text:
Gladstone residents settle in for a long night
9.20pm: The tide at Boyne-Tannum was a lot higher than this morning's peak, and the area is officially an isolated island now with Old Tannum Rd cut off and South Trees Bridge under water in several spots.
It's believed Boyne Island's Malpas Rd residents will be some of the most affected by floodwater.
8.50pm: Some Boyne Island and Tannum Sands residents are reportedly ignoring Gladstone Police and SES commands to leave their flooded properties.
Gladstone Police said that by law they did have the authority to evacuate residents from their homes.
More than 400 residents are being doorknocked tonight by Gladstone Police and SES workers.
Boyne Island Rd and Malpas Street, near the South Trees Inlet, have been closed.
It's believed authorities are trying to get residents out of their homes and to safer ground before high tide.
The evacuation comes as Gladstone Regional Council Emergency Communication Centre confirmed that Boyne Island would enter lockdown around 9pm.
Gladstone Mayor Gail Sellers has disputed claims the road to the Tanyalla Evacuation Centre in Caledon St, Tannum Sands will be closed.
Mayor Sellers said that families were now using the 70-bed facility.
"It seems a lot of people have found refuge with family and friends," she said.
Deputy Mayor Matt Burnett and councillor Maxine Brushe will spend the night with emergency services and residents at the Tanyalla Centre.
Mr Burnett said Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan had assured Cr Sellers they would be of assistance.
8.30pm: People are being asked to stay at home, with reports of fallen trees across the region.
8.15pm: Boyne Island will be in lockdown around 9pm as the high tide cuts off all arterial roads to the area.
Tides of up to 3m are expected to result in a surge of floodwaters.
Gladstone Regional Council emergency call centre says motorists have been ignoring road closure signs and driving through floodwaters.
Police are doorknocking in the area asking people to leave their homes.
Read the latest tweets on the Queensland floods.
7.50pm: Mayor Gail Sellers says conditions are going to be difficult for a few more days and is asking for everyone's co-operation.
7.20pm: The latest updated from the weather bureau says Ex Tropical Cyclone Oswald is slowly moving over the Central Highlands and Coalfields district, about 100km east south-east of Emerald and 220km west of Gladstone.
It is expected to move south south-east this evening and through Sunday, contracting into New South Wales on Monday.
There's still a possibility of tornado activity affecting areas through the Wide Bay and Burnett district.
7pm: Residents living within the one-in-100 flood zones have been asked to evacuate their homes as rising water threatens properties in the Boyne Island, Tannum Sands and Benaraby areas.
Gladstone Mayor Gail Sellers said the evacuation of residents was being encouraged by the Queensland Police Service following record level flooding of the Boyne River.
"I am asking residents in areas one metre above Q100 levels to stay alert, watch the weather and consider seeking shelter with family or friends," Cr Sellers said.
"For those without anywhere to stay, the Tanyalla Camping and Conference Centre in Caledon Street, is providing refuge with food being provided by the Salvation Army."
Cr Sellers advised those evacuating to pack lightly, taking only necessary personal items, pillows, blankets, and medication.
Cr Sellers also reminded residents to obey road signage and take care when travelling.
"With around 50 roads closed and potholes forming across the region it is important for the community to keep up to date with changing road conditions and to stay alert for weather and flood warnings.
6.53pm: A fifth tornado has hit Burnett Heads. Two houses have roof damage and there are powerlines down.
And another round of damaging winds and rainfall is set to lash the Gladstone coast tonight.
It's believed winds of 110km/h and more than 100mm of rain will hit the Capricorn Coast later this evening. Full story here.
6.50pm: The Bureau of Meteorology reports some areas through the southern Capricornia region have now recorded more than 1000mm of rain over the past 48 hours.
6.15pm: The water level for the Boyne River is the highest to-date.
Multiple Boyne-Tannum residents are starting to organise their important documents and belongings and making plans in case they are forced to evacuate at high tide arrives again at 9pm.
Water has built up in the driveways of some Boyne Island residents, meaning they are unable to move their cars.
Tannum Sands beach being closed hasn't stopped kite surfers using the wind to their advantage.
This afternoon many people were out and about despite the weather, using the opportunity of having lighter rain to stretch their legs during a walk on the beach and see the sand ripped out by the high tide.
There were boogie boarders and families looking at the debris along the tide line.
There are reports of another tornado at Burnett Heads, and the possibility of a tornado 30km west of Maryborough.
The latest flood warning for the Calliope, Boyne, Baffle and Kolan Rivers is here.
6pm: RACQ CQ Helicopter Rescue attended the rescue of a mother and her 14 month-old baby from floodwater near Biloela late this afternoon.
It's believed the woman's vehicle became trapped in floodwater between Callide and Kroombit Creek.
5.45pm: Rio Tinto Alcan has started a controlled, temporary stoppage of its Yarwun refinery after the sites Residue Management Area started flowing from the spillway into Gravel Creek this afternoon. Full story here.
5.40pm: There are reports of a car trapped between the Kroombit and Grevillea Creeks outside of Biloela.
It is believed Queensland Fire and Rescue Service and SES teams have been notified.
And Banana Shire Mayor Ron Carige has proved just how far he will go for the shire after he was forced to sit on the roof of his car for five hours after getting stuck in a flooded causeway.
Cr Carige was on his way to Biloela to lead the Banana Shire disaster team when he was caught out.
SES crews came to Cr Carige's rescue at a causeway before Bells Creek, after property owners saw his cars lights.
"We ended up getting in at about 1:30am this morning," Cr Carige said. "I was just caught out."
5.10pm: Gladstone Regional Council has confirmed that Boyne Island Rd will remain open until flood waters rise later tonight.
The road is the main traffic arterial for Boyne Island and Tannum Sands residents to get to Gladstone.
It's believed the bridge over the South Trees Inlet will flood when the tide climbs up to three metres tonight.
A Gladstone Regional Council representative said at this stage the road would remain open.
For an updated list of road closures click here.
4.45pm: The latest from the weather bureau: At 4pm, Ex Tropical Cyclone Oswald was slow moving over the Central Highlands and Coalfields district, about 75km east northeast of Emerald and 250km west northwest of Gladstone.
It is is expected to move south southeast this evening and through Sunday, contracting into New South Wales on Monday.
Damaging winds with peak gusts of around 110kmh are possible over the southern Capricornia district, particularly near the coast, and over southern parts of the Central Highlands and Coalfields districts, particularly over higher terrain.
These winds are likely to start easing as the system begins to move southwards late tonight or early Sunday.
Heavy rainfall may lead to flash flooding and worsening of the existing flood situation over the southern Capricornia and southeastern parts of the Central Highlands and Coalfields districts.
Locations that may be affected include Gladstone, Seventeen Seventy and Theodore.
Six hour rainfall accumulations in excess of 100mm are possible, potentially leading to further rapid river and stream rises in the area.
Twenty-four hour rainfall totals to 9am Sunday are likely to exceed 250mm. This area of heavy rainfall is expected to contract south from late tonight or early Sunday.
Currently, the heaviest rain is located on radar over the southern Capricornia district and through the Wide Bay and Burnett district.
Areas near Gladstone and south to Bundaberg recorded 200 to 500mm in the 24 hours to 9am Saturday.
Some areas through the southern Capricornia have now recorded over 1000mm over the past 48 hours.
A number of locations, including Rockhampton and Gladstone, have recorded their highest daily rainfall totals.
Water levels on the high tide Sunday morning are likely to exceed the highest tide of the year about coastal and island locations near and south of Gladstone.
4.30pm: Gladstone Mayor Gail Sellers says: "If you are in one of the 400 homes in the Boyne-Tannum and Benaraby areas and have family or friends in Gladstone, and are thinking of going to stay with them if necessary, please consider self evacuation."
4.22pm: Premier Campbell Newman is remaining tight lipped about his whereabouts tomorrow, but reports suggest he may be travelling to Central Queensland.
4.20pm: Flooding on the Hut Creek Bridge on Gentle Annie Rd, Ambrose. Reader pic sent in by Tess Hargreaves.
4.15pm: A round-up of where things are at in Gladstone:
Residents in Boyne Island and Tannum Sands remain on high alert as torrential rainfall lashes the Gladstone region this afternoon.
More than 50 roads remain closed in the region with between 400-500 properties placed on high alert.
At this stage no residents have been evacuated from their properties.
This afternoon councillor Maxine Brushe said no residents had sought refuge at the Boyne Island Tannum Sands community centre.
Gladstone Airport remains open with QantasLink and Virgin Australia experiencing delays and cancellations.
Gladstone Regional Council will be holding another Local Disaster Management Group at 5pm.
4.05pm: Gladstone Mayor Gail Sellers has advised residents not to worry about the Awoonga Dam wall, saying it is safe.
Earlier today authorities said they were confident the dam was functioning according the plan and there was no need for panic.
Gladstone Area Water Board chief executive Jim Grayson the situation was well within the design and capability of the dam. Full story here.
4pm: Gladstone Airport will remain open despite predictions of heavy rainfall later today. Full story here.
3.45pm: The Bureau of Meteorology advised the Gladstone region to expect between 200-300mm of rain and strong winds over the next 12 hours.
Gladstone Mayor Gail Sellers has reminded residents to stay alert for weather and flood warnings following the rapid rise of Lake Awoonga threatening surrounding properties this morning.
Cr Sellers said the Local Disaster Management Centre had been activated and an emergency alert issued to residents residing within the one-in-100 year flood zones in the Boyne Island, Tannum Sands and Benaraby areas.
"The Local Disaster Management Group will reassess the expected flood levels in the Boyne River at this afternoon's meeting at 5pm."
Cr Sellers advised residents in the Boyne Island area to self-evacuate if concerned about their property and to exercise caution when doing so.
"Please seek shelter with friends and family if possible. Alternatively, the Tanyalla Camping and Conference Centre in Caledon Street, Tannum Sands, will be available from 5pm as a place of refuge," she said.
"If self-evacuating, it is advisable to take a pillow and blanket, personal items and medications.
"Food will be provided by the Salvation Army.
"It is very important that, if self-evacuating, you let friends and family know that you are going to do so."
Cr Sellers also reminded residents to obey road signage and take care when travelling.
"With around 50 roads closed and potholes forming across the region it is important for the community to keep up to date with changing road conditions and to stay alert for weather and flood warnings."
2.49pm: The Bruce Hwy south of Rockhampton has re-opened to Mt Larcom. Anyone travelling further south should stay in Rocky. Gracemere and Mt Morgan are both accessible from the north.
2.10pm: Queensland Premier Campbell Newman is holding a press conference about flooding in Queensland.
He said the situation in Gladstone had deteriorated today, and urged everyone in affected areas to take heed of emergency message.
He said a disaster situation had been declared in Gladstone following significant inflows into Awoonga Dam.
Mr Newman said there were 400-500 properties downstream that could be impacted.
He said another dam - a saddle dam - which blocks part of a gully leading to the Boyne Valley could impact another 500 homes.
"We are concerned we could see water overtopping the saddle dam," Mr Newman said.
"QPS is taking this very seriously right now."
Mr Newman said there were concerns with beaches along the coast, with beaches down to the border being closed.
He said people are being urged to stay out of the water so surf lifesavers don't have to risk there lives.
He said he understood people were anxious, but assured residents government officials and local government leaders were all working together as a team to do everything they could to affect communities.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has offered the support of the Commonwealth, Mr Newman said.
2pm: The latest photos from Observer photographers Tom Huntley and Christopher Chan:
1.45pm: Qantaslink has advised passengers travelling between Brisbane and Gladstone that there are no scheduled delays or cancellations.
1.30pm: Boyne-Tannum residents are holding out to see what damage tonight's high tide will bring.
The Boyne River at Tannum Sands rose to well above the level of the 2011 floods this morning, but levels eased after the tide peaked.
The weather has gone through spurts of calming down to only come back with heavy onslaughts of rain and strong wind.
The situation has the community abuzz with trepidation and many people are flocking to the shopping centres to stock up.
The majority of people shopping were sensible, not going overboard but gearing up with essentials to get them through the what is as yet an undefinable period.
However, a different picture can be presented for the roads in the community.
Many residents have not heeded Mayor Gail Sellers' warning that the rains were not an occasion for sight-seeing, instead filling up streets along the river with traffic.
Even with the weather, many people aren't letting the rain stop their Australia Day celebrations, with low key events taking place.
1.05pm: Just when you thought the rain might be easing, a massive downpour has hit Glastone in the past half hour.
From noon to 12.30pm, 17.2mm of rain fell. That's significantly more than other half hour blocks over the past two days.
From 9am to noon, 8.2 mm fell, which was relatively quiet compared with the past two days.
Since 6pm on Thursday night, 667.4mm of rain has fallen in Gladstone.
1pm: Observer reader Anita Graham has sent in these photos of Lake Awoonga and surrounding areas.
12.45pm: How the Boyne River is looking:
12.41pm: Telstra is working on fixing landline and broadband services to residents in Gladstone, Rockhampton and Emerald.
The severe weather and flooding around Rockhampton has impacted two cables servicing the region.
Technicians have arrived on site at fibre damage and are working in difficult conditions. Repairs are underway and some residents in Rockhampton have had services restored, including some mobile and landline services
Repairs and testing will continue until full restoration is complete. At this stage there is no estimated time of full repair.
11.56am: It's been reported the lights at Toolooa St and Derby St are out.
Tannum Sands Surf Life Saving Club says the beach is closed and has asked people to avoid going into any water.
Nippers has also been cancelled tomorrow.
11.30am: Boyne Island resident Lee McIvor can't say enough about emergency services in the wake of evacuation alerts this morning.
Located along the river at Boyne Island, Ms McIvor said she received a warning at 5.30am that there could be flooding along the Boyne River.
"I think it is great," Ms McIvor said. "Everyone knows there is a potential for this."
With police and SES present in the area Ms McIvor said she felt safe.
"I think it has been well done."
She said without the text this morning she would have had no idea about the risks facing residents living in her area.
11am: Mayor Gail Sellers says Premier Campbell Newman has been speaking with the Prime Minister about Gladstone's communication problems with Telstra.
Local Government Minister David Crisafulli and Community Safety Minister Jack Dempsey also have been in touch, offering their support.
10.45am: The high tide has come and gone in the Boyne-Tannum area, and homes in low-lying areas have so far escaped major flooding.
But local disaster co-ordinator Mark Holmes said the threat was far from over, with many low-lying public areas under water and more rain on the way.
"We're still expecting an issue with the high tide tomorrow morning and even this evening, depending on the rate of increase in the dam and the rate of increase in the rain."
10.15am: Gladstone Mayor Gail Sellers has assured residents there is no truth to the rumour that Awoonga Dam has burst its banks.
"It's all safe," she said.
9.45am: The traffic lights on Toolooa and Breslin Sts are completely out, so people are advised to take extreme care if they have to drive.
And traffic is still busy at the Boyne Island intersection, as this photo from Lisa Maynard shows:
9.30am: Awoonga Dam was sitting at 45.5m as of 8am this morning, almost one metre higher than its previous record of 44.6m.
Mayor Gail Sellers said Gladstone was in unchartered territory at the moment.
"We have 400 homes that could have water in them according to the Q100 specifications," Cr Sellers told The Observer.
Each and every one of those homes has received a knock on the door from police and SES and also a notification via text message.
The Boyne Island Community Centre has been set up to receive people affected by flood waters who have nowhere else to go.
Cr Sellers said so far no-one had used the service.
Queensland Premier has phoned to check in on Gladstone, and Cr Sellers said she spoke with him about telecommunication problems facing some residents.
"He is doing his best to try and rectify that," she said.
With the bad weather continuing, Cr Sellers urged people to be cautious and not take any unnecessary risks.
"We don't want any sightseers," she said.
The Mayor also urged children and thrill seekers to stay out of flood waters and not to play in them, especially in the Boyne Island-Tannum Sands area.
9.15am: Observer reporter Lisa Maynard, who lives at Boyne Tannum, says almost all the meat is sold out at Tannum Sands Coles, and milk sold out on Friday.
She said a fire alarm went off at Coles at 8.30am and people had to evacuate the centre.
There are surfers still in the water enjoying the massive waves, and plenty of debris in the waterways.
9am: It's been reported Awoonga Dam is at 45m, which is 1m higher than it was during the January 2011 floods.
8.45am: Boyne Island and Tannum Sands residents are remaining calm as the high tide approaches.
Riverside Drive resident Joanna Driver said she wasn't too worried at this stage.
"We've got a big retainer wall for it to come up," Ms Driver said.
For now it is business as usual. Ms Driver has gone to work but said her daughter was home and keeping an eye on the situation.
"My daughter will give me plenty of warning and what needs to be done we'll do," she said.
8.20am: Reports have been received that water is going over the road at Tarcoola Drive, Boyne Island, with high tide still half an hour away.
7.58am: Gladstone Mayor Gail Sellers has been speaking with Queensland Premier Campbell Newman, who wanted to make sure all was being handled in the Gladstone region.
This picture shows the storm surge overview of the Boyne Island and Tannum Sands region. The green areas show the Q100 flood area, while the purple identifies a development line which allows an additional metre.
7.42am: Low-lying areas of Boyne Island may need to be evacuated, with a 4.5m tide expected this morning.
Residents in Boyne Island and Tannum Sands received notification by text message at 5.30am that they may need to go.
Gladstone Mayor Gail Sellers said the situation was unchartered territory because of the level of Awoonga Dam.
"The dam has never been this high," she said. "It was 5.8m over at 5.45am this morning."
About 400 homes at the end of the Boyne River may be affected.
An evacuation centre has been opened at Boyne Tannum Community Centre.
Council staff are keeping an eye on the high tide expected at 8.45am.
Residents say the river is flowing rapidly and there is large debris in the water.
5.55am: A FLOODING emergency alert has been issued for Gladstone with the Boyne River expected to break its banks.
The Local Disaster Management Group at Gladstone has advised flood levels along the Boyne River will exceed 1 in 100 flood levels on the morning high tide at 8.45am and evening high tide at 9pm.
Water levels on the high tide this morning are likely to exceed the highest tide of the year about the coastal and island locations about and south of Gladstone.
The Gladstone Region Local Disaster Management Group reports the rate of rise in the Lake Awoonga Dam level has been rapid overnight.
The high flood level is expected through Boyne/Tannum and Benaraby today and tomorrow.
Boyne Tannum Community Centre will be available as a place of refuge if required.
Phone alerts and door knocking has begun for people living near the Boyne River.
The ABC reports police and the SES are worried the Boyne River will break its banks toda,y so they have been doorknocking homes in the area.
They are asking residents to prepare their homes for possible inundation.
If they're in a low-lying area, residents there should go to a friend's house or a family's house that is on higher ground.
It's been reported the river is now at the same height as the floods two years ago, and it's still a few hours until the morning's peak.
People are asked to take the necessary action to prepare their properties and if necessary evacuate to higher ground.
For information listen to your local radio station or log on to www.disaster.qld.gov.au for further advice or official direction from emergency services.
Only call triple zero (000) if you or your property is in danger or if someone is injured.
The community will be notified when there is no longer a flooding threat.
The State Emergency Service received more than 650 requests for help in the 24 hours to 5am this morning, with about 415 of these were in Central Queensland.
There were more than 130 call-outs in Rockhampton, and more than 35 jobs each for Gladstone and Yeppoon.
Bundaberg SES also had more than 35 requests for assistance. Jobs were mostly for leaking roofs, fallen trees and flooding.
Queensland Fire and Rescue Service personnel rescued a person from a vehicle at Smoky Creek, north of Biloela, before 1am this morning after the vehicle was caught in floodwaters.
Gladstone has received 210mm of rain since 9am Friday.
The Bureau of Meteorology reports that at 4am, Ex Tropical Cyclone Oswald remains slow moving over the Central Highlands, about 100km north-east of Emerald and 160km west north-west of Rockhampton.
It is expected to begin moving towards the south south-east later today. A trough extends from Ex Tropical Cyclone Oswald to the southern Capricornia coast.
Damaging winds with peak gusts of around 100kmh are possible over the southern Capricornia district, particularly near the coast and over the southern parts of the Central Highlands and Coalfields districts.
The winds are likely to start easing as the system begins to move southwards later today.
Heavy rainfall may lead to flash flooding and worsening of the existing flood situation over the southern Capricornia and sout-heastern parts of the Central Highlands and Coalfields districts.
Six hour rainfall of more than 100mm are possible.
The heaviest rain is currenlty located over the southern Capricornia district.
Rainfall in excess of 350mm has been recorded in the area since 9am Friday and in excess of 700mm in the less than two days, leading to rapid river and stream rises in the area.
Flood warnings are current for various rivers and streams in these districts. See www.bom.gov.au/qld/warnings.


text:
written by
Yeounsoo Kim,
Lei Bao, and
Omer Acar
With proper context settings, instructors need to guide students to recognize explicitly cognitive conflicts among students' existing understandings and new observations. To study this issue, we have developed an easy-to-use instrument, the in-class Conflict and Anxiety Recognition Evaluation (iCARE), for monitoring the status of students' cognitive conflicts and anxiety in the context of Physics by Inquiry (PBI) classes. Using iCARE, we investigate what types of cognitive conflict is constructive or destructive in conceptual change when college students are confronted with anomalous situations in a PBI class. In this research, we will present our results about the relationship between students' prior knowledge and their conceptual change and the relationship between students' types of cognitive conflicts and their conceptual change.
Published February 14, 2006
Last Modified July 9, 2013
This file is included in the full-text index.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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All years index
The album for this year is now complete from my own collection, with some additions from other sources. If you have pictures of any other Well Dressings during the year that you would be willing to share, I will be happy to include them here. Please email firstname.lastname@example.com
I am aware of the following events that took place for which I do not have pictures: Middle Mayfield (Children's Well), Youlgrave (Reading Room Well). There may be others.


text:
Bonar Law
former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1858-1923)
(Redirected from Andrew Bonar Law)
Andrew Bonar Law (16 September 1858 – 30 October 1923) was a Conservative British statesman and Prime Minister from 1922 to 1923.
- We who represent the Unionist Party in England and Scotland have supported, and we mean to support to the end, the loyal minority [in Ireland]. We support them not because we are intolerant, but because their claims are just.
- Speech in the Albert Hall (26 January 1912)
- As I crossed a few hours ago from Scotland I said to myself,—"The majority there are Radicals. They are going to vote next week for the Home Rule Bill. What would they say to a proposal which was to subject them to the same kind of Government or the same kind of men to which, for the sake of party interests, they are willing to sacrifice you?" They would never accept it. I know Scotland well, and I believe that, rather than submit to such a fate, the Scottish people would face a second Bannockburn or a second Flodden.
- Speech in Belfast (8 April 1912), quoted in The Times (9 April 1912), p. 7
- These people in the North-east of Ireland, from old prejudices perhaps more from anything else, from the whole of their past history, would prefer, I believe, to accept the government of a foreign country rather than submit to be governed by honourable gentlemen below the gangway [i.e. the Irish Nationalist Party].
- Speech in the House of Commons (1 January 1913) rejecting the Home Rule Bill
- Whatever steps you may feel compelled to take, whether they are constitutional, or whether in the long run they are unconstitutional, you have the whole Unionist Party, under my leadership, behind you.
- Message sent to Belfast (12 July 1913)
- I remember this, that King James had behind him the letter of the law just as completely as Mr. Asquith has now. He made sure of it. He got the judges on his side by methods not dissimilar from those by which Mr. Asquith has a majority in the House of Commons on his side. There is another point to which I would specially refer. In order to carry out his despotic intention the King had the largest army which had ever been seen in England. What happened? There was no civil war. Why? Because his own army refused to fight for him.
- Speech in Dublin (28 November 1913), quoted in The Times (29 November 1913), p. 10
- We cannot alone act as the policeman of the world. The financial and social condition of this country makes that impossible.
- Letter to The Times during the Chanak Crisis, printed in The Times (7 October 1922), p. 11
- I think, perhaps, it would be useful if I repeat again to you the words which I used in the first speech when I became leader of our party [in 1911]..."No government of which I am a member will ever be a government of reaction..." That was my view then and it is my view today, and if I thought the Unionist Party was or would ever become a party of that kind I would not be a member of it.
- Speech in the Public Baths, Old Kent Road (7 November 1922), quoted in The Times (8 November 1922), p. 14
Quotes about Bonar LawEdit
- The public have never realised the creative common-sense of Bonar Law—he was the most constructive objector that I have ever known.
- David Lloyd George, quoted in Harold Nicolson's diary (6 July 1936), quoted in Nigel Nicolson (ed.), Harold Nicolson: Diaries and Letters. 1930-1939 (London: Collins, 1966), p. 268.


text:
With Eli and Kenny starting inside the top three, all eyes were on the duo to see if we would finally get the battle we have been waiting for. Eli jumped out front early and clearly wanted to run away from the pack and make his life easy. When Roczen got to second, he actually closed in on Eli for a lap or two and everyone could feel the energy building. Surely Roczen would catch up to Eli's rear wheel and give everyone a race for the ages, right? Unfortunately, Eli had different plans. Once Kenny gained a bit of ground, Eli retaliated with his own pace increase and started to stretch it back out. That retaliation was key in my opinion. In my experience, it is incredibly hard to pick up the pace when the effort is already at 100 percent. It made me wonder if Eli was pacing Kenny that early in the moto or if he just sorted out a few lines and was able to drop his lap times accordingly. For Roczen, it had to be disappointing. After all, he was fastest in both practice sessions and when he began catching Eli, that surge of confidence and adrenaline is a huge bonus. For Eli to be able to recognize the need for more speed and actually respond was impressive.
Roczen (left, 94) and Tomac (right, 17) looked primed for a showdown in the second moto at Washougal. But Tomac had different plans.
Simon Cudby photo
The question that remains for me is this: Did Kenny relent once he realized he couldn't close the gap? He has seen Eli's tendency for bad starts and inconsistency at times this season and I wonder if that makes it easier for him to settle on a second place finish if that's all he felt he had at the moment. These two are racing for the big picture. Moto wins and overalls are great but holding the big trophy at Lake Elsinore is what this fight is all about.
Kenny has shown brilliant speed at times this season and then Eli has countered with some of the most impressive laps I have seen in years. I feel it was a big moment for Eli to not only keep Kenny at bay, but to say, "Hey, I can go faster than this if I need to" and pull back away. Whether Kenny lets on or not, that wasn't a comforting feeling to watch the 17 stretch his lead into the shadows. These last few races are truly anyone's guess in my opinion. Kenny has been more consistent with his starts and his first moto speed but if Eli can solve that puzzle like he did at Washougal, it will end up being the deciding factor in this championship.


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0 AI D0minate - Thursday 10/06/2010, 18:07
Im using fang pi for elo, one of their cr cards is 8 8 pwr reduce
_wise_ - Thursday 10/06/2010, 18:58
Imperator - the courtyard of shadows
Urrm well done for finding that out.....
- Silver - Thursday 10/06/2010, 19:16
Guru - Open Casket
Um, ok?...Don't really see the purpose of this thread...
Anywho, Eyrik > Kerozinn Cr.
Sacrifice a little damage, but all of your cards gain Kerozinn's ability.
fallenhonor44 - Monday 14/06/2010, 02:53
Fang pi is not as bad as people say and it is even possible to get over 1300 elo with them even if you are not rich and have none of their crs.
Ok, it is true that kerozinn cr and marlysa cr are some of the best fang pi and making a deck is impossible without them. However, kerozinn cr can be replaced with kuei with an sob which is better most of the time besides a 1 power advantage. Marlsya can also be replaced by chan who is a monster at 10/3 which is just as good as a 7/4 with sob. Of course, fang pi can only be played in a half deck right now so who are the other 2 cards? You got many options
Marlsya-only if you are super rich
Fei-Another power reducer which slaughters nanook and Loccio where other cards would have a LOT more trouble
Ungai lvl1/2-Unstable and expensive to replace the lvl 1 version but decent damage
Nakata-the solid 3 star of fang pi with stop power +2 this card is definitely worth of consideration
yumi-great attack manipulation but needs confidence
sayura- great attack manipulation and 1 power and 1 star off the mighty gatline of la junta
My favourite half deck of fang pi that I have gotten over 1300+ elo with is
Fei, Kuei, Chan, and nakata 14 stars
The other half could be these clans
Skeelz, Roots,ulu wata,
Fang pi is not that obsolete in elo just yet, with its many solid people and damage it is sure to stay with a few people in elo and once we get a GOOD attack manipulator or better low star people, fang pi is sure to rise in elo soon.
wasteroftime - Monday 14/06/2010, 03:39
Titan - Open Casket
I run FPC half deck semi-regularly during the week
Kerozinn Nakata Fei and Chan make a high powered half deck that can win rounds and maintain pill advantage. (Kuei over Kerozinn works as others have said)
the problem with it is matching with another clan that can really benefit from the damage made by your FPC half
Chan's 3 damage and Nakata's 5 damage are awkward to work with.
the 8 damage threat from Kerozinn is huge.
youd need to pair the FPC half with either a defensive halfdeck (Pussycats, Roots, Sahkrom) or with another clan that will 2HKO with a lot of their cards.... so cards with 4 to 7 damage are best.... All Stars and Bangers come to mind.
i personally run this deck
http://www.urban-rivals.com/presets/?id_art of peace&list


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BOSTON, April 3 (UPI) -- Sidney Crosby had two goals and an assist Tuesday and the Pittsburgh Penguins strengthened their grip on home ice in the playoffs with a 5-3 win over Boston.
Arron Asham, Paul Martin and James Neal also scored for the Penguins, who moved the three points ahead of Philadelphia in the race for the Eastern Conference's fourth seed.
The top four seeds in each conference host the first round of the playoffs, with Pittsburgh most likely to meet the Flyers.
Brent Johnson earned the victory with 26 saves.
Boston, which has clinched the East's second seed, got goals from Rich Peverley, Benoit Pouliot and Milan Lucic.
Marty Turco turned aside 22-of-27 shots for the Bruins.


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It's late, but it looks as if our candidate won. It is possible to go up against the old party machine and win. Grass roots organization, hard work, and enthusiasm can do it. Nothing like an upset to renew your hopes for democracy. We're going to have a very different school board...
Midway through the day it began to pour rain, and kept raining pretty steadily until the polls closed. It is still raining. And cold. I don't know how it affected turnout, but clearly enough people who cared came out and pulled the right lever.
Mark and I worked at a polling place in a part of town known to support the entrenched opponent. The voters were mostly senior citizens, black and white - the site, a public housing high rise. What scenes do I remember? The amount of teasing and chatter going on. The young constable (wearing the opponent's t-shirt) telling me that the opponent "walks the line, very close to the line." I think he was talking both about her racism, and perhaps her ethics. But he was careful not to be specific, and I was careful not to press for details. His job is determined by patronage, but I had a sense that he might not have voted along all the party endorsements, even though he was handing out party slate cards.
What else? Standing my ground when the judge of elections didn't want to let us in to watch the count and tally. I was cheerful while he spent a very long time reading my credentials, but I didn't give up, and he couldn't legally kick us out. The voting machines are large brown metal booths, solid and institutional. Each of them produces a large (looked roughly three foot by seven foot) piece of paper, on which all the votes have been marked by the machine in faint gray numbers. It's a mechanical recording process. No names are used on the giant sheet, so you have to know your candidate's lever in order to follow what's going on during the counting. The votes are read off the paper and recorded, and then the recorded totals for each sheet are added to tally the total votes for a given candidate. "Seven E: two plus six is eight." "Eight." "Eight." "Eight." The other sworn election officials nod and write down the number. I make a note on the back of a poll card, and by careful listening am able to leave with an exact count. The opponent wins, but by only nine votes - this in her stronghold. We have very good news to bring to the post-election party.
But I think the moment I'll remember for the longest had nothing to do with voting at all. An elderly woman - slightly tipsy (she'd been celebrating her birthday - June 4th) had been talking and laughing with us outside the poll. Lots of opinions. Lots of sentiment. Not incoherant but not quite together, either. Somehow, just as the poll was closing, she began singing "I did it my way." No one was outside but Mark and me, and we began singing with her. She knew all the words, and we did what we could - even threw in a little harmony. "Ol' blue eyes," she said, "he was the best."Posted by EGP at May 20, 2003 11:41 PM
You put in words pretty much my whole evening last night (except for the party, which for me consisted of drinking good beer and talking about punk rock with John Zedolik). One point of clarification is that I was the one who started "My Way" by humming the tune, and then I was joined by the two of you.Posted by: Mark at May 21, 2003 9:15 PM
Thanks! I stand corrected. (And the tune is still in my head, thank you very much - but I think it is the Sid Vicious cover and not the original.)Posted by: EGP at May 21, 2003 9:24 PM


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Football, Deviled Eggs, Bloody Marys: NFL Week 3
One of my less scuzzy friends had the good fortune to marry an enchanting young woman from Australia. The early stages of their courtship occurred mostly online, during which time the silly girl developed the impression that Jamie and his friends like to actually play sports.
Apparently her strange antipodean brain mistranslated "We like sports" as "We like to exert our muscles by moving about in a sudden manner in pursuit of balls and goals and such." Can you imagine?! I pulled both hamstrings just typing that.
So picture her surprise upon discovering that our lumpen, postadolescent, prediabetic bodies were good for little more than anchoring the nylon folding furniture scattered before the giant glowing altar in the middle of any self-respecting American sportsman's living room. Jamie is a man of few words who naturally assumed that the "chugging beer and pizza rolls while watching" was implied in the middle of "We like sports."
I mention this because for the first time in my life, I find myself owning a gigantic TV. It's not very large by "affably ineffectual dudes joshing around while watching sports in a Papa John's commercial" standards, but it's 32 inches across, which is 50 percent larger than the one it replaced. I've never owned this large a television before because I am refined and enlightened and more interested in life's subtler pleasures, like stupid comedy podcasts and dirty Internet stuff; also because I've never lived in the sort of neighborhood where people throw out perfectly nice 10-year-old, 120-pound televisions.
Emily and I didn't need a new TV, because no one ever does, but our old one was tough for watching certain sports on certain networks because the score-and-clock display was cut off along the edges of the screen. So when I saw a huge TV on the curb with a sign promising "Works fine, but is HEAVY," I dragged it home in five agonizing 40-step bursts, hooked it up, and had my faith restored in the subset of humanity that throws out big TVs in uppity neighborhoods. It indeed works fine.
We have now committed ourselves to watching every Patriots game at home this year. It's harder to pay attention in bars and other people's homes, particularly for Emily, because other women tend to think she wants to talk about babies and handbags and shit like that while there's perfectly good football happening right in front of our faces.
Plus it's easier to make your own eggs and drinks at home, which is what we'll be doing this Sunday afternoon while the Patriots brutally beat the Bills in Buffalo.
Last week I offended some of you with the profane suggestion that the Pats would beat the Chargers by a mere 9 points. This week I atone for that sin by guaranteeing a New England blowout. I expect something on the order of 48-21. The Bills have been bad for ages, and even though they've shown signs of life so far this season, good things don't come to those who choose to wait around in Buffalo.
But I mean my imaginary Buffalonian friends no harm, and to prove it I will honor them with regionally appropriate alternatives to the standard Serious Eats recipes for Bloody Marys and deviled eggs.
For the Deviled Eggs
I initially rejected a Buffalo-wing-inspired version as too obvious, for that is easy and I am clever! But I couldn't figure out how to get the texture right through several rounds of testing a whipped bison filling, so the hell with it, here's your wing eggs.
What you're doing here is getting hot sauce and blue cheese into your yolk, which was actually a little trickier than I'd anticipated (I'm very cocky for a man who can't even effectively puree cattle).
The first order of business is to pitch about half the yolks and replace them with an equal measure of real blue cheese. I went with high-end Maytag because I'm the bonnest of vivants and I just got a free TV, but anything will do so long as it doesn't come from a squeeze bottle.
Then you need something smooth to mash the cheese and yolk into; I used sour cream, but you animals probably like mayonnaise. Either way.
Then I just dumped in some Frank's Red Hot, as mandated by good taste and also the Buffalo Wing Authenticity Police. That didn't work.
Frank's isn't really all that hot, so it got overpowered by the feisty cheese. I didn't want to tweak the yolk/cheese ratio, because that would mean drastically reducing the cheese, and why would you ever think you should fix a problem by using less cheese? But if you add more Frank's—enough to get a Buffalo wing flavor rather than an orange-tinted-blue-cheese flavor—then your filling gets too soupy.
You could use a hotter sauce, but then you'd face censure from the aforementioned BWAP. So mix some cayenne powder into your mash before you add the Frank's. It's cheating and it works.
For the Bloody Mary
This week we're going to pay homage to the best player in Bills history. In 1973, O.J. Simpson became the first NFL player to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season. Allegedly. So it seems only fitting to honor his achievements with The Bloody Screwdriver*: Blood orange juice and vodka.
*Thanks to my pal Truck for the idea. I used blood orange soda because it's all I could find, and it was good; let's assume blood orange juice would be even better.
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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You can subscribe to a web feed using a feed aggregator program, sometimes called a feed reader or a news reader program. Depending on which program you use, the method to set up the feed may vary but this is usually just a case of copying or dragging the feed link (or the orange feed icon) into the aggregator program.
Feed Aggregators
There are many different feed aggregators available and new ones are being released all the time. There are different versions for different operating systems, some you download and install locally on your computer, others are web based. A few examples are listed below...
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- Tickets >
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The Buffalo Sabres hit the court this season eager to win. Get your NHL tickets to see the Buffalo Sabres organization play Hockey in KeyBank Center. Get you Buffalo Sabres tickets today and get ready to make some noise with the best Buffalo Sabres fans in Buffalo.
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This full-text annual report presents acreage by planted and/or harvested areas by state for corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, barley, rye, sorghum, rice, peanuts, sunflower, flaxseed, canola, rapeseed, safflower, mustard seed, cotton, dry beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, sugarbeets, alfalfa hay, tobacco, and sugarcane. Starting in 2000, genetically modified plants are reported for selected crops. The Acreage report is a supplement to Crop Production, and the 1986, 1987, 1988, and 1989 issues of Acreage are included in the July Crop Production report itself.
Category: Crops and Crop Products:Vegetables and Pulses, Crops and Crop Products:Tobacco, Crops and Crop Products:Cotton and Cottonseed, Agriculture Economics and Management:Production Practices, and Crops and Crop Products:Grains and Oilseeds Keyword: cropland planted, production, cropland harvested, and genetically modified organisms Latest Release: Jun 30, 2020
NASS Crop Production Annual Summary
This annual report contains crop production data for the past year for grains and oilseeds, sugar crops, cotton, tobacco, and others. Information on area planted and harvested, yield, and production is provided by type of crop, as well as the planted and harvested area, yield, and production of crops in the U.S. cumulatively. An annual crop summary and annual weather summary is also included at the end of the report.
Category: Crops and Crop Products:Tobacco Keyword: weather, yields, acreage, crops, and production Latest Release: Jan 10, 2020
NASS Crop Values - Final Estimates
This publication presented the final marketing year average (MYA) prices received by farmers and the value of production for most U.S. field crops, fruits, and vegetables for years 1919 to 2012. Data included in this publication provide a historic record and a benchmark for current estimates.
Category: Crops and Crop Products:Tobacco, Crops and Crop Products:Fruits, and Crops and Crop Products:Specialty Crops and Crop Products Keyword: prices, crop acreage, and production Latest Release: Feb 6, 2019
NASS Historical Track Record - Crop Production
This monthly report provides historic estimates of acreage, yield, production, market year average price, and value; comparisons of preliminary and final planted and harvested acreage estimates; and comparisons of production forecasts versus end-of-year and final production estimates. Includes information about barley, canola, corn, cotton, flaxseed, hay, oats, peanuts, rice, rye, sorghum, soybeans, sunflower, wheat, durum, beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, tobacco, and sugar crops.
Category: Crops and Crop Products:Tobacco and Crops and Crop Products:Cotton and Cottonseed Keyword: agricultural forecasts, prices, acreage, historical, yields, and production Latest Release: Apr 13, 2020
NASS Prospective Plantings
This report contains the expected plantings and last year's harvest for principal crops and tobacco presented on a state basis. Principal crops are as follows: corn, all wheat, winter wheat, durum wheat, other spring wheat, oats, barley, flaxseed, cotton, rice, all sorghum, sweet potatoes, dry edible beans, soybeans, sunflower, peanuts, sugarbeets, canola, and proso millet.
Category: Crops and Crop Products:Tobacco, Crops and Crop Products:Cotton and Cottonseed, Crops and Crop Products:Vegetables and Pulses, and Crops and Crop Products:Grains and Oilseeds Keyword: planting, weather, area, acreage, and harvest Latest Release: Mar 31, 2020
This statistical series presents data on unmanufactured (leaf tobacco) and manufactured tobacco products, for both domestic and international markets. Data from years 1912 to 1957 is represented in this series.
Category: Crops and Crop Products:Tobacco Keyword: marketing, tobacco, production, and acreage Latest Release: Apr 1, 1960
NASS Usual Planting and Harvesting Dates for U.S. Field Crops
This handbook identifies the usual planting and harvesting dates on a state by state basis for United States field crops covered in the National Agricultural Statistics Service's National program of crop estimates. It updates the information contained in the previous edition of this handbook which was issued in 1997.
The Field Offices of the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service compiled the basic information and prepared the estimates of usual dates based on historical crop progress estimates and the knowledge of industry specialists.
Category: Crops and Crop Products:Nuts, Crops and Crop Products:Oil Crops, Crops and Crop Products:Sugar Crops, Crops and Crop Products:Tobacco, Crops and Crop Products:Cotton and Cottonseed, Crops and Crop Products:Grains and Oilseeds, and Agriculture Economics and Management:Production Practices Keyword: harvest date, field crops, planting date, and planting Latest Release: Oct 29, 2010


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Nintendo will soon be releasing "large" Augmented Reality (AR) cards for the 3DS handheld. Which is fine, but we prefer ones that are "ridiculously enormous".
Going on the basic principle that, the bigger the AR card the bigger the image the 3DS interprets, the guys at Nintendo-Master printed off one big-ass AR card replica then took it outside to see if it generated a child-eating-sized version of Mario.
And what do you know, it did. That thing could pass for a Cave Troll. Or play in the NBA. Or win the Royal Rumble. Or all three!
We're eagerly anticipating somebody finding the means to create a house-sized AR card, give the world a look at a Mario so big it could only be conjured by the dreams or Dr Ray Stanz...
Réalité augmentée : la plus grande carte AR au monde ! [Nintendo-Master]


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EU framework for national Roma strategies - guide05 April 2011
by eub2 -- last modified 05 April 2011
Europe's 10-12 million Roma continue to face discrimination, exclusion and the denial of their rights, while governments lose out on increased revenue and productivity because potential talent could go wasted. Better economic and social integration is an imperative – but to be effective, concerted action is needed at all levels to address the multiple causes of exclusion. The European Commission is therefore today putting forward a European Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies. This EU Framework will help guide national Roma policies and mobilise funds available at EU level to support inclusion efforts. The Framework focuses on four pillars: access to education, jobs, healthcare and housing. Member States should set individual national Roma integration goals in proportion to the population on their territory and depending on their starting point.
Who are the Roma?
There are around 10-12 million Roma people in Europe. They have been part of Europe for centuries and are integral to its society and economy, but frequently face prejudice, intolerance, discrimination and exclusion.
Reliable data are hard to come by, but estimates by the Council of Europe (see annex) show that almost all EU countries have Roma communities of varying sizes. They form a significant proportion of the population in Bulgaria (around 10%), Slovakia (9%), Romania (8%), Hungary (7%), Greece, the Czech Republic and Spain (all 1.5-2.5%).
Around a third of these live in the countries of the western Balkans, such as Serbia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and in Turkey.
How do EU policies support Roma integration?
Many of the most important areas for improving Roma integration – such as education, employment, health and housing – are national or regional responsibilities. But the EU has an important role to play in coordinating action by Member States. It can support this with powerful policy and financial tools: European legislation against discrimination, policy coordination, common integration goals and structural funding.
EU legislation (the Race Equality Directive) obliges Member States to give equal access to ethnic minorities, such as the Roma, in education, housing, health and employment. Nevertheless, these rules need to be well implemented and applied in practice in order to offer effective protection to individuals, and if need be, access to justice in cases of discrimination.
Several EU funds are available to Member States to support national Roma inclusion policies, namely the European Social Fund (ESF), European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). The EU already co-finances projects for the Roma in sectors like education, employment, microfinance and equal opportunities (in particular equality between men and women).
What is the role of Member States?
Member States have the primary responsibility for Roma integration, because the key areas which are the biggest challenge for Roma inclusion remain mostly national responsibilities. These include access to quality education, to the job market, housing and essential services, and healthcare.
Policies in these fields are often handled by regional and local authorities, depending on the country. This means different levels of government have a joint responsibility for Roma inclusion and need to cooperate closely to achieve results.
For example, the EU makes funds available to support inclusion and employment of Roma, among other things, but Member States and regions are responsible for allocating and implementing funding for specific integration projects.
What are the main areas where Roma face exclusion?
In education, Roma children have lower attainments and often face discrimination and segregation in schooling. Although the situation differs between EU countries, a survey by the Open Society Institute in six EU countries (Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia) found that only 42% of Roma children complete primary school, compared to an average of 97.5% for the general population across the EU as a whole.
This has a knock-on effect in the labour market, where young Roma are less well-equipped and less qualified to find a job. The Europe 2020 strategy sets a headline target of 75% of people in the EU aged 20-64 to be in employment, compared to a current rate of 68.8%. For Roma, the employment rate is significantly lower, with a gap of around 26 percentage points according to World Bank research covering Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Romania, and Serbia.
In health, Roma have a life expectancy of 10 years less than the average European and a child mortality rate that is significantly higher than the EU average of 4.3 per thousand births. United Nations Development Programme research in Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic put Roma infant mortality rates there at 2-6 times higher than those for the general population, depending on the country. These outcomes reflect poorer living conditions, reduced access to quality healthcare and higher exposure to risks. There is also evidence that Roma communities are less well informed about health issues and can face discrimination in access to healthcare.
Roma also face significant gaps as compared to the average European in terms of access to housing and essential services. While between 72% and 100% of EU households are connected to a public water supply, the rate is much lower among Roma. Research by the EU Fundamental Rights Agency points to wider problems in accessing housing, both private and public. This in turn affects Roma health and broader integration prospects.
What are the benefits of better Roma integration?
Apart from better respect for the fundamental rights of a large number of EU citizens and greater social cohesion, better Roma integration holds out considerable economic benefits.
The Roma represent a growing share of the working age population, with an average age of 25 compared to the EU average of 40. Some 35.7% of Roma are under 15, compared to 15.7% of the EU population. Roma also form 1 in 5 new labour market entrants in Bulgaria and Romania.
According to a recent research by the World Bank1, full Roma integration in the labour market could bring economic benefits estimated to be around € 0.5 billion annually for some countries.
How will this strategy framework help the Roma?
The EU framework develops a targeted approach for a more effective response to Roma exclusion by setting EU-wide goals for integrating Roma, in education, employment, health and housing.
It will make a tangible difference to Roma people's lives over the next decade by focusing on Roma in national, regional and local integration policies in a clear and specific way, addressing them with explicit measures to prevent and compensate for the multiple disadvantages they face.
Member States will be asked to submit national Roma strategies to the Commission by the end of 2011, specifying how they will contribute to achieving the overall EU level integration goals, including setting national targets and allowing for sufficient funding (national, EU and other) to deliver them.
Finally, it proposes solutions for using EU funds more effectively and lays down foundations for a robust mechanism to monitor results.
What are the specific EU-level goals?
The goals address the four main areas for improving social and economic integration for Roma, all of which are primarily national policy areas:
Education: ensuring that all Roma children complete primary school;
Employment: cutting the employment gap between Roma and other citizens;
Health: reducing the gap in health status between the Roma and the general population;
Housing: closing the gap in access to housing and public utilities such as water and electricity.
How will the Commission check on progress?
The Commission will report annually to the European Parliament and to the Council on progress on the integration of the Roma population in Member States and on the achievement of the Roma integration goals.
It will base its monitoring notably on:
The results of the Roma household survey regularly carried out by the Fundamental Rights Agency, the United Nations Development Programme in cooperation with the World Bank.
National reform programmes in the frame of the EU 2020 Strategy, in particular for those countries with a high share of Roma population.
Ongoing work within the Open Method of Coordination in the field of social policies.
Member States contributions based on their own monitoring systems which national authorities are requested to include in their national Roma integration strategies.
It will also take into account the work of the European Platform for Roma Inclusion.
What about Roma outside the EU?
To improve the situation of the estimated 3.8 million Roma in the western Balkans and Turkey, the Commission intends to step up support for integration in the context of EU enlargement.
The enlargement process includes funding for social development projects, among other things. The Commission will support the national efforts to improve Roma inclusion by improving delivery of aid under the Instrument on Pre-Accession Assistance and encourage Roma involvement in formulating, implementing and monitoring policies. It is currently implementing or planning projects which could exclusively or partly benefit Roma worth €50 million.
The Commission will also closely monitor the economic and social situation of Roma in its enlargement progress reports for each country.
The EU and Roma - Commission website
1 : World Bank, Roma Inclusion: An Economic Opportunity for Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Romania and Serbia, September 2010.
Source: European Commission


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Texas man reaches plea deal in pipeline blast case
PLANO, Texas (AP) — A Texas man who has described himself as a political activist pleaded guilty Monday to trying to blow up a natural gas pipeline with a homemade bomb last year in a Dallas suburb.
Anson Chi, 34, pleaded guilty to maliciously attempting to destroy an Atmos Energy natural gas pipeline in Plano that was used in interstate commerce, The Dallas Morning News (http://bit.ly/18N1CTQ ) reported. He also entered a guilty plea to possessing an explosive device composed of methyl nitrate and other parts that was not registered with the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.
U.S. District Judge Richard Schell accepted Chi's plea, but will not impose the agreed-upon punishment until a pre-sentencing report is complete.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed that as part of the deal, the Plano man would be sentenced to the maximum 20 years in prison on the charge of maliciously attempting to destroy the pipeline and two years for possessing the device.
Since the federal prison system has no parole or early release programs, Chi would be required to serve the full 22 years.
Authorities have said Chi detonated a bomb at a natural gas regulator station in June 2012 and was critically injured in the blast.
Police responding to 911 calls from residents about the explosion found the injured Chi, who initially claimed he had been jogging and was hit by a car. He has since recovered from his injuries.
Chi also faces a fine of up to $250,000 and could be ordered to pay restitution for any damages caused to Atmos Energy, plus the costs of his incarceration.
In court, he said he was indigent and would not be able to pay anything. The judge said Chi could file a personal financial statement to that effect.
A third count against Chi, carrying a destructive device during a crime of violence, is to be dismissed once a sentence is imposed at a later hearing. That charge would carry a punishment of no less than 30 years in prison.
Records show Chi had been a fugitive since 2009 in California, where authorities say he violated his probation on a concealed weapon conviction. By last year he was living with his parents in Plano.
Chi has lashed out against the government in YouTube and Facebook postings.
Information from: The Dallas Morning News, http://www.dallasnews.com


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We believe that communication is the key to success, which is why Silverton puts communication at the core of our full-service mortgage lending company. Keeping everything in-house keeps us accountable to you through every step of the transaction.
A Communications Company
Our in-house lending platform and team of industry professionals ensure our clients are informed throughout the loan process. We make communication an art and make you stand out from the crowd.
Online Applications
Website selection allows your customers to push their online applications directly to you.
Specialized Customer Retention Program
Specialized marketing program for customer retention; physically mailed material, email blasts co-branded with real estate partners; personalized dynamic videos at touch points in the loan process.
Silverton's Mobile App
For Apple and Android phones. Allows originators, clients and real estate professionals a single access point to see specifics of loan parameters, receive status updates, push notifications and pre-qual letters.
Silverton Secure - We fully underwrite your client's credit, income and assets without a property under contract, providing a competitive edge, allowing quick closing.
Full range of mortgage products: purchases, refinances, conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, and Jumbo loans.
Multiple down payment assistance products for first-time home buyers.
Industry Expert
Sharing knowledge since the beginning, Silverton has consistently been featured in local, regional and national publications such as The New York Times, Yahoo! Home, Kiplinger's and Reuters.
Client and real estate professional surveys report greater than 98% satisfaction.
Silverton is listed as the recommended lender for numerous local and national builders, as well as real estate companies. By growing these connections and focusing on these relationships, we maintain an integrated professional team that works for you.
Acknowledged Leader
We count our success one loan at a time. Over the past years, Silverton has earned numerous awards including:
Inc. Magazine's 5000 list of the fastest growing companies, four years and counting.
Pacesetter Awards by the Atlanta Business Chronicle, multiple years.
Mortgage Bankers Association of Georgia Gold Awards Banquet, recognizing our top-performing loan originators every year.


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By Karta Purkh Singh Khalsa, C.D.-N, R.H.
We are all the descendents of famine survivors. Our prehistoric ancestors lived during times of alternating food bounty and scarcity. They needed an efficient way to store fuel for the lean times. When nutrition was abundant, their bodies adapted by storing fat. In times of severe deprivation—when they "dieted," not by choice—the fat could then be for fuel and heat production. This survival adaptation is still with us today.
When you diet, cutting your caloric intake, you are signaling to your body that you are in the lean times. Your metabolism slows and you start storing fat. As everyone knows, you will eventually lose weight with this deprivation. The problem is, you'll lose not only the unwanted fat, but also vital lean body mass.
Thermogenesis is the production of heat in the body when you burn food. But thermogenesis slows down as we age. Probably the leading theory in metabolic weight control today involves the boosting of food burning to use up excess calories through body heat. Many leading herbs for weight loss work in this way. One such herb is green tea.
Several pungent Ayurvedic herbs, including cayenne and ginger, have been demonstrated to promote thermogenesis. Now add another to this list. Researchers fed rats high fat diets, but added garlic. After four weeks, the rats had lost weight, and had lower levels of triglycerides, as well as increased sympathetic nerve function. They concluded that garlic assists in burning fat through increasing metabolism. Use pungent herbs as often as possible in your food—the more the better.[1]
Slimming Ayurvedic Herbs
An Ayurvedic resin, called guggul[2] in Sanskrit, is a standby medicine for the management of body fats. Particularly valuable in lowering cholesterol, guggul rivals any other natural substance. Without dietary adjustments, guggul has lowered total cholesterol by over 20 percent, while increasing good HDL cholesterol by 36 percent.
Like its effect on blood lipids, guggul can assist in managing overall body fat. Guggul seems to exert its effect at least partially through the thyroid, which could account for its fat-loss benefit. A study done in 1999 combined guggul extract with Garcinia cambogia extract and tyrosine. Over six weeks, twenty obese people had a significant decrease in body fat mass and average body weight. The subjects lost body fat, but not lean mass. Fatigue went down, and there were no adverse effects. Guggul can be taken in a dose of 1,500 mg, three times daily.
The most well known herbal formula in Ayurveda is triphala (three fruits). Containing amla (Emblica officinalis), bibitaki (Terminalia belerica), and haritaki (Terminalia chebula), it has a light laxative effect and is well studied as a supreme general detoxifier and antioxidant. The combination of guggul and triphala recently showed a surprising effect in controlling body fat. When 48 obese subjects took these Ayurvedic combinations three times a day for three months, with no attempt to control their food intake, the resulting weight loss averaged almost 18 pounds, along with a drop in total cholesterol of 18 points. The dose used in the study was only 500 mg of the combination, three times per day.
The name of the famous Asian herb, Gurmar, means "killer of sweet." Gurmar (Gymnema sylvestre) is an extensively studied and widely used herb in the treatment of diabetes, which of course, in our culture, is closely related to long term obesity. Gurmar has been proven in study after study to increase the production and activity of insulin produced in the body. This insulin increase is thought by many experts to be the primary successful method of promoting fat burning.
Now it looks like gurmar will also lower blood fats. Recently this herb demonstrated a startling ability to lower all types of lipids in the blood. Gurmar is extremely safe, with no known side effects. So it seems that we have an ideal herb for treating the diabetic/obesity syndrome that is so common in America. Gurmar is available as an extract from the health food store. The typical extract dose is 1,200-1,500 mg per day.
Fiber is critical to many functions in the intestinal tract, including digestion and waste elimination. It also has a mild cholesterol-lowering effect. Many new studies propose that water-soluble fibers may also help individuals lose weight. Taken with a meal, they produce a feeling of fullness. The other anti-fat benefits of fiber include reducing the absorption of total calories, promoting blood sugar control, and enhancing the effects of insulin. In clinical studies of weight loss, fiber reduced absorbed calories by 30-180 calories per day, the equivalent of 3 to 18 pounds of fat loss over a year. Dietary fiber is the cell walls of plants. Whole, unprocessed grains, beans, fruits and vegetables all contain lots of fiber.
One Ayurvedic herb, psyllium seed, looks especially promising. An experiment done last year with non-dieting subjects revealed that the participants felt much fuller than normal one hour after the meal, and ended up eating 15 grams less fat per day than usual. Use 2 grams of psyllium seed powder, stirred into water three hours before each meal, and another 2 grams with each meal. It is best to work up to these doses gradually, allowing your body to adjust, to avoid any gas or intestinal discomfort.
The typical dose of fiber used in such studies is 5 to 7 grams per day. Fiber is basically a food, and aside from the occasional feeling of fullness, it rarely has any side effects.
Ayurveda for a Balanced Diet
The three Ayurvedic doshas[3], or primal metabolic tendencies, give us a great strategy for figuring out how to maintain a healthy weight. If you have too much kapha active in your body, you will add fat. Most American obesity problems are the result of accumulating kapha. Pitta tends to contribute to a balanced body weight. Since this is the hot dosha, we can increase it to burn off the fat of kapha. Vata tends to favor reducing weight. When you are healthy, and your doshas are balanced, your weight will be stable.
To achieve balance, the diet for treating each dosha will have the characteristics that are opposite that of the dosha that is dominating and causing the problem. For example, if you are retaining water, feel sluggish, and have a chest full of mucus, you may be experiencing a kapha imbalance, and should use a kapha-balancing diet until your body is again balanced and healthy. If you are hot, irritated, and have regular inflammation such as bursitis, you may be experiencing a pitta imbalance, and should use a pitta-balancing diet. If you have trouble keeping weight on, are spaced out, feel weak or exhausted, and are constipated, you may be living with a vata imbalance, and should use a vata-balancing diet.
Foods for Balancing Kapha, Pitta, Vata
Personalize your Exercise Routine with Ayurveda
He lives in the Northwest with his wife and daughter. [email protected]
[1] Large amounts pungent herbs should not be taken in the following conditions: first trimester of pregnancy, nursing women, pitta imbalance (e.g. too much heat, skin eruptions, hemorrhoids, vision problems, anger, heartburn)
[2] Ayurvedic herbs are available from Ancient Healing Ways at a-healing.com or 800 359-2940.
[3] See more on the three doshas in Aquarian Times, Spring 2004, p. 33-34.


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The academic year has not yet started at Birzeit University. For last two weeks the students have been on strike and have closed the most prestigious University in Palestine. They refused to start classes if the increase in tuition fees goes ahead.The added fees will increase the tuition by 5%. The fees per hour was increased by $6 for new students and $3 for existing students
In a statement given by the University Administration on the Student closure of the Campus released this Wednesday, the students' forcible closure of the campus over an increase in tuition fees was condemned.
They emphasized that "The university seeks to promote higher education, even among those who may have difficulty affording it." and continue by explaining that "the university offered more than 3 million JDs in assistance, helping more than 4,000 students. Meanwhile, the university's deficit has risen to almost 3 million JDs as a result of the deterioration in subsidies from the Palestinian government in supporting higher education."
The government has cut its annual support for the university by half - from JD 1,193,831 to only JD 419, 392.
Birzelt administration hopes to find a compromise quickly to avoid cancelling the semester. Students have promised to continue the movement until they succeed.
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City, Duke making progress on relocating utility lines
Cincinnati wants lines moved to make way for streetcar
Cincinnati and Duke Energy Ohio are finding a way to bridge a $12 million gap.
News 5 has learned the two sides made significant progress lately on outstanding cost and safety issues about relocating utility lines to accommodate the streetcar project.
Duke had previously insisted that 8 feet of separation was needed between the tracks and utility lines.
But the city and the utility company have settled on a distance less than 8 feet as long as strong operating principles are in place. Discussions about the wording are continuing.
As for the expense, a shorter distance of separation would lower the amount spent.
As part of its recent filing with the Ohio PUCO on a rate increase, Duke gave notice it would attach a rider for mass transportation projects.
If approved by the public utilities commission, it would open the way for Duke to recover costs of relocating infrastructure in one of two ways. The money would come from the local government or from Duke customers who live within city limits.
Progress in the talks moves the ball forward as far as the streetcar project is concerned.
The relocation rider helps Cincinnati right away, but would be available for any local government to utilize for mass transportation projects.
"We believe this rider provides flexibility for local governments and to spread those costs over an extended period of time," said Julie Janson, head of Duke Energy Ohio.


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Cauley-Stein talks about injury ahead of Final Four
UK center still hopes to play
Injured center Willie Cauley-Stein still harbors fleeting hope that he will get on the floor during the Final Four, even though his ankle is still causing him pain.
Raw video: Cauley-Stein at practice | From the locker room | UK Practice
Cauley-Stein said Friday that it would be up to him and his family whether he takes the floor against Wisconsin in the semifinals on Saturday night.
Cauley-Stein hurt his ankle against Kansas State in the Wildcats' NCAA tournament opener, but the 7-foot sophomore played through the pain in a win over Wichita State. He finally succumbed the following weekend against Louisville when he said he heard "a pop."
He did not play in a regional final victory over Michigan.
Cauley-Stein has started 18 of 36 games this season, averaging seven points and 6.2 rebounds.


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