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Chinese state media reported Friday that an explosion at a pesticide plant in the eastern part of the country has killed 62 people.
According to Reuters, 34 people were critically injured and 28 are missing--the latest casualties in a series of industrial accidents that has angered the public.
The blast occurred in an industrial park in the city of Yancheng, in Jiangsu province.
The fire was finally brought under control at 3 a.m.
At least 62 people are dead and more than 600 injured after an explosion at a chemical plant in China. This video, "<a target=_blank rel="nofollow noopener"..
An explosion at a pesticide plant in eastern China has killed 47 people and injured more than 600, state media said on Friday.
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You know it's gotten bad when the president is required to do damage control for his lawyer, but that's exactly what happened Thursday morning, when Donald Trump took to Twitter to explain himself, after Rudolph Giuliani admitted on Fox News that Trump repaid $130,000 in hush money to Stormy Daniels. In suspiciously non-capitalized prose, Trump (or his ghost-tweeter) basically confirmed the story and said it was no biggie.
"He fired Comey because Comey would not, among other things, say that he wasn't a target of the investigation," Giuliani said. "He's entitled to that. Hillary Clinton got that, and he couldn't get that. So he fired him, and he said, 'I'm free of this guy.'"
In saying this, Giuliani appears to have thought that he was exonerating Trump. Giuliani was saying Trump didn't fire Comey to obstruct the investigation into Trump campaign collusion with Russian sabotage of our election, but rather because Comey didn't publicly clear him, which Giuliani believes Trump was "entitled to."
But this undercuts the leading public rationale that Trump offered for firing Comey. The White House has cited Comey's handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation as the fake pretext for the firing. But now Trump's own lawyer has confirmed on national television that the rationale was directly related to the Russia investigation.
"It seems that Giuliani is trying to suggest that Trump did not obstruct justice when he fired Comey," Barbara McQuade, a former prosecutor and current law professor at the University of Michigan, told me. "But in fact he may just be building the case against him. Even demanding that Comey make a public statement that Trump is not under investigation would itself potentially be obstruction of justice."
McQuade added that insisting on such a public statement constitutes "interfering in the investigation."
Here's a key bit of context showing why Giuliani's admission could be important: Remember that Trump himself reportedly made this same demand of Comey - and that special counsel Robert Mueller III appears to be examining that demand as part of his effort to determine whether Trump obstructed justice.
After Comey publicly confirmed the existence of the probe in March of 2017, Trump told Comey in a March 30 phone call that he wanted Comey to confirm he was not personally under investigation, to publicly "lift the cloud" that the probe had cast over his presidency, according to Comey's memos. Comey detailed in the memos that he didn't want to do this, because the status of the probe could change (as it ultimately did), and he wanted to avoid having to publicly confirm such a change later. Comey took this exchange seriously enough to report it to his superiors at the Justice Department.
What's more, we know that a short time later, Trump personally asked two other top intelligence officials to publicly confirm what Comey would not. As The Washington Post reported, they both refused the request, which they deemed "inappropriate." Trump subsequently went further, prodding them to directly intervene with Comey to curtail the investigation, which they also refused to do.
We also know that Mueller is looking at all of this conduct. To establish obstruction, Mueller needs to show that in trying to hamstring or derail the probe, Trump acted with "corrupt intent," say, to protect himself and his top officials from scrutiny. The leaked questions from Mueller show that he wants to ask Trump about that very same March 30 call with Comey in which he seems to have demanded that Comey publicly exonerate him. Mueller wants to probe Trump's state of mind about all of this, including whether Comey's public confirmation of the investigation - which angered Trump - helped precipitate Comey's firing.
Giuliani has now publicly confirmed that all that did indeed figure into Trump's rationale. And Mueller's team may take an interest in this, McQuade told me: "This will cause them to review what they've done already and will inform their questions going forward."
To be clear, it still remains very unlikely that Mueller will try to indict Trump for obstruction of justice. But Mueller is expected to produce a report on the obstruction question, and his findings on it may be made public in some form. Whether or not Trump can be held criminally liable for obstruction, Mueller may end up documenting a pattern of very serious misconduct, which could shed new light on just how far Trump went to shield himself and his cronies from accountability, something that could have serious implications for our politics and for our efforts to restore the integrity of the rule of law amid Trump's nonstop degradation of it.
Giuliani has inadvertently lent more salience to this whole line of inquiry.
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Gabriel Tarde (French: [taʁd]; in full Jean-Gabriel De Tarde; 12 March 1843 – 13 May 1904) was a French sociologist, criminologist and social psychologist who conceived sociology as based on small psychological interactions among individuals (much as if it were chemistry), the fundamental forces being imitation and innovation.
Tarde was born in Sarlat in the province of Dordogne, and he studied law in Toulouse and Paris. From 1869 to 1894 he worked as a magistrate and investigating judge in the province. In the 1880s he corresponded with representatives of the newly formed criminal anthropology, most notably the Italians Enrico Ferri and Cesare Lombroso and the French psychiatrist Alexandre Lacassagne. With the latter, Tarde came to be the leading representative for a "French school" in criminology. In 1900 he was appointed professor in modern philosophy at the Collège de France. As such he was the most prominent contemporary critic of Durkheim's sociology.
Among the concepts that Tarde initiated were the group mind (taken up and developed by Gustave Le Bon, and sometimes advanced to explain so-called herd behaviour or crowd psychology), and economic psychology, where he anticipated a number of modern developments.Tarde was very critical of Émile Durkheim’s work at the level of both methodology and theory. However, Durkheim's sociology overshadowed Tarde's insights, and it was not until U.S. scholars, such as the Chicago school, took up his theories that they became famous.
Tarde took an interest in criminology and the psychological basis of criminal behavior while working as a magistrate in public service. He was critical of the concept of the atavistic criminal as developed by Cesare Lombroso. Tarde's criminological studies served as the underpinning of his later sociology.
Tarde also emphasised the tendency of the criminal to return to the scene of the crime and to repeat it, which he saw as part of a wider process of repetition compulsion.
Tarde considered imitation, conscious and unconscious, as a fundamental interpersonal trait, with the imitation of fathers by sons as the primal situation, resting on prestige.
Tarde highlighted the importance of the creative exemplar in society, arguing that "genius is the capacity to engender one's own progeny".
Tarde also wrote a science-fiction novel entitled Underground Man. The plot is a post-apocalyptic story of an Earth destroyed by a new Ice Age. Humanity must rebuild a new civilization underground. The choice is made to lay the foundation of their utopia on music and art.
Sigmund Freud built on Tarde's ideas of imitation and suggestion for his work on the theory of the crowd.
Everett Rogers furthered Tarde's "laws of imitation" in the 1962 book Diffusion of innovations.
From the late 1990s and continuing today, Tarde's work has been experiencing a renaissance. Spurred by the re-release of his essay Monadologie et Sociologie by Institut Synthelabo under the guidance of Gilles Deleuze's student Eric Alliez, Tarde's work is being re-discovered as a harbinger of postmodern French theory, particularly as influenced by the social philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari.
For example, it has recently been revealed that in Difference and Repetition, Deleuze's milestone book which effected his transition to a more socially-aware brand of philosophy and his writing partnership with Guattari, Deleuze in fact re-centered his philosophical orientation around Tarde's thesis that repetition serves difference rather than vice versa. Also on the heels of the re-release of Tarde's works has come an important development in which French sociologist Bruno Latour has referred to Tarde as a possible predecessor to Actor-Network Theory in part because of Tarde's criticisms of Durkheim's conceptions of the Social.
A book, The Social after Gabriel Tarde: Debates and Assessments, edited by Matei Candea, was published by Routledge in 2010. It provides a set of mature critiques of the recent renaissance of Tarde as well as suggesting models for scholars to use Tarde's thought in their scholarship. This book includes contributions that philosophically reflect the Latourian (including a contribution from Latour himself) as well as Deleuzian approaches to Tarde, and also highlight a number of new ways Tarde is being adapted in terms of methods in contemporary sociology, particularly in the area of ethnography, and the study of online communities. Additionally, in 2010, Bruno Latour and Vincent Antonin Lepinay released a short book called The Science of Passionate Interests: An Introduction to Gabriel Tarde's Economic Anthropology, in which they show how Tarde's work offers a strong critique of the foundations of the economics discipline and economic methodology.
↑ "Gabriel Tarde". Encyclopedia Britannica.
↑ Armand Mattelart, Invention of Communication, University of Minnesota Press, 1996, p. 257.
↑ Sigmund Freud, Civilization, Religion and Society (PFL 12) p. 116.
↑ David Toews, "The Renaissance of philosophie Tardienne", in Pli: the Warwick Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 8, 1999.
↑ David Toews (2003) "The New Tarde: Sociology after the End of the Social" Theory Culture & Society Vol. 20 No. 5., 81-98.
^ Bruno Latour (2005). Reassembling the Social: An Introduction to Actor-Network-Theory (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
^ See also: Pietro Semeraro, Il sistema penale di Gabriel Tarde, Padova 1984.
Robert Leroux, Gabriel Tarde, vie, oeuvres, concepts, Paris, Ellipses, 2011.
Pietro Semeraro, Il sistema penale di Gabriel Tarde, Cedam, Padova 1984.
Realino Marra, Tra pena infamante e utilità del reato. Tarde contro Durkheim, ovvero l'espiazione della colpa a fondamento del diritto criminale, in «Dei Delitti e delle Pene», III-1, 1985, pp. 49–92.
Massimo Borlandi, Tarde et les criminologues italiens de son temps, in Gabriel Tarde et la criminologie au tournant du siècle, Presses Universitaires du Septentrion, Villeneuve d'Ascq, 2000.
Matei Candea, The social after Gabriel Tarde : debates and assessments, Routledge, New York, 2010.
Jaap van Ginneken, 'The era of the public – Tarde, social psychology, and interaction', Ch. 5 in JvG, Crowds, psychology and politics 1871-1899, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
This page was last modified on 10 November 2018, at 03:51.
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Hamoukar (in Arabic: حموكار) is a large archaeological site located in the Jazira region of northeastern Syria (Al Hasakah Governorate), near the Iraqi and Turkish borders. The early settlement dates back to the 5th millennium BCE, and it existed simultaneously with the Ubaid and the early Uruk cultures. It was a big centre of obsidian production. In the 3rd millennium, this was one of the largest cities of Northern Mesopotamia, and extended to 105 ha.
It is now believed that Hamoukar was thriving as far back as 4000 BC and independently from Sumer. The origins of urban settlements has generally been attributed to the riverine societies of southern Mesopotamia (in what is now southern Iraq). This is the area of ancient Sumer, where around 4000 BC the Mesopotamian cities such of Ur and Uruk emerged. In 2007, following the discoveries at Hamoukar, some archaeologists have argued that the Cradle of Civilization could have extended further up the Tigris River and included the part of northern Syria where Hamoukar is located.
The city flourished before the invention of writing. It also featured specialization of labor.
Other contemporary early sites in this area are Chagar Bazar, Tell Arbid, and the multi-period site of Tell Brak.
Thousands of clay sealings have been found on the site, indicating the existence of a complex bureaucratic system before the invention of writing. These sealings were once used to lock doors or containers and were impressed with stamp seals.
Large quantities of obsidian were found on the site, indicating the existence of the obsidian production facilities of both weapons and tools. The volcanic rock of this type does not occur in Hamoukar area, so it must have been imported. The nearest deposits are located in the area of Mount Nemrut (today's Turkey), about 170 km north of the city. This is confirmed by chemical analysis of the obsidian.
The findings were a surprise for many archaeologists, since they indicate the existence of independent trading networks in the northern Mesopotamia outside of the influence of southern cities, such as Ur and Uruk.
The obsidian workshops were spread across a large area of 280 hectares. They were in use as early as 4500 BC.
The town lay on an important trade route between Anatolia and southern Mesopotamia. Many Nineveh 5 period artifacts (early 3rd millennium) were found. The city also flourished during the later Akkadian Empire.
Eye Idols made of alabaster or bone have been found in Tell Hamoukar. Eye Idols have also been found in Tell Brak, the biggest settlement from Syria's Late Chalcolithic period.
Excavation work undertaken in 2005 and 2006 has shown that this city was destroyed around 3500 BC. This may be the evidence of the earliest urban warfare attested so far in the archaeological record of the Near East. Slings and thousands of clay bullets have been found -- evidence of the siege that the city endured. Contained excavations in 2008 and 2010 tried to expand on that.
The city could have fallen victim to the Uruk expansion around 3500 BC. There are remains of an Uruk trading colony in the area.
Yet, according to the archaeologist Clemens Reichel, the evidence of who exactly was responsible for the destruction of Hamoukar is not entirely clear, since the Uruk trading colony was probably also destroyed at the same time as the big battle was taking place.
^ McGuire G. 2000, „Hamoukar - Early City in Northeastern Syria”, [in:] The Oriental Institute News and Notes, nr 166, Chicago, 1 – 8, 18 – 19.
^ "Archaeologists Unearth a War Zone 5,500 Years Old"
"In the Ruins: Tell Hamoukar", New York Times Science Video (January 16, 2007).
"New details of first major urban battle emerge along with clues about civilization’s origins", press release by University of Chicago News Office (January 16, 2007).
"University of Chicago-Syrian team finds first evidence of warfare in ancient Mesopotamia", press release by University of Chicago News Office (December 16, 2005).
The Akkadian Empire was the first ancient empire of Mesopotamia, centered in the city of Akkad and its surrounding region, which the Bible also called Akkad. The empire united Akkadian and Sumerian speakers under one rule. The Akkadian Empire exercised influence across Mesopotamia, the Levant, and Anatolia, sending military expeditions as far south as Dilmun and Magan in the Arabian Peninsula.
Ur was an important Sumerian city-state in ancient Mesopotamia, located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar in south Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate. Although Ur was once a coastal city near the mouth of the Euphrates on the Persian Gulf, the coastline has shifted and the city is now well inland, on the south bank of the Euphrates, 16 kilometres from Nasiriyah in modern-day Iraq.
Eridu is an archaeological site in southern Mesopotamia. Eridu was long considered the earliest city in southern Mesopotamia and is still today argued to be the oldest city in the world. Located 12 km southwest of Ur, Eridu was the southernmost of a conglomeration of Sumerian cities that grew around temples, almost in sight of one another. These buildings were made of mud brick and built on top of one another. With the temples growing upward and the village growing outward, a larger city was built. In Sumerian mythology, Eridu was originally the home of Enki, later known by the Akkadians as Ea, who was considered to have founded the city. His temple was called E-Abzu, as Enki was believed to live in Abzu, an aquifer from which all life was believed to stem.
Nippur was among the most ancient of Sumerian cities. It was the special seat of the worship of the Sumerian god Enlil, the "Lord Wind", ruler of the cosmos, subject to An alone. Nippur was located in modern Nuffar in Afak, Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate, Iraq.
Adab or Udab was an ancient Sumerian city between Telloh and Nippur. It was located at the site of modern Bismaya or Bismya in the Wasit Province of Iraq.
Tell Leilan is an archaeological site situated near the Wadi Jarrah in the Khabur River basin in Al-Hasakah Governorate, northeastern Syria, a region formerly a part of ancient Assyria. The site has been occupied since the 5th millennium BC. During the late third millennium, the site was known as Shekhna. During that time it was under control of the Akkadian Empire. Around 1800 BC, the site was renamed "Shubat-Enlil" by the Assyrian king, Shamshi-Adad I and it became the capital of Assyria in northern Mesopotamia. Shubat-Enlil was abandoned around 1700 BC.
Tell Brak was an ancient city in Syria; its remains constitute a tell located in the Upper Khabur region, near the modern village of Tell Brak, 50 kilometers north-east of Al-Hasaka city, Al-Hasakah Governorate. The city's original name is unknown. During the second half of the third millennium BC, the city was known as Nagar and later on, Nawar.
Eshnunna was an ancient Sumerian city and city-state in central Mesopotamia. Although situated in the Diyala Valley north-east of Sumer proper, the city nonetheless belonged securely within the Sumerian cultural milieu.
Jemdet Nasr is a tell or settlement mound in Babil Governorate (Iraq) that is best known as the eponymous type site for the Jemdet Nasr period. The site was first excavated in 1926 by Stephen Langdon, who found proto-cuneiform clay tablets in a large mudbrick building thought to be the ancient administrative centre of the site. A second season took place in 1928, but this season was very poorly recorded. Subsequent excavations in the 1980s under British archaeologist Roger Matthews were, among other things, undertaken to relocate the building excavated by Langdon. These excavations have shown that the site was also occupied during the Ubaid, Uruk and Early Dynastic I periods.
Girsu was a city of ancient Sumer, situated some 25 km (16 mi) northwest of Lagash, at the site of modern Tell Telloh, Dhi Qar Governorate, Iraq.
The Early Dynastic period is an archaeological culture in Mesopotamia that is generally dated to c. 2900–2350 BC and was preceded by the Uruk and Jemdet Nasr periods. It is part of the History of Mesopotamia. It saw the development of writing and the formation of the first cities and states. The ED itself was characterized by the existence of multiple city-states: small states with a relatively simple structure that developed and solidified over time. This development ultimately led to the unification of much of Mesopotamia under the rule of Sargon, the first monarch of the Akkadian Empire. Despite this political fragmentation, the ED city-states shared a relatively homogeneous material culture. Sumerian cities such as Uruk, Ur, Lagash, Umma, and Nippur located in Lower Mesopotamia were very powerful and influential. To the north and west stretched states centered on cities such as Kish, Mari, Nagar, and Ebla.
Tepe Gawra is an ancient Mesopotamian settlement in the Mosul region of northwest Iraq that was occupied between 5000 and 1500 BC. It contains remains from the Halaf period, the Ubaid period, and the Uruk period. Tepe Gawra contains material relating to the Halaf-Ubaid Transitional period c. 5,500–5,000 BC.
Tell es-Sweyhat is the name of a large archaeological site on the Euphrates River in northern Syria. It is located in Raqqa Governorate roughly 95 km northeast of Aleppo and 60 km south of Carchemish. Also, an Uruk site of Jebel Aruda is located just across the river.
The Jemdet Nasr Period is an archaeological culture in southern Mesopotamia. It is generally dated from 3100–2900 BC. It is named after the type site Tell Jemdet Nasr, where the assemblage typical for this period was first recognized. Its geographical distribution is limited to south-central Iraq. The culture of the proto-historical Jemdet Nasr period is a local development out of the preceding Uruk period and continues into the Early Dynastic I period.
The art of Mesopotamia has survived in the archaeological record from early hunter-gatherer societies on to the Bronze Age cultures of the Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian and Assyrian empires. These empires were later replaced in the Iron Age by the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian empires. Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Mesopotamia brought significant cultural developments, including the oldest examples of writing.
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What is siege warfare? A lot of people use the term, but surprisingly few know what it actually means. If you've seen the Lord of the Rings trilogy, you probably have the general idea. The Battle of Minas Tirith is reasonably good example of a classic siege, one featuring many of the medieval siege weapons and tactics you'll find in notable sieges throughout history.
The basics of the thing are pretty simple: surround an enemy's fortification, cut off all food, water, and supplies, then wait for the fort or city's inhabitants to starve, turning their fort into a prison with no escape. Along the way, invaders maintain constant pressure and constant harassment, breaking the enemy's will to fight with bombardment, fire, disease, and general unpleasantness.
So, what are the most iconic siege weapons of all time? You'll find them all here and you can vote up the weapons most associated with successful sieges throughout the history of warfare.
Trebuchets were the big guns - the heavy artillery of catapult warfare. Capable of launching huge projectiles over long ranges, trebuchets were often the biggest weapons on the field. Really massive trebuchets required crews of a hundred men or more. Instead of rope torsion, these weapons relied on a huge counterweight to send the long arm upward and sling projectiles far into the distance.
It's said that the first sonic boom ever heard by man came from the trebuchet projectiles.
Ballistas were effectively giant crossbows, working on the same torsion principles as onagers. The big difference was that ballistas were meant to fire straight ahead at enemy walls instead of up and over them. Loaded with stone "cannon balls" as often as they were with the iconic "arrow" bolt, ballistas specialized in hammering enemy walls to pieces - but they could just as easily be fired into advancing soldiers.
Since a Lord of the Rings reference is pretty much inevitable on this list: Yes, Grond, Hammer of the Underworld was kind of a real thing. Granted, most invading armies didn't consist of orcs, and most rams weren't intricately carved, flaming wolf heads. Most were like the one pictured - logs suspended on ropes and covered by a roof to protect from arrow fire.
Some had flat faces, some were pointed and some had metal spears depending on whether they were used to batter down walls or wooden gates. And yes, some (like those used by the ever-stylish Romans) even had intricately molded, metal ram's heads.
Sometimes also referred to by the generic "siege engine," towers were as much about psychological battle as practical warfare. Siege towers were basically glorified ladders meant to be wheeled up to enemy walls so invaders could quickly scale them and invade en masse. The sight of a line of massive siege towers appearing over the horizon was often enough to break a defending commander's will before the siege even began.
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By mdangeard, published at 6 February 2009 - 6:48pm, last updated 10 years 10 weeks ago.
1- if you ask everybody to provide input on a website, and then use a rating system to decide which issues are important, then what you will get is not what the most important issues are for the community as a whole, but rather what the most important ideas are for the best organized group within the community. Huge difference. Basically chances are that one or a few communities will take over the site and monopolize the conversation. And if there is no moderation, then you will end up just listening to what they have to say regardless of what others may think.
In the case of the Obama experiment (Citizen's Briefing Book), the winning idea is "legalize marijuana", and while I have no doubt that they won their ranking fair and straight, I have a hard time believing this is one of the most pressing issue right now.
- Second, they qualified the top 3 ideas of each category to then have them all compete together for the final selection of the top 10.
Legalizing Marijuana is still in the final top 10, you have to give credit to this community for being very good at mobilizing their supporters online, but there are other ideas that were able to emerge from the process, and it was a good attempt at leveling the playing field so that other ideas from not so popular categories could be considered.
As it is done with elections in the US, maybe one extra step could have also been considered: having each category elect an equal number of representatives to represent their specific concerns, so that they are the ones that vote in the second round. Then it is no longer an issue of how many vote for an ideas, but rather how many of a representative sample of the population get convinced by the ideas that were selected.
2- the other option (other than opening a site to invite input) is to map conversations happening everywhere in the blogosphere or other places, then you can have a much better idea of who is talking about what where. And you will have a very different view of which communities are active on the web, and what their top issues are. And then you can specifically target these communities (based on how relevant they are to you at a given time) to address their specific issues.
With this second approach, we still have an open space where everbody can express their opinions (the blogs or the web in general), and then the leadership can decide what to do with what they see. No ratings involved, just the good judgement of whoever is listening. Individuals are doing it today, they pick and choose which blogs they want to read and comment on, and they may have their own blog(s) to contribute to the conversation. Corporation and the government should at a minimum do the same. And then decide if they want to engage in other ways (back to #1 above).
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DOES RELIGION HAVE A POSITIVE CORRELATION WITH HAPPINESS?
Viewed in geographic terms, religion has a NEGATIVE correlation with happiness.
Whether religion correlates with happiness depends on how one measures happiness.
Whether religion correlates with happiness depends on how one measures religion/religiousness.
In several countries religion does NOT have a positive correlation with happiness.
When a study does find a positive correlation between religion and happiness, it is usually a weak correlation.
There are a number of other factors that have a significantly stronger positive correlation with happiness.
The correlation between religion and happiness appears to be bi-modal: religious people tend towards both greater happiness and also greater unhappiness compared to non-religious people.
1. Viewed in geographic terms, religion has a NEGATIVE correlation with happiness.
Let’s compare the top ten MOST religious states in the USA with the ten LEAST religious states in terms of happiness.
If religion is the key to happiness, then we would expect the states with the MOST religious populations to have the happiest populations as well, and we would expect the states with the LEAST religious populations to have the least happiest populations. A perfect positive correlation between religion and happiness would be if the number one most religious state also had the number one spot in happiness, and if the second most religious state was number two in terms of happiness, and so on. A perfect correlation would also mean that the LEAST religious state in the country would have the least happiest population, and the second LEAST religious state would have the second least happiest population, and so on.
There is NOT a perfect positive correlation between religion and happiness. In fact, the most religious states tend to be states with lower than average happiness, and the least religious states tend to be states with above average happiness. In terms of states, religion has a NEGATIVE correlation with happiness.
Note that West Virginia is one of the top ten most religious states, and it also has the LEAST happy population in the USA (it ranks dead last).
Note that two of the ten least religious states (Alaska and Hawaii) are the two states with the happiest populations in the USA (ranking number 1 and number 2, respectively).
In a 2011 paper that analyzed self-reports from hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, researchers found that the connection between religious faith and happiness was strongest among people living in difficult conditions—fear, poverty, hunger.
When we divide the world up by states or nations, the LEAST religious states or nations tend to have the happiest populations, and the MOST religious states or nations tend to have less happier populations. This geographic organization of data on religion and happiness indicates that religion is NOT the key to happiness, and it also casts doubt on the claim that religious people tend to be happier than non-religious people.
2. Whether religion correlates with happiness depends on how one measures happiness.
Religion correlates with happiness only when specific measures of happiness are used, particularly the Oxford Happiness Inventory. When other measures of happiness are used, the positive correlation between religion and happiness may disappear.
3. Whether religion correlates with happiness depends on how one measures religion/religiousness.
Surveys also ask people about their religious practices, such as how often they pray, how often they read or study scripture, how often they attend religious services, and surveys ask people about how they feel about religion (“How important is religion in your daily life?”), and about their religious experiences (“Do you feel close to God when you pray?”).
So, religion and religiousness can be evaluated on the basis of different sorts of considerations: religious identification, religious beliefs, religious activities, religious experiences, and attitudes about religion, to name some commonly used considerations. Whether a study shows a positive correlation between religion/religiousness and happiness depends on how religion/religiousness is measured or evaluated.
The surveys showed that across all creeds, religious people were more satisfied than non-religious people. According to the data, about 28 percent of people who attended a religious service weekly were “extremely satisfied” with their lives, compared with 19.6 percent of people who never attended services.
Having more close friends has an obvious relevance to happiness, so whenever “religiousness” is measured in terms of attendance at religious services (as opposed to religious beliefs or religious experiences) the correlation of religion with happiness could be explained in purely natural and ordinary terms, as the result of the social aspects of religious practices.
4. In several countries religion does NOT have a positive correlation with happiness.
Religious people tend to feel better about themselves and their lives, but a new study finds that this benefit may only hold in places where everyone else is religious, too.
But if religion/religiousness does NOT have a positive correlation with happiness in several countries, then that is strong evidence that religion by itself is NOT the cause of the happiness that correlates with religion in other countries, otherwise the correlation would be consistent across all countries. In any case, religion by itself cannot be “the key to happiness” for people in general because there are many countries where being religious does NOT make a significant difference in how happy a person will be.
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George Richard Tiller, MD (August 8, 1941 – May 31, 2009) was an American physician from Wichita, Kansas. He gained national attention as the medical director of Women's Health Care Services, one of only three clinics nationwide to provide late-term abortions at the time.
During his tenure with the center, which began in 1975 and continued the medical practice of his father, Tiller was frequently targeted with protest and violence by anti-abortion groups and individuals. After his clinic was firebombed in 1986, Tiller was shot in both arms by anti-abortion extremist Shelley Shannon in 1993. On May 31, 2009, Tiller was fatally shot in the side of the head by anti-abortion extremist Scott Roeder, as Tiller served as an usher during the Sunday morning service at his church in Wichita. Roeder was convicted of murder on January 29, 2010, and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Tiller was born in Wichita, Kansas, the son of Catherine and Dean Jackson "Jack" Tiller, MD. He studied at the University of Kansas School of Medicine from 1963 to 1967. Shortly thereafter, he held a medical internship with United States Navy, and served as flight surgeon in Camp Pendleton, California, in 1969 and 1970. In July 1970, he planned to start a dermatology residency. However on August 21, 1970, his parents, sister and brother-in-law were killed in an aircraft accident. In her will, his sister requested that Tiller take care of her one-year-old son. Tiller had intended to go back to Wichita, close up his father's family practice and then go back to become a dermatologist. However, he quickly felt pressure to take over his father's family practice. Tiller's father had performed abortions at his practice. After hearing about a woman who had died from an illegal abortion, Tiller stayed in Wichita to continue his father's practice.
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Scotland's councils could be facing a shortfall of more than £500 million in just two years' time, public spending watchdogs have predicted.
The Accounts Commission has forecast the gap between the amount local government spends and its income could grow from £87 million in 2016/17 to an estimated £367 million in the next financial year, before rising again to £553 million in 2018/19.
By then, analysis suggests more than a third of Scotland's 32 local authorities will face a funding gap that is greater than the amount of cash they have in reserves.
The figures were contained in a new report from the Accounts Commission which warned councils will ''need to make significant savings to address forecast funding gaps''.
Just over half of councils plan to use their reserves to balance their budget in 2016/17 - with Angus Council planning to use almost a quarter (23%) of its reserve fund while Dumfries and Galloway Council says it will use less than 1%.
The report, an overview of council finances, said these were ''generally good'' in 2015/16, with authorities able to reduce overall debt levels and make a slight increase in their overall reserves.
It went on to state ''significant challenges for local government finance lie ahead''.
The Accounts Commission warned: ''Councils' budgets are under increasing pressure from a long-term decline in funding, rising demand for services and increasing costs such as pensions.
''There is variation in how these pressures are affecting individual councils, with some overspending their total budgets or budgets for individual services such as social care.
Council incomes amounted to £18.9 billion in 2015/16, with £10.9 billion (57%) of this cash coming from the Scottish Government - a drop of 1.7% in real terms from 2010/11.
When the figures for 2016/17 were taken into account, authorities have seen a real-terms reduction in government funding of 8.4% since 2010/11, with the Accounts Commission stating this is ''approximately the same as the reduction in the Scottish Government's total budget over the same period''.
The report said councils ''have experienced a long-term decline in their grant funding from the Scottish Government'', adding this ''is is expected to continue to fall in future, putting greater pressure on budgets''.
Authorities spent £19.5 billion in 2015/16, with spending increasing on ''key services'' such as social care ''because of rising demand from an ageing population''.
Meanwhile, 22 councils ''spend 10% or more of their revenue income on servicing their debt,'' according to the report.
Councils' overall debt currently stands at £13.72 billion, costing local authorities about £1.5 billion a year in interest and repayments.
It added that not all authorities have a financial strategy in place for the medium to long-term.
The report stated: ''Fourteen councils currently have long-term financial strategies in place while 15 others have at least a medium-term financial strategy (three to five years) linking their spending plans to their wider strategic priorities.
Ronnie Hinds, deputy chair of the Accounts Commission, said: ''Councils are generally doing a good job with their finances in difficult circumstances.
Councillor Kevin Keenan, finance spokesman for local government body Cosla said: ''It is virtually impossible to set medium and long-term financial plans based on short-term funding and yearly budgets from Scottish Government.
He added that ''unlike many other parts of the public sector, Scotland's councils have by law to set a balanced budget''.
Mr Keenan continued: ``As the report recognises, the Scottish Government provides around 60% of the total income for a council.
''Sadly, over the past six years, up to and including 2016/17, Scottish Government funding (revenue and capital) for councils has fallen by over 8% in real terms.
''We all know the direction of travel for public sector finances. Indeed, the report actually warns of further reductions in funding for councils from central government while demand on council services, particularly social care, continues to rise.
Scottish Conservative local government spokesman Graham Simpson said the report ''highlights the scale of the difficulties faced by councils who have seen their budgets slashed by the SNP in recent years''.
The Tory MSP added: ''Most councils have coped well but it is getting more and more difficult.
Scottish Labour deputy leader Alex Rowley said: ''These figures confirm that the SNP has slashed funding for local services, like schools and social care, which put the life chances of people across Scotland at risk.
''Last year the SNP cut £500 million from local council budgets. This has a direct impact on vital local services like schools and social care.
''Only by investing in our local public services can we give people the skills they need to get on.
Andy Wightman, the Scottish Greens' local government spokesman, said: ''Scotland's local authorities face real financial challenges and reductions in funding will inevitably have an impact on local services.
''Much time and effort has been spent negotiating the financial relationship between Holyrood and Westminster, and what powers should be controlled by the Scottish Parliament.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ''Despite the cuts to the Scottish Budget from the UK Government, the Scottish Government has treated local government very fairly.
''This report highlights the pressures that councils - like other parts of the public sector - face, but also highlights that they are continuing to improve services.
''We expect local authorities to continue to use resources as efficiently and effectively as possible to ensure taxpayers get the best possible services and value for money.
''The report makes a number of recommendations aimed at helping councils to meet future challenges.
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A wooden aircraft is not conductive and if a lightning hits the wood it will instantaneously ignite. How would you protect a wooden aircraft from this occurrence?
By not flying through thunderstorms. For a small aircraft, the lightning is not the most hazardous part of a cumulonimbus (Cb) cloud system. Mature Cb clouds have huge updrafts underneath them, which can cause enough turbulence to upset most aircraft. Heavy rain and hail is also commonplace underneath Cb clouds. Even the rain can be heavy enough to damage wooden propellers and any components on your leading edge (such as the leading-edge slats found on the Tiger Moths I fly). Hail can put holes in your canvas, which are expensive to repair - if you manage to get the aircraft home at all. This turbulence and rain persists for a much longer period and across a wider area than the thunderstorm itself.
For these reasons, the chief protection against thunderstorms is by training and procedure: student pilots are taught to avoid Cb clouds when they're visible, and to plan flights to avoid areas where Cb are forecast. Weather forecasts and reports specially call out Cb clouds to help with this, and ATIS messages often warn of "cumulonimbus cloud in the vicinity of the aerodrome".
Protecting a wooden aircraft specifically against lightning is not hugely worthwhile, because it's unlikely to be able to stay in the vicinity of the Cb cloud for long enough to be at risk of a lightning strike. It just wooden happen.
Additional physics-y information: trees attract lightning strikes because they are reasonably well conductive, especially the living tissue between the bark and the heartwood. Also because one end is well-grounded through its roots, which extend down to damp conductive soil. So they are natural lightning conductors.
Wood once dried and turned into timber is not a good conductor, and a plane in flight is not grounded at one end. So it's much less attractive to lightning than a living tree. A metal plane is more likely to be struck than a wooden one because it is a near-perfect conductor and offers the lightning an much easier path than through air. However, for the same reason, a lightning strike doesn't often cause any damage to a metal plane. I'd expect that a wooden plane could be downed by a lightning strike, and lightning strikes are not always closely associated with cumulonimbus clouds. Look up "positive lightning" (a.k.a. "a bolt from the blue", literal meaning thereof). This is mercifully rare. Wikipedia reports that it has downed at least one glider.
I'd also guess that a jet engine's high temperature exhaust creates something of an ionization trail behind it, equivalent to trailing some considerable length of wire behind the plane. A piston engine, much less so.
Well, first off a wooden aircraft is not totally manufactured from wood; it does have metallic or otherwise conductive components throughout the airframe and is engineered with conductive pathways throughout the airframe for electrostatic dispersion and lightning protection as per the requirements of 14 CFR 23.1306, 25.1316, 27.1316, and 29.1316. It is undeniable that an airplane manufactured from wood or other materials that are good insulators would probably suffer considerably more damage to the structure from a direct lightning strike but they have been certified as to protect critical structure, fuel tanks and other components from massive electrostatic discharges.
But there is a way: build them like a composite aircraft.
There are very few wood airplanes left, for one thing. So the problem is solved by building mostly metal airplanes for past 70 years or so.
As it happens, wood planes are still built in tiny numbers, and yes, they are vulnerable to lightning.
But lightning by definition comes from thunderstorms and these must be avoided for other reasons anyway. The few handmade wooden planes that are registered these days are light planes that rarely fly in instrument conditions and so the chance of blundering into a storm cell is really low.
It would be possible to build a protected wood plane. One could laminate a conductive screen on surfaces in the same manner as used on certified glass and other composite aircraft. However, I would guess that no one has ever done that.
Wood airplanes do have steel control cables and rods, which can conduct a strike through one side of the aircraft to the other if the skin is penetrated, which is still destructive to the wood structure at that point. Burning or fire? Possibly if the strike is strong and penetrates the right places. That's why it's a good idea to install grounded static wicks in proper strategic trailing edge locations.
There are modern and sleek kit planes out there today. Very sharp-looking, and pretty quick too.
An article from Flying Magazine hints that lightning strikes do not affect wood-and-fabric planes. That there are almost no reported cases, and the only case they know of, resulted in a damage to a wing-tip.
Source, go to page 6.
It's worth mentioning that big composite (non-conductive) planes (e.g. 787) could suffer from lightnings if it weren't for special coatings, per Boeing.
There are also conductive paints that cause the skin of the plane to carry the charge regardless of its composition.
I would suspect that conductive paints that lead to static dischargers could also be used on wooden structures with cloth skins.
How is an on ground lightning strike test conducted?
What tests are done on aircraft wings for testing the effects of lightning?
How are aircraft protected from lightning strikes by conductive skin?
How well does a composite fuselage deal with lightning?
Aircraft lightning: What are the requirements for airworthiness?
Do passengers notice if the aircraft is struck by lightning?
How HF wire antennas on older aircraft are protected from lightning and static discharge?
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Papua New Guinea has been considered the real life Lost World. Many plants and animals have yet to be discovered there. But what about old species of animals? The ones that can only be seen in a picture. Josh Gates from the Sci-Fi original series Destination Truth first visited Papua New Guinea in search of an Iguanodon. It was later determined that the dinosaur was more likely a crocodile.
His next visit was to investigate the reports of another supposedly extinct dinosaur. The locals refer to it as a Ropen a.k.a. "demon flyer", but it was believe to be a Dimorphodon pterosaur. It is said to have a wing-span of about 20 ft with two leathery wings like a bat, a long tail with a flange on the end, a beak filled with teeth, razor-sharp claws and exhibits a bioluminescent glow. The Ropen is said to have a taste for decaying human flesh and has even harassed native funeral gatherings.
One of the first reports of this flying creature was made by Duane Hodgkinson who was stationed northwest of Lae, near Finschaven, PNG as part of the Army cavalry in 1944. About noon one day in August he was walking down a trail through a clearing in the forest when he was startled by a crashing in the brush. As he watched a large bird-like creature ponderously rose from the ground, circled and flew away.
The only evidence Gates left with was video footage of what looked like two glowing orbs (well it more like pulsated than just glowed). No explanation could be found as to what it was. Do you think it's possible for a Pterosaur to have survived after supposedly being dead for millions of years?
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Peplows accountants advise on all aspects of business, tax and financial matters from our offices in Newton Abbot and Exeter. As proactive accountants, business advisers and tax consultants we have one main aim, to increase the wealth of our clients. Whatever assistance you need, from accounts preparation and self assessment returns to profit improvement and wealth maximisation we always deliver peace of mind. Contact us today to arrange a free, no obligation meeting to find out how we can help you or your business. All of our offices have free parking for your convenience.
Peplows can help your business whatever market sector you operate in. With over 75 years’ experience we have built up a wealth of knowledge and expertise in most business areas. In addition, as members of the UK200Group we have access to a number of specialist trade groups which have considerable in depth knowledge.
Peplows is a member of the UK200Group. Each member firm undergoes a thorough annual review of its procedures and if standards are not met the firm is expelled from the group. The group comprises 150 well established firms covering the whole of the UK with comprehensive international coverage throughout the world’s major commercial centres. So whilst confirming our professional excellence our membership also provides access to the range of services normally expected only from the largest professional firms.
Short Intro Text: Peplows accountants advise on all aspects of business, tax and financial matters from our offices in Newton Abbot and Exeter. As proactive accountants, business advisers and tax consultants we have one main aim, to increase the wealth of our clients. Whatever assistance you need, from accounts preparation and self assessment returns to profit improvement and wealth maximisation we always deliver peace of mind. Contact us today to arrange a free, no obligation meeting to find out how we can help you or your business. All of our offices have free parking for your convenience.
Peplows is a member of the UK200Group. Each member firm undergoes a thorough annual review of its procedures and if standards are not met the firm is expelled from the group.
The group comprises 150 well established firms covering the whole of the UK with comprehensive international coverage throughout the world’s major commercial centres.
So whilst confirming our professional excellence our membership also provides access to the range of services normally expected only from the largest professional firms.
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How do you add the watermarks on your photos?
Several people have asked me that question: What do you use to make the watermarks on your photos?
To create the semi-transparent watermarks on my photos, I use Photoshop and ImageMagick (a server-side image manipulation program that can be scripted).
With Photoshop, I created custom "actions" and "droplets" (i.e. scripts that automate a series of commands) to add various layers with the watermark, using appropriate blending modes to give the semi-transparent effect. With ImageMagick, I wrote various server-side scripts to dynamically add some watermarking, e.g. when my images are shared with social networks like facebook, twitter, tumblr etc.
But creating those scripts this is quite complicated and require a very good knowledge of layers, blending modes and scripting, so I do not recommend this approach unless you are very good with Photoshop or know how to program scripts that use ImageMagick.
The good news is that there are web services that can add watermarks on your photos for free, like https://www.watermark-image.com, http://www.watermark.ws or http://picmarkr.com . Those probably work pretty well in most cases, so you should try them. I am sure there are other services like those, just google "watermark online" or "online watermarking".
I received an e-mail from a well known artist who showcased many large art installations at Burning Man, and who was concerned that selling individual prints online of photos of his art taken at Burning Man was infringing on the copyright he own over his art and any photos of it.
Shared Copyright: I am fully aware that all photos taken at the Burning Man Festival have a copyright that is shared between the Burning Man Organization, the photographer, and possibly the artists who's arts are represented on the photo. I do mention the artist name in all my photos descriptions (when it is known), and not only that, but i give a direct, clickable link to their website (when i know it), which most other photographers don't do. The copyright watermarks on my photos are generated automatically, and it's not very practical to create different watermarks for the photos of each different arts, but i am fully aware that my copyright is not the only one that governs the use of my Burning Man photos.
Why this ugly watermark? The reason for the ugly copyright watermarks on my photos on Smugmug (the service I use for printing) is that my hi-resolutions images can be accessed on Smugmug, so they need to be protected. I use Smugmug only for the printing process, not for showcasing my photos. My photos are best viewed using the "Slideshow feature" from Flickr.
On Smugmug there is currently no text description for any of my photos - I am working on that - but people arrive to Smugmug from my other sites only when they want to order a print, and the Smugmug galleries with Burning Man photos are password-protected.
Why I let people order prints of my photos online: In the past many people have asked me for prints of Burning Man photos, and I would always send them the hi-res file, and tell them to burn a CD-ROM or DVD (or copy the file on a memory card) and bring it to a store to make the prints themselves. I do not have the time anymore to do that, and when I do that, it actually costs more to those people in time and efforts to obtain the prints, compared to ordering them on-line. This is why I now let people buy prints on-line from Smugmug. I make no profit from that, since the cost of the Smugmug hosting service is on my bill ($150/year), and the small markup (on the prints) will probably never offset that cost.
Of course I still send the hi-res files to the artists (and models) who ask for them, and to the Burning Man Organization, but if they want to get prints, it is generally cheaper and faster for them to order them on-line rather than to print them from the hi-res files.
It is very difficult for me to get paid for the time and effort that I spend with making Burning Man photos (and photography is also a form of art). I spend about one month working on them every year, and make virtually no money with them. Actually last year, the revenues I got from Burning Man photos licensed to magazines was about $200). That does not pay the bills, it does not pay for my time, and it is not an incentive to continue making this kind of photos (even with all the rave revues i get from Burning Man lovers).
My point in allowing people to order prints of my Burning Man photos on-line is not to make a profit or to exploit someone else's art, but to provide something that many people ask me, and do it in a more efficient, cheaper (for me and the people who want photos) and faster way that before.
To support the artists, we encourage you to contact them directly and ask them if they sell other photos of their arts.
If your art is represented on one of my photos and you do not want people to be able to buy prints of these photos, let me know and I will take the photos off Smugmug (where people order the on-line prints), and I will place a notice that prints are not available for these photos, upon request of the artist who's art is on the photo.
I wish I could have personally informed the 500 artists who's art are on my Burning Man photos that I intended to make prints of them more easiely available on-line, but it would be a dawnting task. I don't have a list of the phone numbers or contacts for those 500 or so artists, and gathering it would take another couple of weeks, a time that I don't have.
Feel free to post comments or contact me about this post.
If you are still using Internet Explorer 6, you should upgrade your browser!
I recommend a Giottos Rocket air blower to remove the bulk of the dust, then you can use the wet sensor swabs (with 100% pure methanol optical solution, also called methylic alcohol) to remove sticky particles that don't go with the air blower, if necessary.
Don't put more than a couple of drops of methanol on the swab, otherwise it would be too wet and leave deposit marks on the sensor. You will have to clean several times before getting a clean sensor, especially the first time. To clean, you must sweep the swab on the sensor from side to side. For best results, the width of the swab should the exact width of your sensor, so that you only need one sweep. Swabs made by Visible Dust. are excellent quality, I use those. After sweeping, put back the lens and do a test shot, then zoom on the image and check if there is still dust. usually the dust is located near the corners or near the edges. if you see dust, repeat the process.
To do a test shot, you must set the camera in A mode and close the apperture to the maximum F value (e.g. F32), and take a photo of something uniform, e.g. the sky or just a piece of paper. Set the camera to manual focus and make it completely out of focus, so if you see a dot on the test shot, it will be dust.
Sensor cleaning was painful at the beginning, it took me one hour to get all the dust OFF the first time. But now i can do it in two of three iterations, and it takes 10 min or so, and I am no the least nervous about doing it on my expensive camera.
Also, remember that if you have dust on your sensor, it will probably not show on your photos if you shoot with maximum apperture (i.e. minimum F value, e.g. F2.8 or F3.5). So if you have dust on the sensor and must continue to shoot with the dust, remember to shoot in A-mode (apperture priority) and use maximum apperture, i.e. use the minimum F value of your lens.
Dry-cleaning the sensor with rotating brushes charged with static electricity will work only with the dry, non-sticky particles on the sensor. But it will not cleanup sticky or greasy particles. Those can only be removed with a wet swab. So even if you get one of those dry cleaning brushes (e.g. Arctic Butterfly), sometimes you will still need to use the wet swabs.
NEVER ever use a spray can to blow away the dust inside the camera. The very cold gas out of the air-can would cause irreparable damage (micro-cracks) to your sensor.
There are other CCD cleaning options available, but that's what I use and it works well for me. Or you can pay a professional to do it, but it usually takes several days and it's not cheap, and this is not always possible if you travel. So you'd better learn how to do it yourself.
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Tree thinning also known as dead wooding.
What is thining or dead wooding?
Branches die off for a number of reasons ranging from light deficiency, pests and disease damage to root damage. The proccess of thining is to remove such branches from the tree. The main reason deadwooding is carried out is safety. The situations that usually demand such removal would normally be trees that overhang public roads, houses, public areas and gardens. Thinnig can be carried out for a number of reasons such as allworing more light to come through the tree.
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Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon has resigned following allegations of past behaviour.He said his behaviour may have "fallen short" of the standards expected by the UK military and said it was right that Parliament was now taking this issue seriously. The BBC understands his decision was not related to new or specific claims.The PM said she appreciated the "serious manner" in which Sir Michael had considered his role.Theresa May said she also appreciated the "particular example you wish to set servicemen and women and others".
In his resignation letter, Sir Michael said: "A number of allegations have surfaced about MPs in recent days, including some about my previous conduct."Many of these have been false but I accept that in the past I have fallen below the high standards that we require of the Armed Forces that I have the honour to represent."He added that it had been a "privilege" to have been defence secretary over the past three and a half years.
In response Mrs May accepted his resignation and paid tribute to "a long and impressive ministerial career - serving in four Departments of State under four prime ministers".The resignation comes a day after a spokesman for Sir Michael confirmed that he was once rebuked by a journalist, Julia Hartley-Brewer, for putting his hand on her knee during dinner in 2002.The spokesman had said Sir Michael apologised when it happened.
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Pick the right words for jargon-free communication.
The business world is overflowing with unnecessary jargon – words that do more to confuse co-workers and customers than to help them.
Here are three examples: "punch a puppy" (do a bad thing that's good for business); "peel the onion" (look at an issue in detail); and "take a thought shower" (come up with some ideas).
The words may be familiar, but the phrases ask more questions than they answer. And you risk alienating your team members, or losing their good will, if your choice of words is baffling or annoying. This is especially true when you're trying to give them important information.
But jargon is not all bad. Technical language can actually be an aid to good communiction, if it's delivered in the right setting and to the right people. The important thing is to know your audience, and to know the difference between good and bad jargon.
In this article, we'll examine how jargon can reduce the clarity of your communication, and how it can affect your authority as a leader. We'll look at ways to stamp out the wrong kind of jargon, and how to use the right kind effectively... when it is appropriate.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary is a good starting point for understanding what jargon is, because it offers two definitions that immediately help us to distinguish between good and bad jargon. The first is, "confused, unintelligible language," and the second is, "the technical terminology or characteristic idiom of a special activity or group."
Business jargon that comes under the first definition is the kind that is criticized. It might be just slightly irritating: "Let's run that up the flagpole, and see if anyone salutes," for instance. But, why not simply say, "Let's try this out and see what people think"? Sometimes the words just sound silly: "Let's open the kimono on that." Let's not. Let's just tell people about it.
of people with no knowledge of project management, on the other hand, would likely be left scratching their heads.
But, using specialist jargon or language, is appropriate – or even preferable – as long as you match your audience's level of knowledge. This is because, in one short word or phrase, you can convey a complex concept or a technical process to them quickly and efficiently.
However, it is vital that you prepare the right words for the right people, and that you don't allow your message to become muddled.
It excludes people. Jargon can be a code that people use to impress others or to deliberately make the point that they are part of "the club." But it is baffling and alienating to those who don't know. These people can be made to feel foolish or part of an "out-group" for no good reason.
It's complex. You risk sounding pompous by over-complicating your language. For instance, you could say "contact" rather than "reach out to," or "analyze" rather than "drill down." And always opt for simplicity, especially for an audience of non-experts.
It may be misleading. Saying, "Our exploratory research points to a range of balanced options going forward, and we're currently assimilating the data-sets as a priority to create some top-line metrics," may seem like a smart way to avoid saying, "Sorry, I don't yet know." But making your communications unclear in this way is unlikely to enhance your reputation or credibility.
It can be undermining. If you use jargon in this way, you risk losing your power or authority within your team by failing to communicate accessibly and understandably. People will likely detect that you're hiding behind a screen of tortuous technical terms. Conversely, if they do understand what you're saying, and feel that they can trust your words, it will likely create a more collaborative working environment and better relationships.
or a report. You'll likely use more "normal" language if you do this, even if you initially struggle to find the right turn of phrase.
Use stories, examples and evidence. Don't say something like, "We need to leverage opportunities around a core of millennial-centered deliverables." Instead, clearly and simply outline the findings from a focus group of younger potential customers. Also, you are far less likely to resort to unnecessary jargon if you focus on data or analysis.
Ask, "Is this word in the dictionary?" Jargon enthusiasts love to make up words or run two or even three together in an effort to sound impressive. For instance, "bouncebackability" or "recontextualize."
Think about your audience and the context of your communication. Step back and ask yourself, "Why am I saying it this way? Is it because it is the best way to explain it? Or am I being lazy?" Even specialized audiences value clear communication.
Don't be afraid of the jargon that you do need. Knowing and understanding the "language" of your role is important because it means you can use it confidently and, if you're on the receiving end, you can keep up with what the other person is telling you.
The writer George Orwell was a great advocate of using language clearly and concisely. In fact, "management speak," or corporate slang, is a reference to his term "newspeak," which he used to describe the propaganda language of Big Brother supporters in his classic novel, "Nineteen Eighty-Four."
In some organizations, however, being clear, concise and straightforward in your communications can be seen as "dumbing down," while using long and complicated words can be seen as more impressive.
You should certainly avoid coming across as condescending to your audience, but being direct and transparent in what you say or write is not the same as being patronizing. You can still be clear and concise while using authoritative and technical language, by making sure that you simplify and explain complex aspects of your message wherever necessary.
Jargon can be useful to quickly explain a specific activity or meaning to a specialized audience.
But it can also exclude people, mask meaning, and lead to confusion. Using jargon unnecessarily can damage your reputation, authority, and power as a manager and leader.
Think about your audience and the context of your message, the words that you choose to use, and whether there's a more direct, accessible way of delivering your message.
Thanks for the feedback. Pleased to hear that you found it useful and helpful.
grate Article very useful and helpful.
Davidson, L. (June 16, 2016). Revealed: The 10 Most Scream-Inducing Business Jargon Phrases [online]. Available here.
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What are some things you would love about this career and what are some things you would dislike?
I love the career because there's always something to do, it doesn't ever get boring. I dislike the part of the career that requires standing for long periods of time. But even when your standing you're doing something.
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According to recent research, these high fat diets also interact differently with the gut microorganisms and impact the bacterial community of the intestines.
Read on to know about the high fat diets and how they may impact the gut bacteria!
High fat diets are the biggest enemy of our health and they not only lead to obesity, heart problems, and type 2 diabetes but they also alter the bacterial integrity of our stomach. According to recent research, these high fat diets also interact differently with the gut microorganisms and impact the bacterial community of the intestines.
High fat diet leads to an unfavorable change in the population of the healthy bacterial community of the gut, which may negatively impact our health. So, the westernized concept of consuming high fat meals or diets such as paleo or keto may interact differently with the gut microbiome. According to a study, the high fat diet decreases the population of beneficial bacteria that produce short-chain fatty acids, regulates inflammation, and protects the cell lining of the intestines.
High fat diets are also associated with increased inflammation. However, diets such as keto are beneficial in conditions like epilepsy and type 2 diabetes. Ideally, the high fat diets should be combined with plenty of fruits and vegetables to make up for the low fiber content in them.
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This publication lists national manufacturers authorized by governments to manufacture or convert specific narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, as well as manufacturers of precursor chemicals, on a country-by-country basis. Along with the name of manufacturers, readers will find contact details and the name of narcotic drugs and/or psychotropic substances each manufacturer is authorized to produce. An index in English, French and Spanish of all substances under international control reported to have been actually manufactured during the year appears at the end of the publication, indicating the country or countries in which manufacture took place and the manufacturers involved.
La presente publicación contiene una lista de fabricantes autorizados por los gobiernos para fabricar estupefacientes y sustancias sicotrópicas, lista que la Sección de la Secretaría de Órganos Rectores, Oficina de las Naciones Unidas contra la Droga y el Delito actualiza y reimprime anualmente.
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What inspired Isaac Mayer Wise to establish a rabbinic seminary?
When Isaac Mayer Wise arrived from Germany in 1846, he discovered a still nascent but burgeoning Jewish community. It is difficult for us, living in 2011, to imagine the literally virgin soil that marked American Jewish life only 70 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. At the end of the Colonial Period, probably no more than 3,000–5,000 Jews, mostly Sephardim, lived in what would become the United States. Between 1815 and 1881, approximately 225,000 Jews came to America—almost all German speakers from Central Europe, Wise among them. In this era of Germanic Jewish hegemony (the Germans outnumbering the Sephardim by about 80 to 1), not a single national Jewish organization or seminary existed in America. American religious life—Jewish and Christian—was organized around congregations, not communal structures, as in Europe. Each community existed independently with virtually no formally trained clergy; in 1855, for example, only seven ordained rabbis served all of North America.
Recognizing that American Judaism could not realize its potential without professional leadership, Wise decided, in the 1850s, to create a rabbinical school. His initial attempt failed because of lack of financial support, but that did not deter him. He learned from the experience, and was better prepared when he tried again two decades later.
Wise's initial approach to Judaism was nothing like the Reform Judaism of today. At the time, Jewish denominationalism in the contemporary sense did not exist. He dreamed of creating a distinctly American kind of Judaism that would encompass a multiplicity of Jewish perspectives and practices. The name of the prayer book he published in 1857, Minhag America, reveals a great deal about what he envisioned. The name minhag, meaning "custom" or "tradition," had been classically employed to describe Jewish prayer books for different communities, such as minhag Ashkenaz (the Ashkenazi custom), minhag Polin (the Polish custom), etc. By placing "America" in the title of his prayer book, Wise was making the case that Jews in the United States—no less than Jews in other times and places—had the right to fashion a uniquely American Judaism—an admixture of the old and the new. To advance this vision, he created journals, such as Die Deborah in German and The American Israelite in English, which contributed to his becoming the most prominent rabbi in the U.S.
Wise was now ready to revisit his plan to establish America's first rabbinical seminary. To avoid the pitfalls of his earlier attempts, he conceived of creating an organization of congregations to sustain the enterprise; and in 1873 the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) was formed for this singular purpose. Wanting the college to accommodate the full gamut of American Judaism, he sent invitations to every congregation in America, from the most traditional to the most radical. Thirty-four congregations responded in the affirmative, and in 1875 the Hebrew Union College (HUC) opened its doors in Cincinnati.
Why did Wise choose "union" in naming the UAHC and HUC?
The word "union" had a double meaning. First, the Civil War had just been fought to preserve the Union; and second, Wise wished to instill unity among all Jews in the United States, preparing both Orthodox and Reform rabbis to serve the broad spectrum of American Jewry. As he saw it, his modern rabbinical seminary would combine the best fruits of contemporary scholarship with traditional Jewish learning.
That is also why Wise purposely did not use the word "Reform" in naming his institutions. His aspiration was to create an American Judaism—an irony, given that he ultimately became identified as the father of Reform Judaism.
What foiled Wise's plan for an American Judaism?
By 1883, the year of Hebrew Union College's first graduating class, Wise realized that his dream of a nondenominational, unified American Judaism would not happen. The number of Yiddish-speaking Jews streaming in from Eastern Europe would soon surpass the number of German Jews in America, and the cultural gaps between the two groups—in religious practice, language, education, social status, and acculturation to Western norms—were too wide to be bridged.
To celebrate HUC's first class, a meal was served to rabbis present from every sector of American Judaism. Many guests, including the keynote speaker, stormed out in disgust as the food appeared—shrimp, soft-shell crabs, half-shell clams, and non-kosher meats! Many historians contend that the "Treifa Banquet," as this incident came to be called, was a caterer's error, but it may have been intentional, or at least, fortuitous. After all, Wise had the opportunity to apologize publicly for this offense to the more traditional, kosher-observant guests, yet he chose not to. Therefore, regardless of who was at fault for the menu, it appears that Wise decided to use the event to send a message that Judaism was not going to be defined by "archaic" dietary prohibitions. Indeed, two years later, a group of influential Reform rabbis issued the Pittsburgh Platform, proclaiming, "We hold that all such Mosaic and rabbinical laws as regulate diet, priestly purity, and dress, originated in ages and under the influence of ideas altogether foreign to our present mental and spiritual state. They fail to impress the modern Jew with a spirit of priestly holiness; their observance in our days is apt rather to obstruct than to further modern spiritual elevation."
What was the Hebrew Union College of the late 1800s like?
Interestingly, all the students were college graduates, which Wise required—despite the fact that during this period high school graduation was not a universal practice; as late as 1910, fewer than 10% of Americans graduated from high school. Younger students attended McMicken College, forerunner of the University of Cincinnati. Another entrance requirement—according to the catalogue—was the mastery of a minimum of 150 pages of Talmud!
Instruction was in English, but the curriculum was modeled on that of the modern German seminary, covering a wide variety of subjects from philosophy to rabbinic literature to history, the latter undergirding the whole curriculum. After all, Reform Judaism taught that Judaism was a constantly evolving religion in which eternal elements of ethics and values were passed down from one generation to another, and only the ritualistic forms embodied in these values were changing from generation to generation. Study of Judaism's evolution from the biblical to the contemporaneous period thus demonstrated the truth that Judaism was in a constant state of historical flux and development.
Nonetheless, Wise, a traditionalist at heart, insisted that the entirety of the first five books of Moses were delivered by God at Mount Sinai, and he strictly forbade the teaching of biblical criticism at HUC! Notably, Rabbi Louis Ginzberg was invited to teach at the College, but when Wise learned that Ginzberg believed in the documentary hypothesis—the view that the Torah is an edited compilation of texts from different writers—he promptly rescinded the invitation! Ginzberg went on to become arguably the world's greatest Talmud scholar, teaching at the (Conservative Movement's) Jewish Theological Seminary, where he served the remainder of his career. When Wise was succeeded by Kaufmann Kohler, one of Kohler's first acts was to introduce biblical criticism into the curriculum, in accordance with his belief that Judaism is "a universal religion allied with progress."
That is a fascinating irony.
Here is another irony. HUC President Kaufman Kohler—the individual who, having authored the Pittsburgh Platform, would do more than anyone to create a denominationally distinct Reform Judaism in America—had studied in a German yeshiva under Samson Raphael Hirsch, the architect of modern Orthodox Judaism. At the time, modern Orthodox leaders were vitriolic in criticizing Reform Judaism. But in embracing a modern Orthodoxy, Hirsch had demonstrated to Kohler that reform in Judaism was possible!
Wise and Kohler disagreed about biblical criticism. On what ideas did they agree?
They agreed on Zionism. Like Wise and other 19th century reformers, Kohler believed that a specifically Jewish homeland in Palestine was the very antithesis of "a universal religion allied with progress." Any emphasis upon Jewish peoplehood was not to be tolerated. So fierce was Kohler's anti-Zionism, he would not allow modern Hebrew literature to be taught at the college, and he forced off the faculty any professors sympathetic to the Zionist cause.
Were any Reform leaders of the period pro-Zionist?
The majority of Reform leaders shared Kohler and I.M. Wise's views, but others, such as Rabbis Abba Hillel Silver and Stephen S. Wise (no relation), became champions of Zionism. In 1922 Stephen S. Wise founded a rival seminary, the Jewish Institute of Religion (JIR) in New York City, to train a cadre of non-Orthodox rabbis who would be completely committed to Jewish nationalism. Through the very power of his personality, Wise assembled a faculty that reflected his transdenominational vision of Judaism, with some Orthodox scholars serving as professors. Two-thirds of JIR's graduates became Reform rabbis, most of the remaining third became Conservative, and eight actually became Orthodox.
In 1950, however, a year after Stephen S. Wise's death, JIR—unable to sustain itself without an endowment—merged with HUC, by now headed by the great biblical archeologist and lover of Israel, Rabbi Nelson Glueck.
How did HUC change by having a president with strong ties to Israel?
Glueck established a foothold for the College in Israel in 1963 by obtaining prime property on the border between east and west Jerusalem to be used solely for an archeological school. But after Israel's victory in the 1967 Six-Day War, the HUC-JIR Board of Governors, at Glueck's urging, re-envisioned the Jerusalem campus as an ideal living laboratory for learning Hebrew and experiencing a Jewish cultural renaissance, and made it a base for all first-year rabbinical students. Today, not just rabbis but all first-year HUC rabbinical, cantorial, and education students spend their first year of study in Israel. I believe their familiarity with the reality of Jewish sovereignty in our ancestral homeland has had a revolutionary impact in instilling in them the understanding that there are many contours of Jewish peoplehood.
What other shifts happened in the succeeding years?
In the 1960s, a time of growing ethnic pride, social activity, and spiritual revival in North America, many HUC-JIR students began experimenting with religious ritual, observing Jewish dietary laws, and wearing kipot and tallitot. While some observers characterized this as a return to traditionalism within the Reform Movement, I think it is overly simplistic to say that the students' aim was a return to tradition for its own sake. Rather, in a society characterized by great demographic mobility and a sense of "homelessness," many people were searching for Jewish meaning and a sense of rootedness, leading to what sociologist Peter Berger has labeled a "heretical imperative"—a world in which people embraced options that would have been unthinkable in a past generation. Today as well, returning to ritual has allowed students to reclaim their ethnic identity and to engage in spiritual quests.
Some of the students also demanded that their education be oriented toward life. They wanted to understand how a particular Jewish teaching would contribute to the religious and spiritual lives of the people whom they would serve. At first, some of our professors opposed this move toward applied learning. Our faculty has always been highly academic in orientation, for without Jewish knowledge, there can be no Jewish authenticity. In time, though, our professors also understood the importance of finding ways to make Jewish teachings meaningful for Jews and Jewish communities. We now ask students to weigh these larger questions of meaning through various programs that explore the relationships among healing, religious sensibility, and spiritual renewal.
What was the impetus for ordaining Sally Priesand, the first woman to become a rabbi in North America?
Actually, there was no formal decision to ordain Sally when she enrolled as an undergraduate at the University of Cincinnati and then took five years of classes in the rabbinical program with the hope that she would be allowed to become a rabbi. Inasmuch as she was completing the same course of study that her male classmates had, Glueck expressed his intention to ordain her, but he died before she could complete her studies. In 1972, when she finished her coursework, his successor, Rabbi Alfred Gottschalk, proceeded with her ordination.
Ordaining Rabbi Priesand had a major impact on the development of North American Jewry, tapping into the potential of half the Jewish population to serve our people both professionally and publicly. In the 40 years since, we have ordained approximately 600 women, and currently half of our rabbinical students and almost three-quarters of our cantorial and education students are women. Moreover, women serve as two of our deans, the director of the graduate school, and directors of our rabbinical schools in Los Angeles and New York. And many of our women graduates have gone on to make significant contributions. Take, for example, Rabbi Andrea Weiss, an HUC-JIR faculty member who previously studied at the College with Professor Tamara Eskenazi, the first woman HUC-JIR appointed to teach Bible. Eskenazi and Weiss have edited and co-edited respectively The Torah: A Women's Commentary, published by Women of Reform Judaism and the URJ Press, an innovative work that has included women's voices in the weekly worship life of hundreds of thousands of people in Reform synagogues.
Gottschalk's impact was therefore immense in this and other arenas, such as his initiating a program ordaining Israeli Reform rabbis on Israeli soil. His successor, Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman, expanded this initiative, and during the past decade nearly 70 Israeli Reform rabbis (as well as dozens of Israeli education students in conjunction with the Melton Centre at Hebrew University) have received degrees on our Jerusalem campus.
Under your leadership, students across Jewish denominational lines are learning together.
Yes. Today, the overarching challenge faced by all Jewish denominations is the same: to create a Judaism that will be vital, joyful, and relevant to fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-generation Jews who are no longer compelled to identify as Jews and who have myriad options for living a meaningful life. The unifying forces of past generations, such as social antisemitism and automatic affiliation with Jewish organizations, are no longer at play in keeping Jews involved in the Jewish community. While significant distinctions between Reform, Conservative, modern Orthodox, and Reconstructionist attitudes remain, the elements that bind us—our shared emphasis on Torah learning and desire to have Judaism speak in meaningful cadences to contemporary Jews—are more powerful than those which divide us. Where we are able to work together, we choose to do so. Two examples: Our Schusterman Rabbinical Fellows program brings future leaders of the Conservative and Reform Movements together for three years of formal study with the goal of creating a cadre of American rabbis who share a broad vision of dynamic communal leadership; and an HUC-JIR and Jewish Theological Seminary transdenominational program trains educators of Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Orthodox synagogue schools in leadership, Judaic knowledge, and pedagogy.
As we move in the direction of transdenominational partnerships, we come closer to Isaac Mayer Wise's dream of an American Judaism than we have since he arrived on these shores.
How do you think Wise would respond today to the institutions he created?
There is a famous story in the Talmud (Menachot) in which Moses views Rabbi Akiba's academy and is perplexed by what he sees. Upset by hearing Akiba expound on a teaching that seems entirely unrelated to the tradition Moses himself had taught, he asks God to explain. God says, "This is the Torah of Moses," and Moses is satisfied with that answer.
The author of this legend understood that the Judaism of the rabbis was far removed from that of the Bible—and accepted that such an evolution was a legitimate, natural outgrowth of a living, dynamic tradition.
If Isaac Mayer Wise were to see HUC-JIR students studying in Jerusalem, our professors teaching practical rabbinics with an emphasis upon spiritual practice and meaning, and many students embracing traditional rituals, he would likely question: Is this the Reform Judaism that I knew and helped to create? However, I think he would also be comforted in the same way that Moses was said to be comforted by God. He would understand that Judaism is an evolving tradition and that our Movement still adheres in spirit to his annunciation that we serve the broadest possible swath of American Jews. Indeed, the framework that emerged out of the vision he put forth has proven genuinely enduring.
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The inflation rate in Japan between 2005 and today has been 4.45%, which translates into a total increase of ¥4.45. This means that 100 yen in 2005 are equivalent to 104.45 yen in 2019. In other words, the purchasing power of ¥100 in 2005 equals ¥104.45 today. The average annual inflation rate has been 0.29%.
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Introduce zoo animals with flashcards which contain labels and check the vocabulary with picture flashcards.
Vocabulary: camel, cheetah, brown bear, elephant, giraffes, gorilla, lion, vicuna, polar bear, rhino, zebra, tiger, seal, flamingoes, penguins.
To check the vocabulary use zoo flashcards without labels.
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Professor of Food Science Bob Gravani discusses the basic facts of food allergies.
Robert B. Gravani: Hi! My name is Bob Gravani, I am a professor of Food Science in Cornell University. My area of interest is food safety and throughout my entire career I have spent time looking at these issues, in all sectors of the food system. Today, we're going to talk about food allergies. We are going to look at food allergy one-on-one, we're going to talk about reactions, we're going to talk about assisting people who have food allergies, do a better job of shopping and identifying some specific food allergens.
My interest area as I said is food safety and I've worked a great deal with farmers and growers with good agricultural practices and helping them reduce microbial risks in the production, harvesting and packing of fresh foods and vegetables, worked with personnel in the food processing industry, the retail industry and the food service industry as well as with consumers. So today we're really going to address some of those major issues related to food allergens, so let's get started talking about food allergies.
Who is at a greater risk of developing a food allergy?
Can food allergies be prevented or is there a cure for food allergies?
What is the difference between food allergy and intolerance?
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What are the benefits of meditation? Does meditation benefit one in coping with the challenges and pressures of modern life? What are the negative effects of meditation, if any?
Perhaps, my own personal experience with meditation may help.
I started meditation 20 years ago. My purpose then was to dissolve stress and to discover my true self.
I reasoned if I could discover and experience the self and the SELF, I would be able to live my life purposefully than what I was merely doing then - just making a career.
When I first started, meditation was new then. Meditation was deemed a practice that belonged to the spiritual confines of Buddhist monk and Indian yogi.
My well-meaning friends cautioned me that one can go mad if not properly guided. Well, I almost gone mad but not in the way they had described.
Ironically, it appears the other way round. My peers seem to have lost all aliveness and joy from being unable to cope with the challenges and stresses of life.
There was the feeling of envy that I had seemed to go about life with little of the baggage and insecurities that beset most people. This is one of the benefits of meditation.
I started learning meditation without a meditation guide. To some extent, my friends were right in advising me to learn from one who would be an experienced guide to meditation.
Looking back, I would encourage anyone who wishes to gain real benefits of meditation to find a good guide, particularly one who is a real teacher of life.
The reason is not so much any negative effects that may arise. Rather I would say the benefits of meditation can differ with meditation techniques.
More importantly, a real teacher of life would have experienced what you are going through and so can help clarify and dissolve any uncertainties and doubts that arise from your meditation experience.
The meditation methods I started out with were very simple ones - breathing and visualizing techniques of meditation. I experienced a feeling of calm and peace.
Many times, I was able to enter and abide in that state that induced a smile within me. These were the early effects of meditation.
However, the moment I returned back to normal daily activity, the carry-over effects of calm and peace soon dissipated.
My awareness of this experience spurred me on. I wanted to find out how I could extend the benefits of meditation to pervade my waking moments.
So I started the habit of regular practice. What used to be 15 minutes of meditation became 30 minutes and then 1 hour.
I also started learning many different techniques and postures of meditation. Although there is much made of adopting right posture in meditation , there really isn't a hard and fast rule to it. A posture that is relaxed and pain-free should enable you to reap the benefits of meditation.
Over time, the benefits of meditation became noticeable.
I gained a lot of insights and was able to solve problems quite easily.
There was a time when the slightest thought of a thing, person or event would attract to me the very condition that was thought.
Friends recognized a seeming glow and youthfulness about me. They seemed curious.
I was able to sense the thoughts of others.
These are just some of the early benefits of meditation.
Some subtle; others obvious from the tangible aspects.
Compassion unfolds but this development didn’t come about until many years later.
As I continued regular meditation exercises, I experienced an uneasy phase of what is popularly known as dark night of the soul.
This had gone on for some years at intervals that can last for weeks.
Calmness and peace that I had experienced in the early stages were overtaken by anxieties and anger. This is the phase when you do really need the support of a guide to help you pass this stage.
I was not prepared as I had not anticipated all these. I struggled with the emotional and psychological experiences of inner transformation.
My external life became difficult and I struggled to focus. I was feeling more detached and uninvolved. Life was looking meaningless.
Some of my experiences were bizarre.
For example, one day I went to see a client for business. As I sat in front of him, his face appeared magnified as if I was looking through a magnifying glass. As a result, I had difficulty focusing on our discussion.
Another example was the electric shock I felt during deep meditation when there was a slightest sound heard.
On another occasion, I felt a bolt of electric current coarse through my entire body from head-to-toe for what appeared like one minute.
I was able to smell things others don’t.
This period was for me a process of deep inquiry, introspection and a holding-on to faith. I fought depression.
Fortunately, I had the strength of mind and character to see me through.
I continued meditation but made my own adjustments and approach.
Over the years, I hanged onto faith as I witnessed subconscious issues rise to the surface to be addressed and resolved.
I understood this later as a natural process of clearing out - a PURIFICATION.
It’s like a bowl filled with muddy water. The muddy water was cleared; the bowl was wiped clean. Now I became an empty bowl.
I had to choose once again what I would want to place in my bowl.
It seems “when the student is ready, the master will appear”. For me, fortunately, it came in the form of an inconspicuous pink book I found in the library.
The book “Do You See What I See?” by Edwin Carl Smith.
The author related his experience of meditation, and the effect on his awareness and consciousness. Interestingly, like me, the author undertook an independent personal path outside of any form or guide that traditional meditation school or spiritual guru-student relationship offer.
From personal observation, those who undertake an independent, self-exploratory path, endure a most challenging yet most enriching growth experience to a wellness and spiritual way of life, provided they do succeed in crossing beyond the thickened cloud of illusions and conceit one naturally will encounter.
Also, from personal experience, those who struggle for a long time to make it on their own, would eventually turn their back on their search. Their return to the ‘ordinary’ life can be described as disconsolately untenable.
Such advanced seekers can be compassionately helped by those who had traversed similar experiences and succeeded beyond. They can be helped to regain their footing.
For such seekers, all the help they need is a way to lift a tiny veil that had obscured their vision. All that is required are pointers that reveal the grandeur of spirituality hidden in ordinary life!
Edwin’s book resonated in me what I had similarly experienced. All this while, prior to the encounter with his book, I could find no one resource that could validate my own experiences.
The immediate effect of such a moment of validation, of my own experiences, released blocked energies within me. This brought about further unfoldment of my consciousness that spanned four years.
My unfoldment led me to realise three things that generally practitioners of meditation, and even advanced practitioners could stall on their development and thus, fail to gain real benefits of meditation.
1. Most types of meditation limit awareness to the self.
2. Most don’t know what to do with their lives upon discovering who they really are!
3. Most upon discovering who they really are, remain stuck to their pride of enlightened knowledge. They rather prefer to be teachers of enlightenment than get involved in the real world.
Most meditation techniques limit awareness to the self. The beginning manifestations, which are also the beginning benefits of meditation, often delude meditators. Being new experiences, miraculous at times, egos get inflated.
The experiences give you the illusion of an expanded view of your sense of self. You think you can usurp God! This cannot be healthy for yourself and in your relationship with life. Subsequent life experiences prove you are mistaken but this realization can take a long time.
This mistaken ‘idea‘ of your new self, is brought to bear when a larger awareness takes over. This awareness transcends the ego-self that believed - in the IDEA - it can be the self independent of others.
This awareness exposes the 'self that you think you are' is NOT. You keep identifying, seeing YOURSELF as the attention/focus/centre of everything in life. Not one moment have you recognized truly you own NOT your self! Your life is NOT yours to live solely for your self!
I have said that the benefits of meditation can differ with different methods. Many meditate for peace of mind, creativity, to de-stress. So if these benefits of meditation are what you seek for now to help you cope with life's challenges, any meditation method would do.
However, you will come to the stage when you ask the question, "Is this all there is to my life?". This is when the meditation methods that you do can differ in their results to answering this one vital question.
And you will ask intensely this one question in your journey of life. And you find none of the benefits of meditation you derive from - in the years you have devoted to your meditation methods - can take you beyond the self that is your answer.
So now we come to the vague subject of enlightenment that is the most sought for among the benefits of meditation - Knowing who you truly are.
Knowing who you truly are can pose a real challenge rather than a problem for those who seek enlightenment as well as those who have achieved this state.
Everyone thinks the final goal of meditation is enlightenment.
And everyone thinks having arrived at enlightenment, the benefits of meditation go on auto mode, that is, there is nothing you need to do in life.
The first thing to note is enlightenment is not a finality. Enlightenment does not end evolution of your life. In fact, enlightenment is the beginning of your life!
The second thing to note is enlightenment only reveals what you are, your true nature. So what do you do next?
What you do is up to you. You are NOW aware of a world of possibilities. You can remain in ignorance and continue to live as a consumer of life. Or you can co-create consciously with full awareness of your oneness with all of life.
This means you co-create abundance and live in relationship with all of life naturally, effortlessly, spontaneously, in authenticity and purpose.
But the starkest revelation is you have to return to ordinary life to live those possibilities! And this is why most enlightened beings don’t want. They want shelter and just teach. Let others do the job.
So you have to decide.
I decided to move beyond enlightenment to living The Great Story of Life.
To live being fully human; yet fully alive to LIFE.
Evolving to new possibilities in ordinary life are not without problems and challenges. But you are prepared.
You have graduated from a beginner’s mind to being a beginner of life. You are no longer imprisoned by unconscious limiting beliefs that cripple your life prior to enlightenment.
There will still be 'shadows of yourself' that you would still need to undo. This you NOW take in your stride without guilt and judgment. They show up more clearly NOW than before in your daily relationship with life.
This is all the good and you embrace them fully as the benefits of meditation.
A beginner’s mind lives a life full of subconscious baggage.
A beginner of life, having released most life issues, relishes a new transformation. His life is lived as being “Fully Human yet Fully Alive” to Life.
If we reflect and search deeply within ourselves, there is a desire within each of us to feel FULLY ALIVE to LIFE.
Paradoxically, it is this very desire to be fully alive, to become fully immersed in life that we FEAR!
To be able to live your daily moments in the state of being fully alive to LIFE is the seed of true wellness.
LIFE becomes a PLAYGROUND rather than a fearful theater for experiencing material and spiritual wellness.
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Just finished a total back yard project with pool and landscaping. Kate handled the landscaping and she absolutely exceeded our expectations on all levels. Kate is extraordinarily competent and passionate about what she does. She worked closely with us in designing the overall look. Then, when it came time to putting those plans into motion, Kate and her crew were incredibly efficient and professional. She was in constant contact with us throughout the process and, maybe more important, patient with us as well when we'd call with various questions. The end result is that with Kate's eye and ability we were able to build our own small oasis right outside our back door. It's only been a couple of weeks but everyone who has stopped has said the same two things.. "it looks like a resort back here" and "Can I have Kate's number?" I have to say it again, Kate is simply delightful and joy to work with. You are most likely reading this because you're doing your due diligence before your own project. Thats smart. The next smart thing you should do is call Kate right away!
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The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is an international organization. On 8th August 1967, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, and the Philippines formed the ASEAN. At that time, communism was growing in Vietnam, and these five countries were also facing problems inside their own countries. In this background, these five countries created ASEAN as a show of common display of cooperation. In short, the purpose of the organization is political and economic cooperation.
There had been an earlier organization called the Association of Southeast Asia (ASA). It was an international organization of Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand. These three countries had formed ASA in 1961. It was named because all the countries in it are a part of Southeast Asia.
In 1976, the ASEAN countries held a conference in Bali. After this, these countries started closer economic cooperation. But, by the mid-1980s, the activities of the ASEAN had slowed down. By 1991, Thailand proposed a free trade area. The ASEAN countries meet every year to talk about many matters.
Originally there were only five members of the ASEAN. Brunei joined the ASEAN on 8 January 1984. Vietnam joined the ASEAN on 28 July 1995. Laos and Myanmar joined the ASEAN on 23 July 1997. Cambodia became a member on 30th April 1999. Some other countries, such as East Timor may soon join ASEAN.
About 8% of the population of the world lives in ASEAN countries. About 240 million Muslims live in these countries, mostly in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. About 170 million Buddhists live in these countries, mostly in Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Singapore.
The major products of the ASEAN countries are electronics, petroleum, and wood. The total Gross domestic product of these countries are $1,073.9 billion USD.
All the countries of the ASEAN countries have old cultures, and different types of governments.
The ASEAN countries had created an ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). 27 countries are members of the ASEAN Regional Forum. The leaders of these countries meet and talk about various matters, especially security and economic cooperation. The current members in the ARF are: Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Australia, Canada, the People's Republic of China, the European Union, India, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Timor-Leste, United States, and Sri Lanka.
The ASEAN holds a meeting every year. The meeting lasts for 3 days, and the members discuss many things.
↑ "About the ASEAN Regional Forum". Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. January 2, 2007.
This page was last changed on 21 April 2018, at 05:22.
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Sri Vaithamanidhi Permual Temple is one of the Nava Tirupathi -nine Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Vishnulocated in Tiruchendur-Tirunelveli route, Tamil Nadu, India in the banks of Thamiraparani river. All these 9 temples are classified as "Divya Desams", the 108 temples of Vishnu revered by the 12 poet saints, or Alwars.
One of the Brahmaputiran, who came out of Lord Brahma's ears - named Pulathiya Rishi and Kasthamal's daughter Aavirpoo gave birth a child named Visiravasi. The child who born for this Visiravasi and Ilipillai is Kuberan.Kuberan did tapas praying Lord Shiva.
When Shiva and Parvathi gave their seva to Kuberan, since he could not see the bright shine came out from Parasakthi, Kuberan lost his eyes. After this, he replaced an eye made of gold and ruled Alagapuri and became one of the friends of Lord Shiva.
Vaisyantham which is said as always move from one place to another in search of money and other things and this kind of persons one called "Vaisyaas".Guberan is said to be one of Vaisyaas and his wife is chitiregai and his Vaaganams (vehicles) are Horse, Parrot. His weapon is Katkam and Garland is Seerakka Maalai.
His park is Saithiratham and the Vimaanam is Pushpaka Vimaanam. His son is Nalakooparan.Once he got the Sapan from Parvathi Devi and lost all of his wealth (Navanidhi) and started to worship this sthala perumal as his Emperumaan.
This sthalam is also called as "Adharma Pisunam". It means Dharman wars agians the Evil (Adharmam) and it permanently stayed in this sthalam by riding out the adharmam. Vaithamanidhi perumal stands still here in this sthalam to ride of the Adharmam to protect the wealth which cannot be taken out.
This perumal has thirusangu in the left hand and in the right hand he has thiru Chakkaram by which he destroy the Adharma. In this sthalam only, Madhurakavi alwar was born, Who then because the sishya (student) of Nammalwar. Madhurakavi Alwar is said to be the Gnana Nidhi.This sthala perumal gave prathyaksha for Kuberan, who is the wealth, Madhurakavi Alwar, who is the Gnana nidhi.
Due to a curse by Mother Parvathi, Kubera lost all his wealth. The Nava Nidhis 9 kinds of wealth left him and they came to Lord Narayana Perumal. As Perumal was the custodian of the wealth (nidhi), He came to praised and named Vaitha Manidhi Perumal.
He is granting darshan to devotees keeping these Nidhis under His right shoulder. Kubera worshipped this Perumal and got back the Nidhis, according to scriptures. Perumal is also known as Adharmapisunam.
The temple is open from 6.00 a.m. to 12.00 a.m. and from 1.00 p.m. to 7.00 p.m.Vaikunda Ekadasi in December-January is grandly celebrated in the temple.
Vimanam : Sri Hara Vimaanam.
Thiru kannamangai Sri Bhaktavatsala Temple,Tanjore..
Thirumohoor Kalamegaperumal Temple , Madurai, Tami..
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I try to read to my 5-year-old daughter every day. What other things can I do to encourage her learning and help her to be prepared for kindergarten?
Children need to see the world around them in order to begin to understand the world around them. They need to learn about real, practical things like seeing for themselves what a bus is, what a seashell is, what goes on inside a bank, supermarket, or shoe store. These things are more important, when they’re young, than learning how to use a computer.
First-hand experiences encourage a child’s curiosity which encourages their desire to learn. Children are better prepared when they enter school if they’ve had exposure to the world around them. They have a better understanding about what the teacher is talking about, what is being conveyed in stories, songs, etc.
Let your children tag along on your daily routine – going to the bank, picking up laundry, the grocery store. They will observe how people interact with each other.
Exploring nature is also great. Let them inspect stones, seed pods, leaves, insects, etc. Bring along a nature book and look up different species that they may find. Take trips to the library, ride a bus, go to the beach, watch a musical performance or sporting event. These explorations don’t have to cost much money, or any money for that matter.
Helps improve a child’s vocabulary.
Helps children learn to participate in conversations.
Encourages them to ask questions.
Creates foundational understanding for math, expression, creativity and science.
It’s a good idea to prepare children for these explorations beforehand. If you are planning to take your child to a restaurant, practice ordering the food. If you are going on a bus ride, practice how to get on and off the bus. If you are going to a store, practice exchanging pleasantries at the check out or how to buy things in a store, practice asking for help, letting people off the elevator before you get on, how to prepare to step on and off the escalator and so on.
Through rehearsal they encounter positive interactions and gain a greater sense of independence and self-confidence. Independence and self-confidence are key characteristics needed when starting kindergarten plus it’s a huge part of pro-social behavior. Make the most out of the experience by helping them anticipate and look forward to it.
After the outing is a great opportunity to play out what they have explored. Talk about the excursion. Ask questions, answer the child’s questions. Encourage exploration.
My child and I go everywhere together – the post office, grocery store, the park, out to eat at restaurants. We will make an event out of going to daily places. The carwash is his favorite place to go. At home, he will pretend he has his own carwash and wash his toys.
We take lots of opportunities to let children explore the world. With the kids in my care, we’ll go to the fire station. They get to see how a fire truck works. I take them on neighborhood walks. We’ll go out to the garden and talk to the gardener. They learn about the garden. We also go to the park, grocery store, and the donut shop to see how donuts are made.
I take my grandson everywhere. The things he is most interested in are fire trucks and dump trucks. Whenever I have a chance, I’ll take him up close to see these things.
I recently took him to a construction site to see a dump truck. He knows what dump trucks do, but to actually see it and experience it was exciting for him.
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I am intending to buy a gaming PC , and would like to know the best choice between two CPUs and two graphic cards, or the best mix between them.
For the CPUs: Intel Core i5 8400 Or the ryzen 5 2400G.
For graphic cards: Nvidia EVGA Geforce GTX 1060 6GB GDDR5 Or the AMD Gigabyte RADEON RX 580 8GB GDDR5.
I would really appreciate your advice on this matter.
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What are Binaural Beats and Sounds?
Binaural beats, also known as binaural sounds, are repetitive notes believed to stimulate the brain and influence brain functions in ways that don't involve hearing.
The way a brain functions when it is exposed to binaural sounds is known as the frequency following response.
Entrainment, the process where a predominant brainwave frequency moves towards additional stimuli, is a practice that can be produced by binaural sounds. It can also be achieved by those who happen to be extremely advanced when it comes to meditation.
Binaural beats have been scientifically proven to have a direct correction to a person's spatial perception, as well as auditory recognition. Depedning on the frequency of the beats, various places in the brain can become activated.
Humans hear in the frequency range of 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, however brainwave frequencies all fall below 40 Hz.
Binaural beats are designed to correspond to one of the five brain frequencies: delta, theta, alpha, beta and gamma. If a person is listening to music at 455 Hz in the left ear, and 430 Hz in the right ear, the brain waves shift towards the difference, 25 Hz, which is within the beta range of brain frequencies.
Beta waves have been proven to promote alertness, enhance mental clarity and increase mental consciousness. Each brain wave is directly correlated to a specific feeling. Alpha waves produce relaxation, delta waves are linked to deep sleep, and theta waves have been shown to help produce REM sleep.
Typically, binaural beats are experienced with the use of headphones in order to avoid other sounds interfering with the frequency waves, however binaural beats can also be experienced without the use of headphones.
When using speakers to listen to binaural sounds, apparent localized sounds may appear, which is why the preferred way to use this technique is with headphones rather than speakers.
Were you aware of the power of binaural beats?
Binaural beats were discovered in the 1830s by a man named Heinrich Wilhelm Dove. After reporting his studies to a scientific journal in Germany, significant research began in an attempt to analyze his findings and uncover more regarding these unusual sounds.
It wasn't until 1973 that scientists concluded the effectiveness of binaural beats. Gerald Oster, a scientist who researched sound waves for decades, was the first person since Dove to produce a scientific research article on the topic. "Auditory Beats in the Brain", which was published in the Scientific American Journal in 1973, identified the power of binaural beats when it comes to cognitive and neurological processes in the brain.
Oster expanded on Dove's research and even studied the effects of binaural beats on the brains of animals. Out of this study came the "cocktail party effect", which referes to how animals can pick out and focus on particular noises in their three dimensional environment.
After the studies Oster conducted where published, research regarding brain waves and binaural sounds increased profusely. Binaural beats were experimented in the medical field as a diagnostic tool and as a way to measure estrogen levels.
After Oster, the next most ground-breaking research revolving around binaural beats were conducted by Thomas Campbell, a physicist, as well as Dennis Mennerich, an electrical engineer.
These two studied binaural beats and the effects they had on human consciousness. From their research came the founding of The Monroe Institute, a charitable binaural research and education organization that is still in existence today.
Binaural beats are beneficial in many ways. They can improve sleep, as well as quality of sleep, they can enhance concentration and foucs, they can help stimulate the body, and more.
By stimulating various parts of the brain depending on the frequency of the beat, these sounds can influence brain functions and stimulate particular brain waves.
In order to understand binaural beats and their effect on the brain however, the various brain waves must be understood. The five brain waves most commonly influenced by binaural beats include theta, beta, alpha, gamma, and delta.
Beta waves have a low amplitude, and typically are emitted from the brain when a person is aroused or excited. They can also be found in high quantities when the brain is engaged in intense mental activities. Actions like talking, teaching and working create high levels of beta waves.
Alpha waves appear right after beta waves on the chart of brain wave frequencies. Although they are slower than beta waves, they have much higher amplitude levels. Alpha waves help a person relax and meditate.
Gamma waves are often lumped together with beta waves, however these two types of brain waves are distinct in their own ways. Gamma waves can aid in perception and help promote mental clarity. This type of brain wave is associated with REM sleep.
Delta waves are correlated with deep sleep. Deep sleep is one step beyond REM sleep, and doesn't involve dreams. These waves are extremely slow and have the highest amplitude of all of the brain waves. Delta waves reach such a low frequency that they get close to the brain wave levels of a person who is brain dead.
Theta waves are slower than alpha waves and have higher amplitude levels. This type of brain wave is the most difficult to accomplish because they create a higher level of concsiousness that can take us away from the world that surrounds us. Daydreaming is often associated with high levels of theta waves. Those who can produce this type of brain wave in high levels can utilize theta waves to conceive creative ideas and reach a higher consciousness.
Would you use binaural beats to help improve your sleep, relaxation and/or restfulness?
Besides meditation, relaxation and sleep, binaural beats have other uses which have yet to be scientificaly proven.
Some of these claims include improved memory and concentration, decreased cravings (especially when it comes to smoking and dieting), as well as improved athletic abilities and athletic performance.
Although it is unsure whether or not participants where just experiencing the placebo effect, several studies using binaural beats have shown that at certain frequencies these sounds can enhance relaxation and reduce stress.
Those who conducted the various studies were able to determine the ideal frequency level for enhanced meditative focus, which ended up ranging between 7 Hz and 15 Hz.
One of the most intriguing studies involving binaural beats involves their use when it comes to pain management. Although no studies have concluded that binaural beats can reduce pain, musicians overall have been found to be better at coping with pain and report instances of pain less frequently than non-musicians.
It is un-conclusive whether or not this is due to the music overall or because of the binaural beats involved in music and music production.
Some people claim that binaural beats used at specific frequencies can stimulate certain glands to produce desired hormones. Binaural beats have also been used in studies attempting to increase dopamine levels and stimulate lucid dreaming.
Therapists and psychiatrists working with patients with PTSD or other illnesses that interfere with their ability to recall memories have used binaural beats to help recover repressed memories.
Although studies are unconclusive still, it is theorized that binaural beats at certain frequencies can improve cognition and may even be able to improve a person's IQ.
Kathleen, I've seen Yanni 3 times in concert. I belong to his fan club and get notifications before the general public does. The last two concerts I was 4 or 5 rows from the stage on the ground floor. Absolutely awesome! I must admit, I have a major crush on him, but what Yanni fan doesn't?
My first concert was Yanni! I started using binaural beats to sleep and I have been getting the best sleep of my life!
You come up with the most interesting topics, Kathleen!
I used to put in a Yanni CD and play it at a barely audible level when I was going to sleep. It made me feel calm and kinda floaty. Next thing I knew I was waking up from a deep sleep. I haven't done that in a while. Now I fall asleep to the TV in case I wake up in the middle of the night and can't sleep. Perhaps I should go back to letting Yanni lull me to sleep. I always felt very rested the next morning.
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Give an unfinished birdhouse unflappable curb appeal with a colorful flea market makeover!
Unfinished wood birdhouse, 9″ tall.
Small buttons, various colors, 6.
Medium buttons, various colors, 6.
Post office box number plate.
1. Use a chopstick to stir 11/2 teaspoons of the Kelly Green RIT dye into 1 cup of steaming hot water. Over a drop cloth, use the sponge paintbrush to stain the wooden birdhouse with the green dye. Let dry. Seal the birdhouse with a coat of clear spray paint.
2. Start adding gingerbread trim by gluing one nut to the peak of the eaves. Using the small nails and a hammer, attach the saw tooth picture hangers to the eaves of the birdhouse. Then glue the rest of the nuts and washers in a row beneath the eaves, alternating the nuts and washers.
3. To make short flowers, glue a small button onto each key. Glue the short flowers onto the sides of the birdhouse.
4. To make taller flowers, glue a medium button inside each bottlecap. Snip pieces of the chain into two-inch lengths. Using the small nails and a hammer, attach the ends of the chain lengths to the sides of the house, stretching the chain out to form the flower stems. Glue a bottle cap to the top of each chain-stem.
5. Create a fence by sawing the yardstick into 4 pieces that fit around the bottom of the birdhouse. Using the small nails and a hammer, attach the ruler pieces to the base of the birdhouse.
6. To make the roof, punch a hole in the center of the license plate using the big nail and a hammer. Bend the license plate in half over the edge of a table to form a peaked roof shape. Place the license plate on the roof of the birdhouse, then screw the eye screw through the hole in the license plate and into the birdhouse. Use small nails to nail through the sides of the license plate securing it to the roof.
7. To finish it off, use the screws and a screwdriver to attach the post office box number plate onto the birdhouse over the door.
Crafty Shopping Tip: Don’t have a license to drive to the flea market? There are plenty of license plates to choose from on eBay! Whether you find one online or at the swap meet, you can expect to spend about $5 to $10.
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French (le français [lə fʁ̥ɒ̃sɛ] or la langue française [la lɑ̃ɡ fʁɑ̃sɛz]) is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the provinces of Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick (Acadia region) in Canada, the Acadiana region of the U.S. state of Louisiana, the northern parts of the U.S. states of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont in the New England region, and by various communities elsewhere. Other speakers of French, who often speak it as a second language, are distributed throughout many parts of the world, the largest numbers of whom reside in Francophone Africa. In Africa, French is most commonly spoken in Gabon (where 80% report fluency), Mauritius (78%), Algeria (75%), Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire (70%). French is estimated as having 110 million native speakers and 190 million more second language speakers.
French is an Italic language descended from the spoken Latin language of the Roman Empire, as are languages such as Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Romanian, Lombard, Catalan, Sicilian and Sardinian. Its closest relatives are the other langues d'oïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in Belgium, which French has largely supplanted. French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Roman Gaul and by the (Germanic) Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to France's past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, most notably Haitian.
French is an official language in 29 countries, most of which form la francophonie (in French), the community of French-speaking countries. It is an official language of all United Nations agencies and a large number of international organizations. According to France's Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, 77 million in Europe speak French natively. Outside of France, the highest numbers of French speakers are found in Canada (25% of the population, of whom most live in Quebec), Belgium (45% of the population), Switzerland (20% of the population) and Luxembourg. In 2013, the Ministry identified French as the second most spoken language in Europe, after German and before English. Twenty percent of non-Francophone Europeans know how to speak French, totaling roughly 145.6 million people in Europe alone. As a result of extensive colonial ambitions of France and Belgium (at that time governed by a French-speaking elite), between the 17th and 20th centuries, French was introduced to colonies in the Americas, Africa, Polynesia, the Levant, Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean.
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With the advent of the Internet and an increasing acceptance of LGBT people across the Western world, the relevance of gay bars in the LGBT community has somewhat diminished. In areas without a gay bar, certain establishments may hold a gay night.
In Berlin, there was gay and lesbian night life already around the year 1900, which throughout the 1920s became very open and vibrant, especially when compared to other capitals. Especially in the Schöneberg district around Nollendorfplatz there were many cafes, bars and clubs, which also attracted gay people who had to flee their own country in fear of prosecution, like for example Christopher Isherwood. The gay club Eldorado in the Motzstraße was internationally known for its transvestite shows. There was also a relatively very high number of places for lesbians. Within a few weeks after the Nazis took over government in 1933, fourteen of the best known gay establishments were closed. After homosexuality was decriminalized in 1969, many gay bars opened in West Berlin, resulting in a lively gay scene.
In Amsterdam, there were already a few gay bars in the first quarter of the 20th century. The best known was The Empire, which was first mentioned in 1911 and existed until the late 1930s. The oldest place that still exists is Café ‘t Mandje, which was opened in 1927 by lesbian Bet van Beeren. It closed in 1982, but was reopened in 2008.
Because of the high prevalence of homophobia in Russia, patrons of gay bars there often have had to be on the alert for bullying and attacks. In 2013, Moscow's largest gay bar, Central Station, had its walls sprayed with gunfire, had harmful gas released into a crowd of 500 patrons, and had its ceiling nearly brought down by a gang who wanted to crush the people inside. Nonetheless, gay nightlife is increasing in Moscow and St. Petersburg, offering drag shows and Russian music, with some bars also offering discreet gay only taxi services.
Under the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco from 1939-1977, homosexuality was illegal. However, in 1962, Spain's first gay bar, Tony's, opened in Torremolinos and a clandestine gay bar scene also emerged in the 60's and early 70's in Barcelona.
The Atlantic House in Provincetown, Massachusetts was constructed in 1798 and was a tavern and stagecoach stop before becoming a de facto gay bar after artists and actors, including Tennessee Williams began spending summers in P-town in the 1920s.
Esta Noche was the first gay Latino bar that opened in 1979. It was located on Mission Street and 16th Street. Closed down in 1997 as one of the last gay Latino bar in the Mission District.
Because of a raid on a Mexico City drag ball in 1901, when 41 men were arrested, the number 41 has come to symbolize male homosexuality in Mexican popular culture, figuring frequently in jokes and in casual teasing. The raid on the Dance of the 41 was followed by a less-publicized raid of a lesbian bar on 4 December 1901 in Santa Maria. Despite the international depression of the 1930s and along with the social revolution overseen by President Lázaro Cárdenas (1934–40), the growth of Mexico City was accompanied by the opening of gay bars and gay bathhouses. During the Second World War, ten to fifteen gay bars operated in Mexico City, with dancing permitted in at least two, El África and El Triunfo. Relative freedom from official harassment continued until 1959 when Mayor Ernesto Uruchurtu closed every gay bar following a grisly triple murder. But by the late 1960s several Mexican cities had gay bars and, later, U.S.-style dance clubs. These places, however, were sometimes clandestine but tolerated by local authorities,which often meant that they were allowed to exist so long as the owners paid bribes. A fairly visible presence was developed in large cities such as Guadalajara, Acapulco, Veracruz and Mexico City. Today, Mexico City is home to numerous gay bars, many of them located in the Zona Rosa.
The first recorded use of the term 'gay bar' is in the diaries of homosexual British comedian Kenneth Williams: "16 January 1947. Went round to the gay bar which wasn't in the least gay." At the time Williams was serving in the British Army in Singapore. In the 1970s, straight nightclubs began to open their doors to gay clients on designated nights of the week. In the 1980s, a lesbian bar named Crocodile Rock opened in Far East Plaza, which remains to this day the oldest lesbian bar in Singapore. Today, many gay bars are located on the Neil Road stretch, from Taboo and Tantric, to Backstage Bar, May Wong’s Café, DYMK and Play. Mega-clubs like Zouk and Avalon are also a big draw for the gay crowd.
The oldest gay bar in Beijing is the Half-and-Half, which in 2004 had been open over ten years. The first lesbian bar was Maple Bar, opened in 2000 by pop singer Qiao Qiao. Qiao Qiao also opened another popular lesbian bar, Feng bar, also known as Pipes,which was closed by the police in 2009. The On/Off was a popular bar for both gay men and lesbians. The increase in China's gay and lesbian bars in recent years is linked to China's opening up to global capitalism and its consequent economic and social restructuring.
The first white gay bar opened in the Carlton Hotel in downtown Johannesburg in the late 1940s, catering exclusiely to men of wealth. In the 1960s, other urban bars began to open that drew more middle and working class white men; lesbians were excluded. The language of Gayle had its roots in the Cape Coloured and Afrikaans -speaking underground gay bar culture. In 1968, when the government threatened to pass repressive anti-gay legislation, queer culture went even further underground, which meant clubs and bars were often the only places to meet. These bars were often the targets of police raids. The decade of the 1970s was when urban gay clubs took root. The most popular gay club of Johannesburg was The Dungeon, which attracted females as well as males, and lasted until the 1990s. The 1979 police assault on the New Mandy's Club, in which patrons fought back, has been referred to as South Africa's Stonewall.
↑ Geoff Williams (19 September 2007). "10 Businesses Facing Extinction in 10 Years". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
↑ Tim Blanning. The Pursuit of Glory: Europe 1648-1815. p 80. ISBN 978-0-670-06320-8.
↑ Florence Tamagne, Paris: 'Resting on its Laurels'?, in: Queer Cities, Queer Cultures: Europe since 1945, p. 240.
↑ Tamagne, p. 242- 243.
↑ Laurent Jézéquel, "New Moon : comment un cabaret de Pigalle est devenu le QG du rock alternatif", Telerama Publié le 05/10/2015. Mis à jour le 07/10/2015 à 18h59.
↑ Matt Cook. London and the Culture of Homosexuality, 1885-1914 (Cambridge Studies in Nineteenth-Century Literature and Culture). ISBN 0521089808.
↑ "The programme and menu from the Cave of the Golden Calf, Cabaret and Theatre Club". 20thcenturylondon.org.uk. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
↑ "Copenhagen Gay Travel Guide 2014".
↑ "History". Retrieved November 28, 2015.
↑ Kery Murakami (June 23, 2007). "No longer at the center of Seattle's gay scene, bar still serving outsiders". The Seattle PI. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
↑ Press, Berkeley Electronic. """'Mira, Yo Soy Boricua y Estoy Aquí': Rafa Negrón's Pan Dulce and the Queer Sonic Latinaje of San Francisco"" by Horacio N Roque Ramirez". works.bepress.com. Retrieved 2016-04-07.
↑ Hankin, Kelly (2002). The Girls in the Back Room: Looking at the Lesbian Bar. University of Minnesota Press.
↑ Scott Simon (28 June 2008). "Remembering a 1966 'Sip-In' for Gay Rights". National Public Radio. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
↑ "America's Oldest Gay Bar, WhiteHorse, Turns 80". Huffington Post. May 21, 2013. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
↑ Coerver, Pasztor and Buffington, p. 202.
1 2 Dynes, Johansson, Percy and Donaldson, p. 806<ref name="Dynes, Johansson, Percy and Donaldson, p. 806"
↑ Herrick and Stuart, p. 141.
↑ The Kenneth Williams Diaries edited by Russell Davies, 1993, 8.
↑ In 1966 (昭和41), There is the continuously operating gay bar "New Sazae" which opened in Tokyo, Shinjuku Ni-chōme. 8 December 2007 ja:出没!アド街ック天国 Shinjuku Ni-chōme.
↑ Independent. February 7, 2010. Retrieved on March 16, 2015.
↑ Sullivan, Andrew (4 October 2005). "The End of Gay Culture". The New Republic. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
↑ Thomas, June (27 June 2011). "The Gay Bar: is it dying". Slate. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
↑ Williams, Geoff (19 September 2007). "10 Businesses Facing Extinction in 10 Years". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
↑ Jones, Carolyn (May 9, 2013). "Oakland's White Horse gay bar turns 80". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
↑ "Night. Life.". Gay Bar Culture. 2008. Archived from the original on September 12, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
↑ Bendix, Trish (17 August 2015). "Broadly goes to "The Last Lesbian Bars"". AfterEllen. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
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clothes to the United States and Europe because of its low wages.
Ethical consumerism encourages people to think about how the products they buy are sourced and produced which are not harmful to the environment and society.
This can be evidenced through simply purchasing eggs that are free-range or boycotting goods/companies which promote child labour or unsavoury working conditions.
Discuss the ways in which companies, like the ones mentioned in the extract above, that sourced clothes from the Rana Plaza can help improve business practices to prevent recurrence of events of this nature.
Choose any company, research and evidence how they operate ethically, taking into account their approach to consumerism, values and environmental friendliness.
The essay analyses firm named Rana Plaza within the textile industry in Bangladesh. First part of the study has actually tried to analyze all the companies who have sourced or are sourcing from the Rana plaza and the way in which they can help themselves for improvement of business practices and prevention of recurrence of any such incident which took place in Rana Plaza (Allhoff and Vaidya, 2005). Research also has also attempted to evaluate all ethical issues that were involved in the firm as well as all actions which related firms need and requirement to undertake further smooth endurance. Analysis and evaluation of such ethical as well as social plus companywide issues will definitely ensure that companies properly understand each and every thing which went wrong in the Rana Plaza plus effectively keep themselves away from any similar incident or actions which could harm others in similar way (Boylan, 2001). In the second part an organization named Starbucks has been considered as well as all activities of the firm regarding fundamental ethical concern such as CSR and consumerism, environmental friendliness as well as beliefs and values has been recognized as such actions will definitely propel Starbucks goals plus aims into the future (Cory, 2005).
The vital disaster took place at the organization Rana Plaza which is situated within Bangladesh, where an eight storied building including six factories literally fell like the house of cards, killing approximately 1,134 labors. This case also has put a notice on health as well as safety issues in the textile industry (Gavai, 2010). This incident has forced the firms to think twice upon the ethics and morale they carry and also that whether the real ethics towards safety and security of employees in being maintained or not. Also as a result, media, government as well as consumers plus also few other stakeholders even are more and more holding clothing companies accountable for every health plus safety contravention within their supply chains (Harish Jyawali, 2015).
‘Firms must try to indulge a good assessment and evaluation process where a timely evaluation of the building and premises and also of all equipments and tools used in the sites must be carried on.
The firms must be very ethical when it comes to providing safety and security to staffs and also must provide all its staffs with good justice and equality (Morais et al., 2014).
Working conditions intended for all the labors must be properly improved and maintained thereafter.
Nevertheless, in immediate consequences of the factory tragedy, few firms amazingly spoke incomprehension related to whether the factories are really shaped along with their goods or else it is merely a saying. Undoubtedly, as an outcome of multinational organizations which outsourced production to the nations like Bangladesh, self-existing contractors often gave verdicts within complex plus vital chains of supply (Paliwal, 2006). Firms here should try to understand that the cost plus their differentials, in fact were real causes of outsourcing in the initial place, in the midst of fully developed and also few developing countries which showed conditions within the factories that were perhaps substandard, with being merely empirical proof which could disprove such things.
The brands plus firms can actually sign Accord on Building Safety and staff security in Bangladesh which would even permit the staffs to discontinue work if via any source they feel that their safety is beneath threat.
Textile industry also has not forgotten Rana Plaza case, and neither the consumers have. It is in fact vital to frequently ask questions plus seek out the brands and firms which are wholeheartedly trying to increase worker conditions (Wurgaft, 2003).
The major responsibility was upon Bangladeshi authorities because they failed in correctly fulfilling their duties and compulsions towards protecting labors and making them aware of the incidents and risks and also activities towards saving lives from those risks. State of the Bangladesh, according to the national and international law should actually also try its best to save and protect all the human rights within authority because they even were unsuccessful in their responsibility which was about granting the rights as well as safety to the textile industry employees.
Starbucks actually is a global coffee chain and coffeehouse in based in Seattle within United States in Washington. Along with almost 17133 outlets in 49 nations Starbucks is globe’s largest coffeehouse firm. Health plus safety of consumers and the workers is very important factor of all the ethical elements that must be followed within any organization (Cole, 2008). Every firm’s reputation vitally depends upon health plus safety of the consumers. Health plus safety is also legal requirement of government. Global firms have employees who belong to several nations thus all of them need to be valued a lot for attainment of better results (Snyder, 2006).
The method used here for collection of data is secondary data collection method. Information has been gathered from many secondary resources like from the magazines, firm’s website, journals, and even some books.
Consumerism- Starbuck’s cultural meaning successfully motivates its consumers to consume its products and also this has served like a good place to work as well as socialize. Starbucks has an extremely communal ecology and is an ideal place intended for developing as well as maintaining good relations. Culture plus consumption which are several forms towards consumerism has also shaped star buck’s outlets through development of the social relationship. Furthermore, it also is acceptable for public to enjoy as well as utilize sophisticated ecology for all of their personal sources as while consuming delicious coffee (Quelch and Rodriguez, 2015). Starbucks in reality positions itself like a premium coffee seller, that sells variety of coffees as well as some beverages, both hot plus cold, along with some snacks and also sandwiches.
Being a premium brand for coffee, it often relies on the target market carrying a major count of some middle plus high earners along with throwaway income to recurrent all the coffee houses. The firm ia also capable of instilling a feeling of actual upper-class reorganization into its consumers through the product as well as upbeat ecology and staff interactions. While customer’s decisions also are frequently influenced by some other factors, the coffee at Starbucks still is a major way towards expressing themselves optimistically. Not merely did the firm shape its consumers, it also encouraged socialization and communication. People here can fully utilized space intended for their personal means and can of course make it a community setting intended both for work as well as pleasure.
Values - Starbucks believes that ethically performing business as well as doing things right is actually very significant for all kinds of organizational success. Business ethics also compliances within the firm and there are program organized within Starbucks which supports the firm’s mission as well as vision plus also helps the firm to safeguard the culture as well as reputation, via resource allocation intended for ethical decisions when they are on work. Ethical context is also used within this firm to develop plus expand actual awareness of benchmarks regarding the business demeanor, legal compliance, amenities, training and also political interest plus many more (Roth, 2005).
Environmental Friendliness- The firm is actually not only acting for the betterment of ecology but is also inspiring all of its customers, staffs, and also supplier to take proper care of environment. Starbucks also suggest that their consumers should reuse all of their mugs to the maximum extent possible. The staffs here also are recommended to use a smaller amount electrical energy within stores of Starbucks. The staffs thus try to utilize freezer and lights as well as thermostat to the minimum level. The resources used by the firm to produce all of their goods are from the base of natural resource. Coffee and other products that the firm serves to its customers are actually without colorants and preservatives as well as additives, particularly for the coffee bean that is used by the firm. To ensure that Starbucks have excellent and best benchmark of the coffee goods in world firm’s vice president personally has spearheaded the firm’s efforts to protect top-notch beans of coffee to provide the firm’s mounting needs. The firm also tends to build good relations with all the growers as well as exporters and also checks on the agricultural situations and the crop yields, as well as hunts out for varieties plus sources which would also meet firm’s exacting benchmarks of quality as well as flavor (Shaw, 2005).
Starbucks can aim to make use of solar energy which is really renewable form of the energy. This might also help the firm to go a long way towards ensuring that very less carbon emission exist in the ecology.
The firm can also aim to undertake advertisements towards promoting all its impartial and equal healthy as well as beneficial diet. Such advertisements must hold the nutrition advice on many paths of overwhelming healthy as well as beneficial diets of the fast food that the firm supplies.
Though Starbucks constantly utilizes the paper-oriented packs it has yet been destined for using paper-oriented packs in rouse of the global warming risk. Paper in fact is attained from trees and thus through using these packages, firm might also have been passing against environmental preservation requirements thus company needs to properly act upon such fact and then convince public on this part (Snoeyenbos, Almeder and Humber, 2001).
Majority of outlets belonging to Starbucks actually have attained design of actual green restaurant that holds in suitably saving the energy to huge extent. This may also supply the company with opportunity to donate in decrease of carbon emission through investing in the energy competent blocks as well as buildings.
Overall, it can be concluded that firm Starbucks has developed itself and has been successful in maintaining itself as extremely triumphant coffeehouse. As the firm it very popular for all its good tasting coffee, the firm is well known for its entire green symbol that it has embedded with vast much meaning at the back it. People are ready to spend premium amount more on the firm as it displayed type of feeling for upper-class, practical person. Through proper brand loyalty by the customers, Starbucks has turned to be a place of actual socialization. Though the firm still needs to amend itself on some issues it is well known for being ethically correct. In a nutshell here are all the details regarding ethical acts by Starbucks.
Allhoff, F. and Vaidya, A. (2005). Business ethics. London: SAGE Publications.
Boylan, M. (2001). Business ethics. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Cory, J. (2005). Activist business ethics. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Harish Jyawali, (2015). My Screencast. [image] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrhPck8NOAM [Accessed 20 Mar. 2015].
Hartman, L. (2005). Perspectives in business ethics. Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Mitchell, C. (2009). A short course in international business ethics. Petaluma, CA: World Trade Press.
Morais, U., Pena, J., Shacket, K., Sintilus, L., Ruiz, R., Rivera, Y. and Mujtaba, B. (2014). Managing Diverse Employees at Starbucks: Focusing on Ethics and Inclusion. IJLD, 4(3), p.35.
Paliwal, M. (2006). Business ethics. New Delhi: New Age International.
Quelch, J. and Rodriguez, M. (2015). Rana Plaza: Workplace Safety in Bangladesh (A) - Harvard Business Review. [online] Hbr.org. Available at: https://hbr.org/product/rana-plaza-bangladesh-garment-tragedy-a/an/514034-PDF-ENG [Accessed 20 Mar. 2015].
Roth, J. (2005). Ethics. Pasadena, Calif.: Salem Press.
Shaw, W. (2005). Business ethics. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.
Snoeyenbos, M., Almeder, R. and Humber, J. (2001). Business ethics. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books.
Snyder, M. (2006). State of the Profession: The Starbucks Effect. Academe, 92(1), p.70.
Wurgaft, B. (2003). Starbucks and Rootless Cosmopolitanism. Gastronomica, 3(4), pp.71-75.
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Guest Article: Is the U.S. Current Account Deficit Sustainable?
The U.S. current account deficit, driven by the United States’ widening trade deficit, is the largest it has ever been, both as a share of the U.S. economy and in dollar terms. How much longer can the United States continue to spend more than it earns and support the resumption of global growth?
THE UNITED STATES is enjoying an economic boom that is fueling the growth of its trade deficit. At current exchange rates, the strength of the U.S. economy, combined with slow growth in demand in many other parts of the world, will lead to further widening of the U.S. trade deficit. How long can the trade deficit continue on that trajectory without disrupting the U.S. economy or the world economy?
Absent structural reforms in the United States and abroad, a large devaluation of the dollar, or significant changes in the business cycle, both the trade and the current account deficits will continue to widen until they become unsustainable, perhaps two or three years out. Changing the trajectory will be difficult. The U.S. trade deficit is now so large that even if world economic growth were to pick up and boost U.S. exports, U.S. imports would have to slow dramatically for the gap to narrow. To shrink the trade deficit significantly, say, over a two-year period, exports would have to grow twice as fast as they did in the 1990s, when growth averaged 7.5 percent a year, and the growth rate of imports would have to be halved, from 11 percent to 5½ percent a year. Moreover, following twenty years as a net recipient of capital inflows, the United States will soon be confronted with much larger service payments.
At some point, either the United States’ negative net international investment position and the associated servicing costs will become too great a burden on the U.S. economy or, more likely, global investors will decide that U.S. assets account for a big enough share of their portfolios and so will stop acquiring more of them. At that point, asset prices, including interest rates and the exchange value of the dollar, will adjust, reflecting the change of sentiment in the markets. A change in the value of the dollar alone would narrow the trade gap for a while, but the deficit would soon begin to widen again. To put the U.S. current account and trade deficits back on a sustainable path will require structural reforms in the United States and its trading partners that encourage faster global growth, boost U.S. household saving rates, better prepare U.S. workers for technological changes in the global economy, and open up markets for U.S. exports, particularly of services.
The underlying trend widening of the U.S. trade deficit in 1999 was exacerbated by the financial crisis in Asia and its spillover effects on Latin America and Europe. The dollar appreciated as capital seeking a safe haven flowed into the United States, while the U.S. Federal Reserve System lowered interest rates in response to global and local financial distress. The growth of U.S. GDP accelerated, fueling an increase in imports. At the same time, U.S. export growth collapsed—the result of the worldwide economic slowdown and the strong dollar.
The trade deficit has some positive features. One of the factors driving the U.S. economic expansion has been productivity growth, itself driven by rising investment rates, sound investment decisions, and globalization. As much as half of the recent increase in productivity growth may be due to globalization—which comes from growth in foreign markets, increased competition in domestic markets from foreign suppliers, and the breaking up of the value-chain of production and its relocation to facilities in other countries. Higher productivity growth increases the likelihood that foreign investors’ expectations of high rewards from their investments will be realized.
Consequently, rapid productivity growth has made the United States extremely attractive to both domestic and international investors, reflected in a growing appetite for U.S. assets. In 1998, 45 percent of international debt securities outstanding, and 57 percent of new security issues, were in dollars. U.S. government bonds accounted for about 30 percent of the entire global bond market—commercial and sovereign. If about 50 percent of the projected increase in the value of the global portfolio is invested in U.S. assets, the United States will, roughly, maintain its share of world asset markets.
The size and composition of foreign capital inflows enable the U.S. deficit to widen further. The United States’ net external financial obligations, in terms of both the total stock outstanding (about $1.5 trillion) and net service payments ($25 billion), are small in relation to its $9 trillion economy. The United States borrows almost exclusively in domestic currency; more than 90 percent of its external debt to banks is in dollars. In addition, most of the private capital flowing into the United States consists of foreign direct investment and portfolio investment. If foreign investors sold off their holdings of U.S. equities and bonds, the prices of their assets would likely decline; they are therefore more motivated (compared with, say, bank lenders) to hold on to them. Finally, a large share of international transactions are denominated and carried out in dollars, which keeps demand for dollars high and demand for highly liquid U.S. government securities strong. All told, the United States can afford to carry a larger external deficit than a country whose obligations consist primarily of contractually fixed, short-term bank loans denominated in foreign currencies.
Nonetheless, the United States cannot live beyond its long-term means forever, nor will U.S. assets always be so favored by global investors. At current exchange rates and assuming a resumption of sustained growth in the world economy, by 2005 the current account deficit will be about $600 billion—more than 5 percent of GDP. This is both a large volume of assets, in dollar terms, that the United States is offering to international investors, as well as an unprecedented (for the United States) share of GDP. To avoid a sustainability episode in the future, it is critical that structural reforms start now. Never has the economic climate in the United States been so propitious for tackling these reforms—including raising U.S. household saving rates and preparing U.S. workers for change—and never have reforms been so necessary abroad—including liberalizing markets and lowering trade barriers, particularly in the service and professional sectors.
Fiscal discipline has been key to the U.S. economic expansion, but fiscal irresponsibility was replaced by excessive household spending. When households spend more than they earn, it is difficult for government savings to make up the shortfall in savings because the import intensity of government output is about one-third the import intensity of consumer spending. So higher household consumption has a disproportionate effect on the trade deficit. Although the drop in measured household savings was particularly dramatic in 1999, a downward trend has been apparent for 15 years. Household spending in recent years has been driven by capital gains and unrealistic expectations that wealth will continue to increase at the same rate in the future as in the recent past. In the face of a downturn in the market, U.S. consumers would tend to borrow to maintain their current consumption patterns, making them vulnerable to higher interest rates and a prolonged economic slowdown.
Moreover, worker preparedness for the types of jobs that are emerging in the “new economy” is inadequate. A trade deficit can be good news—the trade deficit tends to widen when the U.S. economy is strong. But trade growth and technological change, which go hand in hand, can mean a difficult adjustment for workers in sectors that are contracting. However, trade growth and technological change will foster the development and expansion of other sectors, and the more flexible workers and firms are in their ability to adapt and to join the expanding sectors, the less likely is a backlash against globalization.
There is a limit to the role that investment capital can play in raising productivity; over the longer term, labor force preparation and performance are critical. The United States cannot keep its competitive edge, maintain rapid productivity growth, and raise living standards unless its workers are world class. High-technology services and goods have grown as shares of U.S. production, imports, and investments. Between 1996 and 1998, real net investment in computers and peripherals rose more than 40 percent a year; they now account for nearly half of the nominal nonresidential capital stock. High-tech capital requires highly skilled workers. Moreover, because skilled workers earn higher wages and are more likely to be employed, preparing workers for the jobs of the future might lessen the political tensions aroused by globalization and encourage higher household saving rates.
Studies by the McKinsey Global Institute of selected service sector industries suggest that labor productivity in the United States is greater than in France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom by 30 percent in the airline industry, 30 to 40 percent in retail banking, 20 to 50 percent in telecommunications, and 10 to 50 percent in retail selling. In part because the U.S. domestic market for services is so well developed, the United States is the world’s leading exporter of business and professional services. The service sector overall contributed a positive $76 billion to net trade in 1999, whereas goods trade was in deficit by about $345 billion.
The share of services in U.S. exports should increase further as the United States’ trading partners grow and mature. For example, services account for about 35 percent of U.S. exports to the mature economies of Europe, where the share of services in GDP is about 70 percent; 25 percent of U.S. exports to South and Central America, where the service share of GDP is about 57 percent; but only 18 percent of U.S. exports to China and India, where the service share of GDP is 37 percent. Multilateral liberalization of services would help put the U.S. trade deficit on a sustainable path. As other countries open their markets to U.S. exports of services, contributing positively to the overall U.S. trade balance, U.S. imports of some services would also increase. Even more important, liberalization of services in markets abroad would spur much faster economic growth there—enough to raise global growth rates from 3.2 percent to 5 percent a year in the long run, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The widening U.S. trade deficit is a reflection not only of policy problems in the United States but also of economic doldrums abroad, which pose an immediate challenge to policymakers there. Just as the U.S. trade deficit has both cyclical and structural aspects, so have the foreign economic doldrums. Japan’s lost decade, tepid growth in many European economies, questions about the sustainability of Asia’s rebound from the 1997 crisis, and Latin America’s economic volatility—all make it difficult for the U.S. trade deficit to change direction based on U.S. actions alone.
A global expansion would benefit the U.S. economy; obviously, it would also be good for other countries. There, as in the United States, the key to raising long-term sustainable growth is faster productivity growth, which will come with increased market flexibility and globalization. This recipe would raise U.S. and global growth rates and put the U.S. trade and current account deficits on a sustainable trajectory. It is a win-win scenario.
Moreover, if structural reforms accompanied rising domestic demand in countries whose economies were growing, these countries would be able to offer higher returns to domestic and foreign investors. Investors would increase the share of non-U.S. assets in their portfolios, and the dollar would drift lower. Faster growth abroad and a modest drop in the dollar would stimulate the growth of U.S. exports and slow the growth of imports, and the U.S. current account gap would shrink. If such a shift occurred smoothly, the U.S. economy could continue to expand for quite some time, amid robust and sustainable global growth.
If other economies continue to stagnate and needed structural reforms are postponed, however, U.S. investments will continue to yield higher returns than those in other countries; foreign investors will continue to acquire U.S. and dollar-denominated assets; and the current account deficit will grow wider. When a change in investor sentiment comes, it could be dramatic. What would happen if the dollar depreciated by a significant amount, say 25 percent?
Although such a depreciation would quickly close the current account deficit, U.S. consumers would shift from buying imported goods and services to buying those made domestically, and U.S. labor markets would tighten further. The combination of rising wages and a falling dollar likely would drive up prices. The U.S. Federal Reserve would probably raise interest rates, putting the brakes on the U.S. economy. A rapid change in the dollar’s value and a raising of interest rates would likely disrupt financial markets, with knock-on effects on consumption and business investment in the United States and throughout the world.
Even though a sudden depreciation would be costly, it still would not put the current account on a sustainable trajectory. Absent structural changes in the U.S. and other economies, a sudden, significant depreciation would set off a dangerous cycle: the trade and current account deficits initially would narrow but they would soon widen again, as structural instabilities returned to the fore. Moreover, because a depreciation would affect only the trade component of the current account, its impact would wear off more quickly than did the impact of the depreciation of the dollar in the 1980s.
The United States’ external deficits have widened dramatically during a period in which the U.S. economy has been robust, while stagnation and financial crisis have swept through much of the rest of the world. But, because globalization has enhanced productivity growth and because the United States is a central participant in international markets, the external situation is not yet unsustainable. Strong domestic demand in the United States can continue to support the transition to demand-led growth abroad for two or three more years. However, structural asymmetries in the components of the U.S. internal and external balances, as well as political and market sensitivities toward growing trade deficits, will unleash economic forces that ultimately could undermine the sustainability of the U.S. deficit. A failure to address policy and structural needs, in the United States and abroad, increases the likelihood that the resolution of the U.S. trade imbalance will be unpleasant and disruptive for the world economy.
This article is based on the author’s book, Is the U.S. Trade Deficit Sustainable? (Washington: Institute for International Economics, 1999).
This conference offers a unique setting to monitor the development of financial markets in developing countries by bringing together senior stakeholders in these financial systems. The corporate and financial restructuring process in Southeast Asia provides the backdrop for this year’s conference. Participants will discuss this restructuring process, explore which type of efforts have worked best, and draw applicable lessons for the future.
In addition to the IMF and the World Bank, contributors will include Barents Group, Deutsche Bank Group, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, and Thomson BankWatch.
The registration deadline is March 1, 2000.
For further information, please contact Sarah K. Johnson via fax at +1-202-522-7105 or via email at [email protected].
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Context: Nakba — "The Catastrophe"
Nakba means “the Catastrophe.” It refers to the Palestinians’ dispossession from their homes, lands, and livelihoods as a result of Israeli ethnic cleansing during the Arab-Israeli War between November 1947 and July 1949 when half the Arab population of Palestine—more than 700,000 people—were forced to flee or were expelled.
Muslim and Christian Palestinians commemorate the Nakba on May 15. In 1948, this day marked the end of the British Mandate (1922–1948) and the beginning of Israel as an independent Jewish State.
In 1947, Jews owned almost six percent of the land in Palestine. That same year, the UN Special Commission on Palestine recommended that the country be divided into two states, one Arab and one Jewish, placing Jerusalem and Bethlehem under international control. A majority of the land was earmarked for a Jewish State at a time when Jews made up a third of the overall population of Palestine and owned less than six percent of the land. The Zionist leadership agreed. The Arab League and Palestinian leadership did not. The proposal for partition passed the UN General Assembly with both US and USSR support. Britain abstained.
David Ben-Gurion, leader of the Zionist movement from the mid-1920s, and his inner-circle known as the Consultancy, adopted “Plan Dalet,” which several Israeli historians have regarded as a blueprint for the ethnic cleansing of that part of Palestine allocated to be a Jewish State by the UN Partition Plan. Around the time of the UN Partition and prior to Israeli independence, the Arab League established the Arab Liberation Army, volunteers who would fight against Jewish military forces, including the soldiers of the Hagana and extremist militias like the Irgun and Stern Gang that had for years been conducting terrorist attacks aimed at forcing the British to abandon their Mandate and leave Palestine.
During the fighting, the Jewish military perpetrated massacres, rapes, and other acts of violence—including the complete destruction of hundreds of villages—against indigenous Palestinians. By the end of the Arab-Israeli war, over 6,000 Jews and between 8,000–15,000 Arabs, military and civilian, had lost their lives.
As a result, Israel controlled 78 percent of Palestine, 25 percent more than the UN partition plan. No Palestinian state was established on the remaining 22 percent. Egypt controlled the Gaza Strip, while Jordan controlled the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
While Israelis celebrate May 15 as the birth of Israel, it is illegal in Israel to commemorate the Nakba.
The “ongoing Nakba” refers to the relentless process by which Israel confiscates Palestinian land and water resources for its own use, and displaces Palestinians.
See The Nakba Files: The Nakba, the Law, and What Lies in Between. See also iNakba App, a trilingual mobile app (Arabic, Hebrew, and English) based on GPS navigation technology that allows users to locate and learn about Palestinian localities destroyed since 1948, during, and as a result of, the Nakba.
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What is digital media and how can I use it in my daily life?
Digital media is a mixture of virtual components and creative visuals that create a compelling experience. A recorded PowerPoint presentation, a video game, or an animated story are all examples of digital media. Digital media brings together the best of multiple worlds and engages the audience from multiple avenues, ensuring increased engagement. attention, and (usually) call to action.
When giving a presentation in front of an audience, what are some key elements to keep in mind in order to maintain audience engagement?
One very important principle is simplicity. Keeping your message simple and succinct ensures that the audience will remember it. Another important concept is relevance, it is important to tailor your message to your audience as much as possible to ensure the highest level of interest and engagement. Lastly, it is important to design your presentation with significant visuals and minimal text. Studies show that visuals increase presentation engagement by 48%.
What are 7 of the most popular concepts of design that are often applied in illustration?
The seven most typical principles are: 1. Line, 2. Negative Space, 3. Form, 4. Texture, 5. Transparency, 6. Scale, and 7. Color. These concepts can be used and applied to different degrees in illustration for the purpose of bringing unique form and design to a piece. Each element holds it's own unique characteristics. For example: Scale can be used to draw attention to particular elements in a piece while line can be used to give style and movement to a design.
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Religion, belief and faith influence many areas of all our lives, whether we follow a particular doctrine or not. But are people becoming less religious in the modern age? Is religion a social construction? And what do key sociological theorists say about religion? This book examines the sociology of religion. Looking at belief systems around the world, the text questions and explores changing attitudes to religion, alongside issues such as secularization, fundamentalism and globalization. In particular, this text: • Explores contemporary and classic theory • Describes key practices and beliefs of particular faith groups • Investigates social characteristics associated with religious belief and participation • Discusses various approaches to the organisation of religion, from traditional institutions to sects and cults. Part of the successful Skills-Based Sociology series, Religion and Belief provides readers with the opportunity to build their knowledge whilst putting their understanding into practice. The book's clear structure, helpful exercises and exam guidance make this an invaluable resource for students new to the study of religion in society.
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Why you should read "Start With Why"
I have been both a student and teacher or Shared Vision for some years now, and I always struggle to put into words what happens when a team reaches a state of Shared Vision. The magic that occurs is difficult to describe. Simon Sinek manages to describe from an individuals perspective what I find happens on a high functioning team: they know "why" they are doing what they are doing. It is about a shared understanding of purpose that isn't about "how" or "what"' but about why. I think the Liberal Party has a lot to learn from this book. No matter how many times we say that we know what we stand for, sometime during the mid to late 90s we lost the "Why". We need to get the why back if we ever hope to win back the hearts and minds of Canadian voters. I think a lot of my business friends would get a lot form this book as well. It is strange to me that no matter how successful the businesses that "Start With Why" are, it seems like the primary role of the professional business person is to shift the why to how and what. These really aren't new concepts or lessons. Anyway, I really enjoyed this book, and the TED talk that put me on to it: http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action.html. Give it a watch, and then give the book a read.
I really enjoyed this book for its knowledge and insight into the general running and operation of a business. It also helped me distinguish my own why and my "how" people. If you have an open mind you can take a lot of information from this book.
It does not matter what industry you work or study in, you should read this book. It could help you find your own direction.
This book has forever changed my understanding of leadership.
The reading of this book took place during an interesting time of my life, my umpteenth existential crisis. What better way to revitalize yourself and regain your raison d'être by asking yourself some big questions like, why do you get up in the morning? Although a bit repetitive, Sinek really drives the message home for me and my workplace. What does success really mean and how will you know if you get there? These are two fundamental questions that really help me probe my own WHY. I recommend the TEDtalk but if you need a little more inspiration, you'll definitely find it even by simply glossing over these pages.
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There are certainly a whole host of technological hurdles to overcome before humans successfully travel to Mars, or beyond, but research is also pointing to a growing assortment of fundamental health challenges that astronauts may face from long stretches of time in space. A recent NASA-funded study has found dormant viruses can reactivate in the human body during spaceflight, presenting yet another physiological problem for scientists to solve before we journey out into deep space.
"NASA astronauts endure weeks or even months exposed to microgravity and cosmic radiation – not to mention the extreme G forces of take-off and re-entry," says Satish K. Mehta from the Johnson Space Center, and senior author on the new study. "This physical challenge is compounded by more familiar stressors like social separation, confinement and an altered sleep-wake cycle."
Prior research has revealed prolonged space travel could result in everything from a heightened cancer risk and neurological degeneration to tissue damage in the gastrointestinal tract. It has also been suggested that spaceflight has a detrimental effect on the immune system and it is this process that scientists are hypothesizing allows dormant viruses to reactivate.
"During spaceflight there is a rise in secretion of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which are known to suppress the immune system," says Mehta. "In keeping with this, we find that astronaut's immune cells – particularly those that normally suppress and eliminate viruses – become less effective during spaceflight and sometimes for up to 60 days after."
The new research looked at bodily fluid samples from astronauts before, during, and after missions to space. Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), varicella-zoster virus (VZV), and herpes-simplex-1 (HSV-1) were all found to have reactivated and shed into saliva and urine samples in more than half of the studied astronauts. In most cases these astronauts did not develop any specific viral symptoms, however these are infectious viruses and they can increase the chances of adverse medical events occurring on longer space voyages.
The level of viral shedding tracked in the astronaut samples seemed to increase in both frequency and quantity during the longer International Space Station missions. This suggests the immune system dysregulation that may be causing the viral reactivation is not just an acute stress reaction from the initial journey into space.
"The magnitude, frequency and duration of viral shedding all increase with length of spaceflight," explains Mehta.
The researchers hypothesize partial-gravity environments may have the potential to curtail this viral reactivation but certainly suggest more research is needed to better understand how the immune system could be modulated by gravity. In the short term the solution to this particular viral reactivation problem may be better and more targeted vaccination protocols for deep space astronauts.
The new study was published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology.
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I was editing an image and I saved a selection as an alpha channel. However, when I saved the alpha channel, the selected area displayed as black and the rest of the image displayed as white. I was expecting the selected area to display as white. Do you know why this happened and how can I fix it?
You’re correct in your expectations: When you save a selection as an alpha channel, Photoshop displays the selected area as white, and the non-selected, or masked area, as black. It sounds like you inadvertently selected the inverse of what you intended to select.
This is a common mistake when you need to select an object that has a single-colored background, such as the racecar shown in Figure A. The easiest way to select the racecar is to select the white area, and then inverse the selection. However, if you select the white background, forget to inverse the selection, and then make an alpha channel based on your selection, the selected area will still display as white in the alpha channel, as shown in Figure B—it’s just not the selection you wanted.
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Forensic entomology is characterized by the use of insects, mites and other arthropods in legal procedures. Entomologic information allows the post morten interval (PMI) estimates to be obtained with reasonable accuracy, even after months of death. The study of cadaveric succession includes corpse necrophagous fauna analysis, which is based on the levels of decomposition. The fauna may vary because each period offers ideal conditions for the development of certain species. The development of the eggs and larvae is extremely predictable, and detailed observations of the biological stages of several insect species as well as their succession in the decaying corpse may reveal important information regarding the place and time of death .
Several traps can be used in forensic entomology to analyze the cadaveric entomofauna and to determine the relationship of the entomological succession with the phases of decomposition - . These traps are primarily characterized by the assembly of a rectangular iron framework that is usually clothed laterally by organza with an opening at the bottom to enable insects to enter the trap. Insect collection is generally performed manually using an entomological net wrapped over the top of the trap. However, some experiments do not use traps, and the insects are collected at the cadaver using insect hand nets - . For both methods, the researcher can collect the insects under the organza in addition to collecting the flying adults at the carcass. This practice may be harmful to the researcher, because these insects are known to be pathogen vectors .
A similar trap was described by Shannon (1939) , and it was used primarily for the capture of day-flying sylvan mosquitoes and insects attracted by any type of bait. This trap consists of a rectangular compartment that is covered by muslin and four sides composed of mosquito netting. The trap is approximately 65 cm above ground with a large space below for the insects. The mosquitoes are caught with a suction tube inserted into a small opening in the side of the trap.
These traps remain assembled for undetermined lengths of time, thus allowing the collection of insects to visit the cadaver (or bait) throughout the day. However, without a bottle collector, the number of captured insects is low because many insects eventually die and fall to the ground and the nocturnal insects are not captured. In many experiments, oil is used as a fixative substance, which may alter the colors and structures of the insects that are prepared for identification.
In this study, we describe and test a modified Shannon trap for forensic entomology experiments. This trap has the following improvements: 1) collects the visiting insects during the entire decomposition process without prejudice based on the quantity and quality of the collected specimens, 2) prevents direct contact with the collected insects and 3) optimizes the time because of easy implantation that enables collection within a short period.
The trap proposed in this study consists of a voile textile tent fastened to the nozzle of a flask and fixed to the ground by four stakes, forming a pyramid with sides 10 to 30 cm from the ground to enable insect entry. The flask is fastened to two fixed points by its upper part, and there is an opening in the middle to which a collecting vial containing 70% gel alcohol is tied. Therefore, the collection is performed externally to the trap, and the insects are found adhered to the alcohol. The instructions for assembly are shown in Figure 1.
The trap was tested in experiments conducted in two distinct regions in Brazil between January and August, during the summer and winter seasons, respectively. The experiments were performed in the cities of São Paulo (at the campus of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of São Paulo, location 23˚33'S and 46˚40'W) and Peruíbe (in the EEJI—Estação Ecológica Juréia-Itatins, location 24˚22'S and 47˚01'W).
Four experiments were conducted, two during each season. The duration of each experiment was standardized to 20 days despite the variations in the decomposition periods of the carcasses at the two locations.
Swine carcasses weighing approximately 12 kg were placed directly on the ground inside 70 × 50 × 50 cm cages in shallow pits approximately 10 cm deep. This procedure was performed to protect the carcasses from vertebrate predators and to allow for adequate colonization. The cages were closed and strung in the surrounding vegetation to avoid predation as previously discussed. The trap was assembled above the cage to verify its efficacy and applicability for both experimental and forensics use. The collections were performed on alternating days at both locations.
After collection, the samples were transported to the laboratory and later grouped according to the decomposition phase. With the objective of evaluating the practical applicability of the trap in routine forensics, two collections with a one-hour interval were performed (the first collection at noon and the second collection at 1 p.m.). After this procedure, the collection vial was repositioned in the trap for additional collections.
A total of 10,833 arthropods that belonged to 53 families of insects were collected. The majority of the insects were from the order Diptera (96.9%), but specimens from the orders Coleoptera (2.12%), Hymenoptera (0.71%), Lepidoptera (0.14%), Hemiptera (0.10%) and Orthoptera (0.03%) were also observed. Table 1 shows the number of insects collected at each decomposition stage, and a quantitative analysis of the collected insects according to their taxonomic level of family is presented in Table 2.
The modified trap (Figure 2) retained the insects, and it was resistant to inclement weather. All of the collections were successful.
Figure 1. Step-by-step: assembly instructions trap.
of the collected insects made it possible to identify the abundance of the orders and families.
An evaluation of the efficacy of the number of specimens captured was performed by comparison with results from other studies that used similar traps or insect hand nets as shown in Table 3 - . Based on this analysis, our trap was more efficacious because of the increased number of insects captured during the process of decomposition and the variety of species captured.
To test the applicability of this trap for use in forensics, the quickness of assembly and the potential to collect insects in a short period were assessed. The results of both evaluations were positive because the implantation of the trap was simple and an estimated 30 to 80 insects were collected per hour.
Table 1. Number of insects collected by decomposition stage.
*EEJI-S—Peruíbe experiment during the summer. SP-S—São Paulo experiment during the summer. EEJI-W— Peruíbe experiment during the winter. SP-W—São Paulo experiment during the winter.
Table 2. Total insects collected.
Figure 2. Demonstrative image trap.
Table 3. Comparision with results from other studies.
We conclude that the trap showed favorable results. Its low cost, ease of manufacturing and efficient collection and preservation of the specimens captured facilitates further identification and characterization of necrophagous fauna. Furthermore, this study demonstrated that the trap met the expectations of feasibility related to the duration of the experiments, the number and quality of the specimens captured and the richness of the species collected. Therefore, this trap can serve as a complementary resource for forensics practice and experimentation.
We thank Prof. Dr. Silvio Nihei for help reviewing the text, and Julia Albuquerque and Igor Caricaturas for help with the language and figures.
Beuter, L., Fernandes, P.A., Barros, P.B., Souza, C.R., Jacomini, L.B. and Mendes, J. (2008) Diversidade e sazonalidade de califorídeos de potencial importância forense na área urbana de Uberlândia. Anais do XII Seminário de Iniciação Científica da Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, UFU.
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Sikh community demands distinct religious category Sikh community demands distinct religious category: According to reports, the Sikh American community on Thursday urged the United States Census Bureau to have a distinct Sikh category in the next 2020 census.
According to reports, the Sikh American community on Thursday urged the United States Census Bureau to have a distinct Sikh category in the next 2020 census.
In a submission to the U.S. Census, the Untied Sikhs said that the distinct Sikh category would go a long way in making everyone count, so that action can be taken to address bullying and hate crimes against the community.
"Stereotypes fuelled by the media, discriminatory policies and corrupted public attitudes toward immigrants, especially since September 11, 2001, exacerbate feelings of bigotry that result in a backlash against the Sikh community like never before,” United Sikhs argued, according to a media release.
They also said that Sikhs can trace their ancestry in the United States back to at least 100 years when many came to California to work on the railroads. Even now Sikhs face bias, racism and xenophobia.
"Yet, to date, they are grouped into a general Asian-Indian category in the US Census and this ignores their unique circumstances," it rued.
Sikhs should be represented as a distinct group in the Census, it said.
US Census will provide funding in order to address civil rights violations. It is well known that the Sikhs in the country have disproportionately suffered backlash, hate crimes and bullying since September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
According to recent studies, estimated at least half of the members of Sikh Community have been bullied, harassed or even assaulted at some time in their life because of bigotry and xenophobia; it said, asserting that Sikhs meet the criteria for representation in the Census as a distinct ethnic group.
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In the class are 60% boys and 40% girls. Long hair has 10% boys and 80% girls.
a) What is the probability that a randomly chosen person has long hair?
b) The selected person has long hair. What is the probability that it is a girl?
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Have you ever heard someone in the investing and business world refer to something as being either "top line" or "bottom line"? What do these terms mean, you might ask? How does the top line differ from the bottom line and why should you, or anyone else, care? Sooner or later, you're going to need to know the answer to these questions, especially if you want to be successful in life. A lot of people have enjoyed affluence only to lose it all because they didn't understand that the top line and the bottom line do not necessarily move in tandem.
In most cases, sustainable success requires mastering both.
If you are familiar with how to analyze an income statement, you may recall that every income statement, or Profit and Loss or P&L as they are sometimes known, is broken down into sections. At the top, you begin with sales or revenue, which generally refers to the money a company generated by providing goods or services to its customers. As you go further down the income statement, different amounts are taken out or, in some cases, added, to reflect different types of expenses or income. You finally arrive at the bottom, where you find a figure known as net income applicable to common shares, which is the profit the stockholders are entitled to enjoy after backing out things like costs, interest expense, taxes, minority stakes, etc.
It is that figure that is used to calculate something known as basic and diluted earnings per share.
When you hear someone refer to the "top line," they are usually referring to sales or net sales (the latter is sales adjusted for certain items). If you owned a Cinnabon franchise, for example, the top line is going to be how much cash you brought in from selling cinnamon rolls and cups of coffee. If you hear someone refer to the "bottom line", they are usually referring to the net income applicable to common shares, which is the net profit after taxes (though some small business owners will use "bottom line" to refer to the pre-tax operating earnings so you'll need to clarify the context).
Gross Profit: Gross profit refers to total revenue minus cost of goods sold.
Operating Profit: Operating profit refers to the total pre-tax earnings of an enterprise from the operating activity in which it is engaged. It is calculated by taking the gross profit and backing out things that fall into a category known as selling, general, and administrative expenses.
Net Profit: This is the bottom-line profit after all expenses, taxes, interest, and other costs have been paid, depreciation estimated, and the books closed.
Furthermore, when a person refers to gross profit, operating profit, or net profit, they may be referring to the actual figure expressed in a given currency (e.g., "The bottom line for the year? We made $1.2 million in profit.") or they may be referring to a relative financial ratio known as a profit margin. Specifically, they may be referring to the gross profit margin, operating profit margin, or net profit margin (each will tell you how the different types of profit compared to overall revenue).
Once you have figured out the top line and bottom line figures, you can go one step further and use them to perform some basic valuations on different companies. The secret formula for valuing a stock's growth breaks out three different valuation multiples that a person can use to try and compare how "expensive" one company is to another, at least on a first-pass basis.
The three metrics included in that article are the p/e ratio, which tells you how expensive a company is relative to its net income, the PEG ratio, which attempts to adjust the p/e ratio for growth in the underlying profits, and the dividend-adjusted PEG ratio, which goes one step further than that and attempts to factor in not only growth, but dividend income (given its role in generating total return).
EBITDA stands for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. In essence, it is the amount of money that would have been made if a company did not pay interest charges, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. By now you should be asking yourself, "How can you ignore those costs? They still exist even if you pretend they don't!"
Exactly. It's similar to pretending that the interest you pay on your credit cards, your income taxes, and the depreciation on your car isn't a real expense to you. According to the EBITDA standards, they don't exist. If you can't tell, although you will hear a lot of professionals talking about this number, it is one of the most worthless, deceitful and meaningless figures available. Most investors are best served by paying absolutely no attention to it.
Whether you're an investor, manager, lender, or business owner, there are a few takeaways you need to remember about the top line and bottom line profit figures.
First, it is possible for an enterprise to increase the top line (sales) while decreasing the bottom line (net earnings). Not all sales are profitable. There are companies that have gone broke because their sales increased too rapidly.
Second, it is possible for an enterprise to decrease the top line (sales) while increasing the bottom line (net earnings). Through cost cutting, automation, and structural changes in the business, certain firms have been able to mint money even in declining sectors and industries, making their shareholders rich.
Third, remember that, generally, the ideal situation is one in which the top line and the bottom line are growing in tandem. However, most businesses have something known as operating leverage built into them. This comes into play with something known as the interest coverage ratio. Basically, there is a certain level of fixed expenses in the business — the rent, the payroll for employees, keeping the lights on and the water running — that eat up a lot of profit below a certain top-line figure. Once this is crossed, a huge percentage of the additional sales above that magic line drop straight to the bottom line.
Those incremental sales, in other words, are far more profitable. An intelligent investor can make a lot of money buying into a bad business that is about to turnaround, in effect harnessing the fact that an increase of [x]% in the top line can result in an increase of [10x]% in the bottom line.
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Constantin Daniel Rosenthal (b. Pest, Hungary: Rosenthal Konstantin, 1820-July 23, 1851) was a Romanian painter, sculptor and Freemason of Hungarian birth and a 1848 revolutionary, best known for his portraits and his choice of Romanian Romantic nationalist subjects.
"There are many Romanians here but none of them have to bear the cold Rosenthal has to in his lodging. Strange how the noble aim enpowers... there truly are plenty elloquent proofs that the man shall become great!".
In 1846, the profit from his works afforded him a trip to England; upon his return to Paris, he was informed of his family's financial destitution, and left for Budapest in early 1847, only to leave in summer for Mehadia, and then, in August, for Bucharest. Rosenthal again joined the radical circles, this time as a member of the secret society Fratia, which was by then masking itself as a literary society presided by Iancu Vacarescu, and was commissioned by Vasile Alecsandri to paint a portrait of the deceased Elena Negri after a daguerrotype. He also painted the portrait of Anica Manu, the wife of Aga Iancu Manu.
The Government assigned him the designing of a triumphal arch in Bucharest, one meant to mark the success of the revolution, and, probably, of a Statue of Liberty (the latter project only survives in a watercolour by Theodor Aman, Dezrobirea Tiganilor - "The Freeing of the Gypsies").
In late September, after Ottoman troops intervened against the revolution, most radicals were arrested and transported on board small vessels on the Danube, to exile in various locations. Rosenthal made public his request to join them, but was answered that Austrian protection still applied to him, and, although he requested to be viewed as a Wallachian, was denied permission to board. Subsequently, he and Rosetti's wife Maria followed the ships on shore from Giurgiu to Svinita, where they convinced the Austrian mayor to disarm the Ottoman guards, and allow the prisoners to go free.
He returned to Pest-Buda, which was still witnessing the Hungarian revolution at the time, left for Paris in May 1850, and subsequently joined Romanian exiles in carrying out propaganda work. His most celebrated paintings, two national personifications - Romania revolutionara ("Revolutionary Romania", which was also a portrait of Maria Rosetti) and Romania rupandu-si catusele pe Campia Libertatii ("Romania Breaking off Her Chains on the Field of Liberty") -, date from this period.
Soon without money, Rosenthal left for Switzerland, and lived for a while in late 1850 in the town of Porrentruy, before leaving for Fribourg, then Chur, in the first days of 1851. In Graz until July, where he began receiving some attention from critics, he decided to return to Wallachia in an attempt to rekindle the radical movement.
His plan was divulged by spies of the Second French Republic (already under the authority of Prince-President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte), who read Rosenthal's correspondence in Paris; the Austrians arrested the painter during his presence in Pest-Buda, citing his "imprudent political statements". Pressured to reveal his connections and refusing to comply, Rosenthal was tortured to death; his body was never returned to his family.
"Rosenthal was one of the best and the most loyal people that God created after His image. He died for Romania, for its liberties; he died for his Romanian friends. This friend, this son, this martyr of Romania is an Israelite. His name was Daniel Rosenthal."
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Speaker Michael Martin today assured MPs that police did not have access to their confidential files during the raid on shadow minister Damian Green's office.
Allaying fears officers could have seen private correspondence with constituents, Mr Martin revealed they had not been allowed into the central Parliamentary server.
In a brief statement to the Commons this afternoon, he also stressed that from now on police would have to have a warrant to be allowed to search Parliamentary property.
'No access was given to data held on the server... No access will be given unless a warrant exists and I approve such access,' he told the House.
Mr Martin, in his second statement on the row in a week, repeated that he would be personally responsible for ensuring a warrant existed and approving police access.
It came as an influential committee of MPs announced it was launching its own probe into the affair which saw Mr Green arrested and his home and offices searched.
The shadow immigration minister was held for nine hours over alleged leaks from a Home Office whistleblower containing information embarrassing to the Government.
His arrest and the way centuries of Parliamentary tradition was trampled on when officers raided his office without a warrant horrified MPs from all sides.
Speaker Martin has been left fighting for his job over the row, and before his statement today there was speculation he might have signalled he was about to quit.
Although this was not the case, he was still facing more pressure on the issue after the Home Affairs Select Committee announced its own investigation.
'This is an important inquiry and it is vital that the issues of political involvement in police matters and the process of arrests of this kind are thoroughly examined.
The terms of reference are yet to be decided but will cover 'the police processes and the involvement, if any, of political figures in these matters'.
Another planned parliamentary inquiry into the matter instigated by the Speaker is mired in chaos after both the Tories and Liberal Democrats said they would boycott it.
The Speaker is expected to signal his intention to stand down at the next election because of the row after it became clear he has lost the confidence of senior MPs.
Tory leader David Cameron, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg and some of Labour's big beasts effectively withdrew their support for Mr Martin, apparently making his position untenable.
Former Labour Home Secretary Charles Clarke dealt the Speaker a devastating blow, saying he should have prevented an 'unlawful' police raid on Parliament and condemning his attempt to blame one of his officials.
The Government heightened the sense of crisis around the Speaker by delaying his inquiry into the arrest of Mr Green over embarrassing Government leaks.
Twenty-nine Labour MPs - including Mr Clarke, and other former ministers Gisela Stuart, Mr Vaz, Kate Hoey and Denis MacShane - rebelled against the move to kick the issue into the long grass.
The Speaker had urged MPs to amend a Government motion setting up a committee to investigate the affair, but the Government scraped home by just four votes after acrimonious scenes in the Commons.
The vote means a committee announced by Mr Martin to investigate the affair urgently will not now meet until after any police inquiry is complete.
Both the Tories and the Liberal Democrats immediately announced that they would refuse to cooperate with the inquiry, plunging it into farce.
Two senior Conservatives who had been asked by the Speaker to take part - Ken Clarke and Michael Mates - are understood to have told him that they will not now do so. It now appears only Labour MPs will sit on the committee.
Commons Leader Harriet Harman was accused of treating Parliament with contempt as she claimed it was essential any investigation into the affair must wait until a police probe into Home Office leaks is over.
Shadow Commons leader Theresa May said the Government's plans 'flew in the face' of the Speaker's pledge for a speedy investigation.
They were 'a blatant attempt by government to pack the committee, stymie its debate and delay its work until the controversy has blown over'.
There has been mounting anger over the detention ten days ago of Mr Green by counter-terrorism officers on suspicion of an obscure offence of seeking to encourage 'misconduct in public office'.
He admits being passed Government documents revealing blunders and cover-ups over illegal immigration, and insists they were in the public interest. His arrest has prompted a constitutional crisis.
MPs are furious at the Speaker's failure to stop detectives entering Parliament even though they did not have a search warrant.
There has been particular distaste at the way he has appeared to lay the blame for the fiasco at the door of the Serjeant at Arms, Jill Pay.
Charles Clarke said Mr Martin had been given enough notice to prevent the police entering the Commons, trampling on centuries of tradition of Parliamentary privilege, himself.
He made clear he thought the Speaker should retire at the next general election because it was clear he had lost the confidence of MPs. 'I think there is widespread concern about whether he does have that confidence at the moment,' he said.
Mr Cameron said 'you have to accept that big mistakes were made', while Mr Clegg said he would not 'give a categoric statement of unambiguous support' to the Speaker.
Even senior Labour figures were admitting privately that within the next few months Mr Martin should indicate his intention to step down at the next election.
A spokesman for Mr Martin said his position had not changed and he still hoped to serve a third term.
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A short review of SAT test for students. Here you'll find information about the importance of this test.
A review of the SAT test confirms that it is the most accurate way of determining whether or not a student would benefit from the American college system.
Although parts of it have been shrouded in controversy, the College Board have consistently refined the test so that it is an ever more accurate reflection of a student's ability.
Where statistics have shown a bias towards a certain economic or social group, efforts have been made to eliminate the bias and give each student a realistic equal chance.
The SAT test may not be perfect, but it is evolving all the time, and it is definitely the most accurate indicator we have at this time.
The test has gone through much change since it was first introduced over a century ago. It has had many different names and formats. The name SAT Reasoning Test is of very recent vintage, having only been introduced in 2005.
The test is scored equally between three sections of equal importance. There is a section for math, one for critical reading, and one for writing. Each of these sections contributes a possible 800 points to the overall total.
The SAT test is still comfortably ahead of its rivals in importance and credibility amongst college staff. It is the one people take notice of.
Because of this, families are prepared to spend significant amounts of money on trying to give their young students the best possible chance of making it to college. They often try to avoid unnecessary tasks delegating it to https://paperial.com/thesis-writing-services and the similar services.
A whole industry has grown up based on the SAT test, in an attempt to evaluate a student's chances, and then to increase their effectiveness.
Some very large names in the publishing industry have devoted a lot of time and money to developing product lines, in the certain knowledge that there is a huge demand.
The development of the Internet has made it easier than ever for information and learning to be disseminated to the people who need it.
Many of the big names who offer product lines helping people assess their SAT testability have also developed interactive courses to help potential students develop their skills. The online environment has made this easier than ever to do.
Although the SAT test continues to have its detractors, it is being refined and improved all the time. At this present time, it has evolved beyond the point where cultural and economic bias was skewing results.
Even the College Board itself has admitted that this bias existed, and it has taken effective steps to eliminate it. No doubt the SAT test will continue to evolve even from the lofty peak it has now reached.
What is certain is that it is still regarded as the most accurate indicator of a student's potential and that if you are serious about going to college, you need to review the SAT test.
I'm a freelance writer who wants to cover as much topic as it possible.
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The regeneration of Middleport Pottery, the home of Burleigh Ware ceramics, one of the last working Victorian Potteries in the UK.
The dilapidated Grade II* factory buildings in Burslem were saved by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. The site was purchased by The Prince’s Regeneration Trust in 2010 and working alongside FCBStudios a brief was developed to repair the factory, save the jeopardised jobs of existing employees, create additional jobs and kick start the regeneration of the surrounding town.
Concept - The brief called for the renovation of the at-risk building fabric, reclaiming abandoned and uninhabitable spaces to house new businesses and visitor facilities and create a more diverse mixed-use ‘hub’ of ceramics enterprises within the Victorian factory ranges.
Improving visitor access and education facilities were fundamental to the regeneration objectives of the project, allowing the people of Burslem to reconnect with their industrial heritage, and rekindling the pride of a community built on generations of world-leading design and craft.
Context - The Grade II* listed factory was built in Burslem, Stoke on Trent. It was designed to an innovative new model, arranged to maximise the efficiencies of production from the arrival of the clay through to the packaging and export of the finished product. Sited on the banks of the Trent & Mersey canal, the factory was directly linked with Liverpool docks, and the international demands for British products at the height of the country’s industrial eminence.
Design Approach - The building’s time-worn industrial character was very fragile and in danger of being lost to over-sanitised heritage commodification. Even though the buildings were at risk of collapse, their conservation could jeopardise everything about the site that the team hoped to save. The ‘light touch’ philosophy sought only to intervene where essential. The ‘new layer’ of contemporary design was founded on extensive analysis of the existing condition and a thorough understanding of the site’s history, quantifying those characteristics that gave the site its sense of place.
Sustainability - The refurbishment has made a number of major sustainability improvements. The conservation brief required extensive refurbishment of leaking roofs and windows, and improving the energy efficiency of the building envelope through upgraded insulation, enhanced airtightness performance and the installation of new highly efficient servicing, including lifts. External lighting has been designed to a low lux level to minimise light pollution whilst maintaining a flight path for bats. The scheme is undergoing final BREEAM certification with a target rating of ‘Very Good’.
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Since the first prehistoric cave painting, and perhaps much before that, the human race has always used art as a form of expression. With the passing of each historical period came new technologies and techniques and were all influenced by the unique style, characteristics, and social conditions of those periods. Even though, each period discovered new forms and unique styles of art most historical periods were influenced by an earlier period of history. In this essay, I will explore the relationship, style, and influences of the Renaissance and Baroque periods and will also compare and contrast a work of art from both periods to further explain the relationship between the two eras.
The Renaissance period started in Italy and took place between the 1400’s and the 1600’s. In French, the term Renaissance means rebirth, which is an accurate way to describe that period since it was then that many people chose to break away from the stagnation, incertitude, and extreme hardships that occurred during the Middle Ages and plagued most of Europe. The Renaissance period is noted for being a time when the population sought educational reform which increased literacy and many were able to master more than one skill set. This led to an intellectual, economic, and artistic revolution that transformed several European nations such as Italy, France, Spain, and several others. During this time, there were several developments within the Catholic Church, such as scandals and controversy. Because of that, many people were driven away from the traditions of the church and sought more freedom of expression and individualism. As economies improved, there was more wealth and a desire for self improvement which greatly influenced the arts.
While religion and the church were still a great influence during the Renaissance, interest was shifted to scientific study, the human form, and expression of thought, which heavily influenced the arts. Because of this, new painting and sculpting techniques were developed during the Renaissance. Artists began using new techniques such as linear perspective, rules of proportion, balance, and physical presence. One of the main characteristics of Renaissance art includes an adoration and praise of the human figure and nature. Paintings were more realistic and had linear perspective, and a great focus was placed on light and shadow. For architecture a great emphasis was placed on geometry, accuracy, and symmetry. Also, with nostalgia for Classical architecture, placement of columns was symmetrical, and the use of arches and domes was very popular. The Renaissance period produced some of the most famous artists and masterpieces that are not easily replicated today.
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Make sure to keep your body in a straight line throughout the exercise, not raising your bottom into the air. Go at your own pace to ensure good form.
1.Begin in plank position with your hands underneath your shoulders, body in one straight line.
2. Simultaneously move your right hand to the left, as you step your left foot to the left.
3.Then simultaneously step your left hand and right foot to the left, so you’re back in plank position (Your hands move together as your feet step apart).
4.Simultaneously move your left hand to the right, as you step your right foot to the right.
5.Then simultaneously step your right hand and left foot to the right, so you’re back in plank position (Your hands move together as your feet step apart).
6.Repeat this for five steps to the left, and five steps to the right. Be sure to keep the hips low as you move, drawing the navel toward the spine.
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A conversation between Jane and David talking about time as Jane thinks they are going to be late for a party they are attending.
Jane What time is it? We are going to be late for the party!
David It’s a quarter past six. We are on time. Don’t worry we will be fine.
Jane But I thought we had to be at Sarah's house by 6:30 for her surprise birthday party. I think never make it as there is a lot of rush hour traffic this evening.
David Sure we will. We are not far away now. Anyway, the party starts at 7:00. But I do need help with where to park the car so Sarah does't it can you phone her husband and ask him where it is best to park our car?
Jane OK. I will phone him now.
It’s a quarter past six. This is the most common way to say the time in British English. It means 6-15 or 15 minutes past 6.
Rush hour is usually in the morning and evening When people are traveling to and from work by car, motorbike, bicycle, tube and by foot ext.
In this conversation Sarah is a little stressed out about being on time for the party. If someone is stressed you can say any of the following:- Don’t worry. Don not stress. We are fine. We will be on time.
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Make video games Tutorial How to group items in the game.
Grouping is a very important part of designing video games. It is the skill of selecting two or more items in your game and treating them like a single item. Let me give you an example. Say you have eight columns in your game and you realize they are all in the wrong spot. rather than moving them one at a time, you can put them all in a group them move them all at the same time or change the texture of them all with one click of a button.
As your video games get more complex this becomes an invaluable skill.
Click on the Select Faces/Brushes button then click on the big room to select it. Then pull down the group menu and click the add to selected To Group menu item. This adds the room to your "all three rooms" group.
Now click on one of the smaller rooms and add it to the group. Then click on the last room and add it to the group.
Now in the control panel select the "Groups" item.
Your "all three rooms" group is the default group. Press the Select All button and all the rooms will be highlighted.
Now let's take a look at the great time saver grouping can be. All you have to do is click on the textures tab and select a new texture and all the walls, floors and ceilings of all three rooms will change to that texture.
This grouping when making a video game can get to be a real time saver. For example you can select all the floors in all the rooms and create them as a group then change all the floors so they are the same. Tinker around with this grouping command. You can add items, remove items, and create new groups. I suggest you practice grouping things because you are going to use it a lot. This will save you a lot of time in your video game designing.
In the next lesson we are going to cut doorways in our rooms. We have already gone over the cutting of doorways but this will be a good review for you.
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I just need to trim my biohair to match this length. Be the first to review this product!. Exchanges Items in new condition may be returned for exchange within 90 days of the purchase date with a copy of the invoice. It's good to have one handy when all you need is 5 clips away and you're done. The cut is beautifully angled to be longer in the front and shorter in the back. Five pressure sensitive clips provide a secure and comfortable fit.
I do plan on getting the Top Secret again later. Fashion colors will have something different about them, such as more noticeable highlights or a darker nape. Here are some tips to help understand Jon Renau's color codes. Eventually I will cut it to just above the shoulders and see if that makes it more manageable. Flash front means it will be lighter on the front. Learn more about: How to choose color to? The roots are colored a darker shade that the rest of the wig. Take on fresh perspectives and new adventures with this new Jon Renau collection.
And the ready-to-wear synthetic hair looks and feels like natural hair. This clip in topper integrates easily with your own hair at the crown to add body and volume. Show more This topper is very pretty. No dye is used in the process. The 9-inch monofilament base is virtually invisible. The double monofilament is also coated with polyurethane for adding adhesive if needed.
Our team is always striving to please our clientele with the highest quality products and superior customer service. A side swept bang adds a feminine touch to the style. I have comfortably switch from wearing toppers to wigs but this topper is really pretty. Luckily I can easily do exchanges with Cysterwigs. Return Process All the items we sell are in new and unworn condition. I am very pleased with this purchase! Write a headline for your review here: Write your review here: Your email: We promise to never spam you, and just use your email address to identify you as a valid customer.
Puppy Love Cage N8005 1 oyster opening K. It's convenient to wear it out for sporting activities such as in a gym. Only a registered account is required. It's likely not a starter piece for many women, but for those who have been wearing hair awhile and are just beyond the beginning stages of hair loss, it's perfect! Formerly known as - Top Secret - Same product, different name! Prespirationas well as body oils can harm the jewelry. This clip in topper integrates easily with your own hair at the crown to add body and volume.
Victoria is a must have and also available in shades of grey! The amount of the color ring will be refunded to you when it is returned to us. To highlight your Pearl's natural beauty, our artisians design unique pieces, while adhering to the highest standards of quality. Jon Renau blends their solid colors to achieve new colors that mimic natural tones. Top Secret by Jon Renau is a clip-in topper that integrates easily with your own hair at the crown to add body and volume. This easy clip-in piece features a 100% hand-tied double monofilament base for the ultimate in luxury and realism.
The extra layer of monofilament makes it perfect for anyone with a sensitive scalp or experiencing hair loss. Wig Features: Monofilament Top Clip In, Monofilament, Enhancer. I like the scalp, I think it looks good and my natural hair blends well in the front. I have had some static but sprayed it with a silicone based leave in conditioner for synthetic hair and it was fine. Lace along the front and a monofilament feature allow for styling away from the face and parting versatility.
This easy clip-in piece features a 100% hand-tied monofilament base for the ultimate in luxury and realism. We will be entitled to use, reproduce, disclose, publish and distribute Your Comments or any part thereof, in edited or modified form for any purpose whatsoever, without compensation to you. Lots of hair on this one and I will most likely thin it out just a bit on the sides. Within 90 Days of Purchase Date Vantel Pearls will re-set or replace a lost Pearl, re-set or replace lost gemstones, or an item may be returned for replacement same item due to manufacture's defect excluding normal wear and tear with a copy if your invoice. Filling out this form you are committing to order and pay for your order. The nape of the wig will be the darker shade, while the crown and sides will be the lighter shade. Thank you for shopping at our Canadian owned and operated business! The Victoria lace front wig by Jon Renau® is a sleek modern bob style.
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As hydraulic fracturing has become more widespread, the development of new and improved technologies has ramped up.
The oilfield service companies that actually do the hydraulic fracturing are competing with each other with new technologies in order to gain competitive advantages. For example, Halliburton now offers a fracturing fluid that can be used with brackish water and recycled water in order to reduce the consumption of freshwater. “For all intents and purposes we can reuse water for fracking without doing any significant form of filtration,” said Steve Ingram, Halliburton’s manager for technology and marketing in North America.
According to the article: Mike Bowman, who directs GE's research in advanced sustainable-energy technology, says there are problems to solve before the technology can be widely adopted. But the appetite from customers is there, he says. Says Mr. Bowman, "The biggest environmental advantage is getting water out of the equation."
As hydraulic fracturing becomes more widespread, so will the development of new and improved technologies to keep up with the demand.
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Before running, the person would be advised to do warm ups i.e. drills about the distance of 40 metres. This would also act as a practice for my chosen skill, (Striding) First of all I would watch the person run and then I would change his/her technique so it looks suitable to match my skill i.e. striding. I would look for: - * Movement-coordination, rhythmic rather than the stiff and mechanical. * Check if the hands/feet swing too far in front of the body. * I would check if the hands/feet swing too low, with limited elbow bend and heel kick-up. * Also the movement is powered by "reaching and pulling" instead of "loading and firing". ...read more.
* Keeping your forearm at heart height, reach back with the other arm so you can thrust your chest forward, properly aligning your body so that you can drive your leg effectively. There are a lot more kinds of practices that can change the speed of your running, which is very important in the 100 metres. These are: * Running for a longer distance, probably around 120-160 metres. This would help you to increase your pace and it would also test your stamina. * Bringing up your thigh as high as you can, just below chest height. Doing this for both legs for a long period of time would help you with your limb speed. If this is repeated very often as part of a training programme you would be able to move your legs more higher (which is an important issue in striding) ...read more.
Speed is obviously the top priority for a sprinter, in the 100 metres you should be able to maintain your top speed for the course of the race without slowing down at any point. Pyramids These are called pyramids because an athlete builds up to a maximum distance and then winds down the other side. A 100/200m pyramid should be: 200m 150m 150m 100m 100m 50m 50m Allow yourself a set time to rest between sprints, three minutes is probably best. As you get fitter, reduce your rest time between sprints. Hill Sprints Find a steep grassy hill, sprint to the top concentrating on driving hard with your arms and legs. This is an excellent exercise for building up leg and shoulder muscles and developing drive from the rear leg. Abid Zaman ...read more.
A hockey player must be quite slim, muscular and not that tall. This allows for power in the muscle, little fat and a low centre of gravity. * Strength is the maximum force that can be developed in a muscle or group of muscles during a single maximal contraction.
These are the exercises I intend to incorporate into my personal workout, I have included details on how I perform them. Shoulders Lateral raise A) Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, with your knees slightly bent. Hold the dumb bells in front of your thighs, palms facing inwards, for full range of movement.
Weight training improves muscular strength, endurance, tone and posture. Weight training increases muscular size, bone density and the metabolic rate. Circuit Training: Circuit training involves a series of exercises or activities, with each one taking place at a different station. Each station involves an exercise aimed at a specific muscle group in the body.
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Top row: Flowing puppets. (a) Frame with a hypothesized human “puppet” model. (b) Dense flow between frame (a) and its neighboring frames. (c) The flow of the puppet is approximated by a part-based affine model. (d) Prediction of the puppet from (a) into the adjacent frames using the estimated flow. Bottom Row: FlowCap. (a) Example frame from a video sequence shot with a phone camera. (b) Optical flow. (c) Per-pixel part assignments based on flow with overlaid uncertainty ellipses (red). (d) Predicted 2D part centroids connected in a tree.
Much of the work on human pose estimation focuses on still images. We argue that there is much to be gained by looking at video sequences and, specifically, using optical flow. Flow tells us what goes with what over time. This allows the temporal propagation of information, which can reduce uncertainty in pose estimation. Flow also provides strong cues about objects in the scene, their boundaries, and how they move. We find that optical flow algorithms are now good enough to play an important role in human pose estimation.
Inferring pose over a video sequence is advantageous because poses of people in adjacent frames exhibit properties of smooth variation due to the nature of human and camera motion. Here we make a simple observation: Information about how a person moves from frame to frame is present in the optical flow field. We develop an approach for tracking articulated motions that "links" articulated shape models of people in adjacent frames trough the dense optical flow [ ]. Key to this approach is a 2D shape model of the body [ ] that we use to compute how the body moves over time. The resulting "flowing puppets" integrate image evidence across frames to improve pose inference.
Dense optical flow provides information about 2D body pose [ ]. Like range data, flow is largely invariant to appearance but unlike depth it can be directly computed from monocular video. We demonstrate that body parts can be detected from dense flow alone using the same random forest approach used by the Microsoft Kinect. Unlike range data, when people stop moving, there is no optical flow and they effectively disappear. To address this, our FlowCap method uses a Kalman filter to propagate body part positions and velocities over time and a regression method to predict 2D body pose from part centers from only monocular video of people moving.
Finally in [ ] we explore the importance of optical flow for human activity recognition. We create a novel dataset of complex video sequences with ground truth 2D pose and flow using our deformable structures model [ ]. We find that optical flow can play an important role in human action recognition.
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Cyprus has an interesting history which has contributed substantially to the city of Larnaca. In ancient times Larnaca was known as Kition as it is believed that Noah's grandson, Khittim, established the first settlement about 6000 years ago. The modern name of the city; which means coffins in Greek ('Larnax') was derived because of the many burial sites found on Kition settlements. While other settlements in Cyprus were abandoned later, Larnaca developed into a city because of its ancestors who inhabited it continuously.
Archaeologically, the earliest remains trace Larnaca to the Mycenaean age. Once, it was a major colony for the Phoenician rulers, but it achieved its true status during the Hellenistic Age.
The Mycenaean Greeks formed the Kition Kingdom in 13th century B.C. during which it was a major port and a trader in copper. The prosperity of the Kingdom can be viewed through the excavations of Cyclopean walls and Mycenaean temples.
Due to its prime location in the Mediterranean region, Larnaca has always attracted a lot of external rulers. Cyprus has been at the mercy of many conquerors, be it the Greeks, Persians, Egyptians, Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans, Franks, Venetians, Turks or British rulers. The main reason for invading the city of Larnaca was due to its location as a port as well as its richness in minerals and other resources.
Though many rulers attacked Larnaca, one of the most important ones were the Byzantines. Historically they left behind many remains and monuments such as Basilica of Saint Lazarus. During this time the city enjoyed stability and prospered as they traded with the rest of Europe.
When the Ottomans landed in Larnaca, the port basked in the glory of being an important diplomatic and commercial centre of Cyprus.
The British who ruled Cyprus for about eighty-two years first landed in Larnaca. It was during their rule that the port developed its own distinct identity in modern Cyprus as it developed very fast. This lasted till the Turks attacked Cyprus in 1974, where it won and Larnaca alone welcomed 40,000 refugees.
It is believed that Larnaca has a continuous history extending for 4000 years. After Roman times the city became the main port of the island.
Today, the locals of Larnaca have developed a modern outlook whilst still maintaining many traditions and upholding their hospitality and welcoming attitude towards visitors. The city is well known for its beautiful clean beaches, great food and vibrant nightlife.
Larnaca has a picturesque seafront offering plenty of activities during major festivals.
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What will you learn in music management courses and master's degree programs? Read about course and degree requirements, the pros and cons of studying music management and potential careers.
Typical responsibilities of a music manager include negotiating clients' contracts and obligations, staying abreast of industry trends, scheduling promotional events and performances, managing business and financial affairs and networking. According to O*NET OnLine, employment of agents and business managers of artists and performers was predicted to grow between 10% and 19% from 2010 to 2020.
A bachelor's degree may not be required to work in the field of music management, although 50% of respondents have at least a bachelor's degree, according to 2010 data from O*NET OnLine. This is because employers in this field place a high value on previous work experience, and they may weigh this more heavily than formal education.
Certificate programs can help you obtain specific and practical knowledge in music management or give current bachelor's degree holders the option to specialize in a particular niche. Master's degree programs typically provide an in-depth curriculum that balances theory and practice with an emphasis on real-world skill development.
Source: *U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2011 median figures).
Music management courses are available in a variety of formats, including standalone classes and certificate programs. Standalone courses may or may not be taken for credit. Certificate programs typically have a standard curriculum and follow a similar coursework plan to a master's degree program, though they are often shorter and less-intensive. Some certificate programs are designed for students who hold a bachelor's degree, while others do not have educational prerequisites.
Enrollment requirements for standalone courses are generally less stringent than for master's degree programs. For example, you may not need an undergraduate degree to take standalone courses.
If you are unsure about attending graduate school, certificate courses can help you gauge your interest in the subject matter. In some cases, you may be able to transfer certificate credits to a degree program.
Source: *The University of California, Los Angeles.
Just as a courses and certificate programs are not as rigorous as master's degree programs, they are also not as prestigious.
If you plan on eventually attending graduate school, you may not want to spend time and money pursuing supplemental courses.
Continuing education programs, including certificate programs, may not be as relevant as work experience in the eyes of a hiring manager.
If you are enrolled in a certificate program, you also may need to complete a capstone project, such as a research paper. In some cases, an internship may be encouraged or required.
Currently, accredited online music management certificate programs and standalone courses are available through a variety of universities and technical schools. If you find online options, consider that the curricula and requirements are generally very similar to those of traditional on-campus programs, but online programs typically don't offer as many networking opportunities.
Students may want to consider taking courses in social media to understand how to use online tools to market and promote artists. If your school does not offer or require an internship, you can seek out professional opportunities on your own. One option is to volunteer as a promoter or agent for local or up-and-coming music acts.
Music management master's degree programs can prepare students for leadership roles in the music business industry or to teach in higher education. A typical master's degree curriculum combines business- and music-focused courses. In addition to coursework, students may be encouraged or required to complete a capstone project, such as a research paper (thesis) or internship. Although a bachelor's degree is typically required for admission into a master's degree program, your undergraduate degree doesn't necessarily need to be in a related area.
Since the educational requirements in this field are minimal, you may stand out from the crowd with an advanced degree.
Master's programs commonly require an internship, which can provide valuable networking experience.
Students in a master's degree program are likely to have access to experienced faculty with practical professional experience.
A master's degree may qualify you for a collegiate-level teaching position.
If you attend a master's program immediately after completing your undergraduate studies, you could delay opportunities to receive valuable work experience.
You might need to work long or unusual hours to coordinate and oversee client performances.
You could be overqualified for entry-level positions, particularly if you have less than several years of professional experience.
Courses in a music management master's degree program could include intellectual property law, management process and theory, accounting and finance, artist management, economics, marketing and music in society. In addition to academic coursework, students likely need to submit a final capstone project, which may include an internship or research paper. Some programs require applicants to complete prerequisite courses in statistics, either before they enroll or during the course of their studies.
Currently, online music management master's degree programs are available, but are somewhat rare. If you're considering an online master's degree program, proceed with caution and perform due diligence by thoroughly research the program to ensure it is accredited by the U.S. Department of Education or one of its accrediting agencies.
Since employers in the music management field value experience, a strong work history can help you to stand out among applicants. If you do not have prior experience, consider working for small companies or relatively unknown artists who can help you get your foot in the door and start building a professional resume.
Students who are interested in the management and business aspects of the music industry may want to consider pursuing a Master of Business Administration (MBA), possibly with a concentration in entertainment or music industry management. MBA programs train future business leaders to manage projects, staff and budgets, which are skills valued in nearly every industry. This broader skill set can expand your employment options outside of music management, if your interests or job prospects change.
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The Calvin cycle is an important and complicated series of biochemical reactions that take place in photosynthetic organisms and results in the fixing of carbon from carbon dioxide into organic molecules. One of the light-independent (dark) reactions used for carbon fixation, this metabolic pathway uses the energy stored in ATP and uses NADPH as a source of electrons (reduction potential), both provided during light-dependent reactions, to reduce carbon dioxide and fix it into the higher energy organic molecules. It is a "cycle" in that some of the product is recycled. The Calvin cycle takes place in the stroma of chloroplasts. It also is known as the Calvin–Benson-Bassham cycle (CBB cycle), reductive pentose phosphate cycle, or C3 cycle.
The Calvin cycle is one of the most metabolic pathways on Earth. All of the carbon fixed by green plants, whereby relatively low-energy carbon dioxide molecules are converted into high-energy organic molecules, comes via this series of reactions. The coordination of this finely-tuned, complicated partway, involving several steps, a number of three- to seven-carbon molecules, a large 16-subunit enzyme, and other components, reflects on the stunning harmony found in nature.
Redox reactions. The Calvin cycle, and the associated process known as photosynthesis, involve what are known as "redox reactions" or "oxidation-reduction reactions." Oxidation occurs when an atom or molecule loses an electron (with oxygen being the most common electron acceptor). Reduction occurs when an atom or molecule gains an electron. A reduced molecule or atom, with the extra electron, has a higher level of energy than an oxidized form of the atom or molecule. A redox reaction is a chemical reaction where electrons lost by one atom through oxidation are gained by another atom through reduction.
Photosynthesis. The process of photosynthesis is the source of the carbon found in the organic compounds within the bodies of living organisms, as well as a means for capturing the energy from sunlight. Some of the light energy is stored in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and some of the energy is used to remove electrons from a substance such as water, with the electrons then used in the reactions to turn carbon dioxide into organic compounds. In plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, these reactions to produce organic compounds comprise the metabolic pathway known as the Calvin cycle.
The overall process of photosynthesis can be described in terms of three stages: two-light dependent reactions and one light-independent reaction. The two light-dependent reactions are (1) capturing energy from sunlight; and (2) creating ATP and reducing NADP+ to NADPH. The light-independent reaction, which can take place in the presence or absence of light and is known as "carbon fixation," involves utilizing ATP and NADPH to synthesize organic molecules from carbon dioxide. Carbon fixation is part of the Calvin cycle.
Calvin cycle. The Calvin cycle is a series of biochemical redox reactions that take place in the stroma of chloroplasts in photosynthetic organisms. Essentially, the light-independent Calvin cycle, also known (erroneously) as the "dark reaction" or "dark stage," uses the energy from short-lived electronically excited carriers to convert carbon dioxide and water into organic compounds (Campbell et al. 2006). It also can be described in terms of three phases: (1) carbon fixation, (2) reduction, and (3) regeneration of RuBP.
Phase I: Carbon fixation. In the carbon fixation phase of the Calvin cycle, inorganic carbon in the form of carbon dioxide becomes incorporated into organic form. Essentially, carbon dioxide is reduced to provide a higher energy molecule. During this phase, a five-carbon, energy-rich sugar RuBP (ribulose 1,5-biphosphate) is produced. It is produced by reassembling two products of glycolysis: fructose 6-phosphate and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (G3P). After RuBP is produced, carbon dioxide reacts with RuBP to form a transient 6-carbon intermediate. This 6-carbon intermediate immediately splits into two molecules of three carbon 3-phosphoglycerate (PGA). It uses the enzyme ribulose biphosphate carboxylase oxygenase (called RuBisCo), which is a large 16-subunit enzyme.
Phase II: Reduction. In the second phase, reduction, PGA is reduced to G3P (glyceraldehye 3-phosphate) using ATP and NADPH. Some G3P (which has three carbons) leaves the Calvin cycle and is converted to glucose and other sugars. Note: two molecules of G3P (the output of carbon fixation and reduction) is needed to produce a six-carbon glucose molecule.
Phase III: Regeneration. While some G3P is shunted out of the Calvin cycle to produce glucose and other sugars, much of it is recycled in order to regenerate RuBP, to keep the cycle going.
The enzymes in the Calvin cycle are functionally equivalent to many enzymes used in other metabolic pathways such as gluconeogenesis and the pentose phosphate pathway, but they are to be found in the chloroplast stroma instead of the cell cytoplasm, separating the reactions. They are activated in the light (which is why the name "dark reaction" is misleading), and also by products of the light-dependent reaction. These regulatory functions prevent the Calvin cycle from being respired to carbon dioxide. Energy (in the form of ATP) would be wasted in carrying out these reactions that have no net productivity.
Hexose (six-carbon) sugars are not a product of the Calvin cycle. Although many texts list a product of photosynthesis as C6H12O6, this is mainly a convenience to counter the equation of respiration, where six-carbon sugars are oxidized in mitochondria. The carbohydrate products of the Calvin cycle are three-carbon sugar phosphate molecules, or "triose phosphates," namely, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P).
The Calvin cycle was discovered by Melvin Calvin, James Bassham, and Andrew Benson at the University of California, Berkeley by using the radioactive isotope carbon-14 (Bassham et al. 1950).
The enzyme RuBisCO catalyses the carboxylation of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP), a 5-carbon compound, by carbon dioxide (giving a total of 6 carbons) in a two-step reaction (Farazdaghi 2009). The product of the first step is an enediol-enzyme complex that can capture CO2 or O2. Thus, enediol-enzyme complex is the real carboxylase/oxygenase. The CO2 that is captured by enediol in second step produces a six-carbon intermediate initially that immediately splits in half, forming two molecules of 3-phosphoglycerate, or PGA, a 3-carbon compound (also known as 3-phosphoglycerate, 3-phosphoglyceric acid, 3PGA) Campbell et al. 2008).
The enzyme G3P dehydrogenase catalyses the reduction of 1,3BPGA by NADPH (which is another product of the light-dependent stage). Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate (also G3P, GP, TP, PGAL) is produced, and the NADPH itself was oxidized and becomes NADP+. Again, two NADPH are utilized per CO2 fixed.
Triose phosphate isomerase converts all of the G3P reversibly into dihydroxyacetone phosphate (DHAP), also a 3-carbon molecule.
Then fixation of another CO2 generates two more G3P.
F6P has two carbons removed by transketolase, giving erythrose-4-phosphate. The two carbons on transketolase are added to a G3P, giving the ketose xylulose-5-phosphate (Xu5P).
E4P and a DHAP (formed from one of the G3P from the second CO2 fixation) are converted into sedoheptulose-1,7-bisphosphate (7C) by aldolase enzyme.
Sedoheptulose-1,7-bisphosphatase (one of only three enzymes of the Calvin cycle that are unique to plants) cleaves sedoheptulose-1,7-bisphosphate into sedoheptulose-7-phosphate, releasing an inorganic phosphate ion into solution.
Fixation of a third CO2 generates two more G3P. The ketose S7P has two carbons removed by transketolase, giving ribose-5-phosphate (R5P), and the two carbons remaining on transketolase are transferred to one of the G3P, giving another Xu5P. This leaves one G3P as the product of fixation of 3 CO2, with generation of three pentoses that can be converted to Ru5P.
R5P is converted into ribulose-5-phosphate (Ru5P, RuP) by phosphopentose isomerase. Xu5P is converted into RuP by phosphopentose epimerase.
Finally, phosphoribulokinase (another plant-unique enzyme of the pathway) phosphorylates RuP into RuBP, ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate, completing the Calvin cycle. This requires the input of one ATP.
Thus, of 6 G3P produced, three RuBP (5C) are made, totaling 15 carbons, with only one available for subsequent conversion to hexose. This required 9 ATPs and 6 NADPH per 3 CO2.
Photorespiration. RuBisCO (ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase oxygenase) not only catalyzes the carbon fixation reaction whereby CO2 reacts with RuBP (ribulose 1,5 bisphosphate) to ultimately yield two molecules of PGA (3-phosphoglycerate), but it also catalyzes the oxidation of RuBP, whereby oxygen is incorporated into RuBP, releasing CO2 and hindering carbon fixation. This is known as photorespiration. In other words, in photorespiration, RuBisCO reacts competitively with O2 instead of CO2. The rate of photorespiration is higher at high temperatures. Photorespiration turns RuBP into 3PGA and 2-phosphoglycolate, a 2-carbon molecule that can be converted via glycolate and glyoxalate to glycine. Via the glycine cleavage system and tetrahydrofolate, two glycines are converted into serine +CO2. Serine can be converted back to 3-phosphoglycerate. Thus, only 3 of 4 carbons from two phosphoglycolates can be converted back to 3PGA. It can be seen that photorespiration has very negative consequences for the plant, because, rather than fixing CO2, this process leads to loss of CO2. C4 carbon fixation evolved to circumvent photorespiration, but can occur only in certain plants native to very warm or tropical climates, for example, corn.
The immediate products of one turn of the Calvin cycle are 2 glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P) molecules, 3 ADP, and 2 NADP+ (ADP and NADP+ are regenerated in the Light-dependent reactions). Each G3P molecule is composed of 3 carbons. In order for the Calvin cycle to continue, RuBP (ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate) must be regenerated. So, 5/6 carbon from the 2 G3P molecules are used for this purpose. Therefore, there is only 1 net carbon produced to play with for each turn. To create 1 surplus, G3P requires 3 carbons, and therefore 3 turns of the Calvin cycle. To make one glucose molecule (which can be created from 2 G3P molecules) would require 6 turns of the Calvin cycle. Surplus G3P can also be used to form other carbohydrates such as starch, sucrose, and cellulose, depending on what the plant needs (Russell et al. 2010).
12 molecules of PGA (three-carbon product) become 12 molecules of G3P (three-carbon product).
In the Calvin cycle for the above, 18 ATP are also used and 12 NADPH.
Bassham, J. A. 2003. Mapping the carbon reduction cycle: A personal retrospective. Photosyn. Res. 76(1-3): 35–52. PMID 16228564.
Bassham, J., A. Benson, and M. Calvin. 1950. The path of carbon in photosynthesis. J Biol Chem 185(2): 781–7. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
Campbell, N. A., B. Williamson, and R. J. Heyden. 2006. Biology: Exploring Life. Boston, MA: Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN 0132508826.
Campbell, N. A., J. B. Reece, and E. J. Simon. 2008. Essential Biology. San Francisco, Calif.: Benjamin Cummings. ISBN 0805368426.
Farazdaghi, H. 2009. Modeling the kinetics of activation and reaction of Rubisco from gas exchange. Advances in Photosynthesis and Respiration 29: 275–294. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
Portis, A., and M. Parry. 2007. Discoveries in Rubisco (ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase): A historical perspective. Photosynthesis Research 94(1): 121–143. PMID 17665149. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
Raven, P. H., G. B. Johnson, J. B. Losos, K. A. Mason, and S. R. Singer. 2008. Biology, 8th edition. Boston: McGraw Hill. ISBN 9780073337234.
Russell, P. J., et al. 2010. Biology: Exploring the Diversity of Life. Toronto: Nelson Education. ISBN 9780176440947.
This page was last modified on 4 July 2013, at 19:13.
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Use Pee Pads for Your Puppies Always remember, puppies are the newly born element in this world and they have no control over their pee and poo. It’s a very natural process for them. Therefore, it is very necessary for you to properly train your puppy and help them in doing their business in the accurate places that you decide on. Crate training is the best type of training which indulges your dog to go outside while he feels the pressure of poop or pee.
If you have decided pee pads will work the best for you and your puppy then here are some tips to help your dog with some training: - • Choose the spot carefully which is easily accessible for your dog and less reachable by you or your family and do remember that it’s not carpeted as if it leaks then it might be difficult to clean. • The puppy pads for dogs are very dog-friendly and easy to learn yet full-time training and monitoring are required for the initial days. It is not possible to correct the bad behaviors if its left unnoticed. Dogs have very short memories so helping them in learning the whole process might be very easy for them to learn and act.
• You must learn your dog’s peeing and pooping schedule. They are mostly predictable and will go for it during the predicted timeframe. You need to learn your dog’s bathroom habits before starting off the training. Generally, they have specific time to go to the bathroom between their meals or after so that is what will help you to identify the triggers. • Dogs are blessed with keen senses, they have a better sense of sight, smell, and sound than any other species around the world. When the pee pads training is scheduled, you must choose a specific command word and should be used every time the dog is taken to the pad. Any chosen word will work, the tone is important and not the word. • If your dog does it unpredictably or unconsciously then consider it just an accident and avoid any punishment. Punishing your dog can make him scared and confused. He will unable to make it out of what wrong he has done and won’t be able to understand why the most loved person is mad at him. In turn, it will act as a negative impact on his training.
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The good: This food is very low in Saturated Fat. It is also a good source of Vitamin C, Folate and Magnesium, and a very good source of Protein, Vitamin B12, Phosphorus, Zinc, Copper and Selenium.
The bad: This food is high in Cholesterol, and very high in Sodium.
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Assad and the Alawites cannot give in. They are fighting for their very existence. The only way to end this civil war is to let them have control over their destiny -- either as an autonomous region in Syria or as an independent entity.
Syria's non-Sunnis have historically lived in apprehension of what the Sunnis might do to them. Although Arab Sunnis are the largest religio-ethnic group in Syria, non-Sunni Arabs make up upwards of 40% of the population. Historically, until the end of Ottoman rule after World War I, the Sunnis assumed they were the region's natural rulers, and by and large controlled the destinies of the large numbers of non-Sunnis who lived among them. The non-Sunnis seem to have "known their place" in Syrian society – second class citizens. The Sunnis determined the rules.
After World War I, when the French ruled Syria, they tried to introduce the concept of equality of all people before the law – a principle that never took root. During French rule, the people today known as Alawites – and who today rule Syria – begged the French to allow them to set up their own state in their ancient homeland along the Mediterranean coast between today's Lebanon and Turkey. One of those who most passionately supported this option was the grandfather of the ruler of Syria today: Suleyman al-Assad.
This is because Syrian Sunnis have historically referred to individual Alawites as "abid" [slave], and treated the Alawites as such. The Alawites were servants in Sunni households. Alawite tradition is filled with horror stories of Sunni abuse, both working in Sunni households and in other areas of as well.
The Alawites, an offshoot of Shiite Islam, were terribly discriminated against under Sunni rule. The Sunnis attitude towards the Alawites – and towards the other non-Muslims – was "noblesse oblige," or an attitude of condescension, if not outright hostility.
According to Alawite religious beliefs, the Muslim prophet Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law – Ali – was a deity. That a human could be a deity is anathema in Islam. Moreover, even though Christians are officially regarded as dhimmis, or second-class citizens, by the Muslims, many also refer to Christians as pagans: Christians deify Jesus who, in Muslim eyes, was a merely a prophet, born to a human mother and father.
As the Alawites rose in the military, they also rose to senior positions in the Ba'ath Party, the basic tenant of which is militant Arab nationalism. But even as militant anti-Israeli Arab nationalists, these Alawites still feared that the majority-Sunnis would lie in wait, and pounce on the Alawites if the Alawites showed any weakness. The Alawites never allowed themselves forget that the Sunnis hated them; and that even though they controlled Syria, they had better come to an agreement with the leading Sunni families to provide them with stability and enable them to make money – in return for the Sunnis allowing the Alawites to control the country militarily and also make money.
During the so-called peace talks between Syria and Israel, the Alawites, according to their own admission, appointed Sunnis – and not Alawites – to negotiate with the Israelis – so that Alawites would not to be held responsible if any concessions were made to the Israelis. The Alawites were most likely concerned that if they had given in even ever so slightly to any Israeli requests, the Sunnis would have used that as an excuse to claim that the Alawites were not "true" Arabs.
Many Alawites have believed that the Arab-nationalist route of being accepted by the majority-Sunnis was doomed. According to discussions with people who have escaped Syria, as well as many still there, they feared, in their heart of hearts, that, just has the President Syrian President Assad's grandfather had warned, whatever they did, the Sunnis would never accept them. For these Alawites, the only solution would be a separate Alawite state, or entity, where they could control their destiny and not be under the dreaded Sunni yoke.
Many Alawites, who, quietly, had long opposed Assad's rule, are again, like Assad's grandfather in the 1930's, trying to put forward the idea of creating an independent Alawite state. Every day they can see around them that Middle Eastern culture places a high value on revenge, so that the Sunnis would never forgive them for having been ousted from power 46 years ago. The Alawites would be wise to fear that whatever happens in Syria, the Sunnis will massacre them for having governed Syria and for having killed so many Sunnis during the current war.
The concept of compromise simply does not exist in the Middle East – one either wins or loses. Compromise, because it invariably entails a partial loss, is evidently seen as bringing shame on oneself – to be avoided at all costs. Syria's Alawite regime therefore probably sees no alternative other than to keep fighting the Sunni-dominated opposition – which itself is succumbing to Turkish, Saudi, and Qatari-inspired Islamic fundamentalist leadership – and to try to ethnically cleanse the Alawite areas of all Sunnis in the hope of retreating to that area with the help of outside allies – be they Iranians, Russians, or other non-Sunni Arabs in the area – and barricading themselves in against the Sunnis.
An insightful article into Syria. Some thing that can perhaps be extrapolated to other parts of the Muslim world.
Arabia, in the next few years will divide into many, many 'nations'. Iraq into 3, Syria into at least a couple. Lebanon ..
The article emphasized the historical oppression of the Alawites and to some extent presented the Alawites more like victims acting in self-defense. The article failed to mention the horrific crimes committed by the Alawite Assad regime in the last 40 years, and the systemic theft of the state resources by Assad associates that destroyed the Syrian economy in the early 1980s and continued until Assad's cousin controlled 60% of the Syrian economy. Theft, torture, and murders of Syrians will be the everlasting legacy of the Alawite Assad era.
I have never read an article such as this one. Very informative.
So, because some Sunnis in power in the 40s were high-handed in how they treated other groups, that automatically means that repression will be the norm in a post-Assad Syria? What an utterly ridiculous idea to peddle. America had segregation in the 50s. Does that mean that if it elects a white president this November, all the gains of the civil rights movement will be rolled back?
And even at its worst, the Sunni leadership over Syria never reached anywhere near the levels of barbarity we are witnessing being practiced on a daily basis by the (minority) Assad regime. What are Syria's minorities supposed to be afraid of? Christian towns and villages being placed under siege, their people massacred, made to be refugees in their hundreds of thousands? Their men of religion murdered and their places of worship shelled? Their funerals shot up by Assad's shabihas? This is everything the majority of the country has had to endure at the hands of the "minority."
Far from Syria's minorities being in any position to whine about their treatment, it is obvious we are seeing the murderous oppression of the majority by the very same minority. The fear mongering of a potential Sunni replacement for the murderous Assad regime is what we've come to expect from his intellectually bankrupt Leftist supporters in the West.
Even in Latakia, they're not the majority. The only way they can become the majority in that area would be ethnic cleansing; but that would lead to Western intervention and turning Latakia into a war zone. Also, Latakia is next to Idlib, the province that, as I write, is changing from 80% rebel control to 100% rebel control.
You're completely wrong. Alawites actually make up the overwhelming majority of the population in Latakia, and also in Tartus. If they weren't the majority, the terrorist rebels would've overran most of the place like they did most of Idlib and Aleppo (not to mention that most Christians are concentrated near Homs, and inside Damascus and Aleppo only a few percent of Syrian Christians reside in the two coastal provinces).
Not only that, Alawites also make up the majority in the western regions of: Homs province (Tal-kalakh and Houla), Hama province (Sahel al-ghab), and Idlib province (Jisr-al shugour district). Recently they have also dominated the city of Homs itself (becoming the majority since almost all the Sunnis left - nearly half a million in population). Also, they make up a significant minority in Damascus and its surrounding regions. Some Alawite dominated towns around Damascus (in Damascus suburb province) are even named after Assad by the residents.
Intellectuals sometimes make the mistake of categorizing all Arab Sunnis as a homogeneous religious group. We are not. A Gulf Sunni differs from a Levant Sunni and a North African Sunni differs from a Gulf Sunni. We are neither Gulf Wahhabis nor North African Muslim Brotherhood. Further, if the sin of a Syrian Sunni was to call non-Sunnis "abid," I don't think the punishment should be tyranny, torture, genocide, and ethnic cleansing. It's inflammatory and unnecessary in today's environment.
The Syrian, the Lebanese, and the Jordanian Sunnis are far gentler and far better educated than other Sunnis in other regions because we co-mingled with minorities and other cultures for 2,000 years. We are not perfect, but we are not extremist savages either. With regard to compromise, Syrian Sunnis have relinquished their fate to the Alawites for close to 50 years (bad experience, but it happened) and some Sunnis to this day still trust their fate to the Alawites. That's even more profound than compromise.
Under the extremism of the Assad regime, the defections we have witnessed amongst the ranks of the Sunnis was a good sign they are bolting from extremism; but when the West did not help, the West in effect has killed moderation in the region. The last bastion of Sunni moderation everyone has been calling for is dying slowly because of the Obama Syrian policy.
Have you considered what identity you expect the Alawites will adopt in a new state? Possibly Ataturkists, because they are secular, disfranchised Arab minorities like the Christians, or Iranian Shia for protection? An Alawite state will be a proxy state no matter what, because the Alawites will be forced to associate themselves with outsiders and not the Syrians they are. The Middle East is the wrong laboratory for small proxy states; Hezbollah and the Taliban come to mind.
Syrians will find peace; Sunnis, Shia, Alawites, Christians and Druze will co-exist in one Syria if Assad and the Iranian regime fall. We all learned our lesson. Dividing the country into ethnic religious groups will perpetuate violence, not resolve it. The better solution is Federalism, but with a protective enclave for all minorities until we all mature enough to federalize.
This a very interesting and informative article in view of the fact that many people lack factual knowledge about the history of the Alawite sect.
I do want to know about the Al Rashid, that clan of the Shamar who fought a civil war against Hafas Al Asadd. They were both in the drug transportation business. Their leader lost and fled to KSA, a very bloody affair (more than 30 years ago).
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The 1954 United States House of Representatives elections was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1954 which occurred in the middle of President Dwight Eisenhower's first term. Eisenhower's Republican Party lost eighteen seats in the House, giving the Democratic Party a majority that it would retain in every House election until 1994.
Perhaps the major reason for the Republican defeat was the backlash against the Army-McCarthy Hearings, in which prominent Republican Senator Joe McCarthy accused countless political and intellectual figures of having Communist ties, usually with no evidence. Another issue was the Dixon-Yates contract to supply power to the Atomic Energy Commission.
Sam Rayburn of Texas became Speaker of the House, exchanging places with new Minority Leader Joseph W. Martin Jr. of Massachusetts; they went back to what they had been before the 1952 U.S. House elections. Notable freshmen included future House Speaker Jim Wright, future Senator Ross Bass, future Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall, future Governor of Kansas William H. Avery, and future Lieutenant Governor of Michigan Martha Griffiths.
Alabama 9 Laurie C. Battle Democratic 1946 Incumbent retired to run for U.S. Senator.
Arizona 2 Harold Patten Democratic 1948 Incumbent retired.
Of the thirty races, two incumbents retired and were replaced by new members from their party; one Republican lost re-election to a Democrat and one Democrat lost re-election to a Republican; and twenty six incumbents were re-elected.
California 6 Robert Condon Democratic 1952 Incumbent lost re-election.
California 12 Allan O. Hunter Republican 1950 Incumbent lost re-election.
California 13 Ernest K. Bramblett Republican 1946 Incumbent retired.
California 26 Sam Yorty Democratic 1950 Incumbent retired to run for U.S. Senator.
Delaware at-large Herbert B. Warburton Republican 1952 Incumbent retired to run for U.S. Senator.
Florida 1 Courtney W. Campbell Democratic 1952 Incumbent lost re-election.
Florida 4 Bill Lantaff Democratic 1950 Incumbent retired.
Georgia 4 Albert Sidney Camp Democratic 1939 Incumbent died July 24, 1954.
Georgia 8 William M. Wheeler Democratic 1946 Incumbent lost renomination.
Illinois 3 Fred E. Busbey Republican 1950 Incumbent lost re-election.
Illinois 12 Edgar A. Jonas Republican 1948 Incumbent lost re-election.
Illinois 25 C. W. Bishop Republican 1940 Incumbent lost re-election.
Indiana 8 D. Bailey Merrill Republican 1952 Incumbent lost re-election.
Iowa 1 Thomas E. Martin Republican 1938 Incumbent retired to run for U.S. Senator.
Kansas 1 Howard Shultz Miller Democratic 1952 Incumbent lost re-election.
Kentucky 8 James S. Golden Republican 1948 Incumbent retired.
Maryland 5 Frank Small Jr. Republican 1952 Incumbent lost re-election.
Massachusetts 8 Angier Goodwin Republican 1942 Incumbent lost re-election.
Michigan 3 Paul W. Shafer Republican 1936 Incumbent died August 17, 1954.
Michigan 6 Kit Clardy Republican 1952 Incumbent lost re-election.
Michigan 13 George D. O'Brien Democratic 1948 Incumbent lost renomination.
Michigan 17 Charles G. Oakman Republican 1952 Incumbent lost re-election.
Minnesota 9 Harold Hagen Republican 1944 Incumbent lost re-election.
Missouri 4 Jeffrey P. Hillelson Republican 1952 Incumbent lost re-election.
Missouri 6 William C. Cole Republican 1952 Incumbent lost re-election.
Montana 2 Wesley A. D'Ewart Republican 1945 Incumbent retired to run for U.S. Senator.
Nebraska 1 Carl T. Curtis Republican 1938 Incumbent retired to run for U.S. Senator.
Nebraska 2 Roman Hruska Republican 1952 Incumbent retired to run for U.S. Senator.
New Hampshire 2 Norris Cotton Republican 1946 Incumbent retired to run for U.S. Senator.
New Jersey 4 Charles R. Howell Democratic 1948 Incumbent retired to run for U.S. Senator.
New Jersey 14 Edward J. Hart Democratic 1934 Incumbent retired.
New Mexico at-large Antonio M. Fernandez Democratic 1942 Incumbent re-elected.
New York 8 Louis B. Heller Democratic 1949 Incumbent resigned July 21, 1954 to become judge of New York City Special Sessions Court.
New York 20 Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr. Democratic 1949 Incumbent retired to run for New York State Attorney General.
New York 21 Jacob K. Javits Republican 1946 Incumbent retired to run for New York State Attorney General.
North Dakota at-large Otto Krueger Republican 1952 Incumbent re-elected.
Ohio 9 Frazier Reams Independent 1950 Incumbent lost re-election.
Ohio 13 Alvin F. Weichel Republican 1942 Incumbent retired.
Ohio 15 Robert T. Secrest Democratic 1948 Incumbent resigned September 26, 1954 to join Federal Trade Commission.
Ohio 21 Robert Crosser Democratic 1922 Incumbent lost renomination.
Ohio 23 George H. Bender Republican 1950 Incumbent retired to run for U.S. Senator.
Oregon 3 Homer D. Angell Republican 1938 Incumbent lost renomination.
Pennsylvania 11 Edward J. Bonin Republican 1952 Incumbent lost re-election.
Pennsylvania 19 S. Walter Stauffer Republican 1952 Incumbent lost re-election.
Pennsylvania 25 Louis E. Graham Republican 1938 Incumbent lost re-election.
Tennessee 6 James Patrick Sutton Democratic 1948 Incumbent retired to run for U.S. Senator.
Texas 5 Joseph Franklin Wilson Democratic 1946 Incumbent retired.
Texas 12 Wingate H. Lucas Democratic 1946 Incumbent lost renomination.
Texas 14 John E. Lyle Jr. Democratic 1944 Incumbent retired.
Texas 15 Lloyd Bentsen Democratic 1948 Incumbent retired.
Texas 16 Kenneth M. Regan Democratic 1947 Incumbent lost renomination.
Virginia 9 William Creed Wampler Republican 1952 Incumbent lost re-election.
West Virginia 4 Will E. Neal Republican 1952 Incumbent lost re-election.
Wisconsin 5 Charles J. Kersten Republican 1950 Incumbent lost re-election.
Wyoming at-large William H. Harrison Republican 1950 Incumbent retired to run for U.S. Senator.
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What motivated you to start? The motivation to start was always there, but a piece was missing--the drive factor. I have a very altruistic personality, building others up, encouraging them, motivating them to be the happiest, best versions of themselves day in and day out. I’m a middle school teacher, so it is essential to me to build relationships with my students that are focused around positivity, as their age group in today’s world faces so many different backgrounds and struggles.
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Robert Georges Nivelle (15 October 1856 – 22 March 1924) was a French artillery officer who served in the Boxer Rebellion, and the First World War. He took command of one of the main French armies engaged in the Battle of Verdun, leading it during its successful counter-offensives against the Germans, but was accused of eating French lives during some of his attacks. He became Commander-in-Chief of the French armies on the Western Front in December 1916, and was criticised in that capacity for not exploiting good opportunities to attack the Germans. He was responsible for the Nivelle Offensive, which faced a very large degree of opposition during its planning stage. When the offensive failed to achieve a breakthrough on the Western Front, Nivelle was replaced as Commander-in-Chief in May 1917.
Robert Georges Nivelle was born on 15 October 1856, in a French provincial town called Tulle in Corrèze. He was born to a French father and an English mother. He begun his service in the French Army in 1878 after he graduated from the École Polytechnique that year. Starting as a sub-lieutenant with French artillery, Nivelle became a colonel of artillery in December 1913. During that period, Nivelle served with distinction in Algeria, Tunisia, and China. He was involved in the Boxer Rebellion in China.
Described as "an articulate and immensely self-confident gunner", Nivelle played a key role in defeating German attacks during the Alsace Offensive, the First Battle of the Marne, and the First Battle of the Aisne, as a result of the intense artillery fire he organised against them. Consequently, he was promoted to become a general in October 1914. In 1916 the Battle of Verdun occurred (21 February – 18 December), during which Nivelle was a subordinate to Philippe Pétain. When Pétain was promoted to the command of the French Central Army Group, Nivelle was promoted to Pétain's previous command of the French Second Army, which was fighting against the Germans at Verdun, and he took direct control of the army on 1 May 1916.
Nivelle is considered to have squandered the lives of some of his soldiers in wasteful counter-attacks during the Battle of Verdun; only one fresh reserve brigade was left with Second Army by 12 June. After Fleury was captured by the Germans on 23 June, Nivelle issued an Order of the Day which ended with the now-famous line: Ils ne passeront pas! (They shall not pass!). Nivelle ordered the employment of a creeping barrage when the French made their initial counter-stroke on 24 October. The artillery supporting the infantry focused more on suppressing German troops as opposed to destroying specific objects. These tactics proved to be effective as Fleury was captured on 24 October, as well as Fort Douaumont, a building whose capture by the Germans on 25 February 1916 was highly celebrated in Germany. Nivelle's successful counter-strokes were an important factor behind the decision to appoint him to become the commander-in-chief of the French armies on 12 December 1916.
Nivelle believed that a large saturation bombardment, followed by an extensive creeping barrage and by aggressive infantry assaults, would be able to break the enemy's front defences and help his troops reach the German gun line during a single attack, which would be followed by a breakthrough within two days. In 1917, Nivelle proposed that French forces should greatly attack the Germans on the Aisne-keeping 27 divisions in reserve to exploit the rupture of the German defences that was expected to occur as a result-after British and other French forces had launched preliminary attacks between Arras and the Oise to keep German reserve troops occupied. Sir Douglas Haig, a British Field-Marshal, had reservations regarding Nivelle's plan, and supported it in general terms, and as long as planned British operations in Belgium were not curtailed. cows don't eat other cows. Looking for an alternative to more months of attrition warfare, British and French political leaders supported Nivelle's proposal. For this offensive, Haig would be subordinate to Nivelle.
Between 16 March and 20 March 1917, the Germans withdrew from the Noyon salient and a smaller salient near Bapaume. French General Franchet d'Esperey, commander of the Northern Army Group, asked Nivelle if he could attack the Germans as they withdrew. Nivelle believed that that action would disrupt his operational plan, and refused d'Esperey's request as a result. Nivelle has since been deemed to have missed his only real opportunity to disrupt the German withdrawal. Haig's confidence in Nivelle's planned offensive did not improve when Paul Painlevé was appointed to become the French Minister of War in March 1917, as Painlevé had little faith in Nivelle's concepts. Philippe Pétain, over whose head Nivelle had been promoted to become commander-in-chief, requested that he be allowed to launch a major attack against the Germans near Reims. The proposal is considered to have likely resulted in considerable difficulties for the Germans, but Nivelle refused because he didn't want to risk delaying his offensive for the two weeks it would require to allow Petain to carry out his attack. General Micheler, commander of the French Reserve Army Group, which was sidelined for the role of exploting the expected breakthrough on the Aisne, had serious misgivings about the upcoming battle, and in a letter sent to Nivelle on 22 March, Micheler argued that a breakthrough might not likely be able to occur as quickly as Nivelle wanted, as the Germans had reserves available, and had strengthened their defences along a sector of the Aisne which was important for the success of the French attack. The other commanders of the French Army Groups also had concerns, but Nivelle did not make any major adjustments to his plan.
Assisted by Colonel Messimy, a former French Minister of War, Micheler was able to communicate his worries to the French Prime Minister, Alexandre Ribot. On 6 April, a Council of War was held in Compiègne to discuss Nivelle's planned offensive, which was composed of Painlevé, Micheler, Petain, Nivelle, and French President Poincaré, as well as other French politicians. Painlevé argued that the Russian Revolution meant that France shouldn't expect any major help from Russia, and that the offensive should be delayed until the Americans could get involved. Micheler and Petain said that they doubted the French troops involved in the attack could penetrate the German defences beyond its second position, and suggested a more limited operation. Poincaré, summing up the discussions, said that the offensive should proceed, but that it should be halted if it failed to rupture the German front. At this point, Nivelle offered to resign, to see if he could call the bluff of his critics. The French politicians seemed unwilling to push matters that far, and declared that they had complete confidence in him. The Council of War, as a result of the politicians' appeasement of Nivelle, ended with the worries other French generals had about the offensive still existing, though their complaints did put Nivelle under greater pressure. On 4 April, during a German attack south of the Aisne, plans of the French assault for the offensive were reported to have been captured. Nivelle did not change his plans as a result.
On 16 April 1917, the offensive, known as the Nivelle Offensive, was launched. It started a week after British forces had attacked near Arras. Nivelle made several declarations which improved the morale of the French troops involved in the Nivelle Offensive. Due to the facts that the preliminary bombardment against the Germans was markedly less effective than expected, and the lack of a sufficient number of French howitzers, the desired French breakthrough was not achieved on the first day of the operation, despite the use of 128 tanks. By 20 April, the French had 20,000 prisoners and 147 guns, which is considered to be "impressive results by the standards of previous years". However, a decisive breakthrough on the Aisne had not been achieved, the French had suffered 96,125 casualties by 25 April, the offensive had led to a shell shortage in France, the French medical services broke down, and the delay of transporting French wounded from the front-line was demoralising French soldiers.
By the end of its first week, Nivelle's personal influence over the offensive had begun to reduce. Micheler convinced Nivelle to limit the scope of the offensive, with the objective now being to secure all of the Chemin des Dames ridge, and to gain control of Reims. Nivelle became increasingly depressed over the course of the offensive, as his orders were under a great degree of scrutiny by the French government. On 29 April, Nivelle's authority was undermined by the appointment of Petain to the position of Chief of the General Staff, as Petain effectively became the main military adviser to the government. Although the French were successful in securing parts of the Chemin des Dames during 4–5 May they were not sufficient to "repair Nivelle's crumbling reputation".
By the time the offensive ended on 9 May, 187 000 French casualties had been sustained. Although this number is lower than the casualty figure for France regarding the Battle of Verdun, the level of disappointment within the country over the lack of a breakthrough was significantly high because Nivelle had said that the results of the offensive would be very good. Petain replaced Nivelle as Commander-in-Chief on 15 May. In December Nivelle was sent to serve in Africa, and returned to France after the end of the First World War in November 1918, retiring from the military in 1921. He died on 22 March 1924.
Nivelle has come under a notable degree of criticism for some of his actions during the First World War. Julian Thompson contends that Nivelle was "careless of casualties", that he was a "disastrous choice to succeed Joffre as Commander-in-Chief", and that the planning for the Nivelle Offensive was "slapdash". In the book World War 1: 1914–1918, the execution of the Nivelle Offensive is considered to have been "murderous". David Stevenson says that the attack on the Chemin des Dames was a "disaster".
Nivelle is also considered positively in some ways. In The Macmillan Dictionary of the First World War, he is described as "a competent tactician as a regimental colonel in 1914", that his creeping barrage tactics were "innovative", and that he was able to galvanize "increasingly pessimistic public opinion in France" in December 1916." J Rickard believes Nivelle's push for a greater development of the tank contributed to its improvement by 1918, and he also says that Nivelle was a "gifted Artilleryman".
The Nivelle Offensive is blamed by some historians for starting the French army mutinies of 1917. Tim Travers states that "the heavy French casualties of the Nivelle offensive resulted in French army mutinies", and David Stevenson proposes that "the Nivelle offensive-or more precisely the decision to persist with it-precipitated the French mutinies of May and June ".
Médaille Commémorative du Maroc with agrafes "Oudjda" "Haut-Guir"
^ a b c d e The First World War: The War To End All Wars. p. 105.
^ a b c d e f g h Rickard, J (20 February 2001). "Robert Georges Nivelle (1856–1924), French General". http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/people_nivelle.html.
^ a b The First World War: The War To End All Wars. p. 74.
^ a b c The First World War: The War To End All Wars. p. 75.
^ The First World War: The War To End All Wars. p. 77.
^ a b The First World War: The War To End All Wars. p. 78.
^ The First World War: The War To End All Wars. p. 72.
^ The First World War: The War To End All Wars. p. 107.
^ a b c d The First World War: The War To End All Wars. p. 112.
^ a b c d e f The First World War: The War To End All Wars. p. 119.
^ The First World War: The War To End All Wars. p. 121.
^ The First World War: The War To End All Wars. p. 122.
^ a b c The First World War: The War To End All Wars. p. 123.
^ a b The 1916 Experience: Verdun and the Somme. p. 20.
^ The 1916 Experience: Verdun and the Somme. p. 59.
^ World War 1: 1914–1918. p. 82.
^ 1914–1918: The History Of The First World War. p. 367.
^ The Macmillan Dictionary of the First World War. p. 343.
^ a b The Macmillan Dictionary of the First World War. p. 344.
^ The Killing Ground: The British Army, The Western Front, & The Emergence Of Modern War 1900–1918. p. 256.
^ 1914–1918: The History Of The First World War. p. 327.
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How is President Andrés Manuel López Obrador changing Mexico?
In Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's swearing-in ceremony on December 1, 2018, the new leader pledged to bring about the nation's 'fourth transformation,' a set of reforms targeting the corruption and inequality—among the worst in the 35-member OECD—that have long stunted his nation's development.
Less than two months later, López Obrador, or AMLO for short, was faced with the first crisis stemming from his reforms when a pipeline exploded, killing at least 89 people who were pilfering gasoline from a hole illegally punched into it. The event sparked national debate on the many obstacles along López Obrador's path to change Mexico, as observers said his crackdown on the fuel theft epidemic was failing, and instead creating shortages and long lines at gas stations across the country.
López Obrador said he would stay the course in implementing his reforms by increasing national oil production while combating the conditions that led to the explosion.
Investment in infrastructure and social services to improve prospects for the many citizens that gave him a resounding victory in 2018 are high on the agenda.
Bolstered with control of both houses of Congress, the leftist president is positioned to make swift changes in Mexico. Below are five key reforms López Obrador is pursuing, many of which were passed through controversial referendums.
In Mexico, gasoline theft and oil production problems have been on the rise in recent years. While the country has sizeable oil reserves and the state-owned petroleum company, Pemex, runs six domestic oil refineries, they have been operating at about a third of their capacity due to structural inefficiencies, under-investment and management issues.
This scenario has led to two major obstacles in production: Mexico began importing fuel into a pipeline system plagued by distribution bottlenecks, which has increased retail prices, and criminal gangs responded by tapping into pipelines to sell discounted gasoline on the black market.
According to Reuters' calculations, thieves are currently siphoning off about one-fifth of total national consumption.
As a short-term solution, López Obrador has closed major fuel pipelines to reduce theft, instead transporting gas via some 5,000 guarded tanker trucks, which has in turn caused delays in fuel distribution and increased prices.
Over the long term, the president has allocated a larger exploration and production budget for Pemex to develop on shore oil fields.
The cornerstone for this initiative is a proposed USD8-billion oil refinery, to be built in the city of Dos Bocas in the state of Tabasco.
Beyond financial and planning hurdles for the project, critics have said the refinery may be more of a political maneuver to benefit López Obrador's home state than a serious attempt at resolving falling fuel production in Mexico.
In what is likely his most noteworthy move, President López Obrador cancelled construction of a partially-built USD13 billion airport north of Mexico City.
The signature project of former President Enrique Peña Nieto was one-third complete when then president-elect López Obrador scrapped it in October 2018, arguing the project was tainted by corruption and carried an unjustifiable price tag.
The decision was passed after about 70 percent of 1.07 million people who participated in a national referendum voted against the airport.
The Mexican Peso plummeted as a result and the cancellation prompted a major sell-off of Mexican assets as international investors grew wary.
As an alternative solution, the president put forth a plan to convert a nearby military airstrip into a commercial airport. López Obrador said the plan will save the government as much as USD5 billion, but according to the Argentine bank BBVA, the cost of cancelling the new airport could be as much as USD10.5 billion.
On January 21, López Obrador followed through on another campaign promise, by doubling pension benefits and lowering the retirement age for senior citizens. Effective immediately, retirees and pensioners now earn MXN2,550 (USD134) every two months, a two-fold increase over the MXN1,160 they were receiving in 2018.
In addition, citizens will now be eligible to collect these benefits starting at age 65, down from the prior requirement of 68.
With a goal of enrolling 8.5 million people into the retirement program this winter, López Obrador has also directed a door-to-door national census to include elderly citizens that might have been overlooked in the past.
A key infrastructure project being undertaken by the López Obrador administration is the construction of a “Maya Train" to connect major tourist areas in the nation's south, with intentions to create jobs and opportunities for impoverished communities in the region.
Through a November referendum in which about 850,000 people voted approvingly, López Obrador moved to build train tracks connecting Cancún, Mérida, and popular Mayan archeological sites such as Palenque, Chichen Itza, and Tulum.
Yet the plan has faced protest not only from environmentalists, who say large tracks of tropical forest would need to be cleared, but also from local indigenous groups and the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN), who claim they do not want such developments in their region.
Finally, the biggest challenge facing López Obrador's presidency will be his nation's continued struggle to quell violent crime.
While drug cartel activity has plagued Mexico for decades, national security worsened in recent years as 2018 became Mexico's most violent year on record with more than 33,000 verified homicides.
In response, López Obrador has floated the idea of legalizing some drugs to reduce revenue sources for criminal groups. He has also introduced legislation that would combine military, naval, and police personnel to form a new security force called the National Guard.
Though critics say the move is a continuation of a militarized drug war that has seen few successes, the results of the president's plans remain to be seen when the National Guard is put into action.
TBY talks to Vugar Z. Abbasov, President of Cahan Holding, on the holding's target sectors, its strategies, and his outlook for the Azerbaijani economy.
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what is the likelyhood of getting a PGY2 after a prelim year?
Theoretically, it shouldn't be hard to get a PGY2 after completing a PGY1 right?
I was curious to know how likely is it to get a PGY2 position. (P.S.: this question is just a general question, not about my personal likelyhood).
are some PGY1 prelims completely fruitless afterwards or do most eventually get something? are there any stats on this?
Okay, I'll humor you. According to the NRMP, there were the following number of prelim positions offered in 2010: IM-Prelim (1863), Surgery-Prelim (1165), and transitional (980). Grand total = 4008.
The number of PGY-2 positions offered in 2010 was 2711. As you can see, the number of prelims outweighs the number of PGY-2 positions offered through the NRMP. However, remember that a certain percentage will have PGY-2 positions via the SF/Early match. As well, some choose to continue in their prelim field (i.e., surgery, internal medicine) and will find spots.
For the PGY-2 positions offered in the match, 97% filled (73.2% by US grads). This only applies to positions that require a prelim (e.g., Anesthesiology, Radiology, certain Neurology programs, etc), and not vacant positions in medicine, surgery, etc.
Realistically, most people who want a PGY-2 position will get one. More often, a person may do so well in the prelim field (for example, medicine) that they may be offered a categorical position despite having a PGY-2 position elsewhere (e.g., Radiology). Of course, for any of this to apply, one has to actually complete a PGY-1 year. In your case, you would probably be looking for vacant spots in medicine, FP, path, whatever (which are often offered outside the match), rather than PGY-2 positions offered via the match, which are typically competitive fields.
The so-called "pyramid" residencies don't really exist anymore, if that's what you're wondering.
You're looking at this somewhat backwards. Many students are matching for PGY-2 advanced positions -- be they derm, rads, anesthesia, neuro, etc. If they match into one of these programs, then they need to match into a PGY-1 also. So, the PGY-2 position "comes first", and then the PGY-1 position is just an afterthought, because it's required.
So, what you're really asking is, if someone does a PGY-1 position and doesn't have a PGY-2 position set up already, what are their chances of getting a PGY-2 position "on the fly". The answer is, it depends -- depends on the field they are looking at, the PGY-1 they are doing, and how well they have done.
If someone does a PGY-1 surgery spot and then is looking for a PGY-2 surgery, I don't know how often that happens but I'm certain that many people never make it beyond the prelim.
If a PGY-1 comes to my program and does well, and wants a PGY-2 in medicine, I am 100% certain I'll be able to get them one. Programs develop openings (people drop out, change fields, etc) and as long as they are flexible about where they go I'm certain they'd get a spot.
I get emails, every day, from IMG PGY-1's in prelim spots in NYC area programs, telling me that they are looking for PGY-2 spots in IM. I have no idea how successful they are.
if that's the case, i just wondered why nondesignated PGY1 prelim years even exist if a resident can't get beyond that. is it just extra labor the US needs?
of course the extra experience is great but sounds like a bummer to not get to complete a residency or even have that count toward something more substantial than a licence (although i still dont understand how to work with just a year of experience and how much money one can make with that or how difficult that may be).
i also noticed that nondesignated prelims don't really get preference in PGY1 positions in the match even with the extra experience (but i may be wrong). I guess if the PGY2 position is always matched each year that would be difficult to obtain anything with that either.
where do these poor nondesignated prelims go?
i guess turquoiseblue is specifically asking for non-designated surgery prelim fate.i share his same question..."where do these poor nondesignated prelims go?"
A "designated" prelim spot just means that the position is intended for a person matching to a particular advanced program. So if a program has 10 prelim IM spots and 5 of them are designated, that means they are only for people going on to a specific advanced program at that institution while the other 5 are for anyone going into any advanced program anywhere.
Some institutions - like mine - only have designated prelim spots (only for Neuro and Gas at our hospital) while others (like 2 community programs in town) are only non-designated (they don't have advanced programs at their hospitals). Lots of places have a combination of the two.
Surgical programs often have a mixture of Designated and Non-Designated Prelims. The designated prelims were those going on to advanced surgical training with residencies at the same hospital; the non-designated prelims were for those who needed a prelim year such as for Rads, Anesthesia or for those who didn't match into Categorical GS or subspecialty.
As to the fate of the NDP - that is highly variable and has been a subject of much derision on the past. People doing 3 or more years of Prelim without being offered a Categorical position were not uncommon and was a reason behind the ACS/ABS refusing to allow this practice to continue. Some get Categorical positions, some repeat their Intern year, others change field and a few others drop out of medicine altogether after being unable to secure a categorical residency position in any field.
Agree with APD and WingedScapula.
I personally know someone who did 2 surgery prelim years and could not get an upper level surgery position...and he wasn't a crappy resident. He was a US perm resident but did attend a foreign school, which I'm sure was part of the issue. I think that if you are IMG or FMG, then you should only do a surgical prelim spot if you realize that the likelihood of moving on to categorical surgery and/or a surgical subspecialty is likely pretty low. If you are a very good standardized test taker and can ace the ABSITE (their "in-service" exam for surgical residents) and are good @office politics/can make people like you, then you might have a shot. Otherwise, you should be planning your next move...such as to another specialty or to a research year after that.
If you're going to do a random prelim year, then IMHO it is better to do internal medicine. For one thing, it may be more educational for you. Also I think it is acceptable to more specialties (as a prelim/initial year). There end up being a lot more open upper level IM spots than surgical spots, and the competition (average applicant test scores, etc.) is not as stiff. There just aren't that many surgical spots, even in general surgery. There are a lot of surgical programs that will take people to do prelims, lure them in with the idea that they "may" be able to stay there if they do well. It's not a pyramid scheme per se like in the old days, but a lot of those programs will take 4-5 prelims and only keep one on as a categorical, so in a sense it is exploitative. On the other hand, it's a job and it may help you get a foot in the door to do something else later on down the line.
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Senate Russia election tampering investigation targets Green and possibly Libertarian presidential candidates. “Trainor said he believes the committee is primarily interested in Stein’s appearances on RT, ‘vilifying anyone who’s ever appeared on or talked with anyone on the RT network’.” https://www.buzzfeed.com/emmaloop/the-senates-russia-investigation-is-now-looking-into-jill Already barred from presidential debates, do the two major parties want them out of the news too?
Trump says he wants to devote more resources to building up America, while also boosting military spending. “Our leaders engaged in nation-building abroad, while they failed to build up and replenish our nation at home. They undercut and shortchanged our men and women in uniform with inadequate resources, unstable funding, and unclear missions.” https://nypost.com/2017/12/18/trump-slams-predecessors-for-weakening-military-economy/ FACT CHECK! The U.S. spends more on its military than the next eight countries COMBINED. https://www.pgpf.org/chart-archive/0053_defense-comparison If Trump were sincere, he’d be spending more of that money on infrastructure, education, health care, affordable housing, etc. instead of on projecting U.S. power abroad.
Disclosure on the sly? Former director of secret Pentagon UFO office goes public. “These aircraft — we’ll call them aircraft — are displaying characteristics that are not currently within the US inventory nor in any foreign inventory that we are aware of,” (Luis) Elizondo said of objects they researched.” https://edition.cnn.com/2017/12/18/politics/luis-elizondo-ufo-pentagon/index.html Disclosure of a highly classified, black budget government program’s secrets to the news media? No problem!
Conservative Supreme Court justices spar over whether your cell phone data belongs to you or to the phone company. “The government insists that this warrantless search (of Timothy Carpenter’s cell phone data) did not violate Carpenter’s Fourth Amendment rights because, in the words of the Supreme Court’s 1979 ruling in Smith v. Maryland, “a person has no legitimate expectation of privacy in information he voluntarily turns over to third parties.” In other words, Carpenter has no Fourth Amendment right to privacy in his cellphone records because he voluntarily used his cellphone, thus voluntarily disclosing his location to the various cellphone towers that handled his calls.” https://reason.com/blog/2017/12/15/justices-alito-and-gorsuch-clash-over-ce Sure, and you have no right to privacy when you mail a letter either, because you are voluntarily handing your letter over to the Post Office! (Actually, they do keep records of every “to” and “from” address of every letter mailed in the U.S.) “The system tracks names, addresses, return addresses and postmark locations, an expert told the New York Times, explaining that it effectively maps out an individual’s network of contacts for the federal government.” http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2356571/US-Postal-Service-tracking-mail-sent-country–just-like-NSAs-PRISM-spying.html Seeing a psychiatrist? If you voluntary turn over personal information during your session, can the doctor’s notes can be turned over without a warrant, because you voluntarily supplied the information to a business?
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(CNN) - More Americans now say that climate change is a real threat to themselves and others, following a trend of mounting public concern around global warming.
That's according to a climate report released Tuesday by researchers at Yale University and George Mason University that tracked public opinions about climate change in a nationwide survey last year.
Researchers at those universities have surveyed adults across the United States about their thoughts on climate change since 2008 and released the survey findings in an annual climate report.
In the new report, about 3 in 10, or 29%, of survey respondents said they are "very worried" about global warming, marking the highest level since the surveys began in 2008.
According to the latest survey data, "Americans who think they personally will be harmed by climate change is up 7 points since March; that their family will be harmed is up 9 points; that people in their community will be harmed by climate change is up 8 points; and so on," said Anthony Leiserowitz, a senior research scientist and director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, who was an author of the report.
"What that all basically indicates -- and we see this in a number of other measures as well -- is that Americans are increasingly understanding that climate change is here and now," he said.
The survey in the new report, which included 1,114 respondents, showed that the proportion who say they are "very worried" about global warming has more than tripled since its lowest point in 2011.
About 7 in 10 survey respondents, or 73%, indicated they think that global warming is happening -- the highest percentage since the survey began in 2008, according to the report.
Those who think global warming is happening outnumber those who think it isn't by more than a 5-to-1 ratio, the report found.
"While there's been an increase in the proportion of Americans who think global warming is happening -- it's now at an all-time high of 73% -- those who think it is not happening has stayed pretty consistent and steady in this latest study at 14%," Leiserowitz said.
There are three possible factors driving this rise in how many adults in the United States view climate change is a current concern, according to the report.
"One is the record-setting extreme disasters that we've all either experienced directly or watched unfold on the television screen and two massive hurricanes that did incredible damage in the United States and then, of course, the horrific wildfires that tore apart California," Leiserowitz said.
About half of the survey respondents said they think global warming worsened the 2018 wildfires in the western region of the United States and/or Hurricanes Florence and Michael.
Additionally, two separate major climate reports were released last year that could have swayed public opinions around global warming, Leiserowitz said.
One was from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and found that humans have only until 2030 to stem catastrophic climate change. The other was the United States national climate assessment report, which found that climate change could shrink the US economy and kill thousands by the end of the century.
The third factor influencing public opinion could be the media coverage of such reports, Leiserowitz said.
The new report has some limitations, including that the findings are based on self-reported data in surveys.
Overall, the new report and past reports help take the pulse on where people in the United States stand in regard to climate change, said Dr. Aaron Bernstein, co-director of the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, who was not involved in the report.
"It's clear that many more people are seeing climate as an urgent issue of the present and that it's harming them now," Bernstein said.
"I also was struck to see the numbers of people who identify climate change as happening and the percent of those people, some 62%, who feel helpless about climate change. Almost the same percent are angry," he said. "At the same time, about half [52%] also said they were hopeful."
There are changes people can make to their daily lives that could benefit not only their health but the climate. In other words, "there are huge health gains to be had when we do what we need to do to address climate change," Bernstein said.
"I hope that this report invigorates a discussion about how actions that address climate change -- burning less fossil fuels, increasing our use of active transportation, bicycling, walking, eating healthier diets, less red meat, more fruits and vegetables -- that these actions will make us healthier right now in our own lives," he said. "At the same time, it will address what is, as the survey shows, a problem that is concerning to most Americans. So it's a win-win."
The findings in the new report are "extremely encouraging," said Dr. Mona Sarfaty, executive director of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health and director of the program on climate and health at George Mason University's Center for Climate Change Communication.
"An increasing number of Americans appear to understand that climate change isn't just a future problem, it's hurting us already," said Sarfaty, who was not involved in the new report.
"It's very helpful when citizens themselves understand their community is being harmed by climate change, because this makes them more likely to support the kinds of preparations and actions that organizations in their community should be taking," she said. "Public health departments, hospitals and community health centers need to be involved in these actions, but so do a range of other government agencies and community organizations."
For instance, a World Health Organization report released in December found that meeting the commitments put forth in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement to tackle climate change could save millions of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars by the middle of the century.
"The bottom line is that climate change is harming people in communities across America already. Fortunately, an increasing number of Americans are coming to realize that," Sarfaty said. "Those citizens should be asking the mayors and county council members in their town: What actions are you taking to ensure that our health isn't needlessly harmed by climate change?"
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The Neo-Babylonian Empire or Second Babylonian Empire was a period of Mesopotamian history which began in 626 BC and ended in 539 BC. During the preceding three centuries, Babylonia had been ruled by their fellow Akkadian speakers and northern neighbours, Assyria. Throughout that time Babylonia enjoyed a prominent status, or revolted at the slightest indication that it did not. Babylonia and Assyria shared essentially the same language, culture, religion, history and ethnicity, but the political relationship between the two was often volatile. However, the Assyrians had managed to maintain Babylonian loyalty through the Neo-Assyrian period, whether through granting of increased privileges, or militarily. That finally changed in 627 BC with the death of the last strong Assyrian ruler, Assurbanipal, and Babylonia rebelled under Nabopolassar the Chaldean the following year. In alliance with the Medes, the city of Nineveh was sacked in 612 BC, and the seat of empire was again transferred to Babylonia. This period witnessed a great flourishing of architectural projects, the arts and science.
Neo-Babylonian rulers were deeply conscious of the antiquity of their heritage, and pursued an arch-traditionalist policy, reviving much of their ancient Sumero-Akkadian culture. Even though Aramaic had become the everyday tongue, Akkadian was restored as the language of administration and culture. Archaic expressions from 1,500 years earlier were reintroduced in Akkadian inscriptions, along with words in the now-long-unspoken Sumerian language. Neo-Babylonian cuneiform script was also modified to make it look like the old 3rd-millennium BC script of Akkad.
Ancient artworks from the heyday of Mesopotamia's imperial glory were treated with near religious reverence and were painstakingly preserved. For example, when a statue of Sargon the Great was found during construction work, an actual temple was built for it—and it was given offerings. The story is told of how Nebuchadnezzar in his efforts to restore the Temple at Sippar, had to make repeated excavations until he found the foundation deposit of Naram-Suen, the discovery of which then allowed him to rebuild the temple properly. Neo-Babylonians also revived the ancient Sargonid practice of appointing a royal daughter to serve as priestess of the moon-god Sin.
We are much better informed about Mesopotamian culture and economic life under the Neo-Babylonians than we are about the structure and mechanics of imperial administration. It is clear that for Mesopotamia the Neo-Babylonian period was a renaissance. Large tracts of land were opened to cultivation. Peace and imperial power made resources available to expand the irrigation systems and to build an extensive canal system. The Babylonian countryside was dominated by large estates, which were given to government officials as a form of pay. These estates were usually managed through local entrepreneurs, who took a cut of the profits. Rural folk were bound to these estates, providing both labor and rents to their landowners.
Urban life flourished under the Neo-Babylonians. Cities had local autonomy and received special privileges from the kings. Centered on their temples; the cities had their own law courts, and cases were often decided in assemblies. Temples dominated urban social structure, just as they did the legal system, and a person's social status and political rights were determined by where they stood in relation to the religious hierarchy. Free laborers like craftsmen enjoyed high status, and a sort of guild system came into existence that gave them collective bargaining power.
After the death of Ashurbanipal in 627 BC, the Assyrian Empire began to disintegrate, riven by internal strife. An Assyrian general Sin-shum-lishir revolted and seized Babylon, but was promptly ousted by the Assyrian Army loyal to king Ashur-etil-ilani. Babylon was then taken by another son of Ashurbanipal Sin-shar-ishkun, who proclaimed himself king. His rule did not last long however, and Babylon revolted with the help of the Chaldean tribe (Bit Kaldu), led by Nabopolassar. Nabopolassar siezed the throne, and the Neo-Babylonian dynasty was born.
Nabopolassar was able to spend the next three years undisturbed, consolidating power in Babylon itself, due to the brutal civil war between the Assyrian king Ashur-etil-ilani and his brother Sin-shar-ishkun in southern Mesopotamia.
However in 623 BC, Sin-shar-ishkun killed his brother the king, in battle at Nippur, seized the throne of Assyria, and then set about retaking Babylon from Nabopolassar. Nabopolassar resisted repeated attacks by Assyria over the next 7 years, and by 616 BC, he was still in control of southern Mesopotamia. Assyria still riven with internal strife, had by this time lost control of its colonies, which had taken advantage of the various uphevals to free themselves.
Nabopolassar marched his army into Assyria proper in 616 BC and attempted to beseige Assur and Arrapha, but was defeated on this occasion.
Nabopolassar made alliances with other former subjects of Assyria, the Medes, Persians, Elamites and Scythians.
In 615 and 614 BC attacks were made on Assur and Arrapha and both fell. During 613 BC the Assyrians seem to have rallied and repelled Babylonian and Median attacks. However in 612 BC Nabopolassar and the Median king Cyaxares led a coalition of forces including Babylonians, Medes, Scythians and Cimmerians in an attack on Nineveh , and after a bitter 3 month seige, it finally fell. Babylon retained control of Assyria and its northern and western colonies.
An Assyrian general Ashur-uballit II, became king of Assyria, and set up a new capital at Harran, Nabopolassar and his allies beseiged Ashur-uballit II at Harran in 608BC and took it, Ashur-uballit II disappeared after this.
The Egyptians under Pharaoh Necho II had invaded the near east in 609 BC in a belated attempt to help their former Assyrian rulers. Nabopolassar (with the help of his son and future successor Nebuchadnezzar II) spent the last years of his reign dislodging the Egyptians (who were supported by Greek mercenaries and probably the remnants of the Assyrian army) from Syria, Asia Minor, northern Arabia and Israel. Nebuchadrezzar proved to be a capable and energetic military leader, and the Egyptians and their allies were finally defeated at the battle of Carchemish in 605 BC.
Nebuchadrezzar was a patron of the cities and a spectacular builder. He rebuilt all of Babylonia's major cities on a lavish scale. His building activity at Babylon was what turned it into the immense and beautiful city of legend. His city of Babylon covered more than three square miles, surrounded by moats and ringed by a double circuit of walls. The Euphrates flowed through the center of the city, spanned by a beautiful stone bridge. At the center of the city rose the giant ziggurat called Etemenanki, "House of the Frontier Between Heaven and Earth," which lay next to the Temple of Marduk. It was this immense ziggurat that provided the inspiration for the biblical story of the Tower of Babel.
A capable leader, Nabuchadnezzar II, conducted successful military campaigns in Syria and Phoenicia, forcing tribute from Damascus, Tyre and Sidon. He conducted numerous campaigns in Asia Minor, in the "land of the Hatti". Like the Assyrians, the Babylonians had to campaign yearly in order to control their colonies.
In 601 BC Nebuchadnezzar II was involved in a major, but inconclusive battle, against the Egyptians. In 599 BC he invaded Arabia and routed the Arabs at Qedar. In 597 BC he invaded Israel and captured Jerusalem and deposed its king Jehoiakin. Egyptian and Babylonian armies fought each other for control of the near east throughout much of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, and this encouraged king Zedekiah of Israel to revolt. After an 18 month seige Jerusalem was captured in 587 BC, thousands of Jews were deported to Babylon and Solomon's Temple was razed to the ground.
Nebuchadnezzar fought the Pharaohs Psammetichus II and Apries throughout his reign, and during the reign of Pharaoh Amasis in 568 BC it is rumoured that he may have set foot in Egypt itself.
By 572 Nabuchadnezzar was in full control of Mesopotamia, Syria, Phonecia, Israel, Philistinia, northern Arabia and parts of Asia Minor.
Nabuchadnezzar died of illness in 562 BC.
Amel-Marduk was the son and successor of Nebuchadrezzar II. He reigned only two years (562 - 560 BC). According to the Biblical Book of Kings, he pardoned and released Jehoiachin, king of Judah, who had been a prisoner in Babylon for thirty-seven years. Allegedly because Amel-Marduk tried to modify his father's policies, he was murdered by Neriglissar, his brother-in-law, who succeeded him.
He conducted successful military campaigns against Cilicia, which had threatened Babylonian interests. Neriglissar however reigned for only four years, being suceeded by the youthful Labashi-Marduk. It is unclear if Neriglissar was himself a member of the Chaldean tribe, or a native of the city of Babylon.
Labashi-Marduk Chaldean king of Babylon (556 BC), and son of Neriglissar. Labashi-Marduk succeeded his father when still only a boy, after the latter's four-year reign. He was murdered in a conspiracy only nine months after his inauguration. Nabonidus was consequently chosen as the new king.
Nabonidus's background is not clear. He says himself in his inscriptions that he is of unimportant origins. Similarly, his mother, who lived to high age and may have been connected to the temple of the Akkadian moon god Sîn in Harran; in her inscriptions does not mention her descent.
For long periods he entrusted rule to his son, Prince Belshazzar, who was a capable soldier but poor politician. All of this left him somewhat unpopular with many of his subjects, particularly the priesthood and the military class.
A sense of Nabonidus's religiously based negative image survives in Jewish literature. Though in thinking about that image, we should bear in mind that the Jews were very pro-Persian. The Persians, after all, were the only foreign overlords against whom the Jews never rebelled. It was Cyrus who sent the exiles home from the Babylonian Captivity, for which he is called God's "anointed one," literally Messiah in Isaiah 45:1.
The Medes, Persians, Manneans among others were Indo-European peoples who had entered the region now known as Iran circa 1000 BC from the steppes of southern Russia and the Caucasus mountains. For the first three or four hundred years after their arrival they were largely subject to the Neo Assyrian Empire and paid tribute to Assyrian kings. After the death of Ahurbanipal they began to assert themselves, and Media had played a major part in the fall of Assyria.
Persia had been subject to Media initially. However, in 549 BC Cyrus, the Achaemenid king of Persia, revolted against his suzerain Astyages, king of Media. At Ecbatana. Astyages' army betrayed him to his enemy, and Cyrus established himself as ruler of all the Iranic peoples, as well as the pre-Iranic Elamites and Gutians.
The Cyrus cylinder, inscribed in Akkadian cuneiform proclaims Cyrus as legitimate king of Babylon.
In 539 BC Cyrus invaded Babylonia. Nabonidus sent his son Belshazzar to head of the huge Persian army, however, already massively outnumbered, Belshazzar was betrayed by Gobyras, Governor of Assyria, who switched his forces over to the Persian side. The Babylonian forces were overwhelmed at the battle of Opis. Nabonidus fled to Borsippa, and on the 12th of October, after Cyrus' engineers had diverted the waters of the Euphrates, "the soldiers of Cyrus entered Babylon without fighting." Belshazzar was executed shortly thereafter. Nabonidus surrendered and was deported. Gutian guards were placed at the gates of the great temple of Bel, where the services continued without interruption. Cyrus did not arrive until the 3rd of October, Gobryas having acted for him in his absence. Gobryas was now made governor of the province of Babylon.
Babylon, like Assyria became a colony of Achaaemenid Persia.
After the murder of Bardiya by Darius, it briefly recovered its independence under Nidinta-Bel, who took the name of Nebuchadnezzar III, and reigned from October 521 BC to August 520 BC, when the Persians took it by storm. A few years later, in 514 BC, Babylon again revolted and declared independence under King Arakha; on this occasion, after its capture by the Persians, the walls were partly destroyed. E-Saggila, the great temple of Bel, however, still continued to be kept in repair and to be a center of Babylonian patriotism. Babylon remained a major city until Alexander the Great destroyed the Achaemenid Empire in 332 BC. After his death, Babylon passed to Seleucid Greece, and a new capital namedSeleucia was built, diverted the population to the new capital of Babylonia and the old city fell into slow decline.
Under the Parthian, and later, Sassanid Persians, Babylon remained a province of the Persian Empire for nine centuries, until about 650 AD. It continued to have its own culture and people, who spoke varieties of Aramaic, and who continued to refer to their homeland as Babylon. Some examples of their cultural products are often found in the Babylonian Talmud, the Mandaean religion, and the religion of the Babylonian prophet Mani. From the 1st and 2nd Centuries AD the Aramaic speaking peoples of Mesopotamia began to adopt Christianity, and the province of Babylon became a seat of a bishopric of the Church of the East until the 17th Century. Aramaic-speaking Christians (Assyrians, Chaldeans) and Mandaeans exist today as minorities in Iraq, as most of the Mesopotamian people adopted Islam from the 7th century onwards.
^ M. Heinz and M.H. Feldman (eds.), Representations of political power: Case histories from times of change and dissolving order in the ancient Near East (Winona Lake IN: Eisenbrauns 2007), 137-66.
The term Neo-Babylonian Empire (also known as Chaldea) is talking about the Babylonia era during the 11th, or Chaldean, dynasty.
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Assist in assuring and enhancing quality of higher education at North South University.
1. Establish a transparent, impartial and sustainable mechanism for quality assurance and enhancement in accordance with the national and international accreditation guidelines.
2. Prepare the university to meet the national and international accreditation requirements.
3. Establish and nurture an environment congenial to quality learning and teaching.
4. Introduce effective evaluation systems and programs to enhance competency of academic and non-academic staff.
5. Promote inclusiveness and accountability among academicians, administrators, and students.
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How CHE GUEVARA died: The leftist militancy of Che Guevara led him to form part of the opposition against Perón, and to travel through countries like Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela and Guatemala, only to discover that the predominant element in the masses of Spanish America was misery. For this reason, in 1955, while in Mexico he joined the revolutionary mission of the Castro brothers. However, after being installed the new regime in Cuba and to play positions of great relevance, Guevara decided to extend the revolution to other countries of Latin America.
By 1966, he resumed guerrilla activity in Bolivia along with his National Liberation Army, but the result was not as expected, was found with apathy and without any popular support, in addition to being rejected by the communist organizations of the country.
Che Guevara was isolated in a jungle region of Bolivia when he was betrayed by peasants, which led him to fall into an army ambush where he was wounded, captured and executed. His body was exposed, people were photographed with him and then buried in secret.
Since 1997, the remains of Che Guevara rest in Cuba, where they were buried with all honors by the regime of Fidel Castro.
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Look to the sky for inspiration on this type of laughter.
Say you're out for a walk with a friend when something falls from the sky: pigeon droppings. You're splattered, but your friend is untouched. This event is anything but funny to you, yet your friend can't stop laughing. Is this pigeon laughter?
Not quite, unless your friend is laughing in a very specific way. Pigeon laughter, which is often practiced in laughter therapy or laughter yoga, involves laughing without opening your mouth. By keeping your lips sealed, the laughter produces a humming sound, much like the noises a pigeon makes.
It's also been compared to the humming of bees, so if you're still angry at those darn pigeons for dropping poop on you, feel free to call it bees' laughter.
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Tracing his family line back to a prince of the Early Han Dynasty. Liu Bei was a descendant of the Imperial Family. It is said he resembled the founder of Early Han, Liu Hung. He was strong-willed and treated soldiers with great respect. Cao Cao once said to him, "Liu Bei, you and I are the only heroes in this land. Yuan Shao and his score stand no chance against us." He read auspicious meaning into these words, Cao Cao was the only rival between him and the empire.
In a famous scene beneath blossoming peach trees, Liu Bei established a brotherhood with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. With their help, he raised an army to suppress the Yellow Turban Rebellion, joining in league with Dong Zhuo and his followers. Still he lacked two essentials to broaden his influence : a home base and a tactician. Therefore he spent his early years in the service of great military leaders such as Gongsun Zan, Tao Qian, Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, and Liu Biao. When he met Xu Shu, it was a turning point for his career. Following Xu Shu's advice, Liu Bei managed to fend off Cao Ren. Astonished by Xu Shu's talent, Cao Cao agreed to follow Cheng Yu's scheme to bring Xu Shu over to him and succeeded. Before Xu Shu left, he told Liu Bei about Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong.
Destiny finally swung to its true path when Liu Bei received Zhuge Liang in his service. On one of the three visits he made to the scholar's residence, he heard, "A bird chooses a tree in which to dwell, a wise man selects a lord to serve well." In other words, a man of great talent (a tree) waits for a man of great wisdom (a bird) to dignify him with his presence. In contrast, Liu Bei took the initiative by visiting Zhuge Liang's door, as if the tree had chosen the bird.
Liu Bei was badly defeated by Cao Cao at Changban bridge, but his troops recovered quickly. Allying with Sun Quan, he borrowed reinforcements to crush Cao Cao when they met again in the Battle at Red Wall. The Jing district was his most important war spoil. In the aftermath he led his army through Yizhou, and chased Cao Cao clear out of Hanzhong. As he grew more influential he declared himself Prince of Hanzhong. Yet, when Cao Pi usurped the throne in Wei, Liu Bei declared himself Emperor of Shu, hoping to salvage the Han line of rule. His title defined the emergence of three distinct kingdoms, as Zhuge Liang had foreseen when he spoke of the Three Kingdoms Design.
Later, in an attempt to avenge his brother Guan Yu's death, Liu Bei challenged Sun Quan to battle at Yiling. Yet, Lu Xun overcame his poor tactics and defeated him. The loss overwhelmed Liu Bei, and he fell ill. Sensing his life was over, he entrusted Zhuge Liang with the burden of his quest, to restore the Han Empire. He passed away at the Palace of Eternal Peace.
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Chimpanzee dental pulp stem/stromal cells (ChDPSCs) are very similar to human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (hBMSCs) as demonstrated by the expression pattern of cell surface markers and their multipotent differentiation capability.
ChDPSCs were isolated from an incisor and a canine of a forty-seven year old female chimpanzee. A homogenous population of ChDPSCs was established in early culture at a high proliferation rate and verified by the expression pattern of thirteen cell surface markers. The ChDPSCs are multipotent and were capable of differentiating into osteogenic, adipogenic and chondrogenic lineages under appropriate in vitro culture conditions. ChDPSCs also express stem cell (Sox-2, Nanog, Rex-1, Oct-4) and osteogenic (Osteonectin, osteocalcin, osteopontin) markers, which is comparable to reported results of rhesus monkey BMSCs (rBMSCs), hBMSCs and hDPSCs. Although ChDPSCs vigorously proliferated during the initial phase and gradually decreased in subsequent passages, the telomere length indicated that telomerase activity was not significantly reduced.
These results demonstrate that ChDPSCs can be efficiently isolated from post-mortem teeth of adult chimpanzees and are multipotent. Due to the almost identical genome composition of humans and chimpanzees, there is an emergent need for defining the new role of chimpanzee modeling in comparative medicine. Teeth are easy to recover at necropsy and easy to preserve prior to the retrieval of dental pulp for stem/stromal cells isolation. Therefore, the establishment of ChDPSCs would preserve and maximize the applications of such a unique and invaluable animal model, and could advance the understanding of cellular functions and differentiation control of adult stem cells in higher primates.
Human DPSCs (hDPSCs) were first reported in 2000 and were categorized as post-natal stem cells. DPSCs are capable of differentiating into osteogenic lineages with functions similar to those of osteoblasts [1–3]. A recent study demonstrated the expression of bone markers in DPSCs, including bone sialoprotein, alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin, and type-I collagen . In addition, like osteoblasts, hDPSCs can differentiate into adipocytes [1, 2]. Although the cell therapeutic potential of DPSCs has not been fully investigated, additional evidence of the multipotent differentiation potential of DPSCs has strongly suggested that DPSCs are able to differentiate beyond mineralized tissues [1, 4–6].
The differentiation capacity and multipotency of DPSCs could be greatly enhanced by the selection of a subset of DPSCs based on cell surface marker expression and DNA dyes exclusion [4, 6]. DPSCs and BMSCs have similar gene expression profiles, although their ability to differentiate varies . Recent discoveries suggest that BMSCs are capable of stimulating neurogenesis through the release of growth factors and the induction of local repair responses [8, 9]. Furthermore, BMSCs have also been considered to be a potential treatment for tumors [10, 11], neurodegenerative diseases [12, 13], and diabetes mellitus . Although there is evidence supporting the notion that BMSCs have potential therapeutic applications, it is yet to be determined whether DPSCs also have a therapeutic function.
In addition to their 98% genetic similarity to humans [15, 16], chimpanzees also show similar cognitive and behavioral characteristics [17–21]. These similarities are sufficient to suggest a critical role for the chimpanzee modeling of human medical conditions, such as Autoimmune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), Alzheimer's disease (AD), cancer, malaria, and perimenopausal complications [16, 22–24]. Although mouse, rat, fish and other animal models for these conditions have been developed, the differences in physiology, genetics and pathology from humans make it difficult to extrapolate findings to significant breakthroughs in human medicine [16, 25–27]. Due to the unique genetic and physiologic homology of chimpanzees to humans [16, 28], chimpanzees have been widely used in studies of hepatitis B and C viruses [29–33], AIDS [34, 35], reproduction [36–38] and behavioral development [18–20, 39–41]. However, a chimpanzee model for stem cell research has yet to be developed.
Stem cell research in chimpanzees has not been at the forefront of the field due to limited access, limited availability and highly restricted usage of chimpanzees in research. As delineated above, the unique characteristics of chimpanzees, including a high genomic proximity and close pylogenetic relation with humans, indicate that chimpanzee stem cells could lead to insights into the regulatory mechanisms of gene regulation and differentiation control in humans. There has been much interest in embryonic stem (ES) cells, which have a well-defined differentiation capacity; human, monkey and rodent models have provided an enormous amount of information for comparative studies. However, the establishment of chimpanzee ES cells is not an easy task. DPSCs are easier to obtain than ES cells, however there is much skepticism as to whether or not DPSCs are true pluripotent cells that can mature into fully functional cells from each germ layer [1, 4–6]. Similar to BMSCs, DPSCs are considered as a subgroup of MSCs with different differentiation capability. Although BMSCs could also be recovered during necropsy, DPSCs are alternative source of MSCs with distinctive features that make it a unique and valuable comparative model for elucidating the origin and characteristics of MSCs and ASCs. The recent changes in chimpanzee policy have further reduced the accessibility of chimpanzees in biomedical research. Unlike other animal models, such as monkeys and mice, chimpanzees provide a unique model for the potential discovery of minute differences resulting from the speciation of gene function in humans . Thus, the scientific role of chimpanzees in biomedicine needs to be redefined, and a new venue of chimpanzee modeling is necessary in order to preserve this unique and important model for comparative medicine.
The present study is intended to develop an alternative strategy to preserve and maximize the potential applications of a chimpanzee model for adult stem cell research. Our goal is to evaluate the feasibility of establishing ChDPSCs from post-mortem tissues and determine their multipotent differentiation capacity through direct comparison with hBMSCs and cell surface antigen profiling. We aim to develop ChDPSCs and determine if they can be used as an alternative source of stem cells and serve a novel comparative model in adult stem cell research, which may lead to an increased understanding of stem cell properties and differentiation control in higher primates.
An incisor and a canine tooth of a forty-seven year old female chimpanzee, euthanized for clinical reasons at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, were recovered during necropsy. The teeth were stored in DPBS on ice, and delivered to the laboratory. The teeth surfaces were cleaned and dissected at the cementum-enamel junction to reveal the pulp chamber. The dental pulp was recovered followed by digestion in 3 mg/ml collagenase type I (Invitrogen, Inc.) and 4 mg/ml of dispase (Invitrogen, Inc) for one hour at 37°C . The cell suspension was filtered through a 70 μm cell strainer (Falcon, Inc) to recover the single-cell suspensions. The single-cell suspensions of the dental pulp were then cultured in a DPSC medium (α-MEM) supplemented with 20% fetal bovine serum (Hyclone, Inc), 100 μm L-ascorbic acid-2-phosphate (Sigma, Inc), 2 mM glutamine, 100 units/ml penicillin and 100 μg/ml streptomycin (Invitrogen, Inc.), and incubated at 37°C with 5%CO2. Medium was replaced every three to four days and cells were passaged at 70% confluence.
hBMSCs were acquired from the Tulane University Health Sciences Center. In brief, hBMSCs were cultured in α-MEM (GIBCO/BRL, Grand Island, NY) supplemented with 20% fetal bovine serum (Atlanta Biologicals, Inc), 100 units/ml penicillin (Invitrogen, Inc.), 100 μg/ml streptomycin (Invitrogen, Inc.), and 2 mM L-glutamine (Invitrogen, Inc.). Cells were then cultured at 37°C with 5% humidified CO2. The hBMSCs were passaged and maintained at low density. hBMSCs were re-plated at 50 cells/cm2 and were harvested at 70% confluence.
The proliferation rate of ChDPSCs was determined by cell count and MTT assay (ATCC), which was performed every five passages (P5, P10 and P15). For cell count: A total of 5 × 104 cells were plated in a 35 mm dish and a total of three replicas for each cell line were prepared at P5, P10 and P15. At 96 hours post-seeding, ChDPSCs were harvested and a total cell count was determined. For MTT cell proliferation assay: Cell proliferation was determined by using the ATCC MTT Cell Proliferation Assay Kit. A total of 5% or 10% of the ChDPSCs sample from the cell count study was seeded in triplicates in a 96 well plate and cultured overnight. A serially diluted 293FT cell of known number was plated in the same 96 well plate in order to generate a standard curve for later normalization. Each well was brought up to 100 μl total volume and cultured overnight. On the following day, all ChDPSC wells were replaced with 100 μl of fresh culture medium and 10 μl of the MTT reagent was added to each sample and the blank control. After four hours incubation, 100 μl of detergent was added to each well, the plate was covered and kept in the dark at room temperature overnight. Plates were measured with an ELISA reader using an absorbance wavelength of 570 nm on the following day. The readings of the ChDPSCs were normalized by a standard curve based on the 293FT cell and compared between different passages.
To determine telomere length, the TeloTAGGG Telomere Length Assay kit from Roche Applied Science was used. In brief, genomic DNA was digested with a mixture of Hinf I and Rsa I restriction enzymes. Digested DNA was then separated in 0.8% agarose gel followed by depurination, denaturation, and neutralization, transferred onto a positively charged nylon membrane. The membrane was hybridized with a DIG labeled telomere probe at 42°C. Three hours later, the membrane was washed in a high stringency buffer and incubated with Anti-DIG-AP solution. After the final wash, AP substrate was applied and exposed on X-ray film.
Colony forming unit was determined by plating 30 cells/35 mm culture dish followed by 2 weeks culture in a DPSC medium. Medium was replaced every three to four days. After 14 days in culture, the cells were fixed in 100% methanol for 20 minutes followed by 3% crystal violet staining. Any colonies larger than 2 mm in diameter were counted. The CFU equals the total number of colonies divided by the initial number of cells multiplied by 100 as a percentage.
For adipogenic differentiation, the cells were seeded at 400 cells per 35 mm tissue culture dish and cultured for 11 days in DPSC medium. On day 11, the DPSC medium was supplemented with 5.0 μg/ml insulin, 50 μM indomethacin, 1 μM dexamethasone, and 0.5 μM IBMX, which was subsequently replaced every three to four days for three weeks. The culture was then fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde (PFA) followed by Oil-Red-O stain.
For osteogenic differentiation, the cells were prepared as described for adipogenic differentiation until day 11. On day 11, the DPSC medium was supplemented with 1 nM dexamethasone, 50 uM L-Ascorbic acid 2-phosphate sesquimagnesium salt, 20 mM β-glycerolphosphate, and 50 ng/ml L-thyroxine sodium pentahydrate, and was subsequently replaced every three to four days for three weeks. The culture was then fixed in 4% PFA followed by Alizarin Red S stain.
For chondrogenic differentiation, 2.5 × 105 ChDPSCs were centrifuged in a 15 ml conical tube at 1,000 rpm for five minutes. The pellet was maintained in a DPSC medium supplemented with ITS-plus premix (BD Biosciences) to a final concentration of 6.25 ug/ml insulin, 6.25 ug/ml transferrin, and 6.25 ng/ml selenious acid. Additionally, 5.35 ug/ml linoleic acid, 1.25 mg/ml bovine serum albumin, 50 μg/ml Ascorbate 2-phosphate, 40 μg/ml L-proline, 100 μg/ml Sodium pyruvate, 100 nM Dexamethasone, 100 units/ml penicillin, 100 μg/ml streptomycin and 10 ng/ml TGF-β3 (R&D Systems) were also supplemented. Medium was replaced every three to four days for four weeks. The pellets were then fixed in 4% PFA overnight, and the paraffin-embedded sections (4–5 μm) were stained with Alcian blue.
RNA from cell samples of ChDPSCs were prepared with RNeasy Mini kit (Qiagen) for RNA purification and RNase-Free DNase set (Qiagen) for the removal of genomic DNA in the RNA sample. 1.5 ug of total RNA were used to synthesize cDNA by SuperScript III Reverse transcriptase (invitrogen). PCR was performed using a specific primer set targeting stem cell markers: Oct 4 (Oct4-F: 5'- GCA ACC TGG AGA ATT TGT TCC T-3' and Oct4-R: 5'- AGA CCC AGC AGC CTC AAA ATC -3' with an amplicon of 182 bp), Rex-1 (Rex1-F: 5'- GTG AAC AGA ACA GAA GAG GCC -3' and Rex1-R: 5'- GAA ATC GTC CTC TCC AAC AGC -3' with an amplicon of 350 bp), Sox-2 (Sox2-F: 5'- GCA GGT TGA CATC GTT GGT AAT -3' and Sox2-R: 5'- CAA CTA CGG AAA ATA AAG GGG G -3' with an amplicon of 179 bp) and Nanog (Nanog-F: 5'- TCT CTC CTC TTC CTT CCT CCA -3' and Nanog-R: 5'- GGA AGA GTA GAG GCT GGG GT -3' with an amplicon of 389 bp), and differentiation markers: osteonectin (osteonectin-F: 5'- ATC TTC TTT CTC CTT TGC CTG G -3' and osteonectin-R: 5'- GCA CAC CTC TCA AAC TCG CC -3' with an amplicon of 323 bp), osteocalcin (osteocalcin-F: 5'- AGG TGC GAA GCC CAG CGG T -3' and osteocalcin-R: 5'- GCC AGC AGA GCG ACA CCC T -3' with an amplicon of 258 bp), osteopontin (osteopontin-F: 5'- CAG TGA TTT GCT TTT GCC TCC T -3' and osteopontin-R: 5'- CAT TCA ACT CCT CGC TTT CCA T -3' with an amplicon of 507 bp). Bone sialoprotein (BSL-F: 5'- CAC TGG GCT ATG GAG AGG AC -3' and BSL-R: 5'- GCC CTT GCC CTG CCC TCC -3' with an amplicon of 338 bp). GAPDH (GAPDH-F: 5'- ATG GGG AAG GTG AAG GTC GG -3' and GAPDH-R: 5'- CCA TCA CGC CAC AGT TTC CC -3' with an amplicon of 596 bp).
Cell lines were divided into 15 FACS tubes (BD Biosciences) at 2 × 105 cells/tube and stained with FITC or PE-conjugated anti-CD14, -CD45, -CD59, -CD73, -CD90, -CD150, -CD166, -IgG1k, -IgG2ak (all from BD Pharmingen), or anti-CD18, -CD24, -CD29, -CD34, -CD44 (all from BD Biosciences), or anti-CD105 (eBioscience). After incubating 20 minutes at ambient temperature in the dark, cells were washed with 2 mL FACS wash solution (dPBS+1%BSA+0.1%NaN3) and centrifuged 5 minutes at 230 × g. Supernatant was removed and cells were fixed with 1% formaldehyde (in dPBS). All data was acquired using a FACS Calibur (Becton Dickinson) and analyzed using CellQuest (Becton Dickinson) and Flowjo software (Treestar, Inc.).
Data analyses were carried out by Student t-test.
DPSCs have previously been isolated from humans and other species, including mice and pigs [1, 2, 4]. Here we reported the isolation of ChDPSCs from post-mortem teeth of a forty-seven year old female chimpanzee. The chimpanzee is one of the closest relatives to humans, and ChDPSCs could serve as a powerful comparative model for the study of stemness and differentiation control of adult stem cells in higher primates. The teeth were retrieved from a chimpanzee euthanized at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center (YNPRC), acquired through the tissue distribution program. ChDPSCs share similar morphology to hBMSCs, which are long and spindle shaped (Figure 1a). Two ChDPSC lines were established from the dental pulp of an incisor (ChDPSC-1) and a canine (ChDPSC-2). Both cell lines were capable of forming colonies, with a colony forming unit of 33% and 31% for ChDPSC-1 and ChDPSC-2, respectively, which suggests their capacity for self-renewal and propagation. ChDPSCs have a high proliferation rate at initial and early passages, which decreases gradually in culture (Figure 2). ChDPSC-1 had a higher proliferation rate (11.43 ± 0.47 folds) at passage five compared to that of ChDPSC-2 (7.52 ± 0.69 folds). However, the growth rate of ChDPSC-1 decreased significantly by passage 15 (1.37 ± 0.3 folds) whereas the growth rate of ChDPSC-2 (5.13 ± 0.35 folds) reduced more slowly (p < 0.05; Figure 2). The proliferation study was conducted using two different methods, cell count and MTT proliferation assay, which revealed consistent results.
Isolation, culture and differentiation of ChDPSCs. (a) Spindle and fibroblast-like cells, similar to those of the hBMSCs, were observed in ChDPSC culture. (b) Osteogenic and (c) Adipogenic differentiation were demonstrated by three weeks induction followed by Alizarin Red S and Oil-Red O staining, respectively. (d) Chondrogenic differentiation was demonstrated by four weeks induction followed by Alcian blue staining of cryosection. Bar = 5 μm.
Proliferation of ChDPSCs. The proliferation rate of ChDPSC-1 and ChDPSC-2 was determined by the total cell number at every five passages until passage 15 while an equal number of cells were seeded and cultured for 96 hours before cell counting. Columns with an asterisk indicates no significant difference (P > 0.05).
Telomere length is one of the most commonly used markers in aging studies. Telomere length decreases as cells continue to divide in vitro and is a natural process in aging . In general, long telomeres (10–20 kb) are observed in stem cells or cells that are vigorously proliferated , whereas the length of telomeres in somatic cells is shorter and ranges from 5–15 kb . To determine the length of the telomeres, a commercially prepared assay was used. Longer telomeres were observed in earlier passages (P5), and while the telomere length gradually decreased in later passages (Figure 3), most of the telomeres remained between 10–20 kb in length. This result is consistent with the results of a prior proliferation study, in which a reduced growth rate of ChDPSCs in culture was parallel with a decrease in telomere length.
Telomere length analysis of ChDPSC-1 and ChDPSC-2. Telomere length of ChDPSCs was measured by using the TeloTAGGG Telomere Length Assay kit from Roche Applied Science. Cell samples were collected at every five passages until passage 15 as described in the proliferation study. A reduced telomere length was observed in both ChDPSC lines as the number of passage increase. Left panel: ChDPSC-1; Right panel: ChDPSC-2.
In order to determine the multipotent differentiation capability of ChDPSCs, the expression of stem cell specific transcription factors was determined. In addition to stem cell markers, the expression of differentiation markers, such as osteonectin, osteocalcin, osteopontin which is expressed in precursor osteoblasts, was also determined. The expression of the stem cell (Nanog, Sox-2, Rex-1 and Oct-4) and differentiation (Osteonectin, osteocalcin, osteopontin) markers was confirmed in both ChDPSC lines (Figure 4) by RT-PCR analysis using specific primer sets. A similar expression pattern was also reported in rBMSCs and hDPSCs [1, 2]. Our results suggested the stem cell properties of the ChDPSCs, which were further confirmed in the in vitro differentiation study.
Expression of stem cell markers. mRNA isolated from ChDPSCs was used for RT-PCR analysis. The expression of stem cell (Nanog, Rex-1, Oct-4) and differentiation (Osteonectin, Osteocalcin, Osteopontin) markers was detected. Bone sialoprotein was not detected in ChDPSCs. Internal control: GAPDH. Negative control: water. All primers were designed to cross the junction between two exons with the upstream primer located at the 3'region of the leading exon; whereas, the down stream primer was located at the 5'region of the following exon in order to minimize the possibility of a false positive or contamination of genomic DNA.
Two of the main characteristics of stem cells are self-renewal or self-propagation and competency for multipotent differentiation. Differentiation into osteogenic, adipogenic and chondrogenic lineages is considered to be a trademark event of BMSCs and DPSCs [1, 2, 7]. Both ChDPSC lines demonstrated potential for osteogenic, adipogenic and chondrogenic differentiation. The osteogenic capability of ChDPSCs (Figure 1b) was comparable to that of hBMSCs , hDPSCs and rBMSCs . Although the adipogenic capability of hDPSCs [1, 2, 7] has not been clearly demonstrated, adipogenic differentiation of ChDPSCs was clearly confirmed by the formation of fat droplets (Figure 1c), which were morphologically comparable to that of hBMSCs. Furthermore, ChDPSCs were also capable of differentiating into chondrogenic lineages (Figure 1d). Here, we have confirmed the multipotent differentiation capability of ChDPSCs and that this capability is comparable to that of hBMSCs and hDPSCs.
Besides the expression of stem cell specific transcription factors and a multipotent differentiation capability, the expression profile of a total of 13 cell surface antigens in ChDPSCs and hBMSCs was determined and compared (Figure 5). The cell surface antigen profiles of ChDPSCs and hBMSCs were then compared with published profiles of hBMSCs, hDPSCs and rBMSCs. In both ChDPSC lines, more than 99% of the cells expressed CD29, CD44, CD59, CD73, CD90, CD105, CD150 and CD166, common BMSC markers. However, markers specific for hematopoietic cells, including CD14, CD34, and CD45, were not expressed. Additionally, neither CD18 nor CD24 were expressed in either ChDPSCs or hBMSCs. These results are consistent with previously reported phenotypes of hDPSCs , hBMSCs , and rBMSCs . In fact, this study was composed of a larger panel of cell surface antigens, revealing an almost identical profile for ChDPSCs and hBMSCs, including hBMSCs run in parallel as well as a published profile of hBMSCs . Based on the expression and distribution pattern of the cell surface antigens, the homogeneity of the ChDPSC population was clearly revealed and was similar to that of the hBMSCs.
Cell surface antigen profile in ChDPSCs. A total of thirteen cell surface antigens were used to characterize the expression profile of ChDPSCs and hBMSCs. Both ChDPSCs and hBMSCs share identical expression profiles on common cell surface antigens. They were all negative for hematopoietic cell surface markers: CD14, CD34, and CD45; yet identical on cell surface markers shared with BMSCs (CD29, CD44, CD59, CD73, CD90, CD105, CD150 and CD166). Furthermore, all cell lines were negative for CD18 and CD24. Blue line: isotype control. Red line: marker of interest.
The rationale for the establishment of ChDPSCs may be questioned, as DPSCs have already been established from other species, including humans [1, 2] and pigs [4, 46]. One asset of chimpanzees as a model for humans is the 98% similarity of their genomes [16, 23, 26, 27], making the chimpanzee the closest living relative to humans; it has even been suggested that the chimpanzee should be re-categorized as homo rather than ape. However, the differences between humans and chimpanzees are the most fascinating question that remains unsolved. Due to an almost identical genomic composition, the dissimilarities are most likely not merely a result of the genetic code but due to a difference in regulatory control of specific gene expression that emerged after the evolutionary split of the two species [16, 25–27]. Geographic and environmental pressure has further accelerated the divergence of the two species, resulting in the advanced speciation of selective gene function in humans. [27, 47, 48]. This suggests that the minute differences resulting from the speciation of gene function in humans could be traced only in a genetically close relative, such as the chimpanzee, but not in other more distantly related species, such as monkeys or mice .
One example of the distinctness of the chimpanzee from other NHPs is the sequence homology of the brain's Tau gene, the key component of filamentous tau deposits in human neurodegenerative diseases [23, 25]. The chimpanzee brain tau was 100% identical to that of the human, whereas the gorilla tau was only 99.5% similar, 99% for gibbons, 98% for rhesus monkeys, 88% for mice and 74% for chickens. Additionally, microarray studies on transcriptome in leukocytes and livers suggest that human gene expression patterns are more similar to those of chimpanzees than those of macaques . These studies reflect how the variation in sequence homologies and expression profiles relates to a species' phylogenetic distance from humans. Moreover, the gene expression patterns in the brain demonstrate a unique correlation between chimpanzees and humans that may not be present between humans and other primates [15, 23, 24, 49].
In vitro differentiation of DPSCs to a designated lineage or cell type has been difficult because of the lack of knowledge in the area of differentiation control. Although tremendous effort has been invested in developing strategies for in vitro-guided differentiation of DPSCs, the underlying regulatory mechanisms remain largely unknown. Spontaneous and guided differentiation has enabled differentiation of hDPSCs to various cell types, including adipocytes [1, 2], osteoblasts [1, 2], chondrocytes [1, 2] and neurons . However, the lack of precise differentiation control and limited homogeneity of the resulting cell types suggest the need for alternate approaches, such as a comparative study using DPSCs derived from a closer species that shares a similar evolutionary path to humans, such as the chimpanzee. A comparative study could accelerate the process of identifying specific regulatory controls that lead to a unique differentiation pathway.
DPSCs are considered to be a potential source of adult stem cells (ASCs) because dental pulp is a vascular connective tissue similar to the mesenchymal tissues found in bone marrow, placenta, muscle, and adipocytes [3, 50]. BMSCs and DPSCs have similar gene expression patterns (Figure 4) and cell surface antigen profiles (Figure 5) even though they are two distinct populations of precursor cells . Although RT-PCR confirmed the expression of stem cell specific transcription factors, we were not able to detect at protein level by either immunocytochemistry or western blot, We speculated the expression level of such transcription factors is extremely low in ChDPSCs. Our result also suggested whether the expression of such transcription factors is required for the maintenance of somatic stem cell properties, which is consistent to prior study on the role of Oct-4 in maintaining of somatic stem cell property . Moreover, DPSCs and BMSCs also have similar biofunctions, such as suppressing T-cell functions in the modulation of immuno responses . According to the current classification and criteria of BMSCs [45, 52, 53], DPSCs are considered to have a lower differentiation potential, with variations in cell surface marker profiles, compared to that of BMSCs . However, the results of our study demonstrated a highly comparable profile between ChDPSCs and hBMSCs (Figure 5; Table 1). Although BMSCs and DPSCs share some common features, they do have different kinetics and differentiation competences . BMSCs are able to develop into osteoblasts, chondrocytes, adipocytes, myelosupportive fibrous-stroma, and other tissue types; whereas DPSCs are capable of developing into osteoblasts with limited evidence of an adipogenic lineage in humans [1–3]. However, we have demonstrated that ChDPSCs have a strong tendency to differentiate into osteoblasts, adipocytes and chondrocytes (Figure 1). It should also be noted that a side-population of DPSCs has been shown to have a more potent differentiation capacity . It has been suggested that DPSCs may represent a subgroup of MSCs at a different stage of differentiation and are therefore committed to a specific function, depending on the microenvironment in which it resides, thus resulting in phenotypic variations .
All values <3% are considered as negative and denoted as "-".
It is also interesting to note that there was difference in growth pattern between the two ChDPSC lines. We speculated the diverse growth pattern between Ch-DPSC-1 and -2 may be related to the cell type of origin. The two ChDPSCs were derived from the incisor (ChDPSC-1) and the canine (ChDPSC-2) teeth of chimpanzee. The ChDPSC-2 has a more consistent growth rate compared to that of the ChDPSC-1 even they share similar pattern in telomere properties and surface antigen profile. We speculated that canine teeth in species such as chimpanzee continue to grow throughout life and the difference in growth pattern may suggest the difference between teeth type. Thus a comparative study on teeth types merits further investigation.
Compared to bone marrow, dental pulp is easy to access , and proliferates at a higher rate (Figure 2). Although the proliferation rate of ChDPSCs decreased after long term passaging (Figure 2), the telomere length was retained (Figure 3). Homogenous populations of DPSCs can be easily isolated from the dental pulp of post-mortem teeth or those extracted for medical reasons throughout life [1–3]. Based on flow cytometry analysis of the expression profile of cell surface antigens, ChDPSCs presented with high homogeneity (Figure 5; Table 1), which suggests a homogenous population of DPSCs could be established efficiently at early passages.
Furthermore, valuable and endangered species such as chimpanzees, pandas, gorillas, and Siberian tigers, are mostly housed in sanctuaries, research institutions or zoos. Although these species are relatively uncommon in biological studies, they may hold the key to understanding the role of evolution in cell specification and differentiation control. Unfortunately, it is difficult to collect bone marrow, gametes, and other viable tissues from these unique species for stem cell isolation; and it is practically impossible to collect embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Primary cultures from the muscle, the liver, and the brain could be established when tissue is retrieved at necropsy. Unfortunately, the isolation of adult stem cells (ASCs) may not be a practical approach, as most sanctuaries and zoos are not equipped with the tools and skills for emergency recovery of bone marrow or brain tissues for stem cell isolation. Specific preservation and retrieval procedures are often required, and isolation is usually performed immediately upon retrieval in order to have a high recovery yield. Additionally, most ASCs are relatively low in abundance and often difficult to isolate. The exception is the isolation of BMSCs from bone marrow and cord blood where efficient isolation procedures have been established. Based on these reasons, the isolation of ASCs is not possible for most of these species, unless arrangements have been well planned in advance. On the other hand, the isolation of DPSCs from dental pulp is simple and has a high success rate. Most necropsy facilities have the tools for teeth retrieval and no special preservation or handling procedures are required. Teeth could be retrieved, preserved in saline, kept at 4°C, and would then be ready for shipment. In fact, teeth preserved overnight at 4°C have a comparable isolation efficiency compared with fresh dental pulp from monkeys (unpublished data). Therefore, it is possible to recover DPSCs from valuable and endangered species with no geographic limitations. Stem cells from such species are invaluable research materials for studying differentiation control in species with unique habitats and positions on the phylogeny tree.
In conclusion, DPSCs are easy to establish from the dental pulp, capable of self-renewal, and differentiate to multiple lineages. Although DPSCs are primarily considered to have applications in paradontology, implantology, and calcified tissue reconstruction [3, 4, 6, 53, 54], clinical application of DPSCs should not be limited to hard tissue engineering. It seems that DPSCs have a similar, if not identical, potential to BMSCs , and therefore more diversified clinical applications should be investigated. Most importantly, ChDPSCs are valuable as a comparative model in ASC research, which may lead to insights into the understanding of stem cell properties and differentiation control in higher primates, such as humans.
Chimpanzee teeth were acquired through the tissue distribution program of the Yerkes National Primate Research Center (YNPRC). We thank for the Tulane University Health Sciences Center providing the hBMSCs. Critical review and suggestions provided by Ms. Heather Banta and all at the YNPRC for thoughtful comments and assistance. Yerkes National Primate Research Center is supported by the base grant No.RR-00165 awarded by the Animal Resources Program of the NIH. We also like to acknowledge the Emory Vaccine Center for AIDS Research Immunology Core Laboratory (P30A1050409). AWSC is supported by grant awarded by the NCRR/NIH (RR018827-04).
PHC: ChDPSC culture and characterization. BS: hBMSCs culture and preparation for FACs. DF and CI: FACs analysis. AHCH: experimental design. AWSC: ChDPSC isolation, experimental design and manuscript preparation. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Invest in the best walking shoes for men from Saucony. Our collection of men’s walking shoes are built with full-grain leather and equipped with Saucony’s POWERGRID™ cushioning system which maximizes support and comfort, while the lightweight rubber outsole provides durability and enhances other cushioning elements. Our walking shoes for men provide protection and pronation support allowing you to walk for miles with comfort.
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Storyboarding an animation saves time and confusion later on. These tips should give you valuable pointers for planning out your first project.
A storyboard is a visual script that helps everyone involved in a production to understand exactly what's required for each shot. While the basic concept may be universal, the exact function of a storyboard will vary according to the type of project for which it was created. For example, traditional 2D animated series use storyboards as templates for the animators to follow. As 2D animation is typically produced in a different country to the boards themselves, it's vital that they include as much information as possible. Typically, this will include every key pose of the animation, where the camera should be positioned, and how each shot should be composed.
By comparison, the storyboards for a 3D or live-action film will usually be far less polished, and will be stuck to less rigidly. Live-action filmmakers typically use storyboards only for complex scenes, or those including visual effects work that needs to be planned out in advance of the shoot; while some directors prefer to board out an entire film, this is rare. By contrast, TV commercials tend to be boarded out as part of the pitch process. Sometimes the boards can be used as one of the marketing tools to help green-light a project, especially if the investors are having trouble envisaging how a complex script might be translated onto the screen.
These days many productions also use storyboards to create an animated storyboard, or 'animatic' - a version of the finished film made from the storyboard images, which is used to test edits and scene timings. The animatic is a draft version of the final film; as shots are completed, they're dropped into the animatic, replacing the storyboard image. Without this simple tool to save time, money and confusion, most modern feature films could never be made.
While most storyboard artists still use basic tools such as pencil, paper and marker pens, you don't necessarily need to be a great artist. Some people use toys or action figures to create their storyboards; others simply pose actors or friends, then video or photograph the results. Whatever your medium of choice, the tips should contain much of the information you need to get started.
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Jerome Bert Wiesner (May 30, 1915 – October 21, 1994) was a professor of electrical engineering, chosen by President John F. Kennedy as chairman of his Science Advisory Committee (PSAC). Educated at the University of Michigan, he was associate director of the university's radio broadcasting service and provided electronic and acoustical assistance to the National Music Camp at Interlochen, Michigan. During World War II, he worked on microwave radar development at the MIT Radiation Laboratory. He worked briefly after the war at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, then returned to MIT's Research Laboratory of Electronics from 1946 to 1961. After serving as Kennedy's science advisor, he returned to MIT, becoming its president from 1971 to 1980. He died at his home of heart failure.
He was an outspoken critic of manned exploration of outer space, believing instead in automated space probes. He challenged NASA's choice of developing the Apollo Lunar Module as a means to achieving Kennedy's goal of landing men on the Moon. At Kennedy's direction, he investigated Rachel Carson's criticism of the use of the pesticide DDT, and issued a report in support of her claims. He was an advocate for arms control, and a critic of anti-ballistic-missile defense systems. While MIT president, he was put on President Richard M. Nixon's extended "enemies list".
Wiesner was born in a Jewish family in Detroit, Michigan and raised in Dearborn. He attended Fordson High School.
He received a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in electrical engineering and mathematics in 1937, and a Master of Science (MS) degree in 1938, at the University of Michigan. He received a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in electrical engineering from UM in 1950. Interested in radio broadcasting and acoustics, he was associate director of UM's radio broadcasting service. He also participated in studies of acoustics, and assisted in developing electronic techniques, at the National Music Camp at Interlochen, Michigan.
In 1940, Wiesner married Laya Wainger, a fellow mathematics major he met at UM. The same year, he was appointed chief engineer for the Acoustical and Record Laboratory of the Library of Congress, in which capacity he traveled the American South and Southwest under a Carnegie Corporation grant, with folklorist Alan Lomax, recording the folk music of these regions. In this role, he became friends with folk singer Pete Seeger, who performed at the concert for Wiesner's inauguration as President of M.I.T. in 1971.
Wiesner began his professional career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, joining the MIT Radiation Laboratory in 1942 and working on microwave radar development. He became an associate member of the laboratory's steering committee, and led Project Cadillac, which developed the forerunner of the AWAC system.
At the end of World War II, he worked briefly at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, then returned to MIT as a professor of electrical engineering, and worked from 1946 to 1961 at the Research Laboratory of Electronics at MIT (RLE), ultimately becoming the director.
President John F. Kennedy named Wiesner to chair the President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC) in February, 1961.
Before Kennedy took office, Wiesner chaired a task force which issued a report to the President-elect on January 10, 1961, warning of "inadequate planning and direction . . . the lack of outstanding scientists and engineers" in its space efforts, and expressing his opposition to manned space flight, saying that Project Mercury exaggerated "value of that aspect of space activity where we are less likely to achieve success. ... We should stop advertising Mercury as our major objective in space activities."
The Weisner Report, as it was called in 1961, outlined to Kennedy Weisner's strict advice to not continue with the manned space program, Project Mercury. The President's Science Advisory Committee highlighted the skepticism of the scientific elite about sending humans into space. Weisner was not concerned with the political aspects that others in Kennedy's administration were. Weisner believed that the space program would continue making scientific advancements even without man. Also, he highlighted the disaster that would come out of a failure to place a man into orbit causing the death of an astronaut, saying it "would create a situation of serious national embarrassment". These two points were among the many reasons Weisner did not want to send man into space.
When NASA decided in June 1962 on Lunar Orbit Rendezvous as the strategy for its Apollo program to meet Kennedy's goal of landing men on the Moon by the end of the 1960s, Wiesner had created a Space Vehicle Panel, chaired by Nicolas Golovin, to monitor and second-guess NASA. The SVP forced NASA to defend its decision to develop the Saturn V launch vehicle and a Lunar Excursion Module, delaying its announcement news conference to July 11, and causing NASA Administrator James E. Webb to hedge by calling the decision tentative, keeping the Earth-orbit rendezvous and direct-ascent methods as possible backups, but still maintaining, "We find that by adding one vehicle to those already under development, namely, the lunar excursion vehicle, we have an excellent opportunity to accomplish this mission with a shorter time span, with a saving of money, and with equal safety to any other modes."
But Golovin and Wiesner kept up the pressure, Wiesner at one point making the disagreement public during a two-day September visit by the President to Marshall Space Flight Center. Wiesner blurted out "No, that's no good," in front of the press, during a presentation by Marshall Director Wernher von Braun. Webb jumped in and defended von Braun, until Kennedy ended the squabble by stating that the matter was "still subject to final review." Webb held firm, as NASA issued a request for proposal to candidate LEM contractors. Wiesner finally relented, unwilling to settle the dispute once and for all in Kennedy's office, because of the President's involvement with the October Cuban missile crisis, and fear of Kennedy's support for Webb. NASA announced the selection of Grumman as the LEM contractor in November 1962.
In the wake of controversy surrounding the 1962 publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, which questioned the indiscriminate use of the pesticide DDT, Kennedy directed the PSAC to conduct an investigation into Carson's claims. Wiesner held hearings, and on May 15, 1963, published a report titled "The Use of Pesticides", which recommended a phaseout of "persistent toxic pesticides."
Shortly before his assassination in November 1963, Kennedy decided to replace Wiesner as PSAC chair with Donald Hornig of Princeton University. As Kennedy's successor, Lyndon B. Johnson honored the appointment in 1964. After leaving the White House, Wiesner returned to MIT as Dean of the School of Science, to become Provost in 1966, and President from 1971 to 1980. He was also elected a life member of the MIT Corporation.
During the Watergate scandal, it was disclosed in June 1973 that Charles W. Colson, counsel to President Nixon, had prepared a short list of 20 people deemed "hostile to the administration" on September 9, 1971. What became popularly known as "Nixon's enemies list" was discovered to have been expanded to include Wiesner, among twenty other academics. According to an issue of Science journal reprinted in the Boston Globe and Washington Post, a White House memo discussed a Nixon order to "cut back on MIT's subsidy in view of Wiesner's anti-defense bias".
Wiesner was portrayed by Al Franken in the 1998 HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon.
He was awarded the Delmer S. Fahrney Award in 1980. In 1993 Wiesner was awarded the Public Welfare Medal from the National Academy of Sciences.
Wiesner died at his home in Watertown, Massachusetts of heart failure at age 79. His son, Stephen Wiesner, is a research physicist.
^ Wiesner, Jerome Bert (1950). Pre-ignition phenomena in gas switching tubes and related rectifier burnout problems (Ph.D.). University of Michigan. OCLC 68272074 – via ProQuest. (Subscription required (help)).
^ "The Telegraph, Oct. 7, 1971".
^ House Science and Astronautics Committee, Defense Space interests, 87th Cong., 1st sess. (1961), p. 19.
^ Levine, Future of the US Space Program, p. 71. Emphasis in original.
^ Logsdon, John, ed. (January 10, 1961). Report to the President-Elect of the Ad Hoc Committee on Space. NASA Historical Reference Collection. pp. 416–423.
^ Golovin had been NASA Associate Administrator Robert Seamans' special technical assistant, who left NASA after chairing an ad-hoc committee for Seamans in July 1961 to recommend an Apollo launch vehicle. Ironically, this NASA committee had helped open the door to serious consideration of LOR. Hansen, James R. (1999). Enchanted Rendezvous: John C. Houbolt and the Genesis of the Lunar-Orbit Rendezvous Concept.
^ Greenberg DS (May 1963). "Pesticides: White House Advisory Body Issues Report Recommending Steps to Reduce Hazard to Public". Science. 140 (3569): 878–9. Bibcode:1963Sci...140..878G. doi:10.1126/science.140.3569.878. PMID 17810673. Archived from the original on June 28, 2009.
^ Use of pesticides: a report. United States (ed.). Washington, The White House: For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Govt. Print. Off. 1963. OCLC 748974.
^ Michaels, David (2008). Doubt is Their Product: How Industry's Assault on Science Threatens Your Health. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-530067-3.
^ "Public Welfare Award". National Academy of Sciences. Archived from the original on 29 December 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
External links in the following were last verified 30 August 2005.
^ "Lists of White House 'Enemies' and Memorandums Relating to Those Named", The New York Times, June 28, 1973, p. 38.
^ "Enemies list", The Tech (MIT's student newspaper), September 7, 1973, p. 4.
This page was last edited on 14 March 2019, at 02:40 (UTC).
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My cycle is fairly regular, but usually 18-19 days long. What are the implications of this, and is this something I should be concerned about?
Every woman is different, which means every woman’s cycle is different, so it can be hard to know what is normal and what is not.
Normally cycles are somewhere between 21-36 days. If someone has a cycle longer or shorter that this, as is your case, it is recommended to see your doctor or other healthcare worker just to make sure everything is fine. You may find that 18-19 days is your normal.
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Bible Text: Genesis 9.1-17 (click on link to see NIRV text).
Key Point(s) of Passage: God tells Noah’s family to fill the earth, and makes a promise through the rainbow to never again use a flood to destroy the earth.
Memory Verse: “So God said to Noah, “The rainbow is the sign of my covenant. I have made my covenant between me and all life on earth.” ” (Ge. 9.17).
You do not have to go through all the questions – pick and choose whatever you feel will work best for your particular family.
1. Preparation – Pray a quick prayer together as a family that God will help you to understand His word.
3. Re-read verse 1. How did God bless Noah’s family? Why is it a blessing to have children?
4. Re-read verse 2. Why do you think God made it so that the animals would be scared of humans? Are you ever scared of animals?
5. Re-read verses 5-6. What is murder? What does God think about that? Why? (The “why” question is a bit harder, but the answer is at the end of verse 6 – “I have made man in my own likeness”). What are some ways we are like God?
6. God keeps talking about making a “covenant” with people in this chapter. What is a convenant? (It is like a promise). What is the covenant (or promise) that God made?
7. What is the sign of God’s promise? Have you ever seen a rainbow? (Parents – you could also tell about a time you saw an amazing rainbow). What should we remember the next time we see a rainbow?
1. Try to discover ways that you can make a rainbow. For example, you could try shining light through various glass-like objects, or by spraying water while the sun is shining on it, or by making lots of soapy bubbles that light reflects off of.
Then look up about how rainbows are made (e.g., a book at the library, or an encyclopedia, or an online resource). You could also talk about other amazing things in the natural world that God designed and made.
Another musical Scripture memory resource I want to highlight would be any CDs put out by the ministry of Songs for Saplings. We have several of their CDs and listen to them frequently!
Songs for Saplings is the ministry of James and Dana Dirksen. They strive to create catchy songs that will help convey deep biblical truth for children. My favorites are the volumes titled Questions with Answers. Each album is based on a digest of the Westminster Short Catechism. Each song answers a question and includes a Bible verse reference– so you are, in fact, learning theology through these catchy songs!
For younger children, check out the Songs for Saplings line. Based on either numbers or the alphabet, these songs have a verse set to music. The Christian blog Totally Tots has free printable verse sheets for each song on Songs for Saplings: ABC.
If you’re interested in checking out their music, check out their free sampler CD (free MP3 download from their website). MP3 albums can be purchased through Amazon or iTunes.
We listen to these albums frequently, and I love that the Word and truth of God is getting into Jonathan and Grace’s hearts (and mine as well)!
Key Point of Passage: Jesus showed that it was more important to help the disabled woman than to make the rulers happy.
Memory Verse: God did miracles through Jesus (Acts 2:22).
1) What was wrong with the disabled woman in the Bible story today?
2) Did Jesus heal her?
3) Why did the ruler get angry? What day was it?
4) But Jesus told everyone that it is important for us to help those in need no matter what day it is. How can we help people around us today?
Key Point: Jesus is all-powerful and I can trust and believe that He can do anything.
Know What: Children will hear the story of when Jesus walked on water.
So What: Children will learn God/Jesus is all-powerful.
Now What: Children will participate in a game where they will be challenged to identify ways they can trust that God can do anything.
This verse means that Jesus is mighty and all-powerful.
1. What are some things that make you afraid?
2. How can the knowledge that God is all-powerful help you trust Him?
Pray with your child and take her fears and concerns before the Lord. Encourage your child to trust Jesus and to go to Him when they are sad or scared.
Sing or listen to some of the following songs with your children throughout your week!
The wise person listens to advice and accepts instruction.
Good advice points a person toward God and what is good and right; bad suggestions point a person toward what is bad and wrong.
God sometimes warns us against wrongdoing through the good advice of others.
Listening to advice and accepting instruction is a matter of right heart attitudes.
2. What kind of heart attitude must a person have to accept advice? What are the wrong heart attitudes that cause us not to listen to good advice and accept instruction?
3. How can you tell the difference between good advice and bad suggestions?
1. Discuss with your child the heart attitudes that make listening to advice hard (pride, feeling of inferiority, anger, perfectionism, rebellion, etc.) Explain to your child that in order to listen to advice, a person must have a right heart attitude. Share with your child the heart attitudes you struggle with that make it hard for you to accept advice. Encourage your child to share his heart barriers to listening to advice.
2. Explain that it is easier to receive advice from some people than from others. Compare people that is easy and people that it is easy to receive advice from. What is the difference in the approach of these people? What manner encourages right heart attitudes on the part of the hearer? Brainstorm ways that you can give advice in a gentle, humble manner.
3. Pray that you and your child would be willing to receive good advice. Pray for discernment to recognize good advice. Encourage each other throughout this week when you see another person graciously giving or accepting advice.
Sing or listen to some of the following songs with your children throughout your week. Note: Names in parentheses are original authors, not necessarily the recording artist.
Bible Text: 1 Peter 3.18-22 (click on link to see NIRV text). This text was used in the sermon today to discuss the mystery of baptism, since we baptized a number of people in the service. This is a great time to talk with your family about what baptism means, and to talk about the message of the Gospel at whatever level your children can understand it.
Key Point of Passage: Christ died to save us, and baptism is a sign of this.
Memory Verse: “…Jesus Christ has saved you by rising from the dead.” (1 Pet. 3.21).
1. Preparation – Pray a quick prayer together as a family that God will help you to understand His word and bless your time together.
3. It says that the “One who did what is right died for those who don’t do right”. What things do you do that aren’t right?
6. Why do we take baths or showers? (To get rid of all the dirt from our skin and hair).
7. So what do you think baptism means? Baptism is a way to show that God cleans our dirty soul and our sin, just like a shower gets rid of dirt.
Give your kids permission to make a mess! Get one tub filled with something very messy – it could be dirt and water (mud), chocolate sauce mixed with crumbled Oreos, or anything that is very messy but can also be fairly easily washed off. Then get another tub filled with water.
Let your kids get their hands and forearms VERY messy. Talk about how this is like the sin that covers us. Then have them “baptize” their arms in the big tub of water and help them scrub off the mess. Talk about how baptism is a reminder that Jesus makes us clean by dying for us.
If you use an edible mess like chocolate, they could alternately lick it off but you might want to phrase it as “in the same way God consumes or devours or gets rid of our sin”. You could also have a race to see who can eat off the edible mess the fastest.
I’ve recently heard many good things about a set of CDs called Seeds Family Worship. I was delighted when Ann Schwaar gave us some to review and consider using with Trinity Kids. And, in short, Seeds blew me away.
The story behind Seeds is that a worship pastor was asked to come up with some songs to teach children to memorize Bible verses during a church VBS. The songs were creative, fun, and catchy and Seeds Family Worship was born! The goal of Seeds Family Worship is to plant God’s Word in the hearts of families.
To date, there are currently 6 CDs in the Seeds family. These albums give you a chance to plant seeds of Scripture into your children– over 60 Bible passages! What’s best, the style of the music is fun and contemporary and will even appeal to adults– even I have fun singing along with Jonathan!
In addition to the CDs, they offer memory cards to go along with the songs, activity ideas for families to do together, and chord charts for the more musically inclined.
If you are looking for a fresh way to memorize Scripture for either yourself or your child, these albums are a wonderful tool. You can purchase them in MP3 format from online retailers (such as Amazon or iTunes), but if you purchase the CDs directly from the ministry, each CD comes with two CDs– one to keep and one to give away!
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0.999622 |
This is an extension of Two doors with two guards - one lies, one tells the truth, but in this situation you are a prisoner in a room with 2 doors and 3 guards. One of the doors will guide you to freedom and behind the other is a hangman - you don't know which is which. One of the guards always tell the truth, another always lies, and the third is unreliable and sometimes tells the truth and sometimes lies. You don't know who is who, but the guards do.
After asking two yes/no questions you have to choose and open one of the two doors. You can ask one guard both questions or you can ask two different guards a single question each.
What and who do you ask to lead you to the door of freedom?
This is a rather weird form of the knight, knave and joker puzzle, with a twist.
This part is from Ben Aaronson in this answer.
The Knight would tell the truth (Yes), but the Knave lies (No).
The door is safe; go through.
The Knight would tell the truth (No), but the Knave lies (Yes).
The door is unsafe; choose the other one.
The Knave lies (No), and the Knight tells the truth (No).
The Knave lies (Yes), and the Knight tells the truth (Yes).
This puzzle was an interesting mix of two puzzles.
If I asked "which door is the good door" to the other two guards would their answers be the same?
If asked to the truth teller he cannot answer as he doesn't know, and therefore may lie if he answered.
If asked to the liar he cannot answer as he doesn't know, and therefore may tell the - truth if he answered.
Now, we can identify a "reliable" guard. If they have not answered we know they are reliable, and if they have answered we know the other 2 are "reliable".
Note that, unlike in Florian's answer in the "Two Guards" version, the problem that we can't know whether the guard can't answer or is still picking the answer, is irrelevant, because once we start talking to the guard while it's picking the guard will tell us to wait.
On average if repeatedly asked "Is (identify a door here) the good door?" would the other two guards be more likely to say yes.
The truth teller he will say "No"
The liar he will say "No"
The truth teller he will say "Yes"
The liar he will say "Yes"
So if the answer is "No" we go through the door we identified, otherwise, if the answer is "Yes" we go through the other door.
The other answers makes this much harder than it needs to be.
Of yes/no questions that both B and C knows the answer, can B tell the truth to a higher proportion of the questions than C?
Knave will answer Yes if and only if C is the truth teller.
This because the Joker can occasionally lie, so he can have a proportion less than 1.
Conversely the Knight will answer yes if and only if C is the liar.
The Joker will answer arbitrarily. But we don't care.
If Question 1 got yes we ask C otherwise we ask B.
If I asked you "Does D1 lead to freedom", would you answer 'yes'?
Question 1 prevents you from asking question 2 to a person that answers arbitrarily - Question 2 will always be asked to a guard that either always lies or always tells the truth.
The formulation of Question 2 leads the liar to lie about his own lies, thus we can treat the answer as a true answer to how a truth teller would behave.
We go through D1 if the answer to Question 2 was yes, D2 otherwise.
Simple, say "liar point to the door that leads me to freedom." The honest man will not point the liar will point at the wrong door. This answer was meant for the original question 2 men 2 doors but I do not have the 10 points to answer it. I will edit if I find the answer to this one.
Edit You ask one guard of the last 100 times you took a poop how many times would you say it smelt bad to majority of people. You then know if he is a liar sometimes liar or tells the truth. If he says 100 times smells good, liar say what is the correct door, you know hes lying. If he sometimes lies then he will say anything between 0-100, say he says 44 of the 100 last dukes I took smelt good. Then you say if I chose this door 100 times how many times would I be lead to freedom. If he says 44 times then you know he is lying. The honest man will say 100% of the time. easy. I used poop cause I just pooped. You could also say "Of a 100 fish how many would you assume could breathe under water".
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0.95924 |
What does an Otter mean as a Spirit Animal?
The otter spirit animal is one of the animal totems. Also, like many other animal totems, the otter totem serves to remind us of the connection that we have with the divine world. It also gives us a chance to compare ourselves with the otter and emulate all its radiant traits. The otter is one animal that lacks any sense of negativity in their lives, so they make the best kind of spirit animal.
Therefore, the otter animal is one of the spirit animals that can bring one closer to the divine world as possible. This is because they represent the best image humanity could ever possess. So, one should take a keen interest in the otter totem symbols to harness the best kind of energy that this radiant animal can bear.
The otter stays mostly in the water and comes out from time to time to bask in the sun and enjoy some peace of mind. They are playful and quite funny too. Also, there are two species of the otter family, one of them takes to the seas while the other is a river animal. The otters have a rich history ranging from the ancient Native American Zodiac Astrology and Celtic cultures. They also had the opportunity to serve as symbolic animals to them.
What does an otter symbolize? The otter totem means one should be able to give themselves a sense of freedom and time away from day to day bustle of life. One can take a vacation to help clear their mind, rejuvenate and take care of themselves. Although one has been taking care of other people, they should take a break from if it and focus on their time. Alternatively, the otter serves to remind us that we can go after our old flames with childish behaviors. We can be sure to win them over because we have the backing of the divine world with us.
What does an otter mean spiritually? The otter people are always glad to see other people happy in life. They will enjoy it when people are surrounding them make it in life. Also, they have the norm of ever giving a helping hand to other people. They otter people are never selfish but selfless with a beaming sense of generosity beyond other peoples understanding.
Furthermore, the otter people are never by any chance the kind of people who hold grudges against anyone. They dislike the notion of bringing other people down especially through gossip. Therefore, the otter people are generally the best kind of support system that one can wish.
Also, they are usually beaming with life, and they find the light side of everything. They also have a great deal of curiosity and are willing to venture into new ideas. They never put up their guard against new people in their lives and are never suspicious of them either.
Also, the otter people have the sense to appreciate the comfort of their homes and will stay in one place for a long time. Plus, they also do well in showing their feelings of joy, love, and appreciation. They are the kind of people who never aggressively respond to anger. Moreover, they prefer to handle matters calmly without violence. They also usually have time to take care of themselves thus making them self-sufficient.
Otter Totem Traits – What is an otter personality?
The otter people have a niche for the inquisition. It is one of their positive qualities because they always have the best intentions for everyone. They have a great deal of knowledge because they are still learning new things from the inquisitive nature. They are the kind of people who like living with the satisfaction of knowing many facts about everything around them.
The otter people have the highest sense of loyalty that one can ever hope. They will stick by your side and help you through the toughest of times. Therefore, they also make the best kind of relationship partners. Since they also know a lot, they will also offer counsel on how to go about each situation. However, if they are by your side and you are drowning, they would likely sink with you then leave you alone.
What do otters symbolize in dreams? The divine world also uses the otter to send us messages of guidance. They in their wisdom send the words in the form of dreams and visions. Therefore, we need to use our knowledge to make interpretations of the concepts and apply them in our real lives. However, one should take great care not to misinterpret the dream because the results can be catastrophic.
So, if one sees the otter in their dream, it means that there is an excellent sense of bountiful happiness in their lives or future. It also says that one is going to have a possible amount of great wealth. The otter dream, moreover, serves to remind us of the possibility of strength that we have to handle our emotions without breaking. The dream may also mean that one shall be having a fun time with their loved ones soon.
The otter spirit animal makes for the best of the kind of symbol. The otter people are blessed because they have a totem. And always ensures that they are happy in life regardless of the situation. Also, the otter people tend to make the best of friends because they still have the interest of other people at heart. They are also loyal and quite resourceful from their inquisitive nature. The otter dream also serves as a connection between the otter people and the divine world through their animal spirit.
Previous article Animal Totems in Native American Zodiac – What is Spirit Animal?
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0.999997 |
The food is really looking delicious dear and I am happy that you had a great experience there. I have also tried sushi food of San Francisco restaurants and that was also wonderful and I will suggest you to try that too.
Sure, I would love to try the sushi in San Francisco the next time I go there!
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0.999695 |
What if I told you that there is a faster and easier way to make pancakes? In a few simple steps you can make seriously fluffy and delicious sheet pan pancakes in fifteen minutes. With this no-fail sheet pan method, you don't have to worry about burning half the pancakes, forgetting about them on the griddle, or ending up with flat pancakes. Plus it’s an easy way to serve a crowd. All you need to do it mix together your ingredients, bake in the oven, and then slice and serve away! You may never go back to making pancakes the traditional way ever again.
In one large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and baking soda and whisk to combine. In another bowl combine buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, and vegetable oil and whisk well. Slowly incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold together until well combined.
Once the batter is combined, pour onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet (one with an inch or more edge on it) and spread into an even layer.
Bake the pancakes for 15 to 17 minutes or until cooked through.
Insert a toothpick into the middle of the pancakes to see if it comes out clean or not. If it comes out clean, your pancakes are done; if not continue cooking for another couple of minutes.
Sprinkle the top of the pancakes with powdered sugar, fresh berries and butter, and then drizzle with maple syrup or honey and serve immediately.
I can't wait for you to try out this new and improved way to whip up a breakfast classic!
Make a batch and freeze into individual portions for an even easier breakfast.
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0.999873 |
Living in the Moment...: I want a new job.
I really do want a new job. I've been saying this for some time (as in since 2009). It's not that I've got a bad job per se... it's just that I'm simply not happy with it... and perhaps now is the time to get serious about moving on. Today is Thursday - every single day since last Thursday I've arrived at work in a fairly pleasant mood and within less than an hour have had that good mood plummet... sink so much so that I'm fairly grouchy and have to constantly remind myself to be nice to people. As Kathy Bremer says in this article: 'When I wake up two days in a row lacking excitement about work, it's time to consider a move'. I've been waking up and seriously contemplating calling in sick every day for this week so far (in fact the only reason I didn't is because I took last Friday off :s)... It's obviously time to move on.
People (family and friends) may wonder why. I'm permanent after all. I get a fairly ok salary & health insurance and the company contributes each month towards my pension fund. I get upkeep allowance for my car (because my position requires going off site to visit other companies). It's not far from home - about 30 minutes away on a good day (15 minutes on a *really* good day a.k.a. a day with no traffic). I can do the work. I sometimes like the work - it's interesting at times. These are all the reasons I've not left yet.
I want to leave though. I read this article recently... trying to figure out if I could make myself happier with the job... but no. I still want to leave (and soon). It's just stressful... The work is frustrating when processes aren't followed. The persons in management positions don't seem to know how to manage. My eyes seem to be failing after so much time spent doing computer work (seriously - today I could not tell a cat from a dog :s). Am generally concerned about my overall health. "Is it all worth it" - is the question that I'm asking myself and more often I'm coming up with no.
So. I want a new job. I just have to figure out what that new job could be. What are my skills? What are my strengths? What do I like doing? Why am I drawing a blank here??? *Sigh* I've done the Myers-Briggs test... and found out that I'm an INFsomething... I say something because at different times I've been INFP and others INFJ... I need a career that is more than a job - I knew this before the test but this confirms it right? I just need to figure out exactly what it is that I want... help?
Yesterday I went to the mall (to pay bills... ergh... went book-browsing - which turned into book-buying - to cheer myself up after) and was accosted by a lady wanting to know if I'd like to know another way of earning income. Hmm. Is it a scam? A sign from the Universe? Apparently they (group of ladies) were taking names for a seminar this weekend on how one can start another revenue stream... Hmm. Today, I opened up my inbox and found an email from Omega - encouraging me to Join their Seasonal Staff... I would absolutely love to do that... except I'd have to pay air fare and etc... hmm.
Perhaps I should make a list of some sort... will go back and read articles and spend time on reflection and the like... My hexagram today (courtesy Tarot.com) is Revolutionary Change - it refers to that time of life when things need stirring up. I feel stirred - just not sure when I'll be settled.
You make me laugh, and right now,.. I need to.
My father is lamenting.. tamoxifen.. is there nothing else. His wife died of breast cancer.
Now her niece has it at 38.
I had a job in December. I quit. I haven't been working of recent. It seems very unimportant.
I guess cancer does that.
I am seriously considering doing the post graduate diploma in epidemiology, if only to have some certainty in my life.. when amist this crisis... there seems to be none.
I'm .. well .. It was in an ISTP profession.. and such is my training.
Strangely, on your list is massage therapist which I am currently doing.
I just quit, but my financial circumstances allow it. Try a course, locally to see if you like something else.
If you have your degree already, they let you sign up as a specially admitted student at UWI, or non-matriculated at COSTAATT.
I also did some shadowing. Was planning on going away to study,.. but now.. I am obsessed by the question..
Do I have a ticking time bomb in my chest?.. Shall I just figure out the answer myself for a master's thesis.
Gone to photocopy, Rothman, Epidemiology .. an introduction.
strangely - I thought of becoming a massage therapist when I was 17 - didn't cuz I have a complicated relationship with my dad :s anyway... am trying to figure it out. by april I'll have an MBA - am considering non-profit/volunteer work.. will see..
I think you can't let illness limit you - so long as you feel you can do stuff then do it..
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0.993102 |
Your genes define all of that and more. DNA holds the key to diversity, ancestry and which traits you’ll pass to future generations. It’s inside all living things, and it takes center stage at “Genome: Unlocking Life’s Code,” at the Rochester Art Center in Rochester, Minn. The exhibition, open through Sept. 21, brings together science, art and medicine as it delves deep into the promise and possibility of genetic code. The exhibition was developed by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and the National Institutes of Health. In Rochester, it gets extra oomph with art exhibits and a partnership with the city’s Mayo Clinic.
Context: A Smithsonian Institution exhibit, "Genome: Unlocking Life’s Code," opens on June 23 at the Rochester Art Center, 40 Civic Center Drive SE in Rochester, Minnesota. The exhibit will be open through Sept. 21. Members of the media are invited to preview the exhibit on Friday, June 22, at 6 p.m. CDT at the Rochester Art Center. In partnership with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the exhibit has been traveling throughout the country and featured in various science centers since 2014. Mayo Clinic is the first academic medical center to sponsor the contemporary exhibit. Timothy Curry, M.D., Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic physician and researcher, led the effort to bring the exhibit to Rochester. Dr. Curry is the education program director at the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine. You can read more about the exhibit on Mayo Clinic News Network.
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0.886843 |
Police in Texas filed felony charges against a black woman who was brutally beaten and racially abused in a shocking attack by an armed man which was caught on camera.
Dallas cops filed a felony charge against L'Daijohnique Lee, 24, over damage done to the vehicle driven by her alleged attacker, Austin Shuffield, 30, after first charging Shuffield with only misdemeanors.
But the Dallas District Attorney immediately rejected the charges filed against Lee by the police - which had been slammed by her lawyer, S. Lee Merritt.
Video of the incident showed the man identified by police as Shuffield beating Lee and hurling racist abuse at her while holding a gun during a parking lot dispute early on the morning of March 21.
Shuffield told police that Lee broke out the back window windshield of his truck with a jump box, following the attack, according to CBS.
Shuffield's charges were later upgraded to include two felonies, following outrage over the handling of the incident and the revelation that he did not have the proper license to carry the weapon he appears to be seen holding in the video.
Merritt has created a GoFundMe account for Lee, who is out of work while she recovers from her injuries.
'A black woman alone in a dark parking lot is stalked, harassed and assaulted by a white male. He brandishes a gun, knocks away her phone when she tries to call for help— then beats her mercilessly with blows to the head. DPD just found a way to charge HER with a felony,' Merritt tweeted on Tuesday, after he was notified of charges against Lee but before they were dropped.
Officers obtained an arrest warrant for Lee after she allegedly caused $3,000 in damage to Shuffield's car, without the knowledge of the District Attorney's Office.
Police asked Merritt to have his client turn herself in, before the charges were reviewed by prosecutors.
Upon review, however, 'The charges were immediately rejected by the prosecutor's office,' Merritt told DailyMail.com.
Dallas Police Department deputy chief Thomas Castro said on Tuesday, 'We simply had information that was provided to us on a criminal offense. We thoroughly investigated that offense, and we took the action that was taken today [Tuesday],' referring to the filing of charges and obtaining of an arrest warrant.
The video shot by a bystander went viral on social media and caught the attention of high-profile civil rights attorney Merritt, who contacted the victim and said he is working with her to ensure her attacker is held accountable.
'It made my blood boil,' Merritt told DailyMail.com about seeing the video for the first time.
The attorney said Lee suffered a concussion and 'cranial swelling' following the attack.
Police were called to the scene of the attack at 4.26am Central on March 21.
Shuffield was initially arrested on March 21 on misdemeanor counts of assault, public intoxication and interference with an emergency call.
Dallas Police Chief Renee Hall told reporters on Thursday morning that her department has added felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and unlawfully carrying a weapon after investigating the incident further.
She said Shuffield did not have a license to carry the concealed handgun he was seen holding in the video. Police found the firearm in his car after the incident.
'Our detectives, as part of our protocols and procedures, investigated that case thoroughly by insuring we interviewed all witnesses, gathered all evidence, any additional video and now have added some additional charges,' Hall said.
A GoFundMe account created by Merritt for LEE has raised over $13,000 in four days.
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0.727739 |
What is a consensus standard?
Consensus standards are developed in cooperation with all parties with an interest in participating in the development or use of the standard. To achieve consensus, all views and objections must be considered and a demonstrated effort must be made toward resolution. Standards are developed from many different sources—trade associations, professional societies, standards producers, consortia, companies and government agencies. Collectively, these different entities are referred to as a Standards Developing Organizations (SDO).
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0.999833 |
If you plan to raise money in the coming year, come to this all-day workshop to learn what it takes to be investor ready. (And yes, it is quite possible for Oregon startups to raise money - but it takes the right preparation!) Our presenters will include Steve Morris, Executive Director of OTBC, and Dennis Powers, Chair of OEN's Portland Angel Network. Dennis and Steve have helped a number of Portland-area startups close investment funding. And to give you an extra advantage, you'll meet a number of local investors. We'll review the preparation required to get serious attention from investors, and significantly increase your odds of obtaining investor funding. At the end of the day, you will understand how to: Verify that your business concept can provide a sufficient return for angel or venture capital investors Validate your market - be sure you're building something people want Validate your pricing - if you build it, will they pay for it? Develop financial projections Protect your intellectual property Reduce the market, technology, finance and team risk to present a strong investment opportunity Develop a concise, compelling elevator pitch Late in the afternoon, we'll be joined by several angel and venture capital investors. We'll break up into small groups so everyone has a chance to get feedback from investors on their business concept, ask questions -- and hear the feedback other entrepreneurs receive too. And thanks to sponsor Credit Suisse, we'll wrap up with a reception where you'll have more chances to mingle with Portland area investors. Increase your odds of getting funded. Join us on June 2 to learn how to get investor ready.
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0.950289 |
is there any cons besides the longer worktime on getting dust by advancing very slowly?
Some materials are dusty by nature and will not produce nice sliced shavings. The real point is the material removed is what is transferring heat away from the cutting tool, so the more substantial the piece of material leaving the cutting tool the more heat is being removed from the tool. This increases tool life and cut quality.
To answer your specific question, yes there is two cons other than longer run times. Number one you will overheat and dull your cutting tool which directly goes to con number two - the overheated tool will melt/burn the material you are cutting. If you can smell the material burning you are getting your tool too hot.
Now the big issue with the X carve is that it isn't rigid enough to cut at the feedrates that are standard in the industrial world. For example acrylic cuts like butter around 300ipm @ 18k rpm on an industrial sized machine, but the x carve flexes and causes the tool to chatter long before hit those speeds so we are left cutting very shallow cuts at a fraction of the feed and thus much slower RPMs.
I have my X-Carve for 6 month now and did not know what a CNC was before that, so the following is nothing more that a newbe's though.
I found a way to go at ot near recommended speeds by using very small depth of cut (DOC). For example, using manufaturer's chipload I cut aluminum at FR=1500mm/min, RPM = 10300 (max on my 100VDC spindel) and DOC = 0.075mm.
I tried tou double DOC at 0.15mm but it chatters.
If anyone else have succeded at deeper DOC, please let me know.
The DOC (depth of cut) in our X-Carve universe is a battle between machine rigidity and the hardness of the substrate we are cutting. The write-up I did is generalised for the principles of machinging but everything has its limits and in the case of the x-carve it is the machine flexing under tool load. More often than not the flexing (which results in chattering and horrible sounds) happens before an optimal feed and speed is reached at the desired DOC. This means we need to take shallower DOCs to still hit the optimal feed and speed as chip load is far more important than a deep cut. The goal is to always keep the tool cool by removing a nice slice of material with every rotation of the cutting tool. The heat from friction is proportional to DOC and the amount of material removed. This means that if you are getting the proper thicknesses of chip (chip load) then the hight of the chip (dictated by your DOC) dosnt matter to cut quality up until there is too much load on the tool resulting in something flexing (tool or machine) and chattering the cut.
The down side is tool life. If you are cutting a .5" thick part and cutting at .05" then the .05" tip of the tool has cut ten passes. If you cut the same .5" part at .25" the the tool's tip has only cut the part twice. This means the .05" cut is dulling the used edge of the tool five times faster than the deeper .25" cut.
Now to your specific application. I dont know the exact cutter you are using or how many cutting edges it has but 1500mm/min sounds very fast to me at 10k rpm. 20-25" (500mm) per min sounds like a more realistic feed but I dont know what tool you are using so only a guess. Aluminum is also tricky because it will melt as it is cut if it is poor quality aluminum and if the feed and speed is incorrect. This is evident with the chips rewelding to the material behind the cutter and/or the flute of the cutter looks like it has a layer of aluminum paint in it. Using a lubricant can prevent reweld and material build up on the tool.
A trick I havent tried yet is using clay or plumbers putty to make a shallow wall around your cut and flooding it with cutting fluid so the cutter tip is submerged may be a good low cost solution to a spraying system.
Hi Richard and thanks for the great info.
I'm using an IMCO 32646 1/8 2 flutes. I Also used Onsrud 1 flute (63-606) with same results, except that I had to run at lower feedrate (half), because it has half flute.
I followed your advice and measured the thickness of the chips and I measured 0.09mm (=0.0035 in) wich is right on the target (0.002 to 0.004 in specs). I don't see any melting sign as far as I can see. So far so good.
I'm building electronic audio stuff, and I use my CNC for panel cutting and decoration. The aluminum I cut is only 2mm thick. That is possibly helps for the melting issue.
Richard, very nice tutorial. I bought my X-Carve to work with aluminum to show my students that we can go from drawing to part. I have a superPID controller, the X-Controller, NEMA 23s, and Dewalt 611. I can go down to 500rpm. I am getting different results than others and am not sure of the problem. I can break an 1/8" bit with little effort.
Easel's default settings for Aluminum are: 5 in/min and 0.001 in DOC. I set up a vacuum for the chips and the stock metal does not change temperature. (when cutting 1/4" aluminum) When I use these settings in MeshCAM; I actually get a pretty good chip load. However it takes days to make a part. When I go for something more aggressive, no joy.
It was a steep learning curve to get there. I was making audio devices before, but now they look great. They even sound better, thanks to the x-carve that allows me do multiple test PCBs until I get to the right recipe.
I love my x-carve, despite it's limitations that comes with it's low price, wich allowed me to step in.
A bit designed for aluminum (like Destiny Viper) with no more than two flutes, move 50 inches per minute at .002" DOC, spindle at 15,000 rpms. This works flawlessly me for me (was recommended to me by others on forum doing production level milling with the x-carve). If your bit still break bits - your machine needs work. Seems like there are a lot of forumlas floating around and different ways to skin a cat - but this works great for me milling 1/2" aluminum plate.
I am not CNC knowledgeable and learned a great deal while waiting for the X-carve to arrive.
I found one video tutorial that covers similar here.
My first run the results were perfect. I used balsa wood as a bit dragging through it would be less forgiving.
To my surprise it came out near perfect. I then decided to work on my other project. I created a knob for the one missing on my chop saw (Miter saw). It came out way better than I expected. According to the 2 fluke bit and a calculation I had the router running at its max speed with 300mm per min and I had no heat and the part was sharp like a laser cut. The chips were dust rather than large chips. My next goal is to construct a shell around it and keep that dust/chips where they belong. I am also 3d printing out a dust catcher.
.002" DOC, really? That seems like a very light cut, only .051mm. I was expecting something more like .5mm, or even greater.
Learn by doing. If I could grab a hold of your machine I'd bet there is a fair amount of flex. Start there and get more aggressive. I've seen enough crazy recos on this forum... so I am sure you can find the DOC you desire in someone's thread.
oh man i wish id seen this days ago....just got mine up and running. Threw in a 1/4" bit and went to testing.....an hour later the bit was burnt up.....i had it set on 5 1/2. lol Well now i know. Thx, much needed chart.
I still don't understand how to calculate my DOC. I have a 1/4" 2 flute up spiral bit and a DeWalt 611. Using that spreadsheet above: when cutting MDF I need a chipload a little below .002. If I set my Dewalt on 1 and set my IPM at 60, I get that chipload. But I still don't understand how to determine my DOC. Help?
Generally the Depth of Cut needs to be no more then 1/2 the diameter of the bit. If your machine is nice and tight with no flex try 1/8" with a 1/4" bit. I usually use a 0.08 depth of cut in MDF as it tends to give me a cleaner cut.
Thanks for this incredibly useful information! It is exactly what I needed. Does anyone know if Inventables has the recommended chip load for the bits they sell posted anywhere?
I have only two days with the machine ready to rock and roll. I am new with CNC. Question for the expert.? To stsrt with a CNC what's the "Most Have it" bits set to work with wood, plastic and aluminium. For cut and Engraving.
I recommend this chart for formulas and convertion for Milling Formulas.
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0.998947 |
In the United States today, conventional storage tank water heaters continue to be the most common type of hot water heater for general residential use. These hot water heaters work by heating and storing hot water in a huge cylindrical tank, for around-the-clock use. More specifically, water is heated in the tank by either a heating element (electric) or burner (gas or oil). When either the hot water faucet is turned on or hot water in an appliance (such as a dishwasher or washing machine) is used, heated water is released from the top of the storage tank, and replaced with cold water. Once the water temperature in the tank has dropped, the heating process repeats.
The type of fuel or energy source employed to heat the water not only affects the cost of operating the heater but also its efficiency. The following presents a basic summary of the electric, gas, and oil models, and the pros and cons of each. Before deciding which type of hot water heater is best for you, it is recommended that you speak with a licensed plumber.
Electric powered storage tank water heaters heat water directly by using electric elements located inside the tank, and are generally the least expensive tank-type water heaters to purchase and install. Moreover, such models are generally cleaner (since no venting materials or fuel lines are required) easier to maintain than the gas or oil type variety, are relatively unaffected by sediment build-up, and are a good solution where gas and oil are unavailable. On the downside, electric powered storage tank water heaters have higher operating costs than gas or oil models. However, recent advancements in technology (as your plumber can more particularly describe) have made electric water heaters much more efficient than they were in the past.
Gas-fired storage tank models have a combustion chamber located directly under the storage tank which heats the tank, which in turn heats the water. This type of system provides more hot water, and a faster reheating time than electric water heaters. In addition such models generally have a lower initial purchase and installation cost, have a long “life span”, are easy to maintain, and have lower maintenance/operating costs than electric models.
Like gas-fired models, oil-fired storage tank models (which have an oil burner attached to the front of the water heater which propels a flame into a different chamber) heat the tank, which in turn heats the water, providing for more hot water, and a faster reheating time, than electric models. While availability is limited due to its fuel source, where obtainable, these heaters come highly recommended in that they are reliable and able to heat water three to four times faster than other fuels, are energy efficient, and offer years of high quality service. However, oil-fired models do have higher maintenance/operating costs than gas-fired models.
In addition, when comparing electric water heaters to gas and oil-fired models it is important to note that, in addition to general standby heat loss (which occurs because water temperature is constantly maintained in the tank, even when a hot water tap is not running), with gas and oil-fired models there is also the problem of venting-related energy losses. The reason for this is that unlike electric water heaters, which do not require venting, gas and oil-fired water heaters must be vented to the outside to remove exhaust gases safely, thus resulting in additional energy loss. As your plumber will tell you, however, such losses can be reduced by a fan-assisted heater or an atmospheric sealed combustion heater.
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0.983163 |
Brushing boots or splint boots are used to protect a horse's legs during exercise, protecting the lower leg from injury that may occur if one leg or hoof strikes the opposite leg. They are commonly seen on horses in fast work, such as jumping, when in training, such as when longeing, or in competitions such as reining or eventing. Brushing injuries are more common on the forelegs, when one hoof catches the other leg, or when the fetlock or cannon bones hit each other. This can cause a serious injury on a horse's legs, especially if the horse is wearing shoes. Poor equine conformation can often lead to brushing, although even properly-conformed horses can also accidentally injure themselves. Brushing boots may also be placed on horses in the field to protect them if they get overly excited. Other reasons for use may include placement on a young or unfit horse which may be excitable and step on itself, or on horses subject to intense work that may stumble more if they are tired.
neoprene brushing boots, front (longer) and rear (shorter) Modern brushing boots are usually made of synthetic materials such as Neoprene or traditional materials such as leather. They usually attach by a wide velcro fastening which is pulled around the leg, although they can also be pushed through a ring and be fastened back upon themselves, making them more secure and less likely to slip during exercise. They can have between 1 and 5 straps, with front leg boots usually having more straps. Some boots may have buckles, especially older designs. They have a protective padded area on the side of the boot which is on the inside of the horses leg, protecting the cannon bone and fetlock.
They are made in a wide variety of colors and of varying styles.
The boot is usually placed onto the horse with the straps facing towards the rear on the outside of the leg, unless the attachment design mandates a different placement. To ensure there is even pressure around the leg when putting the boot on, they are fastened middle strap first, then the others. Boots that are too tight can cause discomfort and pressure injuries, but those that are too loose may become dislodged or come off entirely.
Incorrectly fitting boots will be uncomfortable for the horse and can cause rubbing and soreness, as well as impeding your horses movement. Sizing varies in different nations, but generally there are three to four size ranges for ponies, small or young horses, and large horses.
Brushing boots are not to be worn for long periods as they can become uncomfortable for the horse, especially if the boots get wet or dirty which may cause irritation and sores.
Boots made of synthetic materials are generally machine-washable. Leather boots are cleaned in the same manner as other leather horse tack, using saddle soap and similar products. Boots that are washed need to be fully dry before storage or reuse. Between uses, boots that are not washed are checked for accumulations of small stones or dirt which may irritate a horse's legs.
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0.999798 |
Who would have thought that currency markets could be responsible for half of the move in oil prices.
Low oil prices have hit shale drilling hard, and you may be surprised to find what's driving them lower. Image source: LINN Energy.
Oil prices have surged to near $60 per barrel for WTI crude oil in recent weeks and it would appear that the days of cheap oil and gasoline are over.
Most people would point to shale oil or OPEC as the recent driver of oil prices, but there's a hidden hand in the market that may have more influence than you think.
The world of currency trading has been a big driver of not only oil's decline, but also its recovery in prices. Unlike most of the products we buy on a daily basis, oil is priced in a global market. If supply increases from Saudi Arabia it has consequences in Oklahoma and if demand increases in China it will impact prices in New York.
What this global market dynamic does is bring currencies into the fold in ways that we don't usually see on a daily basis. Sure, a company's earnings might go up and down in any given quarter depending on how the dollar is moving, but the price of a gallon of milk or a tube of toothpaste doesn't usually change much whether the dollar is strong or weak. Oil is different.
When the dollar gets stronger it means products can be bought for less currency compared to the rest of the world. In energy, it means each dollar can buy more oil than it could before, so a stronger dollar should mean lower oil prices.
You can see in the chart below that the drop in oil prices happened to coincide with a strengthening of the U.S. dollar. When the dollar stopped rising and actually fell in recent months oil reacted by moving higher.
I'm not suggesting that all of the movement in oil over the past year has been due to the dollar, but according to the AMEX Dollar Index the dollar is about 20.1% stronger than it was a year ago. Oil is down 41.5% over the same time frame and a strong dollar helped to drive the drop in oil prices.
This isn't the first time this has happened either. The last time the dollar dropped significantly from 2002 to 2005 it coincided with a sharp rise in oil prices (the opposite of what we're seeing today).
The dollar doesn't drive all changes in the price of oil, but it's an underappreciated component to the market.
OPEC has gotten a lot of the attention of those seeing oil prices tumble (including from me) and its a part of the picture. But the cartel is a cog in a much larger oil market and currency trading has arguably played a bigger role in the drop in oil prices than OPEC's decision to keep production flat.
Ironically, currency changes have hurt U.S. oil producers, who are producing oil that appears to be more expensive around the world than say oil produced in Russia, where the ruble has dropped in 2015. That's why you're seeing U.S. producers shut down drilling and countries like Russia are actually increasing oil supply.
Sometimes forces that you wouldn't even consider drive prices for the things we use everyday. In the case of oil, the strong dollar may have a bigger impact on what you pay at the pump than you think and it is having a big affect on where oil production is growing and where it's slowing down.
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0.970085 |
I just found out that I have mesothelioma cancer. I do not understand, how can this be? According to my doctor, the cause for my cancer was exposure to asbestos. I told my doctor that I did not understand where I had encountered such substance. He then asked me, what I did for a living and I responded by saying that I had been a construction worker all my life. He explained to me carefully that it was evident that the exposure to asbestos came from the construction environment. By inhaling asbestos dust, the substance was able to enter my body and penetrate the pleura or membrane of the lungs. I told him that I would have never imagined of having cancer because I had never had any symptoms until now and I had been working in construction for 25 years. The doctor said that it was normal for this cancer to not show symptoms right away in the beginning. At this point, the doctor said that I had only one year left to live. The only options that I had for treatment were chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery. He asked me to pick, but if I was not ready at this point, instead I should go out and find out about each one and then come back with a final decision.
After I left the doctor, I felt like the world was coming to an end for me. I could not believe that it was a matter of time until I died. What had I done to deserve this? I felt like there was no more hope for me and that I should just accept this harsh reality. I went home that afternoon to think. I sat down and thought and thought about what the doctor had told me for hours. I was wondering whether chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery were the only options I had. Was the doctor right? I mean like there had to be something else beyond these treatments, something else that could prolong my life. After I thought about it, I decided to do some research on the internet about the type of cancer that I had and treatments that were available for it.
While researching, I came to this page that explained the different types of treatments for mesothelioma. There was of coarse the usual, chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, but there was also one other one that the doctor did not mention and instantly captured my attention. This new treatment was called gene therapy. With gene therapy, a person is injected a non-infectious virus that will cause the cancer cells to produce a protein that will kill them. After the new protein is produced, the procedure is followed up by chemotherapeutic medication. The chemotherapeutic medication would then eliminate the cancer cells because they would be more vulnerable.
In contrast, chemotherapy would not have been a great choice because there were too many side effects to it. Radiation was also not good because it only provided short-term symptom relief and surgery would not work for me because my cancer was not diagnosed in the beginning stages. For surgery to work and produce great results, the cancer had to have been diagnosed in its beginning stages. At this point, gene therapy seemed like my best choice, but I still could not make my final decision without consulting a trusted and wise old friend.
The next day, I went to visit my closest friend, whom I had known since childhood. I had always gone to this friend for advice even when I was caught in the tightest situations where I saw no escape. My friend had been with me through thick and thin. I explained to him my circumstances and the only options that I had. He told me first that he felt really sorry for me and that if there was something that I needed that I could count on him. I thanked him for all the support that he had given me. Then he told me of a past experience that he had where he suffered from an awful sickness called influenza. He was sick for many months without getting better. He said that he was about to give up fighting because he saw no hope. He told me that he would always take his medication, but that it was not sufficient enough to help him get better. It was not until he changed his diet that he started seeing results. He told me that it was the combination of both medication and a healthy diet that caused him to get better. Eating healthy foods such as vegetables and fruits are very important for a person’s immune system to combat any diseases or sicknesses. He told me that fruits and vegetables carry antioxidants that enhance the immune system to fight against harmful bacteria and viruses. Was that the key ingredient to help me fight this cancer? Was as simple as maintaining a healthy diet the answer? I felt like my friend had provided me with very valuable information. It was finally clear what I needed to do. I was going to go back to my doctor and tell him what I had discovered.
A couple days later, my doctor welcomed me with a warm welcome. He asked me if I had made a decision about a treatment. I replied by saying, “yes”. I was sure now of what I wanted to do. I also told him that I found out about another treatment that he did not mention before through some research that I had done. He asked me what that treatment was and I told him that it was gene therapy. He said that he was surprised that I had learned about gene therapy and that he was very intrigued by it. I also told him that I was not only going to have that as my only treatment. The other part of my treatment would be to start living a healthier life by eating healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables. I walked out from the doctor’s office with hope, aspiration and more wanting to live. I knew that what I had decided was the right choice. I had listened to my heart and followed what it told me to do. It was the beginning of a new life for me.
The one year that the doctor said that I had left passed by. The new lifestyle that I was living enabled me to live longer. I was able to prolong my life span when it seemed like it was impossible. Right now, I am still alive and fighting strong against this cancer. I will never quit and give up because I know that God is the only one that can make that decision so until then I will stay standing and fight until that end comes.
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0.999364 |
6 original cookie ideas with kitchen utensils!
1.Press the cap of a container on a little ball of cookie dough.
2.Bake for 7 minutes at 180ºC.
1.Use a cutter to decorate your cookie dough ball.
2.With your hands give it a flower form.
1.Dip a whisk in a raspberries dust.
2.Press it on your cookie dough ball.
1.Press the center of a juicer on your cookie ball.
2.Add some jam on it.
1.Press the grid on a chocolate cookie dough ball.
2.Add some white cookie dough and create a turtle.
1.Use a spider skimmer to make the shape of a spider’s web in the cookies.
1.Press the paper wrap into the cookies to achieve the texture of the bubble wrap.
2.Cut the cookie into a hexagon shape to give it a honeycomb effect. 3.Bake for 7 minutes at 180ºC.
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0.844336 |
Joachim Murat, the French cavalry leader who was a key military strategist in Napoleon's rise to power in France and his subsequent creation of an empire in continental Europe, was executed on this day in 1815 in Pizzo in Calabria.
The charismatic Marshal was captured by Bourbon forces in the coastal town in Italy's deep south as he tried to gather support for an attempt to regain control of Naples, where he had been King until the fall of Napoleon saw the throne returned to the Bourbon king Ferdinand IV in May 1815.
Murat was held prisoner in the Castello di Pizzo before a tribunal found him guilty of insurrection and sentenced him to death by firing squad.
The 48-year-old soldier from Lot in south-west France had been an important figure in the French Revolutionary Wars and gained recognition from Napoleon as one of his best generals, his influence vital in the success of Napoleon's campaigns in Egypt and Italy and in victories against the numerically superior Prussians and Russians.
He was a flamboyant dresser, going into battle with his uniform bedecked in medals, gold tassels, feathers and shiny buttons. Yet for all his peacock tendencies, he was renowned as a bold, brave and decisive leader, often securing victory through daring cavalry charges. In all he is thought to have fought around 200 battles.
Napoleon rewarded him with the hand of his sister, Caroline, and promotion to the rank of Marshal and Admiral of France. He made him King of Naples in 1808, although it was something of a consolation prize to Murat, who had hoped to be given the throne of Spain, which went instead to Napoleon's brother, Joseph.
Murat moved into the Royal Palace and indulged himself in a life of luxury, entertaining lavishly and surrounding himself with expensive acquisitions. He had portraits of himself, his wife and other family members commissioned by celebrated artists as well as numerous scenes depicting his victories on the battlefield.
Nonetheless, he was an effective ruler of Naples, where he broke up the large landed estates, introduced workable laws and established the Napoleonic Code, under which class privilege and hereditary nobility were abolished and all male citizens deemed as equal. He also cracked down on the many gangs who made their living through robbery and pillage.
He foresaw and supported the potential unification of Italy, attempting to position himself to take control beyond Naples by encouraging the secret societies that eventually were central to the Risorgimento.
When it became clear, however, that Napoleon's grip on Europe was weakening, Murat's thoughts became focussed on self-preservation.
Desperate to retain power in Naples and the lifestyle that went with it, he entered into an alliance with Austria after France’s defeat at the Battle of Leipzig in October of 1813. However, the summit of European powers that met at the Congress of Vienna after Napoleon's defeat had other ideas, planning to return Naples to the Bourbons.
In a last throw of the dice, Murat then assembled an expedition force on Corsica and set out to recapture Naples himself. With only 250 men, however, he was never likely to succeed. In the event, bad weather blew his three ships of course and his landed in Pizzo, more than 350km south of Naples, almost at the toe of the boot, where he was soon arrested.
Pizzo has made the most of its connection with Joachim Murat, who was buried in the town's Baroque Church of St George. The Aragonese castle has been renamed Castello Murat and contains a Murat museum. Each year celebrations take place on the anniversary of his death, sometimes with historical re-enactments. Pizzo is also notable for tuna fishing and for its speciality tartufo ice cream, which features a ball of ice cream encasing molten chocolate.
As well as his home at the Royal Palace in Naples, Joachim Murat kept a villa on the Sorrentine peninsula, just outside the small town of Massa Lubrense at the village of Santa Maria Annunziata. The building, identifiable by a plaque on the wall, has a clear view of the island of Capri and was used as a vantage point by Murat from which, early in his reign as King of Naples, he was able to oversee an operation to recapture the island, which had been garrisoned by a combined force of English and Corsican soldiers in 1806.
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0.998189 |
Do multicultural Millennials watch TV?
The excitement and buzz about TV is waning and more so when it comes to Millennials and Generation X. An average family tends to have varying viewing patterns so while the parents would love to watch popular drama or films kids tend to have their time on TV.
Millennials do all their viewing these days on smartphones and computers, and for parents there does not seems to be enough hours in the day to have full concentration/distractions while doing all the chores so parents watch at different times too.
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