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Inner burning motor is an exact ignition fuel blend of fluid fuel and air in the chamber drive. The fuel pumped into the supply until it is required, then an auto or another carburetor, fuel infusion system.Carburetor control air and gas blend, the motor is moving. Fuel blends with air at the highest point of the tube, called suction channels prompting chambers. The vacuum made by the stun cylinder Air Base shut the carburetor and admission complex. Gassed in a wind stream of fuel into fine shower or vapor is changed over. Pounds of fuel admission channel in the steam barrel, which lighted.
Every single new vehicle delivered today, furnished with fuel infusion rather than carburetors. Aligned spout fuel burst into the barrels, either in or near gaps in the ignition chambers. As the definite measure of gas infused into the suitable barrel, fuel infusion is more exact to vote less demanding and more steady as a carburetor, with more prominent proficiency, viability, responsiveness and control contamination of the motor. Infusion frameworks are altogether different, however most are electronically controlled and worked.
Superior auto is frequently the air pressure hardware introduced on the motor force yield is expanded. Since the air and fuel stream into the motor, the compressors are driven by the crankshaft. Turbocharger is packed to control the gas turbine fumes.
The fumes framework incorporates fumes from inside ignition motors to diminish or lessen the barometrical motor clamor. Fumes gasses leave the motor in a tube, through the exhaust system and fumes from the fumes gasses.
Risky synthetic responses in the reactant carbon monoxide and the motor oil from water vapor and carbon dioxide created.
A noiseless film great is a shut metal tube loaded with great engrossing material. The greater part of the noiseless film exemplary, round or oval, with gulf and outlet channels on both sides. Those are a portion of the boundaries that lessen motor commotion.
Motor makers are furnished with electronic commotion, which utilizes sensors to test the sound the fumes framework fitted clamor observing. Information sent sound waves through a PC, speakers at the fumes funnel. The framework creates sound waves 180 degrees is not predictable with sound motor. Sound waves peacefully Save Cancel electronic and acoustic signs, so that exclusive low-level warmth in the fumes channel. It is produced in the motor ignition temperatures sufficiently hot to soften iron. Cooling arrangement of the warmth motor chamber and emanates into the air.
In many autos, the coolant flows through the motor. The pump sends coolant from the radiator, warm the refrigerant noticeable all around. To start with was the motor coolant.
Get to know extra please pay a visit to our site: Structural Analysis consultants | <urn:uuid:7b12ea6c-1363-4afc-85e6-d9137103cd56> | {
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Maths Revision Worksheets For Grade 8
Posted on Nov 29, 2018 by Maria Rodriquez
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Related Posts of Maths Revision Worksheets For Grade 8 : | <urn:uuid:558a4a3d-2bcd-4c74-a93c-9a138d5e3f66> | {
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VENICE, Italy Heavy rains and seas whipped up by strong winds have flooded Venice and brought the lagoon city's high-tide mark to its sixth-highest level since records began being kept 150 years ago.
Italian news reports said the same weather system that put most of central Venice under water was wreaking havoc elsewhere in north and central Italy, with some 200 people evacuated from their homes in hard-hit Tuscany.
Shops, homes and palaces filled with water in Venice, and authorities said 70 percent of the city was flooded.
Flooding is common in Venice this time of year, and Sunday's high tide mark of 59.06 inches marked the sixth-highest level since 1872, according to the ANSA news agency.
Movable barriers that would rise from the sea bed to protect Venice from high tides have been in the works for years but will not be operational before 2014. | <urn:uuid:259bd6d0-f9de-489c-a869-589740a5b51a> | {
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Government as the Champion of Justice, Equality, Freedom, and Security
page: 4 of 4
Equality is another basic American value. It has been a part of American political culture ever since the Declaration of Independence observed that “all men are created equal,” which at the time was a very radical and revolutionary idea. Today, as back then, Americans deeply believe that no one is inherently better than anyone else – that we all deserve equal respect and equal treatment no matter who we are. But once again, this is a value that can really only be promoted by government. The equality fostered by government takes several forms. One is legal equality, which was a central concern of the founding fathers and a major focus of many of the amendments in the Bill of Rights. In a democracy, we are all equal before the law. We have the same legal rights and protections – we have the right to a lawyer, a jury trial, property rights, and so on. We have all become so used to these rights of equal legal treatment that we sometimes forget that they only exist because our democratic government mandates and enforces them.
Democratic government also promotes political equality. What separates democracy from other political systems is the idea that all citizens should have the same amount of power. Rich or poor, male or female, black or white – we should all have an equal say over what government does. Instead of rule by those who have the most power or the most money, the ideal of democracy is that we all deserve to share power equally. Government attempts to make this ideal a reality by conducting free and fair elections. In elections, everyone has exactly the same amount of political power – one vote. It is one of the rare situations in life when we all have the same power. This is intended to give everyone an equal chance to determine who will run the government. In practice, of course, other forms of power – such as campaign contributions – also have an influence over who wins elections. But that is exactly why there has been great pressure to enact campaign finance reform – so that the power of special interest money can be limited or eliminated in elections. The campaign finance reform movement aims to make sure that it is the vote – the only power that is allocated equally to all – that finally determines who rules in our government.
Government is also the only societal institution that is in a position to promote another kind of equality – economic equality. There is, of course, a great deal of disagreement in this country over what degree of economic equality is desirable. How much poverty is acceptable in the richest society in the world? Should we try to create more equal economic outcomes, or simply try to ensure equal opportunity? Can we have true equality of opportunity in a society with vast differences in wealth and income – in a society where some grow up in neighborhoods plagued by violence, drugs, and inferior schools? But while we debate these questions about economic equality, what is not debatable is that only government can create more of it. The market obviously does not do this – it is in fact responsible for the growing disparities in wealth and income that we have been experiencing over the last several decades. But government can use a variety of policies to lessen these economic inequalities. Minimum wage policies are, for instance, an effort to raise up those on the bottom rungs of the economic ladder and create more economic equality. The Earned Income Tax credit is another policy mechanism for boosting the earnings of low income Americans. To the extent, then, that we want to address economic need and promote more economic equality, we have no choice but to turn to government.
Freedoms and Rights
When most people think of the defining characteristics of a democratic society – those that separate them from non-democratic societies – the first thing they usually think of are individual rights and liberties. A democratic society is a free society – with freedom of speech, freedom of religion, property rights, the right to a lawyer and a jury, the right to vote, and all the other protections we enjoy as individuals. But what we often forget is that these crucial rights and freedoms are enacted and protected by government. They are created in our state and federal constitutions, and our courts are the watchdogs that we use that prevent our rights and liberties from being violated. (For a more elaborate version of this argument, see the article, “Government as the Primary Protector of our Rights and Liberties.”)
Once again, there is virtually nothing in the private sector that protects these vital liberties. In fact, it is the propensity for private individuals and organizations to create oppressive and intolerable conditions for people that has led to a demand for a steady expansion of the rights and freedoms of individuals in America. Workers have organized and pressured the government to ensure their right to strike and their right to labor in a safe workplace. Environmentalist groups have fought numerous political battles to establish and protect our rights to breathe clean air and drink pure water. Women, the elderly, the disabled, and minorities have lobbied to free themselves from discrimination and segregation in the private sector. All of these groups have worked through government to increase their rights and liberties, and these are only guaranteed through various government policies programs that are created and maintained by various governments.
In short, we rely heavily on government to create and nurture the vital liberties that we have come to enjoy as part of our life in this democracy of ours. This fact, however, is lost on anti-government conservatives. In their view, government is actually the primary threat to our liberties and that is one of the main reasons it must be reduced to a minimum. (For a detailed rebuttal of this allegation, see the article “More Government Does Not Mean Less Freedom.”) I will not repeat the arguments of that article here, but simply point out that while democratic government can at times threaten our freedoms, it more often functions to protect and expand the freedoms and rights of average Americans.
The overall point is this: to the extent that we cherish important public values like justice and equality, we need a public sector strong enough and well-funded enough to make these things a reality. Conversely, attacks that weaken government also weaken it as a force for good in our society. They are attacks not simply on specific programs but on core American values. When a Republican Congress limits the use of class action suits, this limits our access to justice. And a refusal to raise the lagging minimum wage is a denial of fairness to low-income workers. If anti-government zealots succeed in their efforts to cut taxes, restrict social spending, and roll back regulations, we will then have a society that is less just, more unequal, less secure, and more unfair. In short, a less decent and less civilized society. Is this the kind of world we want to live in?
To read more about how government serves as an essential instrument for promoting higher values, see "Doing Good Through Government."
1."Workload of the Federal Courts Grew in Fiscal Year 2008." http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/PIO/news/2009/fedCourts_040109.asp. See also, Brian J. Ostrom, et al., "Examining Trial Trends In State Courts: 1976-2002," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, Volume 1, Issue 3, 755-782, November 2004.
2. Figures from Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Nation Spends $167 Billion On Criminal And Civil Justice Services,” May 2, 2009. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/eande.htm
3. See David A. Moss, When All Else Fails: Government as the Ultimate Risk Manager (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2004).
4. Mark Robert Rank, One Nation, Underprivileged: Why American Poverty Affects Us All (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), p. 93.
5. James Surowieki, “The Risk Society,” The New Yorker, Nov. 15, 2004, p. 40. | <urn:uuid:2a55b589-fad4-46a4-b1a2-ce09c6cffc17> | {
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We are writing a book about the practice, theory, and principles of Forest Farming based on our years of research and successful real-world examples.
Help support our work to document and connect forest farmers and to promote the promise of farming the woods.
We are an agroforestry professor & researcher (Ken Mudge) and an extension educator and forest farmer (Steve Gabriel). We have been researching and educating students, farmers, and landowners on these systems for the past several decades.
We are excited about Forest Farming. So excited, in fact, that we are writing a book about it through Chelsea Green Publishing with an expected release of Spring 2014.
What is Forest Farming?
Forest Farming is an agroforestry practice of growing non-timber crops under the canopy of an existing forest. The practice is both old and new, as historically many traditional cultures around the world have gained their sustenance through forest-based ecosystems.
Forest farming is different from forest gardening, which according to Dave Jacke is "gardening like the forest." In other words, forest gardening seeks to mimic the ways forests work in building a garden in an open space. Forest farming, on the other hand, is "farming IN the woods," using the existing canopy as the context for production.
In the temperate United States, agroforestry currently represents a small fraction of agriculture. That interest is rapidly growing as people look for more sustainable methods of farming. Forest farming offers woodlot owners the opportunity to grow a wide variety of unique and high-value fruits, nuts, mushrooms, medicinal plants, and more.
The income generation potential is very high for some crops (shiitake mushrooms and ginseng, for example), while others are more useful on a home scale. Landowners can make more of their property productive, and may enjoy tax breaks associated with farming the woods.
While Forest Farming provides yields to humans, the practice also encourages sound forest management benefitting the larger ecosystem. Forests maintain soil, clean water and air, and provide critical habitat for a wide array of species. Forest Farming provides a wonderful opportunity to mix production and conversation for the benefit of all.
Because forests can be more resilient than field crop systems in the face of temperature swings, fluctuations in precipitation, and large storm events, Forest Farms are poised to be critical to our future with the rapid onset of climate change.
About the Book
The book is the first of its kind. It is a resource for temperate climate forest farming that discusses context, techniques, and design considerations. The book will enable readers to begin farming their woods for hobby or profit.
Early chapters discuss the history and traditions of Forest Farming including detailed profiles of medicinal, food, ornamental, and tree crops that can be grown in temperate woodlots. The latter chapters include a pattern language, design strategies, and marketing tips to help ensure success.
You can read more about us, and see a table of contents and excerpts and us by visiting: FarmingTheWoods.com
Connect With Us
A big motivation for writing this book is to encourage dialogue and a greater expansion of forest farming in temperate regions. To this end, we are committed to collecting, telling, and facilitating the stories of established forest farmers and to connect them with new forest farmers. We will do this through three means:
1. Survey: Are you Forest Farming? Visit our website (http://FarmingtheWoods.com) for our survey of existing forest farmers. Help us document the stories and experiences of your work. The information will be entered into a database and presented as a free online directory and map.
2. Blog: Our blog at FarmingtheWoods.com will feature stories of the farms and people we visit.
3. Forest Farming Listserv: The Forest Farming Growers listerv helps practitioners new and old share advice, stories, and resources with each other. Sign up for this free email list at FarmingtheWoods.com.
What We Need
We want to visit and document many real world examples of Forest Farming in the Eastern and Midwestern US. We will interview forest farmers, document their sites, and write up case studies. Much of this information will be presented in the book, but also available as a free online map and database resource at FarmingtheWoods.com.
These free tools will to foster connection and collaboration among all who are learning to farm the woods. Your generous contribution helps us with travel and research of case studies. The face-to-face interviews and onsite examination of forest farmers and their land will provide crucial information and learned wisdom for the book and our website.
Your gift also pays for the development of the free online database and map. The book will be for sale, but the database will be a free public resource online, available to anyone interested in farming the woods.
What You Get
We deeply appreciate your support. Your donation will help encourage sustainable woodland use and a thank you perk from us. (see sidebar, right)
Other Ways You Can Help | <urn:uuid:ec44d6ea-7f9d-4833-a0a9-8105641d247f> | {
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Teachers are using the new WIDA standards to plan specific support for each EL learner in their school. Shown here, CY teachers are color coding students based off of formative assessment data to help provide further writing interventions. Using the grade level Can Do descriptors, teachers are placing students into categories and will use the descriptors to differentiate their writing instruction. This is a great example of what our teachers do to plan and prepare for ALL learners. THIS is why we are an ‘A’ school district! | <urn:uuid:447fce78-64ba-40f6-a85c-667ba4b8efa6> | {
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Topic: Powerful Earthquake in Japan
- TEPCO reports nuclear fuel meltdown at Fukushima No. 1
- Japanese Imperial couple to visit Fukushima province
- TEPCO detects dangerous radiation level at Fukushima No. 1 reactor
- Engineers continue monitoring radiation at Fukushima
- Damage levels at the Fukushima I nuclear power plant
- Radiation checks in Fukushima
- Situation near the troubled Fukushima I nuclear power plant
- Blast at Japan's Fukushima No.1 nuclear plant
- The Fukushima I nuclear power plant
- Reconstruction: Fukushima-1 Nuclear Power Plant accident, Japan
- Flying robots provide video from Fukushima power plant
- Footage released of inside Fukushima’s crippled nuclear power plant
The Japanese authorities have started evacuation of people who live outside the 20 kilometer radius from the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, NHK TV channel reported on Sunday.
Families with babies and children up to kindergarten age and pregnant women are the first of the 7,700 residents of two towns to evacuate, the TV channel said.
Municipal officials have said they have secured temporary housing for almost all of the residents who want it.
Some farmers cannot evacuate soon as they have not been able to find places to move their cattle. Some families cannot move together to designated temporary housing or cannot decide on the place to go as they would be far from work or school, the TV channel said.
The Japanese government has expanded the evacuation zone around the plant to areas where cumulative radiation levels are 20 millisieverts or higher per year, the TV channel said.
An earthquake and a tsunami that swept northeastern Japan two months ago damaged the cooling system at Fukushima, which resulted in serious meltdown. In mid-April, Japan's nuclear authorities assigned the highest level of danger to the Fukushima nuclear disaster for the first time after the devastating Chernobyl nuclear accident in the Soviet Union in 1986.
MOSCOW, May 15 (RIA Novosti)
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Image Galleries: Liliger Cub at the Novosibirsk Zoo and Other Animal News
Infographics: Global Warming: Predicting Future Disasters
Cartoons: Polar Explorer Day
The growing outright rivalry between the United States and China gives Russia more foreign policy weight, enabling it to assume the role of a balancer. So far it has been doing so rather skillfully. Today it may participate in a joint naval exercise with China that Beijing positions as outwardly anti-American. But tomorrow it can team up with the naval forces of the Old World. | <urn:uuid:5bbf7264-091b-456c-a34a-db36235c8e53> | {
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View a selection of implementation strategies from educators who are successfully using ALEKS to achieve dramatic learning outcomes.
Submit your ALEKS implementation strategy by completing our online survey.
Clovis High School, Clovis Unified School District
Grade(s): 9 - 12
Scenario: Computers in Classroom
Purpose: Intervention, Exit Exam
ALEKS Portion of Curriculum: 60%
Time Spent in ALEKS: 2 hours per week, 160 hours per term
ALEKS Course: Mathematics - LV 4 (with QuickTables), California Algebra 1, Algebra 2
Dawn Zinger-Corley, Teacher
ALEKS has helped scaffold math skills in order to move my students through the Algebra curriculum. It is helping my students pass the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) and receive their diplomas.
What challenges did the class or school face in math prior to using ALEKS?
I needed to increase the number of students passing the math portion of the CAHSEE.
How many days per week is class time dedicated to ALEKS?
4 days per week.
What is the average length of a class period when ALEKS is used?
How do you implement ALEKS?
Students use the program to increase skills.
Do you cover ALEKS concepts in a particular order?
Yes, I follow the order of the textbook we use.
How do you structure your class period with ALEKS?
I teach the standards and use ALEKS for re-teaching and assessment.
How did you modify your regular teaching approach as a result of ALEKS?
I use ALEKS to generate sample questions and project these for the class to work on.
How often are students required or encouraged to work on ALEKS at home?
When they are absent.
How do you cultivate parental involvement and support for ALEKS?
I send home monthly progress reports with the ALEKS pie chart.
Is ALEKS assigned to your students as all or part of their homework responsibilities? If so, what part of the total homework load is it?
How do you incorporate ALEKS into your grading system?
The number of objectives students complete equates to the points they receive for their grade.
Do you require students to make regular amounts of progress in ALEKS?
Yes, they have to reach a required number of objectives each week.
Since using ALEKS, please describe the learning outcomes or progress you have seen.
Math skills have increased and test scores are improving! Students have commented that they enjoy seeing the number of mastered skills increase each week.
Are there any best practices you would like to share with other teachers implementing ALEKS?
Alternate between ALEKS to live, modeled teaching. | <urn:uuid:3f9f3440-5bad-4779-8976-1b09f6aea0a7> | {
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The cost of building a hydrogen fueling infrastructure is an often debated subject. Critics say the costs are too high especially when only a few number of vehicles have been built. Carmakers say they don’t want to built more cars until an infrastructure is in place in which to refuel their cars. This is called the classic “chicken and the egg” syndrome.
Most of the hydrogen fueling infrastructure to date is located in California. A couple of days after the California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced a cut in the number of hydrogen vehicles required by automakers, a hydrogen refueling station was opened in Sacramento, making it California’s 25th such station. Ten other refueling stations are planned and so far four stations have been decommissioned. This year CARB is offering $7.7 million in funding for the building of new hydrogen fueling stations in California.
But, the question remains, will there be any takers for this offer? According to CAH2NET, “The challenges encountered in 2007 generally stem from a lack of interest in State incentives on the part of traditional fuel providers due to perceived challenges of contracting with the State. Unfortunately, none of the major energy companies involved in the CaH2Net or with hydrogen activities in the State opted to respond to program incentives for developing hydrogen fueling infrastructure in California.”
So, if government regulators can refrain from over-regulating this fledgling industry and instead offer decent incentives to aid in its growth, how much will rolling out a hydrogen infrastructure nationwide cost? The high estimates come from a 2002 report by the Argonne National Laboratory where they state the costs will be upwards of $500 billion for such a rollout.
Other estimates are far lower, however. The Rocky Mountain Institute has projected costs for a nationwide rollout to be in the neighborhood of $4.1 billion for decentralized stations. Obviously, there is a large disparity between these numbers.
One of the sticking points may be the number of pumps required. Do we need to replace gasoline pumps with hydrogen pumps on a 1 to 1 ratio or will another number work, especially in the beginning as hydrogen cars are first starting to be adopted.
In California, for instance there are over 9,500 retail gasoline stations, but some public agencies are calling for as few as 500 hydrogen stations (the same amount as current diesel stations) needed to cover the state. If only 500 stations are needed then the total cost for those stations would be around $126 million.
Larry Burns of General Motors has a different take on how much it will cost for a nationwide rollout of hydrogen fueling stations. According to Burns, “A network of 12,000 hydrogen stations in the United States would put 70 percent of the U.S. population within two miles of a fueling station. If the stations cost $2 million each (estimates for the cost of a station range from $1 million to $4 million) the network would cost about $24 billion.”
These current estimates are more in line with today’s realities than those made in 2002. And, just consider this. Even if the $500 billion estimate from 2002 was accurate, right now we have spent $509 billion on the Iraq War with the costs climbing every second.
For this price tag, we could have avoided a war and been driving on a national hydrogen transportation system today. So, the future of hydrogen cars is not as far off or as costly as some would make it seem. It’s just a matter or priorities and political will. Whether or not we have a political leader who is willing to step to the plate to make hydrogen happen is something that remains to be seen. | <urn:uuid:8e9fb8c2-7d21-4b29-90a8-328d627cd655> | {
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Houseplants can brighten up your living space and create a lively environment to overcome the winter doldrums. Their warm colors, unusual shapes, and fragrant blossoms offer a therapeutic benefit and improve the indoor air quality. Another advantage of houseplants is their low maintenance and adaptability to varying indoor conditions. Though many houseplants appreciate bright sunlight, there are some houseplants that can adapt to low light areas in our home or office areas like dim hallways, or on a reception/office desk. Generally, areas that are a few feet away from a north window, 3-10 feet away from an east/west window, or 15 feet away from a south window are considered low light areas. Here are some common houseplants that can tolerate low light conditions at an indoor temperature ranging from 65-75°F.
Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema)
An excellent foliage houseplant for dimly lit places. It can be used as an individual plant on a table top or in combination with other houseplants in an indoor planter, or can be grown directly in water. Chinese evergreen has silvery and green color foliage, is slow growing, needs rich, loamy soil, and prefers infrequent repotting (every 3 years in spring).
Grape Ivy (Cissus rhombifolia)
An ideal houseplant for containers or hanging baskets with its glossy, tri-foliate vines trailing and cascading from the pot. It is a tough houseplant that can handle neglect and poor growing conditions. An excellent choice for office settings.
Heart-Leafed Philodendron ( Philodendron scandens var. oxycardium)
Most popular houseplant that can be trained to climb on a pole, spill out from a hanging basket, or be kept bushy in a container by pinching its tip. An excellent low light tolerant houseplant, as long as the room temperature doesn't drop below 65°F and the soil is kept moderately moist.
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum sp.)
One of the few foliage houseplants that can flower in low light. It produces lance-shaped, dark green glossy foliage with a long lasting white spathe-like flower on a slender stalk.
Snake Plant (Sansevieria sp.)
If nothing else succeeds, grow a snake plant, a tough houseplant that can tolerate dim light, periodic dry conditions and rarely needs repotting. It produces thick, erect sword-like leaves with yellow or light green edging and bands of green. It can be used in groups as a background for other small foliage plants, or as an individual plant for its tall, striking appearance in containers.
Other house plants that can adapt to low to moderate light conditions are pothos or devil's ivy (Epipremnum aureu), spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum), Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica), Cast Iron Plant (Aspidistra elatior), and Parlor palm (Chamaedorea elegans) | <urn:uuid:291481f0-82fd-4b17-b7d9-7ead71595118> | {
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Scientific Name: Mixed Tall Sedge Fen State Rank: S4
- Community Description
- Soil and Site Characteristics
- Similar Types
- Conservation, Wildlife and Management Considerations
- Characteristic Plants
- Associated Rare Plants
- Associated Rare Animals
- Examples on Conservation Lands You Can Visit
Community Description: Expanses of tall sedges and grasses grow on saturated peat, with the silvery hue of slender sedge, typically the dominant species, often visible from a distance. Beaked sedge and lake bank sedge are also characteristic; the ubiquitous bluejoint is often present in small amounts. Tussock sedge may be present in small amounts but does not form dense tussocks. The herb layer is often continuous, and whatever shrubs occur are usually below or mixed in with the graminoid cover, except for an occasional alder or meadowsweet protruding above. Dwarf shrubs are usually <50% cover and always less abundant than the herbs. The bryoid layer varies from sparse to almost continuous, inverse to the amount of standing water. Back to top.
Soil and Site Characteristics: In wetland basins, this fen type occurs as part of a peatland or on peaty deposits adjacent to open water in a minerotrophic setting. The substrate is always saturated and is often flooded at high water. Sites are acidic to circumneutral (pH 4.8-6.8). Back to top.
Diagnostics: Tall peatland sedges, including slender sedge and beaked sedge, are dominant. Grasses such as bluejoint are present. Sites are often adjacent to open water. Sweetgale, leatherleaf, and meadowsweet, if present, are subdominant to the sedges. Back to top.
Similar Types: Sweetgale Fens share many species and can occur in similar settings but are strongly shrub dominated rather than herb dominated. Other graminoid dominated fen types feature different, less robust sedges, and usually have a more developed bryoid layer. Sedge Meadows can occur in similar settings but are strongly dominated by tussock sedge. Grassy Shrub Marshes can share some species, but occur on mineral substrates or on a thin organic layer over mineral soil, rather than on peat. Back to top.
Conservation, Wildlife and Management Considerations This community type is well represented in Maine and is fairly stable in extent, with several examples on public lands and private conservation lands. Impoundment or draining would have negative impacts on hydrology and on vegetation. Slow vegetation growth rates, due to the nutrient poor environment, result in slow recovery from physical disturbances. Degradation from recreational use is unlikely, because of the unstable substrate; but if disturbance, such as foot traffic, is a necessity, traversing during frozen conditions or using boardwalks can minimize impacts.
In southern Maine, these wetlands may provide habitat for several rare reptiles including ribbon snakes, Blanding’s turtles, and spotted turtles. The rare ringed boghaunter dragonfly, restricted to the southern part of the state in York and southern Oxford Counties, is found in this community, especially in very wet locations with peat moss often suspended in the water column. The black meadowhawk, an uncommon dragonfly of open fens and marshes, may also be found in this community. Sites in northern Maine may be inhabited by the subarctic bluet, an uncommon damselfly that inhabits open marshes and fens and reaches the southern edge of its range in northern Maine. Back to top.
Distribution: Statewide. Probably extends throughout northern New England, New York, and adjacent Canada, but not well documented. Landscape Pattern: Small to Large Patch. Back to top.
- Dwarf Shrub
- Large cranberry*
- Beaked sedge*
- Lake sedge*
- Inflated sedge
- Silvery sedge
- Slender sedge*
- Three-way sedge
- Tussock sedge
- Yellow loosestrife
- Sphagnum mosses*
- Blanding's turtle
- Ribbon snake
- Ringed boghaunter
- Spotted turtle
|Fourth Machias Lake, Duck Lake Public Lands||Hancock Co.|
|Jones Pond, Bigelow Preserve||Franklin Co.|
|Killick Pond Wildlife Management Area||York Co.|
|Saco Heath Preserve||York Co.| | <urn:uuid:6185dccf-47f0-44f4-8f91-cc5d6bef52b4> | {
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Jefferson Blackwell - A fur trader
who worked with John Gannt
in the upper
Benjamin Louis Eulalie de Bonneville (1796-1878) - A
French-born army officer, frontiersman and explorer of the
is best known for blazing portions of the
(1734-1820) - Frontiersman, pioneer, surveyor and Indian Fighter
who blazed the trail known as the Wilderness Road in 1775.
(1796-1836) - An aggressive frontiersman, pioneer, explorer, and commander of
the volunteers at the Alamo,
where he died.
Alexander K. Branch
(1798-1841) – Also known as Jose de Jesus Branch, he was frontiersman and
trapper who worked in the southwest and the
Francis Ziba Branch
(1802-1874) - Sailor, trapper and trader, he was one of a group who opened what
became known as the Old Spanish Trail from New Mexico to California.
Elias Brevoort (1822-??) - Frontiersman, trader, and author, Brevoort was well
acquainted with the Santa Fe Trail and southwest.
James Bridger (1804-1881) - An accomplished trapper, scout, and mountain man, Bridger was one of the first non-Indians to see the natural wonders of what would become Yellowstone
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo (?-1543) - A Spanish or Portuguese
was the first European to explore the Californian coast
(1804-1879) - Fur trader, merchant and
Commissioner, he often worked with
Christopher "Kit" Carson (1809-1868) -
Carson was a
daring and brave explorer, mountain man, trapper, scout,
soldier, and buffalo
Sebastiao Melendez Rodriguez Cermeno
(1560?-1602) - A Spanish navigator and
was Portuguese by birth.
Charbonneau (1767-1843) -
A French-Canadian explorer and trader, and a member of the
Lewis and Clark
Expedition, best known as the husband of
Chardon (1795-1848) - A
who became part of the Upper Missouri
Outfit of the
- Early French traders and trappers who operated west of
the latter part of the 1700s and early 1800s.
(1770-1838) - Explorer and geographical expert who co-lead the
Lewis and Clark
John Colter (1774?-1813)
Frontiersman, explorer, fur
trapper, mountain man, and army scout credited with the being the discoverer of
Columbia Fur Company
(1821-1827) - Started by former
members of the
North West Company,
the firm did well and was bought out by the
Company in 1827.
Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) -
explorer who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492,
hoping to find a route to India. He is credited with discovering the
Americas; but, that is probably not true, as it appears the
Vikings were here centuries before.
Francisco Vasquez de Coronado
(1510-1554) - Spanish ruler,
explorer and conquistador. He was the first European to explore North
Hernando Cortes (1485-1547) - He was a Spanish Conquistador who
led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and
brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the
King of Castile in the early 16th century.
William Craig (1807-1869) -
A frontiersman and trapper, Craig worked along with other better known traders
(1786-1836) - Frontiersman, explorer, and American folk hero,
represented Tennessee in the U.S. Congress, served in the
Texas Revolution, and died at the age of 49 at the
Battle of the Alamo.
Culbertson (1809-1879) - Fur trader and buffalo hunter who worked with famed
trader, Kenneth McKenzie.
Day (1770?-1820) - A fur trapper and frontiersman, he worked for both
American Fur Company and the
North West Company.
Edward De Morin (1818-1902)
- Trapper and Trader who worked for the
Hernando De Soto (1496?1542) - Hernando de Soto
was about thirty-six years of age when he was appointed adelantado of
He was "a gentleman by all four descents," and had recently been created by the
Emperor, a knight of the order of Santiago.
Joseph Dickson (1775-1844) -
One of the first known mountain men, he, along with Forrest Hancock,
Lewis and Clark
Andres Dorantes de Carranza
(1500?-1550s) - An early Spanish explorer, de Carranza was a native of
the southwestern Castilian town of Gibraleon, Spain.
- He was the first known person born in Africa to have arrived in
the present-day continental United States.
Continued Next Page | <urn:uuid:e67553b1-2bb3-4ec6-af1f-62c93b997231> | {
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The patadyong is a pre-Spanish clothing item or loose skirt worn by Filipino women particularly in the lowland regions of the Visayas. In terms of function, it is similar to the “sarong” or “malong” used in Mindanao in southern Philippinesa nd Indonesia. But instead of the batik patterns, the patadyong has a checkered, colorful design or patterns.
Like the malong, the patadyong has a variety of uses. Primarily, women used it as a tucked-in skirt topped by a kimona (thin cotton blouse). Women in the countryside or rural areas wear or used the patadyong as a sort of kerchief, shawl or even to shade or cover themselves from prying eyes. In bygone days when washing or bathing in rivers were commonplace, women hold a piece or one end of the patadyong with their teeth or free hand, while soaping and cleaning their body with another hand. It may looked clumsy but it works by providing a bit of privacy.
Today wearing patadyong is often limited or seen in folkloric performances and dances, and is considered as more of a costume than everyday wear like it used to be.
Long live Philippine clothing traditions! | <urn:uuid:200b591f-a421-430c-b66a-5a0bfc04eedc> | {
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CAMBODIAN MEKONG UNIVERSITY ASIAN CULTURE GROUP PRESENTATION THAILAND LECTURER: TOUCH PUTHY PRESENTED BY Mr. HIN BUNMY ID:1256100414 Mr. ONN CHOMRONG ID:1258100399 Mr. SAN TANGLENG ID:1258100316 Mr. LONG PANHA ID:3125100042 Mr. HE RATANA ID:1258100379 Mr. ORM SOKHOEUN ID:1258100273 Miss YEK CHHUNLIN ID:1256100119 Miss HOUT SOCHEATA ID:1257100684 Miss SEM CHANNARATH ID:1257100332 Miss KHEANG SONITA ID:1256100568
THAILAND Thailand located in the centre of mainland Southeast Asia. Located wholly within the tropics, Thailand encompasses diverse ecosystems, including the hilly forested areas of the northern frontier, the fertile rice fields of the central plains, the broad plateau of the northeast, and the rugged coasts along the narrow southern peninsula.
THAI FLAG The RED represent the blood spilt to maintain Thailands independence.The WHITE standsfor purity and the Buddhism which is the main religion. The BLUE is Thailandsnational color and it represents the Thai monarchy.
THAI NATIONAL SYMBLES NATIONAL EMBLEMGOLDEN SHOWER TREE NATIONAL ANTHEM ROYAL ANTHEM SALA THAI WHITE ELEPHANT
THAI COTE OF ARMS Since ancient time, the Kings of Thailand havetraditionally taken the title of Rama, a reincarnation ofVishnu on this world. Therefore, themythical bird of Vishnuhas been used as the Royal symbol and later as the national seal and the seal of the government of Thailand. GURUDA
LANGUAGEThe official language of Thailand is THAI. Other languages such as the LAO dialect of Isan, YAWI dialect of Malay Muslims and CHINESE dialects. Numerous tribal languages such as those belonging to the Mon-Khmer family, such as MON, KHMER, VIET and MLABRI Austronesia family, such as CHAM, MOKEN ORANG and ASLISino-Tibetan family, such as LAWA, AKHAN and KAREN; and other TAI languages such as NYAW, PHU THAI, and SAEK. ENGLISH is a mandatory school subject, but the number of fluent speakers remains very low, especially outside the cities.
EARLY HISTORY After the fall of the Khmer Empire in the 13th century, various states thrived there, such as the various Tai, Mon, Khmer and Malay kingdoms, as seen through the numerous archaeological sites and artifacts that are scattered throughout the Siamese landscape. Prior to the 12th century however, the first Thai or Siamese state is traditionally considered to be the Buddhist kingdom of Sukhothai, which was founded in 1238.
MAJOR TURNING POINTTHAI CULTURE AND STATE (13TH CE TO PRESENT) - POST-KHMERThe post-Khmer times can be broken into three parts: the Sukhothai and Lan Na Thai Period (1238 - early 1400s), the Ayutthaya period (1350-1767), and the Chakri dynasty (1782 to present).
BRIEF HISTORY Thailand dominant culture is believed to have arrived with tribes whomoved down from southern China almost a thousand years ago. Theysettled in what is now northern Thailand before expanding south to the rich plains and valleys, gradually asserting their independence from existing Khmer and Mon Kingdoms.
MATERIAL CULTUREThai food (colorful, inexpensive, full of flavor) often spicy and always available - you just cant beat it. There are five flavors which make up every Thai meal - hot (spicy), sweet, sour, salty and bitter. THAI FOOD
THAI DRINKSTHAI BEER is becoming quite expensive in relation to the cost of otherconsumer activities.THAI LIQUORS come in cheaper varieties such as LÂO KHÃO, or whiteliquor, of which there are two broad categories: legal and contraband.THAI WINE is on the rise as Thais become increasingly interested in wine-drinking.THAI SPIRITS are also becoming famous. Rice whisky is a big favorite inThailand and somewhat more affordable than beer for the average Thai.
ECONOMIC PATTERNS Thailand exports an increasing value of over $105 billion worth ofgoods and services annually. Major exports include Thai rice, textiles and footwear, fishery products, rubber, jewellery, cars, computers and electrical appliances. Thailand is the worlds no.1 exporter of rice, exporting more than 6.5 million tons of milled rice annually.
ARCHITECTURE The Sukhothaiperiod (13th-14th centuries) is regarded as a period of notable achievement in Thai culture, withbig advancements made in art and architecture. The city of Sukhothaiitself is said to be an expansion of the decorative style typified by Khmer works.
TECHNOLOGYThailand, is developingrobotic waiters that can take your order and deliver it to your table as part of the “MK Robot Project”.In 2009, Thai-based CTAsia Robotics has built 10 meet-and-greetrobots (nicknamed Din Sow) at a cost of1,000,000 THB ($30,000 USD) each. DIN SOW
SOCIAL CULTURE Thai family has a hierarchy with theparents at the top of it.Children are educated to always honor their parents and to thank them for the time and money spent for education. Children shall have gratitudetowards their parents. The worst insult for a Thai people is to be deemed ungrateful. FAMILY AND KINSHIP
MARRIAGE Thai marriage ceremonies between Buddhists aregenerally divided intotwo parts: a Buddhist component, which includes the recitation of prayers and the offering of food and other giftsto monks and imagesof the Buddha, and a non-Buddhist component rooted in folk traditions, which centers on the couples family.
POLITICAL RELATIONSHIP The politics of Thailand are currently conducted within the framework of a constitutional monarchy, whereby the PrimeMinister is the head of government and a hereditary monarchis head of state. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislative branches.
IDEOLOGICAL CULTURE 94.7% of Thais are BUDDHISTS . MUSLIMS at 4.6%.CHRISTIANS, mainly Catholics, represent 0.8%. There are alsosmall community of SIKHS, JEWISH and HINDUS in Thailand. RELIGIOUS PRACTICE
WAY OF LIFE Thailand is a modern country firmlyestablished in the 21st century. Despite this, there remain examples of lifestyles that have existed forcenturies and continue to exist despite the advent of modernity.
PHILOSOPHY Over 90 percent of Thais follow Theravada Buddhism (a branch of Hinayana Buddhism), and Buddhism is the most powerful force in the nations culture. In keeping with Buddhist teaching, we are a peace-loving nation.
ARTS Dance in Thailand is the main dramatic art form of Thailand. Thai dance, like many forms of traditional Asian dance, can be divided into two major categories that correspond roughly to the high art (classical dance) and low art (folk dance) distinction.DANCE
THAI MUSICThe music of Thailand reflects its geographic position at the intersection of China and India, and reflects trade routes that have historically includedPersia, Africa, Greece and Rome. Thai musical instruments are varied and reflect ancient influence from far afield - including the KLONG THAP andKHIM (Persian origin), the JAKHE (Indian origin), the KLONG JIN (Chinese origin), and the KLONG KAEK (Indonesian origin).
PERFORMANCE ARTS The traditional performing arts in Thailand provide an excellent insight into Thai cultural identity and its rich variety.
PAINTING Traditional Thai paintings showed subjects in twodimensions without perspective. The size of each element in the picture reflected its degree of importance.
POTTERY Cottage industry-type villages producing folk pottery are situated throughout Thailand. Koh Kred, up-river from Bangkok, specializes in making unglazed earthenware flowerpots, which are used as containers for garden plants. A Typical form is a conical-shaped body, a wide mouth reinforced with a pie-shaped rim, and a base with a hole in the center. A separate tray collects water as it drains from the pot.
THAI SPORTSThai sport is part of Thai culture which has been passedon from generation to generation. Sporting activities of Thais blend well into their agricultural way of life.
DO’S AND DON’TS1. The Monarchy2. Religion3. Buddha Images4. Monks5. Shoes6. Greetings7. The Head8. The Feet9. Shouting10.Drugs11.General
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION Looking down other ethnics, Liking to use violence, Insecurity, Using a lot of chemical substance, Most school boys in secondary school are gangsters, Thailand is the source of drugs, The traffic so busy, Ling their next generation of unreal map and history NEGATIVE
POSITIVE POSITIVE Thailand is an economic incises country with an industrialization. The economy of Thai depends on exportation and importation. Thai uses modern technology in industrial and faming. Thai people always gives education to their generation to gratitude toward their parents, hate argument nation and love their nation. In school they have a goodeducation system. The Thai’s law system is strongly and effectiveness.
OUR REFLECTIONThe growing gap between rich and poorThe gap between the rich and the poor has widened.It certainly has created the wealth of the nation whichhas become definitively the wealth of the rich.The politicRather than staying true to the intended meanings, the Thai NationalAssembly and the House of Parliament represents a missedopportunity in applying foreign concepts both for architectural andpolitical forms to create a national and cultural identity, as well as thelocalization of Modernity.AgricultureDuring the first two decades, Thai agriculturewas highly influenced by a western approachof policy planning, and an influx of packagedtechnology from the green revolution.
THAT’S ALL FOR OUR PRESENTATIONFOR YOUR ATTENTION | <urn:uuid:eae792a4-f4d6-4109-8437-e176a4237ee3> | {
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WHO Warns 9 in 10 Live in High Air Pollution Areas
The World Health Organization says that 92 percent of the world's population lives in areas of high air pollution.
Experts say much of that pollution comes from vehicles fueled by diesel. Many cities in Europe have called for ending the production of diesel cars. They hope to replace them with electric vehicles as battery life for those vehicles improves.
London is one of the most heavily polluted cities in Europe. Levels of harmful gases in the city are regularly higher than limits set by the European Union.
Martin Williams, with King's College London, says pedestrians often do not realize how close they are to air pollution sources because they cannot see them.
"One of the difficulties of getting the message across to the public at large these days is that air pollution, although it's a major public health problem, is actually invisible. Not like the smogs of the 1950s and 60s when not only could you see it, you could barely see anything else."
Williams adds that toxic gases from diesel cars have led to public health concerns. He says people across Great Britain have died too early because of the pollution.
"The main problem that you are breathing in are the particulates, the soot largely from diesel exhausts, which is the primary problem as far as public health is concerned. And that's responsible for maybe up to around 30,000 premature deaths across Britain. The other pollutant that's more recently become an issue is nitrogen dioxide, again largely from diesel."
Last year, officials discovered that German carmaker Volkswagen attempted to cheat on emissions tests on its vehicles. The incident became known as ‘diesel-gate.'
Areeba Hamid is with the environmental group Greenpeace. She says that incident is why many in the automobile industry want to produce electric cars.
"It's quite clear that the car industry is feeling the pressure of a public health crisis owing to air pollution in big cities in particular and the aftermath of the diesel-gate' scandal, which is the reason why it's looking to produce new electric models."
At the Paris Motor Show in September, many of the vehicles on display were electric cars. Volkswagen announced it aims to sell two to three million electric vehicles each year by 2025.
Experts say electric cars could offer the answer to air pollution in major cities. They add, however, that the electricity should be created using renewable energy.
I'm Jonathan Evans.
1.air pollution 空气污染
The air pollution exceeds most acceptable levels by 10 times or more.
2.electric vehicles 电动汽车
China is already thought to have a lead in battery development and electric vehicles.
3.harmful gases 有害气体
These plants are particularly useful for taking in harmful gases in the new house.
4.public health 公共卫生
We have an urgent front-burner public health problem.
1."The main problem that you are breathing in are the particulates, the soot largely from diesel exhausts, which is the primary problem as far as public health is concerned.
as far as 至于；直到
As far as I'm concerned the officials incited the fight.
It only lasted a couple of years, as far as I know.
2.They add, however, that the electricity should be created using renewable energy.
renewable energy 可再生能源
Renewable energy will become progressively more important as time goes on.
The success of wind power represents a litmus test for renewable energy.
专家表示，空气污染主要是以柴油为动力的车辆引起的 。欧洲多个城市呼吁停止柴油汽车的生产 。他们希望，随着电池寿命的不断延长，电动车能够取代柴油车辆 。
伦敦是欧洲污染最严重的城市之一 。伦敦有害气体的指数通常高于欧盟规定的标准 。
伦敦国王学院的马丁·威廉姆斯（Martin Williams）称，人们出行时因为看不见污染源，所以意识不到自己离污染源究竟有多近 。
“让公众全面了解污染问题的难点之一在于，虽然空气污染极大地威胁着公共健康，但空气污染却是不可见的 。现在的空气污染与20世纪50、60年代的烟雾不同，那时人们不仅能看到烟雾，而且除了烟雾什么也看不到 。”
威廉姆斯还提到，柴油车辆排放的有毒尾气导致一系列公共健康问题 。他表示，受空气污染影响，英国人的寿命明显缩短 。
“主要问题在于人们吸入的是柴油机尾气中的颗粒与烟尘，而这也是公众健康最基本的问题 。英国约3万例早产儿死亡也有可能是因此造成的 。近日，同样成为问题的污染物还包括二氧化氮，二氧化氮多半也来自柴油机 。”
去年，有部门发现德国汽车生产商大众试图在尾气测试中造假 。该丑闻被称为“柴油机门” 。
艾利巴·哈密德（Areeba Hamid）在“绿色和平”环保组织任职 。她表示，该起丑闻成为多家汽车厂商希望生产电动汽车的原因 。
“汽车行业显然受到空气污染威胁公众健康的压力，这种现象在大城市中尤其明显 。另外，大众“柴油机丑闻”后，多家厂商开始寻求向新型电动汽车转型 。”
9月份的巴黎汽车展览会上，展台上多数为电动汽车 。大众宣布，截止至2025年，每年将销售200到300万辆电动汽车 。
专家们表示，电动汽车或将缓解大城市的空气污染问题 。然而，专家强调，发电时应该使用可再生能源 。 | <urn:uuid:05556043-adb7-4283-b5b2-5f32f3780c8e> | {
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In 2002, NPS managers gathered in a series of meetings to outline a strategy plan for incorporating alternative transportation modes into the national parks. The initial plan spanned the years 2002 to 2006. An updated Alternative Transportation Program Strategic Action Plan, 2012-2016 is now available.
From a resource conservation standpoint it is unacceptable, in many cases, to allow for additional resource impacts as a result of more roads and larger parking areas to accommodate more automobiles. Alternative means of transportation must be explored to provide access and a quality visitor experience, without additional adverse impacts to resources. Many parks have used alternative transportation systems (ATS) as a tool to achieve their mission and ultimately the mission of the NPS. ATS integrates all modes of travel within a park, including transit, bicycle and pedestrian linkages, and the automobile; and includes a whole range of technologies, facilities, and transportation management strategies.
Many ATS incorporate transit systems to provide access, but it is reasonable to say that not all parks need to embark on a full-scale transit system and that managing the automobile, providing pedestrian and bicycle linkages and employing other management strategies is a part of this integrated approach. Alternative transportation recognizes the importance of roads, bridges and trails that support the use of alternative modes of travel. There are more than 72 National Park units with some form of ATS with 52 parks relying exclusively on ATS to access the park. Existing alternative transportation systems do and will continue to require improvement in their infrastructure, operations and integration in order to fulfill the mission of the NPS.
Download the Final NPS Alternative Transportation Program Strategic Action Plan, 2012—2016 | <urn:uuid:290a7ec2-b74a-41d0-b710-524fd33fd3eb> | {
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Baboon blood research for cryonic purposes. Surgical staff checking a baboon in an ice bath (upper right) during an artificial blood experiment. The baboon's blood has been replaced with an artificial substitute. Here, its body temperature is being cooled to below 10 degrees Celsius for three hours. Artificial blood can aid the preservation of organs and tissues before transplantation. It can also be used for emergency transfusions, as a replacement for blood lost in surgery and as an alternative to blood during low temperature surgery. Artificial blood also removes the risk of infection and does not trigger an immune response. Cryonics is a speculative life support technology that seeks to preserve human life in a state that will be viable and treatable by future medicine. BioTime, California, USA, in 1992.
- © Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com
- Image Size
- 1024x687 / 324.5KB
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Loss of appetite, eating disorders
Bruises, broken bones
Mistrust of self & others
Feelings of worthlessness, low self-esteem
Central nervous system disorders
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Avoidance of traumatic triggers and talking about the problem
Feeling detached and estranged
Explosive or inhibited anger
Sense of being different from others
Attribute total power to perpetrator or become preoccupied with relationship to them, including preoccupation with revenge
Isolation, distrust, or repeated search for a rescuer
Sense of hopelessness and despair
Battered Women’s Syndrome
- Believe violence is their fault.
- Inability to place responsibility for violence elsewhere.
- Fears for her life and/or children’s lives.
- Irrational belief that abuser is omnipresent and omniscient.
Adapted from: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control and the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, National Center for PTSD
The psychological effects on the victim are devastating. They are truly brainwashed through mind control and manipulation. They are made to believe that everything is their fault; they feel worthless; they believe they are not a good person; and they feel no one else will ever be interested in them. They have difficulty knowing who to trust due to the isolation created by the abuser. The abuser continually puts down the victim’s family and friends and tells the victim they are the only one who really cares about them. Gradually the victim becomes very angry, usually not recognizing the source of their anger and they displace that anger on their family and friends. They become extremely confused and do not know who to trust. Together with the fear instilled in them by the abuser (by breaking their possessions, battering them, threatening to kill them and/or their families, calling them the worst names) they become psychologically destroyed. | <urn:uuid:b41f5826-8215-4ba4-89b8-06dbcbce4eb1> | {
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Going Down the Up Escalator, Part 2
Posted on 8 November 2011 by dana1981
As we discussed in Going Down the Up Escalator, Part 1, it's a very common mistake - even amongst some climate scientists - to confuse short-term climate noise with long-term global warming signal. Our very popular Figure 1 below illustrates this confusion very nicely:
Figure 1: BEST land-only surface temperature data (green) with linear trends applied to the timeframes 1973 to 1980, 1980 to 1988, 1988 to 1995, 1995 to 2001, 1998 to 2005, 2002 to 2010 (blue), and 1973 to 2010 (red). Created by Dana Nuccitelli. Hat-tip to Skeptical Science contributor Sphaerica for identifying all of these "cooling trends." (Figure 1 has been added to the SkS Climate Graphics Page).
Some climate "skeptics" have suggested explanations as to why their interpretation of global warming shown in Figure 1 is actually the correct one. We will examine those explanations in this post.
Guest poster Jens Raunsø Jensen on WUWT created a very similar graphic to Figure 1, trying to argue that global warming can be modeled with step functions rather than a linear trend.
Figure 2: Jensen's plot of Denmark and global surface temperature, modeled as step functions triggered by Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) shifts and El Niño events
On Judith Curry's blog, "skeptic" Donald Rapp makes much the same argument:
"Thorne et al. (2011) seemed not to be able to recognize the obvious fact shown in Figure 1 that tropospheric temperatures made a step function rise after the great El Niño of 1998 and was fairly constant before and after."
Figure 3: Donald Rapp's tropospheric temperature "step function"
Note by the way that each "skeptic" analysis relies on either HadCRUT or UAH/RSS temperature data, which are either known to or very possibly have a cool bias.
Roger Pielke Sr. echoes a similar argument from David Douglass on his blog (you may be noticing a similar cast of characters as in Part 1; Roy Spencer has also tried to blame global warming on oceanic cycles).
"[Douglass] would have “shouted” that calculating trends across a climate shift has no meaning."
A "Climate Shift"?
This concept of a short-term "climate shift" may come from Tsonis et al. 2007 and Swanson and Tsonis 2009, whose work John Cook has previously discussed. In short, Swanson and Tsonis hypothesized that when various natural oceanic cycles (PDO, AMO, etc.) synchronize (i.e. in their positive or negative phases), they can cause a short-term warming or cooling which could be described as a "climate regime shift."
As John discussed in his post, there are some issues with this hypothesis (i.e. we know observed forcings like solar irradiance and aerosols can explain most past short-term temperature changes without requiring major contributions from these "climate shifts"). But more importantly, as Swanson and Tsonis put it, these shifts are superimposed on an anthropogenic warming trend. As Swanson himself put it,
"What do our results have to do with Global Warming, i.e., the century-scale response to greenhouse gas emissions? VERY LITTLE, contrary to claims that others have made on our behalf."
Further, Swanson 2009 discussed that if climate is more sensitive to internal variability than currently thought, this would also mean climate is more sensitive to imposed forcings, which means that we would still expect CO2 and other anthropogenic forcings to cause substantial warming.
Creating Our Own "Climate Shifts"
We can very easily demonstrate the fundamental flaw in this "climate shifts" argument by creating our own simulated temperature data. Figure 4 shows the following panels:
- A 0.2°C per decade global warming trend
- Two 'natural cycles' (cosine functions) both with 0.15°C amplitude and periods of 10 and 20 years, respectively
- Random noise with 0.07°C amplitude
- The sum of the warming trend, cycles, and noise
- The sum fit with a step function with three steps: linear trends from 1950 to 1963, 1967 to 1986, and 1987 to 2003 (light blue)
- The sum with a linear trend fit from 1950 to 2010. The linear trend (0.21°C per decade) is almost identical to the global warming signal (0.2°C per decade)
Figure 4: Simulated temperature data with a global warming signal (0.2°C/decade), natural cycles of 10 and 20 years, random noise, and the sum fit by a step function (blue and black) and a linear trend (red). Created by Dana Nuccitelli.
The point here is of course that while natural cycles superimposed on a linear global warming trend can be fit with a step function, the global warming is entirely caused by the linear trend (the radiative forcing, in the real world). The natural cycles have zero long-term trend and thus while they contribute to short-term temperature changes, contribute nothing to the long-term global warming.
Thus the "skeptic" conclusion that the step function is the appropriate model, and that natural cycles are what's causing global warming, is simply physically wrong.
The Achilles Heel of the "climate shifts are causing global warming" hypothesis is that it's simply not a physical argument, for several reasons.
1. Why would the average global temperature jump to a new warmer state after an El Niño or positive PDO, but not drop back down to its cooler state after a La Niña or negative PDO, for example? If the "skeptic" climate shift argument is correct, the planet will continue to warm indefinitely.
2. Oceanic cycles don't create or retain heat, they simply move it around. So if these climate shifts are causing the surface air to warm, they should also be causing the oceans to cool. That simply is not the case. The oceans, surface, and troposphere are all warming because the Earth's total heat content is increasing (Figure 5).
Figure 5: Total Global Heat Content (data from Church et al 2011). Created by John Cook.
3. The reason global heat content is increasing is that there is a global energy imbalance caused primarily by the anthropogenic greenhouse gas forcing. Arguing that the warming is caused by a "climate shift" ignores the physical reality that this forcing and energy imbalance must result in global warming. Not coincidentally, there is a strong correlation between the temperature and greenhouse gas forcing increases (Figure 6).
The bottom line here is that climate "skeptics" need to stop looking for excuses to use short-term noise to argue that global warming has stopped. It hasn't, and it won't until we get the radiative forcing in Figure 6 under control, which won't happen until we get our greenhouse gas emissions under control. That's simply physical reality, and denying physical reality won't change it.
The George Santayana quote "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" comes to mind. Climate "skeptics" keep arguing that the anthropogenic global warming theory is wrong by fitting trends to short-term data, and ignoring the underlying long-term trend. In each case their arguments have been proven demonstrably wrong, and yet they keep coming up with new variations on the same fundamentally flawed premise. All the while, the long-term global warming trend continues upward.
Note: this post is also the rebuttal to the myth "It's a climate shift step function caused by natural cycles" | <urn:uuid:bba797bc-3ac8-4f45-8ce9-570414a388ef> | {
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Using The Civil War Day by Day in the classroom
Introduction: Primary source materials, like the letters, diaries, photographs, and newspapers featured on The Civil War Day by Day, can be used for various purposes in the classroom. They can enliven history. Moving beyond the abstractions of history textbooks to the original documents helps to restore the reality of past events by connecting the students to familiar and concrete documentary forms. They can also facilitate critical inquiry by offering students the opportunity to evaluate multiple sources presenting multiple perspectives.
Application: Here are some ideas for using primary source material in the classroom:
- Identify perspectives–Select 2 or 3 letters that describe the same event from different viewpoints (like those from the First Battle of Bull Run), have students identify the perspectives from which they are written, and then analyze how the authors’ language and style influences the account. Does one letter seem more trustworthy than another?
- Compare primary and secondary sources—Examine firsthand accounts of the same event or similar topic, and then compare these firsthand accounts with what has been written up in a secondary source (like your class’s history textbook). Do these accounts differ? Does one source emphasize something that another dismisses? What has been left out?
- Evaluate a single document—Have students examine a letter, diary entry, or a newspaper article and identify its key components (author, intended audience, genre, content, &c), and then have them examine it more closely, noting how its language and style contributes to the message. For instance, does the author use charged phrases like “the Rebels” or “Lincolnites” that indicate his or her perspective? What about style and tone—does the author write methodically and relate his activities in detail, or does he seem to dramatize his account? How trustworthy does this account seem? Does the author leave anything out?
- Analyze cultural elements—Select an account and have students identify the author’s personal beliefs and cultural context. Does he or she express a belief in God, for example? What does he or she value? Does the author mention food or music? Does he or she refer to any traditions?
- Follow one person’s experience—Choose a series of letters or diary entries written by one author and trace his or her experience throughout the war. Does the author change during the course of the war, or do his or her reactions remain consistent? Plot the events he or she recounts on a time-line. Guide students in reconstructing the person’s life through additional resources. Tip: identify series through the tag cloud in the sidebar.
- Creative writing prompts—Locate a photograph and have students describe what they think is going on, or have them create a story around that photograph, or select a personality and have students write an entry in a journal or diary as that personality.
Additional Resources: Other institutions offer helpful resources for incorporating primary sources into the classroom. Here are just a few to get you started:
- Documenting the American South’s Classroom Resources offers strategies for using DocSouth’s resources in the classroom; in particular, check out the Teacher’s Toolkit for activity guides and lesson plans
- LearnNC’s Classroom offers digital resources and lesson plans for K-12 teachers in North Carolina; its Civil War digital textbook is available here
- Smithsonian Education: Educators offers lesson plans and other resources revolving around the Smithsonian’s collections; its Heritage Teaching Resources groups the classroom resources around federally mandated Heritage Months
- Library of Congress: Teachers offers classroom materials, professional training, and guidance on using primary sources; in addition, check out Teaching with the Library of Congress, a blog featuring documents from the Library of Congress collections along with particular strategies for teaching with them
We welcome your comments and suggestions. For instance, how do you incorporate primary sources into your lesson plans? What sorts of activities can you suggest for teaching with primary sources? What sort of classroom resources do you find helpful? We’d love to hear from you:
Contact us by email: [email protected]
Contact us by phone: 919-962-1345
Or, please feel free to leave a comment below! | <urn:uuid:dcf26ce5-72d9-497e-961d-70aa27f593d7> | {
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"The wisest fool in Christendom!"
Nearing death, the childless Elizabeth I acquiesced to the Privy Council’s wishes for James VI of Scotland to succeed her. Charles James Stuart was the son of Mary Stuart Queen of Scots. A successful monarch in Scotland, James was unable to deal with a hostile Parliament. Refusal by Parliament to impose sufficiently high taxes crippled royal finances. His political absolutism and mismanagement of funds laid the groundwork for England’s future Civil War.
James is regarded as one of the most intellectually active and learned of English rulers. During his reign, science, literature and art flourished. He was responsible for the “King James Version” of the Bible. He was called "The Wisest Fool In Christendom."
Portrait by artist-historian George Stuart.
Courtesy Museum of Ventura County.
Images © copyright by Peter d'Aprix | <urn:uuid:a22618bd-0fda-4e77-a162-ba61a110dcd4> | {
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U.S. travel increases for the 18th consecutive month
Drivers in the United States have been tallying up more miles than the same time in the previous year for 18 straight months, according to the Federal Highway Administration.
In its latest "Travel Trends" report, the FHWA says that buses, trucks, and passenger vehicles in the nation covered 277.3 billion miles in August. This distance marked an increase of 2.3 percent—or 6.3 billion miles—from August 2014. It was the highest count since the FHWA began collecting the data and the greatest year-over-year increase since 2002.
The FHWA also provided an estimate of seasonally adjusted vehicle miles for August, putting it at 263.3 billion miles. This total was a 3.6 percent increase from the previous year, but a 0.4 percent decrease from July 2015.
In the first eight months of the year, drivers traveled an estimated 2.1 trillion miles, or about 70 billion more miles than the cumulative total in the same month in 2014. The moving 12-month total was estimated to be 3.11 trillion miles.
The Northeast region—including the New England states, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania—had the smallest increase in travel. Drivers in these states traveled 41.16 billion miles, a year-over-year increase of 2 percent.
In Connecticut, overall travel increased 0.5 percent from 2.8 billion miles in August 2014 to 2.81 billion miles in August 2015. Travel on urban arterial roads in the state went up 0.4 percent, from 1.99 billion miles to 2 billion miles, while travel on rural arterial roads increased 0.9 percent from 187 million miles to 189 million miles.
Rhode Island was one of six states with a year-over-year decrease in travel in August. The overall distance traveled fell 0.6 percent, from 833 million miles to 828 million miles. Though travel on rural arterial roads remained unchanged at 78 million miles, urban arterial traffic fell 0.7 percent from 611 million miles to 607 million miles.
The North Central region, consisting of 12 states ranging from Ohio to North Dakota, had the highest total mileage at 62.4 billion miles. This travel was a 1.5 percent increase from the previous year.
However, three states in this region had a year-over-year decline in travel. This decrease was most pronounced in North Dakota, where overall travel fell 2.8 percent from 905 million miles to 881 million miles. Travel also fell 0.2 percent in Minnesota and 0.1 percent in Iowa.
The largest increase in travel occurred in the South Gulf region, eight states stretching from Texas to Kentucky. The distance traveled in these states was 55.5 billion miles, a 3 percent increase from August 2014.
The 13 states of the Western region had an estimated 61.7 billion miles of travel in total, up 2.2 percent from the previous year. In the South Atlantic region, consisting of eight states and the District of Columbia, travel increased 2.9 percent to 56.5 billion miles.
Hawaii had the most significant year-over-year travel increase for the third month in a row, with travel increasing 9.8 percent from 1.06 billion miles to 1.17 billion miles. New York and Tennessee had the next most significant increases at 4.3 percent each, rising to 13.34 billion miles in New York and 6.3 billion miles in Tennessee.
The monthly Travel Trends reports are based on hourly traffic count data from about 5,000 monitoring stations located across the United States. These stations estimate the change in traffic on a road as compared to the same month in the previous year. The FHWA says that due to the limited sample size, a more accurate travel estimate is provided with the annual Highway Performance Monitoring System.
MOST VIEWED MEDIA | <urn:uuid:134181cc-8068-4450-8aa0-29c12290df48> | {
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In third grade we like to practice the Shaffer Indian PRIDE Rules: Positive, Respectful, Involved, Determined, and Excellent!!
Third grade is an exciting year full of learning. Students will be expanding their skills in reading and really focusing on comprehension. They will be writing creative narratives, engaging informational essays, and educated opinion pieces. In math, students will develop various methods to multiply and divide numbers through 12 and become more understanding of fractions among other things. We will learn about life, physical, and earth science. In third grade, we also learn about our local history and government.
Homework: Please expect your child to bring home a homework folder every Monday. Homework folders are due on every Friday. In your child’s homework folder you will find: daily math homework, spelling word list, vocabulary word list, reading logs, book report assignments (due monthly), and family time assignments (due monthly).
Please feel free to contact me anytime and don’t hesitate to come visit us in the classroom! | <urn:uuid:798936cf-ee3b-4d8b-8824-2a6d21ae30b2> | {
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* Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka.
* It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna district.
* Prior to the Sri Lankan civil war it was Sri Lanka's second most populated city after the commercial capital Colombo.
* The majority (99.03%) of the Jaffna’s population are Tamils.
* Most (82.95%) Tamils are Hindus followed by Christians (16.14%), Muslims (0.42%) and a small Buddhist minority (0.06%). | <urn:uuid:631aa0ae-1ae7-46d4-a5b5-a89b43267f55> | {
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Now showing items 1-1 of 1
Synthesis of New Substances as Starting Materials in the Preparation of Compound with Physiological Activity
(Creighton University, 1948)
(First paragraph) From plants of the Apocynaoiac and Scrophulariaceae order, substances are extracted which are heart poisons. Small doses of such substances stimulate deseased heart to a greater contractional activity and ... | <urn:uuid:8c8264a4-8b7a-4056-833c-c96cc4b9ab18> | {
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Program outcome: to provide the opportunity for student personal growth and self-awareness which aides in focusing them into creating a strong, positive foundation and vision for leading themselves as well as others. This high-energy, interactive and reflective program creates momentum in empowering students to make positive, productive decisions based on six focus areas. (Each area is considered a one hour interactive workshop which creates a program of six total hours.).
SIX FOCUS AREA MODULES
1. Creating a Positive Mindset and Confidence
2. Mindfulness and Managing Stress
3. Clarity and Goal Setting
4. School/Life Balance and Flow
5. Interpersonal Communication
6. Leadership and Informed Decision Making
Mindset Mastery! creates a community and peer-team environment where students are given the time to foster belief systems and a mindset that serve as their positive inner guidance in both in school and at home. Students will be given the opportunity to reflect and make decisions on their own specific life situations and challenges in relation to the focus area module being presented. It is designed this way so that regardless of the amount of students involved in the program, each student will be able to take away their own lessons and new perspectives as individual participants.
* All students receive a Moving Forward Seminars Mindset Mastery! Fun Packet for each workshop (to be copied by the school district). Students will be able to record their thoughts on the various focus area activities, reflective questions posed, and decisions they make. Students will also be encouraged to share their developing belief systems with others who are engaged in the program as to foster connectedness and community within their peer group.
This program is valuable for:
1. Districts who want to move into the direction of creating an overall positively empowered student body culture and seek to provide their students the opportunity and tools to make that happen.
2. Students who need direction in finding a strong sense of self so that they may make productive rather than destructive decisions.
3. College bound students looking to add to their transcript/package an empowerment and leadership program completion.
4. Students who are considered “average students” (a vast population) and are currently doing “just fine” in their high school career, where we can have the opportunity to unlock major potential for positive influence and leadership within their school culture and community that may have been lying dormant.
Grab your FREE “Life Strategy Focus Wheel” !
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Germans make up the United States’ biggest ethnic group: around 50 million people indicated German ancestry in the country’s last census – 6 million more than in the last study. The increase has not resulted, however, from increased immigration. Long established German-Americans have simply made themselves more aware of family history. A ranking of ethnic groups in America shows the importance of Germans in the population’s ethnic makeup:
1. U.S. citizens of German origins = ca. 50 million people
2. U.S. citizens of Irish origins = ca. 35 million people
3. U.S. citizens of Mexican origins = ca. 31 million people
4. U.S. citizens of British origins = ca. 27 million people
Björn Akstinat, coordinator of the association of German-language media worldwide (Internationale Medienhilfe): “Approximately 10 per cent of those with German origins still speak or understand German – including celebrities like Sandra Bullock, Henry Kissinger or Leonardo DiCaprio and relatives of president Trump. In the U.S., these roughly five million people are targeted by a strong German-language media presence composed of over 100 newspapers, magazines, community newsletters and bulletins, as well as around 100 local radio programs and roughly 20 local television broadcasts.”
It’s also worth noting that, worldwide, the U.S. have the oldest weekly German-language newspapers, beginning with the “New Yorker Staats-Zeitung”, which began publication in 1834. At first, this newspaper was one of the biggest in the U.S. Almost as old as the New York paper is Michigan’s 1854-founded “Nordamerikanische Wochen-Post”. “The Saxon News – Volksblatt”, founded by Cleveland’s Alliance of Transylvanian Saxons, and “Eintracht”, the weekly paper out of greater Chicago, were founded not long ago: they were launched in 1902 and 1922, respectively. The tradition-rich “Eintracht” primarily targets the many German-Americans living in the northwestern U.S. Its importance has attracted interviews with numerous outstanding people, including Konrad Adenauer, Willy Brandt, rocket pioneer von Braun, national soccer coach Sepp Herberger and four U.S. presidents. Among the newspaper scene’s true newbies are the East Coast-based “Amerika-Woche” and California’s “Neue Presse”, both founded in the second half of the 20th century. “Amerika-Woche” is one of the biggest publications – especially since its merger with the “Freien Zeitung” (founded 1858) and the “Washington Journal” (1859) in the late 1990s. Noteworthy magazines include “German World” (founded 2002), targeted toward young German speakers and language learners, the colorful women’s magazine “Das Fenster” out of Georgia (1904) and the widely circulated tourism magazine “Florida Sun” (1999). These contemporary designed publications highlight how lively and promising the American German-language media market can be.
More information about German-language press in the U.S.A. you will find in the directory “Handbuch der deutschsprachigen Presse im Ausland” (ISBN: 978-3-9815158-1-7).
Internationale Medienhilfe (IMH)
Network of German-language media abroad and
German media in foreign languages.
Postfach / P.O. Box 35 05 51
Deutschland / Germany
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Originally Published by Gatestone Institute
“We are losing control of the streets.”
Comment by Elke Porter: This is a topic that affects many people in the world today, so I wanted to share it on my blog to help share some up-to-date news on the crisis in Europe.
Translations of this item:
- During the first six months of 2016, migrants committed 142,500 crimes, according to the Federal Criminal Police Office. This is equivalent to 780 crimes committed by migrants every day, an increase of nearly 40% over 2015. The data includes only those crimes in which a suspect has been caught.
- Thousands of migrants who entered the country as “asylum seekers” or “refugees” have gone missing. They are, presumably, economic migrants who entered Germany on false pretenses. Many are thought to be engaging in robbery and criminal violence.
- Local police in many parts of the country admit that they are stretched to the limit and are unable to maintain law and order.
- “Drug trafficking takes place right before our eyes. If we intervene, we are threatened, spat on, insulted. Sometimes someone whips out a knife. They are always the same people. They are ruthless, fearless and have no problems with robbing even the elderly.” — Private security guard.
- According to Freddi Lohse of the German Police Union in Hamburg, many migrant offenders view the leniency of the German justice system as a green light to continue delinquent behavior. “They are used to tougher consequences in their home countries,” he said. “They have no respect for us.”
- “It cannot be that offenders continue to fill the police files, hurt us physically, insult us, whatever, and there are no consequences. Many cases are closed or offenders are released on probation or whatever. Yes, what is happening in the courts today is a joke.” — Tania Kambouri, German police officer.
The rape of a ten-year-old girl in Leipzig, the largest city in Saxony, has drawn renewed attention to the spiraling levels of violent crime perpetrated by migrants in cities and towns across Germany — and the lengths to which German officials and the media go to censor information about the perpetrators of those crimes.
The girl was riding her bicycle to school at seven o’clock in the morning on October 27 when a man ambushed her, threw her to the ground and raped her. The suspect is described as being in his mid-thirties with short brown hair and a stubble beard.
Leipzig police have explicitly refused to say whether the suspect is a migrant, but have implicitly admitted that he is. They published a facial composite of the suspect with the politically correct warning:
“This image is to be published only in print media in the greater Leipzig area. Publishing this image on the internet, including on social media such as Facebook, is not covered by the court’s manhunt order (Beschluss zur Öffentlichkeitsfahndung) and is therefore prohibited.”
The effort to censor information about the rape, in which German officials show themselves to be more concerned about protecting the identity of the rapist than the welfare of the victim or other girls he might attack, is almost unprecedented in Germany.
To its credit, the Berlin-based newspaper, Bild, responded: “BILD is ignoring this request. We want to ensure that the suspect is arrested as quickly as possible.” Indeed, Bild has been one of the only newspapers in Germany even to publish not only the image but also report the story of this rape.
Violent crime — including rapes, sexual and physical assaults, stabbings, home invasions, robberies, burglaries and drug trafficking — has skyrocketed in Germany since Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed into the country more than one million mostly male migrants from Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Few, if any, of the migrants were vetted before being allowed to enter Germany.
Migrants committed 208,344 crimes in 2015, according to a confidential police report leaked to Bild. This figure represents an 80% increase since 2014 and is equivalent to 570 crimes committed by migrants every day, or 23 crimes each hour, in 2015 alone.
The actual number of migrant crimes is far higher, however: the report, produced by the Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt, BKA), includes only crimes that have been solved (aufgeklärten Straftaten). According to police statistics, on average only around half of all crimes committed in Germany in any given year are solved (Aufklärungsquote). This implies that the actual number of crimes committed by migrants in Germany in 2015 may have exceeded 400,000.
During the first six months of 2016, migrants committed 142,500 crimes, according to a BKA report released on September 6. This is equivalent to 780 crimes committed by migrants every day, or 32.5 crimes each hour, an increase of nearly 40% over 2015. Again, the 2016 data includes only those crimes in which a migrant suspect has been caught. Crimes similar to the rape in Leipzig would not appear in the statistics because the suspects remain at large.
Migrant crime statistics for all of 2016, when they become available, are likely to show a significant increase over the 2015 numbers. One reason for this is that thousands of migrants who entered the country as “asylum seekers” or “refugees” have gone missing. They are, presumably, economic migrants who entered Germany on false pretenses. Many are thought to be engaging in robbery and criminal violence to sustain themselves.
Most of the crimes committed by migrants are being downplayed by German authorities, apparently to avoid fueling anti-immigration sentiments. For example, the BKA report states that most of the migrant crimes involve fare evasion — using public transportation without a ticket. As for other crimes, almost invariably they are said to be isolated incidents (Einzelfälle), not part of a nationwide problem.
Gatestone Institute has reviewed hundreds of reports of migrant crime in local police reports and local or regional newspapers. The evidence points to a nationwide surge in migrant crime: cities and towns in all 16 of Germany’s federal states are affected. In fact, local police in many parts of the country admit that they are stretched to the limit and are unable to maintain law and order.
The growing sense of lawlessness is substantiated by an October 24 YouGov poll which foundthat 68% of Germans believe that security in the country has deteriorated during the past several years. Nearly 70% of respondents said they fear for their lives and property in German train stations and subways, while 63% feel unsafe at large public events.
In Hamburg, statistics show that migrants committed nearly half of the 38,000 crimes reported in Hamburg during the first six months of 2016, although migrants make up only a fraction of the city’s 1.7 million inhabitants. Police say that many of the crimes were committed by “migrant gangs” (ausländischen Banden).
City police say they are helpless to confront a spike in crimes committed by young North African migrants. Hamburg is now home to more than 1,800 so-called unaccompanied minor migrants (minderjährige unbegleitete Flüchtlinge, MUFL), most of whom live on the streets and apparently engage in all manner of criminal acts, including purse snatching.
More than 20,000 purses are snatched in Hamburg every year. Most of those are stolen by males between the ages of 20 and 30 who come from the Balkans or North Africa, according to Norman Großmann, the director of the federal police inspector’s office in Hamburg. In recent months, police have carried out operations (here and here) to confront the problem, but the actions have yielded few arrests.
Local media report that gangs of migrant youth have effectively taken over parts of the Jungfernstieg, one of the most prestigious boulevards in Hamburg. Many citizens are avoiding the area, which recently underwent a multi-million euro rehabilitation, because it has become too dangerous.
More than 50 people have been physically assaulted along the Jungfernstieg since the beginning of 2016, and police are being called in almost daily to respond to complaints of aggressive begging, public drunkenness, drug dealing and sexual assault. Restaurant owners are complaining about a spike in robbery and vandalism, and taxi drivers say they are avoiding the area, where Arabic and Farsi are commonplace.
The newspaper, Die Welt, reported that unaccompanied minor migrants at a refugee shelter in the Hammerbrook district are “working” at the Jungfernstieg. Stashes of mobile phones, laptops and other stolen goods were recently found hidden in their rooms. Police also arrested a 20-year-old Egyptian named Hassan who repeatedly attacked passersby with a knife. He was filmed groping a girl’s breasts and genitals. When she resisted, he punched her in the face.
Residents of the Alsterdorf district in Northern Hamburg have asked their mayor to do something about a group of 40 highly aggressive unaccompanied minor migrants who are terrorizing the neighborhood. Residents complain about burglaries, robberies and even extortion. A 65-year-old resident said she was attacked by a ten-year-old who was trying to break into a car. A 45-year-old business owner said he is afraid to confront the youths because they might smash his windows. A 75-year-old pensioner said he no longer dares to step outside of his house after dark.
Thomas Jungfer, the deputy director of the German Police Union (DPolG) in Hamburg, warnsthat the city does not have enough police officers to maintain law and order. He says that private security companies are needed to fill in the gaps. “Dissatisfaction among our colleagues is growing,” he said.
In nearby Bremen, police have effectively surrendered the fight against organized crime run by clans from the Balkans and Kurdistan because of the need to pour limited personnel resources into the fight against spiraling street crime by unaccompanied migrant youths.
Rainer Wendt, head of the German Police Union (DPolG) has criticized city officials for their lack of resolve. “Bremen has capitulated to extremely dangerous clans. The state’s monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force [Gewaltmonopol des Staates] is now becoming the law of the jungle. Security continues to go down the drain.”
In Berlin, criminal migrant clans “with strong group loyalties” are operating with impunity in the districts of Neukölln, Wedding, Moabit, Kreuzberg and Charlottenburg. The newsmagazine, Focus, reported that the Kottbusser Tor area in Kreuzberg, an area with many migrants, has become a “legal vacuum” because of a reduced police presence. The place has been overrunwith drug trafficking, crime and violence, and residents and shopkeepers report crimes every hour, every day on public streets. A shopkeeper said: “In the past, children could run around here freely. Also, no one paid attention to whether the bag or backpack are secure. Today all this is no longer possible.”
According to Focus, “During the day the area is full of heroin corpses, and at night pickpockets are on the go.” A private security guard said:
“Drug trafficking takes place right before our eyes. If we intervene, we are threatened, spat on, insulted. Sometimes someone whips out his knife. They are always the same people. They are ruthless, fearless and have no problems with robbing even the elderly.”
His colleague added: “Of course, we always call the police. The last time, however, they took two hours to get here.”
In the Rhine-Ruhr region, the largest metropolitan region in Germany, police statistics show that Algerians committed more than 13,000 crimes in 2015, more than twice as many as in 2014. Moroccans committed 14,700 crimes, and Tunisians more than 2,000 crimes.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, a report by the interior ministry revealed that Moroccans committed 6,208 crimes in 2015. Algerians committed 4,995 crimes and Tunisians 1,084. These are significant increases compared to previous years.
According to the NRW Interior Ministry, “Immigrants from North African are increasingly disproportionate as offenders — mainly in large cities. The suspects are most often single young men. Their criminal specialties are robbery and assault.”
In Düsseldorf, local politicians have been accused of ignoring the growing threat posed by violent gangs of migrants from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. The city is home to a total of 2,244 criminal suspects from North Africa, the majority of them (1,256) from Morocco. On average, they commit an offense every 3.5 hours. A police inspector said: “The group as a whole is disrespectful and absolutely without shame.”
In Stuttgart, police are fighting a losing battle against migrant gangs from North Africa who are dedicated to pickpocketing. In the Rems-Murr district near Stuttgart, rival gangs of migrant youth from the Balkans are “stealing anything that is not nailed down.” Roma and Kosovar youth skip school to go on daily forays systematically to break into cars to steal cell phones and other valuables. They also enter doctor’s offices, residences for the elderly, kindergartens and schools to ransack handbags and jackets.
In Aalen, a 14-year-old Kosovar has a police file with more than 100 entries. A local newspaper reports: “All attempts by the police, judiciary and youth welfare office to instill in him a sense of right and wrong and to re-socialize him have so far failed. On Facebook he brags about his undertakings and his love for gangster rap.”
In Leipzig, the public transportation system has become a magnet for criminals. The number of reported cases of theft on public transport jumped 152% between 2012 and 2015. The number of physical and sexual assaults on public transportation are also up. Overall, the number of reported crimes in buses and trams jumped 111% between 2012 and 2015, and the number of reported crimes at bus stops during that period were up by 40%.
Leipzig police attribute the spike in crime to the rapid increase in the city’s population. They could not confirm the nationality of the perpetrators, however, because that would require a review of each of the crimes, a task that would “exceed the personnel-time capacity.”
In Dresden, migrants from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia have effectively taken control over the iconic Wiener Platz, a large public square in front of the central train station. There they sell drugs and pickpocket passersby, often with impunity. Police raids on the square have become a game of “whack-a-mole,” with a never-ending number of migrants replacing those who have been arrested.
In Schwerin, roving bands of migrant youths armed with knives have made the city center increasingly dangerous day and night. City officials have drawn up an action plan to regain control of the streets. A centerpiece of the plan calls for the deployment of more social workers (Straßensozialarbeit) to promote integration.
In Bavaria, Sigrid Meierhofer, the mayor of the resort town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen complained that local police have responded to more migrant-related crimes during the past six weeks than in all of the previous 12 months combined. In a letter to the Bavarian government, she threatened to close a shelter in the town that houses 250 mostly male migrants from Africa if public safety and order cannot be restored. She has also warned female residents of the town to avoid being outside after dark.
In a bestselling book, Tania Kambouri, a German police officer, describes the deteriorating security situation in Germany due to migrants who she says have no respect for law and order. In an interview with Deutschlandfunk radio, she said:
“For weeks, months and years I have noticed that Muslims, mostly young men, do not have even a minimum level of respect for the police. When we are out patrolling the streets, we are verbally abused by young Muslims. There is the body language, and insults like ‘sh** cop’ when passing by. If we make a traffic stop, the aggression increases ever further, this is overwhelmingly the case with migrants.
“I wish these problems were recognized and clearly addressed. If necessary, laws need to be strengthened. It is also very important that the judiciary, that the judges issue effective rulings. It cannot be that offenders continue to fill the police files, hurt us physically, insult us, whatever, and there are no consequences. Many cases are closed or offenders are released on probation or whatever. Yes, what is happening in the courts today is a joke.
“The growing disrespect, the increasing violence against police…. We are losing control of the streets.”
According to Freddi Lohse, Vice Chairman of the DPolG German Police Union in Hamburg, many migrant offenders view the leniency of the German justice system as a green light to continue delinquent behavior. “They are used to tougher consequences in their home countries,” he said. “They have no respect for us.”
Soeren Kern is a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Institute. He is also Senior Fellow for European Politics at the Madrid-based Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos / Strategic Studies Group. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter.
Murders, Sexual Assaults and Rapes by Migrants in Germany, October 2016.
German crime reports use a variety of politically correct euphemisms to describe foreign suspects without using the terms “migrant” or “Muslim migrant.”
October 1. Two “southern-looking” (südländische Erscheinung) men raped a 23-year-old woman in Lüneburg. The woman was walking in a park with her young child when the two men approached from behind. The men forced the child to watch while they took turns attacking her mother. A “southerner speaking Arabic” (Südländer, sprach Arabisch) attempted to rape a 34-year-old woman in Volksgarten. The man ran away when the woman pushed her fingers into his eyes. A “southerner” (südländische Erscheinung) pulled a knife on a 12-year-old girl in Kirchdorf. A “southerner” (südländischen Teint) exposed himself to two girls, aged eight and ten, in Legden.
October 2. A 19-year-old migrant from Morocco raped a 90-year-old woman as she was leaving a church in downtown Düsseldorf. Police described the suspect as “a Southern European with North African roots.” It later emerged that the man is a Moroccan with a Spanish passport. A migrant from Africa (dunkler/afrikanischer Typ) sexually assaulted a 22-year-old woman in Altötting.
October 3. A “southerner” (südländisch ausgesehen) attempted to kidnap a 14-year-old girl in Landau. The man ran away when the girl activated an electronic whistle (akustischen Notfallstick).
October 4. A “southerner” (südländisches Erscheinungsbild) exposed himself to two children, aged 8 and 10, in a playground. A 15-year-old girl from Goldbeck pulled a knife on a 16-year-old migrant from Afghanistan who repeatedly harassed her.
October 5. A migrant from Syria sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl who was on a walk with her grandmother in Gießen. A “southerner” (südländisch aussehenden Täter) sexually assaultedtwo girls, aged 16 and 17, in front of a train station in Böblingen. A “dark-skinned” (dunklere Haut) man sexually assaulted a 30-year-old woman on a bike path in Oberursel. A “dark-skinned” (dunkler Hautfarbe) man sexually assaulted a 21-year-old woman in Ulm.
October 7. A migrant from North Africa sexually assaulted a 25-year-old woman in downtown Stuttgart.
October 8. A 26-year-old asylum seeker from Syria attempted to rape a 36-year-old woman in a park in Böblingen. A 25-year-old Syrian groped a 15-year-old girl in Moers. The girl responded by slapping the man in the face. The man called the police and complained that the girl had assaulted him. He was arrested for sexual assault. A drunk 33-year-old “migrant from the Middle East” (Zuwanderer aus dem Nahen Osten) sexually assaulted a woman in Krefeld.
October 10. A 26-year-old asylum seeker from Pakistan sexually assaulted a 24-year-old woman in Bad Hersfeld. A “dark-skinned” (dunkelhäutig) man assaulted a 21-year-old woman on a train in Stuttgart.
October 11. A migrant groped and fondled a seven-year-old girl on a bus in Demen. A “North African” groped four girls on the subway in Mannheim. A “southern-looking” (südländisches Aussehen) man sexually assaulted a 19-year-old woman in Wesel. A 31-year-old migrant from Syria exposed himself to a 24-year-old woman in Markgröningen. A “southern-looking” (südländisches Aussehen) man exposed himself to two 14-year-old girls in Kevelaer.
October 12. Two “southern-looking” (südländisches Aussehen) man sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl at a bus stop in Weikersheim. A 21-year-old migrant from Libya sexually assaulteda woman in Leipzig. A man speaking German with an accent assaulted a 36-year-old woman in Siegen.
October 13. A 19-year-old migrant from Pakistan physically assaulted an 18-year-old woman in Monschau. As police were taking the man to the station, he head-butted a female officer. A “dark-skinned” (dunkelhäutige Mann) man exposed himself to a 16-year-old girl in Aichach. A 33-year-old migrant from Iraq was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison for raping a 55-year-old woman in Heilbronn. A 20-year-old migrant from Mali was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 42-year-old woman in Munich.
October 14. A “southern-looking” (südländisches äußeres Erscheinungsbild) man sexually assaulted a seven-year-old girl at a park in Ahaus. A man with an Arabic tattoo groped two 11-year-old girls at a public swimming pool in Gronau. Two men with “very dark skin” (sehr dunkle Hautfarbe) sexually assaulted two teenage girls in Bad Hersfeld. A “southerner” (südländisch) assaulted a 23-year-old woman in Wilhelmshaven.
October 15. A “dark-skinned” (dunklen Teint) man in his twenties sexually assaulted a 77-year-old woman in Bothfeld. Police believe the same man is responsible for four other assaults in the town that occurred in July, September and early October. Just days after arriving in Germany, three Afghans aged 17, 24 and 29 sexually assaulted two 14-year-old girls at a public swimming pool in Gronau. Two 18-year-old migrants from West Africa raped two 18-year-old women in Bremen. A man “apparently of foreign origin” (offenbar ausländischer Abstammung) physically assaulted a woman in front of the train station in Oranienburg. When a 32-year-old passerby intervened to protect the woman, he was attacked by the migrant, who remains at large.
October 16. A 16-year-old boy and his 15-year-old girlfriend were walking along the banks of the Alster, a lake in the heart of Hamburg, when a stranger ambushed him from behind and plunged a knife into his back. The attacker then pushed the girl into the water and walked away. The girl survived but the boy died of his wounds. The suspect, a “southern-looking” (südländischer Erscheinung) man in his early twenties, remains at large. Police say the victims were not robbed and there is not evident motive for the crime: The suspect appears to have randomly stabbed the boy just because he felt like it. On October 29, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the murder, but German police say they doubt that claim. Also on October 16, a 31-year-old migrant from Pakistan raped a 26-year-old woman at a park in Dresden.
October 18. A “southerner” (südländischer Typ) sexually assaulted a 19-year-old woman in Hildesheim.
October 19. A 29-year-old migrant from Syria appeared in court on charges of sexually molesting ten children in Freiburg and Müllheim. The father of one of the victims took a photograph of the suspect, but police waited ten days before acting on the lead.
October 22. An 18-year-old migrant from Somalia murdered an 87-year-old woman in Neuenhaus.
October 24. Seventeen migrants surrounded two women and sexually assaulted them near the central train station in Freiburg. Only three of the men, all from Gambia, were arrested, and they have been released. The crime is similar to the taharrush gamea “collective sexual harassment” that occurred in Cologne and other German cities on New Year’s Eve, when large groups of migrant males surrounded females and sexually assaulted them.
October 27. A ten-year-old girl was raped while she was riding her bicycle to school in Leipzig. Police published a facial composite of the suspect with the politically correct warning: “This image is to be published only in print media products in the Leipzig region. Publishing it on the Internet, including on social media such as Facebook, is not covered by the court order and is therefore not allowed.” Two men speaking broken Germany sexually assaulted a woman in Fürstenzell.
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Liebe Leser, aus Kanada und USA,
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Man kann entweder 5.99 Euro, 7.99 Euro oder 14.99 Euro bezahlen. Das “Basic” (5.99 Euro) erlaubt ein Benutzeraccount, Aufnahme aller Sendungen der letzten 3 Tage, Download von Sendungen und leider kein Langzeit Archiv deiner Lieblingssendungen. Ab 7.99 Euro kann man ausserdem 50 Aufnahme im eigenen Langzeit Archiv speichern und mit 14.99 kann man 5 Benutzeraccounts und 100 Aufnahmen im eigenen Langzeit Archiv speichern. Wenn man es für 24 Stunden ausprobieren will, kann man 24 Stunden kostenlos Zugang haben.
Seit dem 4. April, können unsere YouTV Family-Abo Nutzer bequem weitere Freunde/Familienmitglieder zu YouTV einladen und damit das gemeinsame Abo teilen. Bis zu vier Accounts können hinzugefügt werden, die allesamt den Zugriff auf den gemeinsamen Videorekorder erhalten – jedoch jeder mit einem eigenen, abgeschirmten und persönlichen Account.Seit dem 28. April, steht eine neue iOS Version der YouTV App zur Verfügung. Seit dem 5. Mai steht die neue Android Version der YouTV App im Google Play Store zur Verfügung. Der brandneue YouTV Downloader ermöglicht den einfachen und schnellen Download von Aufnahmen sowie den Zugriff auf Informationen zu den einzelnen Sendungen.
YOUTV® ist Dein persönlicher TV-Rekorder im Internet, mit dem Du alles aufnimmst. Mit einem einzigen Mausklick startest Du eine Aufnahmeautomatik, die niemals stoppt. Jetzt hast du alles. Mit YOUTV® Pro greifst du immer auf ca. 10.000 Aufnahmen der letzten sieben Tage zu. Und jeden Tag kommen 1500 neue Spielfilme, Serien, Dokus etc., dazu.
Wenn meine Leser wissen wollen, wurde ich bezahlt um diese Sachen zu sagen? Die Antwort ist NEIN. Ich bekomme nur für meine Anzeigen etwas bezahlt (Home Page/Advertising Page). Ich habe jetzt auch zum ersten Mal erfolgreich eine Sendung heruntergeladen und schaue gerade eine “Tagesschau” über den “Brexit” Referendum. Sehr interessant!
Bitte lass mich wissen, ob ihr es ausprobiert habt und wenn ja, wie es euch gefallen hat!
Danke! Elke Porter
Vancouver Fashion Week 2016 Story
For some reason i was inspired to create a video where I was going to share my story about the many different fashion designers I met in poetry form.
I have always loved poetry, but haven’t written any for years. This year, it all came back to me and I have now written at least 10 poems since Christmas (and it is March). If you like this sort of thing and want your very own poetry story, you will be happy to know that I charge only $25 for the average poem.
Back to my Fashion Story, here is the YouTube Link:
The description reads: I went to the Vancouver Fashion Week on March 15th and 19th mainly in order to meet German fashion designers and anyone else inspired or connected to Germany for my blog “Westcoast German News”. At the same time, I also met other designers and thanks to a front row seat, was able to take a few picture that I am now sharing with anyone interested. www.vanfashionweek.com
Some of the artists mention in this video include Gabrielab, Grace C.Y. Lam, Jennifer Somoza, Elephanatics, TFORTHREE, Lima Jordan, Gatsbylady London, Scarlett Bruns, Bethany Williams, Noe Bernacelli, Firan&Rose, Danny Reinke, and a few others… enjoy!
Three Different Activists
I really enjoyed learning about the different ways that fashion designers can be activists and I would like to highlight the Elephantiasis connected to the Vancouver Group Elephanatics (http://elephanatics.org/about/) that says on their website: Elephanatics was formed in May 2013. We are the only elephant advocacy organization in British Columbia, Canada! Our mission is to help the long-term survival of African and Asian elephants by raising awareness and disseminating information regarding the enormous challenges and suffering elephants face in Africa’s poaching crisis and in Asia’s tourist trade
I would also like to talk about Bethany Williams and her “Breadline Collection” who states: The current collection ‘Breadline’ particularly wants to highlight and help find solutions to the hidden hunger in the UK, specifically working along side the Vauxhall Food Bank and Tesco to achieve this. We have developed an exchange of fresh fruit and vegetables (from Tesco) for waste items from the food banks users household. We have developed a collection using these waste materials, plus recycled cardboard and ‘Tesco everyday value’ branded organic prints, all donated by Tesco. We will be donating 30% of profits to The Vauxhall food bank, continuing the cycle of exchange.
Also, Scarlett Bruns, a German-Canadian model with her own agency Leo Management, also worked hard to: play an important role in educating the mass about the BC Film tax credits. Teaming up with her film crew, Scarlett ended up casting and producing PSA’s to raise awareness using the slogan #SaveBCFilm back in 2013
Featuring Designer Danny Reinke
1. Wo sind sie aufgewachsen und wo wohnen sie jetzt?
Aufgewachsen bin ich in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in einem kleinem Fischerdorf Namens Mönkebude.
Derzeit lebe und arbeite ich in Berlin.
2. Wie kamst du zu deinem Beruf als Designer?
Als ich als Kind eine Ausschreibung einer Kunsthochschule zu dem Thema „Kunst am Menschen“ gesehen und teilgenommen habe, war mein Interesse für Mode geweckt.
3. Wer inspiriert dich?
Ich habe viele Inspirationsquellen. Je nach Thema oder Kollektionsschwerpunkt hole mir meine Inspirationen aus dem jeweiligen Bereich.
4. In welchen Städten hast du deine Designs vorgestellt?
Auf der Berlin Fashion Week und der Vancouver Fashion Week.
5. Career Highlights/Lieblings Outfit
Ich habe den European Fashion Award (FASH) 2014 gewonnen.
Mein Lieblingsteil der Kollektion ist die bestickte „Fuchsjacke“. Sie war auch das erste teil der Kollektion.
6. Was sind manche Zukunftspläne die sie haben?
Ich würde gerne mein Label mein Label ausbauen und eventuell in ein paar Jahren in London arbeiten.
7. Wo kann man in Vancouver (Kanada) ihre Designs bestellen/Kontakt Infos
Derzeit kann man meine Outfits nur online bestellen. Alles wird noch direkt auf Maß angefertigt. Ein Online-Shop ist für dieses Jahr geplant.
There are two people born in Berlin and one who started out in Hamburg, but worked in Berlin, at this year’s 27th Vancouver Fashion Week. I will be writing about Scarlett Bruns, president and agent of Leo Management, first of all.
1. Where are you from?
I grew up in Berlin, near Lichterfelde West/Steglitz. Now I live in Vancouver, BC
2. What made you decide to get into fashion/modelling?
I started out as a plus-sized model for designers like Reitmans, Addition Elle, Dove etc I did runway modelling in Vancouver, Toronto, LA, as well. Started acting in Theatre in Berlin originally and then moved on to film and TV, had the majority of my success here in Canada for some of the biggest TV shows like Supernatural, Smallville, and Tidewaters
3. What are some career highlights and/or favourite designers?
I enjoyed Ivido Brand Jeans, as instead of number-sizes, they have names like Sambo, Sweet Delicious, Flamenco or Spacy. I also like Green Embassy, which is Australia’s first internationally recognised organic fashion label by Zuhal Kuvan-Mills. She uses turmeric and lavender as dye, for example.
5. What is your favourite city?
Berlin, hands down. I have lots of friends there, but I have family in Badneun Ahr and Papenburg as well as Australia and Mira Mar (formerly Burma).
About the Designer for Gatsbylady London: Rojda Hoda started sewing and designing clothes when she was a little girl. She worked in factories where she learned every aspect of sewing and pattern making. After that, she strengthened her knowledge with a postgraduate degree from University of London and MSc degree in Fashion a leading University in Great Britain. After obtaining her degrees and coupled with her production background, she moved to the high fashion design industry.
What sets Gatsbylady London apart is the quality of fabrics, unique hand embellished designs and the flexibility of their fits. Their designs are individual, effortless, comfortable and stretches by a size for an easy fit.
6. What are some future plans for you (Scarlett Bruns)?
I would like to expand my modelling agency, which also caters to actors, musicians, young models and was started as a “for performers, by performers” kind of organization, run by those who had all been professionals in their careers and could now mentor others who wanted to do the same.
7. Why did you call your talent agency Leo Management?
It was named after my astrological star sign – Leo!
8.What are some contact details?
Gatsbylady London: http://vanfashionweek.com/designers/gatsbylady-london/
- Scarlett loves volunteering and giving back she is involved with the following charities on a regular, and continuing basis: Make a Wish Foundation, BC Childrens Hospital, Starlight Foundation, Looking Glass Foundation for Eating Disorders, Empty Stocking Fund, Big Brothers, Rick Hansen, Paws for a Cause, City of Hope, North Shore Hospice, World Vision, BC Cancer Agency, and Basics for Babies
- If the German Monarchy was still in effect Scarlett Bruns would be 26th in line to the German Throne
- Scarlett Bruns is a direct descendent of the Dere Von De-Gaudelle family and is a member of the German and French artistocratic nobility.
All pictures above were taken by ⒸElke Porter
Please ask, if you would like to use or “borrow” one and please allow me to retain the photo credit, if you are using one in your blog post or article. (or even if sharing one on social media).
Ladeneröffnung, Anmeldung, Greeencard-Antrag, Jobsuche, Castings, Shows, usw
Lieber deutscher Mikrokosmos, für ein bekanntes Auswandererformat im deutschen Fernsehen bin ich aktuell auf der Suche nach Auswanderern bzw. bereits Ausgewanderten. Ich suche derzeit nette Menschen, die sich gern bei besonderen Erreignissen ihres Alltags von der Kamera begleiten lassen würden (Ladeneröffnung, Anmeldung, Greeencard-Antrag, Jobsuche, Castings, Shows, usw.) Keine Angst: wir inszenieren nichts und möchten einfach den Zuschauern die spannende Erfahrung der Auswanderung vermitteln! Vielleicht hat ja jemand von euch tatsächlich Lust, bei uns mitzumachen? Oder kennt jemanden, der jemanden kennt, der… Falls Ja, ihr könnt mir gerne eine PN schreiben oder an [email protected] eine kurze Email schreiben! Ich freue mich auf eure Nachrichten! Herzliche Grüße aus Berlin Lisa. | <urn:uuid:ad9ad63e-4e06-4362-b373-1a86e85b021f> | {
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Sick building syndrome is a condition recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
CIMS-certified FSPs display the same dedication to work whether they are performing routine maintenance checks or handling a major operational problem.
Too often, maintenance is perceived and employed as a purely reactive task. Fixing things only after they fail is human nature – but at a personal and institutional level, this approach creates a lot of problems.
It’s time to stop thinking about sustainability in one-dimensional terms. It needs to become a theory of development and maintenance that encompasses multiple ideas.
Along with environmentally friendly benefits, green construction also has economic perks.
Carpeting comes with countless benefits, but will require a maintenance program to uphold its durability and cleanliness.
By developing a green building from the start or by making the one you already have more eco-friendly, you’ll see fewer costs listed among the endless benefits you’ll experience.
For years, LEED certifications have been a growing focus throughout much of the green building world.
The savings associated with green buildings are normally considered to be the result of energy efficiency, but now there will be direct financial benefits as well – namely reduced interest rates for property refinance acquisitions and supplemental mortgage loans.
One of the best ways that a company can commit to social responsibility is to avoid the use of harmful chemicals. Oftentimes, toxic substances are found in everyday items and can have a negative effect on people’s health and the environment. A recent press release indicated that toxic chemicals may be prevalent in more items than previously understood. As a result, companies and facilities should rely on green cleaning supplies instead. | <urn:uuid:d3d66c58-1d85-4e01-88f9-55ef6c3eb87e> | {
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Isaac Newton and our XMM mission
Isaac Newton was born on 25 December 1642 in Woolsthorpe, England, within a year of Galileo’s death in Italy. Newton’s work in the field of mathematics, optics, and physics laid the foundations for modern science. He made a huge impact on theoretical and practical astronomy.
One of his first great achievements was the invention of 'fluxions' or integral calculus, providing him with the mathematical tools he required for the rest of his work.
His second breakthrough was the discovery of the law of the composition of light, described much later in Opticks, published in 1704. His demonstration that light can be split with a prism into its different colours forms the basis of spectroscopy, which is a powerful method for deducing the physical conditions of the body emitting the light.
Newton was one of the first to make a reflecting telescope. However, his most profound contribution to science is the formulation of three Laws of Motion, described in Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica in 1687, which also lays the foundation for the principle of universal gravitation. In Principia he states, "There is a power of gravity pertaining to all bodies, proportional to the several quantities of matter which they contain."
With this, Newton proposed that all objects in the Universe pulled on each other through gravity. It was the reason why planets move in orbits and why objects fall to the Earth. However, this new knowledge brought difficulties since if each object affected every other, the resulting calculations of their motion were extremely complex. Newton admitted to being unable to calculate the orbits of the planets in the Solar System other than in a general way, though his results were better than his predecessors. He thought that the planets would gradually pull each other from their orbits and that God would have to intervene to re-order them.
Before Newton, the nascent investigation of nature that we now call science was a mixture of isolated facts and laws, capable of describing and predicting some phenomena. By applying a rigorous approach to his investigations, Newton gave science a unified system of laws that could be applied to a wide range of physical phenomena. He died in 1727 and was buried in Westminster Abbey, London, the first scientist to be honoured in this way.
ESA honoured him by adding his name to its XMM mission. The X-ray space telescope, launched on 10 December 1999, is known as XMM-Newton. The name was chosen because XMM is primarily a spectroscopy mission, even if it works at X-ray wavelengths rather than visible light. | <urn:uuid:8110f319-cbb3-437d-bb4b-f6b568ec0f0a> | {
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- slide 1 of 5
What Is Structural Engineering
Structural engineering is a specialty of civil engineering that deals with the design and analysis of structures used to support loads in the most economical manner, with maximum element of safety. The loads applied could be of a varied nature, including the load on bridges due to traffic, effect of strong winds on high buildings, load on structures because of variation in temperatures caused due to changes in weather, and load due to earthquakes. Specialties of structural engineering are building engineering, industrial structures, and pipeline engineering. Structural engineering has a significant influence on the life, healthiness, and goods of people, due to which extra vigilance is required during the construction and inspection of the structures.
- slide 2 of 5
History Of Structural Engineering
Structural engineering has been in use since ages, and one of the greatest ancient structures was the Pyramid of Giza that was constructed in the 26th century BC. The major structures during the medieval period were the pyramids since the shape of the pyramids is basically stable. Theoretical knowledge about the structures was limited, and construction techniques were based on experience only. The real advancement in the structural engineering was achieved in the 19th century during the industrial revolution when significant progress was achieved in the sciences of structural analysis and materials science.
- slide 3 of 5
Modern Growth In Structural Engineering
Due to the rapid growth of computer technology and other sciences, there has been a radical advancement in the science of structural engineering. Powerful computers have enabled the use of the finite element analysis, for carrying out the design and structural analysis. Programs of the finite element analysis can now precisely foresee the distribution of stresses in structures, and indicate where the structures may bend or twist due to these stresses. These programs offer numerous simulation options in the field of modeling and analysis of different systems. Other topics that have been developed in the modern period are composite materials, fatigue, and vibration control.
- slide 4 of 5
Structural building engineering is ba sed on the manipulation of materials and the scientific and mathematical theories to obtain structures that are safe when subjected to the applied loads, meet the functional requirements, and are economical. The structural design of a building should make sure that the building will resist extreme deflections that may generate fatigue in the structural elements, or cause failure of fixtures and partitions. Science of structural engineering is utilized in the construction of bridges, earthworks, foundations, dams, roads, and other structures. A structure basically includes columns, beams, archways, and other elements. Structural engineering essentially utilizes physical testing, modeling, and computer simulation to create structures that are safe and economical.
- slide 5 of 5
Structural failure is the loss of the load bearing capacity of a member of a structure, o r the complete structure. Failure or extreme deformations of a structure occur when the material is subjected to its limit of strength. When the limit of the load bearing capacity is reached, damage to the member or the structure has taken place. Chances of structural failure can be minimized by reducing human error, carrying out proper hazard identification, and adopting suitable maintenance procedures for the structures. | <urn:uuid:e045acb9-96bb-4f9f-8e6f-1524acbe6878> | {
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- Meaning of the Term.
- The "Stranger."
- Judaism Not Hostile to Gentiles.
- Tannaitic Views of Gentiles.
- Gamaliel II.
- R. Meïr.
- Views of the Amoraim.
- Views of Babylonian Amoraim.
- —In Relation to Jews:
- Rabbinical Modification of Laws.
- Laws of Hammurabi.
- Ashi's Decisions.
- Discrimination Against Gentiles.
- Unreliability of Gentiles.
- As Suitors in Civil Cases.
- Gentile Property Exempt from Fines.
- Gentile Poor to Be Supported.
- Gentiles May Not Be Taught the Torah.
- Present Status of the Gentile.
- —From the Post-Talmudic Period to the Present Time:
- Opinions of Jewish Scholars.
- —Attitude of Modern Judaism:
- On Marriage.
- Impartiality of Jewish Philanthropy.
A word of Latin origin (from "gens"; "gentilis"), designating a people not Jewish, commonly applied to non-Jews. The term is said (but falsely so) to imply inferiority and to express contempt. If used at all by Jews of modern times—many of them avoiding it altogether, preferring to speak of "non-Jews"—this construction of its implications must certainly be abandoned as contrary to truth. The word "Gentile" corresponds to the late Hebrew "goi," a synonym for "nokri," signifying "stranger," "non-Jew." In the Hebrew of the Bible "goi" and its plural "goyyim" originally meant "nation," and were applied both to Israelites and to non-Israelites (Gen. xii. 2, xvii. 20; Ex. xiii. 3, xxxii. 10; Deut. iv. 7; viii. 9, 14; Num. xiv. 12; Isa. i. 4, lx. 22; Jer. vii. 28). "Goi" and "goyyim," however, are employed in many passages to designate nations that are politically distinct from Israel (Deut. xv. 6; xxviii. 12, 36; Josh. xxiii. 4). From this use is derived the meaning "stranger" (Deut. xxix. 24; comp. II Chron. vi. 32 ="'amme ha-'areẓ"). As the non-Israelite and the nokri were "heathens," "goi" came to denote a "heathen," like the later "'akkum," which, in strict construction, is not applicable to Christians or Mohammedans (see below). In its most comprehensive sense "goi" corresponds to the other late term, "ummot ha-'olam" (the peoples of the world).
Toward idolatry and the immoralities therewith connected, the Biblical writings display passionate intolerance. As the aboriginal population of Canaan was the stumbling-block for Israel, constantly exposed to the danger of being contaminated by Canaanitish idolatrous practises, the seven "goyyim," i.e., nations (Deut. vii. 1, xii. 2), were to be treated with but little mercy; and, more especially, marriages with them were not to be tolerated (Deut. vii. 3; comp. Ex. xxxiv. 16). Notwithstanding this prohibition, mention is made of marriages with non-Hebrews of other stock than the seven nations enumerated (Ruth i. 4; II Sam. iii. 3; I Kings vii. 14, xiv. 21; I Chron. ii. 34), and even of marriages in direct contravention of the prohibitive law (Judges iii. 6; II Sam. xi. 3; I Kings xi. 1 et seq., xvi. 31). This proves that the animosity against non-Hebrews, or "goyyim," assumed to have been dominant in Biblical times among the Hebrews, was by no means intense. The caution against adopting the "ḥuḳḳot ha-goyyim" (Lev. xviii. 2), and the aversion to the customs of "the nations," rest on the recognition of the morally pernicious character of the rites indulged in by the Canaanitish heathens.The "Stranger."
The "stranger," whether merely a visitor ("ger") or a resident ("ger toshab"), was placed under the protection of the Law, though possibly a distinction was made between the transient and the permanent stranger; from the former, for instance, interest could be taken and a debt was collectable even in the Year of Release. But God was said to love the stranger (Deut. x. 18; Ps. cxlvi. 9). The native-born was required to love him (Lev. xix. 33-34). Recourse to the courts was open to him (Ex. xxii. 21, xxiii. 9; Deut. xxiv. 17, xxvii. 19). "One law and one statute" was to apply to native and stranger alike (Lev. xxiv. 22; Num. ix. 14; xv. 16, 29; Ex. xii. 49). But of the stranger it was expected thathe would forego the worship of idols (Lev. xx. 2; Ezek. xiv. 7) and the practise of sorcery, incest, or other abominations (Lev. xviii. 26), and that he would refrain from eating blood (Lev. xvii. 10), from working on Sabbath (Ex. xx. 10, xxiii. 12), from eating leavened bread on Pesaḥ (Ex. xii. 19), and from violating Yom ha-Kippurim (Lev. xvi. 29). For other provisions concerning the stranger, or non-Jew ("goi"), see Lev. xvii. 8; xxiv. 16, 22; Num. xv. 14, xxxv. 15; Deut. xiv. 21; xvi. 11, 14).
Restrictions in the matter of the reception of strangers (see
The strangers, i.e., the goyyim, enjoyed all the benefits of the poor-laws (see Deut. xiv. 28, xxvi. 11; comp. Job i. 7); and the Prophets frequently enjoin kindness toward the non-Israelite (Jer. vii. 6, xxii. 3; Ezek. xxii. 7; Zech. vii. 10; Mal. iii. 5; comp. Ps. xciv. 6).
Non-Israelites figure in the Bible as exemplars of fidelity (see Eliezer), devotion (Ruth), and piety (Job); and Deutero-Isaiah's welcome and promise to the "sons of the stranger" (Isa. lvi. 3-6; comp. Ezek. xlvii. 22) likewise betoken the very opposite of the spirit of haughty exclusiveness and contempt for the non-Israelite said to be characteristic of the Jew and of Judaism.
Under Ezra and Nehemiah, it is true, rigorous measures were proposed to insure the purity of the holy seed of Abraham (Neh. ix. 2; xiii. 3, 23; Ezra ix. 2 et seq., x. 3); but the necessities of the situation justified the narrower policy in this case.Judaism Not Hostile to Gentiles.
In pre-exilic times the intercourse between Israelites and non-Israelites (non-Canaanites) was not very active or extensive, and non-Israelites (Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians) always appeared as enemies. But the Exile brought Israel into closer contact with non-Israel. If the conclusions of the critical schools are accepted, according to which the opening chapters of Genesis date from this period, the fact that Israel posits at the beginning of history the unity of all humanity should give pause to the ascription to Judaism of hostility toward the Gentile majority of humanity. The books of Ruth and Jonah are also documentary proof that the Hebrew racialism of Ezra met with strenuous opposition. Greeks, Syrians, and Romans, the peoples with whom post-exilic Israel had incisive relations, were not animated by a spirit apt to engender in the Jew a responsive sentiment of regard. Nor were their morals ("ḥuḳḳot ha-goyyim") such as to allay the apprehension of faithful Jews as to the probable results of contact. The Maccabean revolution, the struggle against Hellenism, the rise against Rome under both Titus and Hadrian, are the historical background to the opinions expressed concerning non-Jews and the enactments adopted against them. Yet withal, both relatively —by comparison with the attitude of the Greek world toward the non-Greek (barbarian), or with the Roman treatment of the non-Romans (the "pagani") —and absolutely, the sentiments of the Jew toward the non-Jew were superior to the general moral and mental atmosphere. The Essenes certainly represent the cosmopolitan and broadly humanitarian tendencies of Judaism; and as for the Pharisees, their contempt for the Gentile was not deeper than their contempt for the Jewish
In judging the halakic enactments one must keep in mind not merely the situation of the Jews—engaged in a bitter struggle for self-preservation and exposed to all sorts of treachery and suffering from persecution—but also the distinction between law and equity. The law can not and does not recognize the right of demented persons, minors, or aliens to hold property. Even modern statutes are based on this principle; e.g., in the state of Illinois, U. S. A., an alien can not inherit real estate. But what the law denies, equity confers. The Talmudic phrase "mi-pene darke shalom" ("on account of the ways of peace"; see below) is the equivalent of the modern "in equity."Tannaitic Views of Gentiles.
How the views of the Tannaim concerning Gentiles were influenced largely by their own personal temper and the conditions of their age, is apparent from an analysis of the discussion on the meaning of Prov. xiv. 34, of which two versions are found: one in Pesiḳ. 12b; the other in a baraita in B. B. 10b. According to the former, Eliezer, Joshua, and Eleazar b. 'Arak, under their master Johanan ben Zakkai; and Gamaliel, a certain Abin b. Judah, and Neḥunya ben ha-Ḳana are the participants. In the latter version, Eliezer, Joshua, Gamaliel, Eleazar of Modi'im, and Neḥunya ben ha-Ḳana are mentioned. It is probable that two distinct discussions, one under Johanan ben Zakkai and the other under Gamaliel, were combined, and the names and opinions confounded (see Bacher, "Ag. Tan." i. 38, note). This, however, is immaterial, in view of the fact that each of the men quoted gives a different interpretation; the truly humane one by Neḥunya (in the Pesiḳta, by Eleazar ben 'Arak) alone meeting with the approval of the master. According to R. Eliezer, the maxim "Love, benevolence ["ḥesed"] exalteth a nation" refers to Israel; while whatever charity the Gentiles practise is really sinful, the motive being self-glorification. Joshua is of the same opinion, alleging that whatever charitable action the Gentiles do is done to extend their kingdom. Gamaliel also expresses himself to the same effect, adding that the Gentiles, by their impure motive, incur the penalty of Gehenna. Eleazar of Modi'im sides with him, saying that "the Gentiles practise benevolence merely to taunt Israel." But Neḥunya ben ha-Ḳana (in the Pesiḳta, Eleazar ben 'Arak) interprets the maxim as follows: "Righteousness exalteth a nation; for benevolence both for Israel and for the Gentiles is a sin-offering." Themaster, approving this construction, explains that, in his view, the passage teaches that as the sin-offering works atonement for Israel, so does benevolence for the Gentiles.
The following anthology of haggadic observations on non-Israelites, or Gentiles is arranged chronologically, as it is essential that the time-element be kept in view and that the opinions of one tanna be not taken as those of the Talmud.Gamaliel II.
Of Gamaliel II. is recorded a conversation with two pseudo-proselyte generals, who, being sent to investigate Jewish practises, take exception only to the provision permitting to a Jew the use of property stolen from a non-Jew (Sifre, Deut. 344; B. K. 38a—the law which, in regard to the damage done by a goring ox, does not put Jew and Gentile on an equal footing). In Yer. B. Ḳ. 4b they censure also the prohibition of Jewish women from attending non-Jewish women as midwives and nurses. Gamaliel is reported to have repealed the obnoxious law on the use of stolen property, (see Grätz in "Monatsschrift," 1881, p. 493).
Eliezer b. Hyrcanus is less tolerant. According to him, the mind of every non-Jew is always intent upon idolatry (Giṭ. 45b). The cattle of a heathen is unfit for sacrifices ('Ab. Zarah 23b). Explaining Prov. xiv. 34, he maintains that the non-Jews only practise charity in order to make for themselves a name (B. B. 10b; Pesiḳ. 12b; Gamaliel is credited with the same opinion in B. B. 10b). The persecutions which, at the instigation of Judæo-Christians, Eliezer had suffered at the hands of the Romans may explain his attitude, as well as his opinion that the Gentiles have no share in the life to come (Tosef., Sanh. xiii. 2; Sanh. 105a). He nevertheless cites the example of a non-Jew, Dama b. Netina, as illustrative of the command to honor father and mother (Ḳid. 31a; 'Ab. Zarah 23b; comp. Yer. Peah 15c; Ḳid. 61b; Pesiḳ. R. xxiii.).
Joshua b. Hananiah, contrary to Eliezer b. Hyrcanus, contends that there are righteous men among the Gentiles, and that these will enter the world to come (Tosef., Sanh. xiii. 2), though as a rule Gentiles cling to vain things and are rejected (Prov. xxviii. 19; Gen. R. lxxxii.). He excludes the descendants of Amalek from the Messianic kingdom (Sifre, Deut. 310; Mek., Yitro, 57a); while all other Gentiles will adopt monotheism ('Ab. Zarah 24a; comp. Pesiḳ. 28b). He is of the decided opinion that Gentiles (heathen) may lead a righteous life and thus escape Gehenna (see Zunz, "G. V." p. 269, note d; Bacher, "Ag. Tan." i. 159). It is also reported of Joshua b. Hananiah that in a dialogue with the emperor Hadrian—who insisted that, as God's name was not mentioned in those parts of the Decalogue addressed to all men, the Gentiles were preferred, Israel being threatened with greater punishments-he controverted that monarch's conclusions by means of an illustration not very complimentary to the Gentiles (Pesiḳ. R. xxi.).
Eleazar of Modi'im, in reference to Micah iv. 5, explains that Israel, though guilty of the same sins as the Gentiles, will not enter hell, while the Gentiles will (Cant. R. ii. 1). In another of his homilies, however, he speaks of the joy with which the Gentiles blessed Israel for having accepted the Decalogue (Zeb. 116a). On the whole, he is very bitter in his condemnations of the heathen. "They profit by their deeds of love and benevolence to slander Israel" (referring to Jer. xl. 3; B. B. 10a).
Eleazar ben Azariah maintains, on the basis of Ex. xxi. 1, that a judgment rendered by a non-Jewish (Roman) court is not valid for a Jew (Mek., Mishpaṭim). There is also recorded a high tribute which he paid to a heathen servant, Ṭabi, who was so worthy that Eleazar declares he felt that he himself ought to be the servant (Mldr. Mishle to Prov. ix. 2).
Ishmael ben Elisha used to reply to the heathen's benedictions and imprecations: "The word befitting you has long since been uttered." Asked for an explanation, he referred to Gen. xxvii. 29 (Hebr.): "Those that curse thee shall be cursed; those that bless thee shall be blessed" (Gen. R. lxvi.). In order to protect Jews he would decide in their favor, using the non-Jewish or the Jewish code as suited the occasion (Sifre, Deut. 16; in B. Ḳ. 113a this is given as a prescription of his for others to follow, against which Akiba, recognizing that this would be a profanation of God's name, protests "mi-pene ḳiddush ha-Shem").
Akiba, like Hillel, declared the command to love one's neighbor as oneself (Lev. xix. 18) to be the fundamental proposition of religion (Sifra, Ḳedoshim, ed. Weiss, p. 89a; Yer. Ned. 41c; Gen. R. xxiv.; comp. Ab. iii. 14; Ab. R. N. xxxix.). Robbery of which a Gentile is the victim is robbery (B. B. 113a). For his opinion of the non-Jewish peoples, the "Dialogue Between Israel and the Gentiles" is characteristic (Mek., Beshallaḥ, ed. Weiss, p. 44b; Sifre, Deut. 343; Cant. R. i. 3, v. 9, vi. 1). In another dialogue, Israel's monotheism is shown to be far superior to the ever-changing belief of the Gentiles (Mek., Yitro, x.). His contempt for the folly of idolatry as practised by the Romans is apparent in his conversation with Rufus, in which he compares the gods to dogs (Tan. Terumah, ed. Stettin, p. 139; comp. Grätz, "Gesch." iv. 447).
Among Akiba's disciples Tarphon is noted for his antipathy to the Judæo-Christians, whose books he would burn without regard for the name of God occurring therein, preferring the temple of idolaters to them (Shab. 116a).
Jose the Galilean rebukes Israel for its inconstancy, which he contrasts with the fidelity shown by the Gentiles to their ancestral beliefs (Sifre, Deut. 87). The good done by Gentiles is rewarded (see Gen. xxiii. 5; Sifra, Aḥare Mot, 85b).
Judah ben Baba holds that by the customs of the heathen forbidden in Lev. xviii. 3 were meant the cosmetic arts (Sifra, 86a: see commentary of Abraham ben David ad loc.; comp. Tosef., Soṭah, xv. 9; Shab. 62b).
The warning against the practises of the heathen in Lev. xviii. 3 is interpreted by R. Meïr (Sifra, 85b) to refer to the superstitions "of the Amorites" (enumerated in Shab. 67a; comp. Mishnah vi., last section). He would not permit Jews to visit the theaters (arenas) of the Gentiles, because blood is spilled and idols are worshiped there (Tosef., 'Ab. Zarah, ii. 5; 'Ab. Zarah 18b; Yer. Sanh. 40a; Ab. R. N. xxi.). Intolerant of idolatry ('Ab. Zarah i. 5, 8; ii. 2, 4; iii. 1; Blumenthal, "Rabbi Meïr," pp. 82 et seq.), it was Meïr who insisted that in Lev. xviii. 5 the word "man," not "priest," "Levite," or "Israelite," occurs, and thus claimed that a non-Jew versed in the Torah equals in rank the high priest (B. Ḳ. 38a; Sanh. 59a; Sifra, 86b, where II Sam. vii. 19 ["ha-adam"]; Isa. xxvi. 2, "goi ẓaddiḳ"; Ps. xxxiii. 1, "ẓaddiḳim," and cxxv. 4, "le-ṭobim," are similarly applied to Gentile and Jew alike). He was on a footing of intimacy with the Gentile philosopher Euonymos of Gadara (Grätz, l.c. iv. 469). In an anecdote, significant as indicating the freedom of intercourse between Jew and Gentile, Meïr illustrates the cynic materialism of a rich heathen who, angry at the lack of a trifle at his banquet, which offered "whatever was created in six days," broke a rich plate; pleading that, as the world to come was for Israel, he had to look to this world for his pleasures (Pesiḳ. 59b; Num. R. xxi.). Meïr has a conversation with a "hegemon," who expresses his contempt of Israel, calling the Israelites slaves; whereupon Meïr shows that Israel is a wayward son, always finding, if ready to repent, the father's house open (Jellinek, "B. H." I. 21). This anecdote, also, is significant as showing the sentiments of the Gentiles toward the Jews.
Simon ben Yoḥai is preeminently the anti-Gentile teacher. In a collection of three sayings of his, beginning with the keyword (Yer. Ḳid. 66c; Massek. Soferim xv. 10; Mek., Beshal-laḥ, 27a; Tan., Wayera, ed. Buber, 20), is found the expression, often quoted by anti-Semites, "Ṭob shebe-goyyim harog" (="The best among the Gentiles deserves to be killed"). This utterance has been felt by Jews to be due to an exaggerated antipathy on the part of a fanatic whose life experiences may furnish an explanation for his animosity; hence in the various versions the reading has been altered, "The best among the Egyptians" being generally substituted. In the connection in which it stands, the import of this observation is similar to that of the two others: "The most pious woman is addicted to sorcery"; "The best of snakes ought to have its head crushed" (comp. the saying, "Scratch a Russian and you will find a Tartar").
On the basis of Hab. iii. 6, Simon b. Yoḥai argued that, of all the nations, Israel alone was worthy to receive the Law (Lev. R. xiii.). The Gentiles, according to him, would not observe the seven laws given to the Noachidæ (Tosef., Soṭah, viii. 7; Soṭah 35b), though the Law was written on the altar (Deut. xxvi. 8) in the seventy languages. Hence, while Israel is like the patient ass, the Gentiles resemble the easy-going, selfish dog (Lev. R. xiii.; Sifre, Deut., Wezot ha-Berakah, 343). Yet Simon speaks of the friendly reception given to Gentiles (Sifre, Deut. 1). The idols were called "elilim" to indicate that "wo is them that worship them" (Jellinek, l.c. v. 78). Simon b. Yoḥai insists upon the destruction of idols, but in a different manner from that proposed by others ('Ab. Zarah iii. 3; 'Ab. Zarah 43b). He extends to Gentiles the prohibition against sorcery in Deut. xviii. 10 et seq. (Tosef., 'Ab. Zarah, viii. 6; Sanh. 55b).
Judah ben 'Illai recommends the daily recital of the benediction. "Blessed be Thou . . . who hast not made me a goi" (Tosef., Ber. vii. 18: Men. 43b, sometimes ascribed to Meïr; see Weiss, "Dor," ii. 137). Judah is confident that the heathen (Gentiles) will ultimately come to shame (Isa. lxvi. 5; B. M. 33b).The Gentiles took copies of the Torah, and yet did not accept it (Soṭah 35b).
Eliezer, the son of Jose the Galilean, calls the Gentiles poor "goyyim dawim," because they would not accept the Torah (Mek., Yitro. 62a), referring to Hab. iii. 6 and Ps. cxlvii. 20.
Joshua ben Ḳarḥa is reported to have answered the accusation—still repeated in modern anti-Semitic literature—that Israel refuses to celebrate the festivals of the Gentiles—by showing that nature's bounties bring joy to all men alike (Gen. R. xiii.).
Simon ben Gamaliel II. is the author of the saying that strict justice shall be done the Gentile, who shall elect whether he shall be tried according to the Jewish or the Gentile code (Sifre, Deut. 16).
Josiah holds that every idolatrous heathen is an enemy of Israel (Mek., Mishpaṭim, 99a).
Jonathan insists that eclipses are of bad augury for Gentiles only, according to Jer. x. 2 (Mek., Bo, 19b).
According to Hananiah b. Akabia the word (Ex. xxi. 14) may perhaps exclude the Gentile; but the shedding of the blood of non-Israelites, while not cognizable by human courts, will be punished by the heavenly tribunal (Mek., Mishpaṭim, 80b).
Why Gentile circuses and theaters continued while the Temple was in ruins, was a perplexing problem for many a plous Jew. Nehorai learns from Elijah that this is the cause of earthquakes (Yer. Ber. 13c; Midr. Teh. to Ps. xviii. 8).
Jacob, the grandson of Elisha ben Abuya, reports having seen a heathen bind his father and throw him to his dog as food (Sifre, Deut. 81).
Simon ben Eleazar does not favor the social amenities (e.g., invitations to wedding-feasts) between Gentiles and Jews (Tosef., 'Ab. Zarah, iv. 6; Ab. R. N. xxvi.; 'Ab. Zarah 8a), referring to Ex. xxxiv. 16.
According to Judah ha-Nasi, the word "goyyim" designates the nations that subjected Israel, while "ummim" denotes those that did not. Both must praise the God of Israel (Midr. Teh. to Ps. cxvii. 1).
Phinehas ben Jair prohibits the appropriation of an object lost by a non-Jew, as this is tantamount to desecrating God's name (B. K. 113b).
Simon ben Jose likens Israel to a stone, and the Gentiles to a potsherd (Isa. xxx. 14), applying the proverb: "If the stone falls on the pot, wo to the pot; if the pot falls on the stone, wo to the pot." This he offered as a consolation to persecuted Israel (Esther R. iii. 6).
Antigonus complains of the cruelty of the non-Jews toward Israel (Mek., Beshallaḥ, 27a; but see Bacher, "Ag. Tan." ii. 331, note 2).
With regard to the attitude of the Palestinian amoraim toward Gentiles the following facts may be stated:Views of the Amoraim.
That antipathy was due to idolatry itself and not to the fact that idolaters were of non-Jewish stock, appears from Ḥanina bar Ḥama's discussion with Jonathan b. Eleazar of the question whether one should take a road passing by a temple of idols or one passing through a disreputable district, in which the decision was given in favor of the latter ('Ab. Zarah 17a, b). It was also this amora who ascribed moral sanctity to the marriages of non-Jews (Noachidæ; Yer. Sanh. 58c), though he himself witnessed gross immoralities perpetrated by non-Jews ('Ab. Zarah 22b). Yet he is credited with the opinion that during the Messianic time only the heathen will be subject to death (Gen. R. xxvi.).
Hezekiah b. Ḥiyya deduces from II Kings xx. 18 that he who shows hospitality to a heathen brings the penalty of exile upon his own children (Sanh. 104a).
Some of the parables of Joshua b. Levi illustrate strikingly the reciprocal feelings entertained in his day between Jews and Gentiles. The latter accused the former of being descended from illegitimate compulsory connection between their female ancestors and the Egyptians (Pesiḳ. 82b); the Jews, in turn, likened the Romans to dogs (referring to Isa. lvi. 11; Midr. Teh. to Ps. iv. 8; comp. Matt. xv. 26; Mark vii. 27; Bacher, "Ag. Pal. Amor." 1. 146-147). That Joshua had objections only to the Jews following the evil practises of the Gentiles, is evidenced by his comments on Ezek v. 7, xi. 12 (Sanh. 39b), in which he points out that Israel deserved censure for rejecting the good customs as well as for adopting the evil ones of the nations ("Ye have not done according to the approved among them ["ke-metuḳḳanim she-bahem"], but we have done according to the corrupt ones ["ke-meḳulḳalim she-bahem"]"). His liberality is also attested in his legendary visits to paradise and hell for the purpose of ascertaining whether non-Jews were to be found in the former (Jellinek, l.c. ii. 48-51).
Johanan bar Nappaḥa complains of the insults and injuries offered by Gentiles to his people (referring to Lam. iii. 21; Pes. 139b; Cant. R. ii. 14; Ex. R. xxi.). He lays stress on the fact that God offered the Law to all nations, who refused to accept it ('Ab. Zarah 2b); therefore while the virus of lust that the serpent injected into Eve was neutralized in Israel, the "nations of the world" still have it in their blood (Shab. 145b; Yeb. 103b; 'Ab. Zarah 22b). "The wise among the heathen is called and must be honored as a wise man" (Meg. 16a), is one of Johanan's sayings, though he is also the author of another which holds that, as the Torah was given as a heritage to Israel, a non-Israelite deserves death if he studies it (Sanh. 59a). Notwithstanding all this, he maintains that Gentiles outside of Palestine are not to be regarded as idolaters, but as observers of their ancestral customs (Ḥul. 13b). Significant of the attitude of the Gentiles toward the Jews in his day is his observation that when a Gentile touches the pot placed on the common hearth by a Jew, the latter does not deem it rendered unclean; but that as soon as a Jew touches the pot of the Gentile, the latter shouts "Unclean!" (Esther R. ii. 3). Under certain circumstances, Johanan permitted the eating of food prepared by Gentiles (Yeb. 46a). His also is the maxim, "Whosoever abandons idolatry is called 'Jew"' (Meg. 13a).
Resh Laḳish prohibited the use of water which had been revered by heathens; but he had to recall his decision ('Ab. Zarah 58b; comp. Yer. Sheb. 38b, c, concerning a public bath in which was a statue of Aphrodite).
Eleazar ben Pedat observes that the suggestion of intermarriage always comes from the Gentile side: "Never does an Israelite put his finger into the mouth of a non-Israelite, unless the latter has first put his into the mouth of the Israelite" (Gen. R. lxxx.). According to Eleazar, the Jew and not the heathen is bound to sanctify God's name (Yer. Sheb. 35a). Murders committed by Gentiles are recorded by God on His own cloak in order that He may have authentic proof of their atrocities (Midr. Teh. to Ps. ix. 13).
Views of Babylonian Amoraim.
Abbahu calls attention to the fact that the Gentiles as well as Israel were offered the Torah (Pesiḳ. 200a; Tan., Berakah, 3). He complains also of the insults to which Jews are exposed in the theaters of the Gentiles (Proem 17 to Lam. R.) by Gentile actors and attendants. He indorsed the law (B. Ḳ. iv. 3) according to which a Gentile whose ox had been gored by the ox of a Jew was not entitled to damages (B. Ḳ. 32a).
Assi is the author of the injunction not to instruct the Gentile in the Torah (Ḥag. 13a).
Isaac Nappaḥa is the author of some parables in which Israel is exalted to offset the slanders of the Gentiles; and the latter, in turn, are spoken of in terms of contumely (Bacher, "Ag. Pal. Amor." ii. 291).
Levi enumerates six commandments (prohibitions of polytheism and of blasphemy; the institution of courts of justice; prohibitions of shedding of blood, of incest, and of robbery) which are binding upon all men (Gen. R. xvi.; Midr. Teh. to Ps. i. 10; the "Torat Adonai" is said to consist of these universal laws; so that to be the "happy" man of whom the psalm speaks one need not necessarily be a Jew). Levi is, however, very severe in his reflections on the morality of the Gentiles (Cant. R. to vi. 8; see Bacher, l.c. p. 329, note 7). Levi claims that the injunction not to take revenge (Lev. xix. 18) does not apply to Gentiles (Eccl. R. viii. 4).
Abba b. Kahana protests, in an explanation of Ruth iv. 16, against racial arrogance on the part of Israel (Ruth R. viii.).
Jonah and Jose permitted the baking of bread for the Roman soldiers on Sabbath-day (Yer. Sheb. 35a; Yer. Sanh. 21b; comp. Yer. Beẓah 60c). Yet they would not permit the use of a scroll partially burned in a conflagration caused by these same soldiers.
Judan applies the proverb, "A fat animal becomes lean; but a lean one has to give up the ghost," to Israel's maltreatment on the part of the Gentiles (Lam. R. iii. 20).
Phinehas b. Ḥama calls attention to the fact that Israel on Sukkot offered seventy heifers for all the nations, and prayed for them, applying the verse (Ps. cix. 4). "On account of my love they attack me" (Pes. 193b). Other stories of his bring out the fact that in his day the Jews were not liked by their Gentile neighbors (Yer. Peah 16d; Lam. R. i. 11; comp. Josephus, "B. J." iii. 2, § 2).
Abin testifies that Israel was called by others "stubborn" and "stiff-necked" (Ex. R. xlii.: ).
Tanḥuma enjoins that if one is greeted by a Gentile with the salutation of peace or a blessing, one should answer "Amen!"(; Yer. Ber. 12c; Yer. Suk. 54a; Yer. Meg. 72a), though he likens the nations to wolves and Israel to a lamb (Pesiḳ. R. ix. [ed. Friedmann, p.32a]).
The Babylonian Amoraim advert but rarely to the relations of the Israelites to the Gentiles; and, while on the whole their haggadic interpretations are less numerous than those of the Palestinian schools, the paucity of their comments on Gentiles is noteworthy as illustrative of the fact that the typical Gentile against whom rabbinical animosity was directed was the depraved Roman. According to Rab, the Saturnalia and the Calends originated with Adam, and were based on purely human sentiments ('Ab. Zarah 8a; Yer. 'Ab. Zarah 39c), a view certainly betokening tolerance for pagan customs. Similarly does Rab recognize the chastity of non-Jewish women, as is shown by his story of the Gentile woman who when sick was willing to serve any idol in order to be cured, but who upon coming to the temple of Baal-peor preferred to remain sick rather than to take part in the worship of that god (Sanh. 64a). It is the immorality of idolatry that more especially strikes him (Sanh. 63b). The moral purpose of the Torah for all men (; Lev. R. xiii.) is one of his themes. His ethical maxims are addressed as a rule to man and not to the Jew (Sanh. 107a).
Cruelty to one's fellow men marks one a non-Abrahamite (Beẓah 32b). Hospitality like Abraham's—i.e., to all men—Rab commends highly (Shab. 127a; Shebu. 35b; B. M. 86b). For him the Persian empire represented the typical antipode of piety and justice. Hence his saying (in opposition to Samuel), "Guilty of death is he that learns anything from a Magian [Persian]" (Shab. 116b); and the following: "Rather under the Romans than under the Persians" (ib. 11a).
Mar 'Uḳba, on the other hand, regards Rome as one of the two daughters of Hell (Prov. xxx. 15), the other being Apostasy or Heresy ('Ab. Zarah 17a).
Samuel, for whom the only distinction of the Messianic age is the absence of the subjugation of Israel by Gentile powers, makes no difference between Israel and the nations as far as God's judgment is concerned (Yer. R. H. 57a).
Judah's benediction of the trees in springtide is characteristic of his broad spirit, since he praises God for thus delighting the "sons of man," not the Israelite alone (Ber. 43b; R. H. 11a).
Naḥman bar Jacob, finally, forbids every kind of irony and taunt except such as are directed against the idolatry of the non-Jews prevailing in his day (Meg. 28b; Sanh. 63b).
- Bacher, Ag. Pal. Amor.;
- idem, Ag. Bab. Amor.;
- idem, Ag. Tan.
In rabbinic literature, owing to the censor's overvigilance and ignorance, the term "Gentile" is often erroneously identified with "Kuti" (= "Samaritan"), "Egyptian," "Amalek," etc., and in rare instances is misplaced for "Noẓri" = "Christian." Thus the censor's zeal to protect "the faith" had the effect of characterizing the Christian as a heathen, which was far from the authors' intention (see "Paḥad Yiẓḥaḳ," , p. 7a). As a rule the Talmud, especially the Mishnah, speaks of the Gentiles who dwelt in Palestine under the Jewish government, either as idolaters or as domiciled aliens ("ger toshab"), bound to observe the seven moral commandments given to Noah's descendants: namely, against (1) idolatry, (2) incest, (3) homicide, (4) robbery, (5) eating limbs of live animals, (6) castration, and (7) the mixing of breeds (Sanh. 56b); and having their own judges in every district and town like the Israelites (ib.), the Gentiles outside of Palestine were not considered strict idolaters, but blind followers in the path of their ancestors (Ḥul. 13b).
The seven nations in the Holy Land were to be exterminated for fear they might teach the Israelite conquerors idolatry and immoral practises (Deut. vii. 1-6, xviii. 9-14, xx. 16-18); but in spite of the strenuous efforts of Joshua and other leaders the Israelites could not drive them out of the Promised Land (Josh. xiii. 1-6). Having in view the curbing of assimilation and the protection of the Jewish state and society, the legislators, men of the Great Assembly, adopted stringent measures against these Gentiles. These laws were collected and incorporated in the Mishnah, and were interpreted in the Gemara of the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds. The restrictive regulations may be classified as having been enacted for the following reasons: (1) to exalt monotheism, and Israel as a nation; (2) to combat and outlaw barbarism; (3) to overcome the unreliability of the Gentile; and (4) to counteract Gentile laws not in harmony with the humanitarian laws of the Jews.Rabbinical Modification of Laws.
- 1. The Pharisees, interpreting the spirit of the Law, and acting under the elastic rule that "there is a time to serve the Lord by relaxing his law" (Ps. cxix. 126, Hebr.; Yoma 69a), permitted the desecration of the Sabbath in besieging a Gentile city "until it be subdued" (Deut. xx. 20), in accordance with Shammai's interpretation (Shab. 19a). This definition was not new, as already the Maccabeans had taken advantage of it in fighting the enemy unceasingly, putting aside the observance of the Sabbath for the sake of God and of their national existence (I Macc. ii. 43, 44). Probably for the same reason (to facilitate war with the Gentile enemy), the Rabbis modified the laws of purification so as not to apply when one comes in contact with a corpse or human bones, or when one enters an enclosure containing a dead body. With regard to the text "This is the law when a man dieth in a tent" (Num. xix. 14), they held that only Israelites are men, quoting the prophet, "Ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men" (Ezek. xxxiv. 31); Gentiles they classed not as men but as barbarians (B. M. 108b). The Talmudic maxim is, "Whoever has no purification laws can not contaminate" (Naz. 61b). Another reason assigned is that it would have been utterly impossible otherwise to communicate with Gentiles, especially in the post-exilic times (Rabinovitz, "Mebo ha-Talmud," p. 5, Wilna, 1894). Patriotism and a desire to regain a settlement in the Holy Land induced the Rabbis, in order not to delay the consummation of a transfer of property in Palestine from a Gentile to a Jew, topermit the deed to be written on the Sabbath, an act otherwise prohibited (B. Ḳ. 80b).
- 2. The barbarian Gentiles who could not be prevailed upon to observe law and order were not to be benefited by the Jewish civil laws, framed to regulate a stable and orderly society, and based on reciprocity. The passage in Moses' farewell address: "The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from Mount Paran" (Deut. xxxiii. 2), indicates that the Almighty offered the Torah to the Gentile nations also, but, since they refused to accept it. He withdrew His "shining" legal protection from them, and transferred their property rights to Israel, who observed His Law. A passage of Habakkuk is quoted as confirming this claim: "God came from Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran. . . . He stood, and measured the earth; he beheld, and drove asunder [ = "let loose," "outlawed"] the nations" (Hab. iii. 3-6); the Talmud adds that He had observed how the Gentile nations steadfastly refused to obey the seven moral Noachian precepts, and hence had decided to outlaw them (B. Ḳ. 38a).
It follows that the Gentiles were excepted from the general civil laws of Moses. For example, the Law provides that if a man's ox gores and kills a neighbor's ox, the carcass and the surviving ox shall be sold, and the proceeds divided between the respective owners (half-damages). If, however, the goring ox has been known to be dangerous and its owner has not kept watch over it, he shall pay full damages for the dead ox and take the carcass (Ex. xxi. 35-36, Hebr.). Here the Gentile is excepted, as he is not a "neighbor" in the sense of reciprocating and being responsible for damages caused by his negligence; nor does he keep watch over his cattle. Even the best Gentile laws were too crude to admit of reciprocity. The laws of Hammurabi provide: "If the ox has pushed a man, and by pushing has made known his vice, and the owner has not blunted his horn, has not shut up his ox, and that ox has gored a man of gentle birth and caused him to die, the owner shall pay half a mina of silver" (Johns, "Oldest Code of Laws," § 251, Edinburgh, 1903). This price of a half-mina of silver was also the fixed fine for cutting down a tree (ib. § 59). It appears that only a nominal sum was paid when a man not of gentle birth was killed, and even less when a neighbor's ox was gored. The Mishnah, bearing such facts in mind, therefore declares that if a Gentile sue an Israelite, the verdict is for the defendant; if the Israelite is the plaintiff, he obtains full damages (B. Ḳ. iv. 3). It should be noted that in these tort cases public or sacred property () was also an exception, for the reason that both are wanting in individual responsibility and in proper care. The principle was that the public could not be fined since it could not collect in turn. The Gemara's reliance on the technical term "neighbor" () in the text as its justification for excluding both the Gentile and the public, is merely tentative.
The Talmud relates in this connection that the Roman government once commissioned two officers to question the Rabbis and obtain information regarding the Jewish laws. After a careful study, they said: "We have scrutinized your laws and found them just, save the clause relating to a Gentile's ox, which we can not comprehend. If, as you say, you are justified by the term 'neighbor,' the Gentile should be quit when defendant as well as when plaintiff." The Rabbis, however, feared to disclose the true reason for outlawing the Gentiles as barbarians, and rested on the textual technicality in the Mosaic law, in accordance with which they had authority to act in all cases coming within their jurisdiction (B. Ḳ. 38a).
The Mosaic law provides for the restoration of a lost article to its owner if a "brother" and "neighbor" (Deut. xxii. 1-3), but not if a Gentile (B. Ḳ. 113b), not only because the latter would not reciprocate, but also because such restoration would be a hazardous undertaking. The laws of Hammurabi made certain acts connected with "articles lost and found" a ground of capital punishment. "If the owner of the lost property has not brought witnesses identifying his lost property; if he has lied, or has stirred up strife, he shall be put to death" (Johns, l.c. § 11). The loser, the finder, or an intermediate person was put to death in certain stages of the search for the missing article (ib. §§ 9-13). The Persian law commanded the surrender of all finds to the king (B. Ḳ. 28b). As an illustration of the Gentile law and of Jewish magnanimity, the following is related in the Talmud: "Queen Helen lost her jewelry, and R. Samuel, who had just arrived in Rome, found it. A proclamation was posted throughout the city offering a certain sum of money as a reward for the restoration of the jewels within thirty days. If restored after thirty days, the finder was to lose his head. Samuel waited and restored the jewels after thirty days. Said the queen: 'Hast thou not heard of the proclamation?' 'Yes,' answered Samuel, 'but I would show that I fear not thee. I fear only the Merciful.' Then she blessed the God of the Jews" (Yer. B. M. ii. 5).
Similarly, the mandate concerning the oppression of or withholding wages from a hireling brother or neighbor, or a domiciled alien (Deut. xxiv. 14-15) who observes the Noachian laws, is not applicable in the case of a Gentile. That is to say, a Gentile may be employed at reduced wages, which need not be paid promptly on the same day, but may be paid in accordance with the usual custom of the place. The question arose whether a Jew might share in the spoils gained by a Gentile through robbery. One Talmudic authority reasoned that the Gentile exerted himself to obtain the ill-gotten property much less than in earning his wages, to which the Mosaic law is not applicable; hence property seized by a Gentile, if otherwise unclaimed, is public property and may be used by any person. Another authority decided that a Jew might not profit by it (B. M. 111b).Ashi's Decisions.
R. Ashi decided that a Jew who sells a Gentile landed property bordering on the land of another Jew shall be excommunicated, not only on the ground that the Gentile laws do not provide for "neighbors' boundary privileges" (), but also because the Jewish neighbor may claim "thou hast caused a lion to lie on my border." The ban shall not be raised unless the seller stipulates to keep theJew free from all possible damage arising from any act of the Gentile (B. Ḳ. 114a). The same Ashi noticed in a vineyard a broken vine-branch bearing a bunch of grapes, and instructed his attendant, if he found that it belonged to a Gentile, to fetch it; if to a Jew, to leave it. The Gentile owner overheard the order, and asked: "Is it right to take from a Gentile?" Ashi replied: "Yes, because a Gentile would demand money, but a Jew would not" (ib. 113b). This was an adroit and sarcastic answer. In truth, Ashi coincided with the opinion of the authority stated above; namely, that, as the presumption is that the Gentile obtained possession by seizure, the property is considered public property, like unclaimed land in the desert (B. B. 54b). The consensus of opinion, however, was against this authority. R. Simeon the Pious quotes to show that legal possession was required even in dealing with the Seven Nations: "And thou shalt consume [ = "eat the spoils"] all the people which the Lord thy God shall deliver thee" (Deut. vii. 6, Hebr.), meaning that Israel could claim the land only as conquerors, not otherwise (B. Ḳ. 113b).
In one instance a Gentile had the benefit of the technical term "neighbor," and it was declared that his property was private. The Law provides that an Israelite employed in his neighbor's vineyard or grain-field is allowed to pick there as much as he can eat while working (Deut. xxiii. 25-26). But since the employer in this case was a Gentile (i.e., not a "neighbor"), the Israelite was forbidden to eat anything without permission (B. M. 87b). As regards the property of this Gentile perhaps his title to it was not disputed, and it was therefore considered just as sacred as that of a Jew.
Discriminations against Gentiles, while strictly in accordance with the just law of reciprocity and retaliation, having for their object to civilize the heathen and compel them to adopt the civil laws of Noah, were nevertheless seldom practised. The principal drawback was the fear of "profaning the Holy Name" (). Consequently it was necessary to overlook legal quibbles which might appear unjust in the eyes of the world, and which would reflect on the good name and integrity of the Jewish nation and its religion. Another point to be considered was the preservation, "for the sake of peace" ("mi-pene darke shalom"), of the friendly relations between Jew and Gentile, and the avoidance of enmity (; 'Ab. Zarah 26a; B. Ḳ. 113b).
Not only was the principle of retaliation directed against the heathen Gentile, but it also operated against the lawless Jewish herdsmen of sheep and other small cattle, who trespassed on private property in Palestine contrary to the ordinance forbidding them to raise their herds inland (Tosef., B. Ḳ. viii. [ed. Zuckermandel, p. 362]; comp. Sanh. 57a). All retaliation or measures of reprisal are based on the Jewish legal maxim of eminent domain, "The judicial authority can annul the right to the possession of property and declare such property ownerless" (, B. B. 9a).Discrimination Against Gentiles.
- 3. Another reason for discrimination was the vile and vicious character of the Gentiles: "I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation " (= "vile," "contemptible"; Deut. xxxii. 21). The Talmud says that the passage refers to the Gentiles of Barbary and Mauretania, who walked nude in the streets (Yeb. 63b), and to similar Gentiles, "whose flesh is as the flesh of asses and whose issue is like the issue of horses" (Ezek. xxiii. 20); who can not claim a father (Yeb. 98a). The Gentiles were so strongly suspected of unnatural crimes that it was necessary to prohibit the stabling of a cow in their stalls ('Ab. Zarah ii. 1). Assaults on women were most frequent, especially at invasions and after sieges (Ket. 3b), the Rabbis declaring that in case of rape by a Gentile the issue should not be allowed to affect a Jewish woman's relation to her husband. "The Torah outlawed the issue of a Gentile as that of a beast" (Miḳ. viii. 4, referring to Ezek. l.c.).Excepting the Greeks, no Gentiles, not even the Persians, were particular in shedding blood (B. Ḳ. 117a). "Meeting a Gentile on the road armed with a sword [on his left], the Jew shall let him walk on his right [being thus ready to wrench away the weapon if threatened with it]. If the Gentile carries a cane [in his right hand], the Jew shall let him walk at his left [so that he may seize the cane if raised against him]. In ascending or descending the Jew shall always be above, and shall not stoop down for fear of assassination. If the Gentile ask to be shown the way, the Jew shall extend his own journey a point farther and shall not tarry on reaching the stranger's destination" ('Ab. Zarah 25b).Taking these conditions into consideration, the precautions against the employment of Gentile midwives can be easily understood. A Gentile woman was not allowed to suckle a Jewish babe, save in the presence of Jews. Even so it was feared that the Gentile nurse might poison the child (ib. 25a). As a retaliative measure, or for fear of accusation, the Rabbis forbade Jewish midwives and nurses to engage themselves in Gentile families, unless offered a fee for the service or to avoid enmity (ib.). The same rule applied to physicians (Maimonides, "Yad," 'Akkum, ix. 16). The Roman laws ordained that physicians should be punished for neglect or unskilfulness, and for these causes many were put to death (Montesquieu, "L'Esprit des Lois," xxix. § 14). In a place where no Jewish physician could be found to perform the rite of circumcision the question arose whether a Gentile or a Samaritan mohel might be chosen to operate. If the Gentile is "an expert physician patronized by the public, he may be employed, as it is presumed he would not jeopardize his reputation by purposely injuring a Jewish patient" ('Ab. Zarah 27a).
With such a character as that depicted above, it would naturally be quite unsafe to trust a Gentile as a witness, either in a criminal case or in a civil suit. He could not be depended upon to keep his promise or word of honor like a Jew (Bek. 13b). The Talmud comments on the untruthfulness of Gentiles ("a band of strange children whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand [in raising it to take an oath] is a right hand of falsehood" [Ps. cxliv. 11]), and contrasts it with thereputation of a Jew: "The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth" (Zeph. iii. 13). Also excluded as a "neighbor" was the Gentile in whose trust property was left with all prescribed provisions (Ex. xxii. 6-14). The Torah does not discriminate against the testimony of a Gentile, save when he is held to be a robber; when it is thought that he has no intention of perjuring himself he is believed (Mordecai, Annotations to Rosh Giṭ. 10). Hence documents and deeds prepared by Gentile notaries in their courts are admitted as valid evidence (Giṭ. i. 4). R. Simeon even validates a Jewish writ of divorce signed by a Gentile notary (ib.). In dietary cases, where a Gentile is disinterested his evidence is accepted (Shulḥan 'Aruk, Yoreh De'ah, 86, 1). A Gentile's testimony to a man's death, incidentally related as a matter of fact, he being unaware that his evidence is wanted, is held sufficient to release a woman from her marriage bond and to permit her to marry again (Giṭ. 28b; Shulḥan 'Aruk, Eben ha-'Ezer, 17, 14; see 'Agunah).As Suitors in Civil Cases.
- 4. After the destruction of Jerusalem the condition of the Gentiles in general was somewhat improved by the establishment of Roman courts of justice; but the laws of the latter, borrowed from the Persians and modified by feudalism, never attained the high standard of Jewish jurisprudence. Even under the Roman supremacy the Jews were permitted to decide their civil and criminal cases in accordance with their own code of laws, just as in countries like Turkey, China, and Morocco extra-territorial rights are granted by treaty to the consular courts of foreign nations. In a mixed trial where the suitors were respectively Jew and Gentile, the Jew had to abide by the harsh and illogical laws of the Gentiles; and for this the Jew retaliated whenever occasion arose.It sometimes happened that the Gentile, wishing to take advantage of the liberal Jewish laws, summoned his Jewish opponent to a Jewish court. In such cases the Gentile would gain little benefit, as he would be dealt with in accordance with the Jewish or the Gentile law, as might be least advantageous to him. The judge would say: "This is in accordance with our law" or "with your law," as the case might be. If this was not satisfactory to the Gentile, legal quibbles and circumventions might be employed against him. R. Akiba, however, would not permit such proceedings, which tended to profane the Holy Name (B. Ḳ. 113a).The differences between their laws were the main barriers between Jew and Gentile. The Talmud would excommunicate a Jew who without a summons testified in a petty Gentile court as a single witness against a Jew, for the Jewish law required at least two witnesses. But in the supreme court a single Jewish witness might testify, as the Gentile judge would administer the oath to the defendant, which proceeding was similar to that prescribed by Jewish law (ib.).The Jewish mode of acquisition of real property by deed or by three years' undisputed possession did not apply to Gentiles (Ḳid. 14b), who as a rule acquired their property by seizure. The Persian laws leased property for a term of forty years, so that three years' occupation would not amount to a presumption of purchase (B. B. 55a). In case of transfer of chattels, a money payment was sufficient without delivery or removal, which the Jewish law required (B. Ḳ. 13a). Part payment or a consideration was not valid (B. B. 54b).Acquisition by a consideration was an old established Jewish law: "This was the manner in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning changing, for to confirm all things; a man plucked off his shoe and gave it to his neighbor" (Ruth iv. 7). The article of consideration in "former times" was changed in later times to a kerchief (). The Gentiles did not admit acquisition by a consideration. Transfers of their property were effected only for ready money to the full amount (Ḳid. 8a). The Persians bound themselves by an exchange of presents, which was considered equivalent to a word of honor, but not, however, in the sense of a consideration ('Ab. Zarah 71a).The Persian law ordered the guarantor to pay immediately on the default of the debtor; while the Jewish law required the creditor first to proceed against the debtor, and that then, if the debt were not paid, he should sue the guarantor (B. B. 173b, 174a).The Jewish law against overcharging one-sixth or more above the current price of marketable merchandise—a violation of which affected the validity of the sale—applied only to a Jew or domiciled alien, not to a Gentile. "If thou sell ought unto thy neighbor, or buyest ought of thy neighbor's hand, ye shall not oppress [overcharge] one another" (Hebr. = "his brother"; Lev. xxv. 14), was contrary to the Gentile legal maxim, "A bargain is a bargain." For this the Gentile was paid in his own coin, so to speak. Samuel declared legal a transaction in which an error has been made by miscalculation on the part of a Gentile. Following out his theory, Samuel was unscrupulous enough to purchase from a Gentile a gold bar for four zuz, which was the price of an iron bar; he even beat down the price one zuz. Such transactions, while regarded as perfectly proper and legitimate among the Gentiles, were not tolerated among the Jews themselves.On the other hand, there were many examples of cases in which Jews refused to take advantage of errors. A rabbi once purchased wheat from a Gentile agent, and, finding therein a purseful of money, restored it to the agent, who blessed "the God of the Jews." Simeon b. Shaṭaḥ restored a valuable pearl he had found on a donkey to the Gentile of whom he had purchased the beast (Yer. B. M. ii. 5). In cases of wilful murder, an alien Gentile who observed the Noachian laws which forbid murder was treated like a Jew. "One law and one manner [judgment] shall be for you and for the stranger that so-journeth with you" (Num. xv. 16)—that is, provided he abides by the same law. According to the Talmud, there is a difference between a domiciled alien (), one who abandoned idolatry in order to be allowed to settle in Palestine, and a true alien (), who voluntarily and conscientiously observed the Noachian laws (see Proselyte and Proselytism). In regard to manslaughter (unpremeditated homicide), for which the culprit was exiledto a city of refuge (Num. xxxv. 11), the Mishnah says: "All were exiled for the manslaughter of an Israelite; and an Israelite was exiled for the manslaughter of others, save a domiciled alien. The latter was exiled for the manslaughter of another domiciled alien" (Mak. ii. 3). This was in accord with the general rule that a man could not be sentenced to death without a previous warning (; Sanh. 57a); and since such forewarning was necessarily lacking in cases of manslaughter, the Israelite guilty thereof was simply exiled, this step being taken to forestall the avenger of blood. The Gemara to the Mishnah cited above (Mak. 8b) holds that an alien was not entitled to the forewarning, and hence should be executed.
For robbery or defaulting in a trust the guilty person was required to repay the principal and to pay one-fifth in addition (Lev. v. 21-24 [A. V. vi. 2-4]); in other cases fines, ranging from double to four and five times the original amount for theft, were imposed (Ex. xxii. 1-4). Where the stolen property belonged to a Gentile or to the public, however, the guilty was required to pay only the principal, without the additional fines (Maimonides, "Yad," Gezelah, i.7). As the fine was a personal compensation, the public, lacking individuality, could not receive it; nor could a Gentile, since his own laws were at variance with reason and justice. For example, the Twelve Tables ordained that a thief be whipped with rods and condemned to slavery; and the Greeks inflicted capital punishment for stealing even a trifle.Gentile Poor to Be Supported.
The prohibition of usury, or rather of taking any amount over and above that of the original loan, specifies of "a poor brother" and a stranger (alien) "that he may live with thee" (Ex. xxii. 25; Lev. xxv. 35-37). "Unto a stranger [= "foreigner"], however, thou mayest lend upon usury" (Deut. xxiii. 20). This was a purely economic measure, encouraging a tax on loans to foreigners, and cautioning against impoverishing the domestic producer. The Gentile was considered a foreigner whom an Israelite need not support, and his own laws did not prohibit usury. The Jewish prohibition extended to the alien ("ger"), as the text plainly indicates; but there is a question whether it included a domiciled alien ("ger toshab"; B. M. 71a). Nevertheless the Mishnah says the Gentile poor shall be supported together with the Jewish poor, for the sake of peace (Giṭ. 61a). The Talmud also says that a pious Jew shall not take interest from a Gentile, and quotes Ps. xv. 5: "He that putteth not out his money to usury" (Mak. 24b). In fact, the Talmud did not tolerate the charging of interest to Gentiles (B. M. 71a). See Usury.
The relation of the Jews to the ruling government was fixed by Samuel's maxim, "The law of the land is binding," thus validating all enactments of the land not in conflict with the Jewish religion, and rendering unto Cæsar his due as regards taxes and imposts, which no one might evade—provided, however, that the taxes were authorized (B. Ḳ. 113a). Rabbenu Tam, defining this maxim, adds: "provided the king's edicts are uniform, and apply to all his subjects in all his dominions." R. Eliezer of Metz says: "provided the king taxes his own subjects and settlers; but he can not extort money from journeymen passing through his dominion without having any intention to remain there. Otherwise, it is not law, but robbery" (Mordecai in B. Ḳ. x. § 215; Annotations to Rosh Ned. iii. 11).Gentiles May Not Be Taught the Torah.
Inasmuch as the Jews had their own distinct jurisdiction, it would have been unwise to reveal their laws to the Gentiles, for such knowledge might have operated against the Jews in their opponents' courts. Hence the Talmud prohibited the teaching to a Gentile of the Torah, "the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob" (Deut. xxxiii. 4). R. Johanan says of one so teaching: "Such a person deserves death" (an idiom used to express indignation). "It is like placing an obstacle before the blind" (Sanh. 59a; Ḥag. 13a). And yet if a Gentile study the Law for the purpose of observing the moral laws of Noah, R. Meïr says he is as good as a high priest, and quotes: "Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments, which if a man do, he shall live in them" (Lev. xviii. 5). The text does not specify an Israelite or a Levite or a priest, but simply "a man"—even a Gentile ('Ab. Zarah 26a).
Resh Laḳish (d. 278) said, "A Gentile observing the Sabbath deserves death" (Sanh. 58b). This refers to a Gentile who accepted the seven laws of the Noachidæ, inasmuch as "the Sabbath is a sign between God and Israel alone," and it was probably directed against the Christian Jews, who disregarded the Mosaic laws and yet at that time kept up the observance of the Jewish Sabbath. Rabbina, who lived about 150 years after the Christians had changed the day of rest to Sunday, could not quite understand the principle underlying Resh Laḳish's law, and, commenting upon it, added: "not even on Mondays [is the Gentile allowed to rest]"; intimating that the mandate given to the Noachidæ that "day and night shall not cease" (="have no rest ") should be taken in a literal sense (Gen. viii. 22)—probably to discourage general idleness (ib. Rashi), or for the more plausible reason advanced by Maimonides, who says: "The principle is, one is not permitted to make innovations in religion or to create new commandments. He has the privilege to become a true proselyte by accepting the whole Law" ("Yad," Melakim, x. 9). R. Emden (), in a remarkable apology for Christianity contained in his appendix to "Seder 'Olam" (pp. 32b-34b, Hamburg, 1752), gives it as his opinion that the original intention of Jesus, and especially of Paul, was to convert only the Gentiles to the seven moral laws of Noah and to let the Jews follow the Mosaic law—which explains the apparent contradictions in the New Testament regarding the laws of Moses and the Sabbath.Present Status of the Gentile.
With the conversion of the Gentile to Christianity or to Islam, the heathen and pagan of the civilized or semi-civilized world has become almost extinct, and the restrictions placed on the ancient Gentile are not applicable to the Gentile of the present day, except in so far as to consider him a Noachian observingall moral laws, in contradistinction to the Jew, who as one of the chosen people observes in addition the Mosaic laws. That the laws against the Gentile as a barbarian were not entirely expunged from the rabbinic literature after the advent of Christianity, was due to the persecutions and the barbaric treatment of the Jews in the Middle Ages. The gradual decrease of animosity may, however, be noted by comparing the various codes and collections of responsa. For example, that a Jewish physician should be forbidden to offer his services to a Gentile was contrary to the general practise of the Jews in the Middle Ages. Maimonides himself became the physician of Sultan Saladin in Egypt. The prohibition against the employment of a Gentile nurse or midwife "except a Jewess stands by her" was modified by an eminent authority with "so long as there is a Jew living in that town who is liable to come into the house" (Moses of Coucy, "Semag," § 45). That no such distinction exists anywhere nowadays is an acknowledged fact, proving conclusively that the Rabbis regulate their decisions in accordance with the spirit of the Jewish law.
The special Jewish jurisdiction in civil cases is still maintained in the Orient, in some parts of Europe, and even in America, where the bet din administers the law, mostly by arbitration, effecting a compromise between the litigants for the sake of avoiding the "law's delay" and of saving the expenses of trial in the secular courts. See also Aliens; Noachian Laws;
- In addition to the works cited in the article, Levensohn, Zerubbabel, Warsaw, 1875;
- Ben Judah, i., §§ 71-73, Warsaw, 1878;
- Zweifel, Sanegor, pp. 263-308, ib. 1885;
- Bloch, Gegen die Anti-Sem. Vienna, 1882;
- Baum, Ein Wichtiges Kapitel über der Völker, Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1884;
- Briman, Gesetzsammlung des Judenspiegels, Jassy, 1885.
- Anti-Jewish: Eisenmenger, Entdecktes Judenthum, Königsberg, 1711;
- Chiarini, Theorie, du Judaisme, i. 322-359, Paris, 1830;
- McCaul, The Old Path of Modern Judaism, i. 27-47, London, 1847;
- Rohling, Talmud-Jude, Leipsic;
- Rohling, Meine Antwort an die Rabbiner, Prague, 1883.
- For Talmud references compare the expurgations by the censor in the various editions of , of which the Cracow ed., 1894, is the more complete.
The opinions of a few of the noted and authoritative scholars are here cited to show the favorable change which the attitude of the Jews toward the Gentiles underwent in post-Talmudic times.
R. Sherira Gaon, president of the college in Pumbedita in the tenth century, permitted Jews to bring suit in a Gentile court on the defendant's refusal to have the case adjudicated by a Jewish tribunal. "Even if the Jew be the robber and the Gentile the one robbed, it is the duty of those who know it to so testify before the justice" (quoted in "Be'er ha-Golah" to Shulḥan 'Aruk, Ḥoshen Mishpaṭ; see also ib. 426, 5).
Maimonides (twelfth century), in his code written in Egypt, says: "It is forbidden to defraud or deceive any person in business. Jew and non-Jew are to be treated alike. If the vendor knows that his merchandise is defective, he must so inform the purchaser. It is wrong to deceive any person in words, even without causing him a pecuniary loss ("Yad," Mekirah, xviii. 1). In his Mishnaic commentary Maimonides remarks: "What some people imagine, that it is permissible to cheat a Gentile, is an error, and based on ignorance. The Almighty—praised be His Name!—instructed us that in redeeming a Hebrew servant from the services of a Gentile owner 'he shall reckon with him that bought him'" (Lev. xxvi. 50), meaning to be careful in his calculation not to cheat the Gentile. This was in Palestine, where the Jews had the upper hand over the Gentiles. How much more should the law be observed at the present time, when they have no sovereignty over the Gentiles. Moreover, neglect of the precept would cause the desecration of His Name, which is a great sin. Deception, duplicity, cheating, and circumvention toward a Gentile are despicable to the Almighty, as "all that do unrighteously are an abomination unto the Lord thy God" (Deut. xxv. 16; commentary to Kelim xii. 7).
Moses of Coucy (thirteenth century) writes: "I have been preaching before those exiled to Spain and to other Gentile countries, that, just because our exile is so prolonged, it behooves Israel to separate from worldly vanities and to cleave to the seal of the Holy One, which is Truth, and not to lie, either to Jew or Gentile, nor to deceive them in the least thing; to consecrate themselves above others, as 'the remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity nor speak lies.' . . . Behold, the visitation of the Flood for the violence done to the wicked Gentiles!" ("Semag," § 74).Opinions of Jewish Scholars.
About the same period R. Judah of Ratisbon, compiler of the "Sefer Ḥasidim," quotes: "It is forbidden to deceive any person, even a Gentile. Those who purposely misconstrue the greeting to a Gentile are sinners. There can be no greater deception than this" ("Sefer Ḥasidim," § 51, Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1817). "If either a Jew or Gentile should request a loan, he should get a frank answer. Do not say, 'I have no money,' when the reason is the fear to trust" (ib. § 426). "One shall not act in bad faith even to Gentiles. Such acts often bring down a person from his rank; and there is no luck in his undertaking. If perchance he succeeds, punishment is visited on his children" (ib. § 1074).
In the fifteenth century R. Isaac b. Sheshet, who lived in North Africa, in response to an inquiry regarding the status of a non-Jew, quotes authorities to prove that the Gentiles nowadays are not ultraidolaters, and consequently are not subject to the Talmudic restrictions mentioned above. He further says: "We must not presume that such restrictions were fixed rabbinical ordinances, not to be changed. On the contrary, they were made originally to meet only the conditions of the generations, places, and times" (Responsa, No. 119).
Caro (sixteenth century), the author of the Shulḥan 'Aruk, decides that "the modern Gentiles are not reckoned as heathen with reference to the restoration of lost articles and other matters" (Bet Joseph to Ṭur Ḥoshen Mishpaṭ, § 266; see also Ṭur Yoreh De'ah, § 148, ed. Venice, 1551).
R. Benjamin (seventeenth century), replying to an inquiry regarding an error of a Gentile in overpayingeighteen ducats, says: "For the sake of consecrating the Holy Name, a Jew shall correct and make good the error of a Gentile. . . . Jacob charged his sons to return to the governor of Egypt the silver put, perhaps by oversight, in the sacks of corn purchased by them from him. One must not take advantage of an error made either by a Mohammedan or by a Christian. Otherwise, the nations would rightly reproach the chosen people as thieves and cheats. I myself had occasion to restore to a Gentile money received through error" (Benjamin Beer, Responsa, No. 409, Venice, 1539).
Eliezer of Mayence writes: "The commandment prohibiting theft, like those against murder and adultery, applies to both Jews and Gentiles" ("Sefer Ra'aban," § 91, Prague, 1610).
Ezekiel Landau (eighteenth century), in the introduction to his responsa "Noda' bi-Yehudah" (ib. 1776), says: "I emphatically declare that in all laws contained in the Jewish writings concerning theft, fraud, etc., no distinction is made between Jew and Gentile; that the titles 'goi,' ''akkum,' etc., in no-wise apply to the people among whom we live."
Senior Zalmon (d. 1813), the representative authority of the modern Ḥasidim, in his version of the Shulḥan 'Aruk (vi. 27b, Stettin, 1864), says: "It is forbidden to rob or steal, even a trifle, from either a Jew or Gentile, adult or minor; even if the Gentile grieved the Jew, or even if the matter devolved is not worth a peruta [mite], except a thing that nobody would care about, such as abstracting for use as a toothpick a splinter from a bundle of wood or from a fence. Piety forbids even this."
Israel Lipschütz (nineteenth century), in his commentary to the Mishnah, says: "A duty devolves upon us toward our brethren of other nations who recognize the unity of God and honor His Scriptures, being observers of the seven precepts of Noah. . . . Not only do these Gentiles protect us, but they are charitably inclined to our poor. To act otherwise toward these Gentiles would be a misappreciation of their kindness. One should say with Joseph: 'How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?'" ("Tif'eret Yisrael" to B. Ḳ. iv. 4).
- Hamburger, in Hebrew Review, i. 145-164, Cincinnati, 1880.
Modern Judaism, as inculcated in the catechisms and explained in the declarations of the various rabbinical conferences, and as interpreted in the sermons of modern rabbis, is founded on the recognition of the unity of the human race; the law of righteousness and truth being supreme over all men, without distinction of race or creed, and its fulfilment being possible for all. Righteousness is not conditioned by birth. The Gentiles may attain unto as perfect a righteousness as the Jews. Hence the old Jewish doctrine, "The righteous among the Gentiles are sharers [in the felicity] of the world to come" (Tosef., Sanh. xiii.), is reaffirmed by the modern Synagogue. "Neighbor," in the command, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor like thyself " (Lev. xix.), signifies every human being.On Marriage.
Modern Judaism does not accept the rabbinical maxim, "Ḳiddushin en lahem, abal be'ilat ba'al yesh lahem," to the effect that coition but not marriage obtains among the Gentiles. This reflection on the morals of the non-Jewish world arose out of the conditions of Roman civilization; but, in view of the observance in civilized countries of the Biblical laws of marriage, the modern Synagogue acknowledges without quibble the sanctity of matrimony contracted under the sanction of the civil law or of the Church. Where the civil law is in conflict with the Jewish law, the civil law in general takes precedence; where degrees of consanguinity are permitted in the Mosaic law, but forbidden in the civil law, the latter is recognized by the Synagogue. But where the civil law permits marriages within certain degrees of consanguinity forbidden in the Mosaic code, the Jewish law is respected.
The jurisdiction of the Gentile tribunals is also recognized in civil suits, whether the parties be Jews or Gentiles. In these cases the maxim of Samuel, "The law of the land is law" ("Dina de-malkuta dina"; Giṭ. 6b), is applied in its broadest sense. The term "huḳḳot ha-goyyim," after rabbinical precedent (see above, under R. Meïr), is applied, if at all, only to such customs as conflict with the implications of ethical monotheism (sorcery, superstition: see Pes. 111a), and to the introduction into the synagogal service of rites repugnant to the genius of monotheistic Judaism. The rabbinical injunction against placing animals in the stable of a Gentile (Giṭ. 46b), as well as the provisions freeing the slave sold to a non-Jew, had its root in the horrid indulgences of the Roman-Greek world. Slavery, whether of Jew or Gentile, is abhorrent in the eyes of modern Judaism. The caution against being found alone with a Gentile, and against leaving a woman alone with one ('Ab. Zarah ii. 1), has lost what reasonableness it had in the days of Roman depravity (see Sifra, Aḥare Mot, 9). The Jewish religion teaches the very contrary of the assumption basic to these injunctions. The Christian, whose morality is fundamentally Jewish, never fell under the designation used in these rabbinical warnings.Impartiality of Jewish Philanthropy.
Jewish philanthropy draws no distinction between Gentile and Jew. The provision for the relief and care of Gentile dependents and the burial of their dead (Giṭ. 61a) is in full authority, not merely "mi-pene darke shalom" (see above), but as grounded in the very essence of Jewish benevolence. The examples of the old rabbis, quoted in part above, in extending the law of reverence for old age (Maimonides, "Yad," Talmud Torah, vi. 9) to the aged among the Gentiles (Ḳid. 33a); in giving the salutation of peace to the non-Jew (Ber. 17a; Giṭ. 61, 62); in gladdening the hearts of Gentiles on their holidays ('Ab. Zarah 12a, 65a), are recalled in modern catechisms and treatises of Jewish ethics, to teach that the same regard for the dignity of man shall be extended to every one created in God's image. The Mishnaic interdiction of celebrating the holidays of the heathen by intercourse with them on those days (ib. i. 1), reasonable enough when idolatry was supreme, has been superseded by the injunction to have due and reverent regard for the religious usages of non-Jews,and to enter heartily into the spirit of such common celebrations as have no bearing on the positive monotheistic tenets of Judaism.
The oath before a Gentile magistrate is inviolable, though Judaism discourages the practise of taking an oath, believing that "one's yes should be yes, and one's no should be no" (B. M. 49a; Sheb. 36a). Honesty and truthfulness are insisted on in all dealings, whether with a Jew or a Gentile. The Rabbis insisted that the sin known as "genebat da'at" (the stealing of another's good opinion by false representations or by the pretense of friendship and the like) be avoided in one's intercourse even with a heathen (Ḥul. 94a). In view of the virulent aspersions on Jewish morality, it should be noted that modern Judaism, like rabbinical Judaism, makes false dealings, usury, theft, and the like of which a Gentile is the victim, a "ḥillul ha-shem" on the part of the Jew, the one sin for which only death may bring atonement (Lev. R. xxii.; Yer. Ned. 38b; Ab. iv. 4).
The modern prayer-books (e.g., the English edition of Einhorn's "'Olat Tamid," Chicago, 1896) have substituted in the prayer for peace in the "Shemoneh 'Esreh" the words "all nations" and "all the sons of man, thy children," for the old reading "thy people Israel."
Intermarriage is not countenanced by modern Judaism; but this is not due to contempt for the Gentiles, but to the conviction that unity of religion is essential to the happiness of the home. | <urn:uuid:6f5bb6cc-6d2e-4625-89c8-33d2cc32aa1c> | {
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During the Interplanetary Age, a number of sociological and economic groups were interested in better adapting people to life in an intensive and high-technology age. One such initiative that they funded was an attempt to increase the natural human linguistic ability, extending it to give an instinctive childhood ability to learn not only spoken but also written language, as easily as an unmodified baseline human learns to speak.
Although not an easy thing to implement, it was eventually done, producing a group that became known as Ireaders (from 'Instinctive Readers'). The Ireader modification proved to be a useful one, and it spread quite quickly through the sophonts of Terragens space.
Over time a similar process of modification has been applied to other mental processes, such as mathematics, producing 'Imathmos' and so on.
There have also developed a number of hard-line sub-clades who have modified themselves to be able to understand only written communication rather than the spoken form. These are known as Oreaders (from 'Only Readers').
Text by Tony Jones
Initially published on 01 August 2004. | <urn:uuid:ced23971-72fd-4dab-9566-a6ae932c87ca> | {
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Prohibition was perhaps one of the biggest failures of the 20th century. It illustrated everything that can happen when the government gets in the way of something people are going to do anyway. When alcohol was banned, people didn’t stop drinking at all. They just hid it. An entire economy developed. We can thank prohibition for creating NASCAR, mixed drinks, and light beer (and also this). Not much to celebrate there.
The only thing we can really thank prohibition for is providing interesting observations on how strong government is (or isn’t). Banning the production or sale of alcohol didn’t do much to stop people from enjoying a drink. What it did do was give criminals a new revenue source. Look at Al Capone. Capone was perhaps the most notorious gangster of his time, and he would have likely been a butcher or simply a pawn in someone else’s operation if it weren’t for alcohol.
When a substance like alcohol is banned production and sale is sent underground. This means that the production can’t be regulated. We can’t make sure the alcohol people drink is safe. Though I’ve had moonshine and trust it wasn’t made in an old victorian tub in the woods of Appalachia, it probably was. But moonshine represents 0.00001% of all the alcohol I’ve ever consumed. Thanks to the end of prohibition, most of the alcohol I drink is made in safe and sterile production facilities.
When production and sale are underground, the government also misses out on tax revenue. Right now our governments make a pretty good living off of the sale of alcohol, the same applies for tobacco. These are substances we are going to consume for a long time to come. So you might as well be able to tax and regulate it.
The final problem with alcohol was the cost to enforce the law. Governments spent millions tracking down speakeasies and the people that produced alcohol. They also had to run down those bootleggers that ran the stuff in their cars (that’s where NASCAR came from) which required expensive cars. There were costs of lives too. The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre is but the tip of the iceberg.
All of that and you know what finally did in Capone? Taxes. They couldn’t even catch the most well known criminal in the world for doing the awful things he did. Alcohol was legalized in 1933, in the middle of the Great Depression. I’m not going to say it was its savior, but the economy bottomed out about the same time.
What does all this have to do with anything today? Some might say there are parallels to marijuana. This is true. But this is really just about knowing what’s really worth regulating, in any situation. | <urn:uuid:c28cd372-c95b-4c43-bab3-48b08124dc30> | {
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In continuing the discussion from last month, we now move on to explore absolute encoders. Figure 1 shows the window-shade arrangements for four different 6-bit absolute encoders. They are depicted as lying along a straight line, as in a linear motion encoder; however, they can also be generated in a rotational disc. The advantage of the absolute encoder is that it cannot “forget” where it is when power is turned off. The disadvantage is that they are more expensive than their incremental kin, and there is one channel for each bit, and one output wire for each bit, which accounts for their cost. The better the required resolution, the greater the number of bits. In fact, the resolution is given by:
R = 1/2N
where R is the encoder resolution and
N is the number of bits.
In Figure 1, all being 6-bit encoders, the smallest resolution is 1/64, meaning that the physical excursion can be resolved down to 1 part in 64. If it is a rotational system, the full circle could be broken into no smaller increment than 5.625° (360°/64). This is not a precise system. However, more bits in the figure would only serve to make the drawing more difficult to read.
|Figure 1. Shade-window schematics for four different 6-bit absolute encoders: pure binary (a), gray code (b), pure BCD (c), and gray code BCD (d). |
Referring to the encoder patterns in Figure 1, observe that the white/black (logical zero/one) pattern in any given vertical line drawn through any one of the 64 increments is unique compared to any other vertical line. That is, there is a unique one/zero bit pattern at each of the 64 positions. The reading device, probably a computer or a PLC, will be able to monitor the bit pattern and “know” where the encoder shaft is in position within the resolution. The resolution becomes finer as the number of bits increases, so the position can be determined with greater precision. This is true of all the encoders represented in Figure 1.
Gray code encoders
I must point out that there is a flaw in the pure binary encoder of Figure 1(a), and it involves the transitions from one increment to the next. In a pure binary configuration, for example, five bits change in going from the 32nd to the 33rd position. It is impossible to construct the window shade edges and then position the LED-phototransistor pairs so that all five transistors switch at exactly the same instant. As a result, ambiguity always exists in making the transitions from segment to segment. The gray code was invented to circumvent this problem.
The genius of this code is that there is only one bit that changes in moving from one segment to the next. But now it is a software problem to decode the bit pattern. The bit pattern is interpreted as a pure binary number, but then this number “points” to a location in a “look-up” table, which holds the true position value for the given bit pattern. It is not a difficult programming process.
Position data are available at all times (assuming power is on) immediately. So a computer, or other interrogating device, merely has to access the several parallel wires and read the bit pattern. That bit pattern is converted to the actual position, and orders then are issued to move forward, backward, or remain in the current position. All this is done in the computer with the control software.
When the decision is made to use an encoder as a position transducer, it is usually dictated by the fact that the control system is digital. On the other hand, reports from the field suggest that most electrohydraulic motion servo systems use only analog sensing and control. A few viable analog position transducers exist, but the magnetostrictive type has been the transducer of choice for implementation in hydraulic cylinders. Here are some reasons why:
• Technologically, they are highly developed and don’t produce any major surprises, even to first-time users.
• They are available from several different suppliers.
• Either digital or analog outputs are available.
• They do not rely upon physically contacting and abrading parts in order to work.
• Designs have been developed that are buried inside the relatively safe confines of the cylinder envelope. Magnetostrictive transducers can also be mounted outside the cylinder, if that configuration is desired.
Of course, with advantages come disadvantages. Here are some limitations of magnetostrictive transducers:
• Some models exhibit a considerable temperature sensitivity.
• Internally mounted versions require the cylinder’s piston rod be machined (commonly called gun drilling) to accommodate the transducer’s waveguide tube as the cylinder’s piston extends and retracts. The piston rod’s outside diameter must be at least 1.375 in.
• Even internally mounted versions add to the final package envelope dimensions.
• They are not the most expensive transducers, but neither are they the least expensive.
Magnetostrictive transducers use a sonar-like process to detect position. Figure 2 shows permanent magnets mounted to form a ring in a recess in the piston. The cylinder rod has been gun drilled to accommodate the waveguide tube. In operation, a current pulse applied to the center wire in the tube creates a circumferential magnetic field around the wire. This magnetic field interacts with a magnetic field of the piston-mounted permanent magnets. This interaction causes a torsional reaction in the tube — a phenomenon called magnetostriction. This physical reaction is a result of the fact that a ferromagnetic material changes its physical dimensions in the presence of a magnetic field. Furthermore, the change takes place only in the region of the piston-mounted ring magnets.
|Figure 2. The internally mounted magnetostrictive position transducer requires a hollow piston rod to “eat” the waveguide tube. |
The torsional reaction is a mechanical event, and it causes a torsional displacement wave to travel back toward the current generator at the speed of sound in the waveguide tube. An instant later, the torsional wave arrives at the sending end of the tube, which has been outfitted with a small bar magnet wrapped with a coil. The tiny motion of the magnet induces a speed voltage into the coil. Measuring the time delay between the initial current pulse and the time when the “echo” torsional pulse is received enables determining the position of the piston.
The linear variable differential transformer (LVDT), Figure 3, is an electromagnet device for measuring mechanical position or movement. It consists of a primary transformer winding and a dual secondary. Design of the transducer is such that it is fed an AC excitation frequency from 1000 Hz to about 10,000 Hz, which is normally generated using an electronic local oscillator. The amplitude of the excitation is only a few volts — in the range of 2 V to 10 VRMS.
|Figure 3. The LVDT has a single primary winding and dual secondary so that the amplitude and phase vary with slug movement. |
The magnetic coupling between the primary and the secondary changes with the position of a ferromagnetic moveable slug. The slug does not have to contact anything within the LVDT for it to function; it relies solely on magnetic electrical coupling.
The slug is connected to that external member whose position is to be measured. As the slug changes position, the change in coupling causes the V0A and V0B ac output voltages to change. Because of the way the secondary coils are connected, the end-to-end voltage, V0, is the instantaneous sum of the two components. Also, the coils are phased so that they are 180° out of phase with each other.
When the slug is placed in the precise electrical center, the output sum is zero, putting the LVDT output at null. The V0A voltage, which has the same phase as the primary excitation, is of the same amplitude as V0B. However, because of the 180° phase shift, their sum is zero.
When the slug moves upward, the V0A voltage increases, and the V0B diminishes to where their sum is not zero but has the same phase as V0A. On the other hand, when the slug moves downward, V0B increases while V0A diminishes, creating a summed output voltage with the 180° phase.
In summary, then, the output voltage has the same phase as V0A when the slug is above center, and the same phase as V0B when the slug is below center. And, of course, the amplitude of the output varies as the slug moves. The farther it is from center, the greater the output.
Basic Electronics for Hydraulic Motion Control
Everything you wondered about and need is here: transducers, interfaces, signal conditioners, pulse width modulation, controllers, amplifiers, transistors, analog electronics, digital electronics, and much, much more. It is a must read and reference for anyone interested in certification in the exploding technology of electrohydraulics.
It uses your knowledge of fluid power to help you learn and understand electronics. Order your copy now and get the book that makes electronics fun and easy to learn.
Authored by Jack L. Johnson, P.E., edited by Hydraulics & Pneumatics, and published by Penton Media, the hard cover textbook (ISBN 0-932905-07-2)contains 438 pages and sells for $59.00, plus shipping and sales tax. To order, or for more information, visit the Bookstore and download the order form. | <urn:uuid:d7ddb7eb-1d9f-4ee4-b579-742e66081389> | {
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Learner's definition of OPTIMISM
a feeling or belief that good things will happen in the future
a feeling or belief that what you hope for will happen
Both of them expressed optimism about the future of the town.
The early sales reports are cause/reason/grounds for optimism.
Most of us reacted to the news with cautious/guarded optimism. [=a feeling that something good may happen but will not definitely happen]
There is growing optimism that the problem can be corrected.
He maintains a sense of optimism, despite all that has happened. | <urn:uuid:4a1fcfe6-1d15-4df7-9104-100de81e32b2> | {
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Oct. 13, 1930 - Town officials to meet: Members of the Harbor Commissions of Green Bay and De Pere, and the town chairmen of towns adjoining the Green Bay harbor have been invited to meet in the city hall this evening with Roy S. MacElwee, harbor engineer, engaged in making a survey of the local harbor. The call of the meeting was issued by B.L. Parker, president of the Green Bay Commission.
One of the questions that has always arisen in connection with the development of the local harbor is that of forming a harbor district which will give entire control of harbor matters in a central body, representative of all interested municipalities. It is expected that Mr. MacElwee will discuss this phase of the subject with these at the meeting this evening, and that he will arrange also to secure information from those attending for local plans of developing harbor facilities. | <urn:uuid:02dbc9f7-37d9-4f13-b2ef-d6243b9a3ad0> | {
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August 2008, Waly Wane
Health centers in Chad received less than 1 percent of the Ministry of Health’s non-wage recurrent expenditures set aside for their use in 2004.These figures were obtained by combining data from 281 primary health centers and 20 hospitals with data on the share of public expenditures making its way through the four levels of the health system. The study showed a direct relationship between funds that do not reach frontline health clinics and an increase in out-of-pocket expenses by users.
Chad is one of the poorest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, ranking 100th out of 103 countries on the Human Poverty Index. Average life expectancy is 43 years. Despite a 24-percent increase in the government health budget in 2003 and significant increases in resources allocated to health in the past decade, the incidence of malaria, diarrhea, respiratory infections, parasites, meningitis, and cholera remains high.
Health centers that do not receive public support charge much more for medications than centers enjoying public resources. The higher prices for medication sold to patients by health centers constitute a major barrier to treatment. Out-of-pocket spending for drugs can often exceed 70-80 percent of the cost of a visit. As the figure below shows, the number of patients treated could have doubled had these fund reached local clinics.
The left side of the figure shows a paradoxically negative association between public resources in health and performance and the right side shows this result does not hold once leakage is taken into account.
Source: Gauthier and Wane (2008).
Public health resources are not allocated well. Richer people will bypass nearer low-quality public providers to visit private providers, and the poor will bypass nearer private providers they cannot afford to seek care in a lower quality public health centers. This bypassing behavior reflects the larger number of service providers in urban areas and suggests a mismatch in the allocation of public health resources.
Rural facilities are often overcrowded despite their low quality, and urban public facilities, bypassed by the better-off in favor of private and faith-based providers, attract few clients. Ultimately, careful monitoring of public funds is needed to ensure that additional public resources reach rural facilities and the underserved poor.
A few simple policy mechanisms would greatly improve the transfer of public funds. A set of clear allocation rules at the ministry level about materials and medications to regions and districts would reduce the discretionary capture by regional and district administrators. Better recordkeeping on resources received by health centers from higher administrative levels and how the money is spent would contribute to transparency and accountability by public officials. Providing the public with access to information on transfers can also be effective in ensuring public funds reach health clinics.
1. The survey, designed and organized by the author, examined various levels of the health sector, collecting the most complete information possible on resource use, delivery processes, health outputs, and pricing behavior.
2. Gauthier, Bernard, and Waly Wane. Forthcoming. “Leakage of Public Resources in the Health Sector: An Empirical Investigation of Chad.” Journal of African Economies. (Based on World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 4351, September 2007).
3. Gauthier, Bernard, and Waly Wane. 2008. “Bypassing Health Providers: The Quest for Better Price and Quality of Health Care in Chad.” World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 4462, January.
4. For example, a public information campaign in Uganda reduced the capture of school grants from 80 percent in 1995 to less than 20 percent in 2001.[Reinikka, Ritva S., and Jakob Svensson. 2004. “The Power of Information: Evidence from A Newspaper Campaign to Reduce Capture.” World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 3239, March.]
Waly Wane is an Economist in the Development Research Group (Human Development and Public Services Team). His research interests include the effect of frontline provider-level incentives provided by both government and local communities on the determination of both the quality and quantity of supplied public services. Email: [email protected]
Bernard Gauthier is Professor of Economics at the École des Hautes Études Commerciales in Montreal. Email: [email protected]. | <urn:uuid:f33fb201-4157-4e8e-86cd-44a7ea5efcb6> | {
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Soundex is a system for indexing names by sound. It was designed so that homophones, words that sound the same but which are spelt differently, resolve to the same encoding. For example, the names Reid and Reed would both be encoded as R300, McDonald and Macdonald are both M235, etc.
To create a Soundex:
- The first letter of the Soundex is the first letter of the name.
- Then remove all vowels, and all occurrences of y, h and w.
- The remaining letters are encoded one-by-one according to their place of articulation, i.e. where in the mouth or throat the sound is formed.
- The labial consonants b, f, p and v, which are formed by the lips, are coded as a one.
- The guttural and sibilant consonants, c, g, j, k, q, s, x and z, which are formed at the back of the throat and with the tongue close to the roof of the mouth respectively, are coded as a two.
- The dental consonants, d and t, which are formed by the tongue against the teeth are coded as a three.
- The long liquid consonant l is encoded as a four.
- The nasal consonants, m and n, in which air escapes through the nose, are encoded as a five.
- The short liquid consonant r is encoded as a six.
- If two letters that are encoded as the same number are next to each other (e.g. the d and t in Schmidt) then the encoding is used only once.
- If two letters that are encoded as the same number are separated by a y, h or w then the encoding is used only once.
- If two letters that are encoded as the same number are separated by a vowel then the encoding is used twice.
- The letters are encoded one-by-one until three numbers are produced. If the name is too short, the remainder of the Soundex is encoded using zeroes.
If we use the example of Macdonald from above:
- First letter is M.
- Removing the vowels leaves us with Mcdnld.
- c is encoded as two, giving us M2.
- d is encoded as three, giving us M23.
- n is encoded as five, giving us M235. | <urn:uuid:c35af922-68bc-40a4-b0dc-217ffbba6628> | {
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Hsieh, H. and Chiang, H. and Tsai, L. and Lai, S. and Huang, N. and Linacre, A.M.T. and Lee, J.C. (2001) Cytochrome b gene for species identification of the conservation animals. Forensic Science International, 122 (1). pp. 7-18. ISSN 0379-0738Full text not available in this repository. (Request a copy from the Strathclyde author)
A partial DNA sequence of cytochrome b gene was used to identify the remains of endangered animals and species endemic to Taiwan. The conservation of animals species included in this study were: the formosan gem-faced civets, leopard cats, tigers, clouded leopards, lion, formosan muntjacs, formosan sika deers, formosan sambars, formosan serows, water buffalo, formosan pangolins and formosan macaques. The control species used included domestic cats, domestic dogs, domestic sheeps, domestic cattles, domestic pigs and humans. Heteroplasmy was detected in the formosan macaque, domestic pig and domestic cats. The frequencies of heteroplasmy in these animals were about 0.25% (1 in 402 bp). Sequences were aligned by Pileup program of GCG computer package, and the phylogenetic tree was constructed by the neighbor-joining method. The results of sequence comparison showed that the percentage range of sequence diversity in the same species was from 0.25 to 2.74%, and that between the different species was from 5.97 to 34.83%. The results of phylogenetic analysis showed that the genetic distance between the different species was from 6.33 to 40.59. Animals of the same species, both the endangered animal species and domestic animals, were clustered together in the neighbor-joining tree. Three unknown samples of animal remains were identified by this system. The partial sequence of cytochrome b gene adopted in this study proved to be usable for animal identification.
|Keywords:||cytochrome b gene, animal conservation, heteroplasmy, phylogenetic analysis, species identification, Chemistry, Pathology and Forensic Medicine|
|Subjects:||Science > Chemistry|
|Department:||Faculty of Science > Pure and Applied Chemistry|
|Depositing user:||Pure Administrator|
|Date Deposited:||28 Feb 2012 14:42|
|Last modified:||08 Jul 2016 02:22| | <urn:uuid:cfa9a47a-a429-4818-8f2d-94ca8cbaa818> | {
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What is red eye?
Red eye is the result of changes in the blood vessels in your eye that make your eye look red or bloodshot; it may occur in one or both eyes. Red eye is usually caused by irritation, infection or trauma. Even everyday causes, such as coughing, sneezing, crying, and lack of sleep, can lead to redness in your eye. Red eye is often accompanied by other eye symptoms, including burning, itching, soreness, tearing and discharge.
Physical irritation leading to red eye can be caused by smoke, smog or dust in the air or by household cleaning products or personal care products, such as shampoo or soap that get in your eyes. Prolonged wear of contact lenses also causes irritation that produces red eye. Allergies are a very common cause of red eye, whether they are local, such as an allergic reaction to eye makeup, or more generalized, such as hay fever.
Infections and other inflammations may cause redness resulting from blepharitis (inflammation of the eyelid margin) or conjunctivitis (inflammation of the eye surface). Uveitis and iritis, which are inflammations of structures within the eye, are serious, though less common, causes of red eye. Another serious cause of red eye is acute angle-closure glaucoma. A harmless, but sometimes dramatic, dense area of redness in the white of the eye is usually a subconjunctival hemorrhage, caused by breakage of small, superficial blood vessels.
The goal of the medical evaluation is to identify the root cause for red eye. Most red eye is a result of a mild condition and usually resolves on its own. In rare cases, red eye may be a symptom of serious conditions that can threaten your vision and your health. Because your eyes and vision are vital to your quality of life, be sure to see your health care provider if you have any eye symptoms that cause you concern.
Seek immediate medical care (call 911) if you have red eye along with serious symptoms such as sudden changes in your vision, severe pain in your eye, high fever (higher than 101 degrees Fahrenheit), if your red eye was caused by either blunt or penetrating trauma, or if you experience sudden swelling of the face, lips or tongue.
Seek prompt medical care if your symptom of red eye is persistent, recurrent, or causes you concern.
What other symptoms might occur with red eye?
Depending on the cause of your red eye, other parts of your body may also be affected. A variety of symptoms commonly occur along with red eye.
Common symptoms that may occur along with red eyeRed eye may accompany other common symptoms including:
What causes red eye?
In general, anything that irritates or inflames the white part of your eye can cause red eye. The redness you see is usually caused by an increase in the size of small vessels in your eye, which allows more blood into the white portion of your eye, making it appear red. Sometimes a bright red patch, called a subconjunctival hemorrhage, appears in the white of your eye as a result of the breakag... Read more about red eyecauses | <urn:uuid:40bc0f13-0393-4655-b939-9e0ddfbf7c84> | {
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The American Paint Horse is a type of horses which are understood for having a percentage of white hair over skin integrated with another color. This color pattern is among the most crucial attributes of this breed. The American Paint Horse Association is among the biggest breed register centers in the United States.
Every American Paint Horse has actually white hair integrated with some other color found in horses. American Paint horses are related to the American Quarter Horse, and share the exact same ancestors.
Stringent requirements are needed in order to register these horses. Both the sire and dam have to be registered in the APHA and the club for Thoroughbreds. A minimum of among the moms and dads of the horse being signed up should be an American Paint Horse. It is also important that the horse being registered have white fur over skin which is another color. These horses have an outstanding temperament, and make excellent animals.
The American Paint Horse should have a body shape which is the very same as the American Quarter Horse. The American Paint Horse is one of the most popular types of horses in the United States today.
In spite of this, these horses are prone to getting lethal white syndrome, a genetic disease. Some foals are born with a pure white color and do not have a functioning colon. Since this writing, no efficient treatments have actually been found for this disease, and the foal typically passes away within 2 weeks. The death is a really agonizing process, and they are usually put down when symptoms have been found. The coat color alone is not an indication that a horse has this illness.
This illness has actually ended up being popular among American Paint Horse breeders, and a number of them have experienced this illness first hand. While it was thought at one time that overos brought this disease, recent research study has revealed that not all overos carry this disorder, and tobianos and quarter horses might carry it also. Regardless of these conditions, American Paint Horses are highly treasured.
The American Paint Horse is a type of horses which are known for having a portion of white hair over skin combined with another color. Every American Paint Horse has white hair integrated with some other color discovered in horses. American Paint horses are related to the American Quarter Horse, and share the same forefathers. At least one of the moms and dads of the horse being signed up must be an American Paint Horse. The American Paint Horse need to have a body shape which is the same as the American Quarter Horse. | <urn:uuid:fd3bb86d-db32-45f4-8266-c291c5659ada> | {
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California regulators are launching an investigation into offshore fracking after revelations that the practice had quietly occurred off the coast since the late 1990s.
California Coastal Commission staff member Alison Dettmer says the agency has begun looking into the extent of hydraulic fracturing in federal and state waters.
Dettmer says the potential risks are not fully known.
The practice involves pumping large amounts of sea water, sand and chemicals to break up rock formations to recover oil and gas.
A recent report by The Associated Press documented at least a dozen instances of hydraulic fracturing in the Santa Barbara Channel, site of a disastrous 1969 oil platform blowout that spurred the modern environmental movement.
The coastal panel discussed fracking Thursday during its meeting.
Explore further: English tremors blamed on shale 'fracking' | <urn:uuid:059c0f15-b789-4a22-b42d-46060c4379b8> | {
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Kerala, (കേരളം) a state in Southern India, is known as a tropical paradise of waving palms and wide, sandy beaches. Kerala is also known by God's own Country.It is a narrow strip of coastal territory that slopes down the Western Ghats in a cascade of lush, green vegetation and reaches the Arabian sea. Kerala borders the states of Tamil Nadu to the east and Karnataka to the north. It is also known for its backwaters, mountains, coconuts, spices and art forms like Kathakali and Mohini Attam. It is the most literate state in India, and a land of diverse religions, where you can find Hindu temples, mosques, churches, and even synagogues. With world-class sporting options, Ayurvedic spas and treatments, eco-tourism initiatives, beautiful tall blue mountains, pristine rain forests, golden beaches and an enormous range of accommodation, Kerala has much to offer the visitor.
Famous for its heritage, spices, textiles, beaches, rainforests and food.
|Central Kerala |
Includes the urban agglomeration of Kochi, the cultural heart of Kerala-Thrissur, and the food basket of Kerala-Palakkad.
|Central Travancore |
Kerala's backwaters, and the land of churches, latex and literacy.
|Northern Travancore |
Known for its mountains and hill stations, and plantations of spices, tea and coffee.
|Southern Travancore |
Home to the capital city and various monuments, famous beaches, large temples, churches, and sporting events.
Here are nine of the most notable cities.
- 1 Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) — the capital and largest city, famous for its beaches, historical monuments, parks and temples
- 2 Alappuzha (Alleppey) — heartland of Kerala Backwaters with natural maze of canals criss-cross the city, leading to it being called the Venice of the East
- 3 Kalpetta — capital of Wayanad district, which is home to three wild life sanctuaries and hill stations
- 4 Kannur (Cannanore) — a historical town famous for its 'Kalaripayattu' martial arts, 'Theyyam' temple dance, political movements, forts, folklore, hand looms, beaches, coffee-growing hills and spices.
- 5 Kochi (Cochin) — a major port and cosmopolitan city and the largest urban agglomeration with unlimited shopping options, known as the 'Queen of the Arabian Sea' and featuring the ancient cities of Fort Kochi and Mattanchery
- 6 Kozhikode (Calicut) — heart of the Malabar region and one of the world's oldest thriving trade centres, with many pretty beaches, waterfalls and trekking possibilities, where Vasco da Gama landed for the first time in India
- 2 Athirappilly Falls — is the largest water fall in Kerala with tall as 80 feet situated in Thrissur district. The famous movie Bahubali was shoted here.
- 3 Eravikulam National Park — grasslands, forest and shrublands are criss-crossed by several streams, this provides a habitat for a wide variety of birds, grazing animals, predators such as the leopard, butterflies unique to the area, amphibians, and sometimes elephants
- 4 Kerala Backwaters — stretching across central Kerala; no-one should miss a boat journey from Kollam to Alappuzha
The tourism department of Kerala boasts that the state is God's Own Country. Once you visit, you will see where this claim comes from. The state really is blessed with great natural beauty.
The state is also considered to be one of the safest regions of India. Incidents of local people cheating tourists are almost non-existent. Kerala has high standards of living compared to its neighbours and other Indian states and has indices such as education and healthcare that are on par with developed countries. Therefore, tourists can relax without being followed around by taxi drivers, touts or guides, though there are some beggars who have migrated from poorer states. Abundant rainfall means that you can find lush greenery that remains pretty much throughout the year. A holiday here is an opportunity for rejuvenation. You can get an Ayurvedic oil massage, spend a day or two on a houseboat with nothing to do but watch coconut trees pass by, or just laze around on Kovalam or Varkala beaches. Thus, tourism is more experiential here, rather than being devoted to seeing highly touristed sights. Kerala was named as one of the "ten paradises of the world" and "50 places of a lifetime" by the National Geographic Traveler magazine.
Kerala is wedged between the Western Ghats on the eastern side and the Arabian Sea on the west, thus having a wide range of topography from high altitude mountains to golden beaches, and is criss-crossed by 44 rivers. The tributaries, unique backwaters, lagoons and numerous small islands provide many scenic attractions for visitors.
The ancient period saw the rise and fall of the first and second Chera empires, which were the only two periods when Kerala was united under a monarch. Kerala is mentioned in the writings of many Greek, Roman, Arabic, European and Jewish travelers and merchants from the 1st millennium BCE. She was known for the spices that were grown in the lush hills of the Western Ghats. During the Middle Ages, there were three powerful kingdoms - Kolathiri/Cherakal in the extreme north, Samuthiri/Zamorin in Kozhikode (north and central), Travancore in the south. The Portuguese were the first to discover a direct sea route between Lisbon and Kozhikode in Kerala, and this marked the beginning of European colonisation in the country. Soon the Dutch, French, Italians and British were all lured by the wealth of spices and silk, and came with the intention of forming colonies. The defeat of the Dutch by the Travancore Army at the Battle of Colachel, and the decline of Portuguese Empire and French problems in Europe, resulted in the British gaining the full influence in India, and the annexation of the Malabar region (Kolathiri and Samuthiri) into the British Madras Presidency.
However, the Kingdoms of Tiruvithamkoor (Travancore) and Kochi (Cochin) enjoyed some autonomy under the British. After Indian independence, the kingdoms chose to accede into the Indian Union, and were later merged into a single State of Travancore-Cochin. With the linguistic reorganisation of States, the Malayalam-speaking regions of Malabar and Travancore-Cochin were integrated into the State of Kerala on November 1st 1956. This realised a united Kerala, a dream held since the partition of the ancient Kerala Empire of Cheras in the eighth century. Today, people in Kerala live a largely traditional lifestyle, and much of the rich culture and heritage of the region is well-preserved.
November 1st is celebrated as Keralappiravi (Birth of Kerala) Day (also observed as Malayalam Divasam or Malayalam Day).
Kerala also played host to the first Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities of India. While the Jewish population declined following the establishment of Israel, Kerala still has a synagogue in Kochi. Kerala is known for its secularism and peaceful co-existence and brotherhood of the three major religions - Hinduism, Islam and Christianity.
Kerala, being very close to equator, has a tropical climate. Kerala experiences heavy rains almost throughout the year, and is one of the wettest areas in the earth.
Kerala has three distinct seasons:
- Summer lasts from mid-February to mid-May. The tropical sun is really hot and temperatures can go up to 35°C in the afternoons.
- The monsoon is in place from mid-May until early September. The North-East Monsoon winds bring heavy showers.
- Winter is mild and lasts from about mid-October to early February. Heavy rains occur from the last week of September until early November, due to the retreat of the South-East monsoon. There is no snow in Kerala, although it is quite cold and misty in the mountain regions.
When in Kerala, carry an umbrella no matter what time of the year it is. You can be caught in a sudden shower in summer which will leave you drenched if you are unprepared. The Kerala sun coupled with high rate of humidity can be unforgiving in the summer months.
The temperature averages around:
- 28°C - 36°C daytime, 24°C - 28°C at night in summer seasons of March, April
- 20°C - 28°C daytime, 18°C - 25°C at night for the rest of the year
Temperatures may drop down to 10°C or lower during November and December in hilly areas of the Western Ghats, especially at popular hill-stations like Munnar and Wynad, which results misty days and freezing nights coupled with light cold showers. However, in other places, the temperatures never drop below 15°C.
Summers have become hotter: though the maximum temperature has never risen higher than 36°C, the rising humidity has made summers difficult. The height of the Kerala summer is normally between mid-March and May. Wear only light, loose cotton clothes during this season. Consider a trip to hilly areas, where the temperatures never exceed 26°C.
Kerala experiences mild winds throughout most of the year.
The most pleasant time to visit is from September to March, when the weather is ideal for sightseeing, trekking and boating.
Hinduism is the largest religion in the state. Hinduism in Kerala is bit different to other parts of India, due to assimilation of traditional Dravidian culture, and later due to the unique practice of Marumakathyam (matrilineal system), which made the society highly matriarchal unlike patriarchal values found else where in India. This also helped the society to be highly tolerant to cross-caste/religious marriages and co-living systems. Also, Kerala is the only last place in world where ancient Hindu Vedic Tantric rites are practiced widely.
Kerala's Islam is also unique. Kerala's trading relations with West Asia brought Islam to its shores around 600 CE soon after its formation in Arabia, through Arab Traders. Islam entered Kerala with an official fanfare and patronage from the ruling Hindu Chera Emperor and ever since that, Islam became one of the most popular religions in the state. Unlike other parts of India, Kerala Muslims are mainly descended from Arabs through inter-religious marriages between fisherman families, who are thus called Mappillas (meaning sons-in-law). Unlike other parts of India, Muslims were given high profile rankings in Kerala society by ruling Hindu Rajas and many of them are placed as close companions of ruling elite. Kerala's Islam is slightly different from Islam from other parts of South Asia, as Kerala follows the Shafi'i School of Islam like many Arab countries such as Yemen, and unlike the Hanafi school elsewhere in India.
Christianity, too, has made a unique mark in Kerala's history. St. Thomas the Apostle came in 52 CE and spread the message of Christ. This resulted in a large influx of Syrian immigrants who soon assimilated with the locals. Kerala has the largest number of churches in India. In terms of denominations, Kerala is home to Roman Catholic Latin Rite, Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara denominations, two major Orthodox denominations, two major Protestant denominations and one Nestorian church, apart from innumerable Charismatic/Independent congregations.
For thousands of years, Buddhism was the most influential religion in Kerala. It was only in the 11th and 12th centuries that Brahmanism took hold in the state and Buddhism waned. Today the state has a small Buddhist population and almost all famous Buddhist temples in Kerala has been converted into large Hindu temples, some still having Buddhist saints worshiped. The famed Vadakkumnath Temple in Thrissur was a large Buddhist Vihara, which was converted into a Hindu Temple.
Another minority religion is Jainism, with a fairly small number of followers in Wayanad, Kozhikode and Kochi. Jainism reached Kerala during the Maurya period, when the Great Mauryan Emperor Chandragupta Maurya retired to Shravanabelagola near Mysore in 3rd century BCE, though a large number of Jain monks accompanied him. Jainism became extremely popular in Kerala, with large number of Jain temples, until 6th century CE when there was a revival of Hinduism in Kerala. The decline of Jains resulted in many Jain temples being converted into large Hindu temples. The classic example is the famous Irinjalakoda Bharatha Temple which originally was a Jain temple dedicated to Saint Bharatheswara, a Jain monk, which was converted into a Hindu Temple in 5th century CE as Lord Bharatha (Brother of Sree Rama). Many Jain temples later got demolished during Tipu Sultan's raid.
There are also a lot of followers of Sikhism in the state, mainly those who have migrated from the Indian state of Punjab.
Judaism has existed in Kerala for about 2,000 years, and today a minority of Jews live around Kochi, although there was a mass migration in the 1950s following the founding of Israel. Jews arrived in Kerala during the Crusades when the fall of Jerusalem caused a large number of Jewish immigrants to take refuge in Kerala. The Chera Kulashekara Emperor invited Jews to settle down in Kochi and Kollam areas and issued them various grants and privileges. Unlike elsewhere, Kerala is one of the few places in the world where Jews lived peacefully with Muslims and Christians. Cochini Jews became the largest segment of Jews and several famous synagogues were established, though the first Jewish synagogue, which was established in the 15th century (the Commonwealth's oldest synagogue), is the only remaining one. During Portuguese rule, several synagogues were raided and many were demolished, until the Kochi Kingdom officially asked the Portuguese to stop attacking Cochini Jews. This resulted in existence of only two synagogues in Kerala- the Paradesi Synagogue of Mattachery (must see while in Kochi) and a small one in Paravur. Synagogues are off limits to tourists on Saturdays as it is the Sabbath.
Due to its strong socialist values and history of several communist movements, there are a considerable number of atheists in the state.
Hindus constitute about 56% of the population, Muslims 24% and Christians account for about 19%. Communal and sectarian tensions are rare. Kerala is considered the most peaceful place in South Asia.
Unique to Kerala, the Malayalee culture is derived from ancient Tamil-Dravidian practices combined with Arya-Indian culture, with influences from China, Japan, Arab countries, Portugal, Holland and even from the British. There are a lot of Tamil-Sanskrit elements, resulting in many unique practices and customs. Each community in Kerala has its own unique version of Malayalee culture which will not be found anywhere outside Kerala.
Hindu influence brought Ayurveda (a system of medicine) into prominence. Kalaripayattu (Kerala's traditional martial art) adopted many Hindu practices. While religious beliefs and their associated myths and legends are well rooted in the Malayalee psyche, the influence of communism and the Kerala renaissance has resulted in separation of religion from the daily routine of life.
Kerala architecture has lot of Tibetan-Chinese influence, due to its seclusion from other parts of India when the Western Ghats precluded Tamil influence. Most of the buildings have gabled, tiled roofs and a heavy use of wood with prominent slanting windows and ornamental flora designs. The Sree Padmanabhapuram Palace near Trivandrum is a classic example of this style.
Dance, music and drama all have distinctive styles. Dance and music performances often attract large crowds.
A good way to experience the entire spectrum of arts and culture of Kerala in one place is at the Annual Kerala State School Art Festival, normally held in December or January. The location changes between various district headquarters on a rotational basis. This was constituted by the government as a competition amongst school children to promote Kerala arts and culture. This is Asia's largest festival according to the Guinness Book of records, with more than 82 art forms show-cased during its ten-day duration.
Kerala has numerous indigenous dance forms.
- Chavittu Nadakam (Malayalam: ചവിട്ടുനാടകം). This is a highly colorful Christian classical art form that originated in Gothuruth village, North Paravur. It is noted for its attractive make-up of characters, their elaborate costumes, detailed gestures and well-defined body movements presented in tune with the rhythmic playback music and complementary percussion. This art form highly resembles European opera. Chavittu Nadakam is believed to have originated during the 16th century AD. This form of play is prevalent among the Christian community in the districts of Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur.
- Kathakali. Kerala's celebrated classical ballad with use of large costumes and elaborate make-up. It is a dance drama, noted for wide range of characters. Each character has a special kind of costume and make-up, special movements, particularly extensive expressions, refined gestures, and innovative themes. The dance is accompanied with anchor music and precise drumming. The Kathakali Music is unique as it varies in accordance to expressions and reactions. Whilst traditional Indian epics, mainly the Ramayan and Gita Puran, constitute the main story-boards for the dance drama, many international versions like Shakespearian-Homer-Biblical works are now taken as themes. A glimpse of Kathakali can be seen in shows organised by various cultural centres across Kerala (including the ones at Thekkady), which showcase the art and educate people about it.
- Koodiyattom. An ancient form of theatre with a legacy of more than 2,000 years. This is very stylised Sanskrit theatre and recognised by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Most of the characters are noted for Sanskrit recitations and highly stylised movement, particularly eye expressions. Some parts of the stories are expressed only using the eyes.
- Margam Kali (Malayalam: മാര്ഗ്ഗംകളി). One of the ancient group dances of Kerala practised by Saint Thomas Christians. The Margamkali is a ritual folk dance in which twelve people dance around a traditional oil lamp (Nilavilakku). They represent the 12 apostles, and Christ is represented by the lamp. They perform the dance wearing the traditional white dhoti and a peacock feather on the turban. Margamkali is essentially famous among the Syrian Christ of Kottayam and Thrissur districts.
- Mohiniyattom. This classical artform of Kerala is a subtle and graceful dance performed by women in traditional costume. Most of the themes are poems, unlike other classical dances which have an emphasis on Hindu mythology.
- Theyyam. This is a ritualistic rite performed in the temples of Malabar. It is an ancient tradition, whereby worship takes the form of performance, rather than formal worship. While dressed in Theyyam costume, performers are considered Gods and Goddesses. There are nearly 41 various types of Theyyam, each noted for its different legend and stories. A visit to any Malabar temples during Theyyam season (Dec-Mar) is advised.
Kerala has its own indigenous music and orchestration.
- Melam. This is a percussion ensemble, with several variants differing in the number of percussive instruments used, as well as the style of playing them. Melam is extremely popular and is mostly used during temple festivals, when more than six hours of continuous playing is the norm. Melam attracts large crowds and creates wonderful notes. The Thrissur Pooram has the largest Melam, with more than 300 musicians in the ensemble.
- Sopanam. Kerala's unique classical music has slow, graceful rhythms. Most of the original versions are poems, and the music is coupled with poetic expression and style. Sopanam is now limited to regular performances at temple events.
- Mappila songs. This music is associated with the local Muslim community. Traditionally, the songs were performed in Mappila Malayalam - a mixture of Arabic and Malayalam - and most tell stories of social systems and customs. Today, Mappila songs are popular amongst youngsters, using Malayalam lyrics. Mappila songs have a charm of their own as their tunes sound a mix of the ethos and culture of Kerala as well as West Asia.
- Poems play a pivotal role in Malayalee music culture. Kerala is extremely well known for its various famous poetic traditions, and a large number of poems of high literary value. Aksharaslokam (Poem recitations) is a common sight in many village temple platforms and during festival times, where poets recites poems and challenge other poets to start their recitation with the phrase, the former has ended his recitation
- Film Music. As elsewhere in India, film music is extremely popular, and Malayalam songs can be heard everywhere.
Kalarippayattu (Kalari) is believed to be one of the oldest martial arts in world. Kalaripayattu has many styles, the best known being Northern Style and Southern Style. While former is focused on using various weapons, the Southern style uses powerful strokes with the bare hand. The knowledge of vital spots, known as Marma, on the human body helped Kalaripayattu warriors make blows that could freeze or kill a person.
Bodhidharma, a Buddhist monk, mastered Kalaripayattu while in Kerala, and later took it with him to China while he was spreading Buddhism. He taught it to the Buddhist monks in China, which gave rise to Shaolin Kung Fu, which in turn, gave rise to all other forms of Kung Fu, as well as Karate.
The British Government passed legislation banning Kalari, considering it a potential danger, and this resulted in a brief decline. Today, it is a popular sport and exercise option which gets international attention. There are many cultural centres which showcase Kalari techniques, one of them being the Kalari Centre at Thekkady, as well as schools in Thiruvanathapuram, Kottayam and many places in north Malabar.
Drama was once a very popular medium in Kerala, and played a large role in the spread of Communist ideology and the social renaissance of the region. Due to the popularity of television soaps and cinema, the popularity of live drama has waned. However, some high-end dramas involving technology and innovative themes are gaining popularity in major metropolitan areas. Thrissur is the hub of Kerala drama, with many theatres hosting regular showss. Thrissur also hosts the annual International Drama Festival of Kerala, attracting prominent dramatists, from around the world. Most Kerala dramas are performed in Malayalam, and the stories based on social realities. Some temples offer dramas as part of their Temple festival programs.
Malayalam cinema is a popular local entertainment option. It tends to focus on social realities, and avoids the glitz & glamour prevalent in the Bollywood and Tamil movie industries. For Malayalam movies shown in local theatres, there is no sub-titling, except for those movies nominated for out of state awards. Trivandrum hosts the annual International Film Festival of Kerala which focuses on Asian and Latin movies.
The traditional costumes of Kerala are called mundu and neriyathu, for both men and women. Sarees and blouses form the traditional costume of Kerala women. Kerala Mundu is very popular in the state and is worn by many men. It's a special white/cream-coloured dhoti worn across the waist. The dhothi has a golden thread work as a strip running down from the waist to the bottom, and the width of the gold thread determines the cost. It is an elegant costume, mostly used for ceremonial purposess. The women's Mundu Neriyathu is similar and has an upper shawl of same material. White is one of the most preferred colour for clothing in the state. Today, different versions of Mundu and Neriyathu with different colours and motifs are available.
Kerala is a traditional socialist-leaning state and both the major parties, Indian National Congress and CPI(M), are socialist parties, and has a strong communist movement. This was the first place in the world where a communist government was elected to power through democratic means. Kerala's communism today is similar to the Chinese way in that it focuses on a market economy and reforms, although officially they are against capitalism. Kerala has a tradition of two major alliances: one led by the Communist Party called LDF (Left Democrats) and another led by the Indian National Congress called UDF (United Democrats). These tend to alternate in power every five years. The current government is led by the LDF under the leadership of Pinarayi Vijayan, who is the State Chief Minister.
Kerala has been through a period of strong growth with one of the highest per capita incomes in the country, and poverty levels are extremely low compared to elsewhere in India. Most households have family members working somewhere outside the state, typically the Middle East, and their remittances make up approximately 20% of the economy. Agriculture is highly focused on cash-crop cultivation such as rubber, tea, coffee, spices and coconut plantations. Tourism is now a booming industry in Kerala, and accounts for a significant part of the state's economy.
The people of Kerala speak Malayalam (a palindrome when written in English). Most well-educated people are also able to speak Tamil, Hindi and English. Though Kerala is often regarded as a highly literate state this doesn't mean that everyone can communicate in English. Most of Kerala's urban population is able to communicate in English and in Hindi. As Tamil and Malayalam are closely related, locals may understand spoken Tamil, with some difficulty.
Almost all bus routes and other important signs, including name boards, are written in Malayalam and some are also in English. Most city bus destinations are prominently written in Malayalam, some having English signage represented in small fonts which are often difficult to read, though all of the bus conductors and ticket checkers understand basic English. Most Kerala Government offices use only Malayalam signage and most Kerala government documents such as receipts and bills are in Malayalam, though there will usually be English-speaking staff on duty.
There are three airports in Kerala, with flights to domestic and international destinations: Kochi (Cochin), Kozhikode (Calicut), and Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum). The airports have several carriers operating international flights around the world.
- Cochin International Airport (COK IATA) is the largest airport in the state, as well as the first Indian airport with operations on solar power, with regular flight connections to most parts of India, of the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka and Maldives. Europe- and U.S.-bound passengers need to transit in the Middle East or Mumbai.
- Thiruvananthapuram International Airport (TRV IATA) has regular connections to major cities of India, and to the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka and Maldives. Charter flights for tourism from London, New York and Moscow operate to Thiruvananthapuram.
- Kozhikode International Airport (CCJ IATA) is a new airport with limited international connects others than to the Middle East.
There are 20 to 25 international carriers offering flights to Kerala. Apart from international carriers, Air India, Jet Airways, offer international connections from the 3 airports. Domestic destinations accessible by direct flights from these airports include Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Agatti, Hyderabad,Mangalore,Goa and Delhi. There are daily, and some bi-daily flights, to most Indian cities from airports in Kochi and Trivandrum. Many of the major Indian low cost carriers (LCC) such as Spicejet, Indigo and Jetlite offer daily flights from major Indian cities.
Indian Railways operates several trains to, from and within Kerala. Trains into Kerala start from neighbouring states like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Long-haul direct train services from cities like Delhi and Mumbai are also available.
Log on to the Indian Railways booking site to book tickets online or you can walk up to any railway station to book tickets between any two destinations in India.
Trains are the most popular method of transport and almost all trains in Kerala originate or terminate in Thiruvananthapuram or Ernakulam, and are usually heavily booked. Buy your tickets as early as possible. Another option is using Tatkal. You need to pay more depending on the class of accommodation, but have a chance of getting a seat. Tatkal is an emergency service, hence its booking is open just 24 hours before departure. The Tatkal booking starts at 10AM IST on the previous day of travel for AC classes, and 11AM IST on the previous day of travel for non AC sleeper class. Make sure that you have an Indian railway website login and valid identification card with you during booking. Some travel agents have authorised booking quotas for certain trains.
The luxury tourist train The Golden Chariot offers a South Indian Rail Tour, which includes many parts of Kerala. This is a good option for those who want to visit the South Indian states on as tight schedule. The train starts from Bangalore and covers Chennai, Pondicherry, Trichy, Madurai, Trivandrum, Alapuzha, Kochi and back to Bangalore. The 7 night/8 day package tour, costs US$3,000-7,000 depending upon the class taken.
Inter-state private and government buses operates between neighboring states. Usually the journey is performed in the night so that you can escape the heat of the day. The most common inter-state bus is Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC-Karnataka) with daily bus from most of Major cities of Kerala to Bangalore, Mysore and Mangalore. Tamil Nadu State Bus like SETC also operates regularly from Kerala. Kerala's State bus- KRSTC-Kerala do have regular ordinary bus to most of nearby places in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. KRSTC-Kerala also operates a few Volvo AC bus to Bangalore and Coimbatore.
However private bus companies operate more buses than Govt options. Most of them are well maintained. Kallada, Shama, KPN are the major bus players. Raj National and few others offer pan-India operations. Kallada, KPN, Shama, etc., have regular buses to Bangalore, Chennai and many other places in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka on various times
It is recommended that you consider booking long distance bus tickets on air-conditioned Volvo buses operated by all operators as the quality of the other buses vary significantly.
Kerala is well connected by National Highways:
- NH 17 (connecting Mumbai to Cochin via Western coastal side of Goa, Karnataka and almost all towns of Malabar like Kannur, and Kozhikode),
- NH 47 (connecting Salem with Kanyakumari via Coimbatore, Palakkad, Thrissur,Kochi, Alapuzha, Kollam, Trivandrum
- NH 212 (connecting Kozhikode to Mysore via Wayanad),
- NH 49 (Connecting Kochi to Ramaeswaram via Munnar, Madurai),
- NH 220 (connecting Kollam to Theni in Tamil Nadu via Kottayam, Kanjirapally, Kumily and enters into Tamil Nadu at Kumily),
- NH 208 (connecting Kollam with Madurai via Punalur, Shenkottai, Tenkasi) and
- NH 213 (connecting Palakkad with Kozhikode)
- NH 212 is a National Highway in Southern India. NH 212 connects Kozhikode in Kerala with Kollegal in Karnataka via Mysore
Most of the NH roads are dual carriageways. As vehicle density is very high in Kerala, accidents are common . You must be extra cautious while driving here. As Kerala receives large rainfall throughout the year, roads condition aren't the same always. So expect a delay in your schedule especially in monsoon season and afterwards (June–October) even on the National Highways.
Kochi is a major cruise port and a large international cruise terminal is under construction. Once completed, regular cruises will be operated from Kochi. A regular luxury Cruise between Colombo, Male and Kochi is now operational. All Lakshadweep bound cruises originate in Kochi and make return trips.
Also private yachts and other sea going boats regularly call at Kochi.
Kerala is quite well connected with many modes of transport. The flat southern side is better connected than mountainous north.
Trains are good for long distance travel within the state. Most trains are long distance trains with stops at many of Kerala's stations. Short distance trains are mainly intercity passenger trains, connecting only major cities like Trivandrum, Kochi, Palakkad, Alapuzha, Kollam, Kottayam, Kozhikode, Kannur and Thrissur.
Different types of trains
Basically there are five types of trains:
- Passenger Trains are slow trains that stop in all stations including very small stations.
- Fast Passenger Trains are passenger trains that skip smaller stations and offer the same fare structure.
- Express Trains stop only at major railway stations and charge higher than Passenger trains.
- Superfast Trains skip some of the major stations and charge even higher than Express Trains.
- Rajadhani and Shadabdhi Trains are elite trains that offer only air conditioned coaches. They stop only at selected stations.
The average fare for a 200 km distance for different classes is given below :
- First Class AC: ₹1,200
- Two Tier AC: ₹617
- Three Tier AC: ₹430
- AC Chair Car: ₹203
- Sleeper Class: ₹120
- Second class seat in Express train: ₹70
- Second class seat in Passenger train: ₹30
Roads remain the primary, popular mode of transport. Nearly every nook and corner of the state is well connected by road. The primary roads are NH 47, NH 49, NH 17 and NH 212 and are all National Highways. The NH 47 is one of the busiest as it connects Kochi and Trivandrum. The traditional primary road is MC Road, which covers one the most scenic places in south Kerala. However travel on the NH 47 cuts the time by at least by 1 hour when travelling between Kochi and Trivandrum.
State Highways connect to almost all parts of Kerala. Most of the SH are Bi-lane roads. Due to heavy rains, it's common to see potholes in most roads. Some of the wettest areas, like Alleppey, Kottayam, and Iddukki, have very damaged roads.
Kerala has a good network of private and KSRTC buses. Bus fare is usually ₹7 for 3 km with the Fast Passenger and Super-fast services of KSRTC charging a marginally higher price. The air-conditioned Volvo service operated by KSRTC charges around 250% the cost of ordinary fares. In every city of Kerala, there are separate private and KSRTC bus stations. In some cities, KSRTC buses service private bus stations, but never vice versa. Mini buses are more popular because they move very slowly and the crew are very courteous.
For distances exceeding 100 km, night services are better because daytime traffic is hopeless and you can save a lot of time travelling in the night.
Taxis are a good but expensive way to cover short distances. Negotiate the price before you get into the taxi. Ambassador and Indica Taxis are the most common services. Ambassador Taxis are rarely air-conditioned and are most commonly used in Trivandrum. Indica is more common in Ernakulam, Thrissur and Kottayam areas. Most of the Indica taxis are air-conditioned. Normal rate is ₹ 50 as minimum rate for 2 km and ₹20 per km later. A/C cabs charge normally 10 to 15% more. In Cochin, Trivandrum, day cabs are available that charge ₹ 450 for 4 hour trip anywhere within city limits or ₹850 for 8 hour trip within city limits. Most these will be Indica.
Jeeps and 4 wheel SUVs are the most common form of taxi in hilly areas.
Also called autos, these are a convenient mode of transport for very short distance travel. By law the auto driver has to start a meter for every journey. However at times this law tends to be overlooked. It is wise to ask the driver, politely, to ensure he starts the meter at the start of your journey, to avoid unnecessary arguments at the end of the trip. Most of the larger railway stations and all the airports have pre-paid auto-rickshaw and/or taxi stands. Just tell them where you want to go and you will get a slip of paper with the destination and amount written on it. Pay only that amount of money and nothing more. Autorikshaws are cheaper in Malabar than southern Kerala because the drivers there do not charge more than what the meter shows. Auto drivers of Malabar also have a reputation for their courteous behavior towards the customers.
Kerala has an extensive series of water bodies with rivers, backwaters and lagoons making travel by ferry an effective service. In some places, ferries are more popular and easier than road transport. Most of the places in the Alapuzha-Kuttanad area are interconnected with regular ferry services.
The main waterways route, served by Kerala Water Transport Department boats, are as follows
- (1) Vembanattu lake - 52 km², connecting between districts of Alapuzha and Kottayam and numerous of canals in Kuttanad
- (2) Ashtamudy lake - 200 km², connecting various points in Kollam district.
- (3) Ernakulam - Vypeen - Fort Cochin ferry (Cochin port & Harbour)
- (4) Muhamma - Kumarakom, connecting islands within Kottayam district
- (5) Vaikom - Thavanakkadavu, connecting Kottayam with Ernakulam districts.
- (6) Payyannur - Parassinikkadavu, connecting various parts of Kannur district.
In addition, the National Waterway- NW 3 has formally opened, which runs from Kollam in south Kerala to Kottapuram in Thrissur district, which will be served by large boats. The final touches to this waterway are underway and scheduled to open during the middle of the year.
Helicopter and air-taxi services are available between Kochi and Trivandrum. These services connect the two major metros with District Headquarters. It's a very expensive way to travel.
There are no intra-city train/metro services in any Kerala city. Kochi has its own metro services, operating within the city limits. A dedicated Inter-city Rail called MEMU is under construction between Kochi and Kollam.
Due to its unique geography, Kerala gets rain for at least 7-8 months of the year and the forests are classified as rainforests. There are many opportunities to trek, camp and see wildlife.
The Backwaters of Kerala are a maze of lagoons criss-crossed with rivers, shallow pools and canals, all separated from the sea by a narrow strip of sand banks. Backwaters are present throughout the state but Alappuzha and Kottayam are most notable in this regard.
The Blue Mountains of the Western Ghats, popularly known as Nilgiris, are close to Trivandrum and there are numerous hill stations in this area. The most popular is Munnar, the honeymoon capital of the state. The highest peak of the Western Ghats is Anamudi (2,695 metres), which is good for trekking. The area is also home to several sanctuaries and forest reserve areas. There are more than two dozen waterfalls, both large and small, with numerous rapids and springs. The largest fallwaters are at Athirampally, where three milky waterfalls fall at great speed.
Kerala has 650 km of coastline and numerous beaches. Popular recreational beaches include Alapuzha Beach, Kollam Beach, Cherai Beach, Muzhappilangadu beach and Varkala Beach. Some of these beaches also have historical significance such as Kozhikode alt-Kozhikode Beach where Vasco da Gama first landed in India and Kovalam Beach near Trivandrum, a centre of Hippy counter-culture in the 1960s.
Kerala is home to numerous historical monuments that can be found in many cities. It hosts the Cherman Perumal Mosque in Kodungallor which is the world's second oldest intact mosque and is home to many rare artifacts. There are forts in Bekal, Palakkad and Thalassery from the pre-British Raj era that are worth exploring. Also of interest are several palaces in the state. Most notable are the Hill Palace in Kochi and the Palaces at Sree Padmanabhapuram, 30 km from Trivandrum.
Kerala was the first state to formally embrace the eco-tourism concept in South Asia, and has made considerable strides in this respect. The Akkalum Tourist Village in Trivandrum has a floating bridge and beautiful landscaped gardens and many famous statues and sculptures dot the area. Kumbalangi Model Village for Sustainable Tourism near Kochi was a once sleepy fishing village, and now popular visitor attraction with a planned focus on sustainability. Thenmala Eco-Tourist Village in Kollam is the first such place in India, with an intense focus on the natural environment. It offers numerous exhibits include 27 rare trees, many sculptures, and a large musical fountain.
Kerala is famous for its pilgrimage options. Most of the religious sites are deep-rooted with shades of strong myths, legends, and many have long historical tales of more than 1,000 years to tell. Finding a temple, church or mosque is not difficult, as houses of worship are present in almost every nook and corner. Kerala is famous for its religious harmony. Keralites are very religious people and religious functions dominate all walks of life. This does not mean that those in Kerala are a closed minded people; it's an very open society that accepts respectful debate and discussions about religion.
Many times one can find Hindu temples, Christian churches, Muslim mosques, and even Jain temples in the same city. While in Kerala, take note of the interesting architecture of many Muslim mosques. Unlike other parts of India, Islamic Architecture in Kerala is similar to Kerala Temple architecture without much Persian influence. However, many new mosques are built in Arab Style due to growing Arab influence in Kerala society.
Normally in Kerala, mosques and churches are referred as palli, not masjids as the are called in other parts of India.
There are two types of Ayurvedic establishments: Ayurvedic hospitals and Ayurveda spas
The Ayurveda spas are more suited to rejuvenation. Check for the government rating, displayed at the reception. This is similar to a star rating for hotels and they are called Green Leaf ratings. The more green leaves, the better (and the higher the price). Unauthorised massage centres are mainly sex shops in disguise.
No large scale hospitals are given a Green Leaf, as they are classified as medical centres. Most 3-star and above hotels have in-house Ayurvedic spas.
Kerala is world famous for its Ayurvedic treatment (one of the world's oldest holistic treatments). Due to a tourist boom, Ayurvedic Spas have became popular for light massages and pleasure treatments. However if you have a serious aliment, it is recommended to go to any one of the famous Ayurvedic hospitals.
A cruise on the Backwaters of Kerala is a popular visitor pastime. Try renting a houseboat from either Kumarakom or Alleppy. An individual houseboat can be rented in 24-hour and 12-hour blocks. Rates differ according to the season and duration.
Many tourist villages offer boating opportunities which are an excellent way to sight-see. In general, most villages on or near water will offer a means of transport on their respective body of water. This can be a delightful addition to your trip.
See Festivals of Kerala for further details.
Kerala is considered as land of festivals, with numerous festivals falling throughout the year. The national festival of Kerala is Onam, marking 10-day-long festivities across the state, happening between August–September. The second biggest festival is Christmas due to large Christian population in the state, celebrated in grand zest in many cities, particularly in Kochi and Kottayam. All Muslim festivals are celebrated among the community in grand way, especially in Malabar where they form majority. Apart from major religious festivals, most of temples hosts annual festivals as part of anniversary celebrations, famous for large parade of decorated elephants, temple orchestration and fireworks. The most famous among them is Thrissur Pooram celebrated in the Thrissur city during April–May.
Other major festivals celebrated are Vishu (Malayalam New Year day mostly on April 14th), Thiruvathira (considered sacred for Hindu women celebrated during December) and Holy Easter Week. National secular holidays like Independence Day (August 15th), Republic Day (January 26th), Naval Week (December 1st week), Nehru Trophy Vallam Kalli (Snake-boat race in Alleppy on 2nd Saturdays of August) etc. are celebrated in grand way in various cities.
The large presence of waterways in Kerala allows for a variety of adventure sports. Keep alert for opportunities to try catamaran sailing (a small often wooden vessel with twin hulls joined together), canoeing, kayaking, scuba diving, snorkeling, wind-surfing, and para-sailing.
For less wet sports, Kerala offers a wide selection. There is mountain biking, mountain hiking, rock and tree climbing, and paragliding, in the hill and mountain regions.
If you are looking for something a little different, try Oxen Racing. A racer drives two oxens tied to wooden boards and makes 5 circles around the paddy field. This is a popular village sport, done before sowing season, to make soil easier to plough, while providing entertainment. Traditionally tourists are not encouraged to take part in this sport, as it requires high level of skill and expertise, though many tour companies provide this option to their adventurous guests.
Like elsewhere in India, many sport options exist in Kerala. Popular sports include football, cricket, volleyball, and athletics. Malayalees are well known for their passion for volleyball and athletics. The majority of great Indian volleyball players and famous athletes, of which many are Olympians, are from Kerala. If you intend to participate in a volleyball game, "bring your A game" as the locals are very good!
Golfing is good, though somewhat limited. Traditionally golf was considered a game for the rich in Kerala, hence one can find good golf-courses only in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi. The Trivandrum Golf Course is the oldest golf-course in the commonwealth and a very good place to play. The Bolgatty Palace Hotel in Cochin has a private golf-course for its guests, which was the traditional golf-course once used by British residents and nobles of Royal English residency of Cochin. Cochin Airport has a state-of-the-art 18-hole golf course and it is good place to play, as well as learn, golf. Munnar has a golf course called High-Range Golf Club which is a scenic place to play. There are few small golf clubs in Iddukki and Kottayam districts, which are mainly limited to its members, though tourists may be allowed to play at slightly higher fees.
Cricket is the hottest craze among the younger generations. You can find most of them playing in very large, open spaces and fields. Regular cricket tournaments are held in Kerala.
Indoor stadiums are common in most of the large metros and district headquarters. Many indoor games are played at clubs and tourist recreation centres. Some popular indoor games are table tennis, badminton and cards. Most of the hotels have large swimming pools. There is also the Kerala Water sports complex in Trivandrum and the Indoor Sports Centre in Kochi, that provide Olympic-sized pools for various water games.
If you are in Kerala, elephants safaris can be a fantastic and memorable experience. Elephant safaris are common in many tourist places like Thenmala Eco-tourist Village and at Kodanadu Elephant Training centre near Kochi, as well as in Periyar Tiger reserve area.
Jungle safari. Kerala has many natural rain forests, with lots of unique flora and fauna. A trek in the forests of Kerala can offer a unique experience. Many forests are protected and to enter in any forest area, you require permission from Forest Office. Guards from the Forest Office may be required to accompany you due to presence of wild animals and to liaise with local tribespeople in some forests such as the Periyar Tiger Reserve, Malayatoor Forest Division, Silent Valley Rain forest in the Nilgiri Hills of Palakkad district, Wayanad forest division and Nilambur Teak forests.
You need a forest permit to enter any forest region and must assure that you do not offer anything to local tribespeople or disturb them in any way. Entering forests, that require permission, without permission is an offence and punishable with charges of trespassing. Hunting and environmental disturbances are also an offence. Kerala tourism, in association with the Forest Office have organised some deep jungle safaris. Jungle lodges are available in outer areas of some of the forests. Check with KTDC or DTPC for more details.
Bank and money
Kerala has one of the excellent banking systems in India, thus cards (both debit, credit and cash cards) are widely accepted in almost all towns and cities. Banks, money exchange facilities and ATMs are widespread. Traveller's Cheques are accepted in almost all banks. Credit and local debit cards are widely accepted in towns. Rural areas traditionally have a cash-based society, though credit/debit cards are widely accepted in tourist-oriented villages and areas. Foreign debit cards are not accepted, though foreign credit cards are accepted in almost all places. There is a cash limit that can be drawn per day of ₹10,000 when drawn from ATMs. A surcharge of ₹50 is charged for transactions beyond first ten transactions in a month. Foreign currency can be converted into Indian rupees (₹) at any authorised money changers or nationalised banks up to ₹50,000 in value (in one transaction) and any amount above this, requires a bank account and Indian PAN Card. Foreign currencies are not accepted anywhere in Kerala, except in airports and authorised money exchange centers (available at all cities across Kerala).
The largest Kerala bank is Federal Bank with its headquarters in Aluva, Kochi, with wide range of branches across the state. Major Kerala banks include, State Bank of Travancore, South Indian Bank, Catholic Syrian Bank, and Dhanalakshmi bank, apart from almost all national bank brands. International banks such as HSBC, Standard Chartered and CitiBank operate mainly in Kochi and Trivandrum.
Service charges are common in hotels and restaurants which will be normally included in your bill (standard is 10%, which varies depending upon the status and rankings, but not beyond 15%). In addition to this, tipping is common everywhere and its a social norm to pay tip in hotels and restaurants, normally ₹10-20. In larger five star hotels or similar large restaurants, the tipping norm is normally 10% or 12% of your bill value. No tip is given for auto or taxi drivers, though over-night taxi drivers have to be pay bata (official tip) which shall be charged separately in your taxi bill.
Kerala is generally an expensive destination when compared to elsewhere in India.
Budget tourists normally require ₹1,000 per day for a decent stay including food. A day may include patronage of ordinary restaurants or road-side hawkers (called Thattukadas) for their food which costs less than ₹40. Middle class tourists can expect daily expenses to keep around ₹1,400-₹2,000 per day with a stay in pretty good hotel and for food in standard restaurants. For those willing to spare no expense, Kerala is a destination that costs normally beyond ₹4,000.
Shopping is a national hobby in Kerala, with vast options in all metropolitan areas. Kochi is home to the largest mall in India, Lulu International Shopping Mall. The best time to shop is during the Onam or Christmas seasons. One can find amazing discounts, that might make you "mad" with capitalistic zeal. The best shopping during Onam are white goods and electronics, whereas apparel and jewelery are discounted more during Christmas. It is possible to get discounts on many items in these seasons.
Most of the leading foreign brands and products are available (from apparel to automobiles) across Kerala. Apart from regular shopping, consider the following for made in Kerala items.
- A wide range of coconut shell products can be found in Alleppey, most of them hand-made.
- While visiting Aranmula, a small town in Pathanamthitta, you will find for sale the famous Aranmula Mirror - a mirror made out of metal instead of glass, using a metallurgic formula which is a closely guarded secret. It is an expensive option, but a truly unique souvenir.
- A visit to any emporium will reveal a lot of handicrafts. Kerala is famous for its wooden crafts, brass models of cultural icons like vallam (snake boats), urus (sailboats), elephants in temple festival style, and traditional jewelry boxes.
- Showcase pieces like Nettipattam (the Caparison used for elephants), molded of plastic and adorned with decorations like peacock quill, are popular with visitors. The God's Own Craft, an organization based in Kochi, has popularised the sale of these plastic pieces, helping visitors bring them home, while retaining the traditional look and charm.
- Coir wall hangings with beautiful pictures and fans made out of Lemongrass that makes natural scent while fanning.
- Kerala's traditional Handloom cloth, Mundu and Neriyathu, can be purchased directly from weavers mainly in Chendamangalam near Kochi and Balaramapuram near Trivandrum.
- Large stores in Kochi, Trivandrum and many other cities have good collection of worked sarees, Churidars, dress materials, salwar-suits, Indian men's wear like Kurtha-Pyjama.
Oils and spices
- Kerala, is well known for spices. Cardamom, pepper, cloves, turmeric, saffron and many others can be found when shopping in Kerala's bazaars. Some of the recommended spice markets are Broadway in Kochi and Chalai in Trivandrum. At Wayanad, Idukki, Pathanamtitta, Kottayam and Kozhikode you can find first quality premium spices from many authorised spice centres. These places are famous for value-added spice products like curry masala powders, ready-to-use spice powders, spice essences, extracts, spiced teas and coffee. Rare spice oils and concentrates used as bases for perfume and scents can also be found.
- Many outlets sell unique natural cosmetic powders like mango, orange and papaya peel powder, turmeric powder. These and other spices, herbal powders and natural extracts are good for making face and body cleansing powders and soaps. Its worth to look around and investigate what is on offer.
- Try buying some lemongrass oil, famous for its rare scent. It can also be used on the skin to discourage mosquitoes. There are more than a dozen oils in Kerala, famous for maintaining a healthy skin glow and reducing blemishes and acne.
- Coconut oil is good to keep hairfall under control and nurture hair growth as well as for promoting a healthy glowing skin. Keralites put coconut into a multitude of varying uses. It is used as a high temperature cooking oil and scrapped powder and coconut milk is used in many local cooking styles. Roasted oil & virgin coconut oil are known to reduce cholesterol and are popular for good health. It is also used by expecting mothers for keeping their baby healthy.
Murals and paintings
Kerala is home to many famous national and international painters. The celebrated Kerala murals and oil paintings of legendary Raja Ravi Varma and many others, surely add more charm to your interiors. You can buy murals and paintings of all size and style, that fit to your budget, which is comparatively cheaper in Kerala.
Kerala cuisine is distinctly different from food elsewhere in India. The major difference that one can easily notice are dominance of rice as staple food and popularity of non-vegetarian dishes. Kerala is known for it's incredibly long standing, and liberal consumption of meat, fish and alcohol in comparison to the rest of India.
In stark contrast to other Indian states, beef is commonly eaten in Kerala by members of all religions. Beef, fish and other types of meat have been regularly consumed in Kerala since at least the Chera Dynasty in 500 BCE. Seafood gets a lion's share in typical Kerala's cuisine and lavish use of coconut (in form of coconut oil, coconut milk, powder or paste) gives a distinct taste. Food in Kerala tends to include a variety of spices and most of them are extremely fiery. Kerala also has its own fair share of famous vegetarian cuisines and normally only vegetarian foods are taken during festival days, particularly Onam.
Kerala's cuisine is divided into four basic regional styles, according to ingredient availability and historical influence: Malabar, Central Travancore, Southern Travancore, and Central Kerala. Although all four styles can be found throughout the state, the food will be most authentic within each given region.
One of the favourite for any connoisseur of food would be Kerala's traditional buffet, the sadhya. It is served especially during festive occasion and normally presented upon a plaintain leaf. It generally has up to 24 items and is accompanied by various desserts and savories.
A typical sadhya consists of piping hot parboiled rice with popular Kerala vegetarian dishes like olan (a dish of pumpkin), avial (an assorted mix of all vegetables), injipulee (a ginger & tamarind flavouring), kaalan (made of yam and yogurt), thoran (pan-fried vegetables sprinkled with grated coconut), kichiadi (roasted cucumber in yogurt), pachadi (a sweet dish made out pineapple or grapes mixed with sour yogurt), kottukari (a mixture of few vegetables like raw bananas or pumpkin or potatoes, pan fried mixed with a spicy tomato puree curry base) etc. In some sadhyas, options like potato stew, masala curry are served. The sambar (a watery all-Vegetable curry) and parippu (lentils, either mashed or curry form) along with ghee are served as the main entrée'. Normally 2 to 3 spicy pickles called as achar are served.
Other assortments include pappadam (fried Lentil-flour paper-thin bread), along with banana chips and jaggery sweet, served as main appetisers. Towards the end of sadhya, rasam (similar to mulligatawny soup made out of pepper and tomato water is served, which is good for digestion) and mooru or sambharam (spiced buttermilk) are served. Bananas are also taken as a final note to end the elobrate sadhya's main course. The desserts includes payasam (a sweet porridge-like, made of jaggery or sugar along with rice, cereals, fruits depending on what type of payasam) as well as boli, a sweet flour bread, which looks similar to an omelet, along with a banana and sometimes unniappam (sweet fried rice flour dumpling).
Normally sadyas are served on lunch time and normally will be pure vegetarian. Onasadhya (served on the Onam day) is the most famous, due to having more than 30 curries and an elobrate range of special payasams. Many leading hotels and restaurants now serve smaller versions of sadhya as part of a regular lunch offering. In Malabar, sometimes, fried-fish or chicken curry constitute part of the sadhya, as the Malabar sadhya does not have a vegetarian tradition.
Thalis/fixed price meals
Most of the hotels offer smaller version of sadhya called as thali (fixed or unlimited serving) as part of regular lunch. A thali normally has around 8-10 curries along with 2 pickles and pappadams and a payasam. The small hotels and regular lunch homes offer a very small and popular option called meals as a regular lunch option. A normal lunch Meal shall consist of 3 to 4 curries and 1 pickle and pappadam. Fish curry or fried fish are part of fish-meals.
Seafood is available all over Kerala and is part of regular Kerala cuisine. In regions bordering the backwaters and lakes traditional cuisine includes fresh-water fish such as karimeen (black pearlspot), prawns, shrimps, kanava (squid) and many other delicacies. In most of the parts of Kerala, various varieties of sea fishes are extremely popular and consumed regularly in afternoon lunch. Another popular option is fiery hot fish curry served along with 'kappa' (tapioca) or rice. Steamed and mashed tapioca flavoured with turmeric served along with spicy fish curry or mashed chilly gravy is a favorite among Malayalees, particularly those in rural areas.
Kerala is very famous for its elobrate breakfast food. It has been adjourned as one of the best breakfasts in the world, partly due to its high nutritional value and low oil content . Unlike other parts of India, few non-vegetarian items are available on Kerala breakfast menus. Some of the popular breakfast items are;
- Dosas (crispy fried ricebread), having flavourings of butter, ghee, masala or plain.
- Idiyappam (string hoppers - also known as noolputtu and nool-appam), taken with spicy egg curry or tomato curry.
- Idli (steamed rice pancake), a soft fluffy cake taken alone with chutney (spicy chilly/coconut paste) and sambar.
- Kadala, a curry made of black garbanzo beans chana and bananas.
- Paal-Appam, a circular, fluffy, crisp-edged pancake made of rice flour, sometimes fermented with toddy or wine or yeast, is taken with chicken stew (mild spiced coconut milk based gravy), egg curry or vegetable kurma (a mixed vegetable curry in coconut milk gravy).
- Pidiyan (dumplings made of rice and jaggery).
- Puttu (made of rice powder and grated coconut, steamed in a metal or bamboo holder), taken along with kadala. Varieties of puttu made with carrot, raggi, and with fillings of chicken, mutton, and prawn, are available in some places.
Dinner is traditionally similar to Lunch in Kerala, though instead of rice, congee or kanzhi (rice porridge) is served along with spicy raw chillies and roasted pappadams. Today, dinner is more like North Indian style dinner, with chappathis and parathas dominating the main course along with vegetable or non vegetable curries.
Breads & rice
Kerala doesn't have any indigenous wheat breads in its traditional recipes, though today most of the North Indian breads like naans and parathas are popular options. There are many more unique rice-flour made breads which are not often seen outside Kerala.
- Rice breads - palappams (milk mixed in normal appam batter) and kallappams (palm toddy mixed in normal appam batter).
- Rice flour breads - pathiris (a fried rice flour bread), ghee pathiri (pathiri baked in ghee), poricha pathiri (fried pathiri rather than baked) and stuffed pathiris (anything like vegetables, fish or chicken).
- Malabar paratha (porotta) - a famous milled wheat weaved fried (or toasted) bread originated from Malabar, popular throughout Kerala
- Rice - Kerala's most favourite rice is called matta (a nutritious indigenous variety of rice grown in Palakkad district of Kerala). Normal boiled rice, served piping hot is a regular staple for lunch as well as dinner. Other popular options are ghee rice, fried rice, saffron rice, turmeric rice and biryani rice.
Due to the lesser influence of Arab & Central Asian food on Kerala, the use of sweets is not as widespread as in North India. Kerala does not have any indigenous cold desserts, but hot/warm desserts are popular. The most popular example is undoubtedly the payasam: a preparation of milk, coconut extract, sugar, cashews and dry grapes. There are more than 18 varieties of payasam all having same base constituents and differs from others due to main ingredient. Some of the popular variants are paal payasam (made with rice grains), Ada payasam (with beaten rice flakes), Paripu payasam (made from lentils), pazham pradhamam (made from banana), gothambu payasam (made from wheat grain) or semiya (made with vermicelli).
Other popular indigenous sweets are:
- Unniappam, a fluffy deep-fried rice-bread mixed with ripe bananas similar to the Danish Æbleskiver.
- Pazham-pori, plantain slices covered with a fried crust made of sweetened flour.
- Kozhukkatta, rice dumplings stuffed with a sweet mixture of molasses, coconut.
- Kozhikode halwa, a famous sweet confection.
Savories are extremely popular in Kerala, with fried banana chips as most preferred. Jack-fruit chips, chips made out of rice flour in various forms like achappam, kozhalappam, paka-vada, and hard balls made out of rice flour with jaggery like avilose unda are popular options.
Travelers will come across several restaurants with signboards Nadan Hotel which is the Malayalam way of describing traditional food. This means a return to the ancient Keralite style of eating on plantain leaves. Sometimes the spices are ground in the old way instead of using the packed material available in the supermarkets. On the whole, the main difference is the presence of a village cook in place of a mechanical urban chef.
- Water. Tap water is usually not safe to drink. Mineral water is available at almost all shops and is the safest option.
- Tender coconut water, (karikku), is available in even the smallest towns. Tender coconut water is extremely popular. This sweet, creamy treat contains an ice-cream like cream which can be drank, housed in a delicious pulp that can be eaten. It's good for you, too.
- Coffee (kapi) and tea (chaya): unlike other parts of South India, in Kerala tea is more popular than coffee. It's virtually impossible not to find a stall selling tea. The famous tea of Kerala is the Kannan Devan brand. In Kerala one can find Milma (a milk brand) booths selling tea with milk and snack eateries. Coffee is more popular in urban areas, particularly in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. Popular national brands like Cafe Coffee Day and many local cafes offer various flavours of coffees with western/oriental snacks. Kerala's own traditional cafe is Indian Coffee House, which are old-fashioned pre-1970s styled coffee shops that offer Kerala coffee along with regular Kerala foods. From the new generation of cafe, comes Kerala's Coffee Beanz which is now open in many parts of Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. They offer various innovative coffee flavours and traditional Kerala snacks along with lite burgers.
- Juices and shakes, Kerala, being a tropical state, offers many delicious tropical juices and juice cocktails. Almost everywhere one can find small juice stalls selling mango, orange, pineapple, lemon, water melon and other juices. Milk shakes mixed with ice-cream is very popular and the best way to beat the Kerala summer heat. Sharja shake and chikoos are popular milk shakes mixed with various fruits and fruit flavour ice-creams.
- Alcohol, Kerala tops in per capita alcohol consumption in India, despite the high rate of government taxation. You'll find a bar in most hotels serving anything from 'kallu' (Kerala traditional palm toddy) to Scotch whisky. Alcohol consumption in public is frowned upon, and the bars in everything except the most expensive hotels tend to be seedy. Bars in urban areas nowadays are bit more upscale and hence bit more expensive or carry additional service charges. For budget travellers who wish to have liquors in private, you can buy most of the liquor brands along with beer from Government-run Kerala State Beverage Corporations Limited (popularly known as Beverage Shop or Bevco) stores and drink in private. However, there is usually a very large queue in front of these stores and the wait is often long. Additionally, they are closed on the 1st of every month. Kochi and Trivandrum have many posh bars and pubs in which to drink. Several restaurants in cities like Kochi, Trivandrum, Kottayam and Kollam serve alcohol along with regular menu food. Cocktails are extremely popular.
- Locally made palm toddy, called kallu, is tempting to try but some people become sick due to bad brews. If you do try it, make sure you stick to the license-made brew, and not local moonshine. However on Alapuzha-Changaserry route, you can find a number of good toddy shops which offer authorised toddy in addition to very tasty, unique Kerala specialties. Even if you don't try toddy, having food from these toddy shops is an excellent was to experience of the best, distinctive food.
With tourism being one of the most important source for the state's coffers, a wide array of accommodation is available for tourists suiting individual tastes, cultural preferences, and prices that will fit the slimmest of wallets. Almost all major cities have hotels ranging from tourist lodges to 5-star hotels and theme resorts. In addition to this, there are youth hostels, home-stays, travel dormitories and small lodges catering to budget tourists.
For a smoother, more peaceful visit, it is advised to lodge on or near beach properties as all other areas of Kerala suffer from traffic issues. Traffic jams are a daily phenomenon in almost all parts of Kerala. Since the railway line isolates the beach side from the rest of the downtown areas, there is a marked peace in the beach areas. This is applicable to all districts of Kerala except the hill districts of Palakkad, Wayanad, Idukki and Pathanamthitta where traffic snarls are rare.
Kerala was one of the first states in India to pioneer the concept of homestays and make it a successful industry. Under the homestay concept, you get to stay with a family who can show you around and help you experience the best of Kerala. Your accommodation and food is taken care of at a nominal cost. You will probably stay with a family whose members are well versed, or at least speak decently, in English. All the people offering homestays are vetted by the Government and will have to register themselves as such.
The majority of the home-stays are concentrated in the Fort Cochin area, where traditional large colonial bungalows and Jew houses have been converted into homestays. Alleppey and Kottayam have many large homestays catering to both rich and budget tourists. Kollam also has its own share of home-stays which are mostly traditional Portuguese bungalows in addition to those owned by the industrialists of the town. There are many small-scale backpacker oriented homestays in Kannur and other Malabar towns.
The government has strict guidelines for Homestays and hence they are generally safe and well-maintained. These homestays range between ₹ 300 ( to ₹ 3500 per night depending upon the property and its profile.
₹ 322.50 and ₹ 700 are magic numbers when you are looking for budget non-AC and AC rooms respectively. You can expect basic amenities: a bed, a TV and an attached bath-room. Most of the budget hotels call themselves tourist lodges, tourist Home and some hotel. They are rarely star-rated. Most of the hotels near railway stations inside cities traditionally target budget-minded guests. Kerala has a good number of Brahmin's tourist homes which provide rooms for families and couples. If available, choose this option as they are quite safe and quiet. If you are expecting a cheap, extended stay with an attached kitchenette, there are not many hotel options available in Kerala.
For a more comfortable stay, expect to pay above ₹ 700 (~US$14) for a non-air-conditioned room or more than ₹ 1,200 (~US$26) for one with air-conditioning. This category includes many 3-star hotels. You can expect more spacious rooms, English proficient concierges, and airport or railway station pick-up and drop-off.
Themed resorts also may also fall in this category. Expect ₹ 3,000 and above. It is possible to rent out an entire cottage, in an idyllic location. These cottages do come with kitchens.
Almost all 3-star and above hotels and resorts fall under this category. Star-rated hotels in India are not cheap. If you are willing to stay in these hotels, most of them throw in a complimentary guided or packaged tour. Most five star hotels provide an attached kitchenette. If you think you might grow tired of Indian food, this would be a good option. Most of these hotels offer only air-conditioned rooms. Average costs can be ₹5,000 and above for a night. For middle and upper class tourists these are attractive options as they are generally very safe and provide a sound holiday.
If you are planning to stay more than 2 weeks, it's far better to look for monthly stay options rather than hotels. Housing in Kerala is not expensive, though it may be slightly on higher side in major metros like Cochin and Trivandrum. However in most of other places, housing is cheaper even by Indian standards.
Serviced apartments are very common in Kochi, Kottayam, Alapuzha, Thrissur, Kollam, Kozhikode, Trivandrum, among others. There are popular service apartments, which offer hotel-like facilities for an extended stay, in Kochi city. Most of these apartments are well furnished with kitchenette facilities. Keep in mind more amenities usually means higher costs and most of these serviced apartments are suited to middle and upper class tourists.
For budget tourists, lodges are best option. In most of the places, you can find lodges or tourist homes that offer single or double room for daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Most of them have standard facilities, including attached toilets. Cheaper ones may not have TVs or personal landlines in each room. There are also options of Men's and Ladies' hostels, where single travellers can stay on a monthly basis.
- Though Kerala is much safer than other parts of India, it has its share of criminals. Pickpockets are quite common in heavily crowded areas like buses, festival grounds and city shopping areas. Don't trust your hotel cleaning staff with your costly belongings. Also, women are advised not to walk around in tight or revealing clothing. Take care not to roam around late at night, especially if you are alone.
- While in trains or buses, it is absolutely vital not to eat or drink anything which may be offered by a fellow traveller, due to risks of sedation and robbery. A smile and a soft "No, thank you" will suffice to avoid offending the genuine traveller. Be firm, yet polite. This especially holds true for interactions with lone or a couple of fellow-passengers. However, interactions with families are considered to be safer.
The major problem one is likely to face in Kerala are the strikes, protest processions and hartals (which are called "voluntary closure of activities" as protest, but are enforced on everyone by the organisers) which are very common in Kerala, considering its high political awareness and socialist leanings. Tourists may get suddenly caught in hartals or road blockades due to protests which may strand you in airports or railway stations. However, you can plan around them because all political parties announce the date and details of major protests far in advance in leading dailies. Regularly follow leading English dailies while in Kerala, speak to your hotel reception desk staff/restaurant staff (smaller towns sometimes have "hartals" called with a day's notice) and keep buffer days for all travel.
On hartal days, normally all forms of transport keep off from roads from morning till evening. So be prepared to walk to your hotel or wait in airport or railway station till evening. Kerala Police normally operate free buses under police convoy to transport tourists and urgent passengers to important areas in major towns and cities; these can be used as a last resort.
Many people in Kerala complain of Moral Policing or Vigilante groups that attack unmarried couples for making out in public. In 2016 a man was attacked and killed in Mankada, Malappuram because he visited his girlfriend in the night. These vigilante groups never target foreigners, but if you look like an Indian, it is advisable to restrict your movements to the cities and tourist centres only. If you remember these rules of thumb, Kerala will be fine for you.
- While boating insist on being offered life jackets. Many boat operators ignore government regulation of statutory issuance of life jackets while boating, which could prove risky, as most of the Kerala's water bodies are deep.
- Though Kerala does not have many touts or so-called "guides," a few people from outside the state do encounter this problem at some tourist centres, especially hill stations like Munnar, etc. Do avoid them completely, as many nowadays are small time thieves and crooks who look for prey. A firm "no" would suffice.
Kerala Police Contact
The Kerala Police force is one of the most efficient police units in India and the least corrupt. Most of the police officials are well versed in English and Malayalam. Most of the cities do have a very strong police network and it's not difficult to find a police station. Normal law and order police force wear khaki colour uniforms. Traffic Police wear a uniform of a white shirt with khaki pants.
There is a specialised police section for tourist protection called the Tourist Police. This force is stationed at prominent tourist places, beaches, monuments, trekking areas and other tourist attractions. They wear a light blue shirt with khaki pants and have an aid post marked as Tourist Police. They can be extremely helpful. The International Tourist Police Station in Mattancherry-Fort, Kochi should be the primary tourist assistance point for any complaints and may also be used for information on any immigration and passport or visa matter.
Kerala's highways are safeguarded by Highway police. In event of any distress on any highway call the police using their toll free number- ☎+91 98 4610 0100
Fire and public rescue
Kerala's Fire and Rescue Services maintains a network of distress rescue services throughout the state. They can be reached at ☎ 101
Medical Emergency Numbers
Kerala Hospitals, first aid centres and select primary health care centres across the state are all equipped for emergency admissions and treatment. Most ambulances have a Red Cross on a white background, but members of the Rapid Medical Action Force (RMAF) have a yellow and green livery ambulance with a Red Cross sign.
- For any urgent medical attention or ambulance services, call ☎ 102. Kerala Healthcare Department has unified with ☎ 1298 and ☎ 108 emergency providers. 108 Emergency is an advanced life-saving ambulance even equipped to carry out minor operations operating mainly in urban areas, while 1298 provides comprehensive services across all parts of Kerala.
- In event of an accident, use only hospitals marked "'Casualty'" outside, as they have a suitable licence to admit a road accident case.
- In event of any accident on a roadway, call ☎ 100 for police or ☎ 108, as many times common citizens do not come to rescue, especially in large cities, fearing involvement in a police case. The police maintain fast and effective accident identification and recovery service; thus, in the event of any accident, even a distress call from your mobile can help them to identify your position and assist in expediting medical attention.
Tap water is generally safe for drinking, though tourists are advised to buy bottled water for drinking. As a tropical country, Kerala is hot and humid so drink a lot of water.
Most toilets do not have toilet paper, so always carry your own.
Malaria, dengue fever, cholera and viral fever are endemic to the region. Moonsoon time is considered as one of the major epidemic seasons, due to the wet atmosphere, which provides breeding grounds for various water-borne viruses. You require good mosquito controlling repellents which need to be applied regularly, or use of mosquito coils or mosquito repellent mats in your room and mosquito nets over your bed. Various local spice extracts and oils are effective methods for repelling mosquitoes.
While touring during summer days, always wear a cap or have an umbrella to avoid the harshness of the tropical sun, and wear only cotton. Drinking sharbath, a locally popular road-side stall drink made of carbonated lemon juice mixed with sugar syrup with a little salt, is very helpful in staving off dehydration.
The standard of medical care in Kerala is excellent and this is a popular destination for medical tourism and medical research. Many hospitals in Kerala are of international standards. Government-run clinics and hospitals are free for all but can be crowded and not the best option for visitors. Private hospitals offer good treatment at comparatively low prices.
For minor ailments, almost any private hospital or clinic found anywhere is good. Most of the private care hospitals are well equipped and have good physicians and specialists. Out-Patients are required to have an appointment to avoid large queues and majority of them have pharmacies nearby.
Large, super-specialty hospitals are available in major metros which are major research centres and famed for complex surgeries and treatments, thought its slightly expensive by Indian standards. Most of the hospitals in large towns and metros do accept foreign medical insurance cards, mainly issued in U.S., Europe and Middle East countries, apart from almost all national medical insurance covers, which needed to be check at hospital reception.
Kerala has some of the prestigious large Ayurvedic hospitals and super-specialty Ayurvedic research centres, some even equipped to conduct surgeries and cancer treatments. Generally Ayurvedic healthcare centres are more expensive than Allopathic centres.
Stray dog menace
Tourists should avoid walking in lonely streets of Kerala as stray dog menace has increased lately. One woman was killed in 2016 when she was attacked by a pack of dogs. A big number of dogs can be seen wandering in certain areas of cities especially, in a violent pack formation during the night.
Visiting places of worship
Kerala is one of the places where multiple religions exist in great harmony. This is achieved by one respecting the customs and rituals of other religions. A visit to their shrines is necessary to understand the breadth of cultural influences in the state.
Unlike other parts of India, most Hindu temples in Kerala do not admit non-Hindus inside and a sign board to that effect is prominently displayed outside the temple premises. The only exceptions are the Muthappan Temples, which do not have these restrictions. It is best to ask someone at the temple if you are not sure. Photography inside the temple is a strict no-no.
Because tidiness and personal hygiene are important, a bath in the morning is required for those entering a temple.
For male visitors at many places inside a temple, the dress code is traditional mundu without a shirt - the no-shirt rule will be enforced even if the mundu rule is not. The best thing to do is to watch what others are doing and follow. You are also expected to take off your footwear outside the temple. Usually there are no locker facilities, so cheap footwear is best.
Women should wear a long dress, preferably not shirts and trousers, and are forbidden from entering temples for 7 days after the start of their menstrual period.
There are exceptions to some of these rules, though, so when in doubt, check.
Unlike other parts of India, most mosques in Kerala do not admit non-Muslims inside. Some mosques do not allow women inside. For those that do, women must dress modesty by wearing a dress that covers their entire torso, legs and arms, and cover their head with a shawl or scarf. No photography or any electronic equipment is allowed inside, and all who enter must remove their shoes.
The churches in Kerala admit non-Christians also inside. Men usually sit to the left of the aisle and women to the right. Some of the more traditional churches don't even have pews; you'll have to stand. Ladies must cover their head with a shawl or scarf during the mass.
The synagogue at Kochi is not open to non-Jews on Saturdays. And on other days, visitors need to dress with modesty. Sleeveless tops and short trousers are not permitted.
Many Jain temples are not functioning today, though the Kochi and Kozhikode temples are still active. When visiting an active Jain temple modest dress is required, including a head covering and something to cover the nose and mouth since Jains believe in utmost non-violence and do not like even to kill a small insect that might be inhaled. Do not take any pictures of Jain monks, as some Jain Monks believe in nudity and taking their pictures is considered offensive.
Though Kerala is a tourist-friendly state, famed for its hospitality, there are some customs and social etiquette which should be understood if you would like to be respectful and respected as a visitor.
- Kerala is traditionally a matriarchal society, with ladies given more preferences and priority. They receive priorities in queue, seating in public transport, priority or separate reservations in public transport waiting lists, etc.
- Ladies are expected to conform to traditional standards of modesty. For example, Ladies smoking and drinking are considered a social taboo (so you might want to be discreet if you partake). Ladies should wear shorts that at least cover the knee. They will fit in better if they wear full-length dresses and skirts.
- Though Kerala ranks highest in alcohol consumption inside India, including wine or beer, public consumption is frowned upon. Women consuming alcohol are especially frowned upon; it would be unwise for a woman visiting the state to enter a bar, with the exception of lounges and bars in premium hotels in cities such as Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.
- Nudity in any form is frowned upon for both genders, and the rule applies especially to women. It's OK for men to be bare-chested in public, though it's not appreciated much except at the beach or rural areas. In public beaches or rivers, women can wear swim-suits or covering towels around the body, but bikinis are generally frowned upon and only invite trouble. It is safest to confirm with a female hotel receptionist if a private hotel pool will allow bikinis. Though there is no gender segregation at beaches, rivers, ghats or swimming pools, gender segregation is maintained in temple ponds and certain public ghats.
- In any public transport like buses, the front rows are reserved for ladies, and men are not expected to sit there, even if the seats are unoccupied. Likewise, there are some lady coaches in train, where only women, girls, and pre-pubescent male children are admitted.
- If you have Kerala sadya (traditional Kerala buffet) in places other than large hotels, you are expected to throw away any leftovers (called echil) by folding the leaf upon which you ate into two and putting it where others do. You must not leave it at the serving place and leave.
- Sharing food from same plate or packet is considered rude, even within couples.
- You are required to wash hands before and after eating in front of others. Wiping with tissues after eating is not regarded as sufficient.
Kerala is almost covered by 4G, 3G and 2G mobile network connectivity. From 2016 onwards, the 4G services began in Kerala, and all major locations are covered with high-speed connectivity. Major hotels offer free Wi-Fi and there are internet cafes in leading cities. Major places and railway stations also provide free wifi in association with Google and BSNL.
- Bangalore — the garden city, once the sleepy home of pensioners now transformed into the city of pubs and technology companies.
- Courtallam - famous for its several small and large water falls and oil therapy, near Kollam
- Kanyakumari - a religious place for Hindus, lies on the southern tip of Indian mainland and the Vivekananda rock.
- Kodagu - a popular hill-station, known as Scotland of India. Famous for its exotic coffee plantations, Tibetan settlements, forest safaris and woods party.
- Lakshadweep - the pristine coral reef islands, small archipelagos, white sand beaches famous for scuba diving.
- Madurai — city famous for its Meenakshi Amman Temple, it was among the nominees for the new list of 7 wonders of the world for its architecture.
- Maldives - island country, well connected with easy flights from Trivandrum, famous for its water sports and beach tourism.
- Mysore - the cultural capital of neighboring Karnataka State, famous for its large palaces and festivals.
- Sri Lanka — this wonderful island, now recovering from years of civil war, is an easy flight from Kochi. | <urn:uuid:5b734f85-3adc-443e-a76c-56131b3deef7> | {
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Definition of ground coverCategorized under "General"
Definition as written by mystic:
Low growing plants that spread quickly to cover the area where planted
Definition as written by Terry:
Ground covers are often used to prevent soil erosion because their roots will form a mat that stabilizes the soil and keep it from washing away in heavy rains. Often, vines and groundcovers are placed in the same category because many vining plants can be used as groundcovers.
Definition as written by talinum:
Ground covers are usually less than 1 foot high.
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Carrageenan (Red Seaweed)
Carrageenans or carrageenins are a family of linear sulfated polysaccharides that are extracted from red seaweeds. There are several varieties of carrageen used in cooking and baking. Kappa-carrageenan is used mostly in breading and batter due to its gelling nature. Lambda carrageenan is a non-gelling variety that assists in binding, retaining moisture, and in contributing to viscosity in sweet doughs. Iota carrageenan is used primarily in fruit applications and requires calcium ions to develop a heat-reversible and flexible gel. Gelatinous extracts of the Chondrus crispus (Irish Moss) seaweed have been used as food additives for hundreds of years. Carrageenan is a vegetarian and vegan alternative to gelatin.
There are three main commercial classes of carrageenan:
- Kappa forms strong, rigid gels in the presence of potassium ions; it reacts with dairy proteins. It is sourced mainly from Kappaphycus alvarezii.
- Iota forms soft gels in the presence of calcium ions. It is produced mainly from Eucheuma denticulatum.
- Lambda does not gel, and is used to thicken dairy products. The most common source is Gigartina from South America.
The primary differences that influence the properties of kappa, iota, and lambda carrageenan are the number and position of the ester sulfate groups on the repeating galactose units. Higher levels of ester sulfate lower the solubility temperature of the carrageenan and produce lower strength gels, or contribute to gel inhibition (lambda carrageenan).
Many red algal species produce different types of carrageenans during their developmental history. For instance, the genus Gigartina produces mainly kappa carrageenans during its gametophytic stage, and lambda carrageenans during its sporophytic stage. See Alternation of generations.
All are soluble in hot water, but in cold water, only the lambda form (and the sodium salts of the other two) are soluble.
Carrageenan is a product derived from certain types of red algae, a seaweed found throughout the coasts of North America and Europe. The product is most often used as a thickening agent in place of animal-based products like gelatin, which is extracted from animal bones. It is a common ingredient in many foods and gel-like products, and even has applications in biochemistry. Carrageenan is nearly identical to agar, another substance derived from several different species of red algae.
In food and other products, carrageenan works as a thickener, stabilizer, and emulsifier, meaning that it helps keep mixed ingredients from separating. It gives foods a smooth texture and accentuates flavor. It is often used in dairy-based foods, like ice cream, yogurt, and cottage cheese, because it reacts well with milk proteins. Carrageenan is also found in jelly, pie filling, chocolate, salad dressing, and even as a fat substitute in processed meat. Because it comes from algae, it can be used as a substitute for gelatin for vegetarian and vegan products.
Other, non-food items, like toothpaste, personal lubricants, and air freshener gels may also include carrageenan. It serves the same function as it does in foods — to thicken and stabilize the product, and make it smoother. Some types of fire fighting foam also use carrageenan, which thickens the foam and helps it become sticky and more effective. In chemistry, gels made with it can be used to carry microbes or immobilize cells.
Shipment / Storage
This product, which is manufactured as a powder, is increasingly used as an alternative to gelatine and has substantial worldwide sales. It is normally bagged and shipped in containers.
Although neither carrageenan nor seaweed are classified as dangerous cargoes in the IMDG Code, the product has been involved in an incident off late, which indicates that the carriage of carrageenan may be a potential fire hazard in certain circumstances.
In this case, a cargo simply described by the shipper as 640 bags of “Carrageenan”, was shipped by container from China to Europe. The container was packed by the shipper. The cargo was not declared as dangerous goods and was stowed below deck immediately adjacent to a heated fuel tank.
Upon discharge at the European port the outside of the container showed clear evidence of internal heating and blistering. When the container was opened the cargo of carrageenan was found to be blackened and had formed into a type of charcoal. The cargo was subsequently determined to be a total loss.
Expert chemists carried out an extensive investigation and testing of both the damaged cargo and samples of fresh carrageenan powder from various sources.
Their tests established that a range of carrageenan products start to decompose exothermically (i.e. decomposition giving off heat) at temperatures of about 125° – 180°C. The decomposition of some samples gave off so much heat that they reached temperatures of between 600° – 740°C; high enough to ignite ordinary combustible materials. On the basis of the experts’ investigation, it is suspected that a combination of heat from the adjacent fuel tank and high ambient temperatures started the exothermic decomposition of a combination of the product.
The lowest temperature at which exothermic decomposition was observed to start in the experts’ tests was 125°C. However, outside laboratory conditions the experts believe that decomposition of carrageenan stored in a container could well start at lower temperatures. The Association’s experience of the cargo catching fire clearly implies that exothermic decomposition can begin at much lower temperatures, as 125°C is rarely to be found in ship’s holds.
Accordingly, ensure that carrageenan products are always stowed away from sources of heat.
Consult the applicable MSDS sheet. | <urn:uuid:511818ce-7282-44ec-bdda-83c4c8fe3145> | {
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Grilled fresh vegetables provide nutritious summer fare
Grilling summer vegetables can bring out seasonal flavors, but there's more good news. It also call simplify meal preparation, reduce utility bills and make short work of cleanup, said Sandy Procter, Kansas State University nutrition educator.
Learning to grill vegetables isn't difficult, she said.
Procter, who serves as coordinator of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program in Kansas, recommends using heavy-duty foil or a reusable foil-baking pan with an edge to prevent smaller vegetables from slipping through the grill grid. She also recommends spraying the foil or pan surface with vegetable cooking spray before placing it on the grill.
"Vegetable cooking spray or a small amount of vegetable oil prevents sticking and makes grilled vegetables easier to turn. Avoid spraying surfaces near a lighted grill," she said.
Marinating vegetables in an oil-based salad dressing or marinade also can make them easier to handle and less likely to stick to the pan, foil or grill surface.
Marinades should, however, be reserved for that purpose and not reused after they have been used for marinating meat or other foods, Procter said.
Since not all vegetables cook at the same rate, the nutrition educator also recommends lightly steaming root vegetables like potatoes or carrots in the microwave before adding them to a summer vegetable mixture or kebab.
"Kebabs can be difficult to turn, but may be easier to manage when foods are similar in size and skewered in the center," said the nutrition educator, who uses inexpensive bamboo skewers (available at the supermarket) for making kebabs.
Allowing children to make their own kebab or choose the vegetables they would like to grill increases the likelihood that they will eat the vegetables, she said.
Grilled vegetables like summer squash often retain more texture than steamed vegetables. Grilling also will enhance flavor. For example, it highlights the sweetness and natural flavor of peppers.
Fresh-grilled vegetables will be hot and should be handled with a long-handled spatula or tongs. Grilled vegetables also should not come in contact with raw meat, poultry or fish, said Procter, who recommends placing vegetable grill pans to the side of the grill.
Fruits such as apple, mango or nectarine slices can be grilled as accompaniments for grilled meat, poultry or fish; or for dessert.
"Fire-roasted food products and flavoring mixes are becoming more common in supermarkets. The same great flavors can be achieved at home, particularly when backyard chefs are willing to be a little adventuresome," the nutrition educator said.
Easy Grilled Potatoes
Scrub potatoes; slice them about twice as thick as a potato chip and place them in a resealable plastic bag. Add herbs and a little vegetable oil or seasoned, Italian-style salad dressing, reseal the bag, and turn gently to coat potatoes before placing them on the grill pan.
Turn once during grilling. Cooking time will vary with the type of grill, potato variety and size of slice. To test doneness, prick with a fork.
While special utensils and equipment are not necessary for grilling vegetables and most other foods, Sandy Procter, Kansas State University nutrition educator, reports success using a non-stick pan with paper-punch like holes. She said it simplifies grilling delicate foods like fish, or more fragile fruits and vegetables.
Placing more fragile foods in the pan allows fats and juices to drain, and also makes foods easier to turn or remove from the grill grid, she said.
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- Kansas City Connection: FüD for thought | <urn:uuid:67d9f434-dfd1-4704-a30f-54c9964999f5> | {
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Archeologists, during an ongoing excavation, have unearthed two ancient theater masks belonging to Roman period in southeastern Turkish province of Mardin.
An archaeological team conducted by the Museum of Mardin in Ilisu Dam excavated the masks revealed to be made of bronze and iron.
The experts suggest that the masks belong to a travelling theater group, which came to Mardin at the time of Roman Empire about 2300 years ago.
"It is revealed that this historical artifact from Roman Empire have been brought to Mardin by the travelling theaters as there has been no theater here at that time. This travelling theater is presumed to come from west to east," said Mardin Culture and Tourism Director Davut Beliktay.
Many other relics have been uncovered during the excavation, though they are less important than the masks as rare ancient treasure in Turkey, Beliktay added.
The newly found artifacts have an historical importance to Mardin, as they confirm the city’s rich history, said the Director of Mardin Museum, Nihat Erdogan.
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Anneliese Marie ‘Anne’ Frank (12
June 1929 - February/March
1945) was a German - born
Jewish girl who wrote while in
hiding with her family and four
friends in Amsterdam during the
German occupation of the
Netherlands in World War II. Her
family had moved to Amsterdam
after the Nazis gained power in
Germany but were trapped when
the Nazi occupation extended into
the Netherlands. As persecutions
against the Jewish population
increased, the family went into
hiding in July 1942 in hidden rooms in her father Otto Frank’s
office building. After two years in hiding, the group was betrayed
and transported to the concentration camp system where Anne died
of typhus in Bergen-Belsen within days of her sister, Margot Frank.
Her father, Otto, the only survivor of the group, returned to Amsterdam
after the war ended, to find that her diary had been saved. Convinced
that it was a unique record, he took action to have it published in
English under the name The Diary of a Young Girl.
The diary was given to Anne Frank for her thirteenth birthday
and chronicles the events of her life from 12 June 1942 until its
final entry of 1 August 1944. It was eventually translated from its
original Dutch into many languages and became one of the world’s
most widely read books. There have also been several films,
television and theatrical productions, and even an opera, based on
the diary. Described as the work of a mature and insightful mind,
the diary provides an intimate examination of daily life under Nazi
occupation. Anne Frank has become one of the most renowned and
discussed of the Holocaust victims.
Writing in a Diary
WRITING in a diary is a really strange experience for
someone like me. Not only because I’ve never written
anything before, but also because it seems to me
that later on neither I nor anyone else will be
interested in the musings of a thirteen-year-old
schoolgirl. Oh well, it doesn’t matter. I feel like
writing, and I have an even greater need to get all
kinds of things off my chest.
‘Paper has more patience than people.’ I thought
of this saying on one of those days when I was feeling
a little depressed and was sitting at home with my
chin in my hands, bored and listless, wondering
whether to stay in or go out. I finally stayed where I
was, brooding: Yes, paper does have more patience,
and since I’m not planning to let anyone else read
this stiff-backed notebook grandly referred to as a
‘diary’, unless I should ever find a real friend, it
probably won’t make a bit of difference.
Now I’m back to the point that prompted me
to keep a diary in the first place: I don’t have a
Let me put it more clearly, since no one will
believe that a thirteen-year-old girl is completely
alone in the world. And I’m not. I have loving parents
and a sixteen-year-old sister, and there are about
thirty people I can call friends. I have a family,
loving aunts and a good home. No, on the surface I
seem to have everything, except my one true friend.
All I think about when I’m with friends is having a
good time. I can’t bring myself to talk about anything
but ordinary everyday things. We don’t seem to be
able to get any closer, and that’s the problem. Maybe
it’s my fault that we don’t confide in each other. In
any case, that’s just how things are, and
unfortunately they’re not liable to change. This is
why I’ve started the diary.
To enhance the image of this long-awaited friend
in my imagination, I don’t want to jot down the
facts in this diary the way most people would do,
but I want the diary to be my friend, and I’m going
to call this friend ‘Kitty’.
Since no one would understand a word of my
stories to Kitty if I were to plunge right in, I’d better
provide a brief sketch of my life, much as I dislike
My father, the most adorable father I’ve ever seen,
didn’t marry my mother until he was thirty-six and
she was twenty-five. My sister, Margot, was born
in Frankfurt in Germany in 1926. I was born on 12
June 1929. I lived in Frankfurt until I was four. My
father emigrated to Holland in 1933. My mother,
Edith Hollander Frank, went with him to Holland
in September, while Margot and I were sent to
Aachen to stay with our grandmother. Margot went
to Holland in December, and I followed in February,
when I was plunked down on the table as a birthday
present for Margot.
I started right away at the Montessori nursery
school. I stayed there until I was six, at which time
I started in the first form. In the sixth form my
teacher was Mrs Kuperus, the headmistress. At the
end of the year we were both in tears as we said a
In the summer of 1941 Grandma fell ill and had
to have an operation, so my birthday passed with
Grandma died in January 1942. No one knows
how often I think of her and still love her. This
birthday celebration in 1942 was intended to make
up for the other, and Grandma’s candle was lit along
with the rest.
The four of us are still doing well, and that brings
me to the present date of 20 June 1942, and the
solemn dedication of my diary.
Our entire class is quaking in its boots. The
reason, of course, is the forthcoming meeting in
which the teachers decide who’ll move up to the
next form and who’ll be kept back. Half the class is
making bets. G.N. and I laugh ourselves silly at the
two boys behind us, C.N. and Jacques, who have
staked their entire holiday savings on their bet.
From morning to night, it’s “You’re going to pass”,
“No, I’m not”, “Yes, you are”, “No, I’m not”. Even G.’s
pleading glances and my angry outbursts can’t calm
them down. If you ask me, there are so many
dummies that about a quarter of the class should
be kept back, but teachers are the most
unpredictable creatures on earth.
I’m not so worried about my girlfriends and
myself. We’ll make it. The only subject I’m not sure
about is maths. Anyway, all we can do is wait. Until
then, we keep telling each other not to lose heart.
I get along pretty well with all my teachers. There
are nine of them, seven men and two women. Mr
Keesing, the old fogey who teaches maths, was
annoyed with me for ages because I talked so much.
After several warnings, he assigned me extra
homework. An essay on the subject, ‘A Chatterbox’.
A chatterbox - what can you write about that? I’d
worry about that later, I decided. I jotted down the
title in my notebook, tucked it in my bag and tried
to keep quiet.
That evening, after I’d finished the rest of my
homework, the note about the essay caught my eye.
I began thinking about the subject while chewing
the tip of my fountain pen. Anyone could ramble on
and leave big spaces between the words, but the
trick was to come up with convincing arguments to
prove the necessity of talking. I thought and
thought, and suddenly I had an idea. I wrote the
three pages Mr Keesing had assigned me and was
satisfied. I argued that talking is a student’s trait
and that I would do my best to keep it under control,
but that I would never be able to cure myself of the
habit since my mother talked as much as I did if
not more, and that there’s not much you can do
about inherited traits.
Mr Keesing had a good laugh at my arguments,
but when I proceeded to talk my way through the
next lesson, he assigned me a second essay. This
time it was supposed to be on ‘An Incorrigible
Chatterbox’. I handed it in, and Mr Keesing had
nothing to complain about for two whole lessons.
However, during the third lesson he’d finally had
enough. “Anne Frank, as punishment for talking in
class, write an essay entitled - ‘Quack, Quack,
Quack, Said Mistress Chatterbox’.”
The class roared. I had to laugh too, though I’d
nearly exhausted my ingenuity on the topic of
chatterboxes. It was time to come up with
something else, something original. My friend,
Sanne, who’s good at poetry, offered to help me write
the essay from beginning to end in verse and I
jumped for joy. Mr Keesing was trying to play a
joke on me with this ridiculous subject, but I’d make
sure the joke was on him.
I finished my poem, and it was beautiful! It was
about a mother duck and a father swan with three
baby ducklings who were bitten to death by the
father because they quacked too much. Luckily, Mr
Keesing took the joke the right way. He read the
poem to the class, adding his own comments, and
to several other classes as well. Since then I’ve been
allowed to talk and haven’t been assigned any extra
homework. On the contrary, Mr Keesing’s always
making jokes these days.
Every child feels that she/he is controlled and instructed not to do
one thing or another. You too may feel that your freedom is curtailed.
Write down some of the things you want to do, but your parents/
elders do not allow you to. To read the poem aloud, form pairs,
each reading alternate stanzas. You are in for a surprise!
Don’t bite your nails, Amanda!
Don’t hunch your shoulders, Amanda!
Stop that slouching and sit up straight,
(There is a languid, emerald sea,
where the sole inhabitant is me-
a mermaid, drifting blissfully.)
Did you finish your homework, Amanda?
Did you tidy your room, Amanda?
I thought I told you to clean your shoes,
(I am an orphan, roaming the street.
I pattern soft dust with my hushed, bare feet.
The silence is golden, the freedom is sweet.)
Don’t eat that chocolate, Amanda!
Remember your acne, Amanda!
Will you please look at me when I’m speaking to you, | <urn:uuid:f55cb3b1-cc46-4196-9619-c32071ccc9b9> | {
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Most of us hold unrealistically optimistic views of the future, research shows, downplaying the likelihood that we will have bad experiences. Now a study in Nature Neuroscience last October has found clues to the brain's predilection for the positive, identifying regions that may fuel this “optimism bias” by preferentially responding to rosier information.
Tali Sharot, a University College London neurology researcher, and her colleagues asked 19 individuals between the ages of 19 and 27 to estimate their odds of experiencing 80 unfavorable events, such as contracting various diseases or being the victim of a crime. Participants were then told the actual average probability of each before repeating the exercise.
The participants revised most of their estimates the second time around, but 79 percent of those tested paid much more attention when their actual risk was lower than what they had initially guessed. After getting the good news, these subjects rated their risk for these events as significantly lower than they did earlier. In contrast, when they had underestimated their odds of meeting with a particular misfortune, they made less drastic revisions to their guess or none at all—clinging to their earlier belief that they would probably avoid the bad luck.
Using functional MRI, the researchers found areas in the prefrontal cortex, where conscious reasoning takes place, that were active when participants received information that was better than anticipated. The greater the difference between the subjects' initial guess of their risk and the true probability, the more activity appeared in these regions, hinting that they contribute to positive error correction.
Activity in another part of the brain, the right inferior frontal gyrus, changed in response to discouraging information. There, however, activity did not correspond as closely with the magnitude of error in the participants' initial risk estimates, matching the poorer correction later. That inconsistent neural response was observed most clearly or most often in individuals who scored higher on standard tests for optimism as a personality trait.
This finding jibes with past studies that observed an optimism bias in about 80 percent of the population. Its absence can signal anxiety or depression. Yet being overly optimistic has consequences, too, Sharot says, preventing us from taking some precautions to avoid harm or misfortune. Realizing the brain's partiality may be half the battle. “If you are aware of the optimism bias, you can commit to actions or rules that will help protect you,” Sharot notes. | <urn:uuid:19ba0458-7ce6-4bed-9a3a-82c66379d767> | {
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Official Taekwondo Belts | The Belts The official taekwondo belts represent a students’ progress. Each of the belts represents a certain level of skill or set of skills. If you look for a school to enroll to, you will find that each of the schools sets its own colors of the belt. Each school also has different curriculum, so even if two students have the same color of the belt, if they are enrolled in different taekwondo academies, they would have different knowledge regarding the taekwondo forms, kicks and hand techniques. All the Official Taekwondo Belts systems are based on the system that was developed by the Japanese founder of Judo, Kanō Jigorō. A student begins with the white belt and as he levels up his skills and knowledge, he’ll eventually reach the ultimate belt, the Black Belt. Each Official Taekwondo Belts symbolizes every step of the student into achieving his goal. Poetically, the white belt symbolizes innocence, the yellow belt represents the sun and earth, the green belt is a plant growing, the blue belt represents the sky, the red belt is for danger and black belt represents maturity.
Here’s Official Taekwondo Belts Meaning of the Symbolism
White = Innocence
The innocence means that the student has yet no knowledge about taekwondo and just starting. He’s yet to learn and still a novice.
Yellow = Sun and Earth
The students are compared to the rising sun. The rising sun means that the students are learning. Other academies use the earth to represent the yellow belt. Earth means that they are building a foundation of their learning.
Green = Plant
The plant signifies the growth of the student. He is learning more and more. Growing like a plant. The power begins to develop and the seed is now a plant.
Blue = Sky
The plant is growing higher and is starting to reach the sky.
Red = Danger
The students are faced in danger, the danger is mostly they. If they passed the danger, they are ready to get their final belt.
Black = Maturity
When they have faced the danger, it means that they are mature and learned a lot from their adventures. | <urn:uuid:15e14a2b-8343-4ad2-ab69-3c3bd4af5f83> | {
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Due to the high quality of the natural environment and the resulting abundance of many types of animals on D’Arros Island, interactions between species are often observed and even photographed. Recently, several predation events have been captured that highlight some of the interesting food webs present in these dynamic terrestrial and marine ecosystems.
Recently, a resident grey heron (Ardea cinerea) was photographed swallowing a fledgling fairy tern (Gygis alba, also known as the white tern) near D’Arros Research Centre. While commonly found wading in the shallows hunting for fish, this large species of heron is an opportunistic predator. Fairy terns hatch on tree branches on D’Arros Island, and without the protection of a nest, the young bird was caught by the heron.
During an early morning beach walk on the west side of D’Arros Island, a horned ghost crab (Ocypode ceratopthalmus) was seen eating a hatchling hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata). The peak nesting season for hawksbill turtles on D’Arros Island is October through January, and upon emerging the hatchlings make a quick dash for the sea. Ghost crabs and shore birds frequently take advantage of this event in hopes of capturing a meal.
Earlier in the month, the same species of ghost crab was observed eating a juvenile convict surgeonfish (Acanthurus triostegus), a common near-shore reef fish. While it is possible that the crab captured the fish in shallow water, it may have also washed ashore or been dropped by a bird (thus making this a scavenged meal).
On a trip to nearby St. Joseph Atoll, a fairy tern had just returned from feeding and was perched on a coconut palm frond. These small, agile terns pick small baitfish out of the water that they either eat themselves or bring back to feed to their chicks. This individual has captured several baitfish, possibly hardyhead silversides (Atherinomorus lacunosus).
Not only are these interactions interesting to watch, they are great examples of the interconnectedness of the land and sea. Numerous species rely on both of these habitats for survival: grey herons and fairy terns nest on land but predominantly hunt fish, sea turtles forage in the ocean but must lay their eggs on a beach, and ghost crabs spend their time in the intertidal zone after an oceanic larval phase. These complex life histories and food webs give ample reason to take a wide approach to conservation in the Seychelles. | <urn:uuid:292c3c16-43af-4277-824f-68dfa5d7f05e> | {
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Using gene map science to evaluate the genetic map and eliminate disease
The extraordinarily complex human body has over 10 trillion individual cells, with each cell having a complete set of genetic codes for the entire body. The goal has been to create a gene map to better understand the function and organization of these linkage maps. These chemical codes are actually stored as DNA, the now-familiar twisted double-helix molecule. A single DNA molecule forms each human chromosome, containing the genes that determine everything about your physical self, from the color of your eyes to the likelihood of suffering from certain disorders.
Research efforts that tried to find cures for diseases with genetic components were proceeding too slowly. Without a genetic map, scientific research on various disorders was hampered, and by the late 1980s, fewer than 1,500 of the body's 100,000 genes had been charted. Alfred Sturtevant came up with the first linkage map. These linkage maps provided the basis of genetic map units.
If they had that map, researchers could do their work far more effectively - and save many more lives. Researchers could use the gene map to guide them in their efforts to develop cures for heart disease, cancer, cystic fibrosis, certain forms of Alzheimer's disease, and over 3,000 other genetically-linked disorders.
Genetic mapping would identify the location of all genes on each chromosome, or on the DNA molecules. The genetic map would not cure genetic diseases by itself; but it would be an important tool to help researchers locate specific genes and analyze the diseases. Locating desired genes is essential because it leads directly to the discovery of the molecules that cause genetic diseases. Genetic mapping therefore became a necessity for the well-being of humanity.
If our chromosomes were a giant library, genetic mapping would be like noting the titles and the order of all books on the shelves. Researchers in search of a particular book - or gene - would then have a guide where to find it. Further scientific progress thus depended on the creation of the genetic map. | <urn:uuid:ed9d71cc-bef2-4ea1-9672-ed8c0a753d9c> | {
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|Tanasee Gap||in Tanasee Ridge on the Jackson-Transylvania county line in Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests.|
|Tanasee Ridge||on the Jackson-Transylvania county line, forms the boundary between Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests. It is approx. 11 mi. long and extends NW from the Blue Ridge.|
|Tanawha||See Grandfather Mountain.|
|Tanbark Gap||SW Cherokee County between Pack Top and Potato Creek.|
|Tanbark Ridge||central Buncombe County between Jones Cove and Bull Creek.|
|Tandaquomuc||an Indian village of either the Weapemeoc or Chowanoac tribes located in what is now SE Bertie County between the mouths of Chowan and Roanoke Rivers. Appears on the De Bry map, 1590. The name may have meant "where the road goes by the big evergreens."|
|Tank Creek||rises in NW Cumberland County and flows NE into Little River.|
|Tantram Branch||rises in SE Buncombe County near Patton Gap in the Swannanoa Mountains and flows S into Trantham Creek.|
|Tantroft Branch||See Tantrough Branch.|
|Tantrough Branch||rises in E central Yancey County and flows N into Little Crabtree Creek. Named for the wooden trough used in tanning hides that an early settler had there. The spelling Tantroft is also used.|
This content is from the North Carolina Gazetteer, edited by William S. Powell and Michael Hill. Copyright © 2010 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the publisher. For personal use and not for further distribution. Please submit permission requests for other use directly to the publisher.
Have a comment about the North Carolina Gazetteer? Tell us! Send NCpedia staff a message. | <urn:uuid:97629758-7c02-465f-bb88-5b6a1b4ec220> | {
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Born: Sep 21, 1452 AD
Died: 1498 AD, at 45 years of age.
1452 - Born on September 21st in Ferrara, Duchy of Ferrara. Italian Christian preacher, reformer, and martyr, renowned for his clash with tyrannical rulers and a corrupt clergy.
1475 - He left his father's house and his medical studies, on which he had embarked after taking a degree in the liberal arts, to enter the Dominican order at Bologna.
1482 - Savonarola was sent to Florence to take up the post of lecturer in the convent of San Marco, where he gained a great reputation for his learning and asceticism.
1485-1486 - At San Gimignano in Lent, he put forward his famous propositions: the church needed reforming; it would be scourged and then renewed.
1487 - He left Florence to become master of studies in the school of general studies at Bologna.
1490 - Savonarola preached boldly against the tyrannical abuses of the government.
1494 - After the overthrow of the Medici, Savonarola was the sole leader of Florence, setting up a democratic republic.
- Medici rule did not long survive Lorenzo and was overthrown by the invasion of Charles VIII.
1498 - Died on May 23rd in Florence.
Page last updated: 12:33am, 28th Jun '07 | <urn:uuid:1c25f018-7ccb-4314-9520-f0fa97a044c1> | {
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Teen Dating Violence Prevention Program
Teen dating violence is a major public health issue that occurs across diverse groups and cultures. It is a pattern of abuse or threat of abuse among adolescent partners. It includes verbal, emotional, physical, sexual, and digital (internet) abuse and may have both immediate and long term effects.
Minnesota is one of six states that have received planning grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to assess the issue and develop a plan. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women (MCBW) have gathered partners as the State Alliance on Healthy Youth Relationships (SAHYR) (DOC: 24KB/1page).
Teen Dating Violence Prevention State Plan
The following activities will be part of the TDV prevention planning grant, which concludes in July 2011:
Environmental scan (DOC: 75KB/14 pages)
Describes current TDV prevention activities underway as well as local leadership and support for TDV prevention efforts.
- Environmental scan summary>Slide Presentation (Summary of Scan) (PPT: 309KB/33 pages)
- Policy scan
- Creates a baseline inventory of TDV policies in the area.
- Assesses capacity of programs to evaluate their prevention activities and surveillance and policy initiatives, and to identify gaps and needs.
- Will describe strategies for effective primary prevention of TDV primary prevention; it will be based on findings of the three scans.
Several national collections of teen dating violence prevention resources have been developed. Listed are the two most comprehensive web sites:
VAWnet: Preventing and Responding to Teen Dating Violence:This site describes collaborative and multi-level approaches to the prevention of and response to TDV. It provides definitions and general information and lists laws and legislation, national programs, and national organizations.
The site has resources for:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Teen Dating Violence:This site includes fact sheets and research articles on teen dating violence, why it happens and its effects, curricula, hotlines, and resource centers.
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Next time your doctor proposes a treatment for a health issue you are coping with, be sure that he explains all of the possible risks associated with the procedure.
Doctors are expected to advise and empower patients to make choices about procedures by sharing all information that may affect treatment decisions, including risks of adverse outcomes. Researchers from Australia and the U.S. led by David Studdert from the University of Melbourne found, however, that doctors, notably surgeons, often fail to mention certain risks associated with medical procedures.
The researchers analyzed 481malpractice claims and patient complaints involving allegations of failures in the process of obtaining informed consent before operations. They discovered that 9 percent of the cases studied were disputed duty cases—meaning, they involved head-to-head disagreements over whether a particular risk should have been disclosed before treatment. Two-thirds of these disputed duty cases involved surgeries. In most cases, lack of information had quality of life implications for patients, including chronic pain and the need for re-operation.
The researchers said the most common reasons doctors gave for not telling patients about particular risks were that they considered such risks too rare to warrant discussion or the risk was covered by another risk that was discussed. | <urn:uuid:09c3d0f2-adee-485f-ae8c-ace64ab14250> | {
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Peruse the egg section of a grocery store or farmers market, and you'll notice cartons of eggs separated into white and brown, sometimes even green or blue eggs. But once they arrive scrambled on a plate, perhaps, or baked into a cake, it's tough to tell the difference. In fact, what is the difference between eggs with shells of different colors??
This isn't a flour or rice situation. Brown eggs are not more "natural," and white eggs have not been decolored with bleach. Both varieties occur completely naturally, as do bluish-green chicken eggs. But really, all chicken eggs are the same on the inside. So what causes different egg colors among the same type of bird?
千亿国际娱乐官网 Dr. Justin Fowler, a professor in the University of Georgia's poultry science department, shines a light on things. "The different colors, or the presence of spots or speckling, come down千亿国际娱乐qy588.vip to the genetics of the bird," he says.?
"Leghorn chickens (which make up most of the commercial egg industry in the US) lay white eggs, while Orphingtons or Plymouth Rocks will lay brown eggs," explains Fowler. "The Ameraucana breed has a pigment that is able to permeate the whole egg shell and make blue-colo千亿国际娱乐网页版 red eggs that are colored on both the inside and outside of the shell."?
Want to know whether a specific chicken will pop out a white egg or a colored egg? Examine the chicken's earlobe. (Surprise, birds have earlobes!) "Breeds with white earlobes will typically be those that do not put extra pigment on the egg shell before laying," says Fowler. And more often than not, chickens with lighter earlobes tend to have white feathers, and thus white eggs, while those with colored feathers and earlobes tend to produ千亿国际客户端下载 ce colored eggs.?
Where does this color come from? Here's where understanding how an egg comes to be is important. Chicken yolks, or ova, form in the chicken's ovaries. A fully formed ovum will leave the ovary and be deposited into the oviduct. This part of the chicken's reproductive system has five distinct sequential segments which the yolk passes through on its way to the outside world, but it's the fourth one — the shell gland — that affects the color of the egg. This is where the shell forms around the ovum.?
"The shell of all chicken eggs are made of calcium carbonate, a crystal that is white in color," says Fowler. "So all eggs are, at least at the start, white. Any that we then see that are other colors have had a pigment deposited on them as they were moving through the oviduct, after the white egg shell had been deposited. You can see this if you open up a brown egg and look at the inside of the shell, it'll be white."?
Two pigments are responsible for the spectrum of chicken egg color. Shades of greens and blues are caused by the pigment biliverdin, while protoporphyrin is responsible for reddish-brown hues.?
The same egg-coloring process holds true for all birds with colorful eggs. American robin (Turdus migratorius) eggs, for instance, are famously blue. The pear-shaped eggs of a common murre (Uria aalge) can sport a blue hue, be speckled or feature brown streaks.? | <urn:uuid:af6b8735-6992-4868-9bac-7644ce3c8d56> | {
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- Home care is professional help with medical needs or daily tasks.
- Home health aides, personal attendants, or companions often provide home care services. They may be volunteers or receive payment from the patient or family.
- Talk with the health care team to learn about home care options and where to find these services.
Home care involves professional health care and supportive services given at home for people who need help. A person may need home care during specific times to recover from surgery or a long hospital stay. Those who need longer-term care may need home care for more time.
Receiving care at home often allows a person with cancer to spend less time in the hospital. It can also provide relief to family caregivers, whether they live in the same home or in a different location.
Home care is an option for patients who are actively receiving treatment or rehabilitation services. Also people who need help with daily tasks, such as bathing, cooking, or cleaning may consider home care. People with advanced cancer can even receive hospice care in the home.
Professionals who provide care in the home
A variety of professionals including doctors and nurses provide home care. More often, however, home care is home health aides, personal attendants, or companions.
Home health aide/home care aide. A home health aide helps with daily tasks, such as bathing, dressing, using the toilet, and moving around. Some home health aides receive training to provide more complex services along with a nurse. These services may include such as wound or ostomy care. An ostomy is a surgically created opening for getting rid of body waste.
Personal attendant. A personal attendant provides personal care services and performs light household tasks, such as cooking, laundry, and basic cleaning.
Companion. A companion offers comfort and companionship to people who cannot leave the home or stay at home alone. Some companions perform limited household tasks, such as preparing lunch. A companion may stay with the person to give family caregivers a break. Companions are often volunteers, but some receive payment from the person with cancer or his or her family.
How to find home care services
Talk with the patient's health care team to find out what home care services are needed. Develop a plan for home care and ask for recommendations. Types of agencies include:
Home care agencies. These agencies assign and supervise various types of home care personnel depending on the needs of each client. This includes nurses, therapists, social workers, and home care aides. In addition, some agencies can help you develop a care plan. Many agencies are Medicare certified. This means they meet federal patient care standards and provide services that are covered by Medicare and Medicaid. These agencies screen, hire, supervise, pay the professionals' salary, and assume liability for care.
Homemaker and home care aide agencies. These agencies provide home care aides, attendants, and companions. Most agencies hire and supervise their own personnel, making them responsible for the care provided. Some states require a license for such agencies.
Home care registries/staffing agencies. These organizations act as employment agencies that match clients with nurses, therapists, aides, and other personnel. The services are generally not licensed or regulated, but some agencies do screen their personnel. The client is responsible for selecting, supervising, and paying caregivers.
Independent providers. These are home care personnel who are privately employed by the client. The client is responsible for hiring, supervising, and paying these caregivers, as well as checking their credentials and references. A social worker or hospital discharge planner my recommend independent providers. Or, they can be found through ads in a local newspaper or online job board postings.
When choosing a home care provider, it is important to feel comfortable bringing the person into your home. Consider asking potential providers the following questions:
- How long have you been in business?
- Are you accredited by a recognized agency?
- Do you specialize in a specific aspect of home care (such as nutrition)?
- Do you have references?
- Do you have experience with people with cancer?
- How do you handle emergencies?
- Do you provide a written treatment plan that states the specific tasks that you will perform? Do you notify the family if the plan changes?
- Which insurance plans do you accept?
- What is the billing process?
- How do you oversee the quality of care a person receives? Who is the contact for questions or complaints?
Paying for home care services
Medicare and Medicaid. These government-run insurance programs usually cover part-time home care provided by skilled medical personnel, such as nurses, doctors, or therapists. A doctor must approve and review the services, which must be provided by a Medicare-certified home care agency. The Veterans Administration also pays for some home care services for qualified veterans.
Private insurance companies and health maintenance organizations (HMOs). Insurance companies often cover some short-term home care services, but coverage varies from plan to plan. Many will pay for skilled medical care, but not for personal care, such as aide or attendant care. Check with your insurance company before beginning home care services. Some companies may require you to use certain home care agencies or personnel. Private long-term care insurance may also pay for longer-term home care services.
Self-pay. This means out-of-pocket payment for services not otherwise covered. Out-of-pocket payment is money paid by you or the person with cancer. Long-term care provided by an aide, attendant, or companion often requires out-of-pocket payment. In some instances, you may be responsible for taxes. Talk with your accountant or tax preparer about the tax laws in your area.
Community organizations and state and local governments. These organizations may provide funds to help pay for home care services. Check with the local chapter of one of the following groups.
- Area Agency on Aging
- The Department of Health and Human Services
- The United Way
- The American Cancer Society
In addition, volunteers from local places of worship, home care agencies, or community organizations may be options. These volunteer can provide companionship, limited personal care, respite care, or transportation services. Find additional financial support resources. | <urn:uuid:dcedcc20-daa8-4074-ae26-f383369e3d6d> | {
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Get It Done: Writing and Analyzing Informational Texts to Make Things Happen
By Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Michael W. Smith, and James E. Fredricksen
(Heinemann, 2012 – Learn more)
I was fortunate to be in the audience at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the National Writing Project and listened as Wilhelm, Smith and Fredricksen wowed the crowd during a collaborative keynote address to a roomful of teachers. The three teacher/writers had just put out a collection of three books that explore connections to reading and writing. Get It Done is their resource on informational text. The others explore narrative texts and argumentative texts.
All three are nicely connected to the thrust of the Common Core, although the authors were clear that they began planning and writing long before the Common Core became public. (Still, you can imagine the thrill of the Heinemann editors when they realized that three books were being developed along three main threads of the Common Core.)
Get It Done is a treasure trove of helpful insights about why we need to care about the teaching of informational text, and it offers up strategies for not just teaching how to read and interpret these kinds of texts, but how to make them meaningful and useful to students.
The Get it Done mantra of the book’s title echoes to the fact that information that is processed and understood can be used in the world to do things, to make things happen, to create opportunities for action and understanding, to explain complicated ideas to others in meaningful ways. And the authors (Wilhelm seems to be the lead writer in this book) are right on the mark when they hint that educators just do not do enough to teach this kind of text to students, even though the real world (you know, that place outside of our classroom bubbles) is overflowing with informational text.
The authors are right on the mark when they hint that educators just do not do enough to teach this kind of text to students, even though the real world is overflowing with it.
I appreciated that the book begins by laying out the idea of “elements of informational text structures” as well as “the five kinds of knowledge” that inform our understanding of information and explanatory texts. They also break out a series of actions that teachers can consider when working with students, from what they call Composing to Plan, to Composing to Practice, to Composing Rough and Final Drafts, to Composing to Transfer Meaning. These pedagogical and heuristic framing ideas set the stage for the authors to then dive down into a wide range of text formats:
- Listing and Naming
- Exploring cause and effect
- Explaining problems and solutions
I also found it insightful to read through the many “margin notes” that are in the book, as the authors – sometimes individually, sometimes collectively – add further insights to various topics of the main text. The margin notes also make explicit connections to the Common Core, and highlight areas where exemplar lesson plans and ideas are located. In fact, the three educators here bring in many examples of classroom practice, which I found to be valuable and enlightening.
Many of us need to do more with explicit teaching of informational text, and Get It Done is an excellent map of teaching strategies, rationale and understanding that can ease that transition to a more balanced use of texts that so many of us teachers (in Common Core states and otherwise) are going to have to make.
Kevin Hodgson is a sixth grade teacher in Southampton, Massachusetts, and is the technology liaison with the Western Massachusetts Writing Project. Kevin blogs regularly at Kevin’s Meandering Mind and tweets more often than is healthy under his @dogtrax handle. He created the flowchart, possibly on a napkin at his favorite coffeehouse. | <urn:uuid:032b69c4-fc9d-4c61-8add-60a6219cc9e2> | {
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This post has been updated to clarify conclusions about likely average temperature increases.
In a long-awaited report, the world's top climate scientists say that there's no longer room to doubt or deny that climate change is happening and that human activity is the largest contributing factor.
Today, the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a summary document for policymakers, which the BBC
describes as the first installment of a collection of scientific climate change studies that'll come out over the next year. And the report's conclusions are not good — some are pretty grim.
The IPCC lays out the report's conclusions in layman's terms via a series of press releases. Here are some of the highlights (many of these conclusions are laid out in one press release, which is available here
- While scientists were already certain that human activity is driving global warming, the report concludes "It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century."
- Since pre-industrial times, atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations have increased by 40 percent, largely because of fossil fuel emissions and land-use changes. The oceans have absorbed about 30 percent of the emitted carbon dioxide, which is causing ocean acidification.
- Depending on the greenhouse gas emissions scenario that plays out, the global average temperature increase will likely pass 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. The report also says that the end-of-the-century increase could be as low as .3 degrees Celsius and 4.8 degrees Celsius, according to an article in The Guardian. Scientists consider a 2-degree increase to be the tipping point beyond which serious changes will happen on a global scale.
- "Over the last two decades, the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have been losing mass, glaciers have continued to shrink almost worldwide, and Arctic sea ice and Northern Hemisphere spring snow cover have continued to decrease in extent," says one of the releases.
- Arctic sea ice will very likely continue to shrink.
- Increasing atmospheric carbon concentrations are also likely, and that'll lead to increasing ocean acidification, says the IPCC. | <urn:uuid:41c309f4-7e40-4e9c-a5e1-bde16dc183b2> | {
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A daemon is a Linux program that run in the background, just
like a 'Service' on Windows. It can perform all sorts of tasks
that do not require direct user input. Apache is a daemon, so
is MySQL. All you ever hear from them is found in somewhere in
/var/log, yet they silently power over 40%
of the Internet.
You reading this page, would not have been possible without them.
So clearly: a daemon is a powerful thing, and can be bend to do a
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Divergence (div) is “flux density”—the amount of flux entering or leaving a point. Think of it as the rate of flux expansion (positive divergence) or flux contraction (negative divergence). If you measure flux in bananas (and c’mon, who doesn’t?), a positive divergence means your location is a source of bananas. You’ve hit the Donkey Kong jackpot.
Remember that by convention, flux is positive when it leaves a closed surface. Imagine you were your normal self, and could talk to points inside a vector field, asking what they saw:
- If the point saw flux entering, he’d scream that everything was closing in on him. This is a negative divergence, and the point is capturing flux, like water going down a sink.
- If the point saw flux leaving, he’d sniff his armpits and say all flux was existing. This is a positive divergence, and the point is a source of flux, like a hose.
So, divergence is just the net flux per unit volume, or “flux density”, just like regular density is mass per unit volume (of course, we don’t know about “negative” density). Imagine a tiny cube—flux can be coming in on some sides, leaving on others, and we combine all effects to figure out if the total flux is entering or leaving.
The bigger the flux density (positive or negative), the stronger the flux source or sink. A div of zero means there’s no net flux change in side the region. In plain english:
Now that we have an intuitive explanation, how do we turn that sucker into an equation? The usual calculus way: take a tiny unit of volume and measure the flux going through it. We need to add up the total flux passing through the x, y and z dimensions.
Imagine a cube at the point we want to measure, with sides of length dx, dy and dz. To get the net flux, we see how much the X component of flux changes in the X direction, add that to the Y component’s change in the Y direction, and the Z component’s change in the Z direction. If there are no changes, then we’ll get 0 + 0 + 0, which means no net flux.
If there is some change in the field, we get something like 1 -2 +5 (flux increases in X and Z direction, decreases in Y) which gives us the divergence at that point.
Total flux change = (field change in X direction) + (field change in Y direction) + (field change in Z direction)
Or in more formal math:
Assuming F1 is the field in the X direction, F2 in the Y and F3 in the Z.
A few remarks:
- The symbol for divergence is the upside down triangle for gradient (called del) with a dot . The gradient gives us the partial derivatives (dx, dy, dz), and the dot product adds them together (xdx + ydy + z*dz).
- Divergence is a single number, like density.
- Divergence and flux are closely related – if a volume encloses a positive divergence (a source of flux), it will have positive flux.
- “Diverge” means to move away from, which may help you remember that divergence is the rate of flux expansion (positive div) or contraction (negative div).
Divergence isn’t too bad once you get an intuitive understanding of flux. It’s really useful in understanding in theorems like Gauss’ Law. | <urn:uuid:31a2a5cd-83cc-4e04-9207-dff037e6ef87> | {
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In this lesson students will learn about Abraham Lincoln the individual and the President. By examining Alexander Gardner's February 5, 1865 photograph and reading a short biography of Lincoln, students will consider who the man on the other side of the lens was. Students will demonstrate their understanding by writing an "I Am" Poem and creating their own multimedia portrait of Lincoln.
This lesson offers students a close consideration of the opening chapter of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath and serves as the impetus for looking at the purpose of the inner chapters or “generals” as the author referred to them.
Students align original FSA photographs from the 1930s and the author’s own journal entries, to trace parallel elements John Steinbeck then incorporated into passages in The Grapes of Wrath. | <urn:uuid:eabc4509-783a-4d5a-8f24-199549a261fb> | {
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As so many of us know, this week is Eating Disorders Awareness Week. A very important week for those who struggle with eating disorders or those who have a loved one who struggles, to raise awareness and reduce the stigma around eating disorders. With that being said, I thought I would write out a few truths about these diseases that are so commonly misconstrued.
- Eating disorders are invisible.
They look like nothing. Anorexia is not just thin. It is not some frail girl with her ribs poking out and hollowed cheeks with a feeding tube stuck in her nose while she is being wheeled around the hospital. Bulimia is not some white blonde chick whose friends wait outside the bathroom door telling her she is perfect and can stop throwing up now and return to the party. Binge eating disorder is not an overweight girl who has no self control. Orthorexia is not the super relevant and super hipster chick with dreads and a nose ring eating only raw vegan smoothies and birdseed. And EDNOS is not the almost eating disorder. It is not the not quite thin enough, not quite sick enough. It is just as, if not more, deadly as all the others.
They are underweight, overweight, normal weight individuals, men and women, young and old, black and white, and everything in between. And, there is a reason why they are the deadliest psychiatric disorder because no one sees them. No one sees them because our society is too ignorant to know or care how to.
- Every eating disorder is unique.
Sure, there are similarities. There are diagnostic criteria that help to spell out the scaffolding of the disease, but at the end of the day I could be sitting in a room of a thousand eating disorder strugglers and not one of us would have the same problem. Everyone’s behaviors are different, everyone’s reasons for using them are different, everyone’s fear foods are different, everyone’s safe foods are different…
Let me try to paint a picture of the complexity of these disorders. First off there is a vast range of behaviors- restricting, binging, purging, laxative abuse, diuretic abuse, diet pills abuse, over-exercising, cutting food into a million little pieces, only eating clean foods, only eating packaged foods, eating only when alone or eating only when with others, the list goes on and on. And, each person uses a different combination of these behaviors. One eating disorder might choose restriction, over exercising, and laxatives while another might choose binging, purging, and diet pills. So, before you make these overarching assumptions that you know what an eating disorder is because you once saw a women on the show “Intervention” or because you read a paragraph about it in the DSM, think again. You couldn’t possibly understand an eating disorder unless you personally battle one or you have seen someone battle one and were there holding their shield while they fought.
- People in recovery from eating disorders are silent warriors.
People with mental illness in general, depression, anxiety, bipolar, etc., fight on a daily basis a silent war, a war within themselves, a war society has preached is not acceptable to be spoken about. For that, even getting out of bed when you have a mind full of the very demons you are battling with, deserves a gold medal. But, of course, no one acknowledges that.
Addicts fight the urge to use all the damn time. They have to constantly be on guard when going out. Will there be alcohol? Will I run into my old dealer friends? Will I be strong enough tonight fight my body/mind’s cravings? I am close with several individuals who are in recovery from various substance abuse problems and I have seen the vital importance of their 12 step meetings and of the chips counting days of sobriety. It is a daily battle, an ongoing battle, and a battle that unfortunately has to be fought among the shameful stigma blanketing addicts.
Then, there are eating disorders. Imagine having your drug of choice be the one thing that you cannot escape from. You have to eat to survive. You have to face your biggest fear/struggle/demon at least three times a day for the rest of your life. It is like putting an addict into a closet full of heroin and saying “alright now, remember balance is key. Not too much. Not too little. Just shoot up the exact amount that your body needs and try not to loose control.” It is absurd when put into that context, right? But our society is unable to recognize the magnitude of eating disorder recovery. Why does is take so long? Because it is so hard! Because you have to figure out how to become friends with, what has been for so many years, your biggest enemy.
And, that is only the food aspect of eating disorder recovery! This doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the true nature of the disease. A disease of self-hatred, self-blame, body-shaming, and an endless monologue played by media that you have to change in order to be beautiful or perfect or desirable. It is a disease bred around traumas which lead to more secrecy and more isolation and more self hatred and more behaviors. It is a disease that offers nothing less than a cycle of destruction that will play on a loop until the body after so much physical and mental abuse, either dies or, by the grace of God, finds recovery. But the latter only happens when we finally start to recognize the disease for what it is.
Invisible. Unique. Complex. Ruthless. Insidious. Deadly.
Realize that and then maybe others will start to see the armor and intensive training it takes to even enter into the battlefield towards recovery. | <urn:uuid:cf6d878e-b6b6-408d-942e-b4818d8f0576> | {
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By Rhetta Akamatsu
Across the country, there are a number of “Ghost lights,” “Spook lights,” or “Mystery lights” that occur. Many of these lights occur near railroad tracks. Many have legends attached to them concerning engineers or train passengers who were involved in a terrible wreck in which they were decapitated, and the lights are generally flashlights or lanterns with which the ghosts are seeking to find their heads.
Whatever the explanation, it’s amazing how many there are.
In Arkansas, one light occurs near an old railroad track near Crossett. It has been seen by many people since the early 1900’s. It appears as an eerie red, white, amber, or blue light about head high.
The Gurden Lights are more famous Arkansas lights, occurring in the small town of Gurden about 75 miles from Little Rock. Both the Crossett and Gurden lights have the railroad decapitation legend attached to them.
In Silver Cliff, Colorado, there is a variation on the theme. The mystery lights here are seen in the old Silver Cliff cemetery. They are usually blue-white and about the size of a silver dollar, and appear in groups of two or three.
Georgia is home to the Surrency light. Surrency is a very tiny town near Macon. This bright yellow ball of light has been seen near the railroad tracks since the early 1900’s. Science may have found an explanation for it in a strange pool of liquid that has been found far underground under Surrency. But the liquid itself is a puzzle, as liquid is not supposed to be able to form nine miles underground, where seismic equipment seems to indicate this liquid lies!
The Paulding light occurs near Watersmeet, Michigan, outside of Paulding. It has been observed for at least the last 40 years, and this is one of the many lights that is connected to the story of a railroad brakeman who lost his life and now wanders the road with his lantern. Since the lights appear to sometimes follow the power lines (although they were seen before the power lines were present,) some people also claim they are the ghost of an Indian dancing on the lines.
The lights appear as circles of red, blue, white, and green, and are evident almost every clear evening. Even though Ripley’s Believe It or Not once offered $100,000 to anyone who could offer a solution to the lights, no logical scientific explanation has yet been found, and the lights remain a mystery.
North Carolina has the famous Brown Mountain Lights. I have seen the Brown Mountain Lights a number of times. They occur in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and they appear to be numerous lights at least twice the size of stars. I have seen them when they were red and another time when they were blue.
These lights have been reported since before white men settled the area. The Cherokee and Catawba tribes have reports of them as far back as the year 1200. In their history, it is believed that the lights are the spirits of Cherokee and Catawba warriors killed in a great battle that year. Civil War soldiers wrote home about the lights.
The lights have been researched many times, including by teams from the Smithsonian Institution and by the U.S. Geological Society. Theories have included swamp gas, reflections from moonshine stills, and in recent years, some unusual atmospheric condition which reflects electricity. The Smithsonian survey dismissed the moonshine still theory, saying there were not enough stills to cause this kind of activity. There are no swampy areas around Brown Mountain. And the lights were around long before electricity.
In 1913, the U.S. Geological Survey concluded that the lights were reflections from locomotive lights behind Brown Mountain. But shortly after that survey was done, floods washed out all the railroad tracks around Brown Mountain. There was no train service in the area for months, but the lights showed up right on time.
The Brown Mountain Lights are not the only spook lights in North Carolina. Wilmington has the Maco Station Lights, which actually could be the paranormal result of the death of a railroad man named Joe Baldwin in 1867. His death is well-documented in newspapers and other public records, and he did die in a dramatic and violent train accident.
Twelve miles outside of Joplin, Missouri, there is a track of road about four miles long, which crosses the Oklahoma border. The former town of Hornet is located there, and it is here that the Hornet Spook Light appears. It looks like a ball of fire or a lantern, and varies from basketball size to considerably larger. It travels down the center of the road, weaving from side to side. Some people feel that it behaves in an intelligent fashion, sometimes appearing inside cars, letting people approach to a certain distance but never get too close and retreating when it is pursued.
The legends attached to this light are centered around Native Americans. One theory is that the lights are the spirits of two Quapaw Indians and another is that it is the spirit of an Osage Chief who, predictably, was beheaded and is looking for his head. Another legend says that the light is the lantern carried by a miner still looking for his children, who were kidnapped by Indians.
Explanations that have been put forward for this light include marsh gas and reflections from minerals. Neither of these explanations hold up. There is reason to believe some sightings may be caused by car lights from the highway five miles away, but this does not explain all the documented sightings from before the highway was built, and even before cars were commonplace. Troy Taylor, in Unexplained America, says that the Army Corp of Engineers concluded that the Hornet Light was a “mysterious light of unknown origin,” and so it remains.
Bragg, Texas has another occurrence of a mysterious light, and another decapitated brakeman legend. This light starts small and grows to about the size of a flashlight beam, and is orange. Paulding, Texas also has the very well-known Marfa Lights. The lights were observed by settlers and cowboys driving cattle through Marfa in the 1880’s. The first recorded account of these lights was by a rancher named Robert Ellison in 1883. The Apache have legends that the lights are stars that fell from the sky. Today, they can be seen from US 90. They vary in color and intensity, although usually they appear as reddish orange balls from 1 to 10 feet in diameter, and they appear to move about. As always, some skeptics claim they are reflections of car lights, but, of course, they were being seen in exactly the same way long before there were cars. Many scientists have tried to come up with an explanation for the lights, but so far, they remain unexplained.
Whatever the spook lights are, they are not just an American phenomenon, of course. There are spook lights in Canada, in the UK, in Norway, and in many other places around the world.
Someday, we may be able to explain them, but in the meantime, it’s good to be aware that we do not have an explanation for everything. The world can always use a little mystery.
About the Author: Rhetta Akamatsu is an author who writes about history, the paranormal and blues music. She is the author of Haunted Marietta, about the ghosts and legends of Marietta, Georgia, written for the History Press for their Haunted America series. She also is the author of two other books about the paranormal a book about blues women, and a new non-fiction book entitled The Irish Slaves. Learn more about Rhetta and her books and other writing at https://rhetta.wordpress.com/
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Linux Kernel Installation
Linux is many users' introduction to a truly powerful, configurable operating system. In the past, a Unix-like operating system was out of reach for most. If it wasn't the operating system's 4-digit price tag, it was the hardware. Even the now free-for-personal-use SCO Unixware requires a system with SCSI drives, and most of us are using IDE to keep costs down. Along with the power that Linux brings comes the need to perform a task users have not had to do on simpler operating systems: configure the kernel to your hardware and operations.
Previous installation kernels from 1.2.x and before suggested that you rebuild; however, with the new 2.0.x kernel, rebuilding has almost become a necessity. The kernel that comes with the installation packages from Red Hat, Caldera, Debian and most others, is a generic, “almost everything is included” kernel. While rebuilding a kernel may seem like a daunting task and living with the installed kernel may not be too bad, rebuilding is a good introduction to your system.
The standard installation kernels are an attempt to make as many systems as possible usable for the task of installing a workable Linux system. As such, the kernel is bloated and has a lot of unnecessary code in it for the average machine. It also does not have some code a lot of users want.
Then, of course, there's always the need to upgrade the kernel because you've bought new hardware, etc. Upgrading within a series is usually very straightforward. When it comes to upgrading, say from 1.2.something to 2.0.something, now the task is beyond the scope of this article and requires some savvy. Better to get a new distribution CD and start fresh—this is also true for upgrading to the experimental 2.1.x kernels.
All Linux kernel version numbers contain three numbers separated by periods (dots). The first number is the kernel version. We are now on the third kernel version, 2. Some of you may be running a version 1 kernel, and I am aware of at least one running version 0 kernel.
The second number is the kernel major number. Major numbers which are even numbers (0 is considered an even number) are said to be stable. That is, these kernels should not have any crippling bugs, as they have been fairly heavily tested. While some contain small bugs, they can usually be upgraded for hardware compatibility or to armor the kernel against system crackers. For example, kernel 2.0.30, shunned by some in favor of 2.0.29 because of reported bugs, contains several patches including one to protect against SYN denial of service attacks. The kernels with odd major numbers are developmental kernels. These have not been tested and often as not will break any software packages you may be running. Occasionally, one works well enough that it will be adopted by users needing the latest and greatest support before the next stable release. This is the exception rather than the rule, and it requires substantial changes to a system.
The last number is the minor number and is increased by one for each release. If you see kernel version 2.0.8, you know it's a kernel 2.0, stable kernel, and it is the ninth release (we begin counting with 0).
I hate to make any assumptions; they always seem to come back to bite me. So I need to mention a few things so that we're working off the same sheet of music. In order to compile a kernel, you'll need a few things. First, I'll assume you've installed a distribution with a 2.0.x kernel, all the base packages and perhaps a few more. You'll also need to have installed gcc version 2.7 and all the supporting gcc libraries. You'll also need the libc-dev library and the binutils and bin86 packages (normally installed as part of a standard distribution install). If you download the source or copy it from a CD, you'll also need the tar and gunzip packages. Also, you'll need lots of disk real estate. Plan on 7MB to download, another 20MB to unpack this monster and a few more to compile it.
Needless to say, many of the things we will discuss require you to be logged in as root. If you've downloaded the kernel as a non-privileged user and you have write permission to the /usr/src subdirectory, you can still do much of this task without becoming root. For the newcomers to Linux, I highly recommend you do as much as possible as a non-privileged user and become root (type: su - face) only for those jobs that require it. One day, you'll be glad you acquired this habit. Remember, there are two kinds of systems administrators, those who have totally wrecked a running setup inadvertently while logged in as root, and those who will.
- Cluetrain at Fifteen
- Embedding Python in Your C Programs
- Getting Good Vibrations with Linux
- New Products
- Memory Ordering in Modern Microprocessors, Part I
- Customizing Vim
- [<Megashare>] Watch Mrs Brown's Boys Movie Online Full Movie HD 2014
- Security Hardening with Ansible
- RSS Feeds
- Tech Tip: Really Simple HTTP Server with Python | <urn:uuid:4f162092-8dcb-474f-82ec-1ec9d5632bcd> | {
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What we do
As the principal United Nations office mandated to promote and protect human rights for all, OHCHR leads global human rights efforts speaks out objectively in the face of human rights violations worldwide. We provide a forum for identifying, highlighting and developing responses to today's human rights challenges, and act as the principal focal point of human rights research, education, public information, and advocacy activities in the United Nations system.
Since Governments have the primary responsibility to protect human rights, the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) provides assistance to Governments, such as expertise and technical trainings in the areas of administration of justice, legislative reform, and electoral process, to help implement international human rights standards on the ground. We also assist other entities with responsibility to protect human rights to fulfil their obligations and individuals to realize their rights.
Mainstreaming human rights
Since the establishment of the United Nations in 1945, promoting and encouraging respect for human rights for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion, as stipulated in the United Nations Charter, has been one of the fundamental goals of the organization. We are tasked with mainstreaming human rights within the United Nations, which means injecting a human rights perspective into all United Nations programmes. This is to ensure that peace and security, development, and human rights -- the three essential pillars of the United Nations system -- are interlinked and mutually reinforcing.
This task is essential at a time when the United Nations is undergoing its most far-reaching reform. As we face ever changing challenges in the new millennium, the international community unequivocally puts human rights at centre-stage in addressing various pressing issues worldwide. At the United Nations World Summit in 2005, world leaders reaffirmed the leading role and mandate of OHCHR in responding to the broad range of human rights challenges facing the international community today.
With our leading human rights role and the important task of mainstreaming human rights into the United Nations system, we work with Governments, civil society, national human rights institutions and other United Nations entities and international organizations, such as the International Labour Organization, the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Children's Fund, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the International Criminal Court, specialized criminal tribunals, such as the ones for former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, established by the Security Council, and the World Bank in their efforts to promote and protect human rights.
Standard-setting and monitoring
Our method of work focuses on three major dimensions: standard-setting, monitoring, and implementation on the ground. We work to offer the best expertise, and substantive and secretariat support to the different United Nations human rights bodies as they discharge their standard-setting and monitoring duties. OHCHR, for example, serves as the Secretariat of the Human Rights Council. The Council, consisting of State representatives, is the key United Nations intergovernmental body responsible for human rights.
We also support the work of special prodecures –including special rapporteurs, independent experts, and working groups-- appointed by the Council to monitor human rights in different countries or in relation to specific issues. We assist these independent experts as they carry out visits to the field, receive and consider direct complaints from victims of human rights violations, and appeal to governments on behalf of victims. Another example of the standard-setting and monitoring dimensions of our work is the legal research and secretariat support it provides to the core human rights treaty bodies. These committees of independent experts are mandated to monitor State parties' compliance with their treaty obligations. They meet regularly to examine reports from State parties and issue their recommendations.
Implementation on the ground
We work to ensure the implementation of international human rights standards on the ground through greater country engagement and its field presences
. Over the years, OHCHR has also increased its presence in the field, reaching out to the people who need it the most. Our field offices and presences play an essential role in identifying, highlighting, and developing responses to human rights challenges, in close collaboration with governments, the United Nations system, non-governmental organizations, and members of civil society. Among these responses are monitoring human rights situations on the ground and implementing projects, such as technical trainings and support in the areas of administration of justice, legislative reform, human rights treaty ratification, and human rights education, designed in cooperation with member States. | <urn:uuid:13d96821-cfc2-4ecc-9a6f-6c8f70a4cc52> | {
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The Korean War
(Narratives Extracted from CMH Commemorative Posters)
PHASE 1: 27 June-15 September 1950 (UN Defensive)
June 1950. The great victory of World War II was still a vivid memory. The demobilization of America’s wartime strength had been accomplished very rapidly. A growing fear of Joseph Stalin’s ambitions was reflected in the new terms iron curtain and cold war, but much energy and hope had focused on such developments as the United Nations, the Marshall Plan, and NATO. Korea, left divided after the war into the Communist North and the U.S.-supported South, was a source of tension but not immediate concern.
The United States was content largely to leave to a UN commission the problem of North Korea’s threatening stance toward South Korea. The Russians had withdrawn their troops from the North in 1948; at the UN’s suggestion, America recalled its troops from South Korea in June 1949, though leaving behind much military materiel and some 500 advisers. In a speech in January 1950 outlining American policy in Asia after the establishment of Communist China, Secretary of State Dean Acheson did not include South Korea within the U.S. "defensive perimeter"; those nations outside that perimeter would have to resist aggression themselves and then rely on the United Nations for support.
At four in the morning on Sunday, 25 June 1950, North Korea launched a full-scale invasion across the 38th Parallel into South Korea. The UN Security Council quickly passed a resolution calling on the North Koreans to cease hostilities and withdraw. When they refused, the Security Council passed a second resolution on the 27th recommending that UN members "furnish such assistance to the Republic of Korea as may be necessary to repel the armed attack and restore the international peace and security in the area."
Meanwhile, the North Korean forces were advancing rapidly. Seoul, the South Korean capital, would fall by 28 June. These events posed a major challenge to the Truman administration and America’s allies, for if the invasion was not checked, a precedent would be set that could undermine the confidence of countries that relied on the United States for protection. The strength and availability of America’s armed forces, however, had been eroded by such factors as the massive postwar demobilization, uneven and neglected training, antiquated equipment, and, despite improvement, some residual racial segregation.
President Truman did not hesitate. He immediately instructed General of the Army Douglas MacArthur at his Far East Command headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, to supply South Korean forces with ammunition and equipment. On 26 June Truman then authorized MacArthur to use U.S. air and naval units against North Korean targets below the 38th Parallel, and the next day, seizing on the new Security Council resolution, he extended the range of those targets to include those in North Korea. He also authorized the use of U.S. ground forces to protect Pusan, South Korea’s major port. On 30 June, after MacArthur had gone to Korea to assess the situation, Truman authorized MacArthur to use all of his available forces to repel the invasion and blockade the Korean coast.
When the Security Council on 7 July recommended the establishment of a unified command in Korea, under a U.S. commander, Truman appointed MacArthur as Commander in Chief, United Nations Command. Lt. Gen. Walton H. Walker, Commander, U.S. Eighth Army, assumed command of all UN ground forces, which included those of the Republic of Korea. U.S. ground forces available to MacArthur included the 1st Cavalry Division and the 7th, 24th, and 25th Infantry Divisions in Japan and the 29th Regiment on Okinawa. The divisions lacked a third of their infantry and artillery units, and existing units were understrength. Ammunition reserves were low, and training had been sacrificed to occupation duties.
Given the momentum of the North Korean advance and the general unpreparedness of U.S. forces when they arrived, General Walker’s strategy was to gain time through extended defensive delaying actions. The price of engaging the enemy with an inadequate force had been clearly demonstrated in early July when Task Force Smith, flown in from Japan as an advance element of the 24th Division, was attacked and had to retreat with heavy losses of men and equipment. In fighting that grew as fierce as many World War II battles, Walker’s combined UN forces gradually fell back to the south under constant North Korean pressure. But in early August Walker changed the strategy, ordering a final stand along a 140-mile perimeter around the now well-stocked port of Pusan.
With great courage, determination, and adroit movements between defensive positions, Walker’s combined troops held the perimeter into September. At the same time, the Eighth Army’s strength was augmented by mid-August by the arrival of the U.S. 2d Division, the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade, four battalions of medium tanks from the United States, and the 5th Regimental Combat Team from Hawaii. By the end of August a number of South Korean divisions had regrouped, and Great Britain committed its 27th Commonwealth Infantry Brigade from Hong Kong.
The stage was set. Under U.S. Army leadership, the UN force had checked a much larger but now somewhat weakened enemy. With reinforcements in place, General MacArthur by mid-September was ready to go on the offensive.
PHASE 2: 16 September-2 November 1950 (UN Offensive)
At the end of the first campaign of the Korean War, the UN Defensive, General Douglas MacArthur, Commander in Chief, United Nations Command, was ready to attempt to repel what had been the sustained advance of the North Korean People’s Army. Lt. Gen. Walton H. Walker’s Eighth Army had been reinforced, its logistical support had solidified, and it had checked the enemy along a defensive perimeter west and north of Pusan. This next campaign, the UN Offensive, would be a story of stunning success.
The risk of success, however, was that it might provoke Communist China. But in mid-September 1950, Chinese military involvement was not a major concern for either General MacArthur or President Harry Truman. The focus was on breaking out from the Pusan Perimeter and engaging the North Koreans. MacArthur believed that the North Koreans’ deep penetration south into the Republic of Korea (ROK) made their forces vulnerable to an amphibious encirclement. His plan called for Maj. Gen. Edward M. Almond’s separate X Corps—consisting of the 7th Infantry Division (augmented with 8,600 ROK troops) and the 1st Marine Division—to make an amphibious landing at Inch’on, a port on the Yellow Sea well behind enemy lines twenty-five miles west of Seoul. A force landing at Inch’on would have to move only a relatively short distance inland to cut North Korea’s major supply routes, recapture the South Korean capital, and block a North Korean retreat once the Eighth Army advanced northward from the defensive line at Pusan.
The landing at Inch’on was a considerable gamble. If the assault failed, MacArthur would be left with no major reserves and no prospect of immediate further reinforcement from the United States. But the landing, against light resistance, worked. Starting on 15 September when a battalion of the 1st Marine Division, covered by strong air strikes and naval gun fire, captured Wolmi Island just offshore from Inch’on, the two X Corps divisions steadily moved inland toward Seoul over the next two weeks.
Meanwhile, on 16 September the Eighth Army began its offensive. The ROK I and II Corps were positioned on the north of the Pusan Perimeter; the U.S. I Corps (composed of the 1st Cavalry Division, the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade, the 24th Infantry Division, and the ROK 1st Division) moved from the Taegu front; the U.S. IX Corps, including the 2d and 25th Infantry Divisions and attached ROK units, was poised along the Naktong River. Walker’s forces moved slowly at first, but by 23 September the envelopment threatened by X Corps and Eighth Army became clear, and the North Koreans broke to the north. Elements of X Corps’ 7th Division and of the 1st Cavalry Division, Eighth Army, linked up on 26 September just south of Suwon. Seoul was liberated the next day, and MacArthur returned the capital to President Syngman Rhee on 29 September. By the end of September the North Korean Army no longer existed as an organized force in the southern republic. The border along the 38th Parallel had been restored.
The question now was whether to cross the border. To do so would clearly risk raising tensions with China and the Soviet Union. But the North Koreans still posed a threat: some 30,000 troops had escaped from the South, and an additional 30,000 were in northern training camps. President Truman and the Joint Chiefs of Staff gave cautious initial approval. At the beginning of October the ROK I and II Corps crossed the 38th Parallel, moving up the east coast and through central Korea. On 9 October an all-out offensive began after the United Nations General Assembly voted for the restoration of peace and security throughout Korea, thereby tacitly approving the occupation of the North. On that day General Walker’s U.S. I Corps crossed the border on the west.
On 19 October the I Corps’ 1st Cavalry Division and the 1st ROK Division entered P’yongyang, the North Korean capital. On the 24th MacArthur ordered his commanders to advance as quickly as possible, with all forces available, so that operations could be completed before the onset of winter. The press of the Eighth Army in the west was relentless, as it sent separate columns north toward the Yalu River, each free to press forward independently. On the 26th an ROK regiment sent reconnaissance troops to the town of Ch’osan, thereby becoming the first UN element to reach the Yalu.
Meanwhile, General Almond’s X Corps had been withdrawn from combat to prepare for new amphibious landings, but this time on the east coast. The rapid advance of ROK forces above the 38th Parallel and the fall of Wonsan, North Korea’s major port, to the ROK I Corps on 10 October allowed the 1st Marine Division to make an administrative landing at Wonsan on the 26th; on the 29th the 7th Division landed unopposed at Iwon, eighty miles farther north. Adding the ROK I Corps to his command, Almond then attacked up the coast and inland toward the Yalu and the Changjin (Chosin) Reservoir, focusing on the industrial, communications, and irrigation centers of northeastern Korea. As one American newspaper put it, "Except for unexpected developments . . . we can now be easy in our minds as to the military outcome."
But then the unexpected did happen. Resistance stiffened in the last week of October in both the Eighth Army and X Corps zones. On the 25th an Eighth Army ROK unit near Unsan northwest of the Ch’ongch’on River captured a Chinese soldier. The extent of Chinese infiltration was not clear, but over the next eight days Chinese forces dispersed the ROK troops who had reached the Yalu, battered the 8th Cavalry Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division near Unsan, and forced the ROK II Corps to retreat. Time would quickly demonstrate that this was not just a temporary setback. The nature of the Korean conflict would now fundamentally change.
PHASE 3: 3 November 1950-24 January 1951 (CCF Intervention)
The second phase of the Korean War, the UN Offensive, had been a story of relentless military success against the North Korean People’s Army. The capture of a Chinese soldier on 25 October 1950, however, marked a fundamental change in the nature of the conflict. When the presence in North Korea of Communist Chinese Forces (CCF) units was confirmed, there was much debate in the United Nations Command (UNC) and in Washington about China’s intentions, but that presence was quickly felt on the battlefield.
In the X Corps zone Chinese forces in late October had stopped a Republic of Korea (ROK) column advancing on the Changjin (Chosin) Reservoir. On 2 November the U.S. 7th Marines relieved the South Koreans and over the next four days broke through the Chinese resistance to within a few miles of the reservoir, at which point the Chinese broke contact. In the west, the Eighth Army fell back under attack to the Ch’ongch’on River, though the Chinese again broke contact after 6 November. By then three CCF divisions (10,000 men each) were estimated to be in the Eighth Army sector and two in the X Corps zone. UN pilots were also for the first time encountering Russian-made MIG–15 jet fighters.
After 6 November a comparative lull lasted for several weeks. Estimates of CCF strength rose through the month, but General Douglas MacArthur, the UNC commander, felt that the Chinese were not strong enough to launch an all-out offensive, particularly when North Korean's forces were battered and ineffective. He thus prepared to press on with his plans to reach the Yalu River. Moreover, MacArthur said, there was no other way to obtain "an accurate measure of enemy strength." Lt. Gen. Walton H. Walker's Eight Army was to move northward through western and central Korea, while Maj. Gen. Edward M. Almond's separate X Corps, now strengthened by the arrival of the 3d Infantry Division from the United States, was to move from northeastern Korea northwest to cut enemy lines of communication and support the Eighth Army. After taking time to improve his logistical support, Walker launched his offensive on 24 November. At first the Eighth Army encountered little opposition, but the next night the enemy launched a fierce counterattack in the mountainous terrain near the central North Korean town of Tokch'on. The X Corps, which had resumed its advance earlier, joined the planned attack on 27 November, moving slowly, but that evening a second enemy force, moving down the Chosin Reservoir, struck the 1st Marine Division and elements of the U.S. 7th Division.
It was clear that most of the enemy were Chinese, but the surprise was the size of the two attacking forces. By 28 November MacArthur had his "accurate measure" of the enemy’s strength: the Chinese XIII Army Group, with some 200,000 troops, faced the Eighth Army; the IX Army Group, with 100,000 men, faced X Corps. Both had slipped into North Korea from Manchuria largely undetected. On the 28th MacArthur informed Washington that "we face an entirely new war," and the next day he instructed General Walker to withdraw as necessary to escape being enveloped by the Chinese. He also ordered X Corps to pull back into a beachhead at the east coast port of Hungnam, north of Wonsan.
The main enemy attack in the Eighth Army zone was directed against the ROK II Corps. When the Chinese broke through the UN line, General Walker committed his reserves (the U.S. 1st Cavalry Division, the Turkish Brigade, and the British 27th Commonwealth and 29th Independent Infantry Brigades), but they failed to stop the repeated wave of enemy troops. Walker first withdrew south across the Ch’ongch’on River, suffering heavy casualties. The U.S. 2d Division fought a delaying action while other units regrouped in defensive positions near the North Korean capital of P’yongyang. On 5 December the Eighth Army fell back to positions about twenty-five miles south of that city, and by mid-December it had moved below the 38th Parallel to form a defensive perimeter north and east of Seoul, the South Korean capital. At the same time, in early December, MacArthur ordered X Corps to evacuate by sea to Pusan, where it would become part of the Eighth Army. December thus saw the loss of all UNC territorial gains in North Korea.
By this time the UNC included troops from fifteen countries, but the sense of crisis in the command was heightened by the death of General Walker in an auto accident north of Seoul on 23 December. Lt. Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway replaced him, arriving in Korea on 26 December. Ridgway was determined to maintain the existing line above Seoul, but on 30 December MacArthur told the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) that the Chinese could drive the UNC out of Korea unless he received major reinforcement. He also proposed air and naval attacks on mainland China and the involvement of Chinese Nationalist forces. None of his demands and proposals were accepted. Washington was not prepared to let the conflict in Korea escalate into a larger war. President Harry S. Truman’s more pressing concern was the global intentions of the USSR. The JCS told MacArthur to stay in Korea if he could but to prepare to withdraw to Japan if necessary.
On the other hand, despite a renewed enemy offensive that started on 31 December and saw the abandonment of Seoul on 4 January 1951, General Ridgway became increasingly convinced that his existing forces were sufficient. He noted that the Chinese did not aggressively push south after marching into Seoul and that North Korean forces ceased their offensive in central and eastern Korea by mid-January. He concluded that a rudimentary logistical system constrained enemy offensive operations to no more than a week or two. Tactically his goal was thus to "wage a war of maneuver—slashing at the enemy when he withdraws and fighting delaying tactics when he attacks." When General J. Lawton Collins, Army Chief of Staff, visited Korea, he agreed with Ridgway. "As of now," Collins announced on 15 January, "we are going to stay and fight."
As the third phase of the Korean conflict drew to an end, General MacArthur gave Ridgway unprecedented authority to plan and execute operations in Korea. Ridgway, in turn, was poised to return to the offensive.
PHASE 4: 25 January-21 April 1951
(First UN Counteroffensive)
As the third phase of the Korean War—the CCF (Communist Chinese Forces) Intervention— drew to a close on 24 January 1951, the United Nations Command (UNC) had come to the end of a series of tactical withdrawals. Starting in mid-December 1950, Lt. Gen. Matthew B. Ridgway's Eighth Army had fallen back from the 38th Parallel, first to the South Korean capital of Seoul, then to a line below Osan and Wonju. Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Edward M. Almond's X Corps had evacuated by sea on the east coast to Pusan, where it became part of the Eighth Army. All the territorial gains in North Korea of the earlier phases of the war had been lost. But General Ridgway was convinced the enemy lacked the logistical system to maintain offensive operations for any extended period, and he was preparing to begin a counteroffensive. This fourth phase of the war would largely shape the outcome of the conflict.
After two task forces had encountered little or no Chinese opposition in probes to the north, on 25 January General Ridgway launched Operation THUNDERBOLT, a larger but still cautious reconnaissance in force supported by air power. Resistance stiffened at the end of the month, but it gave way in the west by 9 February. The next day UN forces secured Inch'on and Kimpo airfield, and the U.S. I Corps neared the Han River. Meanwhile, on the central front, as the operation expanded, the X Corps met increasing opposition, and the Chinese struck back on the night of 11–12 February, driving back Republic of Korea (ROK) forces north of Hoengsong. But when four Chinese regiments attacked the crossroads town of Chip'yong-ni on the 13th, the U.S. 23d Infantry and the French Battalion conducted a successful defense for three days until the enemy withdrew. Ridgway regarded this valiant effort as symbolic of the renewed fighting spirit of his command.
In the west the U.S. I and IX Corps gradually seized the area up to the Han River, except for one enemy foothold between Seoul and Yangp'yong. By the 18th combat patrols confirmed that Chinese and North Korean troops along the entire central front were withdrawing. General Ridgway then began a general advance (Operation KILLER) by the IX and X Corps to pursue the enemy. By the end of the month the Chinese foothold below the Han River had collapsed. With the approval of General Douglas MacArthur, the UNC commander, Ridgway continued his attack north by launching Operation RIPPER on 7 March. The objective was a line designated Idaho just south of the 38th Parallel. On the night of 14–15 March, UN patrols moved into a deserted Seoul. By the end of the month Ridgway's troops had reached the Idaho line.
The question now was whether to cross the 38th Parallel again. On 20 March the Joint Chiefs of Staff had notified General MacArthur that President Harry S. Truman was preparing to announce a willingness to negotiate an end to the conflict with the North Koreans and the Chinese, an announcement that would be issued before any advance above the 38th Parallel. MacArthur preempted that announcement by issuing his own offer to end hostilities, but one that included a threat to cross the parallel. President Truman never released his statement, concluding, however unhappily, that perhaps MacArthur's ultimatum would pressure the enemy to the negotiating table. He also left the decision on crossing the 38th Parallel to tactical considerations. Consequently, when Ridgway received intelligence about enemy preparations for an expected spring offensive, he began a new attack, with MacArthur's approval, in early April. The objective was a line designated Kansas about ten miles above the 38th Parallel. By the 9th the U.S. I and IX Corps, and the ROK I Corps on the east coast, had reached that line, and the U.S. X Corps and the ROK III Corps were nearing it. The I and IX Corps then continued their attack beyond Kansas. At the same time, on 11 April, President Truman relieved MacArthur after the UNC commander said he would welcome the use of Nationalist Chinese forces since there could be "no substitute for victory" in Korea. Ridgway replaced MacArthur, and on 14 April Lt. Gen. James A. Van Fleet assumed command of the Eighth Army.
Eight days later four Chinese army groups and two North Korean corps began the enemy's spring offensive, attacking most heavily in the west, with a major focus on recapturing Seoul. Withdrawing in stages to previously prepared defenses several miles north of Seoul, General Van Fleet finally stopped the advance. On 15 May the enemy attacked again. Van Fleet had expected another advance on Seoul, but the brunt of the assault was in the east-central area. By repositioning units and using unrelenting artillery fire, he stopped the attack on 20 May after the enemy had penetrated thirty miles. To prevent the Chinese and North Koreans from regrouping, Van Fleet immediately sent the Eighth Army forward. Meeting light resistance, the Eighth Army was just short of the Kansas line by 31 May. The next day Van Fleet sent part of his force farther north, to a line designated Wyoming in the west-central area known as the Iron Triangle. By mid-June the Eighth Army was in control of both the Kansas line and the Wyoming bulge.
Given this strong defensive position, Van Fleet was ordered to hold and fortify it while Washington waited for the Chinese and North Koreans to offer to negotiate an armistice. The enemy in turn used this lull to regroup and to build defenses opposite the Eighth Army. The days settled down to patrols and small clashes. On 23 June, Jacob Malik, the Soviet Union's delegate to the United Nations, called for talks on a cease-fire and armistice. When the People's Republic of China endorsed Malik's statement, President Truman authorized General Ridgway to arrange the talks. After a series of radio messages, the first armistice conference was scheduled for 10 July in the town of Kaesong. The time of large-scale fighting was over.
PHASE 5: 9 July 1951-27 July 1953 (UN Summer-Fall Offensive 1951)
(Second Korean Winter)
(Korea, Summer- Fall 1952)
(Third Korean Winter)
( Korea, Summer 1953)
Armistice talks began at Kaesong on 10 July 1951. North and South Korea were willing to fight on, but after twelve months of large-scale but indecisive conflict, their Cold War supporters—the People’s Republic of China and the Soviet Union on one side, the United States and its UN allies on the other—had concluded it was not in their respective interests to continue. The chief negotiator for the UN was American Vice Adm. C. Turner Joy; his counterpart was Lt. Gen. Nam Il, the chief of staff of the North Korean People’s Army. At the first session it was agreed that military operations could continue until an armistice agreement was actually signed. The front lines remained relatively quiet, though, as the opposing sides adopted a cautious watch-and-wait stance.
Lt. Gen. James A. Van Fleet’s Eighth Army had fortified its positions along Line Kansas and along Line Wyoming, a bulge north of Kansas in the west-central area known as the Iron Triangle. Both the Kansas line in the east and the Wyoming bulge were above the 38th Parallel, the prewar boundary between the two Koreas. On the west, the front line dipped below the 38th Parallel north of Seoul, the South Korean capital, and then continued to fall toward the coast. This uneven line led to the first impasse in negotiations, when the North Korean and Chinese side argued that the armistice line should be the 38th Parallel, while the UN negotiators called for a line reflecting current positions, which they argued were more defensible and secure than the old border.
When the Communist side broke off negotiations on 23 August, General Matthew B. Ridgway’s United Nations Command (UNC) responded with a limited new offensive. General Van Fleet sent the U.S. X Corps and the Republic of Korea (ROK) I Corps to gain terrain objectives in east-central Korea five to seven miles north of Kansas—among them places that resonate with veterans, such as the Punchbowl, Bloody Ridge, and Heartbreak Ridge. In the west, five UN divisions (the ROK 1st, the 1st British Commonwealth, and the U.S. 1st Cavalry and 3d and 25th Infantry) struck northwest along a forty-mile front to secure a new position beyond the Wyoming line to protect the vital Seoul-Ch’orwon railway. The U.S. IX Corps followed by driving even farther north to the edge of Kumsong.
By the last week of October the UN’s objectives had been secured, and on the 25th the armistice talks resumed—now at P’anmunjom, a hamlet six miles east of Kaesong. When the North Koreans and Chinese dropped their demand that the armistice line be the 38th Parallel, the two sides agreed on 27 November that the armistice demarcation line would be the existing line of contact, provided that an armistice agreement was reached in thirty days. A lull now settled over the battlefield, as fighting tapered off to patrols, small raids, and small unit (but often bitterly fought) struggles for outpost positions. When the thirty-day deadline came and went, as negotiations stalled over the exchange of prisoners of war, among other issues, both sides tacitly extended their acceptance of the armistice line agreement. The continuing absence of large-scale combat allowed the UNC to make several battlefield adjustments, withdrawing the U.S. 1st Cavalry and 24th Infantry Divisions from Korea between December 1951 and February 1952 and replacing them with the 40th and 45th Infantry Divisions, the first National Guard divisions to serve in the war. General Van Fleet also shifted UN units along the front in the spring of 1952, giving more defensive responsibility to the ROK Army in order to concentrate greater U.S. strength in the west.
Meanwhile, the Far East Air Forces intensified a bombing campaign begun in August 1951, supported by U.S. naval fire and carrier-based aircraft. In August 1952 the largest air raid of the war was carried out against P’yongyang, the North Korean capital. Both sides exchanged heavy artillery fire through 1952, and in June the 45th Division, in response to increased Chinese ground action, engaged in an intense period of fighting with the Chinese, successfully establishing eleven new patrol bases along its front. By the beginning of 1953, however, the larger picture was still one of continuing military stalemate, with few changes in the front lines, reflecting the deadlock in the armistice talks that had led the UN delegation to call an indefinite recess in October 1952.
Lt. Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor took command of the Eighth Army on 11 February 1953. By March he was faced with renewed enemy attacks against his frontline outposts. Despite the fact that the armistice talks had resumed on 26 April, accompanied by a major exchange of sick and wounded UN and enemy prisoners, flare-ups occurred again in late May and on 10 June, when three Chinese divisions attacked the ROK II Corps defending the UN forward position just south of Kumsong. By 18 June the terms of a final armistice agreement were almost settled, but when South Korean President Syngman Rhee unilaterally allowed some 27,000 North Korean prisoners who had expressed a desire to stay in the South to "escape," the final settlement was further delayed. The Chinese seized on this delay to begin a new offensive to try to improve their final front line. On 6 July they launched an attack on Pork Chop Hill, a 7th Division outpost, and on the 13th they again attacked the ROK II Corps south of Kumsong (as well as the right flank of the IX Corps), forcing the UN forces to withdraw about eight miles, to below the Kumsong River. By 20 July, however, the Eighth Army had retaken the high ground along the river, where it established a new defensive line.
As the UN counterattack was ending, the P’anmunjom negotiators reached an overall agreement on 19 July. After settling remaining details, they signed the armistice agreement at 10 o’clock on the morning of 27 July. All fighting stopped twelve hours later. The cease-fire demarcation line approximated the final front. It ranged from forty miles above the 38th Parallel on the east coast to twenty miles below the parallel on the west coast. It was slightly more favorable to North Korea than the tentative armistice line of November 1951, but compared to the prewar boundary, it amounted to a North Korean net loss of some 1,500 square miles. Within three days of signing both sides were required to withdraw two kilometers from the cease-fire line. The resulting demilitarized zone has been an uneasy reality in international relations ever since.
Posters Available as PDF Files:
Phase 1, 27 June-15 September 1950
Phase 2, 16 September-2 November
Phase 3, 3 November
1950-24 January 1951
Phase 4, 25 January-21 April 1951
|Phase 5, 9 July 1951-27 July 1953
(UN Summer-Fall Offensive 1951)
(Second Korean Winter)
(Korea, Summer- Fall 1952)
(Third Korean Winter)
(Korea, Summer 1953)
Available for Download in
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page created 31 January 2001
Return to CMH Online | <urn:uuid:c594a2c2-0088-48e1-800c-3f1e0de7a669> | {
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China invites other nations to join moon exploration
Beijing: In 1969, when Neil Armstrong became the first human to walk on the moon, the astronomical body was just the thing aloof on which Chinese people gazed and mused.
Fifty years later, China became the first ever to land a robotic spacecraft on the lunar far side.
As the world celebrates the historic moon landing on July 20 half a century ago, Chinese lunar explorers said China’s Moon exploration program, which includes a robotic lunar research station prototype by 2030 to prepare for manned missions, is open to international co-operation.
With more lunar scientific exploration and verifying technology, the lunar research station will become a base for astronauts to visit briefly, and ultimately for their long-term stay, Li Chunlai, director of the Ground Research and Application System of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Project, and three of his colleagues, wrote on Friday.
“International co-operation is an important element in China’s strategy of lunar and deep space exploration,” they said in an article published on the special issue of the US journal Science to mark the July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 moon landing.
This NASA file image, dated July 20, 1969, shows one of the first footprints of Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin Buzz Aldrin on the moon. | <urn:uuid:bbd70d8b-a4b9-4ee0-9b81-5687e228f0ee> | {
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What is hacking?
Hacking is the practice of modifying the features of a system, in order to accomplish a goal outside of the creator's original purpose. The person who is consistently engaging in hacking activities, and has accepted hacking as a lifestyle and philosophy of their choice, is called a hacker.
Computer hacking is the most popular form of hacking nowadays, especially in the field of computer security, but hacking exists in many other forms, such as phone hacking, brain hacking, etc. and it's not limited to either of them.
Due to the mass attention given to blackhat hackers from the media, the whole hacking term is often mistaken for any security related cyber crime. This damages the reputation of all hackers, and is very cruel and unfair to the law abiding ones of them, from who the term itself originated. The goal of this website is to introduce people the true philosophy and ethics of hackers, hopefully clearing their name and giving them the social status they deserve.
If you support the cause of this website, you can contribute by sharing it with your friends, using any of the buttons below. | <urn:uuid:64d28220-5473-4410-85a4-68234151e11e> | {
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This time of year as I talk with pond owners all over the nation, there are a full range of conditions. My friend Mike from Tennessee, referring to Baton Rouge, said, “Yep, I imagine the birds are already a-whistlin’ down there.” And so they are. Just this week, I swam in a pond for the first time to help a friend create spawning habitat for his fish. I also saw my first two snakes. In Louisiana, spring has arrived. Quite a contrast to my Northern friends, who have suffered through the “Polar Vortex,” which seemed like a whole season instead of an event. One thing for sure, temperatures are warming and spring is on the way. Warmer temperatures for pond owners always means algae production. While we welcome spring, it is also the season for the not-so-welcome invasion of algae.
The 3 Types of Pond Algae
Three types...Now these aren’t the only three types of algae, but these are three categories that will likely be important to you and your pond biology.
Green Phytoplankton: This algae is single-cell, free-floating algae. It is most often noticed as a green color to the water. It can range from a just a greenish tinge to pea soup. Green algae is productive and useful in the pond. Assuming you have sunny weather, it is a net producer of oxygen in the water. It is also the basis for the food chain for a bass-bluegill system, and contributes to other food webs as well. While it is a “good” algae, it can overproduce and the population eventually crashes, if the pond is too rich with nutrients. The level of production desired is also a matter of personal preference, depending on your goals for the pond. If you want to use the pond for swimming, typically, you will prefer little algae production of any kind.
Blue-green: This is the “mutant, evil twin” of green phytoplankton. Blue-greens are difficult classification for biologists. Cyanobacteria: Half-algae, half-bacteria. Blue-green algae are a deep green color, although they can vary from green to distinctly blue. Since it forms dense colonies and floats, it looks like someone spilled green paint on the water. The dense floating nature of blue-green algae shades out the green phytoplankton below, which reduces oxygen levels. Blue-green algae are not net producers of oxygen through photosynthesis. They are associated with high nutrient levels in the pond, and produce bad odors, off-flavor in fish, poor oxygen conditions, accelerated sludge accumulations, and they have been associated with toxic reactions in both pets and humans.
Filamentous Algae: Most often called pond scum, pond moss, or more scientifically, “that #%@# stuff that keeps getting on my fishing hook.. There are several species. Some, like Spirogyra, grow in the winter, which is also the name of a really good jazz group, although the group spells its name wrong. Once water warms, spirogyra burns off. The warm weather varieties, like Pithophora, are the most aggravating. Ptihophora begins as mats along the bottom of your pond while temperatures are still cool and you are unaware. Then when warm temperatures arrive, the bubbly mats float to the surface and drive you crazy while you enjoy your pond.
A common scenario : A pond owner has a flare-up of algae in the pond. The pond owner goes to the local feed store or farmer’s cooperative to inquire about how to handle it. The store salesperson, or Cliff Clavin, the eavesdropping customer, with limited knowledge but in and effort to have some solution, directs the pond owner to use copper sulfate because it is cheap, and they heard about someone using it that one time. Many farm stores carry copper sulfate because they have very limited knowledge, want to provide some solution, it’s inexpensive, and they heard of someone using it once. Satisfied with the consultation and small investment, the pond owner returns home. After opening the container, he gazes, hypnotized, at the blue crystals hoping they will magically tell him the dosage to use, since he doesn’t actually know the volume of water in his pond and reading a label is frustrating. Using the scientific method of selecting the largest clump of crystals that breaks off first, he proceeds to use Cliff’s advice of putting the blue crystals in a leg of panty hose and dragging it around behind the boat while it dissolves. Copper sulfate is a very effective algaecide, bactericide, and fish poison when used incorrectly —without regard to water chemistry or volume. Unfortunately, the all-too-common character in this story wakes up the next morning to a pond full of dead fish.
Approach Algae Control … Organically
Physical removal is an option for filamentous algae since you can grab it. A lake rake is a wide aluminum rake with a float across the top. You throw it out with a rope attached and pull it in to shore. This sounds easier than it is since it has a large volume of water and can be difficult to handle., Dragging a chain across the bottom of the pond to disturb the formation of filamentous algae along the bottom also can be used effectively.
Dye reduces the amount of sunlight penetrating the water to stimulate algae growth. Shading helps reduce all types of algae. Blue or black dye is available in liquid or packets of water-soluble dry powder. Blue dye is associated sometimes with the “Tidy Bowl”-blue of miniature golf course ponds. It can be used in a limited fashion to make your pond more attractive and to help reduce algae growth. Dyes are safe for pond inhabitants as well as other visiting wildlife, including humans.
Beneficial bacteria treatments add a high concentration of cultured, beneficial bacteria to your pond. The objective is to create a bacterially-dominated ecosystem, instead of an algae-dominated system. The bacteria don’t kill algae, they out-compete them — making nutrients unavailable for algae. These bacteria, especially in the presence of adequate oxygen, can be effective and arrest and reverse sludge buildup in your pond. These beneficial bacteria do not cause disease, and are safe for pets, irrigation, livestock, and people.. The secret to predictability with bacterial treatments is consistent, scheduled treatments at the full, recommended dose. I know this means reading a label and possibly doing math, but it really is important this time. Choose a dry products because they are more concentrated and cost less to ship.
Barley straw has had much acclaim for reducing algae growth. Its use began as a technique to control algae in open wells in Scotland. Lignin coats the outside of the straw, and is a hard waxy material. When submerged in water and exposed to sunlight, it breaks down, and one of the byproducts is peroxide. Peroxide is algaecidal. The bad news is that this effect is fairly localized unless water is flowing past.. The straw has to be replaced monthly and the old straw removed. This can be a lot of work for an inconsistent result. Several products, including flakes and extract, give more consistency, with less bulk handling of straw. Peroxide products are available in a predictable, concentrated form for algae control. The good news is that peroxide has an organic label. Green Clean peroxide is available in liquid or granular and is OMRI certified. I have used this product with success.
Ultraviolet (UV) sterilizers are used for water gardens and koi ponds. This is sound technology and works well at clearing green water from ponds. A filter exposes water to ultraviolet light. When sized correctly for water volume and flow rate, a UV filter will kill 99.99 percent of algae, virus, bacteria, protozoas, and fungus. A UV filter in the plumbing and kills only the free-floating algae. In water gardens, this is cost-effective and doesn’t use much energy. Vegetable farms use UV technology to reduce coliform counts in vegetable irrigation.
Buffered alum binds phosphorus and also drops out small particles like clay in the water. Phosphorus is one of algae’s main nutrients, and vascular plants also need it. Alum, or aluminum sulfate, binds phosphorus into a salt crystal and takes it out of availability for algae. When aluminum sulfate goes into solution, however, it makes an acidic reaction and shift in pH. Your fish won’t appreciate that shift much, and will express disapproval by gulping at the surface in a stressful manner, and possibly floating upside down in your pond (this isn’t so you can scratch their belly). Fortunately buffered alum products on the market prevent this reaction. I have used this product in both water gardens and natural ponds with great success and without harming fish. As a bonus, this product will help to clear your water of small organic particles, clay particles, and even tannins that cause tea color.
“Phytoremediation” with plants along an edge or in bog filters, work for water gardens, natural ponds, stormwater ponds, and even septic and industrial waste treatment. Running the water past the roots of plants allows them to take up nutrients and even pollutants. Coupled with correct sizing, some proven design for the construction, and a commitment to some maintenance, the results can be incredible.
Next time I will visit with you about a fantastic addition to the edge of your pond or water garden, Louisiana irises. | <urn:uuid:d2165d19-4a34-43d9-94b1-702cec818dfb> | {
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sprue (TS) is a clinical entity of unknown etiology characterized by an
acquired chronic diarrheal illness and malabsorption that affects
indigenous inhabitants and expatriates, either long-term residents or
short-term visitors, in the tropical countries.
mainly in Asia, including Sri Lanks, Southern India, Malaysia, Indonesia,
Hong Kong and China, some Caribbean Islands, Puerto Rico and parts of
Pathogenesis: The exact pathogenetic
sequence of Tropical
sprue remains incompletely characterized.
disturbed gut motility, and hormonal and histopathologic abnormalities
contribute to the development of TS in a susceptible host.
malabsorption (TM; tropical sprue) starts with an acute intestinal
infection (bacterial, viral, or parasitic) which can affect predominantly
the small or the large intestine.
Miscellaneous invasive pathogens cause
subsequent enterocyte damage affecting the entire small intestine and, to
a lesser extent, the colon.
Enteroglucagon, a tropic hormone, is then
liberated and reaches a high plasma concentration.
Further bacterial colonisation (in the lumen and also at the
enterocyte surface) is encouraged.
Continuing enterocyte damage is
worsened by coexistent folate depletion, which is initiated at the onset
of disease; body stores of folate reach a low concentration by 3 or 4
The cycle continues until the bacterial overgrowth is eliminated
with an antibiotic (eg, tetracycline), or mucosal integrity recovers
(hastened by oral folic-acid supplements), or both.
presentation: Tropical sprue presents with
diarrhea, anorexia, weight loss, and megaloblastic anemia.
Remissions and relapses
are a characteristic feature. In severe cases 10 stools or more may be
Tropical sprue should be
considered in the differential diagnosis of chronic diarrhoea in patients
with a history of travel in tropical regions.
The most frequent medical
problem that travellers to the tropics experience is diarrhoea with an
incidence of 30%.
A small proportion of these patients eventually present
with chronic diarrhoea.
At that moment, the relation to their previous travelling may not be immediately clear.
One of the causes of this chronic diarrhoea to be considered is tropical sprue.
the intestinal changes range from near normal to severe diffuse enteritis.
closely resemble those of coeliac disease, although they tend to be less
villous atrophy has been a constant finding.
The jejunal villi
are blunted or, rarely, absent and there is a subepithelial infiltration
with plasma cells and lymphocytes.
In some cases
there is enlargement of the nuclei of epithelial cells.
In severe cases the ileum
is also affected.
These changes are
associated with malabsorption of fat, protein, carbohydrate and vitamins
and the presence of diarrhoea which may lead to depletion of water,
electrolytes, iron and calcium.
anemia is common with megaloblastic change in the bone marrow due to
Vitamin B12 deficiency
takes longer to develop.
Mild changes in
the jejunal mucosa are common in asymptomatic indigenous peoples, without
gross malabsorption, throughout the tropics.
features and the history of residence in an area noted for tropical sprue
will suggest the correct diagnosis if care is taken to recognise the early
and the mild case as well as the late presentation.
malabsorption should be sought.
erythrocyte levels of folate are low.
Anaemia may also
be hypochromic from defective absorption of iron.
shows shows partial villous atrophy which is not specific for tropical
Jejunal mucus and
fluid is examined to exclude parasites.
Barium meal and
follow through examinations are necessary only to exclude other disease.
diagnosis is from other forms of steatorrhoea.
causes in the tropics are infections of the intestine with
Giardia intestinalis, Stongyloides stercoralis or Capillaria philippinensis.
Early symptoms or sprue may errorneously be attributed to
The response to treatment to
tetracycline and folic acid has been uniformly successful. | <urn:uuid:151b82bb-63d7-4acc-a85b-bf0ef2bf06dc> | {
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... On this date in weather history...
In 1998, around 5 inches of rain fell during a thunderstorm in
Benkelman Nebraska. Many homes had basements flooded with water
and mud. Several cars were stalled and roads were damaged.
In 2007, thunderstorms produced five tornadoes from Wallace County
east through Logan, Sheridan and Graham counties. All tornadoes
occurred over open fields with no known damage. Flash flooding and
hail to two inches was also reported in Graham County.
Severe Weather Get Mobile & Email Alerts
Logan Severe Watches & Warnings NOAA Weather Radio
Public Information Statement
Statement as of 6:00 am MDT on May 22, 2015 | <urn:uuid:4f11cd11-b577-4ed5-a4e2-5cb00883e9ad> | {
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Noon Horns | Audible tradition | They sound the first four notes of ‘O Canada’ every day at noon, indicating lunchtime to thousands of downtown office workers. Officially dubbed “Heritage Horns”, they are more commonly referred to as the ‘noon horns’. They were originally built as a Centennial Project in 1967, residing on the roof of the BC Hydro building (The Electra). When BC Hydro vacated the building in the 1990s, the horns temporarily fell silent until they found a new, permanent home on the roof of the Pan Pacific Hotel at Canada Place.
Usage | “It’s so much fun seeing the startled expressions on tourist faces down by Canada Place when the noon horns sound.” | <urn:uuid:018b26ef-b068-4aeb-83f8-4a689de0556f> | {
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by Staff Writers
Oak Ridge, TN (SPX) Mar 28, 2012
A new method to make better use of vast amounts of data related to global geography, population and climate may help determine the relative importance of population increases vs. climate change.
While several recent studies suggest that much of the world is likely to experience freshwater shortages as the population increases and temperatures rise, determining the relative impact of each has been difficult. An Oak Ridge National Laboratory paper published in Computers and Geosciences outlines a process that might help.
"Our work establishes a new method to couple geographic information system data with global climate outputs and statistical analysis," said ORNL's Esther Parish, lead author. Using this technique, researchers can now conduct assessments that will provide information critical to policymakers and stakeholders.
"Our tool provides a simple method to integrate disparate climate and population data sources and develop preliminary per capita water availability projections at a global scale," said Parish, a member of the Department of Energy laboratory's Environmental Sciences Division.
Parish and co-authors Evan Kodra, Karsten Steinhaeuser and Auroop Ganguly began working on this approach at ORNL in the summer of 2009. At that time, it was unusual to integrate population, climate and water data into one model. Although just a first step, the toolkit, which has been made freely available, may be further developed for more involved analysis.
While results of the study point to areas potentially vulnerable to water shortages, Parish cautioned that this set of calculations is based on just one set of ensembles from one climate model with static population growth rates applied on a per country basis.
By water stress, researchers are referring to per capita freshwater availability of less than 450,000 gallons per person per year, but the ways society chooses to store and allocate water will determine whether an actual shortage exits. For example, water can be allocated for industry, agriculture or residential use, or any combination of the three.
For this study, the team used ORNL's high-resolution Global LandScan population distribution dataset in combination with population growth projections from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This allowed them to estimate changes in freshwater demand by 2025, 2050 and 2100. The researchers also used the Community Climate System Model 3 to estimate future freshwater availability during those same time periods. Researchers then combined freshwater supply and demand projections to yield estimates of per capita water availability around the world.
Given the number of variables, the process can quickly become unwieldy.
"Analyzing the interrelationship between human populations and water availability is greatly complicated by the uncertainties associated with climate change projections and population storylines," said Parish, who added that for this exploratory study population growth appears to have a greater impact than temperature.
To test the new tool, Parish and colleagues plugged in four IPCC greenhouse gas emissions scenarios - from low to high - along with global population projections to arrive at different potential scenarios. None paint a promising picture for freshwater availability.
The study suggests that by 2100, 56 to 75 percent of the world's population could be vulnerable to significant freshwater security threats. In areas like the Great Lakes region, freshwater may be easier to replenish than portions of Florida and the Southwest, but people in most areas of the country will face challenges.
"The worst case combination of per capita freshwater availability indicate that many major U.S. cities may experience some degree of water stress by the year 2100," Parish said.
In addition, the feedback between population shifts and water resources scarcity may exacerbate the situation. Thus, as pointed out in other recent studies, the projected water scarcity in parts of Central and South America may have ramifications for population movement and hence water scarcity in the United States.
"While we have not considered migration as part of this paper, these are precisely the directions we believe require further research," Ganguly said.
The researchers noted that while this paper outlines a proof of concept that lends some preliminary insight to the relative importance of climate change vs. population, output from multiple climate models must be incorporated in future research.
"By investigating multiple models, we may be able to quantify - or at least qualify - uncertainty in how different climate change scenarios could affect water availability," Parish said. "Given that population growth is likely to be an even bigger factor in water availability than climate change, it will also be critical to reassess areas of concern with regional- or state-level population growth scenarios."
Ganguly added: "Our understanding of multiple stressors on natural resources as well as dynamically coupled natural and human systems is critical to address emerging concerns like urban sustainability."
Oak Ridge National Lab
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics
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UN hits water target, but 2 billion people still drinking unsafe water
Chapel Hill NC (SPX) Mar 28, 2012
Recent widespread news coverage heralded the success of a United Nations' goal of greatly improving access to safe drinking water around the world. But while major progress has been made, a new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill indicates that far greater challenges persist than headline statistics suggested. Earlier this month, UNICEF and the World Health Org ... read more
|The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2012 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement| | <urn:uuid:07d721ef-f695-4848-ae35-f2a3b423ae12> | {
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Paper residual stockpiles for mine reclamation
When most people think of recycling and paper products, they think of separating out paper for reuse in post consumer applications. However, the paper industry does much more than recycle paper. Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) residuals (paper sludge), boiler ash, and causticizing residues are among the byproducts associated with pulp and paper production that can also be recycled into different applications. WWTP residuals are composed of the solids removed from process water. They consist mostly of wood fibers and mineral matter such as kaolin clay and calcium carbonate. Boiler ash is produced by burning wood, coal, or other solid fuels to produce steam and electricity. Causticizing residues arise from the kraft pulping process, specifically the recovery of energy and chemicals from spent pulping liquor. The most widely used of the causticizing residues is lime mud, which is essentially calcium carbonate (limestone) with a small amount of calcium hydroxide (lime). All of these paper industry materials are used successfully in land application and other beneficial use applications.
WWTP residuals are used successfully as soil amendments to enhance crop productivity. Although their properties vary by source, WWTP residuals supply paper fibers that increase the organic matter in soil, which can improve tilth and water holding capacity. They also can provide nutrients such as phosphorus, potassium, and calcium, thereby replacing more expensive chemical fertilizers. Residuals are useful in composts, primarily as a source of organic carbon.
WWTP residuals are also employed as hydraulic barriers because the hydraulic conductivity (permeability) of properly placed residuals can be very low. Barrier use includes covers for landfills and for mine tailings. In the later case, a barrier of residuals prevents water and oxygen from reaching the tailings, limiting the production of acidic, metal contaminated water.
Land application of wood ash as a liming agent.
Applications for boiler ash are governed by the fuel source and by ash properties. Wood ash is most commonly used in land application as a liming agent, and it also can supply plant nutrients such as calcium, phosphorus and potassium. Wood ash can be a valuable ingredient in composts by reducing odors during composting and imparting a dark color to the final product.
Coal ash from paper mill boilers may be employed as appropriate in uses applicable to coal ash from utility boilers, such as a concrete additive. Various mill ashes have been employed in soil stabilization or earthen construction applications, making use of the cementitious nature of the materials.
Lime mud is also utilized in land application as a liming agent. It has a composition similar to conventional agricultural limestone. In addition to raising soil pH, lime mud can provide plant nutrients, especially phosphorus. Lime mud also finds use as a feedstock to cement kilns as it is a good source of calcium.
Studies conducted or supported by the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement, government agencies, universities, and individual paper companies indicate that the beneficial use of paper mill byproducts can be done without significant risks to human health or the environment. As with many other common materials, however, precautions and sound management practices should be applied when using these byproducts. The use of WWTP residuals, boiler ash and lime mud in different applications benefits the environment by reducing the need for virgin materials and the environmental costs (air emissions, water use and energy consumption) associated with producing virgin materials. The beneficial use of mill byproducts also conserves valuable landfill space for materials that cannot be used in a beneficial manner. | <urn:uuid:663c363d-6fc3-4c7e-a9fd-da44b39c4f1d> | {
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Taj Mahal, admirably, is one of the most beautiful and architecturally magnificent monuments of the world, originally, is a tomb commissioned by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third queen, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal, exhibits majestic admixture of Persian, Turkish and Indian architectural styles. The construction of this universally acclaimed architectural masterpiece started around 1632, under master artisans and architecture legends of Mughal empire Abd ul-Karim, Ma'mur Khan, Makramat Khan, Ustad Ahmad and thousands of master craftsmen. Taj Mahal is also one of the proud possessions from India in “Unesco World Heritage” site. The inspiration for Taj Mahal in designs and patterns also had been incorporated from the contemporary monuments and buildings of that era, like Timurid and Mughal buildings including; the Gur-e Amir-the tomb of Timur, in Samarkand), Humayun's Tomb, Itmad-Ud-Daulah's Tomb and Shah Jahan's creation Jama Masjid in Delhi.
On the bank of river Yamuna, Taj Mahal was constructed on a- four acre piece- of land that was leveled to 50 meters above the river level. What is interesting to learn about this leveled platform, is its attachment to whopping 9.3 kilometer long tamped earth ramp, in order to transport material and other construction stuff to the site. The construction material for Taj Mahal was transported across from entire India and Asia and about 1,000 elephants were employed in this heavy transporting task. The entire structure of Taj Mahal, aestectically, and from the architectural value is constructed in four major division- Tomb, Exterior decoration, interior decoration and Garden. | <urn:uuid:d694e63a-49f3-4f38-9484-680ef5774ef4> | {
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The War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain officially ended on Christmas Eve, 1814, with the Treaty of Ghent.
Georgians were deeply involved in the war on several fronts. General John Floyd led troops against Britain’s Indian allies in Alabama in decisive battles that would eventually open up the region to American settlement.
On the Georgia coast, the town of Sunbury never recovered from the damage done by the British blockade, while word of the treaty came too late to prevent the British from occupying Cumberland Island and St. Mary’s in early 1815.
The war began over American resentment of a number of British policies, including forcing American sailors into service in the British navy, trade restrictions that kept American ships out of European ports, and British meddling with Native Americans on the frontier.
The Treaty of Ghent settled none of the important issues that began the war but it laid the groundwork for the British-American alliance of the 20th century. Their roles in maintaining peace on Earth, goodwill toward men, began in part with the treaty signed on December 24, 1814, Today in Georgia History.
Today in Georgia History is a joint collaboration of the Georgia Historical Society & Georgia Public Broadcasting. | <urn:uuid:90f0f8b9-773f-442e-95a3-30f1a16075ef> | {
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Prof. Nigel Raine is quoted in an Oct. 5 article in the science journal Nature. The story focuses on a new study released this week that found pesticides in honey samples from six continents.
Researchers tested honey from nearly 200 sites worldwide and found that 75 per cent of samples contained some level of neonicotinoid pesticides.
Raine says the study, which was published in Science, is important because it contributes to the discussion on the effects of the pesticides — and specifically field-relevant exposure levels — on bees.
Raine, a professor in U of G’s School of Environmental Sciences, holds the Rebanks Family Chair in Pollinator Conservation. He studies bee behaviour, conservation and health. | <urn:uuid:6d34f3da-cd8b-49a9-b5ef-8a01e5cab12b> | {
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Play has taken on a different grab with many children. Activity is more with the hands and minds watching television, at the computer or even on the mobile for more than two to three hours a day on a average. A sedentary lifestyle at a young age leads to an inactive adult life with its attendant health problems. Curb this and usher them on to a path of fitness.
Exercise should be as much as part of a child's daily routine as eating and sleeping. Start young to stay young. The benefits of exercise grow with the years. Physical activity increases cardiovascular endurance, builds muscle strength, improves flexibility, coordination and balance. This reduces chances of developing cardiovascular diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes and other obesity and stress related problems. Exercise also helps manage weight, improve alertness, builds team spirit and a sense of well being and enhances self-image.
Play in any form is exercise, be it running, chasing, catching, bouncing a ball or even turning somersaults. Informal play can be moulded into regular exercise as the child grows. While the school has physical training as part of its timetable, parents and the family too should encourage their children to be fit. Proper diet and exercise nurture good health. Exercise builds the three vital elements of fitness- endurance, strength and flexibility.
Fitness has to be fun. Exercise need not be imposed and structured but can be made fun. For toddlers it can be simple and enjoyable. They can play at the park, jump, walk and run.
For pre-schoolers it can be more skilled like throwing a ball, hoping balancing, pedalling a tricycle etc., For school-age children it can be rules for games and sports. Moderately intense activities can include swimming, bicycling, team sports and outdoor play. They should start with non-competitive sports and opt for competitive sports.
Adolescents develop bodily changes and gain height and weight as they grow into young adults. The choice and form of exercise is their own but it should be age appropriate. Whether its jogging and running, competitive sports, fitness classes, gymnastics, bicycling or exercise videos it has to be vigorous and thrice a week.
Specific exercises that enhance muscular strength and bone health include skipping, climbing, jumping and gymnastics. aerobic activity develops endurance, strengthens the heart improves the body's ability to deliver oxygen to the cells. Aerobic activities include basketball, bicycling, skating, tennis swimming, walking, jogging and running.
Flexibility exercises help improve suppleness, allowing the body bend and move easily through their full range of motion. Flexibility exercises include simple stretches and yogaSana's.
Parents should allot time, be regular, set goals and review and reward the child. As a parent you can encourage, inspire, guide, support and quip the child's activity. Help them by providing equipments, transportation and above all participate or even be a role model.
courtesy : Wellness, The Hindu, March 26,2009. | <urn:uuid:e23d553e-3ab9-4ecb-a364-211113e89452> | {
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I’ve been reading this book – Choke. (Because I tend to choke at tennis, that’s why.)
But it’s got some really interesting things to say that will help your kid with test anxiety.
Researchers were studying what happens to African-Americans, for instance, who experience racism throughout their life. These students can have something called “stereotype threat,” which is where students “underperform relative to their potential merely because these students feel discouraged about their ability to succeed.”
They may underperform simply because they are aware of stereotypes about their sex, race or ethnic group that pertain to intelligence.
Researchers wanted to see if they could intervene to subvert the “racial achievement gap” in a school in the Northeastern U.S.
What they did was simple, and brilliant – and it could be done with your child, whether or not he underperforms currently, whether or not he is a minority.
They had half the students respond to a question asking them what their most important value was, and write a brief paragraph explaining why it was important. In the second group – a control group – they had students write about their least important value.
At the end of the school year, they compared the kids. The ones who had – just once in the year, remember – taken the time to consider and think about, and write about, their most important value did better than the other students. The researchers later repeated the experiment, with the same results.
What happened? The students had written about qualities that were important to them. This enhanced their self-worth, even in the face of negative racial stereotypes. It created a “buffer against negative expectations and their consequences,” says the author of Choke, Sean Beilock.
Students who thought about their own good qualities, the things they value, did better at school because they reminded themselves that they could.
It seems that writing is key here. The kids have to take five minutes or so and write down their thoughts about their most important value. And not only did they perform better on that one test, in that one semester, but the research suggests there has been a life-long benefit for many of them.
If your kid says “I can’t do it,” help him remember that in fact, he can.
And by the way, just this afternoon I tried it before I got on the tennis court… 6-2, thank you very much! | <urn:uuid:8222360f-7e55-4bc2-a5a7-3b3e0fa0ffe7> | {
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I think we as human beings have a sense that many people are unaware of. I think our emotions allow us to sense value to give our lives value. For example, if you were in a dangerous situation and you felt fear, then you would be sensing danger. Unpleasant emotions allow us to sense that things, moments, and situations are wrong, bad, horrible, disgusting, etc. while our pleasant emotions allow us to sense that things are right, beautiful, and good. In other words, our emotions are a feeling version of value. They allow us to feel certain values whether that value be something horrific, horrible, disgusting, beautiful, or joyful. However, there are no sense organs to indicate that our emotions are a sense. Rather, we sense value through our emotions via our way of thinking. If, for example, we had the thought that it is a beautiful day to be alive, that thought would send the emotional signal to our brains to make us feel a pleasant emotion which would allow us to sense that beautiful value we thought of. The only real value we can have in our lives is the value we sense through our emotions since it would be no different than saying that the only real colors, sounds, and smells we can have in our lives are the colors, sounds, and smells we see, hear, and smell. Colors, sounds, and smells do not exist in the physical world. Sure, there are sound waves, but the actual sound itself is a mental state since it is a state of mind where we hear something. Likewise, good and bad are also mental states (our emotions themselves). This is my own personal definition of good and bad and it would be an absolute/objective good and bad that many people are unaware of. Many people dismiss and deny the idea of our emotions being a feeling version of value. But I think this is true and, who knows, humanity could also be in denial when it comes to my claim that intellectual and moral based values are not real values. Sure, we can make decisions that would help us and others, but that doesn't bring our lives any real value. It can only be us feeling happiness and enjoyment through our pleasant emotions that brings our lives real good value, joy, and beauty. There are the lower emotions and then there are the higher emotions founded upon morality, intellect, and character. I do not agree the higher emotions exist. I am going to present a logical argument which reveals everything I've just said and I will explain a bit more things as well: My Logical Argument: I am now going to present a logical argument that reveals how our emotions are a sense that gives our lives value: 1.) There are pleasant and unpleasant tastes. Taste is a sense. There is no moral and intellectual version of taste. 2.) There are pleasant and unpleasant smells. Smell is a sense. There is no moral and intellectual version of smell. 3.) There is physical pain and then there is physical pleasure. This is a physical sense. There is no moral and intellectual version of physical pain or physical pleasure. 4.) There are positive (pleasant) and negative (unpleasant) emotions. Therefore, Conclusion: Emotions are also a sense. There is no moral and intellectual version of emotions. Emotions are value judgments as I explain later on which means they are a feeling version of value. Since emotions are a sense and since they are a feeling version of value, then our emotions are a sense that allows us to sense values. This means there is no moral and intellectual based values or any real moral/intellectual based value judgments. Thus, it can only be our lower emotional impulse that gives our lives value and not our higher intellectual and moral impulse. We Sense Different Forms Of Beauty And Joy: You could have two objects. One object being a flashlight and another object being a watermelon. If you smell the flashlight, you will notice that scent. That scent has an artificial quality to it. In other words, it smells like something metal or something like rubber. If you smelled the watermelon, you will notice that scent. It smells like a fruit. Our sense of smell allows us to smell different scents just like how our positive emotions allow us to feel different things. In other words, positive emotions are like the sense of smell. When we feel a positive emotion from looking at a flashlight, we are sensing the beauty of that flashlight. That beauty will take on an artificial quality. So, the positive emotion you feel from that flashlight will feel like something metal or something like rubber, but, this time, in a beautiful and joyful way since positive emotions are what allow us to sense beauty and joy. This positive emotion will create an entire mental atmosphere for you that is beautiful and joyful. The same idea applies to feeling a positive emotion from the watermelon. That would create a joyful and beautiful atmosphere for you that is tropical. Therefore, not only are our emotions a sense, but they create our entire atmosphere for us. Emotions Are Value Judgments: Haven't you ever heard someone say to not listen to what your emotions tell you? Emotions tell you that certain things, people, or situations are disgusting, horrible, or beautiful. Furthermore, haven't you ever felt that someone in your life was a horrible or beautiful person? See, this is what I mean here when I say that emotions really are value judgments. Many people would deny this, but it is a fact. So, you can see why I do not trust humanity and their values since so many people are in denial and are delusional. They are not awakened to the truth. I will also point out a quote which shows how emotions are value judgments: With all of this being said, it is our lower, basic emotions which are the real chemical messages to our brains that things, moments, and situations in our lives are good, beautiful, bad, horrible, disgusting, etc. Our morality and intellect was never the real message of value to our brains. You could have, for example, a metaphorical version of hunger and thirst such as if you said to yourself that you were hungry and thirsty for fame and power. From there, you could say that your higher impulse was a form of hunger and thirst. But it wouldn't be any real hunger and thirst though. The real hunger and thirst is through our lower impulse which would be the feeling of hunger you get when you need to eat something or the feeling of thirst you get when you need to drink something. That is the real message to your brain that you need to eat something or drink something and not what comes about through our higher impulse alone. It would be no different than if you said to yourself that you are water and lightning since you flow through life with ease and you strike down your enemies. You wouldn't be real water and lightning. Rather, you would just be having a metaphorical version of water and lightning going on here. Therefore, the moral and intellectual based good and bad was a metaphorical version of good and bad all along and was never any real good and bad value in our lives. To conclude this, sadly, positive emotions are very fleeting things which means the good value, joy, and beauty in our lives is also very fleeting. Therefore, people who struggle with a depressive mental illness due to no fault of their own or people who go through much misery and hardships in their lives would be living lives that have little to no good value regardless of what they believed otherwise and regardless of what contributions they made to the world. It is often times beautiful things in life that are fleeting. For example, a rainbow only lasts for a little while before it fades away. The good value and beauty in our lives is no different than that rainbow. With all of this being said, this claim I am making is to support the hedonistic philosophy which states that pleasure (positive emotions) are the only real good things to our lives and displeasure (negative emotions) are the only real bad things in our lives. | <urn:uuid:f958c269-8ee2-438b-998b-3c4410d0731b> | {
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2010 climate report notes Antarctic sea ice grows while world warms
Posted July 15, 2011
By all accounts, 2010 was a rough — and hot — year on the planet.
In fact, last year was one of the two warmest years on record, matching the record year in 2005, according to the 2010 State of the Climate report released by NOAA last month. The last decade now accounts for the top ten hottest years on record with the exception of 1998, which ranks third. The year 2008 is 11th.
The peer-reviewed report, issued in coordination with the American Meteorological Society , was compiled by 368 scientists from 45 countries. It provides a detailed, yearly update on global climate indicators, notable climate events and other climate information from every continent, including Antarctica.
The big story out of Antarctica involved sea ice. But unlike in the Arctic, where sea ice extent is shrinking over the last decade, winter sea ice in Antarctica reached a record extent in 2010 thanks to a persistently strong atmospheric circulation pattern called the Southern Annular Mode that locked in the cold. Sea ice responds to colder temperatures by growing more.
The positive growth of total sea ice extent around Antarctica, which averages 18 million square kilometers at the height of winter, is part of a long-term trend and is consistent with how scientists believe climate change affects the southernmost continent, according to Ryan Fogt , an assistant professor of meteorology at Ohio University and an associate editor of the 2010 NOAA report.
“It’s consistent with the way the atmospheric circulation is changing around Antarctica, which we do believe is evidence of climate change,” said Fogt, whose research, like many contributors to the report, is partly funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) .
Sea ice is an important feature of the Earth’s climate system because it reflects solar energy back into space. The loss of sea ice in the Arctic is problematic, in part, because less reflective cover means more solar energy is absorbed by the dark ocean, which raises temperatures. In turn, that melts more sea ice, allowing more solar energy to reach the surface in a positive feedback loop.
Fogt said that in 2010 Antarctica’s sea ice extent was about 250,000 square kilometers greater than the 1979-2008 average during most of July and August.
“The second half of 2010 was a pretty large year for growth of the Antarctic sea ice overall, but there were still regions that experienced some reductions,” he said.
In particular, sea ice losses were experienced in the Bellingshausen and Amundsen seas regions. The Amundsen Sea is home to West Antarctica’s Pine Island Glacier, which a recent report said has increased its melt rate by 50 percent in the last 15 years. [See previous article: Speeding up.]
The Bellingshausen Sea abuts the western edge of the Antarctic Peninsula, which is one of the fastest warming regions on the planet. Since the 1950s, the average winter temperature has spiked by 6 degrees centigrade, reducing the duration of sea ice in the area by three months.
Above-average temperatures continued to reign along the Antarctic Peninsula in 2010 from May to December, according to the report. And it wasn’t the only place that heated up last year.
“In fact, some parts of Antarctica that have been quite cold, or where we’ve seen some cooling trends, such as in East Antarctica and over the South Pole, were not as cold in 2010,” Fogt said. “Some of the long-term cooling trends there were reduced dramatically by 2010 temperatures, especially during the early part of the year.”
Fogt’s grant from NSF’s Office of Polar Programs is for a project to understand the warming under way in West Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula, and the associated loss of sea ice. He believes a persistent low-pressure system, influenced by large-scale climate modes like the El-Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), plays a role because it helps sustain the circulation pattern that leads to warming in the region.
However, despite the warming in West Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula, the positive trend in Antarctic-averaged sea ice extent is expected to continue into the immediate future.
But recent studies and reports suggest it’s only a matter of time before the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere catches up and begins to heat up enough to reduce sea ice formation. [See previous articles: State of the Antarctic and Maximum extent.] Incidentally, the NOAA report noted that carbon dioxide levels increased at a faster rate in 2010 than in 2009 and also faster than the average rate over the past 30 years.
The connectedness of Antarctica’s climate to the rest of the globe has only recently been understood by scientists, partly because of the dearth of observations around the continent, according to Fogt.
“It’s only within the last decade or so … that we’ve really started to understand how these large-scale climate features affect the continent,” he said. “Antarctica is just a little behind the rest of the globe in understanding it because of [the] lack of spatially complete data.”
NSF-funded research in this story: Ryan Fogt, Ohio University, Award No. 0944168 . | <urn:uuid:3976995f-3d2b-4eaa-813e-9ad2ae3b3ce7> | {
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In light of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) latest report, Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability, released on Monday, March 31, here is a review of recent GC Capital Ideas stories focused on climate change.
Responding to Climate Change: It is vital for (re)insurers to consider how climate change could impact future losses. Global warming potentially poses a serious financial threat to the insurance industry with implications for catastrophe risk perception, pricing and modeling assumptions.
Climate Change: A Look into the Future: Global climate models project a best estimate of a further two to four degree (Celsius) increase in the mean temperature of the Earth by the end of this century. Although this may seem insignificant on an intuitive level, the resulting impacts are of significant concern. Sea-level rise is the most significant threat for coastal areas as a result of melting glaciers. Apart from this threat, changing weather patterns will result in drought and inland flood threats for some areas. As a general principle of climate change, changes to the mean of meteorological extreme value distributions can be expected but an increase in tail thickness (or variability) is of greater concern. The day-to-day variability that we see today will likely expand.
The Reality of Global Warming: The increase in the global mean air temperature, as compared to the 1951-1980 average and the surge in average oceanic heat content for the 0-700 meter layer is depicted in these graphics. The increase in oceanic heat content in particular is notable as it takes a very large amount of energy to heat such a volume of water.
Global Warming: Adaptation Measures: The IPCC publications represent scientific consensus among many of the world’s top scientists (and scientific consensus is difficult to achieve). Their findings are generally consistent with the broader scientific literature.
Global Warming: Losses: Economic losses resulting from natural disasters increased from USD75.5 Billion in the 1960s to USD659.9 Billion in the 1990s. Insured losses have also increased, and “the dominant signal is of significant increase in the values of exposure.” Furthermore, the IPCC states that “failure to adjust for time-variant economic factors yields loss amounts that are not directly comparable and a pronounced upward trend for purely economic reasons.”
Global Warming: The Evolving Risk Landscape: Global warming is an established scientific fact, and one that cannot be explained by statistical “noise” or natural variability alone. The single greatest threat under global warming is that of sea-level rise, which is expected to increase coastal flood frequency and severity under tropical cyclone, extratropical cyclone and tsunami events. The growing urban footprint and population density in coastal areas amplifies the financial and societal implications of such events. | <urn:uuid:b9fa2623-2511-41af-a743-c7c64cff369c> | {
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It’s never too late to teach children about saving their money. US Bank of Washington Personal Banker, Jann Manning says teaching children how to save and budget when they are young is an important lesson for them to learn. Manning says that children should get in the habit of saving their change and cash. Another way to teach children to save is by getting them a savings account. She says as they get in the practice of saving their own money, they won’t have to always rely on parents for money for a desired item in their future. | <urn:uuid:c5a45ce0-dc54-4f32-b7d8-00b18fdefe71> | {
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Mole poblano, whose name comes from the Mexican state of Puebla, is a popular sauce in Mexican cuisine and is the mole that most people in the U.S. think of when they think of mole. Mole poblano is prepared with dried chile peppers (commonly ancho, pasilla, mulato and chipotle), ground nuts and/or seeds (almonds, indigenous peanuts, and/or sesame seeds), spices, Mexican chocolate (cacao ground with sugar and cinnamon and occasionally nuts), salt, and a variety of other ingredients including charred avocado leaves, onions, and garlic. Dried seasonings such as ground oregano are also used. In order to provide a rich thickness to the sauce, bread crumbs or crackers are added to the mix. The chicken or turkey is cooked by completely boiling it in a pot with water, a little bit of salt and a piece of onion to give the broth some flavor.
Another somewhat less popular mole is mole de cacahuate, made of ground peanuts and chiles and also typically served with chicken.
Mole verde achieves its distinctive green color from the toasted pumpkin seeds that form the sauce's base. As well as using ingredients such as Roman Lettuce and Green Tomatoes
There are various procedures to make mole. Generally the following are universal when making mole. Dried chili peppers, cut up onions and whole garlic are lightly fried in oil. In a blender, chicken broth along with the fried dried peppers and the rest of the ingredients are mixed and placed in a large pot. The resulting mixture sauce has to be continuously stirred on a low-medium flame. Bread crumbs or crackers mixed with chicken broth are also put in a blender and added to the pot.
Mole can be bought ready-made from local markets or supermarkets. It comes as a kind of paste or powder that can vary in color from deep black to green or even yellow, depending on the ingredients used. In modern supermarkets and corner shops, mole is sold either canned, in glass jars, or in cubes that can be dissolved in water or, more appropriately, broth.
In Guatemala, "mole" refers to a dessert composed of fried or boiled chunks of plantain in a chocolate/spice sauce, sprinkled with sesame seeds. | <urn:uuid:4fa14bc9-3e31-4ccf-97ad-c3260f29f69f> | {
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Queensland is lucky to retain some of the world’s healthiest natural river systems. They underpin regional economies and support unique and diverse wildlife. Free of dams, weirs, polluting irrigation schemes and industrial development, the natural and cultural values of these rivers remain largely intact.
Queensland’s free flowing rivers are located in a number of distinct geographic regions, including Cape York Peninsula, the Gulf Country, the Channel Country in Western Queensland, and some areas along the east coast of the State.
Rivers under threat
River systems such as these are increasingly rare. Many of the world’s major rivers are severely degraded or on the brink of collapse. These rivers are plagued with environmental problems caused by dams, irrigated agriculture, mass water diversions, destructive mines, dramatic loss of wildlife and fish, and encroaching invasive weeds and pests.
In Australia, the Murray-Darling Basin is our own stark example of river management gone terribly wrong. In 2007 the Federal Government spent $10 billion on restoring the Murray-Darling Basin. This is only the tip of the iceberg of the real cost of degradation, including the irreversible decline of species.
The Wilderness Society’s Wild Rivers campaign
In 1992, in recognition of the growing threats to our remaining free-flowing rivers, the Federal Government commenced the Wild Rivers Project. Working with the State and Territory Governments, the Australian Heritage Commission undertook a national assessment of Australia’s rivers, and recommended a Code of Management to protect wild rivers.
Motivated by disastrous irrigation developments like the colossal Cubbie Station cotton farm in southern Queensland and the lack of regulatory protection afforded to Queensland’s free flowing rivers, the Wilderness Society and other conservation groups initiated a campaign in the early 2000s to seek government action around a Wild Rivers framework building on the Australian Heritage Commission’s earlier work. In 2004, former Premier Peter Beattie announced his intention to protect 19 river systems in Queensland by creating a stand-alone Wild Rivers Act.
Following Beattie’s re-election, the Wild Rivers Act was passed in 2005. The legislation enables the Queensland Government to protect healthy river basins through a “wild river declaration”, following public nomination and consultation processes.
A Wild River declaration is akin to a planning mechanism - it effectively means that big developments like dams, intensive irrigation and strip mining is kept out of rivers, but supports smaller-scale commercial uses such as outstation development, grazing and fishing.
Native Title rights are explicitly protected in the legislation. This means that cultural practices, including traditional hunting and fishing activities are not restricted. Additionally, for the first time in Australia, Wild River declarations also provide a special water reserve specifically for Indigenous economic development.
Successes so far in the campaign
The Queensland Government officially declared the first Wild Rivers under the legislation in 2007. These rivers systems are Settlement Creek, Morning Inlet, and the Gregory and Staaten Rivers, all located in the Gulf of Carpentaria, as well as the waterways of Fraser and Hinchinbrook Islands. The Queensland Government declared the first three river systems on Cape York Peninsula - the Archer, Stewart and Lockhart River Basins - in April 2009.
Following many months of public consultation, the Wenlock River system, which was under serious threat from bauxite mining (also covering the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve) was declared protected in June 2010.
In response to an ongoing campaign from an alliance of conservation and grazier groups, including The Wilderness Society, the Queensland Government has also promised to protect the Channel Country rivers in Western Queensland under the Wild Rivers legislation.
A campaign of misinformation
Regrettably, the declarations on Cape York have triggered an extraordinary five year anti-wild rivers campaign which has attacked the need for Wild Rivers protection, and sought to discredit The Wilderness Society for its support of the initiative. This anti-Wild Rivers campaign has been built on misinformation and deliberate deception.
Examples include the distribution of materials to Cape York communities that claim Wild Rivers regulations are the same as creating a national park and will lead to the banning of traditional activities such as hunting and fishing. Such claims are simply not true.
Community engagement in the campaign
The Wilderness Society has a long worked with local communities to ensure protection of Queensland’s rivers. This includes Indigenous people, who have strong cultural, spiritual and social connections to their rivers, and unique rights and interests. For example, for the first round of rivers protected under the Wild Rivers legislation, the Carpentaria Land Council Aboriginal Corporation and Traditional Owners in the Gulf Country joined with the Wilderness Society to ensure their rivers were protected
Through advocacy from the Wilderness Society, the Queensland Government has initiated a program to employ 100 Indigenous Rangers to manage ongoing threats to wild rivers such as invasive weeds and feral animals. The program is proving a huge success, with real jobs being created in remote communities, and demonstrated positive outcomes for the rivers. For instance, rangers recently culled 3,700 feral pigs in the Staaten River Basin, and have been controlling weeds such as Rubber Vine in the Gulf country, and Sicklepod on the Wenlock River. Thirty rangers are now employed, with another 10 positions to follow soon.
Wild Rivers: The Queensland river protection campaign
An image-rich pamphlet about The Wilderness Society’s Wild Rivers campaign. Download >>
The Wilderness Society Wild Rivers media releases and other information
Click here to see all the latest media releases from the Wild Rivers campaign. Learn more >> | <urn:uuid:7e1566be-3c67-4310-b7b6-cdd72459f443> | {
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The technology to print organs from raw materials - the patient's own cells, scaffolding material, and so forth - is in its earliest stages. There is some hope that this field could help to extend healthy human life by offering on-demand replacements for failing and age-damaged tissue. To date a few soft tissues, blood vessel-like structures, and bone have been successfully printed. There have been some important advances in using the self-assembly properties of living cells to do some of the work instead of the printer. The first replacement printed organs are probably more than a decade out, but there is a great deal more that could be accomplished beyond that goal.
When looked at over the long term, a broad category of modern technology might have a life cycle in the region of five decades or so. It moves from first experimental designs to mature uses in a few fields to a comprehensive portfolio of sophisticated uses in many fields over this fifty year span, and then its use declines as a new and better technology emerges. Definitions and time frames can be argued either way, but fifty years is a good round number that matches up with the life span of a number of 20th century technologies.
What can we envisage for the fifty year anniversary of bioprinting, in 2060, give or take a few years? What are the outer limits of the possible and the plausible? One starting point is the known conflict between young tissue and age-damaged systems in the body. Cells take their cues from the environment, and in some cases the environment has become actively hostile. Consider, for example, the death of motor neurons in Parkinson's disease: replacement cells may buy only a little time before they succumb to the same environmental issue that killed their predecessors. Also, we might think of muscle tissue that declines because stem cell populations in the old are instructed by their environment to perform less maintenance.
There are many whole-body, multi-organ, or regional biochemical feedback and control loops in the body. There are types of age-related damage that involve the intracellular accumulation of biochemical junk - simply replacing cells doesn't get rid of that. If your only tool is bioprinting (which won't be the case, but let us think inside the box for a while here), then the solution to these problems starts to look like replacing more of the body at one time. How much of the body could be replaced at once? Based on what is known today, everything except for the brain.
So one might consider a future bioprinting scenario in which an old body is completely discarded, the brain removed and placed within a printing vat. This machine would be something like an enclosed person-sized nutrient bath surrounded by interconnected machinery, feeds, bioreactors, and thousands of small manipulator arms and hair-fine printer heads. All controlled by sophisticated software and observed by medical technicians. There the patient would remain under sedation for however many months it required to print and assemble all the components of a new body. This would require a vastly greater knowledge of nerve regrowth than exists today, given that the brain would have to be reconnected to this body, but most of the remaining issues seem to be mechanical ones: how to assemble a bioprinted body (do you print it all at once in situ, or in pieces which you then move into place and print around?), how and when to connect vascular systems, and so forth.
The one thing you're left with at the end of the day is that this would be an old brain in a young body. Many of metabolism's controlling systems involve the brain, and an old brain has an age-damaged vascular system, vulnerable to surges in blood pressure. You can probably think of other biological mismatches that might cause disaster for an old brain hooked up to a vigorous young body. But these are problems that can be solved.
That said, I don't think the scenario I've painted above is plausible. It's feasible, but I strongly suspect that other branches of medical technology will make it obsolete before it becomes practical. 2060 is a world and a half away: we're expecting to see transformative medical nanomachinery emerge into widespread use by the 2040s, for example. For my money, a much more likely state of rejuvenation technology for baseline human biology in 2060 is the Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence vision: an array of therapies (or nanorobotic implementations) that remove biochemical damage in situ. Vaccines or artificial immune cells to clean out the buildup of unwanted biochemicals, replacing mitochondrial DNA or the mitochondria themselves wholesale, targeted destruction of senescent cells, swapping in new stem cell populations to repair everything else, that sort of thing. This would be less a case of tearing down the house to build a new one and much more a case of ongoing, period renovation. | <urn:uuid:10dcf780-9424-41a6-886d-8de5f7dbe888> | {
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Birds Beat Cold the Same Old Way
As I sat in front of the fireplace last weekend and listened to winds gusting in a 2-degree day, I tried to imagine what it was like to live in Missouri 4,000 years ago. Using a rock shelter may have cut some of the wind, but that frigid air would have been tough. You imagine wood fires—sure they’d be gathered around them. But then you think…no chainsaws, no metal tools to get those tidy logs. And then you think about the food that you’d have had to gather or catch. And you wouldn’t have those nice warm boots to face the elements. Most of us are really wimps now in comparison—or at least a lot more comfortable.
Then I looked outside at the birds gathered at the feeders: bluejays, cardinals, finches. No culture comforts for them. They’ve been making it (or not) through winters as they always have. I called Brad Jacobs, one of our bird experts, today for some ideas on how the birds do it.
“They maintain core body temperatures by having most of their blood flowing under their feathers where their muscles are. The legs are mostly ligaments and bone so there’s less to freeze and it needs less blood flow. In the Arctic where it’s really cold, birds like rough-legged hawks have feathers down their legs.”
“The truth is that birds that overwinter in Missouri tend to have more young since they’re more likely to lose some to winter. Birds that migrate to the tropics, in contrast, might lay four eggs versus six to eight for a bird like a chickadee."
“The big killer is icy weather. A lot of our birds can still find food even with snow, but they can’t get through the ice,” he said. “Usually there will be enough natural food, but feeding when it’s icy it can make a difference.”
It’s the tough weather when I see quail come to feed on scattered seed and corn.
I asked about water, and Brad said that’s always going to attract birds. When there’s snow, they get moisture from that, but the ice locks it up. I used to have a heater to keep the water from freezing but it broke. It’s time to replace it! | <urn:uuid:fd2e8ba5-4e18-489e-9ec5-e41201896c83> | {
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Section XIV: Islam and the "Corruption" of the Bible
The Arabic word referring to this corruption is "tahriif", and the teaching is that the Christian (and thus Jewish) Scriptures are profoundly flawed and are thus not reliable indications of God's will, commandments, prophets, or of the history of his people. (Note: I am particularly occupied with questions regarding Jesus' teaching--the injiil--in this article.)
Tahriif is a very wide-spread belief among Muslims today, though it is not universal. It places Muslims in a very powerful position regarding the Bible because for anything they agree with already they can say, "This is from Allah, do you see that we believe in the Prophets? Why do you not accept Allah's final prophet (Muhammad) as well?" But if they are confronted with anything that challenges Islam or the Qur'an, they can say, "Clearly the text has been corrupted, for Jesus would never have said such a thing and this goes against the Qur'an."
So how can a Christian react to this? There are several paths that come to mind, all of which have been used with some degree of success in the past, I will outline three of them for you and indicate which one I generally prefer:
a) Historical Weakness of Tahriif: The traditional doctrine of tahriif tells the following story: Prophets like Jesus and Moses received genuine verbatim revelations from God like Muhammad. But perfidious Jews and Christians later corrupted these texts to suit their purposes. Now this story is found nowhere in the Qur'an, which most Muslims don't know, but it is based on certain hadiith and most Muslims simply don't know the Qur'an very well. This story is problematic from an historical point of view and prompts raises more questions than it answers:
• The New Testament took form on three different continents (Asia, Africa, and Europe), how were Christians able to collect all the valid versions of the injiil (the book Jesus received from God) given that it was recorded and spread over such a broad area?
• Languages: Sections of the NT had been translated from Greek into Latin, Syriac , Hebrew, and probably Amharic and Coptic by the end of the 2nd Century. Did the tahriif of the injiil take place before or after the translations? If before, then it must have been in the 1st Century, but there were still people alive then who had known and listened to Jesus personally, which means that there would be some record of people objecting to this corruption of the injiil. If the tahriif occurred after the translations, then we would have to believe that EVERY COPY of the true injiil which was present in three continents in (at least) half a dozen languages was destroyed.
b) Motive of Corrupters: The Gospels as we have them today give a rather unflattering picture of the Apostles. They are often foolish, proud, and faithless. It is thus unlikely that they would have "corrupted" the injiil without revising the many events which make them look foolish and weak.
It is also unlikely that one would corrupt a text without removing all the promises of persecution and familial strife, and the advocacy of poverty--hardly the kinds of things you put in a religious message if you want it to be popular. Rather, one thinks that a religious message crafted to gain popularity would include the promise of riches, women, and power--promises we do find explicitly in the Qur'an.
Moreover all the Apostles minus John were martyred for their faith. If they had corrupted the injiil and knew it to be a false message, it is inconceivable that they would all die rather than denounce it's validity. Who then corrupted the injiil? People will not die for a message they know to be corrupted. By the end of the Apostolic era the texts of the four Gospels were too wide spread and and existed in too many languages for a unified and viable tahriif to be possible.
But historical reasoning and evidence will generally get you nowhere at all with most Muslims because in Islamic culture the entire discipline of history has largely been subsumed as a sort of devotional exercise to prove the Qur'an is correct. Trying to argue from historical evidence that the Qur'an is not true is like me trying to convince you from the hymnal that the Bible is false.
c) Corruption in your Heart: This is by far my preferred apologetic. I like this approach because in many ways it mirrors Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and the interiority of the Kingdom of God. Fasting is not about letting other people know you are fasting, it is about God knowing you are fasting, for example. Similarly, I start by explaining that tahriif is very real and it is a significant problem. We say that God knows the heart of all men, and that he is all powerful--no Muslim will disagree. Then I explain that when the Jew knows the Torah and its commands, and he disobeys it, he has corrupted the Torah in his heart. Likewise the Christian who knows the commands of the injiil and disobeys it has corrupted the injiil. And finally, the Muslim who knows the commands of the Qur'an and disobeys it, is it not true that he has corrupted the Qur'an? The answer, in my experience, is always yes. Muslims are very aware that most Muslims aren't very strict in their obedience.
In conclusion I usually ask, "Is Allah powerful or weak?" Powerful! "Is Allah wise or foolish?" Wise, the answer comes. "Yes my friend, and Allah is more powerful than the Jews and the Christians, and no one is capable of corrupting God's words to his prophets! If anyone says that his words corrupted IN THE TEXT of the Torah and Gospel, he is a man who believes that God is neither wise nor powerful. But you see that corruption is in our hearts."
This is not simply a play on words. It does accommodate the Muslim who already believes in tahriif. All you have done is to reformulate the doctrine of tahriif in a way that is very much based on Jesus' teaching. But this apologetic also gets to a very foundational weakness in the Islamic view of God. God is always connected with power in Islam--Allahu Akbar! God is the greatest. Yet the Islamic narrative proposes that Jesus was not crucified, for God would not let than happen to a prophet of his. Yet we are also told that the word God gave to this prophet was not preserved? To preserve the true injiil would have been easy for God. Why did he not do it? Why did he allow 600 years of humanity to operate under the assumption that this corrupted injiil was in fact valid and accurate? And given that even from the beginning Christianity was riven with heresies and fanatics, how is that not even one copy of the real injiil was preserved by a dissenter.
All good questions. But they are not to be used to as a weapon to assault a Muslim. Whether the tone is light and conversational, or adversarial--which is sometimes necessary--we must always speak the truth in love. It is a sign of God's love to us that his true Word is in fact his Son who came to live with us, hunger with us, eat with us, cry with us, and suffer for us. His Word is not some book that one can close and place a shelf, but one who is alive and whom death could not hold down. Because of his life we have hope for eternal life: "And this is everlasting life, to know you the one true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." | <urn:uuid:21a5b14c-b416-434e-9f62-9cf2263db9a2> | {
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A major discovery is challenging accepted thinking about amyloids - the fibrous protein deposits associated with diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
The discovery may open up a potential new area for therapeutics.
It was believed that amyloid fibrils - rope-like structures made up of proteins sometimes known as fibres - are inert, but that there may be toxic phases during their formation which can damage cells and cause disease.
But in a paper published today [04 December 2009] in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, scientists at the University of Leeds have shown that amyloid fibres are in fact toxic - and that the shorter the fibre, the more toxic it becomes.
"This is a major step forward in our understanding of amyloid fibrils which play a role in such a large number of diseases," said Professor Sheena Radford of the Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology and the Faculty of Biological Sciences.
"We've revisited an old suspect with very surprising results. Whilst we've only looked in detail at three of the 30 or so proteins that form amyloid in human disease, our results show that the fibres they produce are indeed toxic to cells especially when they are fragmented into shorter fibres."
Amyloid deposits can accumulate at many different sites in the body or can remain localised to one particular organ or tissue, causing a range of different diseases. Amyloid deposits can be seen in the brain, in diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, whereas in other amyloid diseases deposits can be found elsewhere in the body, in the joints, liver and many other organs. Amyloid deposits are also closely linked to the development of Type II diabetes.
Professor Radford said: "Problems in the self-assembly process that results in the formation of amyloid are a natural consequence of longer life. In fact 85 per cent of all cases of disease caused by amyloid deposits are seen in those over the age of sixty or so."
The study was funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), supporting a team that included both cell biologists and biophysicists.
The next stage of this work is to look at a greater number of proteins that form amyloid fibres in order to consolidate these findings, says co-author and cell biologist Dr Eric Hewitt. "What we've discovered is fundamental and offers a whole new area for those working on therapeutics in this area. We anticipate that when we look at amyloid fibres formed from other proteins, they may well follow the same rules."
The team also hopes to discover why the shorter amyloid fibres are more toxic than their longer counterparts.
"It may be that because they're smaller it's easier for them to infiltrate cells," says Dr Hewitt. "We've observed them killing cells, but we're not sure yet exactly how they do it. Nor do we know whether these short fibres form naturally when amyloid fibres assemble or whether some molecular process makes them disassemble or fragment into shorter fibres.These are our next big challenges."
Professor Radford and Dr Hewitt are available for interview.
For further information:
Please contact the University of Leeds Press Office on +44 (0)113 343 4031 or email [email protected]
Notes for editors:
1. These findings are published in a paper entitled Fibril Fragmentation Enhances Amyloid Toxicity in the Journal of Biological Chemistry a journal of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Journal. A copy of the paper is available on request.
2. The Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology is an interdisciplinary research centre of the University of Leeds . It was founded to carry out international quality research in all aspects of structural molecular biology. The Centre brings together over fifty academic staff from various faculties of the University of Leeds who share common interests. It is named after W T Astbury, a biophysicist who laid many of the foundations of the field during a long research career at the University of Leeds (1928-1961) and who is widely credited with the definition of the field of molecular biology. http://www.astbury.leeds.ac.uk/
3. The Faculty of Biological Sciences at the University of Leeds is one of the largest in the UK, with over 150 academic staff and over 400 postdoctoral fellows and postgraduate students. The Faculty is ranked 4th in the UK (Nature Journal, 457 (2009) doi :10.1038/457013a) based on results of the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). The RAE feedback noted that "virtually all outputs were assessed as being recognized internationally, with many (60%) being internationally excellent or world-leading" in quality. The Faculty's research grant portfolio totals some £60M and funders include charities, research councils, the European Union and industry. http://www.fbs.leeds.ac.uk/
4. The 2008 Research Assessment Exercise showed the University of Leeds to be the UK 's eighth biggest research powerhouse. The University is one of the largest higher education institutions in the UK and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. The University's vision is to secure a place among the world's top 50 by 2015. ./
5. The Wellcome Trust is the largest charity in the UK . It funds innovative biomedical research, in the UK and internationally, spending around £600 million each year to support the brightest scientists with the best ideas. The Wellcome Trust supports public debate about biomedical research and its impact on health and wellbeing. http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/
6. The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) is the UK funding agency for research in the life sciences. Sponsored by Government, BBSRC annually invests around £450M in a wide range of research that makes a significant contribution to the quality of life for UK citizens and supports a number of important industrial stakeholders including the agriculture, food, chemical, healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors. BBSRC carries out its mission by funding internationally competitive research, providing training in the biosciences, fostering opportunities for knowledge transfer and innovation and promoting interaction with the public and other stakeholders on issues of scientific interest in universities, centres and institutes.
7. The Babraham Institute, Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Food Research, John Innes Centre and Rothamsted Research are Institutes of BBSRC. The Institutes conduct long-term, mission-oriented research using specialist facilities. They have strong interactions with industry, Government departments and other end-users of their research. http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/ | <urn:uuid:1e0ca532-b5ca-4014-a5dd-96d8492f81a4> | {
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March 8, 2013
Mickey Dog | Autism and the Inclusive Classroom
You can see the pride gleaming from her face.
What you can't see is the pride that echoed in the voices of each and
every member of her team as they reported to us about Caroline's
We all knew it was a symbol. A symbol of how far she's come. A
symbol of the success of the inclusive classroom. A manifestation
of a thoughtfully written IEP driven by a most dedicated team of
teachers, therapists, her aide and even the school principal.
Everyone working together with a room full of all-star kids to
ensure the success of every single student in the room, no matter
their needs. To help them grow as a community, each with unique
Determining school placement for special needs children is
something many parents approach with trepidation. Planning the
environment that will suit their needs, while not knowing how their
needs will change and exactly what each option will look like on a
daily basis is daunting, to say the least.
At Caroline's IEP meeting to prepare for first grade, there was much
discussion regarding whether she would be best suited in a general
education classroom or spending half of the day in a special needs
classroom at a different school.
We struggled with the decision. Would her academic and therapy
needs be met in a general classroom or would her anxiety make it
too difficult to focus? Would her social needs be met in a special
needs classroom? Would there be the necessary peer models?
Ultimately, we agreed that a full day spent in general education
with an aide would be the best placement. And as the year unfolds,
we have been blessed with many reminders that it was.
We were reminded when we saw Mickey Dog. We were reminded
when she waltzed across the balance beam on parent participation
gymnastics day. We were reminded when she sat front and center
alongside classmates during an all-school assembly. And recently,
we were reminded when she stood up, before her entire class, and
gave an economics project presentation.
None of it would be possible without her devoted, creative, and
compassionate team. Together, they have made the classrooms
ready for her... adapting them into spaces able to meet her needs
and together they have made her year a huge success. For that,
we simply could not be more grateful.
For anyone considering an inclusive classroom, an excellent article
with many strategies for maximizing potential and taking advantage
of the environment is: Teaching Autism Students in Inclusive
Classrooms. For even more, the book "You're Going to Love This
Kid," was written especially for teachers. (see link to the right).
Caroline's entire team is reading and discussing it at biweekly
meetings. Yes, we have truly been blessed with a remarkably
Inclusive classrooms may not be for every learner. Some children
might need a more private space. Some children might need to
receive their academic instruction separate from their social
interaction. Perhaps in the future Caroline's needs will change. But
for now, the inclusive classroom is working for her.
She's happy to be in an environment where she can just be one of
the friends. Climbing the monkey bars. Reading a library book.
Painting a blue dog.... just one of the friends.
Doing what was once said to be impossible. Radiating with pride.
A pride that's been caught by everyone who witnesses all that IS
possible from one little girl with one tremendous team, seventeen
generous classmates and BIG plans for her future.
|For future blog notifications:
The assignment was straightforward. The students would study the
renowned Blue Dog paintings of George Rodrigue and create their own
'dog' as an expression of themselves. Some may paint dogs. Others
may paint bears. Not everyone's would be blue. But each and every
one of them would be inspired by something meaningful.
Sounds simple enough for a room full of first graders. But what about
Caroline? Would she understand? Could she follow the directions?
Would she need a modified lesson? Maybe she would be better served
attending an extra music class that week?
No, her team concluded. The classroom is inclusive. If her classmates
are painting, Caroline will paint!
Alongside her friends, she carefully studied George's images. Her aide
modeled the instructions. And then she set to work. After meticulous
attention to detail, her creation was complete:
|"An inclusive classroom
teaches a child with disabilities
how to interact with other
people, while the typically
developing child learns
compassion and empathy."
-- Learning with Autism
|Inclusion in school requires a
shift in the paradigm;
instead of getting the child ready
for the regular class, the regular
class gets ready for the child...
It is about being included in life
and participating as a member of
-- Learning with Autism
|Excellent book for teachers,
administrators, aides and parents. | <urn:uuid:9ac1e3fb-8bdd-4bf6-8756-bb033ab5ec68> | {
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Goal: Support retention of big cats in the ecosystem by building capacity in the local communities to manage predators, support innovation, share knowledge, transfer ideas and create opportunities for sustainability through nature based enterprises.
These are National Geographic Big Cat conservation projects run by Wildlife Direct and FoNNaP; monitoring and addressing cheetah and lion trends and conservation needs in the Athi Kapiti (Nairobi National Park, Kitengela, Isinya, Kipeto and Athi plains) Ecosystem.
The projects aim to establish the numbers and distribution of cheetah in the area, and past occurrences of lions, probable places that they may move to come the rains and suitable areas that can be used to extend the Amboseli, Shompole and Nairobi park lion population ranges. Both lions and cheetah are critically endangered species in Kenya and they are also flagship species for tourism in the country.
These projects aim to find solutions for the management and conservation of these two big cats particularly in relation to human wildlife conflict.
The Athi-Kapiti Plains is part of the greater Kaputei ecosystem which extends over a vast area of southern Kenya. These plains are especially important to cheetah, lion and other wildlife because they are the greater part of the ecosystem encompassing Nairobi National park and Amboseli National Park in the south. These two parks’ major role is as dry season havens for some of the wildlife.
Read more here, ATHI KAPITI ECOSYSTEM PROJECT | <urn:uuid:e17b4152-6dd5-4b4f-abf5-83dc7bed7d7c> | {
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Water withdrawals and climate change are having significant impacts on riparian food webs, according to a study published Oct. 14, 2010, in Science Express (and expected to be published in Science in November 2010).
One of the more prominent impacts is a major shift in top fish predators, with the effects depending on whether the waterway has been subject to short-term drought, long-term drought, or sudden deluges of water. In the situations where the top predators are reduced or eliminated, there can be noticeable short-term effects on people, through the reduced availability of fish caught for food or sport (such as bass, trout, salmon, pike, and shrimp), and long-term changes in riparian ecology — including shorter food chains — that affect both people and the rest of the environment, sometimes in unpredictable ways.
- "The Role of Discharge Variation in Scaling of Drainage Area and Food Chain Length in Rivers," Lead author, John Sabo, Arizona State University, cell 480-734-7120; co-author, Ted Kennedy, USGS, 928-556-7374, cell 928-699-9115. Oct. 15, 2010, press release.
The study was based on findings in 36 North American waterways, both major and minor, which are specified in a supplement to the study (see Table S1). In general, the water basins included portions of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River, the Hudson-Delaware river basins in New York, the MississippiRiver basin, the desert Southwest, PacificCoast waterways, and Alaska and Puerto Rico.
The authors speculate that similar impacts could be occurring in waterways around the world. Many experts have been documenting dramatic changes in water flows as human demand steadily increases and as water supply becomes more erratic and unpredictable, often punctuated by extreme weather events such as drought and floods. | <urn:uuid:3fe54855-d628-40e4-9f21-f820ee3b46d7> | {
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Following the Second World War, denominational voluntary schools remained an obstacle to school reorganisation and general secondary education, as many were still all-age elementary schools. Butler's formula had been that churches should provide 50 per cent of capital costs in order to acquire 'assisted' status. It they could not do so, the school became 'controlled' and lost its managerial autonomy to the Local Education Authorities (LEAs). Before the 1950 election, the Catholic Church claimed increased public assistance. The Cabinet, however, decided against changing the funding formula, and tried instead to ease the conditions under which aid could be claimed.
The question of funding was raised again in the late 1950s. The Catholic and Anglican churches requested government funding under the 'aided' status to be raised to 75 per cent. The Catholic Church also wanted the extension of the arrangement to include existing primary schools. This fitted well with the Conservatives' drive for educational expansion at this time, and the Education Act 1959 incorporated these provisions. However, by 1962 there were still nearly 800 single-age schools in Britain, the large majority of them denominational.
The major reform envisaged by the Butler Act was finally completed by the Labour Government after 1964, with the virtual elimination of single-age schools. Labour policy was also aimed at allowing the denominational schools to join the developing comprehensive schools system. The Education Act 1967 increased the grant for new 'aided' schools to 80 per cent. It also widened the circumstances under which a grant could be made, so that all new places were covered and there were liberalised building grants for 'controlled' schools. The Education Act 1975, under a later Labour government, raised the grant to 85 per cent.
During the 1950s concerns emerged about the tripartite division between secondary, grammar and technical schools. The academic and social roles of the secondary school were not clear and many experts and laypeople were critical of the 11-plus grammar school entrance examination.
By the mid-1950s, the Conservative Government accepted the case for comprehensive schools in areas not served effectively by existing schools. Conservative policy aimed at the 'progressive' development of secondary schools and the improvement of selection. Cabinet members felt that references to comprehensives in the 1958 White Paper would be a 'political embarrassment'. Nevertheless, by 1962, 152 comprehensive schools had been established.
Following Labour's victory in the 1964 election, the Cabinet eliminated the 11-plus examination and established a comprehensive secondary system to end separation. LEAs were requested to submit plans for the reorganisation of secondary schools along comprehensive lines. Grammar schools were asked to continue providing their 'traditional' form of education but also to cater for a wider range of children. It was envisaged that public schools would be more closely integrated into the state system. At the same time, the Secretary of State began to plan for the impact of raising the school leaving age to 16 in 1970.
There was considerable resistance to the transition to comprehensives. In 1970 the new Education Secretary, Edward Short, prepared a bill compelling LEAs to undertake comprehensive reorganisation schemes, but the bill was lost with the victory of the Conservatives under Edward Heath. As Secretary of State for Education and Science, Margaret Thatcher wanted a mixed system, but the majority was in favour of comprehensive schools, which doubled between 1970 and 1974. The focus of policy moved away from the issue of segregation in secondary education. In 1972 the Cabinet agreed a programme of expansion and improvement in nursery and special primary schools, as well as in secondary schools. | <urn:uuid:7ba7c78a-4a83-48a8-ad91-0fbdf7d40cfc> | {
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Name: Tage S.
I was wondering if the human hearing perception has
undergone any major changes in terms of evolution - and, is it likely to
change in the future? And what may the outcome of this evolution be?
Right now places like the Center for Comparative and Evolutionary Biology of
Hearing and studying the exact question you asked. Little is known at this
point, but theories are being proposed about the development of sensory
hairs within the ears, along with those who look at the bone structure.
While new findings come up, the evolutionary theory still has many wholes,
one of the problems being that for a human to evolve from other mammals,
most other animals have much better hearing perception than humans. You
would think that evolution would work by natural selection...choosing the
best, deleting the worst. This is backwards for the theory of human
evolution. As for the future, the most obvious outcome right now is not in
the biological development, but in our growing ability to provide technology
that enhances hearing. Within 5 years we have gone from huge hearing aids to
almost undetectable ones to implants.
I do not believe that the human evolutionary record is complete enough to determine this.
Man has not been around long enough for this evolutionary change to be detected in the
fossil record. And, there aren't enough rocks younger than 2,000,000 years to display
this record. However, there is logical conjecture that early man had larger outer ears
due to a survival need, compared to modern man. Man has chosen to make the world a
noisy place. In my opinion, future man will have less sensitive hearing for two reasons:
a decreased survival need for hearing, and decreased sensitivity due to noise exposure.
It is also possible that evolution may enable the tragus (the flap at the entrance of the
ear canal) to close at will to keep noise out, without the need to use fingers.
Click here to return to the General Topics Archives
Update: June 2012 | <urn:uuid:ee7b005f-3357-458a-9e48-aad929dde95a> | {
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After completing the course Kid’s Box 1, the student will achieve the following results:
- 🤝Communicative functions
- Greetings and farewells.
- Introduce yourself and your classmates.
- Ask basic information about a person: name and age.
- Talk and ask about where things are and describe them.
- Describing an animals’ characteristics and features.
- Describe and ask about another person’s physical features.
- Talk and ask about what you are wearing and what other people are wearing.
- Talk and ask about possession.
- Talk and ask about another person’s skills.
- Talk and ask about what other people are doing at the moment.
- Talk and ask about tastes for food.
- The student is able to recite or sing a very simple song with correct pronunciation and intonation.
- The student is able to answer the questions orally using simple vocabulary and structures.
- The student is able to describe an object or a person using simple structures and according to some given example. (3-4 sentences)
- The student is able to join a short everyday talk on the given topics: meeting a new friend, toys, school, family, animals, food
- The student is able to recognize the teacher’s commands and react to them.
- The student is able to understand a story based on familiar vocabulary and constructions and accompanied by visual aids
- The student is able to recognize separate letters and previously learnt words.
- The student is able to read simple sentences based on familiar vocabulary and structures.
- The student is able to reproduce separate letters and previously learnt words.
- The student is able to copy words and simple structures from the example.
Grammar is introduced by structures, not grammar rules.
- It is… It isn’t… Is it…? — Yes, it is. No, it isn’t.
- They are… They aren’t… Are they…? — Yes, they are. No, they aren’t.
- I have got… I haven’t got… Have you got…? — Yes, I have. No, I haven’t.
- He/She has got… He hasn’t got… Has he got…? — Yes, he has. No, he hasn’t.
- I can… I can’t… Can you…? — Yes, I can. / No, I can’t.
- Where is? — It’s on/in/under…
- What are you doing? — I’m…ing.
- What’s he/she doing? — He’s / She’s…ing.
- I like… I don’t like… Do you like…?
- Introducing yourself
- Numbers 1-10
- Primary and secondary colours
- School things and classroom actions
- Family members
- Toys and games
- Pets and wild animals
- Body parts
- Descriptive adjectives
- Action verbs
- Rooms in the house and furniture
- initial /s/ with the letter s
- initial /p/ with the letter p
- initial /b/ with the letter b
- /t/ with the letter t
- initial /d/ with the letter d
- /æ/ with the letter a
- /e/ with the letter e
- Initial consonant groups /gr/, /br/ and /fr/
- /i/ with the letter i
- /ɒ/ with the letter o
- /l/ with the letter i
- /ʌ/ with the letter u
- /h/ with the letter h
- /ai/ with the letters i, e, y
- Maths: adding
- Art: mixing colours, fruit in paintings
- Science: senses
- Geography: habitats
- Sports: things for sports
- Making friends
- Being kind and polite
- Looking after pets
- Loving nature
- Working in teams
- Keeping clean | <urn:uuid:3ec886ad-f524-442d-826f-e68a531a4a25> | {
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The West Texas Family, a Granville W. Carter sculpture commissioned in 1968, pictures a typical family of pioneers who came to West Texas.
It was erected at 13th Street and Avenue Q by American State Bank, now Prosperity Bank, according to W.R. Collier, senior chairman of the West Texas area.
Tanner Laine, 20th century reporter and author, wrote:
“The hoe in the man’s hands is symbolic of his coming to the frontier where lawlessness no longer existed, also is indicative of his plan to farm the land.
“The Bible, cradled in the arm of the woman, is symbolic that the early settlers brought religion to the frontier, and their social life was built around their schools and churches.” | <urn:uuid:65c83778-d12a-49bf-a36d-c72357727c2f> | {
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At the recently concluded 7th International Conference on Community-Based Adaptation to Climate Change (CBA7) in Bangladesh, government officials from Africa and Asia formed an alliance to support climate change efforts aligned to their development plans.
Named the Government Group Network on Climate Change Mainstreaming and Development, it includes Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, The Gambia, Zanzibar, Cambodia and Bangladesh as its founding members.
These countries are especially vulnerable to climate change and the network aims to assist their respective policymakers through information sharing and collaboration, factoring in climate change issues alongside development goals and strengthened policy implementation.
To do so, the network has devised a framework for assessing and planning of how climate change can be integrated by national and sub-national planning professionals. The success of the framework requires information and awareness, resources for programmes and projects, and political will.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who opened the CBA7 conference, called out to rich countries to help poorer nations adapt to climate change, and develop with sustainability in place. Nevertheless, she did stress that developing countries, like Bangladesh, were already leading the way in adaptation.
Atiq Rahman, director of the Bangladesh Centre for Advance Studies (BCAS) that co-organised the conference, said, “The issues of climate, development and vulnerability of the poor must be central to the future decision-making process. There must be assured, adequate and sustainable financial resources for the poorest of the world impacted by climate change-induced extreme events.”
The Government Group Network plans to expand its reach to other developing nations as well.
The conference, which was co-organised by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), helped pool government decision makers into the mix of civil society organisations that have been involved in developing communities adapt to climate change from the beginning. With government support, from both local, national and international levels, programmes can be mainstreamed and integrated to macro development plans. | <urn:uuid:19e2ae73-9275-4521-836b-7c9848aaff87> | {
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A similar appearance is observed during transits of Venus, when she passes directly between us and the actual solar disk. A silver thread is then seen encircling that side of the planet which has not yet entered on the face of the sun or “a shadowy nebulous ring,” as it was described by Mr. Macdonnell at Eden, surrounds the whole planetary disk when two-thirds of it have passed the solar edge. As it moves off it, the same aureole again becomes visible, testifying to the existence of an atmosphere of considerable extent exterior to the sharply outlined surface ordinarily visible. The shimmering haze of reflected sunlight which perpetually enfolds her is only made apparent to us under exceptional circumstances which cut off some portion of her more immediate light, just as we see the motes in the air illuminated by a candle if we hide the actual flame from our eyes. The perennial twilight which seems to reign over the nocturnal hemisphere of Venus may compensate, perhaps, for the want of a satellite to modify its darkness.
The great prolongation at other times of the horns of her crescent, so as to embrace almost her entire circumference with a tenuous ring of light, is doubtless due to the same cause, as their visibility should otherwise be limited to a half segment of a circle. The regions thus shining to us are obviously those on which the sun has not yet set, his appearance above the horizon being prolonged, as in our own case, by refraction, though to a much larger extent. The magnitude of the sun’s disk as seen from Venus, a third larger than it appears to us, is also adducted by Mr. Proctor in his posthumous work, “The Old and the New Astronomy,” edited and completed by Mr. A.C. Ranyard, as an element in extending the illumination of Venus to more than a hemisphere of her surface. As his diameter there is 44-1/4 deg., a zone of more than 22 deg. wide outside the sunward hemisphere is he thinks illuminated by direct though partial sunlight, the orb being throughout this tract still partially above the horizon.
[Illustration: GEOGRAPHICAL ASPECT OF VENUS.]
BY SIR ROBERT S. BALL.
The group of bodies which cluster around our sun forms a little island, so to speak, in the extent of infinite space. We may illustrate this by a map in which we shall endeavor to show the stars placed at their proper relative distances. We first open the compasses one inch, and thus draw a little circle to represent the path of the earth. We are not going to put in all the planets. We take Neptune, the outermost, at once. To draw its path I open the compasses to thirty inches, and draw a circle with that radius. That will do for our solar system, though the comets no doubt will roam beyond these limits. To complete our map we ought of course to put in some stars. | <urn:uuid:dc01174c-bdea-44c2-8a37-299e10c62970> | {
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"url": "http://www.bookrags.com/ebooks/15884/144.html"
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