text:
Thomas R. Fox, Janesville, WI (1967 - 2014)
June 1, 1967 - March 9, 2014
Thomas R. Fox, age 46, of Janesville, died on Sunday, March 9, 2014, at home. He was born in Janesville, on June 1, 1967, the son of Harold and Toni (Mc Ginnis) Fox and was a 1986 graduate of Craig High School. He married Tracey L. Nelson on Sept. 11, 1997, in Janesville. Tom was a journeyman plumber and worked at J&B Nelson Plumbing for many years before going back to school and attaining a CNA degree where he worked for the Nazareth Health Care in Stoughton. He was a member of St. John Vianney Catholic Church. Tom was an avid beer connoisseur (especially at the Essen Haus in Madison) and adored his Chocolate Lab, Rylee.
Tom is survived by his wife, Tracey; mother, Toni; three brothers: Harry "Butch" (Julie) Mau and Jeff (Susan) Fox, both of Monroe and Steve (Wendy Monat) of Janesville; father and mother-in-law, Bryan and Joan Nelson of Janesville; two sisters-in-law, Terry Nelson of Leesburg, FL, and Toni (Steve) Rowley of Brodhead; brother-in-law, Brent (Sue) Nelson of Janesville; eight nieces and nephews: Rob (Emalee) Mau, Renee (Randy) Lee, Mallary Fox, Garrett Fox, Catherine Nelson, David Nelson, Nicholas Rowley and Sarah Rowley; great-niece, Allison; and two great-nephews, Brayden and Brody. He was preceded in death by his father, Harold; brother, Gary Fox; sister-in-law, Terese Mau; and longtime friend, Joel Sarnow.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, March 13, 2014, at ST. JOHN VIANNEY CATHOLIC CHURCH, Janesville, with Rev. Donn Heiar officiating. Burial will be at Mt. Olivet Cemetery. Visitation will be held on Thursday, March 13, 2014, from 10 a.m. until the time of service at the church. SCHNEIDER APFEL SCHNEIDER & SCHNEIDER FUNERAL HOME & CREMATORY, Janesville, is assisting the family. For on-line obituary and condolences: www.schneiderfuneraldirectors.com


text:
Irrefutable Facts Against Evolution
Discussion of everything related to the Theory of Evolution.
Moderator: BioTeam
Irrefutable Facts Against Evolution
I began with a discussion on the engines which drive evolution. The one fact which prevailed in that discussion was the impossibility, near impossibility, of a positive mutation (the probability is so near that it is practically impossible). Now I will simply list several well known and accepted facts which do not allow the theory of evolution to exist. To continue on the point of mutations which drive the theory of evolution, I will begin there. This will be a wealth of information. It is perfectly alright if, in your responses, that you discuss the points I have presented here one by one, listing the point number in some sort of way.
1)The Structure of Protons in the Nucleus
Protons, being of like charge, naturally repel each other. Speeds needed for nuclear fusion does not occur naturally in nature. We attempt to produce nuclear fusion, and even then, the process is not 100% efficient (during the process, protons bounce off of each other). Everything that is alive contains carbon. Period. Carbon has 6 protons. Those protons are held together by nuclear forces, which attract protons to each other when they are extremely close. Any one micrometer farther apart, and the protons split. How can, with repelling protons and with the lack of naturally occurring nuclear fusion, carbon have formed? In addition, how can anything with an atomic number (atomic number=number of protons) of 2 or higher have formed? The answer to this question is that it is frankly impossible.
Big bang attempts to explain this. However, this is simply what big bang sais: nothing took itself, and made something from nothing. The big bang theory sais that a tremendous explosion began the universe. Where did those things which the explosion was composed of came from? And if from something else where did they come from? The eventuality is that it same from nothing, or that it appeared from nowhere. Everything has a source. Things dont appear from nothing, explode, and cause the universe to expand and heat, then cool, then randomly form the earth. This, in simple common sense terms, is impossible.
2)The Age of the Sun (Russian Sun Study and Earth's Magnetic Field)
For the theory of evolution to be possible, the sun had to have existed throughout the duration of the evolutionary time scale. Life as we know it could not have developed or exist without the sun in tow. A study was done on the sun by Russian scientists. Based on the sun's rate of nuclear fusion, the Russian scientists found the sun to be 10,000-30,000 years old.
Also supporting young age is the strength of the earth's magnetic field. Scientists have found that the magnetic field is reducing in strength at a rapid rate, with a half life of about 1,400 years. If that rate is reversed, the strength of the earth's magnetic field 20,000 years ago would be that of a magnetic star. This supports Earth's young age, as appose to evolution's over estimation.
3)Population Statistics
This science is above all the most convincing. As you can see in the chart of population growth, the human population stays relatividly stable until there is an excessive amount of exponential growth. According to evolution, humans appeared 200,000 years ago, and the modern human 40,000 years ago. The application of population growth rate has been estimated at 2%, yet it has been shown to be 1%. Every 82 years, one-third of the population is wiped out by disease, war, etc. If these rules are applied, over the course of 41,000 years, according to the observed science of population statistics, there would be 2x10^89 humans in existence today. In other words, 200000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000. The current population is 6900000. There is not enough room on earth to hold this many bodies.
This is not conjecture. This is a science of population statistics. Evolution does not conform to this.
4)McFall & Taylor Trail Footprints
These two trails have both dinosaur and human foot prints. For one, dinosaurs are, according to evolution millions of years old. These fossils should be underground to coordinate with the evolutionary time scale. However, the very fact that these fossils are on the surface is cause for disproof. Also, there is one particular footprint which has a human footprint inside of a dinosaur footprint. This shows that humans and dinosaurs existed recently and in the same period, which evolution is quite contradictory to.
Lysosome contain enzymes that are used to break down material and get it ready for disposal. All of these enzymes work best at a low pH, reducing the risk that these enzymes will digest the very cell they are contained in should they somehow escape from the lysosome. Keep in mind that the pH of water, from which all life spring from (according to evolution) has a pH of 7. The cell could not house these enzymes without the membrane. The conundrum of getting the enzymes inside of the membrane, or the membrane around the enzymes, or the membrane evolving, then the enzyme getting on the inside, or the enzyme evolving, then the membrane around it, is a very far stretched possibility. This is so far stretched, that it is impossible.
If the enzymes develop before the membrane, the membrane would be broken down by enzymes from the outside. If the membrane evolves before the enzymes, either the membrane is already closed and is consumed by the enzyme or the enzyme develops inside the membrane, at which point would contain water instead of cell fluid. The membrane, at that point, would be consumed from the inside out because of pH.
7)The Digestive System
If we were to take away the bile lining our digestive system, the stomach acid would burn through the cell lining, and thus leak into the rest of the body, and be detrimental to survival. The process of evolution takes billion of years. An unprotected cell, if dropped in this acid, would be instantly killed. Early cells that might try to contain this acid or who merely come in contact with this acid will be instantly killed. This instant kill leaves no time to adapt. A cell cannot adapt to something it does not come in regular contact with. Just one contact is enough to kill the cell. Furthermore, our stomach acid is weak when compared to other animals, such as vultures.
Also, this is an issue similar to lysosome and their enzymes. Stomach acid would not be able to be contained. Evolution cannot explain how stomach acid ended up in the first stomach.
The Probability of Cell Development
A cell, at minimum, has 60,000 proteins of which there are 100 different configurations. There are, on top of this, very complex cells and an enumeration of cell types. The chance of the random, unorchestrated assembly of a cell is 1 in 104,478,296. This is so far stretched, that it is practically impossible.
If I were debating mutation like I was in my last piece, you could find a way around my arguments. We both evolutionist and creationists would have been debating conjectures on how evolution would compensate for difficulties in generating positive adaptations. However, most of these are either facts or a science, not conjecture. There is no way to conjecture around these. Maybe, possibly, you could provide a far stretched explanation for lysosome and the digestive system because it is your arena on development of the organism. You might also debate your way around the big band explanation. However, the rest are facts and science that evolution cannot get around, and they are facts which make evolution an impossibility. However, if you do have observed facts that contradict what is above, please elaborate on these facts.
-facts, observed events, plausible explanations, and solid evidence
The man in sunglasses is actually the number 8. I do not understand how this came to be this way.
Also, in reference to population statistics, the figure of 2x10^89 is derived from starting from just beginning with just 2 humans modern day humans and continuing procreation from 41,000 years ago to present day (as I already said, 41,000 is derived from the theory of evolution, which sais that the modern human appeared 40,000 years ago.
-facts, observed events, plausible explanations, and solid evidence
For the 8 ) becoming a man in sunglasses, it is because you have BBcode (the forum formatting language) activated. And it is interpreted thusly (I put a space in mine to avoid that0, you can also create a by typing :_D without the underscore. Or you could uncheck BBcode when you type your message.
To go to your post:
1) Nothing to do with evolution, just with basic physics. Well we have a problem here, because it is quite off topic.
2)So there is one study that says that. What about all the other that disagree?
3) You understand that humans are not bacteria. Mating are not binary fission. And, I know that this will come as a shock, they do mate with people they are related to. A quick look on any of the genealogic tree of a European royal family would show you some interesting things... But beware it is hardcore.
4) irrefutable, eh?
5) Nice grasp of things like protein migration, signaling, and cell biology in general.
6) Truly I have no word about that one. But not convinced by a certain ... hmmmm... lack of argumentation, shall I say.
7) gradual modifications, does that mean anything to you? I suppose not.
8- Impressive use of meaning less statistics. Evolution is NOT a series of independent events.
Science has proof without any certainty. Creationists have certainty without
any proof. (Ashley Montague)
First of all, this has nothing to do with biology, but never minds.
Second, you have obviously huge gaps not only in biology, but also in chemistry and other sciences. I'm just curious, where is the level of education so bad? And I thought that the education in Czech Rep is already so bad.
I know it makes no sense to reply to you, since you will not accept any new data, but for the case someone else would read it, here are some comments.
1) You're wrong, that there is no fusion in nature, just look into stars. The heavier atoms are formed in supernovas. And BTW big bang has nothing to do with this.
2) where did you get that?
3) 7 millions of people on Earth? Even Czech Republic has more citizens
4) this one again?
5) what exactly is the reason, why membrane could not be first?
How does it work in bacteria?
6) this one is nice
7) the same as 5
nearly impossible, that's all, what you can say...
Cis or trans? That's what matters.
1)It has everything to do with it. There have to be atoms before there can be a chemical revolution. The big bang nor evolution offers plausible theories for this.
2)If there are studies that you know about which disagree, I would appreciate if you could name them or the scientists instead of just saying that there are experiments that disagree.
3)Yes, people mate with people they are related to. We call it "kissing cousins". In Europe, they are called bloods. Also, i know that humans do not mate by binary fission. None of this is shocking to me. What exactly are you trying to say?
Again, population statistics is a science, not conjecture. 1% growth, every 82 years 1/3 dies, and if you being with 2 modern humans from 41,000 years ago (evolution sais the modern human appeared 40,000 years ago; this obviously means they are using todays system of mating, which is procreation through sexual intercourse), then you will end up with 2x10^89 in todays population. Thats 2 with 89 zeros behind it. Todays population has only 7 digits. There is not enough space on earth for this many bodies.
I would say show me the facts or the science, but there is only one science of population statistics, and evolution is impossible because it contradicts that science.
4)The tracks are human. The site admits that here are toe marks, and a cup in the heel like human footprint should be. There are human footprints in that area.
Also, evolution sais that dinosaurs existed 230 mill to 65 mill years ago. Therefore, these prints should be under the ground. Just the very fact that these prints are on the surfact disproves evolution.
5)It seems this is a fact you cannot get around.
6)There is no no. 6 is there? funny.
7)I said "However, if you do have observed facts that contradict what is above, please elaborate on these facts." Instead, I received a smart remark.
Both of use are still left with the fact that evolution occurs over millions of years. How can the cell adapt to something, with bile production, that kills it instantly? The answer to this is that it is impossible. Acid works instantly to burn through the body if it is not contained in the stomach. Early stomachs could not have developed with the issue of obtaining stomach acid.
8)Ah, but you see, it is. How does one event in evolution influences another? If one organism was unable to obtain stomach acid, how does this affect the next organism? Its not like they connect telepathically and exchange why they were not able to do so. Genetics in one organism are isolated from the next organism, and they do not communicate and help correct each other. Where there is a difficulty, such as the lysosome and the stomach acid, all organisms are affected by this. The individual must evolve to pass on a gene with a complete digestive system. The collective of early organisms do not evolve in close proximity and thus effect each other's ability to overcome these difficulties. Obviously, the individual cannot spontaneously evolve this because stomach acid, if not contained, burns through the body.
Evolution is a mass of conjectures, not observed facts or events. You obviously conjecture that evolution is an interconnected event because it favors your theory.
This statistic is fact. It shows that the possibility of cell development by random, unorchestrated chemical revolution is so low, that its practically impossible. So instead of showing an experiment where this was replicated, or presenting solid facts which show that it is possible, you call the statistic meaningless.
-facts, observed events, plausible explanations, and solid evidence
Re: Irrefutable Facts Against Evolution
1)In reference to the stars, this is true.
Let me rephrase this: nuclear fusion does not occur naturally on Earth.
Also, to canalon: you obviously could not face the fact and conjecture your way around it. This fact does not allow carbon and other elements to form. Therefore, you simply state that this is off subject.
2)I read it 2 years ago on http://www.biologynews.net. The study was published in a prominent science journal in England. I forgot the name and simpy retained the fact ofthe age of the sun. I have searched for it again and have not been able to find it, especially considering I forgot the name of the science journal and it was 2 years ago.
3)Obviously, I put 7 million instead of 6.9 billion. Instead of focusing on the mistake, I would appreciate if you could focus on the science of population statistics and the fact that evolution simply isnt viable considering the date oof our appearance. The number again is 2x10^89 people after 41,000 years of procreation via sexual reproduction, 1% growth rate, and a 1/3 death every 82 years (these numbers are derived from the proven, observed science of population statistics).
Keep in mind that you can put the general topic in google, and many results appear which only deal with this subject. Also, canalon made the argument that these prints arent human, even though there are toe marks and the cup of the heel is present. However, even if they are not toe marks, and they are dinosaur footprints, the very fact that dinosaur foot prints are on the surface shows that they existed recently. Also, they should be deep in the earth because of evolution's geological time scale.
These footprints disprove evolution.
5)If the membrane comes first, then the enzyme cannot enter into the membrane. There is one very far out way this is possible, and that is for the membrane to capture a part of the chemical sludge so that the enzymes may evolve within the membrane. This is a far stretched impossibility. Also, the enzymes operate best at low pH. The cell, being that it "evolved" in the sea, would have captured water, which has a pH of 7. This would allow the enzymes to digest the membrane which is supposed to contain them.
Bacteria is a separate issue that I am not debating, and must look into. Right now, I am presenting the modern day presence of lysosome, which evolution cannot explain how it got into the cell or membrane.
6)Again, I messed up on the numbering. funny.
7)Again, cells in the stomach are adapted to stomach acid through bile production. How did a cell, that would be instantly killed by stomach acid, have a gradual genetic adaptation? The cell would be dead before it can even begin to "evolve".
8)I think I need to iterate something: the possibility is 1 in 104,478,296. This percentage possibility is 0.000000009% possibility. There is a thing about probability: if it is stretched to the point of 0.000000009%, it is practically impossible. 1 in 104,478,296 does not mean that 1 in every 104,478,296 events, the cell will develop. This means that for each event, it has a 1 in 104,478,296 chance, or a 0.0000000009% chance of evolving. This makes the cell evolution practically impossible.
-facts, observed events, plausible explanations, and solid evidence
canalon & Jackbean:
No. 1,3,4,5,7, & 8 are facts that you simply cannot get around.
I am waiting for a response on number 2.
5 & 7 are in you realm of conjecture and biological development. Therefore, for whatever problems arise in the development, you simply conjecture around them instead of facing the stretched probability to the point of impossibility. My point of possibility is made in 8, where the chance for each event, which is individual, is 1 in 104,478,296 or 0.000000009%. This is, again, a statistic you cannot compensate for or conjecture around.
The science of population statistics, dinosaur footprints on the surface, the formation of elements with a atomic number of 2 or above, the young age of the sun (waiting for a response), the practical impossibility of the random, unorchestrated combination of chemicals that bring about life, and the reversed rate of deterioration of the earth's magnetic field showing earth's young age (unmentioned by either of you).
The cell probability, earth's magnetic field, & population statistics is taken from http://184.108.40.206/~creatio1/index.ph ... view&id=36
Obviously, I had to get it from a creationist site because evolutionists would never talk about the earth's magnetic field on a website, much less in person (evolutionists tend to turn away when I mention the population statistics and magnetic field) because it disproves the theory.
-facts, observed events, plausible explanations, and solid evidence
Re: Irrefutable Facts Against Evolution
You obviously don't know, how planets formed. Interesting, that you care only about the carbon, but other even heavier elements don't bother you.
I see. So you want from us perfect citations about hings, which are in every textbook, but you cannot find single citation about such radical thing as sun being 40k years old.
As canalon told you, we are not bacteria. I don't understand much to your numbers in the first post. However, I would say the finnal number depends on the original population size
Your lack of knowledge is phenomenal. Study geology first, before you make such strong statements.
http://www.earthsci.unimelb.edu.au/Thom ... nge07.html
http://www.geology.ohio-state.edu/~vonf ... index.html
Canalon was right, you have no clue about protein trafficking and stuff. Bacteria is much relevant, because if they are ancestors of eukaryotes, then you should look them up, whether they have lysosome-like organels. Of course, we know that bacteria do not have membrane-bound organelles, but their plasmamembrane makes infolding, which may lead to membrane-enclosed organelles.
At least, I know now, where you have this number from. Just for curiosity, how does 1 in 104,478,296 transform into 0.000000009%?
You think you say that something is "practically impossible" and that's enough for rejecting evolution, but it's not. You should consider (although I know you won't) there are (usually) millions of individuals of each species thus the chance is not that low.
Cis or trans? That's what matters.
Re: Irrefutable Facts Against Evolution
1) Nuclear fusion does occur in nature. It happens at the center of any star. The first stars contained only hydorogen and a little helium. Nuclear fusion in stars builds up heavier elements. Nuclear fusion has been directly studied in the laboratory, so we understand it in great detail.
Large massive stars quickly fuse nuclei at a quick rate, and relatively quickly will explode as a supernova. The explosion does two things. It generates elements heavier than iron, and it disperses material out into the cosmos away from the supernova. That is, it puts heavy elements out into space.
Later, other stars and planets will form from the interstellar gas that now has heavier elements in it. Every atom of heavy elements (such as carbon, iron, gold, etc.) was formed either at the center of a star in its normal lifetime, or in its explosion as a supernova.
Fred Hoyle worked this out in detail in the 1950s.
2) Even the first estimates of the age of the Sun by Lord Kelvin in the 19th century (before nuclear fusion was know) gave an estimate bigger than 30000 years.
The Earth's magnetic field varies all the time. You can't extraploate indefinitely from a short-term trend. The mechansim of the Earth's magnetic field is fairly well understood. It has been investigated with numerical simulations on a computer, and it has been investigated experimentally laboratory-scale models.
4) I have seen fossilized dinosaur footprints. I have not seen any fossilized human footprints. If you look at enough rocks or mud, you can find any shape you want. I saw a potato chip that looked exactly like Bob Hope.
There is a lava flow on Mars that looks like Kermit the frog. That doesn't mean anything either.
This one is more interesting. There is no "unorchestrated assembly". Calculating probablilities for "unorchestraed assembly" is meaningless because the assembly of atoms into molecules, and molecules into larger systems, happens according to the laws of physics and chemistry. The configurations the atoms and molecules can take are highly constrained by the laws of nature. Molecules don't form randonly. They form as a result of the working out of the principles of chemistry.
Re: Irrefutable Facts Against Evolution
1)I especially emphasize carbon because it is necessary to life. However, I did mention "The science of population statistics, dinosaur footprints on the surface, the formation of elements with a atomic number of 2 or above . . ."
I admit I did mention this on the side, but I am also concerned with the formation of any element with an atomic number of 2 or more (the atomic number is equal to the number of protons). You point the fact that I did not emphasize this as if its an argument of some sort, but its not. You just accentuated how much more difficult it is for this universe to form.
You said "You obviously don't know, how planets formed."
Its not that I dont know. Its just that I dont say the same thing that you say, which I am assuming is the big bang. If you want to thoroughly debate this, I will be talking the big band in the big bang string on a thread. However, I will elaborate on this one point: there is a halo ring of radiation in granite. The radiation disappears almost instantly when the rock is heated. The big bang states that the earth was formed by the earth beginning as a heated mass which cooled over time. However, granite today can be found with this radiation in it.
2)I never ask for perfect citation. I only ask for the name of the experiment or experimenter or both or a link. I only ask for this when you guys say something like "There are plenty of experiments that show the suns age is 3.5 billion years old." Only when you just say something without naming an example or link or experimenter or experiment name. And when new information is presented, I ask for an explanation right here in the forum. Not for some citation.
And it was you who I argued with about sickle cell anemia as a positive mutation.Never did I ask for a link on this. Also, it was you who dropped out of the conversation because im "improbable". However, yo dropped out because you could only present your conjecture but could not provide viable explanation that I could not find a problem with.
Furthermore, in the first place, this has nothing to do with the argument. You are just trying to make me out to be hypocritical. I would appreciate if we could debate the facts.
3)I'm going to explain it again. The science of population statistics sais that every 82 years, 1/3 of the population dies from war, disease, etc. and that there is a 1% population growth rate throughout history although it is said to be 2. Evolution sais that the modern human appeared 40,000 years ago. STARTING WITH 2 modern day humans 41,000 years ago, with a 1% population growth and 1/3 die every 82 years, and the humans, being that that they're modern day, are utilizing procreation through sexual reproduction. The population, when grown from just 2 humans, and when the proven and observed rules of population statistics are applied, the population today would be 2x10^89, or 2 with 89 zeros behind it.
Again, these numbers are derived from population statistics. Population statistics is a science that is entirely based on observation and the direct replication of what we see today and in history. You could easily look up population statistics in google, and the science of population statistics would be the same regardless of where you find it.
4)I know what geological folding is. I know how geology works, and I know that the evolutionist excuse for this inconsistency is that earth quakes cause some layers to arise to the topsoil, which is essentially because tectonic plates shift up, down, converge, diverge, and crash to create mountains. I know about tectonics and geology. I know that this could cause fossils to be misplaced.
Yes earthquakes can cause displacement of fossils, but the real question is has this occurred in the Taylor and McFall trails? Obviously, if this hasnt occurred there, then how could it be applied to this situation? Because if it has not occurred there, then it does not apply.
5)You said "Bacteria is much relevant, because if they are ancestors of eukaryotes,"
With evolution, things get more complex. It is the other way around. Bacteria, which is more simple, came before eukaryotes.
Again, I am debating LYSOSOME, NOT BACTERIA! I would appreciate if I could get an explanation on how evolution sais how this impossible thing happened. Obviously, I think this is impossible by evolution because these enzymes and the membrane evolve separately. The question is how did one get inside the other? I am asking for an explanation, and neither you nor evolution has given one. I am still asking for an explanation.
6)If I were to say that the chance is 1 out of 4, its the same as 1/4. When 1 is divided by 4, you get the percent, which is 25%. When you divide 1 by 104,478,296, you get 9.571 e-9, which is 9x10^-9, or 0.000000009%.
I think you need to look at what Im talking about. The probability of CELL FORMATION. The probability of cells developing from a chemical slosh, which is what evolution sais the first cells came from.
I appreciate the debate, but I would like that you should reframe from insult. I could have long ago called you ignorant because of your incorrect english, but this is not kind, it is not nice, it is not good. I do not see what makes it right for yo to do so.
-facts, observed events, plausible explanations, and solid evidence
Re: Irrefutable Facts Against Evolution
Must... not... feed... troll... but the temptation is so strong...
Nuclear fusion. What's so complicated about it?
So how exactly are you calculating this? There seem to be several mathematical errors and incorrect assumptions here. If there is a 1% population growth rate and "1/3 die every 82 years", how does your equation work? Even more seriously, from where are you getting these statistics? Using modern-day growth rates, or historical records?
Why is it that your signature demands "facts, observed events, plausible explanations, and solid evidence", yet these seem to be nearly always absent from your posts?
I don't know enough about this topic, so I will not comment on this.
This is such a simple question, yet when others have provided correct answers and even elaborated them greatly when asked to do so, you still do not seem to understand? What, do you think you know more than all the others on this forum?
I will explain again: this is not an issue of evolution, but rather protein kinesis. Lysosomes are buddings of the Golgi apparatus, and lysosomal enzymes are trafficked from the Golgi to the budding lysosome.
Please stop pulling statistics out of nowhere. Are you trying to prove the improbability of the formation of double-membrane-enclosed structures? If so, then I would consider that it is not difficult to do so. If you drop phospholipids into water, it will spontaneously associate into double-membrane structures called liposomes. Fox proposed a mechanism for the formation of protobionts from liposomes.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Wisconsin Senate passes cancer drugs bill
MADISON — The Wisconsin state Senate passed a proposal Tuesday that would give cancer patients access to less expensive chemotherapy drugs in pill form, sending the bill to the Assembly where its future remained in doubt.�
The bipartisan 30-2 vote happened after Republican Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald agreed to allow the bill to proceed after using a procedural move to hold it up last week because of opposition by two GOP senators. Fitzgerald voted for the bill.�
Democratic backers said the Senate's action will mean nothing if the Assembly takes no action before adjourning for the year on Thursday. The Assembly must pass the bill and Gov. Scott Walker would have to sign it for it to become law.�
"It will be the height of cynicism for this Legislature to adjourn leaving these people simply to wonder who to blame, who to hold accountable, because the clock ran out," said Sen. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar. If the Assembly doesn't pass the bill, "this vote will mean nothing," Jauch said.�
The proposal was not on the Assembly's tentative agenda for Thursday and Speaker Robin Vos said a decision on whether to schedule it for a vote wouldn't be made until Republicans had a chance to discuss it. That would happen on Thursday, he said.�
Democrats, cancer survivors and other advocates who praised the Senate's action kept up the pressure on the Assembly to not leave without also passing it.�
"Today doesn't matter if we don't get it done in the Assembly," said Sen. Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse. "For people who are fighting for their lives, some hope is sometimes all that they have. And I don't want to give them false hope."
It appears that there are enough votes in the Assembly to pass it, but Vos is using a procedural move to stop a vote forcing it to come up. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which polled all 132 state lawmakers, found that at least 61 of 99 Assembly members supported it. That included all 39 Democrats and at least 22 Republicans.�
The bill would require health plans to provide the same coverage for chemotherapy drugs in pill form, which can be taken at home instead of at the hospital, and the drug's less-expensive intravenous form. Twenty-nine other states have similar laws.
No one spoke out against the bill during the Senate debate, including the two lawmakers who voted against it — Sens. Leah Vukmir, R-Wauwatosa, and Paul Farrow, R-Village of Pewaukee. Both previously said they were concerned about the measure being a mandate on insurance companies. Health insurers that opposed the bill also said it would drive up costs.�
Sen. Alberta Darling, the Republican sponsor of the bill and a 10-year cancer survivor, said, "No matter what happens in the Assembly, we're going to be doing the right thing."
Walker said Monday that he didn't know enough about the measure to say whether he would sign it if the Legislature passed it.�
His Democratic challenger, former state Commerce Secretary Mary Burke, said she supports it and would sign it.�
"This should be an easy, common sense decision," Burke said in a statement. "Unfortunately, it seems like once again we see special interests taking precedence over the needs of the people of Wisconsin."


text:
Kennedy Park
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Fee: Free
Age Range: Any
Toddlers, Tunes and Turtles, in its eighth year, is an outdoor nature program for families to enjoy the park together. provide animal experts that bring a variety of live animals like frogs, snakes, birds, and of course, turtles. We also have musicians come and sing family friendly music from Old Town School Schol of Folk Music to eager crowds. There are instruments for the kids to play with, puzzles, books, blocks, fishing and more! star feature is nature free play which is proven to help children developmentally as they engage in fun activities like building forts out of sticks, touching pine cones or smelling cinnamon bark. This event is open to the neighborhood, park groups and everyone in the city.


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It is hard to love a troll, and some feel the same way about patent trolls, the pejorative term for a nonpracticing entity (NPE) that sues a company for infringing its patent. Some feel that NPEs, which do not practice the invention covered by their patent, are like mythical trolls, who lived under bridges and collected tolls, even though they did not themselves build the bridge. Harry Potter taught us to love witches, Shrek taught us to love ogres, but notwithstanding Russ Berrie, trolls tend to get a bad rap. Companies like Apple, Microsoft and Canon have all been sued by NPEs, which often obtain jury verdicts in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
The goals of the patent system are to reward inventors and to spur innovation. Many argue that patent trolls satisfy neither goal and that we need legislation to stop what they argue is a parasitic tax on innovation. However, like Shrek's version of ogres, trolls are also like onions, and only by unpeeling their various layers can we learn to understand the different types of patent trolls and appreciate the different ways in which they can help reward inventors and spur innovation.
The entity most commonly referred to as a patent troll is a company that scours the market for patents, buys them, and then sues a host of companies for infringing those patents. The victims of these NPEs are often giants in the electronics, computer and Internet fields, with hosts of lobbyists looking out for their interests. Much of the anti-patent legislation in recent years has been a reaction to such NPEs.
By analogy, there has been a lot of backlash against companies that deal in stock options and derivatives. Some argue that companies would have had their IPOs funded without the existence of stock options and that banks would have given home mortgages even if credit default swaps had never been created. Some on Wall Street will explain that although these instruments don't actually raise money to start a business or buy a home, they provide liquidity to the market and indirectly help homebuyers and entrepreneurs. Similarly, one could argue that this class of NPE provides liquidity to the field of patents, and some might argue that these entities indirectly spur innovation. Of course, the companies on the receiving end of the patent infringement complaint will emphasize other effects of these NPEs.
A second group of NPEs are companies that do invent and make things, but also have licensing divisions. These companies often have huge research and development (R&D) budgets, obtain hundreds of patents and produce many of the items we use every day. However, most companies do not bring every one of their innovations to market. Therefore, rather than let their patents collect dust like Rembrandts in the attic, many companies have opened up licensing divisions. These divisions often market their innovations and license some of their unused know-how and patents to others. These companies sometimes bring patent infringement suits, even in areas where they have no licensees. They often prefer to bring patent infringement suits against companies that are not their typical competitors, so that there is little chance of a retaliatory patent infringement suit. One could argue that the ability to profit from a company's under-used innovations helps fund R&D budgets, and therefore helps spur innovation—a primary purpose of the patent system.
A final category of NPEs is comprised of investors who fund patent litigation, looking for huge returns on their investments. Many inventors and small businesses have invented new and useful technologies, tried to license them to larger entities, but were not successful. After negotiations with those larger entities break down, the would-be licensors sometimes feel as if the potential licensee stole their inventions. However, a lack the funds to pursue patent infringement litigation can act as a strong deterrent to pursuing a lawsuit. In the past, large companies were sometimes tempted to simply use these companies' or inventors' innovations, secure in the knowledge that these entities could not afford to sue them for patent infringement in Federal Court.
Today, patent infringement litigation is frequently funded by such NPEs. This provides inventors and small companies with a means to stop larger companies with deeper pockets from using their inventions without a license or a fear of being sued. This funded patent litigation can take many different forms, and a full explanation is beyond the scope of this article. However, the threat of funded patent litigation can provide the means for smaller entities to license their inventions at a fair price. If the larger entity decides to simply use the patented technology, there is a growing group of entities willing to fund the litigation for a piece of the potential patent infringement damage recovery. Not only does funded patent litigation help reward the inventor for their innovations, it arguably encourages smaller entities to develop inventions with less fear that a larger company will not negotiate a license in good faith.
Thus, as or our children (or we) have seen with Shrek's explanation that ogres are like onions, NPE patent "trolls" also can have many different layers, many of which serve admirable purposes and which do help spur innovation. Of course, some NPEs do not litigate in good faith and some hope to settle early on questionable claims because the cost of defending against a patent infringement litigation is so high. However, just because an entity does not practice the technology disclosed in its patent, does not confirm that they are up to no good. Therefore, before Congress enacts legislation in this area, it is to be hoped that it acquires a full understanding of the non-practicing entity in all of its forms and likenesses.


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On the road: Family treasures memories of seeing America
WALWORTH--If you ask Merle or Rosemary Romenesko what it was like rumbling across country in a 1968 Pontiac station wagon with 10 kids, they will tell you their children were good travelers.
"I don't think I ever had to raise my voice," Merle said. "It was almost like they were taking care of each other. It was understood that when we got into a city, they would all quiet down."
All these years later, fourth child, Patrick, wonders how his parents were so patient during those storied trips in the 1960s and 1970s, when the family motored from coast to coast and border to border—and beyond.
"It seems like much of the time a third of us were car sick," Patrick recalls. "And a third of us were wondering when we were going to get there. We had air conditioning, so those in the front would complain about being too cold. Those in the back would complain about being too warm. It was one kid complaining after another, but my parents got us there safe and sound."
Merle and Rosemary of Walworth know that many vacations are over by Labor Day, but the memories of a family trip last a lifetime.
Now in their 80s, they brim with tales about travel with their family to many of the nation's iconic landmarks—Niagara Falls, the St. Louis Arch, the Grand Canyon.
"I grew up in the Depression, followed by World War II," Merle said. "I never went anywhere."
Merle, who retired in 1990 as administrator of Big Foot High School, made sure things were different for his kids.
Today, the Romenesko children, who range in age from 46 to 61, are amazed at how their parents packed them in the station wagon for a trip almost every year.
"I learned a new respect for them as an adult," 57-year-old Patrick of Elkhorn said. "What an ordeal it must have been to get us all ready. I feel blessed. Very few people—from large or small families—can talk about all these trips they took as kids."
In addition to Patrick, the Romenesko kids are Mary Smrecek of Appleton; Jayne Hill of Williams Bay; Jim of Evanston, Ill.; Tim of Barrington, Ill.: Dan of Sharon; Peg Hubertz of Walworth; Sara Duckett of Naples, Fla.; Kate Drohner of Plover; and Joe of Downers Grove, Ill.
Merle and Rosemary began their family vacations by motoring to cities, including Biloxi, Miss., and San Antonio, Tex., where Merle had been stationed in the U.S. Air Force.
Merle said the kids all knew their places in the car, which had three wide seats. The two youngest children often sat on the floor between the second seat and third seat, which faced the back window.
No one used car seats back then. No one wore seat belts, either, because the car had none. Global Positioning Systems did not exist, and road maps were the only way to figure out which highway to take. The Interstate System was still young, and the family often traveled on roads that wound through Main Streets across America. They even traveled along Route 66 all the way to California before it became a historic roadway.
"It meant nothing to me as a 17-year-old to be on Route 66," Patrick said. "Years later as an adult, I got interested in it and realized we were on the road."
Patrick recalls how his dad let him drive in California.
"I was a little frightened at first with all those people in the car and all our cargo," he said. "I was honored to be driving. Dad must have trusted me."
Third child, Jim, recalls how exciting it was to travel to big cities, including Washington, D.C., for kids growing up in the small village of Walworth.
"We would see buildings that looked like skyscrapers to us," he said. "We also would stop and eat at McDonald's, which was a huge treat in the 1960s because there weren't many of them yet."
Jim remembers when the family crossed the border into Mexico and attended a bullfight in Juarez in the early 1970s.
"I almost fainted when the bull got hit with a spear," Jim said. "It was the first and last time I went to a bullfight. I also remember the chaos in the parking lot when we wanted to leave. The cars were parked every which way. We saw a taxi driver get upset with someone and smash a window. For kids from Wisconsin, it was quite a scene."
Sixth child, Dan, often took photos during the trips. Later, he got a degree in professional photography. One of his photos shows three of the Romenesko kids looking out the back of their station wagon.
"The trips were great," Dan said. "You appreciate them, especially when you get older."
Rosemary and Merle are hard pressed to say which trips were their favorites because each was memorable in its own way. But they vividly recall the night they camped in Montgomery, Ala., when Rev. Martin Luther King was assassinated in April 1968.
"It was a tense night," Merle said. "There were riots in some cities. As we were going home the next day, we could see huge plumes of smoke."
On Saturday, the Romenesko children are coming home to Walworth. The house that Merle and Rosemary built in 1963 is turning 50. As part of the birthday party, the five boys and five girls will gather around the dining room table and share favorite vacation memories.
Since childhood, they have created new memories with their own families on trips around the country. They thank their parents.
"When your parents set an example, it makes you more adventurous to travel," Jim said. "I have friends who are intimidated by traveling because they did not travel as kids. I enjoyed seeing places as a kid, and I enjoy traveling as an adult.
"Early on, we learned an appreciation for exploring beyond our hometown."
Anna Marie Lux is a columnist for The Gazette. Her columns run Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Call her with ideas or comments at (608) 755-8264, or email email@example.com.
This article was revised on Sept. 3, 2013, to reflect the following correction:
An earlier version of this article cited the wrong name for one of the 10 children of Merle and Rosemary Romenesko. She is Peg Hubertz of Walworth.


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Your Views: He remembers a different Wisconsin
I remember Wisconsin when:
-- Voting was wildly encouraged and obstacles were not advanced to keep the poor, minorities, students, the disabled and the elderly from voting.
-- Voters, not money from outside interests, determined elections.
-- Women were afforded the right to manage their own health care.
-- The unemployed were not labeled "moochers" in need of a lecture on the dignity of work.
-- Public employees weren't used as scapegoats nor pitted against their neighbors and other workers.
-- Schools and teachers were the pride and joy of communities and not called failures by those in power in Madison.
-- "Divide and conquer" was a military maneuver, not a way of governing.
-- Bills authorizing harm to the environment [mining] were defeated, not signed into law.
-- Wisconsin's natural resources were scrupulously protected by the DNR, not offered up for capitalistic profit.
-- Communities were safe from being overrun by polluting mine operators and corporate entities sucking whole aquifers dry; emptying wells, lakes and rivers.
-- Legislators weren't bullied into voting against their own constituents under the threat of a primary opponent for failing to follow the party line.
This Wisconsin seems so long ago—yet it existed until just three short years ago!


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Monroe man buying Janesville radio stations
JANESVILLE—A Monroe-based radio station owner is expanding his reach with the purchase of two stations in Janesville.
Scott Thompson, who owns five stations in the Monroe and Freeport, Ill., markets, is buying 105.9 The Hog and ESPN Radio 1380 in Janesville from the Beaver-Dam-based Good Karma Broadcasting.
"This is a fantastic opportunity to expand into the local Janesville and Beloit markets," Thompson said in a news release. "These stations are a perfect fit for our portfolio, and I look forward to providing local news, weather and sports to those markets."
Thompson, who also practices law in Monroe, said he would retain all employees at the two Janesville stations and likely add one.
He said no programming changes are planned on the FM side of the dial.
As for the AM channel, he said listeners could expect "less ESPN and more local news."
Thompson's largest station is 93.7 FM in Monroe, known as "The Big FM." Earlier this year, Thompson hired John "Sly" Sylvester from the Madison market to host a weekday afternoon show on the station.
Thompson takes limited control of the Janesville stations Saturday. The transaction, however, is subject to approval from the Federal Communications Commission, which is expected within 60 days.


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Death notices for Feb. 2, 2014
Ralph E. "Skip" Taylor Bolton, 61, Janesville, died Thursday at Mercy Hospital and Trauma Center, Janesville. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. Schneider Apfel Schneider & Schneider Funeral Home and Crematory, Janesville, is assisting the family.
Murdine E. Cecka, 90, Janesville, died Friday at Cedar Crest Health Care Center, Janesville. Private services are planned. Whitcomb-Lynch Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Janesville, is assisting the family.
Howard L. Cox, 82, Beloit, died Saturday at St. Elizabeth Nursing Home, Janesville. Arrangements are pending at Brian G. Mark Funeral Home, Beloit.
Helen M. Larsen, 75, Byron, Ill., formerly Burlington, died Thursday at Rockford Memorial Hospital, Rockford. Services will be at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at Haase-Lockwood & Associates Funeral Home and Crematory, Elkhorn. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. until the time of services Wednesday at the funeral home.
Betty A. Petrick, 72, Clinton, died Friday at Beloit Memorial Hospital, Beloit. Arrangements are pending with Brian G. Mark Funeral Home, Clinton.


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Schools try out competing systems for gauging teacher performance
School districts in Wisconsin, faced with a new mandate to evaluate the effectiveness of teachers and other educators, must make a choice.
They can use an assessment model developed by the state Department of Public Instruction, or an alternative. Currently, the only districts with an approved alternative are using a model offered by an educational service agency known as CESA 6.
Most of the state's school districts plan evaluation-system pilot runs this school year. All must decide, by the end of September, which model to use in 2014-15, when the system will have a full-scale debut. The cost to the state is roughly $7 million a year.
So far, the DPI model has more takers, including the state's largest school districts, in Milwaukee and Madison. But nearly a third of the state's 424 districts are on board with CESA 6. Districts must commit for only one year at a time.
DPI says its model is backed by more research; CESA 6 bills its model as easier to implement. Both have advocates, and the state teachers union has not indicated a preference for one or the other. But the union is concerned that the evaluations, under both models, will be used to reward and punish educators, which DPI has cautioned against.
Rachel Strauch-Nelson, spokeswoman for the Madison School District, which has about 2,300 teachers and 27,000 students, said her district picked the DPI model because it follows "a comprehensive, nationally recognized model for teacher practices" that the Madison district is already using.
Mary Pfeiffer, superintendent of the Neenah Joint School District, with 431 certified staff members and 6,300 students, felt that the CESA 6 model was more advanced. It aligned with the district's new pay-for-performance approach, allowing it to "determine the performance level of the teacher and merge it with the salary schedule.
The requirement that alternative models be allowed was included in legislation crafted by state Sen. Luther Olsen, R-Ripon, chairman of the Senate Committee on Education. The agency administrator of CESA 6, which stands to receive about $1 million a year in taxpayer money from selling this model to schools, is Olsen's wife, Joan Wade.
CESA 6, based in Oshkosh, is part of a statewide network of 12 nonprofit quasi-governmental agencies created by the state Legislature in 1964. The CESAs, or Cooperative Educational Service Agencies, receive most of their money from school districts in exchange for various programs and services.
Wade has a 2013 salary of $131,821, plus $53,809 in benefits, which puts her toward the top among state CESA administrators.
State ethics officials ruled in an earlier case that Olsen is allowed to take actions that benefit CESAs, despite the connection to his wife, because these agencies serve a public purpose. Wade, a former state legislator, does not see her husband's role in helping pass legislation that allowed her agency to compete for tax dollars as a conflict of interest.
"I don't make more more because we're doing this," Wade said. "Actually, I have more headaches."
But Jon Bales, executive director of the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators, observes that CESA 6 has been "very proactive" in trying to sell its model to districts.
"The CESAs are service agencies," Bales said. "Their whole survival is based on identifying needs and serving those needs."
DPI officials have also raised concerns about the research base and compatibility of the CESA 6 model. But Wade argues that her group's model is just as valid as the one used by DPI, and may be a better fit for some districts.
"I think it's good for districts to have a choice," Wade said. "I think that, honestly, it makes us both better."
The Wisconsin Educator Effectiveness System, of which the evaluations of teachers and principals is a critical part, was developed by a team of educators and stakeholders convened by DPI.
"This really is a big deal," said Sheila Briggs, DPI's assistant state superintendent for academic excellence. "This system, coupled with implementation of Common Core (curriculum standards), have the potential to be real game changers for students in this state."
DPI is barring districts from using the results during the pilot phase for "high-stakes decisions," like awarding merit pay or termination. But the agency does expressly allow the system's eventual use "to inform the full range of human resource decisions."
Betsy Kippers, president of the Wisconsin Education Association Council, the union representing state teachers, said her group will be working with members across the state to monitor how the evaluations are being used.
The educator effectiveness system has two parts: student outcomes and educator practice, each of which will count as 50 percent of a composite score for the state's approximately 72,000 educators.
DPI will gauge student outcomes using multiple measures, including standardized tests now aligned to the new Common Core curriculum standards adopted by Wisconsin and other states.
The two models are significantly different in terms of complexity, said CESA 6 project head Keith Fuchs. The CESA 6 model scores just six basic standards, compared to the DPI model, which employs more than 20 measures.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's 2013-15 budget allocates $6.9 million in 2013-14 and $6.7 million in 2014-15 for the new educator evaluation program. Most of this money will go to school districts at a rate of $80 per educator per school year.
The districts will then use this money to pay for educator effectiveness software and training, as offered through DPI, or an alternative provider such as CESA 6.
DPI education consultant Katharine Rainey said 210 districts will be taking part in a pilot of its program this year. Fuchs said CESA 6 is piloting its program in about 130 districts this fall.
The nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (www.WisconsinWatch.org) collaborates with Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Television, other news media and the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
All works created, published, posted or disseminated by the Center do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.


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State legislator calls anti-heroin bills 'a beginning'
MADISON--State Rep. John Nygren was pleased when Gov. Scott Walker signed into law a package of anti-heroin bills in early April.
"It's a beginning," said the Marinette Republican, who authored the bills. "I felt better about these bills than anything else I've done."
The lawmaker has more than a casual interest in slowing the epidemic of heroin use in Wisconsin. His 25-year-old daughter is addicted to heroin, and he has seen its devastation firsthand.
Among other things, the legislation dubbed Heroin Opiate Prevention and Education or HOPE:
-- Gives people immunity from criminal prosecution for drug possession if they bring a fellow drug user to an emergency room or call 911 because the person is suffering from an overdose.
-- Requires people to show identification to pick up prescriptions that are considered to have a high potential for abuse.
-- Adds $3 million for three new programs that focus on substance-abuse treatment for those who commit crimes. The Department of Health Services will determine where the programs will be located.
"Most people would say the objective of the system is to rehabilitate people," Nygren said. "If that is our goal, we are failing miserable. If you look at the dollars spent to lock someone up, it makes more sense to rehabilitate. The recidivism rate (among heroin/opiate users) is almost 100 percent if people do not die in the meantime."
-- Allows any trained first responders to administer naloxone, which counteracts overdoses from heroin and other opiates. In the past, only certain emergency medical providers were allowed to administer the drug, known by its brand name Narcan.
Rock County got a head start on the law six months ago, when all basic emergency medical technicians were trained in the use of Narcan.
"If someone calls 911, basic EMTs now can give this medication," said Jay MacNeal, EMS medical director for Mercy Health System.
Paramedics already have training in the use of Narcan.
"In rural areas, it can take a while for the first paramedics to arrive on the scene," MacNeal said.� "EMTs should be able to help rural patients prior to the paramedics arriving. We thought it was important to give EMTs this capability because there is an increasing heroin problem."
Heroin and other opiates repress the respiratory system.
"Basically, you stop breathing," MacNeal said. "The drug needs to be given within minutes of an overdose to prevent brain damage or death."
The training is part of a pilot program of the state Emergency Medical Services office.
"This has great potential to save lives," MacNeal said. "Next, we are looking at how to implement the training to firefighters and police officers."
Nygren is proud Marinette, population 10,862, is tackling the heroin fight head-on.
"Heroin is something a small town doesn't want to talk about," Nygren said. "But Marinette is looking at getting a treatment center. It is forming groups to look at what more can be done from an educational standpoint.
"The United Way has formed a group to come up with solutions. The local chamber of commerce also has stepped up because it is hard to hire people when they have drug issues," he said.
Nygren's daughter Cassie became addicted to heroin as a substitute for the prescription pain medicine she was using while in high school. She is serving time in prison for possession of narcotic drugs.
"Cassie's mom and I wanted law enforcement to get involved," Nygren said. "We were desperate. If she had continued on the path she was on, she would have died. It sounds unreal that a parent would want a child to go into the correctional system, but it's not uncommon for parents of children with addictions."
He said he was powerless to help his daughter.
"When your child is an adult, there is basically nothing you can do but convince her to go into treatment," Nygren said. "We sleep better at night when she is in prison because she shouldn't be near drugs. When she gets out in June, she will still be addicted. She'll probably have a craving for drugs until her death bed."
As a parent, he would like to be able to force his daughter into treatment, but he cannot.
"Civil liberties mean that you have the right to make bad decisions that can end your life," he said.
In the fight against heroin, he believes Wisconsin is headed in a better direction.
"But there are a lot of bad days ahead," he said. "We've made it better, but people will still be struggling."


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U.S. regulators will inject risk into the derivatives market if they don't take more time to coordinate Dodd-Frank Act rules with their overseas counterparts, six Democratic senators said.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), facing a July 12 deadline to determine the overseas reach of its rules, should take additional time to coordinate oversight with other regulators, the senators said in a letter yesterday to Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew.
"Creating an overly complicated compliance system for market participants will result in conflicting, duplicative or inconsistent rules that could foster new and unforeseen risks and lead to international regulatory arbitrage," the senators said. "More time is needed for domestic harmonization and sequencing with regulations that occur abroad."
The letter was signed by Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Tom Carper of Delaware, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Michael Bennet of Colorado, and Charles Schumer of New York.
Steve Adamske, the CFTC spokesman, and Suzanne Elio, Treasury Department spokeswoman, both declined to comment.
The guidance would govern the reach of rules affecting Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Barclays Plc, and other banks, hedge funds, and companies in the $633 trillion global swaps market.
The international reach of the CFTC swap trading requirements has been one of the most controversial elements of the agency's Dodd-Frank Act rules, prompting opposition from financial companies including Goldman Sachs and Barclays.
Democratic Senators Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Carl Levin of Michigan, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, and Dianne Feinstein of California in May urged the CFTC to strengthen the reach of its rules.
"If anything, the CFTC should be going further," Warren said in a telephone interview today. "If the last piece is a loophole that lets any company operate through guaranteed affiliates using a post office box in some foreign jurisdiction, then it undercuts everything we've done."
CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler said June 25 that his agency should push through its cross-border derivatives guidance by July 12 and opposed a proposal from a fellow Democrat on the commission, Mark Wetjen, for "interim final guidance" that could be amended based on industry and public feedback.
"It means delay, and I think we've had a year to do this," Gensler told reporters after testifying before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee in Washington. "The American public should hold us to task if we can't get this done by July 12. They should say, 'Why does it take so long, and are we doing too much to accommodate Wall Street?'"
Jill E. Sommers, a Republican CFTC commissioner, released a statement yesterday defending Wetjen's position and criticizing Gensler's contention that efforts to delay rules are meant to undermine Dodd-Frank, the regulatory overhaul enacted in response to the 2008 credit crisis.
"No one has ever accused Gary Gensler of being reasonable," Sommers said in her statement. "I may not totally agree with it, but Commissioner Wetjen has put a reasonable proposal on the table that would achieve multiple goals. He understands the importance of working in good faith with other global regulators."


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Publications Tagged: Fernando Tapias
- Added July 01, 2005
- Sustainability of Colombian Military/Strategic Support for "Democratic Security" . Authored by Dr. Thomas A. Marks.
- At a time when counterinsurgency is again widely discussed, embattled Colombia has implemented a Democratic Security and Defense Policy that shows every sign of success against a complex narco-insurgency that has raged for four decades. The strategic initiative has been seized by acting upon the principle that personal security is the basis for state vitality.


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Horner Park
2741 W. Montrose Ave. Chicago, Illinois 60618
(773) 478-3499
Fee: varies per activity $1 - $3
Age Range: Family-Friendly
Everyone just loves pumpkins!
The Chicago Park District brings a little bit of the country to the city with its annual Pumpkin Patches. Join us for an afternoon in the park at this family-friendly event!
At the Chicago Park District's pumpkin patches, you get to pick your personal favorite from a field filled with pumpkins of all shapes and sizes, and personalize it at the pumpkin decorating station. Enjoy halloween-themed carnival games, petting zoo, horse-drawn hayride, and tattoos complete a day's worth of fall fun. Don't forget to bring a camera to capture a family memory at our harvest photo station.
Presenting Sponsor of Halloween in the Parks


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Lincoln Park Conservatory
2391 N. Stockton Dr. Chicago, Illinois 60614
(312) 742-7736
Fee: Free
The free annual Spring Flower Shows offer visitors a chance to experience the beauty of spring with a rare opportunity to meet the direct descendants of the great Azaleas that once bloomed at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. In addition, this year's flower shows will feature a changing selection of spring blooming plants including Azaleas, spring flowering annuals and spring flowering perennials.
New this year, enjoy the rainbow of pinks and reds as you are serenaded by the sounds of the Lyric Opera which are presently ringing through the Show House. The Opera will be featuring excerpts from its 2012-2013 season through the close of our spring show on May 12th.


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Stomach bloating and weight gain
For discussing the functions of different structures of all organisms.
Moderator: BioTeam
OMG, what is happening here?
I gained extra 5 kilos last month and it seems quite fast as I thought. However, it is established by now, means that I got no more extra weight. My size is 150 cm/50 kg now. My mom says I look like a ball, and she wonders abut my belly because it is round just under my breasts. I never realized it til she told me so. Now I worry because her friend experrienced the same and when she (the friend) met her doctor, she got told that there is a tumour as big as young coconut within her belly OMG
Hi just was reading all of this. I have been having the same thing happening to me. I havent gained much weight yet I hope not to.. I feel PG half the time bloated after I eat and sometimes when I don't. I feel full all the time. It is weird. This just started on me maybe 6 months ago. It wasn't to bad at first but now it is getting worse and worse. I went to my family Dr. on Friday and she was like weird huh. She gave me Aciphex but it really hasn't helped to much. She is sending me to a gastric Dr her after the Holidays.
I am now glad I did a search for this and found others with the same problem. I sure hope we find put why and how to stop this I'm really sick of bloating and looking PG.
I have lost 63 lbs over the last year and couple months. Untill the last 3 weeks I have started gaining for no reason at all. I still walk everyday and eat well. Heck I felt better when I ate fried foods all the time hahaha. J/K
Thanks Vicki
Scubagirl I take pain pills and have for years I have had three back surgeries and 1 neck surgery.
claremarie Also I feel just like you do..
Man weird they can't fix this or find out why. Well if I get any help Ill let you all know.
Kmas I hasvent had any testing of any kind yet. But I am going to ask haha
Thanks all so glad I found this spot
Hey I was thinking that to. Ihavent been tested yet but I am seeing the Dr soon.
So is she still doing better?
Hello everyone. I have been experiencing mysterious bloating like what is described here for six months now. I am 30 years old and when this began I was 30 pounds overweight, but was losing weight due to proper diet and exercise. (I'm also vegan by the way, for 7 years now, so while I do eat some junk foods, I never partake in dairy, fatty meats, etc.) I've lost 20 pounds in the last six months, I suppose partially from the diet and exercise I was doing until I felt ill all the time, and partially from whatever is making me ill.
I have been diagnosed with gallstones, and have had an ERCP to repair a malfunctioning sphincter of oddi (that's the connection between the main bile duct and the intestines.) Anyway, wanted to share that information with you all. Problems with the gallbladder can certainly cause bloating. The problem is that if not presented with other, more classic symptoms like upper-right quadrant pain and attacks, then your doctor may be hesitant to credit the bloating to the gallstone problems.
Some things to check out if you are just beginning the whole adventure; H. Pylori, food allergies/intolerances, parasites, candida, uterine cysts, fibroids, celiac, and of course, the gall bladder. All of these things can be checked out by your doctor, no big deal. None of these have been the culprit for me, except possibly the gallstones. Still working it all out with my doctor, experiencing horrible bloating everyday. You can have a bad gallbladder, even without stones.
I would appreciate any stories of people who did find that their bloating was relieved by gallbladder removal, I noticed the one post in this thread that gave me hope.
I came across this website as i am fed up with my distented stomach ... I am 5 foot 3 and i am top heavy and slim hips down, as you can imagine, it is pointless to wear baggy clothes as i just feel bad, and i have taken to ignoring people, luckily i have confidence.
I recently underwent an op to remove fibriods as i was told that is why my stomach was distentended after the op i looked like i was nine months pregnant. It has gone down but before the op, my waist measurement was 30 inches and now it is at 40 inches...I have lost weight, dropped calories, low carb and yet my belly just protudes... The doctor recently said i had Polycystic ovaries which was a reason for the weight gain, my stomach is not flabby but firm , round and distentended. I do have a varied diet, i eat fruit and veg...
i have tried everything, my appetite has more or less deceased recently as i am always feeling full, i am not pregnant.....
I have read the posts and to me it seems that the docs do not know what to do, i will ask for a gall bladder test. They has to be something wrong as this is not right...
In the meantime i am going to try arasys which is a stomach toning machine and see if it would help.....
Last edited by Nysiek on Tue Dec 26, 2006 4:33 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Hey People
I think i might have stumbled on to something here, the most things we all seem to have in common is eating fruit and veg, which are supposed to be "healthy". The fruit and veg i eat especially are Peppers, lettuce and I drink a loads of water, occasional vary with orange juice.
I also like monkey nuts, dry roasted peanuts, milk is my most conusmed dairy and occasionally fruit yogurt and sometimes have wholegrain brown bread...
I do not really eat salt and I do eat rice and loking back i do feel very heavy after rice. I stopped eating oatmeal and soymilk because of the bloating
I will try and elimanate fruits, nuts, milk and veg for the next two weeks.. Eating will be challenging but these days i have given up as this is making me seriously depressed.
I have always had a healthy attitude to eating but this is not helping...
Will update with progress....Any suggestions please let me know...
Have you tried water, water cleans the body very well. Such as when one has diarrhea, water clears it up real fast. And kmas, your diet consisting of whole grains, fiber, and some vegetables like beans and others can cause bloating, but if you are consistent with your diet and have been on it for a long time, then those should pass.
Hello everyone, I haven't figures out what is wrong. It seems as though I have a slow gastric emptying. They are still not sure why but it may be nerve damage. Whenever I eat it takes a long time to go through me and also some does not. I have tried a colon cleanse from the naturopath which cleaned up my system and now I am on domperdione which stimulates the nerves when I eat to break down the food. I have not bloating in 1 months since taking the pills and have lost 12 pounds. I reccommend a slow gastric emptying test. Good luck
how to cure this problem /?? is there some medicine to take ??
i also have the symptom , not so serious , but so boring . i really hope some kind doctor can cure me .
thank u very much !!!!!
the following is my mailbox : [email protected]
Stomach bloating
Just updating and i hope it helps..
My stomach bloating is currently under control, tried a colonic, freaked me out..did not finish.My body could not handle it...as i was constantly sick and i stopped, it is not for me.
Luckily the therapist was understanding and he recommended prune juice and i have decided to elimanate white carbs, fried foods and diary as i find that i bloat and i am in pain after eating them.
One thing that came out of the colonic is that i refuse to fill like that again and i am determined to it right and teh natural way. I am refusing to take store bought or precribed laxatives as they take way the natural bacteria in your stomach, which makes you reliant on them. eventually your body gets used to them.
i am trying an alternative way of eating and it is working, Prune Juice has helped me as it is a natural laxative and actually restores the natural bacteria in your stomach, that is gentle.I am taking the following vitamins,, B Complex for energy, artichoke tablets to boost my metablosim and fibre tablets to aid digestion.
The prune juice is a gentle laxative and mixing the prune juice with apple juice gives it more kick, so i only use it before i go to bed.
Use 100% prune juice and apple apple juice nothing concentrated. i have changed my diet. I have elimated diary and i have found that it has helped me.
I am also eating a high protein, vegetable diet with very little carbs. I find that eating chicken, turkey or fish with vegetables fills me up longer than if i eat say rice and chicken. I am also drinking loads of water and totally elimated fried foods. It has helped me and my stomach is no longer bloated.
It has only been a week but i am feel so much better and fitting into some my of old clothes and i am exercising for 5 minutes a day until i build my strength and snacking on a handful of cashew nuts.
This is working and i am very relieved..I can actually feel my stomach and it has gone down drastically and my constipation is gone. I feel great... I am happy as i dong this my way and feel better for it.
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Ada Util is a collection of utility packages for Ada 2005. Several packages are inspired from Java packages and libraries (Java properties, log4j, listeners, streams). The library provides a logging framework, a serialization/deserialization framework for XML, JSON, CSV, an Ada beans framework, a composition stream framework (raw, files, buffers, pipes, sockets), several concurrency tools (reference counters, counters, pools, fifos, arrays), a REST client framework, and more.
Gestures is an object that can recognize user gestures that form configurable shapes. It can listen to events of the user moving the mouse forming known gesture shapes. The object can recognize custom gesture shapes defined by a list of vertex points of the shape. A given callback function is invoked when the object recognizes a known user gesture shape. The object can also draw the gesture shape as the user moves the mouse.
Every five minutes, Tumblefile copies all files on your Desktop to a folder such as ~/Documents/2009-07-July/25-Saturday, prepending a timestamp (like 20090727.1645) to the filename. Meanwhile, its little window sits in the system tray. It is a way to automatically keep your Desktop cleared and files organized.
Wine Management tracks wine production from harvest through bottling. As a record keeping system, it tracks history of wine compositions in all detail. It tracks variety, area, year, yield, and taste. Because it accumulates wine lost to processing and updates the yields, you always know the values when it was produced. Quantities processed by work center are kept up to date. Almost any level of inventory is available by month, including any combination of variety, area, year, taste, storage, and others. Tank lineup may prove very profitable with faster processing and reduced cellar cost and crews. It can find the best pipes to use based on either number of pipes, flow, or heat loss.
iTherapy Process (iTP) is software to help specialists in a Radiotherapy Department work together toward the same goal: to provide the best radiotherapy treatment to each patient. It allows one know, at any time and anywhere, what has been done, what needs to be done, and which deadlines to respect for each individual patient. At a glance, one can visualize the list of all the patients in a specific step of the process, the degree of emergency, their pathology, the requested treatment machine, the dose prescription, the treating physician, the medical physicist in charge, etc.
py-setproctitle is a library that allows a Python process to change its title, as displayed by system tools such as ps and top. Changing the title is useful in multi-process systems, for example when a master process is forked: changing the child's title allows you to identify the task each process is busy with. It is based on PostgreSQL's multi-platform implementation.


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To report an emergency in progress, call 911.
Placer County is a scenic, historic, and vibrant community, stretching from the breathtaking vistas of Lake Tahoe down through the verdant foothills of the Sierra Nevada to the lush Sacramento Valley. Home to the Western States Endurance Run, and host to the 2013 Ironman Lake Tahoe triathlon, Placer County offers many activities to its residents and visitors including rafting, wine tasting, fine dining, shopping, hiking, and discovering Placer County's fascinating Gold Rush history at one of our 6 museums. Our County is financially sound, with a strong infrastructure and a fiscally conservative Board of Supervisors.
About Placer County
Placer County was created in 1851, just two years after the discovery of gold brought thousands of 49ers across the Sierra in search of fortune. The county took its name from the Spanish word for sand and gravel deposits that contain gold. Today, Placer County has more than 320,000 residents, and a county government with more than 20 departments and approximately 3,000 employees. County government touches the lives of residents in many ways, whether they live in local cities or unincorporated areas.
Placer County has five incorporated cities- Roseville, Rocklin, Lincoln, Auburn and Colfax- and an incorporated town, Loomis. Each is responsible for providing municipal services that typically include police, fire protection, road construction, parks, and land-use planning. The county provides many of these same municipal services for residents who live in unincorporated areas as diverse as Granite Bay, the foothills beyond Auburn and the high Sierra communities of North Lake Tahoe.
The county also offers many services that cities do not and makes them available to everyone in the county, including people who live within cities. Many health services fall into that category, as do restaurant inspections, aid to needy families, support for veterans, child-support services, child protective services and child abuse prevention.
The role of CEO
The County Executive Officer is the chief administrative officer of the County. Appointed by the Board, the County Executive is responsible to the Board of Supervisors for the proper and efficient administration of the affairs of the County as prescribed in the County Charter and by formal action of the Board.
Subject to Board confirmation, the CEO selects all appointive department heads, with the exception of the County Counsel (Board appointee) and the Personnel Director (Civil Service Commission appointee). Voters choose six elected officials: Assessor, Auditor-Controller, County Clerk-Recorder-Registrar, District Attorney, Sheriff-Coroner-Marshall and Treasurer-Tax Collector.
More about David Boesch
David Boesch began as County Executive Officer in June 2012. Prior to coming to Placer County, he most recently served as the county officer for San Mateo County in the San Francisco Bay Area. He earned degrees in urban planning and public administration, and worked in community and economic development in New Hampshire before heading for California where he served as a department head in Sunnyvale, city manager in Menlo Park and then county manager in San Mateo County.
He enjoys working at the local government level because it makes a difference in the lives of residents on a daily basis. County government has always been particularly appealing to him because it provides a broad range of services that impact the health, safety and well-being of residents.
As Placer County's CEO, my top priority is providing leadership and using my experience to help the County build upon the strong foundation already in place. I believe Placer County has done an outstanding job handling the challenges created by the economic slowdown and state budget crisis. I will work to keep costs and revenue in balance, complete projects that have been deferred because of budget constraints, and continue promoting a stronger County and more innovative organization that provides high-quality services and has a clear vision of the future.
Economic Development: As the economy gradually emerges from the recession, the County is partnering with local and regional efforts to promote business investment and job growth.
Priority Based Budgeting: A phased implementation approach focusing on increasing public communication and transparency, and prioritizing services and programs based on results and within the sustainable level of ongoing funding and resources.
Employee Engagement: Excellent and innovative service delivery relies upon employees that are highly motivated and connected with the residents and communities we proudly serve.
Support and implement Board policies and priorities, provide organizational direction and leadership, coordinate strategic and regional planning efforts, and foster efficient and effective management of county workforce and activities. Provide emergency response capability, disaster recovery and response, public safety and fire protection.
The Placer County Executive Office operates a satellite office in Lake Tahoe. This office is responsible for providing many services for Tahoe residents, visitors, and local businesses. The County Executive Office at Tahoe also provides assistance on a variety of projects and programs in the Tahoe area, including those led by other county departments, such as the Department of Public Works, Community Development Resources Agency, Facility Services, and the Successor Agency.


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Within the past few months, the Chinese government has announced a number of broad economic reforms. The movement toward a more open economy is good news for foreign firms, but it also creates risks. "In the near term, potential negative impacts on the real economy as a result of the reform effort and credit risks associated with the rising cost of funds have to be watched out for," says Rocky Tung, Asia Pacific economist with credit insurer Coface.
Coface recently released a report describing those risks in detail. It predicts that although Chinese leaders are hoping consumer spending will take over as the nation's primary driver of economic growth, business investment will retain that position through 2014. For that reason, the rising interest rates Coface expects to see may have a significant effect on the health of the economy.
Borrowing in China has become more market-driven since the government's announcement of a lending-rate liberalization plan last July. Expectations that liquidity will tighten in the near future are putting pressure on China's local bond and money markets. And the Shanghai Interbank Overnight Rate (SHIBOR) one-week and one-month rates both rose sharply in December. "Interest rate volatility could be higher in 2014," Tung says. "The SHIBOR hike in December is indicative of the central bank's intention to reduce the pace of balance sheet expansion going forward. Businesses should manage their credit wisely; the size and number of claims [Coface is] experiencing have alerted us that credit risk in China is on the rise."
Figure 1, below, shows trends in the weighted-average lending rate for general loans in China, which represents interest rates for general-purpose business and individual loans, weighted to account for the sizes of the loans. It also shows the weighted-average lending rate for all lending, which includes general loans, trade finance, and more.
Coface expects China's macroeconomic growth to remain stable in 2014 (see Figure 2). "Reforms are the key focus for the country in 2014," Tung says, "while counter-cyclical measures will be adopted to maintain growth at 7 to 8 percent."
In this environment, borrowing will become more challenging for many companies. "With stable money supply growth, overall liquidity could become even tighter in 2014," Tung says. Many local and provincial projects started in China in 2009 to 2010 were financed with bonds and trust loans with three- to five-year maturities. "These repayment obligations will further tighten liquidity in the market," Tung adds. "Development in this area has to be watched out for in 2014."
To gauge the microeconomic effects of these trends, the Coface report analyzes several different industries. In general, the insurer expects that "certain industry participants will start facing climbing pressures," Tung says. "Highlighted by the government's advocated effort to tackle overcapacity issues, smaller and inefficient participants in 'oversupplied' industries will be facing pressure, from rising costs to policy uncertainties."
Certain subsectors of the electronics industry, in particular, are already seeing deteriorating payments and are likely to have a challenging year. Nevertheless, the outlook is positive for many Chinese companies. Tung predicts that small to midsize businesses will start to have an easier time borrowing from banks.
"With interest rate reform and RMB [renminbi] internationalization on the agenda, financial reform is at the heart of China's reform roadmap," he says. "Combine that with the strong push toward a market-based economy, [and] these reforms could bring in competitiveness to the various industries in the long run.
"They will also create near-term turbulence, particularly to the giants in various industries in China," Tung concludes. "Increasing competition, as well as the rising cost of capital, are expected to bring negative impact to the traditionally dominating enterprises in the various industries within China." For foreign firms that tread carefully, however, opportunities abound.


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Mission Statement
Mountaineer Montessori School: Lighting the way for education since 1976
Mountaineer Montessori School helps each student develop to his or her fullest potential – academically, socially and emotionally. By nurturing each child, we aspire to instill a love of learning, a strong sense of inner discipline and a high level of independence. At Mountaineer Montessori, learning occurs joyfully through exploration and discovery and students develop into socially responsible citizens of the world.
We invite you to explore this website to learn more about Mountaineer Montessori, our programs and people, hear testimonials, see what's cool about our school and find out how you can help us light the way for education.


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The food we eat, the clothes we wear and the toys we give to children are such integral parts of our lives that we often don't give them a second thought. But in recent years reports of Salmonella outbreaks and high lead levels have spurred concern over food and consumer product safety.
In an effort to combat these hazards, the U.S. government has introduced the 2008 Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act and 2011's Food Safety Modernization Act. In our January cover story, "Safe Measures," InsideCounsel examines the implications of these two pieces of landmark legislation and provides expert advice for companies seeking to comply with their requirements.
What is the history of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FMSA)?
A series of well-publicized Salmonella outbreaks—linked to foods such as peanut butter, eggs and tomatoes—helped to spur the January 2011 passage of the FSMA. The law's aim was to emphasize the prevention of outbreaks, rather than focusing on the reaction to those outbreaks.
Under the FSMA, facilities that manufacture, process or package food must register with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which has the power to suspend the registration of processors if it finds they have produced food that is likely to cause serious adverse health consequences. The FDA also has mandatory recall authority as part of the law, although it says it will only use this power if companies fail to issue a voluntary recall.
What other measures did the FSMA introduce?
The FSMA also mandates that facilities that manufacture, process and package food must implement food safety plans that identify the specific safety risks of their products, create procedures to minimize or avoid these hazards and identify corrective steps to be taken in case of contamination. Although that requirement went into effect in July 2012, the FDA missed the deadline for issuing regulations implementing the law
Earlier this month, the FDA finally proposed two new food safety rules connected to the law. One requires companies to establish the formal food safety plans outlined above; the other sets national quality standards for farms that produce and harvest fruits and vegetables.
What implications does the FSMA have for businesses?
Because the FSMA does not preempt state and local laws, some experts note that food companies will not be able to follow the example of drug and device companies when it comes to litigation.
Joseph Levitt, a partner at Hogan Lovells and the former director of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, also notes that the FDA, as a whole, has increased its enforcement efforts in recent years. "It shows how important it will be to comply with the FSMA," he says. "If the FDA is enforcing the old rules vigorously, it will likely enforce the new rules even more so."
What is the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA)?
The 2008 passage of the CPSIA followed a spate of children's toy recalls prompted by concerns over excessive lead levels. Among its measures, the act established a mandatory testing and certification process for manufacturers in an effort to keep high levels of lead and phthalates out of children's products.
The CPSIA also increased the staff and budget of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, instituted harsher penalties for violations of federal consumer safety measures and created a public database of consumer product safety complaints.
What implications does the CPSIA have for businesses?
The Publicly Available Consumer Product Safety Information Database, which launched in March 2011, allows consumers to report product safety hazards. Some companies fear that negative consumer reports could be used as evidence during product liability trials, although a Maryland court blocked the publication of a report last October, ruling that the CPSC knew the content was inaccurate.
To combat any negative consumer reports, James Heller, chair of Cozen O'Connor's products liability practice, advises companies to keep tabs on complaints. If a trend or a problem emerges, he says, companies should contact the customers in question and investigate their claims.
What steps should companies take to comply with the CPSIA?
Like the FSMA, the CPSIA has some companies worried about a possible rise in lawsuits courtesy of private litigants and plaintiffs attorneys. To ward off costly lawsuits, Paul Cereghini, executive managing partner of Bowman and Brooke, says companies should monitor CPSC regulatory activities related to product liability claims, keep tabs on the public information database at SaferProducts.gov to see whether product liability attorneys are attempting to initiate regulatory activity and take swift action at the first sign of regulatory activity or litigation.
Under the CPSIA, companies are also responsible for ensuring the safety of their supply chains. James Heller says businesses should require their suppliers to institute quality assurance/quality control testing and provide corresponding certificates of compliance, review the data from suppliers' quality control testing and make visits to suppliers.