text:
Terrified Teacher
Maria Waltherr-Willard taught high school French and Spanish in a Cincinnati school district for more than 35 years, until the high school eliminated its French program in 2009. At that time, Waltherr-Willard says, the school district transferred her to its junior high school, even though it had previously promised her that it would not do so, in consideration of her pedophobia, which causes her severe anxiety when she is around young children.
The stress of working with younger pupils sent the teacher's blood pressure skyrocketing, according to Waltherr-Willard's lawsuit, and, after the district refused her request to return to the high school, she retired early. She is now suing the school district for discrimination, seeking past and future pay, compensatory and punitive damages and attorneys' fees.
Benched Basketballers
By many standards, the Nov. 29 San Antonio Spurs-Miami Heat game was a thrilling basketball game, in which the Heat edged out their opponents for a 105-100 victory, despite the absence of four of the Spurs' five starters. But one fan was so disappointed by the game that he's suing the Spurs, arguing that head coach Gregg Popovich cheated fans by resting the star players simultaneously.
Popovich says he made the decision because the team had played four games in five days, but the fan in question, Larry McGuinness, says that he suffered "economic damages" when he paid a premium for tickets, only to see bench players instead of starters. Shortly after the game in question, the league fined the team $250,000 over the controversy.
Flying Frank
Few things in life are better than eating a hot dog at a baseball game. Few things are worse than being hit in the eye with a flying hot dog. The latter allegedly befell unfortunate Kansas City Royals fan John Coomer in 2009, when an errant throw by team mascot Sluggerrr sent a hot dog straight into the fan's eye.
Coomer claimed that the flying frank caused several serious injuries, including a detached retina, and sued the team. A jury ruled against Coomer in March 2011 on the basis that the airborne hot dogs, which Sluggerrr throws to fans between innings, are an inherent risk that Coomer accepted by attending the game. But a state appeals court resurrected the lawsuit last week, ruling that "the risk of being hit in the face by a hot dog is not a well-known incidental risk of attending a baseball game."
Revolting Rodent
A New York City woman is suing a Times Square club after an uninvited, four-legged guest crashed her birthday celebration. Andrea Veras says she was enjoying her night out at the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill when she felt a sharp pain in her toe. Initially, Veras thought that the pain was her friend's high-heeled shoe digging into her foot, her lawyer says, but upon closer examination Veras's companion saw a rat hanging off of Veras's foot. Veras, who says she was treated with antibiotics for the allegedly infected toe, is suing the club for failing keep itself "in a safe and hygienic condition … free of rodents."
Light Litigation
The holiday spirit didn't last long for two Ohio neighbors who are sparring over one's extravagant Christmas light display. Strongsville resident Dan Hoag is known for his annual holiday show, which typically begins with a fireworks display on Thanksgiving.
But there's one person that doesn't find the light show so festive: Hoag's neighbor Kevin Roberts. Roberts has filed a $3,000 lawsuit, claiming that Hoag's 2011 fireworks display damaged his yard, house and car. He also alleges that a crowd gathered to see the lights harassed his sibling who was leaving his house on Thanksgiving evening.
Problematic Prediction
A former New York City police officer is suing the city for allegedly firing him—not because of any wrongdoing—but because of its belief that he would one day become an alcoholic. Timothy Silo claims his bosses ordered him, along with five fellow probationary officers, to see department psychologists after they were attacked by a group of miscreants outside a bar in December 2009. Even though Silo had never entered the bar—and had only had two drinks at a holiday party earlier that evening—he says that psychologist Casey Stewart interviewed him about his drinking habits for more than eight hours and asked questions about Silo's alcoholic father.
Even after a second psychologist cleared Silo for duty, Stewart allegedly recommended that the officer be fired because he was likely to become an alcoholic one day. Silo is seeking $5 million in damages from the city and Stewart.
Waiters' Woes
A popular Philadelphia sports bar is facing an unfair labor practices lawsuit, courtesy of 15 employees who say that the bar's owners took a portion of their tips, refused to pay them for overtime and forced them to buy their own cleaning supplies. Employees at several Chickie & Pete's locations say that the restaurant engaged in tip-skimming, in which employees had to pay back two to four percent of gross sales back to the restaurant as part of a "Pete Tax" (in reference to bar owner Pete Ciarrocchi).
To add insult to injury, the workers claim that they had to buy their own company T-shirts to wear as uniforms and purchase their own vacuum cleaners to clean carpeted sections of the bar.
Wayward Wine
A California vineyard may have thrown several great parties at a rented home during the annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Co., but the house's owner evidently wasn't having any fun when he returned home. Aspen resident Larry Saliterman is suing the Jordan Vineyard and its national sales director for allegedly throwing three large parties that resulted in damages to his home. According to Saliterman, he agreed to rent his five-bedroom house to the company, which told him that no more than 35 people would attend any one of its parties.
Over the course of the weekend, however, the vineyard allegedly hosted three bashes with more attendees than had been previously agreed upon. The crowd left "wine stains all over the carpet," grease stains on the wood floors and filtration problems with the kitchen's exhaust fans, Saliterman says. The winery put down a $6,000 security deposit, but Saliterman says it doesn't cover the damages, and is seeking $10,543.


text:
Rock County administrator finalists announced
JANESVILLE--Two of the three finalists competing to become the next Rock County administrator have worked as an assistant to retiring County Administrator Craig Knutson.
The county board's staff committee interviewed six semifinalists Thursday and Friday and narrowed the field to three finalists. Residents can meet them during a public forum next week.
"We were looking for someone who could bring some experience to the job, and there were a lot of people that had some very good qualifications," said Russ Podzilni, chairman of the staff committee and county board.
The finalists are Mark G. Mader, Jo Ann M. Miller and Joshua M. Smith. The county released the names of the finalists Monday. The search started with more than 73 applicants.
"These were three of the semifinalists who we felt had the most to bring to the job in Rock County," Podzilni said.
All interviewed "very well," he said.
The public is welcome to join more than 300 members of area labor unions, businesses, public officials, community leaders and others invited to the public forum from 6:45 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, May 15, at the Pontiac Convention Center to meet the finalists and provide input.
The staff committee will meet the next day, May 16, to discuss its next steps, which could include picking a new administrator and beginning contract negotiations, Podzilni said.
Knutson is being paid $131,549 plus benefits this year.
The staff committee likely would present its pick to the county board for a vote at its June 12 meeting. The goal is to have the new administrator on board for several weeks of overlap before Knutson retires.
Knutson's last day is Aug. 1. He started with the county in 1979 as assistant to the county administrator and became county administrator in 1984.
�Here's more on the candidates:
-- Mader is the chief of staff for Waukesha County, where he was promoted from legislative policy advisor in 2008. Mader served as assistant to the county administrator in Rock County from 1989 to 1993 before leaving to be the manager of budget and administration for the city of Milwaukee. He worked there from 1993 to 1997.
He also worked as the manager of financial systems and controls for Time Insurance and as a senior consultant for Accenture.
Mader said his previous experience working in Rock County was a strong factor in seeking the job.
"I knew the county," he said Monday. "I very much valued the work that the county administrator had done to help me develop after law school, and the board has a good reputation. All of those were very positive factors."
He said the county administrator job would be an opportunity to use his private and public sector experience "in a way that would be helpful."
He also has a master's degree in business administrator and law degree from UW-Madison.
-- Miller is the administrative coordinator in Pierce County, where she has worked since 2011. Previously, she worked as an employment and labor relations specialist for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and was the village administrator in DeForest from 2003 to 2009.
She earlier worked as the city administrator in Jefferson, Iowa, and Perry, Iowa, and was the director of membership services for the Iowa League of Cities.
Miller has a master's degree in public administration from Iowa State University.
The Gazette was not able to reach Miller for comments Monday.
-- Smith is the special assistant to the state auditor at the Legislative Audit Bureau in Madison, where he has worked since 2011. Previously, he was the assistant director of the Office of Operations Review and Audit at the UW System Administration. Smith was the assistant to the county administrator in Rock County from 2005 to 2010.
He also has worked as a senior legislative analyst at the Legislative Audit Bureau and as a research assistant at the National Governors' Association and American University.
Smith has a master's degree in public policy from American University in Washington, D.C.
The Gazette was not able to reach Smith for comments Monday.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Aster Playlot Park
4639 N. Kenmore Ave. Chicago, Illinois 60640
(312) 742-7518
Fee: Free
Age Range: Any
Enjoy a free concert in the park! Bring your family and friends, grab a blanket, and pack a picnic basket for a delightful evening at Aster Park.
Enjoy a free concert in the park!
Band TBA


text:
An Ode to Brooklyn (Brewery)
I was never much of a beer drinker until I moved to England… There, I gradually came to appreciate the taste of beer when I accompanied colleagues to the pub for a post-work pint or when I would meet friends for an evening out. Still, I never bought beer and kept it in my fridge – it was just one of those things that I would occasionally have when I was out. Brooklyn Brewery changed that.
I could say that it was a gradual process beginning with my first Brooklyn beer – Brooklyn Local 1. However, it culminated with one fell swoop last summer in the form of Brooklyn Summer Ale. A friend of mine introduced me to their Local 1 when I lived in New York – it made such an impression that I actually remembered the name of the beer (I have an unbelievably poor memory when it comes to remembering the names of wines and beers). After that, I began to buy the occasional bottle of Local 1 and also tried their Local 2…
Then, I moved up to Boston and began working at Formaggio Kitchen. About six months later, it was summer time… Working in the bakery, imagine the heat of summer multiplied several times over. I was hot and sweaty after a satisfying day baking teacakes and cookies when I tried the Summer Ale. Boy, did it hit the spot! Finally, I understood why folks often hanker for a cold beer at the end of a long day!
Since my beer "epiphany," I now stock my fridge with beer and occasionally pop one open when I get home at the end of the day. I have discovered how tasty it is as an accompaniment to BBQ (in particular, Eric's pulled pork, his pulled lamb and my newest favorite, his chicken!) and, it may sound odd, but I have discovered that Serrano ham is also amazing with a good beer.
When my supply of Summer Ale dried up (true to its name, it is entirely seasonal), I began to explore some of the other beers on the shelf here in the shop. This past winter found me most commonly drinking Stone Pale Ale from California and Long Trail Ale from Vermont. Of the larger format beers, I gravitated to Pretty Things' Jack d'Or and, of course, Brooklyn's beers – experimenting with Brooklyner-Schneider (a joint effort of master brewers, Garrett Oliver and Peter Drexler) and their Black Ops.
The weather is such that it finally seems believable that summer is just around the corner. Eric (beer buyer as well as BBQ master!) assures me that an order has already been placed for a shipment of the Summer Ale as soon as it is ready… Like peaches and cherries which really only taste good in the summertime, Brooklyn Summer Ale is now another reason for me to look forward to the warmer months!


text:
More than one way…
They say there is more than one way to skin a cat, and regulators and law enforcement officials certainly know this. For example, of all the crimes Al Capone ever allegedly committed, his only big conviction was for tax evasion. However, that was enough to send him to prison for a significant period of time. Along those lines, remember the adage "the cover-up is worse than the crime"? Many have been investigated or convicted for obstruction of justice or impeding an investigation even when there is no conviction on the underlying allegation. As discussed in our previous article, regulators and prosecutors are targeting in-house counsel when they believe the entity or in-house counsel is covering something up.
In-house counsel represent a particularly susceptible target for investigators given the attorney's unique status in the company. Many of the attorneys caught up in these probes are ethical and simply trying to navigate a difficult terrain. However, the toll of finding oneself being investigated, and especially charged, can be immense. In this article, we will explore what is perhaps a leading example of this very scenario. While this example is from the pharmaceutical industry, it is also instructive for bank in-house counsel because it shows how the engagement of outside counsel can help mitigate the risk to in-house counsel and the entity at large when dealing with a governmental inquiry.
An informal request for information
Lauren Stevens was an in-house counsel at GlaxoSmithKline. Her story begins with an all-to-common informal request for information from the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA request concerned the promotion of an off-label drug. The request was turned over to Stevens to respond. During the course of an internal investigation, potentially incriminating evidence was discovered. Stevens consulted with other in-house counsel and outside counsel to determine the appropriate course of action. In the end, she did not produce some of the evidence on the advice of both inside and outside counsel. However, she later certified that the company had provided a "final and complete production" before turning over the evidence.
Needless to say, the FDA and the Department of Justice were not amused. Stevens was later charged with obstruction of justice, among other charges. Prosecutors invoked the crime-fraud exception to the attorney-client privilege. As the trial court noted, the crime-fraud exception exists when:
- The client was engaged in or planning a criminal or fraudulent scheme when he sought the advice of counsel to further the scheme and
- The documents containing privileged materials bear a close relationship to the client's existing or future scheme to commit a crime or fraud.
By invoking the crime-fraud exception, prosecutors were allowed to access confidential files to make their case that Stevens engaged in criminal conduct. (Note: The standard in some jurisdictions is relatively low for invoking the crime-fraud exception. See, for example,a 3rd Circuit ruling from 2012 that required a "reasonable basis to suspect that the privilege holder was committing or intending to commit a crime or fraud and that the attorney-client communications or attorney work product were used in furtherance of the alleged crime or fraud," and a 5th Circuit ruling from 2005 requiring the excepting party to show "factual basis adequate to support a good faith belief by a reasonable person.")
In the end, the court issued an order of acquittal on the defense's motion after the prosecution rested its case because Stevens lacked the requisite intent to be guilty of the crimes charged. While the court acknowledged that "[t]he responses that were given by the defendant in this case may not have been perfect; they may not have satisfied the FDA," the court noted that the privileged documents demonstrated that Stevens engaged in "a studied, thoughtful analysis of an extremely broad request from the [FDA] and an enormous effort to assemble information and respond on behalf of the client." Furthermore, the documents were "sent to the FDA in the course of her bona fide legal representation of a client and in good faith reliance of both external and internal lawyers for GlaxoSmithKline" (emphasis added).
The Stevens case is notable for several important reasons. First, this case shows the relative ease with which regulators and prosecutors can go after an in-house counsel if they feel the counsel is not cooperating with the investigation. Second, the court noted that one reason why Ms. Stevens was acquitted was because she did engage outside counsel. Third, like other legal practices, responding to government inquiries requires skill and experience to ensure it is done correctly. Finally, by going after the in-house counsel, the regulator/prosecutor can access otherwise privileged records by employing the crime-fraud exception. This can impact the entity as a whole.
Role of outside counsel
The in-house counsel dodged a bullet because, as the court noted, she sought the assistance of both internal and outside counsel, and the crimes she was charged with were specific intent crimes. The regulatory environment for banks and other financial institutions at present is such that an informal inquiry by a regulator could easily turn criminal. Outside counsel can provide a removed and expert response to these inquiries, especially where the in-house counsel may not have an expertise on the subject. In-house counsel should not completely remove themselves from a government inquiry and should even be heavily involved in any response to the inquiry, as they know the bank. However, having outside counsel involved can go a long way to mitigating any thoughts by a regulator or prosecutor that the in-house counsel is abrogating his or her legal responsibilities in favor of trying to cover for the company.


text:
From a corporate perspective, the dark clouds of the recession did have one silver lining: Companies improved their working capital performance. With revenue opportunities stalled, if not declining, organizations enhanced their working capital due diligence, growing margins by taking an ax to days sales outstanding, payables outstanding, and inventory.
No sooner did the dark clouds disperse, however, than some companies went back to their old ways of mismanaging working capital, effectively letting go of the rigor. In their eagerness to land new customers, some companies extended payment terms and let inventory levels rise so that they would have enough product in the pipeline and on the shelves to satisfy percolating demand.
Wouldn't it be better to strike a balance between diligent working capital management and giveaways for revenue opportunities? The answer is yes, but the solutions are not easy. "There is great value in finding some equilibrium," said Miles Ewing, principal and head of the financial performance management practice at Deloitte Consulting. "But getting there requires metrics, flexibility, and a bit of give and take."
Bridging the Disconnect
Working capital is one of the best indicators of a company's financial well-being, but organizations tend to give it the most attention when they're running a tight ship in volatile seas. "When sales fall, companies put the squeeze on things they can do to widen profit margins," explains David Wojcik, managing director at JustOne Consultancy, a Hertfordshire, U.K.-based consulting firm specializing in working capital performance. "They try to find savings anywhere they can, and working capital is a great place to find it."
By conserving working capital, companies can pay off debt, which increases their net margins and pleases shareholders. They can also hoard the cash for opportunistic spending when the economic picture brightens. Or they can release some of the accumulated capital to shareholders as dividends, plunk it down to buy back shares, or stick it in research and development in preparation for better times ahead.
"During tough times, there is a need for companies to operate more efficiently, getting more from less," said Dan Ginsberg, associate principal at REL Consultancy, a division of The Hackett Group. "And the way to generate more cash revenue is superior working capital performance. Customers are happy because you're paying on time, suppliers are happy because you're paying them on time, and investors are happy because you have an efficient supply chain. There is a direct correlation between tight working capital management and shareholder value."
Not that superior working capital performance is without risk. "Companies will reduce inventory, but it may damage sales if buyers in a B2B environment don't get product on time and fail to meet their own 'just-in-time' obligations," Wojcik said. "They may try to pay suppliers later, but that can anger the vendors and invite higher prices down the line. They do the opposite with customers, pressuring them to pay earlier, which can have sales repercussions."
Obviously, a careful approach is important when making substantive working capital alterations in a bleak economy. A similar degree of care also needs to be applied when times improve. "Once companies move into growth mode, the intense need to preserve capital weakens. There is less risk of the company running out of money because of the wide availability of liquidity from the debt and equity markets," Ginsberg said. "This can cause knee-jerk reactions, such as speculative sales approaches to quickly generate revenue, swinging the pendulum too far the other way."
One way to measure the pendulum's gyrations is to maintain a close watch on the sales-working capital metric, which is working capital divided by sales. "The goal should be to keep the metric as stable as possible, whether sales are going up or down," said Wojcik. "When opportunities are rising quickly, you want to be able to release working capital to invest more money in sales efforts."
Indeed, a bit of wiggle room is permissible and advisable, Wojcik said. "It's a good idea to segment customers into different buckets from a receivables standpoint, to have finance working with sales to segment the good customers from the bad ones when it comes to paying on time," he said. "Pressure should be applied to those who pay late. 'A deal is a deal,' you tell them. With suppliers, it's okay to negotiate longer [payment] terms, so long as it comes with your promise to always pay on time."
With inventory, he counsels companies to identify the bottlenecks and then segment their effects on different products. "The stuff selling best might require more inventory, but you can keep levels lower for the rest," Wojcik said.
Ginsberg said such balancing acts are delicate. "Say a company is moving into an entirely new market in an emerging economy in Latin America. To build revenue, it might provide more generous customer terms to get as many new customers as it can. It might also build up inventory because it does not have reliable logistics patterns in place yet. This willingness to be more lenient is good in the short term. But what will eventually happen—to take a page from physics—is an opposite, and equal in magnitude, reversal of fortune," he said. "At some point, those too-generous customer terms and higher inventory will come back to haunt the company through an increase in accounts receivable and obsolete products, respectively."
Skin in the Game
To keep companies from wildly swinging the pendulum, Ewing from Deloitte advises tying working capital performance to incentive compensation. "Companies routinely reward salespeople for increasing sales revenue beyond certain projections; they should consider a similar bonus structure to achieve specific working capital management metrics, in this case customer receivables," he said "The more customers that pay on time, the higher the bonus."
A shared metric can also be developed to encourage inventory rigor and "stick-to-it" supplier terms, he adds. And if people fall well shy of the goals, that failure should adversely affect their bonus pay. "At the end of the day, there should be a penalty for encouraging too much inventory that can't be sold," Ewing said.
Working capital management can be a workout, but the sweat is worth it.
Read the June Special Report on Working Capital Management.
Back to the Grindstone on Working Capital Management
Supply Chain Finance Takes Off
Evolutions in Treasury Centralization
Distributor Finance: A New Strategy to Support Top-Line Growth and Sales into Emerging Markets


text:
Theories - Origin of Life
Discussion of everything related to the Theory of Evolution.
Moderator: BioTeam
Re: Theories - Origin of Life
JackBean » Fri Jul 01, 2011 1:11 pm
Correct, but what has that to do with the point I was raising?
I have previously stated that the theory I keep referring to is the standard or neo Darwinin theory.
Actually all cells appear not to contain the same genome.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 131449.htm
However perhaps you could describe to me what you mean by evolution. If it is the standard neo Darwinian process then it has everything to do with evolution theory.
However you may have a different view of evolution. Do you?
Epi genetics is the study of control other that genomic control.
That is what epi means -- extra or above.
Also you are correct. Neither epigenetics nor gene regulation have anything to do with evolution.
The whole point that I am arguing is whether these control mechanisms came about by random mutations of the genome from an existing organism.
The theory of "evolution" says it does and I am arguing it does not.
by Genotype » Fri Jul 01, 2011 6:58 pm
The standard theory states that random mutations to the genome cause (gradually) the different phenotypic changes does it not?
Are you subscribing to a different theory?
I use the term "Darwinisn" simply because that is a term used by many adherents to the theory themselves.
I feel neither better or worse in using it.
Would you like me to use another term? If so please let me know and I will try to oblige so long as it is not in any way abusive or inflammatory.
Re: Theories - Origin of Life
The Universal Code Dilemma of Darwinism.(or however Genotype would like me to refer to it as)
In 1986 Richard Dawkins (The selfish gene) claimed that the genetic code is universal across all organisms, and cited this as evidence, indeed as near conclusive proof that every living organism in our planet descended from a single common ancestor.
In his 2009 book The Greatest Show on Earth he reiterates this claim.
"the genetic code is universal, all but identical across animals, plants, fungi, bacteria, archaea and viruses. The 64-word dictionary, by which three letter DNA words are translated into 20 amino acids and one punctuation mark, which means 'start reading here' or 'stop reading here,' is the same 64-word dictionary wherever you look in the living kingdoms (with one or two exceptions too minor to undermine the generalization)"
He goes on to explain why this is important.
Any mutation in the genetic code itself (as opposed to mutations in the genes that it encodes) would have an instantly catastrophic effect, not just in one place but throughout the whole organism. If any word in the 64-word dictionary changed its meaning, so that it came to specify a different amino acid, just about every protein in the body would instantaneously change, probably in many places along its length. Unlike an ordinary mutation...this would spell disaster. (2009, p. 409-10).(my emphasis)
Is Dawkins correct?
If the Darwinian mechanism is true then yes, he is correct.
However is that mechanism correct?
There are in fact 17 known variations of the genetic codes that have been compiled by the National Center for Biotechnology Information.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/ta ... =cgencodes
Not one or two minor exceptions but at the latest count 17.
And are they minor?
Well take the organism Mycoplasmas.
The stop codon in the human code is UGA
In Mycoplasmas UGA codes for tryptophan.
In human cells therefore when the ribosome meets up with UGA in the messenger RNA it stops translating. (UGA is code for STOP)
In Mycoplasma the ribosome would insert tryptophan into the mRNA and would continue translating until it reached the Mycoplasma stop codon.
Is that serious?
Well Craig Venter explained it well to Richard Dawkins and Paul Davies during a discussion at Arizona State University earlier this year.
Watch here from about 6min:30sec to about 11min:45
http://thesciencenetwork.org/programs/t ... life-panel
Contary to what Richard Dawkins believes There is no tree of life. .
This is from a bio-engineer who knows what he is talking about. At least Paul Davies concedes to Venter.
Dawkins however is really troubled about this.
Listen carefully to his response to Venter and Venter's polite chuckle.
In my next post I will show how the Darwinian mechanism fails to show how a prokaryotic cell could have evolved into a eukaryotic cell
Hmmm. So, once, a few billion years ago created a reasonable membranes, standardized first version of the peptide-nucleic molecular technology, and armed with her, travel to the Metagallaktik. Then somewhere a bit more than once the standard has changed, but the basics remain the same. But the main thing - the version of Darwinism, according to which natural selection is combined not with the "Evolution" - from simple replicators to the "crown of creation", but with vice versa, the "Devolution" from a reasonable universal form - to super-specialized species of dead-end.
Excuse me my inglish Google
Re: Theories - Origin of Life
Does it state mutations alone can cause pheontypic changes? That seems to be your point, right? I'd love some sources on that. Phenotype is usually the result of both genetic and environmental factors.
And what you've talked above is metamorphosis, what has it got to do with TOE?
Theory of evolution please. We're thankful to Darwin that he's formulated perhaps the one of the most solid theories in science, but modern TOE has come leaps and bounds since. And we're talking about genetics, I don't see why you'd call it "Darwinian" anyways.
Oh btw I'm a newtonian too
Last edited by canalon on Mon Jul 11, 2011 10:39 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: fixed quote
Re: Theories - Origin of Life
Thank you for your comment.
As I understand, you appear to dispute the Darwinian theory yourself.
I wish I could do as well in Ukrainian as you do in English.
Thanks for your response.
My apologies for not responding sooner but I have been away and am only just catching up on things.
Lets start with some sources of (neo)darwinian theory
In part this source states
It goes on to describe challenges to this theory, in particular by Gould where it quotes Gould in part
There are perhaps differing views at the edges of this but the foundation pillar is the random mutation of genome filtered by natural selection from a common ancester and that this process is gradual. You just have to read Dawkins, Coyne and indeed others to note that gradualism is prominent. Small incremental steps of random change.
Also try this
Sorry you are having trouble understanding my posts. I will try and be a little clearer.
My reference to metamorphosis simply illustrates that changes in phenotype do not require changes in genotype as the theory states. Something else is at work.
This contrasts with the Dawkin's "selfish gene" and "mount improbable" for instance.
Good to hear you are a Newtonian. He did get a lot right.
I agree
Nope, the theory doesn't state that mutations ALONE can cause change in phenotypes. Where does Dawkins or anyone say that?
to scottie
Yes? Ukrainian? And I try to write in Russian ... This is very good. I can easily understand what translate Google from English! Then take a look here is more!
We almost all remember from biology: "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny." This is according to the theory of evolution. And from the standpoint of the theory devolution - "ontogeny repeats metamorphosis of primary universal amphibians". From the standpoint of those of amphibians, our "embryo" - it's unfortunate larva, devoid of happiness independent existence during the most exciting stages of childhood - from the stage myuller-larve!
Re: Theories - Origin of Life
Nice sense of humor. I must remember that one.
Please read my post in it's entirety. I responded to your request to provide citation..
I did with the direct quote from "A Neo Darwinian commentary of Macroevolution"
That very specifically states
Now if you disagree with that postulate then your disagreement is not with me but with the authors of the commentary.
I also did state very clearly that
So I standby my statement.
The whole interest in the study of epigenetics is precisely because the understanding that mutations of the genome are the driver for the theory is rapidly being eroded.
Why else are distinguished scientists like Margulis, Koonan and many others distancing themselves from the neo-Darwinian hypothesis ?
Richard Dawkins "Selfish Gene" recounts a gene centric view of change.
In his book "Climbing Mount Improbable"
Well ---Wikipedia describes the book this way
If you read the summary of the modern synthesis you will note that the again the evolution of species revolves around gradual genomic changes.
Check it out here.
Summary of the modern synthesis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_evo ... _synthesis
btw I have repeatedly tried in past posts to get my detractors to elaborate what actual theory or hypothesis they subscribe to. But none one yet has seen fit to respond.
You disagree with me with a NOPE, however I don't know what your understanding is.
Would you be prepared to elaborate.
Re: Theories - Origin of Life
I would now like to continue
The theory of common descent, simply postulates that all life evolved from one kind of organism and that each species arose from another species that preceded it in time. Each group of organisms shares a common ancestor.
The prokaryote cell is postulated to have arisen before the eukaryote cell.
http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrar ... mbiosis_03
This is a challenge to the standard theory because random mutations in the genome is clearly not the answer.
Therefore how does, or what is the mechanism that turns a cell without a nucleus ie a prokaryote into a cell with a nucleus a eukaryote. There are some similarities between the two types of cell, however there are also many other differences as well.
This is where the Endosymbiotic theory enters, to postulate the mechanism by which this all came about.
http://www.biology.iupui.edu/biocourses ... osymb.html
The Endosymbiotic Theory first postulated by Lynn Margulis in the 1967.
However Lyn Margulis rejects the Darwinian mechanism of random mutations and Natural selection.
http://discover.coverleaf.com/discoverm ... pg=68#pg68
So let's take her starting point.
When you read the above it all sounds very plausible.
So What is the actual evidence?
The simple answer is there is none.
Just check out the papers listed below.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar ... 6888900228
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar ... 3779902382
http://www.phys.uu.nl/~wettum/vakken/st ... er%201.pdf
http://www.chem.duke.edu/~jds/cruise_ch ... earth.html
What we do have is an awful lot of speculation.
The fuel for all this speculation is simple to understand.
Life could not have got started naturally in an atmosphere that contained oxygen.
Any schoolboy chemist would be able to explain the chemistry of why that cannot happen.
I could of course go into the physics and chemistry of this should anyone wish to dispute this. In fact I would welcome someone to rebut this.
This theory therefore falls at the first evidential hurdle.
My point is simple. Someone needs to produce some evidence other than tall tales about what may have led to an early earth atmosphere containing no oxygen.
Speculation is not science.
Of course there is a lot more but lets leave that for another post.
Theories - Origin of Life
Yes, you've collected all the basic propositions around which is a long argument. It's all about, I repeat once again - in the synthesis of the theory of evolution (from simple replicators to "crown selection") and natural selection. But personally, I abandoned this "evolution" and replace it with "devolution"! And this "Darwinism" was stable enough! http://translate.google.com/translate?h ... ge_id%3D82
That think is IRREVERSIBLE the loss of a free stage for larvae placed our "embryo" in the egg, then - in the genital tract for pregnancy. But the frog "embryo" is placed in the egg stage only with fish (Turbellaria And today, there is also a form of free-floating planula!)! Hence, the ancestors of amphibians also have the same nymphs in their voluntary metamorphosis! But this is Stegocephalia! So, coelacanth, then ihtiostega, akantostega - this is not adult organisms, but the intermediate stages of metamorphosis Stegocephalia! Oh, how we lie to many paleontologists for this silly theory of evolution!
A modern fish, respectively - the victim of neoteny as the axolotl, in which the land morphology all lost. But in flatworms (parasite - fasciola) stage of the fish - adolescariae ...
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President Barack Obama's tax agenda didn't start with rate increases alone and it won't end there.
Just minutes after the U.S. House voted on Jan. 1 to set the top individual rate where Obama wanted, the president already was talking about changing the tax system further, "so that the wealthiest corporations and individuals can't take advantage of loopholes and deductions that aren't available to most Americans."
As Obama begins a second term and another set of fiscal negotiations with Congress, he'll work from a list of first-term tax-policy leftovers that target breaks for top earners and corporations. These include the tax benefits for oil and gas companies he often criticizes.
Republicans, who control the House, say they won't give Obama more tax increases, making it difficult to see how the president can get what he wants. The rewrite of the tax code that both parties say they want is stalled, in part by the question of whether revenue would be used to reduce tax rates or lower the budget deficit.
"It's interesting that year after year the president proposes the same list of tax hikes, yet the Democratic majority in the Senate wants nothing to do with them," Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement questioning whether Democrats would support Obama's tax plans. "Maybe this year will be different, with Democrats taking up these tax increases so voters can finally see what they stand for."
Democrats say they'll advance Obama's tax agenda or something similar. Congress should resist Republican rhetoric about revenue-neutral tax changes and get "away from this notion that essentially we're going to lower the tax rates and broaden the base," Representative Sander Levin of Michigan, the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, said at a Jan. 15 breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor.
"We've already done $1.7 trillion in cuts," Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, said on NBC's "Meet the Press" Jan. 20. "We've done $600 billion in revenues. You're going to need more revenues as well as more cuts to get the deficit down."
Companies and trade groups that have spent the past four years fighting Obama's tax policies are preparing for the next round.
"If we stay silent, the odds of it happening increase," said Jade West, senior vice president for government relations at the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors in Washington, which opposes Obama's proposed repeal of the last-in, first-out accounting method. The plan would require companies to pay taxes on their reserves. "So we will stay very vocal and very engaged."
The revenue quest could come in small chunks to help cover the cost of delays in automatic spending cuts set to start March 1 or prevent a government shutdown at the end of March. It could also be a broader effort if Republicans give in and agree on a revenue-raising overhaul of the U.S. tax code.
Over the past three years, Obama has insisted that higher taxes must be part of what he calls a "balanced" approach to deficit reduction that would at least stabilize debt as a percentage of the economy. He has said that his Nov. 6 re-election meant that the country endorsed that strategy. The Congressional Budget Office says the U.S. is on a long-term fiscal path that is unsustainable.
The $630 billion tax increase passed by Congress Jan. 1 gave Obama about 40 percent of the $1.6 trillion in tax revenue he sought in talks with Republicans in 2012. Obama said Jan. 14 that his goal for additional deficit reduction is $1.5 trillion over the next decade. If that's split between revenue and spending, it suggests a $750 billion tax increase or somewhat less depending on how interest savings are considered.
Compared with the law in place for 2012, Congress raised tax rates on ordinary income, capital gains and dividends on taxable income exceeding $400,000 a year for individuals and $450,000 for married couples.
The estate tax rate also went up, to 40 percent from 35 percent. Taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes of $250,000 for individuals and $300,000 for married couples will face limits on personal exemptions and itemized deductions.
Almost everything Obama won in tax revenue came from leverage he held from the Dec. 31 expiration of President George W. Bush's tax cuts and the momentum from Obama's Nov. 6 re- election.
Much of the rest of his tax-raising agenda has been included in budget plans for the past four years and has been ignored or rejected by Congress. Obama will detail his tax proposals in his budget later this year; many of the tax increases have been in all four of his previous budgets.
The most significant item left on Obama's list is a cap on tax breaks, which would limit their benefit to 28 percent. In other words, someone in the top tax bracket with $100,000 in charitable contributions who could deduct $39,600 because of the 39.6 percent rate would be able to deduct only $28,000.
Over his first term, Obama expanded the cap from itemized deductions to other breaks, and would require those in tax brackets above 28 percent to pay taxes on their employer- provided health insurance and municipal bond interest.
"Even the possibility of altering the tax treatment on outstanding municipal bonds -- essentially a retroactive tax -- creates uncertainty and would have adverse effects on governments needing to access capital markets," government and market groups, including the National Governors Association, wrote to Obama and congressional leaders last month.
According to Obama's most recent budget, the proposal would generate $584 billion over the next decade. That number will be smaller in the future because it was measured against some of the higher rates that Obama wanted and didn't achieve.
Charitable groups, municipal bond proponents and the housing industry have been lobbying against the proposal for years. Levin said he didn't favor accepting the Obama proposal "lock, stock and barrel."
Similarly, oil and gas companies, private equity firms, wholesalers and multinational corporations have spent the past four years fighting these proposals.
"Taking a piece here and taking a piece there and looking at that deduction or that item over there, it doesn't help, and it doesn't necessarily strengthen the economy," said Stephen Comstock, director of tax and accounting policy at the American Petroleum Institute.
The group objects to a set of Obama's oil proposals, including repeal of oil companies' ability to qualify for a domestic manufacturing deduction.
In concept, Obama has supported a revenue-neutral overhaul of the corporate side of the tax code that would lower the statutory rate to 28 percent from 35 percent for most companies.
For multinational corporations, Obama has proposed limiting their ability to defer U.S. taxation on some of the income they earn outside the country.
The list of proposals from Obama's first four budgets might not be the end, said Catherine Schultz, vice president for tax policy at the National Foreign Trade Council, which advocates an open world economy.
Given Obama's 2012 campaign rhetoric about companies' offshore operations, she said, the president might offer up even more tax increases in his second term.
Bloomberg News


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Maple Syrup Festival
Tuesday, March 19 2013 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM
It's a sure sign of spring! Come out and 'tap into nature'. Demonstrations, wagon rides, live entertainment and, of course, pancakes and maple syrup!
Special March Break activities. For daily times and pricing visit MapleSyrupFest.com
This festival also takes place at Bruce's Mill Conservation Area.
Kortright Centre for Conservation @ Kortright Centre 9550 Pine Valley Drive Woodbridge, Ontario L4L 1A6


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Sugar Allergy
Human Anatomy, Physiology, and Medicine. Anything human!
Moderator: BioTeam
Most people here seem to be equating the word "allergy" to the extreme of sudden anaphylaxis with an outcome of death. Although that is one form of reaction, hayfever, dander, pollen and other allergens do not cause such an extreme reaction.
The body will react in different ways to different things. Much less dramatic reactions come in the form of fatigue, watery eyes, runny nose, muscle ache, tooth ache, head ache... a person may experience one or several of these as well as others.
Recently my greatest fear was learned. I am allergic to sugar. I am a sugar fiend. I can down a dozen cookies, eat half a cake or pie or anything else thats loaded with sugar with no problem. The running joke at work is that I can smell sugar from a mile away.
I am a very active and in shap person for the amount of sweets I consume. You would never guess and would almost deny it if you didn't sit there and watch me for yourself.
Although I am very active, I am always feeling "run down", I don't have the get up and go that most people display. This is something I fight with every day. But as I am realizing, my sugar intake is and always has been a constant.
Although I am allergic to sugar, it's not all forms of sugar. I do not experience the same run down feeling when I consume items made with honey or natural cane sugar. It is the "processed, man made, refined, bleached, white..." type sugars that cause me to feel the way I do. The natural process of items turning to sugars as they are digested has no effect on me as well. If i have gone a few days without any processed sugar intake then I have something that's loaded with it, my adrenal glands respond to the point of me experiencing pain.
Man has altered Mother Nature and I beleive Mother Nature is fighting back in her own little way. It is my feeling that with all the processing, preservatives, genetic alterations and engineering... it has to have an effect on us in one way or another.
Diabetes, Cancer, Heart Disease and all kinds of other ailments have been on a drastic rise for the past 40 years with all time record highs... With better treatment, awareness and diagnosis, shouldn't they be declining???
One of the problems is that "allergic" is being applied to things that are not at all allergies.
True allergies require an interaction between large proteins of the immune system and molecules they've been built to grab and react to. The allergen molecules have to be fairly big themselves - bigger than sugars.
That doesn't mean that some people don't react to sugars - processed sugars may contain some binders and such that are fairly big and may set off legitimate allergies. But the simple sugars shouldn't set off an allergy.
Most of what's being described sounds more like chemical sensitivities, where one person's internal chemistry doesn't deal well with certain chemicals in what they eat. They're not allergies, but they certainly aren't fun. It's unlikely that any common simple sugars would set off this kind of reaction, just because of how much a true chemical problem with them would mess a person up.
Just some info about food intolerance and food allergy...
=I'm just a kid=
Well stated!!!... I'm quoting you to because I totally agree with what you're saying ... what these people are describing are food sensitivities. (An allergic response involves the immune system... not necessarily GI symptoms such as "bloating" "upset-stomach" "Cramps" etc.)
for instance, I can't drink orange juice...! As a kid that's ALL i drank! I love it soo much, but can't tough it because it makes my stomach cramp up, I feel nauseated and I end up with a headache! But, i'm not ALLERGIC .. i'm probably just sensitive to the acid.
Sugar issues
I was just reading the posts. It is interesting to find someone else who has problems with processed refined sugar but not the natural kind. I can eat food with "organic evaporated cane juice", but not with sucrose, sugar, or high fructose corn syrup. I end up with severe diarrhea and sometimes vomitting. My doctor told me it was a sucrose intolerance the first time I had the problem after drinking a large amount of regular soda, which is basically straight sucrose. I have been trying to find what processing is used or some way other than reading labels and guessing to avoid problems. I have started using more organic foods and have felt healthier. Any small amount of the wrong ingredient will cause me severe problems. I also have a lactose intolerance, but they make medicine for that which works well for me.
I ended up in the hospital covered in welts, swollen face hands feet and had major trouble breathing. allergy tests done the doctor said it was a sugar allergy. that was 2 years ago. so I tried to avoid as much sugar as i could went for products with no added sugars and products with little natural amounts. 9 months ago was diagnosed with type 2 diabeties.
This may shed some light...
I have been on quite a ride myself for about a year and a half now. My symptoms suggest chronic fatigue syndrome or whatever. Been checked for diabetes (none), insulin resistance (not hardly), adrenal fatigue (maladapted phase 1), Thyroid Disorder (autoantibodies and elevated TSH due to methyl salicylates of wintergreen oil that was very concentrated in my snuff). Went down all the roads and basically my doctor was still scratching his head. Finally he referred me to an allergist, and I was allergic (delayed reaction type IgG) to quite a few foodstuffs and molds, grasses, ect. Weird thing is I never had the classical symptoms of allergies like a runny nose, congestion, or whatever else is associated with the rhinitis type allergies. Although I did notice that the veins on my arms were always protruding quite a bit as the nurses always commented on my veins and how easy it would be for them to draw blood from my arm LoL. I found it was probably due to chronically elevated blood histamine levels although I never had that specifically checked.
Well now to the sugar issue. In my past I could eat whatever I wanted, whenever, and eat as much as I wanted and never gained any weight. The few months before I got really sick my body was in overdrive and I was having the feeling that I wasn't getting the nutrition out of normal foods so I was binge eating trying to maintain my energy levels, and that included eating alot of sweets and carbohydrates. Well, that worked for a while then the bottom fell out. I found that I could no longer tolerate ANY sugar. I battled with that for about a year until I recently had the allergy testing. By that time, I had already switched to a plain flavored snuff and that helped my stomach lose that knotty bloated feeling that was always present. Like I said I have multiple allergies, and most of the things I am allergic to are the things that I put into my body on a daily basis which is expected. I am now on immuno-therapy for the allergies, which is really helping me get my energy back. I am still searching for the protein/sugar relationship in all of this.
I agree with one of the previous posters that a sugar shouldn't be able to cause a reaction... In my experience, sugar only magnifies a current food allergy you are having on an order of about 10. It can make you feel that much worse and attribute the allergy to sugar. In my opinion, that is what I thought for about a year. Now that I am on immuno-therapy and taking digestive aids and HCl with Betaine when I have a meal full of protein, I am being alot less affected by the sugar intake. I can tell a major difference. But I still have a hypoglycemic type of reaction, but it seems to be getting better by the day.
I think I have a permeable gut, but don't know whether it's hereditary or dietary related yet. Maybe I was predisposed tohis hell I'm living LoL. But I am getting better, taking plenty of supplements. The way I understand this is that my immune system was working overtime for quite a few years without my knowledge, and it's going to take some time to get my resources built back up and back in shape.
Number one on the list to do is get the inflammation down. Then supplement the body to rebuild lost stores. Use Alpha ENF which is an amino acid supplement with vitamins and minerals so you take the burden of incompletely digested proteins off of your immune system. That in turn starts to slowly ease the demand (cravings) for sugar and carbohydrates, and reduces the hypoglycemic response which is very damaging to the body. I can't really say what supplements to use because everyone's body is different. You will just have to research and use whats best for you. Typically people with this ailment are also allergic to foods from the nightshade family; I still havent ironed out the causative factors in that yet, but it merits more research. Also if anyone can help me out on the protein/sugar relationship that would be great. Hope this helped y'all;-)
sugar allergy
I got lucky, in a backward sort of way. I almost died of Crohn's last year. Sudden onset, lost 75 lb in 3 months. I stabilized and returned home. Docs said I could eat anything I wanted. They were wrong. AFTer months of colon distress I found a Doc that insisted I have a blood test for food allergies. Blood sample is taken and tests for 88 different foods. Otherwise it is all guess work and results are always suspect with elimination diets. Results were astounding! AFter incorporating the diet changes, I began to get well and feel much better.
Turns out I was allergic to cane sugar, and of all things, yeast, along with a few other surprises. SO much for my $200 new bread machine.
If you are looking for some serious answers, try looking up dr David Dahlman on the Internet. If you have IBS or Crohn's, he is a must. If only the food allergies are bothering you, then this is the best way I know or have ever heard of to nail down the culprits. It turns out to be the most cost effective as well.
I urge you to download and read carefully his free report. It really opened my eyes. I have followed his advice and am getting my life back.
Good luck.
Sugar allergy
Hi, I am new to this post but was curious as to whether or not anyone else was having problems with sugar consumption. First may I say that I used to be able to eat all kinds of sweets, cakes, cookies what ever I wanted and had no problems up unril a couple of years ago. I noticed that I was getting headaches when I ate hard candy , chocolate, or anything real sweet. i have never been a soda drinker but every once in a year I may have a glass. I really get an instant headache if I try this now. Also milk chocolate if I eat the tiniest nibble it goes strait to my head. I was able for a time to eat semi sweet dark chocolate morsels a small amount without gettinf a headache, but now I can no longer have those. I am a cookie lover and as long as I don't over do it or eat cookies with chocolate I could eat a few cookies. For the past week i noticed that my forearms are getting very itchy. To the point where they welt up when I scratch them and sometimes bleed slightly. I tried changing soap using lotions, sanitizers eg: Purell hand sanitizer. No relief, so I changed my diet to only salad............and cookies ocassionally. Well the itching did not stop. and to my dismay only today I realized it must be the cookies, because directly after I ate them I started itching my forearms like mad and it has not stopped for hours. I realized this and I aslo got a tightening in my chest. Like I had fried food or something fatty to eat! I guess I did. I don't know if it is the sugar itself or the way that the candy and cookies are proccessed. It is good to know that I am not the only person having sugar issues. Thank you for posting.
IT'S PROBABLY CANDIDA, IF YOUR BODY HAS TOO MUCH CARBS OF ANY KIND, IT STARTS THIS FUNGUS WHICH FEEDS ON SUGAR, LIKE CANCER DOES TOO I UNDERSTAND......That is why the southbeach diet worked for the person who wrote in. I too, did a low carb, no sugar diet, well, ADKINS, and I got better for a LONG time adn then it came back as I eventually added sugars back in my diet, and soon there was too much in my system and it causes side effects like skin eruptions and itching, bloating etc.
Lay off the refined starchy foods made with sugar and flour, even honey and fruit for a few days then add back fruit and honey, you need those vitamins, see what happens.
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With the exception of Sancerre, which has been a hot item in the U.S. market in recent years, Loire Valley wines are among the most underappreciated of France. The wines made from vineyards alongside France's longest river are aromatic, brisk, and generally well-suited for early drinking; what they sometimes lack in flesh and complexity they more than make up for in sheer vibrancy and food-friendliness. The majority of this region's production is white, and white wine accounts for most Loire Valley wine shipped to the U.S.
Virtually all of the Loire Valley's best bottles come from four grape varieties. The Sauvignon Blanc grape, which makes the perfect summertime white wine--refreshingly brisk and dry--finds its greatest expression in Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume. Chenin Blanc, a white grape grown in a variety of sites from Vouvray to Savennieres, yields wines that range in style from austere, minerally, and bone-dry to lusciously sweet. There is even a sparkling wine made from Chenin Blanc. The chief red grape of the region is Cabernet Franc, which makes a fragrant, juicy, light-to-medium-bodied wine in reasonably ripe years but can be rather green, if not downright underripe, in cooler vintages. Recent vintages, have shown more consistent ripeness, owing in equal part to global warming and to a variety of viticultural improvements aimed at reducing yields, increasing grape sugars, and lowering acidity levels. And of course there's Muscadet, the ultimate oyster wine, made from the Melon de Bourgogne grape in a cool, ocean-influenced climate where the Loire Valley reaches the Atlantic. Most Loire Valley wines are made without the influence of new oak barrels; what they offer, first and foremost, are the flavors of fresh fruit and an expression of minerality.
France is the fountainhead of the grape varieties most craved by North American wine drinkers: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc. In fact, these grapes are widely referred to as "international" varieties because they have been planted and imitated all over the world. Of course, one of the most exciting developments in wine over the past generation has been the growth of intriguing local styles of these varieties, such as Pinot Noir in Oregon and New Zealand, or Syrah in Australia, South Africa, and California. But most cosmopolitan wine-lovers -- and even winemakers -- would agree that French wines are the archetypes.
France enjoys the perfect geographic position for the production of a wide range of fine wines. Its relatively northerly location ensures long hours of daylight during the summer months and an extended growing season, allowing for the slow and steady accumulation of flavor in the grapes. Although the country as a whole enjoys a temperate climate, conditions can vary significantly within a limited land mass: cool and Atlantic-influenced; continental, with very cold winters and hot summers; warm and Mediterranean, with wet winters and dry summers.
Wines of France
France began classifying its best French wine-producing sites more than 200 years ago. Its detailed appellation controlee system, designed in the 1930s, has served as the model for classification systems adopted by other countries in Europe and elsewhere. Appellation d'Origine Controlee (often abbreviated to AOC), means "controlled place name" and is the consumer's assurance of the origin and authenticity of any French wine whose label bears these words.
AOC laws, administered by France's INAO (Institut National des Appellations d'Origine), establish the geographic limits of each appellation, permissable grape varieties and methods of production, minimum alcohol level, and maximum crop level (or yield) per hectare. Just beneath the highest category of appellation controlee is the comparatively tiny category of VDQS (Vins Delimites de Qualite Superieure), wines which may eventually be promoted to AC status and which are most commonly found in the Loire Valley and the Southwest. The third category is Vins de Pays, or "country wines". This latter category gives producers, including some of the more adventurous French wine growers, an escape route from the straitjacket of AC regulation in terms of higher permitted yields and less restrictive geography, a wider range of legal grape varieties, and fewer restrictions as to method of production and minimum age of vines. Finally, at the bottom of the pyramid, there are Vins de Table, or simple "table wines."
And yet, despite France's illustrious wine history and the fact that it is still the world's leading producer of wine, the country is struggling to compete in the international market. Today, France faces fierce competition from New World wine producers. U.S. imports of French wines actually declined, in number ofcases, between the end of 2002 and early 2006 -- this during a period when overall wine consumption in the U.S. grew by more than 50 percent.
Today, the French government is agonizing over how to help French wine producers, who are also facing homegrown challenges such as changing domestic drinking habits and an aggressive anti-alcohol abuse program. Wine producers in some regions of France are coming to view the AC system itself as an obstacle to selling wines to North America and other important export markets. Among the changes being considered are loosening restrictions on what can be planted where and on how wines can be made, and allowing producers in certain areas to indicate the grape variety or varieties on their labels -- rather than simply the place name, which is less meaningful to consumers in many of France's key export markets.
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Howard Kunreuther is the James G. Dinan professor of decision sciences and public policy, and co-director of the Risk Management and Decision Processes Center, at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. He has done a great deal of research on how people make risk management decisions in both consumer and business settings.
One recent study examined the roles that consumers' emotional states and time horizons play in decisions about whether to purchase insurance. Treasury & Risk sat down with Dr. Kunreuther to discuss the implications of this research for corporate finance and risk management functions.
T&R: In the study "Protective Measures, Personal Experience, and the Affective Psychology of Time," [with Ellen Peters, Paul Slovic, and others], you and your colleagues found that consumers who are making decisions about purchasing insurance have a poor grasp of how time should affect their decision-making, and that their decisions are largely driven by whether they feel positively or negatively about a subject—what you describe as "affect." If consumer decision-making is swayed heavily by emotion, is risk management really a quantitative science in the corporate environment?
Howard Kunreuther: Today risk management has a high profile in many corporations, and enterprise risk management [ERM] is now part of the organizational culture in both large and small companies. But it will be viewed very differently depending on which organization you are dealing with. Each firm looks at enterprise risk management from the perspective of the backgrounds of the people involved and the types of activities in which they are involved. Some organizations, such as insurers or financial institutions, are concerned with quantitative information, while other companies view ERM more qualitatively.
T&R: Within a company that is not as quantitatively focused, to what degree do the emotions and biases of specific individuals affect the practice of risk management? Do you have a feel for that?
HK: In corporations, emotions and affect play less of a role than they do for a consumer, because decision-makers inside a company know that their actions will be judged by others. If they make a decision that doesn't make practical sense, other people within the organization may raise questions as to why they are behaving in that way.
Having said that, emotions such as fear or concern can play a very important role when an individual is making decisions that affect their personal lives. We all know that based on our own reactions to things. We all have good days and bad days, and there are times when we make decisions on the basis of our mood. The role of affect is not absent from decision-making in organizations, but it definitely is less prominent than in personal decisions.
T&R: Is this something companies can control pretty well through policies, through setting clear risk management procedures?
HK: When you have clear procedures, and when individuals have to provide justifications for why they have taken certain actions and describe the basis of their decisions, affect is likely to play a smaller role in people's decision-making. Policies that push individuals to think more logically about their decision process will help an organization reduce the effects of human emotions on specific actions or recommendations.
T&R: And I guess having other people review decisions, or having multiple people involved in decisions, helps as well.
HK: That helps a great deal because the decision-maker is going to get feedback from someone else, and that person is probably going to review the situation from a different perspective and perhaps more objectively than the decision-maker.
T&R: To what degree should a company look at the risk appetites or risk aversion of individuals when hiring for finance or risk management positions?
HK: It's extremely important to understand the ability of individuals to fit into the organization, so their personal attitudes towards risk should be considered in hiring decisions. The concept of risk appetite is a term we have been hearing frequently in interviews with decision-makers who deal with catastrophic risks facing their firms. An individual's risk appetite may differ from that of the organization, and they both need to be considered. The financial crisis reflects what can happen when individuals have risk appetites that are very different from what the organization would advocate.
T&R: What can a company do to get a handle on its risk appetite?
HK: One of the questions managers at every company should ask is: What are our long- and short-term objectives, and how much risk are we willing to take to meet or exceed these objectives? There is a tendency for decision-makers to be short-sighted, so their actions are suboptimal with respect to longer-term objectives of the organization. An organization needs to structure incentives so that individual decision-makers focus on the same time horizon as the company. If managers are going to get a very high bonus next year as a function of how well they perform this year, then they will behave very differently than if they have a bonus that is based on 5 or 10 years of performance.
Firms should raise questions like: Where would we like to be 5 or 10 years from now? What kinds of strategies do we want to follow to get there? What are the risks associated with following these strategies, not only for tomorrow or next year, but three or four years into the future? It would be useful to examine how these answers conform to decisions made by individuals in the firm. The organization should consider developing guidelines that encourage employees to take actions that are likely to address their long-term goals and objectives.
T&R: What other factors undermine logic in business decisions?
HK: One factor that is extremely important, for individual consumers as well as for managers and firms, is past experience. A lot of the research that we are currently undertaking at the Wharton Risk Center focuses on how firms and managers deal with low-probability, high-consequence events—extreme events that don't occur very often but can be catastrophic when they do. Natural hazards, terrorism, and the financial crisis are all examples.
The conclusion that we've come to is that past experience can be extremely important for characterizing decision-making under uncertainty. After experiencing a loss, the natural reaction is to ask 'What steps can be taken now to prevent this from happening in the future?' There is normally a very short time window during which this self-reflection takes place. Companies can take advantage of that window by developing policies and procedures to avoid a similar incident in the future.
Public entities have a similar reaction to experiencing a severe loss. A good example is the reaction of Florida after Hurricane Andrew caused an enormous amount of damage to the Miami-Dade County area in 1992. It was discovered that one-third of the losses could have been avoided if building codes had been enforced. Florida took this finding very seriously, and the state now has one of the most well-enforced building codes in the country as result of that experience. Similarly, corporations will behave in a very different way after experiencing a disaster so as to avoid similar losses in the future.
T&R: Is there a way to reduce the effect of past experience on risk management calculations—or is that even something companies should try to do?
HK: The other side of the past experience effect is the tendency to think extreme events are not going to happen to us. It can be challenging to get corporations and firms to think about taking steps to mitigate catastrophic risks before they go through the personal experience of a disaster. Developing ways to get people and the firm to think long-term helps focus their attention on undertaking protective measures.
To illustrate, say a firm believes that the likelihood of some event occurring next year is 1 in 100. Managers might say, 'That's below our threshold level of concern, so we're not going to worry about it.' But if they stretch the time horizon from one year to 25 years, they may now be told that there is a greater than 1 in 5 chance that at least one of these events will occur over the 25-year period. Just stretching the time horizon can make people pay attention to the risk where they would otherwise have behaved as if 'It will not happen to me.'
T&R: So, should corporate risk managers evaluate different scenarios from a variety of time perspectives? Before making decisions about buying insurance or taking other actions, should they look at the risks and the possible consequences one year out, five years out, and 20 years out?
HK: That is an excellent way of doing things. A risk manager could say, 'If it's a 1 in 100 chance next year, what's the likelihood of this event occurring over a five-year period? What is the likelihood over 10 years?' Just constructing those scenarios is likely to change the way firms view risks. Suppose one wants to encourage a firm to purchase insurance against an extreme event. One way to do this is to construct a scenario highlighting the consequences the firm would likely face if it didn't have insurance and does not invest in protective measures. Just changing how the problem is framed can shift the thinking of decision-makers from 'It's not going to happen to me' to 'If it does happen to me, how will I deal with it?' It can get firms to pay attention and analyze risk in a more logical manner.


text: Nick Laham, Getty Images [ IndyCar Driver Dan Wheldon Dies in Fiery Pileup [PHOTO, VIDEO] By Danny Groner October 17, 2011 | TSMInteractive.com Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon was killed on Sunday after his car collided with others during the IndyCar Series season finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. His death was pronounced approximately two hours after he was airlifted to University Medical Center. Read More Category: National News, Sports Tags: Dan Wheldon, Dead. Crash, IndyCar, Pileup, video Send to a friend! Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Pin it! Reddit This! Share on Tumblr!


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Death Notices for May 10, 2014
Patricia I. Bauman, 77, Milton, died Friday at home. Private services will be held at a later date. Albrecht Funeral Homes and Cremation Services, Milton, is assisting the family.
Betty J. Bottlemy, 85, Genoa City, died Friday at Crystal Pines Rehabilitation and Health Care Center, Crystal Lake, Ill. Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Haase-Lockwood & Associates Funeral Home, Genoa City. Visitation will be from noon until the time of services Thursday at the funeral home.
Lloyd "Junior" Schmidt, 60, Burlington, died Wednesday at Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center, Milwaukee. Services will be at 7 p.m. Monday at Derrick Funeral Home, Lake Geneva. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday at the funeral home.
Mary Jane Wilson, 66, Janesville, died Friday at Rock Haven Nursing Home, Janesville. Arrangements are pending at Brian Mark Funeral Home, Beloit.
John F. Zimmerman, 69, Neillsville, died Thursday at St. Joseph's Hospital, Marshfield. Services were held Friday. Gesche Funeral Home, Neillsville, is assisting the family.


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Army Aviation Active Unit of the Year Award
- Deadline for submission of Nomination Packet is January 1st of the subsequent year
- All information in the Summary and Support Documents must have occurred between January 1 and December 31 of the year that the nomination is being submitted.
Sponsored by L-3 Communications, this award is presented "to the active Army aviation unit, (Battalion and below), that has made an outstanding contribution to, or innovation in, the employment of Army aviation over and above the normal mission assigned to the unit during the awards period encompassing the previous calendar year." Any active unit meeting the criteria is eligible for consideration.
AAAA National Awards Nomination Form
Nomination Packet Requirements
Submission Stipulations For Nomination Packets
Historic List Of Award Recipients


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The Canadian Opera Company is delighted to be part of the ever-growing support of honeybees, Currently we host seven hives onthe roof of our opera house, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. Follow the honeybees' progress on Parlando, with visits and posts from beekeeper Fred Davis!
NEW - Our bee blog has moved!
Visit Parlando for more updates about our honeybees.
Posted by Gianna Wichelow / in Did you Know? / comments (2) / permalink
10. Honey is the only food made by insects... for us!
9. Bees have been producing honey for 10 to 20 million years.
8. Honey has natural preservatives and bacteria can't grow in it, so you can store it at room temperature. Actually it's best to do this anyway, as chilling it causes crystallization.
7. Because of its natural preservatives and lack of bacteria, honey has been used for millennia as a topical dressing for wounds. Honey has even been used to embalm bodies, such as that of Alexander the Great.
6. Honey is the only natural substance consumed by humans that includes all the elements necessary to sustain life, including water.
5. While collecting nectar, a honeybee visits approximately 50 to 100 flowers every day. To gather one tablespoon of honey, a bee must visit one million flowers. That's a busy bee.
4. The average worker honeybee make makes about 1/12th teaspoon of honey in her lifetime
3. The honeybee is not born knowing how to make honey; the younger bees are taught by the more experienced ones.
2. Humans have been gathering honey for about 10,000 years.
and ...
1. Honey tastes great! Thanks bees!
Do you have some favourite ways to eat honey or some recipes you'd like to share? Please do so in the comment section below!
Posted by Gianna Wichelow / in Did you Know? / comments (0) / permalink
Posted by Gianna Wichelow / in Bee Update / comments (0) / permalink
Read the nutritional guidelines for the FSC Honeybees Honey!


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Printable Gift Ideas
Print your own
- Holiday Cards
- Calendars
- Photos of your family
- Photo Books
- Print your own gift tag labels. Add your photo and voila!
Printable Gift Ideas
- Print photos to decorate a pen holder.
- Print photos in "Warhol" style.
- Print photos and cut up as a puzzle.
- Print your own recipe book.
- Print pairs of photos to make a memory game - for kids.
- Print photos and decoupage onto a tile, glue felt on the back for a customized coaster.
- Print coupons. Kids books for parents, parents books for kids. Kids books for friends. Coupon for: back rub, bonus room cleanup, clear the table, friends choice game, etc.
- Print out photos and glue on to a board game to make it a "Smith Family" game. i.e. monopoly, photos of your home, school, playground as the locations. Print out family members as the people.
- Ultimate Minecraft Printables (bricks, cows, creepers, pigs, gold ore, and more) - print on glossy paper for sturdy cubes and long lasting fun.


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Death Notices for Oct. 16, 2013
Sheila L. Ciaramita, 61, Beloit, died Monday at home. Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday at Our Savior's Lutheran Church, Beloit. Visitation will be from 5-8 p.m. Thursday at Daley Murphy Wisch & Associates Funeral Home and Crematorium, Beloit.
Patsy L. Griffin, 76, Milton, died Monday at Agrace HospiceCare, Fitchburg. Services will be at 4 p.m. Friday at Albrecht Funeral Homes and Cremation Services, Milton. Visitation will be after the services from 5 to 7 p.m. at the funeral home.
Richard J. Mark, 83, Clinton, died Monday at Alden Meadow Park, Clinton. Arrangements are pending at Brian Mark Funeral Home, Clinton.
Melissa Jeanne Patrick, 40, Whitewater, died Sunday in the town of Whitewater. Services will be at noon Saturday at First English Lutheran Church, Whitewater. Visitation will be from 9 a.m. until the time of services Saturday at the church. Nitardy Funeral Home, Whitewater, is assisting the family.
Evelyn A. Poorker, 84, Lake Geneva, died Monday at Aurora Lakeland Medical Center, Elkhorn. Private services will be held Friday.
Robert E. Williams, 92, Edgerton, died Monday at home. Services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Edgerton. Visitation will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday at Schneider Apfel Schneider & Schneider Funeral Home and Crematory, Janesville, and from 10 a.m. until the time of services Friday at the church.


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A180d Sport Executive 5dr
On this page you can choose the colour and specification you want by selecting from the Options list below. You can also configure your lease deal by changing mileage, contract terms and deposit amount and then click Recalculate.
Delivery lead times: If the car is stock it will be 7-10 days from point of order, factory orders will be 8-12 weeks on average.


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carver ct-26v
where can I locate a service manual for ct-26v?
It is currently Mon Dec 18, 2017 11:48 am
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10 America-Themed Songs for the Fourth of July
American popular music has been around since before America even declared its independence. 'Yankee Doodle,' anyone? That classic was sung by Colonial American soldiers as early as the French and Indian War.
Here's a list of 10 to add to your Fourth of July playlist:
Jimi Hendrix, 'The Star Spangled Banner'
There may be people who don't feel like hearing this blistering rendition of 'The Star Spangled Banner' the first minute they walk in your door. The question you have to ask yourself is, do you really want those people at your party?
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Ray Charles, 'America the Beautiful'
Listening to Ray's rendition, you might not guess that the lyrics were written by an English professor named Katharine Bates on a trip across the country in the 1890s. Something tells us this wasn't quite the arrangement she had in mind, but that doesn't make it any less beautiful.
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John Mellencamp, 'Pink Houses'
Mellencamp's ode to small-town America comes from a time he was driving along a road in his beloved home state of Indiana and he and a man he saw sitting outside his house waved to each other. Yes, the house really was pink.
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Bruce Springsteen, 'American Land'
This upbeat anthem really showcases The Boss's love of country. You can practically hear him smiling through the whole song, which was the closing track of his last album, 'Wrecking Ball.'
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Paul Simon, 'An American Tune'
If anyone is going to tear up this Fourth of July, do them a courtesy and let it be to this song. Loosely inspired by the bicentennial, 'An American Tune' is a poetic and introspective look at life in America.
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Phil Ochs, 'Power and the Glory'
Phil Ochs was a contemporary of Bob Dylan who has been forgotten by some and never known by many more. Still, his folksy tribute to America is sure to strike a chord.
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David Bowie, 'Young Americans'
In interviews, David Bowie has said that he crammed his entire American experience into this song. That's a lot for just over three minutes. Then again, the studio version is over five.
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Tom Petty, 'American Girl'
A tribute to traffic, Tom Petty said the sound of cars cruising along the freeway outside his Los Angeles apartment was the inspiration for this classic song. To him they sounded like the ocean.
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Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, 'This Land Is Your Land'
If you don't feel like spending Independence Day in the dust bowl, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings' funky update on the Woody Guthrie classic might be more your speed.
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The Isley Brothers, 'Freedom'
Sometimes freedom just makes you wanna sing. Don't fight the urge. Unless you want to. You're free to do that, too.
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Our Views: Don't race to build fire station
New Janesville City Manager Mark Freitag wants the city council to indicate at Monday's meeting which of two Milton Avenue layouts it prefers for a new Fire Station No. 1.
What's the rush? After all, the city has kicked around plans to replace the now 57-year-old central station for two decades. It's good to see some council members urging longer deliberations—if not rethinking that spot altogether.
New cost estimates raise concerns and questions, especially among residents who believe an $8 million bus garage now under construction is extravagant. The city announced last month that the council voted 6-1 in closed session last fall to build the fire station at its current location but expand the site by acquiring neighboring properties. New plans that include buying and demolishing homes have pushed the price tag to between $9 million and $9.5 million instead of the previous range of $6.2 million to $7.4 million.
The council is supposed to consider two options Monday. Option 1 would need seven neighboring properties. Option 2 would take 12. Costs of acquiring and removing homes would be less in Option 1. Because the station under that option would be built partly where the current building sits, however, crews and equipment would be relocated during construction, negating those savings.
The city did itself no favors with a vague letter to station neighbors. It's appalling that some recipients didn't understand they would lose their homes until they read a Gazette story Feb. 26. The letter mentioned a meeting they could attend but gave no location. To its credit, however, the city has rarely used eminent domain to force owners out and clear paths for public projects. Instead, it has negotiated buyouts that those being relocated accepted. If it proceeds with this site, it should follow that precedent here.
The city explored nine possible sites before the council agreed that the current location is the best spot for response times. The station need not be extravagant. The city, however, should make sure it doesn't end up like homeowners who buy a house because it's affordable only to find five years later that they've outgrown it and wish they had bought a bigger one.
Councilman Matt Kealy voted against the plan because the new cost alarmed him at a time when the city struggles to pay for street repairs. He notes city growth isn't central but to the north and wonders if the station always will be ideally positioned. He questions whether it needs eight bays—double the current number—and if the city has analyzed its stations completely.
The council should consider all these concerns instead of moving hastily.
The second option would require buying a Second Empire home in the Conrad Cottages neighborhood. The house is vacant, and the city hasn't gotten permission to get inside. A neighbor suggests that mold was a problem even before it became vacant. Moving the house� would detract from its historic value, but determining if the house could and should be saved is worth the effort.
Fire Chief Jim Jensen opposes building the new station with dormitory space for firefighters on a second floor. That would reduce the building's footprint but add to response times. But how much? Also, must this station house Rock County's hazardous materials vehicle, or would it be better located at a station closer to the Interstate?
At every step, the city must justify for residents the size and cost of the central station and the need to house training facilities there. Sure, the station should be big enough to meet current and future needs, but given the soaring price, it also must be as cost-effective as possible.