text:
- Home
- Parliamentary Business
- Senators and Members
- News & Events
- About Parliament
- Visit Parliament
Permalink Prev Next Return to results list
Note: Where available, the PDF/Word icon below is provided to view the complete and fully formatted document
Table Of ContentsDownload Current Hansard View/Save XML
Previous Fragment Next Fragment
- Start of Business
Youth: Employment
(Latham, Mark, MP, Howard, John, MP)
Prime Minister: Overseas Visit
(Lindsay, Peter, MP, Howard, John, MP)
Education: Technical and Further Education Fees
(Latham, Mark, MP, Howard, John, MP)
(Georgiou, Petro, MP, Downer, Alexander, MP)
Youth: Employment
(Macklin, Jenny, MP, Howard, John, MP)
Budget 2004-05
(Nairn, Gary, MP, Costello, Peter, MP)
Youth: Employment
(Macklin, Jenny, MP, Howard, John, MP)
Health: Rural and Regional Australia
(Causley, Ian, MP, Anderson, John, MP)
Youth: Employment
(Albanese, Anthony, MP, Anthony, Larry, MP)
Health: Services
(Dutton, Peter, MP, Abbott, Tony, MP)
Budget 2004-05
(Swan, Wayne, MP, Anthony, Larry, MP)
Budget 2004-05
(Barresi, Phillip, MP, Vaile, Mark, MP)
Environment: Water Management
(Windsor, Antony, MP, Howard, John, MP)
Environment: Greenhouse Gas Emissions
(Billson, Bruce, MP, Kemp, Dr David, MP)
Australian Broadcasting Authority: Professor David Flint
(Tanner, Lindsay, MP, Howard, John, MP)
Workplace Relations: Small Business
(Somlyay, Alex, MP, Andrews, Kevin, MP)
- Youth: Employment
- Second Reading
- Holt Electorate: Budget 2004-05
- Gilmore Electorate: Anzac Essay Competition
- Chester-Master, Mr Robert
- Paterson Electorate: Crime
- Taxation: Bankruptcy Laws
- Parliamentarians' Entitlements: Travel
- Adjournment
Government Departments: Legal Services
(Murphy, John, MP, Costello, Peter, MP)
Taxation: New South Wales Bar Association
(Murphy, John, MP, Costello, Peter, MP)
Taxation: Bankruptcies
(Murphy, John, MP, Costello, Peter, MP)
Taxation: Bankruptcies
(Murphy, John, MP, Costello, Peter, MP)
Taxation: Bankruptcy Laws
(Murphy, John, MP, Costello, Peter, MP)
HIH Insurance: Royal Commission Report
(Murphy, John, MP, Costello, Peter, MP)
(McClelland, Robert, MP, Brough, Mal, MP)
Treasury: Trade Unions
(Bevis, Arch, MP, Costello, Peter, MP)
Freedom of Information
(Roxon, Nicola, MP, Costello, Peter, MP)
Treasury: Legal Services
(Roxon, Nicola, MP, Costello, Peter, MP)
Health: Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
(Vamvakinou, Maria, MP, Abbott, Tony, MP)
Calwell Electorate: Nursing Home Beds
(Vamvakinou, Maria, MP, Abbott, Tony, MP)
Employment: Job Network Services
(Albanese, Anthony, MP, Brough, Mal, MP)
Office of National Assessments
(Rudd, Kevin, MP, Downer, Alexander, MP)
(Rudd, Kevin, MP, Downer, Alexander, MP)
(Rudd, Kevin, MP, Downer, Alexander, MP)
Weapons of Mass Destruction
(Rudd, Kevin, MP, Downer, Alexander, MP)
(Rudd, Kevin, MP, Downer, Alexander, MP)
(Rudd, Kevin, MP, Downer, Alexander, MP)
Australian Defence Establishments
(Bevis, Arch, MP, Brough, Mal, MP)
Maritime Surveillance Capabilities
(McClelland, Robert, MP, Downer, Alexander, MP)
Maritime Security Cooperation
(McClelland, Robert, MP, Downer, Alexander, MP)
Transnational Crime
(McClelland, Robert, MP, Downer, Alexander, MP)
Defence: Illegal Entry Vessels
(McClelland, Robert, MP, Brough, Mal, MP)
Immigration: Asylum Seekers
(McClelland, Robert, MP, Hardgrave, Gary, MP)
Immigration: Illegal Entry
(McClelland, Robert, MP, Hardgrave, Gary, MP)
Defence: Illegal Entry Vessels
(McClelland, Robert, MP, Brough, Mal, MP)
Aviation: Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport
(Murphy, John, MP, Anderson, John, MP)
United Nations: Movement Alert List
(Danby, Michael, MP, Hardgrave, Gary, MP)
Transport and Regional Services: Domestic and Overseas Air Travel
(Quick, Harry, MP, Anderson, John, MP)
Industry, Tourism and Resources: Domestic and Overseas Air Travel
(Quick, Harry, MP, Macfarlane, Ian, MP)
VIP Armoured Limousine Fleet
(McClelland, Robert, MP, Ruddock, Philip, MP)
- Government Departments: Legal Services
Content Window
Tuesday, 25 May 2004
Page: 29011
Page: 29011
Mr BRENDAN O'CONNOR (6:10 PM) —I rise to contribute to the debate on the Tax Laws Amendment (Personal Income Tax Reduction) Bill 2004. I think it is incumbent upon me to highlight the deficiencies in this bill and, more broadly, in the budget handed down a fortnight ago by the Treasurer. If the member for Aston had any concern for his constituents, he would be honest and indicate to them that four out of every five taxpayers will not receive a tax cut. I know that the member for Aston sees himself as a bit of a hero, having won a by-election some years ago, but he will not hold his seat if he does not honestly explain that four out of five constituents in his own electorate of Aston will not receive a tax cut as a result of the budget.
Not only is the member for Aston deluding himself but members of the government generally are deluding themselves if they believe this budget is good for Australia and for the majority of Australians. This budget is a reflection of a mean and tricky government. On this occasion, I think the Treasurer has been meaner than usual and too tricky by half. He clearly had his hard-headed tacticians and pollsters involved in trying to work out what would deliver votes to the coalition. No doubt, in the way of old politics, the Prime Minister and the Treasurer tried to work out how many votes they could buy with a very niche-targeted approach to taxpayers' money being put into the hands of some Australians. But this was too tricky by half: it was so niche targeted that very few people will get anything as a result of the budget. This was so finely targeted that, as the shadow Treasurer and other speakers have indicated, four out of every five taxpayers will not receive a cent in tax cuts as a result of this budget. In my own electorate, almost nine out of every 10 will not receive an income tax cut. So there are some real problems with this bill and with the budget generally.
It is incumbent upon the government to explain to everybody earning under $52,000 a year in my electorate and in every electorate why they are not going to benefit—why the Treasurer and all members of parliament will receive tax cuts but, as other speakers have indicated, so many Australian workers will not. The fact is—and I have said this many times in this place—that the backbone of our economy is the Australian work force. I have been quick to applaud businesses in our community—we need not only strong and vibrant companies but also Australian workers receiving value for their hard work. One way in which the government can assist is by fairly distributing income tax cuts to those who deserve them.
How am I to explain to the many teachers and nurses, the many people in the hospitality industry and in the retail industry, and the many labourers and gardeners—many occupational groups—who earn below that $52,000 per annum threshold that they do not deserve an income tax cut? I do not know. It seems quite unfair that people at the higher income level have received a benefit from the billions that have been expended by this government on the budget outlays, but there is nothing for those people—those forgotten people, as the member for Rankin referred to them. It is a problem.
I know that government members are scratching their heads, the hard-headed tacticians are scratching their heads and the government pollsters are also scratching their heads and shaking them at the same time, wondering why there was no bounce from the budget, wondering why it was not warmly received by the public at large—
Mr Hockey —You guys are getting a little arrogant—getting a little carried away!
The DEPUTY SPEAKER (Ms Corcoran)—Order!
Mr BRENDAN O'CONNOR —and I think they have found that the reason for that—
Mr Hockey —Sorry—you guys and girls are getting carried away.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER —Order!
Mr BRENDAN O'CONNOR —The minister interjects, but he is aware that the reason the government have failed to successfully convince the Australian public of this budget's merits is that it is a mean and tricky budget that targets very few people—a mean and tricky government with a mean and tricky budget to boot.
I do not think the Prime Minister is really keeping up with what is happening. He was renowned, apparently, for being such a great barometer of public opinion; he had his finger on the pulse of the Australian public. What is really happening is that we have a Prime Minister with old ideas and old tactics. His tactic here was `we're going to buy our way into another term of government, the way we bought our way in in 2001'. But Australians have moved on. The Australian community have moved on and will not accept a bribe to re-elect this government. It is just another manifestation of a Prime Minister with very old ideas and very conventional tactics, as he would see them. What he should have focused on instead is fairer and broader income tax cuts for those in need. He should also have realised that there was a cry for help from the community about the major services that we require to function properly as a society.
The difference between the Leader of the Opposition holding a public meeting and the Prime Minister holding a public meeting is that all are welcome at the Leader of the Opposition's meetings in the country towns and in the cities that he travels to, but we know that at the Prime Minister's meetings there are bouncers at the door to stop people coming in unless they are on the official guest list of the Prime Minister. That example of bouncers on the door to stop people coming to listen to and speak with the Prime Minister compared with the open-door policy of the Leader of the Opposition is a very important distinction. It symbolises the difference between a government that is losing touch with what people are concerned about and an opposition that is willing to listen to the people in communities throughout Australia. The difference is that the Prime Minister and the frontbench generally have stopped listening—if indeed they ever were—to people's concerns.
People want a decent health system. They are concerned that bulk-billing is declining in many areas in the country and they want to see a government tackle that decline. There are difficulties in getting doctors in certain areas and there is a decline in access to doctors at all times during any given week. They would like to see a government tackle those issues. They would also like to see a government ensure that there is an education system that is built on merit, not on money. They would like to see an education system that is accessible to people based on their ability, not on their wallet or their parents' bank balance. These are the things that are being expressed to the Leader of the Opposition as he travels around the country and that are not being taken up by the government. The government could learn from the Leader of the Opposition—indeed, from the opposition generally—on some of these issues, if they were willing to listen.
Of course, it is not just concern about health and education in broad terms; the community are crying out for a national dental scheme. There are many elderly people in our community who have critical problems with their teeth but do not have the wherewithal to attend to them. I cannot imagine a group more deserving of having their health targeted than the elderly. They are people who have already worked hard for this country and who deserve a decent dental scheme, which only Labor are promising. We know that the government have failed on dental care. They have failed on pneumococcal vaccination. Time and again, they do not listen to the real issues that people are concerned about. Until they do, it will not matter how much money they spend on the niche group they have decided to target; they will not be supported by the electors of Australia. They will not be supported because the Australian community are sick and tired of the government assuming that they will be bought, and they will not.
A number of Labor speakers have raised concerns about the fact that the great majority of Australians miss out on the income tax cuts in this budget. There has been no effort to properly consider the deficiencies in our education and health systems and there is no real concern about dental care and other services that are needed. And then we have one of the cruellest systems of all: the clawback approach to family tax benefits. I think that is a real issue too. I accept that there are two potential payments of $600, but nearly a third of the payment recipients will not receive any of the second $600 instalment because it will be eaten up by existing debt. In my own electorate, the average debt for recipients of family tax benefits who are in debt is around $750. Indeed, after the second instalment is even notionally provided to them, they will still be in debt.
It is all well and good for a government to consider the need to provide money and assistance, but if it does not fix the inherent problem of the family tax benefit system then it is leaving those families vulnerable. Rather than just allow for a one-off payment—which will be paid, coincidentally, before the election—much of which will be eaten up by the existing debt of more than a third of family tax benefit recipients, they should be saying, `How do we devise a system that will not leave those families in the position of having to assess their income in a way that is going to leave a huge proportion of them in debt?' There has been no effort by this government, the minister concerned, the Treasurer or the Prime Minister to turn this around.
The electorate of Burke is no different from any other electorate when it comes to these matters. We are not a very wealthy electorate compared with some, but in every electorate complaints are made by constituents about the problem they have when they open a letter from the Commonwealth explaining to them that they are now in debt. What compounds this inequity or deficiency in the system is that usually those people who are in debt are the ones who have great difficulty in repaying it. We would prefer to see the government trying to solve the problem, not spending money to make the problem go away until after the election and then allowing the cycle to continue.
The problem is that we have a government that has stopped listening—if it ever did listen—to the people and their needs. We have a government that believes that it can target a certain group and all will be well. This is a tired government. This is a government that does not have any answers to the problems in our health and education system. This is a government that is not listening to the concerns of people throughout metropolitan and country Australia. If it does not fix things soon, it is going to have major difficulties at the next election.
I will make a number of further comments. What has been clear today—and it has not been refuted by any serious commentator—is that the tax take of this government has increased each year. It has the dubious distinction of being the highest taxing government in our history. I think it galls the government to realise that. For some time it has managed to convince some people, including some media commentators, that it is a political party and a government that is about lean and mean operations. In fact, it is a high taxing government, one that is inefficient in the way in which it distributes that revenue. That is clearly illustrated by its failure to look after Medicare and other services.
You do not fix Medicare by spending tens of millions of dollars advertising what you are about to do. The government would be better off spending those tens of millions of dollars that are being spent on the Medicare campaign in the actual health budget—not in the propaganda budget. It seems that the government feels the need to expend unprecedented amounts of taxpayers' money on promoting its policies and packages. Clearly it is just an attempt to use taxpayers' money for its own propaganda purposes. It is an outrageous breach of faith for a government to use such outrageous amounts of money, which are clearly being spent just prior to the election to try to affect the ballot on polling day.
I do not think that in the end the Australian people will be fooled. As I have said already—and I think it is important to reiterate this—this Prime Minister has lost touch with the Australian people. This Treasurer, whether or not he was ever in touch at all, has shown through this bill and through the budget of last week that he certainly does not have any regard for the majority of Australians. The old tactics and efforts of this government illustrate that they have no new ideas and no solutions. All they are looking to do now is to use the massive revenue that they have collected through being the highest taxing government in Australia's history to buy another term. I do not think that is going to convince Australians.
I think what Australians will look at is whether this government is fair, and I do not think it has shown that it is fair; whether this government has solutions to fundamental problems affecting our community, and I do not think that it has illustrated any capacity to do that; and whether our government listens to the cries of help expressed by people throughout the community, most notably in many of the public meetings the Leader of the Opposition has held since he has been leader. The government is not listening. The only leader in this chamber that is listening is the Leader of the Opposition, and that is why Labor is delivering policies that are relevant and reflect the needs and aspirations of the Australian public.


text:
'King's Speech' helmer beats Fincher in competitive category
Director Tom Hooper has won the Best Director Oscar for "The King's Speech," capping an impressive award-season run for the British helmer.
The directors race had been the most difficult to call, with many Oscar watchers expecting David Fincher to come out on top for "The Social Network." Hooper also topped Darren Aronofsky for "Black Swan," Joel and Ethan Coen for "True Grit" and David O. Russell for "The Fighter."
"This is an extraordinary honor," Hooper said and then thanked stars Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter, writer David Seidler and the producers. He also credited his mother, who brought the story of "The King's Speech" to his attention in 2007 after she attended a reading of David Seidler's story.
"So the moral of the story is to listen to yiour mother," he said.
Hooper's win for the Directors Guild of America had given a fresh twist to the Oscar race after the unbroken winning streak for Sony's "The Social Network." The DGA has an excellent record at predicting which director will win the Academy Award, with only six differences since 1948.
However, Fincher's win at the Baftas earlier this month injected a large note of uncertainty into the race.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Heretics in the Temple of Law: The Promise and Peril of the Religious Lawyering Movement
Robert K. Vischer
University of St. Thomas, St. Paul/Minneapolis, MN - School of Law
Journal of Law and Religion, Forthcoming
The legal profession's traditional conception of professional identity is directly challenged by the increasingly visible efforts among many lawyers to integrate their own religious beliefs with their practice of law. This paper explores the so-called "religious lawyering movement" and analyzes its compatibility with the liberal presumptions on which the legal system is based.
Number of Pages in PDF File: 51
Keywords: Lawyers, religion, professionalism, associations, legal ethics, pluralism
Date posted: May 23, 2004
Suggested Citation
Contact Information
© 2016 Social Science Electronic Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Contact Us
This page was processed by apollobot1 in 0.172 seconds


text:
The latest version of Adobe Flash Player is required to watch this video.
Please click on the link below to download the latest version. Thanks!
Four San Diego firefighters return to court Friday to defend their right to abstain from participating in the city's annual Gay Pride Parade.
Three years ago, the four men refused to attend the event and filed a lawsuit against the city in San Diego County Superior Court. They accused the city of sexual harassment and violating their freedom of speech.
In 2009, a jury found that the city should not have forced the firefighters to participate in San Diego's 2007 Gay Pride Parade. The city is now appealing the verdict.
"Government employees should never be forced to participate in events or acts that violate their sincerely held beliefs," said Alliance Defense Fund attorney Charles S. LiMandri, who is representing the firefighters.
"Advocates of homosexual behavior want to disregard a jury that represents the voice of the community," said ADF Senior Counsel Joseph Infranco, who is co-counsel in the case.
"Instead of admitting its mistake, the city is relentlessly advancing an agenda that compels people to participate in sexually-charged events against their moral and personal convictions," he said.
The city of San Diego has sponsored the annual gay parade for over 15 years.
Firefighters Ordered to Man Gay Pride Parade
Log in or create an account to post a comment.
Are you seeking answers in life? Are you hurting? Are you facing a difficult situation?
Find peace with God, discover more about God or send us your prayer request.
Call The 700 Club Prayer Center at 1 (800) 823-6053, 24 hours a day.
A caring friend will be there to pray with you in your time of need.
CBN News is a national/international, nonprofit news organization that provides programming by cable, satellite, and the Internet, 24-hours a day. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.
More Info


text:
FRANKFURT, Germany - With two World Cup titles and three Olympic gold medals, the United States has history on its side in today's final against Japan.
With their lightning quick passing and slick combination play, the Japanese may well have a grip on the future of the game.
The physical, sweeping game of the Americans stands in sharp contrast with the close, possession-oriented game of Japan, turning today's match into an intriguing clash of styles.
The United States beat Japan in two pre-World Cup friendlies, but that will count for little in the final.
"They're a different team here in the World Cup," United States captain Christie Rampone said. "It brings a different level."
The accolades for Japan have been coming in from all angles, comparing its style with that of Barcelona and even Brazil's "beautiful game."
Japan has sought to develop that flair for years, but only this time do the Japanese have the confidence to execute it at the highest level. Japan coach Norio Sasaki said his team was ready to reach the Olympic semifinals three years ago in Beijing and "this time we said, 'Let's go to the final.' "
Twice he delivered.
The cup is also within reach, he said.
"It's definitely not impossible," Sasaki said. "It is a once in a lifetime chance to win this and beat the No. 1 team in the world."
Japan's breakthrough victory came in the quarterfinals last weekend when it beat host Germany, the two-time defending champion, in extra time when it proved fitter than its big, lumbering opponent. "It proved things like that are possible," Sasaki said.
Even if today is Japan's first final in the record books, Sasaki said his players already have one under the belt - against Germany.
"This was almost like playing the final in term of pressure, attitude and expectations," Sasaki said of the game against the hosts. "The actual final will be a very similar situation."
That same weekend the United States had a similar experience, surviving a match of suffocating intensity against Brazil, with a come-from-behind effort that ended with a penalty-shootout win. It was perhaps the best Women's World Cup game in history and created a groundswell of grass-root support across the United States.
"Obviously coming from behind against Brazil is historic," said Abby Wambach, who scored in the last minute of extra time to level the score at 2-2 and force a shootout. "It's one of those moments that may never happen again.
"I want it to be life-changing at the end of the road. Because right now, I'm still very much involved in this and I'm not trying to think anything other than Sunday and winning."
Both rode their emotional surge through the semifinals, with Japan beating Sweden 3-1 and the United States beating France by the same score.
For Japan it again proved that a wide-open direct game, like the United States often relies on, suits it. The Americans can draw inspiration from beating the only side that comes close to Japan's level of skills.
"Playing France and the amazing team France was, it was kind of good preparation for Japan," Rampone said. "They're both very technical teams, both very patient on the ball, very offensive, attack with a lot of numbers."
Another American confidence boost is in the history books. In 25 matches dating to 1986, the U.S. has beaten Japan 22 times and remains unbeaten.
There is a first for everything, and Japan already reached it first semifinal, and first final. A first win over the United States would suit them fine.
"We are just ready to face that challenge," Sasaki said.
So is the nation, which has been lapping up the feel-good story of its overachieving women while it recovers from the devastation the March 11 earthquake and tsunami caused. Already tight as a group, it has bonded the women closer together as they are playing for a cause bigger than football itself - providing some balm for a nation in pain.
Right before the match against Germany, Sasaki showed pictures of the devastation to his players to heighten their focus and determination. They responded in kind.
Sasaki will keep the pictures under wraps this weekend.
"I don't have to remind them of the disaster in Japan before the match against the United States because they know exactly," he said.
Back home, their story has even bumped baseball and sumo off the sports front pages.
"They're not just playing a soccer game, they're playing to heal a wounded country," said Tony DiCicco, the United States coach of 1999 World Cup-winning team. "They have won fans not just in Japan and not just here in Germany but all over the world."


text:
I already bought the XFX 6870. I hope I like it.
I am certainly impressed with these cards, but It has AMD written all over it.....Would it behave naughty with an Intel Processor and give it a hard time, or would it play nice with the Intel Processor?
Ill probably get this series of cards if theres not a new one when i build my system
I will be be getting it if it is cheap and if the manufacture has a good pre-configured stock overclock
since it has UVD and DispalyPort core, which i really like. I'm a fan of dual-gpu SLI/Crossfire or 3 graphic card or hybrid. Really wish that ATI Xpress Chipset is revived and Gigabyte and MSI are in the game with AMD.
gtx 470 all the way woooo!
i know that the 6870 is 3d capable but will my acer 3d monitor work its nvidia 3d can some one tell me
Maybe a...... 6990 :)
Seeing as AMD/ATi has really shitty drivers I won't buy one even if they were to be dirt cheap. I used to run 3 5870 in Crossfire earlier this year, sold them and bought 2 GTX480 instead, haven't looked back ever since.
5870 here so no need, but the second pc (lan games) should have its 3870 replaced :) - so saving up for a 6850
id love one but yeah haha no moolah
This card looks good and it seems to have great performance for its price. I think NV still has the upper hand on tessellation though. Something I was hoping AMD Radeon to heavily implement, but they haven't even touched it.
With the new release of the 6xxx series its going to get competitive.
I think this is the time to watch the market closely.
I'll buy the 6850 since it doesn't require that much power. You would be surprised too Rodney, this has great graphics power for only little power consumption.
I ordered a 6870 to replace my 4890. My 4890 has handled everything I threw at it, still does. However, I felt it was a good time to future proof myself and buy a modern video card with dx11. Especially since I have the money now. So hoping to sell my 4890 for about $100 then a 6870 for $140 isn't bad. :)
Still 'Umming and Arrring' between a 5770 (budget gaming system) or 5850/6850
I'm gunna wait until the next series, my 5870's will be fine until then.
Yeah, been waiting for this for a while, should be a good replacement for my 9400 gt.
Meaby becouse of im building my new gaming Computer, and i need something way better than gtx 460. Gtx 460 got cheap price and good performance, but new 6000 series got better performance and cheap price, i hope some of new 6000 series got cheaper price than gtx 460, ps. i love your how to videous and unboxing videos, they are great!.
Running dual 5970's right now, well one at this very moment as one of them is been rma'd. But hell yer I'm going to 6k series gpu's, for all the problems I've had with the 5970 I'll be more than happy to upgrade.
Oh I would really like to replace my old 3850 with something faster, but I'm not sure how well or if at all it would work on Gigabyte's P35-DS4 motherboard.
Yeh of course I am, I am not a fanboy infact I have nv card atm, and I just want something much better than a gtx 460 for around the same price :)
well nvidia has way better cards than amd look 2 480 destroy 2 5970s in sli vs x-fire i do have an amd/ati card and i realy regret buying it over an nvidia card im runing 2 5870s in sli go nvidia look at the benchmarks plz
Wow youve got 2 5870s in SLI!? How did you manage that?
wow you dont know anything 1 5970 is only slightly less powerful than 2 480s in sli, and 2 5970's? way more powerful, your a huge noob
maybe ill get one, it depends. hopefully therll be price drops on 5000 series cards so we can snag a bargain
Nope I won't be well not for awhile. But I will be getting another second hand 5970 and Xfire mine with a GTS 450 for dedicated physX
how are r u going to do that sli and x-fire are 2 different things unless you get one of those mobos where you can run both but i havent seen any on the market i think its called saber tooth or something like that you cant use an nvidia card with an ati card sorry
its called a physx hack, read: http://www.overclock.net/graphics-cards-general/508305-howto-ati-nvidia-physx-guide.html
theres also a sli hack allowing sli on amd chipsets
Correcting I f I'm wrong but I think the name of the chip allowing ati+nvidia is lucid. And a board with the capability is the ASUS Crosshair IV Extreme, not to be confused with the ASUS Crosshair IV Formula
no im not a ati fanboy i like amd just not ati so for me its amd and nvidia all the way
Well if the 6770 or 6830 (if they're going to be named like this) is better than the Nvidia GTX 460 than yes I will buy it, I have a HD 5670 it runs most games at decent settings but it just doesn't match the performance of the GIX 460, I have been delaying my purchase because of the new generation I just hope that Nvidia lunches there new generation soon, not 6 months after ATI like the previous generation.
is pci 2.1
Well, let's see if I get one.
I'm going to get a HD 5870 in a week or so. Even I would like to I just don't have the money to spend it right away when the product comes out.
Since I'm a gamer I need a high end video card to play the games at a propper resolution with proper graphics setting. I played Crysis on my nvidia 8400 GS. I'll tell you, there is now point in doing this. A part of Crysis is the graphics. And there is no fun in playing the game on like 800 x 600 on low seetings and the game still crashes.
But if the price of the new 6000 series will drop in price I'll get the best single core video card :D
Same here, I am hoping to get one for about $300
Once the beasts starts coming out hopefully outrunning the 5970, then most certainly.
No. I think that it would be better to buy another 5870 and put them in cross until DX12
This depends on:
1) Support 3D visuals and 3 screens (3D Surround) this is because I aim for my next rig to be a high end 3d gaming rig.
2) Support the ability of dual video cards (it should)
3) Pricing
My 4870x2 is still a champ and I can't afford to buy a new system anyway ;P
Message below me was from me (forgot to login)
I am waiting for the 6970 (atleast the caymen xt chip)
And then 2 in cfx and the whole bunch under watercooling (A)
waiting for a high end HD 6000
lol not true i met my wife in a cod server on pc lol 4 kids later and still going strong lol
no i wont be getting one because i just purchased an ATI 5970 which should be good for now ;)
If i can get some money, so yeah :D
no not till they have better driver support
I wanted to get a 6000 series but I recently purchased 2 5870 and I think in CF it will took for about 1-2 years before I upgrade again.
I voted "other" cause my answer is simply not anytime soon. Im very happy with my 5850 which cost me more than what I've spent on ANY pc part ever and unless I see a REAL need for it I'm not gonna bother with the 6000 series till maybe late next year or even later.
No, I prefer nvidia. I will be getting a second GTX 480 though.
umm , no
coz i still use my HD 5850
and i only use 22" monitor
so i don't think i needed
a new graphic card.
I should be good for awhile, just got a XXX Edition HD5870
If I see a 6970? Most certainly.
Maybe seems to be the big winner here. I am currently looking for new video cards for my new system, but I think it is a good idea to wait and see how the new series performs. I am still leaning toward dual 460's but if they 6000 series is shown to be better I may lean the other way. So far: Cost+Performance = 460 cant be beat.
Copyright 2016 © Godem Online Inc. | Web and server solutions by NewTech Solutions.


text:
Wall Street fell, giving up earlier gains, as comments by Federal Reserve Bank of New York president William Dudley suggested the central bank might reduce monetary stimulus provided by its bond-buying program.
"I believe a strong case can be made that the pace of growth will pick up notably in 2014," Dudley told the Business Council of Fairfield County in Stamford, Connecticut.
In late afternoon trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.62 per cent, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index slid 0.34 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.42 per cent. Earlier in the day, the S&P 500 had gained as much as 0.6 per cent.
To be sure, Dudley said in reply to an audience question that he "wouldn't want to rule out" asset purchases exceeding the current monthly level of US$85 billion if the central bank were to be "surprised on the downside" by weaker economic data, Bloomberg News reported.
Yet underpinning the view that the American economy is slowly but surely gathering strength were reports on auto sales and new orders.
Shares of Ford Motor, last up 2.7 per cent, gained on the strength of June sales new motor vehicle sales data. General Motors also reported better-than-expected sales for last month and is now forecasting the highest rate of sales since November 2007.
Separately, new orders for manufactured goods gained 2.1 per cent in May, after rising 1.3 per cent in April, according to Commerce Department data.
The labour market is one of the Fed's key benchmarks on US economic strength, helping determine its plans for stimulus. Chairman Ben Bernanke last month suggested the Fed would see a fall in the jobless rate to 7 per cent as a target for starting to ease pressure on the bank's stimulus pedal.
Unemployment will fall to about 7 per cent in the fourth quarter, according to a Bloomberg poll of economists at five of the world's largest banks. The June payroll report on Friday is expected to show that the jobless rate dipped a tenth of a percentage point to 7.5 per cent.
Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan in New York, told Reuters that second-quarter GDP growth "is now tracking close to our forecast for 2.0 per cent." The US economy expanded 1.8 per cent in the first quarter.
In Europe, the benchmark Stoxx 600 Index finished the day with a 0.4 per cent drop from the previous close. The UK's FTSE 100 slipped 0.1 per cent, France's CAC 40 lost 0.7 per cent and Germany's DAX retreated 0.9 per cent.
Oil prices received a boost from concern about intensifying tension in Egypt.
West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery climbed 1.6 per cent to US$99.53 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after earlier touching US$99.87, the highest intraday level since September 14, according to Bloomberg News. Trading exceeded 926,000 shares, which would be the second-most this year.


text:
Anne Norton to Join DLLR as Assistant Commissioner of Financial Regulation
Foreclosure Prevention Expert To Bring Industry, Advocacy Experience to New Role
BALTIMORE (6/21/10) -- Alexander M. Sanchez, Secretary of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, announced that Anne Balcer Norton has been appointed Assistant Commissioner for Non-Depository Institutions with DLLR's Commissioner of Financial Regulation. She is expected to start in early July.
"Anne brings a unique and powerful combination of skills and experiences, and we are thrilled to have her join our team at this critical time," Secretary Sanchez said. "She will further strengthen our capabilities in overseeing non-bank institutions as we continue working to protect consumers, oversee these diverse industries and better serve Maryland consumers."
Ms. Norton has served as the Director of the Foreclosure Prevention Division of St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center, Inc., the oldest housing non-profit in Baltimore City. She also served as a member of Governor O'Malley's Homeownership Preservation Task Force and, more recently, as part of the working group that helped to shape the recently-enacted foreclosure mediation legislation. Prior to joining St. Ambrose, Ms. Norton served as general counsel for a national mortgage lender, where she was responsible for origination and secondary market regulatory compliance, state licensing and risk management oversight across twenty-four states.
Within the broad jurisdiction of DLLR's Office of the Commissioner of Financial Regulation, Ms. Norton will oversee non-depository financial institutions with responsibility for licensing, compliance and policy for industries ranging from mortgage lenders and brokers to check cashers and debt management firms.
Her appointment is consistent with the O'Malley-Brown Administration's leadership in enacting a sweeping foreclosure prevention law in 2008 and, this year, successfully proposing legislation that requires mortgage lenders and servicers to be much more responsive to homeowners facing foreclosure. The new law, which takes effect July 1, gives homeowners a new opportunity to meet with the lender and an independent party to ensure that alternatives to foreclosure have been considered and evaluated.
"With the financial crisis and its aftermath, the role of the Commissioner in shaping legislation, implementing regulations and overseeing these industries has become increasingly critical," said Sarah Bloom Raskin, Commissioner of Financial Regulation. "Anne is a leader in the mortgage policy area and her experience in the public and private sectors will be an asset in all areas of our jurisdiction."


text:
"Our committee believes that the assessments that the decade of the 1990s was the hottest decade in a millennium and that 1998 was the hottest year in a millennium cannot be supported," Wegman stated, adding that "The paucity of data in the more remote past makes the hottest-in-a-millennium claims essentially unverifiable." When Wegman corrected Mann's statistical mistakes, the hockey stick disappeared.I find myself totally unsurprised at Wegman's conclusions. The article is well worth reading in light of the attempts to silence those who are pointing at the emperor's saggy posterior hanging in the sunlight.
Wegman found that Mann made a basic error that "may be easily overlooked by someone not trained in statistical methodology. We note that there is no evidence that Dr. Mann or any of the other authors in paleoclimate studies have had significant interactions with mainstream statisticians." Instead, this small group of climate scientists were working on their own, largely in isolation, and without the academic scrutiny needed to ferret out false assumptions.
Chicago State Has Only 86 Freshmen Enrolled This Fall
27 minutes ago


text:
Hmm, this NARC business. I really don't know - I'm not that big on it at all. I don't think it's really Ocean's fault (it's more down to the original Williams arcade machine) but this is one of the most objectionable Speccy games I've seen in ages. It's very (very) violent, it's pretty repetitive, and the plot is utter nonsense (yes, I know the plots are utter nonsense in most coin-ops, but this one's particularly bad).
All that having been said, I'm sure it'll prove to be very popular indeed. It's packed with action, there's lots of it (about 12 levels at a guess) and every so often a neat little touch crops up that actually quite endears you to the whole thing. But I'm also sure that if I had any kids (I don't - well, none that I know about, I wouldn't be massive on them playing it. It's not really the limbs, heads and bits of bodies bouncing around the screen when you blow people up that I object to (all that stuff's actually rather fun, and was fine in a fantasy sort of setting like Altered Beast). What I don't like is that it's all so heavily based on the war against drugs in the inner cities but it actually has nothing to do with them at all. I guess it's the trivialisation of important real-life problems, and the idea that you can solve it all by shooting lots of people, that I don't like. It's a theme that's cropped up in a lot of computer games, but never so blatantly as it does here.
But anyway, how does the game actually work? Well, it's a monochrome, horizontally-scrolling two-player shoot-'em-up. There aren't any platforms or anything in it - it's just a case of walking in a straight line basically - but each level has a different sort of backdrop. Quite a few are street scenes, but tube stations, bridges, office buildings and drugs labs all crop up too. Here, apparently, is a city where every inhabitant (there are no civilians it seems, though you do meet a few prostitutes) is a potentially murderous drug fiend, where baddies throw hypodermic needles at you (to try and inject you with lethal and addictive drugs), where 'krak' is made just down the street from ganja greenhouses and where the inevitable Mr Big controls the whole operation from an office just over the road.
It's also a place where policemen (Max Force and, if you have a partner, Ice Man - there only seem to be the two of you in the whole city) wear serial-killer style hoods, carry giant machine guns, and arrest hardly anyone. All that the tramps and addicts of Krak Street seem to do is stumble around aimlessly - hardly threatening you'd think, but no, you'd be best to shoot them anyway the game seems to be saying. By the time you get to the Rambo types who guard the greenhouses the game actually forces you to kill people - if you don't you won't get the key to the next level, and be able to continue the game. I'm being a bit unfair here I suppose - arrests are possible - but I've yet to see anyone play the game who didn't shoot twice as many people as he booked.
But anyway. I'm not going to go on about this moral stuff any more - it's rather boring I know - but let me just say this. Any game that (for instance) thinks growing ganja is a similar sort of crime to making crack and deserves the same reward (ie death) has a screw loose somewhere and leaves a very unpleasant taste in the mouth.
So where does that leave us? Well, with a lot of levels (and you do get a lot of game for your money, as I said before) full of more or less the same type of action, but occasionally surprising you with a nice touch here and them. The dogs that attack you in one drug lab are quite neat, for instance, as is the parallax scrolling and the exploding baddies (their arms and legs zoom off in all directions). Also neat are the car you can leap into and drive off at one point, the drugs, money and ammo you collect zooming off-screen coin-op style, the baddies entering from behind tube train doors and so on.
What it doesn't have though is any real variety in the gameplay - our heroes have precious few moves and shuffle about rather slowly (some of the baddies actually look like they're moonwalking!). The graphics are monochrome to a man, and though usually clear can look a little sparce. And finally we come back to the question of whether we really want games where the cops shoot almost everybody who moves, where possession of all drugs (even the least dangerous ones) is a capital offense, where the (utterly ridiculous) suggestion is made that we can solve a very serious social problem by shooting lots of people. Even the advert (though very well painted) is scary and horrible.
Nope, I know I'm turning into a right old fuddy duddy and Mary Whitehouse type but I think this whole thing is very dodgy and not my cup of tea at all. (What a relief then that it's not that good either.)
|Matt Bielby has kindly authorised this site
|LOOKING FOR EX-YS WRITERS! Do you know where any are?
|READERS NOTE: The original YS articles on this site were written many many years ago, and should provide no indication WHATSOEVER of the author's present writing style. Judge these people on their current work, not articles they wrote decades ago.
|All original YS text is still copyright to their original owners, including BOTH publishers and authors. Permission has been granted to reproduce these articles by a few of these owners - if you see your work on here and would like it to be taken down, e-mail me and I'll do it straightaway. All other pages have similar restrictions - email me for more details.
None of the pages on this website may be reproduced in any way, nor sold to the general public (i.e. put onto a CD-ROM) without the consent of Nick Humphries and the author of each article. If you want to include any of these articles on a site or a CD, contact me for more instructions.


text:
While Penn Cambria still is in the running for a District 6 Class AA football playoff berth, Ernie Fetzer won't be guiding the Panthers in their quest for the postseason.
Fetzer, a 30-year veteran as a head coach in the region, abruptly resigned his post with the Panthers on Wednesday, according to Twitter reports. It also was reported that Fetzer stepped down as Penn Cambria's athletic director, as well.
According to television station WJAC, assistant Tony Tomaselli will take over as the Panthers' head coach for the rest of the year.
Penn Cambria is 4-4 heading into Saturday's game at Westmont Hilltop, where Fetzer coached 14 years and won 99 games. After going 9-3 last season, the Panthers were expected to be a strong contender for the District 6 Class AA championship and opened the year with four straight lopsided wins before going on a four-game losing streak, dropping three of those games by seven points or fewer.
Fetzer, 64, told the Mirror in August that he probably would retire at the end of the year. He had a record of 48-36 in eight years at Penn Cambria and a 182-127-3 career benchmark.
- Philip Cmor


text:
- Text Size:
- ASmall Text
- AMedium Text
- ALarge Text
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has ordered flags to be lowered to honor victims of the Jewish Community Center shootings.
Flags are to be flown at half-staff from sunup to sundown on Thursday and Friday.
Dr. William Corporon and Reat Griffin Underwood were shot and killed outside the Jewish Community Center and Terri Lamanno was fatally shot outside Village Shalom on Sunday.
"On behalf of the citizens of Kansas, Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer and I offer our condolences to the families and friends of those whose lives were lost in this senseless act of violence," said Brownback said in a news release. "Our thoughts and prayers are with them."


text:
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Whether your garden is lush with too many plants or lacking the lovely look it deserves, there is a common cure: spring-flowering bulbs.
"Bulbs are incredibly important in the landscape because they give an early seasonal pizzazz of color that would not normally be present without them," says Becky Heath of Brent & Becky's Bulbs in Gloucester, Va.
Autumn is when you plant early-season beauties such as crocuses, daffodils, hyacinths, scilla, snowdrops, and tulips because they require a long period of cool temperatures to spark the biochemical process that causes them to flower in spring.
One afternoon planting bulbs this fall can yield weeks of color next spring, according to Sally Ferguson at the Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center. To accomplish that, select a palette of bulbs with different flowering times. Even daffodils come as early-, mid- and late-season bloomers.


text:
County Business Patterns: Why do letters appear in some of the columns instead of numbers?
Also, since 2007, all CBP data have been published using the Noise Infusion Method, which applies an associated noise flag that indicates whether a cell has low or medium Noise relative to other data cells. Refer to the CBP How the Data are Collected webpage for an explanation of the Noise Infusion Method used to protect published data.
Keywords: CBP


text:
Co-op News
The Slow Bleed of Devils LakeBy Steven Johnson | ECT Staff Writer Published: February 4th, 2013
Editor's note: While the nation's attention has been focused in recent years on natural disasters such as Sandy, Isaac and Katrina, a different kind of disaster has been playing out in rural North Dakota. In the first of three parts, ECT.coop looks at how nonstop flooding from a single lake has destroyed hundreds of farms and lives.
DEVILS LAKE, N.D.—The most painful part of Dan Webster's standoff with the flooding was when he had to burn down his father's house.
It was a white farmhouse on about 9,000 acres near Churchs Ferry in northeastern North Dakota, where his grandfather started farming in the 1930s, before electricity reached the area. Webster always believed that his wife and four daughters would move in and become the third generation of his family to live there.
Then the water came.
It started in the mid-1990s from a distant lake and metastasized like a cancer, washing over cropland, splashing against fuel tanks and lapping at the evergreens, poplars and lilac trees that Webster and his father Wilton planted around the house. After years of coping, they surrendered, accepted an insurance buyout and burned the house to the ground, because government rules said you couldn't leave it behind unoccupied.
"He worked all his life for that farmstead," Webster, a former electric cooperative director, says of his father. "I can still see us standing there. All the memories. Nobody said much. Up to the end, he still had hope that something was going to change."
A self-described optimist, Webster reflects on the tribulation from the dining room of his new house, about six miles from the old one. His father, nicknamed "McGyver" because he could fix anything, eventually moved to the city of Devils Lake, where he died in 2010. Webster, meanwhile, still has 5,000 acres under water to the merciless creep of Devils Lake, which has been turning parcels dedicated to wheat, soybeans and barley into navigable waters for two decades.
"You never dreamed it could get this bad," he says. "As it went on, you never dreamed that they wouldn't solve it. That's the frustrating thing."
On the vast, flat expense of the North Dakota plains, there is no immediacy to the story of Devils Lake. Unlike a hurricane or an ice storm, it moves in slow motion, inch by inch, in sparsely populated communities, and lacks the riveting drama that springs network news anchors from behind their desks to report from the site of a calamity.
But the question is the same: How do you put a price on the loss of your house, your farm, your land, your livelihood, your retirement, now that it has drowned in waters 20 feet deep?
Since 1993, when Devils Lake started its slow bleed across North Dakota's Lake Region, the damage has been unimaginable:
• An estimated $375 million in economic losses to the region, just in the last two years.
• The peak inundation of nearly 170,000 acres of farmland, an area larger than the size of Chicago.
• More than 650 houses and buildings relocated or burned to the ground.
• Twenty-three highway deaths attributable to crumbling, washed-out roads.
• More than $1.5 billion in federal, state and local spending, including more than $80 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which has bought out most of two communities and is moving another out of harm's way.
• Some $500 million spent to elevate roads and buttress them with broken stones and rubble, so the local highway network mostly resembles a series of rocky trestles.
• For one electric cooperative, the loss of more than 150 miles of overhead lines and 25 miles of underground lines.
"It's not a big, sexy flood," says Jeff Frith, manager of the Devils Lake Basin Joint Water Resource Board since 2008. "We're not rescuing people off the top of their roofs with Coast Guard helicopters; we don't have homes floating down the river. But it has been a slow-growing progression that eats away at people's lives and livelihoods."
Devils Lake Mayor Dick Johnson cups his open hands together and tries to explain the phenomenon, as a university professor explained it to him.
"As the lake was rising, at first it was a bowl. Once that bowl filled up, it became a plate," Johnson says. "It took a long time to get that bowl filled. But once it filled up and became a plate, it took very little water to spread it out, and it spread fast."
Devils Lake is an anomaly, the remnant of a glacial age that ended 10,000 years ago. It is a closed basin, with no outlet like a river or a stream. While rain and melted snow contribute to its rising levels, geologists believe Devils Lake is naturally unstable, and prone to extreme, prolonged wet and dry patterns.
Since its formation, it has dried up about a half-dozen times. But it also has topped out at 1,458 feet above sea level, the point at which it gushes southeast of the city into the Sheyenne River, a tributary of the Red River, causing devastation as far away as Canada.
The lake has been slithering toward that mark for almost 20 years. From June 1993 to June 2011, it swelled more than 31 feet, annexing a chain of other lakes before topping out at 1,454.30 feet. Its surface area ballooned from 44,230 acres to 211,300 acres, and it dumped water faster than the government could bale it out.
"There was no precedent for it," Johnson says. "At the beginning of it, even six miles inland, the transportation people would raise a bridge two feet. 'Ah, we're out of the water.' The next year, they'd be under again. They spent millions and millions and millions of dollars redoing stuff they had done before."
In response, the city has undergone a New Orleans-style fortification. For the fourth time since 1996, the Army Corps of Engineers has built up a 30-year-old levee, extending it to 12 miles long and about 1,466 feet high at a cost of $155 million.
Two pumping stations, one on either end of the lake, can push 600 cubic feet per second toward the Tolna Coulee, a manmade spillway that controls water flow into the Sheyenne. The stations' electric bill approaches $500,000 a month.
Those bulwarks and a recent spate of mild weather have brought some relief to the city's 7,000-plus residents, Johnson says. A packaging company could add 400 jobs to the tax base, and prospects are looking up.
"For years, all we heard`was flood, flood, flood, and you couldn't go to a meeting without hearing those things. This year, that wasn't the case. They talk about economic development," he says. "But you know what? We're one, maybe two major storms from being back where we were."
The city is protected, but the counties surrounding it are not, and that breaks JoAnn Rodenbiker's heart. She grew up beyond the levee in the small community of Lakewood, southwest of the city. Since 1994, Rodenbiker has been at Northern Plains Electric Co-op, where she directs business development from the Cando office. For years, she balked at visiting her old home, and with good reason.
"I hadn't gone out there because I couldn't stand the thought of it," she recalls. "When I went out, all of the farmland that my dad farmed is under water or in cattails. The houses out there, they're mostly gone. I could name everyone who lived in every one of those places. They're all gone. It's all under water. Where did they go? What happened to them?"
Mostly, they left. Last May, FEMA wrote a $3.8 million check to Minnewaukan, a tiny city on the lake's west bay, to buy out and demolish 57 residences and buildings. Minnewaukan is down to 227 residents from more than 400 at the start of the flooding. That's just one example. Churchs Ferry is all but extinct; its population has fallen from 118 to 12.
Bill Hodous understands why so many farmers have thrown in the towel. He did. With his family, Hodous harvested wheat, barley and sunflowers for nearly a quarter-century on a farm in Ramsey County, before rains filled up potholes required for hay production and shut down the business.
Now he is the North Dakota State University extension agent for Ramsey County. He and other researchers have been studying regional crop losses, which they put at more than $100 million for the last two years, during an otherwise prosperous period for farmers.
"We have to take what's given to us. At this point, this is what we have," Hodous says. "As the farmers or anybody in our community struggles, we struggle with them, trying to find information to help them out and get through things. So we're still right in the middle of it."
There has been a smattering of resolute holdouts trying to hold back an inevitable tide. One stood out to Gary Allen, manager of engineering at Northern Plains Electric Co-op, who is tasked with contacting landowners and letting them know when they're in danger of losing power for good.
The farmer was in his 80s, and Allen visited him personally to ask about his intentions, because the co-op lines and poles to the farm were in trouble.
"He had spent most of his time thinking about this, and he had come to the conclusion that the state and the government had abandoned him and FEMA had abandoned him," Allen says. "His wife was trying to keep him calm and the longer he talked, the more worked up he got. It came down to 'FEMA needs to leave one road open so they can get here with a hearse to take me away!' "
It didn't happen.
"He ended up having to move out. His entire farm is under water now."
Of necessity, Dan Webster became his own Army Corps of Engineers.
Some of the family farm was still accessible through a washed-out road that Ramsey County declined to repair. Webster fashioned a makeshift dike of rocks and hay bales, and used a tractor and pump to send water north of the road. On one side, then, an ad hoc lake; on the other, reasonably dry farmland. In 2010 alone, his undertaking required about 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel.
For a while, things were hopeful. But in 2011, the water burst through and Webster Dam gave way.
"That was really a killer, when we lost that many acres. We'd been holding on to that road for about eight years. It was about 3,500 acres we lost that year," he says.
In effect, Webster has started from scratch. He moved 14 buildings, including grain bins, to a tract he bought near Penn, southeast of Churchs Ferry. In addition to his dad's house, he burned four or five other structures. An aging Quonset-style building and a 30-year-old machine shed didn't qualify for demolition, so he had to spend $20,000 to move them, instead of investing the money in new ones.
"Financially, it wasn't good," says Webster, who was a director for 10 years at Grand Forks-based Nodak Electric Cooperative. "But when you're living it, there aren't a lot of options. I mean, it was a tremendous undertaking."
The lake is down about three feet from last year, but no one knows whether that's a short-term blip. The U.S. Geological Survey says it might stay in the range of 1,454 feet through 2030. There's a 1-in-10 probability that it could top 1,458 feet, splash past the coulee, and endanger communities along the Sheyenne and Red rivers.
Yet for all the flooded farmsteads, all the ruined lives, all the despair and disruption, Mother Nature can't submerge the emotional attachment that farmers feel for their land.
Webster, who now farms with his son-in-law, is in it for the long haul. He hopes to reclaim 500 to 1,000 acres of the flooded farm, if the waters cooperate in 2013. Barley and soybeans can tolerate salty lake residue, but he cautions that the soil will have to be analyzed and cleaned up before he decides whether to plant.
"It's been hard on families," he says. "If you're a farmer, it's a generational thing, because you don't get in and out of farming. To get in, you almost have to have help from the family. It takes too much money. Ideally, I'd like to be able to pass on what my grandfather and my father passed on to me."
Next week: Part two on a co-op member who stood up to the flooding.
Click here to view a gallery of Devils Lake photos.
Click here to view a video produced by Northern Plain Electric Cooperative.
To sign up for the latest Co-op Newsmakers news alerts, click here.
Tags: Army Corps of Engineers, Co-op News, FEMA, Flooding, Weather


text:
By Diane Ness
A couple weeks ago, I discussed the skills that young skaters can learn at the mini-Mite level. Stopping is one of the first skills young skaters should learn after they have gained enough balance to push and glide. Stopping is also a skill in which we need to get really creative in our drills in order to fully engage our young skaters.
You will notice as young skaters learn how to stop they will tend to favor one side over the other. We want to develop both sides, and the sooner we can do it the better. I will give you some drills that can be done with younger skaters to help develop this skill.
For the first drill we will have the skaters spread out and find an open space. The coach should then go around to each skater and with a thick black magic marker (thick Sharpies work great), make one solid line on the ice in front of him or her. The skater will then turn their skate sideways in a stopping position.
When the coach says go, each skater will "shave" the ice with his or her blade. As they shave the ice, the black marking will start to come off. As the skaters push and push, eventually the marking will completely come off the ice. Once this happens, the skater will quickly go down to one knee. This is something we can make a contest out of encouraging the kids to push hard and fast with the one-foot. We will then start again using the other foot.
The second drill that we will do for stopping will now involve the coach making a "garage" out of three sticks or cones (the skaters are the cars). The coach will make a box that will have an open end, which will be the opening of our garage. The coach will stand behind the last stick facing the skaters in line.
When the coach says go, the skater will skate out with some speed. The coach will then shift either to the right or left side of the garage. The skater will have to adjust and stop facing the coach.
This is a great drill because the skater does not initially know which way they will be stopping until the coach shifts from one side or the other. This will force the skater to have to react to the coach and stop quickly.
For the last drill, we will do a basic zig-zag from blue line to red line. The skaters will start on the blue line. From there he/she will skate with some speed to the red line.
The coach has the option to have the skaters stop on one foot inside edge, one foot outside edge, two feet inside edges (hockey stop) or two feet inside outside edges (hockey stop). It is up to the coach what he/she wants each of the skaters to accomplish. I would suggest doing all four, making sure they can do all of the stops. Make sure the skaters are working their "hard side" as much, if not more than their "easy side."
Remember, it may take some skaters an entire season to learn to stop so keep working hard.
Diane Ness has been a full-time professional skating coach for over 35 years. She has coached both figure skaters and hockey players alike and is a former U.S. gold medalist in figure skating. She is the Director for the Pro Edge Power hockey camps and the Learn to Skate program at Highland Park Arena. Ness is the skating coach for the New Jersey Devils, the University of Minnesota men's and women's hockey teams and the U.S. Women's Olympic Hockey Team. She has trained players in the NHL, AHL, NCAA, USHL and NAHL.


text:
1:03 minutes
In 2011, relationship expert Tracy McMillan published an article in The Huffington Post titled \'Why You\'re Not Married.\' The piece went viral, becoming one of the all-time most popular articles on the site. In it, Tracy wrote candidly about the self-destructive behaviors that can hold people back from finding meaningful, authentic love. Watch to find out why Tracy says one of those mistakes, repeatedly having casual sex, is like \'recreational heroin\' for some women.


text:
Top Definition
A motivation song by U2. Often used to cheer your buddies who has a bad day; but not for fat people, because the lyrics can be misconstrued as an insult.
Poor Bono. When Oprah laments about her weight gain, all he wanted to do was break into the song, "Stuck In A Moment" to cheer her up... Alas, he knew better... took her to a nice restaurant instead.
από beware of blast 15 Δεκέμβριος 2008
Trending Now
Can you define these popular missing words?


text:
THIS ESTABLISHMENT IS CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS UNTIL LATE 2016. Refurbished as a Four Seasons Resort, this country property is unique among Hawaii's top-of-the-line hotels. Most others are located on the shoreline, but this one sits in Lanai's central highlands, a cool 1,600 feet above sea level. It takes its name from the nearby sugar cane farming region that lies above quaint Lanai City, the island's only town. Deluxe rooms are surrounded by groves of Norfolk pine, banyan, eucalyptus and jacarandas. The feeling here is that of a grand estate, with the use of heavy timbers, high-beamed ceilings and natural stone fireplaces. A stately Great Hall leads to a spectacular porch that presents a perfect setting for afternoon tea. A library and trophy room furthers the feeling that you are in a grand house rather than a hotel. Activities are what any visitor to a country manor would expect: shooting, croquet, horseback riding, swimming, tennis and garden walks. The eighteen-hole Manele Golf Course is designed by Jack Nicklaus.
US and Canada: 1-800-780-5733 Europe: 00-800-11-20-11-40 Promo Code 189391
Customer service: Manage your booking


text:
Nursing tops this year's best jobs, publication states
Nursing jobs, the professional career that allows caregivers to fulfill an array of tasks and responsibilities to help their fellow human beings enhance their personal health during times of need, is this year's best job, according to U.S. News & World Report.
As many as 712,000 new nursing jobs will be created this year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The profession's annual salary ranges from $44,000 to $95,000.
Three tips to best secure gainful employment as a nurse include focusing on a specialty early on, capitalizing on networking tools and considering opportunities away from hospitals.
"Actually its growth rate is good, but not out of line with some other occupations," economist Michael Wolf with the federal agency told the news source. "Registered nurses should grow by about 26 percent. The healthcare practitioner occupations as a whole have a growth rate of about 26 percent, though."
Healthcare jobs' largest segment is fulfilled by nurses, whose numbers are as high as 2.6 million, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.


text:
This resource provides a variety of information and activities that teachers may like to use with their students to explore the Islamic Middle East collections at the V&A. It can be used to support learning in Maths and Art. Included in this resource are sections on:
- Principles of Islamic art and design
- Pre-visit activities
- Activities to do in the museum
- Activities to do back at school
Islamic art explores the geometric systems that depend upon the regular division of the circle and the study of Islamic art increases appreciation and understanding of geometry. The use of these geometric systems creates a harmony among Islamic decorative arts and architecture, which is consistent with the Islamic belief that all creation is harmoniously interrelated.
Approaching an abstract subject in a concrete way provides a means of extending maths into other curriculum areas. The context of the Museum expands and enriches students' appreciation of the application of geometry in a cultural context and develops the sense of different cultural identities. Students have the opportunity to become familiar with the relationship between geometry and design and this can give confidence to students who have never seen themselves as 'good at art'.
Islamic Middle East (Room 42) and South Asia (Room 41) are referred to in the Museum activities. This resource also suggests activities for students to carry out before and after they visit the Museum.
National curriculum linksThe activities based on geometric Islamic patterns in this booklet support learning about shapes, space and measures. Students at Key Stage 1 and 2 can learn to recognise circles, triangles, squares and hexagons, and to create pictures using 2-D shapes. They learn to identify lines of symmetry and to recognise reflective and rotational symmetry. Students at Key Stage 2 and 3 can study transformational and symmetrical patterns to produce tessellations. The activities are particularly useful for cross-curricular links with Art and Technology projects.
Preparation for a visit
We strongly suggest that teachers make a preliminary visit to the V&A and undertake the activities themselves before introducing these to students. Students will need to construct patterns for themselves in order to develop an understanding of how the shapes relate to each other. Allow plenty of time for these activities. Some students may lack the co-ordination required to manipulate a compass. Circular templates with the circumference divided into six or eight equal parts will help to get these students started.
We have provided a triangular grid for producing patterns with triangles and hexagons. We have also provided patterns that can be used to make card templates of the main shapes.
Download triangle grid template (PDF file, 60.4 KB)
Download circular template (PDF file, 116.7 KB)
Download octagon template (PDF file, 43.5 KB)
Download hexagon and triangle template (PDF file, 93.2 KB)
Principles of Islamic art & design
Islamic faith
Islamic faith is based on the Islamic holy book, the Qur'an (sometimes spelt Koran), which followers of Islam believe to be the word of God as revealed through the Archangel Gabriel to the Prophet Mohammed in the early 7th century. The Prophet was born in Arabia in about AD 571 and died in AD 632. By the early eighth century Islam had spread by military conquest westward as far as Spain and eastward to Samarqand and the Indus Valley. Islam continued to expand, into Turkey and deeper into the Indian subcontinent, into north-western China and South-East Asia. Followers of Islam are called Muslims.
Art and design
The Islamic faith provides laws to govern both religious observance and social behaviour. While the Qur'an contains no specific prohibition on figural imagery, most interpretations of Islamic law have tended to discourage such imagery as potentially idolatrous, and figural elements such as pictures are rigorously excluded from most religious settings. However, there is a continuous tradition of using figures as part of decorative schemes in non-religious contexts, particularly in the illustration of books.
Islamic decoration consists of three main elements, which are often combined in the decorative scheme on a single object:
- calligraphy in various forms of Arabic script (Arabic is the language of the Qur'an and therefore of God, and has a special significance in Islamic culture)
- arabesques, scrollwork and other floral or plant-like designs
- geometrical designs using a limited number of geometric shapes in many different ways
Geometry in Islamic design
The use of geometry is important in the development of Islamic ornament, whatever form it takes. Circles, for example, are crucial in designing arabesque patterns, and even calligraphy has been described as 'spiritual geometry.' The use of purely geometric elements to create elaborate patterns, though, has become a sophisticated form of decoration on its own. The appeal of Islamic geometric decoration lies in its logical interrelation of parts, reflecting in abstract form the underlying order found in nature.
Among the most important aspects of Islamic geometric design are repetition and variation. A series of tiles, for example, may consist of only one or two shapes but the patterns of the tiles may all be different. In other designs, a few different shapes may be combined to create a complex interlocking pattern.
Symmetry plays a part in most Islamic patterns. There may be a single line of reflective symmetry, usually from the top to the bottom, or there may be three or four lines of symmetry. Straight (translation) and turning (rotational) movements are also used. Sometimes reflective symmetry and the two kinds of movement are found in the same design. Symmetry and repetition give unity to the more complex designs, as in this panel with a pattern based on pentagons.
Pre-visit activities
Most of the patterns that your students will see in the Islamic objects at the V&A are based on the equilateral triangle and the square. Both can be made by using only a compass and a straightedge, and both can fit within a circle so that all points touch the circumference. Patterns based on equilateral triangles and hexagons are easy to make using a compass and straightedge because the radius of a circle divides its circumference into six equal parts.
When working with a compass it is a good idea to place a piece of thin card under the piece of paper on which you are drawing as this will help to stop the compass point from slipping. The pencil leg should always be a little longer than the stationary leg and the weight of your hand should be over the point to keep it in position and upright.
Triangles and hexagons
Open the compass about two inches and press the point into the paper. This is the 'invisible' starting point from which the design will unfold. Draw a circle with the compass.
Put the compass point anywhere on the circumference of the circle and swing the pencil leg so that a mark is made on the circumference. Move the point of the compass to the pencil mark and make another pencil mark on the circumference. Continue doing this round the circle until there are six marks. From these six marks the series of hexagons and six-pointed stars illustrated here can be made.
- Join up the points in sequence round the circle to make the six-sided polygon, a hexagon. This has three pairs of parallel lines
- Next join up every second point. You now have an equilateral triangle
- Join up the other three points and you have a second equilateral triangle. Together these two triangles make up a star. One triangle points up to heaven, the other points down to earth. Three pairs of parallel lines make up the star. In the middle of the star is another hexagon
- Joining up every second point of the inner hexagon, makes another equilateral triangle in the inner hexagon. Joining up the other points makes a second equilateral triangle and another six-pointed star with a hexagon in the middle
- This pattern can go on and on. In this sequence of patterns the stars and hexagons change position
In another sequence the points are always in the same position.
This is done by joining up the centres of the lines of the hexagons to make the triangles. To find the centres, lightly draw lines joining the opposite points of the star.
These lines will cross the sides of the inner hexagon in the middle.You can now join up the centres of every second line to make one equilateral triangle and the centres of the other three lines to make a star.
Download triangle grid template (PDF file, 60.4 KB)
The triangular or isometric grid template can be used to make patterns of hexagons and six-pointed stars. We suggest you tape a clean sheet of paper over the grid and draw on the plain paper using the grid as a guide. This has the advantage of allowing the pattern to develop without the grid becoming too much of a distraction.
Point out to students that the grid can be used either horizontally or vertically depending on the pattern you are making. Ready-printed isometric paper is available from educational suppliers.
For a simple design start by colouring a small hexagon made up of six triangles. A triangle added to each of the sides of the hexagon will then make a six-pointed star. The star can be enclosed in a bigger hexagon by adding six diamonds. A bigger star and a bigger hexagon can then be made and so on.
Squares and octagons
The eight-pointed star which is made of two overlapping squares in a circle, is the basis of many Islamic patterns (1 & 2).
The points of the eight-pointed star are short. In some designs, the sides of the squares in both directions are extended to create eight larger points (4).
Other designs are constructed by making a cross from the eight-pointed star. In many patterns, this cross is combined with the short-pointed eight-pointed star (5).
Download circular template (PDF file, 116.0 KB)
Make circular templates with the circumference divided into eight equal parts. Show students how to use these circle templates to make the octagon, the short-pointed eight-pointed star and the cross.
Another way to form a template is to fold a square of paper in half from corner to corner to form a triangle, fold this triangle in half and then in half again. Open it out, put your compass point in the centre where the fold lines cross and draw a circle. The fold lines will divide the circumference of the circle into eight. Join these points to make an octagon.
Shape recognition and shape groups
Students will need to have a good shape vocabulary and be adept at recognising shapes (circle, triangle, square, hexagon, octagon, six-pointed star, eight-pointed star, and regular and irregular polygons) to get the most from their visit to the Museum. Practice by doing some shape recognition exercises. Provide students with large-scale triangular grid paper, or use a triangular template, and ask them to cut out mosaic pieces and arrange them to form specific patterns. Create stars and other shapes using drinking straws.
Students also need to understand the relationship between groups of shapes: those based on three and six divisions of a circle are equilateral triangles; hexagons and six-pointed stars and those based on four and eight divisions of a circle are squares, octagons and eight-pointed stars. These groupings will determine how shapes fit together and which grids are used for making patterns.
In the Museum
Before coming to the Museum, make sure you have prepared and brought with you; copies of the triangular grid paper templates, some plain paper and coloured pencils (but not felt pens, they are not allowed in the Museum).
If you plan to do the activity in the Islamic Middle East gallery (room 42) based on the minbar you should take ready-cut octagon, octagonal stars and irregular hexagon shapes.
Download triangle grid template (PDF file, 60.4 KB)
Download octagon template (PDF file, 43.5 KB)
Download hexagon and triangle template (PDF file, 93.2 KB)
Download circular template (PDF file, 116.0 KB) This template also contains stars and crosses.
Drawing shapes and patterns from screens
Take students to the raised area in the centre of the South Asian room (Room 41). Look at the sandstone and marble screens. These are used instead of glass windows in India because they let in light and air but not too much sun and heat.
Some of the patterns are simple and some are very complex. They are not easy for primary students to draw so it may be better to start by asking questions that will help them to see how patterns are made.
Which screens have star patterns? Which have hexagons? How many different triangles can they see?
Ask students to choose their favourite screen and record the names of the shapes they recognise. Are there any irregular shapes? If so, draw one.
The screens shown here could be drawn using templates.
For Screen 1 you need the hexagon and a triangle template.
For Screen 2 you need the octagon template with each side divided into three.
Some students might like to try drawing designs directly on to their grid paper using coloured pencils.
They might start with the pattern based on stars and hexagons.
Conclude your work on the screens (like Screen 3) by asking your students to look in detail at all the other screens and find how many have hexagons, squares, triangles or octagons in their designs. Ask students to investigate whether there is a rule about which shapes go together.
When your students have finished drawing ask them to look around the room and find other geometric designs on textiles and objects and see if they are based on six or eight. Discuss the patterns your students find. If you intend to produce related artwork back at school, ask students to record the most commonly used colours.
Drawing tessellations and symmetry from objects
Start by doing some basic shape recognition in the Islamic Middle East gallery (Room 42). Ask students to find the three objects below:
Check that students can distinguish between the shape of the object and the pattern drawn on it. Ask your students to choose two or three patterns they like and sketch them. They could use the grid paper if it helps or draw round templates. Notice that some of the objects have different designs on each part. Students could sketch these individual designs too.
Ask students to find and record an example of a regular tessellation based on repeating one shape only (say, a hexagon) and an example of a semi-regular tessellation where two different shapes are fitted together and repeated (say, stars and diamonds). Discuss the use of tiles today. Why do we use square and hexagonal shapes and not pentagons?
Ask your students to look for the lines of symmetry in individual designs. Can they record a design with one line of symmetry and another with two or more? Which designs do not have a line of symmetry?
Students should look around the gallery to find patterns that use the triangle, hexagon, star, square, or octagon and try sketching some of the simpler patterns.
Students can use their star and cross template to make the tile pattern and can then draw in the different surface patterns.
More complex geometric shapes
The geometrical designs from Mamluk Egypt are some of the most complex in the gallery. Show your students the large wooden panel that originally formed part of the side of a minbar (pulpit) in the mosque of Ibn Tulun in Cairo.
A Mamluk officer named Lajin hid from his enemies in the abandoned and ruined Ibn Tulun mosque after the assassination of the reigning sultan. He vowed he would restore the mosque if he ever came to power himself. When he became sultan in 1296, he fulfilled his promise. The minbar from which this panel is taken formed part of the restoration.
Ask your students to find the octagons and eight-pointed stars in the panel. There are eight-pointed stars with short points that have been extended to form similar stars with long points. Prior to the visit prepare some ready-cut octagons, stars and irregular hexagons.
Working in small groups in front of the panel, ask students to lay the pieces out on coloured paper to recreate the pattern.
The missing shapes will be created in the spaces between your pieces. You could use gummed paper or double-sided cellotape so that the finished results can be stuck down.
A complete minbar from the end of the 15th century, also from Cairo, is behind you and to the left as you look at the panel in the gallery. Go on to look at the design on it. The main motif is a star whose points radiate outward to form a wheel-like pattern.
Look for the way this motif is repeated in varying sizes. Compare this design with the design on the panel from the mosque of Ibn Tulun. What similarities and differences are there? Find and draw examples of four-, five- and six- (or more) sided shapes.
Finally, show your students the wooden panel in the 'Geometry' display on the east wall of the gallery. This panel was part of a box-like structure marking the tomb of a holy man named Sayf al-Din Bakharzi in the city of Bukhara, in what is now the country of Uzbekistan.
The panel, made of carved wood with painted highlights, is rectangular in shape and features several distinct patterns. The main section contains a pattern made up of six-pointed stars and twelve-sided figures.
Below it another section has a pattern based on hexagons. The sides and top of the panel, on the other hand, have a border of motifs based on eight-pointed stars.
Before leaving the gallery discuss with your students what they have seen, which patterns they liked and why they liked them.
Back at school
A valuable follow-up activity is for students to reproduce some of the tile shapes they have seen. If everyone works to the same scale then the finished results can be sorted into shapes based on six and eight and displayed together in tessellating panels.
Ask your students to make drawings in colour of some of the objects and screens they have sketched at the Museum. Put the drawings up in the classroom so students can see each other's work. Compare and discuss the different patterns. Notice how they are made and whether they are based on six or eight.
Using the work they did in the Museum for inspiration, ask your students to develop designs of their own using the triangular grid as a guide. They could choose part of the design or the whole design to be a repeat pattern. By drawing over the design several times, or using a photocopier, students can see what type of pattern the repeat design makes. Ask them to use some of the colours they recorded in the Museum.
The work could lead into other kinds of artwork. Create card rubbings and mobiles based on the designs seen
in the Museum. Fabric printing could be based on tile designs. Hexagons and triangles could form the base for a patchwork. For a Technology exercise, moulds or forms could be designed to make tiles of different shapes.
If you have access to a computer, try making patterns based on hexagons, octagons and stars by manipulating the basic shapes in different ways.


text:
HONOLULU (AP) - The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation is reaching out to Native Hawaiians whose ancestors may be buried along a proposed rail line from the west side of Oahu to downtown.
HART held the first in a series of meetings Thursday to discuss recent discoveries of bones, or iwi kupuna, in the city center area and along Nimitz Highway, according to Hawaii News Now.
Transportation officials are encouraging possible descendant families to file claims and register with the State Historic Preservation Division to have a say in what happens to iwi kupuna that are found.
"It becomes much easier and far more valuable to you as someone coming forward to speak up on behalf of iwi, to say that 'this is my claim,' " said Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, chair of the Oahu Island Burial Council. "If you get your papers and your documents submitted, if you would like recognition as soon as the next meeting comes along, then we can address and serve your needs."
HART has recently sped up the digging of trenches to satisfy a state Supreme Court ruling to complete the archaeological process before any rail construction can resume.
"We had a plan and a schedule that had us completing all the trenching work around the end of February. But it now looks like with the acceleration, we're going to be able to wrap this up, the trenching activity, by the end of the year," said HART CEO Dan Grabauskas.
Grabauskas has said that utilities and pillars for the $5 billion elevated rail line could still be moved to protect the bones, according to Hawaii News Now.
Hawaii has a stringent state law protecting graves. The 1990 law prohibits removing, destroying or altering any burial sites except as permitted by the state and local burial councils. If a construction project encounters bones, the work must stop in the immediate area and authorities must be notified.
It's important in Hawaiian culture to leave bones undisturbed because of the belief that people infuse their life force into the ground once they are buried. Since this process isn't finished until the bones have dissolved, digging them up interrupts a person's journey in the afterlife.