions of those patients and their experience and do not represent guaranteed results. All before and after photo results vary and are not guaranteed.
Dr. Kimberly Finder, M.D. specializes in Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery. Her practice is located in San Antonio, Texas (TX). Patients from the following cities and areas: Boerne, New Braunfels, Kerrville, San Marcos, Austin, TX can conveniently schedule an appointment with our San Antonio, Texas (TX) office.
Copyright Dr. Kimberly Finder, M.D. © .
This website does not contain medical advice and the use of this website does not create a physician/patient relationship between you and Dr. Kimberly Finder.
The photographs of models displayed on the headings and borders of this web site are for decorative purposes only.
See before & after photos of Dr. Kimberly Finder's patients for possible results.


text:
This article is a collaboration between MedPage Today® and:
SAN ANTONIO -- Symptoms of chronic idiopathic urticaria, or hives, in adults that did not respond to antihistamines were significantly reduced with omalizumab (Xolair), according to results of a phase III trial presented here.
In a 323-patient, placebo-controlled trial testing three doses of the anti-IgE monoclonal antibody drug, declines from baseline in itch severity were significantly greater with the two higher doses of omalizumab compared with placebo, reported Thomas Casale, MD, of Creighton University in Omaha, Neb.
He and other study investigators described the results at a press conference held Sunday at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology's annual meeting, prior to their formal report at a late-breaking abstract session on Monday.
A full report also appeared Sunday online in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Other research reported here supported the overall study findings. For example, clinicians at Yale University said in a poster presentation that they had successfully treated a 14-year-old boy with 150 mg of omalizumab, which completely abolished the patient's persistent urticaria in 2 weeks.
Another group at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wis., reported a 92% success rate in 13 patients, with no apparent difference in responses according to the presence or absence of autoimmune activity.
Chronic idiopathic urticaria is seen in about one in 100 to 200 adults and is a serious problem for those patients afflicted with it. To qualify for a diagnosis, patients must have itchy welts lasting for at least 6 weeks with no obvious cause such as reaction to a known allergen. Angioedema may accompany the hives but not always.
Most patients have the condition for far longer than 6 weeks. Casale and colleagues explained in the NEJM article that the usual duration is 1 to 5 years, lasting even longer in 11% t0 14% of patients.
The standard of care is non-sedating antihistamines, but they are ineffective in most patients "even when the drugs are administered at three to four times their licensed dose," the researchers wrote.
At the press conference, Genentech scientist Allen Kaplan, MD, a co-author on the NEJM report, said patients who don't respond to antihistamines often are treated with corticosteroids or immunosuppressants such as cyclosporine. But these treatments have a range of side effects and often cannot be continued for long periods.
A serendipitous observation several years ago prompted interest in omalizumab as a potential alternative. Clinicians noticed that the drug, which is approved for preventing allergic asthma exacerbations, appeared to clear up chronic urticaria in asthma patients who had both conditions.
That led to a preliminary study reported in 2010 and from there to the current phase III trial, sponsored by Genentech and Novartis, which market the drug.
Casale and colleagues randomized 323 patients to three subcutaneous injections of placebo or 75, 150 or 300 mg of omalizumab, given at 4-week intervals. The drug's recommended adult dose for asthma prophylaxis is 150 to 375 mg every 2 to 4 weeks.
Patients remained on antihistamines if they and the treating physicians wanted them to, but only at the label-recommended doses.
The primary efficacy endpoint was a significant reduction in itch severity scores relative to the placebo group at week 12 (4 weeks after the last injection). Itch severity was rated weekly by patients on a 21-point scale. The mean at baseline was about 14.
Changes from baseline in the four treatment groups were as follows:
- Placebo: -5.1 (standard deviation 5.6)
- Omalizumab 75 mg: -5.9 (SD 6.5, P=0.46 versus placebo)
- Omalizumab 150 mg: -8.1 (SD 6.4, P=0.001 versus placebo)
- Omalizumab 300 mg: -9.8 (SD 6.0, P<0.001 versus placebo)
Significant dose-dependent advantages for omalizumab over placebo were also seen for several secondary endpoints, including weekly urticaria counts, Dermatology Life Quality Index scores, and the proportion of patients with scores of 6 or less on a 42-point index of urticaria activity (UAS7).
For each of these secondary outcomes, as with the primary endpoint, only the two higher doses of omalizumab showed significantly greater efficacy than placebo.
Patients were followed to week 28. The reductions from baseline in itch severity and hive counts seen with placebo and the 75-mg omalizumab dose were maintained through this period. In the higher-dose drug arms, these measures gradually returned to the levels seen in the other groups, such that all the treatment arms had similar scores at week 22 and beyond.
Most patients experienced at least one adverse event, although the total numbers were similar in all treatment arms. Over the entire 28-week study period, nine adverse events were rated as serious, including five in the 300-mg omalizumab group.
But most of the serious events seen in the active-drug groups were reported after dosing had stopped, the researchers noted. There were no deaths or cases of anaphylactic shock.
Casale and colleagues concluded that omalizumab at 150 or 300 mg was effective at reducing urticaria, but also that "the number of patients who were treated was too small to draw any definitive safety conclusions."
H. Henry Li, MD, PhD, of the Institute of Allergy and Asthma in Chevy Chase, Md., told MedPage Today that the study findings were "exciting" but wondered whether the dosing could have been even higher to increase the effectiveness.
Li noted that more than half of the patients in the trial's 300-mg group still had some residual symptoms. Since that dose is much lower than the maximum recommended for asthma patients, he suggested that it might be worthwhile to try higher doses.
But Kaplan said that a 600-mg dose had been tested in a phase II trial, with no increase in efficacy beyond that seen with 300 mg.
Casale and colleagues indicated in their NEJM report that the drug's mechanism of action in chronic idiopathic urticaria remains uncertain. The disorder is not thought to be an IgE-mediated allergic condition.
However, the researchers noted other studies finding that basophil function is abnormal in the disorder. Some previous research has found that omalizumab downregulates IgE receptor expression in basophils and also in mast cells.
Kaplan said that it now appears that the disease is related to a non-IgE antibody that binds to the IgE receptor on these cells. With expression of these receptors suppressed, the abnormal signaling is suppressed as well, leading to symptom improvement.
But mystery still remains – some patients in the trial showed substantial improvement within days of starting omalizumab.
"There is a function of this allergic [non-IgE] antibody that we do not yet understand," Kaplan said.
Omalizumab "does things we didn't know it could do," added Casale at the press briefing.
He said two other phase III trials had also been conducted, with analysis still underway.
Among other things, these trials tested omalizumab with antihistamines given at the higher unlicensed doses that are currently the standard in routine practice, Casale said.
Kaplan said Genentech would not decide whether or when to seek approval to market the drug for chronic urticaria until analysis of these trials had been completed.
UPDATE: This article, originally published on Feb. 24, 2013, was updated with new material on Feb. 25 at 9:00 a.m.
The trial was funded by Genentech and Novartis.
Study authors reported relationships with Genentech and Novartis as well as Uriach Pharma, UCB, sanofi-aventis, Merck, FAES, Almirall, Array, Kendle, MedImmune, Pharmacyclics, Regeneron, Bayer-Intendis, Basilea, Unilever, Inescop, Dyax, ViroPharma, CSL Behring, and Shire. Several authors were employees of Genentech or Novartis.
- Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco and Dorothy Caputo, MA, BSN, RN, Nurse Planner
Primary Source
New England Journal of MedicineSource Reference: Maurer M, et al "Omalizumab for the treatment of chronic idiopathic or spontaneous urticaria" New Engl J Med 2013; DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1215372.


text:
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - MIT men's swimming and diving defeated Babson and Bowdoin at its first official home meet of the 2012-13 season on Saturday afternoon, winning 16 of the 17 events. Nine different Engineers won events, with senior Wyatt Ubellacker (Georgetown, Ky.), junior Michael Liao (Newport Beach, Calif.) and freshmen Michael Lu (Scarsdale, N.Y.) and Bo Mattix (La Canada, Calif.) winning a pair of events each.
Freshman Thomas Norris (Cincinnati, Ohio) started things off well for MIT with a win in the 1000 freestyle with a time of 9:39.02, just six seconds off the school record. The second place finisher from Babson touched the wall in 10:06.39.
In the 100 breaststroke, Liao won in 57.89, freshman Dion Low (Valparaiso, Ind.) came in second with a time of 58.76 and classmate Michael Fu (Rockville, Md.) was third in 1:01.61. In the 50 freestyle, the Engineers took the first five places. Ubellacker touched first in 20.15, the exact time he went at NCAAs this past March. He was followed by sophomores Austin Fathman (Hamilton, Mich.) with 20.69 and Brendon Chiu (Monterey Park, Calif.) in 21.18, senior Tony Chen (Clemmons, N.C.) in 21.49 and freshman Daryl Neubieser (Saratoga, Calif.) with a time of 21.76.
Lu first won the 200 freestyle in 1:45.15, a three second improvement from the last time he swam the event, and followed that up with a win in the 500 freestyle in 4:48.50. Besides the 50 freestyle, Ubellacker also won the 100 butterfly in 48.90, touching the wall three seconds before the second place finisher. Liao next won the 200 breaststroke in 2:06.87 and Mattix first won the 100 backstroke in 50.80 before winning the 200 backstroke in 1:53.58. Junior Danil Tyulmankov (Stamford, Conn.) also won both the 1m and 3m diving portions of the meet.
Ubellacker earned NCAA A cuts in the 50 freestyle, 100 butterfly and in the lead-off of the 400 freestyle relay, breaking the school record in the 100 free at the same time. He is currently first in the country in all three events.
The Engineers will next host the MIT Invitational from Nov. 30- Dec. 1, where they will most likely face Tufts University, New York University, Wheaton College, Bowdoin College and Colby College, as they have in years past.


text:
Hire a Website Designer
Presupuesto $1500-3000 USD
I'm a freelance digital artist. I would like o create a website to showcase my art works in large view. and have a blog in the website. and to promote about my workshops and put some tutorials video. and have section for my online shop. I want the website to fantasy and magical with some flash ( I mean moving icons like moving stars). And have a music in the back ground. I want to create most of the designs needed for the website like the background and the icons shapes. And I want the best price
52 freelancers están ofertando el promedio de $2204 para este trabajo
Have read the info, and have a few questions about the work. Please message us to discuss the details of the project. We are the #1 US (as in United States, born and raised) provider on Freelancer.com. Nova Más
Hi, I can work as a full time designer and developer for you please let me know when it is good time to discuss this and get started Thanks
Hey, Casey recommended the job to me.. I have desired expertise with Website development. I can deliver you a clean and professional website..
Dear Sir, I have read Project Description & here's few quick questions: 1- Do you already have a domain name and logo? 2- How many total pages you want in your website? 3- Can you please provide me navigation l Más
Hi, we are a studio based in London, Please get in touch to discuss further. Following are some of our recent design projects; [login to view URL] A social media post scheduler and manager for a startup Más
Hello, 1. Since you are an artist, would you be able to provide me with psd's of the design ? 2. These days Flash is not used. We use videos in 2K to show movement .. example is [login to view URL] 3. Y Más
Hi, Sometimes it's better to give chance to youth. I am award winner Web designer from Pakistan's best Institute. Besides that i am an MBA(Marketing ) also . Having designed more than 100+ websites, I am confiden Más
"IT FLEX SOLUTIONS has focused exclusively on the Web Development/Designing projects with 8+ years of service. Our Web Development/Designing expertise has helped clients to create e-commerce, social networking, real-es Más
Dear Employer, Greetings from fortranPRO. I have worked on similar projects to what you are looking for, and I am 100% confident that I can exceed your expectations. I have attached samples of work very simi Más
Ready to start work with you, would like to discuss it further, let me know if you are free to discuss it thanks
Is there any reference website you like ? We are an experienced team of Web designers and developers. We hereby take the pleasure of extending our availability and interest for the project posted by you. We have a pr Más