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Following mounting public protests, Amazon removed a self-published book advocating adult-child sex from its site.
The book, "The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure: a Child-lover's Code of Conduct " by Philip R. Greaves II, includes graphic "first person" descriptions of sexual encounters with adults written from a child's point of view, as well as advice to pedophiles afraid of becoming the center of retaliation. The electronic book, which is not illustrated, was available for Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle e-reader.
Initially Amazon defended the sale of the book, issuing a public statement. "Amazon believes it is censorship not to sell certain books simply because we or others believe their message is objectionable," it read. "Amazon does not support or promote hatred or criminal acts, however, we do support the right of every individual to make their own purchasing decisions."
The link to the original "Pedophile's Guide" sale page now returns an error message. In an as-yet unexplained turn of events, the page was removed last night, reappeared, and then disappeared again.
This odd turn of events follows yesterday's unexplained activity in which more than 100 customer comments on the "Pedophile's Guide" page dwindled to less than 30, before quickly surging into the hundreds. Amazon has not yet responded to requests for explanation.
As a private company, Amazon has the right to sell whatever it wants as long as it's legal, and as such, offers books that cater to Holocaust deniers and other hate groups, as well as graphic dog fighting and cock fighting videos
Adult (legal) pornography, while available in book and magazine form, is not permitted in the Kindle e-reader store. This is possibly because of its iTunes partnership with the notoriously porn-free Apple which removed both "Ulysses" and the "Kama Sutra" from its own book store.
Video: Why was Amazon selling pedophilia guide? (on this page)
A customer review on the "Pedophile's Guide" Amazon page written by "Outraged Mother" read, "The line of immorality is at best a zone with ill defined boundaries. Whatever. This crosses into the unsavory and shameful side of the zone. Take it down."
"There is a point when, even though a company has a no-censorship policy, that selling certain books is simply wrong," read "Disgusting Abomination," the title of another customer review. "Not censoring is one thing, and I commend that, but choosing to sell this book on a site that accessed by millions of people (including children) daily is reprehensible. This is a disgusting choice you have made, Amazon. Whatever money you are making off this book can't be worth the ire you are receiving for selling it."
As news and outrage about the book spread, the first (presumed) Internet jokester chimed in with "A fantastic guide," the first five star review:
"I can't thank Amazon enough for keeping this great work of literature up for those of us with 'special tastes.' The instructions and images in the guide were extremely insightful and led to a wonderful experience for both myself and my partner. Thank you for protecting free speech, Amazon!"
In 2002, Amazon.com cited the First Amendment as justification for offering another book that advocates adult-child sex, "Understanding Loved Boys and Boylovers," by David L. Riegel. Further, the paperback book is still available on the site .
At that time, Amazon stated , "Our goal is to support freedom of expression and to provide customers with the broadest selection possible so they can find, discover, and buy any title they might be seeking."
An Amazon employee emphasized that "Understanding Loved Boys and Boylovers" was "not a 'how-to' manual for molesting children. The author simply expresses his point of view about what he feels are misunderstood."
"Pedophile's Guide" also triggered mounting outrage on Twitter and beyond. A chorus of Twitter users is calling for Amazon to pull the book, and a campaign to push the hashtag #BoycottAmazon into Twitter's top trends is underway.
A keyword search for "Amazon" on the microblogging network turned growing number of retweets featuring Amazon's contact info and urges to keep calling and e-mailing "until the book is removed."


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|The VanNieuwenhuyzens
This was a huge benefit to us because we had the best tour guides one could find! Our 10 day trip was jammed pack with really seeing Okinawa and spending time with our awesome family. The boys took about 15 minutes to warm up to us and immediately called us "Uncle Tommy" and "Aunt Becca", which might have been one of my favorite things. :) We spent lots of time watching Tommy and Grant chase each other around with their endless energy in an effort to wear each other out, eating DELICIOUS Japanese rice and other cuisine, laughing at Will referring to Tommy as my husband and all the other odd things just-turned-4 year olds typically don't say. We got to go to a military resort on the Northern part of the island and climb on the limestone crags near the sea and watch the boys try climbing for their first time (they definitely got some Caldwell climbing genes), and also meet some local climbers.
Grant showing us his awesome climbing skills!
|The boys unfazed by the huge snake at Okinawa World.
|TC and Grant having a push-up contest.
|BROTHERS! Will's 4th birthday.
|Running up the rocks. Barefoot and with sneakers. So hardcore. :)
|Sandy loving snorkeling for her birthday!
|The sweet aquarium.
|Colorful fish at the market.
Arigato-Gozai-y-mas Duane, Sandy, Grant & Will!

subset: commoncrawl


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Rob founded Swiftkurrent 9 years ago, eager to explore the ever-shifting digital frontier in social media marketing and video production. Since then he's grown out a team of up-and-coming creative minds, ready to innovate and be the first to try something new.
Jake spent years honing his skills in design, video and audio production before combining his hobbies with his formal education in the fields of Communication, Journalism & PR to push the creative envelope in the world of digital marketing.
Josh has spent the last 10 years in the world of graphic, web, and print design in some way, shape, or form. When he's not tweaking the finer details of a website build or a brand identity he is spending time with his wife and two boys on the beautiful Northshore of Boston.


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Many a youngster believes summer to be over now that public pools are closed and they're back in school. Traditionalists, however, usually eye Labor Day weekend as the more official end to the season.
As young and old alike prepare for the upcoming holiday weekend, we would remind adventure-seekers to consider the short jaunt over to Osborne County. The city of Natoma is planning a three-day celebration of its 125th anniversary -- and you're invited.
Natoma, which means "new born," has slated an old-time fest to mark the occasion. With a population of merely 335, the community has pooled most of them to volunteer for the event that will fete the Pioneer Spirit. Organizers promise fun, food and fellowship for all who attend.
Saturday's events include a mud volleyball tournament in the morning and a free dance from 9 p.m. to midnight with Jimmy Dee's Band at the Natoma City Park.
Sunday, a vintage baseball game will pit Natoma against the Rusell Prairie Clippers. Evening festivities will be a free chili supper followed by a Gospel Music Festival. On the playbill will be Crossroads; Sandy, Roz & Dereama; 4-Told men's quartet; and special guests. Representatives of local churches will talk about their histories, with additional stories and music coming from pioneer descendants.
On Monday, Labor Day, events run all day long. There will be a Heritage Seeker breakfast, car show, greased pig competition, art exhibits, re-enactments and demonstrations, a grand celebration parade and another free dinner. Many other activities are planned, including the grand opening of the Historical Museum.
All in all, it promises to be the city's biggest weekend of the year. Take the entire family to join in on the fun. Those wanting more information should call no less than Natoma Mayor Dale Eickhoff at (785) 885-8017.
Editorial by Patrick Lowry


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School of Medicine
Showing 11-20 of 164 Results
JoannaĀBadger, MD
Clinical Professor, Dermatology
Current Research and Scholarly Interests I have trained in both Genito-Urinary Medicine (UK) and Dermatology. This has allowed me to develop a specialty clinic for the diagnosis and management of genital skin disorders. The rest of the time, I see individuals with general dermatology issues.
Elizabeth Bailey, MD, MPH
Clinical Assistant Professor, Dermatology
Bio Dr. Elizabeth Bailey is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Dermatology at Stanford and acts as Associate Program Director for the Stanford Dermatology Residency Program and Director of Global Health Dermatology.
Dr. Bailey graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University and received her medical degree from Columbia University in New York, where she was a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society. She completed her internship in internal medicine at Brigham and Women?s Hospital in Boston, and completed both her residency in dermatology and fellowship in dermatopathology at Stanford University Medical Center. She is board certified in dermatology and dermatopathology by the American Boards of Dermatology/Pathology.
Dr. Bailey's academic interests include medical education, community outreach, global health, and skin cancer detection and prevention.
Eugene Bauer
Lucy Becker Professor in Medicine, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly Interests Defining the role of matrix metalloproteinases in connective tissue remodeling of the skin.Defining the macromolecular structures of the cutaneous basement membrane zone.Developing methods for delivery of extracutaneous gene therapy in epidermolysis bullosa.


text: I just finished rooting my phone and decided I'd help out anyone that's having problems with it or just hasn't gone over to XDA and tried it for themselves yet! This process is for S-Off, Recovery installation, and Root permissions. This method will ONLY work on the DINC2 2.3.3 GB OTA. If you aren't sure if it will work for your phone just check your "About Phone" in the settings. It may be a good idea to create a recovery between steps 18 and 19. First off I am not responsible for what you do to your phone or anything that happens to it as a result of using this process. (please don't sue me!) Downloads: 1. HTC drivers - http://downloads.unrevoked.com/HTCDriver3.0.0.007.exe 2. SuperUser/root .zip (to be flashed from recovery, NOT unzipped) - http://goo-inside.me/superuser/su-22.214.171.124-efgh-signed.zip Downloads for installing CWM (Optional): Note: ONLY for use in installing ClockWorkMod manually. Do NOT download these if you let the Revolutionary S-Off tool download and install it for you. 3. Fastboot and ADB tool - http://forum.xda-developers.com/atta...1&d=1308537076 4. ClockWorkMod recovery .img - http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10675316/cwm-188.8.131.52-vivow.img Obtaining S-Off: 1. Go to Revolutionary and click the download link at the bottom. (this guide is only for windows but i may update with linux instructions later) 2. Enter your OS (windows for this guide) device (HTC Droid Incredible 2) and HBoot version (there's only one option) in the blue box under the download link. Serial number will come in a minute. 3. Unzip/extract the zip you downloaded with your favorite zipping program. (I use WinRar but there are plenty of others that work just as well) 4. Run the revolutionary.exe 5. Make sure your phone has USB debugging enabled (Settings -> Applications -> Development -> USB debugging) and fast boot disabled. (Settings -> Power -> fast boot) 6. Plug your phone in to your computer via USB. 7. Enter the serial number on the revolutionary website (told you) and click generate key. 8. Enter the generated beta key into the command prompt window. (if it doesn't accept it you probably entered it in wrong) 9. It will do it's thing for a minute or so, and after a while it will say success (hopefully) and ask if you want to download and install ClockWorkMod recovery. 10. When this guide was first made that functionality was broken, but now it seems it has been fixed. Enter "Y" and if it works you can skip the "Installing ClockWorkMod Recovery" section of this guide and go strait to the "Obtaining Root Privileges" section. If the window closes on you randomly or tells you it failed you will need to manually install CWM. Installing ClockWorkMod Recovery (Optional): Note/Warning: Do NOT do this part of the guide if you used the Revolutionary S-Off tool to install CWM. (successfully) Note: From this point on, the majority of my information (including files and links) comes from this thread [Info] After Revolutionary: install Clockworkmod, root & more - xda-developers. 11. You will now need to download the fastboot and ADB tool (download # 3) and ClockWorkMod recovery (4) for the DINC2. 12. Open the command prompt and look at the directory it's pointing to. (should be something like "C:\Users\*your name*") extract the fastboot and ADB .zip to the *your name* folder, and move the CWM .img to the same location. Note: I'm terrible with windows commands so there may be a way to do this without dumping everything into your user folder, but this works fine too. 13. Type "fastboot flash recovery *name_of_CWM_file*.img" into the command prompt and press enter. It should work for no more than a few seconds and then tell you it's done! 14. Now you can navigate the menu on your phone's screen with the volume up and down keys and select "Reboot" with the power key. BUT WAIT! Before it starts back up again you need to press and hold the volume down button until it turns on again! Did you read this before you selected reboot?? If not you had better hurry!!!! If you missed it it's fine you can just wait on the phone to boot up again and then reboot it like you always would. But remember to do it this time! Obtaining Root Privileges: 15. Navigate the hboot menu with the volume keys and select "Recovery" with the power button. (If you don't see an option for "recovery" try doing step 14) 16. While you're waiting on it to reboot download/make sure you have downloaded this SuperUser/root .zip (2) (can you believe you still aren't rooted?? But it's okay you've been making good progress!) 17. Go back to your phone and take a look at that sweet new recovery! (I know. I wish i could change the color too.) Navigate to the "mounts and storage" option and select it (same keys as before) select "mount USB storage". 18. Copy the SuperUser/root .zip from your computer to your SD card once it shows up on your PC. (I like to have a folder on my SD card called "Updates" just to keep all my .zip files in one place) Note: This is a good time to create a backup if you want to, but I haven't included those steps in this guide because it isn't essential to rooting your phone. 19. Once the file is done copying select "Unmount" then "***Go Back***" then "Install zip from SD card" then "Choose zip from SD card" then find the folder you put the SU/root .zip and select it then select "yes - Install *SU/root*.zip 20. Go back to the main screen in CWM and choose "Reboot system now" and you're all done!!!!! Give yourself a pat on the back! This is my first guide so I'd love feedback of any kind and if you have any questions don't be afraid to either reply with it or PM me and I'll see what I can do HAVE FUN WITH YOUR FRESHLY ROOTED HTC INCREDIBLE 2!! Don't be afraid to donate to Unrevoked and AlphaRev! They did a lot of hard work and deserve to be rewarded for making all this possible


text:
We're sorry, but we currently have no tickets available for this event.
Memorial Cup Ticket Information
For any regular season game this season, Vivid Seats will have Memorial Cup tickets. Our hockey tickets inventory is stocked for any date on the Memorial Cup game schedule so you can make a date for any game during the year. You can get a few Memorial Cup tickets for you and a couple of friends or you can buy large quantities of tickets for big outings. When you order from Vivid Seats, you are ordering through our safe and reliable server. Your Memorial Cup tickets order is always guaranteed to be accurate and authentic and will arrive in time for the show.


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The man police said was behind two bank robberies in Connecticut and two bomb scares on Tuesday referred to himself as the "polite bandit" in hold-up notes, according to court records.
Police began investigating just before 2:30 p.m., when a hold-up alarm went off at First Niagara Bank, in Hamden, Conn., at 1248 Dixwell Ave. While responding to that call, a man matching the robber's description was seen walking toward Webster Bank, at 5 Helen Street.
Police soon learned that that bank too was robbed and identified Robert Raymond, 67, of Hamden, as a suspect and took him into custody.
A bank teller at Webster Bank told police that "an older gentleman" walked up to the counter and handed her a note during the robbery.
"This is what I want you to do," the note said, according to police, and it referenced a bank robbery.
It went on to say that the robber had a cell phone is in his pocket that controlled a bomb and told the teller not to activate alarms.
"Please give me any money you can," the note said. It was signed "the polite bandit."
The clerk handed over about $2,000 in cash and a dye pack. The robber took the bag and said "thank you," the teller told police.
When police took Raymond into custody outside of Webster Bank, he indicated that there was a bomb in the bag he dropped during the arrest, police said.
Raymond also mentioned another device he planted at the Federal Courthouse on Orange Street in New Haven, according to police.
The bomb squad detonated the bomb and found a box marked "detonator" and "contains C4." Inside was a cell phone, fertilizer and money stolen during a bank robbery, police said.
Raymond later told police that knew he was going to get caught, according to the incident report, and admitted to making a fake bomb in his basement.
He told investigators that his girlfriend duped him out of a large sum of money and he committed the robberies because he was desperate, police said.
During the investigation, police learned that Raymond and his girlfriend might have been staying at the America Best Value Inn in Branford, Conn. Branford Police, State Police and the FBI evacuated the inn, investigated and found no bomb-making materials.
Raymond was charged with first-degree robbery, second-degree larceny and first-degree breach of peace. He was held on $500,000 bond and is due in court on June 18.


text:
Intelligentsia Sticker
All home and commercial espresso machines.
Turkish Grind
If you need a little bit coarser grind for your espresso machine or utilize this favorite preparation in eastern Europe.
Stovetop Espresso
Moka pots and stovetop espresso kettles need a very fine grind.
Cone Filter - Paper
Most automatic and electric brewers utilize this grind setting.
Cone Filter - Gold
Automatic brewers with reusable mesh filters, or a Kone manual brewing insert.
If you're buying for a friend, or are just not sure - this is a good grind for most drip brewers.
We found this excellent automatic brewer needed a bit coarser grind than other cone filter brewers.
Vacuum Brewer
For those with an electric or flame-heated vacuum brewer.
Flat Bottom - Paper
Any basket-style brewer, including automatic and Kalita wave manual brewing.
Flat Bottom - Gold
For automatic brewers with basket-style reusable filters.
Hario Dripper
Manual pourover cone brewing is a simple, no frills way of brewing.
French Press
A classic of immersion brewing. Select this grind for perfect classical preparation.
The iconic Chemex, this grind provides a perfectly paired offering for the special filters made for this brewer.
Our coarsest grind, this also provides a good pre-ground solution for cold brew at home.
Whole Bean
For those with a grinder at home, we love freshly ground coffee! We prefer burr grinders for a more even brew.


text: BHLDN (pronounced beholden) is your one-stop shop for all things bridal and event. We're here for every aspect of your big day, bridal shower and wedding décor, bridesmaids, wedding gown and even your honeymoon wardrobe. With styles from designers Badgley Mischka, Catherine Deane, Donna Morgan, Jenny Yoo, Monique Lhuillier, Needle & Thread, Tadashi Shoji, Whispers & Echoes, Yumi Kim and more, you are sure to find your perfect gown and accessories. Our web stylists are available to answer any styling questions you have, from which delicate earring to wear to whether that bridal sash goes with your wedding gown. We love our #BHLDNbrides and can't wait to help you celebrate. Head over to our wedding blog for more inspiration, tips AND advice for all your wedding or event needs.


text:
Browsing Working Papers (ICM/IKL) by Author "Leander, Anna"
Now showing items 1-17 of 17
Hybrid States and the Public-Private DistinctionLeander, Anna (Frederiksberg, 2009)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: The chimerical state is not only a hybrid state. It is also a state of obscure powers. As the classical chimera, much of its strength comes precisely from the fact that it hard to see and hence to investigate and critique. The paper traces the origins of this difficulty to the role the public-private divide plays in hiding chimerical power. It does so with reference specifically to the security area. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7969
Files in this item: 1The_Obscure_Powers_working_paper.pdf (147.1Kb)
Leander, Anna (Frederiksberg, 2009)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This entry gives an overview of the debate about private security. It can not pretend to cover everything in equal detail. It is geared to highlight the parts of the discussion about commercial security practices that are of most immediate interest to New Security Studies. Very succinctly put, the entry shows the pertinence of the emerging research agenda where commercial security practices are part of a broader analysis of evolving insecurities, of (in)security spaces and of everyday practices, insisting on the scope for further developments with regard to these issues (section 2). The entry also suggests that the although the more conventional literature on the subject—mostly framed in terms of privatization—has made valuable contributions to the debates about commercial security, it has limited analytical clout for analyzing the politics of commercial security. Worse it sometimes obscures it (section 1). It is therefore not surprising that commercialization is currently tending to replace privatization as the vantage point from which analysis is taking place. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7963
Files in this item: 1
The Market for Force and the Right to have Protection RightsLeander, Anna (Frederiksberg, 2009)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Departing from an elaboration of the idea of a citizenship protection nexus (1), the argument developed below is that the introduction of a neo-liberal governance forms security is leading to far reaching (but largely unacknowledged). It is transforming the understanding of the rights to protection that come with citizenship, de facto transforming it from a general right tied to political citizenship to contracted right to be negotiated (2). At the same time, far from working to weakening the role of the state in security provision, the market is reinforcing it (3) and accentuating the military aspect of protection (4). The overall consequence is that the nexus tying citizenship to protection is increasingly shaped by the commercialized national and military concerns (promoted by public and private security professionals). As this paper concludes, attempts to frame and shape the citizenship-protection nexus in alternative ways—for example attempts to de-link citizenship from states and/or to de-militarize citizenship—are the main causalities of this re-ordering. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7962
Files in this item: 1
Leander, Anna (København, 2007)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: As the scale and scope private military and security companies (PMSCs) are rapidly expanding internationally, the question of their regulation is evermore pressing. Although credible exact figures on the activities of the companies are not available, there is ample indication that the companies play a central role around the world. In Iraq, a Department of Defense survey estimates that there are some 180.000 contractors compared to 160.000 U.S. troops (Singer, 2007: 2). In Nigeria some 1000 registered security companies constitute the second economic sector in the economy after oil (Abrahamsen and Williams, 2006a). Moreover, the scope of PMSC activity is steadily expanding. The trend to privatize and outsource a growing range of activities places PMSCs in charge of an ever growing range of formerly military or policing tasks. The predictable consequence is that PMSCs are increasingly visible and controversial. Incidences such as that in the Nisour square Baghdad where Blackwater contractors were involved in an incident leaving 17 dead civilians on 16th of September 2007 focus attention around the regulatory context of PMSC work. This presentation discusses one aspect of that regulatory context, namely the existing international regulation. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/6992
Files in this item: 1wp 2007-4.pdf (130.3Kb)
Leander, Anna (Frederiksberg, 2009)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This article begins by clarifying and defining field and habitus (1) anchoring these concepts in a tradition drawing on the work of Pierre Bourdieu, but also underlining the extent to which the concepts have been used beyond this tradition (2). The article then proceeds to discuss the use of field and habitus in international studies (3). It points out that field and habitus can be (and has long been) used for empirical studies linking the national, the international and the transnational. However, the concepts were imported into scholarly IR/IPE disciplines proper as part of the theoretical discussions surrounding the reflectivist turn. At present, field and habitus are often used to transcend the key divides (inside/outside and public/private) rather than to study relations across them. Finally, the article concludes on the avenues for further research using field and habitus in international studies, insisting on the scope for enhancing and clarifying the heuristic value of the concepts (4). URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7966
Files in this item: 1Habitus_and_Field_Working_Paper.pdf (178.5Kb)
Understanding PSC AccountabilityLeander, Anna (København, 2007)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: In security, as in other areas, the emergence of transnational private organizations with a central role in governance poses profound challenges to established conceptions of international politics and democracy. This paper discusses one side of this challenge by looking at accountability of private security companies (PSCs). PSCs have become authorities in their own right in the security sphere. This has raised the question of their accountability and also resulted in considerable efforts to improve the accountability of the firms. This paper looks at why these efforts bear so little fruit. It begins by pointing to the tension involved in any effort to hold an authority (private or public) accountable, namely the tension between the centrality of acceptance for authority and accountability measures that necessarily involve contestation. It then proceeds to analyse this tension in the case of PSCs. The paper argues that PSCs' status as experts on risk and entrepreneurs of security mobilizes a favourable bias, making contestation less likely. The difficulty of seeing and/or admitting that PSCs are independent actors in turn makes contestation of their activities seem ill-directed and unnecessary. The point made in this paper that this, rather than sheer complexity or hidden political agendas, is key for understanding the present rather puzzling lack of (democratic) accountability of PSCs and its likely continuation. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/6985
Files in this item: 1leander_isa07_woc-wp89.pdf (174.0Kb)
Leander, Anna (København, 2008)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This paper explains, or perhaps better rationalizes, why I have ended up thinking that so called "practice" theory provides the most adequate entry point for theorizing about business in/and global governance.1 But more than this the key ambition is to spell out what it means to work with practice theory and what kind of leverage it gives for understanding the role of business in global governance. The paper therefore begins by an account of two major difficulties thinking in terms of practices are useful for circumventing. The general thrust of that section is to underline why it may be useful to think in terms of practices in the first place rather than sticking with some of its admittedly more parsimonious and less labor intense alternatives. The rest of the paper then tries to outline what it means (in my view) to work with practices. The second section focuses on how we know whose/what practices matter. It emphasizes the importance of allowing for contextual differentiation when mapping activities and their hierarchies. It also underscores the significance of remaining open about who and what is important. It points to the centrality of different forms of capital (economic, social, cultural and symbolic) in defining whose activities matter. But even more strongly it links up with actor-network-theory's insight that also objects and technologies "act" in social relations. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7024
Files in this item: 1wp 2007-6.pdf (235.8Kb)
Reflecting and Reinforcing Neo-Liberal GovernmentalityLeander, Anna (København, 2006)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This article argues that the role of Private Security Contractors in Darfur reflects and reinforces neo-liberal governmentality in contemporary security governance. It is an argument (in line with other articles in this special issue) which is more interested in discussing how the privatization of security alters security practices (including those involving states) than in thinking about their impact on an idealised public monopoly on the use of force. To make its point, the article begins by drawing on Foucauldian work to clarify the meaning of neo-liberal governmentality in security. It underlines that governance is increasingly taking place through a set of (quasi-) markets, it is marked by entrepreneurial values, and a hands off approach to governance. We then discuss the way this overall change is reflected in and reinforced by the role of private security contractors in Darfur. Drawing on a framework of analysis inspired by Bourdieu, we show that neo-liberal governmentality is reflected in the dispositions of security actors as well as in their relative positions. The resulting security practices reinforce dispositions and positions that reproduce neo-liberal governmentality. Looking at these processes is necessary to understand the role of private security contractors in Darfur. But more than this, practices in Darfur entrench neo-liberal governmentality in security more generally. The managerial and 'de-politicizing' approach to security in Darfur displaces alternative views not only in the Darfuri context. It is taken into other contexts where it bolsters neo-liberal governmentality. This spiralling neo-liberal governmentality rather than diminished state control and authority is, we argue, the most significant consequence of the presence of private security contractors in Darfur. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/6989
Files in this item: 1darfur_working_paper.pdf (140.3Kb)
Leander, Anna (Frederiksberg, 2009)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: The integration of private international security into Security Studies reflects the relatively recent nature of the market. The literature on the topic revolves around the basics of placing private international security on the agenda (1a); explaining and understanding the market (1b) and problematizing its relationship to central questions in international security (1c). The current trend in the field is to face the—still largely open—challenge of taking research further, both by completing, refining and updating current research efforts (2a) and by expanding and enriching the research agenda to more fully explore the politics of market development (2b). Paradoxically, as this entry concludes, this is leading scholars to abandon the focus on "privatization" and instead pushing them to formulate research agenda in new terms such as commercialization, commodification, governance or governmentality. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7967
Files in this item: 1
Thinking International Relations through Fields, Habitus and PracticeLeander, Anna (København, 2006)[More information][Less information]
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/6970
Files in this item: 1fihp_working_paper.pdf (260.2Kb)
The Power of the Private Security BusinessLeander, Anna (København, 2007)[More information][Less information]
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/6948
Files in this item: 1reconfiguring security praxis-wp88.pdf (113.1Kb)
Leander, Anna (København, 2006)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This paper focuses on the way PMCs shape security policies and more generally political priorities. Linking up with classical thinking about "civil-military relations", it suggests that preoccupation with security professionals' role in shaping politics is as important when these professionals are privately organised in PMCs as it is when they are enrolled in public armed forces. The paper shows that existing regulation has not been adjusted to account for this fact and that the significance of regulating PMCs' role in shaping politics is profoundly underestimated. It therefore argues that putting the issue of regulating "civil-PMCs relations" on the agenda is essential. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7019
Files in this item: 1pmc_regulation_working_paper-2.pdf (238.0Kb)
The Case of the CIA "Killing Program"Leander, Anna (Frederiksberg, 2009)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: "Risk" has become a major theme in the social sciences over the past two decades. It has been argued to reshape social and political life not only by placing new issues on the agenda but also by generating new "governmental rationalities". These debates have in various forms also began to influence international studies. It has already been shown that the introduction of risk has altered strategic rationality. An uncertain imagined future of Rumsfeldian "unknown unknowns" has become integral to military strategic thinking. In the process technologies used to wage war and the actors involved have also evolved. Continuing the discussion, this article moves on to look at the implications of these changes for legal and political boundaries in one specific area of international politics; it traces the link between the spread of risk rationality (or governance through risk) and the development of apolitical and unaccountable military markets. Risk rationality creates what I will tentatively term a preventive imperative that tends to spread across areas and is assisted in the process by the rapidly expanding ranks of risk professionals. The preventive imperative is key to the rapid growth of private military markets as well as to the difficulty of politicizing—in the sense of creating a critical public debate—about the market as opposed to about the a given scandal (e.g. Nisour Square incident) or firm (e.g. Blackwater). The difficulty of politicizing the market has strong implications for the (non-)working of accountability. It creates what I will dub an accountability paradox where the way accountability is pursued reinforces the impunity of markets and of specific market actors. The reason is that it pre-empts serious consideration of the public/private enmeshment which is the "blind spot" of present legal instruments and it positively reaffirms existing "regulation" in all its defectiveness. Neither security professionals nor lawyers are susceptible to resolve this paradox. Reference to the CIA "Killing Program" anchors and illustrates the argument. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7965
Files in this item: 1Risk_working_paper.pdf (145.5Kb)
Leander, Anna (København, 2007)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: On September 16 2007 the employees of the U.S. security firm Blackwater became involved in a shooting incidence in the Nisour Square in Baghdad. They were escorting a U.S. State Department delegation, which according to the firm, came under attack. According to by-standers, the Blackwater employees opened fire unprovoked, shooting in all directions and seemingly at anyone moving, including those trying to flee or help those wounded. 17 Iraqis civilians died in the incidence and at least twice as many were wounded. President Al-Maliki immediately came out to "revoke Blackwater's license" for operating in Iraq and Iraqi authorities engaged the process of ending contractor impunity in their country. However, it soon became clear that there was no license to revoke and that the Iraqi government may not have the authority to deny Blackwater the right to operate in Iraq, let alone decide the fate of private contractors more generally. On their part, the U.S. authorities promised to open their own investigation and expressed regret at the civilian casualties but did not end their contracts with Blackwater in Iraq or elsewhere. The incapacity of the Iraqi government to impose its authority and right to control the use of force on its territory, to hold Blackwater and/or its employees accountable for the incidence, made Jeremy Scahill conclude that: "nothing gives a more clear indication to the Iraqis that they don't have a sovereign government" (2007). Scahill is right in pointing to the limitations of the Iraqi government's role as the ultimate authority deciding on laws on Iraqi territory. However, it does not follow that the Mansour incidence is illustrative of the extent to which the private markets for force have undermined sovereignty generally. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7033
Files in this item: 1wp 2007-5.pdf (162.5Kb)
A Contested CommodityLeander, Anna (Frederiksberg, 2009)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This paper argues that security belongs to a specific category of commodities: "contested commodities" around which there is an ongoing and unsettled symbolic struggle over whether or not they can and should be though of as commodities (section 1). The contested nature of commodification has implications for how markets function; market practices tend to be defined and organized in ways that minimize their contentiousness and obfuscate their expansion. The paper looks at the implications of this argument for the conceptualization of the security. It focuses on the three central articulations of contestation: the discussion about whether the use of force can be left to the market, whether it can be so in the international realm and the discussion about whether or not markets trigger increased insecurity. It shows how this specific articulation of contestation has produced markets where the practice/definition of security is as public rather than private (section 2), as inside rather than outside (section 3) and as a responsible reaction to a threat rather than as something contributing to the constitution of threats (section 4). Conceptualizations of private security consequently have to be devised to capture these practical consequences of contested commodification; they need to capture the private in the public, the inside in the outside and the securitizing in the response to threats. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7964
Files in this item: 1Contested_Commodity_working_paper.pdf (152.8Kb)
A Reflection on Historical Sociology and IRLeander, Anna (Frederiksberg, 2009)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: In 2004 I published an argument to the effect that "taking Tilly seriously" could help International Relations (IR) scholars understand some of the processes and mechanisms involved in state-building (Leander, 2004: the chapter is pasted in at the end of this statement). This short statement is a reflection on why, if I were to write that piece today, it would be written differently. I would still argue that we should all engage the Historical Sociology of State-Building (HSS) in a serious way (go beyond the folklore as I termed it in 2004) but my inclination today would be to be far more explicit about to the pitfalls of not going beyond the folklore as well as about the importance of studies of practices (in anthropology, ethnography, geography, regional/area studies or even IR, sic!) in signposting these pitfalls. This change in tone has less to do with any particular idea or argument in historical sociology, and even less with the work of any particular historical sociologist (seen the focus of this workshop Tilly will figure as the recurring reference point) than it does with the way the HSS is read, feeds into and shapes IR discussions (section 1). The way HSS has been integrated into IR has led scholars deeper into the pitfalls which hamper their understanding of contemporary state-building. More specifically it has perpetuated a misconstrued understanding of the inside/outside, it has obscured the nature and role of the private/public, and that it has devalued contextually specific articulations of politics and governance (sections 2-4). This "misunderstanding" is not only a scholastic matter as it translates into policies that are ineffective, inadequate not to say positively harmful (section 5). As the statement concludes, the implication is that IR scholars who decide to walk the terrain chartered by HSS would do well to observe the warning signposts set up by observers of political practices around these pitfalls. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7968
Files in this item: 1
Leander, Anna (København, 2008)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This paper analyses one influential Hollywood documentary, Edward Zwick's movie Blood Diamond as if it were an advertising campaign. Drawing on a business school textbook: Sign Wars: The Cluttered Landscape of Advertising, it poses the kinds of question an advertiser would: namely how the brand image is established, how it is made superior to other images and how good it is at capturing would-be-consumers. The paper suggests that Blood Diamond fares well on all three accounts and it traces why this is so. Specifically, it emphasizes the extent to which the film has contributed to establish and solidify the link between blood and diamonds in a process of "cultural cannibalism". Second, it underlines role of "Hollywood authenticity" in establishing its very particular picture of politics as superior to alternatives. This certainly is more an unintended "collateral damage" than a part the producers'/directors' intention. Finally, the last section suggests that Blood Diamond effectively captures the spectator by the reassuring, but illusive, plurality of images and by its visual fetichism. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7031
Files in this item: 1wp 2008-1.pdf (207.4Kb)
Now showing items 1-17 of 17


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What is Urology?
The specialty of urology focuses on the structures of the body that produce urine and remove it from the body, such as the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra. Since related structures in men are responsible for both reproduction and the transportation of urine, urologists specialize in men's sexual health in addition to disorders of the urinary tract. Urologists treat both men and women, as well as patients ranging in age from newborn to elderly.
Certain urologic conditions are specific to male or female patients. Women are especially prone to stress incontinence, recurrent urinary tract infections, interstitial cystitis (a condition causing pain in the bladder), and urethral diverticuli (a structural issue where a small pouch develops from the urethra into the vagina). Some of these conditions may be adequately treated by a gynecologist, but patients may prefer to see a urologist because of their expertise in the urinary tract system. As for men, male infertility and sexual problems can be treated by a urologist. For example, urologists treat erectile dysfunction with medications or prosthetics. They may also perform surgeries such as vasectomies or vasectomy reversals.
Some other conditions that urologists treat include:
- Kidney stones, which are mineral deposits that can form anywhere in the urinary tract. The stones can be quite painful, and some large stones may be impossible to expel naturally. Fortunately, kidney stone treatments have advanced quite a bit in recent years, and a urologist may recommend a procedure such as shockwave lithotripsy (where sound waves are used to break down the stones), or percutaneous extraction (where telescopic tools are inserted through tiny incisions in the back to remove the stones). There can be some pain associated with these treatments, but they are far less invasive than the older methods of removal.
- Urinary tract infections, which are extremely common. However, if they happen over and over again, there may be an underlying problem within the urinary tract.
- Congenital abnormalities, which refers to problems that are present at birth. Congenital abnormalities affect the genitourinary tract more often than any other system of the body, and they range from mild to severe in appearance and effect. The most common abnormality (in male infants) is cryptorchidism, where a testicle does not descend from the body down into the scrotum. Another common problem is hypospadias, where the opening of the urethra appears on the underside of the penis.
- Renal disease, which is the loss of kidney function. For patients with renal disease, their urologist may be their primary surgeon or a coordinating member of their care team.
- Tumors and malignancies, which are especially common in the case of prostate cancer. Urologists are most often consultants to oncologists in these cases.
The American Urological Association recognizes seven subspecialties of urology:
- Pediatric Urology, the treatment of genitourinary tract disorders in children and infants
- Urologic Oncology, the treatment of cancers within the genitourinary tract
- Renal Transplantation, the treatment of severe kidney disease by replacing a non-functioning kidney with a donor kidney
- Male Infertility, the treatment of infertility due to problems with sperm, semen, or male sexuality
- Calculi, the treatment of kidney stones
- Female Urology, the care of women's urinary health
- Neurourology, the treatment of urinary disorders caused by problems with the nervous system. For example, certain voiding disorders happen when the bladder does not receive signals appropriately, and erectile dysfunction is sometimes due to nerve loss.
Urinary and sexual problems can be especially distressing for many people. Fortunately, urologists are experts at managing these health conditions.


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Math Connections in Art
Students are introduced to the work of American painter and printmaker Chuck Close and learn to apply math concepts and skills used by the artist to transfer photographic images to another working surface. Using photos of themselves, students will measure, grid, and reproduce their portrait as a painting or pencil rendering that may be finished later at home or in the classroom. Concepts such as ratio, percent, and area are reinforced. This is a four-part series consisting of an overview of the life and art of Chuck Close, two hands-on in-classroom sessions in which the museum presenter guides students through gridding their photographs and producing self-portraits, and a final discussion of the students' artwork and comprehension of math concepts.
- Session 1-Introduce works by Chuck Close an American artist who uses math to dramatically scale his images. Using math principles guide students through the gridding process they will use to enlarge their images for the self portrait they will create over the course of the 4 sessions.
- Session 2-Grid photographs students have brought and explain that finished drawing needs to be 50% larger than original photo.
- Session 3-Guide students as they use their gridded photos from Session 2 to begin transferring the design to the larger drawing paper.
- Session 4-Students finish their self-portraits. Review math concepts employed in enlarging their images. Discuss Chuck Close's work and the way in which he and other artists break color into small shapes for expressive purposes.
- Students will understand how Chuck Close, and other artists, use math in creating their art.
- Students will learn that using grid system can help accurately enlarge an image in a work of art.
- Students will learn how to determine the size of the enlarged image, based on proportion.


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To start with, the title itself is misleading, probably intentionally: The title suggests the article provides "Evidence of...discrimination against asexuals." But how could they possibly make claims about discrimination against asexuals without any data from any asexuals? Probably what they have in mind is this: "Comfort with renting to and hiring a member from each sexual orientation were tapped on 11-point scales," which led to scores ranging from 0-10. Responses to this were then labelled (by the researchers) as "discrimination intentions". Both of these words are inappropriate. They didn't ask about intentions--they asked about how comfortable someone would be. Further, I believe that a major difference between discrimination and prejudice is that discrimination involves (unfairly) treating people differently, while prejudice is a matter of beliefs/attitudes/feelings (these are often related, of course). The question was about feelings, not behaviors, so the word "discrimination" is inappropriate. In the abstract, they state "Heterosexuals were also willing to discriminate against asexuals (matching discrimination against homosexuals)." Not only do they make this statement without any questions actually about willingness to discriminate, here's the actual summary of the data (possible scores range from 0-10).
If someone is asked, "On a scale from 0-10, how comfortable would you be with renting to an asexual?" I confess that I am not overly worried if people tend to answer, "I don't, maybe 9?" There is a significant difference in the means for the different groups, so there is a finding to be explained, but this doesn't remotely justify the claim in the abstract.
So the claims about "discrimination" are totally unsupported by their data. Next, I want to move to what the study is primarily about: attitudes. Attitudes are something they, in fact, did ask about. Now, it is true that differences in attitudes towards heterosexuals vs. bisexuals and homosexuals in research like this do correspond to how people are treated in the real world, but a VERY BIG QUESTION is whether this generalizes to groups that people have (possibly) never even heard of. MacInnis and Hodson state that one reason for study 2 was "to rule out outgroup familiarity as a potential confound." While this typically would mean, "To test whether the results of their first study are (at least in large part) due to this confound" they actually mean it as "to rule it out as a possible confound regardless of what results they end up getting." In fact, results of study 2 strongly suggest that lack of familiarity is a very large part of why the attitude thermometer scores for asexuals were lower than those of bisexuals or homosexuals. However, they try to hide this, and instead set up the absurd standard of whether lack of familiarity can completely account for the finding. (If the standard is "Does r^2=1?" I think I can rather confidently tell you that the answer is "no" without even looking at your data--or even knowing what you're studying--as long as you've got more than a handful of data points.)
If you take a close look at the paper, here are some things to notice:
Although one of the two main purposes of doing study 2 was to include "sapiosexuals" to test the possibility that familiarity accounts for why attitude thermometer scores for asexuals are so low, sapiosexuals are conspicuously missing from Table 3, showing attitude thermometer scores for study 2. They only report the data for sapiosexuals 2 pages later on p. 14, most likely so that readers don't notice that attitudes towards sapiosexuals are lower than attitudes towards homosexuals or bisexuals (though I don't know if it's strong enough, given their sample size, to be statistically significant).
Heterosexuals: 8.78
Bisexuals: 7.02
Homosexuals: 6.92
Sapiosexuals: 6.81
Asexuals: 6.45
I've never seen anyone using this study to claim that there is more (or at least least as much) prejudice towards sapiosexuals as towards homo- or bisexuals. Probably this is because if we accept that relatively low attitude thermometer scores for sapiosexuals is largely a matter of lack of familiarity (which seems likely), then this suggests lack of familiarity is also a large part of the reason for the low attitude scores for asexuals. There's also another piece of data in the paper that suggests lack of familiarity with asexuality is largely the reason for their "finding" (again, under the assumption that this is largely responsible to low attitudes towards sapiosexuals): Table 4 shows that the strongest correlate of attitudes towards asexuals was attitudes towards sapiosexuals (r=.84). Excluding alpha reliability co-efficients, this is, in fact, one of the two strongest correlations in entire table (the other being attitudes towards homosexuals and bisexuals, which are also correlated at r=.84).
However, rather than being up front about these facts, they don't draw attention to the strong correlation between attitudes towards asexuality and sapiosexuality, and they try to hide the attitude data about sapiosexuals somewhere were most readers are unlikely to compare it to attitude data for homo- and bisexuals.
They present two arguments to "rule out" familiarity as accounting for their findings. The first is by showing that although sapiosexuals have a lower familiarity score than asexuals, asexuals have a lower attitude score than sapiosexuals. In fact what this means is that [the particular measure used in their study for] familiarity cannot completely account for the attitude data towards asexuals. I wouldn't expect it to, but I'll bet that it does account for a large part of it. As a second argument, they state that "In further evidence that familiarity per se does not explain dislike of asexuals, relations between [right wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation] or ingroup identification with asexual evaluations were relatively unchanged after statistically controlling for familiarity with asexuals (partial correlations equal −.36, −.31, −.24, and ps < .02, respectively). Prejudice-prone persons, therefore, were not more prejudiced toward asexuals as a result of mere unfamiliarity" (p.15). (The original correlations were -.34, -0.30, and -.25, respectively)
First of all, the correlation between attitudes about asexuality and each of these three wasn't all that strong compared to other correlates--in fact, in no case did it exceed the correlation between attitudes about asexuals and attitudes about heterosexuals (r = .36). Second, they never actually provide evidence that people in these groups tended to dislike asexuals. They labeled the endpoints of their attitude thermometers as "extremely unfavorable" and "extremely favorable." The mean attitude score for asexuals in the first study was 4.70, and in the second study 6.45. Possible scores range from 0-9, so 4.5 should mean neutral (or "I don't know"???) They then tell us that various things were negatively correlated with attitudes towards asexuals, so it's possible that if we made groups based on these scales, these people might had average attitudes below 4.5, but they don't tell us. The biggest problem, however, is the data given in the 2nd argument leaves open the possibility that attitude scores for asexuality among the less prejudice-prone people was correlated with familiarity. If they're trying to rule out (un)familiarity as a possible confound, it seems odd that they don't provide data on whether familiarity with X is correlated with attitudes about X, at least in the cases of asexuality and sapiosexuality. If I had to guess, it's because doing so wouldn't support their argument...
In summary, I don't think that this study provides good evidence of prejudice against asexuals. More likely, it shows us something about how people answer social psychologists' questionaires like this when asked about groups they've never/barely heard of before. That finding would much less exciting than their claim about asexuals, and I suspect that publishing pressures in social psychology encouraged them to take the route that they did.


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You can borrow up to three videos at a time and pay only $5 per shipment for postage. Simply pick one of the three methods below to let us know your choices.
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A downloadable version of the loan catalog is also available here (PDF).


text:
This Forum has been archivedVisit the new Forums
|Forums: Index → Narutopedia Discussion → Upcoming Policy Changes
We wanted to let you know that in order to comply with federal law, Wikia is reviewing the way it handles communities that may be considered directed to people 12 years of age or younger.
This wiki has been flagged as falling into that category, and I wanted to let you know about it. While I am sure Naruto has many fans of all ages, it can also be especially appealing to the younger demographic for purposes of the newly revised Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
The only change you will notice is that we will be turning anonymous editing and commenting off for wikis in this category. Your users will still be able to edit and participate. They just need to make sure that they are logged in first. We hope the impact on your community will be minimal.
We realize this might be an inconvenience, but this is a step Wikia has to take in order to make sure we are in compliance with federal law. You can find out more about COPPA here: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/12/coppa.shtm.
The changes to the law will be going into effect July 1st, 2013 although you may see some changes before then. Be sure to keep an eye on Community Central where e will be announcing these updates to the wider Wikia Community on Monday on the staff blog. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Thanks, and Happy Editing! --semanticdrifter (help forum | blog) 00:23, June 21, 2013 (UTC)
- Oh this will be hilarious.--TheUltimate3 (talk) 01:50, June 21, 2013 (UTC)
- Ah, lesser vandals then I guess.--~Ulti Sup~ 16:19, June 21, 2013 (UTC)
- Less ip contributors that become users... — SimAnt 19:00, June 21, 2013 (UTC)
We don't need children here anyway, no offense. And setting up an account takes a minute. But I'm worried about Naruto Answers Wikia, lesser amount of stupid questions T_T--Elveonora (talk) 19:26, June 21, 2013 (UTC)
|Less ip contributors that become users...
Here's an example that Naruto is not for kids. SeaTerror (talk) 23:41, June 21, 2013 (UTC)
Nicely done, go ahead wit that. This is great. Dan.Faulkner (talk) 23:47, June 21, 2013 (UTC)
I think there are some Ip contributers who do make good contributions to the wiki, and I'd look forward to getting new users on here :) --ROOT 根 (talk) 22:40, June 28, 2013 (UTC)
Blog Post Up
For more info on this change, please see the Community Central blog post. Feel free to comment on the general policy there, and keep the wiki specific discussion here. Thanks, --semanticdrifter (help forum | blog) 19:13, June 24, 2013 (UTC)


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I will be featuring a few guest authors on my blog in the next two weeks as a lead up to registration for the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) opening on June 2nd. I have asked people who attended some of the courses at SLIG in January of 2012 to share their experiences and a summary of the course.
The first guest author is Harold Henderson with his insights into the Advanced Evidence Analysis Practicum course:
Want to spend a week solving the toughest genealogy problems, a new one every day?
That describes the most challenging genealogy course I've ever taken, the Advanced Evidence Analysis Practicum at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG). Oh, I learned more in the advanced methodology classes given annually by Elizabeth Shown Mills at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR) at Samford Univeristy and Thomas W. Jones at SLIG. I could not have functioned in the practicum without them. But the level of difficulty in the practicum is something else because I had to apply that knowledge repeatedly, and found out right away whether I had headed in the right direction or found the answer. I also had to adjust to very different record environments and kinds of problems than I was used to working on.
The course actually grew out of the 2011 session of Tom Jones' Advanced Genealogical Methods class at SLIG. He gave a couple of homework assignments involving a problem to be solved, with evidence provided. We enjoyed the challenge and wanted more of this type of assignment. One day four of us were sitting around and somehow the idea was born of trying to design a whole course consisting entirely of this kind of homework. Now two of that group are coordinating the 2013 course, one is the director of SLIG, and I'm the only one remaining with a purely student's-eye view.
The format of the Practicum course is simple. Every afternoon a different expert, usually a board-certified or accredited genealogist, presents the initial evidence for a genealogical case that they have worked on and solved but not yet published. In some cases, all the evidence and documents are provided and the students analyze and correlate it, trying to come to a well-grounded conclusion. In other cases, some evidence remains to be found, either on line or in records at the Family History Library. Where off-line records are required (as they were in four of last year's five cases), the information is available in digitized files on request if the student can figure out exactly what s/he needs (since even the Family History Library can't be expected to create two dozen copies of those particular microfilms everyone will be wanting). The following afternoon, the group reconvenes to discuss their research and evidence-evaluation adventures with the expert and find out how they approached and solved the problem. And then it's time for the next case to be introduced.
The format differs from most genealogy institutes in that there are five faculty members (experts), so you deal with a new personality every day as well as a new problem. The 2013 lineup of instructors is mostly different from last year, but my main sense last year was, "I had no idea there were so many different ways to be equally excellent!"
Compared to the usual SLIG class schedule, this course looks light. So few hours in the classroom! But few of us had time for anything else. (I had invested in some evening lecture sessions but ditched most of them because the problems were so tough, and one of my main approaches to such problems is to spend a lot of time fussing.) Most participants found it both educational and humbling. Questions of research strategy arose that I'd never heard discussed so specifically anywhere else. If you've been through an advanced course or the equivalent, and want a truly challenging workout in a friendly setting, this is the course for you.
Harold Henderson lives in northwest Indiana. He has been a professional writer since 1979 and a professional genealogist since 2009 (midwestroots.net). He has published 30 genealogical articles in six states and spoken at local, state, and national levels. He blogs at midwesternmicrohistory.
blogspot.com. At any given time he would
probably rather be reading a grantor index.


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Items where Department is "Sociology" and Year is 1992
|Up a level
Bentley, R. and Hughes, J. A. and Randall, D. and Rodden, T. and Sawyer, P. and Shapiro, D. and Sommerville, I. (1992) Ethnographically-informed systems design for air traffic control. In: CSCW '92: Proceedings of the 1992 ACM conference on Computer-supported cooperative work. ACM, New York, pp. 123-129. ISBN 0-89791-542-9
Betterton, Rosemary (1992) Mother figures : the female nude in the work of German women artists in the 1900s. In: Profession Ohne Tradition : 125 Jahre Verein der Berliner Kunstlerinnen. Berlinische Galerie, Berlin.
Betterton, Rosemary (1992) (dis)parities. In: (dis)parities. Mappin Art Gallery, Sheffield.
Davies, Richard B. and Elias, Peter and Penn, Roger (1992) The relationship between a husband's unemployment and his wife's participation in the labour force. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 54 (2). pp. 145-171. ISSN 0305-9049
Gilloch, Graeme (1992) Three biographical studies of Walter Benjamin. Telos, 1992 (91). pp. 173-178. ISSN 0090-6514
Gilloch, Graeme (1992) Walter Benjamin and the architecture of history. Telos, 1992 (91). pp. 165-173. ISSN 0090-6514
Gilloch, Graeme (1992) The heroic pedestrian or the pedestrian hero:Walter Benjamin and the flaneur. Telos, 1992 (91). pp. 108-116. ISSN 0090-6514
McNally, Ruth and Wheale, Peter (1992) Bioethics in the UK. National Study and Report for 'Bioethics in Europe'. Scientific and Technological Options Assessment Unit (STOA) of the European Parliament. Working Paper. European Parliament, Strasbourg.
McNally, Ruth and Wheale, Peter (1992) Biotechnology in Europe : A Critical Evaluation of the Bangemann Communication. Working Paper. European Parliament, Strasbourg. (Unpublished)
Penn, Roger (1992) Changing patterns of work in the contemporary British paper industry. Working Paper. Lancaster University, Lancaster.
Penn, Roger (1992) Changing patterns of work in the contemporary British textile industry. Working Paper. Textile Industry Research Group.
Penn, Roger (1992) Contemporary relationships between firms in a classic industrial locality : evidence from the social change and economic life initiative. Work, Employment and Society, 6 (2). pp. 209-227. ISSN 0950-0170
Penn, Roger (1992) Employment patterns in contemporary retailing : gender and work in five supermarkets. Working Paper. Lancaster University, Lancaster.
Penn, Roger (1992) Flexibility in Britain during the 1980s : recent evidence. In: Fordism and flexibility : divisions and change. Explorations in sociology (41). Macmillan, London, pp. 66-86. ISBN 0333565355
Penn, Roger (1992) Technical change and skilled work in contemporary Rochdale. Working Paper. Lancaster University, Lancaster.
Penn, Roger (1992) A review of current research on textiles and clothing : a report for Scottish enterprise. Working Paper. Lancaster University for Scottish Enterprise, Lancaster.
Penn, Roger and Gasteen, Ann and Scattergood, Hilda and Sewel, John (1992) Technical change and the division of labour in Rochdale and Aberdeen : evidence from the social change and economic life initiative. British Journal of Sociology, 43 (4). pp. 657-680. ISSN 0007-1315
Penn, Roger and Lilja, Kari and Scattergood, Hilda (1992) Flexibility and employment patterns in the contemporary paper industry. Industrial Relations Journal, 23 (3). pp. 214-223. ISSN 0019-8692
Penn, Roger and Martin, A. and Scattergood, H. (1992) The changing contours of ethnic incorporation and exclusion : employment trajectories of Asian migrants in Rochdale. Working Paper. Lancaster University, Lancaster.
Penn, Roger and Scattergood, H. (1992) Ethnicity and career aspirations in contemporary Britain. New Community, 19 (1). pp. 75-98. ISSN 0047-9586
Penn, Roger and Scattergood, H. (1992) The experience of trade unions in Rochdale during the 1980s. Working Paper. Lancaster University, Lancaster.
Walby, Sylvia (1992) Post-postmodernism?:theorizing social complexity. In: Destabilizing Theory. Polity Press, Cambridge, pp. 31-52. ISBN 9780745607955
Walby, Sylvia (1992) Woman and nation. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 33 (1-2). pp. 81-100. ISSN 0020-7152
Wynne, Brian (1992) Uncertainty and environmental learning: reconceiving science and policy in the preventive paradigm. Global Environmental Change, 2 (2). pp. 111-127.


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Fister strong as Tigers win sixth in a row
Fister strong as Tigers win sixth in a row
Behind a dominant performance from starter Doug Fister and contributions up and down the lineup, the Tigers looked like the team they're capable of being on Friday -- the team Leyland always knew was in there somewhere.
"I've liked our club all along," Leyland said. "I never got off our club, even when we weren't playing good in the first half. I know it's a good club that's going to play good at some point, and now we've racked up six in a row, and that's pretty good."
After entering the All-Star break with five consecutive wins, the Tigers kept the hot streak going in a dominating 7-2 victory in the opener of a three-game set at Camden Yards, extending their winning streak to a season-high six, the longest active stretch in the Majors.
"We played a really good game tonight," Leyland said. "We looked like a really good team, and we are a good team."
Like the team as a whole, Fister hasn't always played to his potential this season. Hampered by injuries that have forced him into a pair of stints on the disabled list, Fister entered Friday 1-3 with an 8.85 ERA in his last four starts.
He responded with one of his best outings of the season, allowing only one run on three hits and no walks in seven innings.
"I think he had a little bit of a depressing first half, physically," Leyland said. "I thought he was terrific. I was really pleased with that. I thought it was important to show him some confidence after the first half and get him pitching, because he's huge for us. So, hopefully, that was a good sign."
Fister showed signs of peak performance right out of the gate, notching two strikeouts and inducing a pair of broken-bat groundouts in the first two innings -- a sign that he was locating his pitches and getting a lot of late movement.
After allowing eight runs on June 27, six runs on July 2 and four runs on Saturday, Fister viewed Friday's performance as a "good step in the right direction."
"[I] really focused on keeping the ball down and moving in and out on hitters," said Fister, who lamented his inability to drive the ball and keep it down in the zone during his rough stretch. "It's just a matter of finally getting back in line and back together again. It's a process that we're kind of really just trying to fine-tune."
"[I] really kind of forgot about mechanics and just went with feel, and tonight was a little better."
The right-hander retired the side in order in five of the first six innings, giving up a pair of doubles in the third that scored the Orioles' lone run against him.
Fister said he felt like he located the ball better than he had in his last few outings, part of the reason he struck out five looking in tying a season high with eight strikeouts.
He threw 65 of his 94 pitches for strikes.
"He mixes speeds more than I think I've ever seen," Orioles catcher Matt Wieters said. "It's tough when a guy has that kind of sinker and be able to mix in a curveball and a changeup. He did a great job tonight."
"He looked sharp, he looked confident," said Leyland, who added that Fister's curveball was a key piece of his arsenal on Friday. "He looked like he had confidence in making his pitches and getting the ball where he wanted to."
The Tigers pounded out 13 hits in support of Fister, most notably a 454-foot home run Miguel Cabrera blasted to dead center in the fifth.
Cabrera's homer was the only run the Tigers scored with less than two outs, as Detroit went 3-for-6 with two outs and runners in scoring position.
"We got some big hits up and down the lineup," Leyland said. "Everybody made a contribution, and that was good to see."
Jhonny Peralta also homered in the four-run fifth, scoring Delmon Young and Brennan Boesch with a three-run blast to right off of left-hander Dana Eveland.
Much-maligned second baseman Ryan Raburn recorded his 11th RBI with a single to left in the fourth, and Boesch got the scoring started with a two-run single in the first.
Every Tigers starter notched a hit with the exception of Quintin Berry, who made up for his 0-for-5 day with a sprinting, leaping catch in left to rob Wilson Betemit of a home run in the fifth.
"That's something special," Fister said.
"It was a beauty," Leyland said. "He made a great play, it was just a tremendous play."
After a moment of confusion when only Berry knew he'd made the catch, the left fielder jogged back to the dugout with a smile stretched across his face, tossing the ball into the stands and accepting congratulatory fist bumps from each of his teammates.
"I got a good jump, and it stayed in just enough so I could get to it," Berry said. "I thought everybody knew I had it, so I was still kind of excited myself, a little overly excited. But everybody let me know to let them know a little earlier next time."
Between Berry's defense, hits up and down the lineup and Fister's dominant performance, the Tigers opened the second half on the right foot.
"Tonight was another good step forward," Fister said. "It's momentum. The team is coming together. Everyone is coming together well and playing hard together. That's the biggest key for us. We'll keep it going tomorrow."


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Wishing you all a good year.
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Machaq Mara 5522
Wishing you all a good year.
On the matter of the Association Football abilities of Lionel Messi
IKN Recommends: 'Brazil 360'
Kitco Gold Survey Watch: The monkeys with dartboards got one right
- That brings the overall score to 16 weeks out of 41 called correctly.
- That also brings the "strong signal" score (when any of the three options up/down/sideways gets over 50% of votes) to 10 weeks out of 28 called correctly.
The Friday OT: Boston Symphony Orchestra: J.S.Bach, Chaconne (BWV 1004)
Times are hard at Casey Research
As this link shows, excerpt below. Cash flow problems, guys?
Thanks to reader 'JG' for the headsup.
Casey complains about copyright infringementTicker Symbol: C:*CURRENTCasey complains about copyright infringementCurrent Events (C:*CURRENT)Friday June 20 2014 - Street Wireby Mike CaswellNewsletter publisher Casey Research LLC has filed a petition in the Supreme Court of British Columbia looking to identify somebody who has been posting its investment recommendations on-line. The company says that its recommendations are a paid service that costs up to $4,500 per year. Posting the information verbatim in public view infringes its copyright and may harm to its business, Casey claims.The allegations are contained in a petition that Casey filed at the Vancouver courthouse on June 17, 2014. The company identifies itself as a publisher with an office in Vermont that generates several different newsletters and investment alerts. They range in price from $80 per year to $4,500 per year. Subscribers receive the information via e-mail or by logging in to Casey's website.Casey claims that in April, 2014, a Stockhouse user named "rollercoaster2" started posting its recommendations on the Stockhouse forums verbatim. The material included content from publications offered at $995 per year and $4,500 per year. Among the postings were a recommendation for a stock that the petition identifies as "Petromas Energy Inc." (probably Petromanas Energy Inc., a company that Casey advised buying on April 16, 2014, at 28.5 cents).Casey says it did not consent to the reproduction and is concerned that continues here
Oh yeah, the Pretium (PVG) (PVG.to) Feas was published last night
Never forget how stupid and lazy the world's press truly is
1) Nope, his father hadn't just died2) He was crying due to the emotion of the occasion, nothing else3) The whole thing was started by a single Brazilian match commentator who thought up the story on the spur of the moment4) The whole world's press and media just decided to run the "news" without bothering to check sources, veracity or anything approaching decent reporting standards.
More on Barrick's (ABX) cozying up to China from Reuters (via TD Sec) today
Right here. Excerpt here
VANCOUVER, June 19 (Reuters) - Any alliance between Barrick Gold Corp and China's sole state-owned gold mining company is likely to involve a smaller, non-core Barrick mine or project and not any of the Canadian miner's main assets, a China National Gold Group official said on Thursday.And remember folks: Citic and a JV on Pascua Lama is a separate deal (and you heard it here first back in February)
Barrick, the world's biggest gold producer, and China National, China's largest producer, have held talks at least three times this year on ways to cooperate, China National President Xin Song said in an interview.
Barrick's appointment of John Thornton, a China expert, as chairman this year has heightened expectations that the Toronto-based company may be seeking an alliance with Chinese investors, possibly for its large but stalled Pascua-Lama gold and silver project in South America
This call last weekend is looking pretty good
Here's the opening section of The IKN Weekly, issue 266, out last Sunday evening:
Something just changed for the better in the precious metals market. Maybe.
I added that "maybe" on the end because however much I'd like to be more bold or definite about the call, one week (nay, three days) of evidence is much too thin and we've suffered through too many false dawns as it is. But last week's market action looked great for the miners, whichever way you examine it.
One of the very few charts I've cared about and keep caring about over the years is the Gold/Silver Ratio (GSR), because when it's working it can give a useful signal about the risk appetite of our sector (very quickly a higher GSR means gold's loved more than silver which means the market doesn't want to take on as much risk or is battening down the hatches, the opposite applies too, of course).
That looks like a change in tide to me, and when coupled with the way stocks bounced hard while gold put in reasonable but small percentage gains, it looks as though people are ready to bolt on more risk to their portfolios.
Once again, I remind readers the same as I need to remind myself on occasion: We're investors in companies at The IKN Weekly, not investors in metals. Those companies just happen to make (or want to make) metals as their finished product, but the difference is still a vast one.
That's not shabby at all, especially as both gold and silver have popped hard to the upside. I put that "maybe" in the title of last weekend's intro setcion because there have just been way too many false dawns in the metals complex over the last couple of years. This one is by no means a done deal and could go either way too, but there's zero zip nada no doubt that what we've seen this week fits right in with the call made by The IKN Weekly before it happened. We're no sort of permabull round here, either.
Warning: More M&A rumours than you can shake a stick at
UPDATE: Your humble scribe receives the following from Iwnattos, owner of Market Narrative:
Y'know, you should just post all the merger rumours on your blog.
Why should the mouth-breathing functionaries of capitalist oppression deserve to keep secrets from the proletariat? It's not as if people like us have any other way to make money.
The reply: No, if only because I've spent over half a decade trying to avoid becoming a mouthpiece for the asshole end of the junior market.
A reminder
Chart of the day is...
Coming to a mining operation near you: Drones firing pepper spray bullets. For peace.
The maker of a drone that fires pepper spray bullets says it has received its first order for the machine. South Africa-based Desert Wolf told the BBC it had secured the sale of 25 units to a mining company after showing off the tech at a trade show.
Desert Wolf's website states that its Skunk octacopter drone is fitted with four high-capacity paintball barrels, each capable of firing up to 20 bullets per second. In addition to pepper-spray ammunition, the firm says it can also be armed with dye-marker balls and solid plastic balls. The machine can carry up to 4,000 bullets at a time as well as "blinding lasers" and on-board speakers that can communicate warnings to a crowd.Full story here
Argentina plans to make its bond coupon payments via Bitcoin
So says Felix Salmon.
If true, my best guess is that Argentina would need to secure around U$1Bn in Bitcoin for the transfers, as its next coupon payment to the restructured debt holders (the 93%) is around U$900m
Interesting times, we live in.
Argentina bonds: Cute posters in town, FinMin Kicillof speaks
- Everybody relax, this has been studied deeply. Actions have been taken to conteract the risk posed by a small group of bond holders that wants nothing else than to ruin countries and try to stop the reconstruction of the Argentine fianncial situation.
- Some people (bond holders) don't want to let Argentina pay its debts.
- My feeling is that they want to bring down our debt restructuring
- If we apply the Griesa ruling and Argentina is obliged to pay the vulture funds, the country will go into default
- We are going to try everything in order to pay [keep paying] the restructured debt
- Some [presidential] candidates propose the overendebted model (a clear reference to Macri)
- This government did not put the country into debt. We have dedicated ourselves to paying for the financial mess left by the neoliberal fiesta.
- They [the vulture funds] shall not pass, they're not going to change the restructuring of the debt
- This judgement says that in order to pay bondholders we have to pay the vulture funds as well, this would push Argentina into default.
- The vulture funds are vultures because they do not negotiate
- If a sentence tells us to commit suicide, we cannot accept it
- We cannot be in a situation again where, in order to pay the debt, hunger will rule
- They're coming for everything, for all the possessions of Argentina
Two volcanoes in South Peru waking up
Chart of the day is...
Tuesday tune: Coolio; 1,2,3,4
A slice of fine oldskool
Remember that strong rumour in February about China's Citic wanting in on Barrick's (ABX) Pascua Lama?
Here was the post.
Now we have this, entitled, "China's top gold firm talking to Barrick, has Friedland 'hotline", about another Chinese goldie talking to the Munkshop. I wasn't joking, y'see.
A Flash update...
...has just been sent to subscribers on this crisp and sunny Tuesday morning, just after the opening bell. Time to do some buying.
Lumina (LCC.v) halted
Update later, but it sounds like they've managed to flog it after all.
Peru GDP growth: Luck runs out
Chart of the day is...
CFK addresses the nation re. bonds
1) How Argentina had got to the position it finds itself in today regarding external debt, with a lot of emphasis on the 1976-2001 period when the dictatorship and subsequent governments took out the "cheap looking" debt, then later restructured it to put the country into hock even further.
2) Gave an overview of what the "vulture funds" are, differentiating their position from those foreign holders who were severely affected by the 2001/2002 default. It's at this point she said that Argentina would not default on its honoured positions (as predicted) and talked of the vulture funds position of extorsion (also right on playbook).
3) Explained in general terms the position of her government to the court decision and decisions the country will need to make in the near future after the US Supreme Court ruling yesterday.
The Cochilco yearbook, out now
Argentina and bonds and defaults and business death and stuff and money: Things the media will show you today (and things they won't)
Argentina will say:
1)We're not in default
2)We'll pay
3)Only US isn't allowing us to pay
4)Creditors line up at new window, we pay
Know your history.
Junior mining success, Solvista Gold (SVV.v) edition
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Jun 16, 2014) - Solvista Gold Corporation ("Solvista" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:SVV)(SVVZF) announces that effective today Miller O'Prey has resigned as President and CEO of the Company to pursue other interests. Mr. O'Prey will remain as a member of the Board of Directors of the Company. Bruce Durham, P.Geo, currently a director of the Company, has been appointed as the new President and CEO of Solvista with immediate effect.
Commenting on the news, Gerry McCarvill, Solvista's Chairman stated, "on behalf of the Board, I wish to thank Miller for his excellent guidance since the inception of the Company. Under his leadership we have made discoveries at both our projects and successfully negotiated an option agreement with IAMGOLD for our Caramanta project that will ensure the advancement of the project while at the same time protecting the Company's treasury of approximately $4 million. We are well positioned to advance the Company's interests in Colombia or wherever we identify opportunities. Given Bruce's broad experience and Toronto base we anticipate that Solvista will be reviewing a host of new opportunities in both base and precious metals in multiple jurisdictions."
Bruce Durham, the Company's new President and CEO commented, "I look forward to building on the solid base that Miller has created for the Company. We have two excellent projects in Colombia, with Caramanta currently under option to a major mining company who continues to aggressively explore the project and plans to commence drilling in the third quarter of this year. In addition, the high-grade gold-silver discovery made in 2012 at our Guadalupe project warrants further exploration. We will continue to review new opportunities with a view to expanding the Company's portfolio of quality projects."
Congratulations, Simon Ridgway
The IKN Weekly, out now
A big day for Latin American politics
It's Sunday morning and polls are now open. As Colombia's post-close fast count system lives up too its name and is a very accurate read on the true numbers, we'll know who's in charge for the next four years in 12 hours' time. For more, this is AP today and here's Colombia Reports yesterday via a guest post in Think Progress
PS: And of course, for news as it happens including real-time coverage in English of the results this evening, no better place than the Colombia Reports main page, right here.


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Brisbane Roar Youth Stadium Hoodie
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