text:
Public Record for Nov. 14, 2013
-- NATHAN S. HOUSEHOLDER, 34, 2305 Morningside Drive, Janesville, at 1 p.m. Monday at the Rock County Jail on a felony charge of burglary and a misdemeanor charge of theft.
-- A 15-YEAR-OLD EVANSVILLE BOY, at 10:08 a.m. Tuesday at home on a felony charge of theft of personal identification documents.
-- A 16-YEAR-OLD JANESVILLE BOY, at 10:52 p.m. Tuesday at the Janesville police department on a felony charge of burglary and a misdemeanor charge of theft. A 17-YEAR-OLD JANESVILLE BOY from the same home was arrested at the same time on a felony charge of burglary and a misdemeanor charge of theft as party to a crime.
-- BURGLARY, at 11:38 p.m. Tuesday on the 100 block of Madison Street. Nine long guns were reported stolen from a home Tuesday afternoon.
Injury accidents
-- VAN ALLEN ROAD NEAR LONE LANE ROAD, in the town of La Prairie, at 3:21 a.m. Monday. A car driven southbound on Van Allen Road by Stephanie A. Bauer, 20, 613 W. Racine St., Janesville, went into a ditch, overcorrected and rolled after hitting a tree. Bauer and a passenger, David M. Richardson, 16, 613 W. Racine St., Janesville, were taken to a local hospital, where they were treated and released. Bauer was cited for inattentive driving and operating without insurance. Bauer and Richardson were both cited for not wearing seatbelts.
-- MILTON AVENUE AND KETTERING STREET, in Janesville, at 10:10 p.m. Tuesday. A car driven by Krystal G. Johnson, 36, 603 E. Memorial Drive, Janesville, turned left onto Kettering Street into the path of Albert C. Bennett, 76, 915 N. Garfield Ave., Janesville, who was driving south on Milton Avenue. Johnson was cited for failing to yield the right of way and operating while suspended. Bennett and a passenger in his car, Nancy J. Hansen-Bennett, 77, 915 N. Garfield Ave., Janesville, were taken to a local hospital. An update was not available on their conditions.
-- NATHAN L. FREED, 26, 9448 N. Newville Road, Edgerton, with felony retail theft and misdemeanor possession of marijuana. Prosecutors say Freed stole $545 worth of merchandise from a store and had marijuana in his pocket when police arrested in him.


text:
The Fiber Disease
Human Anatomy, Physiology, and Medicine. Anything human!
Moderator: BioTeam
Well Mr. Barz,
You ask a (retired) Notary or Attorney or people that have experience with putting up a foundation.
Set clear goals and accept donations.
Rational would be to yield a proposal to obtain
fully endorsed research results and use those results e.g to prove that people are being deceived and this for political reasons.
All can be effectively organized and turned effective in about three to four months.
People enough.
If 5000 people would yield 5 or 10 dollar all can be made rock hard - including involvement of a blue chip company to do various initial tests (....)
The foundation could commission a company and test results could be made public.
Its a subject with an international scope, I can assure you,
good grief ?
i cant believe they assume the populace is soo nieve..
great effort Randy! .. . . . .
. . .
. . .. ... . .. now i am surly pissed!!!
these people got Expert Sysems grid locked with civilian servers just like the NSA these gimps got bots scanning every board on this topic... .
i mean come on.. .. not enough INFORMATION hell they could strip this thread and fill in the blanks... what the f### ??? are the retarded????or are their brains just fold after fold of dehumanized biofilm hard wired to the Dark Star ..
i wouldnt put it past them to use
a "german" front in attempt to take out Randy... considering how out spoken he has been.. .the guy was almost silenced... . .
how can we expect any U.S. district to not be a damn puppet ... not in the current administration...
-to hell with litigation .... what if we just TAKE the proof from the CDC ADHOC's network and go
straight to GENEVA..
The state of Georgia has started a database concerning this illness. They are using a different name for it though. http://health.state.ga.us/pdfs/hazards/ ... yndrome%22
unidentified dermatosis syndrome
Contact information
Jane M. Perry, Director
Chemical Hazards Program
Georgia Division of Public Health
Atlanta, Georgia
(404) 657-6534
Sorry if this info has already been posted on here, having a hard time sorting through all of it.
"First they ignore you...
Then they laugh at you...
Then they fight you...
Then you win." - Mahatma Gandhi
Thanx for the info I wasnt aware of it.
"How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these".
~ George washington Carver
Important links as earlier posted:
"The diagnosis of these rare infections is based largely on detection of characteristic structures observed on histopathologic examination of tissue"
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articl ... id=1081399
"Various dermatoses are clearly associated with either superficial or systemic infection by many Gram-negative organisms, most notably Pseudomonas aeruginosa (....)
However, it is unreasonable to compare mechanisms of cutaneous disease from colonising Gram-negative bacteria to those due to cyanobacteria solely on the basis that both organisms contain LPS"
"In our opinion, the sole natural exposure route that might explain aquatic cyanobacterial LPS-related illness is via inhalation of aerosolised cells or fragments"
"protein allergens in some cyanobacteria may provoke symptoms"
Neurotoxins from blue-green algae present in certain foods or water can accumulate in proteins and might cause brain diseases like Alzheimer's after many ...
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6229 - 42k - Cached - Similar pages
"Can bacteria from one species communicate with those from another species?
There is evidence that interspecies communication via QS can occur. This is referred to as quorum sensing cross talk. Cross talk has implications in many areas of microbiology as in nature bacteria almost always exist in mixed species populations such as biofilms"
http://www.pharmainfo.net/exclusive/rev ... _bacteria/
"A number of mysterious and uncomfortable diseases, in which microbes were never convincingly implicated in the past, are now attributed to bacteria growing as a biofilm"
"Although defining what constitutes a biofilm infection remains to be resolved, most clinicians agree that biofilms are responsible for a variety of chronic bacterial infections"
"Many of these infections are caused by opportunistic pathogens that are also human commensals''
http://www.pubmedcentral.gov/articleren ... tid=438604
Important note for the histopathologist in relation to infection with a novel CBL c.q the cause of "an unidentified dermatosis syndrome"
"The globose budding cells of L. loboi may resemble the "mariners wheel" form of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis in tissue; however, the consistent diameter and chain-like arrangement of the yeast cells of L. loboi distinguish it from P. brasiliensis. L. loboi is usually intracellular, although extracellular forms may be
Last edited by tamtam on Fri Sep 08, 2006 10:38 am, edited 2 times in total.
Today southcity wrote:
The state of Georgia has started a database concerning this illness. They are using a different name for it though. http://health.state.ga.us/pdfs/hazards/ ... yndrome%22
unidentified dermatosis syndrome
Contact information
Jane M. Perry, Director
Chemical Hazards Program
Georgia Division of Public Health
Atlanta, Georgia
(404) 657-6534
You say that things like aspergillus from the environment. About 4 days ago , I posted an article re: aspergillus being found in cotton-could you please comment on this? Title: Molecular Genetic Evidence for the Involvement of
Polygalacturonase, P2c, in the Invasion and Spread
of Aspergillus flavus in Cotton Bolls†
And if that was not enough, look at these titles would you?
Aflatoxin Biosynthesis Cluster Gene cypA Is Required for
G Aflatoxin Formation
http://cals.arizona.edu/research/cottyl ... 8-6524.pdf
From My Dec. 30. 2005 File:
Genomes to Life Initiative
Q7. Please describe the Genomes to Life Initiative. What is NIH's interest in this initiative and how much of it is NIH willing to fund? Again, given the large increases to NIH's budget, what is the rationale for a significant DOE initiative in this area?
A7. The Genomes to Life Initiative (GTL) will build upon the success of the human, animal, plant and bacterial genome programs as a foundation for scientific discovery of the fundamental, comprehensive and systematic understanding of life at the molecular level. Stated in another way, DNA sequences are universal codes that specify the components of all known living organisms (called proteins), but it is these proteins, each specifically built according to a unique DNA code, that are the engines, the building blocks and the signaling mechanisms—the essence of life itself. The GTL initiative seeks to utilize the vast amount of sequence information now becoming available and build upon it using new techniques in molecular and structural biology, computations and imaging to understand and predict how genomes are truly ''brought to life.'' A specific focus of the initiative is in understanding simple bacteria (the ''microbial world''). This focus will enable mission-oriented benefits in areas that include chemical and biological national security (including bioterrorism detection and defeat), the carbon cycle and carbon sequestration in the atmosphere, the susceptibility of living organisms to insults such as radiation, the development of natural renewable energy sources, and in using plants and microbes for remediating contaminated sites. As noted above in Q6, these are areas of DOE mission orientation, not those of NIH. Hence, it is not reasonable to expect NIH to actually fund the initiative (or part of it) but rather to focus its resources on questions that directly relate to its health focus. Nevertheless, there is significant commonality in the tools and approaches to be used in directly health-related programs funded by NIH and other agencies like NSF, and effective coordination is essential to avoid duplication and maximize return on investment.
Nahh, it's not the Gov't.
As with any and all diseases, the full course of the disease must be documented, you whom are infected with this illness are simply being observed, like lab rats, until all information can be gathered. CDC is simply supplying lip service with no action.
I love your honesty and keen insight.
This is staright from a Gov't page as well:
Interpretive Summary: Honey bees are important beneficial insects that can be infected by numerous disease agents, including viruses. While parasitic mites have been shown to transmit bee viruses, other routes of transmission could be involved in the overall spread of these viruses. Using molecular techniques, we have detected viruses in various tissues of honey bee queens, as well as in honey bee eggs. This research shows that queens can transmit virus to their offspring. This information is interesting to other researchers involved in virus transmission as it offers an explanation of how viruses can be passed along in the absence of parasitic mites.
Technical Abstract: Transmission mechanisms of six viruses including acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV), black queen cell virus (BQCV), chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV), deformed wing virus (DWV), Kashmir bee virus (KBV), and sacbrood bee virus (SBV) in honey bee colonies were investigated by RT-PCR methods. The virus status of individual queens was evaluated by examining the presence of viruses in the queens¿ feces and tissues including hemolymph, gut, ovaries, spermatheca, head, and eviscerated body. Except for head tissue, all five tissues as well as queen feces were found to be positive for virus infections. When queens in bee colonies were identified to be positive for BQCV, DWV, CBPV, KBV, and SBV, the same viruses were detected in their offspring including eggs, larvae, and adult workers. Meanwhile, queens that were found positive for only two viruses, BQCV and DWV, only these two viruses were detected in their offspring in the colonies. The presence of viruses in the tissue of ovaries and the detection of the same viruses in eggs and young larvae suggest a vertical transmission of viruses from queens to offspring.
http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/public ... 115=182988
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
The challenges facing corporations seem to grow constantly, whether it's uncertainty created by the European debt crisis, waves of regulatory changes in the U.S. and overseas, or emerging risks such as cyber criminals targeting intellectual property and natural disasters disrupting extended supply chains. Fortunately, corporations keep enlisting new recruits to help them deal with those challenges. This list is an attempt to highlight some of the promising younger executives in corporate finance, treasury and risk management departments. It reflects suggestions from subscribers and treasury and finance professionals. These executives, whose ages range from 31 to 39, already have an impressive list of accomplishments to their credit and no doubt will rack up many more in the years to come.
Continue to the following pages for our profiles...
Martha Bailey
VP, finance & corporate controller
Bailey implemented global standard accounting policies at the $2.7 billion provider of tools, equipment and engineering services, benefiting its P&L, and provided acquisition and integration support for a $380 million transaction. Earlier, she served as controller for the company's metalworking solutions and services group. Prior to joining Kennametal in 2005, Bailey worked at Deloitte & Touche. She has a B.S. in business administration from Duquesne University.
David Calabria
Assistant treasurer & VP
Avis Budget Group
Calabria led the creation and implementation of an international treasury clearinghouse that allows the $7 billion car rental company to move cash in a tax-efficient manner among its overseas units. He's also instrumental in securing financing for the company's fleet in various countries. Prior to joining Avis, he worked at JPMorgan Chase and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Calabria has a B.B.A. in accounting from the University of Notre Dame.
Hui-Chien Chang
Director of portfolio management
Chang has led many projects related to Google's rapidly growing investment program, including a project to hedge the FX risk associated with holdings of sovereign securities and the implementation of several portfolio management systems. She has a B.A. in statistics from Fu-Jen University in Taiwan, an M.S. in statistics and operational research from NYU Stern School of Business and an M.B.A. from the University of Washington.
Christopher Chapman
VP, global finance
As vice president of global finance for the $2.8 billion maker of banking and security systems, Chapman has financial oversight of Diebold's global operations, its global supply chain and global financial planning and analysis. Since joining Diebold in 1996, he has served in various finance positions, including controller for international operations. Chapman has a B.S.B.A. in finance and an M.B.A. in international business from the University of Akron.
Jonathan Cowan
National manager, rate desk & derivatives
Toyota Financial Services
Cowan manages Toyota Financial's structured finance program and a portfolio of more than $90 billion in derivatives it uses to hedge interest-rate and currency risk. He successfully implemented a new collateral program that reduced Toyota Financial's counterparty credit risk by more than $1.3 billion. Cowan has a B.S. in economics and computer science from Duke University and an M.B.A. from the USC Marshall School of Business.
Andrew Finkelstein
Executive director of finance, services division
Finkelstein led the benchmarking and conversion to support a new "line of business" model within Dell's $8.3 billion services division. He joined Dell in 2009 when it acquired Perot Systems, and was involved in integrating that acquisition. He had worked at Perot Systems for nine years. Finkelstein has a B.S. in economics and finance from the University of Texas and a J.D. from Southern Methodist University.
Jeffrey Hackman
Chief accounting officer & VP
Hackman joined Kforce, a $1 billion staffing firm, in 2007, and served as its SEC reporting director before being named to his current position in 2009. He has been actively involved in several of the company's acquisitions and divestitures. Earlier, Hackman worked at Grant Thornton and Arthur Andersen. He has a B.S. in accounting and an master's of accountancy from the University of South Florida.
Tahreem Kampton
Senior director, FX, commodities & global cash management
At $73.7 billion Microsoft, Kampton leads treasury's efforts to steward the company's roughly $70 billion in investment assets and hedge financial risks for its overseas revenue of about $20 billion. Since joining Microsoft in 1999, Kampton has taken on tasks such as managing the equity portfolio and developing and implementing dilution management strategies. He has a B.S. in finance from Penn State.
David Kennedy
Executive director, mergers & acquisitions finance
Kennedy leads $62.1 billion Dell's finance integration and work stream efforts for mergers and acquisitions. He has led the financial integration of six acquisitions for the company, while also managing Dell's IT finance portfolio. In his 14 years at Dell, he has also headed finance for the global consumer finances unit. Kennedy has a bachelor's in business studies from the University of Limerick in Ireland.
Alfred Kibe
Director, capital planning & pensions funding
General Motors
Kibe led negotiations on the automaker's recent $26 billion pension risk transfer to Prudential Insurance, an effort that involved a team of 50. Earlier, as manager for auto finance, he developed GM's auto finance strategy. Kibe joined GM's treasurer's office in 2005. He has a B.S. in electrical and electronic engineering from the University of Nairobi and an M.B.A. from Wharton.
Bryan Kimzey
VP, investor relations
Calpine Corp.
Kimzey signed on to head the $6.8 billion energy company's investor relations last year. He joined Calpine from Progress Energy, where he worked in investor relations, treasury and strategic planning. Earlier, he worked in investment banking at Credit Suisse First Boston and began his career at Arthur Andersen. Kimzey has a B.S. in business administration and a master's in accounting from University of North Carolina.
Annona Loughnane
Senior director, worldwide credit services
Loughnane plays a key role in managing Microsoft's global accounts receivable portfolio. She was named director of credit for Europe, the Middle East and Africa in 2005 and moved to the U.S. in 2010 when she took over operational management of the global organization. Prior to joining Microsoft 10 years ago, she worked at Modus Media. Loughnane has a B.A. in European business from the University of Ulster.
Russell Lynch
Controller & VP
Lynch played a key role in the diversified energy company's bond issuances in 2011 and its inaugural $1 billion credit facility in 2010. He was named controller at Energen, which had $1.5 billion in 2011 revenue, in 2009 after joining the company in 2001 in internal audit. Earlier, he was a senior auditor at Ernst & Young. Lynch has a B.S. in business administration and an M.S. in accounting from Auburn University.
Noel Marsden
Treasurer & VP
BrightPoint, a unit of Ingram Micro
At BrightPoint, a $5.2 billion distributor of mobile phones acquired by Ingram Micro this year, Marsden established a strategic development function, directed the financial integration for nine acquisitions and expanded the roster of the company's credit providers. Earlier, he was treasurer at Aearo Technologies, a division of 3M. Marsden has a B.S. in computer engineering from Michigan State and an M.B.A. from Purdue University.
Fazal Merchant
Treasurer & SVP
Merchant signed on as treasurer of DirecTV, the $27.2 billion provider of digital TV service, earlier this year from Royal Bank of Scotland. Earlier, he worked in investment banking at Barclays Capital and spent nine years in treasury and finance positions at Ford Motor in the U.S. and Europe. Merchant has a B.B.A. in finance from the University of Texas and an M.B.A. from Indiana University.
Andy Milevoj
VP, investor relations
Barnes & Noble
Milevoj has worked on a number of transactions at Barnes & Noble, including the $486 million initial public offering of Barnes & Noble.com, the company's acquisition and subsequent spin-off of GameStop, and a $300 million convertible notes offering. Milevoj has worked in investor relations since joining the $7.1 billion bookseller in 1998 and was named to his current position earlier this year. He has a B.S. in finance from St. John's University.
Alexandra Neely
Senior director, risk & liquidity
Hilton Worldwide
Neely oversees the treasury team responsible for forecasting the hotel chain's global cash flow and managing its liquidity. She also manages Hilton Worldwide's foreign exchange and interest rate hedging and credit risk monitoring programs. Prior to joining Hilton in 2010, she worked in finance at Constellation Energy. Neely has a B.A. in economics from Wellesley and an M.B.A. from Wharton.
Mark Okerstrom
Okerstrom has led more than 20 acquisitions and divestitures for the $3.5 billion online travel company, including the spin-off of TripAdvisor. He has also spearheaded initiatives such as restructuring the search engine marketing operations. Earlier, he worked at Bain & Co., UBS and the law firm of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in London. Okerstrom has an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a J.D. from the University of British Columbia.
Colleen Ostrowski
Treasurer & VP, investor relations
When $12 billion ITT spun off its defense and water businesses in 2011, Ostrowski led the treasury team that worked to ensure each company was positioned for success as a standalone. Prior to joining ITT in 2010, Ostrowski spent 10 years in finance and treasury at Pfizer, where her final position was senior director of treasury pension investments and finance. She has a B.S. in international business from Juniata College and an M.B.A. from Penn State.
Jeffrey Plante
Staff VP, finance
Plante is responsible for financial and strategic planning for the $60.7 billion health benefits company's national accounts business, which covers more than 12 million people. Earlier, as finance lead for two of the company's state plans, he oversaw growth in operating gains. Prior to joining WellPoint in 2006, Plante was a senior financial analyst at Raytheon. He has a B.S. in business administration and an M.B.A. from the University of New Hampshire.
Devina Rankin
Treasurer & VP
Waste Management
Rankin has managed four capital market transactions that raised $2 billion for $13.4 billion Waste Management, executed a $2 billion revolving credit facility, and implemented improvements in cash and interest-expense forecasting. Prior to joining the company 10 years ago, she was a senior auditor at Ernst & Young and Arthur Andersen. Rankin has a B.B.A. and an M.S. in accounting from Texas A&M University.
Pieter Roeloffs
Head of M&A & VP
Wolters Kluwer
Since joining the $4.5 billion global information services company in 2006, Roeloffs has executed more than 90 acquisitions and divestitures for Wolters Kluwer in Europe and Asia. He joined the company in 2006 after working in business development at Philips and in the corporate finance practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Roeloffs has a B.B.A. and an M.B.A. in financial management from Erasmus University.
Petra Rosenauer
Senior director treasury & head of cash management
Flextronics International
Vienna-based Rosenauer manages the $29 billion contract manufacturer's liquidity in Europe and has set up cash pooling comprising 75 entities that covers most of Europe. With her team, she is responsible for meeting tight cash concentration targets. Prior to joining Flextronics, Rosenauer worked in finance at Western Union. She has a master's degree in social and economic science from Vienna Business University.
Michelle Scheer
VP, finance
Thomson Reuters
As head of finance and operations for Thomson Reuters' corporate tax business, Scheer has driven revenue growth and increased the unit's profit margin. Earlier, as assistant treasurer, she led the development of a foreign exchange risk management strategy. Scheer joined Thomson Reuters in 2009 after working in the treasurer's office at General Motors. She has a B.S. in mathematics from MIT and an M.B.A. in finance from Wharton.
Ravi Varma
VP, global portfolio analysis & strategy oversight
American Express
As head of a critical function in the risk management unit of $32.3 billion American Express, Varma has led efforts to assess emerging risks and work out policies and product changes to address them. He started his career as an analyst at Arthur Andersen. Varma has a B.A. in economics from the University of Delhi and an M.S. in quantitative economics from Indian Statistical Institute.
Emily Waldorf
Director, corporate development
Campbell Soup Co.
As head of M&A and business development for the $7.7 billion food company, Waldorf led the due diligence and valuation efforts for Campbell's $1.55 billion acquisition of Bolthouse Farms, which involved 20 work streams and a team of 74. Waldorf has worked for Discovery Communications, the FBI, Johnson & Johnson and AT&T. She has a B.S. in finance from Penn State and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
David Webb
Director, financial strategy
Ford Motor
As director of financial strategy for the $136.3 billion automaker, Webb has led development of Ford Credit's capital and funding strategies. He's in charge of the company's efforts around financial regulatory reform worldwide and led development of an innovative fixed-income security, the Ford Upgrade Exchange Linked Notes. Webb has a B.A. in economics from Wheaton College and an M.B.A. in finance from the University of Michigan.
Christopher Winfrey
Charter Communications
At the $7.2 billion cable operator, Winfrey not only directs all of the financial functions but also has responsibility for the areas of supply chain management, revenue assurance and business intelligence. Prior to joining Charter in 2010, he was CFO at Unitymedia in Germany. Winfrey has also worked at Cablecom and NTL Europe. He has a B.S. in accounting and an M.B.A. from the University of Florida.
Thomas Wittman
Managing director
FedEx Express
Wittmann oversees financial planning and support for the airline division of FedEx Express. He and his team play a key role in the company's management of its fleet of aircraft, such as the decision to acquire 767s to retire aging MD10s and the introduction of the Boeing 777F. He joined FedEx Express in 1998 as an associate financial analyst. Wittman has a B.B.A. and an M.S. in economics from the University of Mississippi.
Vienna Wong
Senior director, corporate mergers & acquisitions
Wong leads the execution of strategic activities for $66.5 billion PepsiCo. She has completed three transactions since joining the company in 2010, including the acquisition of Mabel, Brazil's leading maker of cookies, crackers and snacks. Prior to joining PepsiCo, Wong was an investment banker at JPMorgan, Lehman Brothers and Barclays Capital. She has a B.S. in finance and accounting from Wharton.


text: Týna Týna is years old female from Array, Czech Republic. She is interested in meet new people. , female, Likes: 6x Facebook profile Who s/he liked? Send message Favorite May she/he ask you for a date? Never Maybe Sure Crank Seafood Coldplay Philosophy Sports Cars The Transformers Rock Green Mile Sex and the City Basketball Relationship: ShowSexuality: ShowHeight: ShowWeight: ShowBody type: ShowEye color: ShowHair color: ShowLiving: ShowKids: ShowSmoking: ShowDrinking: Show Report photo Sign up to see all photos Facebook Twitter Google+ Pinterest Similar users Sylvia V. 3, Los Angeles 58 Sharon C. 3, Knoxville 105 Sheyenne E. 3, Woodbine 101 Krissy T. 3, Mountain View 88 Paige M. 3, San Antonio 101 Paula E. 3, Tuscumbia 66 Patricia S. 3, Carlstadt 134 Queén L. 3, Richmond Hill 127 Allison R. 2, Allen Park 95


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Tag Archives: bishops
When the People Do Not Love the Shepherd
Some Catholics have a problem with the perceived imbalance of this "limited" petition from Eucharistic Prayer II: Remember, Lord, your Church, spread throughout the world, and bring her to the fullness of charity, together with Francis our Pope and N. … Continue reading
Posted in bishops, Liturgy, spirituality Tagged bishops, cover-up scandal, pope francis, prayer 2 Comments
Two More Weeks
June 21st will be the start of another run on freedom. It will be the start of the Fortnight For Freedom, 2013 edition. During the Fortnight, our liturgical calendar celebrates a series of great martyrs who remained faithful in the … Continue reading
Posted in bishops, Church News, Politics, Saints, Two Weeks of Worthy Women, women religious Tagged bishops, Fortnight For Freedom, politics, USCCB, women religious 2 Comments
Pope Francis Friday
CNS reported on Pope Francis meeting with B16's CDF head. As reported, sisters and theologians were not on the docket, but praise for the movement to addressing sex predators. For the defenders of the innocent, all eyes will be on … Continue reading
Posted in Church News, sex abuse, The Blogosphere Tagged bishops, cover-up scandal, Msgr Marini, pope francis 1 Comment
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Here's a quote of the day from last month, via RNS. Robert Mickens, The Tablet: It's not clear that it would make any difference to have a pope with an African or Latin American face if he turned out to … Continue reading
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Los Angeles Evasion
Is it about time LA's ex-archbishop gets an expose in the LA Times? A few of my liturgical colleagues still give a nod or two when passing his shrine, but I've always counted myself as a skeptic where the Frequently … Continue reading
Posted in bishops, sex abuse Tagged bishops, Cardinal Mahony, conspiracy, cover-up, sex abuse 1 Comment


text:
New Selecting a Japanese Textbook
From WagaWiki
m (→Know your goals first)
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One of the first questions a potential Japanese student asks is, "What is the best Japanese textbook to get?" After much trial and error and also watching the experiences of others, the answer to this all-important question is: "all of them." Unfortunately, an average search will usually not reveal many of these good books, so the purpose of this guide is as much to bring some of these titles out into the light, as it is act as a reference.
One of the first questions a potential Japanese student asks is, "What is the best Japanese textbook to get?" After much trial and error and also watching the experiences of others, the answer to this all-important question is: "all of them." Unfortunately, an average search will usually not reveal many of these good books, so the purpose of this guide is as much to bring some of these titles out into the light, as it is act as a reference.
Revision as of 22:35, 2 December 2007
One of the first questions a potential Japanese student asks is, "What is the best Japanese textbook to get?" After much trial and error and also watching the experiences of others, the answer to this all-important question is: "all of them." Unfortunately, an average search will usually not reveal many of these good books, so the purpose of this guide is as much to bring some of these titles out into the light, as it is act as a reference.
Each textbook meets different goals in differing orders, but the final result for nearly all is a student that can speak--if not read--Japanese well. It is important to not waste time looking for a better textbook once you've already started. Persevere and study daily and you will be learn Japanese well.
Know your goals first
Learning a new language is about goals before anything else. Why are you studying Japanese? If you know your goals, then you can select a book that caters more effectively toward those goals.
The first thing you have to decide is speed. The faster you need to learn one thing the greater the sacrifice you need to make somewhere else. A diplomat might be satisfied with a spoken course, while someone that just wants to read manga will be happy with a written course. In terms of speed we can rate the courses from fastest to slowest.
- Travel Guide
- Primer
- Spoken only
- Written only
- Both spoken and written
For example, a spoken course does not need to worry about learning Kanji which adds a significant amount of time to learning Japanese. Likewise, a strictly written course has no need for pronunciation or speed drills. The longest route is learning to be good at both. Still, there is some room for variety. A course emphasizing literacy might emphasize reading (passive recall) but not writing (active recall).
Primers are great for the tourist that wants get more out of their tour guide or a thrifty parent of a child that wants to learn Japanese. They give a smattering of everything but are weak on vocabulary and like travel guides often have no audio component. Because the primer is much cheaper than a full course, it can be used as a gauge of the child's discipline. If the child is able to complete the primer, then the parent might more seriously consider buying a full blown course. Primers also can be good supplements to a more robust course.
Travel guides are written for the clueless tourist and can generally get someone by, provided they spend a week or two learning the format of the book. Although primers can easily become a source of aggravation for all parties, they also contain a lot of categorized vocabulary so an intermediate student or upper beginner might find them useful as a study guide. In truth, they can be a godsend even for the advanced student that goes to Japan then suddenly discovers a hole in one's knowledge.
Because a good course is designed to advance a student to the intermediate level. Any course that does not have enough material to make a student self-sufficient at about the intermediate level will be rated as a primer.
Spoken courses come in three varieties, spoken only, romaji, or kana. Although there is a bit of controversy over the use of romaji, a spoken course will not be criticized for that here, however, a written course will.
Know the format before buying
I highly recommend examining any course before buying it. Even though I try to recommend courses that are well formatted and are paced in a way that is easy to stay motivated, it might not work for you. It is a bad sign when the page layout incites a headache, so make sure you like the format and pace before buying. Generally, many short lessons seems to be easier to remember and progress through than few longer more in-depth lessons.
Also, this list will now attempt to cover all media formats. Software, audio only, and web site courses as I see them will be added to the list. Textbooks will continue to be the preferred format, because you can take them with you anywhere, but other formats will be mentioned.
Best Highlights
To save some trouble this list is for those who want a quick answer. Most courses are rated on quality not speed. I do plan to make a note of any courses that seem to emphasize speed. Better courses are listed above weaker courses, but to be listed at all in the "Best" list is a good sign. Please realize that these "Best" courses are rated extremely subjectively. If something is not on here, that doesn't necessarily mean it is bad, also you might prefer a book not on this list. Hopefully, after reading this page, will know enough to judge whether a given course fills your needs by yourself. Usually I will try to give a reason one title is listed over another. If you don't see the book you want here, check out the complete Japanese Textbook List. If Clay is selling a recommended book, I'll point the link to his store in thanks for hosting the site.
Travel Guides
- Barron's Japanese Vocabulary by Carol and Nobou Akiyama. This is as the title says, mainly a vocabulary list, so it's more for someone that has already knows Japanese grammar. It is the only book of it's kind, however, to list such a large number of themed vocabulary. Vocabulary words are listed under the most appropriate topic, "Clothing," "Likes and Dislikes," "Jobs and Professions," etc.. Kanji are given for words in the back, and the book says that it also notates changes in pitch, but very few accented words are marked. In spite of this negative, the book is very portable and can be used to quickly look up a word at need.
- Colloquial Japanese by H. D. B. Clarke. This can be bought as the book alone or the book and audio can be bought together as a package. Great for someone going to Japan in the near future or that wants a good overview of the language before starting a more intensive course. This moves at a fast pace but does not overload the student with vocabulary. Also, the vocabulary builds on each previous chapter very well. Unfortunately, there are a relatively large number of typos throughout the book that the student will need to keep their eyes out for, however, they all seemed rather obvious because the parallel text will not match. Primers usually don't come with audio so this gets the highest recommendation.
- Easy Japanese by Jack Steward. This little primer has a lot going for it. It strongly emphasizes pattern sentence and substitution drills, one of those boring things that you only appreciate later and something many courses neglect because they are unpopular. No audio.
Spoken Only
- Barron's Mastering Japanese Written by Eleanor Harz Jorden author of Japanese, the Spoken Language is a technical course designed for the self-study. Even though this textbook is old, it gets the highest recommendation because of the extensive drills in the book. The benefit of extensive drills is well worth any perceived negative factors associated with this course.
- Ultimate Japanese and Japanese Complete Course by Living Language are both spoken courses even though UJ does teach Japanese writing it is segregated from the other material and can be easily ignored. UJ is a technical course while FCC is a conversational course. JCC therefore, better meets the above stated purpose of a spoken course. UJ acts as a sort of bridge between a spoken course and a written course teaching too slowly to really benefit from a spoken only approach but the segregated writing system removes the benefits of an integrated course. Both are mentioned because the marketing for both courses is confusing.
- Pimsleur's Japanese This conversational course comes in 3 volumes of 30 lessons each. The course is weak on vocabulary but strong in pattern sentences and completely spoken (CD or Tape); there is no accompanying text. This can be a problem because the untrained ear often cannot distinguish some sounds, however there are PDFs of the lessons floating around the internet. The course is very expensive, but seems to be at many libraries for free and is worth checking out. If nothing else, the lessons are very memorable and can give some insights in how to structure one's study sessions for maximum retention.
Written Only
- An Introduction to Modern Japanese (Bowring & Laurie). This is an extremely detailed 52 Lesson course that has the stated goal of enabling the student to read--with only a dictionary for reference-- short stories by the half-way point and newspapers by the end. It comes with a workbook, essential for taking full advantage of this course, and emphasizes the subtleties of _written_ Japanese. Thus, making this course best for the student with the primary goal of Japanese literacy over spoken fluency. It covers more Kanji than any other known course and gives detailed explanations of each grammar point.
- Japanese in Mangaland With the addition of workbooks this book series graduates from a gimmicky grammar book into a legitimate Japanese course more dedicated towards the student that wants to read manga. Has good explanations, mini exercises and more specifically targeted vocabulary. For example, onomatopoeia and sound effects are taught from the very beginning. Currently 3 textbooks and 1 workbook; workbooks 2 and 3 may be in the works. There only seems to be one workbook at this time, so utility for using this course may fall off quickly after the first book.
Spoken and Written
- Genki: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese. This is a 2-book course with a strong following. Each book has an accompanying workbook and audio. It is one of the more expensive courses but worth the money. However, this is not so much better than Nakama that you should ignore a good deal if you find it.
- Elementary Japanese. Also a two book series, it has the advantage of an audio CD that does not need to be ordered separately and has lots of exercises, although it does not have an accompanying workbook at this time, rather exercises are all within the book, making this a bit thicker than many other textbooks.
- Japanese for Everyone is equally good, maybe better, but I rank it lower because it teaches at a faster pace to make up for it's 1 book length and the audio must be purchased separately--and seems difficult to acquire and there is not many exercises. This faster pace can be too much for many people, although the pace did not seem to be extraordinarily fast. I'm sure many will find the pace perfect.


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Eurogamer.net • PlayStation 3 Wii • Game of the Week MMO Podcast Saturday Soapbox
Popular now
Why we need more developers like Zoe Quinn
To reach their full potential, games need to stop empowering the player and embrace the raw and personal.
Hearthstone and Diablo make up for World of Warcraft subscriber slide
Blizzard respecs for the future.
DC Universe Online coming to Xbox One
PC and PS4 versions get cross-play.
Final Fantasy 14 gets Final Fantasy 7's Gold Saucer next month
Chocobo Racing! Triple Triad! Nostalgia!
Tuesday, 12 January 2016
DC Universe Online coming to Xbox One
PC and PS4 versions get cross-play.
Thursday, 7 May 2015
Hearthstone and Diablo make up for World of Warcraft subscriber slide
Blizzard respecs for the future.
Thursday, 15 January 2015
Final Fantasy 14 gets Final Fantasy 7's Gold Saucer next month
Chocobo Racing! Triple Triad! Nostalgia!
Saturday, 30 August 2014
Why we need more developers like Zoe Quinn
To reach their full potential, games need to stop empowering the player and embrace the raw and personal.
Thursday, 28 August 2014
High profile departures at Eve Online maker CCP
San Francisco office closing and David Reid going with it.
Thursday, 31 July 2014
PC version of Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn goes free for 14 days
But trial not available for PS4 or PS3.
Tuesday, 8 July 2014
The real story behind The Sun's "Gaming as addictive as heroin" headline
Is Britain really "in the grip of a gaming addiction"?
Wednesday, 4 June 2014
Defiance MMO now free-to-play on PC
And free on PS3 and Xbox 360 from 15th July.
Friday, 2 May 2014
MMO Defiance goes free-to-play this summer
Ahead of season two of the TV show.
Friday, 7 February 2014
Diablo 3 sales hit 15m as WOW subs rise
Activision reckons Destiny will be the "best-selling new video game IP in history".
Wednesday, 5 February 2014
Final Fantasy 14 helps Square Enix swing back to profit
MMO "making favourable progress".
Friday, 6 December 2013
Final Fantasy 14 update 2.1 release date announced
10-minute trailer runs through new features.
Wednesday, 4 December 2013
Handsome Elder Scrolls Online video shows character progression
Satchel gameplay.
Wednesday, 30 October 2013
Final Fantasy 14 PS4 beta release date announced
1.5 million registered players on PC and PS3.
Wednesday, 23 October 2013
DC Universe Online graphics, gameplay improved for PS4 launch
UPDATE: Watch the first before and after trailer.
Tuesday, 1 October 2013
There's no deal preventing Dust 514 being on PC, Xbox
There's only CCP sticking to its guns.
Thursday, 19 September 2013
Switch from playing Final Fantasy 14 on PS3 to PS4 for free
UPDATE: but you lose PS3 version.
Tuesday, 10 September 2013
Final Fantasy 14 companion app released
iOS version out now. Android version in development.
Friday, 6 September 2013
Dispatches from A Realm Reborn
How is life in Final Fantasy 14's troubled paradise - and what does it say about MMOs?
Thursday, 5 September 2013
Sony offers refunds as Final Fantasy 14 launch catastrophe worsens
UPDATE: Square Enix issues statement, says "worst problems have been alleviated".
Tuesday, 3 September 2013
Square Enix extends Final Fantasy 14 free play time amid server woes
Emergency maintenance scheduled for tonight.
Wednesday, 28 August 2013
Final Fantasy 14 removed from sale following server woes
"Overwhelmingly positive" response causing extremely long wait times.
Saturday, 3 August 2013
Mind the stopgaps?
What can you expect from games that are dictated by scheduling?
Friday, 2 August 2013
Blizzard's Titan unlikely to be a subscription MMO
"Re-envisioning what we want the game to be."
Thursday, 27 June 2013
Friday, 21 June 2013
Friday, 24 May 2013
Thursday, 23 May 2013
Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn out on PC and PS3 this August
Monthly subscriptions cost Ł7.69 / €10.99.
Tuesday, 5 March 2013
What will Dust 514 do about PlayStation 4?
"Like Eve, we believe Dust is going to be a long-term service."
Saturday, 2 March 2013
Saturday Soapbox: Voting with your wallets isn't the whole answer to abusive micro-transactions
Cliff Bleszinski makes a reasonable point, but there's more to it.
Friday, 8 February 2013
Activision casts doubt on 2013 release for Bungie's Destiny
Plus: 12 million Diablo 3 sales, 9.6m WOW subs and "disappointment" at Wii U launch.
Tuesday, 29 January 2013
Greg Zeschuk reflects on leaving BioWare for beer
"You just get tired of it after a while."
Tuesday, 22 January 2013
Dust 514's new frontier
As CCP's trailblazing online shooter goes live, we visit a developer on the edge. But of what?
Monday, 7 January 2013
Rebooted Final Fantasy 14 beta details and glamorous new video
Rather have a bowl of Chocobopops?
Friday, 4 January 2013
First beta event for sci-fi MMO Defiance
Fancy Trion it out?
Wednesday, 28 November 2012
Square Enix: another mistake like Final Fantasy 14 could destroy the company
A Realm Reborn won't be released until it's ready, director insists.
Saturday, 13 October 2012
Saturday Soapbox: F2P FTW?
As free-to-play games land on consoles, Chris Donlan re-examines his own prejudices.
Thursday, 11 October 2012
Behold the first Final Fantasy 14 PS3 screenshots
They show the console UI but suffer compared to PC.
Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn PS3 screenshots
A glimpse at last.
Monday, 3 September 2012
UK chart: Guild Wars 2 top but sells less at retail than SWTOR
Second largest non-Warcraft PC MMO launch.
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text:
Jungle Baby Shower Invitation, Safari Baby Shower Invitation, Jungle Animals Shower invite in Pink Blue or Yellow, Printable or Printed
Product Info
This is a digital file, no items will be shipped. You will be emailed upon approval, a high resolution jpeg file so you can print as many as you need.
Once you place your order, please email us at firstname.lastname@example.com the following:
1) Size you would like for the invitation (4x6 or 5x7)
2) Information you wish to add in the card (such as guest of honor's name, date, time, address, rsvp info, registry info, etc)
3) Any changes you would like made to the card....custom fees may apply if not easily changed.
We will work with you until the invitation perfectly suits your needs.
After information is submitted, we will provide you a proof within 48 hours and upon approval, we will send you the final jpeg file for printing.
After receiving the invitation file you can send it to your favorite local LAB for printing (like Walmart, Walgreens, Office depot, Kinkos, Costco, Staples, Office Max etc) and you may print as many invitations as you wish or you can print yourself at home UNLIMITED invitations too !!!!
Matching party decor available:
Graphics by Clipart Singles


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text:
Theories - Origin of Life
Discussion of everything related to the Theory of Evolution.
Moderator: BioTeam
Re: Theories - Origin of Life
I'm not sure who is denying that evolution occurs. Not me. There could be questioning of some basic particulars, assumptions or tenets, though, in the theory as propounded by Neo Darwinian gene-centrist proponents.
Re: Theories - Origin of Life
I'm sorry if I mistook you for a denier. We get some here, and I sometimes (OK, often) lose track of who accepts this but rejects that, and why.
Re: Theories - Origin of Life
If you're a Dawkins fan you might well call me a "denier". These people have such labels for those who do not agree absolutely with him, on certain particulars.
Re: Theories - Origin of Life
Sorry for delay but I have been away over the weekend.
I do recall this encouragement to me, however I assumed you were confusing me with someone else. As I have said before I don't do religion.
Now surely you are not suggestion that Douglas H. Erwin whose paper I have referenced is writing for a religious organisation?
Or that the Smithsonian a religious organisation?
Again are you suggesting that ones like James Valentine of University of Berkeley is a religionist or that Berkeley is a religious organisation.
Please lets not invent strawman arguments.
Let me though, take your points in turn
1 & 2
It is true that shelled creatures leave a more extensive record than their soft-bodied
counterparts. However you are aware are you not, that fossils of soft body organisms do appear quite extensively in the Cambrian layer.
Soft-bodied phyla, such as Annelida, Onycophora and Priapulida, which do not have mineralized skeletons, make their appearance in the early Cambrian of Chengjiang, Yunnan Province in China..
The Mid Cambrian Burgess Shale fauna from British Columbia, preserves many soft-bodied fossils similar to those of the Chengjiang fauna. This indicates that these forms were widespread and persisted for many millions of years. These faunas only serve to emphasize the spectacular diversity that was achieved so early in animal history
Indeed cyanobacteria (ie soft body organism) are dated at some 3.5 billion years.
So to suggest, as an argument, that the fossil record has gaps because soft body organisims don't fossilise, clearly lacks credibility.
Did you not state this as evidence of falsification.
When I produce evidence of the inability to produce a tree, you start to argue gaps.
Can a tree be produced or can't it, at least for the present?
What is wrong with an admission that it can't, at the present.
Instead of course you accuse me of researching religious data, which clearly I was not and you know full well I wasn't.
In fact I am the one referencing peer reviewed papers from the evolutionary community.
Please advise, when have you referred me to a peer reviewed paper?
I simply report what evolutionary biologists themselves are acknowledging about the lack of precursors.
You seem to forget what Darwin himself acknowledged. And he was the originator of this idea. (well almost).
So then as I understand it, this is your view of science.
So when some organism suddenly appears fully formed in the fossil record, this is not considered evidence of, some organism having suddenly appeared.
It is considered as a lack of evidence, that it had precursors.
I have to assume this is your line of argument since you go on to state
It seems to me that while this "the old and worn saying " may be true, some further steps have to be taken to prevent this statement from becoming something like
"You can posit any hypothesis whatsoever for which no definitively contradicting (or falsifying) evidence can be found".
Now there are clear dangers connected with such an attitude.
Hypotheses, by their very nature, contain the very elements of their own potential falsification. You cannot assert a well posited hypothesis without also revealing the ground on which the hypothesis may be refuted.
I genuinely thought that you did just that initially. Sadly however you have resorted to a debating tactic rather than relying on science.
Perhaps I could conclude this point with Karl Poppers observations
Karl Popper, Conjectures and Refutations,
http://philosophyfaculty.ucsd.edu/facul ... rphil1.pdf
Re: Theories - Origin of Life
Here's how science works. Pay attention. Observations are made. Hypotheses are presented that attempt to explain the observations. If a verifiable observation falsifies an hypothesis, the hypothesis must be rejected or revised. You oppose evolutionary theory. What observations do you have that falsify evolution? An incomplete fossil record IS NOT AN OBSERVATION. What you will not understand (i.e. won't accept) is that gaps in the fossil record do not falsify evolution. THEY ARE ONLY GAPS.
Outside my window I can see no airplanes in the sky. This is evidence that there are no airplanes in my field of view. Not proof, but evidence. Maybe there is an airplane within my field of view, but it is too far away for me to see. Maybe there's one behind that cloud. It is not very good evidence that airplanes do not exist. If I do see an airplane, that's pretty solid evidence that airplanes do exist. Do you see the difference between an observation and the lack of an observation as evidence of something?
Again, what about the rest of the tree of life?
Re: Theories - Origin of Life
Not only is the existence of gaps a faulty argument against evolution, as Gavin just explained, but it is nearly impossible to produce an evolutionary progression on our world without gaps. Finding a "missing link" closes a gap but creates two smaller gaps on either side of it. In order to close every "gap" completely we would need nearly every organism in a line of descent, as each descendant probably had some minor variations with the generation above it. This is impossible when fossils are so hard to come by.
But that does not mean that all those gaps disprove evolution! In fact, another important part of a scientific theory is its predictive ability. Time and again evolutionary scientists have predicted that we should find an intermediate "missing link" organism in this area of the fossil record with these traits and paleontologists have found exactly those predictions. Evolution is a very powerful and fully scientific theory.
"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." -Carl Sagan
Re: Theories - Origin of Life
So let me get this right
Evolutionary theory is now only a hypothesis. Is that what you are saying?
Well if that is case then I agree with you.
Re: Theories - Origin of Life
There's not much point in any further discussion about science and evidence. What I'm curious about is why you oppose evolution. Those who do are usually religious, but you say you believe in no gods. At least in no theistic gods. Are you a deist? But most versions of deistic gods just create the universe and then sit back and let it do its thing, including cosmic and biological evolution. I just can't believe that you are an atheist who opposes evolution because of a lack of evidence. Would you mind stating (in 25 words or fewer) your version of things so we can understand where you're coming from?
Re: Theories - Origin of Life
Evolution by natural selection was a hypothesis, but a hypothesis which accurately explains the observed data and phenomenon and makes predictions which come true becomes a theory. Evolutionary theory explains all the data and phenomenon we have so far observed and has even made predictions which have come true (both in the lab and in the fossil record).
"Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." -Carl Sagan
Re: Theories - Origin of Life
I don't think I can stick to 25 words or fewer, so please bear with me.
Firstly I don't oppose evolution in the strict meaning of change over time, by whaterver natural means. Evolution in that limited sense happens.
What I don't accept is that this natural course of change over time as described above produces new species. In other words Darwin's hypothesis is being shown to be wrong.
Design is what I see the biological world revealing.
Now if that design can be explained through natural processes then I have no problem in accepting that. Otherwise that design must be by some outside agency.
This is not a religious question to me.
I think for myself I don't need or desire for the dogmas of others, be they religious or scientific.
The only belief system I rely on is the scientific method.
This essentially involves four steps:
There are Observations,
Then the formulation of a Hypotheses to explain the observation.
That produces a Predictive capability.
And finally devise Experiments to test the hypothesis.
Now if that method does not provide the data in support, then at best, the hypothesis is not proven (in the scientific sense) and so remains a hypothesis.
If data can be shown to support, then depending on the quality or quantity of that data the hypothesis may be elevated to the status of a theory,
I have not seen any evidence that Darwinian (or Neo Darwinian) views fits the status of a theory. It is simply a hypothesis. The Cambrian fossils are but just one example of data not fitting the hypothesis. There are of course several other lines of data that my posts have referred to.
If there is evidence then point me to it, ie peer reviewed papers, and I will certainly examine them.
Statements like "evolution is proven" is not evidence. They are just statements unless accompanied by evidence.
What I have seen in this discussion are the philosophical and religious views dominating over the actual data. A lot of heat but very little light.
That is why I got involved on this forum.
I am quite happy to answer any other questions you may have.
Re: Theories - Origin of Life
Yes, we know. Are you a philosopher? They are notorious for being poor communicators. They are also notorious for being scientifically illiterate. You are obviously not scientifically illiterate.
Here's my version: I know squat for sure, but the evidence seems to favour a Darwinian process for the production of new species. (20 words)
Believe it or not, but we may actually be partial allies. I'm a relative hardliner when it comes to absolutes, such as claims of absolute truth. I'm generally a Dawkins fan but cringe a little when he continually says "evolution is a fact" or when Coyne writes a book called "Why evolution is true" (I haven't read it yet). The word "proof" is horribly abused in all human endeavours. Proof outside of mathematics is a rare thing indeed, and even within mathematics, proof is only claimed given a certain set of unproven axioms. I try to avoid the word "proof" altogether, and in lieu of "fact" and "true", prefer "very likely a fact" and "very likely true". My view is that science can, at best, help to determine the probability of truth.
Your reluctance to clearly state your position finally forced me to visit earlier postings to this thread to try to determine your position. You have stated that you believe in the veracity of science. So do I. You have also stated that you accept an evolutionary process occurring within species but not as a process that can produce new species. You seem to believe that design can be seen in nature, but that design has not arisen by a materialistic process. This implies that you believe in a nonmaterial designer. I am an atheist. Some atheists don't like using the word "believe", because they say that belief implies faith, and they don't like using the word "faith", because it implies religious faith. I'm not so queasy about using these words. Since I am a bit queasy about using the words "fact", "true", and "proof", and I have to use words to communicate my position, I say I believe something or have faith in something, meaning that the evidence to date supports the likelihood of that something being true.
The scientific method, in an organised manner, has been applied for only a few centuries. It has helped us to come to a better understanding of many things. But we do not know how much we do not know. Duh. Hence, my beliefs remain conditional. And this is where probability enters my picture.
Back to evolution. Your stance is that new species do not arise through a Darwinian process - no observation has indicated that any have. I know that various claims have been made that speciation has occurred within historical times or has been observed. Let's not debate this issue but, for the sake of argument, say that no speciation has been observed to occur through a Darwinian process. Your stance seems to be that species can arise by a nonmaterial process. So for you to deny the origin of species through a Darwinian process, and for me to accept it, we both have to make a "leap of faith". A leap to the potential belief in a nonmaterial designer is a rather large leap, given the amount of evidence supporting it. My leap, that the Darwinian process that occurs within species (that you say you accept) can be extrapolated to the origin of new species, is rather small by comparison.
I think this is where we differ. You are comfortable within your scientific veracity to entertain a large leap, and I am not. The probability thing gets in my way. So it seems that you either believe in a nonmaterial designer or you have no opinion one way or the other, i.e. you are a sceptic (you still haven't clarified this point). The latter is fine for an ultra-strict interpretation of the data or as a purely philosophical stance, but as the saying goes, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck. Sorry for trying to force a label on you, but labels exist as an aid to communication and understanding. If you're in a class of one, I still don't understand what that class is.
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Blind faith
Discussion of everything related to the Theory of Evolution.
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Blind faith
I have become quite interested in the phenomenon of blind faith. Whether evolved or created, humans are essentially quite rational beings. We would have difficulties getting through an average day without our ability to think. So it's the prevalence of the suspension of rational thought that interests me. Even many scientists, who make their living by using their brains, are able to forsake rationality when it comes to the big question. Why is this? Just a hundred years ago, we were quite ignorant compared to today. Granted, the proportion of people who cannot blindly believe in a supernatural creator has grown substantially, as expected. But still, many, many people have the ability to turn a blind eye to what we have learned, to dismiss solid evidence without thought that does not concur with one faith or another. As a lifelong student of variability, I am not surprised by the existence of blind faith. I just wish to acquire a better understanding of it. Perhaps someone who frequents this forum can help me to understand.
Re: Blind faith
Thank you for your post Jonl1408, but I'm afraid you have illustrated, rather than addressed, the subject of my post. You have obviously devoted much time and effort, but I'm looking for some feedback on the psychological aspects of blind faith.
Are there any? If man believes that something is true, it is going to take a great amount of evidence, to change his mind.
Also, you did not mention the appearance of Blind faith, in almost everyone today, blind faith in evolution for some, for others in Creation, but do not trick yourself into thinking that only Creation manifests blind faith. There are people who do not understand how a TV works, but have faith that it will work, when they turn it on.
Blind Faith is a very common phenomenon.
Man likes to believe that what he thinks is true.
In the case of Christianity, what you would call blind faith, is slightly different.
Real Christians, have a personal relationship with God, and although they can't see him, they know that he is there. (I know that you don't believe this, but it is true)
So to answer your question, I don't know.
"The scientific establishment bears a grisly resemblance to the Spanish Inquisition"-D. Gould
Re: Blind faith
Yes, blind faith is very common. For most of our existence, it was the only game in town, due to the lack of information. With the rapid accumulation of information, though, blind faith persists. I agree that many who reject creation stories and accept rational alternatives are not personally educated in the rationale that supports their beliefs. They "have faith" that those who offer alternatives are reliable. This faith, though, is based on probabilities of truth. (No one can know beyond any doubt what is true.) They are presented with various options and opt for the one that makes the most sense. Their faith, then, is not blind but is reasoned. Reason is normal and quite useful. The suspension of it is a psychological phenomenon (and with the use of the word "psychological", I am NOT inferring pathology, just that the brain is involved). This is what interests me. Why do rational people refuse to rationally consider some information and irrationally accept other information?
Jonl:what you call a blind faith (the working Tv) is just empirical experience based on every-day experiences.
Also, the believe in evolution is based rather on evidences than on blind faith, as is the case of creation
Cis or trans? That's what matters.
You could make a case for blind faith being an adaptive trait - to get kids to do what you want, to organize group performance, to do lots of useful human things, having the participants willing to blindly trust an authority figure could be a good group survival feature. Religions, ironically enough, may get their power from an evolved trait.
But we don't blindly follow all of our core human tendencies. I'm not sure we can, since some conflict with each other.
Re: Blind faith
@Jack Bean, no evidence for creation, did you not just read the evidence for creation?
Also there are many holes in scientific theory, which evolutionists explain with "blind faith".
@wbla3335 I think it is probably because man hates being wrong, about anything. Many people would rather argue for their beliefs, than face the evidence. (no I am not just speaking of evolution vs creation)
"The scientific establishment bears a grisly resemblance to the Spanish Inquisition"-D. Gould
Re: Blind faith
Your evidence for creation is worth nothing. Like claiming Pluto can disrupt the orbits of inner planets. Have you no science knowledge at all?
Anyway - blind faith.
I see blind faith as initially being the tendency to believe certain people. Children need to believe their parents, or else they may die from hazards their parents understand well. This level of trust should reduce with greater maturity, but human behaviour is highly variable, and some people continue to accept blindly what they are told, from people they are told to respect. This includes parents, teachers and clergy.
Thus, blind faith can be seen as the hold over of child-like behaviour into adulthood.
To be honest I find the question loaded and not very well defined.
My main problem is the definition of blind faith. What exactly does it entail? When does confidence of everyday experience ends to become faith? If one has always associated things like prayer with positive outcome (be it a feel good sensation or a bit of confirmation bias for demands coming to fruition), it could be argued that faith belongs to the first.
In fact I would go further than skeptic, not only are we trained to believe/trust others like parents as childresn, but we mostly keep doing the same as we grow up. There are a lot of things that we have to take at face value, however rational we want to be. And the trust we put in other is sometimes not much different or based on "evidence that we have have carefully studied and reviewed" than any faith in your choice of omnipotent bearded multi-armed tooth fairy in a heavenly garden full of virgin.
Science has proof without any certainty. Creationists have certainty without
any proof. (Ashley Montague)
Re: Blind faith
I think Darby has the answer but the selection pressure isn't identified correctly. Faith based decision making might be handy for keeping the kids out of trouble but if you want to drive human evolution you have to kill some humans.
Let's look at two neighboring tribes a few tens of thousands of years ago. One tribe carefully considers decisions based on evidence. It's nieghbor has a very persuasive witch doctor and a generally high level of faith. Which tribe decided to sneak over and exterminate the other? Which tribe is out of the gene pool?
Faith has had definate selective advantage in the past. That doesn't mean it's a good idea.
I think Darby is wrong and so are you.
I think that you both, and the OP are falling for the attarction of evolutionary psychology that have so weel be described by P.Z. Myers of pharyngula's fame as
In that case I pointed earlier, the definition of what exactly is blind faith is not there. The premise that human are rational is far from proven, and the existence of many cognitive biases is definitely proven. In fact in my experience, it appears that skepticism and rationality are more of an acquired thing, than the normal state of the human being. But anyone feel free to prove me wrong (I actually would not be surprised if obedience and surrendering of autonomy are acquired through education by the group).
So start defining your words and the extent of what you are interested in and then we will be able to discuss its evolutionary significance. And we will have to wonder how much of that well defined "blind faith" is actually heritable (genetically or memetically, that would be a first useful distinction) and on how much that had influenced our development.
As for BDDVM example, it is utter nonsense. Evidence can be assessed quickly and do not necessarily impeded preventive measures. Typical silly what if story reflecting more of your prejudice than anything else. Honestly I would have expected a bit more depth into your thinking considering previous evidence (your earleir posts). I probably had too much blind faith in your rationality
Science has proof without any certainty. Creationists have certainty without
any proof. (Ashley Montague)
Re: Blind faith
Utter nonsense? All I propose is that the personality trait of accepting untrue things based on faith has had a selective advantage in the past (and the current world as some headless heratics could attest to if they had heads. I disaggree with you on the mode of inheritence. I think it's mostly genetic with some environmental reinforcement. Some people revel in the warm feeling arroused be faith , some don't and others are in between. Variation.
I don't see how you can argue that faithability has and continues to have effects on likelyhood of both death and reproduction. Selective pressure.
That's all you need to have evolution. Variation, selection and reproduction obviously.
Simple explaination as to why so many people believe obviously untrue things on faith.
Is this how things should be? No. But Evolution only explains how things are, not how wonderful they are. There are way too many people engaged in the science who have a hard time seeing evolutionary outcomes that aren't optimum.
Last edited by BDDVM on Thu Mar 24, 2011 12:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Ever since the financial crisis heightened companies' awareness of the importance of cash flow management, treasury activities—and treasury managers—have been inhabiting larger roles in many organizations. "The focus on cash escalated during the crisis; everyone was fairly tied up with that particular topic," says Sherri Liao, practice leader for the enterprise performance management and business intelligence executive advisory program at The Hackett Group. "Cash is still something that companies are looking at, especially organizations that have tighter payment cycles. Also, we're finding that companies making larger capital investments are being pressed to show how they're going to make those cash outlays and returns on those investments because there's a heightened sensitivity around risk now."
The 2014 "Key Issues Study" from The Hackett Group indicates, predictably, that cash is taking a back seat to revenues and profits. When asked about their company's strategic financial priorities for 2014, two-thirds of respondents said that growing revenue is either their number-one or number-two priority. Nearly as many cited improving margins and profitability as either number one or number two. Improving cash flow scored quite a bit lower, with only 7 percent citing it as their top priority and 15 percent claiming it's their second-most-important objective. (See Figure 1, below.)
This doesn't mean, though, that cash management has fallen by the wayside of the corporate agenda. "As organizations are able to improve visibility to margin management and product or customer/channel profitability, they're going to have more of a way to link that kind of information to cash flow," Liao says. "It's just that now there's limited visibility into seeing where performance is coming from. Once that visibility becomes more transparent, they're going to be able to make better cash flow analysis, better leveraged insight into that area to give them line of sight."
Performance management and business intelligence (BI) applications are often the means to achieve this type of visibility. They don't come ready to go off-the-shelf, but companies in industries that are focused on cash—such as financial services—are investing resources to develop out their cash flow forecasting capabilities, says Liao. In fact, some are starting to incorporate cash flow forecasting into corporate processes around performance management and performance analytics. "They're pointedly building out modeling capabilities to see how cash will change based on demand, or if their business changes in certain ways in certain markets," Liao says.
Finance teams typically deploy BI and analytics software to measure costs or to slice and dice profitability, such as by customer, product, channel, project, or other dimension. These areas are generally considered to fit within the purview of finance. But, says Liao, "often what we're seeing is that the BI applications that companies are investing in will be extended into other areas of the enterprise to tell a bigger story. The BI software might be linked into things like marketing effectiveness. It might be linked into sales and operations. Linking these types of data together becomes a lot more powerful in telling the story of what's really going on with the enterprise, as opposed to just the financial view of things. Because of their skill sets and talents, finance is often looked to as providing the analytics for pretty much everything."
As companies' need for analytics grows, finance teams may find that they lack the talent to keep up. Respondents to the Hackett Key Issues study expect their company's revenue to grow by an average of 6.7 percent this year. Yet only 37 percent expect their operating budget to increase; the average change across all respondents is a 0.7 percent increase. And only 27 percent expect their finance staff to grow; on average, respondents anticipate that their staff size will actually shrink by 0.3 percent in 2014. (See Figure 2 on page 2.)
Perhaps that's why the Hackett study also found that lack of access to critical skills is a key driver of enterprise strategy in 2014. Nearly a third of respondents said their company faces a critical talent risk, and more than a third said talent management poses a moderate risk to their organization (see Figure 3, below).
"Companies have reduced their deficiencies in the core finance skills, such as compliance management, running a revenue cycle, and external reporting," says Jim O'Connor, principal in the financial advisory practice at Hackett. "But our research shows that business acumen and the ability to drive change—those softer partnering skills—are where companies are starting to look for help on their journey."
"For a long time, it was OK from a finance perspective to just have a good sense for the numbers," adds Liao. "Now we're seeing demand for resources that truly understand what it takes to run the business, as well as to effectively model and bring in external factors to be considered in those models." She says Hackett is seeing more and more companies adopt rotational programs to improve the business knowledge of their finance team. "It's not just someone who has an MBA," she adds. "People really need to understand what it takes to run different portions of the business to tell the story of where the results are landing and where some of the risks are coming from."
Instead of implementing rotational programs to improve the capabilities of their treasury and finance staff, some organizations are moving strategic activities into internal shared service centers, or even outsourcing them.
Traditionally, finance functions have tended to outsource transactional activities, such as payables or expense processing. "That's where people start, whether they're outsourcing or moving to a captive center," says Rich Cardillo, the principal responsible for Hackett's finance transformation consulting organization. "They start with the heavy transaction processing, those finance activities that are focused on driving efficiency."
But recently, the types of activities being outsourced have shifted. "Over time, people have moved additional activities within finance to either an outsourcing provider or a captive center—not so much for driving efficiency, but more for driving effectiveness," says Cardillo. "That's when you start moving up the food chain of finance activities into things like management reporting, elements of planning, or elements of credit, collections, and receivables."
There's no rule for which functions companies should outsource; that depends on each organization's goals and risk tolerance. Some companies are looking at outsourcing tax reporting, internal audit, and even treasury. "Those kinds of functions end up being more of a blended model, where a company will leverage an outsourcing partner for select capabilities or support in different parts of the world, geographies in which it can't build a business case to develop internal capabilities," says Tom Willman, associate principal in Hackett's finance executive advisory practice.