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Squids, Elements of Technozoosemiotics
Squids, Elements of Technozoosemiotics. A Lesson in Fabulatory Epistemology of The Scientific Institute For Paranatural Research is an essay by Louis Bec published in "TechnoMorphica," 1997.
1. Fabulatory epistemology involves introducing into the domain of knowledge the inventive, imaginary dimensions of face-to-face discussion, in a way that sends out their multiple reflections and endlessly reinvents their meaning.
A machine picks up in its own code a code fragment from another machine
G. Deleuze & F. Guattari
As a paranaturalist zoosystemician, I'm haunted by squids 2 (Superconducting QUantum Interference Devices). I tend to describe these objects as "pseudo-machines" that have undergone a curious theoretical and technical "naturalization" process. These acronymic 3 pseudo-machines are to my mind unclassifiable in current physical, mental, biological and communicatory terms, but I believe them to be gifted with strange powers, being able to compress the heterogeneous, chimerize the disparate, superfluidify communication and pervert the parameters on which the modeling of aliveness in artificial life depends.
2. Electronic devices using superconductors, squids are used as magnetic field detectors.
3. Acronym: word formed from the initial letters of other words.
They present as epistemological nodes uniting the "near-technique of aliveness and the near-aliveness of technique" and provide the signs of a new relationship between the machine and nature.
- Could these pseudo-machines take the form of an "enriched near-aliveness," producing a meaning "surplus" in technically bolstered living matter?
- Could they be produced by biotechnical artifacts which rechannel their functional mechanisms into the creation of a curious feedback loop leading to a "cybernatured" aliveness?
- What kind of mutagenic agent would make the transit in this shift from cognitive organism to technological device? Contaminated information?
- What exactly is the nature of these underlying "embryo-technological" functions? Could they be pre-adaptive agents, encysted within organic functions and stealthily putting future permutations out of phase?
The presence of these pseudo-machines gives rise to a number of considerations in the fabulatory epistemology field:
- We are in the process of abandoning a "paradigm" that takes the technical artifact as an aid principle for the biochemically and biophysically alive and for an ecosystemically given natural setting.
- The strategies for maintaining the viability of the alive and of its natural setting are thus out of phase.
- The old methodologies now seem inappropriate and in some cases obsolete. However, via different assistance programs, they still allow biotechnology, artificial organs, behavioral robotics, artificial ecosystems and so on ... to compensate for shortcomings and disturbances.
- The machine/nature relationship is now being built around a "Technobiome."
- This latter is being developed out of multiple technological devices which extend the intentions and the adaptive and inventive activities of the alive.
- These devices are progressively proliferating and diversifying. They are surrounding the alive with a network of steadily more innervated and interactive artificial operators; this gigantic techno-fantastical swelling tends to become an autonomous system which gives rise to an expanding, evolving, cognitive, self-organizing logic in which the communication aspect plays a decisive role.
- This is why, from here on in, Machine/Nature interactions happen via Technozoosemiotic instrumentation. The technological, methodological and instrumentological tools used here are interfaces for the modes of interchange between biosphere phenomena and living species as a whole.
- Thus the new task of the alive, and of humankind in particular, is to hook a programmed technological biodiversity plan into an interlinked semiosphere riddled with signs and signals, in a way that lays the foundations for a systemics of the alive.
In the present case, the study of squids represents a decisive step towards getting a handle on the new situation. Squids are detectors of electromagnetic fields. Their acronym points up the possession of biological and zoological functions, in particular those of a cephalopod equipped with specific communicatory aptitudes. In addition, their superconductivity is a major innovation in the area of information exchange. It means we can envisage resistance-free electricity and communication flow. This acronymic reduction and loop-creation clearly point up new machine reconfigurations.
The first sighting of these pseudo-machines took place during a zoosystemic study of the behavior of Loligo vulgaris, more commonly known as the squid. 4
4. A regular little writing set, the squid encloses a transparent pen and a sac of sepia ink; its body is the case.
The study gave rise to modelings called the "Poikiloligoidal Aberrations of Loligo appoplanensis," which aimed to show the phases of development of a "metalanguage" using the communicatory potential of the Loligo's morphogenesis and phylogenesis. 5
5. The evolution of Loligo vulgaris shows that it moved from the calcareous-shelled mollusc stage to a translucent communicative state after consuming its own shell.
This marine invertebrate's chromatophoric and bioluminescent communication codes make it simultaneously a semaphoric and a techno-cephalopodic object. This led me to digitize these cutaneous codes, with the aim of setting up a "dialogue" with these cephalopods by using an artificial skin to manipulate the chromatic and formal parameters involved.
The second meeting took place in the course of my current study of electric sensoriality. Here I am trying to establish whether the central role of the electric sense in the contemporary technological world can be seen as compensating for the absence of the electric sense from the human sensorial range. This time the model was an electric fish, Gnathonemus petersii, which uses inbuilt radar to move about in the muddy, congested waters of African lakes and electrocommunication for exchanging information with other members of its species. This fish, girded with technological devices for sending and picking up electric messages, is in itself a concatenated behavioral technology object, which is also simultaneously a cognitive transmitter and receiver. The data gathered and the modelings and experiments so far carried out with this "apparatus" -- Ichthyophony 6 and Logomorphogenesis 7 for example -- have opened up new pathways in the various areas of technozoosemiotics.
6. Ichthyophony: an experiment which made it possible to "converse" with electric fish by telephone.
7. Logomorphogenesis: the act of making a "discussion" between three electric fish physically perceptible via the emergence of a variable three-dimensional model.
The Ticks 8 (Transferers of Information to Creaturely Kin) and Rays (Releaser Assistance Yielders) I am currently working on can be regarded as prototypical extensions of the same order.
8. An allusion to J.V. Uexküll's famous tick in "Mondes animaux et mondes humains," édition Gonthier, Paris.
The third and last indication shows up transversally in the development of an Upokrinomenolgy. The basic work of the zoosystemician consists of modeling arbitrary zoological systems in which Upokrinomena develop in the form of singular zoologies, curious biologies and aberrant technomorphogeneses; this work gives rise to an intermediate construct, a rebellion in parallel, an autonomous annotation of the alive. The deliberate search for a Hypozoology -- a zoology whose emergence from under the appearances of objective zoology broadens and reveals the "hypocrisical" 9 sphere of the alive -- has made visible the complexity of the crafty dialogue the alive carries on with the alive; this would have been impossible without a technological infrastructure.
9. Related to "hypocritical"; from the Greek hypokrites, an actor or pretender, one who criticizes from behind a mask. Hypocrisics is a critical method used by fabulatory epistemology, but with none of the habitual moral overtones.
The zoosystemician then got to wondering what ability Artificial Life had to produce concepts and devices with a real aptitude for processing the "Machine -- Nature" connection. Analysis revealed that biomimetic near-alive modelings were wide off the mark. By simulating life as it is, they neutralized the inventive and heuristic side of the artifacts of life as it might be. These modelings aped the life of the ape, while ignoring the deviant -- cognitive -- ape. The resultant artifacts were unable to get free of the theoretical and methodological substratum inherited from biology and positivist epistemologies and could not come up with new forms of inventive adaptation suited to the systemic and technological changes taking place in the biosphere.
Analysis of the move by biomimetic modelings towards a computerized world is a major step.
- The aim is to promote a proliferation of digitized biocultural organisms in communication networks. 10
- These are the preconditions for the implementing of a technological biodiversity program, with the creation of as yet unknown life-forms and post-biological virtual worlds.
- Only a new, totally and genuinely artificial space, a technobiomological 11 environment favorable to techno-ecosystemic niches 12, can make this possible.
10. See the work of Thomas Ray in his Tierra project. This new environment possesses a physical layer made up of cables, Hertzian circuits, optical fibers, satellites, computers, microprocessors and so on.
11. Technobiomological: relating to the study of technobiomes.
12. Ecosystemic niches: technological spaces housing modelings of artificial life in the network.
It is conceivable that in this environment riddled with electric signals, flows and symbols, the system as a whole will create a hybridized natural setting and thus become a comprehensive built-in assistance machine.
The alive is also present in the network environment in another way.
"Bits of the alive" 13 are embedded in the core of complex technological constructions so as to use the metabolic, biochemical and electrical properties found there.
13. Thanks, Aristotle!
As opposed to nanotechnologies directly implanted in organisms to make up for physical and mental deficiencies, the new ventures into hybridization of the alive inject aliveness into the network via the very computers used. With a view to building computer components, certain laboratories 14 are currently testing the properties of biological molecules, notably proteins stemming from the bacteria Bacteriorhodopsin which, via an intramolecular light-activated displacement, functions as a commutator. 15
14. The Keck Center for Molecular Electronics, the Syracuse University Information Center.
15. In the case of stable-state molecules, we can encrypt binary figures and make components that are smaller and a thousand times faster. Hybrid biomolecular liaison techniques are used with semi-conductors to make logic gates.
In this instance the machine is aided and oversized by the alive. Thus an aliveness artificialization loop seems to take shape around an intimate, computerized co-evolution.
Squids are pseudo-machines with variable semantic and technological geometry. They are the outcome of an acronymic technomorphogenesis and present themselves as a taxidermized designation, the dermis of which is made up of alphabetical terms. The dermis covers a superconductive electronic measuring device activated by quantum interference. Reduction to an acronym is a trick that allows chimerization of zoological appearance by creating access to the functions of quantum physics. This acronymic teratology also duplicates the cognitive capacity for information storage. On the one hand it recalls animality -- the behavioral attitudes and aptitudes of a species as classified in the evolutionary taxonomy of living things; and on the other, a superconductivity technique with a remarkable capacity to combine several quantum effects, of which resistance-free electricity flow is the most obvious.
This virtual object maneuvering in the world of words constitutes an entity whose stunning coherence neatly generates a complex information exchange loop, linking signals that are syntactically and semantically different.
Loligo vulgaris has managed to get rid of the mollusc's shell that kept it in the dark, prison-like world of muteness. By swallowing it, it transformed itself into a translucent invertebrate vertebrate and thus opened its body to the delights of chromatophoric communication with its fellows. The terminologically incarnated dermis that is the squid's surface recalls with great precision the logophoric, virtual appearance of a cephalopod destined, in its undersea world, to fulfil a very characteristic communicatory function.
Under the chromatophoric dermis lies a multiplexed superconductive physiology, a squid 30 micrometers long swimming in liquid nitrogen at a temperature of 77° Kelvin, or -196° Celsius.
This packaged metabolism behaves as a detector of electromagnetic fields and its functions are those of a nifty Superconducting QUantum Interference Device at large in the English linguistic universe. It is capable, for example, of detecting variations in the magnetic signals of the human body's electric currents. A squid placed against the head of a patient suffering from focal epilepsy picks up infinitely small magnetic fluctuations that reveal the brain lesion behind the affliction. Where the brain is concerned, these weak signals have a swing of only a few femtoteslas. The squid can construct a behavioral map, just as the zoological squid does with its chromatophores, and then communicate via a computer the types of brain lesions detected, in the form of a skin of digitized images made up of signals that would formerly have passed unnoticed.
To take a further example, it can also measure the minute disturbance due to the gravitational wave of a supernova when this is picked up by a five-ton aluminum bar suspended in a vacuum chamber and maintained at a temperature close to absolute zero.
The squid is thus a "bio-physical" ploy allowing mind-boggling linkages between magnetic fluctuations in outer space, the imperceptible quiverings of the alive and maybe even the premises of eventual communication with other forms of intelligence in the galactic universe. It offers the hostile terrain of the infinitely cold as a venue for absolute communication -- the resistance-free smoothness of superfluid superconductivity -- with no graininess in the messages, no noise and no code perversion.
It is the ideal, practicable metaphorical venue for interspecific communication -- the venue for technozoosemiotics and the communication of intelligence in its tiniest nuances, the miniaturized setting in which cryogenized codes develop.
As a surplus information interface, squids are part of technozoosemiotic relevance in that this latter encompasses and transcends the ethological, cognitive and zoosemiotic condition. They provide the means of approaching the "why" of ecosystemic information surplus processing, as well as the methodological and instrumental "how." The alive no longer appears as a material, autarkic unity, but as part of a network in which it forms an integration point for energy and above all for information. It is located at the intersection of multiple exchanges which link it to all the components of its biomass and of the natural and technological environment it constructs by producing a heterogeneous information surplus. But if this surplus is to take a hand in the alive's reciprocal activities, it must be processed by devices, by constellations of a syntactic and semantic nature that are irrevocably linked to the world of species itself, just as the other ecological factors are.
The need for machinic assistance results here from a broadening of the technical processing of the surplus of available information.
In this tissue of interactions, just what path does meaning take between signal, sign and technical device? The question of the siting of pseudo-machines -- of their ontological location -- arises within the different integration levels marked by the presence of living species. The result is that these technological devices have triggered a turnaround in regard to that basic contrast between sign and signal as a fundamental factor distinguishing human from animals. The notion of signal as something typically ethological -- active but surplus-free -- is now obsolete. The information provided by the alive is made up of innumerable clear or not-so-clear connotations, always found in association with denotations. In these cases, it is no longer possible -- as it is with a strictly utilitarian machine -- to seize the exact potential of the extra assistance provided by symbol manipulation.
How are we to evaluate the reciprocal aid resulting from this insertion of the different?
How are we to gauge the intermediary role of translation, and the relevance of what is added or subtracted to the interweavings of the information transferred?
If we broaden our view to include relationships with other "natural or artificial" forms of intelligence functioning in or on other life-support systems, we observe that over the last fifty years humankind has made an unprecedented effort to further modes of communication between all living.
In spite of results that still leave a lot to be desired, experimentation goes resolutely ahead, using the appropriate cognitive methods and technological tools. This enormous effort at getting very different communication procedures under way between men and animals is now well established in the scientific domain. Ethology is working on certain forms of language-learning for chimpanzees, while research into animal cognition models such social-animal behavior as the building of bird and insect 16 nests.
16. See the work of Guy Théraulaz and Eric Bonabeau in "Intelligence collective," Hermès, 1994.
Ethologists and psychologists have also come up with various techniques for getting information from animals. Their range of methods runs from repeated observations designed to discover the pattern of a given behavior to multiple conditioning and teaching techniques that include language-learning 17 via appropriate tools -- keyboards, screens, plastic symbols -- and interactive technological devices.
17. Jacques Vauclair: "Cognition animale," Presses Universitaires de France, 1996.
The example of the robots that show bees where to find food is an excellent illustration of this approach. Experiments using a robot 18 have shown that bees can hear and that their auditory system picks up the sounds associated with their dances.
18. Carried out by Wolfgang Kirchner at the University of Würzburg, Germany and William Towne of the University of Kurztown, USA.
Observation of the behavior of bees in the presence of a robot that sings and dances like one of their scouts has revealed that these insects simultaneously use sounds and dance movements to show their fellows where food is located. Experiments with a multi-motor robot that dances and emits sounds have been successful in indicating the pathway to food, with most of the bees who witness the dance managing to home in on the bait.
And so it is just as if, via distributed intelligence, the ongoing artificialization of the alive is channeling new potential for exchange and assistance among all parts of the alive.
Technozoosemiotics is working to this end. It is situated at the cross-roads of semiotics, ethology, the cognitive sciences, technology, computer science and artistic activity.
As an integral part of Zoosemiotics, which studies the signs developed by living species for intra- or interspecific communication, Technozoosemiotics contributes via technological and instrumentological means to the creation of digital interfaces, of transduction and transcoding areas between kinesthetic and paralinguistic systems, and of strings of signs that might possibly be intelligible between different living and artificial species. So it represents one of the fundamental elements of the Animal/Machine/Human relationship in respect of laying the basis for a communication continuum for the alive.
It postulates an aliveness logic whose long-term aim is to establish an interspecific communication covering all the living organisms of the biomass, with the possibility of humankind as one of its operators.
Functioning diffusely and permanently, this transversal interspecific communication could end up by laying the foundation for a new ecosystemic, geopolitical, geocultural and economic approach. And -- who knows? -- if the concept of culture comes to include animal protocultures, could it then be extended to all forms of intelligence in the biomass?
However, any type of interspecific communication will always require the discordant interpolation of a "translator/transductor" to come up with the offshoots of a metacode.
It's in this sense that squids are heuristic.
Already they're signaling the NATUROMACHINES of the future.
© 1997 Louis Bec / V2_


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Scoop - Latest News [Page 1]
Scoop Coverage Of Lecretia Sales & Saudi Sheep Petition Deliveries At Parliament Today
Tuesday, 23 June 2015, 10:26 am | The Scoop Team
At 11.30am Matt Vickers, husband of Lecretia Seales, will attend the delivery of a petition for voluntary euthanasia at Parliament. At 12.30pm The National Director of ActionStation will deliver the petition to the Auditor General as part of an action for investigation in #sheepgate More >>
Press conference on the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta
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Press conference held on the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta by NZ Prime Minister John Key More >>
Budget 2015 - Scoop Full Coverage - Update #1 21/5/15
Thursday, 21 May 2015, 7:02 pm | The Scoop Team
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NZ Comedy Fest Ticket Giveaway – Wellington Shows Only
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Comedy Fest Ticket Giveaway – Shows on 6, 7, 8, 9 May
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The Scoop team has double passes to give away for the following shows for today, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. More >>
Scoop Ticket Giveaway Today: 18 Comedy Fest 1,4 & 5 May 2015
Friday, 1 May 2015, 9:51 am | The Scoop Team
Draw at approximate 1.30pm. Question must be answered correctly. Winners of today's & Monday's passes must be able to pick up from Wellington CBD before 4pm. Please leave your name and phone number (email address also if preferred). We will contact ... More >>
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Integrate "Read on phone" features to have similar functionality to iPhone app
It is decidedly odd that your excellent "read on phone" android app and chrome extension is not integrated with the "read later" diigo feature. It seems that you do provide offline reading capability in the iPhone app, but this does not exist in the Android app. It would be much much more useful to have the great reading experience of "Read on phone" in the main Android app and available for all "Read later" marked bookmarks.
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Eduard Grebe shared this idea
planned · Sandy_diigo responded
After we rolled out diigo V6 , we will address this issue.


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WholeFoods Magazine SourceBook: The Natural Products Directory
Washington, D.C.―Starting September 1 of this year, companies seeking to certify personal care products under the Natural Products Association's (NPA) Natural Standard for Personal Care Products program must now be sure their products only contain all-natural fragrances. Unlike what is the case now, organizations must have documentation their fragrances' composition; and they must be made with all-natural processes. Although companies with products that have been previously certified are not required to immediately make these changes, they should be prepared to do so once their recertification time comes.
Retailer of the Year New Seasons Market ushers in a new era of natural products retail stores.
derma e Natural Bodycare has expanded its Very Clear line with Very Clear Problem Skin Body Wash to help fight blemishes on the back, shoulders and chest. The product blends tea tree, willow bark, rosewood, lavender and chamomile. According to the company, the product is "perfect for after the gym, workouts or outdoor activities for cleaner, clearer and healthier skin."
Fresh Organics, Inc. introduces its new Organic Baby line. The allergen-free line includes Baby Bottom Balm, Velvety Soft Babee Lotion, Calming Bubble Bath and Conditioning Shampoo & Body Wash. The certified-
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Thunder Ridge has added Emu Oil to its line of 100% natural skincare products to reduce the redness and inflammation caused by acne. Thunder Ridge says its emu oil is made of essential fatty acids like omegas-3/6/ 9, which penetrate through the seven layers of skin and bring blood and oxygen to the surface of the skin to repair and moisturize it.
If your cash register is a glorified calculator and your Web site has been stagnant for the past year, you are probably missing out on some important opportunities for reaching customers.
It's the middle of sandal season and finally feet are getting a break from the constraints of high heels and dirty sneakers. Some feet, though, are looking a little worse for the wear at this point. Thankfully, there are a number of natural ways to get your tootsies looking clean and beach-worthy.
Washington, D.C.—The Environmental Working Group (EWG) released the 4th edition of its annual Sunscreen Guide. In all, the guide assessed about 1,400 products with SPF, including beach and sports lotions, sprays and creams, moisturizers, make-up and lip balms.
Natural feminine hygiene products let women use the types of products with which they are comfortable, without the worry of introducing harmful pollutants into their bodies and the environment.
D-Ribose is a vital nutrient for producing energy in the...
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Public Policy and Economics
News from COP15 in Copenhagen
The Woods Hole Research Center, as a registered observer organization of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, sent a delegation of scientists, researchers, and other staff members to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change's negotiating session in Copenhagen. The conference began on Monday, December 7, and concluded Friday, December 18. Below are daily updates regarding what happened there over the course of those two weeks.
Thursday, December 17 - Claudia Stickler, Postdoctoral Fellow & Danielle Knight, REDD Administrator:
With yesterday's news still fresh that President Obama would fund US $1 billion for REDD start-up activities over the next three years, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Copenhagen today with a proposal that the US contribute with other developed nations to a US $100 billion fund for the next ten years for least developed countries to fight climate change, dependent on an agreement. This move was primarily to force concessions out of China on agreeing to a legally binding target on carbon intensity and to agree to monitoring, reporting, and verification. Reports were that China did not want the deal, but this would imply that failure to come to an agreement here would be China's fault. This indicates that China will probably agree to at least some part of the US proposal.
As progress has been exceedingly slow with 24 hours of negotiations remaining, the Kyoto Protocol Working Group has now decided to form a "Friends of the Chair" group to assist the Chair in moving forward on the remaining issues where no consensus was reached today during informal consultations/contact groups on the separate issues of the KP. The motion was put forth by Sweden and joined by the other Groups in a rare consensus. Regarding the Long-Term Cooperation Agreement, the capacity building and financial institutional arrangement groups saw constructive movement, although key portions of the text remain undecided. The groups wanted more time to work tonight, but also realized that the waiting ministers (or higher level) might be needed to solve the undecided issues. For instance, REDD+ still has brackets on major issues such as sources of finance and nationally appropriate mitigation actions. Some of the issues with REDD are linked to undecided issues in other groups, complicating resolution.
The WHRC staff watched the news from meeting rooms and events that have now been moved outside of the conference venue due to extreme restrictions on access for civil society representatives. The city is abuzz with escorted cars and increased security as heads of state descend on the city and President Obama is expected tonight. For WHRC staff and other NGOs, many meetings took place outside the city, including discussions with partners looking forward to where the Center's team can help to meet the upcoming needs of a new phase of REDD implementation following the Copenhagen summit, as well as continued discussions with Brazilian and Indonesian government officials regarding nested sub-national (state-level) targets integrated within national targets.
Wednesday, December 16 - Nora Greenglass, Research Assistant & Claudia Stickler, Postdoctoral Fellow:
The atmosphere both within and outside the Bella Center's negotiating rooms over the last several days was highly charged as both the AWG-KP and AWG-LCA Chairs pushed to get their respective texts ready to turn over to the COP. Tony La Viña, the Facilitator of the working group on REDD+, held nearly continuous formal and informal consultations to refine the text that has been under development since September. The process seemed to be going remarkably well until Tuesday morning, when, instead of a concisely negotiated product, we were presented with a REDD+ text that had nearly doubled in length and exploded with options and proposals. The negotiators went back to work, though (with some support from their NGO confidantes), and by Tuesday night had produced a text that looked ready to move up to the larger AWG-LCA and then to the COP. The Ministers are now in possession of the text and are responsible, together with the Heads of State, for resolving any remaining issues. These decisions include those that must be made on a political level, concerns about how to safeguard indigenous peoples' rights, whether or not there should be a quantitative emissions reduction goal included in the text, and the scale of REDD+ that is eligible for market finance (sub-national versus national). The final REDD+ product in Copenhagen, however, will depend in large part on the structure of the overall LCA agreement; this decision will be made by Heads of State over the next two days.
One notable REDD-related event was sponsored by Avoided Deforestation Partners and focused on opportunities for US initiatives that support the development of a global REDD framework. The line-up included President of Guyana Bharrat Jagdeo, etc., WB President Robert Zoellick, UNDP head Helen Clark (former NZ Prime Minister), Governor Eduardo Braga (Amazonas State, Brazil), Richard Branson, Prime Minister of Norway Jens Stoltenberg, Jane Goodall, US Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack, as well as the heads of IUCN, WWF-US, NRDC, EDF, TNC, CI, and high level executives from American Electric Power and Duke Energy. Several major announcements were made, including Secretary Vilsack's announcement that he had been authorized by President Obama to devote $1 billion US to REDD start-up activities over the next 3 years. Soon after, 5 other nations also committed to REDD start-up funds, bringing the total available to $3.5 billion. It is estimated that $10 billion are needed. Prime Minister Stoltenberg declared that Brazil's performance in reducing deforestation in the Amazon to date had been sufficient for the Norwegian government to release another 250 million US toward its $1 billion commitment to the Amazon Fund.
Inside and outside the conference venue, demonstrators became more active. Demonstrations inside the venue resulted in at least one group—the Friends of the Earth International—being ejected from the conference. Outside, thousands of protestors descended on the venue, resulting in restricted rail and bus access to the venue. The demonstrations led to violence on the part of both protestors and police. Observer organization access was severely restricted, and NGO participants were barred entrance from noon onward. COP President Connie Hedegard resigned her post by the end of the day, ostensibly because higher level officials were arriving for the last days of negotiation, although there has been speculation that it was motivated in part by controversy surrounding the introduction by Denmark of new documents to the negotiation which had been received or reviewed by (especially) developing country participants before these high level segments.
Tuesday, December 15 – Danielle Knight, REDD Administrator:
Behind the high-profile news of negotiations and texts, the city of Copenhagen has been dealing with all the logistics that go with hosting the biggest conference event in its history. Today was a clear sign of just how difficult this has been with numerous tales of eight-hour lines in below-freezing temperatures outside the conference center, the closing of the Bella Center Metro station due to overcrowding, and a restriction on conference participation. As the sessions now move into their high-level segment, more than 100 heads of state have confirmed their participation resulting in an overwhelming number of registered delegates, some estimates being at over 40,000, well beyond the 15,000 capacity of the Bella Center. There is a sense among participants that the UNFCCC secretariat and Danish ministry are scrambling to maintain an organized system for the large numbers of people, compounded by increased protests in the final days of the COP.
After the announcement that a cap was being placed on NGO representatives allowed into the Bella Center for the remainder of the sessions, un-official events are now being quickly moved to alternative facilities. Fortunately, the WHRC delegation received a high number of admission passes, enough for all present staff to attend today at least, though tighter restrictions are expected in the next two days. In the evening, staff attended the opening screening of the "Eye of the Future" film at the Copenhagen Planetarium where the Forum on Readiness for REDD premiered the trailer of its new film, "REDD in the Real World," and where Senior Scientist Dan Nepstad spoke about WHRC's work on REDD in 2009.
Monday, December 14 - Claudia Stickler, Postdoctoral Fellow:
Today was a busy day for WHRC. Our day started early with a press conference. Acting Director Skee Houghton and Senior Scientists Daniel Nepstad and Scott Goetz helped to answer the question, "Are emissions from deforestation increasing?" We then prepared for our side event on "Making REDD work at multiple scales." With ten minutes left before the start, half of our speakers were still waiting in the cold outside the conference center to be allowed inside. Ultimately, Paulo Moutinho and former Brazilian Minister of Environment (now Senator from the state of Acre) Marina Silva were able to join Josef Kellndorfer and Dan Nepstad on the panel at the last minute. Unfortunately, Andre Lima of IPAM waited in line for five hours before receiving his entry badge.
Kellndorfer presented progress on the Center's pan-tropical forest cover and forest carbon mapping program. He also described the intensive capacity-building program that accompanies the mapping project, training government and non-governmental organization specialists, as well as indigenous peoples and local communities from throughout the tropics. Nepstad and Moutinho next described WHRC/IPAM's proposal to end new forest clearing in the Brazilian Amazon by 2020, including a description of a proposed nested Brazilian Amazon-wide REDD program. The event concluded with comments from Senator Silva, focusing particularly on the importance of recognizing the prominent role of indigenous and traditional communities, not only in protecting forests but with respect to REDD as a new rural development paradigm. Later in the day, seven Brazilian Amazon governors discussed their own plans to join forces to reduce deforestation in each of their states. The states of Mato Grosso, Amazonas, Acre, and Pará have announced state-level targets, in large part due to IPAM and WHRC's science, policy analysis, and facilitation in Brazil.
The major event of the day in the negotiations was that the G-77 nations walked out and negotiations were temporarily suspended. The walkout was motivated by African nations' anger at developed nations' unwillingness to commit to legally binding emissions reductions targets (through maintenance of the Kyoto Protocol). By evening, negotiations were scheduled to resume.
One exciting moment for many of us was the discovery that Vice President Al Gore was scheduled to speak in the side event following ours, on the Greenland ice sheet and snow and ice melt in the Arctic and Antarctica. We also heard two fascinating but disturbing presentations by Drs. Dorthe Dahl-Jensen and Robert Corell that demonstrated very clearly the rapid increase in snow and ice melt throughout the world. These were followed by comments by the Norwegian and Finnish foreign ministers and the Danish environmental minister, of whom the latter worked with Vice President Gore to organize the synthesis studies that were presented.
In addition to the drama in the streets and in the corridors of this COP, the number of participants has been swelling daily. The conference venue has a capacity of 15,000 people and the UNFCCC Secretariat has been carefully monitoring the numbers of people in the venue at any one time. We have heard that up to triple that number has registered for the COP; because not all of those people arrive at the same time, the number of participants in the building has not yet exceeded the 15,000 limit. However, the Secretariat is starting to take dramatic measures. As of Tuesday, December 15, observer organizations (ours included) are to be limited in the number of members of their delegations granted access to the conference, with greater cuts in pass numbers occurring as official party (country) delegations grow. Yesterday, new arrivals who had not yet registered stood waiting between 5 and 10 hours, some of whom were turned away to try again today. High level meetings—with ministers and heads-of-state leading their delegations—are due to take place on December 16 and 17.
Sunday, December 13 - Claudia Stickler, Postdoctoral Fellow:
On Sunday, December 13, members of the WHRC COP delegation spent the negotiations-free day at Forest Day 3. Paulo Moutinho presented the IPAM/WHRC-led benefit-sharing proposal linking national and subnational targets for reducing deforestation for the Brazilian Amazon. Nadine Laporte and Scott Goetz presented posters related to work in Africa and the boreal forests, respectively. The first Forest Day took place at COP13 in Bali and was an important moment for bringing together groups working at the intersection of forest conservation, rural development, and climate change, but with very few presentations and reports on REDD. This time, the event was booked over capacity and featured a veritable explosion of assessments of REDD financial mechanisms, monitoring tools and capacity, and discussions of institutions and governance and environmental justice. Keynote speakers included President Bill Clinton, Elinor Ostrom, Gro Harlem Brundtland, and Rajendra Kumar Pauchari.
At the end of a very rich day (and loaded with new reading material!), we and colleagues from IPAM descended on the Copenhagen Customs House at the edge of the harbor to host a dinner that seemed to be a microcosm of the REDD world. Attendees included: John Holdren (Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, USA), Brazil's Minister of Environment Carlos Minc Baumfeld, Gabon's Minister of Water and Forests, the Environment, and Sustainable Development Martin Mabala, the Democratic Republic of Congo's Minister of Environment, Nature Conservation and Tourism José Endundo Bononge, Governor of Mato Grosso (Brazil) Blairo Maggi, COICA Director General Edwin Vasquez, COIAB Vice-Coordinator Sonia Guajajara, and Deputy Secretary for Energy and Climate Change of California Anthony Brunello, as well as guests representing multiple other branches of Brazilian, DRC, and Gabonese governments, the World Bank, Environmental Defense Fund, Tropical Forest Group, Avoided Deforestation Partners, the Heinz Center, the Moore Foundation, and others. The evening featured statements about REDD from a broad range of perspectives, including Dr. Holdren, Ministers Minc, Mabala, and Bononge, Governor Maggi, COICA Board Member Juan-Carlos Jintiach, and Sonia Guajajara.
Saturday, December 12 - Claudia Stickler, Postdoctoral Fellow:
Today, conference participants were advised not to leave the conference center for meetings elsewhere in Copenhagen as a predicted 60,000 protesters were to descend from the center of the city, heightening security and travel difficulties. As the day went on, groups gathered around monitors throughout the venue watching streaming video and news coverage of the protests. For many of us, it was initially unclear what the protesters' main message was to be, as we are generally fairly isolated from news not related to the negotiations. It turned out that they were asking negotiators not to let this COP end without clear and substantial progress towards real and enforceable targets for addressing climate change. A few members of our group did venture out for off-site meetings (notably with Governor Blairo Maggi of Mato Grosso state, in Brazil—a state which would rank as the 5th largest emitter if it were an independent nation) and returned reporting that it hadn't been too bad, in part because about half the protestors took a wrong turn at some point and would take quite a bit longer to join the rest of their group. Although the protests remained largely non-violent in the beginning, by the end of the evening, hundreds of protestors had been arrested.
REDD negotiations also moved forward late Friday night and Saturday. The technical body (SBSTA) finalized its draft text on the technical aspects of REDD and moved the text forward to the COP for high level negotiations to take place on December 17-18. In the section on long-term cooperation, a number of issues continued to prevent draft text from being finalized, including issues related to indigenous peoples' and local communities' rights and national vs. sub-national implementation. However, language for a broad scope for REDD+ and reference to the inclusion of carbon markets in a later phase of REDD implementation were included. REDD still appears to be one of the few elements of the climate negotiations that will become part of the agreement coming out of Copenhagen.
Friday, December 11 - Scott Goetz, Senior Scientist:
As members of an organization heavily focused on fundamental and applied scientific research, the avenues into policy making are always indirect and multi-faceted, but also sometimes bewilderingly complex and seemingly impenetrable. Fortunately, the WHRC is unique in terms of having policy experts and economists who know how to navigate the maze of the negotiation process, and help us present our research in ways such that its direct relevance to the needs of the negotiators is clear.
A good example of this is the need to monitor carbon emissions from land use change, particularly of deforestation across the pantropical region in the context of REDD. The UNFCCC negotiations on REDD rely on primarily on estimates of forest cover change, but also increasingly on the carbon stocks (biomass) associated with those changes. The latter are currently based on estimates from field measurements and forest inventories which, when combined with forest cover change, can be used to provide estimates of carbon emissions to the atmosphere. Our work mapping pantropical carbon stocks more directly with satellite observations, calibrated with field measurements, is therefore of tremendous interest to many parties involved with the UNFCCC REDD process. A systematic review of methods to estimate carbon stocks is currently underway, with WHRC playing a lead role in the process. This effort, together with those of our partner organizations and entities, complements the various elements of our pantropical mapping and monitoring, and our related technical capacity building activities (see www.whrc.org/pantropical). The COP-15 in Copenhagen is the ideal venue to share these recent advances with a broad audience, particularly the international body of policy makers.
Thursday, December 10 - Andrea Cattaneo, Senior Scientist:
Today many participants at COP-15, in transit from one meeting to the next, were stopping to listen to President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize Speech being broadcast on multiple screens. This, for many, was a brief pause in a hectic day. The negotiations are increasing in intensity and differences in views are emerging that will need to be resolved for an agreement to be reached in the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference. One of the topics being debated is whether the Kyoto Protocol would remain the main instrument for developed country commitments or a new legal agreement should be sought. Many developing countries have stated that ambitious emission reduction targets by developed countries through a second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol is the basis for a successful outcome in Copenhagen. On the other hand, since the Kyoto Protocol does not currently include the United States, many developed countries are cautious about having a two-track system and argue that a broad agreement under one mechanism that would include the U.S. would be preferable. This is a disagreement on the fundamental architecture of a Copenhagen agreement.
Wednesday, December 9th - Tracy Johns, Policy Advisor/Research Associate:
We're halfway through the 3rd day of historic COP15. The place is buzzing with energy and filling up fast with people from all over the world. Even ministers are beginning to show up in advance of the high-level segment which begins next week. REDD is proving to be the superstar of the negotiations so far. All of the hard work and research of the past 4 years seem to be paying off as countries work through negotiation text on technical and political aspects of the mechanism that holds the potential of climate mitigation, forest conservation, and sustainable development.
At a meeting this morning of leading science and environmental groups on forests, we discussed how different the picture looks for forests than it did the last time a global climate agreement was defined. Back then, groups were deeply divided on important issues and there was a lack of widespread understanding of how much science could offer about the role of forests in climate change and how we could monitor forest destruction from space. These and other political issues led to the giant hole in the climate agreement - the emissions from tropical forest destruction. Today we know that in order to avoid the worst impacts of climatic disruption, we absolutely must stop tropical deforestation, and soon. And we also know that it is possible to monitor changes in forests by satellite, making it possible to reward countries according to their success in protecting these globally vital ecosystems. This time, the process includes input from a wide range of stakeholders in addition to governments - especially important has been the role of indigenous groups and forest-dependent communities in helping to define the necessary safeguards that can make REDD work for climate and poverty alleviation while respecting those who live in the forest. There is much to do in order to get to an agreement in the next few days. But there is also a lot of positive momentum - maybe "Hopenhagen" is not so far off after all.
Tuesday, December 8th - Daniel Nepstad, Senior Scientist:
The climate summit began with three-hour registration lines, and deeply chilled participants from around the world. Copenhagen's progress towards the low-carbon-emission world we must become is on display in its crowded bicycle commuter lanes and clean, efficient public transport. For this Danish city to become the global "Hopenhagen" that many conference-goers seek, however, there are few sources of optimism. One of the most prominent is Brazil, which announced ahead of the meeting its commitment to reduce nation-wide greenhouse gas emissions nearly 40% by the year 2020, breaking with its previous insistence that the developed nations must lead the drive to fix the climatic disruption. The credibility of Brazil's bold announcement is enhanced by its remarkable success in lowering the speed with which its Amazon forest region is being cleared and burned, which was reduced to a record low of 7,000 km2 during the last year. Brazil is already ahead of schedule to achieve its own ambitious target: to reduce deforestation 80% by the year 2020. For an additional 7 to 18 billion dollars invested over the next decade, deforestation of the Brazilian could end, lowering global carbon emission by 2 to 5%. That's less than one dollar for every ton of carbon that stays in the trees of the Amazon instead of burning up and moving into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. The American Climate and Energy Security bill that has passed the House of Representatives could foot the bill for the end of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon through its tiny "international offset" provision.


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Rock the Lab
1 - 4 p.m.
Grades 2-5
Iowa Central Community College, Rm 115, Bioscience & Health Science Building, One Triton Cir,
Fort Dodge, IA 50501
Calling all future scientists and experiment enthusiasts! We will be visiting with an Iowa Central Professor about in-depth biology. Learn how to extract your own DNA in the lab, then make it into jewelry so that you can wear it home! We will rock the lab during this great afternoon of cool science!
Girl Cost: $ 12
Adult Cost: FREE
Max: 20 girls / 10 adults
Registration Close: 2/14/14
Contact Office: Fort Dodge


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BY STIFLING part of a rat's immune system, researchers in Michigan have been able to protect the animal from sepsis. In such life-threatening bacterial infections, toxins released into the blood can cause organ failure or trigger severe inflammation and fatal tissue damage. Even after antibiotic treatment, more than 20 per cent of patients die from the condition.
One of the immune system's ways of fighting bacteria is with a collection of more than a dozen proteins known as complement. Complement doesn't have to learn to recognise invaders as antibodies do. Instead, it gets to work immediately, rallying immune cells and chemical weapons to destroy the microbes.
So immunologist Peter Ward of the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor and his team were reasonably sure that removing any key player in the complement would only give sepsis the upper hand. To test that theory, they induced sepsis in rats ...
To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content.


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Because your window blinds are mounted to a french door that moves it is quite possible that over time the tilt rod has slid out of the tilter mechanism inside the headrail. This can easily be fixed by simply looking inside the headrail, you might need to remove the blinds, and locating the tilt rod. Ensure that the metal tilt rod is still in the tilt mechanism as shown. If the rod has slid out of place it can simply be inserted back into the mechanism and the blind is fixed. Without the rod inserted into the mechanism, when the tilt mechanism is turned the tilt rod will not turn.
French door blinds can be just about any window blinds ranging from wood blinds, mini blinds, and faux wood blinds. Simply choose your blind as an outside mount blind. The window blinds can be attached to the door above the window. Make sure you order hold downs to secure the bottom of the blinds in place so it does not move when the door is opened and closed.
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KALONA, Iowa - The historic Bunker Mill Bridge in Kalona burned early Sunday morning, and fire officials believe it was arson. Kalona Fire Chief Steve Yotty said his department got called to the scene around 5:30 AM on a rural road just south of town. By the time firefighters arrived, the flames had spread out of control.
Now, only charred remains of its wood deck remain, much of it still held up its iron skeleton, but there's no safe way to cross it over the English River.
Troy McMurray lives just around the corner.
"This is pretty much in my backyard," McMurray told us. He explained that the bridge had been a big part of the wedding plans for him and his girlfriend Rhonda.
"We were talking that we'd really like to get married on the bridge, so hopefully they'll fix it and we can still make that happen," said McMurray, looking at what's left of the structure.
Long-time Kalona residents Paula and Robert Hartley have memories of spending time with their children here, years before it was shut down to vehicle traffic.
"We used to come out here and they'd fish off the bridge and the kids would play on the bridge. I mean, they were raised here," Paula explained. "I'm really sad to see this go like this. It should have been preserved."
The Washington County Historical Society says the Bunker Mill, or Old River Bridge, was built in 1887. For years, it was the only way to travel between Kalona and nearby Richmond.
McMurray has recently found evidence of people setting campfires on the bridge deck.
"I've come out two times and found spots where the bridge had been recently burned, on the bridge itself," he said.
However, Yotty doesn't think this was an accident.
"I don't think a campfire caused this fire. this would have taken a pretty big camp fire," said Yotty.
Now a piece of history, along with plans for its future, are all but destroyed.
"Some people were trying to get it restored," Yotty explained. "The city was also working on a bike and walking trail from Kalona to Richmond, and were going to use that bridge, and that's not going to be possible."
Yotty is asking for anyone with knowledge that may help the investigation to call the Kalona Fire Department or the State Fire Marshal.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa News, Sports, and Weather
Historic Bridge Near Kalona Burns, Officials Suspect Arson
Brady Smith, Anchor/Reporter
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Saluting the sacrifice made by soldiers fighting to preserve and protect American freedoms, Memorial Day services were held at four Coon Rapids sites.
Flags were raised, wreaths laid, taps played and gun salutes fired to honor and memorialize local soldiers.
Services were conducted by members of the Coon Rapids American Legion, Coon Rapids VFW and Disabled American Veterans Chapter 39 and took place at Epiphany Cemetery, Joyce Chapel Cemetery, the American Legion Post 334 and VFW Post 9625.
Sue Austreng is at [email protected]


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Gallery: a history of Lamborghini V12s
Following the recent sale of the gorgeous 'Periscopica' Countach, here are its 12-cylinder siblings…
Posted: 10 Jun 2014
Lamborghini Diablo
Lamborghini had, at this point, been through the mills somewhat. Multiple bankruptcies meant limited production and in 1987, brought it under the auspices of the Chrysler group, who took Marcello Gandini's Countach-successor designs and Americanised it. The result, despite this interference, is the Diablo. And it's fast.


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Access to Affordable Healthcare
May 1986
June 1986 (revised)
May 1994 (revised)
December 1998 (revised)
March 2002 (revised)
November 2005 (revised)
November 2008 (revised)
November 2012 (revised)
Statement of the Issue
Providing appropriate access to affordable healthcare has been an ongoing challenge for the United States' health system. The U.S. Census Bureau Report noted that approximately 49 million Americans did not have healthcare coverage in 2011. Coverage options are expected to improve for some given the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) in 2011. While the PPACA was originally expected to extend coverage to approximately 32 million uninsured through individual mandates, the creation of state health insurance exchanges with public subsidized coverage and expansion of Medicaid, the Supreme Court decision that Medicaid expansion is a state option will likely reduce the number of newly covered individuals.
Even as healthcare reform decreases the number of uninsured and defines mandated benefits, the problem of access to affordable care will be exacerbated by limited community-based resources that provide preventive services, primary care access and ongoing care for patients with chronic conditions. In response, there will be a need to increase capacity to serve more patients, while improving outcomes, reducing health disparities and becoming more efficient—all within the context of significant challenges to receiving adequate payment levels.
Healthcare executives are committed to facilitating in the effort to enroll individuals in emerging coverage options and expanding needed services to help ensure access to affordable care. However, fulfilling those commitments can strain resources and put some organizations in financial peril unless adequate payment levels are established. Fortunately, as leaders within the community, healthcare executives are well-positioned to be active participants in discussions about healthcare reform, providing their expertise regarding approaches to positively implement healthcare reform at a local level. They can be instrumental in reaching community consensus on how healthcare resources and needs should be balanced so that there is affordable access to the right level of care in the right setting at the right time.
Policy Position
The American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) believes no person should be denied necessary healthcare services because of an inability to pay or a lack of accessible services. Further, ACHE believes ensuring the availability of affordable healthcare is a shared responsibility of healthcare organizations as well as the government, community groups and the private insurance market. To this end, ACHE urges healthcare executives to lead the effort within their organizations and on behalf of the communities their organizations serve to address issues related to organizing and providing affordable, accessible healthcare services. Consistent with ACHE's Code of Ethics and its policy statement, "Ethical Decision Making for Healthcare Executives," there is a responsibility to consider broader community and societal implications as well as individual and organizational impact when addressing issues such as those affecting access and affordability.
Leadership responsibilities for healthcare executives include, but are not limited to:
- Supporting efforts to enroll uninsured individuals into emerging options for providing coverage.
- Working to improve the distribution and quantity of needed services for vulnerable populations so that care not only is covered but also is available.
- Developing and communicating access-to-care policies within their organizations and to the community so that individuals know that care is equally accessible regardless of specific type of coverage.
- Managing their organizations efficiently and effectively to help control healthcare costs that might be associated with expanding coverage.
- Encouraging and assisting trade and other professional associations to take proactive roles in access-to-care issues.
- Organizing or participating in local, state and regional initiatives to resolve access problems.
- Spearheading discussions with key decision makers (e.g., legislators) and key stakeholders (e.g., public agencies) to identify community health priorities so available resources can be allocated equitably and effectively.
An important role for healthcare executives has always been to translate social values into workable healthcare programs. In keeping with this role, healthcare executives have the opportunity to participate in the ongoing public dialogue about the implementation of new ways to finance and deliver healthcare so no one is denied care because of the inability to pay or limited availability of needed services.
Approved by the Board of Governors of the American College of Healthcare Executives on November 12, 2012.


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'Iron Man 3' trailer: Tony Stark summons the Iron Legion against The Mandarin
It turns out that recent "Iron Man 3" poster did tease the Iron Legion after all. Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark summons his new army of Iron Men in the action-packed new trailer for "Iron Man 3."
Up until this point, the marketing campaign for the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe film made it seem as though Stark was going through some dark, depressing times. Well, he is, but this latest trailer shows fans that they will have a lot of fun watching him go through them. Stark found his focus in "The Avengers," and now he's going to concentrate on protecting those he loves -- namely Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper Potts -- and he's going to get revenge on those who seek to harm them.
In this case, that's Ben Kingsley's The Mandarin. This trailer reveals more of the villain than has been seen before, and he definitely looks like a formidable foe. Also teased are Don Cheadle as Col. James Rhodes, Guy Pearce as the scientist Aldrich Killian and Rebecca Hall as Maya Hansen. "Iron Man 3" is due out in theaters on May 3.


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A Bronx Footlocker was the locale of an epic scuffle that went down because of the latest Air Jordan XI release. It's clear that this is a December tradition.
Lost Souls!!!…smh
I love shoes but there is NO way in hell i'm giving up the warmth, safety and comfort of my home just to camp out and risk my life for some damn shoes. Regardless if they don't have them in stock long, IT'S NEVER THAT SERIOUS.


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© Photo submitted
Doug Ferguson, left, and Larry Johnson are recognized by the South West District for Culture, Recreation and Sport for their dedication to community development and facilitating participation for all ages and abilities.
The South West District for Culture, Recreation and Sport recently recognized Doug Ferguson from Stewart Valley and Larry Johnson from Swift Current for their tireless work and dedication in advancing the organization's mandates to facilitate community development through sport, culture and recreation for and with the communities within their jurisdictions.
The annual South West District's Volunteer Awards recognize dedicated volunteers whose work in the fields of culture, recreation and sport is exemplary.
Ferguson was nominated by the Stewart Valley Recreation Board for an award in the Seniors category, and Johnson was nominated by the City of Swift Current Recreation & Parks Department for an award in the Individual category.
Ferguson has been the chairman for the Stewart Valley Recreation Board for many years, and is also Secretary and treasurer of the Board because no one else has come forward to take on those positions. Under his guidance, Stewart Valley receives very good funding from Saskatchewan Lotteries and the local Rural Municipalities.
He has also been a director on the Stewart Valley Senior's Club for many years and lends a helping hand whenever needed. He organizes and participates in the Saskatchewan Seniors Summer Games; bowls regularly in the Seniors Club 55+ and has attended provincial competitions.
A retired school teacher, Ferguson has coached hockey, baseball and all school athletics. He has also instructed Hunter Safety classes and was a member of the Kyle Fish and Game Legion. He served as a director on the Stewart Valley curling, skating and rink boards and community hall board. He was also a Cub Scout instructor. Doug loves to golf and helps with the local club and golf course.
Johnson has been a positive influence on the Swift Current community through more than 40 years of volunteerism in Southwest Saskatchewan. He has given his time to make certain that all members of the community can take part in leading a healthy and active lifestyle.
Among his many noteworthy impacts on Swift Current is coaching minor hockey, including Midget AA female hockey. He founded and continues to coach Swift Current Wheelchair Hockey, giving opportunities to those young and old to play the sport without boundaries.
He volunteers in whatever capacity is needed for the annual Swift Current Mixed Slo-pitch tournaments, sits on the Kiwanis Club board of directors, and also helps with blood donor clinics, the Meals on Wheels program, the highway clean-up crew, the annual Duck Derby event and the Palliser Care Centre Fun Olympics.
This past year Johnson was instrumental in bringing the Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary Relay to Swift Current. He also developed a skating relay for youth and lined up a wheelchair hockey demonstration.
The South West District for Culture, Recreation and Sport works with communities in southwest Saskatchewan to help build community development with the aim of enhancing access to sport, culture and recreation programs for all ages and abilities.


text: Home → Browns Podcast: Breaking down the Browns' problems at Baltimore By Jeff Schudel, The Morning Journal & The News-Herald Posted: 09/17/13, 3:14 PM EDT | Updated: on 09/17/2013 # Comments Browns beat writer Jeff Schudel and News-Herald Sports Editor Mark Podolski break down the Browns' problems on offense last week in their 14-6 loss at Baltimore, plus they discuss if plans have already begun to select a quarterback in the 2014 draft.Click to stream this episode, or right-click to downloadSubscribe to Browns Talk with Jeff Schudel in iTunes Advertisement About the Author Jeff has covered the Cleveland Browns since 1981. He also covers the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League and the Cleveland Gladiators in the Arena Football League. Reach the author at email@example.com or follow Jeff on Twitter: @JSBrownsInsider. Full bio and more articles by Jeff Schudel Back to top


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Robert Lowry C Instrument Sheet Music: 2 items found
How Can I Keep From Singing?
Unison/2-part choir and piano with optional C instrument
Composed by Robert Lowry. Arranged by Timothy Shaw. Quick Study Chorals. Octavo. 8 pages. Published by Hope Publishing Company (HP.C5799).
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To You, O God
(Psalm 25). Composed by Robert Lowry. Arranged by Marty Haugen. For SATB choir, descant, 2 C instruments. Common Psalm for Advent, Lent, OT 3 B OT 26 A. Celebration Series. Sacred. Easy. 8 pages. Published by GIA Publications (GI.G-5237)
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Film director, and unlikely brand spokesman, Michael Winner has died, aged 77. He was best known for directing the Charles Bronson film 'Death Wish' in 1974 and its later sequels, Â but he became a star of the small screen in his later career when he starred in a series of ads for insurance brand eSure.
He was also well know for his journalism and his caustic 'Winner's Dinners' restaurant reviews that he wrote for The Sunday Times.
As well as starring in the eSure ads he also directed them. They were famous for the  line that Winner uttered "calm, down dear!", which became a national catchphrase.
He starred in the ads from 2002 until he was dropped in 2005 when the insurer's advertising was taken in-house.
Winner famously hit out at the ad industry during his time with eSure and said it had "its head so far up its own arse that it has to open its mouth to see out".


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ABC Canberra Centre
Corner Northbourne and Wakefield Avenues,
(02) 6275 4555
Tours are conducted once a month on Thursdays from 2:00pm-3:00pm.
Enquire online or call (02) 6275 4555.
Why not bring your community group or media students on a tour inside ABC Canberra? Your tour includes a presentation in the radio studio of 666 ABC Canberra and the TV News studio, as well as an insight into a variety of other ABC services.
Booking information
- Please see the Canberra Tours Brochure (PDF, 1.9 MB) for detailed booking information.
- Tours are free of charge however bookings are essential.
- A minimum of 10 and a maximum of 20 can be accommodated on a tour.
- Only community groups and secondary and tertiary media students are permitted on tours.
- Please advise us of any access requirements at the time of booking.
Getting There
ABC Canberra is located on the corner of Northbourne and Wakefield Avenues, Dickson in Canberra. Search for the quickest route using www.action.act.gov.au. Visitor parking is available on Wakefield Avenue.
Terms & Conditions
- Photography and filming are not permitted on the tour.
- No food or drink to be consumed on the tour.
- Please only bring what you can comfortably carry, there are no storage facilities.
- Please refer to the pdf brochure for more detailed information.
Canberra Tours Brochure (PDF, 1.9 MB)


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Our hotel in Jesolo Beach offers its guests a wide and varied range of services. The Reception at the Hotel Orient & Pacific is always on hand to provide information and suggestions to make every stay as pleasant as possible.
There are plenty of opportunities for relaxation and fun for all ages, thanks to our heated swimming pool. To animate every moment of your day and to make your holiday in Lido di Jesolo extra special, the hotel also offers a large lounge, a TV room and an American bar, a sun terrace, Wi-Fi Internet connection and a private beach.
There are great opportunities for Sport & Fitness fans, as well as for nature and art lovers (who will enjoy the organised trips to Venice and the islands of the Lagoon).
The hotel offers also a private car park.
Hotel Orient & Pacific is pleased to offer its clients the services of its American Bar with a large, welcoming terrace overlooking the sea and the beach in front of this amazing hotel in Jesolo. It is the ideal place to stop and relax, before launching yourself once more into the thousand...
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Hotel Orient & Pacific offers its guests a free Internet Corner with an ADSL line and a free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel. The internet connection in the rooms is provided via modem upon connection to the laptop.
The Reception will provide all the necessary information on how the service works.
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The restaurant offers a panoramic air-conditioned room overlooking the sea.
Here you will be able to sample typical Italian and Venetian dishes, prepared with seasonal local ingredients, giving particular attention to a healthy and wholesome cuisine. The hotel offers also a self-service salad...
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Orient & Pacific is a hotel in Jesolo Lido with swimming pool, a lovely place to spend your holidays. You can have fun and relaxation just in the same place.
Among the hotels in jesolo with swimming pool, Hotel Orient & Pacific is the perfect place where you can enjoy yourself, take a refreshing...
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Your eyes focussed on the horizon and your limbs resting on a comfortable sunbed or deckchair, protected by a beach umbrella or caressed by the warm Jesolo sun: this is what the private beach offers, a portion of the sparkling, golden Jesolo beach reserved exclusively to the guests of the Hotel...
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A holiday in Jesolo in our seafront hotel offers great opportunities for Sport and Fitness fans. Guests can play table tennis and boulesas well as ride bicycles for pleasant trips along the coastline or towards the enchanting inland area.
On request the Reception can also book tennis courts or...
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Length: 3 full days
Day 1: History of the Isthmus
- Tour the Old Panama ruins
A guided tour of the Panama La Vieja Visitor Center highlights its potential as a historical and archaeological site. The center advocates for preserving and promoting history and valuing our national and global heritage, while providing the visiting public with a high-quality service that satisfies their needs for leisure, entertainment, and education.
-Open: Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
-Visit the Panama La Vieja Artisan Center, recently opened with over 51 booths selling handicrafts.
-Open: 7 days a week from 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Dine in the Old Town
- Shopping in Multiplaza
Spend the afternoon shopping in the Multiplaza Mall. Savor an excellent cup of coffee from the famous islands or restaurants in the facilities.
- Nightlife in Isabella
Evening entertainment includes the opportunity to hear live music, enjoy performances, go dancing, or do some gambling at casinos or betting tables.
Related links:
Day 2: Adventure
Adventures on the banks of the Chagres River. Visit the Emberá indigenous community.
Panama is one of few countries that offers this enriching experience to share, learn, and enjoy the culture of indigenous cultures.
Canoe up the Chagres: The ride up the river from Puerto Vigia takes you deep into the indians' historical and cultural environment. From inside the canoe you can observe the flora and fauna that are part of native traditions and customs.
Departure from the port of Vigia: 8:15 a.m.
Arrival at village: The Emberá will greet you and immerse you in their world through costumes, dancing, cooking, and giving you a tour of their territory. You will have the chance to take photographs, buy souvenirs, and discover the indigenous history and culture through the villagers's stories.
Native meal: Eat a lunch of traditional ethnic dishes, typically consisting of fried plantains with freshly caught tilapia, a freshwater fish.
Emberá Chief: Antonito Zarco
To make reservations: call 6511-7408
Bathe under a refreshing waterfall
Dance with the indians
Body painting with vegetable dyes
Photograph the Emberá
Last tour stop:
Duty-free shopping just 10 minutes from Panama City's downtown, followed by a delicious dinner on the seashore and an array of nightlife options on the Amador Causeway.
Open hours: Duty Free: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Related links:
Emberá -Wounaan indigenous group
Virtual Tour of Panama's Ethnic Groups
Day 3: Beach
- Isla Grande, Upper Coast of Colón - Entrance at Rey de Sabanitas
Relax on a charming island on the Atlantic coast of the country.
Depart from the town of La Guaira, where you can enjoy white sand beaches and crystal-clear waters, a world of marine species, and mangrove forests near the coast.
The island is situated to the north and offers a view of ancient canyons, caves, and unique mazes of coral reefs.
Your choice of accommodations on the island ranges from B/.25.00 for a beach cottage to B/.150 per night in a luxurious hotel room.
Lunch/Dinner: Enjoy the local cuisine served at seaside restaurants. Traditional coastal dishes made by the Afro-Caribbeans are based on seafood and flavored with coconut.
Sunbathe and swim at the beach
Boat ride along the coast
Scuba dive
Related links:


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There is one thing that I kind of sorted out early on in life. If you are not doing what you love then it is time for a change. A big fan of change, it rocks my core, shakes me up, keeps me alive and at times scares the wits out of me. Sometimes these changes may take a while but eventually they come about, really depends on how clearly I visualize them. Small changes like a drastic hair cut or big changes like moving countries all bring about new and exciting adventures and opportunities for me.
For those of you who do not know, I am about to embark on a very new and life altering adventure. After 8 years in the classroom as a primary school teacher I have decided to give myself a break from the 8-3 (or in Japan 5pm) slog and direct my attention to my own schedule including much love towards TOKYOMADE, HOOPLOVERS and some other worldly adventures (yay we are going to California!). Yes, in other words I quit my full time job and am devoting my energy to my life time loves.
And if there is ever any doubt in my mind that doing what I love is the right and only path to choose, The Universe pops in every afternoon to clear things up!
The hardest thing for most to understand about manifesting major life changes, deanne, is that it's so easy.
Child's play –
The Universe


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The seventh civilian flight undertaken by Camair-Co in the Presidential repatriation operation of Cameroonian citizens trapped in the Central African Republic civil war and the 26th Air force flight brought in 219 and 80 more people respectively, the majority of them women and children last Friday, December 27 and Saturday December 28. The two planes touched down at the Douala International Airport in an atmosphere of anxiety from compatriots present at the airport and visible relief and satisfaction on the faces of repatriated Cameroonians alighting from the plane.
"The President has done a very good thing by flowing us back into the country", Bouba Housseini, owner of a building material shop in Bangui told CT on arrival, stating inter alia that he lost his shop and all its content in PK 13, a neighbourhood in Bangui.. In effect, all those who were interviewed at the airport on arrival confessed they had brought virtually nothing along with them. The joy of regaining freedom and landing back in their country partly reduced the shock in them even though many especially those who have spent all their lives in the Central African Republic will have the problem of integrating their families.
Abdouramane Abdou, a truck driver and father of five had his wife give birth at the Embassy a day preceding their departure for Cameroon. "My wife delivered with the help of a medical student who was with us as I went back to bring one of my children to the Embassy", he said. The 299 people went through the same process as those who arrived earlier; identification of their areas of origin, medical care for those that are sick and collective transportation to their families.
The Littoral Regional President of the of the Crisis Unit Charged with welcoming and accompanying repatriated Cameroonians to their various families, Joseph Beti Assomo, remains assuring of the continuity of the operation till further notice. Last Friday and Saturday's arrivals bring to 3,160 the number of Cameroonians already repatriated from the war-torn country.


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Free Republic of Holidays Saas-Fee Switzerland Hotel Restaurant
80% sunny days, 100% guaranteed snow and up to 4545 meters above everyday life:
so beautiful as in the Free Republic holiday vacation is anywhere else, find the four Welsh Communities of
Saas-Balen, Saas-Grund, Saas-Fee and Saas-Almagell.
Founding of the Free Republic vacation Saas-Fee
On 29 October 2011, we renewed our presence around and on the occasion of a great festival,
the "Free Republic of Saas-Fee Holiday" was proclaimed.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by celebrities motley together with the mayor and the population
the four villages of Saas-Fee, Saas-Grund, Saas-Balen and Saas-Almagell place.
Become a citizen
Civil rights
1. The right to 300 sunny days per year
2.The right to 42 weeks of fun in the snow
3.The right to 18 four-thousand
4.The right to the highest revolving restaurant in the world
5.The right to the highest subway in the world
6.The right to one of the most fascinating glacier in Europe
7.The right to 350km of hiking trails
8.The original law on four villages in the Alps
9.The right to tame marmots
10.The right to look down from the Dome of the Matterhorn
11.The right to an environmentally friendly recovery
12.The right to enjoy with the whole family
Citizen passport
From summer 2012 introduces the Free Republic vacation guests the electronic card in the form of a civil passport.
Use this to enjoy the (holiday) Citizens for the duration of their holiday stay
exclusive benefits: Free offers in the Republic during the summer season
20% reduction on various leisure activities in the Republic during the summer / winter
Moreover, it was the Free Republic for their holiday (vacation) citizens in the first bilateral
Negotiating contracts with leisure providers finish outside the country,
the citizens in the summer and / or winter to 20% discount entitlement.
More details to follow
Current snow barometer of the Free Republic vacation Saas-Fee: First snow of blessing over 1.5 meters
in the ski area brings a good start to the season in Saas-Fee, 11 November 2011 -
Saas-Fee Tourism announces firstSnow's blessing to start the season.
The 150cm fresh snow in the ski area bring the early winter guests a brilliant start to the winter season 2011/2012.
Already have the Saas-Fee lifts the chin area rock-Morenia into operation.
After Pastor Johann Josef Imseng the new republic has blessed end of October, are The weather Gods well disposed to the new country:
With 150 cm of fresh snow means the slopes The Free Republic of the Holiday citizens welcome the winter season.
From now on the winter sports fans from the installations are included Morenia glacier to Verfügung.
Zudem the Republic this winter by 15 percent on runway availability in the area Play-ground Längfluh upgraded.
Its 150 kilometers of pistes with 35 ski lifts accessible and provide for snow sports and fun for the whole family.
For Young citizens and citizens of the ski area has a particularly attractive proposition.
Until the age of nine they go on holiday outside the Republic of Saas-Fee ski free - all winter long.
Start with a young director of tourism in a new era
The foundation stone for the new republic with a large celebration for the population set does not come from nowhere.
"We deliberately chose an independent, polarizing and mobilizing decision performance"
explains Pascal archipelago and 31-ig Since spring 2011, director of Saas-Fee Tourism.
"Instead of the usual To act post-card images, we want to distinguish ourselves in tourism communication.
This with a wink and a style that the original character of the Saaserinnen and Saas meets. "
The idea of Free Republic vacation was together with the marketing association
and is based on the Saas-Fee Tourism Destination Strategy 2011 to 2015.


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'Values Voters' still love Romney
The crowd at the Values Voter Summit still seemed to love Mitt Romney who drew many supporters last year during his run for president.
"Palin herself could put the lipstick on the pitbull," Romney said to a cheering crowd.
The audience drew quieter as Romney focused most of his address on the foreign policy and the economy. When he began talking about religion, gay marriage, and abortion, the crowd became more energized.
"Americans are God-fearing people. Even those who don't believe in God, in this country, they really believe in something bigger than themselves, as Rick Warren called it, a purpose-driven life. We're family oriented. We sacrifice everything we have for our spouse and our children. In my view, a family begins with commitment of marriage and marriage is a commitment between a man and a woman."
The "values voters" began booing quietly when he mentioned Barack Obama's remarks at the Saddleback forum in August.
"Americans respect the sanctity of human life. We value life from its very beginning to its very end. Rather than vigorously defending life, Barack Obama just a couple of weeks ago, dismissed an inquiry with a flippant response that it's above his pay grade. Did you hear what he said would be the most important criteria for selecting a Supreme Court justice? Their empathy. How about respect for the law and the constitution?"
Romney came in first in a straw poll at last year's summit when he was still running for president.


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Enrollment Verification
The National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) is now Southwest Georgia Technical College's authorized agent for providing degree and enrollment verifications. Employers or background screening firms requesting degree verifications may contact the NSC directly at www.degreeverify.com. Anyone needing an enrollment verification may request one in writing from the Student Affairs office, or they may go to www.studentclearinghouse.org.


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But the royalty may not be discussed in Thailand under penalty of law.
Among the first to take advantage of the offer was the Thaksin Shinawatra, the ousted prime minister of Thailand.
Lewis M. Simons on why Thailand may be headed for even more trouble.
Constitutional monarchy in southern Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma to the west and northwest, Laos to the north and east, Cambodia to the southeast, and the Gulf of Siam (an arm of the Pacific Ocean) and Malaysia to the south. Its capital and largest city is Bangkok.
Note: Thailand was formerly called Siam.
Note: Strongly supported the United States during the Vietnam War, Thailand was the site of American air bases until 1976, when relations with the United States deteriorated.
Note: During the early 1990s, its economy became one of the strongest in Asia, but it experienced a sharp downturn in the mid-1990s.


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"Hot" Stuff
A couple heat related items today so far........The La Crescent-Hokah Community Summer Band & Jazz Band have canceled their concert for tonight, due to the heat. For members of the band there will be practice instead at 6:30pm at the High School Band room.
Also, The La Crosse Parks and Rec are extending pool hours through Thursday at Erickson and North Side: Open until 8pm due to the heat.


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Iran has defused the international crisis over its nuclear ambitions by accepting more intrusive inspections of its activities and suspending its controversial uranium enrichment programme.
The announcement on Tuesday has been widely welcomed as a crucial step forward. But experts point out that Iran may still be able to make nuclear bombs from uranium or plutonium in secret.
"It is clearly a breakthrough," says Matt Bunn, a former nuclear policy advisor to the US Clinton administration. "It will make it more difficult for Iran to carry out a covert nuclear weapons programme - but not impossible."
Earlier in 2003, inspectors from the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had detected enriched uranium around a plant at Natanz. They were also concerned that activities were being concealed and that Iran's explanations of what it insists is an energy programme kept changing.
The IAEA demanded that Iran sign up to an additional safeguards protocol of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty by 31 October. This would allow inspectors to make surprise visits to suspect installations and more powers to take environmental samples. Such samples can provide vital evidence of bomb-making by detecting tell-tale radioactive isotopes.
"Peaceful purposes"
The breakthrough came during the visit to Tehran of the foreign ministers from Britain, Germany and France, all of whom are anxious to avoid any repeat of the Iraq crisis. The US has labelled Iran part of an "axis of evil" and has asked why an oil-rich nation needs nuclear power plants.
In a declaration, the Iranian government said it had decided to sign the additional protocol and would "commence ratification procedures".
It added: "While Iran has a right within the nuclear non-proliferation regime to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, it has decided voluntarily to suspend all enrichment and processing activities."
In exchange the European governments promised to help Iran develop its nuclear power programme by granting "easier access to modern technology and supplies". This could mean allowing more imports from Russia, Iran's main supplier, or from European nuclear fuel companies.
Underground reactor
Bunn, now at the Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University, told New Scientist that Iran could still hide a facility to enrich uranium for weapons. And he thinks it could still carry on building the gas centrifuge enrichment plant at Natanz.
But according to Frank Barnaby, a nuclear physicist who used to work at the Aldermaston nuclear weapons laboratory in Britain, it would be simpler for Iran to covertly build a small underground reactor to produce plutonium for bombs "It is relatively easy to produce plutonium clandestinely," he claims.
Even if Iran obeys the rules, the additional protocol will not prevent it from making the nuclear explosives for warheads, points out Miriam Rajkumar, a nuclear analyst from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington DC.
"It allows them to do uranium enrichment and plutonium separation, as long as they do it under safeguards," she says.
If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.


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Holy mackerel
June 2009
by Jeff Cox (a.k.a. Gofreddo Gallo), Wine and Beer Merchandiser
Plucky Purcell — a notable Tom Robbins character — once observed that sooner or later everything boils down to the matter of a buck. Similarly, my dad often observes that the world turns on the Golden Rule — that is, those who have the gold, make the rules.
So, while both statements are ancient news, what never ceases to amaze this obedient correspondent is the creativity "them that's got" employ in finding new nests to foul in their quest to assure that they forever "shall get" in the proportion to which they deem themselves entitled.
On June 19 the European Commission (EC) votes on a proposal that would allow wineries to make rosé by blending white and red wines. The International Organization of Vine and Wine — the entity that recognizes and approves of this practice — claims passage of the proposal will permit European producers to be more competitive with their counterparts in the Southern Hemisphere, by allowing greater "flexibility" and reducing costs.
In seeking a vote on the proposal, the EC is bowing to pressure from corporate producers who seek to level the playing field — allowing them to compete with the same lack of standards as their counterparts in Australia, South Africa and the United States. Seems fair, right?
Unfortunately, there's nothing fair about it if you're one of the many scrupulous rosé producers in France, Spain or Italy who have labored to make quality pink wine while raising the stature (and sales) of rosé worldwide.
As one Provençal producer puts it, they stand to see their work destroyed, as "industrial" wine producers cash in by "concocting rosé made of (awful) white, pinkened with a drop of (deplorable) red" — ultimately tainting the reputation of pink wine in the same way that certain large American "wineries" have bastardized the words "Burgundy," "Chablis," "Chianti," "Champagne" and anything pink.
Meanwhile, the world's largest family-owned "winery" was busy in May, reports Nancy Leson in The Seattle Times. It summoned the lawyers once again to defend the family name against those unfortunate souls who happen to share their surname and have the gall to label the fruits of their labors with it.
In an impressive display of deep pockets and elastic ethics, the Gallos have filed suit against Steve Winston, owner of The Spanish Table. His crime against the empire? He's been selling pasta imported from a long-established Spanish company that brazenly operates under the name Gallo. Harrumph.
It's business as usual for the brothers, whose mantra reportedly is "we don't want market share, we want it all" — and who once sued their brother Joseph for calling his cheese company Joseph Gallo Cheese. Holy mackerel, indeed. Stay tuned.
About the author
Jeff Cox is the wine and beer merchandiser at PCC. Over the years, he's built close relationships with vineyards worldwide and in our neck of the woods. He's even worked with select local vineyards to create some of the spectacular wines we carry.
In addition to this monthly column, check out his featured wines list.


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Have you ever completely reversed your opinion of a beauty product?
Have you ever completely reversed your opinion of a beauty product? From love to loathe? From loathe to love?
I'm sure that I have, though the only product I can really think of are Chanel Glossimers. I remember more just being unimpressed when I first tried them, and it took seeing them in the sunlight to go, "Oh, I get it!"
Thanks to Rosie for today's question! Do you have a question idea? Submit yours here.
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