GitHub is very correctly the warehouse for developers; its where they store their codes. Beyond developers, it is where writers and just about anyone or team who needs to manage different versions of their work on their computer. But very fondly it is called the social network for developers, and this can hardly be more correct. It is one of the largest collaborative platform on the web, recording as high as 40 million users as of January 2020.
As a developer of today, GitHub is the new resume; and if you are not on board, you are missing out on a big important picture. So what is GitHub about? And how do you get started? If you do not know the answer to the above questions, you are not alone. Just relax, these are the questions we look to answer in this article.
First, you need to have understood the concept of “git”. Loosely it is a version control mechanism; a way to updating changes to a project without losing the previous versions. With git, you can track changes as you progress with your project, as opposed to making modifications you cannot reverse or having to create multiple versions of the same project. Also, you can collaborate with other developers to work on the same project. You can learn more about git, its installation, and command-line instructions here.
Table of Contents
Let us start from the first things
There is a saying that “to make an apple pie, you must first create the Universe”. Similarly, if you must use GitHub, you must first create an account; pretty obvious right? Sign up with a username and email address that would be linked to your Github account.
Just as a side tip, try and pick a username that you would easily remember. Do not bother with “foo” and “bar”, all possible ways of writing those words as a username have probably been exhausted. The platform is free to use, thanks to Microsoft.
When you finish creating your account, you would be able to access it at https://github.com/username.
Ok, I guess you have been good through the process. Let us head to my own account for more clarity.
As you must have observed, my username is ACMoriarty (for the love of Arthur Conan Doyle’s villain), please feel free to use any name of your choice; you cannot change it afterward though.
Note: You would likely be using Github from cmd, to push or pull codes and files. Whenever you do this, you would have to enter your Github password, except you cache your password by requesting git to automatically authenticate your password.
Next, we look at what follows: how to create your first repo on Github. Ok, its called a repository, and it is where you store project files pertaining to a particular project. Within it there could be many branches (different variants of the project).
How to create your first repo
Upon successfully creating your account, you can start pushing files to Github. To do so, you start by creating a repository. On the upper right, click the “+” sign.
From the dropdown, select “new repository”. Once you do this, Github creates a page where you can create and customize your new repository. And one more thing. Github auto-detects your computer’s operating system and renders a corresponding interface; just in case you get something slightly different.
What follows is to fill the fields that result.
Ok, you probably have questions about some of the fields up there. Lets quickly address that before we proceed.
Repository name: This is a name that identifies your project on the Github platform. Github suggests a bunch of random names, but you know best what to name your project so as to mark and remember it. Just do so. For the example repo we are currently creating, the name is set to be “Getting Started With Github”.
Description: This field should contain a brief statement describing the goal of your project. for the example we are creating, we have set that as “Tutorial on how to get started using GitHub”. You can, of course, make it whatever captures the picture painted by your project.
Public vs Private: Github offers free and paid service. The main difference between both is the “Public/Private” feature. For the free service, you only have the option of setting your repo to “Public”, whereas for the paid service, you have the flexibility of setting your repo to either of “Private” or “Public”.
Github of open-source no doubt, except you want extra layers of privacy; then you get to pay. It costs $7 per month for individual developer plan.
Initialize: This portion is totally optional. When creating a Github project, you often want to prepare a kind of document that summarizes the goal of the project, the dependencies used, and instructions as to how other developers can use the project. That is the essence of the README file. You could “initialize with a local README if you wish to.
Do not bother yourself about “.gitignore” for now. While that is outside the scope of our work at the moment, it can be useful later in the future.
Time to take your project from your local machine to GitHub
After you create your project, you can start uploading codes or any files to the repository. Thing is you could do so by clicking on upload from the Github online or you could use command line. The later is what we treat in this post as it is more mature, especially for developers. What is maturity for developers? Haha
To upload the code, you would do a sort of pulling down from online, filling, and pushing back. We will see how it all works shortly. And by the way, this is the model adopted by a good percentage of developers out there, so it would do you some good to understand how it goes.
In what follows, we take grandmotherly steps in setting up our remote online repo from the command line.
- I had put a link earlier in this article that would be useful for those who are yet to learn or need to brush up command line commands for git. Using those commands, we would create a project directory called “Getting-Started-Using-Github”.
- Use “cd” to change directory into the new folder. Do I repeat this? Change directory into the new folder; people often get errors because they forgot to do this. We would create three vacant files: README.md, index.html, styles.css.
- Next, we initialize the new directory in order to make it a local git repository. Do this using the “git init” command.
What have we done? We created a project folder on our Desktop, put in three files in it, and then initialized git using “git init”.
Still using command line instructions, we would go on to stage the files and then commit them. Think of this as packaging the project and stamping them with a sticker with a message (the commit message). The message typically describes what you have done in the project or modified. The first commit you make is usually labeled “initial commit”.
Ok, let us address two concepts we just mentioned.
- Staging the project: Packaging everything in the local to upload to the repo is done using the “git add *” command. This is known as “staging”.
- Committing the project: This is when we save the packaged project and put a stamp on them carrying a message. This is at the heart of versioning, and is done using the ‘git commit -m “First commit” ‘ command.
Next thing is to connect your local Git repo to GitHub
For many people like me, this is where the enchantment all happens. Linking your locally created project to your GitHub repository. Consider this the golden moment when you can move files out and into GitHub as you please.
Let us head back to our repo on GitHub and initialize it. What we get would look something like:
So we are here finally, at the point to push all we have done locally to our remote repo using command line instructions. You would be presented with several options to upload your files. but we would take the easiest way of just clicking on the clipboard and paste on the terminal (i.e “upload a new repository from the command line”). Ensure to type out the instructions patiently, do not give in to the temptation of copy-pasting. By typing the instructions, you train yourself to master them, which would come in handy in time.
- Adding the Project: The link you have copied would be used as follows: “git remote add origin https://github.com/ACMoriarty/Getting-Started-With-Github.git”. That is “git remote add origin (link)”. This way, you are asking local git to include the link in the project. If you dissect the link, you find that it points to Github, then to ACMoriarty, and then to the remote repository; I think I forgot the .git extension that indicates that you have created a git file.
- Pushing: Yes, you are giving birth to a brainchild when you push from your local repo. Pushing simply meaning to upload your codes finally. The command line instruction is: “git push -u origin master”. It simply means, in everyday English, upload the code from my local machine (origin) to my Github repo online leaving a master copy there (master).
Great! We made it.
We have uploaded our code successfully. But how do we verify? Multiple ways: either by checking your remote repository or by using the command line instruction “git status”, or simply because no error message popped up.
So check out the result we got first:
First, there is no error. Secondly, you would observe that by typing “git status”, we get:
A message saying “Your branch is up-to-date with ‘origin/master’. Nothing to commit, working tree is clean”. As clean as our work has been so far!
The third way lies on Github. Check your repo to see. For our’s:
That’s all the files we created using command line locally, organized in the order in which they were created.
And there you go! You have just learned all about creating and adding files to your Github repository.
All we have done for the TL;DRs
- The first step was to create an account on Github, which is an important tool for developers to network and share codes.
- In our Github account, we created a new repo.
- We then used command line instructions to initialize git on our local machine, staged the project and committed the files, and finally, we pushed or uploaded the project to our remote repository online.
This diagram nicely summarizes the process; go on to do this over and over. That is the way to master the process. Github can feel exciting the moment you do your very first “git push”.
There are other concepts not covered here you should learn as you go on using Github; like “forking”, “cloning a repository”, “merge conflicts”, and “branching”. These help you collaborate with others basically. What we have covered is sufficient to use Github on your own.
You know what? Create new files and push them to the repository. Do that and keep enjoying the excitement that using Github brings.


Edgewood Park has something for everyone. We are San Mateo County’s only natural preserve with over ten miles of trails and a surprising amount of biodiversity in just 467 acres. Minutes from downtown Redwood City, the park includes precious native grasslands, oak woodlands, and chaparral habitats. The main ridge in the center of the park rises 800 feet in elevation, where hikers are rewarded with spectacular views of Skyline Ridge, Huddart Park, the San Andreas Fault Zone, Crystal Springs Reservoir, and the San Francisco Bay.
The spring wildflower season is one of the best times to visit Edgewood. Fields of colorful wildflowers bloom throughout the park and Friends of Edgewood docents lead free wildflower walks each weekend from mid-March to early June. In fact, Edgewood County Park and Natural Preserve is famous in the greater San Francisco bay area as the place to see fields of spring wildflowers, but the importance and meaning of the preserve to the community goes beyond just viewing pretty flowers.
An unusual and harmonious concentration of ecological zones, Edgewood’s most important feature is its 160 acres of serpentine soils. Low in calcium and nitrogen, but high in magnesium and heavy metals, serpentinite is toxic to most plants. Over millennia, however, certain plants and animals have adapted to it. Because most non-native species brought in with European settlement cannot live in serpentine soil, this special area forms a natural preserve of native plants and the animals that depend on them. At any time of year, Edgewood can show how our area looked before European settlement. Edgewood can be thought of as a living museum with a window to California’s past.
Natural and Human History
In fact, the geologic history of Edgewood can be traced back 35 million years ago to the convergence of the Farallon and North American tectonic plates. The Farallon plate was forced under the American plate and large amounts of rock were left behind, including the very rare serpentinite rock found at Edgewood.
The human history of the region shows that hunters were in the region 6,000 years ago. About 500 A.D., Ohlone speaking peoples came to the bay area. Two Ohlone archeological sites have been found nearby, one at Filoli Estates and one at Phleger Estates. In 1769, the Spanish exploring party of Gaspar de Portolà marched through the region and made the first Ohlone-Spanish encounter.
Flora and Fauna
Edgewood Park’s grasslands, chaparral, coastal scrub regions, foothill woodlands, and year-round seeps and springs support over 500 distinct plant species. Ten rare or endangered plant species have been identified in the park, including the San Mateo thornmint, and white-rayed pentachaeta. In addition, the fragile Bay checkerspot butterfly, also a threatened species, makes its home in the unique habitat afforded by the serpentine grasslands. The various plant communities also provide habitat for frogs, lizards, snakes, foxes, coyote, bobcat, raccoon, rabbits, deer, and over 80 species of resident and migratory birds. Dusky-footed woodrats are a park favorite and their impressive stick houses can be spotted in the undergrowth along the trails.
The Friends of Edgewood provides important habitat management services including restoring these endangered species and fighting the threat of invasive non-native grasses. Project 467 is an ambitious habitat management project aimed at redoubling Friends of Edgewood’s efforts to eliminate or suppress invasive plants and restore native ecosystems across Edgewood’s 467 acres. It consists of four components: Weed Warriors program, Bay checkerspot butterfly restoration, thornmint and pentachaeta preservation, and the new Green Grass project. Learn more about Project 467 and how you can help support the park you love.
The History of Edgewood Park
Starting in 1967, various development projects were proposed for the land that is now Edgewood Park, including a state college, a recreational complex, a solar energy facility, and a golf course. When San Mateo County acquired the land in the early 1980’s and approved plans to develop an 18-hole golf course, it sparked considerable debate in the community. It was not until the summer of 1993 that the County Board of Supervisors unanimously declared Edgewood County Park a Natural Preserve, protecting it from future development. In 1997, a completely revised Master Plan was adopted, recognizing protection, preservation, and restoration of Edgewood’s natural resources as the primary management objectives. Edgewood Park remains the only natural preserve in the San Mateo County park system. Its natural beauty is now enjoyed by well over 50,000 visitors every year.
Edgewood County Park and Natural Preserve is managed by the San Mateo County Parks department. The Friends of Edgewood is the all-volunteer, donor-funded, non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and restoring the rare ecology of Edgewood Park and educating the public about this special place.


Fabry's disease is a rare inherited metabolic disorder caused by a deficiency in the enzyme α-galactosidase A. It can affect almost every organ, including the lungs. Confirmation of lung involvement has depended on invasive bronchial biopsy specimens or brushings to confirm the presence of typical lamellar inclusion bodies within bronchial epithelial cells. We report a patient with known Fabry's disease in whom these inclusion bodies were identified by examination of induced sputum.
- Fabry's disease
- induced sputum
- electron microscopy
Statistics from Altmetric.com
Fabry's disease is a rare X-linked metabolic disorder in which the primary defect is an inherited deficiency of the enzyme α-galactosidase A.1 This results in an abnormal accumulation of the glycosphingolipid ceramide trihexoside in vascular smooth muscle throughout the body, particularly in vessels of the skin, kidneys, heart, pulmonary vascular system, and neurological system.2 Patients with lung involvement can present with varying symptoms including dyspnoea, wheeze, haemoptysis, pneumothorax, frequent respiratory infection, and airflow limitation.1 ,3 To date, the diagnosis of lung involvement in Fabry's disease has depended on the demonstration of the typical lamellar inclusion bodies within bronchial epithelial cells in bronchial biopsy specimens, brushings, or lavage fluid.1 ,3 We describe a woman with Fabry's disease in whom lung involvement was confirmed relatively non-invasively by the examination of induced sputum.
A woman aged 34 years presented with a five year history of increasing effort dyspnoea, intermittent chest tightness, wheezing, and dry cough. She was breathless on performing light housework and her symptoms were aggravated by environmental tobacco smoke. She was thought to have asthma, but treatment with inhaled fluticasone propionate 1000 μg daily and inhaled salbutamol 200 μg as needed for eight weeks, followed by prednisone 30 mg daily for two weeks, were ineffective and she was referred for further evaluation.
There was no past or family history of asthma and she had never smoked. She began to have dysaesthesia in her hands and feet at the age of 11 years, and intermittent abdominal discomfort 18 months later. Tinnitus and gradual hearing loss developed at 18 years, and more recently she had noted intermittent abdominal pain with associated nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea. Investigation confirmed autonomic nervous system involvement, peripheral neuropathy, mild diastolic dysfunction, and mild proteinuria. A clinical diagnosis of Fabry's disease was confirmed by deficient plasma α-galactosidase levels at the age of 27. Subsequent testing confirmed that one sibling and her twin sons also had the condition. She had been treated with carbamazepine and phenytoin for the peripheral neuropathy, and omeprazole and metoclopramide for abdominal pain.
On examination she was obese with a weight of 104 kg and height 162 cm. Breath sounds were decreased and there was a diffuse expiratory wheeze on auscultation. Abdominal tenderness was present on palpation and there was evidence of a sensory peripheral neuropathy involving predominantly her lower limbs. Cardiovascular and skin examination were normal.
Her chest radiograph was normal. Spirometric values, lung volumes, and carbon monoxide transfer factor (Tlco) showed moderate but not significantly reversible airflow limitation, a moderate non-obstructive defect, and normal gas transfer coefficient (Kco). Her forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and slow vital capacity (VC) were 1.7 l and 2.7 l, improving after salbutamol to 1.9 l and 3.0 l, respectively (predicted 3.3 l and 3.9 l). A stage 1 exercise test showed a reduced power output (45% predicted) with increased ventilation at all work loads, normal heart rate response, and no oxygen desaturation or post-exercise bronchoconstriction. Allergy skin prick tests with 19 allergen extracts were negative.
Sputum was induced, selected from the expectorate, and processed with dithiothreitol as described by Pizzichini et al.4 It was mucoid, squamous cell contamination was <5%, and the cell viability was 84%. The total cell count and proportion of neutrophils were raised (16.4 × 106cells/mg and 82.5%: normal <9.7 × 106 cells/ml and <64.4%),5 eosinophils were borderline increased (2.2%: normal <1.1%), macrophages were 14.8% (normal <86.1%), and lymphocytes were 0.5% (normal <2.6%). The sputum cell suspension was centrifuged at 290g for four minutes, the cell pellet fixed in 2% glutaraldehyde in 0.1M cacodylate buffer at 4°C for two hours, and then post-fixed in cold 1% osmium tetroxide in cacodylate buffer. After dehydration in ethanol, the pellet was embedded in Spurr's epoxy resin. Ultrathin sections were stained and examined with a Philips 300 electron microscope, confirming the presence of lamellar inclusion bodies typical of Fabry's disease within all ciliated bronchial epithelial cells examined (fig 1). These inclusion bodies were not present in macrophages and were therefore not consistent with surfactant bodies. Sputum culture was negative for common respiratory pathogens.
This report shows that lung involvement in Fabry's disease can be demonstrated by examination of induced sputum and is associated with a sterile neutrophilic inflammatory response. Presumably the source of these abnormalities is the airways since the lamellar inclusions were observed in airway epithelial cells and have previously been demonstrated in bronchial biopsy specimens and brushings.1 ,3 In addition, the inflammatory response was associated with mild to moderate chronic airflow limitation, which is a common functional abnormality in Fabry's disease1 ,3 and, in this patient, was not associated with any other cause. We have examined sputum from five subjects without Fabry's disease and were unable to find similar inclusions. The pathogenic significance of these inclusions is uncertain, and it is unknown whether they are present in patients with Fabry's disease without clinical manifestations of pulmonary involvement.
This report adds to the increasing evidence that examination of induced sputum is clinically useful. Sputum induction itself can be very successful and safe when performed by experienced technologists.6 The processing of the sputum for cell counts and some fluid phase measurements can be reliable, valid, and responsive—the qualities of good measurements. Induced sputum examination was introduced to diagnose pulmonary infection and bronchial carcinoma. More recently it has identified the occurrence of eosinophilic bronchitis without asthma and has been used to support the diagnosis of occupational asthma and poor compliance with steroid treatment.7 There is increasing evidence in patients who present with chronic cough, asthma, or chronic airflow limitation that sputum eosinophilia predicts a beneficial effect of steroid treatment and that the lack of sputum eosinophilia predicts a lack of response, at least to short term treatment.6 Recent studies also raise the possibility that the presence of haemosiderin in macrophages in sputum might be used as the surrogate marker of heart failure in breathless patients8 and that the presence of lipid-containing macrophages correlates with reflux to the level of the upper oesophageal sphincter.9Consideration therefore needs to be given to making available reliable sputum examination for indications other than just the diagnosis of lower respiratory infection.
The authors would like to thank Sharon Weston for performing the sputum cell counts. Richard Leigh is a South African Pulmonology Society Boehringer-Ingelheim Fellow.
If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.


Computer programming becomes more fun than ever before when you choose Sylvan’s Coding for Kids courses in the Barrie region! By providing interactive technology and practical sessions, we equip students with critical technical skills and know-how they can put to use to reach their potential in the classroom and beyond. Your child will feel an amazing sense of accomplishment as he or she learns how to program, design and animate his or her own video game that can be shared and played with friends (talk about cool!).
A Modern Education for Modern Kids
Our EDGE programs are designed with 21st century careers in mind, which means your child will build valuable STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) skills he or she can carry forward into adulthood. If your child is imaginative, creative or just loves tinkering with technology, our Coding for Kids courses are a great way for him or her to explore passions while experimenting, collaborating and having a whole lot of fun along the way! Get your future computer whiz on the right track: sign up for a Coding for Kids course in the Barrie region today.▼
Big Smiles and Big Leaps Forward
Kids and parents alike will love our game design courses because they’re interactive, engaging and highly motivating. Not only will your child develop vital 21st century skills, but he or she will also build confidence by working toward a goal each week. In fact, every session has a specific objective and outcome that's reinforced by a wrap-up activity. In addition, we provide a link to your child’s programming project, letting you be a part of the exciting progress and share the accomplishment with the whole family.
Your Child Will Have a Great Time:
- Developing skills that will put him or her on the road to success, like problem solving, logic and physics
- Learning to use innovative Tynker™ technology to design and create characters, animations, sounds and special effects
- Creating stories that will lead to an exciting final project: an original video game that he or she can actually play with friends!
- Collaborating with fellow students and making friendships that will last a lifetime!


10 things the military needs to know about its security partner
Since President Harry S. Truman created the CIA with the signing of the National Security Act in 1947, the agency and the Defense Department have worked together toward a common goal of protecting U.S. national security. Over the years, the results of CIA-DoD cooperation have been mixed. At times, dealings between CIA officers and their military counterparts have been positive while, at other times, the two organizations’ cultures have clashed and officers on both sides have sought to keep the other at arm’s length.
However, after the 1991 Gulf War and especially since 9/11, CIA-DoD cooperation and understanding have increased across much of the spectrum of conflict, from conventional combat and insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan to unconventional warfare against transnational terrorism. This is particularly true of the relationship between the CIA and the military’s special operations forces. The successful raid against Osama bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in May 2011 is probably the best contemporary illustration of CIA-DoD cooperation and highlights the complementary nature of each organization’s unique capabilities.
The CIA and the military will need to continue to work together in Afghanistan, even after the drawdown of U.S. military forces and the 2014 transition to Afghan-led military operations, and in the fight against unconventional threats in places such as South Asia, North Africa and the Middle East. Therefore, it is important that the military understand the CIA’s missions, organization, authorities and capabilities, as well as how the CIA is different from the military. Here are 10 things the military should know.
1. CIA mission
The CIA is an independent government agency responsible for providing national security intelligence to senior policymakers. The National Security Act of 1947 established the authority for the agency to carry out three principal activities: collect foreign intelligence; analyze intelligence; and perform other functions and duties as the president may direct, “where it is intended that the role of the U.S. Government will not be apparent or acknowledged publicly.” In other words, covert action. And, while one could argue that the CIA’s foreign intelligence collection mission lies at the heart of what the CIA does, there are also essential and unique facets of the CIA’s intelligence analysis and covert action missions, which are addressed below.
To accomplish its mission, the CIA is separated into four basic components or directorates: the National Clandestine Service (NCS), which until 2005 was called the Directorate of Operations; the Directorate of Intelligence (DI); the Directorate of Science and Technology (DS&T); and the Directorate of Support (DS). Each directorate also contains myriad subelements both at CIA headquarters and in the field. There is also a director’s staff, which consists of multiple specialized offices such as the Office of Public Affairs, General Council, Congressional Affairs and the Associate Director for Military Affairs.
The mission of the NCS is to strengthen national security and foreign policy objectives through the clandestine collection of human intelligence and covert action. The NCS consists mainly of operations officers whose job it is to collect foreign intelligence information, often by recruiting individuals, or assets, with access to sought-after intelligence information. NCS officers are probably what many people think of when they think about the CIA: a James Bond-type character.
The DI consists of officers who analyze intelligence from multiple sources, such as NCS-generated HUMINT reporting, signals intelligence, imagery intelligence, military intelligence reporting and open-source intelligence, among countless other sources. The result of this collection and analysis is the production of all-source or finished intelligence for the president, Cabinet members and senior national security decision-makers.
If an NCS officer is our James Bond-type, then the DS&T includes our “Q” department. The DS&T consists of officers who create, adapt, develop and operate the technical collection systems and apply enabling technologies to the collection, analysis and processing of information. They develop the tools and technology needed to collect foreign intelligence and support CIA activities in the field. As a classic example, think of a tie clip that is also a miniaturized camera.
Finally, DS officers provide everything the CIA needs to accomplish its mission. DS officers are often the first CIA officers sent into difficult operational areas and are responsible for establishing key support functions such as communications, supply chains, facilities, financial and medical services.
3. Directorates and centers
In addition to its four directorates, the CIA manages several functionally oriented centers with which the military routinely interacts. These centers include the Counterterrorism Center, Information Operations Center, Counterproliferation Center, Crime and Narcotics Center, Open Source Center, Special Activities Center and Counterintelligence Center. The major difference between the CIA’s directorates and centers is that the centers bring together people from all four CIA directorates and include officers from other intelligence agencies, such as the National Security Agency, the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and the FBI.
4. CIA customers and products
Whereas the military might seek out HUMINT sources at the tactical or operational levels to answer the commander’s priority intelligence requirements (PIR), the CIA, for the most part, focuses on strategic-level HUMINT sources, or assets, who have the placement and access to the types of information that is of value to senior U.S. policymakers. Of note, the NCS’s HUMINT reporting is available to the military in the form of classified telegraphic disseminations (TDs).
In a similar vein, the DI focuses its all-source intelligence analysis on topics of interest to the president and senior U.S. officials. The DI contributes to the intelligence community’s premier intelligence product, the presidential daily brief. Many of the DI’s products are also available to the military via the CIA’s classified website, the Worldwide Intelligence Review, or WIRe.
Other unclassified CIA products the military should know about are: the annual World Fact Book; the CIA’s regularly published online directory of chiefs of state and Cabinet members of foreign governments; and unclassified extracts from Studies in Intelligence, the CIA’s professional journal.
5. Covert action
The National Security Act of 1947 gives the CIA the mission to conduct other functions and duties when directed to do so by the president (i.e., covert action). This is codified in Title 50 of the U.S. Code, which is why some refer to the CIA’s covert action authorities as “Title 50 Authorities.” The president directs the CIA or other government agencies to conduct covert actions via a mechanism called a presidential finding. What sets covert action apart from other CIA and DoD activities is that, for covert action, the involvement of the U.S. government is not publicly acknowledged during the operation, after the fact or if the operation is discovered by a foreign government or the U.S. media.
6. Protection of sources and methods
The CIA, like DoD and other intelligence agencies, places a great deal of importance on the protection of sources of intelligence and methods of collection. As a result, much of the CIA’s sensitive intelligence is highly compartmented such that only those individuals who have a “need to know” and are “read into” a program have access to the information. The military is read into CIA programs when appropriate, but oftentimes, CIA officers may not be able to share information about a CIA program with the military because the program is compartmented.
7. Chief of Station
In the field, the CIA manages its activities through a network of overseas stations. The senior CIA officer at each station is the chief of station. The COS serves in much the same capacity as a military commander. Among other things, the COS supervises the station’s foreign intelligence collection efforts, liaises with foreign intelligence service partners, and manages the deconfliction of HUMINT and other operations with U.S. government entities such as DoD.
8. Rank and relationships
While most CIA officers are certainly aware of military rank, the CIA is a less rank-conscious organization than the military. Practically speaking, a military officer or senior noncommissioned officer might walk into a meeting or send an email to someone in the military and he would, in all likelihood, receive an immediate response due, in part, to his rank or position. The military’s hierarchical structure works well for the military but does not always translate well to civilians who often work more informally. When dealing with the CIA, you would probably get a better result by meeting with your CIA counterpart in person, using your first name rather than your rank and last name, and by developing a relationship with that person. In the CIA, it seems, relationships go a long way toward getting things done. That is not to say CIA officers do not appreciate the importance of rank or that relationships are not important in the military. Rather, it is simply a matter of differences in culture. Rank is but one example of the differences between the CIA and the military. Other differences include uniforms, acronyms, jargon, grooming standards, age, education, gender ratios, pay, budgets and the number of personnel.
9. Leaders vs. managers
Another cultural difference between the CIA and the military is the idea of leadership versus management. The military is a leadership-oriented organization, and this is apparent in DoD’s professional military education curriculum. From the start of their careers, military officers are developed to be leaders, and leadership training continues over the course of an officer’s career. By contrast, the CIA has layers of management from the team, branch, group and division level all the way up to the directorate and agency-level senior management. Further, the CIA develops officers to be case officers, technical intelligence officers and analysts first, and only later in their careers do officers get the opportunity to become managers, typically at the GS-13/15 level. That is not to say that CIA managers are not also leaders, or that military leaders are not also managers. However, the two organizations have different labels, training and timelines when it comes to who is in charge and what their role is. Related to this is the notion of experts and generalists. Because the CIA develops its officers to be case officers, technical intelligence officers and analysts first, the result is an organization of substantive experts. Military officers, on the other hand, tend to be generalists who move back and forth between command and staff positions and from one geographic region to another.
10. CIA-military nexus
To address the need for greater CIA-DoD cooperation and understanding, there are multiple connections the military can use to interface with the CIA and vice versa. At CIA headquarters, the Office of the Associate Director for Military Affairs has the mission to coordinate, plan, execute and sustain worldwide activities that support CIA and DoD interaction based on priorities established by the director of the CIA to achieve national security objectives. In the field, in addition to the previously mentioned stations, the agency has representatives located at DoD’s combatant commands and senior service colleges. Finally, the CIA will at times embed liaison teams with deploying military commands to facilitate on-the-spot operational coordination and deconfliction.
The successful bin Laden raid in 2011 represents a high point in the CIA-DoD relationship. What is more, it appears the U.S. will continue to face threats in Afghanistan and elsewhere for years to come. Therefore, it is critically important that the CIA and the military understand each other, work well together, respect organizational and cultural differences, and continue to use each other’s complimentary capabilities against common enemies in order to better protect and defend the U.S. AFJ
LT. COL. JOHN D. JOHNSON is an Army officer assigned to the CIA’s Office of the Associate Director for Military Affairs. He has served in Afghanistan, Iraq, South Korea and Germany in addition to multiple assignments in the U.S. This article has been reviewed by the CIA to prevent the disclosure of classified information. That review neither constitutes CIA authentication of information nor implies CIA endorsement of the author’s views.


Question: If Kabbalah is the basis of all the sciences, then should we first give a child knowledge of this science and only then start teaching him all the other sciences?
Answer: At first a child has to get acquainted with his world. However, from a young age, from about six years or even earlier, it is possible to start explaining the notions of the science of Kabbalah to him.
Children can perceive this wisdom parallel to the sciences of our world just as naturally as they are easily able to remember several languages. In the same way, we can explain these two languages of perception of reality to them: inner and outer. They will easily learn this and it will become part of the foundation of their perception like a habit ingrained from childhood.
The explanation has to be that there are two forces in the world. And everything we see with our material eyes are pictures emerging inside our senses as a result of the interaction between these two forces. Then the child will be able to understand the inner essence of every phenomenon he observes.
Every object, such as a table, chair, a person, a car, or a plane can ultimately be laid out as a combination of these two forces: reception and bestowal, and it is possible to discern why this special combination of these two forces creates precisely this image of the material object inside of us. Then he will understand what he can receive from it and how he can use it in order to attain certain material or spiritual acquisitions. That’s because he will know that object’s place in all of reality, and that is very important.
From the 4th part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 2/21/11, “Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot”


What are the functional differences between plastic and rubber?
Plastic materials (LC plastic raw materials wholesale, high temperature resistant plastic material, PPS, LCP, PET, PA, PES plastic raw materials suppliers): the main ingredient is resin, is made of polymer resin as main ingredients into a variety of auxiliary material or adding agent, at a certain temperature, with plastic and motor can be under pressure molded into shape and maintain the same shape of material under certain conditions;
Plastic has good insulation for electricity, heat and sound: electrical insulation, arc resistance, heat preservation, sound insulation, sound absorption, vibration absorption, noise elimination, and outstanding performance.
Plastic raw materials are extracted from some oil in the most familiar part of PC material (polycarbonate) is extracted from the oil, the PC material has a gasoline burning time; ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene plastic) is made from coal, ABS a soot like when burn out; POM (polyoxymethylene plastic) is made from natural gas, POM will have a very smelly smell of gas in the burn time.
General characteristics of plastic raw materials (LC plastic raw materials wholesale, high temperature resistant plastic materials, PPS, LCP, PET, PA, PES plastic raw material suppliers):1) the plastic material is heated and compressed, and the coefficient of linear expansion is much larger than that of metal;2) the stiffness of a general plastic material is one order lower than that of the metal;3) the mechanical properties of plastic raw materials will decrease obviously when heated for a long time;4) the general plastic material is temporarily subjected to stress at normal temperature and below its yield strength, and permanent deformation occurs;5) plastic raw materials wholesale, sensitive to notch damage;6) the mechanical properties of plastic raw materials are usually much lower than those of metals, but some composite materials have higher specific strength and specific modulus than metals. If the products are properly designed, they will be more effective;7) the mechanical properties of reinforced plastic raw materials are various;8) some plastic materials absorb moisture and cause changes in size and properties;9) some plastics are flammable.


Bringing IPM information to small-scale farmers is a significant challenge, but one that has many potential benefits - including expanded opportunities to spot invasive pests and diseases.
That's the conclusion of a Western Small Farm IPM Work Group that in 2014 completed a four-year project in six Western states.
"The biggest surprise was that in the three states that implemented on-farm pilot projects, we found the first recordings of various new diseases or pests,” explained Tess Grasswitz, one of the project leaders and the state IPM coordinator for New Mexico. “That was unexpected.”
But getting IPM information – and supplies – to small farms isn't easy, as the group discovered.
The project began in 2010 with funding from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture and a simple idea: to forge better connections between existing IPM teams and their small-farm counterparts in each state.
“The plan was that each state would conduct a needs assessment in the first year, then a small-farm IPM pilot project beginning in year two,” Grasswitz explained. “Three of the states in the project successfully implemented on-farm pilot programs: California, New Mexico, and Utah”.
California’s project focused on dragon fruit producers in San Diego County, while both New Mexico and Utah’s projects began with small-scale vegetable producers and expanded to include fruit IPM. The other three states involved in the work group, Washington, Oregon and Idaho, concentrated on different outreach activities.
“This was not a traditional working group, and we didn’t have a lot of meetings with each other,” Grasswitz said. “That was not the aim. Instead, we wanted interaction with the growers to learn how to better meet their IPM-related needs.”
Generally, the group found growers valued the interactions they had with the researchers and the IPM knowledge they gained, especially through the one-on-one, on-farm contacts.
The unexpected outcome was the discovery of several pests and diseases in locations where they hadn’t been seen before.
“In New Mexico, for instance, we found the first state records for spotted wing drosophila and a new cereal aphid (Sipha maydis) on pilot-project farms, as well as a new county record for bagrada bug,” Grasswitz said. “In Utah, they found various vegetable diseases they didn’t know they had, and in California, they found a new viral disease of dragon fruit.”
The team believes small farms – especially those in and around urban areas – are ideal places to look for new invasives for several reasons. First, because new pests seem to spread along major highways and trade routes, they’ll often show up in or near major urban areas. Second, because many small growers plant exotic crops (for local ethnic markets for example), exotic pests find themselves right at home.
“We think small farms are a potentially valuable network of new monitoring sites for these invasive species,” Grasswitz said.
While the on-farm pilot projects produced positive results, expanding on those successes is a logistical challenge. The work group members who conducted one-on-one events recommend local, field-based activities similar to the “Farmer Field Schools” often used for IPM programs in international development.
“The best way to help is to work directly with growers on the farm, but that gets very expensive very quickly,” Grasswitz said. “And most universities and extension services are strapped for cash already.”
Another barrier to IPM adoption by small producers is the lack of availability of IPM products in small quantities.
“In all the states with on-farm projects, we found IPM adoption hindered for at least one pest by the lack of appropriate pack sizes for small-scale producers,” Grasswitz said. “Examples of that included pheromone dispensers for mating disruption, organic pH buffers and several pesticides. We need to encourage manufacturers to address the small-farm market.”
One group member proposed the creation of small-acreage producers’ associations in each state to represent the needs of small producers and facilitate information flow between the farmers and IPM educators and researchers.
“Globally, the importance of small-scale farms and urban or peri-urban agriculture is huge,” Grasswitz said. “It’s important to continue to focus on it.”


Updated: Jan 11, 2019
In Teachingland, our zombie tropes are a little different from traditional zombie culture. We have compiled a glossary of our terms with how they are used all throughout the book, and our online community! Book mark this page, and come back often!
Antidote: Strategies to cure and prevent infection.
Bite: Moments that spread the disease either through drill and practice or killing the love for learning; students can bite each other through learned dead behavior.
Blue-Tape Thinking/Teaching: A teacher who is in the trenches being innovative, integrating PBL (Problem-Based Learning), design thinking, and creative ways to engage students.
Classroom Apocalypse: Damage to classrooms all over the world on a catastrophic scale due to a global movement in over testing and impossible teacher/student expectations based on shallow/snapshots.
Flatline: An infected student or teacher on the verge of a zombiism from the feeling of hopelessness brought about by a broken system.
Luddite—Either a teacher new to integrating EdTech, a teacher apprehensive about integrating technology, or a seasoned teacher that refuses. Luddite is usually used in the latter situation.
Ole Pedagogy Players (O.P.P.s): Cognitive scientists, learning scientists, educational philosophers, and practitioners who have contributed immensely to the classroom apocalyptic landscape. If you are gonna use other people’s intellectual property, I would start here.
Red-Tape Thinking/Teaching—Recycling the same lesson plans year after year, teaching to the test, drill and practice, not integrating technology, and making excuses to not rise up and reclaim our art!
R.E.M.E.D.Y.: Our acronym for good pedagogy: Reach, Engage, Make, Evaluate/Empower, Demystify, and Yearn.
Sanctuaries: Conferences, Edcamps, and learning communities to share ideas and antidotes!
Savage Failure: Failure that stops trying or failure that doesn’t end in learning.
Trickle Down Zombienomics: A top-down, policy-driven solution posed as a cure but really an infection to the whole system.
Virus: The sickness plaguing the nation’s education system characterized by over testing, outdated thinking, and excessive focus on compliance and accountability that leads to burnout and disillusionment among students, teachers, parents, and members of the community.
Vitals: Feedback from assessments to show that students are learning.
Warm Bodies: Students who have been brought back from the brink of zombification through phenomenal, innovative teaching strategies. This extends to teachers who have been brought back!
Wifi Warriors: Teachers that are on the front lines of social media sharing, caring, and blaring their awesomeness!
Zombie: An infected person in the classroom apocalypse.
Zombigogy: The art of channeling excellent culture-changing teaching and guiding disengaged students back to warm-bodied lovers of learning. This also refers to teachers as adult learners continuing their craft through professional development. This involves creativity and triage.
Zombie Zips: Ziploc bag challenges that can be completed in a 45–60-minute class period.


August 18 marked the 130th anniversary of birth of one of the most distinct figures of the old Austrian empire, Emperor Franz Joseph I. He ruled his peoples for nearly seven decades, and although Czechs today don’t seem to identify with this particular period in their history, the legacy of the ‘aged monarch’, as he was semi-officially referred to towards the end of his life, is still apparent in most of his former empire today.
When he took over the monarchy in 1848, he was hailed as someone who would lead the country from the turmoil and unrest of revolutionary times, and carry out some essential reforms to ensure its modernization and future peaceful development.
But by the end of his long reign, the monarch had lost most of his credit, at least in this part of the empire. He was deemed decrepit and out-of-touch, and was even ridiculed by some of the free thinkers who were soon to become the elites of the new countries in Central and Eastern Europe.
Here is an example: Czechs sometimes called Franz Joseph “starej Procházka” or old Procházka. Procházka is a common Czech surname which literally means “walk”. A popular legend has it that when their Emperor opened a new bridge in Prague, the next day a picture appeared in the paper with caption, “Walk on the Bridge”. Since then, Czechs referred to the Emperor as Old Procházka.
But Franz Joseph’s influence over the disloyal Czechs continued long after he passed away in 1916, in the middle of the war that swept away the empire.
Czechoslovakia’s founding father, president Tomáš G. Masaryk, soon took up some of the thinking and physical mannerisms of the ancient regime. A professor of sociology, he liked to ride his white horse around his summer residence at the Lány chateau, wearing a semi-military uniform. Around him, he built up a court of sorts of advisors and confidants who helped him exercise unofficial influence over public affairs that had no constitutional basis.
Since Masaryk’s times, the magnificent Prague Castle, where Bohemian kings once dwelled, has been the seat of Czech presidents. Even today, Václav Klaus sometimes gives the impression that he is too big for the role of plain civilian figurehead, and that a crown would fit nicely on his head.
Czech are a markedly egalitarian people, with little appreciation for the social and political pyramid typical of the old empire. In reaction to the fusty, hierarchical and snobby Austro-Hungarian society, one of the first laws adopted by the newly emerged Czechoslovakia in 1918 banned the usage of aristocratic titles.
Despite this, one of the country’s most popular politicians today is Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg who stems from a high-ranking aristocratic family and does in fact have the title of prince, by which he is sometimes referred to by his supporters.
But the shadow of Emperor Franz Joseph is longer than that. His governments introduced thorough reforms of the constitution, administration and education. During his rule, Bohemia and Moravia became heavily industrialized, and the train network that was built in the second half of the 19th century was one of the densest in Europe.
The emperor liked to start working early, which is reportedly the reason why Czech factory workers start so early in the morning; until recently, factories started work at 6 AM.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire has often been described as the “Prison of Nations” because of the Emperor’s lack of empathy with the emancipating nations of the empire. But today, historians argue that the times of Old Procházka were in fact one of the happiest periods in modern Czech history.
Archaeologists unearth seven graves dating back to Great Moravian Empire
“Einstein in Bohemia” – Part II: how alienation in ‘half-barbaric’ Prague led him to a new theory of gravity, eventual love of a free Czechoslovakia
“Einstein in Bohemia” – part 1: how a Prague sojourn sparked his theory of general relativity, journey of self-discovery
Valentine’s Day 1945 - When the Americans bombed Prague
Film about tragic fate of great Czech actress highlights communist atrocities in the 1950s


Everyone knows how important it is to get a good education. Doing well in school can open up many doors for your future, like the ability to get into college or land your dream job. But not everyone learns in the same way or at the same pace; some people might need help learning various subjects while others may excel at them. When teachers can’t adapt to what each student needs, it is hard for them to get the maximum benefit from their classes. The good news is that personalized learning has helped many students succeed in school and go on to do incredible things.
What Is Personalized Learning and Its Benefits?
Personalized learning plans allow teachers and students to work with each other so they can find the best way for everyone to achieve what they need. The teachers design the plans to help each student achieve their particular goals, and will often work with them outside of school hours so they can find creative ways to help them learn the material better.
These plans are flexible because there isn’t one right answer for everyone. After meeting with their teacher to talk about what they need, and talking with their parents and other teachers, a bespoke lesson plan can be created that works specifically for a particular student.
This form of learning is perfect for students who learn differently from most people they know, including those who have ADHD or autism. It helps them stay focused in class instead of being distracted by their environment or classmates, which can lead to bad grades and even dropping out of school.
The semester and year will be broken up into smaller goals, which can be easier to manage than cramming everything into one short time period. With this type of education, students learn how to set goals for themselves and complete their work at their own pace.
Personalized learning helps teachers be more efficient. The short-term goals of each semester ensure they are working on skills people need to learn for the future, instead of just putting in the time so students can graduate on time.
Teachers can draw on more creative ways to present information that will stick with their students. They can choose which tools work best for each student, including interactive whiteboards, apps on computers, or even getting the class together to play a game.
How School Management Software Allows Teachers to Assess Individual Performances
School management software helps teachers keep track of their students’ performances. Test results are imported automatically, grades are calculated automatically and the administrator is informed of students’ progress through automated email reports.
The benefits of using software-based school management systems are far greater than manual grading processes. Besides providing real-time statistical data on student performances, automation also saves teachers a lot of time which can be used to focus more on core activities like teaching.
It is important for the teacher to have the ability to assess individual performances. However, a large number of students makes this challenging as the teacher will have to monitor student movement and continually record their progress manually. This is not only time-consuming but also error-prone as many such tasks are clerical in nature and require the highest level of concentration.
With school management software, teachers can create separate tests for each student to assess their knowledge on specific topics. This allows them to focus on developing key skills rather than spending too much time evaluating their performance which can be achieved over a longer period with automated reports generated every week/month/semester/year etc., depending upon their requirement.
- Automated reporting – Reports help teachers quickly identify areas that need more attention through graphs and charts based on historical data about student performance.
- Test results – Test or quiz results are imported automatically, so you can immediately see the strengths and weaknesses of each student. Teachers can also track their scores over time to monitor progress.
- GPA calculation – It is easy for teachers to calculate grades automatically using test results and other details like attendance, etc.,
How to Create Lesson Plans and Materials for Personalized Learning
As stated by the United States Department of Education, personalized learning “enables each student to move at his or her own pace through content and skills.” This is achieved through a combination of intense focus on the individual students’ abilities along with their interests. It also includes various technologies to encourage student engagement.
With so many different types of software being created specifically for education settings, it can be difficult for teachers to keep track of which are helpful and which might not suit their classrooms. To help you find an easy way to create lesson plans, we’ve put together some tips that will let you see how these lessons work in real-time!
Pick Your Curriculum
The first step toward creating your personalized lesson plan is deciding what curriculum you want to use. There are many different types of lessons that you can create, which is determined by the curriculum you choose. For example, if you want to introduce multiplication to students, you can simply type in “multiplication” into your favorite search engine and see what comes up.
Enter Your Topic(s) on Google Classroom
Once you’ve found a lesson plan that looks like it will work for your class or student(s), enter the topic into Google Classroom. This allows all students with access to this website to read through them so they can offer their input as well! This also makes it easy for teachers to stay organized.
Create Custom Assessments for Each Student
After creating some initial materials, take time to create a custom test for each student. These tests will allow you to see exactly where they need help and what types of topics they’re struggling with most. This is often the perfect opportunity for students to ask questions, which Google Classroom allows teachers to answer directly from their class website!
Create Customized Grading Scales
In order for students to truly excel in these lessons, it’s important that grading scales are personalized as well. Rather than asking all students to aim for an A on every test or assignment, customize these scales according to ability and effort.
Use Personalized Learning Tools
After creating your materials and customized tests, it’s time to take a step back and see what types of tools you can use. Google Classroom is a great tool for this because students are able to access their lessons from anywhere with an internet connection! The best part about this platform is how easy it makes grading students’ work. As stated above, the site gives teachers many different ways to assess test results including graphs, charts, and tables.
Personalized learning plans provide an effective way for students to gain experience working on their own and learning at their own pace. Education will only improve as the tools to assist teachers in the process of creating customized lessons to continue to evolve.
SchoolCues is an all-in-one school management system for small schools with limited budgets and resources. Our solutions include admissions and enrollment, online payments, student information system, gradebook, communications, parent engagement, donations and fundraising, alumni management and more. Schedule a demo with us today.


Four Corners Area
The unique Four Corners area represents more than the connection point of Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. While it's true that Four Corners is the only place in the U.S. where four states meet at one geographic point, the monument is at the physical heart of a greater Four Corners region that has a much deeper history. A tourism destination by itself or a perfect addition to Arches and Canyonlands itineraries, Four Corners is a spiritual journal into sweeping landscapes with profound human and geologic history.
The Four Corners area encapsulates a rich indigenous heritage in one of America's most remote landscapes. Evidence of Ancestral Puebloan cultures in this area have been dated to earlier than 1200 A.D. Radiating out from the monument, explore astonishing settlements like Hovenweep National Monument, whose ruins are perched on edges of shallow cliffs, balanced over boulder heaps, or guarding seeps. You will find yourself marveling at both the construction and setting of these archaeological remnants. These were rugged and resourceful people living in rugged lands that are defined by millions of years of dramatic uplift, the building of mountains and profound erosion unique to the sandstone geology of the Colorado Plateau. This is a place where monumental landforms connect with the sky, and vast fields of stars fill the night.
The Trail of the Ancients Scenic Byway paints a sunburst-shaped journey across the land in an attempt to see it all.
For many, the Trail of the Ancients Scenic Byway starts in Blanding, home to a large display of Ancestral Puebloan artifacts and the 1,000-year-old kiva at Edge of the Cedars State Park. Edge of the Cedars is an archaeological gem that only sets the stage for the journey ahead. Utah’s Canyon Country, San Juan County, bills itself as “The World’s Greatest Outdoor Museum.” It is a place of endless exploration, virtually all of which access historically significant sites. State Route 95 between Blanding and Natural Bridges National Monument, for example, offers several intriguing stops including Canyon Indian Ruin's interpretive display and trails or the Butler Wash cliff dwelling on Comb Ridge.
Continue on the road to see the Cedar Mesa sandstone monoliths of the Valley of the Gods and Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Parks. Return in January for the great events and arts fair accompanying the Bluff International Balloon Festival.
Four Corners Monument
Following government surveys that revealed a terminus of the Four Corners states' boundaries joining in one place, surveyors erected the original Four Corners Monument in 1912 as a simple cement pad. In 1992, the monument evolved to a copper disc within a granite surface and 2010 brought new improvements. Two intersecting lines through the center of this disc mark the boundaries, accompanied by the seal of each of the Four Corners states. The Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation Department administers the Four Corners. Around the monument, Native American artisans and craftsman sell their handmade jewelry, crafts and traditional foods from numerous booths and shops. The monument's visitor venter features information about the native cultures of the region.
Gateways to Four Corners
There are a number of small towns in the Four Corners area. Visits to Four Corners that include stops at Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Natural Bridges National Monument, even Lake Powell, can explore restaurants as well as hotels, motels and other lodging options in Monument Valley, Mexican Hat and Bluff, or heading north along U.S. 191 toward Blanding, Monticello and Moab. Four Corners and southeastern Utah destinations are excellent additions to itineraries featuring Mesa Verda National Park in neighboring Colorado.
Four Corners Weather
At roughly 5,000 feet above sea level, the Four Corners area exhibits weather consistent with the high-desert plateau of southeastern Utah. Summer months approach 100 F during the day, which makes mornings and evenings better for exploration. Spring and fall are ideal seasons for outdoor recreation and sightseeing in the Four Corners region while the cooler temperatures and periodic dustings of snow ensure winter visits to the area will be visually stunning and mostly free of tourist traffic. Monticello sits above 7,000 feet, providing a high-elevation summer retreat for golf, heritage museum and outdoor recreation. No matter the season, carry plenty of water and a layer or jacket should evenings get cool or afternoon thunderstorms catch you.
Four Corners Monument is only accessible by car or tour bus. It can be reached from U.S. 191 from just west of Bluff, Utah, through the Navajo Nation, to U.S. 160, or also from Bluff on S.R. 162 into Colorado to 160.
Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park
With a rich Navajo cultural legacy, ancient, Clovis-era, early human, archeological sites and some of the most iconic landscapes in the American West, Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park and surrounding San Juan county bring together scenic beauty and hundreds of years of human history into an unforgettable travel destination. Monument Valley is the crown jewel in the area with jeep tours driving to Navajo hogans and the picture-worthy sandstone formations made famous in numerous John Wayne and John Ford westerns.
Glen Canyon Recreation Area and Lake Powell
Sun-drenched boating and an expansive lake ringed with towering cliffs and a labyrinth of side canyons, a visit to Glen Canyon usually involves water skiing, jet skiing or relaxing in a houseboat on Lake Powell, soaking in the otherworldly scenery.
Canyonlands National Park
Canyonlands National Park, formed by the currents and tributaries of Utah's Green and Colorado rivers is home to many different types of travel experiences, from sublime solitude in the more remote stretches of the park to moderate hikes through the Needles district, or the opportunity to create your own version of one of the West's most photographed landforms, Mesa Arch
Natural Bridges National Monument
Natural Bridges is home to three expansive rock arches and the first International Dark Sky Park in the world. Though less accessible than Utah’s national parks, it is just as grand. At 6,500-feet in elevation atop the massive Cedar Mesa the park is a little cooler in the heat of summer than other parks. Abundant hiking, stargazing and canyoneering make this a quiet haven for those looking to explore a little off the beaten path.
Four Corners Area


Why Is Milk Bad For Cats? Mythologically people mention that feeding milk to your kitten can help it grow and it’s healthy for it. We have seen cats in the cartoon television shows that enjoy drinking milk. There are some commercials and cartons advertisements displaying cats enjoying milk. This leads us to a question, is milk bad for cats? What does milk do to our kitties bodies?
In this article we will discover is milk bad for cats? How come is milk bad for cats if it’s liked by it. To learn more continue reading!
Cats And Milk Myth
In the early days when we can still avail fresh cow’s milk from the farms. It is said that when the farmers milk the cows, the cat would lap the cream on top of the milk and would enjoy it. That’s when the myth of cat loves milk started.
Is milk bad for cats?
Though milk is very healthy for us humans as it provides good nutrition of vitamins and calcium in our body, it’s bad news that it is bad for our cats. Milk can cause some gastrointestinal issues to our lovely feline.
Why is milk bad for cats?
Most of our lovely felines are lactose intolerant. Same with human beings, it means that they don’t have the necessary enzymes that can help in digesting dairy products.
Lactose is a sugar found in dairy products. When someone has the proper enzyme to digest this, it should go to the bloodstream and be absorbed by the cells of the body. However, in cats, they don’t have the enzyme that can digest it. What happens to lactose when consumed by cats, it remains undigested and ferments in their gastro system.
What happens when a cat drinks milk?
As mentioned earlier, the cats’ gastro system can’t digest lactose. When a cat drank milk, problems may occur within eight to twelve hours of drinking milk. The following things may happen:
- Upset stomach
- Abdominal discomfort and pain
- Loss of appetite
- Increased scratching
If cats are lactose intolerant, why kittens drink milk from their mother?
Kittens born are fed by their mother’s milk. The only time that they can only drink milk is within the first 12 weeks of their lives. This is known to be the only time that a cat has enough necessary enzymes called lactase to digest lactose. But, as soon as their teeth start to come out, they will be weaned off from milk and start eating real food. That’s as well the time that the cat’s lactase goes out.
Can I give milk to the kitten then?
The answer is a big NO. Though kittens have enough lactase, they’re not supposed to take dairy. You may seek your veterinarian for a mother cat formula milk to give to your little feline. The milk from a cat’s mother provides the essential nutrients that a kitten needs.
Why are there some cats that show no GI reaction when taking milk?
Not all cats are lactose intolerant. There are some cats that can tolerate milk when taking them. However, there’s no way for us to determine whether a cat is tolerant or intolerant. The only way to know is to risk it by giving them some milk.
How can I help my cat if she gets GI issues from drinking milk?
Though it’s not poisonous to give milk to your cat, if done regularly may result in GI issues. If your cat suffers diarrhea, make sure to hydrate it with enough supply of water. If it persists, bring your kitty to a veterinarian.
Otherwise, it may take some hours for your cat to recover from the gastro issues caused by taking some milk.
The best advice for this one is to keep your kitty away from any dairy products such as milk, cheese, etc. Avoid giving it to them to be on the safe side.
Are there any dairy alternatives?
You can’t help to give a liquid treat for your kitty? No problem, you may seek lactose-free milk from your pet store to give to your cat. There is also some milk from the grocery that you can avail that seems to be safe for your lactose-intolerant cat and human beings.
The best liquid to give to your cat
There’s nothing better than WATER. Your feline friend doesn’t always get thirsty. Adding water in their diet can result in better health for your lovely feline.
Milk is bad for your cat because they don’t have enough lactase enzyme. Lactase is the enzyme that helps digest lactose in order to be absorbed by the body. Lactose is a sugar that comes from dairy products.
Once your cat took milk, within the eight to twelve hours of taking it may result in any GI issues such as vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and discomfort, and loss of appetite. When this happens, you need to ensure that your cat is hydrated and if it continues to persist bring your kitty to the vet.
Lastly, not all cats are lactose-intolerant. However, if you really want to give milk to your cat you may look for lactose-free milk from your pet store and grocery. For kittens that don’t have a mother to feed them with milk, there’s an available kitten’s milk formula that you can buy from your pet store. The best liquid to give your cat is water.
That’s it! Now we know why milk is associated with cats. Most likely, that cat from the farm suffered from the worst stomach ache of all time. Imagine how that cat has to deal with its GI issues. Have you seen a cat from a farm lapping the cream of the milk?
Just remember to keep the dairy out of your cat’s way. Never let it taste it or have it especially if they are lactose-intolerant. You don’t want your fur baby to feel hurt by lactose. Have you tried giving milk to your cat? How did your feline react?


Share This Post
A common result of an injury or surgery is the deterioration of the muscles.
Knee injuries are the most common injury seen in our dogs. The following information is also true for other conditions as well.
A common result of an injury or surgery is the deterioration of the muscles. This is called disuse atrophy and will occur within days of the injury. Joints and tendons will become stiff and the area will swell. This causes pain and loss of function.
The goals of physical rehabilitation are to:
* speed recovery
* increase strength and range of motion
* reduce pain
* improve functional abilities
* enhance quality of life
After surgery, weight bearing activities need to be limited but unless we begin using the knee, permanent limitations can develop. The old adage of use it or lose it is true. This is where a veterinarian certified in physical rehabilitation can help your pet make a full recovery as well as prevent additional injury.
Normal weight bearing activities must be restricted while guided exercise is started. Once sutures are removed, the underwater treadmill can be used. The water reduces the weight on the limb while providing resistance as your pet exercises in their natural gait pattern. This builds up muscle mass and improves range of motion.
Each pet will be given a customized rehabilitation program. Home exercises will be reviewed and practiced so that you will feel comfortable helping with your pet’s recovery. Stretching is used to elongate the muscles, exercise the joints, and reduce scar tissue (adhesions). Manual manipulation will help realign the spine and therapeutic equipment will be used as needed. This includes cold laser therapy, therapeutic ultrasound, and electro muscular stimulation.
Most physical rehab sessions begin two weeks after surgery. At this initial appointment, surgical staples or sutures are removed and a more intense physical rehabilitation program is started to return your pet to their peak condition.


Steven M. Marks*
In his article “Copyright and Innovation: The Untold Story,”1 Professor Michael Carrier reflects a common misunderstanding of the role of copyright in society, the relationship between technology and copyright, and the role of record companies as innovators. He also ignores evidence of how new consumer offerings during the last decade have flourished compared to the static options available to music consumers during the half century before that time. The years since the A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc.2 decision tell a story of vigorous licensing of new models by large and small record labels, large investments in music services and related technology, and a vibrant digital market that dwarfs the growth in other media industries. The purpose of this Reply is briefly to elucidate these points.3
Copyright, the Constitution, and the Role of Record Companies
Professor Carrier tends to juxtapose copyright against innovation, failing to recognize that the Founders granted Congress the authority to protect creative works precisely to promote innovation.4 Indeed, as the authors of a recent article described, the Founders recognized that copyright protection is grounded in pre-existing rights meant to protect economic incentives and the inherent right to the fruits of one’s labor.5
Although Professor Carrier rightly recognizes the importance of innovation,6 he assumes that the only type of innovation is technology and fails to include copyrighted works as part of the innovation that fuels economic growth. Numerous studies have demonstrated the value of copyright industries to this economy.7 Simply put, copyright and innovation are not mutually exclusive.
Record companies have invested billions of dollars to create the recordings that provide a soundtrack for the lives of most people.8 Much like venture capitalists, record companies invest money under extremely risky circumstances. Approximately nine out of ten investments in new recordings are failures.9
But record companies are more than investors that make innovation possible. Record companies frequently are a critical part of the creative process that results in the innovation. Record company employees scout hundreds of thousands of artists, help develop repertoire for recordings, and actively participate in the recording process.10
The Music Industry, Technology and Innovation: A Success Story
Professor Carrier also mischaracterizes the relationship between technology and copyright. Professor Carrier inappropriately pits copyright against innovation as though the two are boxers sparring for control rather than partners that work collaboratively and interdependently. The desire of consumers to listen to music has been a driving force for technology and recording companies to build and invest in new platforms and configurations, from vinyl record players to cassette players to CD players to iPods.
We have seen more evidence of this interdependence in recent years than ever before. Let’s rewind to the 1990s, a time when consumer options to listen to music were limited to two choices—tuning into a terrestrial radio broadcast, or purchasing a CD or cassette. Fast forward to today and consumer choices have blossomed to include a wide variety of products and services: DRM-free downloads, all-you-can-eat subscription services, free on-demand audio and video services, music bundled with a phone, cloud and locker services, and specialized digital radio outlets to name a few.
Today, more than 500 services offering these consumer options exist, tenfold the number merely ten years ago.11 In the United States, revenues from digital services exceeded $4 billion in 2012 compared to less than $200 million nine years ago.12 The music industry now derives almost sixty percent of its revenues from digital services and is far ahead of other media industries when comparing the transition to digital services.13 These statistics belie Professor Carrier’s theory that the music industry has seen little innovation since the Napster decision.
Professor Carrier also states that “[v]enture capital funding in the area of digital music fell significantly after the Napster decision.”14 This rhetoric is fashionable among detractors of copyright enforcement. When the United States Supreme Court was deciding the MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Inc.15 case in 2005, a group of venture capitalists warned that a ruling against Grokster would dry up venture capital investment.16 Yet after the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling against Grokster, venture capital investment grew in the media and entertainment sector by more than fifty percent.17 Venture capitalists invested more than $1 billion in music companies in 2011 and 2012 alone.18 This reality is the best response to Professor Carrier’s assertions that aggressive enforcement against Napster and its progeny has left technology companies, record labels, venture capitalists, and consumers in a worse position than if Napster won the litigation.
But logic also dictates a conclusion contrary to Professor Carrier’s conclusion. It is hard to imagine why Napster, after fighting to avoid the need to obtain licenses, would have voluntarily negotiated licenses and paid royalties if it won the case. A finding for Napster would have instantly granted online services the right to copy and distribute music without any permission or license. Likewise, after Napster, some companies tried to architect services around the court’s decision.19 Professor Carrier refers to these as innovators, yet none of these new services and technology meant any money for creators.
Thus, one might conclude the opposite of Professor Carrier’s thesis: the Napster case and the strategic enforcement that accompanied vigorous licensing by record companies enabled rather than dried up investment in music.
* Chief, Digital Business & General Counsel for the Recording Industry Association of America.
WLR Online: Volume 2013, No. 4


Posted at: 06/25/2014 11:32 PM
By: Meghan Reistad
(ABC 6 News) -- Minnesota is home to more peregrine falcons than any other Midwest state. Birds that were once an endangered species are now thriving because of conservation efforts.
May to July is peregrine falcon banding season in Minnesota. Wednesday, the Midwest Peregrine Society and MnDOT teamed up to check on peregrine chicks on the Wabasha-Nelson Bridge over the Mississippi River.
In 2009, MnDOT placed a nesting box under the bridge. For five years it sat empty. Now three chicks live in the nest, two females and one male.
The Peregrine Society took blood samples and banded the birds. This was the 24th nest visited and 75th bird banded this season.
The pesticide DDT almost took out the peregrine population in Minnesota in the 1970s. Since then, conservation groups have worked to fix the problem.
MnDOT joined the team because peregrine falcons help control pest populations on bridges. Peregrine falcons typically eat other birds and help control the number of pigeons on bridges.
The Midwest Peregrine Society is a non-profit organization that operates off of volunteer support and donations. The typical cost to band a chick is $8, and the overall cost every year is around $5000.


The working principle of the hydraulic cylinder in the process of working is to use hydraulic oil as the transmission medium. When using the main hydraulic pump, the main pump is used to pressurize the hydraulic oil. The conversion of the control valve is transmitted to each working device for work, for the whole machine. Energy transfer plays a very important role.
In order to achieve better work, hydraulic cylinders have higher requirements for hydraulic components, high requirements for cleanliness and oil quality, and the pressure on the hydraulic cylinders is very high. Maintenance work is an important part of the maintenance of the hydraulic system.
1. The hydraulic cylinder should be regularly replaced with the cleaning system filter and hydraulic oil in the process of use to ensure the cleanliness of the cylinder and prolong its service life.
2. The hydraulic cylinder needs to be rust-proof. The piston part of the hydraulic cylinder will be eroded by oxides and acid gases during the working condition. We need to apply grease to protect it from the occurrence of component breakage.
3. Control system temperature. Excessive oil temperature in the hydraulic cylinder will reduce the service life of the seal. If the oil temperature is too high for a long time, the seal will be deformed for a long time, resulting in complete failure.
4. The hydraulic oil needs to be replaced regularly and used for a long time. If foreign matter enters the hydraulic cylinder, it is normal. We need to change the hydraulic oil regularly. Otherwise, the foreign matter will increase the friction and the oil will not change for a long time. The hydraulic cylinder is erosive and damaged.
5. The hydraulic cylinder needs to do the work of protecting the piston rod to a certain extent, so that the external damage of the sealing member can be effectively prevented, and the sediment needs to be cleaned frequently to a certain extent, so that the dirt that is difficult to clean can be prevented from entering the cylinder. The internal damage piston is either a seal.
6. Lubricate the joints regularly to prevent abnormal wear and corrosion in the absence of oil.
7. Regularly check the joints of the threads and other parts. Once it is found to be loose, it needs to be fastened immediately.
Contact Person: Mr. Aaron


Sexual Orientation and Sexual Abuse
Are abusers more likely to target them? Or does something about the attack affect them, or how they see themselves?
Most people who are gay or lesbian were not abused, but a higher percentage are than you find in the general population.
They may be more targeted, maybe due to homophobic gay-bashing.
Or, causality could go the other way.
Consider that there is a continuum with some people being very straight, some people very gay, and others standing at points in between.
If a “very straight” woman is molested by a man she might start associating sex with something horrible and to be avoided. Teri Hatcher has said that being molested by an uncle left her disinterested in sex.
But what if a woman has some flexibility? She certainly grew up in a society that idealized, and bombarded her with, straight images: Most of our movies, television, commercials, billboards, books, magazines, etc. are about straight couples. And non-straights can be punished. So although she has some flexibility, she’s more in touch with her straight side, maybe having little or no consciousness of other possibilities. But if she were molested by a man, instead of becoming asexual she does have an option. Sex with a man might seem horrible, but she might become more aware of sexual interest in women, since she has this outlet available?
Turning to men, a man with some flexibility who has been raised in straight society — with his potential for bisexuality ignored and punished — might go his entire life thinking of himself as straight. It works for him just fine. But if he were molested he might start wondering if he is gay, especially if he were aroused. (Molestation can arouse. And consider the highly publicized pretty blonde middle school teachers who have had affairs with 13-year-old boys. This is molestation, but the guys may have found it arousing.)
And, environment — social and biological — appears to affect gene expression. So maybe that could be happening?
Or, maybe abusers are simply more likely to target gay and lesbians due to homophobia.
We don’t really know the direction of causation. But here are some possibilities.
(Last in a 3-part series on sexual orientation.)


Slavery involves treating human beings as property that people can own. In the past, when slavery was legal or customary in many places, some slaves were granted certain rights and privileges. However, no slave ever had true liberty or freedom, and the institution of slavery rested on force or the threat of force that could be used against the enslaved.
In Africa, as in other parts of the world, forms of slavery have existed since the beginning of recorded history. The SLAVE TRADE forcibly removed millions of Africans from the continent, and many other individuals remained enslaved within Africa. In numerous African societies, slavery and the institutions and conditions related to it had economic, political, and cultural significance. Although slavery was abolished during the 1800s, variations of it have continued to exist in some groups in Africa into modern times.
FORMS OF SLAVERY
Various type of servile institutions developed in Africa. Under systems of formal slavery, enslaved persons were considered property. Ownership gave masters the right to sell slaves and use them and their labor without regard for the slaves' wishes. Such slavery existed in some traditional African societies as well as in the Muslim societies that developed in North Africa after Islam entered the continent in the A.D. 600s. Islamic law permitted slavery but included rules governing the relationship to prevent extreme cruelty and abuse. The law also defined categories of people who could or could not be enslaved. The categories varied. Muslims did not always agree, for example, on whether or not other Muslims could be enslaved.
Concubinage was a special category of slavery in which masters maintained female slaves called concubines as sexual partners. Concubines and their children sometimes had certain rights, especially under Islamic law. If a concubine bore a child fathered by her master, he could not sell her or the child. In non-Muslim areas, children born to concubines were usually treated as equal to the children of free women.
In some African societies, certain slaves belonged not to individuals but to a particular political position. They lived on land that was controlled by the individual who held that position at a given time. This form of slavery, in which people were bound to the land rather than to a particular master, has been compared to the condition of peasant workers called serfs in medieval Europe. Sometimes the bondage was religious rather than political. Along the coast of western Africa, for example, cult slavery was common. Slaves were presented to a shrine, and the priests of the shrine had access to their labor and their bodies. These slaves could not be sold because they belonged to the shrine, but they and their children were outcasts.
Debt peonage, also called pawnship, was a servile condition based on a relationship between a debtor and a creditor. Under this system a creditor held an individual—a “pawn”—as a guarantee that a debt would be repaid. Often the pawn was not the actual debtor but one of the debtor's relatives. The pawn had to work for the creditor until the debtor paid off the debt, ending the pawn's period of servitude. If the debt was not repaid, or if the creditor himself fell into debt before the pawn was released, the creditor could sell the pawn into slavery. In business arrangements, one side sometimes held individuals as commercial hostages. If the other side failed to complete the transaction, the hostages became slaves. In certain societies pawnship sometimes served as a way for men to acquire additional wives. Slave wives or concubines were captured or purchased, but pawn wives were gained in return for canceling debts.
Practices associated with pawnship and other forms of enslavement suggest that there were various stages between freedom and slavery in Africa. For example, not all war captives, political prisoners, and kidnapping victims became slaves immediately. Often they entered a form of servitude from which they could be released by payment of a ransom. If the ransom was not paid, they became slaves. Although in some cases individuals succeeded in moving out of slavery, countless other people were enslaved through kidnappings, raids, wars, or violations of safeguards that were supposed to protect pawns and servants.
FACTORS INFLUENCING SLAVERY
Slavery occurred in both large and small societies in Africa and in various political settings. Economic conditions played a major role in the kinds of servile arrangements that developed and the number of people who were enslaved.
Slavery became especially important in areas where large-scale agriculture, with its high demand for labor, developed into a major economic activity. Many slaves, for example, worked as agricultural laborers in the SAHEL, the region south of the SAHARA DESERT. One ruler of the Songhai Empire in Nigeria in the 1500s is said to have owned about 20 plantations along the NIGER RIVER, most of them producing rice and all of them worked by slaves. The importing of slaves into the Sahel continued into the late 1800s.
Along the Atlantic coast, slaves played a large role in the economy, working in agriculture and carrying goods to market. During the 1800s, thousands of slaves worked on plantations along the coasts of SENEGAL and the GAMBIA, producing groundnuts for export. Although the Jola people of the southern Senegal coast had resisted the slave trade for years, as the trade in groundnuts increased they began selling each other into slavery. The Jola slaves cultivated rice plantations that fed the groundnut producers.
During the 1800s European and Arab colonies in southern and eastern Africa made extensive use of slaves, especially in producing goods for export. On the island of ZANZIBAR and along the coast of eastern Africa, Arabs and SWAHILI established plantations where slaves cultivated cloves. The Portuguese used slave labor to grow sesame in MOZAMBIQUE, and cotton, coffee, and other crops in ANGOLA. These developments were part of a trend also seen in tropical areas of the Americas and Asia—the effort to capture export markets through the use of slave labor on plantations and in mines.
Enslaved persons from Africa had another economic role as well—as exports in the international slave trade. States of western Africa that supplied captives to the trade, such as ASANTE in present-day GHANA and Dahomey in BENIN, became the dominant powers in that region during the 1700s and early 1800s, when slave exports from Africa were at their peak.
Slavery and servile conditions existed in a variety of cultures in Africa. Slavery was present in some small communities in which the difference between groups or social classes was not great. In larger, more complex societies, it occurred on a larger scale. Such societies had many roles that slaves could fill. Some served as bureaucrats, soldiers, commercial agents, or wives and mothers of rulers; others labored in mines, plantations, or agricultural slave villages.
By the 1700s slaves and servile pawns were concentrated in Africa's most centrally organized states and most economically developed areas. Political and commercial groups—rulers, nobles, and merchants—had acquired the majority of slaves. In many places rulers maintained their hold on political power by collecting a large personal following, which often included slaves and people in other servile conditions as well as relatives. Many male slaves were placed in their masters' armies as soldiers, while female slaves generally lived and worked in the households of their masters.
In a number of African states, including Ghana, ancient EGYPT, and some Nigerian societies, slaves were killed when royal or noble masters died so that they could accompany the masters into the afterlife. Some groups sacrificed slaves into the 1800s. A funeral for a wealthy master was not the only occasion for such sacrifices—slaves might also be killed in religious ceremonies. Such events took place most often in societies where slaves had become very numerous. They had various purposes—to decrease slave populations, to terrorize slaves and make them easier to control, to punish criminals, and to frighten rival societies by killing captives.
Abolition—the movement to end the slave trade and slavery itself—became a powerful political force in Europe during the 1800s. Although the abolition movement grew out of the sincere belief that slavery was wrong, it also provided Europeans with a reason to invade and conquer the African continent. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the European powers established firm control over most of Africa. Together with the spread of Christianity, their rule undermined slavery and other servile institutions.
These institutions did not disappear overnight. In some regions reform was gradual, and slavery and pawnship died out slowly. Colonial administrations themselves established new servile institutions, such as forced labor for road-building projects or plantations. They also introduced taxation, which often required Africans to take whatever wage labor they could find in order to pay their taxes. As a result, many Africans labored in conditions not very different from servitude. In addition, local African rulers who cooperated with the new colonial administrations usually were allowed to keep some degree of power over those who had been slaves or pawns. Finally, although Europeans made the buying and selling of slaves illegal, the laws were not always easy to enforce. Traffic in slaves continued for years in parts of Africa. In some areas it survived even after the colonies gained independence in the mid-1900s.
CHARACTERISTICS OF AFRICAN SLAVERY
Some anthropologists believe that African slavery is best understood in relation to African culture. African slavery, they argue, differed in key ways from the slavery practiced by Europeans and Americans who obtained slaves as laborers through the international slave trade. Western slavery was an economic institution—slaves were property whose value lay in the work they could perform. In Africa, on the other hand, slavery involved not only economic but also social and political factors. People acquired slaves for reasons other than economic usefulness. Ownership of a large number of slaves, for example, was a sign of power and importance.
African slavery was also closely related to issues of KINSHIP, the network of extended family relationships that form the primary social unit in most African cultures. Forcibly torn from their kinship groups or their lines of ancestry, slaves and pawns were stripped of their social identities. They became nonpersons in cultures that traditionally defined existence as membership in a social group rather than in terms of individuality.
Slaves who were intended for sale or sacrifice remained nonpersons. Once acquired by a master, however, slaves and pawns became part of the master's social network, which could include immediate family members, more distant relatives, persons in various types of servile relationships, and other slaves. Although slaves occupied the outer rim of this network, they were still recognized as part of it. Generally they were given new names to mark the fact that their old identities had ceased to exist.
The main characteristics of Western slavery were the loss of freedom and the possibility of regaining it. In African societies, however, people placed a very high value on belonging to a kinship group. For them slavery also involved the loss of kinfolk. Newly acquired slaves in Africa possessed none of the rights or benefits of kinship, but in time they or their descendants could receive some of those rights and benefits as they gradually became part of the master's kinship group.
Sometimes slaves were adopted outright and transformed into family members rather quickly. In other cases, the process occurred slowly, as succeeding generations came to be regarded more and more as part of the group, until eventually the boundaries between those of free descent and those descended from slaves became blurred. In this sense, the Western notion of slavery—the ownership of people as property—was very different from the realities of the institution of slavery in Africa. (See also Class Structure and Caste; Diaspora, African; Economic History; Ethnic Groups and Identity; Plantation Systems.)