text:
Skip to Content
Cervical cancer means that cells in your cervix are growing abnormally and out of control. The cancer cells can spread to other parts of your body.
The cervix is the lower part of the uterus that opens into the vagina.
Current as of:
November 20, 2015
Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:
Anne C. Poinier, MD - Internal Medicine & Ross Berkowitz, MD - Obstetrics and Gynecology
This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated, disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. Learn how we develop our content.
To learn more about Healthwise, visit Healthwise.org.
© 1995-2016 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.
© Copyright 2017 Rush Copley Medical Center • 2000 Ogden Avenue; Aurora, IL 60504
Main: 630-978-6200 • Physician Referral & Information: 630-978-6700 or 866-4COPLEY (866-426-7539)


text:
This is a common result after years of having the Amalgam (silver) fillings in our back chewing teeth. Over time, these fillings start to open up and leak- allowing the saliva and bacteria to seep into the space between the filling and the tooth. Another cause of this is the staining from the Amalgam fillings. The Amalgam slowly starts to stain the teeth and can also sometimes stain the surrounding tissue- causing what is called: "Amalgam tattoos". The stained teeth start to appear gray. This may be an indication that it is time to have those fillings changed and the teeth examined to confirm there is no decay underneath the fillings. I hightly recommend going in to see your dentist to have these teeth examined. You may want to consider having these teeth treated with composite resin fillings or porcelain restorations. Discuss all your options with your dentist. Good luck!
Dr. Parnaz Aurasteh

subset: commoncrawl


text:
found a new home!
Plenty of my friends are looking
for one too. Find a pet to adopt.
I am already spayed, purebred, up to date with shots, good with kids, and good with dogs.
All Dogs shown by appointment only - Must have a completed adoption application before adoption process will begin. Please Note that we will ONLY adopt to Indoor homes with outdoor playtime and pottytime . We do ask for updates on our dogs to make sure they are doing well after the adoption and also require that they come back here if the adoption does not work out. All dogs MUST be spayed or neutered there are no exceptions to this so please don't ask !
Background:Owner surrender to shelter due to moving
Breed: Rottweiler
Color:Black and Tan
Approximate Age: 3 years old
Spay/Neuter Status:Spayed soon
Vaccinations: up to date , micro-chipped and de-wormed
Housetrained: ?
Personality/energy level:Laid back and very sweet
Compatibility With Children: Good
Compatibility With Other Dogs: Seems good so far
Compatibility With Cats: Uknown
Romy, a Evansville Rottweiler dog was adopted! Here's how you can benefit by looking at adoption as an option to buying a Rottweiler for sale in Evansville, or seeking a Rottweiler dog from a breeder in Evansville.


text:
Listen to free music by Little Pictures
Blip.fm is internet radio made social. It's easy to search for, play, and discover free music recommended by real people. Join today to create your own free station.
Dec 9, 2012 at 2:43 am via YouTube | AMAZON | ITUNES
D1RTYHARRY Little Pictures - Buddy Holly (Weezer cover)
dirtworker17 thxs man! this is cool @RadioFreeIllinois: "> tx @dirtworker17@FMV@GR8FL" (reblip)
diana_suaza Great !!
Little Pictures – This House Can Fit Us All| play
diana_suaza :)
MotleyMaMa yeah well... I dont have a pic I like!@ladycatlady
Dec 1, 2010 at 11:08 pm • reply to ladycatlady | AMAZON | ITUNES
Artists Like Little Pictures
Blip.fm DJs who play Little Pictures
Friends: MerchantCircle | Charity Blossom | Website Load Testing


text:
Time Schedule:
Paul Boynton
Seattle Campus
Gravity as central to the form and evolution of the universe. Conceptual formulation of gravity from the Renaissance to Einstein. Its consequences from the falling of an apple to the slowing of the expansion of the universe. Offered: W.
Class description
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
REQUIRED TEXT: Cosmology: A Cosmic Perspective (available from ASUW Lecture Notes, HUB)
Recommended preparation
There are no prerequisites for this course; but a good preparation would be provided by Astronomy 101, 102, or 150, or one quarter of college physics. We do assume each student has retained some skills in geometry and algebra from high school. It would be helpful to bring some curiosity about how we have come to live in a world whose values and view of reality are profoundly affected by the apparent success of science and thechnology.
Class assignments and grading
Course Overview
Modern physical science is based on a distinctly late-Renaissance worldview whose character was shaped largely in the 16th and 17th centuries with major contributions from Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and Newton. However, the roots of this particular mode of thinking about the physical world can be traced as far back as Classical Greece. In The Universe and Change, we attempt to reveal the development of scientific inquiry by examining in four eras (Classical Greece, Hellenism, the Renaissance, and the Twentieth Century) the solutions to a crucial puzzle posed by visual observations of the night sky that suggest underlying order in the celestial realm. This series of struggles in problem-solving reveals not only the success and power of this modern way of knowing the world, but also its inherent limitations.
The primary theme of the examples studied here is the phenomenon of gravitation. Examining this theme reveals how our approach to understanding the physical world has taken several forms over the past two millennia. We will see that universal gravitation not only solves the historical problem of interpreting earth-bound observation of the motions of the Sun, Moon and planets, but also leads to the 20th century realization that gravity is intimately involved in determining the structure of the universe from the largest scale (cosmological) to the smallest (atomic and nuclear). Consequentially, gravity is a central player in setting up conditions for life in the universe.
Two, one-hour quizzes, a midterm, weekly homework, two projects, and a final exam.


text:
Bank employee unions, AIBEA, BEFI, AIBOA and NUBE claimed that about seven lakh employees of various public sector banks are participating in the strike
New Delhi: A section of public sector bank employees have gone on nation-wide strike on Thursday to protest the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, partially affecting normal banking operations in some banks, reports PTI.
Employees of four bank unions participating in strike are from All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA), Bank Employees Federation of India (BEFI), All India Bank Officers' Association (AIBOA) and National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE).
Operations have been affected in those banks where these unions have a strong presence.
The strike follows the Lok Sabha clearing Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill after the government dropped controversial provisions relating to allowing banks to trade in futures.
The Bill is scheduled to be considered by the Rajya Sabha today.
The Bill paves the way for foreign investments in the sector and establishment of new private banks. The Bill will allow RBI to supersede boards of private sector banks and increase the cap on voting rights of private investors in PSBs to 10% from 1%.
The amendment to the banking laws will dilute the interest of public sector banks, AIBEA General Secretary CH Venkatachalam said.
Besides, the striking unions are also against the merger plans of banks and opening of the sector to private players.
The unions claimed that about seven lakh employees of various public sector banks are participating in the strike.
Many banks, including Indian Bank and Corporation Bank, had informed customers that normal functioning of branches may be affected if strike materialises.
A blog published by the international magazine Forbes on the founder of QNet, a notorious multi-level marketing (MLM) scheme, has been touted by agents of the company as a blue-chip endorsement. Now the same writer goes a step further to defend them by attacking Moneylife's stance on the dodgy scheme. Not surprisingly, QNet, which refused to answer direct questions posed by Moneylife, appears to have provided detailed answers to this writer
Donald Frazier, a writer at Forbes, has done it again. This time, he endorses QNet, a typical MLM scheme, which has been luring hundreds of thousands Indians the same way Speak Asia did, while attacking Moneylife. The endorsement contains answers to specific queries raised by us. What is astonishing is that Frazier claims not to have met any detractors of QNet. Here is the latest on Forbes' endorsement of a dubious operation that our Ministry of Corporate Affairs and its Serious Frauds Investigation Office (SFIO) are claiming to investigate.
The blog by Frazier on the website of Forbes Asia has repeatedly found mention in the comments section of Moneylife's many articles on QNet as a credible endorsement of the scheme and its Malaysian-born promoter, Vijay Eswaran. The comments, ostensibly from independent representatives (IRs) of QNet, seek to allay the fears of potential victims of the scheme. When Moneylife tweeted the India editor of Forbes magazine to find out if it really was endorsing QNet, our articles were apparently brought to Frazier's attention.
Since then, Frazier has tried to draw Moneylife into a dialogue and attempted to get us to supply him with a list of QNet detractors—something no self-respecting journalist ought to do. Now he has published a bigger endorsement of QNet, which, strangely enough, has Moneylife and its managing editor as its centrepiece. Does this mean that Moneylife's investigation into the Singapore-registered QNet's obviously shady business is hitting home? Read on for details.
Frazier's latest blog starts with the strange premise that he invited Sucheta Dalal, managing editor of Moneylife and founder-trustee of Moneylife Foundation, to use his blog as a "neutral site" for providing information on QNet. This is strange because Moneylife is an e-paper, in competition with Forbes, and we have posted several articles about QNet, which detail our standpoint. Frazier, however, seems confused about the difference between media entities and a shady corporate entity that would need his blog—either as a friendly or hostile site—to post views.
Mr Frazier also claimed that "She (Ms Dalal) also opted to not identify self-professed 'victims' of QNet who, she says, came out in one of her for-pay seminars in Mumbai a few weeks ago." This is interesting because Moneylife Foundation's seminar was attended by two senior officers from the government's SFIO who not only heard the victims but also participated in the discussion. There was an audience of over 50 persons that day.
He then goes on to pick up some direct and specific questions that Moneylife had posed to Zaheer Merchant, QNet's director for corporate communications. Mr Merchant has yet to respond to us directly, but apparently made time to give Frazier a point-by-point reply. Ironically, the answers only prove our point that QNet's reaction to our writings—way back in 2009—were to immediately offer an all-expenses paid trip to Hong Kong to Ms Dalal to "check out their operations". It is not clear why an MLM selling holiday packages, watches and trinkets globally needs to fly journalists to Hong Kong. Mr Merchant says that many journalists accepted QNet's invitation—it would be interesting to get a list of names, because analysing their writings on QNet, before and after visiting Hong Kong, would establish the impact of the trip.
The emails between Mr Frazier and Ms Dalal that are self explanatory...
On 3 December 2012, Mr Frazier wrote...
Dear Ms. Dalal -
Greetings, and I hope you are well.
You've apparently been much more successful than I have in finding detractors of QNet. Last week I sent you a message with a greater idea: what if you were to summarize all of the allegations of unsavory and illegal behavior by the company? I would run it in my column in Forbes, and demand that QNet answers them publicly.
I should post a column on reactions to the story anyway. I can get answers to all of your questions, helping your readers and mine.
Here's the link: http://www.forbes.com/sites/donaldfrazier/2012/10/24/selling-a-better-life/ (Originally in Forbes Asia's print edition for November.)
I hope to do this is a few days; please reply so that I know you received this,
On the same day, Ms Dalal replied, saying...
Dear Mr Frazier
Greetings and many thanks for your email. I guess you have written to me because everybody lured by QNet is quoting the "positive" coverage that QNet received from Forbes.
I am not sure you know, but we run a magazine (smaller than Forbes, certainly, but we are in the publication business). Our website www.moneylife.in has a big reach and our e-magazine goes out to over 75,000 people every day.
I am not sure why WE should summarise anything for YOU to publish in your BLOG. Completely flummoxed by the suggestion. Wouldn't it be far better if you were to visit our website, search for QNet and find everything we have to say on the matter for yourself?
If you are truly saying that you have not found anyone with anything negative to say about QNet, I can only say that you have not looked hard enough. We had several people at our seminar in Mumbai who would have happily provided details. Maybe a visit to the Serious Frauds Investigation Office in Mumbai or the police in Hyderabad will also help you get information.
I trust this is useful.
On 4 December 2012 Mr Frazier replied...
Hi Ms Dalal, and many thanks for your prompt, substantive note.
Yes, I was quite surprised to find my story commonly described as an 'endorsement,' as if coverage of any company confers a quasi-official 'seal of approval' on its activities. Mainly, given our focus on individual entrepreneurs at Forbes, it's a story about the ascent of QNet's founder who, you gotta admit, has indeed become rich and famous this way.
I've just discovered Moneylife. Your creation? I think its mixture of news coverage, commentary, blogging, tweeting and events could very well point the way for the future of journalism—at least in India, where the Jain brothers et al seem to be far in advance of the West in breaking down old conventions. I love its energetic tone of righteous indignation!
To answer your question, I thought you might prefer to assemble these various charges because that would give you a more cohesive, harder-hitting document. (Must confess: I also thought you might have fun with the confronting Qnet directly in my space.)
But no worries: I'll take your advice, by gathering the disparaging references from Moneylife, your blog, your twitter feed etc, and running them in one document, and asking QNet to reply. I'll be sure to attribute them to you. But some of these are more like allusions. For example, consider a twitter reply of 19 November, by a Ritesh [email protected]: @suchetadalal "Mam I am a direct victim of QuestNet/Goldquest, really want to kill those bastards, All these MLM are pure fraud." Great copy, but it doesn't give us as lot of information to go on.
(BTW I'm not a blogger—all of my stories for Forbes and Forbes Asia are for the paid print operation and subject to the same fact-checking, editing and so on. Forbes corporate uses the blogging platform to post everything they publish—no wonder you got the wrong impression.)
I'd be delighted to feature the people from your seminar in Mumbai. Bring them on!
I'll do this over the next few days; please feel free to forward anything you'd like me to add to the mix.
Cheers – and thanks again for inspiring what will be a spirited dialogue.
On the same day, Ms Dalal replied, saying...
Greetings Mr Frazier...
Moneylife—our website also collates authentic information and cross checks it with the police, serious frauds office and government ministries.
Just for your information, we will not collate uninformed comments on Twitter or Facebook and use them in our reports or stories. Also, just by way of background, Debashis Basu (editor & founder of Moneylife) and I have over 27 years of journalistic experience, mainly in India's mainline press. So it's not a little fun blog—and the "righteous indignation" you speak of is borne out of close observation of the Indian business scenario.
So no, we won't "bring it on" .. We think each of us ought to do our own research and our own writing. Many thanks for your offer.
There are other things that the Forbes columnist apparently failed to notice when he was trawling the internet for Twitter feeds and comments. QNet and its IRs or sales agents specialise in creating duplicate domain names to manipulate search engines like Google. Moneylife had a firsthand experience of this. Maybe Mr Frazier should check this link: http://forbesmagazineqnet.1672098.free-press-release.com/.
Another result that appears on Google bears the title "Forbes Asia - Official QNet Blog – Qnet" (yes, the QNet people have used Forbes Asia as their page title!) The entry on this blog page says, "Vijay Eswaran in Forbes Philanthropy Heroes List!" Do we, or Mr Frazier, need more proof that shows how his article in Forbes is being misused by QNet to endorse its 'business'?
QNet has done this to Moneylife as well. Check out moneylife.qnetlife.in and moneylife.qnetlife.net, which is clearly the handiwork of the QNet team and designed to mislead. Finally, here is a first-person account from a well-known television journalist, Ashu Dutt, on how he and his family became a victim of QNet. He sent this to Mr Frazier with a copy to us…
I got your reference from Sucheta Dalal. As a backgrounder I was the Chief Consulting Editor of Bloomberg TV and ET Now, Editor and Senior Anchor at CNBC-TV18 and Senior Anchor at NDTV/Star News. I am also a bestselling author of over a dozen books. So I hope this provides you with credibility in terms of a "detractor".
QI/QNet/QuestNet/GoldQuest/Faith Network is not just a fraud, but they lure women to break away from their families and then go after the family money. My own wife fell into this trap. I have 3 little children and she has put their future in jeopardy. They first lured her into their web using hypnotists (their Mumbai kingpin, Manjunath Hegde, is a hypnotist and they proudly declare him to be a "master of the mind". The network in Mumbai is run through another cult-like organization called "Faith Network".
Once this was done, they got her to put money from our house and relatives. Then they told her to kidnap our children and run away to Thailand (my kids are US and Thai citizens). Fortunately, Indian immigration stopped her from going to Thailand.
This is my story. I can tell you that there are hundreds of Indian families that have been ruined by these people. In Mumbai, they use hypnotism and cult-like practices (wearing white clothes with blue pendants).
Once they trap the women, they go after their wealth. My wife has now gone on to take over our assets by changing directors and doing all kinds of illegal corporate stuff guided by QI kingpins.
This is my personal experience and I come from your fraternity. I must say I was very dismayed to see a magazine of your standing put out an article about people who use hypnosis and destroy families.
QNet openly uses your article to mislead people. While it may just be an article for you, hundreds of homes have been destroyed. People are being sold Ponzi schemes in a country where the level of financial literacy and understanding of legal rights is very poor.
Hope you will do something to correct this distorted picture
Ashu Dutt
Neither LPG nor any other subsidy leakage would be reduced though the use of UID. All that would happen is untold misery for the subsidy recipient. This is the third part of a nine-part series on the unique identification number scheme and its possible misuse by politicians, bureaucrats and foreign contractors
Tall Claims
It is not possible to deal with all the welfare schemes here for which these tall claims are made. Hence, only the claims about reduction in LPG subsidy leakages are discussed here, as typical of other similar claims. Tomfoolery means absurdity. The adjective aptly describes the UID scheme. UID is a scheme that involves a lot of scheming and schemers. The "Tomfoolery Show" is an American cartoon comedy television series. A really funny and popular, oft-repeated scene in this comic is of a delivery boy running around trying to deliver a large plant shouting, "Plant for Mrs Discobolus". One could find it quite funny to imagine a LPG delivery boy running around shouting, "Subsidised LPG cylinder for Mrs Aadhaary; family line up for fingerprint authentication" in the real-life UID comedy show. Comedy shows provide comic relief.
Unfortunately, while the UID scheme's objectives are laughable, they cannot be laughed off, since, before the scheme collapses under the weight of its own contradictions and falsehoods, it would have brought untold damage to the nation's social fabric and compromised personal security of millions of Indians.
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) chairperson made several tall claims about the UID scheme's potential to reduce subsidy leakages, in talks to media many times. Thus, he reportedly said that LPG subsidy leakages could be reduced by Rs12,000 crore using UID. He has never specified how this could be done. He hinted at authenticating the buyer/customer of the LPG cylinder. He did not mention when the authentication would be done. He headed a task-force on subsidies. The task-force submitted an interim report. A ministerial panel approved and accepted the report. The report recommends the use of UID for authenticating recipients of welfare subsidies. What else could one expect when the task-force is headed by the person who is spear-heading the UID project? This is like asking the accountant to check the veracity of the accounts he has prepared. More crudely, one could say, it is like asking the thief or the one who created a problem to suggest measures to prevent theft or prevent recurrence of the problem.
It reminds one, of Edgar Wallace's novel, "The Joker". In the novel, a rich man gifts a jail to the city where he lives. Later he is caught for fraud and jailed in the same jail he had gifted. He had made a tunnel from the jail to the outside, when he had it constructed. He escaped through the tunnel, playing a clever joke on the city. Enough escape hatches have been built into the UID scheme for those who are indulging in this colossal waste of public money to deny responsibility when it fails, as it is bound to.
A few of the task-force's recommendations on LPG
The biometric authentication 'tamasha' is the fulcrum on which rests the assumption that subsidies could be prevented using UID. Let's look at how ridiculous this assumption and the task-force's recommendations are in just one welfare subsidy scheme-LPG. Here are a few of the recommendations...
1. Details pertaining to customers availing subsidised LPG would be published on the transparency portal of the oil company.
2. Call centres would be established to address customer complaints.
3. Distributors would be compensated for additional working capital they would need to stock non-subsidised LPG cylinders. (No one knows how much the compensation would be and how it would be paid. The task force does not deal with such trivialities.)
4. "Aadhaar numbers of all members of households would be seeded against customer data". (Such phrases intended to confuse abound in the task-force report. Why use words, like, 'seeded'? It probably means that since each LPG connection has one name on it, the names and UID numbers and biometrics of all members of his/ her family would be captured and stored in the UID and perhaps, oil company database. Imagine the problem when a member of the family would have if he/ she moves out and lives separately.)
5. The bank account numbers will also be collected and seeded! (Thus, if one wants to obtain a subsidised LPG connection, the bank accounts of all members of the family and their biometrics would have to be given to UIDAI.)
6. "De-duplication on Aadhaar to eliminate ghost connections will be done. Application software will be developed; (What will be the cost of development of this software?) hardware will be fully compatible with UIDAI standards. (What will be the hardware cost? Who all will need both the software and hardware-the oil companies, government civil supplies departments, dealers, etc?)
7. Subsidised LPG cylinders will be provided only to targeted/segmented customers. The process of identifying will be notified by government. (The Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas has recommended that subsidised LPG be given only to those with annual income less than Rs6 lakh per annum. I had written to the Parliament Standing Committee on Finance, which examined the National Identification Authority of India (NIA) Bill informing them that the frauds in welfare schemes are in decisions on eligibility and not caused by identity problems. The Parliament Committee accepted the same and wrote it into their report. So, how and who would identify those with less than Rs6 lakh annual income? Would your fingerprints reveal your annual income? What happens when one loses a job, receives a promotion, changes jobs, etc?)
The task-force then says that pilot projects to test whether their method would work would be undertaken in two districts in Hyderabad and Mysore. Conflicting reports have appeared in the press on these pilots. Some said that oil companies have rejected the method. Another press report said that the ministries of finance and petroleum and oil company executives accepted the method. I sent RTI queries to oil companies. They replied stating that the pilot trials are incomplete. The ministry of finance denied any knowledge of it. Replies from other, including UIDAI have not been received. The RTI replies are placed in appendices to this monograph.
Ground realities
Let's see how the recommendations would work on ground. It is incredible that such a scheme would be launched with imaginary uses and halfway through its implementation, the promoters would be running pilot studies to test its feasibility. Is this how a responsible government and a former business magnate are expected to launch projects?
The logic of "authentication at delivery using UID numbers" proposed by the task-force is baffling. Are the intelligent people that staff the task-force not aware that it would be a simple matter to check diversions of domestic cylinders for commercial use? Cylinders of different colours are used for domestic and commercial purposes. The oil company delivers cylinders at the location of the customer. Does the task-force think that domestic customers then sell the cylinders to commercial enterprises? If, as the task force seem to say, large-scale diversions of subsidised LPG cylinders take place, are they suggesting that large number of people of this country are thieves? Do they not know that it is impossible to divert LPG cylinders without the connivance of the oil companies, their distributors and the civil supplies department officials?
Recently, it was reported that a chief minister of a state had surrendered three of the four LPG connections he had. How many politicians and bureaucrats have more than one connection? During the 2G scam, it was reported that a former Central Government minister for telecommunications had a BSNL telephone exchange installed for his personal use with over 300 lines. Whatever happened to that revelation? The purpose of the analogy is to show that it is not the people who are misusing facilities, but those in authority.
Why not use the customer number to detect diversion? Why another number, such as UID?
Reverting back to the LPG issue, every customer has a number given by the oil company for his/her connection. Oil companies and their agents have databases with the number of cylinders consumed every month by each customer. Everyone knows that an average family would consume a cylinder in about a month and a half. If a customer is found consuming say several cylinders a month, is it not possible to check on such customers to detect diversions or commercial use?
Recently, Karnataka government asked all LPG customers to provide their electric meter numbers to check if more than one connection exists in a household. This was an equally foolish exercise. A defence department layout had just one meter for 200 houses!
Instead of looking at where the diversion and mischief is taking place, the task force, driven by the UIDAI chief are barking up the wrong tree, trying to fix a small leak in the dyke, when part of the dyke wall has caved in.
Now look at the problems associated with authentication at delivery. The person in whose name the gas connection exists would have to be present at the time of delivery to authenticate him/her. To get round this stupidity, UIDAI has recommended linking the biometrics of all members of the family and their bank accounts with the LPG connection. Are they not able to visualize situations where no family member would be present, as when all of them would be working or at school/college and servant or neighbour collects the delivery?
To authenticate at delivery, every sales truck would have to carry a scanning device. Are these delivery staffs capable of handling such devices with the care they need? What would happen if, for whatever reason, lack of connectivity or malfunction of the device, the authentication fails? How many undelivered cylinders are oil companies and their distributors willing to accept? How many trips are they willing to accept for such failed deliveries? Imagine the hardship the family would have to go through in such situations. What is the cost of all this? Has the cost of scanners for every truck, the cost of spare scanners, their maintenance cost, the training cost for delivery personnel and so on been accounted for? Why are UIDAI and the government persisting with this foolishness in attempting to find uses for UID?
Authentication in other welfare schemes
The task-force has recommended that every retail fertiliser shop be equipped with scanners. They say that there 2.3 lakh retail fertiliser shops (Paragraph 7.2.1 page 40 Task-Force interim report). There are over 5 lakh ration shops, as on 30 Jun 2011. PIB news release. All these shops would have to be equipped and the shop owners and staff trained in handling scanning devices. Only a fool would think that this is feasible. Almost all countries in the world subsidize goods and service to their people. How many of them have indulged in such stupidity?
Take USA for example. How do they authenticate farmers who are given the subsidies? Our government and the UIDAI chairperson are ardent followers of the US economic system. In the US, $277.3 billion was distributed as subsidies to agri-businesses, between 1995 and 2011. Of this, the top 10% collected 75% of all subsidies, amounting to $172.2 billion. The rich farmer received $31,400 per year. The poor farmer at the bottom 80% got $594 per year. (Please see EWG Farm Subsidies website for details http://farm.ewg.org/region.php?fips=00000 ). This is what targeted cash transfers could do. Perhaps, this indeed is the purpose, to be able to send the subsidies to those whom the government in power wishes to favour.
Cash transfers and changing power equation
Once UID is in place, as far as welfare schemes are concerned, power will shift to the party in power at the Centre. Even though the parties in governments in the states may decide on who receives subsidies by identification of eligible persons, the control of distribution of the subsidies would be in the hands of the Central Government, since the authentication process is controlled by the UIDAI, which is a central authority. This would be especially true of centrally funded welfare schemes. For example, a village or electoral constituency that has not voted for the Central Government party could be discriminated against and subsidies denied on various pretexts.
A World Bank report points to the cash transfers in Columbia wherein the people tended to vote for the party in power perceiving them as the giver of the largesse.
Secondly, it is easier to swipe cash than goods. For example, for a customer to sell a LPG cylinder in black market or for an agent to divert a number of cylinders for commercial use is more difficult than to siphon off cash transferred to banks accounts.
LPG cash subsidy could be transferred to non-eligible people, if eligibility criteria are stipulated, or people with fake IDs. It is possible to fake fingerprints with a cost as little as Rs30. This was demonstrated to an E-governance secretary of a state government. Today, LPG subsidy is universal. Hence, there is no need to fake eligibility.
Thirdly, it would be much easier to divert the cash subsidy, even by eligible persons, since the subsidised cylinder need not be delivered at all, but instead, only authentication of the buyers done as if it has been delivered. To illustrate, assume that the LPG subsidy policy is that a household with income below Rs6 lakh per annum is eligible for six subsidised cylinders. Firstly, there is no way an oil company or government could verify the income of the household or the person in whose name the LPG connection is taken. Persons and households could fall into and come out of such income brackets. The 'eligible' household could merely be shown as having bought the cylinders, without taking delivery of the cylinders. The oil company's dealer merely obtains the scanned biometric to show the purchase. The cash is received by the household in the bank and cash given to the delivery boy/dealer in a mutually agreed sharing pattern. The cylinder is sent for commercial use where the subsidised cost is collected for payment to the oil company.
The moral of the story is that any system is only as good as the people who manage it. For example, there are laws against depositing and withdrawing cash and paying in cash beyond the stipulated sums (Rs50,000 for deposits and Rs20,000 for payments).
Akilesh Yadav, current UP CM deposited Rs44.67 lakhs in cash and paid the same amount through cash to a government department (Nazul department), as per media reports. Akilesh said that he received the sum as loan from his party. The I-T Appellate Tribunal ruled that there was no scope for introducing any black money for transfer of cash from one concern to another concern and that the genuineness of the transaction was beyond doubt. In a country where such rulings happen, how could UID hope to stop diversion of subsidies?
India's welfare schemes under foreign company control
Lastly, one should note that it is not the UIDAI that authenticates the person receiving the subsidy cash transfer, but a private foreign company and its official who manages the biometric database of all Indian residents. Thus, the social welfare system of the Nation would be run at the whims and fancies of private foreign companies.
Who would be legally responsible for fraud or failure to authenticate or false authentication? Would the UIDAI or the foreign company be responsible? While the matter is being decided, how would the person who did not receive the LPG cylinder cook his/her food? Is it possible for the foreign company to either create discontent or discredit a government deliberately make large-scale errors?
One could argue that it is unlikely that the foreign firms would not have any interest in who receives the subsidies. That could be true, though not necessarily so. They could have other motivations. The foreign company could be influenced or could on its own decide to sabotage the system. No nation would be idiotic enough to have its entire demographic database and welfare systems in the hands of private foreign companies, but the UIDAI seems to be doing exactly that. The UIDAI and the task-force on subsidies headed by its chairperson have been careful to hide this fact by showing the authentication in flow diagrams in its report as being done by UIDAI. At the same time the UIDAI has refused to disclose the contracts with these foreign companies.
Neither LPG nor any other subsidy leakage would be reduced though use of UID. All that would happen is untold misery for the subsidy recipient. It is high time the people of this nation realise the charade played on them and stop it.
(Col (Retd.) Mathew Thomas is a former defence services officer and missile scientist turned civic activist, campaigning against state database control of the people.)
Is UID anti-people? –Part 2: A bundle of contradictions, misconceptions & mirages
Is UID anti-people? The database state –Part1


text:
White Chocolate Crescents
Elegant enough for guests or giving, simple enough to make every day. These tasty little treats are made using prepared pie pastry.
Spicy Chocolate Macaroons
Need a little spice in your life? These chocolate macaroon bites are perfect to flavor things up!
Oatmeal Lace Cookies
These cookies are delicately thin and crisp. Each bite melts away in your mouth.


text:
Eyelid medical procedures can be completed on the two the higher and reduced eyelids. It can at times take place that the upper eyelid might have excessive skin, which may trigger it to droop in excess of the eyes. This can be very inconvenient, and can hamper the standard performance of the eye. It can have an effect on the vision, and can lead to problems although driving or studying. In these kinds of situations, the excess tissue is taken out so that normal eyelid function can be restored. Upper eyelid surgical treatment is also done for beauty reasons. This is especially typical between Asians who want to have medical procedures in order to develop a crease in the upper eyelid.
Blepharoplasty is a fairly straightforward surgical process. It is normally executed by producing incisions alongside the eyelids like the higher crease, and the reduce lash line. This method permits the excessive skin to be eliminated. If excessive tissue is to be taken out from the reduced eyelid, then an inner incision may be manufactured, which is much better because it does not leave any noticeable scars.
An eyelid surgery normally requires about a single to three hours to comprehensive. In the commencing, inflammation and bruising might arise, which subsides in the subsequent weeks. The achievement of this treatment tremendously is dependent on the anatomy of the eyelids, age, and skin top quality. At times, complications can arise since of these good reasons.


text:
Home > Sunglasses > Dolce & Gabbana > DG6101 (501/6G)
New Releases
Size and availability
Free outbound and return shipping
30-day money-back guarantee
Low prices
Free outbound and return shipping
30-day money-back guarantee
Low prices
DG6101/501/6G Ophthalmic Glasses
These sunglasses are the perfect accessory on the beach, on the way to the office or in the city. There is only one slight drawback: all the envious looks you will attract. The DG6101 is available in the Edel-Optics online shop in other styles from Dolce & Gabbana collections 2016 and 2017.
With no frills and state-of-the-art materials and craftsmanship, these men's glasses stand for stylish design and self-confidence. Eyewear is in. Full rim is extremely popular, because you feel that you get more eyeglass for your money. It is not just about their resilience, but also about the visibility of material and design, which are of the highest quality. For angular facial features, round eyeglasses are particularly suitable. The edgeless shape softly contrasts sharp contours. Plastic frames like these combine durability and are comfortable to wear. The DG6101 is a very snug fit on the ears and nose. Black is one of the undisputed classics. It can be combined with any outfit and simultaneously radiates elegance and naturalness. Black coloured lenses are a strong fashion statement. However, you can't see the real colours through these lenses. For a clearer view, it's best to go for grey or brown lenses. Functionally, you are, of course, on the safe side, too. With 100% UV eye protection, the sun can immediately start shining.
If you press the button "order with prescription lenses', our digital dispensing optician will install the lenses in the original tint or as you wish. Your dioptre values are the only thing we require from you.
In our online shop we have consistently low prices. You won't get DG6101 at such a low price, not even in the sale.
New Releases
Benodig u hulp?
Moenie huiwer om ons te bel nie, ons sal u help:
payment methods


text:
Luke's Cafe: moving 12th Ave Grill, part eight
Kevin Hanney is obsessing over the wall colors at the new 12th Ave Grill. It's orange behind the bar and cream-colored everywhere else, except he's worried that the orange is too bright and the cream more yellow than he'd like. "It doesn't look anything like the square [paint sample]," he says. He's hoping once the lights are installed and the furniture moved in, the colors will mute down.
Things are moving quickly: the floors and tiles go in tomorrow, the AC and hood vents and electrical will be completed by August 12, when all the big kitchen equipment rolls in: the walk-in fridge, sinks, stoves and ovens. August 26, the booths arrive. The first week of September, the custom tables come in, made to match the current tables at the existing 12th Ave Grill.
The new, for-real-this-time opening date is October 1.
And what's happening to the old 12th Ave Grill space? For a while, it was uncertain whether Hanney could keep it; one caveat of SBA loans is that recipients can't start additional new businesses, which might have forced Hanney to sell the old restaurant. Recently, however, the bank gave Hanney the green light to open a new concept in the old space. He's closing it on September 14 for the 12th Ave Grill transition, and then plans on reopening it sometime in November as Luke's Cafe, a "scratch kitchen and brunch house," as he describes it. ("I've always liked the name 'Luke' for a boy," Hanney says. It's also, coincidentally, his wife's maiden name.)
The idea of opening two (sort of) new restaurants around the same time makes Hanney "a little nervous," but at the moment, it's the colors that are really bothering him. "Colors are the one part that really stresses me out," he says.
"I want to just get back to what I do, which is running restaurants, not running construction sites."
[This is the eighth installment of a series, following Kevin Hanney as he moves 12th Ave Grill into the former Victoria Inn space.
- Part 1: the overall plan
- Part 2: the Victoria Inn space as it is now
- Part 3: three ways to finance a restaurant
- Part 4: the floor plan
- Part 5: the challenge of finding labor
- Part 6: demolition
- Part 7: curse of the blue rock ]


text:
2004 Jeep Wrangler Reviews and Owner Comments
2004 Jeep Wrangler owners review and rate their 2004 Jeep Wrangler.
Login to Review This Car
2004 Jeep Wrangler (2 Reviews)
I have a 2004 jeep wrangler 4 cyl,.5 speed. It just shut off,.everything seems to be O.K. but there is NO fire going to the plugs. Please advise,.Thanks, Ben
2nd best Jeep I have ever owned. The best was my '86 CJ-7. I drove it forever. It had nearly 300,000 on it before loosing compression to the point that I could no longer get up to highway speed with it. Traded it in on an 04 Wrangler. Re-geared it to 4.56, ox lockers front and rear, 4.5" Rubikon lift, slip yoke eliminator with a rear cv shaft and I can go anywhere my 33's will take me.


text:
pollution: 50/75 of 463
« back
next »
Plastic Ocean - why the world should declare plastic 'hazardous waste'
Lesley Henderson, Brunel University London
8th June 2016Plastic is ubiquitous around the world's oceans, writes Lesley Henderson, but although it's visible from space, it can be surprisingly elusive in the water - as she heard from Jo Ruxton, producer of the investigative documentary 'A Plastic Ocean'. Solutions to this growing hazard have also proved elusive to date, hence the film's strong focus on action: educational, cultural and legal. more...
Save our soils!
John Quinton
3rd June 2016Britain's soils are in a bad way, writes John Quinton, and the government is doing little to help - indeed its policies are making the problems worse. So concludes yesterday's Environment Audit Committee report on soil health. But are ministers bothered? more...
Locals battle fracking company drilling near drinking water reservoir
Oliver Tickell
11th May 2016Local people are furiously trying to stop a fracking company from drilling near a drinking water reservoir serving tens of thousands of homes, after Northern Ireland planners failed to block Infrastrata's claim for 'permitted development' rights. more...
Uranium mining threatens South Africa's iconic Karoo
Dr Stefan Cramer
28th April 2016Almost entirely unknown to the outside world, and even to most local residents, hundreds of square kilometres of South Africa's Karoo dryland have been bought up by uranium mining companies, writes Dr Stefan Cramer. With no strategic assessment of the industry's devastating impacts and massive water demand, official permission could soon be granted for vast open pit mines. more...
Jordan grapples with the environmental consequences of its refugee crisis
Doug Weir
27th April 2016Since 1948 Jordan has taken in millions of refugees from Palestine, Iraq and most recently Syria, writes Doug Weir. Politically and economically the country has proved astonishingly resilient - but the population increase has caused huge damage to its fragile environment. Ecological degradation, pollution and resource scarcity may cause political instability unless more is done to tackle the problems. more...
This deadly pollution must stop! London cyclists rally for health and climate
Donnachadh McCarthy
20th April 2016Stop Killing Cyclists are staging a protest in London on 27th April to demand an end to the UK's intolerable air pollution, writes Donnachadh McCarthy. With an estimated 40,000 people dying every year from filthy air, much of it caused by diesel cars, all are welcome to join in, denounce the government's 'polluters' friend' policies, and insist on swift action to stop the needless deaths. more...
BP's deep sea oil exploration in South Australia - no way!
Graham Readfearn / DeSmog.uk
14th April 2016BP's plans to explore for oil in the deep seas of the Great Australian Bight came under fire today at the company's Annual General Meeting in London, writes Graham Readfearn. The drilling would risk the ocean's rich marine wildlife - while blowing a massive hole in Australia's COP21 emissions targets. more...
Patrick Holden: 'cheap' food is costing the Earth, and our health
Emily Lewis-Brown
7th April 2016Food has never been more affordable for middle class families in rich countries. But it comes at a high cost: the impact of industrial food production on health, environment and society has never been greater as Patrick Holden explained to Emily Lewis-Brown. Now the real cost of food US production will be examined in a ground-breaking conference in San Francisco. more...
Amazon Indians at risk in mercury poisoning crisis
Sarina Kidd / Survival International
5th April 2016Illegal gold mining in the Amazon has a devastating effect on indigenous peoples, writes Sarina Kidd. First the miners bring disease, deforestation and even murder. Then long after they have gone, communities are left to suffer deadly mercury poisoning. Now the UN has been called on to intervene. more...
Europe's biggest polluters land €24 billion carbon windfall
The Ecologist
17th March 2016The European Union's carbon market, the EU ETS, is meant to cut pollution in a cost effective way. But a new report shows that it handed the EU's biggest emitters a €24bn bumper payout over six years. Not so much the 'polluter pays' principle but the precise opposite: people pay, and polluters profit. more...
Chancellor is right to act on sugar. Next, air pollution!
Simon Bullock
17th March 2016The Chancellor's 'sport not sugar' move to tax sugary drinks was extremely welcome, writes Simon Bullock. But we need a similar Treasury approach to protect people from other threats too. So how about tackling the air pollution that's killing tens of thousands of Britons a year? more...
BP doubles EU lobby spend, drops Tate sponsorship
Kyla Mandel / The Ecologist
14th March 2016Oil giant BP is the UK's single biggest EU lobbyist, spending over £2 million reaching out to European policy makers in 2014, new figures show. But citing hard times, the company has dropped its controversial sponsorship of the London's Tate Galleries - and more such branding deals may bite the dust. more...
pollution: 50/75 of 463
« back
next »
To clean up air pollution we must dump diesel - and here's how
Richard Howard / Policy Exchange
11th March 2016Low Emissions Zones have their place in cleaning up the UK's worst air pollution hotspots, writes Richard Howard. But we also need to adopt fiscal measures to encourage a shift away from diesel vehicles, at once delivering cleaner air, increased tax revenues, and lower carbon emissions. more...
Public Trust Doctrine requires governments to protect our oceans!
Deb Wright
9th March 2016A legal principle dating from Roman times is ripe for use in protecting our waste-filled and over-exploited seas and oceans, writes Deb Wright. Under the 'Public Trust Doctrine' governments are entrusted to protect shared natural resources from abuse, and can be held accountable for neglect of their duties. more...
Peru: Amazon tribe orders oil company out after devastating spills
Vanessa Amaral-Rogers
9th March 2016The indigenous Wampis people of the Peruvian Amazon have demanded the immediate closure of a Petroperú oil pipeline after a series of devastating spills, writes Vanessa Amaral-Rogers. The company has already been found guilty of 'negligence' after previous oil spills contaminated the Wampis land and rivers. more...
53,000 Nigerian oil spill victims press new Shell lawsuits
Oliver Tickell
2nd March 2016A year after Shell was forced into a £55 million settlement with an indigenous community in Nigeria devastated by oil spills, a UK High Court judge has allowed two new such cases to proceed on behalf of some 43,000 subsistence farmers and fishers whose livelihoods have been wiped out by the same cause. more...
Dirty business: Africa's unregulated lead battery smelting
Desirée García & Javier Marín
3rd March 2016Africa's car battery recycling industry is anything but green, write Desirée García & Javier Marín on African Environment Day. Toxic emissions from the re-smelting of lead from old batteries is poisoning workers and nearby communities. And among the buyers of the lead are EU car companies, apparently indifferent to the death, disease and contamination they are financing. more...
From pit mines to power plants, Wales must lead the UK out of coal
Gareth Clubb / FoE Cymru.
29th February 2016Wales should lead the UK in bringing an end to the entire coal industry from opencast mining to highly polluting power stations, writes Gareth Clubb. A new report by Friends of the Earth Cymru shows the Aberthaw plant alone imposes social and environmental costs of nearly £1 billion per year on the country and global climate. more...
Five ways to slash London's lethal air pollution
John Weeks
24th February 2016Today's threats of legal action by ClientEarth against the UK Government highlight the problem of London's poisonous air, which is killing some 10,000 people a year, writes John Weeks. Fortunately there are simple, low cost, effective measures that could be taken to bring about big improvements to the city's air quality, fast. more...
The noble cause of the Heathrow 13
John McDonnell MP
24th February 2016With the 'Heathrow 13' protestors expecting custodial sentences today for their occupation of a Heathrow runway last July, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell MP writes that their direct action followed years of official lies and broken promises, and forms part of a long tradition of direct action protests in defence of democracy. more...
40,000 air pollution deaths a year, say doctors
Vanessa Amaral-Rogers
23rd January 2016A new report from leading physicians published today reveals the excess mortality caused by UK air pollution, writes Vanessa Amaral-Rogers. The Government has already been found in breach of the EU's Air Quality Directive, but its policies remain weak. Will it finally step up to prevent early deaths from this silent killer? more...
Flint water crisis - will anyone be prosecuted?
Jane F. Barrett, University of Maryland
18th February 2016Amid the growing call for those guilty of causing Flint, Michigan's water crisis to be prosecuted, Jane F. Barrett finds little prospect of criminal charges under the Safe Drinking Water Act. But federal, state and common laws offer prosecutors a range of potential charges, from malfeasance, misfeasance and nonfeasance to involuntary manslaughter. more...
In search of the unseen: an investigation into plastics in our oceans
Ana Stanič
21st February 2-16One of the biggest threats facing marine life is the 'microplastic' particles found in ocean ecosystems from bottom to top of food chains. Just back from a voyage of environmental exploration in the tropical Atlantic sampling the waters to build up a global picture of this ubiquitous pollutant, Ana Stanič writes of the joys and trials of life on the waves, and the need to keep our oceans clean. more...
From latest gizmo to toxic waste: the dark side of the worldwide electronics obsession
Ian Williams, University of Southampton
11th February 2016Our thirst for the latest gadgets has created a vast empire of electronic waste, writes Ian Williams. The EU alone produces some 9 million tonnes of it a year, of which some 70% is still working when disposed of, and over a third is disposed of illegally. With increasingly affordable electronic devices available to ever more people, it's high time for effective global regulation. more...
Heavy metal poisoning in Scotland's beached whales
The Ecologist
15th February 2016High levels of toxins mercury and cadmium have been found in all organs of the whales recently beached on Scotland's North Sea coast, including the brain. The research shows that rising mercury levels in the oceans leads to toxic stress in the long-lived marine mammals. more...
Using this website means you agree to us using simple cookies.


text:
PM flags 'long-term' end to old-growth logging
Page Tools
Prime Minister John Howard is nearing a commitment to bring to an end all old-growth logging in Tasmania.
Previously, Mr Howard has expressed support for such a change and said he was examining whether it was possible. Speaking on radio 3AW in Melbourne yesterday, Mr Howard outlined what he would do. "It'll be something that will seek to balance preservation of jobs and respect for the Regional Forest Agreement with a long-term plan to eliminate old-growth logging," he said, promising more detail on the issue soon.
Mr Howard said the issue remained hard to deal with. "I don't think it's fair of people on the mainland to say, 'Well, we'd like this old-growth logging to be stopped, but you can lose your job as a consequence of that'."
The Australian Conservation Foundation welcomed Mr Howard's comments about an end to old-growth logging.
"But the use of the words long-term worries me," said foundation executive director Don Henry. "Long-term, the old-growth forests won't be there. We believe one has to act now in order to protect the high-conservation-value forests and introduce a jobs package."
The Forest Industries Association of Tasmania said the 20-year agreement between Tasmania and the Commonwealth, signed in 1997 by Mr Howard, contemplated a transition out of old-growth forests to other trees. Industry association director Terry Edwards said this could not happen for decades to come.
Mr Edwards said Mr Howard's proposal to eliminate old-growth logging was regrettable. "Species for which Tasmania has become so well known, like myrtle, celery top pine and sassafras, would simply become unavailable. If you eliminate old-growth harvesting, then by definition you eliminate use of those timbers."
Opposition Leader Mark Latham yesterday sidestepped a question about whether Labor was waiting for the Coalition to go first with an announcement.
"We've had a policy that we've been working on and Mr Howard has made a bit of noise about this," he said. "So we're certainly going to get our policy out in advance of the election."


text:
Active Substance: sulphur hexafluoride
Common Name: sulphur hexafluoride
ATC Code: V08DA05
Marketing Authorisation Holder: Bracco International B.V.
Active Substance: sulphur hexafluoride
Status: Authorised
Authorisation Date: 2001-03-26
Therapeutic Area: Echocardiography Ultrasonography
Pharmacotherapeutic Group: Contrast media
Therapeutic Indication
This medicinal product is for diagnostic use only.
SonoVue is for use with ultrasound imaging to enhance the echogenicity of the blood, which results in an improved signal-to-noise ratio.
SonoVue should only be used in patients where study without contrast enhancement is inconclusive.
SonoVue is a transpulmonary echocardiographic contrast agent for use in patients with suspected or established cardiovascular disease to provide opacification of cardiac chambers and enhance left-ventricular endocardial border delineation.
What is SonoVue?
SonoVue is a medicine that contains the active substance sulphur hexafluoride (a gas). It is available as a kit including one vial of gas and powder and one prefilled syringe containing 5 ml of solvent. When made up into a solution, SonoVue contains sulphur hexafluoride gas as 'microbubbles' in suspension in a liquid.
What is SonoVue used for?
SonoVue is for diagnostic use only. It is a contrast agent (it helps make internal body structures visible during imaging tests). SonoVue is used in tests that measure how ultrasound travels within the body because it improves the ability of the blood to create an echo. It is only used when the results of the test without a contrast agent are inconclusive. SonoVue is used in:
- echocardiography (a diagnostic test where an image of the heart is obtained). It is used to obtain a clearer scan of the chambers of the heart, especially of the left ventricle, in patients with suspected or confirmed coronary artery disease.
- Doppler (a diagnostic test that measures the speed of blood flow). SonoVue can be used in Doppler tests for large blood vessels, such as those in the head, those leading to the head or the main vein to the liver, or for smaller blood vessels such as those in lesions (areas of disease) in the breast or liver.
The medicine can only be obtained with a prescription.
How is SonoVue used?
SonoVue should only be used by doctors who have experience in diagnostic ultrasound imaging. It is injected intravenously (into a vein) before the test is carried out, as a 2- or 2.4-ml dose depending on which test is being carried out. The dose can be repeated.
How does SonoVue work?
The active substance in SonoVue, sulphur hexafluoride, is a gas that is not soluble in the blood. When SonoVue is made up into a suspension, the gas is trapped in tiny bubbles called microbubbles. After injection, the microbubbles travel in the blood, where they reflect ultrasound waves more than the surrounding tissues. This helps to enhance the results of tests that rely on measuring ultrasound, such as echocardiography and Doppler tests. The gas is removed naturally from the body through the lungs.
How has SonoVue been studied?
SonoVue has been studied in a total of 895 patients in six main studies. These included three studies of echocardiography and three studies of Doppler.
The echocardiography studies involved a total of 317 patients, and compared SonoVue with another contrast agent and placebo (a dummy treatment).
The Doppler studies involved 361 patients who were being tested for abnormalities in large blood vessels, and 217 patients being tested for abnormalities in smaller vessels. In these studies, SonoVue was not compared with any other medicine, but the results of the test with SonoVue were compared with the 'gold standard', such as angiography (X-rays of blood vessels). The main measure of effectiveness was how clear the images obtained in the test were.
What benefit has SonoVue shown during the studies?
In the echocardiography studies, SonoVue was more effective than the comparator and than placebo in improving the clarity of the image obtained of the left ventricle and left ventricle border.
In the Doppler studies, using SonoVue to measure blood flow in large blood vessels improved the quality of the scan when testing the cerebral arteries (in the head), the carotids (in the neck) and the portal vein (leading to the liver), but not the renal arteries (leading to the kidneys). For the smaller vessels, SonoVue led to better quality scans when looking at the blood flow in breast and liver lesions. However, this was not observed for lesions in the pancreas, kidney, ovary or prostate gland.
What is the risk associated with SonoVue?
The most common side effects with SonoVue (seen in between 1 in 100 and 1 in 1,000 patients) are headache, paraesthesia (unusual sensations like pins and needles), dizziness, dysgeusia (taste disturbances), flushing (reddening of the skin), pharyngitis (sore throat), nausea (feeling sick), abdominal pain, pruritus (itching), rash, back pain, chest discomfort, reactions at the injection site, feeling hot and raised blood sugar levels. For the full list of all side effects reported with SonoVue, see the package leaflet.
SonoVue must not be used in patients known to have right-to-left shunts (abnormal movement of blood within the heart), severe pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure in the pulmonary artery, the blood vessel that leads from the heart to the lungs), uncontrolled hypertension (high blood pressure) or adult respiratory distress syndrome (severe fluid build-up in both lungs).
SonoVue must also not be used together with the medicine dobutamine (used for heart failure) in patients for whom dobutamine is not suitable. For the full list of restrictions, see the package leaflet.
Why has SonoVue been approved?
The CHMP decided that SonoVue's benefits are greater than its risks and recommended that it be given marketing authorisation.
What measures are being taken to ensure the safe and effective use of SonoVue?
A risk management plan has been developed to ensure that SonoVue is used as safely as possible. Based on this plan, safety information has been included in the summary of product characteristics and the package leaflet for SonoVue, including the appropriate precautions to be followed by healthcare professionals and patients.
Other information about SonoVue:
The European Commission granted a marketing authorisation valid throughout the European Union for SonoVue on 26 March 2001.
For more information about treatment with SonoVue, read the package leaflet (also part of the EPAR) or contact your doctor or pharmacist.
Source: European Medicines Agency
Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided here is accurate, up-to-date and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. This information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States. The absence of a warning for a given drug or combination thereof in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient. If you have questions about the substances you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.


text:
Twelve months is a long time in the media world. A year ago, the free-to-air television networks were being battered by the worst downturn in advertising revenue in years. At its worst in the September 2009 quarter, TV ad revenue sank more than 20 per cent.
It is a different story today. The capital city free-to-air TV ad market surged 18.9 per cent to $1.39 billion during the June 2010 half, as rising business confidence and solid consumer spending prompted many companies to open their advertising purses.
Most TV executives were surprised by James Packer's unexpected emergence as
"Not that long ago, people were saying free-to-air TV would be killed by pay TV, internet TV and other rivals," said one TV executive.
"They were wrong. Look at our audience and ad revenue numbers. Free-to-air TV isn't dying. It's thriving."
The launch of digital channels by the free-to-air networks over the past two years has not produced a dramatic lift in viewer numbers.
But channels such as Nine Network's Go and Gem, Seven Network's 7Two and 7mate, Ten's One and the ABC's three digital channels have stopped the steady decline in free-to-air TV audience numbers over the past decade and helped fuel the dramatic jump in the TV ad market this year.
Free-to-air TV executives predicted their ad market would climb about 15 per cent to $1.65 billion during the present half, producing full-year revenue of just over $3 billion.
Media buyers were more circumspect.
"The TV ad market is always the first to come back after a general downturn in ad spending," said Henry Tajer, chairman of Mediabrands, which includes the media agency Universal McCann.
"The TV ad market is growing faster than other media ad markets, but that's mainly because it fell off a cliff last year."
But TV executives said the rebound from 2009's 8 per cent drop in the capital city TV ad market was not the only reason for this year's growth.
Last week, Nine director of sales and marketing Peter Wiltshire said the digital channels accounted for five points of the TV ad market's growth in the June half.
"They have given us more [advertising] inventory and opened up new revenue opportunities, without hurting the revenue of the main channels."
The Australian Financial Review


text:
But the claims of exigent ladies were not the only reason that determined Dr. Grant to acquire a house at the seaside.
Charles immediately revealed the full and exigent nature of his demands.
Any great artist is far too perceptive and too exigent to be satisfied with that effect, and hence in vanity he seeks solace.
I assure you I'll try to be just as critical and exigent as she would be.
Nevertheless, so exigent was this strait, she continued to confront him with a face of unflinching defiance.
Among non-combatant enthusiasts she would be the most exigent.
He thought bitterly of the exigent Jane, whom he recollected dimly as a tall female with teeth.
The members of the Committee became more and more peremptory and exigent in their relations with Markov.
exigent, eks′i-jent, adj. pressing: demanding immediate attention or action.
He counsels me not to be exigent in my terms; if he knew me better, perhaps, he would not have deemed the advice so necessary.


text:
This article is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
This paper discusses concepts of self-organized complexity and the theory of Coherent Infomax in the light of Jaynes's probability theory. Coherent Infomax, shows, in principle, how adaptively self-organized complexity can be preserved and improved by using probabilistic inference that is context-sensitive. It argues that neural systems do this by combining local reliability with flexible, holistic, context-sensitivity. Jaynes argued that the logic of probabilistic inference shows it to be based upon Bayesian and Maximum Entropy methods or special cases of them. He presented his probability theory as the logic of science; here it is considered as the logic of life. It is concluded that the theory of Coherent Infomax specifies a general objective for probabilistic inference, and that contextual interactions in neural systems perform functions required of the scientist within Jaynes's theory.
Many forms of organized complexity have arisen in nature's long journey from uniformity to maximal entropy. On earth, biological systems have created diverse forms of adaptively self-organized complexity despite the ever present forces of noise and disorder. This self-organization occurs in open, holistic, far-from-equilibrium, "non-linear" systems with feedback, which makes them highly diverse and hard to predict. They depend on information about their world and themselves, and this information is used for inference-inferences about distal things from proximal signals, and inferences about the likely consequences of possible activities. Though usually implicit, probabilistic inference is central to such systems because adaptation depends upon information about the conditions to which the systems are adapted. Useful inference is possible because the laws of physics are sufficiently reliable, but the endless variety of individual circumstances and the prevalence of deterministic chaos make many things unpredictable. So, to thrive, biological systems must combine local reliability with holistic flexibility.
These arguments suggest several issues on which we need to make progress. What is self-organized complexity? What are the capabilities and constraints of the various forms of inductive inference, e.g., classical
Better formalisation of these issues is clearly needed, so I will first give a brief outline of some conceptions of self-organized complexity, and then of the theory of Coherent Infomax which uses information theory measures to formalize these issues [
An obvious tension underlies the notion of organized complexity. Complexity can most simply be thought of as the amount of information in a system. That kind of complexity is increased by increasing the number of elements in a system and by
Self-organisation is emphasized here for two basic reasons. First, it relates to a major dilemma underlying Jaynes's account of inference,
Self-organisation is also common in inanimate physical systems. Bénard convection is a well-known example, and has been used to extract general principles of self-organisation that apply even to highly evolved biological systems such as the mammalian neocortex [
I assume that life is adaptively self-organized complexity. This adaptation, which is achieved by both genetic selection and ontogenetic plasticity, implies the selection and improvement of constructive processes that require a high capacity for information transmission. The window of possibility for life in all conceivable universes seems to be extremely small. Furthermore, if it depends on liquid water, as seems likely, it may also be small in our own actual universe. In addition to being dependent on information, life creates an information explosion [
The centrality of probabilistic inference to life is most obvious in neural systems. Helmholtz correctly emphasized the role of unconscious inference in perception, and many demonstrations of this can be given [
The apparent conflict between the requirements of local reliability and holistic flexibility has been prominent in the history of neuroscience, with one or the other being dominant at different times [
Our contribution to this effort has produced the theory of Coherent Infomax [
Endlessly many system architectures can be constructed from such local processing elements. A system architecture suggested by the anatomy of mammalian neocortex is that of at most a few tens of hierarchical layers of processing, with many specialized but interactive local processors at each stage [
The Coherent Infomax objective can be seen as a form of statistical latent structure analysis [
The objective of Coherent Infomax is related to conceptions of organized complexity, such as "effective complexity", though it was not derived from them. The contextual interactions central to the theory maximize organized complexity because they coordinate activities while not becoming confounded with the information that those activities variously transmit. Furthermore, Coherent Infomax is highly compatible with the small-world network architectures conducive to high complexity on these measures [
Edwin T. Jaynes (1922-1998) was a physicist who worked on quantum electrodynamics, statistical mechanics, information theory, and probability theory mostly in Washington University, St. Louis, but also in Stanford, Berkeley, Princeton, and MIT in the USA, and at Cambridge in the UK. His arguments for and developments of probability as a measure of uncertainty, rather than as the relative frequency of an outcome in the "long-run", remain highly influential in physics, mathematics, engineering, and machine-learning. Though a few neurobiologists have used Jaynes's ideas [
His central contribution to probability theory was an in-depth study of its use to quantify uncertainty. This rejected the frequentist definitions that had been dominant in statistics for many decades. Such a change in the definition of "probability" may seem unimportant, but it has major consequences, both conceptually and in real applications. Jaynes defines probability as quantifying the uncertainty of inferences drawn from given conditions. It is therefore often referred to as epistemic. By classical frequentist definitions probability quantifies properties of the observed world,
Within Jaynes's theory nothing is assumed to happen by chance or "at random" in reality; instead, he argued that randomness is a slippery, undefined, and unverifiable notion [
It is often asked "whose" uncertainties are quantified by using epistemic probabilities. When discussing Shannon's information entropy, Jaynes [
Though Jaynes played a leading role in initiating the "Bayesian" revival in statistics and beyond, and refers to his theory throughout as Bayesian, very little was actually contributed by Thomas Bayes himself. The terms "Bayes" and "Bayesian" are little more than custom without content; replacing them with "Jaynes" and "Jaynesian" would be both more accurate and more useful. It was Laplace whose writings pre-figured more of the conception for which Jaynes argued so passionately and extensively. Jaynes goes well beyond both. He formally derived the whole framework from a few elementary logical desiderata, the most fundamental being the requirement of consistency. He showed how probability theory applies to non-equilibrium states. He showed how thermodynamic entropy and information-theory entropy (uncertainty) can be interpreted as the same concept, and not merely as sharing a mathematical expression. He emphasised the importance of distinguishing epistemic from frequentist definitions, which Bayes did not. He showed how classical statistical methods and frequentist probability definitions are essentially special cases of his methods and definitions. He established Maximum Entropy methods as the best way to set priors for things unknown. These methods are now used for data analysis and prediction in a wide range of applications. For all of these contributions he deserves widespread acknowledgement and attention.
Jaynes presents his probability theory as the logic of science [
Jaynes [
Jaynes himself was very inconsistent on this issue. His logic is often presented as
In contrast to such denials of probability theory as descriptive of implicit inference in biological systems, Jaynes more often argues for its applicability to inference of any kind. He showed in detail how his probability theory can be applied to irreversible non-equilibrium processes as well as to equilibrium processes [
Science has done for humans what nothing has done for any other species. Therefore, principles of Jaynes's probability theory that distil the essence of inference in general cannot also distil any special essence unique to science. My working assumption is that science depends upon distinctively human cognitive capabilities that have somehow overcome constraints under which more widely embodied strategies, or algorithms, for inference operate. Probability theory, construed as the logic of science, requires explicit conscious hypothesis creation and testing by people such as scientists and engineers. In life more generally it must be self-organized, but how is that possible? In response to that fundamental mystery the following section reconsiders Coherent Infomax in the light of Jaynes's logic.
Coherent Infomax was originally proposed as a multi-purpose algorithm implemented in mammalian neocortex [
Creation of such a unified theory faces difficult challenges, however. First, it must be shown how inference can be self-organized. Second, though the logical desiderata from which Jaynes begins seem simple, they are councils of unattainable perfection at the system level. We cannot guarantee that all our beliefs are consistent, and we can rarely be sure that we use all relevant knowledge. Furthermore, it could be argued that some inconsistencies should be tolerated, or even welcomed. Therefore, it may be better to treat Jaynes's desiderata at the system level as goals to be approximated, rather than as absolute requirements. Third, there is the difficulty well-known as the "curse-of-dimensionality" [
The following discussion outlines ways in which Coherent Infomax responds to these challenges, emphasizing the distinction between driving and contextual interactions. It then examines ways in which this distinction may be related to Jaynes's probability theory. Limitations in the extent to which Coherent Infomax explains higher cognitive functions will then be mentioned, together with a discussion of the need for a more differentiated account of major transitions in cognitive evolution.
The Infomax component of Coherent Infomax formalizes a widely accepted principle for the self-organisation of efficient coding in neural systems. It was originally called the "reduction of redundancy" by Horace Barlow [
Useful inference requires more than efficient coding, however. Sensory systems can provide so much information that the more difficult problem is separating the crucial variables from the "noise". When there is far too much information for any given purpose, more is required than compression of all the available information into a smaller amount of data. Coherent Infomax suggests a way of specifying
An unavoidable consequence of the curse-of-dimensionality is that large amounts of data must be divided into subsets that are small enough to make learning feasible. If they were processed independently, however, then relations between the subsets would be unobservable. Success in finding the relevant manifolds would then be completely dependent upon the original division into subsets, but that is unlikely to be adequate unless the manifolds were already known. Coherent Infomax responds to this dilemma by dividing data at each level of an interpretive hierarchy into many small subsets, and searching for variables defined on them that are predictively related across subsets. This strategy allows for endlessly many ways in which the data can be divided into subsets, and linked across subsets.
Grouping large datasets into smaller subsets can also make inference more tractable by limiting the number of constraints within which consistency is sought. Within many real situations, with large knowledge bases, the best that can be done is to maximise the local consistencies and minimize the local inconsistencies [
Contextual disambiguation is central to the Coherent Infomax strategy. Because the data to be interpreted by local processors within each level of the hierarchy arises only from a subset of the data, it will typically be compatible with a range of possible interpretations. Coherent choices across the system as a whole can be facilitated by amplifying those local choices that are most likely within the context of the activity of other processors. These contextual predictions must not by themselves be sufficient to drive local processor activity, however, because, if they were, self-fulfilling prophecy would remove the ability to learn about the real world. This is formalized within Coherent Infomax as the minimization of the conditional mutual information between outputs and contextual inputs given the driving inputs. Information specifically about the context is therefore not transmitted, thus ensuring that it does not corrupt the information transmitted specifically about the driving inputs. In neural systems this is implemented by using the contextual inputs to control the gain of the response to the driving inputs, and several synaptic and local circuit mechanisms for doing this have been discovered [
The theory of Coherent Infomax is based on a fundamental asymmetry between the effects of contextual and driving inputs. In short, contextual inputs are neither necessary nor sufficient to produce an output; driving inputs are both necessary and sufficient. Can this asymmetry be related to Jaynes's probability theory? Prima facie, the most obvious possibility is that in Bayesian inference priors provide context-sensitivity. That is what I had long assumed, and it may seem obvious to many that context must operate via the prior. However, Jim Kay recently showed that not to be so [
Bayesian inference does seem to imply an asymmetry in that the data is a "given" that is assumed to be true. Data is also "fixed" in the sense that probability distributions are computed for likelihoods over varied model parameters for the given data. This asymmetry is less relevant here than at first appears, however, because the hypotheses whose probabilities are estimated by Bayesian inference concern unknown things. The objects of inference are not the observations themselves, but uncertain things about which the data provides evidence, such as the parameters in a model of the underlying processes that generate the data, or future data yet to be observed. Priors can provide evidence about those parameters that is as strong as, or stronger than, the current data. Consider a gambler who uses some system or inside knowledge to bet on a horse that loses. He may nevertheless be justified in making further bets on the same grounds if that strategy pays off over many races. No single outcome has a privileged status in determining that.
An asymmetry equivalent to that emphasized by Coherent Infomax does occur in some uses of maximum entropy and Bayesian methods, however. In machine learning, for example, a probability distribution of possible translations of a new occurrence of a familiar word in a body of text may be estimated from a sample of prior translations. Conditional maximum entropy methods do this using context [
When showing how learning can proceed without necessitating storage of all the details of past experience, Jaynes [
A crucial issue within that territory concerns the possibility of major transitions in the evolution of inferential capabilities. Szmatháry and Maynard Smith [
Probability theory could contribute to this issue by proposing various possible inferential strategies. For example, these could range from those with requirements that are simple to meet but with severely limited capacities, through intermediate stages of development, to those having more demanding requirements but with enhanced capabilities. Some possible transitions are as follows: from predictions only of things that are directly observable to estimates of things not directly observable; from generative models averaged over various contexts to those that are context specific; from hypotheses determined by input data to those that are somehow more internally generated; from probabilistic inference to syntactic structure, and, finally, from hypothesis testing to pure hypothesizing freed from testing. Within stages marked by such transitions there would still be much to be done by gradual evolutionary processes. For example, context-sensitive computations can make astronomical demands on computational resources, so they are only useful if appropriate constraints are placed on the sources and size of contextual input, as already shown for its use in natural language processing [
Transition from non-conscious to conscious strategies was not included in the list of possible transitions just given for the simple reason that all of those mentioned were explicitly related to probabilistic inference. It is not clear how that can be done for consciousness. Though it is not necessary for inference, the possibility that various aspects of consciousness are associated with one or more of the possible transitions listed may be an important issue for further research.
These speculations go far beyond the current theory of Coherent Infomax. Limitations of the theory are discussed elsewhere [
The tension between creation and discovery implicit in Jaynes's view of the human imagination is memorably expressed in the quote from Montaigne with which he begins his 1990 paper [
Several theories of brain function derive system properties from a formally specified objective function whose value tends to change in one direction over time as the system evolves, in both the short-term and the long-term. Coherent Infomax is one of them. Though Jaynes proposed an underlying logic for plausible inference, he did not specify inferential objectives, which were assumed to be supplied by the scientist, engineer, or whoever else is making the inferences. Coherent Infomax adds to Jaynes's logic by proposing a formal objective function, and by showing, in principle, how that objective can drive the dynamics of adaptively self-organized complex systems. This objective is Jaynesian in spirit, however, because it produces patterns of activity in which the mutual information shared by elements is high, even though it also increases their joint information. This is "Jaynesian" because it increases the amount of information from which useful inferences can be drawn.
The theory of Coherent Infomax was developed independently of any particular definition of probability, but Fiorillo [
If it is not only entropy, but also self-organized complexity that increases over much of cosmic history, then Richard Dawkins' selfishness is not the only option for a scientifically based conception of long-term objectives. We can think of life at the ecological and species levels, not as "evolved to reproduce", but as "reproducing to evolve";
Jim Kay formalized the Coherent Infomax theory. Christopher Fiorillo convinced me that Jaynes's probability theory has much to offer. My efforts on this paper show how much I value their thoughts. They also provided useful comments on an earlier version, as did Ron Cottam, Bob Doyle, Mike Spratling, and an anonymous referee. I am grateful to Gordana Dodig-Crnkovic, Editor of this Special Issue, for encouraging this work.


text: The Chehalis River Valley Model Railroaders in conjunction with the Lewis Count Historical Museum are sponsoring an open house Saturday April 3 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Come and see the progress we have made on the model railroad and view the current museum exhibit, "It's all about trains." The model railroad is located inside the historic Chehalis Northern Pacific Railroad depot in Chehalis Washington. Museum admission for this event is only $2.00 for non-members and as always, free to museum members. The Chehalis Steam Train is also planning special activities that day so come and make a railroad day of it. The museum is located at 599 NW Front Way, Chehalis WA 98532. Their website is http://www.lewiscountymuseum.org/


text:
Spot the superstar bridesmaid! Sarah Jessica Parker supports producer friend at beach wedding
Carrie Bradshaw would definitely approve of Sarah Jessica Parker's bridesmaid style.
The Golden Globe winning actress was one of four bridesmaids for old pal, producer Melinda Relyea, whom she met while filming Sex and the City.
Relyea is also the vice president of SJP's Pretty Matches production company.
She attended the glamorous beach ceremony with husband of 17 years, Matthew Broderick, in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Despite her bridesmaid's star status, Melinda was centre stage in her Oscar de la Renta blue and white gown.
Earlier in the week, she gave fans a sneak peek of her strapless purple gown on Instagram and updated her followers with the day's festivities.
SJP is no stranger to wedding guest style as she posed with one very lucky bride for a special photograph at Lough Eske when she and her famous family were holidaying at their Donegal home in July.How fabulous! Sarah Jessica Parker poses with bride during Donegal holiday
Online Editors
Related Content
- SJP vs Carrie Bradshaw
- Sarah Jessica Parker returns to Donegal for GAA jerseys and fish and chips
- How fabulous! Sarah Jessica Parker poses with bride during Donegal holiday
- New York's finest step out for amfAR Inspiration Gala
- Alexander McQueen banned Victoria Beckham from wearing his clothes and threw a potato at Madonna's head
- Kelly Cutrone: Sex and the City ruined the world


text:
After much questing involving Mogu, dragons, pandas and Klaxxi (don't ask…) level 90 and the level cap has finally been reached. I could spend the next 5 episodes talking about the Pandarian zones, the dungeons, the fact that I can become a farmer (no, really, I can have my own farm) but I wont. Instead, I thought I would focus on what most people who play World of Warcraft are interested in, and what most people who are considering playing WoW are wondering about – the end game.
To put my thoughts into perspective, I suppose I should explain my previous experience with 'life after the level cap'. Raiding was always my thing, and it was pretty much the only thing which used to keep me playing. From joining a casual raiding guild running Molten Core, I quickly progressed to a 'Bleeding Edge' guild where raiding and grinding was pretty much a full time job. Days were spent grinding materials and gold to help with guild repairs, and evenings were spent attempting to get those server first kills which, fantastically, we mostly did.
My focus was on seeing content which a lot of other people would never be able to, and there was an element of pride in belonging to the best guild on the server. A certain sense of satisfaction and – if I'm being honest – smugness was present in most of us. The gear that we had was unique, and other players would waste no time in inspecting us when we returned from a raid to see if we had any new items. If we did, they would link it in the general chat channel, where others would drool over it.
To get to this stage was a pretty clear cut path. Hit level cap, run dungeons for gear, apply to a raiding guild, get lucky and get accepted, then raid. Now however, it's not quite as clear cut.
At level 90, a player has many choices they can make. While it is nice to have some choice, the different paths you can use to get yourself some shiny gear can feel a bit overwhelming, especially for new or returning players. And once you have the gear, you then have even more choices. Do you upgrade the gear with your valor points, or do you wait in case you get something else because you don't want to waste your tokens.
As for the content, it's a mixed bag. Heroic dungeons feel anything but heroic. They are so easy it's almost embarrassing. I know that Blizzard have tried to address this with Challenge modes, but gear does not drop from the bosses in this mode, and so is pointless for those attempting to gear up. Valor gear is good, in fact some of it is great, but again it leaves a nasty taste in my mouth. It feels artificially restricted. Let me explain.
To get Valor gear, you are going to need two things – reputation with the faction which sells your gear, and the required valor points. Reputation is gained via daily quests which are a series of 6 or 7 quests which you can complete once per day which reward you with reputation. Valor points are gained from doing daily quests, running heroic dungeons using LFG, running scenarios etc. However, you are capped at 1000 valor points per week. Anything you earn after that is wasted.
Most decent valor gear requires revered reputation with the particular faction, and around 1750 valor points. This means, at best, you're restricted to one item of valor gear every two weeks. This smacks at being cockblocked, and I hate it. I can get 2 items of valor gear each month. Wow… thanks a lot.
'Looking for raid' or LFG is another bug bear of mine. Essentially, it allows you to queue up and play a dumbed down version raids with 24 random people. I know it's nice for people to be able to see the content, but I'm not sure it's actually experiencing the content. I've tried LFR, and there was no challenge, no skill involved and frankly was a very empty experience.
I understand that some people have the 'I pay the same amount of money to play as everyone else, I should be able to see all the content' mentality but there is a big difference between seeing, and experiencing something. However, regardless of all this, World of Warcraft is still amazing fun. Sure, it's moved more towards the casual side of gaming but at it's core it's totally addictive and you will never be short of something to do.
Jumping back into WoW, my aim was to see what had changed and then move on. The reality is much different though. I've once again become attached to my 'toon, and logging on in an evening is something I always look forward too. World of Warcraft now caters for everyone, and if you have not taken the plunge into Azeroth before I highly suggest that you do. Now I must go however, as me and Bert have got some questing to do…
WoW Relapser Summary: End Game
- Overall Enjoyment Level: 8/10
- Addiction Level: 9/10
Stay tuned for a new series of RPGlapse as Al documents his attempt to find another MMO that hooks him as much as World of Warcraft did. You can catch up on RPGlapse: My World of Warcraft Relapse from the very beginning by clicking here.


text:
Report on prioritizing instruction in the LCTLs of East Asia
Professor Michael Lewis (director of the Asian Studies Center at Michigan State University) is coordinating the prioritization of instruction of the languages of East Asia.
Discussions of issues involved in prioritizing the languages of the region were held or are planned at the following meetings:
- The annual meeting of the Association for Asian Studies, New York, 2003
- Title VI National Resource Center Directors, Washington DC, September 2003
- National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages, UCLA, Spring 2003
- The e-LCTL Initiative Meeting, Santa Fe, NM, February 2004
Read a report of the consensus of the Title VI East Asian directors.
View a demographic table listing numbers of first-language speakers of the LCTLs of East Asia (data derived from the web-version of Grimes, Barbara, ed. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 14th edition, vol. 1 (2000))
View data and other information about East Asian LCTL offerings at Title VI centers, U.S. Foreign Service Institute, U.S. Defense Language Institute, and other institutions in the U.S. from 2001-04.


text:
Voter Information
· a United States Citizen
· 18 years old by Election Day (you may pre-register to vote when you are 17 years old)
· A resident of your county, city, town or village for at least 30 days before Election Day
You may not vote if you are:
· In jail, prison, or on parole for a felony conviction. (Once parole is complete, you will be eligible to vote.)
President and Vice President of the
· Governor and Lieutenant Governor of New York State
· New York State Legislature
· Mayor or Supervisor and other elected officials in your community
· Local school board
· Fire district officers
· Money for schools or roads
Amendments to the
Proposed laws
In person. You may register to vote on any business day at the Rensselaer County Board of Elections at
Party affiliation. You are not required to choose a party affiliation when you register to vote, but doing so will allow you to vote in primary elections held by political parties. Also, only enrolled party members can sign nominating petitions, which are circulated by candidates seeking public office.
Special circumstances:
TIMING of ELECTIONS
Primary elections - several months before general elections from 12:00 Noon to 9:00 PM.
General elections - November from 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM.
Elections for school board members and school budgets - on the same day in May throughout
· Fire Districts - second Tuesday of December from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
· Other local elections - Spring.
· Newspapers, TV and radio, campaign ads and debates
· The Web
· Friends and family
· Disabled voters. Many polling places are now accessible to the handicapped. If yours is not, you may ask to have your records transferred to a nearby accessible polling place where the ballot will be the same as in your election district. This request must be made at least two weeks before the election. You may also vote by absentee ballot. If you have a long-term illness or disability, you can apply for a permanent absentee ballot and you will automatically receive your ballot before each primary and general election.
· Check out the sample ballot. At the entrance to the polling place, look for a sample ballot. The ballot in the election booth should look exactly the same. It will show: 1.) the candidates and the offices they are seeking. You may see a candidate listed more than once. This is because they've been endorsed by more than one party. However, you can only vote for that candidate once. 2.) ballot measures that are on the ballot. Look carefully for ballot measures. They may not be easy to see as they are often located at the top, bottom or side of the ballot.
Voting machines.
More instructions to follow on how to use the new optical scan machines.
Stay and vote !!! Even if you have to wait a few minutes, your vote counts and the outcome of the election will be important.
Questions about this page may be directed to: