text:
Now showing items 1-2 of 2
Effects of conservation agriculture on runoff, soil loss and crop yield under rain fed conditions in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia
The aim of conservation agriculture (CA) is to improve soil quality and crop yield whilst reducing runoff and topsoil erosion. An experiment was carried out in a rainfed field using a permanent raised bed planting system ...
The use of the marasha ard plough for conservation agriculture in Northern Ethiopia
Indigenous tillage systems are often undervalued in conservation agriculture (CA). In Ethiopia, since the 1970s there have been several attempts to develop and implement often major modifications to the marasha, the ...


text:
Accessories: Jane Pope Jewelry.
Browse through the stunning collection of women's designer clothing at Outletcity. Premium brands you will love. Discover exquisite, high-end brands, and exceptional service. Outletcity Metzingen offers an extensive range of women's shoes, clothing, and accessories, as well as underwear and swimwear. Take a look at the collection of women's shoes available at Outletcity. You can be sure to find something that will like. The range of designer brands will allow you to indulge in fabulous designer garments, ranging from elegant women's designer jackets to a collection of the finest designer handbags.
Today's #accessories are inspired by Miu Miu. Miu Miu is an Italian high fashion women's clothing and accessory brand and a fully owned subsidiary of Prada. All the stores you love. All in one place – Outletcity

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Grey Lodge - Yard ESA
Dawson Street - Victory Uncle Teddy's Bitter, Yards ESA, Yards Poor Richards Tavern Spruce
Standard Tap –
Johnny Brenda's - Sly Fox ChesCo Bitter
London Grill – Yards Poor Richards Tavern Spruce
700 Club – Cricket Hill Col. Blide's Bitter and Yards ESA
Memphis Taproom - Victory Uncle Teddy's Bitter
Nodding Head -
Prohibition Taproom - Yards ESA
McMenamins - Yards ESA
The Abbaye Bar - Yards ESA
The Sidecar Bar - Updates coming soon
Local 44 - Victory Hop Wallop and Bear Republic XP
Monk's -
Kite and Key - Bear Republic Racer 5
Varga - Yards Old Bartholomew and Yards Brawler
Brigids - Yards ESA
The Khyber - Yards ESA
The Abbaye - Yards ESA
Oyster House - Victory HopDevil
Iron Hill - Wilmington -
Delaware Co.
Teresa's Next Door - Troegs Hopback Amber and Sly Fox Odyssey
Boathouse - Wayne - Victory Hop Devil
Chester Co.
Exton Drafting Room - Yards ESA
Victory Brewing Co. - Hop Devil, Storm King, Uncle Teddy's Bitter and Hop Wallop
Iron Hill - Phoenixville -
Iron Hill – West Chester –
Flying Pig –
TJ' s – Yards ESA
Half Moon - Victory Hop Devil, Troegs Dead Reckoning, and Yards ESA
Kildare's - West Chester - Victory Hop Devil
Montgomery Co.
Rock Bottom - KoP - Nightmare on Bourbon St.
General Lafayette - The Olde Curmudgeon and Sunset Red
Ortino's Northside - Yards ESA
Iron Hill - North Wales -
Drafting Room - Spring House -
The Boathouse - Conshy -
Bucks Co.
Hulmeville Inn - Bear Republic Racer 5 with Victory HopDevil on deck.
New Jersey
The Ship Inn - Golden Wheat, Best Bitter, ESB, and Chocolate Stout
Farther Out in PA
Zeno's (State College) - Victory Hop Devil, Troegs Hopback, and Otto's Arthur's IPA
Piper' Pub (Pittsburgh) - http://www.piperspub.com/
Spinnerstown Hotel -
The Farmhouse - Bell's Porter
Iron Hill - Lancaster -
The Bullfrog Brewery (Williamsport, PA) -
Other News:
The Pub and Kitchen will tap a firkin of something from Yards every Friday at 4pm.
Why This Isn't Already Done
5 weeks ago


text:
The site, located on 57th Road overlooking Rust Street, used to house a church on a hill surrounded by trees. It was built in 1847 by the famous architect Richard Upjohn, known for his Trinity Church on Wall Street.
Now, after unsuccessful protests, petitions, the dismantling of St. Saviour's church, and the removal of 185 trees, all that is sitting on the hill are yellow dumpsters.
On 57th Road across from the blockaded site are apartment porches with lush-looking Astroturf and potted trees shackled down by silver chains. An eight-year-old rides his skateboard on his stoop above the grass growing out of the sidewalk cracks - signs that an industrial version of this Old Dutch settlement is in desperate need a park.
Some neighbors of the 1.5-acre site consider it historical land, under which supposedly lie Civil War relics, Spanish coins, and graves. The community does not have a park, and supporters of a park claim the property, now owned by a private developer, is perfect space for one.
Farouk Samaroo, a former solider in Iraq who is running for the Sate Assembly, said, "we need this park, let's win this fight!"
"Maspeth has been dumped on for years," added Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley, who represents the area. "Maspeth needs its fair share of green space."
Christina Wilkinson, who organized the rally, gave out emergency numbers to St. Saviour's neighbors to use when they see any illegal work or dumping on the property.
"St. Saviour's is being closely watched," Wilkinson said. "It too is our neighborhood."
"Our next step is to keep the pressure on the property owner," said Councilman Tony Avella, who is running for mayor. "Bloomberg talks a good show, but doesn't do anything. A ten-minute walk to a park for every New Yorker is a good goal, but I don't see it being done."
The Mayor's Office did not return calls for comment.


text:
Page One
Ambassadors for Whom? Occupy Your Merchant Association, 12-11-12 (News Analysis)
Most people think they're ridiculous, but harmless. They walk around downtown Berkeley in bright lime green shirts identifying themselves as "ambassadors", a new version of an older program which hit the wall years ago as a kind of homeless patrol doling out "services" to some and calling the police on others. The merchant association claims the "ambassadors" work on making the downtown more welcoming.
Their green shirts in Berkeley have the logo of the Downtown Berkeley Association (DBA), which, along with the Business Improvement District (BID), contracts with Kentucky-based Block by Block to execute the program. Block by Block's slogan is "Safety, cleaning, hospitality and outreach solutions for downtown improvement districts." Block by Block currently runs 46 programs in cities from Akron, Ohio, to Yakima, Washington.
What do the "ambassadors" do? They sweep and pick up trash. They clean up graffiti, the definition of which apparently includes anything not officially written by the city or the Downtown Berkeley Association itself, which has the keys to a glass-covered information kiosk by the BART Station for their members' use alone. If you put up a poster about your missing dog, they'll tear it down within seconds claiming it's illegal. They steam wash sidewalks so repeatedly that anyone carrying everything they own is likely to have their few belongings soaked and ruined. But that's not all they do.
Block by Block "ambassadors" are not unionized. They're paid considerably less than city maintenance crews and have fewer if any benefits, so one could argue that they save the city money, albeit at the expense of city workers. But their assignment is wider than picking up the occasional fast food wrapper:
Years ago, when Berkeley's Downtown Berkeley Association changed its name from the Downtown Business Association, it lamented that most merchants were unwilling to call the police and sign formal complaints against "problematic street behavior," behavior which was not specifically criminal but which they felt might discourage shoppers. They even created signs for merchants with a circle with a line through it over an out-stretched hand in an effort to encourage both merchants and customers to call the police on a special phone number if they saw examples of "problematic street behavior" assumed to depress business.
The outrage over the public funding of this effort to target the homeless, who are obligated to exist in public and more often the victims of than the perpetrators of crime, eventually gave birth to Berkeley's Business Improvement District (BID), a private entity which levies an assessment from the property owners within its geographical confines as well as an assessment from the city itself (and thus the public) from public spaces such as plazas. In this way, what was once a public common space becomes a revenue source for the privately run and utterly undemocratic entity, the BID, which then patrols public space and regulates public behavior.
Business improvement districts began in the 1960's and are now a worldwide phenomenon. Enabling legislation at the state level sets the stage for the local business improvement districts, according to Paul Boden of the Western Regional Advocacy Project, one of the few groups which has made a specific study of BIDs. Only 51% of the property owners within the district's confines are required to create a BID, and in some places the threshold is as low as 31%.
Block by Block's particular genius was in crafting a program model that could then be plugged into any town's BID.
"They have a plan, and the plan is to gentrify downtown and make it like a shopping mall," states Boden. "They're self-perpetuating in that they found a funding stream that is pretty fucking limitless."
Berkeley's DBA tried twenty years ago to criminalize panhandling with a law that was first overturned by an outraged public's referendum, then put on the ballot by a council majority, then passed in the next election by a bare majority of voters, and finally tossed out by the courts as unconstitutional. They probably counted on that same bare majority of voters to pass an anti-sitting law, underestimating both Berkeley voters' common sense and a small but dedicated group of civil rights defenders.
The "ambassador" program has had previous incarnations. At one time it was a locally based program that, according to at least one former DBA board member, did occasionally connect homeless people with appropriate services. The decision to outsource it to Block by Block was not, according to the former member, a DBA board decision. The current DBA board tends to be populated more by large property owners than local business owners, and decisions once the province of the board tend today to be made by a smaller, less representative group, according to former staff.
The current "ambassadors" in the Block by Block model treat the poor on public streets as a nuisance. One "ambassador" was recently seen sweeping repeatedly around the feet of a woman wrapped in a blanket on a bench who had all her belongings with her. He swept immediately to her right, then right under her under the bench itself, then immediately to her left, then under her under the bench again, continuously sweeping inches from her body. It's safe to suggest that no well-dressed bench sitter would be similarly treated.
Some of the Block by Block staff was formerly on the street themselves, which the DBA suggests helps establish rapport with poor and homeless people. But the mission, according to former DBA staff, has moved away from connecting people in need with services and toward "moving homeless people out of town," a mission at considerable odds with developing rapport. Boden says this is not unusual. The mission of a BID, he says, is to create the same atmosphere as a shopping mall.
"Take that environment and take that kind of control and plop it down in your downtown. That's what a BID is for," says Boden. There are seven or eight BIDs in San Francisco. There are 37 in Manhattan.
If you're a downtown merchant obligated geographically to pay a fee to the Business Improvement District and you oppose the discriminatory policies aimed at the poor, you can object aloud, of course. You have to be brave enough to weather the potential backlash from the merchant association and participating businesses, some of which might be enthusiastic about relocating the homeless. Business is tough, after all, and the homeless are easier to target than something as nebulous as the economy. The popular narrative that groups of transient youth, panhandlers, and homeless people ruin business is not supported by fact, nationally or locally, but it is the primary narrative you'll hear from both the DBA and, with the exception of Kriss Worthington, Max Anderson, and Jesse Arreguin, the Berkeley City Council.
"Ambassadors" are not shy about relocating unwanted groups. It's their job to engage with people whose "unwanted activities" are not necessarily prohibited by law, but are presumed to depress the vitality of a commercial district, according to Block by Block's guidelines. It may well be difficult to spend several hundred dollars on an evening of dinner and theater without feeling guilty when you have to pass people living as best they can on the street. But the most guilt-ridden downtown shopper should be revolted by the idea that public streets are being cleared for their personal comfort. Clearing the streets of people in need deprives them of their right to exist in public space, and also deprives the larger community, both wealthy shoppers and the rest of us, of the opportunity to see and respond to human need, to realize its scope and take action.
The DBA describes transient youth, panhandlers, and homeless people alike as addicted to drugs and threats to public safety, as the failed anti-sitting law (Measure S) campaign literature made clear. The Measure S language criminalized all sitting by everyone between certain hours, even a kid on a curb with an ice cream cone. Questions about the absurdity of this were met with the assurance that the law would not be used against "those" people, raising additional issues of discrimination. But the point remains that demonizing poor and homeless people helps smooth the way for discriminatory laws, discriminatory practices, and a population deaf to honest human need.
Dr. Davida Coady, director of Options Recovery in Berkeley, defended Measure S's extreme language without embarrassment on KQED's Forum show before the fall election, rejecting the idea that anyone sitting on Berkeley's streets might be just resting for a minute and enjoying the weather.
The city council, even if motivated to do so, would have little control over a BID, which is a private and privately funded entity. But Berkeley's ambassador program does get some public funding. The BID goes before the Human Welfare and Community Action Commission in January hoping for $195,000 from the general fund. If Block by Block's strategic plan is working, there will be a rash of complimentary articles published just before the funding meetings which make the "ambassadors" look like compassionate saints and the Block by Block program seem essential to commercial districts' success. Most newspapers, strapped for local copy, will print the press releases without question.
A May 2011 City of Berkeley report on the "Public Commons for Everyone Initiative" describes the "ambassadors" as having made "a marginal change, if any, in the overall quality of life in the Telegraph and Downtown areas." This may mean a further reduction in funding for the controversial program, or it could mean an even more determined effort to criminalize some other aspect of homelessness now that Berkeley voters rejected the anti-sitting law.
Those who oppose local efforts to make public spaces the sole territory of well-heeled shoppers need to recognize that as revolting and undemocratic as the local politics of greed-based legislation can be, the local campaigns against the poor are just examples of a national program systematizing those efforts coast to coast. Block by Block may tailor Akron's program slightly differently than Yakima's, but the same model is being used nationwide to make sure property owners, often the largest donors to local political campaigns, govern downtown priorities. Berkeley's Measure S, the most expensive campaign in Berkeley's history, was funded almost entirely by large property holding companies which play an influential role on the DBA board and whose representatives were, according to a former staff member, inspired by San Francisco's voters' passage of Measure L, the San Francisco anti-sitting law.
Measure S may have been defeated in Berkeley, but the political pressures that created it are alive and well. Should business interests play the largest role in creating legislation? What can a community do after watching over $120,000 in Berkeley wasted trying to convince people that simply sitting down should be a crime, noting that around 40% of Berkeley's voters supported doing just that?
Awakening the public and the media to Block by Block's and BIDs' tactics are part of what a concerned community needs to do to combat the juggernaut of systematic efforts to attack the human rights of the poor. The other component is leadership that simply refuses to scapegoat the poor, the real victims in both good times and bad. There is a very tangible human cost to allowing greed to play the largest role in our community and our legislative priorities.


text:
What can I say about Jamie Meares? Let's see, she's talented, has fierce style, and is hilarious! You've got to love a girl who can churn out fantastic design work with the best of them without ever taking herself too seriously. Jamie writes the blog, I Suwannee, which is usually filled with lots of eye candy and seriously funny anecdotes. She is also the owner of Furbish Studio, a retail shop with a fabulous variety of furnishings and home accessories. As if that weren't enough, Ms. Meares also works as an interior decorator. Do you know what I love about Jamie? Aside from being a fun Southern girl, she has the vision to really create a signature style for herself. Sometimes I feel like I am all over the place, but when you look at Jamie's store, you can totally see her personality in it. That my friends, is the definition of style.
Name: Jamie Meares
Occupation: Interior Decorator/Store Owner
Hometown: Winston-Salem NC
Current City: Raleigh NC
LDV: What inspired you to begin your career as interior decorator and shop owner?
JM: Getting a pink slip from my big girl job.
LDV: What do you love most about it?
JM: Going to work each day and getting to do exactly what I want to, with whom I want to do it.
{New Custom Trays Available at Jamie's shop, Furbish}
LDV: What is the most challenging aspect?
JM: The most challenging part is remembering it's a business, and not all fun and games and in the end design has got to be profitable in order to be sustainable. If people want to continue to use interior designers they have to accept that not all facets of design can be democratized or we'll all be out of jobs. Whoa, that just got preachy.
LDV: Where do you find inspiration?
JM: BLOGS, Keila - my co-worker (having someone to bring a new perspective to the table is invaluable), the walls of Furbish's bathroom, mags, visiting friends homes
{Bedroom Designed by Mary McDonald}
LDV: Who are some of your personal style icons?
JM: Tory Burch, Mary McDonald, Nick Olsen, Lady Gaga
LDV: How would you describe your own style?
JM: loud, graphic, southern, sometimes masculine, current
LDV: What is the trait you most admire in a person?
JM: a sense of humor
LDV: What is your principal weakness?
JM: I can be very quick to judge (but that's also an asset).
LDV: What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
JM: Quit while you're ahead.... no, just kidding. =)
LDV: What do you consider your greatest achievement?
JM: Taking a huge leap of faith to give doing what I love for a living a shot.
LDV: What is your idea of living "la dolce vita"?
JM: Having a beach house that all of your friends can go to every weekend with approximately four dogs, lots of margaritas, clean sheets, some sort of rope swing over water ... or maybe a trampoline in the water, lots of bookcases, and really nice handsoap and guacamole.
Bloom: Peonies because they are big and pink.
Food: Mexican
Drink: Coffee
Thing to Wear: big ridiculous shoes
Destination: Barnes & Noble
Season: Fall
Meal: something at a fancy restaurant
Musician: Blink 182
Television Show: The Jersey Shore
Book: The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon
Texture: Rowdy's fur
Fabric or Pattern: loud chinoiserie
Color: pink
Scent: mahogany candles by nest
Extravagance: Rowdy, lampshades, and monogramming everything
Quote: "You know, times are changing. Ladies can do stuff now and you're going to learn how to deal with it."
{All Images via Jamie Meares and Furbish Studio Unless Otherwise Noted}


text:
Veterans Park, Milwaukee, WI
LIVE from Veterans Park! The New and Improved Gift
of Wings Kite and Marina cam...now with "Power Zoom"!
It's Kite Time in Milwaukee.
Veterans Park
1300 N Lincoln Memorial Dr
Milwaukee, WI 53202 map
Join the Kite Society of Wisconsin and Illinois
Today! The membership fees are only $10.00 per year! For
more information on the KSW, contact Jeff Kataoka at 414.277.9121!
PS The Kite Society of Wisconsin has a new addition to its
name , The Kite Society of Wisconsin and Illinois. Watch us
May, 2019
The 32nd Annual WILDE SUBARU FAMILY KITE FESTIVAL, presented Summit Credit Union scheduled for Saturday, May 25th and Sunday 26th 2019, MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND. NOW 2 days long! Sponsored by B93.3, FM 102/1 and The Fonz 100.3 FM, Gift of Wings, and the Kite Society of Wisconsin and Illinois. Featured performers include Chicago Fire, The Windjammers, Josh and Zach Gordon, Dan Newman, Paul Koepke, Mike Delfar, and the Giant Kites of Alex and Guy from Montreal, and Jean Lemire. You don't want to miss this folks! The WILDE SUBARU Family Kite Festival will be held in Veterans Park from 10 am until 6 pm on Saturday and 10 am until 5 pm on Sunday. The festival is free with plenty of free parking. The Grand Launch of 500 kites will take place at noon. The Kids Mad Dash will take place at around 2:00 pm. Rhonda Begos will sing the National Anthem. This event will be shown live on the Internet! Kites and food will be sold at the festival. Kick off your Spring with the WILDE SUBARU FAMILY KITE FESTIVAL!
Have an event you want listed?
Do you like our web page??? Do you have an event that you would
like us to mention? Would you like Gift of Wings to help your organization
put on a Kite Festival? Let us know by e-mailing us at email@example.com!
© 2005 Gift of Wings.com Veterans
Park, Milwaukee, WI. 414/273-5483
9955 W. St. Martins Road, Franklin, WI 53132 414.425.8002
Site design by MSE
Banner photos Courtesy of Ian Pritchard,


text:
Welcome to my talk page, <insert name here>. Please leave messages below. Make sure to sign your posts with 4 dashes!
Head.Boy.Hog(Talk To Me)
RE:House Points Game
The game is usually run by Starstuff, but since she hasn't been active recently, it's been kept on hold. Furthermore, there has been some discussion about the game needing some reworking, so unfortunately it's not likely to restart anytime soon. - Nick O'Demus 10:58, February 19, 2011 (UTC)
- Sorry about not replying, your last message kind of get lost in the mix of things I'm still trying to get caught up on. Typically, registered users with enough edits to meet the Voting Policy are given 3 full months from their last edit before being considered "inactive". It will only be about one more week before Starstuff reaches that point, although I'm still hoping she'll return, since I'd really like to get her opinion on a few things. If she hasn't come back by then, I'll open up a discussion on the forums about whether or not the game should be continued, and what changes should be made if it does. Keep an eye on the Wizengamot forums around the 7th or 8th. - Nick O'Demus 16:45, February 27, 2011 (UTC)
- No problem. In the meantime, you can see for yourself here how points were awarded in the previous games, and here where I'd left a message for Starstuff detailing some of the things I'd wanted to get her opinion on. - Nick O'Demus 16:53, February 27, 2011 (UTC)
On it
I got your message, and I left the user a message on her talk page, I'll see what I can do to help! :-) --BachLynn(Accio!) 13:53, March 13, 2011 (UTC)
Thanks! I was really excited! Ummmm wat $1? and where?--BachLynn(Send an Owl!) 00:15, April 2, 2011 (UTC)
Oh, no I used {{USERNAME}} --BachLynn(Send an Owl!) 00:18, April 2, 2011 (UTC)
You can if you create a template for it, do you want me to create the template on the Hogwarts rpg wiki?--BachLynn(Send an Owl!) 00:26, April 2, 2011 (UTC)
That's weird, I tried to duplicate the template on the Hogwarts wiki and it didn't work right, not sure why....--BachLynn(Send an Owl!) 00:45, April 2, 2011 (UTC)
Cool, I just did the main page for snape fan's new wiki. --BachLynn(Send an Owl!) 00:51, April 2, 2011 (UTC)
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! That series, I've read all the books like 5 times each!--BachLynn(Send an Owl!) 01:08, April 2, 2011 (UTC)
It was Jayden who striked you. It was because of lack of article edits (see the voting policy, one must have 20 article edits to be elegible to vote). See your edit count here. -- Seth Cooper owl post! 23:25, April 27, 2011 (UTC)
Re:House Points Game
Hi Head.Boy.Hog,
My activity on this wiki has been sporadic recently due to being busy in real life, so I've kind of gotten behind on a number of things, including organizing the next "term" of the House Points Game. Thus there currently isn't a re-start date set, but I'll maybe try to pull something together in the next few days, and keep you posted. Cheers, ★ Starstuff (Owl me!) 09:46, June 24, 2011 (UTC)


text:
Damn. You all really are going to think I am a single payer advocate, when I wind up defending it from the absurd conservative attacks out there. But I just can't help myself restrain the impulse to rebut the rampant stupidity and disingenuous arguments out there. Kevin approvingly links to the Atlantic's new blogger, Megan McArdle and her argument that a single payer system is immoral.
So, Megan, I "get" the distinction you are making between efficiency and morality. And you're still wrong. As Bucky Katt said, you are so wrong philosophers weep at the sound of your voice.
Her argument is well summarized thusly in her words (combined from both of her posts):
This isn't really insurance we're arguing about; insurance is voluntary. What we're really talking about is a tax. Single payer advocates are looking for the most politically palatable way to tax the young and healthy in order to pay for the health care of the old and sick. [...] A gigantic single-payer system is a pretty blunt instrument; it transfers money from one group, the young and healthy, to another group, the old and sick. It does not distinguish much more finely than that between the deserving and undeserving within that class. [...] What we need to know is whether the class of old and sick people as a whole are much more deserving than the class of young and healthy people; whether our transfers do more good than harm. [...] Are the old and sick needier than the young and healthy? No they are not. They have more assets and less poverty than any other group. [...] Are the old and sick unluckier than the young and healthy? Considering people as beings with duration in both time and space, no they are not. The overwhelming majority of old and sick people were once young and healthy. They got to be young and healthy, and old and sick.
I think this fairly encompasses the heart of her argument, and the bulk of her errors.
Most egregious is her complete inability to understand (or willful distortion of) the fact that health insurance is just that: INSURANCE. The goal of insurance to minimize risk by spreading the risk out among a large population. She attempts, wrongly, to recast the debate as simply that of wealth transfer, and arbitrarily defines the transfer as from the young to the old.
She seems to base her rejection of the risk pooling model on the unsupported statement that "Insurance is voluntary. This is a tax." What crap. Insurance can be, and in many cases is, compulsory. Automobile insurance is required in most states. In my locale, professional liability insurance is required of physicians. Are these also then taxes? The fact that is it required in no wise changes the nature of the program nor invalidates the concept of risk pooling.
Then, having redefined mandatory insurance as a liberal plot to transfer money from one class to another she defines the supposed beneficiary demographic as: old people. Damn old people, always wearing hats and driving slow in the left lane and bursting into congressional hearings and forcing Tom Delay to pay for their lisinopril! Easy to scapegoat, I suppose, but it's a specious association. Sure, there is a transfer of money from all premium-payers to those who sustain losses; that's how insurance works. I pay USAA my auto premium and it goes to someone who gets in an accident. In the case of health insurance, the assets are transferred from the healthy to the sick. It is, however, inaccurate to conflate that with the young and the old. Sure, young people are on the whole healthier than old people. But why not portray this as a transfer from men to women (women have significantly higher utilization of health care? Or from white to minorities (who have disproportionate rates of chronic illness)? Or from the wealthy (who tend to be healthier) to the poor? The demographics associated with illness are only poor and partial approximations of the actual target demographic: the sick.
Which leads us to Ms McArdle's next logical error: the failure to understand the concept of risk. By conflating youth with health and age with illness, she creates a sense of inevitability to illness which would, if that were quite true, lend some support to her follow-up arguments. But she conveniently neglects the fact that there are large numbers of young people who are sick and old people who are healthy. That's the reason we buy insurance: we don't know in advance whether we are going to get sick. Sure, we'll all die eventually. But morbidity and mortality are not completely parallel. I am going to die, but I probably will never need a kidney transplant. Or maybe I will be on dialysis for three decades and get two transplants which fail. Or maybe I'll ski off a cliff and be killed instantly. No way to know in advance what my fate will be (other than the grave promised to us all), so there is risk.
There's not much left to her argument once the above points have been established. But let's pick off the straggling errors, while we're at it, just for the sake of completeness. The other point she seems to not get is risk pooling. She implies that old and sick people, the perfidious parasites sucking off the teat of the virtuous and productive young, fail the 'moral test' of neediness. Old people are rich, right? For the sake of argument I'll buy the tenuous notion that old people are on average wealthier than young people, since it is entirely irrelevant! The reason we pool our risk is that when you become ill, the expense is far beyond what any one individual can bear (regardless of age). A week's stay in the ICU is a staggering cost. Dialysis, bypasses, chemotherapy, any large-scale surgery -- any of these things is beyond the financial capacity of anyone this side of William McGuire. With modern health costs, any ill person (regardless of age) is needy beyond the means of private payment.
And finally, she cannot resist, like the moth to the flame, the conservative tendency to blame the ill for their illness. I'll give her credit, though, she backs off of that point a bit, and at least does not use it as the entire foundation of her argument. And she also concedes that national health insurance just might be preferable to allowing poor people to die by the side of the road. So she's got that in her favor, and I will go on the record as saying she's not evil (as she accuses liberals of labeling her). Not evil, just terribly terribly misguided and profoundly wrong.
22 August 2007
The Morality of Single Payer
Damn. You all really are going to think I am a single payer advocate, when I wind up defending it from the absurd conservative attacks out there. But I just can't help myself restrain the impulse to rebut the rampant stupidity and disingenuous arguments out there. Kevin approvingly links to the Atlantic's new blogger, Megan McArdle and her argument that a single payer system is immoral.
Posted by shadowfax at 11:52 AM
10 comments:
I never thought I would be an advocate for the single payer system but it seems like it is the only way to fix the horrible state of health care.ReplyDelete
I would like to point out that tax dollars already pay for the very poor and those 65 and up, with Medicaid and Medicare. We also have state health insurance programs that covers children from families above the poverty level. Now it is time to make sure that the middle-class doesn't go broke trying to pay rising insurance premiums or with self-pay for health care.
I enjoyed your thought provoking take on the situation.
- Anonymous8/22/2007 7:30 PM
In my locale, professional liability insurance is required of physicians. Are these also then taxes?ReplyDelete
She attempts, wrongly, to recast the debate as simply that of wealth transfer...ReplyDelete
Shadow, any type of single-payer plan is an overall transfer-of-wealth from the "rich" to the poor. All people would get the same thing, but the "rich" would pay a lot more for it in the form of higher income taxes and higher overall payments in terms of dollar amounts. If there was no transfer-of-wealth, then how would the unemployed mamas with 6 kids get their health insurance under a single-payer plan?
While we'll never agree, I feel that anything that needlessly restricts our freedom, such as forcing us to be in a health insurance plan that the government runs when we're perfectly happy with our private plan and private system, is immoral.
I guess I've reached that post-Watergate post-Libertarian age where when I read 'private' or 'market' I don't think 'efficient', I think 'corrupt, but with no oversight or recourse.' Maybe it's just the past six years, I don't know.ReplyDelete
Whether single-payer is the right answer will be determined by the details; frankly, I don't have enough invested in the day-to-day of it to get all dogmatic (I'm a health care consumer, not provider.) My concern is that in an affluent, literate, industrialized country many people who need health care cannot get it at a reasonable price in the current market and it would not be an onerous burden to provide a basic universal level of care. Compare the level of defense spending to domestic programs or all non-defense spending combined and it's blatantly obvious that this country can afford to provide care - it chooses not to.
I have faith that Americans can, if allowed, create an equitable, effective, and well-managed system of care that suits the unique character of this nation.
The morality argument against single payer is specious for the reasons you've outlined; I think a more pressing ethical question is whether health care should be a for-profit industry. I'm all for reducing costs and improving efficiency but I question the ethics of deriving profit from denying care whether by 'preexisting condition', bureaucratic hoop-jumping, or the legal waiting game where - right or wrong - the party with the deeper pockets can bankrupt the other simply by running the clock.
I have a hard time sympathizing with nurse_k's mythical rich whose freedoms are onerously and 'unnecessarily' impinged by having a very small fraction of their income siphoned off to provide care to people not as happy & healthy who don't have access to care at whim.
I pay for guns I'll never shoot, planes I'll never fly, highways I'll never drive, land I'll never visit, schools that will never educate my nonexistent kids, and prisoners who'll never victimize me. Consequently, I don't complain too loudly about the nation's defense, the transportation network, the education system, and the rule of law. This isn't a matter of being a big flame-o liberal - this is about basic human decency, or failing that, the notion that a rising tide lifts all ships. Given how many families are one major health care incident away from bankruptcy and the ongoing economic cost of that, doesn't everyone (especially the rich) get richer if more people are happy and healthy, able to work and pay their debts and contribute to society?
Morality my ass. It's all about greedy entitled white people justifying their shitty treatment of others less white or entitled than themselves with the threadbare spectre of socialism. In certain moods I loves me some Ayn Rand but that doesn't mean she's right.
Single payer is wealth transfer and it is socialism and it is nothing more than a different sort of rationing.ReplyDelete
Kids, invalids, and the elderly are already covered (or can be) under our present socialistic single-payer systems of Medicaid and Medicare. You want to cover the "not so rich" middle class too? By providing them with some nebulous basic level of healthcare? I'm not completely opposed to that concept, but I think many will complain just as obnoxiously as they do now when they see that their basic healthcare doesn't cover _________ (fill in the ever-expanding blank):
Coronary stents? Sorry, those aren't covered. Recent studies show minimal benefit over medical therapy. MRI? Nope...how about a CT instead? Come back next month, we have a slot open then. Back surgery? Afraid not...how about some physical therapy instead; sign up on on this waiting list. Knee replacement? Try some Motrin and get in line. Liver transplant? Are you kidding? Hemodialysis? How old are you? Zofran? Sorry, you'll have to take Phenergan suppositories instead (like the Medicaid folks do now). Remicade? No way, Jose. Provigil? Try some caffeine pills instead.
The socialists won't be happy until we all have the same level of care, because to offer otherwise lacks "basic human decency." How dare the "rich" have access to knee replacement surgery while the average citizen suffers needlessly? Barf.
I suspect that we ER docs might make more money in a single payer system than we do now, because the demand for our services will increase and we'll get reimbursed at least some amount from everyone we treat. I'm more skeptical about single payer from a healthcare consumer perspective than from a healthcare provider perspective.
Can't resist this one:ReplyDelete
Insurance IS a form of wealth transfer between statistically "expensive" insureds and statistically "cheap" insureds, unless they pay different rates based on risk assessment.
Most health insurance programs charge people more for (or excludes coverage in response to) higher risk. Thus, it is not technically a transfer of wealth from sick to poor but is, as you claim, a risk sharing arrangement.
However, most UHC systems don't include exclusions or added costs for high risk. And if you charge everyone an equal amount for health insurance nationwide, you ARE effectively transferring wealth from the low risk people to the high risk people.
(I don't understand where you're going with the "kids get sick, too!" argument. Generally speaking, the elderly are quite expensive to treat in comparison to younger adults. Exceptions don't change the general rule.)
However, there is a way to view UHC as an accurate risk sharing arrangement and not a wealth transfer arrangement. That requires making a lifelong assessment of contribution and coverage, not a year by year one.
Even if you assume that, say, infants and elderly are much more expensive to insure than the rest of us... that doesn't matter. It doesn't matter so long as we know that we are guaranteed coverage for our own lives. if EVERYONE is paying "too little" as an infant or an 80 year old, and EVERYONE is paying "too much" when they're 25, then there is no effective transfer from one class to another.
The obvious problem is that this makes the currently-healthy, middle aged, folks nervous. We'll be asked to absorb the increased costs for kids (which we can no longer take advantage of.) And we'll be asked to absorb the increased costs for the elderly.
But given the vagaries of government, we are not sure that we'll get back what we put in. It certainly didn't work for Social Security, did it? And if I end up subsidizing elderly health care for 30 years, only to have it become less available as I age and need it more, then that IS a tax, not a sharing of risk.
it's blatantly obvious that this country can afford to provide care - it chooses not to.ReplyDelete
apthorpe, in my opinion, hits the nail on the head with this comment. I am far less knowledgeable than most of the people who have commented so far, so my interest is not in debating the details of one system over another (although there is great value in that).
This is what it boils down to: if those of us at the top (which probably includes the vast majority reading these words) are willing to help this much (imagine my fingers about half an inch apart), it will help those at the bottom this much (imagine my hands about six feet apart).
It's kind of like, you give the homeless guy on the street $1, but magically that $1 morphs into $5,000. Now he can rent an apartment, buy new clothes, etc. You have changed his life by giving him something that you really will never miss (and please, I know that this analogy breaks down if taken far enough...what if he's a drunk, what if he's an axe murderer blahblahblah)
So when I read comments like Nurse K's (I feel that anything that needlessly restricts our freedom...is immoral. I just want to give her a hug and say, but there IS a need. The fact that it's not YOUR need doesn't make it go away. Addressing that need is important enough that I personally don't mind the inconvenience it causes me.
If anyone is interested, I'll be out by the campfire hugging trees in my birkenstocks later. Everyone's invited (even nurse K and scalpel :)
Or you could give a junkie $1 and it might magically turn into a $5000 down payment towards his rehab bill.ReplyDelete
Ya think?
La, la la, lala.
"Insurance is voluntary. This is a tax."ReplyDelete
We pretend all too easily that food, shelter, transportation and, yes, the care of a doctor are somehow optional.
Threat of dire financial consequences is a form of duress. Threat of injury or death because of a lack of monetary resources is cruel.
Pity is not optional. When we deny that, we are savages.
I pay taxes gladly when it goes to the greater good. Civilization is founded on a shared risk and a shared protection.
We can afford this. We choose, every day, to partake in this lie: that money = worthiness. We pretend it's the money making the choice. That this is just a cold business decision, based on shifting numbers. It isn't. It is we who decide.
Threat of injury or death because of a lack of monetary resources is cruel.ReplyDelete
Voila! EMTALA is born.


text:
I've never been really good at that. Being still. Oh don't get me wrong. I can veg with the best of them. Blanket, check. Jammies, check. Snack, check. Movie, check. :) Lance and I "talk" almost every Saturday that we don't have anything on the schedule. He wants to get busy doing some kind of work at the farm, and I want to sit on the couch and not have to be on the go. It always ends in a compromise and a discussion again of our expectations of our "days off."
I love to sit and watch a movie or read a book or play a game with the kids. But that's not the kind of still that I'm talking about. "Be still and know that I am your God." Psalm 46:10 "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." Exodus 14:14
Sitting back and letting God fight for me is one of the hardest things I struggle with in life. I am a doer. Definitely a take-charge kind of person. Just sitting back and doing nothing goes against every grain in my being. And I know. I can read your mind right now. "Being still doesn't mean that we do nothing." I get that. I really do. But when it comes right down to it, do I trust God to do it the right way. I know that I can do it, whatever it is, better.
Our adoption journey has almost broken me of that mentality. My first instinct is still to jump first, think later. But more times than not lately, it has just been my initial thought. Then my actions line up with God's will and I put the brakes on and trust Him to handle whatever the situation is. It is sooooo hard. I don't think it ever won't be sooooo hard.
There were several events in mine and Lance's early years that brought us to a crossroads where we either had to be still and trust that God was going to fight for us, or take matters into our hands. It has never been easy for me to give up control. But all of those events added up don't begin to equal all the events of the past 4 years of our adoption journey that have challenged my instinct to fight.
When you answer the call to international adoption, you give up all control. There is absolutely NO parts in the process in which you have control. You are constantly at someone else's mercy. From the US government to schedule times for you to get fingerprinted, to adoption agencies scheduling home studies, to translators being able to work you in to translate your dossier, to the Haitian social services and the black hole that that is, to the orphanage telling you when you can come visit your child, to the Haitian courts legally declaring your child is yours, back to the US government issuing VISAs and passports. Let me assure you; that is an abbreviated list.
We adoptive parents often question, why? Why, God, is it taking so long? Why, God, is our child still in an orphanage? Why, God, did he have another birthday without us? So many questions that seemingly never get answered. But God has taught me so much through the questions. Every step we have gone through, God has fought for us. And we have learned to trust Him and His timing. I have heard all of my Christian life that "God's timing is not our timing." Such a trite saying at times, but oh so true. And knowing that heavenly timelines are not earthly timelines makes it easier to wait on the Lord. Note I said easier, not easy.
I'm thankful for all the questions, and for a God who allows me to ask them. It is those questions that have grown my faith and caused me be content to just "be still." Well, that and seeing God's hand. More on that in my next post. :)
Clear "Smile" Masks
1 day ago


text:
SpyKing Home Spy Software is the world's best-selling computer surveillance product. It secrectly logs all keystrokes typed, chats and instant messages, websites visited, emails read, clipboard activaties, passwords typed, documents opened, windows opened and applications executed. SpyKing Home Spy Software even takes screen snapshots every several seconds, like a surveillance camera aiming at your computer. It displays exact activities, like MySpace, Facebook, computer games, internet searches, online shopping, file transfers, web-based emails like Hotmail, AOL email, Gmail, Yahoo mail and hundreds of others. You can run SpyKing Home Spy Software in Stealth mode. It is completely invisible to computer users. However, it is easy for you to unhide its main program Control Panel with your hotkey, view logs from the CP on the monitored computer directly, or receive log reports remotely via your custom email or ftp server! The reports can be sent as often as you wish, such as every 60 minutes. The software can be password protected to prevent others from terminating or uninstalling it. SpyKing Home Spy Software is great tool for parental control, catching cheaters, monitoring employees, children & spouse, and even investigating crimes.
Back to Internet/Utilities


text:
Wheat futures closed Thursday with most contracts 6 to 7 cents lower. Weakness comes as the US was left out of the Egyptian tender on Wednesday, mainly due to a freight disadvantage. A higher US dollar and general selling in the grain complex also added pressure. Outside of actual shipping data (Export Inspections report) we will not have an update to any Export Sales data until the government is back open. A South Korean importer purchased 65,000 MT of optional origin wheat in a tender on Wednesday. The EU awarded 718,000 MT of wheat imports under their import quota.
Mar 19 CBOT Wheat closed at $5.13 3/4, down 6 1/4 cents,
Mar 19 KCBT Wheat closed at $4.98 3/4, down 6 3/4 cents,
Mar 19 MGEX Wheat closed at $5.64, down 6 1/2 cents
--provided by Brugler Marketing & Management


text:
|Working Group I: The Scientific Basis
|Other reports in this collection
12.3.3 Hydrological Indicators
As discussed in Chapter 2, there is less confidence in observed variations in hydrological indicators than for surface temperature, because of the difficulties in taking such measurements and the small-scale variations of precipitation. There is general consistency between the changes in mean precipitation in the tropics over the last few decades and changes in ENSO. There is no general consistency between observed changes in mean tropical precipitation and model simulations. In middle and high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, the observed increase in precipitation is consistent with most model simulations. Observed changes in ocean salinity in the Southern Ocean appear to be consistent with increased precipitation there, as expected from model simulations (Wong et al., 1999; Banks et al., 2000).
The observed increases in the intensity of heavy precipitation in the tropics and in convective weather systems described in Chapter 2 are consistent with moist thermodynamics in a warmer atmosphere and model simulations. Observed increases of water vapour in the lower troposphere in regions where there is adequate data coverage are also consistent with model simulations. As discussed in Chapter 7, different theories suggest opposite variations of water vapour in the upper troposphere associated with an increased greenhouse effect and surface warming. The quality, amount and coverage of water vapour data in the upper troposphere do not appear to be sufficient to resolve this issue.12.3.4 Circulation
In middle and high latitudes of both hemispheres, there has been a trend over the last few decades towards one phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation/Arctic Oscillation and of the Antarctic high latitude mode, sometimes also referred to as "annular modes", (Chapter 2; Thompson et al., 2000). These are approximately zonally symmetric modes of variability of the atmospheric circulation. Both trends have been associated with reduced surface pressure at high latitudes, stronger high latitude jets, a stronger polar vortex in the winter lower stratosphere and, in the Northern Hemisphere, winter warming over the western parts of the continents associated with increased warm advection from ocean regions. The trend is significant and cannot be explained by internal variability in some models (Gillett et al., 2000b). These dynamical changes explain only part of the observed Northern Hemisphere warming (Gillett et al., 2000b; Thompson et al., 2000). Modelling studies suggest a number of possible causes of these circulation changes, including greenhouse gas increases (Fyfe et al., 1999; Paeth et al., 1999; Shindell et al., 1999) and stratospheric ozone decreases (Graf et al., 1998; Volodin and Galin, 1999). Some studies have also shown that volcanic eruptions (Graf et al., 1998; Mao and Robock, 1998; Kirchner et al., 1999) can induce such changes in circulation on interannual time-scales. Shindell et al. (2001) show that both solar and volcanic forcing are unlikely to explain the recent trends in the annular modes.
The majority of models simulate the correct sign of the observed trend in the North Atlantic or Arctic Oscillation when forced with anthropogenic increases in greenhouse gases and sulphate aerosols, but almost all underestimate the magnitude of the trend (e.g., Osborn et al., 1999; Gillett et al., 2000b; Shindell et al., 1999). Some studies suggest that a better resolved stratosphere is necessary to simulate the correct magnitude of changes in dynamics involving the annular modes (e.g., Shindell et al., 2001).12.3.5 Combined Evidence
The combination of independent but consistent evidence should strengthen our confidence in identifying a human influence on climate. The physical and dynamical consistency of most of the thermal and hydrological changes described above supports this conclusion. However, it is important to bear in mind that much of this evidence is associated with a global and regional pattern of warming and therefore cannot be considered to be completely independent evidence.
An elicitation of individual experts' subjective assessment of evidence for climate change detection and attribution is being carried out (Risbey et al., 2000). This will help to better understand the nature of the consensus amongst experts on the subject of climate change attribution.
Other reports in this collection


text:
Sport Utility
Used 2019 Toyota C-HR LE in Las Vegas, NV #C24679 71
Call Us and let's discuss your question.
Enter you mobile phone number bellow, and someone from Newport Motors will respond with a text to your phone right away.
Don't worry - you can opt-out by texting STOP when you don't want to receive any more
texts from us.
Phone: (702) 718-6274


text:
GORHAM, Maine — When the "culture of masculinity" found in the locker rooms of many men's sports teams goes bad, the results can be tragic, according to the head of the Maine-based organization Boys to Men.
Take the case of former University of Maine and Kansas City Chiefs football star Jovan Belcher, who was reported to have had a history of conflict with women partners before ultimately killing his girlfriend and himself in a high-profile incident last month.
But Boys to Men Executive Director Drew Wing says the same male athletes who take the field or ice in violent sports can be key to reshaping what he thinks have become destructive preconceptions of manhood in today's society.
Boys to Men is a Portland organization led by educators, businesspeople and doctors which offers programs to parents, mentors and students to promote respectful, nonviolent social behavior among boys and young men.
Representatives from Boys to Men and Mentors in Violence Prevention, or MVP, were on hand at the University of Southern Maine's Gorham campus Wednesday for the first of two days of workshops with the school's more than 200 student-athletes of both genders.
"We ask [workshop participants] about gender boxes, and we ask, 'What is your stereotypical male?'" Wing told the Bangor Daily News. "And they often say, 'Heavy drinking, fighting, being the boss, getting a lot of girls.'
"It can be a hypermasculinity that exists in a sports culture, but at the same time, [male student athletes] are in better positions to respond to those stereotypes because they've often already proven their masculinity in many ways," he said.
In a nutshell, the most masculine in what Wing called the "culture of masculinity" are often also the most self-confident, and they have more social currency with which to reject domineering or violent social behaviors.
"There's some research that men who live in those masculine worlds [of sports] are in the best positions to defy those worlds," Wing said.
"We all know violence in society is a growing concern," said University of Southern Maine Athletic Director Al Bean. "There's a lot of violence in society and you have to address it. You can't ignore it."
Addressing subjects such as date rape, bullying and social etiquette in a frank way is precisely what goes on in the MVP workshops, which are given around the country to college and professional sports teams, as well as military groups. And the dialogue is launched by former student-athletes.
"We understand what it's like to be in their positions," said Daryl Fort, a former University of Maine football player who led discussions at USM on Wednesday. "That credibility has been a big part of our success for a long time."
Wing said his organization — which works with groups of all ages and often with children and teenagers who aren't on sports teams — and its partners from MVP "tap into [the student athletes'] sense of empathy" to drive home the importance of treating others with respect.
"We try to think about what they expect for people they know and love in their own lives," Wing said. "We try to get them to think, 'If I don't want my girlfriend or my mom or another person who means so much in my life to be treated badly, why would it be OK to treat someone else like that?'"
Conversations are held with athletes of both genders — at USM on Wednesday, entire teams came into workshops as full units. Wing said that while male athletes are considered to be most immersed in the masculine culture, individuals from either gender can exhibit domineering and violent behaviors.
Importantly, Wing said, individuals from either gender also can learn to be "positive bystanders" and speak up when they see destructive behaviors exhibited by others.
"We look at athletes as leaders on campus and whether female or male, they're going to be bystanders to different situations," said Amy Bowen, a former three-sport athlete at Gordon College in Massachusetts and now one of MVP's traveling advocates. "Really this is about empowering them, giving them tools to stand up and be leaders in tough situations, be the activists that change the culture on campus."


text:
Wolf Reintroduction Program Officials Work to Develop New Coexistence Plan
KUNM August 31, 2012 (posted 09/06/12)
By Carrie Jung
After more than two weeks, the Fox Mountain Pack alpha female wolf is still on the loose, foiling The Fish and Wildlife Service's best efforts to trap and move her to an Arizona Sanctuary. For wolf advocates this is good news, because it's another day she can spend raising her pups. But for ranchers, it means a habitual livestock killer is still an active threat to their cattle. The Mexican Gray Wolf reintroduction program has been controversial since its inception, but a new coexistence plan seeks to fix that...through compromise.
For rancher Corwin Hulsey, our fugitive alpha female has been a significant source of anxiety.
"I've been stressed out, because I know that the minute I turn my back they're going to kill another one."
So far this year, she's killed at least two of his calves and one cow. And while Hulsey has been compensated market-value for his confirmed wolf kills, he says, they're tough to prove and many go unreported. And despite his best efforts to protect his herd, the current program is just not working for him.
"I just can't stand any more losses. I know this year, I'm not going to make anything. I just hope I can break even and keep going."
Sherry Barrett, the Wolf Recovery Coordinator at the US Fish and Wildlife Service says the program, in its current form, isn't working.
"We need a new way of looking at the issue. It hasn't been working well. It's fraught with a lot of conflict among all the parties."
She says, there is still hope for the wolf program though, and the solution may lie in a new plan aimed at coexistence and compromise.
"If we can find a way to resolve the conflict between the livestock and the wolves, I think we'll have a better program in the long run."
The move to compromise isn't technically new, it began about 4 years ago when the Fish and Wildlife Service created the Mexican Wolf Livestock Interdiction Council. The council consists of 11 members with representation from area tribes, environmental organizations, local ranchers, and a few folks from the county coalition.
Right now, the council oversees livestock compensation, paying ranchers like Mr. Hulsey for wolf related livestock losses, but for the last four years they've also been crafting a plan that's much more proactive.
Craig Miller represents the Defenders of Wildlife on the coalition. And he's pretty optimistic about what's happening.
"Some of the ranchers in the Stakeholder Council are those that have been most affected by wolves throughout the course of the program, so the fact that we've reached general agreement about this bodes well for the future."
Miller says the problem with the current method is that it begins with dead livestock, and often ends with dead wolves. The new coexistence plan; however, hopes to avoid that.
"We've developed a conservation performance based payment regime that will help ranchers reduce conflicts and adopt the tools and techniques necessary to live in wolf occupied areas in a way that minimizes their losses and, in fact, rewards them for helping to bring the most endangered land mammal in North America to recovery."
The plan is still in the final stages of development, in fact, it doesn't even have an official name yet, but Miller says the program will be multifaceted, including a baseline payment recognizing the costs of working in wolf territory, as well as incentives and assistance for ranchers who implement conflict avoidance techniques like installing electrified fences, adopting new calving methods, and hiring range riders to watch the herd. Loss compensation will still be a factor, but Miller hopes it's a last resort.
Caren Cowan with the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association agrees that coexistence would be great but...
"We've been arguing over this for 20 years now. Without going back to the drawing board and taking everyone's stake...and I spell that S-T-E-A-K in the process, it's very difficult."
Cowan says she's hesitant to make any official statements about the program because the details of the plan haven't been released yet, but she says anything that takes us in the direction of coexistence is a positive move.
"But until something comes up that can make people whole, and truly whole, it's terribly difficult to be positive about these things."
And by "truly whole" she's referring to unconfirmed wolf kills, the loss from a herd's genetic pool, and stress.
Conservation advocate Michael Robinson says he's also skeptical, because while he supports the preventative measures included in the coexistence plan, the problem is that it most likely won't be mandatory.
"We want to make sure the system isn't set up to be gamed. It works potentially if everyone with the livestock industry in the area is working honestly to prevent depredations."
Robinson says wolves are an integral part of a healthy ecosystem, and in order to support a coexistence plan he needs to see a guarantee that the wolves can stay in the wild…including our fugitive alpha female mentioned in the beginning.
"If you continue trying to destroy this wolf family then it's hard to take seriously any new effort to pump new money into the livestock industry."
The Fish and Wildlife service says the official coexistence plan will be announced in October.
CLICK HERE to listen to the broadcast.
CLICK HERE to make calls urging decision-makers to keep the Fox Mountain alpha female in the wild with her family and to release more wolves.
CLICK HERE to make calls urging decision-makers to keep the Fox Mountain alpha female in the wild with her family and to release more wolves.
CLICK HERE to read more about nonlethal methods that are working to reduce livestock losses.
CLICK HERE to join our email list to stay informed and get more involved with efforts to recover Mexican wolves from the brink of extinction.


text: Sijun Forums :: View topic - All wet...Not wet.. Log in to check your private messages Sijun Forums Forum Index >> Archive : Sep99 - Dec00 View previous topic :: View next topic Author Topic : "All wet...Not wet.." M.A.C.Kjunior memberMember #Joined: 22 Oct 1999Posts: 33Location: England Posted: Wed Oct 27, 1999 12:19 pm I was wondering...... has any 1 got any tips or techniques for making things look wet.... Water poses as a great big problem for me when im attempting to create it...(its all like too random and stuff Water droplets and sweat etc....... I know it is based upon the light reflecting off the water.. but erm... yikes knowing that still don't help all that much. cheers M.A.C.K ------------------ [This message has been edited by M.A.C.K (edited October 27, 1999).] Back to top SPike.CoMmemberMember #Joined: 22 Oct 1999Posts: 194Location: Helsingborg, Sweden Posted: Wed Oct 27, 1999 12:36 pm Reflecting or transparent water isn't such a big problem to cope with IMHO. If you are talking about drips, make drip shapes above where you wan't it. If the background (or foreground) is dark, make the drip dark and vice versa. Also make it as if it was "beveled" if you know what I mean, but keep in mind of the light source. If I had the time I would make some examples, but right now I only have time to reply and view this messageboard. Sorry. Anyone else who wanna show? Cheers! ------------------ Mikael Piotrowski aka. SPike.CoM ------------------------ Natural and digital artist ------------------------ Homepage: http://bounce.to/spike E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com ------------------------ Back to top M.A.C.Kjunior memberMember #Joined: 22 Oct 1999Posts: 33Location: England Posted: Thu Oct 28, 1999 9:57 am That makes sense Thanks Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First Sijun Forums Forum Index -> Archive : Sep99 - Dec00 All times are GMT - 8 Hours Page 1 of 1 Jump to: Select a forum Digital Art----------------Digital Art DiscussionWork in ProgressGallery/Finished Work Miscellaneous----------------Random MusingsArchive : Sep99 - Dec00 You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum Powered by phpBB © 2005 phpBB Group


text:
By continuing to use our site you agree to us using cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
Accept & Close
50-80% off all Menswear!*Shop Now >
Discover the new season's need-right-now threads with the boohooMAN edit of the toughest trends around. We've got garms that'll give your style an instant update – your everyday fashion favorites get edgy with T-shirts in poppin' prints, shorts in shout-about cuts and jeans in the season's most-wanted washes. Dare to be directional in the latest luxe textures – varsity's gone viral with mesh inserts and PU panels make any jacket pop - and don't forget to check back what's New In for your daily fashion dose.


text:
Bama Art House Fall Series: "Prince Avalanche" (2013) at 7:30 p.m. in the Bama Theatre, 600 Greensboro Ave. Tickets are $50 for discount punch card ticket or $7/$6/$5. Call 205-758-5195 or bamatheatre.org.
Northport Farmers Market: 6 a.m.-noon at 4150 Fifth St., in Northport, just past Kentuck on the right. Collards, greens, sweet potatoes, onions, farm-fresh beef and pork and other products
Bama Art House Fall Series: "Prince Avalanche" (2013) at 7:30 p.m. in the Bama Theatre, 600 Greensboro Ave. Tickets are $50 for discount punch card ticket or $7/$6/$5. Call 205-758-5195 or bamatheatre.org.
Northport Farmers Market: 6 a.m.-noon at 4150 Fifth St., in Northport, just past Kentuck on the right. Collards, greens, sweet potatoes, onions, farm-fresh beef and pork and other products
are available. Call 205-657-2502.
Tuscaloosa City Council meeting: 6 p.m. in the council chambers at City Hall, 2201 University Blvd. Call 311 or 205-349-2010.
Terrific Tuesdays Recital Series: 1:15 p.m. in the Alabama Power Recital Hall at Shelton State Community College, 9500 Old Greensboro Road. Featuring Shelton State students in piano, voice, percussion, saxophone, trombone, tuba and chamber ensembles. Free. Call 205-391-2270.
Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee: 5 p.m. at West Alabama Regional Commission, 4200 Alabama Highway 69 North, Suite 1, Northport. For special assistance call the WARC at 205-333-2990.
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute: "Tai Chi": 8:30-9:30 a.m.; "Science for Scientists and Non-Scientists": 9-10:15 a.m.; "Midnight in Paris II": 9-10:15 a.m.; "Media Matters": 10:30-11:45 a.m.; "Emergency Awareness & Preparedness": 10:30-11:45 a.m.; "Under the Covers": Noon-1:30 p.m.; "American Indians, Then and Now": 1:45-3:15 p.m.; "Meet the Orchestra, Favorite Instruments, Their Music and Their Musicians": 1:45-3:15 p.m.; "Paul Newman: An eclectic overview of his films": 3:30-6 p.m.; "Introduction to Ballroom Dancing": 6:30-7:30 p.m. All programs at the Bryant Conference Center. Call 205-348-6482.
Annual Fall Festival: 4-7 p.m. at Brookdale Place Northport, formerly Merrill Gardens at Northport, 951 Rose Drive, near Northport Medical Center. Carnival games, food, costume contest and prizes. All proceeds to benefit the Alzheimer's Association.
Drive through seasonal flu vaccination clinic: 7 a.m.-6 p.m. or until supplies are exhausted outside Belk Activity Center at Bowers Park complex. In case of inclement weather, the clinic will be held inside the Belk Center. Wear short sleeves. No appointment needed. Cost if $5 or free if you have Medicaid, Medicare, or Blue Advantage (card required). Provided by the Tuscaloosa County Health Department. Call 205-562-6900.
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute: "Let's Study Antarctica": 9-10:15 a.m.; "Common Sense Estate Planning": 10:30 -11:45 a.m.; "All about OLLI": Noon-1:15 p.m.; "Absolutely Beginning Bridge": 1-4 p.m.; "Yoga for 50 Plus": 1:15-2:15 p.m.; "Preserving Your Family History": 1:45-3:15 p.m.; "Pumpkin planters": Noon-1:15 p.m. All programs at the Bryant Conference Center. Call 205-348-6482.
Acoustic Night featuring The John Whelan Trio: 7 p.m. at Bama Theatre, 600 Greensboro Ave. Cover charge $10. Call 205-758-5195 or bamatheatre.org.
Stillman College's Religious Emphasis Series: 11 a.m. today and Thursday in Birthright Alumni Hall on the Stillman Campus. Free and open to the public. The guest speaker will be Marvin Frank Thomas, Sr., president/dean of Phillips School of Theology at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta.
Lake Tuscaloosa Opry: 7-11 p.m. at Giles Repair, 12020 Lester Taylor Road, Northport. Live music and dance. Admission is $4. No alcohol or tobacco. Call 205-339-5028.
Crimson Pride Barbershop Chorus rehearsal: 7 p.m. at First Christian Church, 627 Paul W. Bryant Drive. Men of all ages who love to sing are invited. Call 205-758-9711 and leave a message.
Homegrown Alabama Farmers Market: 3-6 p.m. on the lawn at Canterbury Episcopal Chapel, 812 Fifth Ave. Fruits, vegetables, baked goods, eggs, beef, pork, cut flowers, cheese, bread, sweets, homemade herbal teas, soap and canned goods. There will be face painting and other kids' activities, free of charge, as well as live music by Andy Dale Petty. Limited edition posters designed and letterpress printed by local artists will be for sale at the Homegrown Alabama Information tent at the market, as well as 2013 T-shirts, 2012 T-shirts, and reusable tote bags.
"Do you have a plan?" Learn how to protect your loved ones: 2-4 p.m. at Red Oak Legal, PC. Free educational workshop on estate planning and asset protection presented by local attorneys Steve Wiggins and Raley Wiggins. Learn about wills and trusts, powers of attorney, advance directives, living wills and probate administration, whether trust planning can protect assets from creditors, bankruptcy, divorce and/or remarriage, nursing home long term care issues and Medicaid qualification. Registration is required. Call client services coordinator, Ann F. Smith at 205-764-1262 or register online at www.redoaklegalpc.com. Continuing professional education credits now offered for certified public accountants.
Monster Makeover IV closing reception and auction: 6-9 p.m. in the Greensboro Room and Junior League Gallery at the Bama Theatre, 600 Greensboro Ave. Bidding closes at 8 p.m. Free admission. Call 205-758-5195 or tuscarts.org.
Technical Coordinating Committee: 10 a.m. at West Alabama Regional Commission, 4200 Alabama Highway 69 North, Suite 1, Northport. For special assistance call the WARC at 205-333-2990.
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute: "Spanish II": 9-10:15 a.m.; "Short Story Omnibus II": 10:30-11:45 a.m.; "Planning and Maintaining a Confident Retirement": Noon-1:30 p.m.; "Sitting up with the Dead": 1:45-3:15 p.m.; "History of the Bible, The Making of the New Testament": 3:30-4:45 p.m. All programs at the Bryant Conference Center. Also "Woodworking": 9 a.m. -noon at Black Warrior Studio; "Honing Our Skills, Intermediate Bridge": 1:30-4:30 p.m. at Capstone Village. Call 205-348-6482.
Main Avenue Mortuary Haunted House: 7-10 p.m. at 315 Main Ave., Northport. Presented by Townsquare Media and tThe Laser Skin Center. Admission is $15. A portion of the ticket sales will benefit The Boys and Girls Club of West Alabama. Call 205-292-3992 or visit http://mainavenuemortuary.com.
"Little Shop of Horrors": 7:30 p.m. in the Bean-Brown Theatre, Shelton State Community College, 9500 Old Greensboro Road. Pay-what-you-can final dress rehearsal. Proceeds benefits the Charlie Dennis Memorial Scholarship Fund. Call 205-391-2277 or visit www.theatretusc.com.
Tuscaloosa City Schools Parent Visitation Day: Parents are invited to participate at all Tuscaloosa City Schools. All the system's schools have created special events as they welcome parents into the buildings to see what their children do while at school.


text: OWWW AHHHAAAA Mausers!!!!! Love Mausers PICS! PICS! PICS! TAX'S suck, the X put me there for a bit and I had to sell some stuff too. My budget has been smashed by the Buick rebuild but the Mausers tweek my intrest. Engraved, probibly outa my range but ya never know?? I love them.