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Home > Help pages > Help and support forum
"I'd also like to comment on what our designer Morten has been like to deal with thus far, in a word great! The man has bent over backwards to answer my questions and to help with a few problems I've had obtaining the plans. Morten I truely appreciate your efforts, you have been a dream to deal with." Rick Barton, USA
All plans purchased at Boatplans.dk are provided with technical support. This means that your questions regarding the plans or building of the boat will be answered within 24 hours. I have many years of experience in boat building and design so don't worry it will always be possible to find a solution on any problem you might have. You are also welcome to reply to a topic, post a question or comment at the forum. You can register as a user or post your question anonymously as a guest. Please use the email address below or our Customer Service Forum for technical questions. Email address: email@example.com Go to Customer Service forum I am working together with Matt Langenfeld at JEM Watercraft and the Customer Service Forum for Boatplans.dk is hosted at him.
Boatplans.dk protects your privacy and security. For more information, see our Privacy notice, Terms and conditions and Legal notice Boatplans.dk Contact Information Morten Olesen, Naval Architect/Owner Sondergards Alle 17, 2. tv. DK-2760 Malov Denmark © Copyright 2003-2015 Boatplans.dk All Rights Reserved


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On Sat, 29 Oct 2011 09:27:13 +0200, Silvia Pfeiffer <email@example.com> wrote: > That's ok. If you need it for UA interpretation, use x-* attributes or > standardize them if all browsers should support them, as the counter > change proposal says. Indeed, making arbitrary extensions to <video> and <audio> possible via a <param> loophole goes counter to the whole exercise. -- Anne van Kesteren http://annevankesteren.nl/Received on Saturday, 29 October 2011 08:29:01 UTC
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subset: commoncrawl


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TichuEnglish language edition -- 2-card-pack set
Notify me if/when this item becomes available:
(you will be asked to log in first) from 5 customer reviews
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Product Description
Even though over 642 million Chinese play Tichu nearly every day, the game is very complicated for Europeans. One need only get rid of his cards. Tichu is primarily a partnership game for four. With just the two packs of cards, Tichu is also well suited for large groups.
Product Information
Urs Hostettler Manufacturer(s):
Rio Grande Games ,Abacus ,Fata Morgana Year: 1998
Players: 3 - 10
Time: 30 - 90 minutes
Ages: 10 and up
Weight: 206 grams
Language Requirements: This is an international edition or domestic edition of an imported item. Game components are language-independent. Manufacturer's rules are printed in multiple languages (including English).
- 112 cards
- 1 rule booklet
Product Reviews
Average Rating: 4.4 in 5 reviews
I am a fan of Contact Bridge and Skat. Westernized card players overlook the depth and skill of this game. The rules are confusing until it is played a few times. BELIEVE ME I'VE SEEN BRILLANT PLAYERS AND THEY WEREN'T JUST LUCKY. I recall as a chess snob remarking that backgammon was not really a game of much skill. After many losses and a much lighter wallet, I began to change my mind. If you are a card player who enjoys different games of skill, add this to your expertize.
Dalmuti style, in depth, varying really a lot. Takes a little learning to get into the philosophy of the game, following the 'unwritten rules' and general strategy but it's sure all worth it when you get it. Maybe *the* card game when it comes to co-operative play. Bombs bring whole new aspect to game. I love it :)
Nice additions are that you can play Zheng Fen and very entertaining version of 'Someone's always the a**hole' -game. Latter being maybe one of most entertaining light but still interesting card games suitable for more than 5 people. We've played it as fixed 14 card (as in tichu) variant which seems to work really well.
If you like card games like hearts, bridge and variants or great dalmuti I can recommend this wholeheartedly.
I first became aware of this game at a gaming mini-con over at someone's house near Boston. They played it all the time there. This piqued my interest, and I ordered it. I did finally get to try it, and I have to admit, the game has me hooked. It has a lot of options to it, and actually turns the Dalmuti-style game into a real cardgame and not just a filler. I personally find the game less convoluted than Frank's Zoo, which counts for something in my book.
HIGHLY recommended.
...or, at least as good as Spades :)
Seriously, Tichu's immense popularity in Europe is well deserved. I was introduced to this game last year at the World Boardgaming Championships in Maryland. I ordered if from Funagain a month later--and try to play it any chance I get.
The game uses a basic deck of cards with 4 extra 'special' cards. It is a partnership game where the players attempt to 'go out' before their opponents. Simply put, the entire deck is dealt to the four players, each player passes 3 of their cards (one to each other player), then play begins with the holder of the 'Mah Jong' card... one of the special cards I mentioned above. That player can then play a single card, a pair, a triple, a run etc... which must be either beaten by the next player or 'passed'. The highest on that trick gains the lead for the next.
Sounds fairly simple, but the decisions are delicious--especially with the 4 'special' cards thrown in. The 'Mah Jong' card, for example, grants a player the right to lead first. It also allows the player to make 'a wish' when he plays it. The 'wish' means that the player can call for a value of a card, e.g. a '5' or an Ace. The next player who has that card--and can legally play it--must do so. Think the other player might be holding a run of 3-4-5-6-7? Why not play the 'Mah Jong' and wish for a '5' to ruin that run?
My only complaint (a minor one) is that the set comes with 2 decks, but only one has the four special cards?!?! The other deck has four 'rules' cards printed in their place. Ack.
There's one in every crowd, and I'm that one. Everyone else seems to love it, so take this with a lot of grains of salt, but for my money Tichu has nothing to offer the trick-taking genre. Almost all information is hidden, so the idea of 'thinking your opponent has a run of 34567' is a shot in the dark based only on your own hand distribution. The luck factor is high (I play a bomb! Oops, my oponent had a bigger bomb) and the cooperation is minimal (there is almost no way to pass information to your partner). Perhaps I played the wrong variant, or I'm a bridge snob. Be forewarned, though. It IS possible to find someone who doesn't like this game.


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Born at 2:57 pm 7lb 14.3 oz...
She's the most gorgeous...
Hard Candy @ CafeMom you're invited so come join post what you want to see in a group anything from humor,sex,debates,gossip and so much more ! http://www.cafemom.com/group/118975
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︶´`´︶´¯`︶´ø¤º°*»ƸӜƷ«*°º¤ø´︶´`´︶´¯` I would like to invite you to a group ஐ•❀for women who love Jesus. ❀• ஐ You will find: God honoring fun, studying & learning together, praying with and supporting one another in all of life's situations. ღPlease Join us daily, as together weღ ~✿ LIVE IN THE ARMS OF JESUS✿~ http://www.cafemom.com/group/JesusArms
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Protagonist: Vampire
Group Description
This group includes games in which the main playable character is a vampire.Limitations
- Games in which vampires are secondary characters (e.g. companions or members of a player-controlled party) should not be included in the group.
- Games in which the protagonist has the option of becoming a vampire, but this transformation is not dictated by the game's plot (e.g. in Elder Scrolls games) should be likewise excluded.
- Games in which the protagonist begins as a human but later turns into a vampire are allowed.
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I am the first to cheer during a hockey fight or stand up at my seat when a batter charges the mound. But it never crosses my mind to judge and categorize these players personally. This is a problem we need to address.
2. Will African-American athletes ever elude negative stigma?
I think it is safe to say that if Peyton Manning or Justin Verlander had conducted a heated interview like Richard Sherman, we would have never heard the words thug, ghetto or uneducated.
Sherman is a 25-year-old man who happens to have dreadlocks. But what most people may not know is that he grew up in the tough Californian city of Compton. Unlike a thug or a bad guy, he graduated with a 4.2 GPA and was second in his class. He stayed disciplined and overcame the negative realities of his surroundings. Sherman attended Stanford University, where he was a great student and football player who graduated before entering the NFL.
So it disgusts me when I hear media and fans make statements about Sherman being an uneducated thug.
I'm the last person to pull the race card, but I wonder if some of the reaction was due to the stereotypes that some Americans hold about young black men.
A day after Sunday's game, we remembered Martin Luther King Jr. It might be a good time to also remember one of his great quotes: "I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
I didn't like Sherman's outburst, but If you look beyond his sound bite (and his race and his dreads and whatever else you don't like about how he talks or looks), you will find a man of great character, not just another stereotype. It's time we look beyond stereotypes when we judge people — all people.


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Via MLB Trade rumors is word that Troy Percival is leaning towards retirement:
RHP Troy Percival hasn't announced his retirement, but after corresponding with him last week, manager Joe Maddon is under the impression his career is over.
"I think so," Maddon said . . . Agent Paul Cohen said Sunday that no decision has been made but Percival has been having severe back problems and will see a specialist this week with the possibility of needing a fusion.
I have no idea what "a fusion" really entails, but it doesn't sound like the sort of thing a 40 year-old pitcher comes back from.
Seeing Percival come back after missing the entire 2006 season was impressive, and the fact that he came back and pitched really really well for the Cardinals and decently enough for the Rays was even more impressive. He was one of the truly underrated closers during his decade with the Angels and will be missed.
- Grant - Aug 10, 2009 at 12:01 PM
I believe "a fusion" means he will have two vertebrae fused together with screws or metal rods or something. you don't come back from it.
- Steve - Aug 10, 2009 at 1:00 PM
Grant is pretty much right but I figured I'd throw in my two cents.
They will typically carve out a portion of the vertebral disc and put a structural spacer in that void. Usually this is accompanied by some sort of bone graft material to induce a "natural" boney fusion of the two vertebrae. Rods or plates are then screwed in place to keep everything from moving while it heals.
If he really needs a fusion then he is done.
The alternative the some companies are developing / pedalling are disc replacement devices. Think of it as a fake joint for your back. I could imagine some one pitching again after that surgery, but the history with these devices is limited as they have not been on the market place for that long.


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We are located in historic Astoria Oregon, where the mighty Columbia River meets the wild Pacific Ocean. We are a small home based, T.I.C.A. Registered cattery, proudly breeding the exotic Savannah Cat. These cats are a relatively new breed created by crossing the African Serval with select domestic cats. Here at Columbia Breeze , we breed only Savannah to Savannah, for the F2, F3, F4, F5, F6, F7 and SBT generations. The development of the Savannah breed is still in it's infancy with the introduction of the SBT generation being a recent addition. Bringing home a Savannah cat is a superb choice, whether it be for showing, as all of our kittens are T.I.C.A. Registered, or as a wonderful household pet. A combination of exotic flair with a friendly and loving temperament. Our kittens are raised around all those curiously wonderful challenges of every household. They have an almost "dog-like" behavior. They can greet you with vocal excitement, walk on a leash, fetch and play in water. If you enjoy an active, loving, friendly cat with that "over the top" wild look….Then let one of these cats enter your life…. "Take a walk on the wild side" |
Columbia Breeze Savannah Cattery 40005 Highway 30 Astoria, Oregon 97103 503-569-6033 email@example.com Debbie Huffman |
Use Code: Free4Life |
*Spring Special* Drastically reduced Prices!! Check out the Adults Available and the F6 pages. !! Looking for Furr-Ever homes !! *NOTICE* F6 SBT litter expected May 20 |


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Expedia Price Guarantee
You're getting the lowest possible rate.
We Promise
Hotel Price Guarantee available
Find a cheaper hotel within 24 hours of booking. We will refund the difference and give you a travel coupon worth $50.
As a member, you receive price matching up until midnight before check-in. Not a member? Join now.
Terms & Conditions apply.
Book your room at Andante Hotel
Standard Room
Max Occupancy: 2 guests (up to 1 infant)Double Room Single Use
Max Occupancy: 1 guestEconomy Room
Max Occupancy: 1 guestStandard Triple Room
Max Occupancy: 3 guests (up to 1 infant)Eco-friendly Barcelona hotel in Ciutat Vella, walk to Palau Guell
Located in Ciutat Vella, this eco-friendly hotel is within a 10-minute walk of Maritime Museum, Palau Guell, and Gran Teatre del Liceu. Palau de la Musica Catalana and Las Ramblas are also within 1 mi (2 km).
Hotel Features
An outdoor pool, a fitness center, and a rooftop terrace are available at this hotel. WiFi in public areas is free. Other amenities include self parking, meeting rooms, and a 24-hour front desk.
Room Amenities
All 134 rooms offer free WiFi, flat-screen TVs, and hair dryers.
Information missing or incorrect? Tell us!Hotel Amenities
Hotel Amenities
Andante Hotel features an outdoor pool and a fitness center. High-speed wireless Internet access is complimentary. This eco-friendly hotel also offers a rooftop terrace, tour/ticket assistance, and an elevator (lift). Onsite parking is available (surcharge).
- Number of buildings/towers - 1
- 24-hour front desk
- Total number of rooms - 134
- Number of floors - 10
- Breakfast available (surcharge)
- Elevator/lift
- Fitness facilities
- Tours/ticket assistance
- Free WiFi
- Meeting rooms
- Rooftop terrace
- Luggage storage
- Self parking (surcharge)
- Outdoor pool
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- Outdoor pool
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Available in all rooms: Free WiFi
Available in some public areas: Free WiFi
Self parking (surcharge)
Room Amenities
- Connecting/adjoining rooms available
- Free cribs/infant beds
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Buffet breakfasts are available for a surcharge and are served each morning.
Nearby Things to Do
Recreational amenities at the hotel include an outdoor pool and a fitness center.
To make requests for specific accessibility needs, complete the "Special or Accessibility Requests" section of "Trip Preferences" when you book your hotel.
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Check-in time starts at 3 PM
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Hotel Registry Number - HT-000641
- A tax is imposed by the city: EUR 0.72 per person, per night, up to 7 nights. This tax does not apply to children under 17 years of age.
- Fee for buffet breakfast: EUR 12 per person (approximately)
- Self parking fee: EUR 20 per night
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Cash transactions at this property cannot exceed EUR 2500, due to national regulations. For further details, please contact the property using information in the booking confirmation. Only registered guests are allowed in the guestrooms. The property has connecting/adjoining rooms, which are subject to availability and can be requested by contacting the property using the number on the booking confirmation. No pets and no service animals are allowed at this property.


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Oceanside, NY US
PARSAL VENDING SUPPLY. LLC Patent applications | ||
Patent application number | Title | Published |
20130292225 | RETRO-FIT METHOD FOR IMPROVING COIN-OPERATED VENDING MACHINES - A method of retro-fitting a coin-operated vending machine includes first removing the base and coin retainer and then connecting an improved base unit to a lower end of the center rod. The improved base unit has a bottom for collecting coins and an opened section for access to the bottom. When the improved base unit is connected to the center rod, the improved base unit is movable into at least two configurations. The first configuration is defined such that the opened section is hidden within the body preventing access to the bottom, while the second configuration is defined such that at least a portion of the opened section is exposed whereby access to the bottom, and any coins, is granted through the exposed opened section. | 11-07-2013 |


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Wii U
What franchise needs to die the most?
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--- It doesn't matter the additional notes say opinions aren't trolling. The Notes are wrong and your opinion is trolling - GameFAQs moderation | |
TrueBlue91 posted... "New" Super Mario Bros, 'nuff said. This. The only Nintendo franchise that needs to end. Mario Party only sucked when they stuck everyone in one cart. That idea was made to pacify poor sports. The 3DS one looks great. --- It's not about graphics vs gameplay, it's about profits vs gameplay. Profits are more important than gameplay in this forum. -lgi on the Wii U messageboard | |
Nice_Kirbyfan9 posted... Mario Party games have been awful far longer than they have been good. Same with the home console Pokemon games. Disregarding your trolling, I somewhat agree. The last 3 Mario parties sucked and PBR was fail in every way. But for a serious answer: CoD: At the very least slow it down. Give yourself an extra year or two to make the game more than a full-priced graphically enhanced map pack. Any EA sports game for the same reason. Or anything EA produces in general. EA just needs to go. Angry Birds: Anything to stop the "phone game is the future!" BS. Honestly, you think this game would have done half as well as it did if it was published on DS for retail price? --- Not changing this sig until I have enough time, incentive, and attention span large enough to change this sig. | |
God of War Call of Duty Uncharted Gears of War Halo Just to name a few......... --- "I tried one of your dishes once. I truly believed a part of my soul died."~Dunban | |
SS4_Namreppiv posted... God of War I'm going to just throw this out there... You haven't played any of those games have you? --- Im British! GT- x STE 90 x, PSN ID- X-STE-90-X Currently playing Dragons Dogma (360) Xcom (360) Persona 4 (Vita) Demon Souls (PS3). | |
I actually like mario party series. It's a great fun alternative to monopoly albeit not the same thing though. --- 360 GT & PSN = xKYSx. | |
From: STE573 | #025 SS4_Namreppiv posted...God of War No, but the cool people who bullied him in high school did so he wants to get back at them. --- If you disagree with the views expressed in this post, feel free to put me on ignore. http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/17oodar3kvfbjjpg/original.jpg | |
Dr_Facer posted... TrueBlue91 posted..."New" Super Mario Bros, 'nuff said. I agree with most of this, I like Mario Kart, but the games have been slowly getting worse, I don't think the series needs to stop, but I wish the quality would be better. As for CoD. That DOES need to stop. I've played Modern Warfare and it was great, but MW2 and 3, suck really bad, but at the same time, the first one feels too dated now. Black Ops 1 & 2 I think are better the MW2 & 3, but they're still just copy and paste, they're just a little more balanced. CoD needs to stop, then spend 4 or 5 years producing a game that is actually really good, the problem is, they wont because people will just keep shelling out their money, then wonder why it's not as good as CoD used to be (Which by the way, is the definition of insanity). --- "I've never in my life wanted to punch a girl like I want to right now" Light Yagami 3DS FC 3995-6522-2067 (PM me so I can add you back) | |
Nice_Kirbyfan9 posted... From: STE573 | #025SS4_Namreppiv posted...God of War Wow, assumptions much? It was elementary school and we're still bullying him. | |
I agree to a point with NSMB...at least give it a break so we can get an actual new one |
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Raised in suburban New Jersey, the Bay Area was love at first sight. Went to the SF Art Institute where I found my destiny: painting and my beautiful wife Emma. Since then just keeping the dream alive, baby, yeah!
She Misplaced My Hurricane Blueprints Published April 23, 2012
NUDE & I N A H U R R Y Published December 02, 2011
Emma Beauchamp Art Teacher Published July 12, 2009
The Art of Amy & Rachel Nielsen Published March 08, 2009
NEW PAINTINGS 2008 Published January 17, 2009


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Most studies assessing health effects of neighborhood characteristics either use self-reports or objective assessments of the environment, the latter often based on Geographical Information Systems (GIS). While objective measures require detailed landscape data, self-assessments may yield confounded results. In this study we demonstrate how self-assessments of green neighborhood environments aggregated to narrow area units may serve as an appealing compromise between objective measures and individual self-assessments.
The study uses cross-sectional data (N = 24,847) from a public health survey conducted in the county of Scania, southern Sweden, in 2008 and validates the Scania Green Score (SGS), a new index comprising five self-reported green neighborhood qualities (Culture, Lush, Serene, Spacious and Wild). The same qualities were also assessed objectively using landscape data and GIS. A multilevel (ecometric) model was used to aggregate individual self-reports to assessments of perceived green environmental attributes for areas of 1,000 square meters. We assessed convergent and concurrent validity for self-assessments of the five items separately and for the sum score, individually and area-aggregated.
Correlations between the index scores based on self-assessments and the corresponding objective assessments were clearly present, indicating convergent validity, but the agreement was low. The correlation was even more evident for the area-aggregated SGS. All three scores (individual SGS, area-aggregated SGS and GIS index score) were associated with neighborhood satisfaction, indicating concurrent validity. However, while individual SGS was associated with vitality, this association was not present for aggregated SGS and the GIS-index score, suggesting confounding (single-source bias) when individual SGS was used.
Perceived and objectively assessed qualities of the green neighborhood environment correlate but do not agree. An index score based on self-reports but aggregated to narrow area units can be a valid approach to assess perceived green neighborhood qualities in settings where objective assessments are not possible or feasible.
The influence of natural environments, green spaces, on health and well-being has received considerable attention from several disciplines, including environmental psychology, landscape planning and epidemiology [1-7]. Exposure to green neighborhood environments is thought to yield direct health effects through restoration of stress and attentional fatigue [1,2,5,8-10], while health could indirectly benefit via increased levels of social interaction and physical activity [4,11]. Most studies which have assessed neighborhood environments have either used objective measures [3,4,6,12-14] or self-assessments [15,16]. Finding objective assessments that fully cover the health promoting aspects of the physical attributes of green neighborhood environments is a challenging task that requires access to detailed landscape data. Furthermore, perceived environmental attributes may have health promoting effects that objective measures do not capture [17,18]. On the other hand, individual self-reported qualities of the green environment are likely to be influenced also by socio-demographic and personal characteristics, as well as by health status [19], and may therefore yield confounded results (single-source bias), especially if used in cross-sectional settings.
One way to overcome single-source bias is to use aggregated self-reports. Extending data from individual self-reports to area-level assessments of the perceived environment creates a hierarchy in the data which can be handled with multilevel models: a methodology that has been denominated as ecometrics [20,21]. Multilevel models have been used previously in studies examining associations between green environments and health [3,4,14] and physical activity [22]. Such models have also been used in studies to validate specific environmental measures consisting of several individual items, e.g. in relation to criminality [21], neighborhood walkability [23] or to cardiovascular disease risk [20], and to assess contextual phenomena of health variation [24,25].
The overall aim of the present study was to assess if area-aggregated assessments of perceived qualities of green neighborhood environments, as a compromise between objective measures and individual assessments, may overcome single-source bias when investigating associations between self-assessed environmental measures and concurrent health status and health-related behavior on individual level. The study uses cross-sectional data from a public health survey conducted in the county of Scania, southern Sweden, in 2008 and also validates the Scania Green Score (SGS), a new index comprising five self-reported green neighborhood qualities, in relation to objective GIS-based assessments.
Survey participants
The total study population consisted of all people of age 18 to 80 registered as inhabitants of the Scania county, Southern Sweden on 30 June 2008 (N = 899,923). The population was stratified by gender and geographical area, resulting in 2 × 71 = 142 strata. Random sampling from the population registry was used, with an approximately equal number of individuals selected in each stratum. An extensive general health questionnaire was mailed to the 52,142 selected individuals in September-October 2008. There was an opportunity to respond via the web. After three reminders, a total of 28,198 participants had responded (54.1%). The response rate was lower among males, age group 18-34, participants with only compulsory education, low income and those born outside Sweden [26]. Available landscape data (see below) did not permit objective assessment of green neighborhood qualities in the inner city areas of the four major cities (Malmö, Helsingborg, Lund and Kristianstad) in Scania and we therefore had to exclude participants from these areas (N = 3,169). Another 182 participants did not have a valid residential address in Scania and were excluded for this reason, resulting in a final sample of 24,847 participants (table 1).
Table 1. Basic characteristics for 24,847 participants of the public health survey in suburban and more rural areas of the Scania region in Southern Sweden (2008).
Assessment of green qualities
Based on interview studies among lay-people, carried out between 1995 and 2005, eight perceived qualities of green neighborhood environments have been indentified [5,27]. These have been implemented as indicators for impact assessment in planning for housing and infrastructure development projects in Scania [28]. Landscape data and GIS allowed us to assess objectively the availability (yes/no) in residential neighborhoods for five of these green qualities: Culture, Lush, Serene, Spacious and Wild (see Additional file 1: appendix 1 for original descriptions and GIS inclusion criteria). Previous research (2004) in the present population showed that objectively assessed availability of these qualities was positively associated with neighborhood satisfaction and physical activity [12]. GIS assessments of the five green qualities (Additional file 1: appendix 1) were based on the National Land Survey of Sweden (Lantmäteriet) that is part of EU program CORINE [29] in which the land and vegetation cover was mapped into approximately 58 classes. Additionally regional GIS databases from the County Administrative Board of Scania were used.
Additional file 1. Appendix 1. Original descriptions of the five green qualities and GIS inclusion criteria a. Original descriptions of the five green qualities of the neighborhood environment that are comprised into the Scania Green Score. b. Inclusion criteria as used in the objective neighborhood analyses (with GIS) to measure availability of each of the five green qualities.
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Geocodes for the residential addresses of survey participants, in combination with the landscape databases were used to assess the availability of the five green qualities within 100, 300 and 500 meter from the residence. Presented results refer to the GIS-based objective assessments within 300 meter from the residence unless otherwise stated.
Perceived availability of either one of the green qualities was measured in the survey by asking participants to score their agreement with availability of Culture, Lush, Serene, Spacious and Wild within 5-10 minutes walking distance from their residence (see Additional file 2: appendix 2 for phrasing of the questions). In order to compare self-assessments with the binary GIS assessments, we dichotomized the self-reports by taking 'totally not agreeing' and 'not agreeing' together as perceived 'absence' of the green neighborhood quality and 'agreeing' and 'totally agreeing' were taken together as perceived 'availability' of the quality. SGS was calculated as the sum of the dichotomized positive assessments (range 0 - 5). Missing answers and 'do not know' (10% of all assessments) for the individual items were counted as zero in the index score, but excluded in the assessment of agreement of the five individual qualities. For comparison, a corresponding GIS index score was calculated as the sum of the five objectively assessed items. None of the participants had access to all five objectively assessed qualities and the GIS based index score therefore ranged from 0 to 4.
Additional file 2. Appendix 2. Survey questions Survey questions concerning green neighborhood qualities, neighborhood satisfaction and vitality as formulated in the extensive general health questionnaire conducted in Southern Sweden in 2008 which was used for this study (translated from Swedish).
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Area aggregations
The survey participants were grouped in area units of 1,000 square meters, resulting in 3,368 different areas. Areas with only one individual were accepted, and, in line with individual SGS, missing self-assessments of individual qualities were regarded as negative assessments. The proportion of positive assessments for each of the five green items was estimated in multilevel statistical models (one model for each item; see "Statistical analysis" below for details). Area-aggregated SGS was then calculated for each area as the sum of the five estimated proportions from the multilevel models. Each individual was assigned with the area-aggregated SGS of his/her living area in the analyses using area-aggregated scores.
We validated the five items of the SGS separately as well as the index score, individually and area-aggregated. The validation was restricted to convergent validity, i.e. concordance with other measures of the same construct, and concurrent validity, i.e. associations with other constructs of relevance measured at the same time.
We assessed convergent validity of the SGS by investigating agreement and association with objectively assessed green qualities using GIS. Concurrent validity was assessed by i) investigating associations with a yes-no survey question concerning the perceived availability of a green open space (e.g. larger park or similar) or forest area within 5-10 minutes walking distance from the residence and ii) investigating association with a question regarding neighborhood satisfaction, assessed on a four-point agreement scale (see Additional file 2: appendix 2 for phrasing of these questions). To elucidate further differences between individual and area-aggregated self-reports regarding concurrent validity, we also investigated associations with vitality calculated as the median of four survey questions concerning feelings of being 'full of energy', 'full of life', 'not worn out' and 'not tired' from the 36-item Short-Form (SF-36) [30]. Neighborhood perception [19], self-reporting behavior and health [31] may differ considerably across population subgroups and we therefore carefully considered socio-demographic variables that could confound the associations and affect the convergent and concurrent validity (see next section).
Statistical analysis
The proportions of positive assessments of the five green items in each area unit of size 1,000 square meters were estimated in multilevel ("ecometric") logistic regression models with two levels, individual and area [20]. One multilevel model was established for each of the five items separately with adjustments for socio-demographic variables i.e., sex, age, highest level of obtained education, economic difficulties, country of origin and type of residence (categorized as presented in table 1). The obtained area-level residual Uk from each area k is given on a log odds scale and can thus be transformed to a proportion Pk as
where α is the estimated overall (fixed) intercept of the logistic model and exp(α+Uk) denotes e to the power of α+Uk. By using area-level shrunken residuals to calculate proportions, areas with very few individuals obtain a proportion that is similar to the overall mean. Area-aggregated SGS was then calculated for each area unit as the sum of the five estimated proportions from the multilevel models. Convergent validity of SGS (individual and area-aggregated) versus the GIS-assessments 'as gold standard' were measured as correlation, using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, as agreement, using the sum of sensitivity and specificity (for definitions see table 2) [32] and Cohen's kappa.
We assessed how convergent validity was affected by the socio-demographic variables (table 1) using ordinal regression analysis under the cumulative odds model with location parameters only [33]. This model estimates average odds ratios (OR) of all possible dichotomizations of the ordinal response variable, i.e. individual SGS. Ordinal regression with adjustment for the socio-demographic variables was also used to examine the concurrent validity of SGS (individual and area-aggregated) in relation to perceived availability of a green open space or forest area, neighborhood satisfaction and vitality. Estimated effects were compared with corresponding models where the GIS index score was used as measure of the green neighborhood environment. Results are presented for both unstandardized scores and for scores standardized by mean and standard deviation in order to make effect estimates more comparable. For area-aggregated SGS, we also compared estimated effects from single-level (individual level only) and multilevel (individual and area level) models.
All basic statistical analyses and single-level analyses were carried out using SPSS, version 15.0 for Windows (SPSS Inc, Chicago, Illinois, USA). Multilevel modeling was conducted in MLwiN version 2.19 (Centre for Multilevel Modeling, University of Bristol, U.K.).
Convergent validity
The individual SGS and the corresponding sum of the objective assessments were clearly correlated (Spearman's rank correlation = 0.35; N = 24,847; figure 1). This correlation was even more evident when the area-aggregated SGS was used (Spearman's rank correlation = 0.51; N = 24,582). The correlation between the self-reported and objectively assessed individual qualities was clear for Lush (Spearman's rank correlation = 0.32; N = 22,121) but less evident for Culture, Serene, Spacious and Wild (Spearman's rank correlation range = 0.15-0.22; N range = 21,499-23,146).
Figure 1. SGS and objectively assessed green qualities. The Scania Green Score in relation to the objectively assessed number of green neighborhood qualities. None of the participants had access to all five qualities as measured with GIS.
Perceived availability was higher than objectively assessed availability for all green neighborhood qualities (table 3). Agreement between self-reports and objective assessments, measured as sum of sensitivity and specificity was generally low for all five qualities when compared individually. The overall agreement did not differ noticeably depending on distance from residence covered by the objective assessments (100, 300 or 500 meter). Cohen's kappa ranged between 0.03 and 0.27 for the five individual items of SGS (not in tables). The agreement between the two index scores on the individual-level was also low (Kappa = 0.02; N = 24,848), with higher score on average in individual SGS than in the GIS index score (mean = 2.58; SD = 1.73; N = 25,029 versus mean = 0.71; SD = 1.04; N = 25,847).
Table 3. Agreement between the individual-level self-assessed (< 5-10 min walking distance) and objectively assessed availability (< 100, 300 and 500 meters distance from residence) of the five green qualities, Culture, Lush, Serene, Spacious and Wild. Agreement is given as sensitivity and specificity (%), separately and as a sum.
The individual SGS, given a certain number of objectively assessed green qualities in the near neighborhood, was markedly higher especially among house-owners, but also among participants born in Sweden and among the highly educated (figure 2). SGS also seemed higher among participants without economic difficulties but this association did not remain after adjustment for the other socio-demographic characteristics (table 4). The score was somewhat higher among middle-aged, whereas no difference in SGS was found between males and females.
Figure 2. SGS for various socio-demographic subgroups. The mean Scania Green Score with standard deviation for various socio-demographic subgroups, stratified for objectively assessed number of green neighborhood qualities.
Table 4. Differences for various socio-demographic subgroups in Scania Green Score (SGS), the index score of self-assessed availability of five green qualities within 5-10 minutes walking distance from the residence.
Concurrent validity
Perceived availability of a green open space (or forest area) within 5-10 minutes walking distance from the residence was clearly associated with the individual SGS. Participants who did not perceive a green open space in their near neighborhood on average had a SGS of 1.19 qualities (SD = 1.46; N = 1,498) while participants who did perceive a green open space in the near neighborhood had a SGS of 2.72 qualities (SD = 1.68; N = 22,834) on average. The association remained strong when adjusted for socio-demographic variables in an ordinal regression model (OR = 6.7; 95% CI = 6.0-7.4; N = 21,632). Availability of a green open space was also associated in ordinal regression with the area-aggregated SGS rounded to the nearest integer (OR = 3.1; 95% CI = 2.8-3.5) and with the index score of the objective assessments (OR = 2.0; 95% CI = 1.8-2.2).
The index scores were clearly associated with neighborhood satisfaction, also after adjustment for socio-demographic variables (table 5). Focusing on the standardized scores, the association with neighborhood satisfaction was strongest for individual SGS and similar, but weaker for area-aggregated SGS and the GIS index score. Only individual SGS was clearly associated with self-rated vitality. Effect estimates with confidence intervals associated with area-aggregated SGS were similar in single-level and multilevel models, suggesting limited clustering remaining in the outcome variables within areas after covariate adjustments.
Table 5. The association between individual and area-aggregated (1,000 square meter areas) self-assessments of Scania Green Score (SGS), objective GIS-based assessments of number of green neighborhood qualities and neighborhood satisfaction (N = 21,665) and vitality (N = 20,855).
In an effort to separate effects of perceived and objectively assessed scores, we added GIS index score to the single-level models for SGS (individual/area-aggregated) and neighborhood satisfaction. In those models, the effect estimates of the (aggregated) SGS decreased only marginally (results not presented), whereas the effect estimate of the standardized GIS index score became markedly lower (e.g. OR = 1.08, 95% CI 1.04 - 1.12 in model for area-aggregated SGS and neighborhood satisfaction; not in tables). Similarly, the effect estimates for neighborhood satisfaction associated with SGS decreased marginally also when perceived availability of a green open space or forest area (yes/no) was added to the models (e.g. OR associated with standardized area-aggregated SGS decreased from 1.30 to 1.27; not in tables).
Principal findings
SGS exhibited convergent validity through its clear association with objective measures of green neighborhood qualities, although the agreement was low. Concurrent validity was also demonstrated, but it should be stressed that the association between individual SGS and vitality could not be replicated when objective measures of the neighborhood were used. In contrast, area-aggregated SGS yielded associations consistent with the objective measures and may therefore be a useful approach to avoid bias due to confounded self-assessments.
Strengths and limitations of the study
To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first studies assessing validity of individual as well as area-aggregated self-reports of green neighborhood qualities in relation to objective assessments and concurrent health questions in a large and representative sample with detailed adjustment for socio-demographic variables. The multilevel (ecometric) analysis takes the varying sampling size across areas into account and also facilitates adjustment for confounding from socio-demographic factors in the self-reports. Another strength of the study was the focus in SGS on perceived qualities of the green neighborhood. Our results suggest that perceived qualities are likely to be relevant for health and well-being in addition to more simple constructs such as perceived availability of a green open space or forest area. An attractive feature of the area-aggregated SGS is that it captures perception of the green environment while being stronger correlated with objective measures and less susceptible to single-source bias compared to the individual self-reports.
An important limitation of the study was that we were not able to validate self-reports in the most urbanized inner city areas. The perception and the relative importance of green neighborhood qualities on health may very well be different in inner city areas. Furthermore, the most urbanized city areas are likely to accommodate large groups of individuals who could be more dependent on the (green) neighborhood environment they live in, e.g. people who spend a larger amount of their time at home [3] and tenants, who often lack access to an own garden [12].
Another limitation was the cross-sectional study design that limited the ability to assess temporal associations, i.e. predictive validity of the SGS [34,35]. The low agreement with the self-assessments of green qualities, and the relatively weak association between GIS index score and neighborhood satisfaction after including SGS in the model, may also raise concerns about the GIS-based assessments regarded as gold standard in our study. These objective assessments, developed by experts in landscape planning, show clear associations with neighborhood satisfaction and physical activity [6], but are not validated constructs. Main points of concern are i) the data sources reflect physical attributes, e.g. land use, while originally the definitions of the qualities are based on individual preferences, and ii) the assessments may suffer from inaccuracies and lack of sufficient detail in the land cover classification [29].
In order to limit the number of analyses we restricted the use of area-aggregated measures to the index score (SGS). With equal weights for all five qualities in SGS, the inherent assumption is that the qualities are all equally important for the health indicators under investigation (i.e., more qualities is always better for health), but this assumption can of course be questioned. The green qualities are distinct entities, e.g. wild environments (plants seem self-sown, lichen and moss-grown rocks, old paths etc.; see Additional file 1: appendix 1) are clearly different from e.g. environments rich in culture (a historical place offering fascination with the course of time; historical sights and remains etc.). Identification of specific elements (aspects, qualities) in natural environments that promote human health is an issue of great interest currently within landscape planning and environmental health [16,20,27]. In the present paper, we calculated an area-aggregated proportion for each quality in a two-level model (individual and area) rather than in a three-level model (item, individual and area; [20]). Such a two-level model can be used in future studies to assess which attributes are most important for health and well-being. Our previous work on the qualities included in the SGS suggests that these qualities may not be equally associated with health indicators such as neighborhood satisfaction and physical activity [12].
One could argue about the choice to regard missing self-assessments as negative (counted as zero in SGS) and about the choice to use areas of 1,000 square meters. However, associations of the (aggregated) SGS with neighborhood satisfaction and vitality remained similar when individuals with missing assessments were excluded (results not presented). Secondly, a sensitivity analysis showed that the 1,000 square meter assessments correlated strongly with the 500 (Spearman's rank correlation = 0.91; N = 24,480) and the 2,000 square meter assessments (Spearman's rank correlation = 0.92; N = 24,636; not in results). Estimates from the ordinal regression model also remained similar when we used self-assessments aggregated to 500 and 2,000 meter areas (results not shown). Though, the boundaries of our grids may not correspond with the boundaries that delimited the true collective (e.g. neighborhood) that influences individual health [36].
The results in relation to other studies
The correlations between objectively assessed and self-reported green qualities may seem weak (Spearman's rank correlation range = 0.15-0.32) but are in line with correlations found in cross-sectional settings where exposure-response associations indeed are strong (e.g. correlation between GIS modeled residential road noise and self-reported annoyance, Spearman's rank correlation r = 0.20 [37]).
A recent report showed that the perceived environment correlated stronger with adolescents' physical activity behavior than the objectively assessed environment [22]. In our study, the association between the original (unstandardized) GIS-index score and neighborhood satisfaction was similar to the association with individual SGS while the association with area-aggregated SGS was more pronounced. However, this can be explained by different scaling and spread in the assessments; low spread tends to inflate while high spread tends to decrease the odds ratios. When we used standardized measures to compare the three scores we indeed found a more pronounced effect of individual SGS and similar effects of area-aggregated SGS and the GIS-based index score. The effect of the GIS-based index score decreased markedly when area-aggregated SGS was included in the model, which could suggest that perceived attributes of the green environment are more important for neighborhood satisfaction. However, alternative explanations for this finding such as differences in spatial resolution between the GIS-based index score (300 meter from the individual residences) and area-aggregated SGS (residences aggregated in 1,000 square meter areas) cannot be ruled out.
Results for vitality did suggest confounding (single-source bias) since a clear association was present for individual SGS only. This bias was most likely caused by individual characteristics affecting self-reporting behavior which were not fully captured by the included socio-demographic factors. How self-reports aggregated to narrow area units might decrease bias from unmeasured determinants of self-reporting behavior has been demonstrated by simulations [38]. Aggregated self-reports have been used as exposure measure in practice when monitoring or assessing health effects of e.g., neighborhood characteristics (e.g. resources for physical activity, safety, crime, dissatisfaction with green space, availability of parks) [20,22,25,39], air pollution [40-42], traffic noise [43], and job strain [44].
Agreement between perceived and objectively assessed availability of the individual green neighborhood qualities was low and comparable to previous studies [22,45]. However, our study looked at specificity and sensitivity as separate measures of agreement. The sensitivity of the self-reports was generally satisfactory whereas the specificity was low, implying that the perceived availability of green neighborhood qualities within 5-10 minutes walking distance was considerably higher than objectively assessed availability within 300 meters from the residence. One explanation for the low agreement could be that what is perceived as "5-10 minutes walking distance" may vary extensively among study subjects. However, changing distance from 300 to 100 or 500 meters in the GIS-based assessments did not increase agreement noticeably. Another explanation for the low agreement could be that the definitions used for the GIS-assessments were more extensive, and consequently more restrictive, than the phrasings used in the survey questions.
Socio-demographic factors were associated with the number of perceived green qualities in the neighborhood, which might also contribute to the low agreement. Such associations have also been demonstrated for self-reports of neighborhood attractiveness and safety [19] and other environmental factors [37]. Negative perceptions could be related to factors found more prevalent in groups with low compared to high socio-economic status, i.e. low social capital, poor health and a more pessimistic world view, but could also be due to the possibility that objective measures not necessary capture all environmental attributes that participants take into account in their perceptions [19]. Compared to the individual self-reports, the area-aggregations were stronger correlated with the GIS-based assessments, indicating lower amount of confounding and/or random misclassification error.
Implications for further research
Assessing the green qualities on an ordinal rather than binary scale using GIS, also in urban areas, would facilitate a more detailed validation of the self-reported items and would provide opportunities for index scores with wider ranges. Qualities of neighborhood green space in relation to health outcomes merits further investigation in longitudinal settings.
Perceived and objectively assessed qualities of the green neighborhood environment correlate but do not agree. Our study shows that an index score based on self-reports aggregated to narrow area units can be a valid and useful approach for assessments of perceived neighborhood qualities in settings where objective assessments are not possible or feasible. An area-aggregated index score like our SGS could then be used in health-related environmental monitoring, prospective epidemiological research and development of healthy living environments.
List of abbreviations
GIS: Geographical information system; SGS: Scania Green Score (a new index score comprising five green qualities); SF-36: 36 item short-form (used to measure vitality); OR: Odds ratio; 95% CI: 95% confidence interval.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Authors' contributions
All authors have directly participated either in the planning, execution, or analysis of this study and have read and approved the final version submitted. The study was initiated by MA and JB and further developed by KJ, MA and JB. The statistical analysis was carried out by KJ and JB in cooperation with MA and JM. All authors have revised drafts and contributed to the discussion.
The project was supported by grants of Swedish Research Council (SIMSAM EarlyLife) and the centre for Medicine and Technology for Working Life and Society of Lund University (METALUND).
The authors are grateful to Ralf Rittner, Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University Hospital, for technical assistance.
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text:
AIIMS, PGI to have 18 pc OBC quota
100 protesters held
Torch relay leaves MPs stranded
Boycott Chinese goods: George
TN CM urges coalition partners to remain united
Movement of Foodgrains
Pro-Khalistan parade in Canada
Nesting of Olive Ridley Turtles
Five maritime varsities likely to be set up
Indian Army rescues 6 air crash survivors in Congo
Indian men succumb easily to powerful women: Book
Seven of family murdered in UP
Lack of rescue vessels puts submarine crew at risk
Panel lashes out at pharma policy delay
Advani pleads Sarabjits case with Pak
Pranab to visit S. Arabia on April 19
No evidence of cartelisation by steelmakers
641 Indians in Pak jails
AIIMS, PGI to have 18 pc OBC quota
New Delhi, April 17 The decision was taken here today at a meeting of institute directors, chaired by union health and family welfare minister Anbumani Ramadoss. Although inadequacy of infrastructure has been cited as a problem in the immediate implementation of quotas, the institute directors along with the government decided to go in phases by reserving seats for OBCs over two years, with 18 per cent quota to be made available this session. This would work out to about 70 per cent of the 27 per cent quota for OBCs cleared by the Supreme Court of India. Sources said lack of facilities to accommodate all students in the same session led the government to decide in favour of implementing 70 per cent of the total 27 per cent OBC quota from this year. The health minister has, meanwhile, directed the medical institutes to send their requirements for increase in infrastructure to the Expenditure and Finance Committee by April 25. The heads of the institutes said within the next two years, the entire 27 per cent quota could be implemented. Ramadoss has also asked the institute heads to write letters to various universities to which they are affiliated and seek permission to increase the total number of seats in view of the implementation of OBC quota. Among those who attended todays meeting on quotas were heads of AIIMS, PGI, Chandigarh, JIPMER, Puducherry, Ram Manohar Lohia and Lady Hardinge Medical Colleges in Delhi. |
100 protesters held
New Delhi, April 17 Although the city was turned into a virtual security fortress with thousands of policemen keeping a hawk-eye vigil, the protesters did not seem to be too intimidated. The protesters emerged at various places in small numbers and tried to break the security cordon besides raising slogans against China for the atrocities committed in Tibet. Thirty-two Tibetans were detained in the Dhaula Kuan area of south Delhi in the wee hours. The group had entered into a scuffle with the police as it thwarted their attempt to lay siege to the route through which the Olympic torch was to pass through after its arrival from the airport. The incident took place minutes before the special aircraft carrying the torch landed at the Indira Gandhi International airport at 1.10 am. About two hours later, around 30 Tibetans arrived at the Le Meridian hotel, where the torch was reportedly kept, and started raising slogans. While the police detained about eight Tibetans, the others were chased away by the security personnel. The protests intensified as the day progressed and more Tibetans youth were detained as they held protests in the vicinity of
Rajpath. |
Torch relay leaves MPs stranded
New Delhi, April 17 The Upper House was to resume sitting at 3 pm after an hour-long lunch recess, but for 15 minutes, the House could not be called to order as the minimum numbers of members required were not there. Apparently, the members who live in the nearby South Avenue went home for lunch, only to find the entire stretch of the Rajpath blocked by security personnel to ensure a trouble free run of the Olympic torch. Under the rules of business, a minimum of 25 per cent of the effective strength of the House forms the quorum and when the House assembled there were hardly nine members and two of these were ministers -- power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and urban development minister Jaipal Reddy. The House broke for recess at 2 pm after a marathon reply by food minister Sharad Pawar to a short duration discussion on the price rise issue.
Boycott Chinese goods: George
New Delhi, April 17 Addressing a large gathering of Tibetans on the road facing the Janata Dal (United) office, the JD(U) MP suggested that Indian leaders should engage with world leaders to help Tibet in achieving independence. There are still some people left in this country who will not let Tibet be destroyed. Actor turned activist Nafisa Ali took a harder stand in suggesting imposition of economic sanctions against China. Prominent among others who joined the Tibetans in their cause were Samata Party leader Jaya Jaitley, Lok Sabha MP Kiran Rijiju and cricketer Kirti Azad and Tibetologist Vijay Kranti. Explaining the rationale behind the parallel torch relay, Tseten Norbu, chief coordinator of the Tibetan Solidarity Committee, said in a statement issued here today that the official relay has little spirit of Olympics, as it is being organised under extreme security. After spending a morning chanting and praying, a large number of protesters, mostly monks carried placards that read China- Zero per cent human rights, Run for genuine peace, genuine harmony, genuine brotherhood and Long live India Tibet friendship. Dancers and drummers cheered the runners carrying the alternate Torch for Tibet. |
Dasmunsi asked to miss relay
Information and broadcasting minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi, who was slated to participate in the Olympic torch relay today in his capacity as head of the All-India Football Federation, stayed away from the event. UPA sources said Dasmunsi was advised not to go ahead with these plans by external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee on the ground that ministers should stay way from the programme as it could stoke unnecessary controversy.
Dash of glamour
Actor Aamir Khan, one of the 70 torch bearers of the Delhi leg of the relay was cheered by the crowds at India Gate today. Sagarika Ghatge of Chak De fame, also commanded respect and enviable attention of the distinguished audience as she was called to the stage by the Indian Olympic Association along with the Queen of the Indian tracks, P.T Usha and athletes Shiny Wilson and Anju Babu George.
Cheer leaders
Children from five Delhi schools, including Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya on Deen Dayal Updahyay Marg, seemed delighted with their well defined role of cheering the Olympic torch relay runners. Clad in T-shirts and caps distributed by the sponsors, the children waved baloons and flags and gave good visual footage to reporters of 24-hour news channels.
Dasmunsi nominated for award
New Delhi, April 17 The decision was taken today by a special committee, headed by Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and comprising Lok Sabha leader Pranab Mukherjee, Rajya Sabhas leader of Opposition Jaswant Singh and Rajya Sabha deputy chairman Rehman Khan. There were several contenders for the award, including union minister Kapil Sibal, BJP leader V.K Malhotra and Left members Basudev Acharia and Gurudas
Dasgupta. |
TN CM urges coalition partners to remain united
Chennai, April 17 The Chief Minister also said Congress was a non-communal party which should be voted back to power. Reacting to the walkout by the Left parties over the Centres failure to control inflation, the DMK leader said there should be no cracks in the coalition as it would enable communal forces to come to power in the country. Another Ayodhya or Rathyatra by BJPs
L.K. Advani would turn the nation into a grave, he said. UPA allies should ensure that the followers of killers of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, should not rule the land, he told the Tamil Nadu assembly. The alliance
(UPA) was formed with the aim of preventing communal forces from coming to power and there should be no problems among allies, he said in an apparent reference to the Left-Congress spat in the assembly today and the Left walkout charging the Centre with failing to curb price rise. Congress termed the walkout as backstabbing and an election stunt. Karunanidhi also claimed that he was intrumental in preventing cracks (between Congress and the Left) in the UPA over the India-US nuclear deal.
Movement of Foodgrains
New Delhi, April 17 And he managed, as usual, to spring a surprise by announcing today in the Lok Sabha that the Indian Railways would not facilitate the movement of private foodgrains in the country. The Railways, said Lalu, would only transport the stocks of Food Corporation of India and those meant for public distribution system. We have decided not to transport the stocks of private traders who tend to hoard foodgrains and exploit the common man, Lalu said, in his reply to the debate on Demands for Grants (Railways) for 2008-09. The announcement took many of Lalus coalition colleagues by surprise, with some later saying the Railways might decide to fix a limit on the transport of foodgrains procured by private companies. The Railways minister, on his part, was clear about the proposal, which he justified saying hoarding had contributed immensely to escalation of prices of essential commodities. Taking a cue from the finance minister, Lalu also said today that the Indian Railways would not mind reducing its earnings to control prices. Chidambaram had yesterday said the government was prepared to
sacrifice revenue to check inflation. Lalu, however, went some steps further on the price-control path, saying Railways would, at no cost, allow private players to enter the core sector. They can invest in the modernisation of railway stations, but there is no way we will allow them to invest in the core sector, even though we know they wish to. The world is looking at Indian Railways with awe and private investors are hugely interested in us, Lalu said, before he announced that Indian Railways would soon adorn its trains and offices with Madhubani paintings to promote the art and artisans. He was quick to credit UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi with the proposal, adding that it was originally Indira Gandhi who promoted the art. We are happy to accept Soniajis proposal. It will not only help us conserve heritage but will also create job opportunities for women engaged in this art, Lalu said. The government further listed unmanned level crossings as a priority area and said 25,000 unmanned gates across India would soon be manned and the process of training technical staff for the purpose was on. The minister added that Railways would touch Rs one lakh crore as surplus and all projects, including eastern part of freight corridor, would finish in time. Later during the evening, Demands for Grants were passed by voice vote, and the six cut motions were negated. The House also passed the Appropriation Bill, which allows Railways to withdraw money for expenditure till March 31, next year, from the Consolidated Fund of India. |
Pro-Khalistan parade in Canada
New Delhi, April 17 The union external affairs ministry has conveyed its concern to Canadian minister of state for external affairs, Helena Georges, who was on a visit to India. The parade took place in Surrey, Canada on April 7. Posters of Indira Gandhis assassins were carried portraying them as martyrs and slogans were raised by pro-Khalistan elements. The former Indian Prime Minister was gunned down by her own bodyguards in 1984 in the aftermath of the controversial Operation Bluestar. Sonia Gandhi, during her visit to the Golden Temple in 1999 had expressed deep anguish and regret over the 1984 happenings, which she said should not have happened. I have prayed at the shrine that such events must never happen again, she had then said. However, at the ground-level things were simmering especially among pro-Khalistan elements based abroad. The Punjab Police and the Intelligence Bureau in their analysis have been often mentioned about sympathisers in Germany, Italy, USA, Canada. The Punjab Police has even stone walled the issue of visas to a few such suspected elements. Union minister of state for commerce and industry Ashwani Kumar, who hails from Gurdaspur - that was once the hotbed of terrorism - separately informed the visiting Canadian external affairs Minister Helena Georges about the pro-Khalistan statements made recently in Canada. Kumar said such activities on the Canadian soil would be treated as our unfriendly act by the Indian people and that the Canadian government is expected to address the issue. Ashwani Kumar said Canada attaches the highest importance to strengthening its relationship with India and that her visit to India was a step in this direction. She has assured that Canadian soil will not be allowed to be used for any act considered unfriendly to India. Meanwhile, the Canadian authorities have expressed regret at the incident and have informed that they will look into the matter. According to Canadian authorities, the senior legislators had visited only on the assurance that nothing controversial would be on display, however, they had been misinformed. |
Nesting of Olive Ridley Turtles
New Delhi, April 17 And is the Tata port at Dhamra, Orissa, another reason that the turtles, despite congregating at the site, decided not to nest at the 1140 sq-km sanctuary. The Dhamra Port is coming up less than five km from Bhitarkanika Sanctuary and less than 15 km from Gahirmatha's beaches, says the Green Brigade. Conservationists, who have been highlighting the Port's potential environmental impacts when it was first proposed in the 1990s, now also allege that missile launches by DRDO are affecting nesting pattern of the endangered Olive Ridley, a species that enjoys the same legal protection as the tiger. According to Wildlife Society of Orissa campaigner Biswajit Mohanty, this year the mass nesting of turtles has not taken place at the Gahirmatha due to disturbance caused by missile launch. Mohanty says, as per an agreement with the state Wildlife Department, the DRDO is not supposed to either conduct missile tests or use bright lights during the turtle season. "In spite of the agreement missiles were fired. We suspect that this might have caused disturbances because at that time turtles were approaching the beach," he says, adding that Nasi-I and Nasi-II, two tiny islands in the northern portion of Gahirmatha, are close to the missile launch centre and the largest nesting grounds of Ridley turtles in the world. The opposition is growing with calls by conservationists to stop the port to protect the endangered species now joined by appeals from the traditional fishing community and over 150 leading international scientists and turtle researchers. Reports suggest that even the Orissa Wildlife Department
says the test fire of Agni-1 missile last month at the nearby Wheeler Island may have put off the
turtles. Apparently, the department has now urged the DRDO to postpone the test fire of long-range Agni-III missile, scheduled sometime later
this month. |
Five maritime varsities likely to be set up
New Delhi, April 17 There is a need for augmenting training capacity and capabilities in the country to meet the projected global shortage of 27,000 officers by 2015. It is also needed to achieve the share of India in the world maritime manpower fleet from the current six per cent to at least 20 per cent, a committee on transport, tourism and culture on the Indian Maritime University Bill 2007, in its report tabled in the Parliament today said. The Bill, in its present form, seeks to establish and incorporate a teaching and affiliating university at Chennai with its campus at Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Vishakhapatnam at the national level to facilitate and promote maritime studies and research in areas of marine science and technology. Stressing that it was not convinced with reasons for establishing just one university for the entire country, the committee headed by MP Sitaram Yechury said the Bill in its present form was not sufficient in achieving desired objects for the country. The panel, therefore, recommended the government should consider bringing in fresh comprehensive legislation for the creation of five maritime universities before the Parliament as expeditiously as possible. According to Yechury the committee received a large number of representations with varied viewpoints and opinions on headquarters of the university and requirement for more than one university to cater to the needs of maritime and related sectors. After examining the views of stakeholders the committee feels that one maritime university is not sufficient to serve the purpose of maritime studies and research. It is, therefore, recommended that there must be one maritime university each at Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Vishakhapatnaman and Kochi with clear demarcated geographical jurisdiction, he
said. |
Indian Army rescues 6 air crash survivors in Congo
New Delhi, April 17 An Army spokesman today said timely rescue operation by troops saved lives of wounded passengers of the crashed aircraft. The Hewa Bora Airways McDonnell Douglas DC-9 aborted its takeoff on Tuesday from Goma in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, then skidded over the runway and down a ravine into a crowded neighbourhood of homes and shops in Birere market area. At least 40 persons were killed and about 100 others wounded with more than 50 of them still in a serious condition. As per the initial reports, the 120-seater aircraft was carrying 80 passengers and six crew members to Kinshasa via
Kisangani. A blast was heard before the aircraft took off. The aircraft burst into flames and fire started spreading towards the nearby houses and shops. The spokesman said a rescue team of 6th Battalion of the Sikh Light Infantry, at present serving the UN under the North Kivu Brigade, was deployed at the Goma airport when the crash occurred Colonel S.A. Sharma, the commanding officer, immediately rushed along with all available officers and troops of the unit to the location to take control of the situation, he added. On arriving at the site, six survivors were rescued from the aircraft and were evacuated to a military hospital. Medical teams and fire fighting resources of the North Kivu Brigade were rushed to the site to douse the fire. The personnel of the 6 Sikh LI brought the fire under control and prevented it from spreading to houses in the thickly populated Birere market area thereby preventing a major disaster. A major success was attained when in spite of the raging fire, Lt Col K S Mathur of the unit managed to retrieve the flight recorder of the aircraft from its tail end, the spokesman said.
Indian men succumb easily to powerful women: Book
New Delhi, April 17 When it comes to the powerful women in Indian politics, they have made their place under the sun after coming out of male domination, says the book Zealous Reformers, Deadly Laws by Madhu Purnima Kishwar, a womens right activist. The book, a collection of Kishwars writings, tries to explore the reason womens rights laws in India end up producing such dismal results. It tries to provide practical solutions to some anti-women practices. The most powerful women politicians of India share the common characteristics of cunning and extraordinary resilience says the recently launched book. Kishwar in her book takes a long and hard look at the four dominant women politicians - Sonia Gandhi, Mayawati, Jayalalitha and Mamta Banerjee. The mesmeric power these women exercise over our political life provides us with interesting insights into the Indian male psyche, Kishwar, senior Fellow at Centre for Study of Developing Societies (CSDC) says. While Indian men have made it fairly difficult for ordinary women to feel comfortable as equal participants in the political domain, they tend to succumb easily to the demands of women who are courageous, fearless and hard to browbeat, she adds.
Seven of family murdered in UP
Lucknow, April 17 However, a teenage daughter of the family who was sleeping on the rooftop escaped unnoticed. The SO Hasanpur, a sub-inspector and two constables attached to the police station have been suspended with immediate effect. Making a sudden on-the-spot visit to the terror struck village today Chief Minister Mayawati consoled the lone survivor Shabnam and announced an ex gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh for her, which would be released after the completion of the preliminary enquiry. Mayawati also announced that the survivor would be provided personal security. A sub-inspector and two women constables have been immediately posted for her protection. The Chief Minister also announced the setting up of a police post in the village. Mayawati spent some time with the grieving relatives and assured them that the culprits behind the gruesome incident would not be spared at any cost, however, influential or well connected they may be. During the night of 14-15 April, the killers slit open the throat of Shaukat Saifi, a lecturer of fine arts in Kisan Degree College. The others killed were his wife Hashmi, son Anis, daughter-in-law Anjum and three grandchildren Arshad, Sajid and Rabia. His daughter Shabnam, who was sleeping on the rooftop, escaped the rage of the killers. |
Lack of rescue vessels puts submarine crew at risk
Mumbai, April 17 Naval sources say the proposal to purchase DSRVs has been pending with the defence ministry for the past six years. Recently, union defence minister A.K. Antony told the Rajya Sabha that his office was in the process of preparing a fresh request for proposal for two DSRVs for the Navy. At present, the Navy uses the lone Indian Naval Ship (INS) Nireekshak, a diving support vessel to rescue crew of a submarine in distress. INS Nireekshak, said to be more than 20-year-old, uses the antiquated rescue bell system to rescue personnel from distressed submarines. Antony admitted in Parliament that the Navy would have to depend on foreign countries to rescue personnel in distressed submarines till DSRVs were acquired. However, INS Nireekshak cannot help crews of submarines below 120 feet which puts personnel operating in the deep sea at considerable risk, say sources. Apart from deployment in rescue missions, the DSRVs can be deployed in undercover missions, say sources. Unavailability of DSRVs on time could lead to disastrous effects. In 2000, 118 Russian naval personnel died a slow painful death after their submarine Kursk sank in the Barents Sea. As the oxygen on board depleted, the sailors suffocated to death. The Indian Navy has 16 submarines on its fleet, many of which are ageing and in bad shape, say defence sources. The Indian Navys submarine fleet has had its share of accidents as well though the crew got away miraculously. Only in January last, naval submarine Sindhughosh collided with a merchant navy ship in the Arabian Sea, 300 km north of Mumbai while it was surfacing. Naval sources say during such mishaps the submarines sink quickly giving little time for the crew to escape. However, the Sindhughosh badly damaged in the incident made it to port on its own steam. There were in all 60 crew members on board. There have been similar mishaps in the past as well, say Naval sources. |
Panel lashes out at pharma policy delay
New Delhi, April 17 The committee fails to understand that inspite of their strong recommendation regarding finalisation of National Pharmaceutical Policy 2006 made in their 20th report (2006-07), which is an action taken report of 7th Report of the Committee in 2005-06, the department has remained static on such a crucial issue, the committee said in its report presented to Lok Sabha. The draft pharma policy was discussed by the Cabinet in its meeting held on January 11, 2007 and then referred the policy to a Group of Ministers (GoM), constituted under the leadership of Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar. The GoM has till now held three meetings with the last one being held on January 30, 2008. In the last meeting, Pawar had said GoM would again meet to take a final view on various issues proposed in the draft NPP and then make the recommendations. However, Minister of Chemical and Fertilisers Ram Vilas Paswan has requested the Chairman to convene the next meeting of the GoM at an earliest date. The committee therefore, express their deep anguish over the delay and reiterate their earlier recommendation regarding finalisation of NPP-2006, the committee said. It noted that the provision of Rs 10 crore made in the plan budget for the year 2007-08 for National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority to take up new initiatives like building robust and responsive statistical system, scheme for interaction with states, consumer awareness and a host of other measures has not reached the NPPA due to the non-finalisation of the draft NPP-2006.
Advani pleads Sarabjits case with Pak
New Delhi, April 17 Adding that Singh had already served 18 years in prison in Pakistan and had been on the death row for most of this time, Advani urged Gilani to adopt a bold step in granting clemency to Singh. I can assure you that this act of magnanimity will win the goodwill of Indians and buttress our common objective in South Asia - the pursuit of peace on the subcontinent, Advani wrote in his letter. He also mentioned how Singhs sister Dalbir Kaur had offered a DNA test to prove his brothers innocence. Referring to Pakistan human rights activist Ansar Burneys remarks that prima facie evidence suggests Sarabjits case may be a case of mistaken identity, Advani wrote: If such a possibility exists, would it not be reasonable for Pakistani authorities to review its decision? Sarabjits execution had been rescheduled for April 1 this year. Now a new moratorium had been set until April 30. |
Pranab to visit S. Arabia on April 19
New Delhi, April 17 The visit, at the invitation of the Saudi prince, testifies the close relationship that India and Saudi Arabia are bound by, a spokesman for the ministry of external affairs said here today. Besides Prince Al-Faisal, Mukherjee would also have meetings with other Saudi leaders. The ministers meeting with his Saudi counterpart will provide the opportunity for India and Saudi arabia to discuss bilateral political, economic, commercial, consular and cultural matters and build on their multifaceted partnership, the spokesman said. The visit would also provide an opportunity to both sides to exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest. Mukherjee would be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including C.R. Gharekhan, special envoy for West Asia and the Middle East Peace Process (MEPP), and N. Ravi, secretary (east) in the ministry of external
affairs. |
No evidence of cartelisation by steelmakers
New Delhi, April 17 "The steel prices are determined by market forces, such as demand and supply and international prices...However, no evidence on cartelisation by steel companies in determining steel prices has been brought to the notice of the ministry of steel," minister of state for steel Jitin Prasada said in a written reply to a query in the Lok Sabha. "At present the government has no formal proposal for setting up of a regulatory authority to contain the steel prices in the country," he pointed out. Prasada said following deliberations with the steel industry, prices of different long products, including bars, rods and structurals have come down by Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 per tonne between March 25 to April 12 this year. In percentage terms, such decrease amounts to about 10 per cent, the minister said. "The government is closely monitoring the movement in steel prices and will take appropriate fiscal measures if necessary," he made it clear.
641 Indians in Pak jails
New Delhi, April 17 External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee told the Rajya Sabha while replying to a written question that the government has consistently taken up with Islamabad, including at the highest level, the issue of Indians in custody of Pakistan. In reply to another question, he said 74 missing defence personnel, including 54 since 1971, are believed to be in Pakistani jails. He said lists of prisoners have been exchanged by the two governments on March 31 and are under study. The prolonged incarceration of our nationals in jails in Pakistan is a matter of grave concern to the Government of India, he said. Mukherjee said in the absence of consular access to many fishermen and other prisoners, it was not possible to determine the details of sentences
awarded. |
Woman gives birth to triplet girls Celestial wedding Three hacked to death 13 killed, 50 hurt in mishap Death for 2 in murder case |
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Second-degree assault is a Class D felony, but as a "hate crime" it escalated to a Class C felonythereby, notes Minucci's attorney, Albert Gaudelli, accounting for Minucci's additional prison time.
During the one year he's already been in prison, Minucci was segregated from the general prison populationbehind bars for 23 hours a dayas a despised pariah. Will he be in solitary for the rest of his sentence if his appeal fails?
Commenting on Minucci's sentence, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said that in committing this "hate crime," Minucci "raised the bat against not only Glenn Moore but against every other resident of the city."
In that case, shouldn't Nicholas Minucci's sentencebecause of what he said while using that batbe multiplied by the number of this city's residents? Supporters of "hate crimes" laws habitually claim that what's said during those crimes affects the entire community. Do you feel cheated because he only got 15 years?


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