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United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination - Concluding Observations
International Convention
On the Elimination
Of all Forms of
Racial Discrimination
27 March 2007
Original: ENGLISH
Sixty-seventh session
2 - 19 August 2005
1. The Committee considered the initial to fifth periodic reports of Turkmenistan, submitted in one document (CERD/C/441/Add.1), at its 1717th and 1718th meetings (CERD/C/SR.1717 and 1718), held on 11 and 12 August 2005. At its 1725th and 1727th meetings (CERD/C/SR.1725 and 1727), held on 17 and 18 August 2005, it adopted the following concluding observations.
2. The Committee welcomes the report submitted by Turkmenistan and the opportunity thus offered to open a dialogue with the State party. It regrets, however, that the report, which lacks detailed information on the practical implementation of the Convention, does not fully comply with the reporting guidelines.
3. The Committee notes with deep concern the major contradictions between, on the one hand, consistent information from both intergovernmental and nongovernmental sources relating to the existence of grave violations of the Convention in Turkmenistan, and, on the other hand, the sometimes categorical denials by the State party. The Committee stresses that the consideration of reports is designed to institute a constructive and sincere dialogue, and encourages the State party to increase its efforts to that end.
Noting that the report was about nine years overdue when submitted, the Committee invites the State party to respect the deadlines set for the submission of its future reports.
5. The Committee appreciates the attendance of a highlevel delegation and the efforts it made to respond to the numerous questions posed by Committee members. It notes the delegation's assurances relating to the willingness of the State party to pursue the dialogue with the Committee.
6. The Committee notes with satisfaction that the State party has ratified most of the United Nations core human rights treaties since independence.
7. The Committee appreciates the passing of a regulation in March 2005, on the implementation of refugee status determination, as well as the generous hosting of more than 10,000 refugees from Tajikistan on a prima facie basis.
8. The Committee welcomes the amendment of 2 November 2004 of the Criminal Code rescinding article 223/1, which stipulated criminal penalties for unregistered activities of public associations, including nongovernmental organizations.
9. The Committee notes with concern the lack of consistent data relating to the ethnic composition of the population. It notes that the proportion of national and ethnic minorities in Turkmenistan seems to have significantly diminished between 1995 and 2005, but finds it difficult to interpret these figures, which may have resulted, at the same time, from an assimilation policy conducted by the State party, the emigration of many members of minority groups, and the alleged distortion of statistics by the State party so as to diminish the importance of minorities on its territory.
The Committee requests the State party to provide consistent information on the ethnic composition of its population.
10. The Committee notes that under article 6 of the Constitution, the State party recognizes the primacy of generally recognized norms of international law, but is concerned that the status of the Convention in domestic law remains unclear. It is further concerned about the existing gap between law and practice in Turkmenistan (art. 2).
The Committee recommends to the State party that it fully ensure the rule of law, which is indispensable to the implementation of the Convention, and that it provide more detailed information on the status of the Convention in domestic law.
11. The Committee is deeply concerned about reported instances of hate speech against national and ethnic minorities, including statements attributed to highranking government officials and public figures supporting an approach to Turkmen ethnic purity, which is reported to have a significant detrimental impact on the population given the severe restrictions on freedoms of opinion and expression impeding opposition to such discourses. The Committee is further concerned that such speech is inconsistent with the fundamental principle of racial and ethnic equality underlying the Convention (art. 4).
The Committee urges the State party to abide by its obligation under article 4 (c) of the Convention not to permit public authorities or public institutions, national or local, to promote or incite racial discrimination. The Committee wishes to receive more detailed information on the practical implementation of article 4 of the Convention in its entirety.
12. The Committee is deeply concerned by consistent information relating to the policy of "Turkmenization" conducted by the State party, and implemented through various measures in the field of employment, education and political life (arts. 2 and 5).
The Committee recalls that policies of forced assimilation amount to racial discrimination and constitute grave violations of the Convention. It urges the State party to respect and protect the existence and cultural identity of all national and ethnic minorities within its territory. The Committee wishes to receive detailed information on the measures adopted to that end, including those aimed at addressing the situation of the Baluchi minority, the existence of which as a distinct cultural community is reported to be at risk.
13. The Committee is concerned that, according to some information, and in the light of paragraph 2 (e) of General Assembly resolution 59/206 of 22 December 2004, national and ethnic minorities face severe restrictions on their participation in the labour force, in particular in public sector employment. It is particularly disturbed about reports relating to the removal of many nonethnic Turkmen from State employment and to "third generation tests" imposed on persons wishing to access higher education and public sector employment (arts. 2 and 5).
The Committee invites the State party to verify whether "third generation tests" exist and to ensure the right to work without discrimination based on national or ethnic origin. The State party is requested to provide reliable statistical data on the effective participation of members of national minorities in the labour force, in particular in public sector employment.
14. The Committee notes with deep concern information that the State party has internally forcibly displaced populations, targeting in particular ethnic Uzbeks, to inhospitable parts of Turkmenistan. It is further concerned about reported restrictions on freedom of movement imposed through internal travel documents and special permits to travel to internal border regions, which have a particular impact on persons belonging to national and ethnic minorities (arts. 2 and 5).
The Committee requests the State party not to forcibly displace populations and to reexamine its policy in this regard. The State party is requested to provide information to the Committee about the number of individuals who have been resettled under the terms of the 18 November 2002 Presidential Decree and relevant provisions of the Criminal Code, their ethnic origin, the dates and reasons for their resettlement, and their place of residence prior to and following resettlement. The Committee further recommends to the State party that it lift restrictions on freedom of movement having a disproportionate impact on members of national minorities.
15. The Committee is concerned about information that persons belonging to national and ethnic minorities are impeded from exercising their right to enjoy their own culture. In particular, it is concerned about the reported closure of minority cultural institutions and of numerous schools teaching in minority languages, in particular Uzbek, Russian, Kazakh and Armenian languages, and the reduced possibilities for the use of minority languages in the media (arts. 2 and 5).
The Committee recommends that the State party fully respect the cultural rights of persons belonging to national and ethnic minorities. In particular, the State party should consider reopening Uzbek, Russian, Kazakh, Armenian and other minority language schools. The Committee suggests that the State party reconsider the requirement that students belonging to national or ethnic minorities wear Turkmen national dress, and to provide more information on this issue. The State party should ensure that members of national and ethnic minorities are not discriminated against in their access to the media and have the possibility of creating and using their own media in their own language.
16. The Committee notes that, in 2003, the bilateral agreement between the Russian Federation and Turkmenistan on dual citizenship was repealed by the State party. It notes with concern that persons who chose Russian citizenship were allegedly required to leave the country rapidly (arts. 2 and 5).
The Committee, stressing that deprivation of citizenship on the basis of national or ethnic origin is a breach of the obligation to ensure nondiscriminatory enjoyment of the right to nationality, urges the State party to refrain from adopting any policy that directly or indirectly leads to such deprivation. The Committee draws the attention of the State party to its general recommendation XXX on noncitizens and wishes to receive more detailed information on the number of affected persons and the practical consequences for them.
17. The Committee, while stressing the complex relationship between ethnicity and religion in Turkmenistan, notes with concern information that members of religious groups do not fully enjoy their rights to freedom of religion and that some religious confessions remain unregistered. It notes, however, the relaxation of registration rules in 2004.
The Committee recalls the State party's obligation to ensure that all persons enjoy their right to freedom of religion, without any discrimination based on national or ethnic origin, in accordance with article 5 (d) of the Convention. The State party should accordingly respect the right of members of registered and unregistered religions to freely exercise their freedom of religion, and register religious groups who wish to be registered. Detailed information on religions actually registered in Turkmenistan should be provided to the Committee.
18. The Committee appreciates the announcement made by the State party that it will grant citizenship to about 16,000 refugees who have been residing in Turkmenistan for some years, and permanent resident status to 3,000 other refugees (art. 5).
The Committee encourages the State party to continue the naturalization process without discrimination based on ethnic origin. It recommends, in particular, that the same treatment be granted to refugees of Turkmen, Uzbek, or other ethnic origin such as those coming from Afghanistan. The Committee wishes to receive detailed data on the outcome of this process, disaggregated by ethnic origin.
19. The Committee is deeply concerned by information that the State party has adopted measures drastically limiting access to foreign culture and art, foreign media and the Internet. While taking note of the abolition of the exit visa in 2004, it also remains concerned about the reported impediments imposed on Turkmen students wishing to study abroad (art. 7).
The Committee recommends to the State party that it respect the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art or other media, in order to foster common understanding and tolerance amongst nations and ethnic groups. The Committee also recommends that the State party allow students to study abroad and that it provide detailed information on the actual regulations and practices relating to the recognition of foreign degrees.
20. The Committee notes that the "Ruhnama" reportedly dominates the school curriculum in Turkmenistan. The Committee is concerned about the content of this text, and would appreciate receiving a copy (art. 7).
The Committee recommends that the State party ensure that school curricula foster understanding, tolerance, and friendship among nations and ethnic groups.
21. The Committee notes that, since independence, no case of racial discrimination has been referred to the courts. According to some information, members of national and ethnic minorities who suffer racial discrimination do not complain to courts because they fear reprisals and lack confidence in the police and the judicial authorities, and because of the authorities' lack of impartiality and of sensitivity to cases of racial discrimination (art. 6).
The Committee recommends to the State party that it inform victims of their rights, including remedies available to them, facilitate their access to justice, guarantee their right to just and adequate reparation, and publicize the relevant laws. The State party should ensure that its competent authorities proceed to a prompt and impartial investigation on complaints of racial discrimination, or whenever there are reasonable grounds to believe that racial discrimination has been committed on its territory. Judges and lawyers, as well as law enforcement personnel, should be trained accordingly.
22. The Committee, while noting the delegation's statement that in 1996, the State party established a Human Rights Institute, notes that this institution does not seem to qualify as an independent National Human Rights Institution under the Principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles) (General Assembly resolution 48/134) (art. 6).
The Committee invites the State party to consider establishing such an independent national human rights institution, with the mandate, in particular, to monitor compliance with the obligations of the Government of Turkmenistan under the Convention.
23. The Committee recommends that the State party take into account the relevant parts of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action when implementing the Convention in the domestic legal order, in particular in respect of articles 2 to 7 of the Convention, and that it include in its next periodic report information on action plans or other measures taken to implement the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action at the national level.
24. The Committee notes that the State party has not made the optional declaration provided for in article 14 of the Convention, and recommends that it consider the possibility of doing so.
25. The Committee strongly recommends that the State party ratify the amendments to article 8, paragraph 6, of the Convention, adopted on 15 January 1992 at the Fourteenth Meeting of States Parties to the Convention and endorsed by the General Assembly in its resolution 47/111. In this connection, the Committee refers to General Assembly resolution 59/176 of 20 December 2004, in which the Assembly strongly urged States parties to accelerate their domestic ratification procedures with regard to the amendment and to notify the SecretaryGeneral expeditiously in writing of their agreement to the amendment.
26. The Committee recommends that the State party's reports be made readily available to the public from the time they are submitted and that the observations of the Committee on these reports be similarly publicized, in Turkmen and in the main minority languages, in particular Russian.
27. The Committee invites the State party to take advantage of the technical assistance available under the advisory services and technical assistance programme of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for the purpose of reviewing its laws and policies in a way that addresses the Committee's concerns set out above. In view of the situation in Turkmenistan, the Committee strongly recommends to the State party that it extend an invitation to the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance to visit its territory.
28. Pursuant to article 9, paragraph 1, of the Convention, and article 65 of the Committee's rules of procedure, as amended, the Committee requests the State party to inform it of its implementation of the recommendations contained in paragraphs 11, 13, 14, 15 and 20 above, within one year of the adoption of the present conclusions.
29. The Committee recommends to the State party that it submit its sixth and seventh periodic reports in a single report, due on 29 October 2007.
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In Michigan, a woman has been threatened by the state for babysitting her neighbor's children:
Each day before the school bus comes to pick up the neighborhood's children, Lisa Snyder did a favor for three of her fellow moms, welcoming their children into her home for about an hour before they left for school.
Regulators who oversee child care, however, don't see it as charity. Days after the start of the new school year, Snyder received a letter from the Michigan Department of Human Services warning her that if she continued, she'd be violating a law aimed at the operators of unlicensed day care centers.
In England, two women (who happen to be police officers) were told by the state that they were breaking the law by babysitting each others children without registering with the government. A spokesman for the government said:
"Generally, mothers who look after each other's children are not providing childminding for which registration is required, as exemptions apply to them, for example because the care is for less than two hours or it takes place on less than 14 days in a year.
Where such arrangements are regular and for longer periods, then registration is usually required."
Seriously? The Michigan case has prompted state lawmakers to introduce legislation allowing parents to babysit their neighbors kids without a license from the state. That's right- they're going to pass a law to give Michigan residents permission to babysit each others kids, as if they need permission from the government to do so.
Why not instead, repeal the bad law that makes their perfectly legal, normal, and healthy behavior a crime? Lawmakers are always interested in passing new laws, never repealing old, bad laws. and this is a textbook example. It's even more interesting to see it happen at virtually the same time in two different English-speaking countries.
I think England's Mr. de Havilland had it right this Monday when he decried "the utter derangement of British political culture" by saying of this recent incident with the two policewomen babysitting each others kids:
When two working women who look after each other's children are told they are breaking the law by doing so because they are not registered with the state to do that, the only sane and moral thing to do is to break the law and to urge as many other people as possible to do the same.
I very much agree and like the sound of that! Cases like this provide perfect opportunities for some active, and peaceful civil disobedience. And with the utterly deranged bills that legislators on both sides of the pond have in the works, we may need all the practice in civil disobedience that we can get!


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Nebula, (Latin: "mist" or "cloud")plural nebulae or nebulas, any of the various tenuous clouds of gas and dust that occur in interstellar space. The term was formerly applied to any object outside the solar system that had a diffuse appearance rather than a pointlike image, as in the case of a star. This definition, adopted at a time when very distant objects could not be resolved into great detail, unfortunately includes two unrelated classes of objects: the extragalactic nebulae, now called galaxies, which are enormous collections of stars and gas, and the galactic nebulae, which are composed of the interstellar medium (the gas between the stars, with its accompanying small solid particles) within a single galaxy. Today the term nebula generally refers exclusively to the interstellar medium.
In a spiral galaxy the interstellar medium makes up 3 to 5 percent of the galaxy's mass, but within a spiral arm its mass fraction increases to about 20 percent. About 1 percent of the mass of the interstellar medium is in the form of "dust"—small solid particles that are efficient in absorbing and scattering radiation. Much of the rest of the mass within a galaxy is concentrated in visible stars, but there is also some form of dark matter that accounts for a substantial fraction of the mass in the outer regions.
The most conspicuous property of interstellar gas is its clumpy distribution on all size scales observed, from the size of the entire Milky Way Galaxy (about 1020 metres, or hundreds of thousands of light-years) down to the distance from Earth to the Sun (about 1011 metres, or a few light-minutes). The large-scale variations are seen by direct observation; the small-scale variations are observed by fluctuations in the intensity of radio waves, similar to the "twinkling" of starlight caused by unsteadiness in the Earth's atmosphere. Various regions exhibit an enormous range of densities and temperatures. Within the Galaxy's spiral arms about half the mass of the interstellar medium is concentrated in molecular clouds, in which hydrogen occurs in molecular form (H2) and temperatures are as low as 10 kelvins (K). These clouds are inconspicuous optically and are detected principally by their carbon monoxide (CO) emissions in the millimetre wavelength range. Their densities in the regions studied by CO emissions are typically 1,000 H2 molecules per cubic cm. At the other extreme is the gas between the clouds, with a temperature of 10 million K and a density of only 0.001 H+ ion per cubic cm. Such gas is produced by supernovae, the violent explosions of unstable stars.
This article surveys the basic varieties of galactic nebulae distinguished by astronomers and their chemical composition and physical properties.
Classes of nebulae
All nebulae observed in the Milky Way Galaxy are forms of interstellar matter—namely, the gas between the stars that is almost always accompanied by solid grains of cosmic dust. Their appearance differs widely, depending not only on the temperature and density of the material observed but also on how the material is spatially situated with respect to the observer. Their chemical composition, however, is fairly uniform; it corresponds to the composition of the universe in general in that approximately 90 percent of the constituent atoms are hydrogen and nearly all the rest are helium, with oxygen, carbon, neon, nitrogen, and the other elements together making up about two atoms per thousand. On the basis of appearance, nebulae can be divided into two broad classes: dark nebulae and bright nebulae. Dark nebulae appear as irregularly shaped black patches in the sky and blot out the light of the stars that lie beyond them. Bright nebulae appear as faintly luminous glowing surfaces; they either emit their own light or reflect the light of nearby stars.
Dark nebulae are very dense and cold molecular clouds; they contain about half of all interstellar material. Typical densities range from hundreds to millions (or more) of hydrogen molecules per cubic centimetre. These clouds are the sites where new stars are formed through the gravitational collapse of some of their parts. Most of the remaining gas is in the diffuse interstellar medium, relatively inconspicuous because of its very low density (about 0.1 hydrogen atom per cubic cm) but detectable by its radio emission of the 21-cm line of neutral hydrogen.
Bright nebulae are comparatively dense clouds of gas within the diffuse interstellar medium. They have several subclasses: (1) reflection nebulae, (2) H II regions, (3) diffuse ionized gas, (4) planetary nebulae, and (5) supernova remnants.
Reflection nebulae reflect the light of a nearby star from their constituent dust grains. The gas of reflection nebulae is cold, and such objects would be seen as dark nebulae if it were not for the nearby light source.
H II regions are clouds of hydrogen ionized (separated into positive H+ ions and free electrons) by a neighbouring hot star. The star must be of stellar type O or B, the most massive and hottest of normal stars in the Galaxy, in order to produce enough of the radiation required to ionize the hydrogen.
Diffuse ionized gas, so pervasive among the nebular clouds, is a major component of the Galaxy. It is observed by faint emissions of positive hydrogen, nitrogen, and sulfur ions (H+, N+, and S+) detectable in all directions. These emissions collectively require far more power than the much more spectacular H II regions, planetary nebulae, or supernova remnants that occupy a tiny fraction of the volume.
Planetary nebulae are ejected from stars that are dying but are not massive enough to become supernovae—namely, red giant stars. That is to say, a red giant has shed its outer envelope in a less-violent event than a supernova explosion and has become an intensely hot star surrounded by a shell of material that is expanding at a speed of tens of kilometres per second. Planetary nebulae typically appear as rather round objects of relatively high surface brightness. Their name is derived from their superficial resemblance to planets—i.e., their regular appearance when viewed telescopically as compared with the chaotic forms of other types of nebula.
Supernova remnants are the clouds of gas expanding at speeds of hundreds or even thousands of kilometres per second from comparatively recent explosions of massive stars. If a supernova remnant is younger than a few thousand years, it may be assumed that the gas in the nebula was mostly ejected by the exploded star. Otherwise, the nebula would consist chiefly of interstellar gas that has been swept up by the expanding remnant of older objects.
Historical survey of the study of nebulae
Pre-20th-century observations of nebulae
In 1610, two years after the invention of the telescope, the Orion Nebula, which looks like a star to the naked eye, was discovered by the French scholar and naturalist Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc. In 1656 Christiaan Huygens, the Dutch scholar and scientist, using his own greatly superior instruments, was the first to describe the bright inner region of the nebula and to determine that its inner star is not single but a compact quadruple system.
Early 18th-century observational astronomers gave high priority to comet seeking. A by-product of their search was the discovery of many bright nebulae. Several catalogs of special objects were compiled by comet researchers; by far the best known is that of the Frenchman Charles Messier, who in 1781 compiled a catalog of 103 nebulous, or extended, objects in order to prevent their confusion with comets. Most are clusters of stars, 35 are galaxies, and 11 are nebulae. Even today many of these objects are commonly referred to by their Messier catalog number; M20, for instance, is the great Trifid Nebula, in the constellation Sagittarius.
The work of the Herschels
By far the greatest observers of the early and middle 19th century were the English astronomers William Herschel and his son John. Between 1786 and 1802 William Herschel, aided by his sister Caroline, compiled three catalogs totaling about 2,500 clusters, nebulae, and galaxies. John Herschel later added to the catalogs 1,700 other nebulous objects in the southern sky visible from the Cape Observatory in South Africa but not from London and 500 more objects in the northern sky visible from England.
The catalogs of the Herschels formed the basis for the great New General Catalogue (NGC) of J.L. Dreyer, published in 1888. It contains the location and a brief description of 7,840 nebulae, galaxies, and clusters. In 1895 and 1908 it was supplemented by two Index Catalogues (IC) of 5,386 additional objects. The list still included galaxies as well as true nebulae, for they were often at this time still indistinguishable. Most of the brighter galaxies are still identified by their NGC or IC numbers according to their listing in the New General Catalogue or Index Catalogues.
Advances brought by photography and spectroscopy
The advent of photography, which allows the recording of faint details invisible to the naked eye and provides a permanent record of the observation for study of fine details at leisure, caused a revolution in the understanding of nebulae. In 1880 the first photograph of the Orion Nebula was made, but really good ones were not obtained until 1883. These early photographs showed a wealth of detail extending out to distances unsuspected by visual observers.
Much can be learned about the physical nature of an astronomical object by studying its spectrum—i.e., the resolution of its light into different wavelengths (or colours). Study of the spectrum of an object provides a decisive test as to whether it is composed of unresolved stars (as are galaxies) or glowing gas. Stars radiate at all wavelengths, almost always with dark absorption lines superimposed, while hot, transparent gas clouds radiate only emission lines at certain wavelengths characteristic of their constituent gases. In 1864 observation of the spectrum of the Orion Nebula showed bright emission lines of glowing gases, with conspicuous hydrogen lines and some green lines even brighter. By contrast, the spectrum of galaxies was found to be stellar, so a distinction between galaxies and nebulae—that nebulae are gaseous and galaxies are stellar—was appreciated at this time, although the true sizes and distances of galaxies were not demonstrated until the 20th century.
20th-century discoveries
The 20th century witnessed enormous advances in observational techniques as well as in the scientific understanding of the physical processes that operate in interstellar matter. In 1930 a German optical worker, Bernhard Schmidt, invented an extremely fast wide-angled camera ideal for photographing faint extended nebulae. Photographic plates became progressively more sensitive to an ever-widening range of colours, but photography has been completely replaced by photoelectric devices. Most images are now recorded with so-called charge-coupled devices (CCDs) that act as arrays of tiny photoelectric cells, each recording the light from a small patch of sky. Modern CCDs consist of square arrays of up to 4,000 cells on each side, or 16 million independent photocells, capable of observing the sky simultaneously. Electronic detectors are up to 100 times more sensitive than photography, can record a much wider range of light levels, and are sensitive to a much wider range of wavelengths, from 0.1 micrometre in the ultraviolet (accessible only from satellites orbiting above Earth's atmosphere) to more than 1.2 micrometres in the infrared.
Spacecraft allow the observation of radiation normally absorbed by Earth's atmosphere: gamma and X-rays (which have very short wavelengths), far-ultraviolet radiation (with wavelengths shorter than about 0.3 micrometre, below which atmospheric ozone is strongly absorbing), and infrared (from about 3 micrometres to 1 mm), strongly absorbed by atmospheric water vapour and carbon dioxide. Gamma rays, X-rays, and ultraviolet radiation reveal the physical conditions in the hottest regions in space (extending to some 100 million kelvins in shocked supernova gas). Infrared radiation reveals the conditions within dark cold molecular clouds, into which starlight cannot penetrate because of absorbing dust layers.
The primary means of studying nebulae is not by images but by spectra, which show the relative distribution of the radiation among various wavelengths (or colours for optical radiation). Spectra can be obtained by means of prisms (as in the earlier part of the 20th century), diffraction gratings, or crystals, in the case of X-rays. A particularly useful instrument is the echelle spectrograph, in which one coarsely ruled grating spreads the electromagnetic radiation in one direction, while another finely ruled grating disperses it in the perpendicular direction. This device, often used both in spacecraft and on the ground, allows astronomers to record simultaneously a wide range of wavelengths with very high spectral resolution (i.e., to distinguish slightly differing wavelengths). For even higher spectral resolution astronomers employ Fabry-Pérot interferometers. Spectra provide powerful diagnostics of the physical conditions within nebulae. Images and spectra provided by Earth-orbiting satellites, especially the Hubble Space Telescope, have yielded data of unprecedented quality.
Ground-based observations also have played a major role in recent advances in scientific understanding of nebulae. The emission of gas in the radio and submillimetre wavelength ranges provides crucial information regarding physical conditions and molecular composition. Large radio telescope arrays, in which several individual telescopes function collectively as a single enormous instrument, give spatial resolutions in the radio regime far superior to any yet achieved by optical means.
Chemical composition and physical processes
Many characteristics of nebulae are determined by the physical state of their constituent hydrogen, by far the most abundant element. For historical reasons, nebulae in which hydrogen is mainly ionized (H+) are called H II regions, or diffuse nebulae; those in which hydrogen is mainly neutral are designated H I regions; and those in which the gas is in molecular form (H2) are referred to as molecular clouds. The distinction is important because of major differences in the radiation that is present in the various regions and consequently in the physical conditions and processes that are important. Radiation is a wave but is carried by packets called photons. Each photon has a specified wavelength and precise energy that it carries, with gamma rays (short wavelengths) carrying the most and X-rays, ultraviolet, optical, infrared, microwave, and radio waves following in order of decreasing energies (or increasing wavelengths). Neutral hydrogen atoms are extremely efficient at absorbing ionizing radiation—that is, an energy per photon of at least 13.6 electron volts (or, equivalently, a wavelength of less than 0.0912 micrometre). If the hydrogen is mainly neutral, no radiation with energy above this threshold can penetrate except for photons with energies in the X-ray range and above (thousands of electron volts or more), in which case the hydrogen becomes somewhat transparent. The absorption by neutral hydrogen abruptly reduces the radiation field to almost zero for energies above 13.6 electron volts. This dearth of hydrogen-ionizing radiation implies that no ions requiring more ionizing energy than hydrogen can be produced, and the ionic species of all elements are limited to the lower stages of ionization. Within H II regions, with almost all the hydrogen ionized and thereby rendered nonabsorbing, photons of all energies propagate, and ions requiring energetic radiation for their production (e.g., O++) occur.
Ultraviolet photons with energies of more than 11.2 electron volts can dissociate molecular hydrogen (H2) into two H atoms. In H I regions there are enough of these photons to prevent the amount of H2 from becoming large, but the destruction of H2 as fast as it forms takes its toll on the number of photons of suitable energies. Furthermore, interstellar dust is a fairly efficient absorber of photons throughout the optical and ultraviolet range. In some regions of space the number of photons with energies higher than 11.2 volts is reduced to the level where H2 cannot be destroyed as fast as it is produced on grain surfaces. In this case, H2 becomes the dominant form of hydrogen present. The gas is then part of a molecular cloud. The role of interstellar dust in this process is crucial because H2 cannot be formed efficiently in the gas phase.
Interstellar dust
Only about 0.7 percent of the mass of the interstellar medium is in the form of solid grains, but these grains have a profound effect on the physical conditions within the gas. Their main effect is to absorb stellar radiation; for photons unable to ionize hydrogen and for wavelengths outside absorption lines or bands, the dust grains are much more opaque than the gas. The dust absorption increases with photon energy, so long-wavelength radiation (radio and far-infrared) can penetrate dust freely, near-infrared rather well, and ultraviolet relatively poorly. Dark, cold molecular clouds, within which all star formation takes place, owe their existence to dust. Besides absorbing starlight, the dust acts to heat the gas under some conditions (by ejecting electrons produced by the photoelectric effect, following the absorption of a stellar photon) and to cool the gas under other conditions (because the dust can radiate energy more efficiently than the gas and so in general is colder). The largest chemical effect of dust is to provide the only site of molecular hydrogen formation on grain surfaces. It also removes some heavy elements (especially iron and silicon) that would act as coolants to the gas. The optical appearance of most nebulae is significantly modified by the obscuring effects of the dust.
The chemical composition of the gas phase of the interstellar medium alone, without regard to the solid dust, can be determined from the strength of narrow absorption lines that are produced by the gas in the spectra of background stars. Comparison of the composition of the gas with cosmic (solar) abundances shows that almost all the iron, magnesium, and silicon, much of the carbon, and only some of the oxygen and nitrogen are contained in the dust. The absorption and scattering properties of the dust reveal that the solid grains are composed partially of silicaceous material similar to terrestrial rocks, though of an amorphous rather than crystalline variety. The grains also have a carbonaceous component. The carbon dust probably occurs in at least two forms: (1) grains, either free-flying or as components of composite grains that also contain silicates, and (2) individual, freely floating aromatic hydrocarbon molecules, with a range varying from 70 to several hundred carbon atoms and some hydrogen atoms that dangle from the outer edges of the molecule or are trapped in the middle of it. It is merely convention that these molecules are referred to as dust, since the smallest may be only somewhat larger than the largest molecules observed with a radio telescope. Both of the dust components are needed to explain spectroscopic features arising from the dust. In addition, there are probably mantles of hydrocarbon on the surfaces of the grains. The size of the grains ranges from perhaps as small as 0.0003 micrometre for the tiniest hydrocarbon molecules to a substantial fraction of a micrometre; there are many more small grains than large ones.
The dust cannot be formed directly from purely gaseous material at the low densities found even in comparatively dense interstellar clouds, which would be considered an excellent laboratory vacuum. For a solid to condense, the gas density must be high enough to allow a few atoms to collide and stick together long enough to radiate away their energy to cool and form a solid. Grains are known to form in the outer atmospheres of cool supergiant stars, where the gas density is comparatively high (perhaps 109 times what it is in typical nebulae). The grains are then blown out of the stellar atmosphere by radiation pressure (the mechanical force of the light they absorb and scatter). Calculations indicate that refracting materials, such as the constituents of the grains proposed above, should condense in this way.
There is clear indication that the dust is heavily modified within the interstellar medium by interactions with itself and with the interstellar gas. The absorption and scattering properties of dust show that there are many more smaller grains in the diffuse interstellar medium than in dense clouds; apparently in the dense medium the small grains have coagulated into larger ones, thereby lowering the ability of the dust to absorb radiation with short wavelengths (namely, ultraviolet, near 0.1 micrometre). The gas-phase abundances of some elements, such as iron, magnesium, and nickel, also are much lower in the dense regions than in the diffuse gas, although even in the diffuse gas most of these elements are missing from the gas and are therefore condensed into dust. These systematic interactions of gas and dust show that dust grains collide with gas atoms much more rapidly than one would expect if the dust and gas simply drifted together. There must be disturbances, probably magnetic in nature, that keep the dust and gas moving with respect to each other.
The motions of gas within nebulae of all types are clearly chaotic and complicated. There are sometimes large-scale flows, such as when a hot star forms on the outer edge of a cold, quiescent dark molecular cloud and ionizes an H II region in its vicinity. The pressure strongly increases in the newly ionized zone, so the ionized gas flows out through the surrounding material. There are also expanding structures resembling bubbles surrounding stars that are ejecting their outer atmospheres into stellar winds.
Besides these organized flows, nebulae of all types always show chaotic motions called turbulence. This is a well-known phenomenon in gas dynamics that results when there is low viscosity in flowing fluids, so the motions become chaotic eddies that transfer kinetic and magnetic energy and momentum from large scales down to small sizes. On small-enough scales viscosity always becomes important, and the energy is converted into heat, which is kinetic energy on a molecular scale. Turbulence in nebulae has profound, but poorly understood, effects on their energy balance and pressure support.
Turbulence is observed by means of the widths of the emission or absorption lines in a nebular spectrum. No line can be precisely sharp in wavelength, because the energy levels of the atom or ion from which it arises are not precisely sharp. Actual lines are usually much broader than this intrinsic width because of the Doppler effect arising from motions of the atoms along the line of sight. The emission line of an atom is shifted to longer wavelengths if it is receding from the observer and to shorter wavelengths if it is approaching. Part of the observed broadening is easily explained by thermal motions, since v2, the averaged squared speed, is proportional to T/m, where T is the temperature and m is the mass of the atom. Thus, hydrogen atoms move the fastest at any given temperature. Observations show that in fact hydrogen lines are broader than those of other elements but not as much as expected from thermal motions alone. Turbulence represents bulk motions, independent of the mass of the atoms. This chaotic motion of gas atoms of all masses would explain the observations. The physical question, though, is what maintains the turbulence. Why do the turbulent cascades not carry kinetic energy from large-size scales into ever-shorter-size scales and finally into heat?
The answer is that energy is continuously injected into the gases by a variety of processes. One involves strong stellar winds from hot stars, which are blown off at speeds of thousands of kilometres per second. Another arises from the violently expanding remnants of supernova explosions, which sometimes start at 20,000 km (12,000 miles) per second and gradually slow to typical cloud speeds (10 km [6 miles] per second). A third process is the occasional collision of clouds moving in the overall galactic gravitational potential. All these processes inject energy on large scales that can undergo turbulent cascading to heat.
Galactic magnetic field
There is a pervasive magnetic field that threads the spiral arms of the Milky Way Galaxy and extends to thousands of light-years above the galactic plane. The evidence for the existence of this field comes from radio synchrotron emission produced by very energetic electrons moving through it and from the polarization of starlight that is produced by elongated dust grains that tend to be aligned with the magnetic field. The magnetic field is very strongly coupled to the gas because it acts upon the embedded electrons, even the few in H I regions, and the electrons impart some motion of the other constituents by means of collisions. The gas and field are effectively confined to moving together, even though the gas can slip along the field freely. The field has an important influence upon the turbulence because it exerts a pressure similar to gas pressure, thereby influencing the motions of the gas. The resulting complex interactions and wave motions have been studied in extensive numerical calculations.
Learn More in these related Britannica articles:
astronomy: Herschel and the Milky Way…and effort in cataloging the nebulae. A few small nebulous, or cloudlike, patches in the night sky are visible to the naked eye and had been mentioned by ancient Greek and medieval Arabic astronomers. In 1755 German philosopher Immanuel Kant suggested that these nebulae might be vast systems of stars,…
electromagnetic radiation: Microwaves…be natural masers in some interstellar clouds. Observations of radio radiation from interstellar hydrogen (H2) and certain other molecules indicate amplification by the maser process. Also, as was mentioned above, microwave cosmic background radiation has been detected and is considered by many to be the remnant of the primeval fireball…
physical science: Astronomy…systems, as described in Laplace's nebular hypothesis.…
Sir William Herschel: Early life.…suited concerned the nature of nebulae, which appear as luminous patches in the sky. Some astronomers thought they were nothing more than clusters of innumerable stars the light of which blends to form a milky appearance. Others held that some nebulae were composed of a luminous fluid. When William's interest…
X-ray sourceThey usually occur in nebulas, and their hot coronal gases can expand to make a nebula itself a detectable X-ray source.…
More About Nebula7 references found in Britannica articles
Assorted References
- history of astronomy
- natural masers
- occurrence in Eta Carinae
- In Eta Carinae
- X-ray sources
- In X-ray source
work of
- Herschel
- Messier
- Slipher


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As you would expect of a popular international destination, the French/Dutch island offers outstanding holiday home rentals equally appealing to families, friends and couples. Ranging from extravagant 2 to 11-bedroom bayfront villas to cliff top, high-rise condos, the island's holiday homes combine the best of personal accommodations with easy access to all of the dynamic attractions.
A lovely, diverse island in the Caribbean, St. Martin/St. Maarten attracts visitors from throughout the world – those, in particular, who love the scenic island beauty, widespread water sports, world class shopping and gourmet dining. Did we forget the nightlife? Rest assured the French and Dutch sides of the island hum with exciting clubs and casinos. Residents describe island life as "a cosmopolitan atmosphere with a Caribbean twist." Sports enthusiasts choose from a rich menu of activities – from diving, snorkeling and sailing to horseback riding, charter fishing and more laid-back strolling along the pristine beaches.
The best way to enjoy the rich pleasures of the island is to rent transportation – everything from a moped or SUV to stretch limousines. Be sure to include shopping for duty-free goods in numerous boutiques. You'll discover trendy exotic foods, jewelry, liquor, designer good and ever-popular local crafts. Since you'll be enjoying some of your home-cooked meals by the pool or terrace, you'll be able to sample the enormous selection of island restaurants. La Cigale is a must with indoor or al fresco dining, gorgeous seaside views and exceptional Provencal, Mediterranean and Basque cuisine. For a kick-back-and-relax beach experience, try Karakter's restaurant. Just park on a lounge under an umbrella and wait for the staff to serve you sandwiches, appetizers, tapas and drinks.
Prepare a fabulous family breakfast in your well-equipped kitchen or serve lunch by the pool. Enjoy walks along your own beachfront. There are plenty of options, when you have your home away from home. And don't forget The Fly Zone at Loterie Farm, one of the Caribbean's most popular attractions. Suspended above the ground, kids love zipping along the lines connected to hundreds of trees or mastering the rope bridges. Little ones take to the "Little Tarzan" course. Between the private comfort of your holiday rental and the many island attractions, your family will enjoy an unforgettable holiday adventure.
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I honestly do miss her, but more than anything I miss my old group of friends. I miss how close we all used to be. I miss seeing all of them everyday and us not doing anything.
I miss them playing magic while I did homework. They made me feel safe and not alone. They arent the best of friends but they were there.
I know that she is partially the reason why we all dont hang out together anymore. I know everything that shes done, I've been through everything shes done and I should have walked away a long time ago.
She doesnt care if I disappear. She doesn't care that I'm hurting so much. She doesn't trust me.
I care if I disappear. I dont want to hurt this much. I dont trust her anymore?
I still love her.
what annoys me the most. Is that I fucking trust her with everything, but I dont tell her how I felt because I know shes going through worse shit than I am. I would always be there for her but I never wanted her to be there for me because I felt that she couldnt handle it. I want her to get better and not have to worry about me. I always tried to put her first.
When I was with Kelsie I couldnt stop thinking about Sasha. It wasnt fair to Kelsie. So i broke my relationship with Sasha and you know what? she didnt care. She didnt try to ask what was wrong. She just let things disappear. This whole thing was always a one way thing wasnt it? I called her one of my best friends, but did she ever do the same for me? Probably not.
I know in my heart what she means to me. I want her to be my friend, I want her to be a legit best friend and I want people to KNOW that we are each others best friend.
I want her to fight for me. I want her to realize what shes missing. I want her to reach rock bottom and realize that I will be there to fucking pick her back up. I wont kick her when shes down. I wont judge. I'll do what I usually do.
I'll be there.
She knows everything about me. If she needs me she knows where to find me.
I wont do the fighting anymore. I am a person who knows what shes worth. If she cant see it then fuck it.
Monday, September 24, 2012
I honestly do miss her, but more than anything I miss my old group of friends. I miss how close we all used to be. I miss seeing all of them everyday and us not doing anything.
Posted by Kira324 at 3:14 AM


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Israel News - Stay Informed, Pray Informed
Israel on Wednesday transfered two Syrian children to a hospital in the Jewish state for treatment after they were wounded in the ongoing Syrian civil war.
The two victims, boys aged 9 and 15, were taken to Ziv Hospital in the northern town of Safed with moderate-to-serious injuries.
Since war broke out in Syrian in March 2011, Israel has treated dozens of people who requested aid. Many have been treated at a field hospital set up along by border by the Israeli army, while more serious cases have been transfered to full medical facilities.
Most of the victims have been adults, and some were certainly wounded as combatants in the fighting. But of late a growing number of Syrian children have been brought over for treatment.
The United Nations says that up to 100,000 people have been killed in the Syrian conflict to date.
File photo for illustrative purposes only
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Follow us at @WorldSportCNN and like us on Facebook
(CNN) -- In a city where football is a religion, Daniel Sturridge is fast becoming a deity.
The Liverpool striker's skyward salute -- he is a committed Christian -- has become a familiar sight around English Premier League grounds, with the 24-year-old netting 18 league goals so far this season.
With nine goals in nine league matches this year, scoring has come easy. Explaining his hot streak, however, is a bit more difficult.
"I'm not too sure," Sturridge told CNN's World Sport. "I just think that I've had my faith in God, been praying a lot, been working hard on the training field, and expressing myself, playing my natural game and playing my natural position also."
A switch from the wing -- where his former club Chelsea often deployed him -- to a more central attacking role at Liverpool has transformed Sturridge's scoring fortunes.
The statistics speak for themselves: 13 goals in 63 league appearances during four years at Stamford Bridge compared to 28 from 35 games in the 14 months since completing his £12 million ($20 million) move to Anfield.
Goals and a blossoming partnership with Uruguay striker Luis Suarez have propelled Sturridge to new heights of stardom, but his nimble feet remain firmly planted on the ground.
"Maybe off the pitch it's changed in terms of people paying more attention, but in terms of myself and my family and my friends nothing has changed," he says.
"I live the same lifestyle, I'm the same old happy self that I've been in my whole life."
Sturridge and Suarez have netted 43 times in the league this season, but come June 19 they will likely be lining up against each other when England take on Uruguay at the World Cup in Brazil.
"It will be strange but I'm looking forward to it," Sturridge says of the Group D clash.
"We play against each other in training and we have a lot of battles, but come game time we will be enemies and he'll be somebody that I'll be looking to take out if necessary because we got to win the game."
Sturridge's renaissance at club level has also been mirrored on the international stage, where he's gone from fringe player to first-team regular.
His fifth England goal in this month's 1-0 friendly win against Denmark at Wembley merely confirmed his growing stature and confidence ahead of the trip to South America.
"It's gonna be great to be involved in the World Cup because it's something I've dreamed of ... It's gonna be a great occasion and as I've said, if I'm selected, I'm looking forward to it," he says.
The priority now, though, is on domestic matters as Liverpool continue their quest for a first league title in 24 years.
Sunday's 3-0 drubbing of Manchester United at Old Trafford was Liverpool's fifth straight league win and confirmed Brendan Rodgers' team as genuine title contenders, although Sturridge refuses to be drawn on the subject.
"I think it's important that we just go out there, work as hard as we can as a team in every game and perceive what the future holds," he told CNN before the victory over Liverpool's northwest rivals.
Sturridge can look forward to home clashes against two of his former clubs -- league-leading Chelsea and Manchester City, the bookmakers' favorite -- as the EPL title race heads down the final straight in April.
"We're gonna play them both at Anfield. It's going to be a great occasion for myself and for the fans and my teammates of course. But it's important that we go out there and play the Liverpool way and enjoy it," he says.
Win those two games and Liverpool fans will be on the verge of Premier League heaven.


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83 College Students Accused of Cheating via App
Photo Credit: Wikipedia
The ever-evolving miracles of technology are helping students find new and daring ways to cheat. The Ohio State University has charged 83 undergraduates with violating the school's code of student contact by using a group messaging app to cheat on assignments in a business class last year.
The school's Committee on Academic Misconduct says it investigated claims made by a professor at the Fisher College of Business in April and determined that the students used GroupMe, an app that supports document and calendar sharing, to commit several violations, including "unauthorized collaboration on graded assignments," the Columbus Dispatch reports.
Read the full story on Newser.com
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Here's one to remember:
"Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary."
-Mother Teresa


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Age supposedly brings wisdom, but that�s not been my experience. The number of things that perplex me has risen exponentially with my age. To this day, I�ll never understand why Shelly Long left �Cheers,� why Kanye West has a career or why a quarterly magazine doesn�t cost 25 cents.
Our oldest tax deduction is a third grader now, and with that comes a giant leap forward in the volume and difficulty of homework. Traditionally, The Wife has helped with math homework and I usually handle the word stuff.
Over the last few weeks, however, I�ve had no choice but to go back on a promise I made to myself and God many years ago: I�ve done math.
I do believe the children are our future, and frankly it scares the supper out of me. If they�re depending on me and my ilk to help them with anything above basic algebra or geometry, I see crooked buildings and cattywampus bridges in our future. Computers will be nothing more than cigar boxes with flashlights taped to them and the only thing you�ll be able to do with a cell phone is make a phone call.
The first dyspeptic episode I remember experiencing came immediately after reading my very first word problem in middle school. It was so terrifying that I remember it even to this day:
�Train A leaves Milwaukee at 7 a.m. traveling at 48 mph. Train B leaves St. Louis at 7:13 a.m. traveling 53 mph. Both trains are heading to New York City. Train A is carrying 4 tons of coal, while Train B is carrying 5 tons of confetti. Although train B is traveling at a faster rate of speed, the conductor of Train A just learned his wife has been fooling around with the milkman. If the conductor of Train A flies into a blind rage and maxes the train�s speed out at 87 mph, which train will arrive in New York City first?�
I believed thinking about that question for more than 30 seconds would cause my brain stem to knot up in a most unappealing way. The following was my answer:
�Trains never arrive on time anyway, so the question is moot.�
The teacher laughed out loud at my answer but still drew a big red X through it large enough to cover Ruben Studdard and three of his cousins.
This math homework Tax Deduction No. 1 brought home was in my mind intellectually vulgar. Imagine if you will a square divided into nine smaller squares. In the bottom right hand square is the number 2,551. Your task is to glean which numbers � when arranged horizontally and vertically � will add up to both 2,551 and the numbers in the right column that are subtracted from a larger number to arrive at that same number.
My first response was to go out and buy a dog so it would eat this infernal math worksheet. I then considered simply burning the house down with the homework still in it. Knowing my luck as of late all the furniture, Mr. T figurines and family photos would be destroyed while this demonic homework would survive.
Sensing there was no way out, I hunkered down in an attempt to find out how eight numbers that didn�t exist might result in another number that does exist. The first couple of scenarios I tried failed so miserably the smoke alarms went off. Somehow, the third try yielded the results we were looking for.
I hadn�t been that happy since Daisy Duke started driving a Jeep with no doors on it.
Historically, when we help TD No. 1 with her homework, we�ll show her how we came to the answer and then erase it so she�ll have to go through the steps herself. In this case, however, I had no idea how I came upon the correct answers. I know I added something to the one number they gave us which resulted in a larger number, but beyond that it was just a miracle.
I kept expecting three wise men to show up with gifts.
It took longer to figure out how I got the right answer than it did to get the right answer. After piecing it together, I ran through it with TD No.1 a few times until she either comprehended what I was trying to say or figured out how far you could get in this life by simply smiling and nodding.
I handed her a blank sheet of paper, a fresh quill and a bottle of ink and after a few minutes she recreated the math miracle. No wise men showed up but that commercial with the talking camel did pop up on the telly a few minutes later.
With homework squared away, I now had time to tackle the 10 other things I needed to get done. Sadly, I didn�t have the will. Any vestige of ambition left in my tank was devoured by math homework. Yes, math is a silent killer.
My gut tells me we haven�t seen the last of this math turnout. Word on the street is they�ll keep sending it home from now until she finishes college.
Right now I�m leafing through every piece of Methodist doctrine I can get my hands on. If the love of money is the root of all evil, then math is bound to be somewhere between the root and the trunk.
Religious exemption � here we come.
Jon Dawson�s columns appear every Tuesday and Thursday in The Free Press. Contact Jon at 252-559-1092 or firstname.lastname@example.com. Purchase Jon�s book �Making Gravy in Public� at Amazon.com or jondawson.com.


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23 Comments (+add yours?)
Hola Eleanor estoy maravillada con tu Taller es el deseo de cualquier Quíltera.
Yo intente pedirlo desde mi país pero no tuve suerte, no efectúan envíos, vivo en Argentina Buenos Aires -Capital Federal en un vello barrio San telmo .- te envío un fuerte abraso *MiMimcm*
wow, I am envious of so much room.
what quilter wouldn't be LOL
seriously it is quite impressive,
love your web site, especially all your videos, that are not just entertaining, but informative,
I have learned so much from them,
I have many of your books and patterns, they are the ones I use the most.
you make a positive difference in so many lives, that saying thank you seems not nearly enough, to convey what you mean to so many of us.
Do you have a longarm machine and if so where do put it? They take up a lot of room! I'm getting ready plan a new sewing room and have a large table for cutting and I also sew there. My machine is an embroidery machine so not sure how it would work on the tables where the machines recess.
Love the slat boards and definately want those as well as the quilt rack and design wall–I use the floor now! You must be so glad to have your new studio and a way to manage all the clutter. I get so tired of moving "stuff" from place to place so I can work at the different stations in my sewing room!
Sonho de qualquer patchworker.Parabéns, que Deus lhe dê muita saúde para que continue por muitos e muitos anos nesse mundo encantado de paninhos os quais são transformados em belas artes por suas mãos.
Obrigado por partilhar com a gente .Beijos em seu coração.
Sonho de qualquer patchworker.Parabéns! Que Deus lhe dê muita saúde para que continue por muitos e muitos anos nesse mundo encantado de paninhos os quais,são transformados em belas artes por suas mãos!
Obrigado por partilhar com a gente .Beijos em seu coração.
Oh My Goodness!
Your retreat is to die for Eleanor! All the space and beautiful wood cabinets and most of all every thing in one room. I have my Sewing Buddies ove on Thursdays and take over the entire house. I can only dream of have the space to put my BabyLock Jewel, machines and friends and sewing stations all in one room!
Congratulations Eleanor it is truly beautiful!
Judy Lee
This is the 3rd try I guess I can't read the captcha code??? If this doesn't go through I apologize, won't try again.
I really am impressed with the Koala classroom! So much space!
What a wonderful set up. Every quilters dream!
Great lighting, great scenery, great room. The inspiration is everywhere. Enjoy every minute in your beautiful new space.
wishful thinking, we can all drool
I go way beyond of being envious! That it a spectacular room.
I sure hope I won, I love sewing and want to learn more about quilting. what a blessing it would be to learn from the best, the one and only Eleanor Burns!!!!
I am so glad to see u w/your "dreams come true" sewing retreat!! Congrats! Eleanor U deserve nothing less…Have fun!!!
How wonderful would it be to have a Birthday weekend with Eleanor! Awesome sewing retreat!
Oh, my goodness. I LOVE your room and everything in it. Your reality is my dream, I think. I, too, have a long-arm quilting machine that takes up a good bit of space, but it's worth it for me. I don't need all the walls to display my finished products, though. I think everything I've ever made and quilted has been given away to people who love the results, but can't do it themselves (to include my 8 children, 1 DIL and four 2nd generation babies). I could post pictures, I guess. Of the quilts AND kids!
Thank you for showing us your heart – it's beautiful!
Someday, when my lottery ticket wins, I will have a sewing room like this!..Beautiful. I can just imagine spending hours upon hours creating in this space!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your space!!! Can I be your BFF???
Oh Ms . Eleanor
That is the most beautiful quilting space I have ever seen. I hope I get to meet you one day. I just love your morning star quilt.
Oh Eleanor, this is an amazing retreat you have made and I can only dream of having a space like this. I am back and forth from the living room to the garage to do my cutting and layering.
You are one amazing woman and I admire you so much and I have truly learned so much from you. Thank you. Enjoy your beautiful space.
I love your TV show here in p
Phoenix. I never miss it. I have learned so much. I use your videos right next to my sewing machine. Love your egg money quilts using my scraps. Thank you for all the good tips. Looking forward to more from you.
Love it! I have my sewing area in my laundry room which is located in the basement of our house! What a wonderful addition a piece of Koala would add to my area.
I love all the natural light. Great studio.
Eleanor I love your show! You have helped me make quilts and go thou hard time in my life. Thank you for all those wonderful short cuts and interesting patterns to make.


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June Shanahan, a fifth grade teacher at Scobee Elementary School, has been named one of six finalists in the state for 2011 Texas Teacher of the Year.
News Archive
More than 97,000 students headed back to the classroom when schools re-opened Monday. The projected enrollment is about 2,600 students higher than last year.
The Northside Independent School District will hold a public meeting at 7:00 PM, August 23, 2011 in the Board Room, Central Administration Office Building, 5900 Evers Road, San Antonio, Texas 78238. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the school district's budget that will determine the tax rate that will be adopted. Public participation in the discussion is invited.
Northside ISD is enforcing its "No Shots, No School" policy, which means students who are not up-to-date on their immunizations will not be allowed to attend classes when the 2011-12 school year begins Aug. 22.
As Northside ISD gets ready to fire up the air conditioning chillers and turn on the lights in 112 schools, the possibility of rolling electrical brownouts in neighborhoods throughout San Antonio presents real problems. NISD and other school districts met with CPS Energy recently to talk about the brownouts and their impact on schools.
Contrary to recent media reports, Northside ISD campus accountability ratings actually improved from 2010 to 2011.
Northside ISD and Bexar County joined together Thursday morning to break ground for the construction of the Northside Swim Center at the Farris Athletic Complex.
Northside ISD's newest elementary schools are ready to open Aug. 22, when more than 97,000 students in the District head back to school.
Because of the extreme heat, parents and students should review the University Interscholastic League Hydration Recommendations on what and when to drink.
Northside School District will again participate in the National School Lunch Program which provides free and reduced-price meals for students from households with qualifying incomes. Households interested must apply every school year for the meal program.
Northside School District will again participate in the National School Lunch Program which provides free and reduced-price meals for students from households with qualifying incomes. Households interested must apply every school year for the meal program.
For the fourth consecutive year, and the seventh time out of the last nine years, Northside ISD is a Texas Education Agency"Recognized" school district, according to the Accountability Report issued by TEA on Friday, July 29, 2011.
Wondering when bus schedules are announced, what supplies your child needs, or where to register your child for school? All those questions and more are answered on Northside ISD's Back to School website.
Northside ISD is enforcing its "No Shots, No School" policy, which means students who are not up-to-date on their immunizations will not be allowed to attend classes when the 2011-12 school year begins Aug. 22.
Northside ISD's Child Nutrition Department currently is seeking both full-time and part-time food service workers.
More students are graduating from Northside ISD high schools than ever before.
Northside ISD will hold registration for pre-kindergarten from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. July 11-14 at the Northside Activity Center, 7001 Culebra Road. Click here for specific school schedule.
Trustees from all the school districts in Bexar County joined together to produce a go-to resource for local education history and statistics.
Northside ISD Superintendent John Folks has been selected as the regional Superintendent of the Year in the annual competition sponsored by the Texas School Boards Association.
Graduation ceremonies have begun, and we are pleased to feature our high school valedictorians and salutatorians for this year.
Effective July 2011, there is a new Federal Requirement to raise student paid pricing. In complying with this mandate, NISD will raise student paid pricing by the smallest increase allowed, $.05 cents per student lunch meal. This is a requirement of Federal Law; NISD did not want to increase pricing.
Bennie Cole, the first new NISD Trustee since 2005, was sworn into office Tuesday night. Cole replaces District 2 Trustee Annie Holmes, who decided not to run for re-election after serving two terms on the Board.
When the last bell for the 2010-11 school year rings on June 2, classes may be over, but that doesn't mean the learning stops. Summer School is a time to catch up in your studies, learn something new, or try to get ahead
When Bobby Wood began working for Northside ISD, district enrollment was just 5,500, Murray Boone was superintendent, and John F. Kennedy had just been elected president.
If you've been watching television lately, you've seen a couple of very prominent Texans making a stand for public education. Tommy Lee Jones, actor; Ed Whitacre, former CEO of General Motors and AT&T; and Spurs players Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili have all filmed commercials for Raise Your Hand Texas, a nonprofit organization that advocates for public education.


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Visual Studio infected with HTML5 by 'rogue faction'
Passion in action
There's nothing to stop you working with HTML5 in Visual Studio. Except for the fact that you can't use many of the features that polish the .NET-editing experience.
That wasn't a problem for Microsoft until it decided HTML5 was the future of coding on PCs, devices, and the web, unveiling a very Web- and HTML-centric next version of Windows.
Eyes have been turning slowly to the next of Visual Studio, to see how Microsoft's tooling story plays out.
Ahead of that, Microsoft engineers have updated the existing version of the company's IDE to make HTML5 programming for the Windows faithful a friendlier experience.
Described by Microsoft principal manager Scott Hanselman jokingly, he tells us via Twitter, as a "rogue faction" inside Microsoft's server and tools unit, the group has built an update to Visual Studio 2010 Service Pack 1 they claim brings HTLM5 support up-to-date, adds support for CSS 3, and brings more new API's to IntelliSense for JavaScript.
The release is described as the work of "passionate people done in their spare time" rather than an official Microsoft product release.
The plan is to provide an update roughly every three months and to keep Visual Studio up-to-date with any changes made to the HTML5 spec by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
We'll keep watching to see what's coming from the full Visual Studio team in the next edition. ®


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Non-exempt Staff - PERF
Public Employees' Retirement
Fund of Indiana:
(available to benefits-eligible
non-exempt staff)
http://www.in.gov/inprs/ 1-888-286-3544 (toll free)
The Public Employees' Retirement Fund (PERF) was created on July 1, 1945, with the passage of the Public Employee's Retirement Act. The fund serves public employees and provides a wide range of retirement services with seven separately managed retirement funds.
When you begin employment in a PERF covered position, you are required to become a member of PERF. A membership application is completed in New Employee Orientation. An Annuity Savings Account is established in your name.
PERF contributions are divided into two parts, the Annuity Savings Account and the pension fund. ISU contributions 3% of each gross pay into the Annuity Savings Account. The rate ISU pays into the pension fund is actuarially determined by PERF each year. The current contribution rate is 11.2% of every gross pay.
All PERF eligible employees may make additional contributions to their PERF Annuity Savings Account. If you are an active member of PERF, you can add up to 10% of your pay to your account. Contributions are deducted from your payroll checks after taxes are withheld. You can only withdraw funds from your Annuity Savings Account as a distribution when you separate from PERF-covered employment or at retirement. You may choose to stop making post-tax voluntary contributions or change the amount deducted at any time. Voluntary Contributions to Annuity Savings Account Form
For information on retirement qualifications/options, investments or disability, a member's handbook and other information are available online at http://www.in.gov/inprs/ (Indiana Public Retirement System) or questions can be sent by email to email@example.com .


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After Falling for Fake "Friends of Hamas," Ben Shapiro Calls Real Journalist a "Hack"
New York Daily News journalist Dan Friedman recounts the tale of how he joked about a ridiculously-named fake group called "Friends of Hamas" with a Republican aide, then watched as breitbart.com hack Ben Shapiro uncritically and unprofessionally reported it as a fact: 'Friends of Hamas': My Role in the Birth of a Rumor.
On Feb. 6, I called a Republican aide on Capitol Hill with a question: Did Hagel's Senate critics know of controversial groups that he had addressed?
Hagel was in hot water for alleged hostility to Israel. So, I asked my source, had Hagel given a speech to, say, the "Junior League of Hezbollah, in France"? And: What about "Friends of Hamas"?
The names were so over-the-top, so linked to terrorism in the Middle East, that it was clear I was talking hypothetically and hyperbolically. No one could take seriously the idea that organizations with those names existed — let alone that a former senator would speak to them.
Friedman wasn't counting on the incredibly obsessed Breitbrats, for whom journalism is a retreating speck in the rear view mirror.
How do you imagine Ben Shapiro will react to the news that his bombshell exclusive story was a ludicrous fraud?
By raging at Friedman and calling him a "hack" and a member of the "Obama media," of course! In the right wing universe, no mistakes are ever acknowledged, even when everyone can see the egg all over your face.
For bonus hilarity, check out the comments for Shapiro's rant.
Oh really, well my source says that Ben Shapiro is cynical charlatan who doesn't care how ridiculous he looks in the eyes of his peers, as long as the checks keep clearing.
Ben, maybe this works for now (I'm sure you've got a family to feed)… but eventually, I recommend you try actual journalism. You know, the kind where you ask the question "Is this actually true?" then you try to answer that question honestly and in good faith. Radical, I know. And not much money in it. But you'd be doing a good thing. Does that appeal to you? Probably not, right?
Wasn't too long ago that Breitbart was parading little Ben out as the new braintrust, after letting him loose on the lamestream media to take on big phonies like Piers Morgan. Lol, that house of cards collapsed pretty swiftly.
I'm pleased to see how many commenters are beating up on Shapiro. I'm having fun too.
But we all need to remember that "facts and truth" isn't the goal of Breitbart articles. If a lie serves their ideology then lie they will.
Few on the right will hold Shapiro in less regard for his dishonesty, they might hold him in less regard though because he wasn't clever enough to hide it.
The ability to mock someone in real time while they double down on their stupidity has to be one of the greatest benefits of the internet. Right, Manti Shapiro?
It's always been obvious that Shapiro isn't a journalist, now it's clear he's an inept blogger.
As long as Shapiro is the Editor on this site, it will never gain credibility.
A classic in the annals of mean-spirited Breitbrat idiocy. But remember, this is not the first time one of their blatantly false stories has been circulated as fact by right wing groups: NRA Cites Breitbart.com to Falsely Claim School Attended by Obama's Daughters Has '11 Armed Guards'.
What effect will this have on breitbart.com's credibility among right wingers? None. It's not about credibility to the right, it's about smearing their opponents with everything they can find, true or not, accurate or not.
It's very possible that some Republican staffer deliberately pushed this fake story out to Ben Shapiro and breitbart.com, because they knew the brats have no standards and would immediately run with it. Then they could use it as a source for their attacks on Hagel.
A neat little Moebius strip of right wing fake outrage.


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