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0.043715 | <urn:uuid:4a0a3f33-2521-4564-aa48-ada0bf6139a2> | en | 0.984037 | 07 May 2006
GA Chapter Six
When Amiable and Noreach reached the Rally Inn early the next morning, the first shimmers of light were creeping up from the horizon. Dandy Fop was already there, asleep and wrapped in a thick fur cloak. He was perched on the top of a large gilded carriage emblazoned with the Fop family crest, two crossed swords with large roses on the ends where the pointy bits should be.
Idiot and Stupid were trying to move a set of matching gilded luggage from the carriage into a weather-beaten clapboard wagon from which remnants of faded gray paint were imperceptibly peeling off. Several of the gilded trunks were already in the wagon, along with a simple brown chest, and a set of trunks in the deepest black Amiable had ever seen.
Snarky was nowhere to be seen. Selfless waved to them as he rode up. He was on a large brown horse, several bags holding his gear hanging from the saddle. “Good Morning,” he said. “There are more than enough horses to go around. Fop's men will tend the wagon team for us. I don't know where that Anachronism fellow has gone off to, but I expect he will be back shortly.”
Amiable nodded to Selfless even as he ignored the message. He spent a few moments looking over the horses before slinging his bags onto one. All of the horses were brown, except for two. A white horse of impressive size and strength had some very odd things hanging from the thickly padded saddle. A oddly shaped black horse obviously belonged to Lord Fop. It was only of middling height but it's girth betrayed a lack of exercise and bordered on the obese. It's saddle was also thickly padded and, along with everything else hanging from or covering the horse, inlaid with cheap baubles made up to look like precious gems.
“I don't see the bloody lad about, have you?” Noreach asked of Amiable as he began to fasten his own bags to another of the brown horses.
“No, but I hope he shows up. We'll look like idiots if the first person we sponsor is too cowardly to even bother to come along.”
“Adolescent Misfit will show,” offered Selfless, the half-heartedness of his voice betraying a lack of sleep. “I've done a great many of these little excursions, and nobody has ever quit this early. No. Nobody will quit until we've reached Recuperation.”
“Has somebody quit already?” asked a strangely dressed young man. His attire was so strange that it appeared to be nothing more than a collection of silken pockets.
“This adventuring party is being managed by the Order of Timely Heroes, Enchanters, and Royalty, a Section 23 organization. As such, it's business is a secret protected by both guilds and the King's law,” droned Selfless.
“So if you don't move along stranger,“ added Amiable, “We'll have to kill you to keep that secret.”
Amiable and Selfless both bared a small part of their favorite swords and Noreach pulled one of his smaller axes from their leather carrying case. The Goon brothers, sensing trouble, moved to stand between the stranger and Fop's carriage.
“It's, uh, me! Snarky Anachronism! I have a shave and a bath. I'm going with you. I just wanted to know who wasn't.”
“Everyone is here, Anachronism, except for Upwell and Misfit. If we're lucky, Upwell will have had a bath as well.” Selfless didn't sound the same, the fatigue was still on his voice, but there was a hesitancy that spoke more to confusion and a lack of confidence. Noreach was the only one in earshot who didn't notice. He did catch the comment about Upwell and began snickering.
“Knock it off, Axemaster.” said Amiable curtly, adding in a whisper, “Something's wrong here, watch your back.” The dwarf nodded in reply and finished packing his things.
A bit of chivvying by Selfless got the Goon brothers back to work. They finished moving Fop's trunks into the wagon and hooked up the extra horses, leaving two out for the late arrivals. Snarky watched Selfless with a concerned look, both of them being watched by Amiable and Noreach.
The Sun was cresting over the hills when Cleans arrived, courteously approaching from downwind. He had neither shaved nor bathed, the two unlucky horses trying in futility to shy away from him. He still picked one and tied a sack to the pommel that smelled of rancid meat. It actually was rancid meat, although it was slaughterhouse fresh when Cleans adopted it as the latest in a long and failed line of good luck charms.
Cleans was hanging a rusted and dented sword to the other side of the saddle when Adolescent arrived. He was out of breath and barely able to make his apologies for being late. “I'm sorry,” he said to Noreach's frown of disapproval, “I slept in, and then I went to the On The Way Inn, but you had already left, and then I went to the Lavish Luxury Inn where someone gave me directions and asked me to remember them to Lord Fop. Pudgie, her name was.”
“Pudgie?” snickered Noreach, arching an eyebrow. “Was she missing his company already?”
Adolescent looked apprehensively at Noreach. Slowly, comprehension dawned on him and his face wrenched in disgust. He shook his head and Noreach began laughing loudly at him, loudly enough to wake Fop, who lifted up his hat enough to Stupid holding his horse. “Time to go then,” Fop said merrily, climbing down from the carriage and onto his horse.
Adolescent put his bags into the wagon and his weapons onto the horse before climbing up into the saddle. Noreach, Amiable, and Snarky did likewise. They looked around a moment before Snarky spoke again.
“Selfless Sacrifice, you'll do nobody any good at Ambush Pass if you don't get some sleep. Sleep in the wagon, and we'll wake you when we get close.”
“We're going through Ambush Pass? There are rumors of bandits there.”
“I know of the dangers. It will take three days off of our journey and we won't get there until this afternoon. So get some rest now and we'll deal with what comes as it comes.”
Selfless grew worried. He stared at Snarky, as if trying to get a measure of the man. Snarky proved either inscrutable or illegible, and Selfless glanced instead to Amiable. Their gazes met and Amiable gave the slightest hint of a nod.
“Okay,” said Selfless, sliding down out of his saddle. He tied the reins to a ring on the back of the wagon. Idiot gave him a hand up and as soon as he was nestled into the baggage, Selfless pulled his hat down over his eyes and sought rest. Snarky turned his horse towards Starting Gate and began to edge it forward. The other riders began to follow. Stupid flicked the reins for the wagon team, and those horses began to trot in unison, as if for show. “These are good horses,” muttered Idiot, and both Goon brothers flashed an approving glance towards Selfless, who had yet to sink into an uneasy sleep.
Goe, over 14% of the way there!
Rachmeg said...
So at this rate, you should be done sometime around what? 2009?
Goemagog said...
damn, i was hoping for 2008.
Goe, saying bah. | http://artificialmonkeys.blogspot.com/2006/05/ga-chapter-six.html | dclm-gs1-187411087 |
0.056572 | <urn:uuid:35084883-6171-457e-93e7-3867157b8e7f> | en | 0.970002 | About BBN
About Bully by Nature
Think of a Pit Bull or an American bully approaching you as you’re walking up the sidewalk or even better entering the dog park while your French bulldog or Shih tzu is running loose… suddenly you feel intimidated, anxious, nervous and almost out of control just by comparing your poodles tiny frame to this beastly muscular machine. Once I started in the fitness industry working in a local gym, I felt like I was the “Bully” without even wanting to be labeled that way. A big guy with numerous tattoos and an athletic performance that most members at that gym didn’t have so every time I would approach a client or even be referred as a trainer they would be quick to judge and feel intimidated by my image. I once realized the positive side of this stereotypical behavior which was going on around me.. I had the power to stand out and have the peoples attention naturally and make them understand that not every Pit Bull or American bully is on the hunt to attack and intimidate others.Bully by nature fitness is not just a fitness brand, but also a lifestyle.. just like being a friendly Pit Bull or American bully that people are so quick to judge, once they walk into a room its presence is always felt, through my company I push my clients and friends to achieve a level of confidence that pushes them to walk in any social gathering or business meeting and make their presence known. Ain’t nothing wrong with being confident and making the ignorant, judgemental people uncomfortable.. It’s all about taking control and proving people wrong by bettering yourself. | http://bbnstore.com/index.php/about-bbn/ | dclm-gs1-187531087 |
0.018187 | <urn:uuid:0969ada0-24a6-478f-9a57-eebb50a3b767> | en | 0.982278 | Last week it was shorties birthday
We were having a party for Monty the Saturday after his birthday (the Tuesday) so wanted to keep his actual day really simple, just a picnic, cake, scoot along the seafront and not much else.
It rained, just drizzled initially.
My family are so British when it comes to summertime, carry on regardless and all that.
So I Just slung on a coat and set out the picnic in the drizzle. The drizzle became rain and my poor little Nan just dutifully put on her cagoule. My Grandad put on what I can only describe as a dodgy Tommy Hilfiger fleece ( the fake kind that you buy from the market with a shirt with Kelvin Cline emblazoned across it) I started to laugh hysterically until My Mum informed me it was not even my Grandad's fleece but her soon to be Husbands. Whoops.We sat and ate in the rain.
Then I noticed there was snot on my trench coat. A long silvery line of snail trail courtesy of lil legs.
Then Blossom sharted over herself. And me. I literally had shit all over my top.
Monty opened his presents and we packed up the picnic and literally flung everything into the car and drove to the closest soft play place we could find.Monty was none the wiser and just thought it was all part of the treat. He ran rings around my Grandad and exhausted my Mum. All good stuff.
The gorgeous Husband saw his Sergeant with his kids, and I joined in with the chitchat.
It was only afterwards I remembered the shit all over my top.
Oh. Bloody hell.
This was the day after his birthday. There was no rain the day after. Typical.
1. Cringe! Wonder if they noticed?!
2. I don't remember you telling me about this shit-top incident. Oh well, good for you and yours with your British spirit. I'd have sat indoors and sulked, probably. N has both of those tops Mo is wearing, by the way. Great minds and all that. x | http://beetrootandgherkins.blogspot.com/2010/08/last-week-it-was-shorties-birthday.html | dclm-gs1-187551087 |
0.061571 | <urn:uuid:55cac63b-f7aa-4269-bbef-ef4ff7b72adc> | en | 0.977881 | Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Caledonia plus 1 year
One year ago today, the Battle of Douglas Creek began. The occupation (or "reclamation" depending on whose side one is on) continues and tensions in Caledonia remain as tense as ever. There are a few thoughts I have about this:
1) There's too much ill will on both sides. I have long felt that the 28 outstanding land claims of the elected council, which covers most of the Haldimand Tract, should go to mediation or arbitration. It's time to settle this once and for all; whether it's with money, land or a combination of both.
2) We need to know clearly who speaks for each side. No sooner does one try to figure this out than yet another constituency crops up claiming they weren't consulted or they file yet another spurious lawsuit -- not just against the government but against rival factions in the Iroquois community.
3) There must be ways found to allow Six Nations to become more self-sufficient. One of these, I would think, is to develop the land they already have. There is some commercial development there, but the current reserve is literally surrounded by some of the most productive farmland in Canada -- and when one drives on the reserve one would be hard pressed to see anywhere where a shovel of sod has been turned. Seems to me like an opportunity that isn't being exploited.
The issue of native employment also needs addressing. It's not as bad at Six Nations as it may be on other native reserves but there's still a problem. So does the issue of potable water and just trying to be part of society when society wants to marginalize those who were there first.
4) Finally, one has to recognize the issue of urban sprawl. There is a "greenbelt" that surrounds much of the GTA and Hamilton, but it's worth pointing out that Haldimand County is directly south of the limit of this protected area. As population growth continues, there are concerns that people will just leapfrog from one side of the greenbelt to the other. This is certainly a concern at the northern end of the region, where the population of Barrie is expected to triple in the next 25 years.
Down here, one can therefore understand in that light why there is so much agitation and why some feel they have to take back what they think belongs to them before the "white people" move in. Well, unfortunately, the white people have been there for decades and they will continue to move in. Caledonia is already a flash point and one can very well expect Hagersville and Jarvis to be next.
Frankly, I don't know what the solution is. Having outsiders from the OPP doing three days tours of duty from as far away as Hastings or Rainy River certainly isn't.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
No reauthorization
The House of Commons voted tonight to kill the two provisions of the Anti-Terror law that were set to sunset on Thursday without authorization to extend -- detention without warrant for 72 hours and investigative hearings. The vote was 159-124. Interesting that twelve Liberals either voted with PMS or chose to abstain. Also interesting that Bob Rae, currently not in Parliament, was urging reauthorization while Michael Ignatieff who was once strongly in favour of even more draconian measures to deal with terror threats voted against.
The provisions may have expired and in a way I'm glad they did, but there is still a very real threat out there. It would be prudent on the part of PMS not to suggest the opposition parties support terrorism -- instead, I would urge that some new way to address imminent dangers be passed that would both protect Canadians and withstand a Charter challenge.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Update on my father
I have some positive news to report today about my father's condition. After being in a coma for over a week, he was taken off the respirator today and is awake and responding to the medical staff as well as to his family. He's by no means out of the woods but when one considers he was near death ten days ago we are all very heartened.
It's with that in mind that I have something to get off my chest ... about medicine and faith.
A number of years ago, when my late mother was dealing with all sorts of problems related to mental illness (it was ultimately diagnosed as manic depression), I felt so helpless that I called a crisis line -- which just happened to be run by the folks at the evangelical group 100 Huntley Street. For a Catholic to be taking this step was a daring one but I figured what the heck. I guess I was on hold for about two or three minutes. When there was a pick-up, I laid out the situation. The very first question they asked me was, "Has your mother been prescribed medication?" And right after that, "Is she taking them?" It was only when I said yes to both (unfortunately, she was on the wrong kind of medication which was causing her relapse) that they then offered a prayer.
Now that was something I wasn't expecting, especially from a group that readily supports the "Health and Wealth" gospel. But it was refreshing to hear. Because while God may be the helper of the helpless, He can't be everywhere at once and helping everyone. He relies on people to help other people. And at the very heart of the matter is the fact that one must recognize there is a problem that must be dealt with.
It just makes me sick to see televangelists saying one doesn't need a doctor, just hand over 10 percent of the gross and God will increase that a hundred fold and / or provide the healing. Nope ... doesn't work like that. God can't be bought and can't be put to the test.
Benny Hinn, the king of the mouth shooters, once said on TV that a grieving family should tell the paramedics not to take away a dead body but to leave it in front of the television for 24 hours just in case the dead person woke up; another time he actually said that while on a joint crusade with Reinhard Bonnke somewhere in Africa, they raised someone from the dead. (No videotape proving that has ever been found or presented.)
It still amazes me that I nearly sold my soul to Oral Roberts, and later my Dad (during my parents' divorce) nearly shilled out to Robert Tilton.
Yes, prayer is important. But in a situation like this, it's best to leave it to the professionals ... and right now Dad's in the best possible hands. The fact he's at a faith-based Catholic hospital is not in my mind irrelevant -- it's an important tool. I shudder to think that a decade ago Mike Harris wanted to close St. Joseph's in Hamilton. The public revolt in town was so great -- from Catholics and non-Catholics alike -- that not only was the hospital saved, it was also given the money for a major expansion. I think the reaction has a lot to do with the fact that over half the kids born in Hamilton were born at that one hospital -- that's more than the other four hospitals combined -- as well as the care has always been first rate. (Not to deny the work done at the civic hospitals, since I have friends who work there -- it just seems that if people want to get cared for they'd prefer St. Joe's if a bed is available.)
Making faith and medicine work together is not a contradiction; they go hand in hand. If people realized that, there wouldn't be any faith healers. And for what it's worth, I'd rather put my faith in a physician than a freak. That being said, my father still needs your prayers. There's a long road ahead.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Girl, 16, breaks slots in Macau
The city of Macau, which like Hong Kong is part of China but has an autonomous government (and wide-ranging freedoms which do not exist on the Mainland), is trying to explain itself after a 16 year old girl from HK won $100,000 US at the slot machines at one of the city's many casinos. Seems she was allowed to keep the money because of a loophole in the law: She wasn't supposed to be allowed into the casino since she's under 18, but the law only regards admission to the facilities -- not actually playing the machines. However, the young women's mother has been banned from the city's casinos for allowing her daughter to go on the escapade.
Far be it from me to complain about the vice of gambling, because I'll admit to the yen although I'm not compulsive about it. Matter of fact, years ago before Ontario put in an age limit, I won a 50-1 longshot at a racetrack -- I was only 12 at the time and I got paid off without any questions whatsoever.
But this goes to the issue of parenting. What mother in her right mind would give her daughter money for the specific purpose of wasting it? Sure, it paid off in this case, but what if it got swallowed up by the machine? $12 doesn't exactly go that far in either of the autonomous territories, after all. And in an age where casinos are popping up all over the place, Macau -- or for that matter Niagara Falls -- isn't exactly a family friendly place anymore.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
Friday, February 23, 2007
No more security certificates
A great day for civil rights in Canada, as the country's high court unanimously struck down the concept of "security certificates," an anti-terrorism tool dating 29 years, all the way back to the Trudeau era. Writing for the 9-0 court, Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin ruled that the writs
• abrogates the principles of fundamental justice;
• constitutes arbitrary detention, and
• violates habeas corpus.
The writs always bothered me, but especially after 9/11. No question, we need the tools to deal with terrorists and other rotten people who would destroy our values and to deal with them harshly. However, going to the lowest common denominator is giving the terrorists the upper hand, not us.
The idea that a non-citizen can be kicked out of the country based on secret evidence that only prosecutors and judges know about is insidious to say the least. The defendant only gets a heavily redacted summary and even then faces an uphill battle to clear his or her name. It's as if the decision has already been made. It has been used against some pretty undesirable people, such as Ernst Zundel who last week got five years in a German court for his anti-Semitic writings; but in that particular case it's not as if we didn't know the allegations, his works are a matter of public record.
But what if the name is right but the suspect is wrong? What if the top-secret information came from a country that enthusiastically supports torture like most Middle East states and even, to a certain extent, the current American regime? What if the evidence is just plain wrong, period?
Other countries, like the UK, have special advocates which have security clearances but are allowed to ensure the intelligence is up to snuff. This is a role analogously served in Canada by the Security Intelligence Review Committee, which oversees our spy operations but only for internal operations, not matters that make it to the courts. Perhaps it is time to expand SIRC's role so they can take on this advocacy role. Or a separate advocate's office can be set up, just as there is a Children's Advocate in some provinces for family law cases.
What's noteworthy is that all nine judges voted to strike down the certificates, including PMS' judge on the court, Marshall Rothstein. This fact alone tells me that the Supreme Court (including those members who normally side with the cops) is worried at the direction the Harper administration may be going in terms of law and order. Parliament has been given a year to fix the defects in the law and come up with something better; but in the meantime one must wonder whether the lower courts which are the workhorse of the judicial system are going to be stacked with police-friendly judges. And of course, there's probably going to be an election in the meantime which could prove as indecisive as the last two (and which in turn could throw the whole issue upside down, again).
For now, however, a very important victory for fair play. The courts have done what they were supposed to do in this case -- make sure that a deportation is based on the facts and that a defendant has the right to dispute those facts.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
A low blow from Harper
It had been my wish not to blog during my father's health crisis, which at this writing is still not resolved. However, something happened today that compelled me to break my silence. Stephen Harper found a very clever as well as deplorable way to change the subject.
Two of the provisions of the 2001 Anti-Terrorism Act are set to expire next week. One deals with detention without warrant for 72 hours. The other deals with the ability to question witnesses under oath and behind closed doors. It seems the Liberals, which was originally opposed to extending the very provisions they enacted are now divided on the issue. And so, on the heels of the Air India inquiry being up in the air because of the government's refusal to declassify key documents, documents from a terrorist act that took place 22 years ago, Harper turned the tables on the Liberals by saying that one of the Liberal MPs' father-in-law, a Sikh, was being questioned by the Mounties on the Air India bombing.
Specifically, the Vancouver Sun reported today that the said father-in-law of Navdeep Singh Bains, one Darshan Singh Saini, told the RCMP that he met a man who later shot a key witness against one of the known conspirators in the bombings. Harper essentially accused the Liberals of trying to impede the investigation because without the law that is set to expire, the cops won't be able to do an in camera briefing of any witnesses in the case. One of those witnesses, oddly enough, is Saini.
What was the original question, one might ask? Well, the Liberals wanted to know why the police are being allowed on the committees that select judges -- something that doesn't happen anywhere in the free world, as far as I know. Not even in the States, except for the requisite background checks.
It's bad enough that Harper has jeopardized an investigation that already was going nowhere after two of the key suspects were acquitted last year. It's even worse to insinuate that Saini may know more than he's letting on. What really angers me, however, is that this is a terrible abuse of Parliamentary privilege. It's a well established principle that a legislator should be able to speak his or her mind on the floor or in committee without fear of reprisal or threat of legal action. But it's also a matter of principle the executive branch never comments on matters that are before the courts or a commission of inquiry, or are the matter of a pending police investigation. To breach this is to violate the independence of the judiciary, a fundamental principle of democracy.
One should not be allowed to hide behind the shield of privilege in this case. Canadians deserve answers in the worst act of terrorism other than 9/11. There has to be some way to debrief witnesses without the draconian provisions of a law that is more about fighting other forms of domestic terrorism, such as the operations of biker gangs. But to presume someone guilty before proof of innocence and accusing an MP of being guilty by association even when he has completely renounced terrorism (i.e. the radical movement fighting for an independent Khalistan) is beyond the pale.
I'm not expecting Harper to apologize. He doesn't for anything. I would hope, though, he retracts his remarks from the record -- and declassifies all documents immediately so that further interrogations aren't required, and Justice John Major (né the Supreme Court of Canada) can finish his job. Canadians can't wait anymore for answers.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Blog, interrupted
My father had to suddenly go to the hospital last night, related to a long-standing health issue. While they have stabilized him he is still in critical condition. As a result, I will have to suspend my blogging. Hope to be back at this soon. So say a prayer for him, please.
Thanks for your understanding.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Stacking the courts un-Canadian
Stephen Harper admitted yesterday he wants to "stack the courts" so as to ensure judges implement his law and order agenda.
That's all well and good, but there are ways to do this other than by tilting a process that has served this country well for decades, a system that ensures only the most well qualified lawyers are called to the bench. One may argue that judges are "too soft," but the reality is that for some crimes the sentences are too lenient and the bandwidth between minimum and maximum sentences too wide.
For example, one can introduce sentencing guidelines that would comply with the Charter's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment while at the same time ensuring the general consensus there should be both a deterrent against and retribution for crimes committed against society. There's no need to try to "stack the courts." If one did this, as the Cons are proposing, then there would be inconsistency as to sentencing. It would be the luck of the draw whether a suspect was assigned to a court with a "liberal" or a "conservative" judge. Appeals courts, quite rightly, would have to call Harper's bluff and say similar circumstances should call for similar sentences.
Another thing the feds can do is to make sure law enforcement officials have the proper funds to actually do their job. While there is a uniform criminal law in Canada, enforcement is done by the provinces and territories and it's local taxpayers that bear the brunt whenever police ask for salary increases. We can certainly talk about fixing the "fiscal imbalance" at all levels, including ensuring local authorities can raise funds other than by property taxes and user fees. (Consider many US cities which lower their property tax burden, by putting an emphasis on traffic tickets for out-of-townees as well as a hotel tax -- neither of which are available for Canadian municipalities.)
But we can start by having targeted transfers from the federal level to hire more cops so they can look after all crime and not just attempt to make "priorities" as to what is a serious crime and what isn't; as well as ensuring the funds will be there to deal with what would be an increased prison population. We need to be careful here, too: Our incarceration rate is about a third of the American one and many US states are teetering on financial ruin because of overcrowded joints.
Finally, it would be nice to see the government try to address what underlies the perceived problem, rather than just throw a brick at it. That applies to all parties, by the way. Saying one will either be "tough on crime" or "tough on the causes of crime" is insufficient -- we must do both.
Courts are supposed to be independent arbitrators, not political footballs. Things were fine with the old selection process and no matter who is in power judges should be free to peruse and pursue the independence for which they were selected. To interfere with that is an American value, not a Canadian one. It's time for Harper to decide whether he is a Canadian or if he wants Canada to be the 51st through 60th states.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
John Cleese on extremism
Whilst I take a day off and shovel all this snow through gritted teeth, I also did a bit of surfing over at YouTube and found some gems from the other side of the pond -- those nitfy announcements from the UK called Party Election Broadcasts, or PEBs. Political advertising of the kind we know in Canada and the US is illegal over there; but all parties, including those on the fringe, are allowed to produce between one and five PEBs, depending on their standing in Parliament. (Labour and Conservative normally have five each, the Lib Dems four.)
They run between three and five minutes nowadays (they used to be ten) and outshine anything Karl Rove or James Carville could ever come up with. And so, I offer for your consideration this Party Election Broadcast (PEB) from the 1987 British elections ... starring John Cleese speaking for what was then called the Social Democratic Party / Liberal Alliance. The Alliance collapsed soon after the election that year and later re-emerged as the Liberal Democrats we know today; but Cleese's thoughts about extremism on the left as well as the right ring true twenty years later; and can be adapted for almost any democracy.
Note that towards the end Cleese makes an argument for proportional representation; something I fully support for Canadian elections. Ironically, PR could allow some real extremists into coalitions, but having the vote reflect the wishes of the people might not be such a bad thing. We don't need repeats of situations where someone won the popular vote but lost the election on seat count, which happened most recently in New Brunswick last year.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Don't trust North Korea
I don't particularly like John Bolton, the former US Ambassador to the United Nations, but I think he is right this time: The deal signed last night with North Korea regarding energy supplies in exchange for dismantling the country's nuclear weapons program is based on a leap of faith to a point where no rational basis exists. Make no mistake, I disapprove completely of the PDRK's sabre rattling and Kim Il-Jong must be contained at any cost. But this amounts to Chamberlain like appeasement.
One only has to remember the last time similar concessions were extorted from the West back in 1994, a month before Kim Il-Sung died. Then as now the issue was the same: Famine, starvation and the beginning sparks of a grass roots revolt. The fact the PDRK caved in at the last minute had less to do with nuclear technology transfers, and more to do with the preservation of the North Korean regime.
Both the South and Mainland China had reason to be fearful of a regime collapse in the North, as they do now: A breakdown would lead to a major refugee crisis as hundreds of thousands, even millions, of people rushed for the northern frontier and the DMZ. And even if there could be a peaceful transition of power or a reunification of Korea, it would hardly be an easy road.
One only has to take a look at Germany -- even a decade and a half after the country came back together the East generally lags behind the West in productivity and other economic markers by about a quarter. It turned out to be a major drag for the Deutsche Mark, so much so that Germany was almost forced into a common currency with most of its other European partners.
There's little doubt that any reconstruction of the North would run into the trillions of US dollars, not billions, and the South Korea won would be severely devalued as a result. In an extreme scenario, the South might have ambitions on having nuclear weapons of its own -- or try to nationalize the US nukes currently on the Korean peninsula. That would put countries like Japan, China and Russia in the firing line.
This is a classic damned if you do or don't case, and Kim has the West by the balls. One would have hoped the other powers would have driven a harder bargain in exchange for concessions. Like democratic and human rights reforms. As it is, the people of South Korea and Japan, rather than have hope for a peaceful and arms free Asia-Pacific, will have to live in fear for another five years till the next time the North explodes a bomb. What concessions will be required then?
While regime change is probably justified in the North as much as it is in Burma and Zimbabwe, we need to first figure out a way to make sure food and oil aid bypasses the PDRK cowards and goes directly to the people who need it the most. That -- unimpeded access to the people, without go-betweens or minders -- would be the most important concession I would demand, before I even talked about the nukes.
To do any less and just give Kim what he wants is appeasement, plain and simple. It won't work, and North Koreans will be even worse off, not better, as a result of this agreement.
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Monday, February 12, 2007
Take down the cross, the menorah, the hijab ... and what's left?
When the Radio-Canada show Tout le monde en parle ("Everyone's talking about it") discusses the same issue two weeks in a row, one has to wonder whether an issue has really struck a nerve. And they talked about it last night. The issue, of course, is the place religion has in politics in the province. Québec is arguably the most secular and the most religious Canadian province at the same time, something that must baffle not only their fellow Canadians but even many Americans.
The Quiet Revolution of the 1960s saw the Catholic and Protestant Churches purged out of health, education and welfare and having those services run by the state. About a decade ago, religious schools were also abolished everywhere except in Québec City and Montréal; which turned out to be more of a bureaucratic nightmare than anything -- and in the case of one of my friends who lives in Québec (an evangelical Christian), she just decided to home school her kids, as did a lot of other parents. Which is fine as long as they stick to the curriculum.
Yet at the same time, religion is a very pervasive part of life. True, church attendance is way down. But people there are very devout on a personal level and most insist on getting married in the Church; and the fact so many street names as well as the names of cities and towns bear the names of the saints as well as other religious figures suggests religion isn't about to go away any time soon. And that's a good thing, I think.
As long as the overwhelming consensus was based on the Judeo-Christian ethic, it didn't seem to be seen as a problem. But it seems that immigration has reeled its ugly head -- a backlash against it has been simmering, and last month it exploded. For a province that prides itself on an autonomous immigration policy (something all provinces have the right to pursue, of course, but Québec has done so successfully) it's hard to imagine things getting this far.
What has caused this "pushing back"? It's being going on for months, but took on a nasty turn with the recent declaration by the rural town of Herouxville, Quebec; which passed a by-law banning people from stoning women, throwing acid on them, burning them alive, or performing female circumcisions. All things associated with some extreme sharia interpretations of Islam. Many people saw this as being racist and aimed at Muslims.
Since then, five other towns have passed similar ordinances. And it's not just limited to Islam. Even the majority Catholic Church, professed by fully two-third of Québecois, is under assault; after the current leader of the PQ, André Boisclair, said that it's past time to remove the crucifix above the speaker's chair in the Québec National Assembly.
What? Take down that crucifix, and you may as well also remove the giant cross atop Mount Royal and which acts as a guidepost for the island of Montréal at night. I have never heard any Jewish or Muslim or Hindu groups complaining about either before. Even Protestants, who prefer the empty cross over the crucifix (with Christ crucified) haven't objected to a Catholic symbol being in the Assembly.
The American policy of separating church and state has torn apart people in that country between people who believe religion is a private affair (usually Democrats) and those who think it should be an integral part of public policy (usually Republicans). At the extremes are those who want to remove the word "God" from money and the pledge of allegiance on one hand, and those who want to put Muslims and Jews on the next boat back to Eurasia on the other.
We Canadians have seemed to strike an appropriate balance. For historical reasons, a plurality of Canadians (about 43%) are Roman Catholic and that's not about to change any time soon. Yet from the start, compromises were made to respect the rights of Catholics and Protestants in the provinces where they were respectively minorities; and of course Jewish people were granted equal rights even before there was a Canada -- and even before the UK gave similar protections to the Chosen People. The general consensus has been a two way street of respect: Live by the rules of our society and we'll ensure you're free to live yours the way you choose.
Which makes the Herouxville declaration both insidious and stupid. It presumes all male Muslims support the genocide of women and that's simply ridiculous. It also presumes that the jihadists want to impose their way of life on other Canadians. Both have no rational basis in fact. It's based entirely on fear. It's really a statement that says, you're welcome to live here so long as you convert to Christianity.
On the other hand, some actions have been reflective of a society which seems too willing to compromise and are also stupid. Not too long ago, a health club in Montréal tinted its windows so as not to offend Hasidic Jews who objected to seeing women in Spandex exercising; and the police in that city now make a point of sending two men -- or a man and a woman -- to neighbourhoods where Jewish people are a majority. It's gotten to the point where the Confederation bargain means nothing, and the Québec Charter (which is even more expansive in declaration of rights than the federal one) is a joke.
There is a big difference between freedom of religion, and freedom from religion. There has been some overreaction on both sides of the debate, however the issue is a serious one. If people want to be politically incorrect, that's their business. But every action has a positive and negative reaction -- and when one pushes, they should expect someone else to push back. It's true in physics, and it's true when it comes to religion.
I've never been bothered by the presence of Jews or Muslims in Canada, people of faiths other than the Roman Catholicism I profess; I've never been bothered by people of no religion at all either. But it's time to get back to first principles: Respect is a two way street. There's no need to fear being politically incorrect and say exactly how one feels about something, regardless of one's faith. But we need to take a stand.
I for one would not like to see a country totally devoid of religion. Religious faith is a core Canadian principle. I understand Herouxville's point, but it's being made the wrong way when it comes to minorities. André Boisclair also doesn't get it either when it comes to the majority. Little wonder Canada has so many problems.
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Sunday, February 11, 2007
When's a strike not a strike?
Back in 1984 during the historic strike against the Canadian division of General Motors that led directly to the breakup of the United Auto Workers, much was said about the battle between Bob White and Owen Bieber -- in particular, the latter's initial refusal to authorize a strike because the two men had a fundamental disagreement about wages. White, of course, wanted an increase in the hourly wage each year; Bieber wanted to follow the then American pattern of annual lump sum payments. The irony is that a few months later when Mulroney announced he was opening free trade talks with the US, the union broke up that same day -- and Big Chin, no friend of White's, praised the Canadian leader for making the move.
It's 2007 and the conductors at Canadian National Railways are on strike. They are willingly (for now, anyway) members of a US-based union, and the tables have now been turned. The company wants the strike declared illegal because -- get this -- it was not authorized by the union's American president.
Since when do Canadians need permission from Americans to use their legal rights, in this case the right to withdraw employment as a demand for better wages? Since when do Canadians get told that to ensure union solidarity it's "out together, in together?" If the tables were turned and it was a Canadian based union telling the Americans what to do, there'd be another American Revolution. After all, the Continental Congress declared war against Canada before they did the rest of the British Empire.
I'll let the Labour Board decide whether it's illegal or not. For now, CN would have it in its best interests to go back to the bargaining table anyway and sort this out. This country is heavily dependent on the railroads for trade, and just a few days shutdown could cripple our economy at a time when we need a slowdown the least.
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Saturday, February 10, 2007
Does Obama have the right stuff?
Barak Obama has made it official, throwing in his hat for the race to be the Democratic candidate for President of the US next year. It says quite a bit when BBC World pre-empted its hourly summary to carry the speech. One of his key planks is to introduce universal health coverage by the end of 2012 -- which when it plays out will probably be a "pay or play" system with a government plan as a fallback for the uninsured. I wish him luck, but it's going to be an uphill climb and not just because Hillary Clinton is the front-runner.
America is a nation at crisis. It is bitterly divided and it lacks a sense of purpose and not just because of the war. If one accepts the theory of the "fourth turning" there have been three previous crises of this magnitude. The first was at the country's founding in 1787, and the battle between the Federalists and anti-Federalists -- which was solved when George Washington was elected President and proved to be a very able administrator. The second was when the country was sliding into civil war. Along came a Republican named Abraham Lincoln and although the war played out Lincoln managed to keep the North together and had the best chance of reuniting the country as a whole until he was shot. Then came the Great Depression, and along to the rescue came no less than Franklin Roosevelt -- a Republican turned Democrat.
The Federalists are long gone, the GOP is not the party of Lincoln anymore and the Democrats (rightly or wrongly) have conceded that in some respects FDR may have gone too far in federal intervention. But Washington, Lincoln and Roosevelt all had one thing in common: They had extensive experience behind them before they came to office so when their turn came they were ready.
Obama barely had a few years in the Illinois legislature before he was elected as a Senator and in the two years since then he has not introduced one significant piece of legislation that eventually became law or a serious talking point; even one twisted or co-opted by Republicans. So what does he have going for him? Charisma. Sure ... so did JFK and Reagan. The former proved to be an adulterer and the latter committed acts during Iran-contra that merited impeachment although it was never pursued by Congress. But even then both men had political experience.
It's one thing to have good intentions. It's another to try to use those good intentions and run headlong into something where there could be no return. Every politician claims they'll stand up to the lobbyists but wind up in bed with them -- literally or figuratively. Every one claims a national purpose but runs against states' rights.
As for the claim that he's not electable because of the colour of his skin -- I'm not even going to dignify that. Blacks can be elected to high office, as much as women can. It's the kind of person who can pull people together and build on those coalitions rather than going ad hoc from one issue to another that makes the difference. Bipartisanship is one thing at the state level where there's a general social consensus such as in Illinois. It's way different in DC whether Obama wants to admit it or not.
Obama is a sincere person and would do a competent job at the White House under normal times. But times aren't normal. The War Against Terror is going nowhere, the War in Iraq is a quagmire, the US debt keeps piling on and 46 million Americans remain uninsured. Oh yeah, a country with only 3% of the world's oil reserves consumes 20% of the global demand. I rue using the phrase, but he's just not up to the job.
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Friday, February 9, 2007
Trouble at the Air Force Academy -- again
Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) made an embarrassing gaffe last fall, just before the mid-terms, when he suggested those who were enlisting to join the Armed Services were those who didn't quite have the best grade point averages (GPA) in high school. It may have cost the Democrats a couple of close Senate races -- as it is they're barely hanging on with a slim majority of 51 (if you include "Independent Democrat" Joe Lieberman and Socialist Bernie Sanders).
A late report tonight at the Washington Post, however, raises some questions about the competency of those training to join the officer corps. Perhaps, their sanity. The sum of the Air Force Academy's honour code is: "We will not lie, steal or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does. Furthermore, I resolve to do my duty and to live honorably, so help me God." This weekend, however, we learn that 28 freshmen (or "Fourth Classmen") are under investigation for cheating, 43 cadets have had their Internet privileges suspended for downloading porn, and fully nineteen percent of the freshman class were failing after the end of the first semester.
In an unusual move, all 4300 cadets have been ordered to stay on the Colorado Springs campus this weekend to give them a chance to "reflect." It's not the first time there's been a cheating ring, or the Academy has been under fire -- whether it was for sexual harrassment, or attempts by some evangelical professors to proselytize to Jewish and Catholic cadets. And the Air Force is not immune -- Navy had a similar problem with its cadets back in 1992.
My concern is that there is the almost unending "War Against Terror" going on. And while Canada is not directly involved in Iraq (except perhaps in an intelligence gathering mode, as well as enforcing the trade sanctions that still exist against the country out on the Persian Gulf), we are involved on the ground in other aspects, particularly in Afghanistan. There, as well as in other places where there is either a peacekeeping or peacemaking role, or where there is active combat, there are either joint commands or very close coordination between allied battalions or squadrons.
Imagine a friendly fire incident (and they're becoming more frequent) where the mistaken attacker turned out to be someone who had a less than exemplary record at the academy. Adding on top of the grief he or she caused would come the news they didn't have the right stuff to be inside a plane or tank to begin with. Hopefully they would have been weeded out and expelled before they could cause any damage on the battlefield -- but that doesn't always happen.
We expect only the best will be invited into the officer corps, and for a good reason: The men and women who are called upon to lead the military have other men and women who depend on their good judgment and moral character. Cheating is bad enough, but downloading porn on government time (after all, they are federal employees)? Is that where our tax money is going? Maybe it's me, but behaviour like this reflects badly not just on one's fellow students but on the military as a whole.
If this crap is going on in Colorado, I'd just love to find out the shit that's happening at RMC.
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NC kid, 8, upstages Ontario Science Centre
There's an old story that one class was misbehaving so much that their teacher forced them to add up all the numbers from 1 to 100. Most of the kids thought they were in for a long grind, but one quickly came up with the correct answer -- 5050. He did this by noting that 100+1 = 101, 99+2 = 101, etc., so 50*101 = 5050. Today, this problem, n(n+1)/2, would actually be considered third grade math but it still stymies many adults.
Well once again, a kid has stumped adults -- and this time, it was no less than the brain trust at the Ontario Science Centre that has mud on its face. An 8 year old from Charlotte, North Carolina named Parker Garrison noticed there was an error in the way a pyramid of jelly beans (part of a travelling exhibition stopping in Charlotte) was calculated. In short, the OSC said to divide the base of the pyramid in half; but Garrison pointed out that the measurements given were already for half a pyramid. Therefore, the correct total was actually double the stated one.
Stuff like that gives me hope for the future. Maybe the next generation won't be fooled by CW (conventional wisdom) like what happened during Vietnam and the lead up to the current Iraq War.
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Thursday, February 8, 2007
In memoriam: Anna Nicole Smith
I didn't think I'd be doing this, but I have to say something about the sudden and shocking passing of Vickie Lynn Marshall, better known as Anna Nicole Smith.
Smith had that quantity that can often be called je ne sais quoi, a woman who knew how to extend her fifteen minutes of fame, and still be both endearing and annoying to the masses. Yet the later years of her life would turn out to be pure hell. After getting the coveted Playmate of the Year honour in 1993, she married someone sixty years her senior.
We all know how that one turned out: The billionaire oilman died eighteen months later and the will has been tied up in probate ever since. She did win a major legal victory for herself and all Americans last year when the Supreme Court ruled that she had the right to pursue the matter in federal court (normally, estates are a matter for the states). The case was remanded but not before a weird twist of events: First, her opponent in the probate case died; then she gave birth (the paternity is still being hotly contested); and just a few days after that her twenty year old son died from a drug overdose.
Not to mention her reality TV show. Let's not get into that.
Now with Smith's death, her daughter Dannielynn Hope is without a mother. We'll know in the coming days how the woman died. One may be repulsed at the kind of life she lived. That doesn't change the fact she was a devoted mother to not one but two children. It's possible the death of Daniel may have pushed her over the edge. The tragedy is that now, like Janis Joplin, she'll always be a candle in the wind. (The phrase was originally coined for Joplin, not Marilyn Monroe.)
Rest in Peace, Vickie.
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Homolka probably not a mother yet, but ...
There seems to be some confusion today over what the Toronto Sun claims is a scoop: Convicted killer Karla Homolka, out of jail nearly a year and a half after serving her full twelve year sentence for manslaughter is now a mother -- or so the tabloid says. Some however have disputed this claim, for example a member of the Elizabeth Fry Society and even Tim Danson, the lawyer of Homolka's later victims.
Quite honestly, I don't know what to believe in this case myself. If she was pregnant last summer when Global News caught up with her in Montréal, it might explain why she was so reluctant to talk to the reporter. (Ironically, Global is owned by the same company that prints the Ottawa Citizen, which published the dismissal of the pregnancy claim on its website today.)
A few points here: Yes, Homolka is manipulative and a sociopath who probably still doesn't understand the enormity of her crimes -- including facilitating the choking death of her own sister. And she certainly owes an apology to the families of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French, although I suspect it would instantly be refused if it was ever offered.
On the other hand, she has legally paid her debt to society; and the restrictions on her movement have been lifted since the fall of 2005. Moreover, the laws of Canada do not prescribe a sentence of castration in the case of sex-motivated crimes. She certainly has the right to become a mother if she so chooses. The concern is whether she still has a weakness for dominating male figures like Paul Bernardo (her ex-husband) who is serving a life sentence; which could put the life of her alleged child in danger. Not to mention what she might do herself.
My sense is that if the rumours are true, she should still be left alone as long as she remains law-abiding for the rest of her days. Yes, I acknowledge she killed three women while they were still teenagers and that is a huge strike against her. Nevertheless, she owes it to her child to tell the whole truth someday and to tell him or her the consequences for her victims, her parents and herself (in that order) but that should be on her own terms and timing, not society's. (Especially considering that Homolka claimed Bernardo told her he only wanted daughters so they could be his slaves and any boys she may have conceived with him would be aborted on his orders.)
On the other hand if she is or was not pregnant -- it's possible she's not even married -- then the editors responsible for writing this story without properly sourcing it should be ditched. Even a tabloid that values sleaze over serious journalism has some standards and at least trying to tell the truth, even the truth as they see it, should be pursued. It doesn't help when the media won't even let her attempt to rebuild her life even if she did shatter the lives of others.
In retrospect, the police investigation was sloppy and Homolka should have been in prison for life. We have to deal with what is, though, not what should have been. She has to look at herself real hard before grabbing another Ice Cap -- but if the story is true and she is a mother, she should not be singled out; for many other mothers who are registered sex offenders are still mothers. More important if it's true, she's a mother now, not a child -- and the Radio Canada interview she did on her release suggested to me she'll still acting like an overgrown teenager.
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US Army shipped $12 billion to Iraq -- cash
Not too long after 9/11, the Canadian government quietly passed a regulation that makes it illegal to write a cheque for five million dollars or more. Now, anyone in their right mind would not do so in the first place ... but in the era of wire transfers it simply is not necessary to carry all that much cash or negotiable instruments. So when you see someone at the 6/49 getting their "cheque" and posing for the cameras, rest assured it's already been deposited electronically in their bank accounts after the safeguards that are supposed to be in place now are carried out.
So how to explain that the US military had been helping the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) -- that is, the puppet government run by the States before power was handed over to the new Iraqi government -- by shipping cash, 363 tons on pallets worth a total of over $12 billion, to help them get off their feet after Saddam Hussein was overthrown? In one shipment, C-130 planes delivered over $2.4 billion in $100 bills -- in sequence, of course. And according to the chair of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Henry Waxman (D-CA), there was absolutely no controls over the security arrangements or to make sure the money got into the right hands.
Convenient. One key to a vault was in a backpack, according to investigators. A contractor got $2 million in a duffle bag with no indication how the money was going to be spent. Public servants who were supposed to get paid weren't. And the clincher: Rather than hiring a respected auditing firm, the CPA got the services of someone who worked out of his home. Now, no one knows exactly how the provisional government spent any of the money transferred to it -- about $20 billion in total.
To put that in perspective, consider that the US Department of Energy spent $23.4 billion last year; Housing and Urban Development $28.5 billion. Last time I checked, the IRS doesn't hire armoured trucks to deliver that kind of money, even across town in DC -- it's wired over to the respective departments on a pay as you go basis.
People went nuts when a hundred million was stolen from the Department of Agriculture to fund Gerard Bull's zany idea for a "supergun." Yet in the middle of a war that has already fallen out of disfavour with most Americans, what's $12 billion among friends, eh? It's little wonder there is a civil war in Iraq right now. It would have happened anyway, quite honestly.
But there should have been first principles: The money should have been transferred over properly and handed out with the same kinds of safeguards that exist in the West. Had the civil service been paid on time, for example, the army and police could have been trained by now and the insurgency contained if not eliminated; and hospitals wouldn't have be running out of even the most basic essentials.
I expect this investigation will only widen into a full accounting of what the contractors were doing and where the money all went. And I also expect when the sub poenas are issued, the answer will be the same from Paul Bremer on down: "On the advice of my attorney, I assert my Fifth Amendment rights."
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Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Who needs principles when you've got Garth Turner?
Normally, I'd be happy over the news that someone was crossing over from the Conservatives or the independent "rump" to the Liberals. Especially with the news today that Garth Turner, who was kicked out of the Con caucus last fall, is about to convert to the Parti Rouge. Payback, perhaps, for Wajid Khan going from the Grits to the Reform Party.
Not this time. Because this goes against everything Garth has stood for all these years. He's been against floor-crossing from Day One and has made it clear -- specifically clear -- that if someone wants to change parties between elections he or she should resign his or her seat and put their job on the line in a by-election so that the people in the district can decide.
Garth decided to sit as an independent a few months back (after flirting with the Green Party), which is fine if he thinks the party he once belonged to no longer represents his interests or that of his constituents. To take it to this level is the height of arrogance. All he offers to the Liberals at this time is a pull back to fiscal conservatism, which Stéphane Dion certainly needs to emphasize to persuade Canadians to give the Grits another chance. By doing this, he takes the choice out of the hands of his constituents; unless he and the Liberals are planning a surprise no-confidence vote within the next week thus forcing a March election.
Stated baldly, Turner should walk the talk: Resign his Halton seat and let the people decide. If he wins, then he'll be welcome into the Liberal Party legitimately.
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Monday, February 5, 2007
Who cares if the coach was black?
More than four decades ago, Martin Luther King said he prayed for a day when people would "not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character."
Yet last night, we saw the race card being played again -- at the Super Bowl; and how the reporters kept driving home the fact that this was the first time a black coach (Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts) had led his team to the national football championship. (It would have been a first had the Chicago Bears won, as Lovie Smith is also black.) To put the emphasis on "black" or "African-American" is, quite frankly, putting an asterisk on the event. Like it would matter if the guy was white, but because he's black it really doesn't count.
This reminds me of the battle four decades ago between Yankee's teammates Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris to see who would overtake the home run record of Babe Ruth. It was announced by the baseball commissioner, Ford Frick, that a record would only be "real" if it was accomplished within 154 games, the length of a season during the Ruth era -- it was later extended to 162 games by the time the Mantle / Maris marathon was on. Of course, Maris surpassed the 60 run record and got to 61 on the 162th and last game of the season. The record shows that Frick later had a change of heart and the 61 home run record would be acknowledged as the official one, but for nearly two decades after the Exempt Media put an asterisk beside Maris -- i.e. 61*.
Why did they do this? My belief is that most of the then baseball writers were WASPs and absolutely hated Roman Catholics and "foreigners" and did not see them as "real" Americans. Maris, whose real name was Maras, was born in the United States but he was a Roman Catholic. His parents were Croatian. The fact a Roman Catholic was in the White House by 1961 didn't help matters -- it only served to stir up the hate; not just among the press but among baseball fans who sent continual hate mail to Maris. They saw Ruth's record as sacrosanct and if anyone deserved to break the record it was Mantle, not an "ethnic Papist."
While there are still some strong anti-Catholic quarters in the States, most of the bigotry on that count is gone and it's hard to imagine Roman Catholicism not having a major part in American life. So why should the same double standard apply to blacks?
Dungy and Smith aren't black coaches, they're coaches -- period. Yes, it's hard not to notice one's skin colour; but as long as one tries to lead a good life and attempt to have a successful career, isn't that all that matters? Besides, both coaches said last night that what matters isn't that they're black but they're Christian and it's their faith that guides them.
The press needs to step back for a while and look at themselves. Most of the rest of us try to live by Dr. King's dream. It's time for the media to do the same. Report on race if hate is a motivating factor. But don't try to diminish someone's accomplishments just because they're a particular skin colour, or religion, or sexual orientation. It's insulting to our intelligence -- especially that of the white majority.
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Sunday, February 4, 2007
Every Sunday is Super Sunday ...
... and no, I'm not going to make any predictions about the US national football championship against the Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago Bears. (That in itself is a reason to not watch the game -- just a few hours drive between the two cities and in the same time zone.) Besides, ticket brokers were selling even end zone tickets in the thousands of dollars. End zone, nosebleed. Come on.
So instead, I'm going to ease up a bit and going to mention something that happened the other day that could be a huge shot in the arm in a country where it's been in serious threat -- the USA. The other day, the new Governor of Florida, Charlie Crist, signed a law that bans touch-screen voting machines; the kind that is prone to switching votes and can even be hacked into. Instead, the state will now use scan sheets. While there is evidence the "smart card" that counts the votes can still be tampered with to produced a desired result the fact that the very state that made democracy a joke in America finally realizes just how serious this is can only be seen as a positive step.
Note that this happened after Jeb Bush left office after serving his two term limit. He had a vested interest in tilting things the GOP way as long as his brother was a candidate for President or one for re-election. Crist is a Republican too but he must have seen how some people don't even want to visit Florida anymore because of the perceived corruption and decided the $23.5 million dollar cost of deep-sixing touch screens is far outweighed by the benefit the tourist industry provides to the state.
On top of that, Congress this week fast-tracked legislation that will essentially require any balloting method to generate some kind of auditable paper trail in case of a judicial recount. President Bush has indicated he will sign it -- of course it doesn't concern him since he can't run again; but at least he gets it albeit belatedly.
Democracy is a funny thing at times ... sometimes we don't get the results that the Exempt Media has conditioned us to anticipate. That can be a good thing at times, though. The will of the people needs to reflected in the ballot box and it must always be counted accurately. Frankly, I still prefer the good old paper ballot you mark with an "X" or check mark; but with multiple offices I suppose scan sheets will have to do.
P.S. Okay, you want a prediction: Colts 26, Bears 17.
UPDATE (10:25 PM EST, 0325 Monday GMT): Whaddya know? 29-17 Colts.
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Saturday, February 3, 2007
Quick review of my posting policy
I appreciate all the feedback I get; both positive and negative. If you post a comment and you don't see it right away, don't be offended. Between my work schedule and just wanting to be out once in a while I am not always near my computer. I do try to check messages three or four times a day so they come up eventually.
Understand that while I have mostly progressive views, there are some points on which I lean conservative. For example, I support the idea of abolishing the marriage penalty (i.e. income splitting) and I oppose gay marriage. On some medical ethics issues, I can get emotional at times; and these always seem to get the most heartfelt and even angry responses. That's fine. I'm not trying to preach to the converted or the choir, I'm just calling it the way I see it.
There are, however, a few basic rules. These aren't set in stone and common sense will guide what comments I delete, but generally:
• Stay on topic, and if you're posting a reply make sure it's attached to the appropriate post. It's no use to comment about the weather in a post about family benefits, when I wrote about the weather five posts down.
• The odd expletive, I can tolerate. Write like Andrew Dice Clay speaks, however, and it won't get posted.
• No advertising. This should be more than obvious, but you'd be surprised how many auto bots out there go looking to post links to so-called "secured" credit cards when one writes about credit card fraud.
• Don't try to change the subject and talk about your personal life or how the world is out to get you or anything like that. In my previous home, I wrote one post about how I felt about the age of consent (that it should be raised to 16 for straight sex, and lowered to the same age for gays and lesbians; with some leniency for situations where both parties are teenagers below that age). Imagine my anger when someone said I was accusing him of being a pedophile. I never did any such thing. I didn't link to his site. I didn't even know who he was.
• Lastly, the odd reminder about pending legal actions or restraining orders is helpful but I'd appreciate it if it's limited to the mailing lists of the blog rolls I'm on, off site and on my private e-mail. In one case I did make reference to another person's blog without any knowledge legal action was in progress until months later -- and in any case the post had absolutely nothing to do with the issue in question, but something else that person wrote. I decided there was no need to delete the post in that situation. Suffice it to say, I believe someone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Other than that, let it ride. Like I said at the top, give me your best shot.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
Friday, February 2, 2007
Harper's still talking about "intensity," not real reductions in pollution
On the very day an international commission said definitively what most of us have known for years -- that global warming is real and a lot of the damage is already irreversible -- Stephen Harper said there were "no quick fixes" and what had to be done first was to deal with "stabilizing" emissions before reducing them.
Sorry, Steve, but that just doesn't wash with Canadians. Basically, it goes back to the Cons' fallback position to deal with the "intensity" of carbon dioxide emissions. In other words, reducing the amount individual and corporate sources may themselves produce but not necessarily the total amount of outputs. This would allow industry to continue growing -- which would really put us no further as we'd be creating exactly the same amount of pollution as before.
The fact is, we made a treaty commitment to live up to the Kyoto Agreement and while admittedly it was mostly talk and no action the last several years the Cons have had a year and a week to come up with something concrete and they haven't. To cut greenhouse gases by a full 27% -- or one tonne per Canadian -- will require some short term and very draconian measures. But we've already seen thunderstorms and mosquitoes in the Far North where neither should exist; planting and harvest times go completely out of whack with what has come to be expected as "normal;" and bizarre weather abnormalities like ice storms in Montréal, frequent tropical depressions in Ontario during the summer (we should get at most one) and tornadoes in the late late fall; and snow -- lots of snow -- in Vancouver.
It's not just Canada. Not that long ago, London's famed Kew Gardens reported that the weather changes they've seen in the last 20 years are totally unlike any they've seen in the previous 300 and they've been keeping records for longer than that. A spring that comes two or three weeks earlier may not seem like a big deal -- in the UK it may actually seem welcome, especially in the Scottish Highlands. But that time shift has meant shorter nesting times for birds and less time in the chrysalis for caterpillars in their metamorphosis into butterflies. If they're feeling the effect of climate change, imagine how long it will be before the rest of us do.
A one degree drop in global temperatures in 1816 caused it to snow in much of the United States -- on the Fourth of July. A one degree increase in 1845 spiked the bacterium that caused the Irish Potato Famine. A similar one degree spike happened in 1998 and 2005 -- and we all remember those years too well. I've lived only 34 years, and already I've noticed there was a big difference in the summers of my first half so far and that of my second half. With one cool summer being the exception, they've gotten hotter and more unbearable and living in a smog zone with ozone alerts as early as February, it doesn't get any easier.
It gets almost tiresome to say this, but some really drastic action needs to be taken, by all of us. I've taken one huge one by getting rid last month of my gas guzzling 20 year old boat which barely passed the smog test last year; and getting a car that is much more fuel efficient and less polluting (no, it's not a hybrid but it's cut my fuel bill by at least half) -- and my workmates and I are trying to put together a carpool schedule despite our vastly varying shifts.
It'd be nice to see the Cons not just share their hot air in the apartments they rent together but lead by example by organizing car pools of their own when they're in Ottawa. Oh wait ... they use the Parliamentary bus like the other MPs ... The NDP must realize by now they got snickered by Harper, and Layton should use his balance of power and force an election. The issue is the environment, period, and whether we'll face the future or go down the highway to hell with Oilman Dubya.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers.
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Jordan's BS about Maher Arar
This morning, CBC Radio One said that the Kingdom of Jordan was giving a new version of events regarding the so-called "extraordinary rendition" of Maher Arar from the United States to Syria. The accepted version, even by the States, is that Arar was loaded on to one of the CIA's Gulfstream Jets and shipped directly to Damascus.
Jordan, however, is now saying that Arar was flown on a scheduled commercial flight to Amman, the Jordanian capital. According to them, Arar then said he wanted to go to Syria, so they drove him overland and passed him off at the border.
Without going into an obscenity laced tirade which is what I am seriously tempted to do as I type this, let me just say that this is just as laughable as the North Korean ambassador to the UN saying we should "congratulate" the PDRK for exploding a nuclear bomb. But it may offer an explanation as to why the US still has Arar on their no-fly list -- Jordan is probably sitting on their own Arar file. If they have something on him, they should have the guts to release it and not just speculate about what he may or may not have done. Not wait for the US to send Arar to Jordan so they can have their turn at torturing him.
And keep in mind, this astounding claim happened, of all places, at the UN Human Rights Council. Canada should recall its Ambassador to Jordan. We don't needs friends like these.
Vote for this post at Progressive Bloggers. | http://blastfurnacecanada.blogspot.com/2007/02/ | dclm-gs1-187571087 |
0.024138 | <urn:uuid:023b8edc-b5e0-4489-8e1c-878038ae8b39> | en | 0.927828 | - Musings and announcements regarding the ErrorHelp search engine.
What Amount Of The latest Innovations IN SOCIOLOGICAL Concept HAVE Information OF MARX, WEBER AND DURKHEIM
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Share solutions so nobody has to waste time researching later. Be part of the solution. | http://blog.errorhelp.com/2014/12/24/what-amount-of-the-latest-innovations-in/ | dclm-gs1-187581087 |
0.019616 | <urn:uuid:24bd87cc-9dde-4d75-9ffc-141ce17c6585> | en | 0.947335 | HR Technology Support Services – Top 5 Trends
by Suhas Chaphalkar
To a layman observer, HR is just about “managing the organization’s Human Resources” while being oblivious to the other various facets involved in any modern HR function. It’s only upon having a closer look at the operational aspects of HR that one realizes the actual impact HR can potentially have in today’s world of business. And technology plays a crucial role in determining how big an impact HR can have.
Although there are a multitude of interesting changes taking place in the HR Technology and Support Services space, I would like to outline here the Top 5 trends that are expected to have a major impact.
1. Cloud-based offerings
Everything is changing, and quickly, including the types of HR technology in use, the experiences those systems deliver and the underlying software designs making many of the traditional HR systems purchased only a decade ago seem out of date.
We can’t talk about disruptive technology without discussing the massive strides that have taken place in this field. Companies now are showing a strong preference for cloud-based platforms such as SAP SuccessFactors rather than building their own or investing in complex, time-consuming and prohibitively expensive enterprise HR solutions.
1. Increased adoption of mobile solutions
There is a visibly increased focus on building tools that are not just easy to use but also easy to access. In today’s world of hyper-connectivity and mobile workforce, organizations need to support on-the-move access to its HR Technology and services for its Managers, Employees as well as the HR function to enable seamless, anytime, anywhere solutions.
While investment to date is on track for a slight decline from last year, deal activity in HR tech has grown consistently in the last 5 years and at the current rate is expected to increase more than 15 percent over 2015. This instability is being driven by the increased focus on mobile solutions and the emergence of video, social recruiting and wearable in the workplace.
1. AI & Analytics
Using AI as an HR function provides additional advantages by automating many of the processes that a Manager does on a daily basis that can be time-consuming and arduous at best. Some of the benefits are reducing human bias, selecting promising candidates from a large number of applicants and reduce administrative work.
HR departments are generating more data than ever before but at the same time, they often struggle to turn their data into valuable insights. New tools and technology are needed because big data is so big, fast-changing and potentially unstructured. With these tools, HR organizations are able to perform analytics and forecasting to make smarter and more accurate decisions, better measure efficiencies and identify management “blind spots” to answer important questions regarding workforce productivity, the impact of training programs on enterprise performance, predictors of workforce attrition, and how to identify potential leaders. The ability to capture and analyze big data has enabled many companies to both increase revenues by better understanding and more accurately targeting customers and cut costs through improved business processes.
1. Millennial Workforce
There is another category of learning products coming that I call “learning experience platforms.” They focus on delivering a “learning platform” and not just a “learning management platform.” In other words, they are places to go to browse and learn, and not merely to register for courses.
1. Gig economy
There are two emerging markets that support the new way of working. The first is contingent workforce management systems. The second market is the gig-work networks that match workers to projects. The potential cost savings presented by the global gig economy can be attractive to HR teams as budgets go further. Technology is empowering social change. Our on-demand culture is changing how people want to earn a living. The freedom of being able to choose how, where and for whom you work is a huge benefit for the gig worker.
Understanding this trend helps the HR professional recruit, manage and develop a gig worker. For example, by introducing flexible working policies and investing in technology that supports remote working.The gig economy, it’s here to stay.
In conclusion, making the right software choice is quintessential for any and every HR organization as the use of technology to deliver HR services and how HR leverages technology to manage a firm’s human capital are the deciding factors that distinguish high – performing HR organizations from others.
Every successful global payroll engagement needs a silver lining
by Anika Panwar
Global Payroll
Impact of Robotics in delivering HR Services
by Brucelin
1.What is your take about robotics automation in the HR industry?
In any industry, repeated and manual tasks are good candidates for automation with bots. HR industry is no different and it has a huge potential for robotic automation.
The HR spectrum ranges from pre-on boarding to post–exit operations and currently there are several mundane and redundant tasks which are done manually. The key here is to pick out those activities that are time-consuming at a mass level and try to replace them with software programs called “Bots”
Tasks, like verifying the on boarding checklist, sending out emails, validating payroll inputs and outputs etc, are good candidates for automation.
Automation also improves precision and quality of these activities apart from saving time and effort.
2.Can you name some of the common HR processes where bots intervene to enhance the quality of work delivered? Has this drastically reduced manual intervention?
Sub-processes in on-boarding, recruiting and payroll processing are some HR processes where bots are found to be commonly deployed. Let us take the case of On-boarding/exit; the following tasks can easily be automated using this evolving technology
• Assess, prepare and create new joiner data
• Streamline information across disparate corporate systems for preparation on Day 1
• Consolidate leave input from business areas and feed to downstream systems
In the case of recruitment, there are several areas where automation can be applied. Take, for example, the following scenarios
• Processing candidate notifications for interviews, rejection and feedback
• Candidate reviews – screening of CV’s and online application forms
The entire sequence of events from sourcing resumes by referring to a Job Description to scheduling interviews and rolling out offers can be automated through proper strategizing and planning.
However, these are just the tip of the iceberg; there are several other innovative aspects to this, if rightly explored, could result in strengthening the HR processing landscape
3.List some of the key advantages of using robotics in HR processes?
Some of the key benefits of using robotics in HR include
• Time and cost savings
• Increased accuracy and efficiency
• Increased consistency of processing
• Improved productivity and throughput
4.What, in your point of view are the key trends to watch out in the field of robotics in the next 5 years? What would be the biggest technology trends to look forward to in 2017?
I think robotics is going to be a huge game changer across all the industries. The wave has already started everywhere and Robotics along with Artificial Intelligence, Block chain and IOT are going to create a huge disruption in the way in which businesses are going to operate in the future
In the next 5 years, tools like Blue Prism, UI Path and Automation Anywhere are going to be used exhaustively to automate manual processes across all the industries. In areas where strategy and decision making are required, AI and Robotics will collaborate.
The Key trends to watch out for in 2017 include Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Block chain and IOT
5.Do you think any particular industry is adopting robotics fast these days? As an authority in the field, could you point out the early adopters of RPA in the industry?
Retail and health care are two important industries that are adopting robotics at a rapid pace. Take the case of Amazon, they already have drones manning their warehouses and they also plan to do door delivery of goods using drones in the future.
Robots are also deployed in production and assembly lines in major factories to reduce dependency on Human Resources.
In the case of healthcare, robot-assisted surgeries are highly common these days, we also have robots taking the role of general physicians by imbibing all the knowledge that are essential to analyse patient cases and take necessary actions. Artificially intelligent healthcare chat-bots could evolve to treat many common ailments.
6.In closing, can you share few key learning’s that you’ve had over the course of your professional exposure and experience in dealing with the robotics and automation?
The most important thing to understand is that automation is not really a new term – The era of automation started with the advent of computers and later the internet where various tools were devised to solve business. From mainframes to the client servers to cloud computing, automation has evolved in different phases encompassing different areas.
Robotics and AI have existed for a while now and the thrust to use them has increased in the past couple of years due to the enormous growth in business processes due to the scarcity of manpower as well as the ever-increasing cost of skilled and unskilled labour.
My final take is that unlike earlier occasions, robotics is going to make a huge dent in the way business is being carried out now and unless business owners realise this and make the right moves, they might find themselves questioning their survival amidst competitors who might have travelled far ahead of the curve. | http://blog.neeyamo.com/tag/robotics/ | dclm-gs1-187611087 |
0.02149 | <urn:uuid:3a2fc624-0efa-42d5-abc9-f0611e090eee> | en | 0.899528 | The prison of family life
Posted on November 25, 2016
Русский перевод
SB 3.30.8
He gives heart and senses to a woman, who falsely charms him with maya. He enjoys solitary embraces and talking with her, and he is enchanted by the sweet words of the small children.
Family life within the kingdom of illusory energy, maya, is just like a prison for the eternal living entity. In prison a prisoner is shackled by iron chains and iron bars. Similarly, a conditioned soul is shackled by the charming beauty of a woman, by her solitary embraces and talks of so-called love, and by the sweet words of his small children. Thus he forgets his real identity.
See also:
Vaisyas also needed
At all risk you have to preach
Srila Prabhupada's life and soul
Homosex, ruination
Inside is freedom
Lamentation means purification
God got Toothache?!
Why we take cow protection seriously
How dictatorship can be good
Understand God in five minutes
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta — no compromise
The only ingredient that satisfies
Chanting will purify the demons
Practical instructions for happy civilization
| http://bvks.com/reader/sanga/the_prison_of_family_life/ | dclm-gs1-187661087 |
0.042305 | <urn:uuid:0dd53f46-d0ae-4a9e-9abf-238285a35281> | en | 0.978908 | Sunday, September 27, 2009
The Divorced Virgin
This story about a women who divorced after five years of marriage, still a virgin throughout it all (she had waited until marriage, and then found that she and her husband could not have intercourse) is quite compelling reading. But it also bolsters my sense that abstinence until marriage fundamentally is not a good policy, and in fact is really short-sighted.
To be clear: Anybody who chooses to be abstinent has the right to that choice, for as long as they choose to make it, without any shame or judgment from me (or anyone else). But the case for an over-arching normative commitment to abstinence seems to rest on extremely shaky ground. Start with the fact that it seems to nearly always diverge into slut-shaming -- indeed, it's difficult to see how an argument that abstaining is morally preferable to partaking could avoid such an insinuation. But beyond that, abstinence seems to rest on this mythos that sex is easy and comes naturally, and that there is no such thing as sexual compatibility (or lack there of). Neither of these things are true.
Good sex takes practice, and while there's certainly no shame in learning the ropes (so to speak) with a single partner, I think many people are deluded into thinking that first time is going to be absolutely perfect, and if it isn't, something is wrong with them. Not really -- the odds are much higher that y'all simply don't know what you're doing; with practice and experience, things usually (hopefully) improve.
That being said, some folks simply aren't sexually compatible with each other. There can be physiological issues, but there also can be pairings where one partner really likes or wants something that the other is uncomfortable with. This is the sort of thing that I imagine is worth knowing prior to tying the knot. I think it is qualitatively better when newlyweds already know that they share enough sexual proclivities in common that they can have a good sex life, and I think it is qualitatively better when each partner in a relationship knows themselves well enough and has enough experience to know what their own proclivities are. Simply assuming that because all the other pieces fit, this one will too, is a recipe for unhappiness. At the very least, it's a pretty substantial roll of the dice.
What we should be teaching young people, I think (and alas, it will never happen), is simply this: It is not shameful to feel pleasure. What you do with your own body is your own business. What you do with a partner's body is yours and their business, and we should teach people to treat their partners with respect and view the act of being with a partner as predicated on that respect and mutual reciprocity. If you decide you don't want sex, that's fine, and if you decide you do want it (and have a willing partner), that's fine too, and if you change your mind at any point in the process, that's fine as well. The decisions you make in this arena should be based on your own desires and the safety of others, not an aversion to social shaming or stigma.
1 comment:
PG said...
The people I know who were/ are waiting for marriage to have vaginal intercourse still had plenty of "sexual activity" to gauge whether they were compatible with someone: making out, groping, mutual masturbation, etc. I think the Divorced Virgin (add a Millionaire Cowboy and I think we have a great Harlequin title) made a mistake not by waiting until marriage to have sex, but by not seeing how utterly incompetent at any kind of erotic behavior her intended was. The lesson here is not to marry someone who doesn't turn you on. | http://dsadevil.blogspot.com/2009/09/divorced-virgin.html | dclm-gs1-187951087 |
0.149904 | <urn:uuid:13d89380-ea94-43ff-8403-78db6057dce8> | en | 0.971391 | Sunday, October 25, 2009
Swedish Blood Libel Paper Publishes Anti-Muslim Screed
Anonymous said...
Islam is not a race...therefore this is not racism and never can be...
PG said...
A bit OT, but I wondered if someone might explain exactly what Christopher Hitchens means by this shambling beast of a run-on sentence:
Is he referring to the founding of Israel in 1948? the attempts to expand a Greater Israel through settelements? or about something else altogether?
Anonymous said...
oh man. and i thought their anti-judaism was just a sign of their pro-islam views. what a fool i am.
chingona said...
Though I'd never claim to know the inner workings of CH's mind, I'd guess he's referring to the religious Zionist settlers who see reclaiming all of Biblical Judea and Samaria as something they need to do to bring about the arrival of the Messiah. That's the reading that seems to make the most sense.
I'm not really versed in the Jewish version of what, exactly, would need to happen to bring Moshiach - in fact, I'm so much more familiar with the Christian version of things that I actually wrote "return of the Messiah" before I caught myself and rephrased it - and I'm also pretty sure that not all religious Zionists are actually trying to bring the Messiah and that the theology of those who are is suspect.
But that's still my best guess as to the meaning. | http://dsadevil.blogspot.com/2009/10/swedish-blood-libel-paper-publishes.html | dclm-gs1-187961087 |
0.047776 | <urn:uuid:f2278b90-cd15-4675-aa46-b780a38402a4> | en | 0.934736 | • 1.
One of the oldest capitals in Europe
Signs of life date back as early as 1st millennium BCE. Inhabited by Thracians and later incorporated into the Roman Empire, after the 6th century AD, Sofia became home to Slavs, ruled by the Byzantium before becoming part of the Bulgarian kingdom.
• 2.
Capital Since 1879
Sofia became the capital after a heated vote in the first post- independence Bulgarian Parliament. The other contenders were Veliko Tarnovo, Plovdiv, and Rousse. Sofia was not a clear favorite. It won by just two votes.
• 3.
Hot Mineral Springs
Sofia Valley boasts more than 30 mineral springs, most hotter than 33°C (91.4°F) and low in mineralization, making the water perfect for consumption (after proper cooling at least). The hot mineral springs in the very center of the city, next to the building of the Central Mineral Baths, have been used since antiquity.
• 4.
Many Names
Sofia is not the original name of the city. Throughout history, it has been known to have at least three other names: Serdica, Triadica and Sredets. Since the 14th century Sofia is named after one of its oldest churches, the basilica St. Sofia.
• 5.
The City of Yellow Brick Roads
The unique ceramic pavement that covers much of Sofia's central part was specially produced in a brick factory near Budapest over 100 years ago. Today the expression "yellow bricks" has come to mean city center.
• 6.
You probably got the name wrong
Locals pronounce the name of their city with the emphasis on the first syllable. If pronounced with emphasis on the last (as many foreigners do), it becomes a popular female name.
• 7.
Relocation to the capital
During Communism, people were not allowed to permanently relocate to the capital (and other big cities) at will. Marriage to a local or accepting a Sofia-based factory job were about the only two ways to permanently move to the capital.
• 8.
Sofia sits in a highly seismic zone.The last strong earthquake was felt in May, 2012 (5.6 magnitude). Numerous smaller ones are almost part of daily life.
• 9.
Elevation Matters
At 550 m above sea level, Sofia is one of the highest capitals in Europe - after Andorra la Vella (1,023 m), San Marino (749 m), Madrid (667 m), and Pristina (652 m) - sitting at the base of Vitosha Mountain, a convenient place to hike, mountain bike and ski.
• 10.
Ottoman Sofia
For close to five centuries, Sofia was the capital of the Ottoman Empire’s European province. It was the seat of the Ottoman administration and the stronghold of the Ottoman army in the region. Many architectural remains of the time still stand. | http://flipfloppeople.com/Sofia-Top-Interesting-Facts-189 | dclm-gs1-188051087 |
0.035321 | <urn:uuid:3b8f7540-326c-4248-ad6f-f025d7f07b0c> | en | 0.937844 | MIE Holdings Corporation (1555.HK) Trending Down Last 5 Bars
Traders are taking a second look at how shares of MIE Holdings Corporation (1555.HK) have been performing lately. A favorite tool among technical stock analysts is the moving average. Moving averages are considered to be lagging indicators that simply take the average price of a stock over a specific period of time. Moving averages can be very useful for identifying peaks and troughs. They may also be used to help the trader figure out proper support and resistance levels for the stock. Currently, the 200-day MA is sitting at 0.70, and the 50-day is 0.68.
The 14-day ADX for MIE Holdings Corporation (1555.HK) is currently at 20.97. In general, and ADX value from 0-25 would represent an absent or weak trend. A value of 25-50 would support a strong trend. A value of 50-75 would signify a very strong trend, and a value of 75-100 would point to an extremely strong trend. Checking in on some other technical levels, the 14-day RSI is currently at 27.40, the 7-day stands at 17.65, and the 3-day is sitting at 15.34. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is a momentum oscillator that measures the speed and change of stock price movements. The RSI was developed by J. Welles Wilder, and it oscillates between 0 and 100. Generally, the RSI is considered to be oversold when it falls below 30 and overbought when it heads above 70. RSI can be used to detect general trends as well as finding divergences and failure swings.
At the time of writing, MIE Holdings Corporation (1555.HK) has a 14-day Commodity Channel Index (CCI) of -149.01. Developed by Donald Lambert, the CCI is a versatile tool that may be used to help spot an emerging trend or provide warning of extreme conditions. CCI generally measures the current price relative to the average price level over a specific time period. CCI is relatively high when prices are much higher than average, and relatively low when prices are much lower than the average. Investors may be watching other technical indicators such as the Williams Percent Range or Williams %R. The Williams %R is a momentum indicator that helps measure oversold and overbought levels. This indicator compares the closing price of a stock in relation to the highs and lows over a certain time period. A common look back period is 14 days. MIE Holdings Corporation (1555.HK)’s Williams %R presently stands at -90.91. The Williams %R oscillates in a range from 0 to -100. A reading between 0 and -20 would indicate an overbought situation. A reading from -80 to -100 would indicate an oversold situation.
Add Comment | http://genevajournal.com/mie-holdings-corporation-1555-hk-trending-down-last-5-bars/ | dclm-gs1-188101087 |
0.035387 | <urn:uuid:e7e0a589-9a1f-4ee9-b862-89b4434bc720> | en | 0.986156 | Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-73)
Figure 1.--Lyndon was photographed at 18 months in 1910. Although the custom was waining, many young boys still wore dresses in the 1910s.
Lyndon Johnson was the 34th president of the United States. He oversaw an unprecedented era of social reform in the United States and worked unceasingly toward a Great Society for the Nation. Great progress was achieved in civil rights which had a profound impact on the political system, especially in the South. His program to eradicate poverty made important progress, especially for the elderly. His social program, however, floundered as a result of the divisive Viet Nam War. Even so, the Johnson Administration succeded in enacting one of the most important programs of social reform in American history. The historical assessment of the Johnson Administration continues to be clouded by the conduct and eventual failure of the War.
Lyndon's parents were deeply in love, but two more different different people could not be imagined that sired the future president. Cultured, educated Rebekah was quiet and demure. Sam was possesed with a firece temper. Hecwas loud, boisterous, and impatient and could curse with the best of them.
Father (1877-19??)
Sam Johnson grew up on a Texas farm, one of nine children. His father, desperate for a son to help with the chores. His first four children had been girls and his friends had began to call him "Gal" Johnson. I'm not sure how Sam was dressesd as a boy. Presumably he commonly wore overalls on the farm. It was obvious from the beginning that Sam was sharp as a tack. The story is told of an elder sister diligently menorizing a 32 verse poem. She was astonished to hear her little brother, not yet of school age, reciting it in its entirity. Sam was also resslessly ambitious. As a boy he competed to plough straighter, ride faster, and pick more cotton than his companions. As a teenager he soon developed ambitions to be more than a rancher. His father's lack of money made it impossible for Sam to finish high school. Public schools in Texas at the time required tuition. Sam earned money from odd jobs to keep himself in school. While small. school tuition was a barrier to many dirt poor farmers. He wanted to be a teacher and took state exams to qualify for a teaching certificate. He passed with impressive scores, but after teaching a few years his ambition carried him further. He wanted to be a lawyer, but his circumstances wouldn't allow it. He had to fall back on working his father's farm. Sam Johnson was a popular local figure and easily won election to the state legislature. He was a born legislator and scrupuosly honest. It was said that Sam Johnson was "straight as a shingle." As a result, the small state stipend was not sufficient to support a family. He had to leave the legislature. When he proposed to a local girl from a prominent family, he was rejected because of his limited circumsrtances. Then Rebekah Baines acepted his proposal and they were mairred in 1907. Rebekah's father was an attorney. Sam dabled in realestate and finally made his way back to the state legislature. Although perpetually short of cash, he was a much beloved local figure and was addressed as "Mr. Sam."
Rebekah Baines was the complete oposite of Sam Johnson. While Sam was rough hewn and volitile, Rebekah was refined and serious. As not infrequently is the case, these two people with such different personalities forged an affectionate and lasting partnership. Her father was a laywer and she came from an affluent family, that ecountered financial problems when the local farm economy fell upon bad times. She was devoted to her father who instilled in her a passion for reading and learning. He taught her that a lie was an abomination to the Lord. He instilled self-confidence in a shy, timid child. The death of her farther and his financial problems forced her to work. She taught and worked as a stringer for the Austin newspaper. It was on an assignment that she met Sam. She choose Sam Johnson even though he was completely unlike her father because he has, as her father did, principles. When Sam took her home to the Perdanales, nothing in her experience had prepared her for what she found. She could not believe the primitive conditions she found. She was a "... college graduate, a lover of poetry, a soft-spoken, gentle, dreamy-eyed young lady who wore crinolines adlace--and broad-brimmed, beribboned hats with long veils." The Johnso men and women were hard working, but rough hewn. There was no love of poetry. The men told thecrude jocks her father so disliked. They passed around a bottle or two and her father had warned her about that also. She had never done physical labor before. Her new life as a Johnson woman involved daily manual labor. The Johnson women were farm women capable of hitching up a mule and plowing if necessary. There were no other houses visible from the Johnson porch. The isolation more than anything was difficult for Rebekah. When Sam was away, and he was away quite a lot, Rebekah had no one to talk with. She later wrote, "I was determined to overcome circumstances instead of letting them overwhelm me. At last I realized that life's real and earnest and not the charnming fairy tale of which I had so long dreamed." Lyndon as a boy was very attached to his mother. As a First grader he chose a poem for a reciation, "Why I'd rather be a mama's boy.".
Figure 2.--Lyndon at left was photographed at a family picnic in 1912 when he was about 4. Lyndon is standing in front of the car. He wears a plain white tunic. Notice his long wavy curls.
The Johnsons had five children, three girls and a boy. Lyndon was the eldest.
Lyndon (1908-73): The elder son was born with a wonderlust which his patrents found hard to contol. As a boy, Lyndon's family was still relatively prosperous and his mother loved to dress him up. This became more difficult in the 1920s after his father lost the ranch.
Rebekah (19??- ): The girls often appeared in dresses, pinafores, and lace bonnets.
Josefa (19??- ):
Sam Houston: Sam Houston was about 5 years younger than Lyndon and looked up to his older brother. Lyndon was for ever taking advantage of him, like getting Sam Houston to do his chores or chipping in for a bike he couldn't possibly ride. Like Lyndon, his mother liked to dress Sam Houston in white sailor suits. The tunic suits Lyndon wore, however, were going out of style.
Lucia (1916- ):
Childhood Clothes
We have a good bit of information about the clothes Lyndon wore as a boy. He grew up in a Texas family of modest means. They were not poor, but money was not infrequently tight. His parents had middle class aspirations. His father, for example, wanted to be a lawyer. The clothes he wore are thus a good reflection of what average American boys, especially southern boys were wearing in the 1910s in the years before and during World War I. Lyndpn wore dresses as a little boy. As a somewhat older boy he wore tunic suits. Lyndon even as a boy was interested in clothes. His clothes were always different than the other boys. Sometimes they were more elegant than their weekday overalls and knickers or even sunday suits. Some were outlandishly elegant for a town like Johnson City.
Hair Styles
I don't think that Lyndon ever had long curls. A picture of him in 1912, hoever, when he was about 4, shows wearing wavy hair that covered his ears. His hair by 1913 was cut short.
Lyndon insisted in going to school at 4 years of age. His parents didn't want to send him to the rough rural school, but Lyndon would take off on his own and his parents relented. At four Lyndon could read better than much older children and they rather stood in awe of him. His mother dressed him in a red Buster Brown suuit or white sailor tunic. Sometimes he wore a cowboy suit complete with a Stetson hat. The other boys wore overalls and other farm clothes. Lyndon didn't mind, however, being dressed differently--in fact he insisted on it. "He wanted to stand out," a cousin explains. Lyndon grew up, working his way through Southwest Texas State Teachers College. As a result, he learned compassion for the poverty of others when he taught students of Mexican ancestry.
Political Career
H e campaigned successfully for the House of Representatives in 1937 on a New Deal platform, effectively aided by his wife, the former Claudia "Lady Bird" Taylor, whom he had married in 1934. During World War II he served briefly in the Navy as a lieutenant commander, winning a Silver Star in the South Pacific. After six terms in the House, Johnson was elected to the Senate in 1948. Johnson in 1953, he became the youngest Minority Leader in Senate history, and the following year, when the Democrats won control, Majority Leader. He was one of the most masterful majority leaders in Senate history. He worked clkosely wide aide Bobby Baker. With rare legislative skill he obtained passage of a number of key Eisenhower measures. The democratic majority in the Senate as did the the democratic leadershipo in the House conducted affairs very differently than the Republican performance with President Clinton after the Republican Congressional success in 1894. Under Johnson there was considerable cooperation with the Republican Administration. Johnson's Senate career was cut short when he was selected by Senator Kennedy in 1960 to be his vice-presidential candidate. Johnson did not want to leave the Senate, but reluctantly accepted. In a very close election, it was Johnson's presence on the ticket that helped Kennedy carry some southern states and narrowly defeat Vice-President Nixon.
In the 1960 campaign, Johnson, as John F. Kennedy's running mate, was elected Vice President. On November 22, 1963, when Kennedy was assassinated, Johnson was sworn in as President. "A Great Society" for the American people and their fellow men elsewhere was the vision of Lyndon B. Johnson. In his first years of office he obtained passage of one of the most extensive legislative programs in the Nation's history. Maintaining collective security, he carried on the rapidly growing struggle to restrain Communist encroachment in Vietnam. First he obtained enactment of the measures President Kennedy had been urging at the time of his death--a new civil rights bill and a tax cut. Next he urged the Nation "to build a great society, a place where the meaning of man's life matches the marvels of man's labor." In 1964, Johnson won the Presidency with 61 percent of the vote and had the widest popular margin in American history--more than 15,000,000 votes. The Great Society program became Johnson's agenda for Congress in January 1965: aid to education, attack on disease, Medicare, urban renewal, beautification, conservation, development of depressed regions, a wide-scale fight against poverty, control and prevention of crime and delinquency, removal of obstacles to the right to vote. Congress, at times augmenting or amending, rapidly enacted Johnson's recommendations. Millions of elderly people found succor through the 1965 Medicare amendment to the Social Security Act. Programs that liberals had sought since the New Deal were enacted in the first years of the Johnson presidency. Large Democratic Congressional majorities and Johnson's political insights allowed his administration to enact one of the far reaching programs of reforms in American history. These programs have largely continued intact, some have even been expanded. The historical assessment of the Johnson presidency, however, is still cloded by his decision to commit American combat troops to Vietnam. Under Johnson, the country made spectacular explorations of space in a program he had championed since its start. When three astronauts successfully orbited the moon in December 1968, Johnson congratulated them: "You've taken ... all of us, all over the world, into a new era. . . . " Nevertheless, two overriding crises had been gaining momentum since 1965. Despite the beginning of new antipoverty and anti-discrimination programs, unrest and rioting in black ghettos troubled the Nation. President Johnson steadily exerted his influence against segregation and on behalf of law and order, but there was no early solution. The inter-city riots had the impact of sapping the support of middle America for further liberal programs in civil rights and anti-poverty. Capped with the failed Vietnam War policies, the Johnson Administration would be the high point of liberalism in America and the beginning of a return to conservatism that still dominates the American electorate at the turn of the 21st Century. The other crisis arose from Vietnam. Faced with the fall of the anti-communist regime in Viet Nam, Johnson decided on a major escalation and committed combat troops in 1965. Despite Johnson's efforts to end Communist aggression and achieve a settlement, fighting continued. The American military and political leadership, including Johnson, badly miscalculated the cost in men and materials and the length of the struggle needed for victory. The American public increasingly began to see the cost as far outweighing the objectives and were increasing unwilling to send their sons to fight a war that just seenmed to drag on. Controversy over the war had become acute by the end of March 1968, when Johnson limited the bombing of North Vietnam in order to initiate negotiations. At the same time, he startled the world by withdrawing as a candidate for re-election so that he might devote his full efforts, unimpeded by politics, to the quest for peace. He clearly saw that the failure of his war policies would make his reelection difficult. When he left office, peace talks were under way; he did not live to see them successful, but died suddenly of a heart attack at his Texas ranch on January 22, 1973.
Claudia Taylor (Lady Bird) Johnson (1912- )
Christened Claudia Alta Taylor when she was born in a country mansion near Karnack, Texas, she received her nickname "Lady Bird" as a small child; and as Lady Bird she is known and loved throughout America today. Perhaps that name was prophetic, as there has seldom been a First Lady so attuned to nature and the importance of conserving the environment.
Her mother, Minnie Pattillo Taylor, died when Lady Bird was 5, so she was reared by her father, her aunt, and family servants. From her father, Thomas Jefferson Taylor, who had prospered, she learned much about the business world. An excellent student, she also learned to love classical literature. At the University of Texas she earned a bachelor's degree in arts and in journalism.
Lady Bird met Lyndon Baines Johnson, then a Congressional secretary visiting Austin on official business, in 1934, He promptly asked her for a date, which she accepted. He courted her from Washington with letters, telegrams, and telephone calls. Seven weeks later he was back in Texas; he proposed to her and she accepted. In her own words: "Sometimes Lyndon simply takes your breath away." They were married in November 1934.
When the Presidential term ended, the Johnsons returned to Texas, where he died in 1973. Mrs. Johnson's White House Diary, published in 1970, and a 1981 documentary film, The First Lady, A Portrait of Lady Bird Johnson, give sensitive and detailed views of her contributions to the President's Great Society administration. Today Lady Bird leads a life devoted to her husband's memory, her children, and seven grandchildren. She still supports causes dear to her--notably the National Wildflower Research Center, which she founded in 1982, and The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library. She also serves on the Board of the National Geographic Society as a trustee emeritus.
After repeated miscarriages, Lady Bird gave birth to Lynda Bird (now Mrs. Charles S. Robb) in 1944; Luci Baines (Mrs. Ian Turpin) was born 3 years later. The girls were teenagers when their father was catapulted into the White House. As far as I know, they never gave their father any real difficulties. he press referred to them as the Presisent's two "semi-lovely" daughters.
Lynda Bird (1944- )
After repeated miscarriages, Lady Bird gave birth to Lynda Bird in 1944. Lynda graduated from the Universitybof Texas and was married in the White House. She married a hansome marine Corps officer that she met in the White House, Charles S. Robb. They had three daughters, Lucinda Desha, Catherine Lewis, and Jennifer Wickliffe. Robb went on to becomr Governor and Senator from Virginia and for a while was talked about as a possible presuidential candidate. Lynda chairs the "Reading is Findamental" board, the most important national literacy group.
Luci Baines (1947- )
Luci Baines was born 3 years after Lynda. She was a teenager when her father became president. She married Pat Nugent in a highly publicized wedding on August 6, 1966. They had four children: Lyndon (1967), Nicole Marie (1970), Rebekah (1974), and Claudia Taylor (1976). Despite the four children, there were serious problems in the marriage. The marriage was ended by a divorce in 1979. She then married Canadian financier, Ian Turpin. Mrs Turpin manages the family media enterproes--LBJ Holding Company. She married Canadian financier Ian Turpin. She is active in various civic affairs. She is a trustee of Boston University and especialy interested in issues concerning battered women.
Robert A. Caro, The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path to Power (Knopf: New York, 1982).
Wead, Doug. All the President's Children: Triumph and Tragedy in the Lives of America's First Families (Atria: New York, 2003), 456p.
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Created: July 1, 1999
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0.087377 | <urn:uuid:77a01d9f-ce81-4388-bb63-ae3d7cd44fe5> | en | 0.949527 | Monday, 31 December 2007
What do I wear when I'm cooking & cleaning?
A pinny? Sometimes, but not that often. I like an old-fashioned wraparound overall in plain drill cotton, generally green for housework and always white when I'm cooking. The only time I normally wear a pinny is when I'm in the middle of cooking and need to take a break. The pinny does keep the overall clean.
Marigolds? Yes, for most mucky jobs. The genuine Marigolds (Marigold Extra) are the best; a nice mould so my hands fit well, and the beaded cuff is the most effective means of stopping water dripping inside the gloves.
I'm a Wannabe Housewife!
Maybe the title says it all; cooking, cleaning, laundering, ironing, I'm happy....
Not really a post, this, I know, but it'll get me started for 2008. Right now it's back on with the Marigolds, and a sinkful of dishes to clear. | http://houseworkstuff.blogspot.com/2007/ | dclm-gs1-188241087 |
0.018318 | <urn:uuid:b9ddabd2-9b11-4193-a404-4b74b7584bc9> | en | 0.839262 |
4) Food: There's won't need to purchase to present a whole serving. Do just cake and ice products. Forgo the fancy paper plates and serve it on standard dishes. You might have to perform the dishes later but you will have saved forking over $10 in writing plates and plastic forks and spoons. The cake and soft serve will become the perfect biggest funding. If you do a box cake at home and get a new gallon of store brand ice cream, it can cost around $8 total. If you want to with regard to a pre-done cake a person don't have time, 100 % possible skip the ice cream, serve only cake, and buy a simple pre-made cake for $10.
Keep all the other games as traditional birthday party games that don't use any supplies (which makes them free!). Examples are duck, duck, goose; the shoe game (hide their shoes around property and ask them to find them), I spy, follow the leader, mothers day parade (using pots and pans from around the house), and rhyme time game.
If you're like most pizza operators, you've probably considered distributing your menus to customer homes previously past. But, for some reason you've have not tried direct mail for your targeted pizza eating venue.
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The being nervous about cooking I refer to is should you be afraid if possible mess the meal and end up tossing it in the garbage. Or, you are afraid to experiment and try something another. Many people have been conditioned to eat prepared meals from frozen packages and cardboard cabinets. That's no fun. You are missing the joy of cooking if you are eating premade meals or dining out all time.
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0.024194 | <urn:uuid:34c4177a-1fd7-4b77-91e0-7d70bdd13251> | en | 0.976473 | All posts by johnwagner
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John Wagner is a retired lawyer and the author of:
Well it’s Christmastime now down on Rue Morgue Avenue. Time to talk of peace on earth, good will to men and women, mistletoe, opening presents under the tree, and, of course, depression. I’m too lazy to Google it now but I know there are plenty of psychological studies relating Christmastime to depression. Seasonal Affective Disorder (um, SAD) being one of the more benign conditions.
There are plenty of novels dealing in some way with depression, whether Christmas-related or just regular good ol depression. One of the most interesting is French author Michel Houellebecq’s (pronounced “Well-beck”) first novel, which carries the English title, Whatever (London: Serpent’s Tail, 1998, 2011). The French title is Extension Du Domaine De La Lutte, which, I am informed by a French reviewer on US Amazon, means Extension of the Field of Struggle. Yeah, a real audience-grabber. I haven’t been able to come up with captivating titles for my books but even I wouldn’t dare use an obtuse title like that. Tells you how much I know. This novel, Houellebecq’s first, made him famous as an intellectual novelist, say the Norman Mailer of modern times. While my comments here relate to Whatever, they could as easily relate to most of Houellebecq’s novels as most of his themes carry over from one book to another.
Houellebecq doesn’t care about plot. His books are anti-plot. One thing happens after another for no apparent reason. Everything is remorselessly depressing. Then he throws in some violence near the end, maybe because he’s seen too many modern movies. Yet then one meaningless thing happens after another all over again.
But one reason I like his writing so much is that he dares to ask the ultimate question: is this all there is? And he answers it pitilessly: yes. The mundane stuff in our lives is all there is and it is pointless to look for any hope. He is nonreligious and non-“we are all part of the great wave of the universe” to the max. I don’t agree, but it is this pitiless honesty that makes his books so absorbing. He takes depression head-on. And he doesn’t give us an easy way out.
Houellebecq puts an Everyman in an arbitrary situation. But there is no arc, no redemption, no change. We all remain the poor slobs we are. We are all caught up in “the struggle,” a social Darwinist approach describing life as a struggle to gain the physical attentions—not love, forget love, that’s too cutesy—of the sexual objects (same or opposite sex) we desire. It all, somehow, maybe, sorts itself out in the end. According to Houellebecq: we get the sexual mates we “deserve” in the sexual economy. We are not valued for who we “truly” are but then, why should we be? Life is a movie-magazine culture.
Until we finally accept our fate, life is terrifying because we always want someone more desirable than we are. (Buddhism: we are always grasping.) But why should that more desirable person want us? He or she wants someone more desirable than them. Besides, even if we land someone more desirable than us, they will trade up at the first opportunity. (Look at Trump’s divorces…the divorce rate in general.)
Most of life is taken up with the day-to-day battles and manipulations to fend off rivals and to find some meaning in a meaningless universe. (To create our own meaning or to truly accept our own suffering on its own terms, not for any noble or religious terms). We might not achieve what we’d like but the important thing is to struggle, not to abdicate, to keep looking for love despite the unlikeliness of finding it and despite the general hopelessness of it all. Now that French title makes sense: To recognize there is a field of struggle and to extend it wherever possible. Santa Claus?
In the evolutionary jungle of attractiveness, there are winners and losers starting at least by adolescence. The economy of good looks generally rules. We will not grow out of adolescent sexual failures but, rather, those failures cut deep wounds that will get deeper and deeper. Those wounds will create an atrocious, unremitting bitterness that will grip our hearts. There will be no deliverance, no redemption, other than having struggled—to be who we want to be, to do what we believe we are called to do. (He wouldn’t put it this way. There is no “who” calling us, he would say.)
Houellebecq adds to this an interesting take on the “new” sexual economy, which may not be new at all. Everyone is in a Catch-22. The victors, the attractive ones who have lots of sex in adolescence and young adulthood, by their very victory lose a kind of innocence and illusion they could only have if they weren’t so attractive. As these people age, they necessarily lose their attractiveness. This leads to a festering hatred of youth culture, with all that remains being resentment, disgust, sickness and the anticipation of death. So, the victors aren’t really victors. And the sexual losers? They just keep losing throughout their lives. Except. Except if they do happen to find that appropriate mate, that appropriate challenge in life—which they may never do. There you have it. And who’s to say it’s not so.
What to do when there is no hope? At least Houellebecq writes about it in terms that bring it home to us. And we respond because it’s honest. It’s Hemingway without the b.s. Don’t expect anything more, Houellebecq tells us.
Have yourself a merry little Christmas. Think Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits. But we can be happy, not worried. Houellebecq is right but so are the old Budweiser slogans. You only go round once. This Bud’s for you, my friends. Sure your outdoor display just got vandalized, your car just got hit by a cell-phone-distracted teenage-softball-star name-checking her dates, and some red-faced guy in a pickup cut you off because he wasn’t paying attention to his exit. Your daughter just got cancer and your spouse found someone better. Look inside all that. Look at the moment the ladder started falling. It ain’t fun but while we’re alive, we are alive. Drink tea and oranges. Dance with the one who brung ya. Love the life you’ve got.
What We Really Need to Know About The Magna Carta
“C’mon George, you’re holding us up!”
Here’s something that didn’t make the cut in Baby Boomer Army Brat. In my first draft, I started all the way back, when our ancestors came to America. It quickly became clear that was just way too much information. The memoir now starts with Dad and Mom getting married, just before World War II.
“C’mon George, you’re holding us up!”
The parents of my great-great-grandfather, George Wagner, probably yelled something similar to him as they waited to board their ship from Germany to their new life in the United States, probably in the early 1850s.
It was no casual picnic. The family had been setting aside money for years for the trip to the fabulous New World and the new opportunities that waited in the US. We don’t know how many Wagner relatives came, but families were large in those day. It cost over a third of a worker’s annual income to bring an average-sized family to the US. With the limited space onboard a trans-Atlantic vessel, the Wagners would have carefully planned what they could bring on board. They had room for only the bare necessities, such as a few changes of clothes, tools, a family Bible, a few other small family heirlooms, basic hygiene items, and, if they’d been forewarned about the horrid food onboard, a small stockpile of their favorite foods that would keep for a while.
The family left from Bense, Bavaria, in southern Germany. After having having said goodbye to their friends and other family members, they would have taken a train to Hamburg and then made their way to the bustling departure port. While they could have smelled the dirty water, they couldn’t board the ship yet. They had to pass a series of medical examinations, which sometimes held up travelers for a week or so for physical exams and awaiting results of lab tests.
The trip itself would have been an awful, disgusting voyage characterized by seasickness, inadequate food, lack of privacy, cramped living quarters, vomit on the decks, and disease. The experience could stretch on for what seemed like an eternity. Up until the 1850s, most emigrants from Germany traveled on sailing ships, with an average voyage to the US taking forty-three days. Later, steamships shortened the voyage to 12-14 days. Living conditions on board were primitive. Passengers had to sleep in narrow bunks below deck. During storms, the door from the outside deck would be locked, leaving them with little light or fresh air. The stench of vomit and overflowing chamber pots was overwhelming. Constant jostling from weather and waves made even standing difficult on many days. On the worst days, passengers could not even stay in bed to sleep, tossed about and sliding over vomit and God only knows what else on the cabin floor.
The ship would priovide little variety in food. If a passenger was lucky, the vessel would be governed by at least some basic regulations, such as the British Passenger Act. Its minimum requirements included biscuits, wheat flour, oatmeal, rice, tea, sugar, and molasses. Food had to be issued in advance and not less often than twice a week. Passengers could bring additional provisions, and many did. The captain also had to ensure that each passenger received three quarts of water daily. Often, though, the water quality was poor. Prior passengers sent word back as to what to bring. Coffee was preferable to tea because at least it offerend some taste; the water was so bad it made the tea tasteless. Even the process of trying to eat was difficult. Many used their trunks as tables, and, in rough waters, struggled to prevent these makeshift tables from sliding back and forth across the deck.
Seasickness was constant. Many passengers threw up after eating their first meal aboard ship and continued to throw up often. Although some passengers adjusted to the constant rocking and bouncing of the ship, others spent the entire trip nearly bedridden with nausea. Occasionally, those with overwhelming seasickness starved to death during the voyage.
Life on board wasn’t all drudgery though. Couples got married, perhaps by a fellow passenger who was a minister, or, if the couple had money or connections, by the captain. Women had babies, and couples conceived babies. Many passengers celebrated birthdays. They held parties for many of those occasions. Passengers also made time for playing games, dancing, and writing letters home. Even though the conditions were harsh, the passengers were on a tremendously exciting adventure.
Perhaps the travelers thought the worst part of the trip—worse than the constant motion, the poor food, and the cramped and uncomfortable sleeping quarters—was the danger of life at sea: storms, poor ship construction, and ships simply being lost at sea for unknown reasons. Actually, however, the worst danger was disease, which killed far more passengers than storms or shipwrecks. Illnesses like typhus, cholera, and dysentery would spread throughout ships in epidemic proportions due to the crowded and unsanitary conditions. Sometimes upon landing, a large percentage of passengers went straight from the ship to a hospital, where survival rates were grim.
After the ship arrived in New York and the passengers disembarked, immigration officials herded them to Castle Gardens, located across from the Statue of Liberty on an island off the tip of Manhattan. This was the predecessor to the famous Ellis Island. Hundreds of immigrants crowded through Castle Gardens’ doors each day. There, the immigrants reported their name and destination. Government officials gave them information: where they could purchase train tickets, exchange money, seek directions, learn about employment opportunities, and use other services. The immigrants could also sleep on the floor there for a couple of nights until they got their bearings. Amazingly, given the experiences conveyed in “The Godfather” and other movies, the government was attempting to shield immigrants from the many thieves and thugs who hung around the harbor waiting to prey upon them.
“Baby Boomer Army Brat” To Launch
My new book, Baby Boomer Army Brat, will launch publicly on November 6. It is already available in print on Amazon and will be available as an e-book on Kindle shortly. Here are some of the publicity descriptions:
In this journey through a 1950s-early 1960s “Army Brat” childhood and adolescence, John Wagner brings the reader directly into his life of dramatic changes. We see him go from a good Catholic altar boy: with obedience to rules and respect for authority and religion, to the opposite: a bad boy secretly breaking the rules, hanging out with potential delinquents, suffering social isolation due to severe acne, and questioning everything, including his family’s longstanding Catholicism. Status is everything in the military and we see his family moving from the high status of an up-and-coming officer’s life to the lower status of an enlisted man’s life, through no fault of his father. We see John become a hero for all the wrong reasons: in a vividly described deer-hunting trip—an initiation into his father’s life—and in the hilarious finale to a championship baseball game. Wagner has a unique, direct, voice, bringing us into the immediacy of the highs and lows, even the sounds and smells, of this military family’s life. We finally see Wagner survive, achieve a smidgen of self-confidence and maturity, as he prepares for college and for what will become the Vietnam era.
John Wagner somehow became a prominent lawyer, won a case before the United States Supreme Court, marched for civil rights and against the Vietnam war, was in the Nixon “Counter-Inaugural,” and was the host of “Uncle John’s Jam” on a listener-sponsored radio station. He is now a full-time author and has a blog at He is still waiting for the clouds to lift about the meaning of life.
John Wagner’s Baby Boomer Army Brat is the penetrating story of a boy who would become a teenage acne-riddled social outcast, and his coming-of-age within the unique subculture of an Army family. With warmth and energy, Wagner shows a vivid slice of Americana foreshadowing the dramatic changes about to hit the baby-boomers and all of American society: the new civil rights laws, the psychedelic era, and above all the searing division of the Vietnam War.
Wagner details many of the cruel, yet often hilarious, struggles of adolescence, from which he emerges with a core inner strength, although also full of doubts. John must try to forge his own values and beliefs in the midst of a constant inability to do anything right and ongoing criticism from his no-nonsense Army father. Baby Boomer Army Brat shows John trying to survive within the military culture, including sexual abuse from a predatory soldier. John must find his way through a minefield of an ever-changing identity, overwhelming anxieties, seeking a spiritual path, and above all struggling to become authentic.
JOHN WAGNER’S previous book, Troubled Mission: Fighting For Love, Spirituality, and Human Rights in Violence-Ridden Peru, won the Non Fiction Authors Association Silver Award, 2015.
My Love Affair With Studebakers, Part 2
In eleventh grade, I got to take auto mechanics. Somewhere I found a 1952 Studebaker Commander for twenty dollars and Dad actually let me buy it. It ran, but often put out white smoke from the tailpipe. Someone told me that if the smoke turned blue, it meant the car needed a ring job, a project far too advanced for our class. The white smoke was something with which we could live.
Oh, how I loved my Studie. I knew it had a Mallory ignition. I didn’t know what that was, but knew it was something advanced, like a transistor radio, which didn’t have to warm up but came on right away. I also was proud that Studebaker was the first car make to use safety glass, for whatever that was worth. I thought I was driving the coolest thing around. It was essentially the same car Dad had bought in Germany. Maybe that was why he let me buy it.
I’d fill up the Studie with gas at the Fitz service station, where the price was around thirty-three cents a gallon, about the same as a pack of cigarettes. But the car used oil like crazy and I had to add oil almost every other fill up. I made sure not to mention that to Dad, as I knew he’d give me a hard time for buying such a lemon. I knew by then that the white smoke was related to using too much oil. Later, Mom and Dad told me they knew about my sneaking oil into the car but thought it too funny to give me a hard time about it.
Somewhere I saw an ad for the same 1952 Studebaker Commander, but without an engine, for twenty-five dollars. Dad agreed to buy it as a parts car for the Studie that did run, but it was galling to both of us to pay more for a car without an engine than for a car with an engine. Dad tried to get the price down but the seller would not budge.
“Well,” Dad said finally, “it’s like paying twenty-two fifty for each car. That’s not too bad.”
We parked the Studie that ran in front of our apartment on the Fitz army base and the parts car in the field behind our backyard. I’m surprised we didn’t get an order to remove it from some officious MPs, but they never hassled us. Even before I began the auto mechanics class, Dad and Tom and I replaced the windshield and a fender from the parts Studie.
One night I was driving the Studie around Fitz by myself, violating one of Dad’s cardinal rules: “And don’t think you have to go somewhere, just because that car’s sitting out there!” I was listening to KIMN and the Ventures’ Walk, Don’t Run by came on. What a hot song! What a beat and melody! I couldn’t keep still. I was bouncing around, my foot bouncing on the gas pedal, and I began to accelerate like crazy right near the main hospital building. An MP spotted me but for some reason let me off with a warning.
One of our projects in auto mechanics was to bleed the brakes. I was teamed with Don Baird of “Now, you come back here, Don Baird!” fame. That’s what Mrs. Hutchinson, our Latin teacher, yelled at him when he just up and walked out of class one day. He had the potential for becoming a serious juvenile delinquent and that story traveled immediately from our class to the entire school. Don must have heard a million taunts of, “Now, you come back here, Don Baird!” I said it all the time at home but never to his face. He was a tough guy, and I was chicken.
Don was handsome and, unlike most tough guys, friendly. He never hassled me. Having been assigned to be my partner for the auto mechanics project, he treated me friendly, cracking jokes all the time. He had thick blonde hair that he combed into a ducktail with perfect rolls on the front, curling down toward the center——more Elvis than Elvis. After we finished the brake job on the Studie, he suggested we take the next day off and test out the Studie by going to the Denver Zoo. What a great idea! I would be with Don Baird, which would, I thought, make me cool like him. We went to school the next day but not to classes. Don and I met at the back lot near the auto mechanics area, where we kept the cars on which we were working. But we never made it to the zoo.
As I discovered after getting a few blocks away from school, we had messed up the bleeding of the brakes and the entire system was full of air. I had to pump the brake pedal several times for each stop sign or red light. That wasn’t too bad because I could see in advance the stop signs and lights that were already yellow or red. But if a light turned yellow suddenly, I had to pump the brakes really fast to bring the car to a stop in time. Just after we crossed the city line from Aurora into Denver, I was approaching an intersection and the light turned yellow. I pumped furiously, but the car did nothing and I sailed through the now-red light. The instant we went through the light, I saw a police car stopped in traffic going the other way. Within seconds, the officer was behind us with his red light on. The Studie had finally slowed down, and I was able to pull over with a minimum of braking.
There was no question of mercy, of being let off with a warning. We were two high school-age kids, obviously ditching school, who had blown a red light, no possible argument that there wasn’t time to stop. As the big, unemotional cop wrote the ticket and told me of the accident I might have caused, I knew it would do no good to say, “But officer, the brakes aren’t working right, and I was pumping them as fast as I could.”
The fine was huge, over $100, and there was no way I could hide it from my parents. I got the usual “What the hell were you thinking, boy?” from Dad and “Where have we failed you?” from Mom. I was grounded for months. That was also it for the Studie. They let me keep it at school so I could finish the auto mechanics course, and then it and the replacement car vanished.
Studebaker No. 1
US Postwar Imperialism
[I’ll refer to: ”President Trump” as opposed to just “Trump.” I couldn’t stand it when opinion writers refused to call President Obama “President.” I’ll try not to do the same thing to President Trump. He may not have been elected fair and square but he was elected legally. At least until a court says otherwise.]
President Trump’s Lies Begin at the Beginning
The media was concerned about how to report Candidate Trump’s provable lies. Now that he is in office, the media is in a tizzy. Immediately after the inauguration, Team Trump started a fight with the media about the size of attendance at the inaugural. The press immediately disproved President Trump’s statements. In response, Counselor-Without-Apparent-Portfolio-Kelleyanne Conway said President Trump is entitled to “alternate facts.” <aref=””>https://.
Alternate facts? Like, in an alternate universe? Are we living in a comic book world.
And press secretary Sean Spicer claims the Trump Administration is entitled to dispute the facts. You can dispute points of view or theories or arguments. But dispute actual “facts?” Facts are facts because they are undisputable. At the beginning of the Trump administration, it seems facts don’t matter anymore. But facts must matter. A free press should always think facts do matter.
What is a “Lie” Versus a “Misrepresentation” versus a “Falsehood?”
In the Nixon days, when the administration was caught in a lie, the administration would say the statement was “no longer operative.” Not, for heaven’s sake, a “lie.” In the immortal words of Ben Bradlee in All The President’s Men (both the book and the movie), a “nondenial denial.” Most of the media is afraid to call a Trump administration lie a “lie.” (Notable exception: Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC. Who, coincidentally, as head of the Democratic National Committee during Watergate, happens to know a lot about Nixonian lies.) Some journalists now consider themselves brave in using the terms “false” or “falsehood.” Journalists were actually debating whether to call some lies “falsehoods” as opposed to “lies.” What is a “falsehood” except a nicer and gentler way of saying “lie.” And if it is a lie, why should journalists be looking for a way to soften it. Isn’t this simply bowing to the new power structure? The New York Times seems to be attempting to avoid the lie-versus-other-name-issue by using footnotes to point out the falsity of Team Trump’s statements.
Should Journalists Fight Every Lie?
For the journalists speaking or interviewed on the SIRIUS radio channel POTUS (“Politics of the United States”) today, the issue seems to be: do you fight over every single lie or intentional misrepresentation, even if the subject is of minor importance or do you “pick your battles” and only make a fuss over the “big” lies? Most of the journalists I heard agreed the danger in reporting every little lie to be, in fact, a lie is that the public will soon tire of the fighting and, later, won’t be responsive when the press reveal a very big lie.
Who Decides?
The first question, of course, is: who decides what is a small lie versus a big lie? Is the President’s insistence that he had “the greatest” inaugural attendance a triviality? Or is it reflective of his insecurity and his need to stand unchallenged on anything he wants to say? If so, isn’t that important? Isn’t that an indication of demagoguery? Are there indeed a million little lies? But let’s assume that question away, keeping it for another day. Today, let’s assume we would all agree on what constitutes a big versus a little lie.
No–The Press Shouldn’t Ignore The “Little” Lies
The majority journalistic opinion seems to be that it just isn’t worth it to make an issue of “every little lie.” I must disagree. Yes, the public may get tired of hearing about “little” lies—perhaps they will occur from Team Trump on a daily basis and the team will say (as they do now) the media is biased against them. Perhaps we’ll accumulate a million little lies in an incredibly short period of time.
In the campaign, the Trump spokespeople repeatedly said that little lies don’t matter. Reminiscent of the Clinton staffers, the Trump people will say—are saying already—we need to “move on.” (Look at Conway saying the people “have already litigated” the issue of whether President Trump should disclose his taxes.
What? we have litigated no such thing. A blatant and by no means “little” lie. But Ms. Conway would have us just move on from the issue of whether President Trump has had numerous serious conflicts of interest from the instant he took office.
Yes, there is a danger of public apathy or burnout. It’s a danger we must accept. Yes, people may get tired of hearing that President Trump lied about this or lied about that. But that’s the job of a strong and free press—to hold the government accountable.
How Not To Ask a Question: The Capehart-Lynch Interview Relating to the Bill Clinton-Loretta Lynch Meeting and to the FBI’s Hillary Clinton Investigation
I’m assuming we all saw the recent interview of Loretta Lynch by a fawning and laughing Jonathan Capehart regarding the recent visit between Lynch and former President Bill Clinton on Lynch’s airplane in Phoenix. The problem was Capehart: didn’t frame his questions with precision, didn’t carefully listen to the answers and follow up on obvious gaps, and let General Lynch change the subject throughout the interview.
I don’t have a dog in this fight. I can’t stand Trump for the obvious reasons and I believe Hillary Clinton has (alas, successfully) played the public for fools with her continuing and outlandish evasiveness (“What, wipe the server, like with a cloth?”) and perhaps outright lies both now and throughout her public life. My point here is simply to look at how Capehart, perhaps in full good faith, presented himself as getting to the bottom of the matter but in reality left holes big enough to drive a truck through. What new facts did he elicit? None that I can see.
“What Were You Thinking?”
First, he deserves credit by trying to go to the heart of matter right off the bat but he did so in the manner of a late-night TV comedian, letting us, the audience, er, public, know he really was on her side but had to raise the issue. Then he asked her two questions at the same time (“What were you thinking?” “What happened?”), allowing her to say anything she wanted and it would be unclear what question she was answering. Ably, General Lynch went into a monologue about how “that” (what, precisely?) was the question and then redefined the so-called question into one she wanted to answer, what her role was and would be in the Clinton investigation. She totally evaded Capehart’s questions and Capehart made no attempt to follow up.
• What was she thinking? She didn’t answer this at all.
• What did happen? Likewise, she completely evaded this question.
“What Did Happen?”
Think this through with me. How does anyone, even a former president of the United States, simply appear in the cabin office of the plane carrying the Attorney General? Someone on Clinton’s staff had to call someone on Lynch’s staff? What was said by each? What was conveyed to Lynch? What did she say? What was she thinking? Even if we accept the (implausible) implication of the Hillary campaign that there was no phone call but Bill just somehow appeared at the airplane, at least at that point someone had to advise Lynch and she had to say something. Again, What did she say? What was she thinking? She did say she wouldn’t do it again but how many people have said that to federal prosecutors only to be shot down with, “You’re only sorry you got caught” and no sympathy.
“Primarily Social”
In other statements, Lynch had said the meeting was primarily social—chitchat about grandchildren, travels, the usual sort of discussion one might expect between the nation’s top law enforcer to whom the FBI reports and the ultra-prominent husband of a politician under active investigation by that very FBI. OK, let’s accept that the meeting was primarily chitchat and that, at the time, she saw nothing wrong with having it. Still, primarily. Thus, she admitted part of the meeting was much more than social chitchat. What was that part of the meeting about?
“That’s The Question”
Not only did Capehart not even try to keep the focus on his questions, he gushed in Lynch’s praise of him for asking “the” question while she came nowhere near answering it and he then allowed her to take off on how she took her work seriously and was “pained” that her meeting had “cast a shadow over how people are going to view that work”—whatever that was supposed to mean. That certainly sounds pious but means absolutely nothing.
“I Fully Expect to Accept Their Recommendations”
Lynch said that the team of career FBI agents and Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors would make findings and recommendations to her and that she “fully expected” to accept the recommendations. Later, she said that she had already decided “Findings” are the government’s conclusions as to the facts and “recommendations” are what the government should do about those facts, specifically if it will indict someone and if so, whom? A certain HRC perchance? Capehart never pressed General Lynch on precisely what she was saying. Was she saying she wouldn’t be involved regarding a decision of the facts, the findings? Was she saying she wouldn’t be involved regarding a decision on the recommendations? Or was she signaling that she didn’t “expect” to be involved in a decision on the recommendations but that, well, you know, anything could happen. Capehart completely failed to “spot” this issue, as they say regarding law school exams, let alone get a specific answer from the Attorney General.
General Lynch certainly tried to create the impression, and succeeded in doing so, that she would not be involved in either the findings or the recommendations. But she did not precisely say that. There’s plenty of wiggle room for her to backtrack later.
Finally, many commentators have explained that the DOJ has very specific rules requiring “recusal”—completely bowing out of a case, including not making decisions on either findings or recommendations—if a DOJ official has personal dealings with the subject of an investigation, or a family member of the subject of an investigation. If General Lynch really was saying she would accept the findings and recommendations of the FBI and DOJ, then why would she not recuse herself? Capehart again never spotted this issue, let alone pushed General Lynch to deal with it.
All in all, I think we’re back where we started before the now famous interview.
Meeting Sonny Liston
The recent death of Muhammed Ali reminds me of the time I met Sonny Liston. In 1962, when I was in the tenth grade at Aurora, CO, High School, and my brother Tom was in the ninth grade at nearby North Junior High, Sonny Liston, the ferocious prizefighter who had won the heavyweight championship against Floyd Patterson some time earlier, moved to east Denver, not far from our apartment at Fitzsimons Army Hospital in Aurora. His recent fight against Patterson was over so quickly there’d been many allegations of a fix. But there were also many claims that his right hand was so strong, it could kill a man and Patterson was lucky to have escaped with his life.
Dad was stationed at Fitzsimons (now closed) and we lived in base housing. I don’t know why Tom and I were talking about Liston other than that he was in the news. Dad was the boxing fan, not Tom or me. A story in one of the papers (those were the days of a morning newspaper and a competing afternoon paper) had his address—-he was in a fancy part of east Denver, not that far from us. I’d recently received my driver’s license and, if Dad was in the right mood, was sometimes allowed to drive our black and Colonial Creme (not yellow! Colonial Creme) Chevy station wagon.
The summer before, one day when Tom and I were looking for something to do, we said to each other, “Hey, let’s go say ‘hi’ to the Governor” and we rode eight miles each way on our bikes to do so. We didn’t meet the Governor but we did meet the Lieutenant Governor, who showed us the new license plates that would come out in a year. Now in that same spirit, one evening one of us said, “Hey, let’s go say ‘hi’ to Sonny Liston.” And so we did. It was one of my first times driving at night but at least there were streetlights in east Denver. Somehow I found the address. We could see well enough to see Liston’s house was plush, near Monaco Parkway where the rich people lived. I parked the car and we walked up to the door. Two young white teenagers walking right to the front door of the African American heavyweight champion of the world. We weren’t even smart enough to be nervous. I rang the bell. We could hear voices and the door opened.
“Yes?” barked a large black man. Was this him, was this the fearsome fighter? I couldn’t be sure.
“Uh, good evening sir. We wondered if Sonny Liston was home.”
“Whaddya want with him?”
Good question. What did we want with him? What the hell were we doing there? It was clear now we were interrupting either dinner or a party.
“Um, we’d like to shake his hand and say ‘hi.’ And we’d like his autograph.” That was the best I could come up with.
“Wait a minute.”
Uh oh, was he going to get a gun to shoot us? Suddenly the doorway was full, one man was blocking out all the light.
Now there was no question. This was him. “Hi. Are you Sonny Liston?”
“How do you do sir?” I stammered. We were being the super respectful Army kids we’d been taught to be. “We live on Fitzsimons, a few miles from here. Our dad is in the Army. We just wanted to say ‘hi’ and ‘congratulations’ and could we have your autograph please?”
“OK. Hi. Did you bring a paper and pen?”
Oops. We hadn’t thought of that. “Uh, no sir. I’m sorry.” Now what? Maybe we had something back in the car but I wasn’t sure and that would only prolong what was now a clearly bad idea. We started to turn around.
“Wait a minute.” The great man took pity on us. He went back to his dinner group and returned in a few minutes with a pad of paper and a pencil.
Here we were, two scrawny white teenagers standing in fear of the great man we’d come to see. Sonny’s giant hand swallowed up the pencil. He put his face close to the paper and began writing his name very slowly. He doesn’t know how to write! I thought. Suddenly everything changed. This burly giant labored over signing his name like a child just learning to write. Instead of being afraid, I felt protective and angry-—this poor guy, look how everyone had taken advantage of him because he was big and tough and a great fighter. No one had ever cared enough about him to make sure he got a good education, I thought. Finally, he finished and handed the torn-off slip of paper to us. He graciously offered his huge hand, that instrument of death, to each of us to shake and was careful not to shake our hands too hard.
Since then, I’ve had to endure many super-strong handshakes, some even painful, and it seems they always came from guys desperately trying to prove something, not guys who’d already shown their abilities.
Both sides of the argument make strong points. By going to Cuba he helps normalize relations, which can lead to the ability of the US to have more influence on Cuba. On the other hand, by going to Cuba he does give some legitimacy to the Castro regime, with its horrific record on human rights. What to do do? As a former law professor would often say, pretending to pull out his few remaining hairs, “Gawd these are tough issues!”
Yes, I think President Obama was right. To paraphrase the president’s line, if you’re doing something for 50 years and it still isn’t working, what makes you think continuing that policy will accomplish anything? At least going to Cuba is “giving peace a chance,” even if does lend legitimacy to Raul Castro and company for the short term.
I’m assuming Fidel is near death. And Raul is no spring chicken. There will be replacements in the next few years. Yes, those replacements will have been previously selected and are unlikely to be advocating any changes in Cuba’s human rights policies. But they will be new people in new circumstances and US policies may be able to affect them, even it is in the unfortunate (for this question) Spanish phrase, “poco a poco,” little by little.
And look at what actually happened. Raul Castro said, “show me the names!” Unfortunately the reporters weren’t prepared for that. But they’ll be back. And lists of names will be widely publicized. And the Cuban people saw President speak for human rights right in Raul’s face. Raul Castro isn’t going to release human rights prisoners, or change government tactics, immediately. But the duplicity of his stance will be obvious and will inexorably become a topic of conversation in Cuba, a conversation heaping more sarcasm and disgust on the regime.
I salute President Obama while recognizing human rights workers, and all of us, must keep up the pressure on Cuba. | http://johnpwagner.com/author/johnwagner/ | dclm-gs1-188421087 |
0.113259 | <urn:uuid:1f819dc1-9a67-4270-839b-bcaaa8eaed27> | en | 0.983041 | So, I'm old now. I'm 31, which, I guess, means I'm an adult. However, sometimes I think I'm not very good at it or I'm in denial.
I mean, I still love boy bands and am convinced that Jonathan Taylor Thomas and I are meant to be together. And sometimes, I look around my apartment and think "Is this really the living space of an adult?"
For example, I don't own an iron. If something needs to be ironed, I don't buy it. Or just throw it in the dryer for a little bit.
I don't own a coffee pot/maker. It used to be because I just legit didn't like coffee, but now instead of having a coffee pot, I'd rather spend money on a fancy coffee from a coffee shop. I guess, it's still technically because I don't like coffee. I like coffee that tastes kind of like coffee.
I don't own a stand up mixer. I don't do a lot of baking, but I'm always surprised how many people have them. I do have an electric hand mixer though.
And finally, I don't have a headboard. When I bought my bed after college they threw in the frame and box spring, but I didn't even think about a headboard. Maybe someday I'll have a big girl bed.
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| http://kikn.com/am-i-adulting-wrong/ | dclm-gs1-188491087 |
0.028483 | <urn:uuid:d0c2c2a7-a69f-4ee3-8c46-2428c25bc96f> | en | 0.90369 |
Games theme song makes Oct 1 playlist
[ 2009-09-07 11:26] 字号 [] [] []
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You and Me, the theme song of last year's Beijing Olympic Games, will be one of 43 tunes played during the National Day celebrations.
Around 1,500 performers from across China have been selected for a special band to perform music for the military parade and a mass pageant on October 1, said band director Yu Hai.
"The number of songs will be the highest for such a celebration," he said. Just 35 songs were played during the 50th anniversary in 1999.
The National Day parade and pageant are always accompanied by a military band to perform traditional tunes, including the national anthem, the song of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), and the Parade March.
This year's playlist, however, has been updated to include the Beijing Games theme and the pop song Red Flag Flying, said Yu.
He said 19 tunes would be played during the parade and 24 during the pageant. They would be interspersed with recordings of former leaders Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, and current President Hu Jintao.
A chorus of 2,500 students from Beijing colleges and a folk music group made up of 200 people will also join the military band for the pageant.
The idea to establish a large military band of at least 1,000 musicians for National Day came from Mao Zedong in 1950, said Yu.
This year's band will be the largest in history, with members selected from 46 bands, including 1,300 players and 29 conductors. Among the players, the eldest is 50 and the youngest is just 16.
"This band brings together the best players in the PLA," said Yu, who enlisted 30 years ago. This year's band was officially set up on March 26 and all participants gathered in Beijing on July 1 for three months of intensive training.
The band will be the first group to enter Tian'anmen Square and the last to leave it on October 1, said Yu. "That means our players must stand for at least three hours and play for more than two hours without a break," he added.
He explained that the national anthem must be played at 96 beats per minute for the raising of the Chinese flag, while tunes for the parade and pageant must hit 116 beats per minute.
1. Who is the National Day band director?
2. What pop song has been added to the National Day celebration playlist?
3. How many conductors will there be in this year’s military band?
1. Yu Hai.
2. Red Flag Flying.
3. 29.
（英语点津 许雅宁编辑）
Games theme song makes Oct 1 playlist
About the broadcaster:
Games theme song makes Oct 1 playlist
| http://language.chinadaily.com.cn/cdaudio/2009-09/07/content_8662546.htm | dclm-gs1-188541087 |
0.029212 | <urn:uuid:65db4188-e91e-489f-8a0c-ca8c88b2350d> | en | 0.939748 | Tuesday, 20 December 2011
Nationalistic bollocks combined with Christian cant in the latest bulletin from Planet cameron, a curious world where poor people don't exist - apart from for moat cleaning and similar menial chores.
I hope to God (Boom! Boom!) he means the New Testament and not the psychotic nonsense of the Old Testament. And only the bits in the New Testament that are directly attributeable to Jesus. who was quite a likeable chap, and not the ravings of the bigotted Paul.
But if he does mean that, he needs to actually demonstrate those virtues in action. There's little evidence of the teachings of Jesus affecting our domestic or foreign policy.
In otherwords, another political hypocrite trying to take advantage of one of the few times of a year people really bother about religion in any sense, to proffer shoddy blandishments.
No comments:
Nasty little shit
| http://lefthandpalm.blogspot.com/2011/12/scoundrel.html | dclm-gs1-188561087 |
0.046019 | <urn:uuid:dc9aedbe-b34e-49d6-8411-9131c0d11141> | en | 0.95966 |
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Respond to the question: Strategy?
12/26/2004 08:22 AM by name withheld; Strategy:: try Myerson's Game Theory (p.65-67)
section 2.7 on Common Knowledge.
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11/30/2004 03:24 PM by name withheld; answer to Strategy?
Ok, they are 7 men who are hung. If there were only 1, her wife of the adulterer would know it inmediately, since she would observe 0 adulteries knowing there has been one. If there were 2 adulteries, each of the wifes would observe 1 [View full text and thread]
11/30/2004 03:09 PM by name withheld; Answer to Strategy?
I guess all the men are hung. No one observes adultery, since no one is unfaithful after day 0. Since all wifes do not see after day 0 any adultery, but they know that there has been one. No men are hung on day 1 and the only men they [View full text and thread]
11/20/2004 09:28 PM by name withheld;
haha I'm pretty sure the answer is yes [View full text and thread]
11/12/2004 01:47 AM by SJ; Strategy
I have come across a question that has temporarily stumped me:
There is a kingdom, with a number of couples living in the kingdom. On day 0, the king announces that some men in the kingdom have committed adultery, and that any woman who can prove (logically) at any time that her husband has committed adultery can present the proof at sundown and have him hanged at dawn the next day. Each woman has observed the actions of all men except for her own husband and can observe hangings. If any woman can deduce that her husband has committed adultery she would indeed like to see him hanged. (No adultery takes place after Day 0.) The preferences and structure of information are common knowledge: everyone knows them, and they know that everyone else knows them, etc.At dawn on the seventh morning, some men are hanged. How many and why?
I appreciate your assistance and would be very interested in your reply.
SJ [Manage messages] | http://levine.sscnet.ucla.edu/bin/workshops-php/discuss/discuss.php3?showID=713719000000000086 | dclm-gs1-188581087 |
0.037045 | <urn:uuid:63d31d43-74aa-428f-84f6-37153a74fdd9> | en | 0.976661 | Saturday, March 7, 2015
Product Review: Plexus Slim Drink
I have hesitated to post anything about this product for fear of upsetting people or hurting feelings. That is not my intent. I hate to cause conflict. I don't like to argue. So if this post makes you feel that way, I apologize in advance.
I also hesitate to post anything because I dread the comments I will get from those hardcore Plexus ambassadors and users who will want to know details of my life so that they can advise me on how I should try it again and do this or that differently.
I truly believe that Plexus Slim is a gem of a product for some people. After all, if you do a google search of product reviews and before/after pictures of users, you will find TONS of positive images and reviews. But when I first began hearing about it, I searched the internet for both positive and negative reviews. I could only seem to find positive reviews. And it seems like EVERY one of them was written or filmed (some were videos) by someone who sells the product. Maybe they tried it, fell in love and decided to sell it and then wanted to tell about it! And that's great. I admire their ambition and I'm glad it worked so well for them. But I didn't have those results. I wanted to post my review here for those who might be searching or a Plexus Slim drink review before they start the product. I wanted them to be able to find one by someone who does NOT sell the product and who isn't 100% satisfied with the results. (Sorry, Plexus friends!)
So let me back up and start from the beginning. Over a year ago, my sweet friend Jessica started posting to facebook about this wonderful new health drink she was using. She got a sample from someone and used it and fell in love. It has changed her world so much. It helped her lose weight, sleep better and have more energy. She said that she actually felt better/different on the VERY FIRST DAY that she drank it. She ended up signing up to sell it that first day because she was so impressed (and she wanted the discount--and income!--signing up to sell would provide.) For nearly a year I saw her posts about Plexus a couple times a week on Facebook. I read testimonials over and over that she shared. I really liked what I was hearing/reading, but I couldn't afford the products. Their Slim drink (pictured at the very top of this post) is their big seller but they have a lot of other products as well. Just the drink alone costs about $80 per month. With very tight finances, we just could not spare $80 a month. I talked to her several times over the year, checking back to see if the price had dropped. Each time I left the conversation saying "Maybe one day I'll be able to afford it and I'll try it." She was never pushy or insistent like other people who have sold me other things in the past. No guilt or shaming me into buying it by saying things like "Well, yes, it's pricey but you just can't put a price on good health." {Eye roll.} Trust me. Yes, you can. If you can't afford to buy a gallon of milk, you can't afford to pay $80 a month for a weight loss product so guilting me about it is just going to make me mad! But I digress....
Last summer, Larry's blood pressure and cholesterol levels were through the roof. After losing his dad in late May, his health really took a hit and I was terrified that he'd have a stroke or a heart attack one day and leave me a widow. Due to his dad's loss, we inherited a little money that we used to pay off a few things, so it freed up a little money in the budget. So I called Jessica and said "ORDER IT!" I wanted Larry to start using it immediately.
Upon doing some research, I found that Plexus was originally created to help diabetics manage their blood sugar levels. And it worked! But the test subjects saw improvements in other health issues too -- blood pressure, cholesterol levels and more. So they tested it on non-diabetic patients and those people saw improvements in their health as well. And across the board, all of them lost weight and inches. So all of that sounded wonderful!
After watching Larry drink it and drop a few pounds and inches right off the bat, I decided to bite the bullet and buy it for myself as well. After all, we can't have daddy going and getting all skinny on us and leaving mama behind, right? That's where this review begins.
On September 8, 2014, I began drinking Plexus Slim every day. I drank it first thing in the morning before breakfast. I made sure to drink tons of water the rest of the day. (The "rules" say you should try to drink about half your body weight in ounces of water each day. That wasn't too hard. I was already drinking nothing but water, so I just upped my intake a tad.) In the first 2 weeks, I lost about 5-6 pounds and lost several inches, all right around my waist and hips. (where every woman wants to lose!) I was pumped!
But then I stalled. Actually, I gained back a couple pounds. I had not missed a day of my drink. I hadn't cut back on water. I was still eating well and doing all the same things I was those first couple weeks. Jessica reminded me that daily fluctuations in weight are normal and maybe I'd see more loss in the coming weeks. I tried to determine if maybe I'd gained a little because it was "that time" (sorry to any guys reading this!) but alas, it wasn't. My weight yo-yoed for weeks. Up and down, up and down by 2-4 pounds. But having those inches gone was enough to keep going. Jessica shared some testimonial where a lady had only lost 1-2 pounds but over a few months' time, she dropped several clothing sizes. That sounded good. I joked, however, that if I only lost inches but never lost weight it would be hard to explain being a 400 pound size 2. LOL! {Note: I do not weigh 400 lbs, but some days I sure feel like I do!}
As the months went by, I grew frustrated that my weight loss/inch loss remained stalled right where they had been since 2-3 weeks in. I began asking questions of Jessica and everyone else that I came in contact with who had any connection to Plexus. I have several friends who sell it, a few who use it. I googled videos of people who had good results and I tracked some of those people down via their blogs or on facebook. They all sort of shrugged their shoulders and said they didn't know why it wasn't working. Most of them suggested I add more products to what I was already doing. (In other words, spend more money on Plexus products.) Some suggested that maybe I had a "candida overgrowth". I googled that and found that in the list of like 500 symptoms, I only had maybe 2 of them. Since that didn't seem to be the obvious reason why Plexus wasn't really working for me, I started zoning out when people mentioned that. Honestly, I couldn't bring myself to shell out MORE money for more products that might or might not do me any good. Because with each one, everyone said to give it several months at least before I determined that it was or was not working. Seriously folks, I'm already spending $80/mo EACH on both my husband and I to get this one product. No thanks. Some suggested a "cleanse" product. For a girl who already deals with (ahem...) IBS/potty issues, that sounds kind of horrifying. No thanks. Others suggested the "accelerator" product. It's their 'diet pill' sort of thing that revs up your metabolism (heart rate?) and is supposed to make the drink work faster/better. Again, that one scares me a little. No thanks. I felt like the drink would either work or it didn't. And for me, it didn't appear to be working, but I kept hoping it would.
By about 3 or 4 months in, Larry quit bothering to drink his Plexus each morning. He wasn't seeing results either. I canceled his shipments and kept crossing my fingers hoping "This will be the month it works!" for myself. After all, every time I talked to one of my Plexus friends, they kept telling me the same thing "Everyone's body works differently. For some people, it takes a little longer. Keep going!"
At about the 5 month mark, Jessica asked me to recount my health issues to her to see if she'd missed something. I told her the only one I have. IBS. She suggested that I try JUST the probiotic Plexus makes. It's called ProBio5. She said for some people, it's a gut health thing. And if they can get their gut healthier, then the Plexus Slim drink "kicks in" and starts helping more. Since I already take a probiotic, I figured switching to a different brand/type wouldn't hurt. I bought it and gave it a shot. It ended up working very well! I could definitely tell a difference with it and on days when I forget to take it, I can TELL! I've been taking it since the first week of January. This is it, below. {If you want more info about that, comment or email me. I'd be glad to share more about it, but that's a whole other story.}
This month, March 2015, marks my 7th month of drinking a daily Plexus Slim. I have called Jessica and asked her to cancel any further shipments of the drink for me. It just doesn't work for me. And obviously after this long, it's not a matter of not giving it enough time. Folks, that means that in the past 7 months, I have spent $532 on a drink that has not worked for me. (That's not even counting the first several months that I was spending double each month to buy for both Larry and me!) I have given it a longgggg try and it just didn't help me like I hoped. I plan to continue taking the ProBio5 because it's been wonderful, but as soon as I use up the remaining package of Plexus Slim, I will no longer use it. (By that time, it will have been over 8 months since I started it....I still have almost a full month's worth on my kitchen counter!) And no, I don't want to just throw it away. After spending all that money on it, I will drink it. If for no other reason than to help me drink more water each day!
In conclusion, my results with Plexus include a loss of less than 10 lbs in the first couple weeks and a handful of inches, also in the first few weeks. I will admit, the inches have remained gone, but nothing else has changed. I don't sleep any betterI don't FEEL any different at allI don't have any more energy than before. Seriously, nothing changed after the first couple weeks.
I hate to be negative because that's just not my personality, but at least for me, Plexus was not the "magic pill" I had hoped for. We all keep hoping to find such a thing, but obviously there is no such thing. We all know what must be done to lose weight and I will have to enlist the ol' notebook and pen and just do it! The only thing that has ever been a successful weight loss tool for me is keeping a food journal. Writing out EVERY bite I eat all day & tracking calories is the easiest way for me to lose weight. Eating better, moving more...if only there were a magic pill.
Loretta said...
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and a review on this product. I have wanted to try this product but the price just kills me and I can't afford it either. I will be sticking to working out and fitness pal. I don't post comments a lot but I do read your blog. I know you have been an inspiration to me when I have wanted to give up when things have got tough when it came to finances. Thank you for that and continue to be a blessing.
Anonymous said...
Like you Liz, I am hesitate to post this as I can't stand a bunch of back and fourths. Things like, I know I am right, no I am, it's this way, no it's that way.
:-( ... Drama.
None the less I do feel compelled to mention two things.
One in reference to the bacteria/fungus debate. I don't believe the original comment was meant to confuss nor misinform anyone. It was a fairly simple error and of no consequence truly. Both bacteria a fungus produce food sources that humans eat. Both cause harm to human body. Both get their food the same way: heterotrophs feed off organic carbon for their nutrients. So indeed they are different but have some simularilities as well.
Secondly, I sincerely believe had u been able to afford, and/or been coached and informed by your ambassador the correct combination of Plexus products and how best you could afford them, you would have been successful in feeling better and/or loosing pounds. I think sometimes the ambassadors with Plexus tend to confuse the benefits of the "slim" product with the benefits of the "probiotics". This is ashame as it does many times prevent their customers, who they r suppose to, number one stay in touch with closely as to the results they are obtaining and number two, be educated and care enough to provide them with correct information to help them be successful. Of course it is imperative this be done in a timely manner as well, not eight months in. Especially, IMO with a person whose budget is not boundless. Another awesome option for you would have been this. Had you simply ran the product you were purchasing anyway through ur very own website as an ambassador you could have purchased a months supply of THREE DIFFERENT products , ones IMO would have been key for YOU, for an additional $35 upfront and about $20/$30 more per month. If you sold it great. If you did not no biggie. Had it worked, and I believe it would have, you most likely would have began the journey, who knows. Nevertheless sadly, you will probably never go back and reconsider Plexus now. I can understand that.
I would like to recommend that you do some research on Probiotics. You may find that this is something for you. If you happen to try Probiotics just be sure to buy a premium brand and do not buy "over the counter". It's simply useless and a waste of hopes and money.
I wish you and your family well in all your efforts to improve your life and the life of others.
Anonymous said...
You took the words right out of my mouth regarding Plexus. I had the exact results as you, except that I signed up as an ambassador to get a better price. So glad that I never pressured anyone to buy from me! The ambassador that I signed under is driving me crazy wanting to know why I stopped my auto ship, stating that she was about to get "ranked", but now she won't get credit for my auto ship. Grrr, again a stupid pyramid scheme in my opinion. I do like the BioCleanse and ProBio, but I don't want to buy from Plexus because of the pressure!
Liz said...
Yes, I love my probio5.
Liz said...
Yes, I love my probio5. | http://liz-ourblessedfamily.blogspot.com/2015/03/product-review-plexus-slim-drink.html | dclm-gs1-188631087 |
0.079092 | <urn:uuid:a27f1acf-5f28-4130-a61c-e4e2d761cbce> | en | 0.97996 | Hysterosalpingogram (HSG) Test
Hi. Assalamualaikum.
A hysterosalpingogram (HSG) is an X-ray test. It looks at the inside of the uterus camera.gif and fallopian tubes and the area around them. It often is done for women who are having a hard time getting pregnant (infertile).
So, the above quoted text is basically what is HSG. As promised on my previous post, I'll share with you what I have gone through during this test.
My appointment for HSG was at 8.30 am on Wednesday, 08.03.17. I wasn't really prepared for test actually, I just came and did it. 😂
I gave my form and appointment slip to the counter then I was asked to wait in front of one of the X-Ray Rooms. I waited for like 10 minutes then I was called in. The nurse asked me to remove my clothes and wear the X-Ray outfit (I don't know what it's called). I removed ALL of my clothes except my headscarf as the nurse said it is not necessary to remove them. Then, I was requested to lay on the X-Ray table (it seems like an operation table or something), and I need to lay in the position like giving birth. Next, the doctor put in the a speculum (it looked like a duck mouth, if you've done pap smear then you'll know what thing am I talking about) into my vagina to open it (Oh God it hurts!) then, the doctor put in the dye through a thin tube. It hurts the entire time because I think I was panic seeing those apparatus and the doctor was a male doctor so it was uncomfortable and hence, the pain. I can feel the dye in my vagina as it feels full down there, I feel like peeing too at that moment. Haha. I was then injected with a medication (I don't know it's name) due to my vagina muscle was tensed and the flow of the dye cannot be seen clearly because of that. So they just had to give me some medication to calm my muscle down. However, this does not happen to everyone, this happened to me because I was tensed. And that shot was hurt (I'm afraid of shots and needles, so yeah). So, if you're going to do HSG please relax yourself or you'll end up like me, feeling the pain for the whole process. The procedure ended once they can see a clear picture and confirm their diagnosis. Mind you that there will be spotting for a few days, mine was 4 days spotting. I was informed that if I am bleeding a lot after the process I should come to see the doctor, this is a rare case actually. And luckily I am not one of the rare cases. Alhamdulillah.
My result: It is all normal. No blockage as the dye flowed normally through the fallopian tube into the uterus.
I am still yet to get the full diagnosis of my condition as well as my husband because the full result was sent to my Gynae. I will update again after my appointment with my Gynae on 31.03.17.
No comments | http://love-nurul.blogspot.com/2017/03/hysterosalpingogram-hsg-test.html | dclm-gs1-188641087 |
0.03297 | <urn:uuid:e2fbb60f-5e80-403a-bf10-b04b205ecd35> | en | 0.987379 | Sunday, October 23, 2016
Blacks are not flimsy, stupid or weak
This should be obvious beyond the need for saying, but the entirety of the Leftist program to "rescue" them depends upon highly racist notions as to their incapacity for taking care of themselves. Absent the whites, and their care, they are told, they can't do or be or accomplish anything.
I wanted to share a small anecdote on this score.
I was in a part of town last week where every time I go out to my car somebody hits me up for something. I was asked to help a man with a trach (who was smoking through his mouth) get his keys out of his locked car. I was hit up for spare change twice.
Well, as a reversal, this old black man was walking by smoking a scented cigarillo, and asks me if I needed change for the meter. I told him no, but thank you. He looks at me with a conspiratorial smile--I had probably frowned at him initially because I thought he too was going to ask for, rather than offer, money--and says "the old man says "you don't have to like all niggers, just ME." And he laughed heartily. I laughed too. You couldn't help but like this guy.
And I don't doubt for one moment that in his life he has been called that name, that he has encountered genuine racism, and that he has had hard times in his life. But you know what? Both of my grandparents had hard times too. They didn't have to tag racism on top of it, but life was not easy a couple generations ago. Both of grandfathers were beaten regularly. One ran away at 15. Both went hungry often.
And what I thought was that black people are resilient, and that the worst thing that ever happened to them is when they trusted white people to look out for them. White politicians--or even black politicians riding the same gravy train--haven't, can't, and won't do it. Obama didn't do it. Hillary won't do it.
Just ponder all the rich while people out there pandering to blacks, promising them the moon and stars, and telling them the sky will fall in and the world be engulfed in darkness if they trust Republicans with anything.
As Trump says, 50 years is enough. If they vote Hillary, they will get what they got with Obama: free phones in a few swing states, and otherwise continuing economic decline, no jobs, failing schools, and no reason for hope.
School choice clearly will make a difference, and I trust Trump to finally bust these fucking gangsters who run the teachers unions at the considerable expense of the children we continue to foolishly entrust to their care.
No comments: | http://moderatesunited.blogspot.com/2016/10/blacks-are-not-flimsy-stupid-or-weak.html | dclm-gs1-188711087 |
0.037169 | <urn:uuid:00a6cecd-0c46-4914-9620-b9b861f98e0c> | en | 0.944146 | 6:36 AM
(2) Comments
Virtual Worlds, Digital Crack
The World is what you Make it
Images: Mouseover for caption, click to enlarge
I reported on my first steps in SECOND LIFE recently. I was pretty impressed in general and still am. The virtual worlds concept itself, first hinted at in postmodern science fiction novels NEUROMANCER and SNOW CRASH, is still pretty mind-boggling to envision. Until recent years, I would have relegated the notion to another poorly written Science Fiction plotline-- the kind of second-rate rehash of NEUROMANCER that plagued the genre for a decade after that book's release. Second Life and other Virtual Worlds have undeniably demonstrated that technology has advanced to the point where we can interact with a 2D representation of a 3D world on our home computers.
Your intrepid author dancing at the Caledon ball with the vivacious 'Lau', one of the many avatars in residence on 2L id= Accessing a world where almost anything you can envision can be created is a heady concept. Barsoom, Middle Earth, Victorian Science Fiction.. they're all in there, in various degrees. One of my personal favorites is a virtual 'place' called "Caledon", which punctiliously recreates a genteel Victorian world with heavy gothic and VSF subthemes, a place where a man can kiss a lady's hand, bow, make outrageous, flowery compliments to the female company and retire for port and cigars, b'Gad! (that's your intrepid reporter dancing at the Caledon Winter Ball, top right) This modern REAL world being a poor reflection of our real world's genteel past, it's amusing that we can recreate bygone days as a fantasy, although it feels a tad bittersweet. Dancing, sort of, with the lovely 'hannah' in a club somewhere. Like the hat and monocle? I'm such a fashion plateOf course, there's a flip side to all this fantasy, as you may well imagine. There are plenty of "sims" (lands rented to create a theme based reality, not the popular computer game) that are not so pleasant or PG13 rated as the ones I have mentioned. Every tawdry aspect of the human mind can be played out in Second Life, after a fashion. I was astounded at the amount of "Gorean" sims based upon the work of the late John Norman, for instance-- but then again, should I really be this naive? "Virtuality" is the ultimate safe environment. There's no injury, no disease, no consequences. Developments such as these are bound to happen in an open environment. Give the kids a big enough sandbox, and the inevitable results. The first time I've impressed a young lady with the line: 'wanna ride in the zeppelin?' One hopes that the boundaries between the more mature content and impressionable minds are more rigorous than clicking "I certify I am over 18" in a box somewhere-- though I can't imagine a young man connecting to second life for a porn fix when the real stuff is so abundantly available elsewhere (I wish that was a joke!). With all the pitfalls that lurk within a virtual world, one quickly learns how to navigate between the tawdry and the worthwhile. An entire lexicon has been built up around the tension between the folks who are trying to have a good time and the folks that wish to intrude with their own sick notions. For instance, an avatar (usually male) that persistently bothers a female avatar is a "Griefer".. and griefers are fair game for abuse in turn. Fortunately, the griefers tend to cluster (remember that phrase from last time?) in areas where female avatars will respond to them.
The virtual world can be highly seductive, since it promises much. What it can actually deliver is a shadow play of reality. It would be best to remember that-- beware the landmines of the Id and libido. | http://mrnizz.blogspot.com/2007/01/digital-worlds-digital-crack.html | dclm-gs1-188731087 |
0.038523 | <urn:uuid:06a9ef2d-e3f3-4a28-939b-b60414a62135> | en | 0.95078 | Saturday, February 12, 2011
Comet Elenin Fender Bender!
1. based on the projected path of this comet and the known trajectory of the earth, it seems as tho 11/9/11 earth will be passing thru the bulk of the comet's tail. kinda crazy, given the odd name of this comet.
2. I recently noticed that the path of this comet matches that of the mythical planet x/nibiru. ????
3. Indeed, it is speculated that Comet Elenin may be the proverbial Planet X, or Nibiru. I will be posting a copy from a youtube video showing the similarities. You may have viewed it previously.
4. I have Vidio of a solid beam of light coming in from space into the earth as a spining vortex it spins conter clockwise then it flows into a power sorce UFO os pure energy this second sorce of eletro-magnetic light is turning in a spin clockwise counter clockwise then a third eletro-magnetic beam is flowing to the earth this is spining in a clockwise motion the light is spining at hundreds of times the speed of light as we know.The beams havebeen freeze framed and reveal symbols of many alien types of unknowen orgin this is a real event caught of vidio on September 6, 2010.Also caught on vidio are alien beinging what they in fact look like soon you will be exposed on line to the most disturbing event of alien events ever to be caught of film no BS.This makes area 51 a grade school event many symbols 3D holograph show what looks to be translation from aliens to a unknowen receiver which may be me The Watcher
Current Viewers | http://mymindspeakingunhinged.blogspot.com/2011/02/comet-elenin-fender-bender.html | dclm-gs1-188791087 |
0.131308 | <urn:uuid:220247a9-5b4f-4dbd-8858-e1746bc3d588> | en | 0.976349 | Oct 13, 2009
On Saying the Debate is Over
NOconsensus.org has posted a second 2-minute video. This one is titled: On Saying The Debate is Over.
The full text of the film is as follows:
Jack and Jane have a decision to make. Jack thinks they need a new roof. He's worried that, if snowfalls are heavy this year, things will start to leak.
Jane is concerned about the front porch. The wood is rotten in places and she's afraid someone could be hurt if the floor gives way. She thinks they should fix the porch now and do the roof later.
Whose opinion should prevail? There's no magic answer. Their decision will depend on how well each of them can argue their point-of-view. It will rest on what they feel would be easier to cope with: a serious leak or an unsafe floor.
But suppose Jack gets up one morning and declares that "the debate is over." He isn't interested in discussing it anymore. He knows that he is right and Jane is wrong. Whether she likes it or not, he's getting the roof re-done.
Most of us know this isn't the way to sustain a relationship. When someone decides that only their opinion counts, they've stopped being a reasonable person and have become a bully and a tyrant.
It is not OK for one party to declare that "the debate is over."
Not when the discussion is about home repairs. And not when it's about climate change.
See video number one, This Is Not Fair Play | http://nofrakkingconsensus.blogspot.com/2009/10/on-saying-debate-is-over.html | dclm-gs1-188861087 |
0.021708 | <urn:uuid:cdea5bdf-31fd-4277-bfda-fb39952fdea4> | en | 0.792643 | Tufts OpenCourseware
PREV : Fundic Stomach of Mouse. NEXT : Squamous Portion of Murine Stomach.
Glandular Epithelium of Mouse Stomach.
Description:The glandular epithelium of the fundic stomach in the mouse contains branching gastric glands. The most obvious cells are the columnar surface mucous cells, the eosinophilic parietal cells with central nuclei, and the basally located, blueish chief cells. Also present but not seen without special stains are the mucuous neck cells and the enteroendocrine cells. Original mag. 80x. H&E. Stomach. Digestive System. Mouse. | http://ocw.tufts.edu/Content/4/imagegallery/221141/221146 | dclm-gs1-188881087 |
0.044995 | <urn:uuid:7b600560-f262-4045-b6f2-86e1f722941e> | en | 0.963678 | Quick loans bad credit ny
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You’re trying to rebuild your credit, but you’re still getting some doors slammed in your face.A low credit score shouldn't stop you from being able to get the cash you need, but it may change the method you use to get are two main reasons different credit bureaus calculate different scores:Each bureau is its own entity, thus, they each use their own algorithm or model to calculate your credit ’t you sick of hearing, “sorry, we don’t issue personal loans for people with bad credit…”?We give loans has no control or knowledge of the loan details between you and your are numerous payday cash advances where a credit check is are many other credit bureaus beyond equifax, experian and transunion — those are just the three largest and most commonly personal loan lenders, “bad credit” refers to credit reports with numerous or substantial negative entries that may indicate a higher risk of delinquency, non-payment or if your credit score is less than 650, you may be approved in minutes and qualify for a signature loan that can put cash in your pocket in 1-72 business of the best options you have for personal loans with bad credit is seeking loans online.
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Each state, and sometimes an individual city, has its own laws regarding can help those looking for loans with no credit or people with bad gh there is no official definition of "good" "fair" or "bad" credit scores, “bad credit” has become widely used to refer to low scores—or those that preclude a prospective borrower from being approved for a personal ingly, the term "bad credit loans" or "subprime personal loans" has developed as shorthand for financing programs specifically designed for borrowers with low or poor credit netcredit, we understand that you are more than your credit atively, credit checks or consumer reports through other providers such as teletrack or dp bureau, which will not impact your credit score with: experian, equifax, or trans union, may be obtained by some service providers or lenders in certain more about personal loans for fair and bad credit, and check if you qualify for a personal loan with less-than-perfect note the lenders we work with do not offer no credit check one of our transactions that any of us handle regarding cash advances or loans, are encrypted with the highest level of encryption available give loans cannot predict the amount of the fees or charges that you will incur as a result of non-payment, late payment, or partial payment.
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A credit report with no recent records may not provide lenders with the information they need to determine a borrower’s you are able to raise your credit score you will not be a match for lending procedures that traditional banks other payday loan companies, there is no limit to , your payment history is reported to two major credit bureaus, transunion and encourage consumers with credit problems to consult a credit counseling d credit card: some credit card providers offer credit cards to individuals with low or no credit, but require a security 2006, the three major credit bureaus developed a joint score (the vantagescore) to create a consistent algorithm and expand the population of scored there are no credit history entries on a credit report, credit-scoring formulas will be unable to properly calculate a person’s credit gh the presence of negative credit entries on a consumer credit report can result in a decline, having no credit entries on a report can be equally problematic for potential loan you do not repay your loan on time, your lender may report this delinquency to one or more credit bureaus, which could have a negative impact on your credit score.
Credit scores are based on data contained in a person’s credit report and federal law puts time limits on how long most consumer credit entries may remain on a credit your credit fair or better, with maybe only a minor blemish or two?Ultimately, your credit score may or may not be affected by the actions of a particular use we give loans for your loans for people with bad credit needs?How can a consumer with no credit start building their credit?Online cash advances commonly require a credit rating check as also have differing interpretations of what constitutes a “bad” or “less-than-perfect” credit ting an error can be the fastest way to begin repairing your credit and should be the first thing you most commonly known credit scoring system is fico, which has a range of 300 to you can find and learn about the various state loan laws and city ordinances for loans where you live.
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browsing by author
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"Spare no expense to save money on this one."
Kafka F.
Praise the sea; on shore remain.
Kafka Franz
Men will fuck mud.
Kahlil Gibran
Confucius say too much.
Kahn Alfred
Ninety percent of the time things turn out worse than you thought they would. The other ten percent of the time you had no right to expect that much.
Kaiser Henry J.
Kandel Howard
We are anthill men upon an anthill world.
Kandel Howard
Kant Immanuel
Karl Kraus
Crucifixes are sexy because there's a naked man on them.
Karl Menninger
There is no sin but ignorance.
Kasspe Arthur
Kaufman George
I need another lawyer like I need another hole in my head.
Kaufman George S.
Kaufman Stanley
Kaul Donald
Kaul Donald
Hell is empty and all the devils are here.
Kay Alan
We only acknowledge small faults in order to make it appear that we are free from great ones.
Kay Alan
I hate dying.
Ke John F.
Keats John
You can't play your friends like marks, kid.
Kehlog Albran
I don't understand what all the fuss was about in Los Angeles. It's not like we looted Brooks Brothers when Oliver North got off.
Kehlog Albran
Kehlog Albran
Kehlog Albran
Kehlog Albran
Kehlog Albran
If Beethoven's Seventh Symphony is not by some means abridged, it will soon fall into disuse.
Keillor Garrison
Flame on!
Keillor Garrison
Keillor Garrison
Keller Helen
There are many of us in this old world of ours who hold that things break about even for all of us. I have observed, for example, that we all get about the same amount of ice. The rich get it in the summer and the poor get it in the winter.
Kelly Walt
I do desire we may be better strangers.
Kempis Thomas `a
Prisons are built with stones of Law, brothels with bricks of Religion.
Kempis Thomas `a
TV is chewing gum for the eyes.
Kennedy J.F.
Kennedy J.F.
A real diplomat is one who can cut his neighbor's throat without having his neighbour notice it.
Kennedy J.F.
Better tried by twelve than carried by six.
Kennedy John F.
I never deny, I never contradict. I sometimes forget.
Kennedy John F.
THE MX IS GOOD FOR THE ECONOMY. One important reason we have a Defense Department is that when we give it money, it spends it, which creates jobs, whereas if we left the money in the hands of civilians, we don't know what they'd do with it. Probabl
Kennedy John F.
Too much of everything is just enough.
Kennedy John F.
Kennedy John Fitzgerald
There is an innocence in admiration; it is found in those to whom it has not yet occurred that they, too, might be admired some day.
Kennedy John
Kennedy Joseph
The rights you have are the rights given you by this Committee [the House Un-American Activities Committee]. We will determine what rights you have and what rights you have not got.
Kennedy Joseph P.
This generation doesn't have emotional baggage. We have emotional moving vans.
Kenobi Obi-wan
Kerouac Jack
Kerouac Jack
Kerr Jean
Kesey Ken
Kesey Ken
He knows not how to know who knows not also how to unknow.
Kessler Leo
Kessler Leo
... a thing called Ethics, whose nature was confusing but if you had it you were a High-Class Realtor and if you hadn't you were a shyster, a piker and a fly-by-night. These virtues awakened Confidence and enabled you to handle Bigger Propositions.
Kessler Leo
Keynes John Maynard
The graveyards are full of indispensable men.
Keynes John Maynard
I don't see what's wrong with giving Bobby a little experience before he starts to practice law.
Keynes John Maynard
Keyser. C.J.
A non-vegetarian anti-abortionist is a contradiction in terms.
Khrushchev Nikita
Kierkegaard S.
Kierkegaard Soren
No one knows what he can do till he tries.
Kierkegaard Soren
Kiernan P.B.A. President E. J.
I had another dream the other day about music critics. They were small and rodent-like with padlocked ears, as if they had stepped out of a painting by Goya.
Kiner Ralph
I went into a bar feeling a little depressed, the bartender said, "What'll you have, Bud"? I said," I don't know, surprise me". So he showed me a nude picture of my wife.
King Stephen
Kipling Rudyard
The brotherhood of man is not a mere poet's dream; it is a most depressing and humiliating reality.
Kirk Lisa
Kissinger Henry
You know how to win a victory, Hannibal, but not how to use it.
Kissinger Henry
Kissinger Henry
... "fire" does not matter, "earth" and "air" and "water" do not matter. "I" do not matter. No word matters. But man forgets reality and remembers words. The more words he remembers, the cleverer do his fellows esteem him. He looks upon the great
Kissinger Henry
"Hey, Sam, how about a loan?" "Whattaya need?" "Oh, about $500." "Whattaya got for collateral?" "Whattaya need?" "How about an eye?"
Kissinger Henry
"We maintain that the very foundation of our way of life is what we call free enterprise," said Cash McCall, "but when one of our citizens show enough free enterprise to pile up a little of that profit, we do our best to make him feel that he ought t
Kitman Marvin
Klein Robert
Knapp R.S.
The Least Successful Equal Pay Advertisement In 1976 the European Economic Community pointed out to the Irish Government that it had not yet implemented the agreed sex equality legislation. The Dublin Government immediately advertised for an equal
Koblas G.S.
If people say that here and there someone has been taken away and maltreated, I can only reply: You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs.
Kopp Thomas J.
A little inaccuracy saves a world of explanation.
Koran The
"Lemme show ya the odds, Sparky... In yer country, ya got 14 million black people, and 3 million white people. Now, does the name `Custer' mean anything to you?"
Korda Alexander
Bingo, gas station, hamburger with a side order of airplane noise, and you'll be Gary, Indiana.
Korda Michael
"Plaese porrf raed."
Korner Kenny's
Thou hast seen nothing yet.
Krabill W.S.
Kraf Peter Kennedy
Only those who leisurely approach that which the masses are busy about can be busy about that which the masses take leisurely.
Kraft Foods
Kraus Karl
Kraus Karl
Kraus Karl
The faster we go, the rounder we get.
Kristofferson Kris
Krutch Joseph Wood
Kubrick Stanley
Kubrick Stanley
Let your conscience be your guide.
Kurt Vonnegut
We all live in a state of ambitious poverty.
Kurt Vonnegut
Random Quote
Dunne Finley Peter
deep thoughts of brillyant genius of human history
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Leaders, celebrities pledge to stop calling little girls ‘bossy’
Ban Bossy
Tweeted by Sen. Patty Murray
SEATTLE – Political leaders, celebrities and every day Americans are taking a pledge today that supporters hope will impact little girls everywhere.
The ‘Ban Bossy’ campaign is a movement begun by the Girl Scouts to end the use of the term when describing girls who speak up and lead.
Celebrities like Beyonce and Jane Lynch are featured in a series of online and on-air video public service announcements. Other prominent women taking the pledge today include Condoleezza Rice, Diane von Furstenberg, Katie Couric and Washington Senator’s Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell.
“Never let anybody tell you you can’t achieve something. I’ve always found that if someone tells you you can’t do something it’s usually because they’re afraid you will,” wrote Murray on Twitter.
Supporters point out that girls are often discouraged, at a very young age, from taking leadership roles because of labeling and name-calling.
Social media is playing a key role in the effort as those taking the pledge to stop using the term bossy are sharing that pledge with their followers on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #BanBossy.
Take the pledge yourself here >>>> #BanBossy <<<< and then tell us you did below in the comments section!
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• Sandy
Rather than ban a word try encouraging learning the definitions! Good leadership is leadership…not being bossy. I know plenty of people male and female who are bossy…not leaders. Let’s grow up and be responsible, not change orr ban a word because we want everyone to feel better.
• Scott
Can't believe you would consider this news. All the words that are allowed to be said on TV these days and this comes up ???
• otto burgess
i cannot believe that a news organization of any kind would be part of a ban on a word. that is just another form of cencorship. where does it end? what would it be replaced with, because it will?
• Judy
As a mental health professional, I believe "bossy" in reference to a girl is sexist and would tend to herd the child into the traditional role of follower, rather than a leader. Yes there are bossy kids, but when you want to break leadership qualities, especially for girls, it's easy to use the derogatory term "bossy" to hurt a child. Children are sensitive and want to fit in, we've worked too hard to give equality to girls.
• James
Merriam-Webster defines bossy as "inclined to domineering, dictatorial". I'm sorry people. I don't want either my daughters or sons being domineering or dictatorial. And when they act that way I shut it down. Being bossy has nothing to do with effective leadership. It's a form of leadership… bad leadership, but not effective leadership. Perhaps Hollywood and the pop culture music stars should stick to what they do best, namely making overpriced, bad movies and singing songs about having sex in the back of limos (Beyonce). Let us parent our kids and instill morals and character into them and you go back to doing whatever it is you do. Really the word you are looking to ban starts with a B and I'm in full agreement. Just have the courage and conviction to say it.
• Sue
I am completely surprised at the comments I am seeing in regard to this story. The point of this movement is that girls who exhibit the same characteristics that a boy would use in a given situation are labeled differently. Where a boy is considered a leader a girl is considered the B word (as alluded to by James), bossy, stubborn, and overbearing. It isn't the word that is at the heart of the matter here. It is the fact that girls who show leadership behavior are treated with a completely different set of responses than those shown to boys. Get off the band wagon and take a more thorough look at what they are trying to accomplish here. We want our girls to grow up with the strength to stand up and be the leaders we all know they can be. | http://q13fox.com/2014/03/10/leaders-celebrities-pledge-to-stop-calling-little-girls-bossy/ | dclm-gs1-189041087 |
0.019586 | <urn:uuid:ef1a524c-28b0-408e-8ff8-83334e8fd553> | en | 0.960983 | Friday, May 30, 2008
Get Real on Petrol
Oh pur-lease!! Hands up all those who stopped fussing about those silly petrol vouchers, because when you do the sums, you actually come out worse for shopping at supermarkets. Everybody? Good.
Repeat after me – the 4c a litre discount was not and is not worth the bother, makes you pay more for your groceries, and only adds up to a couple of dollars a tank for any reasonable vehicle.
Diddling with GST, excise, FuelWanks, which might save around the same amount, at the costs of a few schools, hospitals tanks or whatever, is also a waste of time and effort.
Forget it.
Lesson one
If you want a lower fuel bill, buy a smaller, more fuel efficient car. If you live on or near a public transport route, use that when you can and/or get a bike. Lobby for more public transport.
Lesson two
Petrol will continue to get dearer, no matter what anyone does.
It may go up and down in the short term, but there’s only so much of it on the planet, there’s less of it than there used to be, and what there is, is more and more difficult to find and extract.
Repeat: the price of oil will always rise. Get used to it. To make it last longer, we have to use it more frugally. We’ve learnt how to be waterwise – ish. Now we have to start being oilwise.
Here’s how we do it
The most efficient use of coal, oil and gas is to generate electricity, which can be topped up with wind, wave, solar and other renewables.
This makes the best use of dwindling reserves while developing renewable sources to take over.
The most efficient forms of transport are public transport, so we build lots of it, especially electric-powered railways and tramways, for freight and passengers.
Buses and trucks are short-term fixes and relatively inefficient – so make sure they’re either electric or hybrid.
Throw money at developing hybrid and electric vehicles.
Build lots of nuclear power stations.
How to pay for the change
We need to pay the true cost of our resource consumption, and we need to structure the tax system to encourage efficient and renewable fuel use.
To do that, we need to make it cheaper, easier and more convenient to use public transport than to drive.
Everyone within the catchment area of a city should pay a surcharge on their local taxes for the development and maintenance of public transport.
Public transport would then be free at the point of use.
To those who say, “but that’s unfair, I don’t use public transport, I use my car”, the answer is, “you have a choice – use our car and pay twice, or use public transport and pay once”.
Pay to drive into cities – they already do it in London and Singapore.
Give public transport reserved lanes and absolute priority on all roads at all times.
Tax all road vehicles according to their economy – the bigger/thirstier the engine, the bigger the purchase tax, and the bigger the annual road tax.
This already happens in a crude way in the UK and much of Europe – the bigger your engine, the bigger your annual road tax bill. So for a 1 litre car you might pay $200 a year, for a 2 litre, $400 and so on, pro-rata. Why do you think most European cars have small, relatively fuel-efficient engines?
Change the planning system
Older cities, like Amsterdam, mix retail, industrial and residential together. Newer cities segregate workplaces and homes in different parts of town, necessitating long commutes.
We need to start building factories, shops and offices within walking distance of homes, not on farmland on the outskirts. We need mixed use suburbs, not dormitories on vacant land.
It’s not just a question of building a few medium density blocks in Malvern and Toorak, it’s about building medium density industry in Malvern and Toorak, too.
That means planning laws have to change.
Home efficiency
Our homes need to become more efficient. We need to embrace insulation, clever design, solar electricity and other schemes of home power generation, solar hot water, water tanks, in-home water recycling by means of grey-water treatment gardens, home methane generation from waste, and a host of similar initiatives.
These initiatives need to be fully subsidized –for example, you should be reimbursed in whole or part if you install water tanks and a water recycling system. If you generate power to put into the grid, you get paid for that at a premium rate.
Your roof is a wasted resources for harvesting valuable electricity and water that you can then onsell to power and water companies.
Big water, big power, big gas should only be used as top-ups and for emergencies.
These initiatives will be major spurs to development of renewable and recycling industries.
In the face of accelerating environmental degredation, dwindling resources, swelling population, global warming . . . . . . what do you mean, warming’s not proven?
1. If it’s real and we do nothing – situation worsens, irreparable disaster
2. If it’s not real and we do nothing – live with existing degraded environment, shrinking diversity, eventual resource exhaustion etc.
3. If it’s real and we act to fix it – high cost but disaster averted or contained, cleaner and more sustainable planet
4. If it’s not real but we still act to fix it – high cost but cleaner, more sustainable planet
Queensland Heavied Into Line
Queensland Attorney General Kerry Shine has bowed to pressure from Kevin Rudd and announced he is developing a proposal for a same-sex (and other significant personal relationships) register to present to cabinet.
The state government had previously set it's face against any law change as unnecessary, but unless all the states introduce registers, Ruddy's plan for a network of state-based registers is untenable.
Sothe Sunshine State had to be heavied into line.
The big stumbling block is now New South Wales: it remains to be seen if Kevvies Heavies can screw a result out of the hapless Iemma 'would you buy a used power station from this man' government.
2(am)b/not 2(am)b
This lockout business has been tried before, with mixed success. Interestingly, the 'success' seems to be most marked in the first few months after introduction, so a three-month trial may not prove all that much. And the best outcomes seem to be where they also put more foot patrols on the street and make late night travel safer and more affordable. In Dunedin they added late night buses with security guards on board.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Are you a gay son having problems with your father?
Synopsis- The Lost Boys
Want to take part in a serious documentary/reality TV series?
There are good reasons why modern fathers are estranged from their sons: divorce, interstate or overseas work, separation, corporate demands, desertion or disinterest. However, it’s becoming obvious that there are no good excuses. Boys without fathers lack the most important male role-model in their lifetime – the person whose job it is to show them what it means to be a mate, a husband, a worker, a hero, a lover and above all, a man.
Clearly something must be done to address what has been dubbed ‘the most harmful demographic trend of this generation’. The Lost Boys responds to this call.
The Lost Boys is a groundbreaking factual reality series that deals with the topic of masculinity through father and son relationships. Five urban, estranged father and son pairs will re-build their damaged relationships by undertaking one of the toughest challenges Australia has to offer - to move 500 head of cattle over 200 miles across the outback, in 28 days, living the life of the quintessential Drover.
The Drover is an Australian icon that holds relevance for all Australians, even though most of us are city dwellers. The Lost Boys uses the masculine role- models and the vast landscape of the outback to heal the social wounds that are impacting on our cities.
This is a unique opportunity for fathers and sons to spend time together, learn together, teach one another, face their fears and earn each other’s respect on a level playing field. Endless, hot days of hard work followed by cold nights around the campfire combine to create an emotionally charged experience that will be riveting to watch and relevant to many in the viewing audience. As challenges common to fathers and sons play out for the participants, those watching from home will be given insights and practical tools to apply to their own lives.
Under the guidance of professional cattle men and adventure therapists, the participants won’t be able to escape the fact that the only way to successfully complete the task, and claim their pay packet worth thousands, is to get over the past and work together. This is the best chance they’ll ever get to build a paternal bond to ensure that the Lost Boys become found.
**If you would like to participate in this program, please call Kirsty de Vallance on: 02 9413 8640/ 0403 182293 or email:
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Three years and you're in
The Pope has banned any candidate showing "a homosexual tendency" from training to be a priest - "unless they can demonstrate that they have been able to remain chaste for at least three years."
Can anyone explain to me how to "demonstrate" that I've remained chaste for three years? Live in the Big (Christian) Brother House, perhaps?
It's fair enough to say that "The Church . . . cannot admit to the seminary or to holy orders those who practise homosexuality, present deep-seated homosexual tendencies or support the so-called 'gay culture'", but to then offer a three-year get-out clause is bizarre, isn't it?
I can see it now - save it up for three years, move in with all the other guys (who've also been holding it in for three years), and then .. . . wheeee, welcome to the candy store.
And I have profound suspicions of the assertion that the Church does this "while profoundly respecting the persons in question."
Sounds more like lip service to me.
The above-the-waist kind, that is.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
California - Why civil unions will never be enough
OK, this is about the US and not Australia - but it's directly applicable to our situation here in Oz. Two quotes illustrate why.
'A law that denies a group of citizens equal access to a public
institution serves no other purpose than to declare that group to be
lesser. And this is why it is nonsense to say gays and lesbians can
enjoy equality before the law while they are barred from taking their
place in one of the most fundamental institutions .......marriage.'
Well, we know that's what the government and their Christian supporters think - they talk about ceremonies celebrating our unions as 'mimicking' marriage. In case you're in any doubt:
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Ritual Combat
It seems absurd, at the beginning of the 21st century, to be fighting over access to a ritual.
A lot of this fuss over same-sex marriage stems from the incomplete separation of church and state, and the constant pressure of some churches to resume the control they once had over people’s lives.
At the risk of offending some of them, the fact of the matter is that the state permits religious weddings as a matter of courtesy, out of respect to people’s beliefs, but they have no legal significance.
A church (and presumably a synagogue, mosque, temple) wedding ceremony contains two events. First there is a religious rite, and then the legal one when the couple signs the register in front of witnesses.
In fact it would make no difference if those two events happened in reverse order, or even on different dates (as they do in France), because it’s the legal bit that makes them a married couple, not the preceding ritual.
Religious folks take the opposite view. For them, the couple is married at the completion of the ritual: what happens afterwards is merely the state recognising their pre-existing relationship.
Most gays and lesbians are not especially fussed about the church (synagogue / temple / mosque) ritual. It’s a ‘nice-to-have’, but that’s an argument that gay Jews must have with Jews, gay Muslims with Muslims, and gay Christians with Christians.
Meanwhile most religious folk are not especially bothered about relationship recognition, and have accepted the idea of parallel relationship registers (the marriage register is a relationship register).
So why are we fighting?
They will accept the legal stuff, but they don’t want us to have the religious ritual. We’re not especially fussed about the religious ritual.
Where this gets nasty is, they don’t want us to have a secular ritual either, which is frankly none of their business. They don’t interfere in the relationship recognition rituals of temples, mosques and synagogues, and shouldn’t interfere in the ones at registry offices either.
They say that we can’t be allowed to have a ceremony because this ‘mimics’ marriage – it offends them, because they think it parodies their sacred ritual. What this reveals – and what they carefully don’t say - is that as far as they’re concerned, all secular weddings only ‘mimic’ marriage, because only their ritual can truly recognize a relationship.
My grandmother – who never attended church except for baptisms, weddings and funerals - thought you weren’t really married unless you had a church ceremony. As far as she was concerned, people who tied the knot at a registry office were living ‘over the brush’, as she called it.
“When are you going to have a proper wedding,” she would ask the embarrassed couple?
I suspect this is still the attitude of all those who tick the ‘Christian’ box on the census form, but like my grandmother only ever enter a church or meet a priest for baptisms, weddings and funerals, and the occasional carol service. They don’t feel married without some sort of ceremony. It’s the social equivalent of comfort food.
And it is for the comfort of such folks that the ceremonial component of civil marriages was created. It has no religious significance. It’s just the state making a gesture to reassure people that this is still a real marriage, even if the bloke up front is in a suit rather than a frock.
The bible says “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s”. Civil marriage belongs to Caesar. The churches should heed their own doctrine and butt out.
Friday, May 16, 2008
California Here We Come!
Or to take a slightly more up to date song, 'The Long and Winding Road.....' that leads to equality just got a couple of millimetres shorter. Notwithstanding the intrinsically disordered logic of certain same-sex attracted pontifical pontificators, the inexorable logic of same-sex marriage has won another victory over the forces of unreason.
The law proceeds by logic - unlike the majority of politicians, who are driven by the short-term needs of the electoral cycle - which is why at every turn the non-sexual homophiliac brigade seek to close off legal avenues to equality with constitutional bans and the like.
Stable, well-organised states have two lawmaking components - the assemblies of elected and appointed representatives and the judiciary, with the judiciary (who are not subject to political pressure and can therefore take a more considered and long term view) acting as a steadying influence to curb the tides of emotion to which the elected branch is prone.
Thus the politicians enacted draconian legislation on t-rr-r, and detained Mohammed Haneef purely to make a political point, only in the end to have their manipulations exposed by the courts.
The non-homogenital homophiliacs would have you belive the judges are 'usurping' the power of parliament. They're not, they are merely exercising their traditional constitutional responsibility as one of he checks and balances that stop us tipping over into tyranny. Not for nothing are judges Musharrafs number one opponent in Pakistan.
The real reason our opponents attack 'judicial activism' is that they are unable to sway judges with their emotion-driven, illogical claptrap. Politicians are easier meat.
These people would prefer to see clerics, not judges, as the unelected rulers of us all, as they are in Iran and Vatican City.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Surface illusions - monkey brains and the power of myths
Some people take exception to bible stories being characterised as myths, legends and fairy stories (if you're interested in exploring the mythical nature of the bible stories, click here for a very accessible exposition). That attitude actually trivializes the tales and perverts their real intent, because fairy stories are some of the most powerful, and true tales we posess.
Take a look at this famous painting by Magritte. For those of you who don’t read French, the caption says, “This is not a pipe.”
Now I’m not one of those art whizzos you see on TV who tell you that the orange in the bottom left hand corner of the portrait of Margathe Van Whiffenpoofen is a sly reference to the fact that she was having an affair with a member of the Dutch royal family at the time, which is also the reason she isn’t dressed in white, etc. etc.
So when I was first shown this painting, my literal mind said, “But it is a pipe – anyone can see it’s a pipe. What’s the guy talking about?”
Most of my fellow students thought the same, until the teacher said, “What are the characteristics of a pipe? Can you pick this pipe up, put it in your mouth, fill it with tobacco and smoke it?”
The penny clanged into the pan (I love sarcasm but it’s not a good teaching tool) as it dawned on us – it’s not a pipe, it’s a PICTURE of a pipe. The point being – to cut a long story short – that the representation of a thing is not the thing itself. The picture of the pipe SHOWS us what a pipe looks like, but the MEANING of the picture has nothing to do with pipes. The meaning is about pictures.
All pictures, books, plays, all have this double characteristic. On the surface they’re about one thing, but their meaning lies below the surface. The very best art has such a beguiling surface that the meaning slips into the mind unheeded. We learn something without knowing we have learned it.
All books are fiction
All books, plays etc., are works of art - fiction, if you will - even when they’re dealing with a factual subject. A biography, for example, is a story about a real person, using as much of the facts as are available to the author. So we get authorised biographies, where the subject collaborates with the writer, and the unauthorized version, where the subject is either neutral, indifferent or actively hostile. Neither is ‘the truth’ about the person.
In the authorized version, the subject has been able to exert their personality on the author, consciously or unconsciously revealing and concealing. In the unauthorized version, some factual material may have been hidden from him. However, the facts are not everything. They are only the skeleton. The important part is the interpretation and emphasis of the writer. A good biography will tell you a fair bit about the writer, and the culture into which it is published, as well as the ostensible subject.
This is why ‘new’ biographies come out all the time – each writer is the product of his or her own society, each generation has different concerns and attitudes. A Victorian biography won’t say much about sex, for example, whereas a later one may spend a great deal of time on the topic.
History of all kinds is subject to the same process. I remember being taught about the causes of the First World War, with a lot of stuff about inter-country rivalries, unstable empires, interlocking treaties etc. etc. And then along came A J P Taylor.
WW1, said Taylor, was caused by railway timetables. All the other stuff was important, he said, but the crucial thing that tipped this particular argument over into universal war was caused by the fact that the German railway system and timetables made a partial immobilization impossible. Once the mechanism to move troops up to one border was set in motion, they had no choice but to send them to their other borders too, even though they didn’t want or need to.
I have no idea if that theory is still fashionable today. Probably not. But the point is that a new historian with a new viewpoint came along and told a new story, using exactly the same historical facts that had been used to tell the previous one.
In the case of A J P Taylor, one possible truth is that the author craved recognition and notoriety – he was one of the first, if not THE first, television historian – and so quite deliberately looked for controversial interpretations of the facts, so as to keep his name in the public eye and his books and TV programs selling.
In other words, ALL books are fiction, even the ones allegedly based on fact. This does not mean they do not contain truths, merely that the truth is not to be found in the literal interpretation of the words.
Books only have meaning in context
Which brings me to another point. It is difficult, if not impossible, to discover the meaning in a book unless you know the context in which it was published. And the older a book is, the harder this becomes. Taylor is within my living memory. Shakespeare, for example, is not.
This is why scholarly editions of Shakespeares plays sometimes have only a line or two of dialogue on a page, the rest being taken up by footnotes explaining, for example, that this word has changed its meaning since Shakespeares day, that this saying meant, perhaps, the rough Elizabethan equivalent of ‘Half your luck’, and so on and so forth.
Read literally, they do not make sense, and can even give an impression totally at odds with Shakespeares intentions.
Shakespeare also wrote history, or to be more accurate, historical fiction. Take, for example, Julius Caesar. All the main characters actually existed, and many of the events depicted took place. But the Caesar we see on stage isn’t Caesar, he’s old Wills idea of Caesar, as interpreted by the actor and the director.
Directors try to achieve something of the same’ contextualising’ effect by playing around with the settings, moving them to different countries and eras, to try to give the audience some idea of what the play would have felt like to the original audience.
I must have seen at least three Macbeths set in a quasi-Fascist context, with Macbeth presented as a Hitler-like figure, and of course there’s the famous Kurosawa film which turns him into a Japanese warlord. But we can never see the play as its original audience would have seen it, and never have access to the range of meanings it would have conveyed to them.
Yet we cannot create meanings that are not here somewhere in the original text. At least one of the fascist Macbeths I saw simply did not work because the directors vision was at odds with the play itself. In this version, Macbeth was a strong man attempting to cleanse Scotland of an effete and exhausted dynasty, so that when the rightful heir assumed his throne at the end, he was a dissolute queen with a retinue of leather-clad pretty boys.
This ‘camp’ Macbeth failed because the meaning it dug for was not there. There was no gold in the seam where the director was looking for it. But there was a seam of gold – of truth and meaning – as Kurosawa discovered.
So, to recap. The surface story is always fictional to at least some degree. The truth lies below the surface, not in the words themselves.
Monkey brains
The next question is – why? Why are books always written this way? The answer lies in the dual nature of the human brain, as recent research has uncovered. The ‘monkey brain’ – the old, instinctive brain that makes your heart suddenly race or your blood turn to ice in your veins – and the ‘human brain’ – the rational, thinking mechanism that is producing this text. We like to believe that Mr Human is in control, but in fact, Mr Monkey makes all the decisions, quite unconsciously, and Mr Human follows along a short while after with the rationalization.
Experiments were done which showed quite clearly that decisions were made and acted on before the areas of the brain responsible for conscious thought lit up. The notion that Mr Human runs the show is a rationalization produced by Mr Human himself. The decision is already made. Think Before You Leap – The Age
This makes sense. When we were but apes on the plain, we needed fast ‘unthinking’ responses to survive. Only with development of complex societies did we begin to develop a system to review and sometimes rescind those unconscious decisions.
Hence the dual nature of books. The surface words talk to Mr Human, while the deep meaning speaks to Mr Monkey. Truly great books work on both levels – they’re satisfying both intellectually and emotionally. And it explains why some rather average books nevertheless enjoy great success. The surface words may not be put together all that well, but the deep story satisfies Mr Monkey. Did someone say ‘Harry Potter’?
This is also why old stories whose language we can barely understand without a lot of footnotes and explanation, like Shakespeare, can still work. The deep truth, the underlying story, still satisfies Mr Monkey.
This is why even older stories – the fairytales, myths and legends, the stories that form the books of the great religions – still have great power. The underlying story satisfies our primitive self.
For example, if you tell a story of a man who could not die, the rational mind knows it can’t be true. But Mr Monkey, the ever-alert, instantly reactive paranoid ape on the plains, the part that is all about survival at all costs, who lives in constant fear of death, is soothed. He can stop worrying. He can stop pestering Mr Human with incessant demands. He can even snooze. Thus the rational mind can begin to grow and blossom – and it did.
If you want a brilliant exposition on how all this works – and a wonderful evening of theatre – grab the DVD of Stephen Sondheim’s Into The Woods. It’s a near-perfect example of everything I’ve been talking about. On the surface it’s a witty, clever, charming musical based on traditional fairy-tales. On a deeper level it’s all about the power of those tales, and all other stories.
“Careful the tale you tell, that is the spell,” says the song. All storytelling is a form of magic; all books are books of spells. Our language acknowledges this. We speak of ‘a spellbinding performance’, a ‘magical transformation’, a ‘storytelling wizard’, and countless other metaphors.
Creeping irrelevance
But we must not mistake the painting for the pipe. Our oldest stories about deities began as oral traditions. They were not written down for centuries. As they were passed on from generation to generation, they changed. Each storyteller added something of their own personality to the tale. Emphasised different aspects of the story to adapt it to changed conditions. Some stories fell out of favour because the conditions they were created to address no longer existed. New ones were made.
Once writing was invented, a problem arose. On the one hand the stories were no longer forgotten, but now they did not change, or at least, changed more slowly. This meant that valuable wisdom was not lost when a storyteller died.
But it also meant that stories were no longer dropped when their relevance became questionable. And when stories did change, it was more likely to be through error rather than in response to a social need.
Manuscripts had to be copied by hand. Sometimes the scribes made errors. As copies of copies of copies were made, the chance of error increased. As people began to travel more, stories began to be translated into other languages, to be told in different social contexts. Like Shakespeare, they became susceptible to misunderstanding and misinterpretation. Those translations were also hand copied, by people with no connection to the original story. Then the translations were themselves translated into yet another language, and so on.
Then comes a catastrophe. It is decided that some stories are too important to be lost, too important to be changed. A selection process takes place: some stories make the cut, some don’t. And from then on no-one is allowed to change them.
If the story is strong enough, if the deep layers still charm Mr Monkey, then the story survives. We can still enjoy Shakespeare, with a bit of help. But if the world has moved on so far that the conditions the story was meant to address no longer exist, we become baffled, and the story is either forgotten, or is appreciated only for its pretty surface.
If stories form part of a religious faith, then they are not allowed to die, because if they do, the religion will die with them. Instead a whole industry springs up to explain, expound and interpret the stories, and keep them alive.
Shakespeare is God
I have used Shakespeare extensively as an example. One could very easily posit a Church of Shakespeare, with Shakespeare as God and Stratford on Avon as Rome.
A revered dead leader, divinely inspired, who is lavishly praised. Sacred texts –referred to as the canon - which you tinker with at your peril. Tremendous intellectual battles over the meanings of these texts. Centres of worship where performances are given. These performances may be traditional or, in an attempt to maintain their relevance, they’re given a modernizing makeover. The language may be modified to make them more accessible to modern ears. Again, huge battles over which way is the best, the purest, the most authentic.
Performance centres are terrific tourist attractions, but they are also propped up with large government subsidies. They are derided as benefiting only an elite minority. And the peak bodies running this whole enterprise constantly stake the moral high ground for themselves, because its ‘culture’, ‘great art’.
Sounds a lot like organised religion, doesn’t it? All this fuss over a few ‘fairy stories’ just goes to show how powerful, how important the stories we tell ourselves are. And how unreasoning belief, faith, intuition, the hidden Mr Monkey in us all who governs all our actions, can bulldoze Mr Human into doing what he wants, however irrational. And thinking up the reasons afterwards.
If the fairy story still has magic enough.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Gays don't want marriage
John Heard is at it again, missing the point entirely (click on the headline to see his latest rant in the Herald Sun).
He says that same sex attracted men and women "simply don't want gay marriages" and most gay partners have "no intention of ever "formalising' their relationships."
The point, however, is not that we want marriage - we want EQUALITY. A great many heterosexual couples aren't keen to marry, and many have no intention of formalising their relationships, but they can if they want to.
We can't, and until that is changed, we remain unequal and our relationships branded inferior.
I don't especially want marriage, but I will fight for it till we get it.
After meeting John Heard and being subjected to his bullying and hectoring on air, I'm even less inclined to give his point of view the time of day.
One point - he says on his blog that we 'massaged' the listener feedback, implying that we made it seem less favourable to him than it was. In fact, we declined to read out all the messages, or parts of messages, that were nothing more than personal abuse directed at John. For the record, of the 60+ responses in the course of the show, none backed John 100% and only a handful backed him in a qualified fashion. The rest disagreed with him.
Several - and many responses to me privately afterwards - expressed great sorrow and sympathy for John, and prayed that he would come to his senses before it was too late.
He says a lot of other things I could take issue with, too, but I decline to waste my time
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Eye Candy II
For gentlemen who prefer blonds, even when they come out of a bottle, this young man is worth a look.
Natural blond would be better, but at least this gives us a chance to offer to do his roots for him.
And we could touch up the carpet to match the curtains while we're about it.
Is he really this shape, or have Cosmopolitan resorted to photoshop to exaggerate his V?
Skins star Mitch Hewer posed naked "to raise awareness for the Everyman male cancer campaign", or so he says.
He also talks about what girls like about him, so perhaps he plays for the other side. But in that pose, who knows what he may be hiding?
Weekend eye-candy
We can't always be so serious. Sometimes we need a little light relief. So here's a bit of eye-candy to brighten the weekend.
I'm not much on rugby players as a rule - battered noses and cauliflower ears are not my thing. But at 19 this guy has most of that still to come.
He's Will Chambers of Melbourne Storm, and with a come-hither look like that, I reckon he'll go far, in or out of the scrum.
I certainly know how far I'd like him to go!!
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Mimicking Howard
Couldn't say it better than this, so I won't.
The only thing I can add is that for me at least the honeymoon is over. After all the guff about keeping his election promises, when KRuddy found he had given two contradictory ones - one to the pseudo-Christians of the Australian Christian Lobby, that he wouldn't allow anything that 'mimics marriage', versus one to the gay community and the ACT, that he would let them legislate for civil unions - he decided to mimic Howard and keep faith with the pseudo-Christians.
Lest we forget, Australian Christian Lobby officer-in-charge is Brigadier Jim Wallace (above), former counter-terrorism expert and ex-head of the SAS, an organisation dedicated to perverting affable young Aussies into inventive and secretive elite killing machines, sent overseas to deniably murder for their country. Hardly the most Christian of professions.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
ACT caves in - 'nationally consistent' plan in tatters
After promising to pass a civil partnerships bill in the teeth of federal opposition, the ACT government made a humiliating climbdown today and agreed to pass the measure minus the public ceremonies that Robert McClelland insists, "mimic marriage."
Tasmanian activist Rodney Croome says Kevin Rudd may offer a national partnership registration scheme as a trade-off.
Some such move became essential last week when when West Australia joined New South Wales in refusing to enact a state registration scheme.
The position of the Northern Territory, Queensland and South Australia is not known, but sources suggest they too were poised to refuse to fall into line the the federal governments plan for a system of 'nationally consistent state-based registries.'
Since the existing registries in Tasmania and Victoria are not consistent neither with one other nor the now-emasculated ACT measure, that plan is now dead.
The government have still not produced a logical coherent justification for enacting a separate but unequal system of relationship recognition for same-sex couples.
Meanwhile the Greens will introduce a same-sex marriage bill into the upper house.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Saints ace wants gay jibes ban - full text
Russell Robinson - Herald Sun - May 03, 2008 12:00am
Former St Kilda champ Nathan Burke teams up with a farmer to press the AFL to introduce rules protecting gays and bisexual people from sexual vilification
NATHAN Burke quickly learned never to take a backward step.
Frankston’s Pines estate was tough and the kids who survived were flint-hard or could run fast.
Those who didn’t adapt, the so- called sissies and pansies, were generally ostracised.
The St Kilda champion draws on those experiences to guide him.
Such was the case when he took a telephone call from gay activist Rob Mitchell for his help.
It took less than five seconds for the former Saints skipper to agree.
Together, this duo is fighting for gay rights in Victorian sports clubs, and Burke believes they’ll have little trouble recruiting other champion athletes.
They have already seen Victorian Youth and Sports Minister James Merlino, who has promised his support.
Now they’re looking to the Australian Football League in the hope of establishing an education program, and a system of penalties and sanctions similar to its successful racial vilification measures.
“I grew up in a tough part of Frankston and’ can visualise kids who’d been branded as sissies, pansies, or who played with the girls,” Burke says.
When it came time to play football at lunchtime they’d be told to, Go back and play with the girls, you’re not playing with us.
As you grow older you start to realise the harm you were possibly causing, even though you might not have been one of the Instigators.
“The fact that you didn’t actually stand up and do something about it at the time, you still feel it, By being passive you are still culpable.”
He says that was a reason to accept Mitchell’s invitation.
“When Rob rang me and identified the problem I could’ve been passive and just wished him good luck, but that would’ve been perpetuating what did as a kid,” Burke says.
In a separate development this week, the Federal Government announced it would scrap discrimination against gays in Commonwealth laws.
More than 100 amendments will be introduced to Parliament next month in areas ranging from superannuation, taxation, social security and health care.
But in the community vilification of gay, lesbian and bisexual youth, particularly in sports clubs and rural areas, remains an alarming social problem.
Depression awareness group beyond- blue says recent studies have found gay men aged between 18-24 are 3.7 times more likely to try to commit suicide.
Most of these attempts occurred after they had identified themselves as gay, but before they had a same-sex experience and before outing themselves.
Mitchell, 44, says he chose Burke because of his football profile and his experience as a player during the controversial racial vilification times.
‘For me, it’s all part of the same thread. You’re discriminating against someone for something that can’t be changed,” says Mitchell, a farmer and computer programmer.
But is the problem so significant to warrant more rules and sanctions?
“That depends on what criterion you use,” replies Mitchell. Maybe the numbers are fewer, but let’s look at the impact because what happens to the people on the receiving end of the vilification — their risk of suicidal thought more than triples.
“So, let’s say in Victoria there are 10.000 people being vilified because of their sexual orientation.
“If you gathered them together on a football oval, would you be prepared to tell them: ‘We’re not going to look after you because there’s not enough of you being degraded?’
‘That’s the message you’re sending to them. Then there are those standing on the sidelines who get an implicit message that it’s OK to vilify people.’
Burke, who retired five years ago after 323 games and was recently appointed a St Kilda director, works for a management consultancy with expertise in cultural change.
“I dare say that among the 600-plus AFL footballers there would be a gay player . . the statistics show that would be the case,” he says.
“So, why haven’t they come out like (former rugby league champion) Ian Roberts? I don’t know,
“I’m pretty sure nowadays that at an AFL level it wouldn’t be a problem for the other players. We’ve all moved on,”
Burke says throughout his career stones circulated about certain footballers including teammates.
‘But they were rumours, There Was nothing concrete,” he says.
“You’d get players from other clubs coming up and saying things like, ‘This bloke hasn’t got a girt, and ‘The boys are really suss about him’.”
Burke recalls the AFL's initial approach to racial and religious vilification on the field and the players’ reactions.
“First of all the league had to get a policy in writing, because just to go around and tell people they shouldn’t abuse people racially would never have taken hold.
“That’s no way to change a culture. By having it in writing, that keeps the players accountable.
“Then the AFL needed some high profile champions to push the cause, such as (Bomber) Michael Long, and before him (Saint) Nicky Winmar.
‘Now they have an education program which every player goes through every year. I sat through the initial ones and there was a lot of scepticism, with questions like, ‘They call themselves wogs, so why can’t we cal] them wogs?
‘Then after every year the skepticism gradually wore off,”
Burke believes the change occurred because some players became aware of the social significance, some feared the penalties and others respected Long and others who pushed for reform.
Burke and Mitchell have had talks with senior AFL officials. Now they want to see AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou copy the racial program to protect gay and bisexual players.
They want to show him the dramatic statistics of suicides by young gays, lesbians and bisexuals.
The State Government has taken steps to counter anti-gay bias.
Alter their meeting with Merlino the pair were told in a letter of an impending manual to help sports leagues and clubs on governance.
“I anticipate there will be a chapter in the manual on the topic of combating discrimination in all Its forms . . . It would be useful to get your group’s input into the drafting of this particular chapter,” Merlino wrote,
Burke knows change is overdue.
“As a friend of mine recently said, ‘You can only whinge for so long’.”
ANYONE with personal problems can call Lifeline on 131 114; Victorian Statewide Suicide Helpline on 1300 651 251.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Rainbow Special Tonight
On tonight's Rainbow Report we'll be devoting the show to the coming legal changes:
Stephen Jones from VGLRL on what's in, what's not,and what next.
Rodney Croome on the politics of it all, the wriggle room for the Liberals to back away from support, and how Canberra's surprised at the way gay marriage has suddenly become THE issue.
Andrew Grenache of Australian Marriage Equality on how major corporates are signing up to recognise gay marriages, civil unions and registered partners in their company benefits schemes
And Mark Orr, President of ACON on growing old disgracefully and how the changes will make life easier for mature gays and lesbians.
Plus insightful analysis from Cathy Anderson and Ron Theile - tonight, 7-9pm Joy 94.9 streaming live at for non-Melbournians.
Nepal gets its first gay representative in parliament
Sunil Pant has to be one of the worlds great gay heroes. He put gay rights on the Nepalese national agenda, defending gays, lesbians and in particular mehti (cross-dressers) from a hostile society and a corrupt government and police.
That would be an achievement in itself, but he's done it in the middle of a revloution and civil war - a truly amazing achievement. | http://queerious.blogspot.com/2008/05/ | dclm-gs1-189051087 |
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There are many ways to communicate emotion through music.
Joni Mitchell sang her poetry, often in a distinctive rhythm and with enchanting vocal agility; Carlos Santana spoke through his guitar and regularly conveyed meaning purely through instrumentation.
Both, though, were from the Woodstock era; Santana came to fame as a last-minute replacement act at the legendary festival, while Joni’s appearance there was thwarted forcing her to watch the event on television. While the two did not grace the same stage back in 1969, the spirit of the great artists was summoned at The Jade (20 July) during Sacred Fire 2 as part of Umbrella: Winter City Sounds.
Opening the evening was Delia Olam with her Adelaide Fringe award winning Joni Mitchell cabaret show, ‘Daughter’. She was followed by Lenin Marrón and the Supernatural band, who played a set predominately inspired by Santana’s 1993 concert in Mexico.
Delia and Lenin were both inspired at an early age by their idols: Delia recalls listening to Joni’s iconic ‘Blue’ on her first teenage car ride without adults, while Lenin was gifted Santana’s 'Live In Mexico' DVD by an uncle. Their devotion was evident in the skill with which they replicated the technically demanding material.
Listening to their music as children indeed lit a sacred fire within their souls. While Joni and Santana served as inspiration for the duo as artists, so too did they serve as teachers about life.
Delia, like Joni, began as a bohemian artist before being irreversibly altered by the realities of motherhood. Santana’s ‘Live In Mexico’ album was dedicated to Cesar Chavez, a famed unionist who fought for the rights of American farm workers. Lenin dedicated part of the evening to an uncle who tragically lost his life on a construction site a few years ago.
Delia’s set was a cabaret show, while Lenin’s was a concert. This disparity did cause some minor difficulties. During a concert, audiences customarily arrive sporadically and then make occasionally trips to the bar. A cabaret show is generally more akin to a theatre environment, where the audience takes their seats and remain until the end.
Delia’s show heavily involved audience interaction, which was slightly complicated by the less controlled environment. She was endearing and confident enough as a performer to navigate these difficulties. When she makes mistakes though, as all performers do, she needs to learn to persevere as though nothing has happened rather than acknowledging the error.
She is a captivating artist who will be forgiven for the occasional lapse and most will not even notice unless it is pointed out to them. Her vocal delivery and the narrative of her show remained powerfully moving despite some technical difficulties.
While Delia’s set was played to a seated audience, during the Santana set the audience was transported to their younger days as they busted out dance moves honed decades earlier. One eager fan comically rolled up the carpet on the floor, as his routine required a smoother surface to perform. It was evident how much the music still meant to them.
The fire started by Joni and Santana will forever burn, as with their music they pass the torch.
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0.07304 | <urn:uuid:fb92b82b-69dc-4207-a87b-22e8c9b18837> | en | 0.94517 | One of the most effective and inexpensive ways to market a website, advertise services, and promote products online is article marketing. It has become one of the most effective choices among internet marketing companies. Whether you are an established businessman or just breaking into the internet market, you will most likely find article marketing rapidly becoming one of your most preferred marketing tools. Targeted traffic, search engine optimization, product promotion, back links, and expert status are merely a few of the examples of marketing needs that can be fulfilled through the use of this versatile internet technique.
The benefits of article marketing may fluctuate from the sort of niches to the article directories you have submitted them to. Assurance of the greatest volume of viewing requires submission of the article to well known directories. However, you can submit them to various directories to get maximum exposure.
There are lots of benefits of article marketing.
Appropriate Audience
Through the creation and submission of appropriate articles, traffic at your website can be increased. Many of the examples of locations to submit your articles include ezinearticles, buzzle, goarticles, articlealley, articledashboard, articlebase, helium, suite101, articlesnatch and a lot more.
Cost effectiveness
Given the low-cost of article marketing, the generated traffic represents a high rate of return on your monetary investment. Many directories charge nothing for article submission allowing for a completely no-cost alternative should you choose to generate your own articles. Nonetheless, you can outsource the article work to be free from the worrisome of quality of articles.
Product promotion
Article marketing is the best way for product promotion as well. If you have a website for your product, articles can be included that will further inform people about it. It can also be an extremely effective way to entice individuals to try your product.
Search engine optimization (SEO)
SEO techniques can be used when generating articles to assure higher rankings, including such techniques as back linking.
Article marketers will often begin with submissions to a number of specific directories, inserting further articles pertinent to the subject matter as they become available. It is a good deal starting marketing with article marketing, even if you are struggling with a restrained budget, it will not disappoint you. Either way, you must assure any generated articles are not only filled with appropriate information, but are also well written to assure that search engines will not flag them as SPAM.
One of the most effective tools in article marketing would be Unique Article Wizard, check it out today. | http://stephenclinton.com/2011/07/article-marketing-what-difference-does-it-make/ | dclm-gs1-189291087 |
0.022125 | <urn:uuid:d464fbaa-01d0-45c6-ba23-e90bc3a8e4f3> | en | 0.943996 | The difference between being vegan and being plant-based
The difference between being vegan and being plant-based
(Picture: Getty)
You’ve watched What The Health and Cowspiracy and now you’re ready to give up your carbon emissions-heavy ways.
You’re done with chomping on pigs and drinking baby cow juice and you’re ready to embrace that vegetable life.
These gin advent calendars will make you wish it was December
But are you a vegan or are you plant-based?
Or perhaps you’re sick of all these free-from pr*cks and you hate the whole clean eating movement. But do you really hate vegans or are you wound up about plant-based eaters?
You might think the two buzz terms are synonymous but there are subtle differences.
Does it matter which you are or which you hate the most? Probably not.
Guy gives vegan kale on second date, but is it actually that cute
(Picture: Getty)
But if you’re about to start joining a load of pro-vegan forums and discussion groups and you haven’t got your facts straight then you’re probably going to get shot down sharpish.
So, here are the basic differences between the two:
A plant-based diet is one that is centred on vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes and fruits.
So far, so vegan.
But a plant-based diet is just that – it’s a diet. It’s a way of eating that you might adopt because you don’t agree or like eating meat and fish, you might be lactose intolerant, or you might want to eat as unrefined as possible.
The difference between being vegan and being plant-based
(Picture: Instagram)
Being plant-based is open to different interpretations. It’s an eating pattern based on plants but isn’t necessarily exclusive to it. So you’ll get some people who call themselves plant-based but still eat eggs and drink cows or goats milk. And you’ll also get fruitarians, raw vegans and macrobiotic dieters falling under the same umbrella term.
It’s essentially a whole-food regime that relies on consuming minimal amounts of highly refined foods like bleached flour, refined sugar and oil.
So yes, it’s what you might call ‘clean’ eating but more than that, it’s an effort to eat healthily and ethically.
And no, it’s not dangerous. Eating disorders are dangerous. Plant-based eating is simply a food plan that sees you eating a load of broccoli and whole grain bread.
Without being horribly cliche, veganism is more than a diet – it’s a lifestyle.
People turn to veganism out of morality rather than a desire to be healthier or slim down. It’s not a diet.
We’re seeing an amazing growth of vegan junk food businesses popping up in the UK right now, from cruelty-free doughnuts to kebabs – catering for those people who want their delicious, greasy, sugary treats without abusing animals in the process.
Don’t go thinking that vegans are the healthiest people on the planet.
There are plenty of vegans who don’t give a sh*t about nutrition or dieting. There are a load of animal lovers who would live entirely on chips and Oreos if they had the chance.
The point is though, that they aren’t prepared to let animals suffer for their lifestyle choices.
And that mentality extends to their clothing choices, their skin care, the kinds of household cleaners they use, hair products and what kind of alcohol they drink.
They live independently of animal products and labour in and out of the kitchen.
So, before you start slagging vegans off as diet-obsessed wellness freaks or plant-based eaters as sanctimonious hippies, make sure you know exactly who you’re chatting sh*t about.
Or maybe…don’t?
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The difference between being vegan and being plant-based
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MORE: In 2017, there are still no vegetarian or vegan British cooking shows
MORE: The verdict on vegan halloumi | http://thecelebritymagazine.com/the-difference-between-being-vegan-and-being-plant-based/ | dclm-gs1-189361087 |
0.021322 | <urn:uuid:be7b061c-395b-4447-a39a-0507002b0dad> | en | 0.945861 | Saturday, September 11, 2010
Idiot Bragging Rights
Let's talk about toilet running real quick.
So on Monday, Labor Day, I decided to do a nice hour long run. Do a little stretch, take a sip of water-and out the door. I took off at around 3 P.M. without checking the conditions outside. Turns out it was 96 degrees, 28 mph wind gusting to 42 and humid as could be (see diagram below). But have no fear! A T.R. would never let something like wind or heat prevent him from having a great run. I took off and was going along at a pretty decent clip (about 7:20 per mile) and thought "Sure, I'll be able to hold this pace for an hour." It was super hot, a lot of wind-but luckily I had a bunch of jumpy grasshopper friends and a new running path to discover-both of which kept me going. A few nice Wichita folks jogged by me and I flashed a huge smile and gave an obnoxiously happy wave (gotta make friends!). About half returned a wave but few smiled. The runners I waved to were normal. Before going on a run they worry about sore legs and whether they have the energy to workout today. Toilet Runners do not worry about such things...
20 minutes into my run I realized that the stomach was not going to let me continue without some attention. I had been "crop dusting" all over the trail (when no one was behind me of course) but this was not curing the issue arising below my belly button. Pain. Pain. And more pain. Either the Pain comes out-or I give up the ghost and walk home from here. 8 minutes later I see a small wooded area and head straight for it. A nice leafy tree appears and I grab some foliage on my way in. I start walking and ensure I have a bit of privacy. T.R. Manual: Rule 53-just when you think you've gone in far enough-go twice as far. Look left. Look right. Crouch. Look left again. Look right again. Release. Use leaves. Use more leaves. Stand up and bolt back onto the trail praying you don't run over some other runner who will surely know you are a T.R. and know the deed that has been done.
I turned back around and headed home. It was so hot that my body ran out of extra sweat and stopped sweating about 30 minutes in. Soon after, goosebumps appeared all over my arms and neck. The wind howled in my face and slowed me to what felt like a crawl. But Toilet Runners never quit-especially when continuing is dumb, and makes little sense, and might make you feel funny for the rest of the run; like you're head is full of helium and your feet are tingly. These things just happen when you force your body to do the opposite of what it would rather be doing-which is sitting on the couch, eating hand fulls of shredded cheese while watching skateboarding videos (silly body-this comes AFTER the run).
The time ended up being 57:28 and I did a little under 8 miles. Do a little stretch, take a sip of water and hit the floor. Toilet Runner 1-Nature 0. I live to run another day.
Adios Amigos
This Weeks Numbers
Day: Monday, 9-6
Time: 57:28
Distance: 7.8 Miles
Day: Thursday, 9-9
Time: 26:37
Distance: 4.1 Miles
Day: Friday, 9-10
Time: 27:43
Distance: 4.3 Miles
Day: Saturday, 9-11
Time: 19:47
Distance: 3 Miles
1. Hahaha... You are ridiculous! And disgusting! Just the way little brothers are made to be.
Right now our weather is 73 degrees, and feels like 73 degrees. Guess you'll have the last laugh when we're below zero and you're shivering at a chilly 40 degrees.
2. Jef-you are awesome!! Never let nature win! We are a different breed. | http://toiletrunner.blogspot.com/2010/09/idiot-bragging-rights.html | dclm-gs1-189481087 |
0.09992 | <urn:uuid:4e2d8c2e-d124-4312-82fe-f8db4ab1850c> | en | 0.980627 | Thursday, October 27, 2011
Q&A: Why a bronze serpent & how is that a shadow of the Messiah?
Question: Why did Moses use a serpent image and how was that a type of Jesus?
So after church last Sunday I was asked a question that I only was able to answer in part. It intrigued me so I went home and sought the rest of the answer and decided to give it tonight since there may be others who have wondered the same thing… The question came from Numbers 21.
The question was, why did Moses make the image that would save the people to look like a serpent and how was this, a shadow of Jesus Christ?
And it is sort of curious considering that the serpent in Genesis is Satan… why a serpent here? Well, firstly, the serpent in Genesis and the image of the serpent here are not representative of the same thing. How do we know that? Well, in verse 9 of Numbers 21 it tells us that those who looked on the image of the bronze serpent were saved from the venom of the bite and they lived.
To give you a context for what’s happening here, the Israelites have been led out of Egypt by God’s hand and now they are making their way towards the land of Canaan. Edom blocked their way and so after a successful battle they journey south to the Red Sea and then back North to Canaan thereby completely by passing the land of Edom altogether.
Along their journey, as Israel often did, the people began to complain. Aaron has just died, and Miriam had died a while before him, and they are mourning and their mourning is moving to groaning over their situation. Apparently having quickly allowed their trials to over power the memory of having experienced God’s power in saving them and providing for them at every turn.
So they complain against God and Moses and ask ‘Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?’ So God allows for their punishment at the hands of or rather at the venom of a deadly snake.
As a result the people realize their sinful ways. v7a - And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.”
They realize that they have sinned and go to Moses to make intercession with the Lord on their behalf. Now, Moses does go and do just that. He prays for them. In the last half of verse 7 it says, v7b- So Moses prayed for the people.
And God responds to Moses request, but not in the way that the people had requested. Not in the way that Moses had likely requested either to be honest. God responds, v8 - And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.”
God answers by providing a remedy for the bites. He does not remove the snakes. The snakes stay among them for a certain period of time to be a reminder to them. Every time they would be bitten by or just see one of those snakes they would remember what had brought that consequence upon them to begin with.
So God provides for the Israelites, not by removing the snakes, but by removing the ability for the snakes to kill the people if bitten. He did it by instructing Moses to fashion a bronze serpent and raise it up on a pole high above the people for the whole camp to see. I would surmise that it was likely centrally located in the camp so that everyone passed by it and saw it frequently.
And the implication is more an issue of when the serpents bit someone and not if they did. If they bit anyone, that person wasn’t to try and suck out the venom, they weren’t to see the local physician for an anti-venom medication or attempt to treat it in any way on their own whatsoever. They were to simply look to the image of the bronze serpent on the pole and they would live.
Now, how in the world was this supposed to teach the Israelites about the coming Messiah in whom they should place their trust and hope for salvation?
To get a better understanding we need to look over to John 3.
So Jesus is trying to wrap Nicodemus mind around the idea of the new birth. Jesus tells him that to see Heaven one day a person MUST be born again. Nicodemus couldn’t grasp it because his mind was legalistic and prone to think of salvation in terms of what he could accomplish… works he could do to EARN God’s forgiveness.
You see Jesus’ statement has an implied point that someone of Nicodemus’ well educated intellect would have grasped very quickly. What confounded him was obvious. It was as if Jesus asked Nicodemus, ‘Nicodemus, how much did you have to do with your physical birth? Your first birth?’ Nicodemus responds, how can a man be born again? How can HE re-enter the womb for a second time…
Nicodemus said, there is no work I can do to be born again, which was the whole point. It wasn’t up to him to be born again, it was up to God to perform this work, that was what Jesus was driving home to him.
To further explain using something that Nicodemus would be well acquainted with, v14 - as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
Jesus compares Himself to the serpent that Moses lifted up in the wilderness. He said, just as the serpent was lifted up, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. That whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.
So we know that the serpent was a type of Jesus... a shadow of the coming Messiah... let's look at the similarities
- both the serpent and Jesus were lifted up, the serpent on a pole and Jesus on a cross.
- both were lifted high above the people (Golgotha could be seen for MILES to some degree)
- both were cures... the serpent cured the bite from a living serpent so that the people wouldn't die, Jesus cures our most serious venom of which we’ve all been bitten by, namely sin
- if the people looked to any cure besides the serpent image... medicine.. anything... they died, if we look to anything but Christ to save us (works, etc) we die... there is no work we can perform that will save us… our good works and efforts to be good don’t amount to squat. We must be born again, forgiven and justified by the Savior who hung on a wicked cross for our sin
- God ordained that looking upon the serpent image to be a cure... God ordained Christ to be the only Savior
- both were a very unlikely method of cure that no one would naturally think would work (the serpent because looking on a pole would do no good under any other circumstances, Christ was a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks... they'd both rather seek "cures" to their sin on their own.
In John 3:13-14 Jesus makes reference to the serpent when talking to Nicodemus... as a Jew, Nicodemus couldn't wrap his brain around having to trust Christ's grace and not his own works to atone for sin... it was mind blowing to him... and Jesus said, just as Moses lifted up the serpent, so much HE be lifted up...
- and now I think it is THIS one that explains the most about why a snake was used... ok, so what was a snake? A vile, grotesque thing... especially knowing the history of the serpent in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve compiled with the danger of a snake’s venom, no one wanted to have anything to do with a snake... it was gross, its symbol offensive, YET to be cured of the deadly snake bite, they had to look on this thing that they despised so much... what about Christ? Beautiful to us because we are born again and have been saved but what was He to the Jews? For that matter, what is He to any unbeliever... a vile thing, grotesque... He was beaten and bloody...
Isaiah 52:14 – As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
Isaiah 53:2-3 - For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
- that which would provide a cure from a snake bite was the image of a snake... that which saves us from our sin, had to become the very thing that killed us spiritually... Romans 8:3-4 - For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
There were no magical powers in that bronze serpent. They merely needed to look upon Him because that was the stipulation that God had in place in order for Him to heal them. No other man could have taken Christ’s place. Because no other man qualified. The healing from our sin comes from the sacrifice of Christ because He is the Son of God, God in the flesh, not simply because He was a man. He had to be a man in order for His sacrifice to qualify as a representative for humanity. He had to be fully God so that He would be able to live a life as human that was unstained by sin and was thereby qualified to be the sin sacrifice for all who would ever be saved.
- The serpent image didn't wound anyone, even though it looked like the thing that caused the wound... again, Christ did not cause our sin, nor did He sin, yet He became the very thing that had caused our sin... as if HE had committed our sins...
You see, the bronze serpent was a very reddish bronze in color. In fact, archaeologists have found bronze and copper in that region and it has a very deep red tone to its color. The event with the Israelites illustrates both the sacrifice of Christ and the faith of His people.
Just as the bonze serpent was lifted up, so Christ, as one born “in the likeness of sinful flesh” was lifted up. The afflicted Israelites had no other way of rescue than to look at the bronze serpent, just as sinners have no hope for salvation, for being spared from God’s wrath, except faith in the crucified and risen Son of God.
Isaiah 45:22 - Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.
Jesus Christ, in order to rescue us from our sin and from certain eternal death, put on human flesh, not subject to sin because He was fully God. The God-man. Second person of the Trinity, clothed in humanity but retaining full Deity. Doing this He became our representative before God. Since the world, under its own reasoning, cannot understand the wisdom of God, Christ was offered up in the foolishness of the cross.
That we would look on Him who became our sin. Just as the Israelites detested looking on the serpent, so too we should detest looking on what Christ had to become in order to save us. When I look at the cross I see the innocent Savior covered in and paying the fine for my lies, my lusts, my idols… every sin that I should have been made to pay for, Christ willingly stepped in and paid my fine, taking my place on the cross.
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0.837623 | <urn:uuid:8b6f33c2-b59a-483e-8f86-c2e2680b4824> | en | 0.968236 | The Meaning of Income
A profit-oriented business tries to make a profit, while a non-profit organisation tries to operate so that it breaks even during an accounting period. In either case, success or failure is reflected by changes in the equity section of the balance sheet. If a business operates profitably during an accounting period, its equity increases by the amount of the profit. If a non-profit organisation breaks even, its equity remains unchanged.
However, the change in equity on the balance sheet does not tell anything about why operations during an accounting period were or were not profitable. You use the income statement for this purpose, as it summarises the changes in equity that occurred during an accounting period due to the operating activities during that period.
The income statement reports for a period of time, such as a month or a year. The balance sheet reports the entity's financial condition as of one moment in time. | http://www.aquilatechnology.com/abug/themeaningofincome.htm | dclm-gs1-189771087 |
0.025248 | <urn:uuid:0eeebce3-c9da-4180-bc9f-37bec4656fe8> | en | 0.954383 | Bitcoin vs. Gold: Which One Should You Invest In?
As of 2017 the whole cryptocurrencies market reached a peak of $176 billion, a mark that clearly tells us that they are here to stay, and Bitcoin is leading the table of rankings with a market capitalization of ~$70 billion. This alone is more than enough to motivate many to go after this new and rapidly growing market… but is it a good idea? Is it a better investment than gold?
These are normal questions that you may have, but worry not because this article will let you know the pros and cons of each one in a brief yet concise manner. Let’s get into it!
Rarity: A Decisive Factor
Rarity and scarcity are crucial factors. We all know that gold is rare but guess what? Bitcoin is even rarer!
But why? It is because there is a limited supply, which stands at 21 million Bitcoins, and right now we have around 16.5 million in circulation. That’s why when the supply suffers some kind of restriction and the demand increases, then as a result the price goes up significantly.
The concept is simple: the lower the supply and the higher the demand the more the price will increase. That’s something that makes BTC stand out and makes it superior to gold in terms of rarity and limited supply.
Exchanges: Which Has The Best Network?
If there is a place where gold gives BTC a beating then it is when we talk about exchanges. Even though the cryptocurrency scene has accomplished much, decentralized and proper centralized exchanges are still its major weak point.
Exchanges like Poloniex are not reliable at all, and the unique decentralized option is Etherdelta, which unfortunately only operates with Ethereum and its different assets (ex: CVC, PAY, TRST, OMG and TNT).
And yes, buying BTC can be a really big problem for many countries, for example Peru and all South American countries that cannot buy in sites like Thus, they have to rely on informal brokers that use to charge steep fees.
On the other hand gold has so many exchanges that there is no room for complaining.
Also, the transparency of global gold exchanges is evident and none doubts about it, which is something we cannot say about certain cryptocurrencies exchanges.
And finally, BTC exchanges are a constant target of hackers and we just need to remember the terrifying case of MT. GOX, which caused massive losses to investors and had a devastating effect in BTC’s price.
Value: Stability vs. Volatility
This is another major difference between both investments. On one hand you have that the gold will always have a demand for items like jewelry, there will always be buyers. And this value is protected better than BTC’s because it is considered to have a baseline value, which means the price will never dive below a certain point, because as a result it would hit the base demand.
As you can see the price of gold is very-well protected, which makes it a safer investment. On the other hand BTC doesn’t have this historical importance and industrial demand, which makes its value far more volatile.
Nonetheless, BTC’s volatility offers better rewards for those who dare to invest into it. Just take into account that trading is a completely different thing, because the safest way to get involved with BTC is to simply buy, hold and reinforce your position in the dips.
If you prefer something more stable and better protected against price crashes, then gold may be the best route for you. But on the other hand, if you are chasing the biggest profits, then BTC offers exactly what you are looking for.
Converting Your Investment Into Cash:
It is far easier to convert gold into cash, but this difference is disappearing with the pass of the time, because we have excellent projects like TenX (PAY) which aim to make it easy for investors to cash out their BTC holdings by providing them a debit card they can use in any ATM in any country around the world.
And not only that, but TenX goes beyond that and is working hard on supporting more cryptocurrencies and assets like CVC, OMG, etc. In a nutshell: it is connecting cryptocurrencies with the tangible world.
Now this analysis should be more than enough to see which kind of option is right for you. Just remember that any kind of investment is always subjected to a risk, especially when we talk about BTC.
Finally, it is always important for you to read more about each kind of investment, and a perfect website to know more about these topics is Market Review, where you will find more information and a further analysis on gold and bitcoin along with other crypto currencies and assets.
Author: Eddy
| http://www.business-fundas.com/2017/bitcoin-vs-gold-which-one-should-you-invest-in/ | dclm-gs1-189851087 |
0.076485 | <urn:uuid:db98b82a-9742-45c2-ab76-ffef3fd9f9c0> | en | 0.933342 | Due to one reason or another, the need to refund a customer may arise and anyone with basic understanding of essay writing services or custom writing services understand that. As such, we advise our esteemed customers to read our money back guarantee policy very carefully before placing an order at our site in order to ensure that there are no inconveniences or misunderstandings. policy is divided into two categories
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NOTE : In both A and B above, if you reside at any of the European Union countries and had paid Value Added Tax (VAT), you should note that VAT and the cost of transaction are non-refundable.
1. When a client cancels an order for clarification purposes.
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1. The writer has been assigned your order, and less than a quarter of the deadline has passed. The writer should be compensated since he has started workig on your order.
1. A writer cannot be provided for your revision.
2. A writer has been allocated your order (case), and more than a half of the deadline has elapsed.
Other instances when a refund may be applicable is when :
1) When we fail to deliver the paper on the agreed deadline – A refund is made by re-calculating the deadline with which the paper was submitted to you. For instance, if the deadline of a given order is 24 hours and we delivered the paper within 26 hours, you will be refunded due to late submission. However NOTE : that this does not apply to revisions.
2) If you are not contended with the quality of the paper you have received – If this is the case, you may request for a FREE revision. However, if this does not work for you, a new writer can be assigned your order. Moreover, you can set the order on dispute status by writing a message to our customer agents. Below is a sample message you can write .”Please set this order on Dispute Status”
Any of our esteemed customers can study his/her order (case) and ask the writer for more corrections if the need arises. NOTE : Once the “Approve” button is pressed, you are not qualified to ask for any refund whatsoever. However, pressing the “Approve” button gives you a direct access to an editable and printable version of the order. You should always ensure that you are satisfied with the quality of the paper before pressing the “Approve” button.
NOTE : After the “Approve” button is pressed, you are given a maximum of 7 days to ask for a revision. However, you must give genuine reasons as to why you need a paper reviewed.
Do not attempt to press the “Approve” button if you haven’t checked the paper’s quality or you are not satisfied with it. | http://www.courseshero.us/money-back-guarantee-policy/ | dclm-gs1-189991087 |
0.032742 | <urn:uuid:dc4341bf-144f-41af-8e63-2c68d21c3d3b> | en | 0.674531 | The Renovate Guide To 101-400 questions pool Jun 2017
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Q51. – (Topic 1)
Which of the following options for the kernel's command line changes the systemd boot target to instead of the default target?
Q52. CORRECT TEXT – (Topic 2)
Q53. – (Topic 3)
Immediately after deleting 3 lines of text in vi and moving the cursor to a different line, which single character command will insert the deleted content below the current line?
A. i (lowercase)
B. P (uppercase)
C. p (lowercase)
D. U (uppercase)
E. u (lowercase)
Q54. – (Topic 1)
A. 0
B. 1
C. 3
D. 5
E. 6
Answer: A,E
Q55. – (Topic 3)
Which of the following commands will send output from the program myapp to both standard output (stdout) and the file file1.log?
A. cat < myapp | cat > file1.log
B. myapp 0>&1 | cat > file1.log
C. myapp | cat > file1.log
D. myapp | tee file1.log
E. tee myapp file1.log
Q56. – (Topic 2)
Which function key is used to start Safe Mode in Windows NT?
A. F10
B. F8
C. F6
D. Windows NT does not support Safe Mode
Q57. – (Topic 3)
Which character, added to the end of a command, runs that command in the background
as a child process of the current shell?
A. !
B. +
C. &
D. %
E. #
Q58. – (Topic 4)
Which of the following commands set the sticky bit for the directory /tmp? (Choose TWO correct answers.)
A. chmod +s /tmp
B. chmod +t /tmp
C. chmod 1775 /tmp
D. chmod 4775 /tmp
E. chmod 2775 /tmp
Answer: B,C
Q59. – (Topic 4)
Which of the following commands creates an ext3 filesystem on /dev/sdb1? (Choose TWO correct answers.)
A. /sbin/mke2fs -j /dev/sdb1
B. /sbin/mkfs -t ext3 /dev/sdb1
C. /sbin/mkfs -c ext3 /dev/sdb1
D. /sbin/mke3fs -j /dev/sdb1
Answer: A,B
Q60. – (Topic 3)
Which of the following commands will NOT update the modify timestamp on the file /tmp/myfile.txt?
A. file /tmp/myfile.txt
B. echo "Hello" >/tmp/myfile.txt
C. sed -ie "s/1/2/" /tmp/myfile.txt
D. echo -n "Hello" >>/tmp/myfile.txt
E. touch /tmp/myfile.txt
Certleader Dumps | http://www.direct2dumps.com/the-renovate-guide-to-101-400-questions-pool-jun-2017.html | dclm-gs1-190061087 |
0.680687 | <urn:uuid:6da5c122-f69e-4a04-a249-b9d34201886c> | en | 0.936645 |
The main page of the blog can be found here.
Politics as information
Not a huge insight or anything, just a pleasant thought while high:
A while ago Constant posted a link to a discussion about the overrepresentation of libertarians on the internet. The reason there are more libertarians is that people who use the internet are making use of a more advanced information technology than what other people use, so they are gleaning better information.
I think the internet is a better technology for disseminating and processing information (i.e. arriving at truth) because of increased competition created by the economies of scale of its network architecture.
Libertarianism represents better information than the political ideas proposed by those who don't use the internet. (Obviously libertarianism and other political philosophies exist both on and off the internet, I'm just simplifying from their respective proportional representation by medium.) This isn't to say that libertarianism is right, or proven, or any triumphalist claim like that; it could still be entirely wrong, but it refines the amount of information that can be processed about political philosophy and produces a rational explanation for all the discrepancies between what its refined information produces and what the coarser information of liberalism/conservatism produces.
This is reason for great optimism. As information-processing technology continues to improve, presumably so too will our ability to process better political systems than libertarianism (and better ethical systems than libertarianism's underpinnings), and for the wisdom embodied in libertarianism to spread inexorably among human populations in the same way that other new technologies do.
A modest proposal
I propose that some enterprising individual or organization create a private currency that is backed by an index fund or several index funds.
This currency could be used online, like those gold-backed online forms of money, and the currency could also be printed or minted.
Since I don't know much about monetary economics or any other economics, I'll leave the fancy rebuttals and fleshing-out of the idea to you experts, but after thinking about it briefly I believe I would like to use such a currency. | http://www.distributedrepublic.net/blog/daniel/ | dclm-gs1-190071087 |
0.054135 | <urn:uuid:f0e26f30-f15a-4745-9d21-2d890e253742> | en | 0.925669 | print this page Print page email to a friendEmail to friend
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rainy weather
Cloudy with light rain
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Latitude: 1 deg 45’N
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what's to eat today?
Spanish omelet
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Maneuvering the RV Melville
April 14, 2000
By Capt. Eric Buck
Perhaps you’ve heard the phrase “where the rubber meets the road”? Besides being a slang term relating to performance, that’s where you get a lot of what is known as “traction”. One definition of traction is “the adhesive friction of a body on a surface on which it moves”. That’s why your car tires and your shoe soles are made of rubber; so you get lots of traction and can go where you want to go.
Driving a ship is not like driving a car! A ship is floating in water and so it has a lot less traction than we enjoy on land. That means much more time and distance are required to speed up, slow down, and even turn the ship. This is complicated by the sheer size and bulk of the vehicles involved. Your average family car probably weighs between 2,000 and 4,000 pounds, and it responds quickly because of the traction with a solid surface. RV Melville is a relatively small ship (85 meters long), but even so, she tips the scales at more than 2,700 long tons (that’s more than six million pounds!) on the average trip . So in maneuvering the ship, there is a lot of inertia and momentum to be dealt with. For example, a loaded super tanker, which can weigh well over 250,000 long tons, may travel several miles in the original direction of motion before stabilizing on a new course or speed.
Aboard ship, the Captain and the deck officers (often called Mates) navigate and maneuver the ship to get to the desired destination. Out on the open ocean, the deck officers themselves determine and execute whatever maneuvers are necessary. When the ship is near shore or in hazardous waters, such as channels and harbors, the maneuvering falls to the person with the most experience; usually the Captain. The practice of maneuvering a ship is called “shiphandling”.
The shiphandler must know all about the ship’s characteristics, such as tonnage, propulsion system, rudders, response times, etc. Even the underwater shape of the hull and the size of the superstructure (the part of the ship above deck) may need to be factored into maneuvering decisions. A shiphandler must always be thinking ahead about the time and distance it will take before the ship responds to a change in direction or speed. Unlike a car, there are no brakes that will stop you very quickly! When a ship must come to a new speed or heading, the action to make it happen must occur at some time or distance before it is actually needed. This time or distance can be calculated -- and for precise maneuvers, it is. In most cases, however, a shiphandler relies on experience and an intimate knowledge of the vessel to execute maneuvers in time. No two ships are alike, and even sister ships will handle differently. While a textbook knowledge of the techniques and forces involved is important, a shiphandler gets good at it only through actual hands-on experience. A seasoned shiphandler will also employ a good measure of “seaman’s eye” in judging speed, time, and distance.
Besides the ship-generated forces, such as from propellers and rudders, there are other forces that the shiphandler must contend with. Wind can push a ship in an unintended direction, and currents in the water can do it even faster. In shallow waters and channels, or near structures like piers and wharves, other forces with names like bow cushion, stern suction, and squat come into play. Any one of these forces can lead to disaster if they are not taken into account. By thinking ahead and planning, the shiphandler can actually use these adverse adverse forces to help, rather than hinder, the maneuver.
Many ships use a fixed propeller on a horizontal shaft to push themselves through the water. A rudder is mounted behind the propeller to steer the ship. RV Melville is among a growing group of vessels using “azimuthing (directional) propellers” or “thrusters” to drive themselves. These vessels have no rudders. The propellers can be swiveled on a vertical shaft to get thrust in any direction. RV Melville has two such thrusters mounted side by side at the stern of the ship, one port and one starboard. The propellers are about nine feet in diameter and are mounted inside a nozzle (see today’s slide show). RV Melville carries a third thruster in the bow of the ship. This bow thruster, or B/T for short, is used in conjunction with the stern thrusters to give the ship a very high degree of precise maneuverability. It is used when holding a position out at sea or when maneuvering alongside a dock in a harbor. When not in use, it is retracted into the hull.
Each thruster has its own controller on the Bridge so the shiphandler can manually set azimuth (direction) and RPM (revolutions per minute of the propeller). RV Melville also has a dynamic positioning system (DPS). When we are using the DPS, the control of all three thrusters, or any combination of them, is turned over to a single joystick. The combination of thrusters and joystick control allows the shiphandler to do some pretty fancy maneuvers, including turning the ship on a dime and moving sideways through the water! The ship responds to the thrusters very quickly, which greatly reduces the lead in time and distance that we talked of earlier. For certain scientific operations, it is important to hold the ship in position for hours, sometimes days. The DPS can hold the ship within a 10-meter radius, even in 40 knots of wind, 20-30 foot waves, and several knots of surface current.
Shiphandling is a very technical subject and I’ve just given you the basics here. There are lots of excellent books out there. One of my favorites is Crenshaw’s Naval Shiphandling published by the Naval Institute Press. Another noteworthy publisher of technical nautical books is Cornell Maritime Press. | http://www.divediscover.whoi.edu/expedition3/daily/000414.html | dclm-gs1-190081087 |
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People and Politics Forum 18. 02. 2008
"To what extent must immigrants conform in their new homeland?"
More information:
Turks in Germany - Difficult Integration
During his recent visit to Germany Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan earned applause when he warned his countrymen not to assimilate. Many German politicians and Turks in Germany were appalled. Some members of Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Party called Turkey's bid to join the EU into question. And the chancellor said the loyalty of Turks with German citizenship belonged to the German state. Even if Erdogan's remarks were motivated by domestic Turkish politics, they clearly expressed concerns shared by many Turks in Germany. German-Turkish relations are at a low point, not least due to the fire in a house in Ludwigshafen which killed nine Turkish immigrants.
Our Question is:
Walter Augustiniak, USA, writes:
"Just imagine asking a US citizen if he or she is prepared to adapt the customs of an immigrant. They would simply laugh at you. If Turks living in Germany think Germany is such a bad place to be then why do they subject themselves to such an ordeal? They could do a lot of Germans a favour and go home."
Anna Losso, Brazil:
"If you live in a foreign country you ought to adapt to its ways. You can keep up your own language and customs at home and with friends. After all you are a guest and guests have to adapt. You don't lose your identity as a result and anyone who says the opposite would also have identity problems in their home country."
Florian Schmidt, Finland:
"I have lived in Finland since 1987. I have learned the language and made friends here who are surprised I still don't have a Finnish passport. I tell them a new passport would not change my roots and my way of thinking. I am pleased to be a German who is fully integrated and respected here in Finnland. Nobody asked me to come here. If I don't like it I can leave. I cannot expect my hosts to adapt, that is up to me."
Maria Mueller, Canada:
"I emigrated to Canada as a young girl in 1963. You must adapt to your new homeland, no matter where you come from and respect its laws. I also think you must learn the language of the country you have chosen to live in. It makes life so much easier."
Gerhard Seeger, Philippines:
"Immigrants always adhere to the customs of their homeland to a certain extent. But this can only be acceptable if it is kept to a certain extent. If a Turkish leader speaks out against assimilation then maybe those who say Turkey isn't ready to join the EU might be right."
Harald Schmitz, Brazil:
"It must lie in every immigrant's interest to adapt to their new homeland and learn the language. That is the prerequisite for success. The state must be allowed to decide whether or not it wants to give assistance."
Joachim Wagner, Dominican Republic:
"We, too have to adapt wherever we are. No foreigner is forced to live in Germany."
Rainer S. Letzelter, Brazil:
"I have lived in Brazil for 13 years. I have had no problem with integration. You have to adapt but nobody forces you. I am respected as a German and can pass on my German culture to others. It is a cultural interchange.
As a foreigner you need to adapt, but you don't have to relinquish your own culture and way of thinking."
Dirk Marotzke, Brazil:
"Immigrants might have mixed feelings about their new home but for those born in Germany I say love it or leave it!"
Herbert Fuchs, Finland:
"The first thing you have to do in a new country is learn the language. I have lived here for almost 20 years and I am in tune with the people here. But it is a process that takes time. I can understand that the Turks cannot replace their own culture with the German culture from one generation to the next. It can take many generations until the Turks have fully accepted the German culture."
Steffi Fischer, Argentina:
"There is hardly another country that helps foreigners integrate as much as Germany. If they don't feel happy they should return home. I live in Argentina and here it is much harder for immigrants to get a foothold. They are forced to adapt if they want to succeed."
Helge Weyland, Argentina:
"Anyone who lives in a foreign country has to accept the laws and requirements of that country. Otherwise his presence there is senseless, questionable and lacking credibility."
Martin Burmeister, Venezuela:
"Immigrants have to learn the language and adapt to the culture of their new homeland. If they want to preserve their own language and customs at the same time nobody should be allowed to stop them as long as they do not contravene any existing laws."
Tanja Mercer, Canada:
"I am a German citizen who has lived in Canada for a year and I had to adapt. I think all Muslims in Germany, not just Turks have a problem with integration. The main problem is their religion. I think the German state does too much for Muslims."
Rina V., South Africa:
"Immigrants have to adapt completely to their new homeland. That includes language, culture and religion. Otherwise integration is not possible."
David Rentzel, USA:
"I ask a question: Why stay in a country that you do not want to adapt to? I say "Go back to where you came from!" People who want to be a citizen of a foreign country should speak the language and respect the customs. Their loyalty should be sworn to the country before all other considerations. This is especially important if we are dealing with Moslems. All over the world they have moved into countries and refused to adapt. (...) But, on the other hand, do Moslem countries allow immigrants to live as they would in their home country? No way! (...) My own ancestry is mostly German, but I was born in America. I am an American, but I also respect the background and history of my ancestors. When my ancestors came here, they took the language and customs of this country. In America there is already talk of a bilingual society because we have so many illegal Mexican immigrants, who speak Spanish. Does Germany want to start learning the Turkish language?"
Sami Haddad, Syria:
"It‘s very difficult to define the meaning of word assimilation. Minorities have the problem of integration all over the world. The turkish people must understand: it is a bad idea to live in a country and have the loyalty to another country. So the turks have to try hard to make a kind of real integration with the German community. On the other hand Germans have to understand the nature of the turkish community in Germany and try to deal wisely and gently with it (...) and show respect to personal turkish traditions and culture which doesn‘t effect the turkisch integration in the German community."
We reserve the right to shorten viewers' comments | http://www.dw.com/en/people-and-politics-forum-18-02-2008/a-3149479 | dclm-gs1-190111087 |
0.983744 | <urn:uuid:07d4103a-2f5d-4368-a288-ab1b63d0b977> | en | 0.870706 | 1. Inhalt
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What makes the Locarno Film Festival unique?
Celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, the Locarno International Film Festival features outdoor screenings, art cinema and lots of leopards. This year was hot and sunny, so visitors had to get creative to cool down. | http://www.dw.com/en/what-makes-the-locarno-film-festival-unique/g-40009686 | dclm-gs1-190131087 |
0.060443 | <urn:uuid:ee415909-1cc4-4cbf-b97f-6ec458d69b48> | en | 0.950586 | Sunday, April 30, 2006
My Kung Fu is Stronger Than Yours
On Thursday, Sylvia and I met Sylvia's parents at Joey's Only to celebrate Sylvia's mom's birthday. The subject of "brain freeze" came up - that is, the painful headache that occurs when you eat or drink something cold way too fast.
So I mused aloud, "They should have a movie in which an action hero is fighting a bad guy, and the good guy has no weapons, while the bad guy has a knife. Fortunately there's an ice cream vendor close by, so the good guy grabs a triple-scoop cone from the vendor's hands and stuffs it into the open mouth of the bad guy. The bad guy instantly gets a HUGE ice cream headache, which distracts him enough for the good guy to disable him."
Sylvia's parents seemed to think it was funny, but I think it could be a really gripping action scene. The hero could say, "Now you scream for ice cream!" or "Now our Revellos have just begun!" A bystander could say, "Wow, he creamed him!" or "That's putting him on ice - ice CREAM, that is!"
ZeeBride said...
Don't freeze the reaper.
Only thing is Earl, the background music couldn't be a typical Kung-Fu sound - it would have to be Vanilla Ice with "Ice Ice Baby".
Sean Woods said...
Simply fantastic.
All right stop collaborate and listen
Ice is back with my brand new invention
Something grabs a hold of me tightly
Flow like a harpoon daily and nightly (flow like a harpoon?)
Will it ever stop yo I don't know
Turn off the lights and I'll glow
And so on.
Earl J. Woods said...
You're both right - it could work.
Yo stop right there, Vanilla Ice is back
He's got a whole new track because NAES is on the attack, yo
He's on the attack with a bucket of ice cream
Right in the mouth like a sight from a fever dream
His knuckles crash right into your face
Knockin' your damn teeth all over the place, whoa
When that punk fool shout "What's your name, what's your role,"
His ringing ears will only hear
"The name's Sean, asshole!"
(In-joke to be explained in a later blog entry)
Sean Woods said...
NAES nation represent.
Anonymous said...
Earl and Sean talk pretty mean for very white boyzzzzzzzz, lol.
Looking forward to more dope on "naeS ", yo.
Sean Woods said...
NAES up in this biatch. | http://www.earljwoods.com/2006/04/my-kung-fu-is-stronger-than-yours.html | dclm-gs1-190141087 |
0.238216 | <urn:uuid:fbe2847a-1a3e-467a-8525-a9e77d42e072> | en | 0.895268 | Summer Slim-Down Challenge Day 4: Get 8 Hours of Sleep
By: Lisa Valente, M.S., R.D. | Friday, May 6, 2016
There’s a reason they call it beauty sleep. Being sleep-deprived can affect your emotional well-being, your skin and your weight! Without enough sleep, you’re more likely to eat extra calories and reach for high-calorie food choices. Learn more about the sleep and weight connection here. Most adults need around 8 hours of sleep a night. Two things that can help you fall asleep faster: less screen time before bed and these 9 foods.
Do This Today: Aim for 8 hours of sleep tonight. Set a bedtime for yourself and stick to it. Wind down before your new bedtime without TV or your phone. Just get into bed at that time and close your eyes.
Dinner Tonight: Quick Chicken Braciole | http://www.eatingwell.com/article/282596/summer-slim-down-challenge-day-4-get-8-hours-of-sleep/?section=commentssection=comments | dclm-gs1-190151087 |
0.049871 | <urn:uuid:8273fa93-1607-4474-a3c3-8ff55cb63cab> | en | 0.983689 | 10,000 miles
2006 VW GTI 10000 miles
My car recently hit 10,000 miles, so I took it into the dealer for a service checkup. I took it to the dealer where I bought it, which unfortunately is on the complete other side of Seattle, and it can take about an hour to get there during rush hour, which is a huge pain.
When I dropped it off in the morning, the service guys were extremely friendly, but almost suspiciously so, which was kind of weird. They told me it would be ready by 5:00 PM. I arrived right at 5:00 expecting to pick up the car, but they didn't have it ready. My suspicion is that they hadn't even started on it until I showed up, because I had to wait another two hours to get it, and it certainly doesn't take two hours to change the oil, rotate the tires, and check a few things.
While I was waiting they tried to be extremely nice about it, apologizing profusely for the delays. At the end I finally learned why - they offered to give me a "free oil change" coupon as long as I "said good things" about them when Volkswagen Corporate called me to ask how the service went. I muttered some sort of "OK" and went on my way. I think it's the first time somebody has tried to bribe me in a real-world situation, which is sort of interesting (I don't count homework-bribes in school under this category).
When Volkswagen called I told them what happened, and the guy on the phone sounded displeased and insisted that they would "rectify the situation". My guess is that this dealership has been getting bad reviews (apparently for good reason), and Volkswagen has been getting on their case. I'm not sure if my complaint was anonymous or if they can trace it back to me, but I probably won't be going back to that dealership again anyway, mainly since it is so far away and inconvenient. I honestly expect to get bad service pretty much wherever I go, so I'm honestly not too displeased about that.
Posted on February 25, 2008
Filed under: Car, General Comments
No Candy
The best part about Valentine's Day is always going and stocking up on super-cheap 70%-off candy afterwards. Apparently the 17th is too late to do that, because today when I went to Target all the candy was already gone :(.
No Valentine's Day Candy at Target
Posted on February 17, 2008
Filed under: General, Random Comments
Thank you 🙂 Amusing blog posts, btw. How are things in your world?
Server noise
Unfortunately, after a couple of months of operation, my Windows Home Server has started to make a lot of noise. The case fans were always pretty loud, but now the hard disk has started making a high-pitched whining noise. Normally this wouldn't be too annoying since you could eventually get used to it, but the noises fluctuate in pitch at seemingly random intervals. This is irritating since you can't habituate to it and ignore it.
My first thought was to put it in the garage with a little Linksys WiFi bridge:
HP MediaSmart Server in the garage
This worked pretty well and it certainly took care of the noise problem. Unfortunately it was a little far away from the AP, so the wireless connection went out every once in a while when doing things like using the microwave. It wouldn't normally really be noticeable, but it interrupted things like streaming music to the Squeezebox.
Another problem with the garage setup was that an outlet shortage forced me to run a power extension cable across the ceiling on a water pipe, right next to a fire sprinkler:
Power cable running across the ceiling on a water pipe
This was a disaster waiting to happen in more ways than one, and it also irked my inner-Electrical Engineer.
Now I'm trying a new solution, which is to stick the server in the laundry closet. This looks like it's working better so far (it's also a lot closer to the AP), but I'm waiting to see if it might overheat the closet or computer when the dryer is running.
Posted on February 9, 2008
Filed under: Electronics, General Comments
Speed Dating
So this evening I went to the grad student "speed dating" event at UW. It was not really what I was expecting, but it was still interesting nonetheless.
Before it started they announced that many more women signed up than men. This sounded like a good thing, but it didn't end up mattering since we didn't get through even half of the people.
It was set in a large room with long folding tables laid out in parallel. There were 20 men on each side and 20 women on the other side. Here's a rough mspaint rendering:
Speed Dating Room Layout
You were given 3 minutes to talk to the person across from you, at the end of which the women would stand up and shift down one place, looping around to the other end of the table. After you got through everybody at the table, there was a 5 minute break and then the females would all move to the next table (in theory at least).
This process worked well at first. When the bell rang, everyone would stand up and then all shift down one seat simultaneously. This broke down pretty quickly and eventually people were only moving one at a time, leading to a "bubbling" effect where people could not move until everybody else at the table had shifted down one, which often took more than a minute, cutting into the 3 minute period. As people tried to "make up" the lost time the problem just got worse and worse.
Unfortunately it seemed that the organizers of the event did not book the room for enough time, and we were only able to get through two "rounds". So while there were 180 girls there, I only met 40 of them.
On the tables were scattered "valentines" where you could write down your email address and give it to the other person if you were interested in them. The organizers did not describe the protocol for using the valentines (guy always offers his contact info first (or vice versa), guy asks girl for her contact info, etc), so it led to a bit of chaos as people didn't know what to do. The main problem with the system was that it was both awkward to ask the other person for their info, as well as offer your info to them. Shy people such as myself had difficulty doing either.
Other speed dating protocols don't allow communication between the two parties during the "dates", and participants fill out a list of people who they were interested in. When there's a mutual match, contact info is sent to both people. This seems like a much better system, at least for small groups of people where you can remember who the other people were. After meeting 40 or 180 people, I would have trouble remembering who was who, so that kind of system might not have worked too well unless you filled out the list as you went along.
During the 40 "dates" there were some good ones and some bad ones (most were just sort of awkward since it was obvious it wasn't a good match). Here are some examples of the ones that didn't go so well:
Her: So what are you studying?
Me: Computer Science.
Her: Ah, are you a hacker?
Me: Um, no.. not really.
Her: 'cause hacking is cool.
Me: Well it's not really as glamorous as it is in movies.
Her: Still it seems like it would be a lot of fun.
Me: You mean, like snooping on people's email?
Her: You can snoop on people's email???
Me: No, no, I don't do that.
Her: Why would you do that??
Me: Well if you were a hacker that's one of the things you would be doing.
Her: I'm not giving you my email address!
Me: No, no, I'm not saying I'm a hacker. I... uhh.. never mind.
Her: So what do you like to do in your free time?
Me: Uh, well I like to read-
Her: Ugh I hate reading.
Me: So what do you like to do?
Her: I like to drink.
Me: Like in bars?
Her: Yeah or clubs, wherever there's lots of alcohol.
Me: uh..
Me: ...
Me: Hmm, so 3 minutes is actually sort of a long time isn't it?
Me: So what do you like to do?
Her: I like to hang out with my ex-boyfriend a lot.
Me: Ah.
Her: He's like really the only friend I have.
Me: Uh huh.
Her: That's probably a weird thing to admit at this sort of thing, right?
Me: Yeah it is kind of a weird thing to bring up.
Her: Yeah I probably shouldn't bring that up.
Me: ...
Her: Wow, so you actually have like a real job!
Her: You probably have so much more money than everyone at this table!
Me: Uhh... Hmm well if they are all full-time graduate students, then yes I guess that is probably correct. But I don't mean to-
Her: Just like in terms of per-hour, you're worth so much more than us!
Her: Did you know that the average grad student only makes $13,000 per year?
Me: That sounds about right, I guess I didn't know the exact figure.
Her: That's as much as a McDonald's worker makes!
Me: Uh-huh.. yeah.. So how about that weather eh?
Her: Man it must be cool to have a real job.
Me: ...
Her: So how old are you?
Me: I'm 24.
Her: Wow, everyone here is really young. How old do I look?
Me: Uh, well I'm not really that good at guessing that sort of thing..
Her: No no you have to tell me! I want to know.
Me: Uh... 30?
Her: Ah how nice of you. I'm really 35.
Me: Ah... well.. yeah..
Posted on February 5, 2008
Filed under: General, Random, School Comments
CubeCheater Piratizer
Site Tasks | http://www.ericfaller.com/blog/2008/02/ | dclm-gs1-190171087 |
0.055832 | <urn:uuid:6d98dbd2-4574-4715-9b9f-0a9bbd50047e> | en | 0.967032 | The Hitcher: Another Pointless Remake
January 19, 2007
• US Release Date: January 19, 2007
• Genre: Horror, Thriller
• MPAA: Rated R (for strong bloody violence, terror and language)
• Running Time: 83 minutes
• Directed by: Dave Meyers
• on IMDb
• 6.5/10
“Feels good doesn't it?”
- Sean Bean as John Ryder
While on a road trip to get to their unknown Spring Break destination, college students Grace (Sophia Bush) and Jim (Zachary Knighton) cross paths with John Ryder (Sean Bean), a man who needs a lift after his car gets stranded on the highway. Remember how your parents told you never to pick up strangers? It isn't until after they set out on the road that John Ryder turns out to be a psychotic maniac looking to fill his masochistic needs. Based off of the 1986 film of the same name, The Hitcher proves yet to be another attempt to scrap in on some extra cash from old and tired ideas.
The worst thing about The Hitcher is that the film doesn't try to do anything different from the original. And this time around it is less satisfying than it was back in 1986. The film is so predictable that it is hard to focus without guessing what will happen next.
Sean Bean, Sophia Bush, and Zachary Knighton in a scene from The Hitcher.
The characters presented here are so one-dimensional that we don't even know there names until 20 minutes into the film. Sure Sophia Bush is fantastic to look at, but why should we care about a beautiful brunette in trouble when we know nothing about her? As for our antagonist, literally nothing is known about his character or motive throughout the entire movie. This was probably to make his appearance more threatening or scary, however it did the exact opposite. Makes one wonder what director Dave Meyers would have said when Sean Bean would have approached him to ask, "what's my motivation?"
The film also decides to base itself in completely unrealistic outcomes and situations. In one scene in particular John Ryder destroys four police cars and a helicopter, all with a pistol. For all of the incredible things John Ryder does, including how he can suddenly appear anywhere without warning, we get no explanation or reasoning behind any of it.
Sophia Bush tries to save Zachary Knighton in a intense scene from The Hitcher.
Platinum Dunes, the studio that financed this aimless remake, has been responsible with other remakes over the years including The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Amityville Horror. It is my theory that their soul purpose is to produce nothing but horror remakes. How can this be beneficial at all to Hollywood or the movie going public? If Platinum Dunes wanted to be a head player in the horror genre, they would be doing what Lionsgate has been doing for the past several years: taking chances on new and inventive horror films. However, hearing that Platinum Dunes next project is a remake of The Birds does not seem like they will be stepping outside that box any time soon.
Last Word:
The Hitcher is nothing more than a flashy remake of a well-made original horror thriller. If you have seen the trailer you have seen everything exciting that this movie has to offer. This poorly written thriller has moments of intense action, but nothing else to offer for an audience. My suggestion? Don't pick up this Hitcher.
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• Your "Last Word" on the movie sums up the experience of watching this movie quite well but leaves me wondering how you could then rate it "6.5/10" stars? It seems more like a 3/10 stars kind of movie to me.
• Paul
my god why make this movie. PLZ why tell me why WHYYYYYYY the whole cinima was shocked in tears and wanted to leave, we sat through hell. We gave it a chance. Maybe if arni played the hitcher it could of made it, but who the **** is this guy killing 400000 cops with his incredible aim alwasy in the right place, no story line of who the goose is, nahh plz is there a ) star
• Walt
I just rented this movie and truly enjoyed it. Twists and unexpected turns. Not what I expected at all. Rent it and hold on for one hell of a ride
• J
This was one of the WORST movies I've ever seen. Acting was pathetic. Storyline was atrocious. The idiot, young couple makes the most obvious, worst choices throughout the whole movie. There is no story behind the characters, and it just was awful. It should have ended after the last five minutes; when they decided to drive away from the crazy man. There, the end.
• It seems a very bad movie, but it is on DVD right now. I am going to check it out and see how worse it could be.
• Anne
I enjoyed this movie. Sophia and Sean were great, but i wouldnt take my hat off for Zachary. Good, old thriller movie.
• Sarah
real good movie!!! The Hitcher, a 2007 movie, directed by Dave Meyers. It is a remake of a 1986 horror film also named The Hitcher. The movie casts Zachary Knighton playing Jim Halsey, Sophia Bush playing Grace Andrews and Sean Bean playing John Ryder. For the spring break, Jim and Grace take a road trip to meet Grace’s friends. As they stop at a gas station in a middle of a rainstorm, John asks Jim for a ride to a nearby motel. Jim doesn’t mind and is pleased to help. As Jim drives John, they engage a conversation. John asks Jim an inappropriate question about Grace, which leads john to reveal himself as a sick murderer. John cracks Jim’s cell phone in half and pulls out a knife attempting to kill Grace. Jim is in shock and asks john what he wants. John tells Jim to say “I want to die”; that’s the only way grace won’t die. Jim starts speeding and saying what john demanded him. As Jim says the word “die” he slams the breaks causing John to fall back loosing Grace from his arms, which enables grace to open the door and Jim to kick John out of the car. The next morning is a beautiful, sunny day. As Jim and Grace drive, they see John in a back seat of a car. Jim and Grace try to warn the family as they get hit by a semi-truck and fly off the cliff. Luckily nothing happens to Jim and Grace. They climb back to the road and start walking. Then they spot the families car ahead of them parked on the side of the road. They run to the car to find the family all dead and the father suffering from an injury. They climb into the car and drive off for help. They stop at the first stop which is a restaurant. The waitress calls 911 because she gets suspicious about Jim and Grace with a dead family. The cops come and arrest Jim and Grace. John manages to kill most of the cops, which allows Grace and Jim to run away. As they walk in a grassy area, running away from the cops, a car is thrown from a cliff attempting to kill them. Now they are suspects for the cops and Johns target. They run into a old garage hiding from john and the cops. As the cops reach the garage area Jim tries to explain, but it’s too late because john kills a cop framing grace as the suspect. Now Jim and Grace are suspects of five murders. They get in an empty police car and drive off. Three police cars and one police helicopter catch up with them and order them to pull over. Grace and Jim keep driving causing the police to shoot the wheels and car. John comes behind all police cars and starts shooting at the police. He manages to kill all the police, including the police flying the helicopter. He leaves Jim and Grace in the car and droves off. Jim and Grace climb out of the car and walk to the nearest motel. They break into a motel room and rest for the night. Grace wakes up to see john next to her in bed, desiring to kill her. She fights him ending up in the bathroom. He leaves. After a while she exits the bathroom, walks out of the motel room searching for Jim. She finds Jim tied between two trucks. She tries to help, she climbs into the passenger seat to convince john to stop. He tells her to kill him but she can’t. He gets annoyed and drives the truck, pulling Jim apart into two pieces. The police where there and witnessed what happened. John is now held custody and Grace is getting questioned. Then John is sent to another prison and Grace is sent to a trauma support where she can be released with her parents. On the way to the prison and trauma support destination, John was able to release the handcuffs from his hands and kill all the police in the van. As the van crashes into the chiefs’ truck, the chief can not escape from the truck because his leg is stuck; he tells grace to go to the hill top and wait, but she refuses. She grabs his gun and walks to the van john is in. she opens the back door to shoot him, but he manages to pull her in and start a fire under the van. He walks up to the chief, shoots him and walks away. Grace was able to pull the van doors open and escape the fire. She walks behind john shooting his back once. He turns back to look at her, she shoots his chest. Then john falls on his knees. She walks up to him and shoots him in his forehead killing him.
• Samantha
Sarah, I truely hope that you realise that you just ruined the whole movie for not only me, but anyone else that hasn't seen it yet. What's that point of watching a thriller movie if you already know scene-by-scene what's going to happen. Now I know that The Hitcher dies, Jim is torn in half, and Jim's girlfriend or whatever has to live a life of complete horror and heartbreak. That's like watching the movie. I could tell someone that without even seeing it and they would know what happends. So...thank you. Thank you oodles.
• Amanda
Samantha, that was hilarious!...
• Marco
This movie was crap and deserved a 1.5/10. The original was way better, especially because it had a male lead and not a pathetically stereotypical 'Final Girl'. The 'writer' of this abomination (Jake Wade Wall) should die, and everybody who likes this pathetic retread has no taste at all.
Alex's Top 10 - 2016
1. La La Land
2. Paterson
3. Arrival
4. Captain Fantastic
5. 20th Cent. Women
6. Pete's Dragon
7. Jackie
8. Kubo & Two Strings
9. Everybody Wants
10. Wilderpeople
Click Here for Thoughts
Jeremy's Top 10 - 2016
1. Moonlight
2. The Handmaiden
3. High-Rise
4. Elle
5. Arrival
6. Kubo & Two Strings
7. 13th
8. Jackie
9. Toni Erdmann
10. The Witch
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0.022035 | <urn:uuid:b3c39020-8603-4a20-977d-a928153d9e03> | en | 0.937427 | If I Had to Do It Over: Defining Your Brand Story
Contact Author Ada S. Polla, Alchimie Forever
Fill out my online form.
Whatever your story, be real, be genuine, be true.
Consumers and retailers believe in a good story. During the recent FounderMade Wellness Summit, Abby Levy, president of the wellness content and retail platform Thrive Global, noted that there is a difference between discoverability and purchase. As such, she encouraged brands to tell a good story because “no one can tell your story better than you.” She explained that consumers want a story, the science behind the brand and to understand the promised impact it will have on their lives. Here, Ada S. Polla looks into what it takes to create and tell that story. –Editor in Chief
“A brand story tells your audiences what makes your brand unique,” say Marisa Güntlisberger, senior brand consultant, omnichannel experience, and Thea Ferretti, senior brand consultant, at the Branders Group. “Concise and memorable, it will help you forge a positive connection with your audiences.”
I have found crafting a brand story that resonates with the consumer, sets it up for success and differentiates it from the millions of competitors to be the biggest challenge in brand development. Here are some the lessons I learned along the way:
Marketing and branding are a profession, an art, a skill.
Not everyone knows how to market or brand. For Alchimie, we waited a long time (perhaps too long) before working with branding professionals, mostly for budget reasons. If I had to do it over, I would work with marketing professionals earlier on—as it is not my area of expertise.
People’s attention spans are short, so a brand story must be short.
Never has KISS (“keep it simple, stupid”) been more important. My brand’s story is my family’s story. As such, it is rich, complicated, long and filled with details. It took me the better part of 10 years to learn to focus that message. For example, while my mother and father—an internist and dermatologist—created Alchimie, we tell the story focusing on my father exclusively (with Mom’s blessing of course), as he is Switzerland’s leading dermatologist.
In the age of social media and transparency, authenticity is key.
A brand story is told in images, colors and other visual elements as much as it is told in words.
Make sure these two aspects of branding match. For example, our packaging used to have the color green and a tree motif on our boxes—yet our brand is not 100% natural. Our words were saying one thing, our packaging another, which made it impossible for the consumer to grasp our point of difference.
Make sure you are not “talking to yourself.”
Some aspects of your brand will be absolutely essential to you, as you are emotionally attached to it. However, these many not be the same aspects that are important to your consumer or that will make you a success. Try to tell the difference between the two.
A beauty consumer in the U.S. is not the same as her counterpart in Europe.
If you are crafting a brand story that crosses borders, it’s important to be aware of the cultural differences and varying habits of your audience.
And here are what some experts I trust have to say on the matter.
Make Consumers Feel Understood Branders
(Zurich, Switzerland): Marisa Güntlisberger, senior brand consultant, omnichannel experience, and Thea Ferretti, senior brand consultant
While I have worked with Güntlisberger and Ferretti in a limited capacity for Alchimie Forever, my sisters Rachel and Cyrille, who run our sister company, Forever Institut, in Geneva, have worked with them for a complete rebranding of our medical spa. Here are Güntlisberger and Ferretti’s recommendations:
1. Start with the brand’s purpose or belief: Consumers want to buy brands that are in line with their values and aspirations. Take us on your journey!
2. Explain how you do things: The way you approach your purpose or belief is different than any other. Tell us what makes you unique.
3. Choose to focus: If you want your brand to be or say too many things at once, you will not stand for anything at all. Stay focused. Keep it simple.
4. Test it with your trusted entourage: A great way to know if you’re on the right track is to test your brand story. What are first spontaneous associations among your trusted entourage? Is it authentic and aspirational? Does it fit with your brand?
5. Finish with the ultimate consumer benefit: If nothing else, the end must be memorable. Make us feel understood. Connect with us. Think of the end as of a well-crafted slogan-like statement that conveys the brand promise from a consumer perspective.
Your Brand’s Storyteller and Audience
CIBU (owned by Ratner Companies, Vienna, VA): Jennifer Mapp Bressan, brand manager
Bressan is one of the best brand storytellers, particularly in social media and on video, as is evidenced by what she has accomplished with CIBU hair care. To her, the five critical elements of successful brand story telling are:
1. The tone: If your brand were a person, what role would it play in your customer’s life? Friend? Client? Doctor? Trusted expert? Nail that down first and then speak to her in that tone of voice—always.
2. The narrator: A face person offers your customer a living, breathing brand identity to animate your story. If your face person has played a critical role in the brand evolution—amazing. If not, fall back on tone and brand role. The narrator for a clinical skin care brand story should be a dermatologist (or his daughter), not a makeup artist or chatty gal pal.
3. The main character: The primary protagonist in your brand story isn’t your brand, it’s your customer. Weave her likeness, her feedback, her experience and the depth of her loyalty into your brand story via social media, influencer outreach and content marketing.
4. The parable: Great literature enriches the life of the reader by revealing some universal truth about the human condition. Brand storytelling should similarly enrich or simplify your customer’s life. Your brand parables can be delivered via a 25-second eye shadow application tutorial or an international philanthropic partnership—just make sure your brand parable resonates with your brand tone.
5. The working edit: Your brand story should constantly evolve in response to your customer experience. Listen to her criticism and implement appropriate change.
“The most common mistake I see in marketing is businesses being narcissistic,” says Imaginal Marketing Group owner and creative director, Kathleen Turpel.
It’s About the Consumer, Not You
BeautyMatter (New York, NY): Kelly Kovack, founder & CEO
I have known Kovack for a number of years and did some branding work with her for Alchimie Forever a number of years ago. Many of the lessons I shared above I learned from and with her.
1. A brand story comprises more than words. To effectively communicate your brand story you must be able to do so with images. Crafting a visual vocabulary is equally as important as the words you choose.
2. More is just more. Be concise and clear, not only your thoughts but in the execution.
3. A brand story should not be a monologue. Remember, it’s about the consumer, not you. Why should they care about your brand? What are you going to do for them?
Tell the “Why” Story
Imaginal Marketing Group (New Orleans, LA): Kathleen Turpel, owner and creative director
Turpel’s expertise is on the hair side of the industry, as she works mostly with salons—an interesting perspective if you are creating a service (intangible) brand versus a product (tangible) brand. Her rules for effective branding are:
1. Be focused on your customer: The most common mistake I see in marketing is businesses being narcissistic. They are so consumed with telling everyone how great they are that they bore their audience. The best brands tell the “why” story. When you are selling solutions to problems—marketing is effortless.
2. Be true: Don’t use BS phrases and advertising lingo. If you have heard it before, find another way to say what you mean. (I wanted to use the word authentic, but I think that word makes us all a little nauseous now.)
3. Be positive: Stay away from cutting others down—you can always flip a negative into a positive. You want your brand to be associated with positive feelings.
4. Be brave: Have the courage to be yourself and be different. I think business owners need to be courageous, because inevitably the trolls on social media will appear. Keep your head high, your words positive, and meet them head on.
5. Be funny or profound: Make your audience laugh or cry. But make sure you don’t lose sight of telling your why, just for the sake of the emotion. You need both. | http://www.gcimagazine.com/business/marketing/If-I-Had-to-Do-It-Over-Defining-Your-Brand-Story-414992003.html | dclm-gs1-190231087 |
0.03965 | <urn:uuid:200a90db-bb0c-4586-b241-246deef824f5> | en | 0.938772 |
Re: Youth Council
During Pollution Prevention week, I will be speaking to young people about
career opportunities in P2.
Can I have volunteers to describe their job in less than a paragraph (one
sentance is fine), the type of degree or background needed to fill your
position, and less than a paragraph on what would entice a young person to
want to pursue your job as a career.
I will also cover what you see in the future for your P2 program and your
perspective on the use of student interns in your program if you care to
provide this information.
I'll eliminate names and consolidate responses to provide them to P2Tech. | http://www.great-lakes.net/lists/p2tech/1998-09/msg00016.html | dclm-gs1-190241087 |
0.092617 | <urn:uuid:9c7ac696-7c9b-4893-bc6c-f17b01f0ef9f> | en | 0.949384 | Thursday, August 10, 2017
It's no surprise that your vehicle will drive better in the Rothschild, Weston, Wausau area if all the wheels are pointed in the same direction. That's called wheel alignment. If your wheels are out of alignment you may notice that your vehicle pulls to one side or the other.
Something that you won't notice right away, but you will if you keep driving around when you're out of alignment, is that your tires are wearing unevenly and fairly quickly. That's because when the vehicle is pulling to one side, you have to steer it back straight. The outside of the tire just wears out faster because you're constantly turning, which can be very exhausting on a long road trip – fighting to keep the vehicle going straight down the road.
Some of the things that commonly throw a wheel out of alignment are slamming into a pothole, smacking a curb or something like a rock. And it doesn't have to be a big shock, it can just be the regular bumps and bangs of daily driving that add up and eventually take your vehicle out of alignment. That's why your owner's manual or Weston service advisor at Griesbach Auto Service INC. may suggest having your alignment checked periodically.
With an alignment service at Griesbach Auto Service INC., we measure each wheel's alignment and check to see where they are relative to factory specifications. While we have the vehicle on the alignment rack, we inspect the tires for wear as well as the suspension and steering components for damage or wear – things that can contribute to alignment problems. With some vehicles you can adjust all four wheels into alignment. On those vehicles where you can only adjust the front wheels, we bring the front into alignment relative to the rear.
Cost varies by whether or not it's two- or four-wheel adjustable. Four-wheel drive vehicles may have an additional charge because they're more difficult to align. At any rate, it's cheaper than having to replace tires every few months.
If it's been a while since you've had your wheels aligned, take your vehicle to Griesbach Auto Service INC. in Weston/Wausau for an alignment check.
Griesbach Auto Service INC.
5910 Mesker Street/ 4302 Stewart Ave
Weston, WI 54476/ Wausau, Wi. 54401
715.355.1553 / 715.203.8808
Email address is not published
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Manual Reference Pages - SPAMD.CONF (5)
spamd.conf - spamd configuration file
See Also
The spamd.conf file is read by spamd-setup(8) to configure blacklists for spamd(8). Blacklists are lists of addresses of likely spammers. Mail from these addresses never reaches the actual mail server, but is instead redirected to spamd(8) and tarpitted.
spamd.conf follows the syntax of configuration databases as documented in getcap(3). Here is an example:
spews1:\ :black:\ :msg="SPAM. Your address %A is in the spews\ level 1 database\nsee http://www.spews.org/ask.cgi?x=%A\n":\ :method=http:\ :file=www.spews.org/spews_list_level1.txt:
override:\ :white:\ :method=file:\ :file=/var/mail/override.txt:
myblack:\ :black:\ :msg=/var/mail/myblackmsg.txt:\ :method=file:\ :file=/var/mail/myblack.txt:
The default configuration file must include the entry all, which specifies the order in which lists are to be applied. Lists are constructed by name: blacklists are identified by the capability : black:. If a list is instead given the : white: capability, addresses in it will not be blacklisted. The addresses in such a list are removed from the preceding blacklist.
In the above example, if an address was present in all three lists, blacklists spews1 and myblack, as well as the exceptions list override, the address would be removed from list spews1 by the subsequent override list. However, the address would not be removed from the myblack list. To remove all the addresses in override from myblack, the following configuration would be used instead:
The source of the addresses for lists is specified using the method and file capability entries.
method specifies the method by which to retrieve a file containing a list of addresses and may be one of http, ftp, file, or exec. The http, ftp, and file methods will make spamd.conf retrieve the file from the location specified by the file capability. The exec method will make spamd.conf spawn the program with arguments indicated in the file capability for the list, and reads a list of addresses from the output of the program.
The format of the list of addresses is expected to consist of one network block or address per line (optionally followed by a space and text that is ignored). Comment lines beginning with # are ignored. Network blocks may be specified in any of the formats as in the following example:
# CIDR format
# A start - end range -
# As a single IP address
Each blacklist must include a message, specified in the msg capability as a string. If the msg string is enclosed in double quotes, the characters in the quoted string are escaped as specified in getcap(3) with the exception that a colon (:) is allowed in the quoted string. The resulting string is used as the message. Alternatively, if the msg string is not specified in quotes, it is assumed to be a local filename from which the message text may be read.
The message is configured in spamd(8) to be displayed in the SMTP dialogue to any connections that match addresses in the blacklist. The sequence \" in the message will produce a double quote in the output. The sequence %% will produce a single % in the output, and the sequence %A will be expanded in the message by spamd(8) to display the connecting IP address in the output.
ftp(1), spamd(8), spamd-setup(8)
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0.01897 | <urn:uuid:239c8344-eabe-4738-9a65-4510701945cb> | en | 0.954934 | Get Custom made Time period Records Compiled by the best possible Service provider for straightforward and Practical Composing
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0.027506 | <urn:uuid:0c701752-3e1e-415a-af04-3b0ae995f228> | en | 0.963367 | News For This Month: Reviews
The Importance of Steroids Facts About Steroids Steroids are actually chemical compounds with three benzene rings that are placed and merged to each other in a specific way. Steroids are usually used for therapeutic and ergogenic purposes. In 1932, Anabolic Androgen Steroids or AAS were synthesized and studied. Natural steroids are produced by your body with the help of your cholesterol that is done by having a good diet. Steroids have many types, which are as follows: cortisol, dihydrotestosterone, estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone. These steroids have different purposes for your body, which are actually related to gender. It is amazing how steroids can make testosterone, which controls your body’s masculine features, and anabolism in your body.
Lessons Learned About Sales
The Effects of Anabolic Steroids
Lessons Learned About Sales
With the availability of technological advancements, there is already what they call as artificially made steroids, which are commonly called as anabolic steroids. These artificial steroids are made in order to mimic the same effects that are offered by the natural steroids, which can also enhance one’s protein production. Even your bones and muscle tissues will have a good growth rate with the use of anabolic steroids. Taking anabolic steroids will also improve your appetite and create nicely toned muscles. In addition to that, anabolic steroids can also modify the natural production of testosterone in your body. There are many things that you will observe on your body after taking anabolic steroids, which are as follows: deepening of your voice, having more masculine features, increasing the growth of your limbic hair, having faster growth of pubic and facial hair, and quick occurrence of puberty, For females, they will notice that their voice will be less feminine and they will have visible facial hair. Checking reliable websites about steroids will also give you good information if you wish to delve more into it. The Use of Sports Steroids There are actually many sportsmen and athletes that are using steroids sometimes to be able to level up their stamina, skills, and performance, making them more energetic while doing their activities. This substance gives extra strength to sportsmen. Anabolic steroids can be used in many ways. A convenient and common way to take anabolic steroids is to take it orally. Anabolic steroids can also be pierced to your muscles, which is actually in a form of liquid. There is also another way of taking anabolic steroids, which is by putting skin patches, making the steroids enter into your skin. There are drug stores that do not sell steroids that easily because of the presence of sports clubs and organizations that prohibit the usage of steroids. On the other hand, steroids are still allowed to be taken in small amounts with a physician’s supervision. | http://www.jgqhh.com/news-for-this-month-reviews.html | dclm-gs1-190441087 |
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First for Minnesota!
Student Kelly Okerman reported the first monarch for her state. Do you think it flew to Minnesota from Mexico? Or is it a new monarch of the first generation?
"The colors were vibrant—that is what caught my eye in the first place. However, they are probably not as clear as in the picture. I had a color defining lens on my camera at the time. The orange was more of a burnt orange color than in the picture. I don't remember its left wing being torn. It was flying fine, so I assume that it didn't have a problem," she noted.
First monarch for Minnesota!
Image: Kelly Okerman | http://www.learner.org/jnorth/monarch/spring2012/c042612_2.html | dclm-gs1-190501087 |
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Ashby-de-la-Zouch is a market town in north west Leicestershire, in the heart of the National Forest. It holds an arts festival every May, and a travelling funfair every September.
| http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/all-about/ashby-de-la-zouch?pageNumber=3 | dclm-gs1-190511087 |
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"For children teething. Greatly facilitates the process of Teething, by softening the gums, reducing all inflammation; will allay ALL PAIN and spasmodic action, and is SURE TO REGULATE THE BOWELS. Depend on it, Mothers, it will give rest to yourselves and RELIEF AND HEALTH TO YOUR INFANTS. Sold by all chemists, at 1 1/2d per bottle."
Excavations of the remains of neolithic settlements in Switzerland (the Cortaillod culture, 32002600 B.C.), have shown that Papaver was already being cultivated then; perhaps for the food value in the seeds (45% oil), which we know as poppy seeds. The slightly narcotic property of this plant was undoubtedly already known then.NOTE 11
The milky fluid extracted from the plant's ovary is highly narcotic after drying. This is then opium. The writings of Theophrastus (3rd century B.C.) are the first known written source mentioning opium. The word opium derives from the Greek word for juice of a plant, after all, opium is prepared from the juice of Papaver somniferum.
The Arabic doctors were well aware of the beneficial effects of opium and Arabic traders introduced it to the Far East. In Europe it was reintroduced by Paracelsus (14931541) and in 1680 the English doctor Sydenham could write:
In the eighteenth century opium smoking was popular in the Far East and the opium trade was a very important source of income for the colonial rulers the English, the Dutch, with even the Spanish getting their share in the Philippines. Although opium was readily available in Europe at that time, its use was not problematical.
Opium contains a considerable number of different substances, and in the nineteenth century these were isolated. In 1806 Friedrich Serturner was the first to extract one of these substances in its pure form. He called morphine after Morpheus, the Greek god of sleep. Codeine (Robiquet, 1832) and papaverine (Merck, 1848) follow-ed. These pure substances supplanted the use of raw opium for medical purposes. Like opium they were frequently used as painkillers and against diarrhea. The invention of the hypodermic in the midnineteenth century lead to widespread use of morphine intravenously as a painkiller.
In the United States opiate use rose greatly in the last century, partly because of the opium smoking Chinese immigrants, and partly because many of those wounded in the Civil War were given it intravenously. In addition many 'patent medicines' contained opium extract: laudanum, paregoric, etc. It was partly due to this that morphine also became fashionable as a 'remedy' for opium addiction; for if the doctor gave an opium addict morphine, he was no longer interested in opium so he was cured.
This was also the case in Europe and although its use was at that time much more widespread than is now regarded as acceptable for medical purposes, it led to few problems.NOTE 12
At the end of the last century, the United States started to try to curb the nonmedical use of opium, especially in China, and later tried to prohibit it. American interest here was twofold: they wanted an economically strong China as a market for their own products, and the moral element played a major role. As a result of the Spanish American War, the Philippines became American and the new rulers were confronted with a widespread problem.The American bishop of the Philippines, Charles Henry Brent, carried on a moral crusade in the US against the opium trade and opium addiction, and found widespread support. And not only because he was riding on the waves of Prohibition, for as we have already seen, unlike the European countries, the US also had a domestic opium problem.
China, with its economy weakening, also saw the rise of a strong antiopium movement. England and the Netherlands, however, looked upon this development with disfavor as the cultivation of the papaver was a very important source of income for Britain and Dutch East India.
In 1909, under American pressure, representatives from countries with colonial possessions in the Far East and Persia met at Shanghai to hold the International Opium Conference, chaired by Bishop Brent. This conference laid the foundation for the International Opium Conference in The Hague in 1911. The English proposed that for participation in this second conference and the treaty that would result from it the condition be set that the effects of the treaty should extend to the preparation and trade in cocaine and morphine. The Germans had considerable difficulty with this condition as their pharmaceutical industry substantial interests in this area.
The conference lead to the first international convention, the Opium Convention of 23 January 1912, although it went no further than obliging the affiliated countries to take measures to control the trade in opium within their own national legal systems. The Germans were eventually successful in having the wording changed in all articles to do with morphine and cocaine from 'undertake to' to 'try to'. The ratification of the convention was ultimately made dependent on countries not present at the conference, in short it was as leaky as a sieve.
A second conference, held in The Hague in 1913, was equally unsuccessful in effectuating the convention and it was only at the third conference in The Hague in 1914 that a protocol was signed allowing the convention to take effect without the signatures of all the participating countries.
The United States immediately gave substance to this convention with the Harrison Narcotics Act of 17 December 1914 which not only controled the trade, but went much further by making illegal possession of substances named in the convention by unauthorised persons. A maximum fine of $2000 and/or five years imprisonment was the penalty set. The basis for the criminalization of the use of drugs had now been formalized!
World War I brought all efforts to a standstill, and the matter only came up again after the Treaty of Versailles was signed. In this convention the US introduced the provision that all countries which had not signed and/or ratified the convention of 1912 should still do this. The convention was handed over to the League of Nations in 1920 for enforcement.
In England the Dangerous Drugs Act came into force in 1920. Of interest here is that while the Americans also outlawed the use of heroin for medical purposes, the English upheld this usage and even found the provision of opiates, in this case heroin, to addicts to be acceptable medical practice.
As stated earlier, the treaty of 1912 was 'as leaky as a sieve' because it allowed the states to determine for themselves when and how they would fulfil their obligations with regard to opium, which of course kept the use of opium legal until that time. The chemical derivatives did, however, fall under this· commitment: their use was illegal, making these substances more than opium the object of the battle. To make this battle more effective the League of Nations held two conferences which led to two Geneva Conventions: one of 11 February and one on 19 February 1925.
The first convention concerned limiting the domestic production of and trade in opium in the colonies in the Far East. The second extended the number of substances covered under the Convention to include the coca leaf, raw cocaine, ecgonine and Indian hennep. Also, the states were to step up monitoring of the preparation, trade and possession of the 'numbing' substances involved.
Use as such was not made a punishable offence. After all, opium was still being legally cultivated and consumed in the East. An opium monopoly was seen as an effective way of combatting misuse.
In 1931 there was an international change of course and efforts were also made to forbid the legal production and consumption of opium for nonmedical purposes. New conventions were signed for this purpose: the conventions of Geneva (13 July 1931), of Bangkok (27 November 1931) and Geneva (26 June 1936) a more and more complicated network of conventions. The last convention especially for the suppression of the illicit traffic in narcotics went further towards criminalizing the use of drugs by requiring the convention partners to lay down harsher punishment, in this case with imprisonment for all offenders of the provision from the relevant conventions.
Ironically enough the Americans did not sign this one because it did not go far enough.
After World War II the United Nations took over the matter. The Economic and Social Council of this organization set up the U.N. Commission of Narcotic Drugs. This Commission, made up then of 40 member states, started preparations for a worldwide drugs policy.
This resulted in the Single Convention (New York, 30 March 1961) which replaced all previous conventions with one.
Under this convention all parties are required to take the necessary legal and administrative measures to restrict the trade, production and possession of narcotics to scientific and medical purposes. All activities which are not directed towards these scientific and medical purposes must be considered as punishable offenses.
The convention has four lists of substances with regard of which a different regime of supervision applies, and on recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO) the UN can add certain new substances to these lists. However it must be shown that these substances present a serious threat for public health or are involved in illicit traffic. The first is a clear criterium, the second clearly not. As long as a substance is not forbidden, production, trade and use can, of course, not be illegal!
Depending on the degree of misuse, substances from one list can be put on another. National legislation would then have to be adapted to these changes.
It is of interest with this to note when the European ratified all these conventions drug abuse was not a social problem. Unlike all other laws, the opium laws in Europe were not introduced as a reaction to a social problem, but were more or less imposed by foreign countries, namely the United States, the '...barbarians of the West' for their 'extraordinary savage idea of stamping out all people who happen to disagree ... with their social theories' against narcotics, against alcohol and in 'their recent treatment of Socialists'.NOTE 13
And, the world was a victim of American puritanism, for in Europe it was really only still in a few Chinese communities that nonmedical opium was used. It was no longer a problem in Asia either now that the aggressive sales tactics by the colonial rulers had ended. That is also disputed in most European countries, but in the Netherlands, in Amsterdam and in Rotterdam, it was tolerated as long as its use remained limited to the Chinese.
For a more comprehensive survey of the history of the opiates please refer to Musto, NOTE 14 Taylor NOTE 15 and McCoy. NOTE 16
The pharmacological effects of opiates result from the fact that these substances have a bit (like a key) just like the endorphins and thus directly stimulate the endorphinreceptors (fig. 9). Because the opiates were known earlier than the endorphins, these are usually called opiatereceptors. We can trace these receptors in the brain by injecting radioactive opiates and then by monitoring where the radioactivity collects in the brain. This appears to be in very specific areas in the brain. Figure 10 shows these areas in diagram.
The first concentration of opiatereceptors is formed by a nerve cell system which plays an important role in transmitting pain stimuli. A brief digression regarding pain is required here.
If someone unexpectedly pricks herself, for instance on an improperly stored needle in the sewing box, she will already retract the injured finger (and bleeding or not, put it in her mouth) before any pain is felt. This is due to an emergency telegraph from the finger to the spinal cord from whence another message is immediately transmitted back to the arm muscles (comparable to the kneejerk reflex). At the same time, a message from the spinal cord is transmitted to the cortex of the cerebrum, which results in the first experience of pain. Until then, there are only signals aimed at a direct reaction to end the painful stimuli. If that were to be the end of it, there is every chance that the person would put her hand into the sewing box just as carelessly on a second occasion. In order to prevent this, and to introduce a moment of learning, stimuli are sent (slowly) from the spinal cord to the part of the brainstem where the opiate receptors are located.
This area is responsible for the alarming or threatening aspect of pain and it is exactly this effect which is remedied so effectively by the administration of opiates. The feeling itself does not disappear so much as lose its threatening character. It is this which lends the opiates their painkilling (analgesic) effect.
The most striking quality of this painkilling effect of opiates is that it has virtually no effect whatever on the other sensory perceptions, consciousness or the motor functions. All other substances with a painkilling effect, such as laughing gas, alcohol, ether and barbiturates also have, in an effective dose, a definite effect on consciousness, motor coordination, the intellect and emotional control. The drowsiness which can be caused by opiates is experienced only at high dosage.
A concentration of opiate receptors are also located in the respiratory center. These cells serve as a kind of metronome, that apparatus countless people have standing on their pianos to keep the beat. This metronome regulates the breath in a similar way, with fast or slow settings according to requirements, but allowing in and out breaths to take place regularly. Opiates also have an inhibiting effect on these cells: both the frequency and the depth of breathing is reduced under the influence of opiates. In the case of an overdose, respiration can come to a complete halt. Through shortage of oxygen, the heart muscles can no longer beat and as a result, brain cells die, and death occurs. Besides this, opiates inhibit sensitivity to the impulse to cough. Codeine in particular is used in many cough remedies, but even heroin is used for this purpose in England.
The third concentration is in the vomitting center, which, stimulated by the stomach, normally causes the stomach muscles to contract, resulting in vomitting. These cells are stimulated into activity by opiates: opiate use causes nausea and vomitting. However, tolerance for this effect is built up very quickly, although some users continue to vomit after each 'shot' for years. This effect is strongest with the opiate apomorphine, which is used medically specifically for this purpose.
The effect of opiates on the digestive system, which also contains large numbers of opiate receptors, has been known about for the longest period of time. Long before opiates were used as painkillers, opium was used for diarrhea: opiates inhibit intestinal peristalsis. For this reason, most heroin addicts are constipated.
Opiates also affect the endocrinal system. By influencing the hypothalmus, the part of the brain linked to the hypophysis, the conductor of the hormonal orchestra, body temperature is slightly lowered, although it goes up with chronic use of high doses. Via the hypophysis, opiates lower the amounts of cortisol and testosterone in the blood, although these effects disappear again with chronic use as a result of tolerance.
Opiates influence the pupils: they contract (miosis). This is an extremely reliable signal of opiate use. Besides this, when suffocation occurs (as a result of respiratory inhibition) in the case of an overdose, the pupils dilate (mydriasis).
In the usual therapeutic dosage, morphine widens the veins in the skin, often giving the face, throat and upper part of the chest a flushed appearance and a warm sensation. This is due to the fact that morphine releases histamine. This is also the reason for the itching and perspiration often seen in opiate users.
The effects mentioned so far do not explain the mood changes which occur with opiate use, and even less, the phenomenon of 'addiction'. These are dependent on the influence of opiates on the largest cell complex which is strewn with opiate recept-ors the limbic system and the nucleus accumbens. In this way,opiates cause euphoria, but lessen negative stimuli such as pain and distress, leading to emotional indifference often combined with inhibition of the sexual functions. The effect is compara-ble to that on pain: the signal is not removed, but the emotions linked to it are.
Chronic use of all opiates leads to a definate tolerance and a strong physical dependence. The relative severity of the abstinence syndrome is in general related to the duration of efficacy, leading to the paradoxical situation in which the abstinence syndrome of heroin, although occurring extremely quickly, is nonetheless less extreme than that of methadone.
Opium is smoked, eaten and injected. The duration of efficacy is long (at least 36 hours) and the abstinence sydrome, although slow to occur because of the long period of effectiveness, is severe and longlasting compared to for instance, heroin.
Another means of preparation is that of the 'compote', a boiled down extract of the whole poppy plant, which is very popular in Poland and other former East Block countries, where poppy cultivation takes place on a large scale for the seeds.
Morphine is, as we have seen, the most important opiate derivative of opium. The morphine content of opium is between 5 and 15 %. The period of effectiveness of morphine is 4 - 6 hours. The usual therapeutic dose is 5 - 15 mg.
In 1832 another opiate was isolated in opium: codeine, which is used mostly as a cough remedy.
When morphine is heated in waterfree conditions with acetic acid anhydrides, two acetic acid molecules combine with the morphine molecule and make diacetylmorphine. This substance was synthesized for the first time in 1898 by Dresser and was put on the market commercially by the firm, Bayer under the name by which the substance is still known: heroin, together with another new product, 'aspirin'.
Heroin is more fat soluble than morphine and thus passes the bloodbrain barrier more quickly. It therefore works more quickly, but for a shorter time: 34 hours. The usual therapeutic dose is 4 mg. With an equal analgesic effect, it has even less influence on the consciousness than morphine.
Heroin was used in the first place for patients with the then incurable tuberculosis. The patient died anyway, but without coughing and pain, and with a hefty dose, in euphoria. The second indication was....'to combat' morphine addiction. Just as morphine was originally used 'to combat' opium addiction, heroin was now used to combat morphine addiction. The result speaks for itself.
Nonmedical use of heroin was primarily an American problem. After the lifting of the alcohol prohibition, both the mafia which had in the meantime come into being and the exopponents of alcohol threw themselves upon 'drugs'. Particularly after World War II, morphine was extracted from Turkish opium in small southern European (Marseilles!) laboratories, and was then turned into heroin. This was then smuggled into the US: the 'French connection'. It was only late in the sixties that some of this production leaked away to the European population (Note 16). At the same time, opium began to leak away from the Chinese communities to the indiginous Europeans. They also went over to injecting the opium.
In 1972, the opium supply suddenly dried up. To begin with, it was thought that this had to do with effective police action, but it soon became clear that it had more to do with developments in SouthEast Asia. With active support from the CIA, heroin production was heavily increased and then dumped on the West European market. Within no time, all the former opium users had become heroin users.
With equal speed, heroin became the vogue amongst the socalled 'speed freaks', users of amphetamines and metamphetamines (Pervitine), who combatted the overstimulation caused by these substances with heroin, often taken in a 'shot.'
Heroin use then spread steadily to newer groups, particularly the various immigrant groups which had begun to populate Europe in the mean time.
After the end of the Vietnam war, the flow of SouthEast Asian heroin, the socalled 'brown sugar' dwindled quite quickly, although it was compensated for by a growing supply of SouthWest Asian heroin, originating in Pakistan and Afghanistan. A connection with the war in Afghanistan seems clear. In any case, the fierce competition between these two heroin sources led to a sharp fall in heroin prices. The provision of methadone has, in Holland, also certainly had an influence on prices.
Heroin is the first example of a semisynthetic opiate: changes in the morphine molecule are brought about chemically. Many other semisynthetic opiates followed, such as Methadone, a synthetic opiate, which was synthesized by German chemists at I.G. Farben a 'shot'. At the end of World War II while researching spasmolytical.. The narcotic analgesic effect was discovered only after the war, this not being expected as the chemical structure differed so much from the known opiates.
The story about methadone being produced to take the place of morphine, which was said to be in short supply as a result of the obstruction of opium imports in favor of war activities, is untrue. The name Methadone was given by the Council on Drugs of the American Medical Association in 1947.
It differs from morphine and heroin in that it is broken down in another way, works well taken orally, and works for longer. It is said to be effective for 24 hours, although there are many indications that 20 hours may be nearer to the truth. In any case, efficacy varies considerably in duration from individual to individual.
Reference: 1995 DrugText Web Lab
Compiled by: Deborah Shrira, RPH,CMA | http://www.medicalassistedtreatment.org/95111/ | dclm-gs1-190601087 |
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Why Today Is Showtime for Google and Microsoft
Both major tech players have something to prove.
MINYANVILLE ORIGINAL Today, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is expected to release a new version of its Android mobile operating system, and showcase its capabilities on a variety of devices. Based on early reports and leaks, Google will show a next-generation smartphone made by LG, and a 10-inch tablet made by Samsung (LON:BC94).
Also today, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) will release Windows 8, the multipurpose operating system that it hopes will finally win it a real place in the mobile device marketplace. And it will start fulfilling pre-orders on its new tablet, the Microsoft Surface.
Of course, the timing is about the 2012 holiday season, but it's a lot more than that.
Google (GOOG) has to prove that it can continue to dominate Internet advertising even in the mobile world. That's a point of some urgency since last week, when it announced earnings that fell short, due mainly to the lower prices that advertisers are willing to pay for mobile placements. That's an issue that many other companies face, but it's the guts of Google's business.
Microsoft (MSFT), after years of fumbles, has to prove that it's a major player in the mobile world. Its strategy is as risky as it possibly could be. It's selling one system for use across all devices-mobile and desktop, touch and keyboard, business and leisure, home and office, productivity, and entertainment.
It's a pass-fail test, with not much in between. Windows 8 is so radically different that business managers will be wary of imposing the learning curve and work disruption that upgrading will cause.
But the line between work and home devices is rapidly disappearing. If any of the mobile devices being built with Windows 8 catches on with consumers, they'll demand a seamless transition in the office.
Early reviews are generally positive. Some are effusive, like this one for ZDNet from an IT guy who flatly declares Windows 8 to be "a new era of computing." Others are resigned to the inevitable, such as a Forbes writer who accepts that Windows 8 is the solution for "losers" like him who need function as well as fun in their electronic devices.
But these are folks who don't care much about Microsoft's stock price. A new analysis from Forrester Research predicts that Windows 8 will help the company hold onto its 90% share of the desktop market, but will get the company only about 14% of smartphone sales. And that's not even a near-future scenario. Forrester expects 2013 to be an ugly year for Microsoft, as it makes the hard transition to Windows 8.
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Copyright 2011 Minyanville Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Featured Videos | http://www.minyanville.com/sectors/technology/articles/goog-msft-goog-microsoft-android-smartphone/10/29/2012/id/45282 | dclm-gs1-190631087 |
0.147803 | <urn:uuid:e1ab5e6b-fe4a-4edf-a7b9-7159c01d3038> | en | 0.92336 | Buying Gold: Hedged Vs. Unhedged & Currency Risk
Gold trades in US dollars. Gold prices are most frequently quoted in US dollars. Australians should be aware that when buying or selling gold there is currency risk involved from changes in the AUD/USD exchange rate. Protecting yourself from the risk of adverse price movements is called ‘hedging’.
Drew Corbett from BetaShares, one of Australia’s largest ETF providers, Corbett states just how big the impact of currency fluctuations can be on gold returns.
“A lot of Australians need to realise that the AUD currency fluctuation can impact their gold returns. In actual fact in the last 2 years whilst gold has rallied 74%, returns have only been 14% because the Aussie dollar has rallied so much. So investors should look at whether they want an A$ hedged solution which removes the risk and just gives them the pure gold return or whether they want the other solution.”[i]
Gold Price Chart, ETCs - GOLD vs GLD, 2009-2011
Gold Price Chart, ETCs - GOLD vs GLD, 2009-2011, Source: Google Finance, My Money Calculator
Understanding Currency Risk When Investing In Gold
Let’s examine why currency risk exists for gold investors in countries outside the US. First let’s think of gold as another currency (as it once was). Gold can only really be bought in USD. For an Australian investor who holds AUD they need to.
1. Sell AUD, buy USD
2. Sell USD, buy gold
Now let’s assume that an Australian investor is looking to purchase gold and that the price of gold in USD remains unchanged however the AUD/USD rate does change.
AUD/USD rises
If the AUD rises it becomes cheaper to buy USD and indirectly cheaper to buy gold. Gold becomes worth less than before in AUD.
AUD/USD falls
If the AUD falls it becomes more expensive to buy USD and indirectly more expensive to buy gold. Gold becomes worth more than before in AUD.
Is it better to be unhedged or hedged?
If you are considering gold as an investment and you believe the Australian dollar will rise then you will want to hedge against those AUD rises.
If you alternatively believe the AUD will fall then the value of gold holdings will rise and you would lose out those benefits from a hedge.
Continue to Gold Exchange Traded Commodities (ETCs) >>
Back to How To Buy Gold In Australia >>
[i] Going For Gold, David Corbitt Interview On CNBC, August 11th 2011 | http://www.mymoneycalculator.com.au/buying-gold-hedged-vs-unhedged-and-currency-risk | dclm-gs1-190661087 |
0.018267 | <urn:uuid:432c1a96-22ac-4bb4-825c-161668b9ef7b> | en | 0.91417 | Heart Failure
Also known as Congestive Heart Failure (CHF), Cardiomyopathy or Cor Pulmonale, heart failure occurs when the heart muscle is weak, damaged and/or enlarged and unable to pump enough oxygenated blood to meet the individual demands of one’s body causing serious symptoms. Heart failure affects approximately 5.1 million Americans. The health expenditures for heart failure costs the nation an estimated $32 billion each year.
Heart failure symptoms may include the following:
• Fatigue (with or without exercise or activity)
• Frequent cough or wheezing or a cough that produces a pinkish-colored substance
• Shortness of breath during activity, when bending down or even while resting
• Sudden weight gain, feeling bloated and/or noticing an increase in water weight
• Swelling in your ankles, feet and legs
• Difficulty walking
Causes of Heart Failure
A normal, healthy heart is an amazing organ. It pumps oxygen and nutrient-rich blood throughout the body, helping organs function properly and sustain life. A healthy heart beats – expanding and contracting – 100,000 or more times per day. The heart can pump five to six quarts of blood each minute, or about 2,000 gallons per day. On average, over the course of a lifetime, the human heart beats more than 2 billion times.
Heart failure can be hereditary or related to not taking prescribed medications. Not seeking help to get blood pressure under control, extended usage of medications, recreational drugs, alcohol and smoking causing serious symptoms. Abnormal heart valves may also lead to heart failure. Your heart valves open and close keeping blood moving steady in the right direction, but if the heart valve doesn’t function correctly, it can keep the blood from circulating and moving forward – a condition known as stenosis. Another heart valve malfunction is called regurgitation, which is the result of a valve that leaks causing blood to flow backwards. Atrial fibrillation, which causes rapid and irregular heartbeats that keep blood from flowing properly and decrease the heart’s ability to pump blood by as much as 25%, can also lead to heart failure. There are also times when the cause of heart failure is simply unknown. This is often referred to as idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. | http://www.pcacorp.com/heart-failure/condition/ | dclm-gs1-190781087 |
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Phone: (856) 686-9910
Richardson Law Offices
What is a NJ bank levy?
Once a creditor has a judgment against you, it can have a court officer go to your bank and freeze the money in your accounts. There is no requirement to give you advance notice, so a bank levy can be a very nasty surprise!
The good news is that in order to get your money out of the account, they have to petition the court for permission (called a Motion for Turnover of Funds) and give you ten (10) days to object. Although not many, there are a few defenses that you should look into. Levying on a bank account is a common tactic used by creditors to collect a debt in New Jersey.
This is because it can be highly effective (the asset being levied is liquid) and, depending on the timing of the levy and the balance in the account at the time, often leads to more money being collected at once than a wage execution, since there are no limits on how much money can be frozen (other than the amount due the creditor).
If the balance is more than the amount owed, then there are some funds still available. Unfortunately, if the balance is less than the amount owed, all of the money is frozen, in addition to any moneys deposited after the levy hits (including directly deposited salary). This can cause checks to bounce, such as that mortgage or car payment, and hamper the use of a debit card.
So What Do I Do?
You can fight back the the Bank Levy Survival Kit, but even after that fight is over, you will need to deal with that debt. If you want more information on how to fight back with your creditors, then download my free book, The Biggest Secrets Your Creditors Don't Want You to Know. Become empowered and protect your rights!
If you live in southern New Jersey and would like my assistance in either negotiating a deal or fighting the levy, feel free to call my office at 856-432-4113 or contact me through this site to schedule an appointment in my Woodbury office. As a former creditor's attorney I have helped many people deal with situations like this by negotiating on their behalf.
But if this debt is not the only one, and you are wondering whether you need a solution to a bigger problem, then download my free book, Am I In Too Deep? A Guide to Knowing When You Need to File Bankruptcy in New Jersey to find out if bankruptcy might be the right solution. You could also just give me a call and come in to discuss it further!
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Steven J. Richardson | http://www.richardsonlawoffices.com/faqs/what-is-a-nj-bank-levy.cfm | dclm-gs1-190821087 |
0.025691 | <urn:uuid:1a16fb5c-cfa2-49ba-9739-ed49dd404e40> | en | 0.965989 | Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Willfulness and FBAR Penalties -- Willful Blindness | Bethesda Tax Lawyer
In my previous blog on FBAR penalties, I discussed willful behavior. This week, I will be examining what constitutes willful blindness, an important sub-category of willful behavior, followed in a week by an analysis of non-willful actions. Understanding the distinction between these two categories--willful blindness and non-willful actions--is critical because only non-willful actions would enable you to enter a streamlined program and avail yourself of reduced penalties.
If taxpayers could protect themselves from FBAR penalties through deliberate ignorance of filing requirements, many would undoubtedly do so. However, the leading cases on this subject demonstrate that ignorance of these complicated tax laws is no excuse. Taxpayers sophisticated enough to maintain offshore accounts and engage in other complicated transactions are assumed to be reasonably educated and thus aware of the basic rules governing these matters. To make an analogy to the sporting world, former University of North Carolina men’s football coach Butch Davis, who had remained deliberately ignorant of all recruiting and academic matters in order to protect himself and his team from possible NCAA violations, was fired by his employer for exhibiting the athletic equivalent of willful blindness.
In the 2012 case United States v. Williams, the 4th Circuit held that a taxpayer who signed his tax return was charged with constructive knowledge of its contents. Williams, the taxpayer, had exhibited willful blindness by going to great lengths to avoid familiarizing himself with FBAR reporting requirements, never reading the forms he signed or the instructions related to those forms. In the court’s opinion, Williams had made a conscious effort to conceal or mislead his sources of income and other financial information.
James v. United States, a district court case arising out of Florida in 2012, offered an instance of a taxpayer who had understandably erred when failing to file Form 3520, which applies to foreign trusts and the receipt of certain foreign gifts. The IRS had not issued regulations related to that form, and the court concluded that the taxpayer had made a good faith effort to comply with the existing law and could not be reasonably expected to know of this particular requirement. In James, there was no evidence that the taxpayer had gone to the same lengths as the taxpayer in Williams; in fact, the available evidence examined by the court suggested that he had exercised the ordinary care and prudence expected of similarly situated individuals.
However, in United States v. McBride, the Utah District Court articulated a more exacting standard, reasoning that taxpayers had constructive knowledge of all instructions related to the tax forms that they sign: “‘It is reasonable to assume that a person who has foreign bank accounts would read the information specified by the government in tax forms,’ including the reference on Schedule B to the FBAR.” McBride goes a step further than either of these cases, seemingly imposing a willful FBAR penalty on anyone who signs a federal tax return with a Schedule B attached and fails to file a required FBAR.
Individuals who might find themselves in a position to incur FBAR penalties should avail themselves of an experienced tax practitioner’s assistance in filing their taxes. The chief lesson from all of these cases is that taxpayers should try to stay reasonably informed of all reporting requirements, keep a detailed narrative of their transactions, and, should they face IRS action, seek the aid of a tax attorney as soon as possible.
| http://www.richtertaxblog.com/2016/03/ | dclm-gs1-190831087 |
0.818578 | <urn:uuid:307bde22-93cc-4045-9a4a-640d58dcf6b6> | en | 0.940259 | On a mission / by Silas Crews
On a festive fall (Extraordinary Give) day in November, I found myself asking dozens and dozens of strangers if they have a mission in life. It's not a question everyone is immediately ready to answer, but for the Lancaster YWCA it was an engaging opportunity to highlight their community's dreams and aspirations.
Lancaster YWCA, client
Industrial Resolution, agency | http://www.silascrews.com/work/2017/2/23/on-a-mission | dclm-gs1-190911087 |
0.050506 | <urn:uuid:4da3ed7f-621e-4df0-9143-98f9e75075bd> | en | 0.923571 | The Amazing Reason Everyone Should be Sleeping with a Weighted Blanket
When Keith Zivalich’s daughter draped a long lizard beanie baby over his shoulders while he was driving, he noticed that he felt relaxed and he enjoyed the feeling. He wanted to take this feeling further, and decided to build a blanket out of the same materials. The blankets that he made are filled with plastic poly pellets (same as beanie babies), are just large enough to cover the body and were roughly sixteen pounds (1).
The Magic Blanket
Everyone who uses one claims to have better sleep and feel more rested when they wake. A girl even wrote to him calling it her magic blanket, and with this, the name of his product was born. According to Zivalich, the magic blanket with it’s added weight and comfort help the brain release neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, improving mood and inducing a calming effect.
Wake up happier
Weighted blankets have been used in occupational therapy for children experiencing sensory disorders, anxiety, stress, or issues related to autism. But even those without disorders find benefits of sleeping with the magic blanket, such as better sleep and waking up happier and more focused .
But Zivalich isn’t the only one with this great idea, since he came up with his blanket there are a few other companies that have emerged. They are Mosaic Weighted Blanket, Weighting Comforts, and SensaCalm.
READ Energy Cleansing And Meditation Using The Elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Air
Zivalich’s blankets retail for between sixty and a hundred and seventy-five dollars. Initially, just for children, he’s since made one large enough for an adult so if you are curious about the effects of the weighted blanket, give it a try.
And if you’re interested in a weighted blanket that doesn’t use plastics you should try this one, that’s made from organic buckwheat by L-OMA organic buckwheat pillows. Or this one, also an organic version, made with glass beads by Sensory Goods.
A full night’s rest
child sleeping
There are many benefits to using a weighted blanket. For instance those with insomnia or sleep disorders that have trouble with uninterrupted, restful sleep and who find themselves exhausted most of the time will find their general wellbeing positively affected by the blanket.
The pressure of the weighted blanket reaches deep within the body of the user to provide a comfortable environment for a person to fall asleep in. Being surrounded by the plastic poly pellets makes you feel warm and safe.
This helps put the mind at ease and relax the body, allowing the person to have tranquility and a full night’s rest .
The blanket surrounds and envelops the body in a way that feels similar to a hug! Studies have shown that people who hug more often have higher level of oxytocin. This chemical increases relaxation and allows your body to be calm and helps the chance of a good night’s sleep.
READ The Incredible Power of Coconut Oil
Serotonin and melatonin
woman sleeping
According to Zivalich, serotonin and melatonin are both increased by using the blanket. Serotonin is the happy hormone and a lack of it in the body can lead to depression, insomnia, and anxiety. When the hormone is at work, it makes you feel calmer allowing you to sleep better.
Melatonin is the sleep hormone and is produced alongside serotonin. When the blanket exerts gentle yet firm pressure on your body, it stimulates your receptors and quantities of both are used by the body to contribute to sleep.
Whatever your reasons for using a weighted blanket during sleep, you won’t regret it. The added weight of the blanket will relax you while increasing neurotransmitters designed to help you sleep in comfort. If you want to get your own or at least check it out, you can here.
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This Mind-Expanding Quiz Will Reveal Your Psychic Purpose | http://www.spiritualunite.com/articles/the-amazing-reason-everyone-should-be-sleeping-with-a-weighted-blanket/ | dclm-gs1-190941087 |
0.019544 | <urn:uuid:b3d70eff-aee6-4a84-83a6-4a1a03e80195> | en | 0.949315 | How to know if you’re cheating on your partner
I wrote an article a few years ago about things that everyone can learn from the kink community. The rationale is that when people introduce unconventional things into their sex lives, they can’t make the assumptions most of us make about what’s okay and what isn’t.
Grounded in this same line of thinking, it’s time to explore the same nuances of the poly community. Polyamory, also called “consensual non-monogamy,” is when a person is interested in having multiple partners – either sexually, romantically, or both. (For those interested in more information about this, this chart is a really superb starting point.)
Polyamory requires an enormous amount of rule-making, negotiation, and scheduling and organization. Folks in poly relationships – when this is navigated ethically – know with 100% certainty whether they are crossing a boundary. They know whether they’re allowed to kiss their best friend, and how much time their primary partner expects them to make for them.
While polyamory is increasingly common, it’s still unconventional, and still not how most people want to navigate their relationships.
In monogamy, most of us assume we know what cheating is. We think to ourselves, “I don’t want my partner to comingle their genitals with someone else’s.” But then something happens that isn’t so overt. Maybe your partner becomes close with a new friend at work – and perhaps that person happens to be pretty physically affectionate by nature. Or perhaps you find out that your partner spends hours every day talking to someone on their favorite Game of Thrones message board. And you get icky, jealous feelings, even though no genitals were involved!
Cheating is nuanced.
As you can see, there’s a lot more to the question of cheating than one might think. Cheating means different things to different people, and you and your partner can’t reach each other’s minds. So it’s important to have some uncomfortable conversations about what, in your relationship, constitutes cheating. These conversations may not be easy, but they are well worth having because they minimize the possibility of confusion and miscommunication down the line.
It’s really important to remember: when mucking through these complexities together, this is not you setting rules for your partner, or your partner setting rules for you. It’s both of you opening the floor for a respectful, loving conversation about what each of you needs, and how you can reconcile any disagreements. Ideally, in the end, you will both have expectations of what constitutes fidelity.
There are a thousand things to consider, but following are some questions to get you started:
What is your agreement with your partner about whether you are allowed to have sex with other people?
This sounds straightforward, but let’s break it down. What does sex mean? Is it just intercourse? What about oral sex or fondling?
If you and your partner do want to have sex with other people, are there rules about who each of you is allowed to have sex with, and under what circumstances? Are there restrictions about involvement with people you know versus people you don’t know? What kind of contraception do you expect your partner will be using with another person? (I could go on and on – negotiating an open relationship could be an entire blog article in its own right!)
For most people, though, the answer is a hard no – they do not envision themself consenting to their partner having sex with anyone else, nor do they imagine seeking out other sexual partners. But are there any exceptions to this? What if your partner has a chance to have sex with their favorite celebrity (or you do)? What if you and your partner decide to involve a third party in your sex life together?
This is also a good conversation to have overtly, just to make sure you and your partner are on the same page. If you know you are 100% monogamous, when you’re making a decision to commit to a life partner, it’s important to say to them, “I know I want monogamy. What about you?”
If extramarital (or extracurricular, for those who are unmarried) sex is off the table, what kind of physical contact with others are you comfortable with?
Is it cheating if your partner kisses a friend? Of the same sex? Of a different sex? On the lips? On the cheek? On the hand? And how do you feel about hugging? Do you find yourself becoming jealous if your partner hugs another person – especially if you’re in a straight relationship and your partner hugs another person of a different sex?
When negotiating these needs and boundaries, it’s important to remember that your partner has bodily autonomy. If you’re a man who is uncomfortable with your girlfriend hugging other men, that does not mean she has to stop. It means you and she need to have an honest conversation about why this is hard for you, and you have to give her space to describe what it means to her to hug her friends.
What kinds of friendships will you and your partner pursue and maintain?
If you are in a heterosexual relationship, how do you feel about your partner having friends of a different sex? Do you maintain these kinds of friendships? Is it cheating if one of you is friends with an ex? If you’re uncomfortable with your partner doing any of these things, what is the driving force behind that?
Is it cheating if your partner spends more time with another person (of the same or a different sex) than they spend with you? What if they talk to someone about things they haven’t discussed with you? (And does it make a difference if they’re only doing that in order to process something before talking to you about it later?) How do you feel about them having someone they call a “work wife” or “work husband”? What if they talk online with someone every single day?
How do you feel about your partner cuddling with a friend? Of the same sex? Of a different sex? Does it matter what the friend’s sexual orientation is?
How will you and your partner use technology?
Is sexting with another person cheating? Is chatting online with someone for a lot of hours cheating? Where do you draw the line? Does it make a difference whether it’s someone they have met in person?
What does it mean if you or your partner has an active online dating profile? What if they only list that they are searching for friends?
How do you feel about pornography and strip clubs?
How would you feel if you found out your partner was looking at pornography or reading erotic novels? Do you look at pornography or read erotic novels, and do you think of it as infidelity? How much pornography would you or your partner have to use before it felt like cheating? What if they were consuming pornography or erotica instead of having sex with you?
Are you or your partner cheating if you go to a strip club? What about as part of a bachelor or bachelorette party? What if there’s only partial nudity, such as at a Chippendale’s show?
This is just a starting point.
The definition of cheating is a complicated thing, and is a conversation that should be revisited periodically. If you feel yourself becoming jealous about something your partner is doing, rather than lashing out at them, take it as a cue to get curious about your own emotions. If your partner expresses a belief that something you are doing is cheating, explore that with them, and take it as an opportunity to reestablish a mutual understanding.
Schedule a Free Consultation | http://www.throughthewoodstherapy.com/cheating-on-your-partner/ | dclm-gs1-191051087 |
0.079804 | <urn:uuid:6072ac34-bb80-4083-adc2-ccacfa34a10e> | en | 0.955398 | Decision making challenge
Decision making challenge quiz: Find out what kind of a decision maker you are!
Decision making challenge is a great way to find out how good you are at making the right decision.
It means a lot to you and your business. One small decision can make or break the business. Are you making the right decision? Or do you find yourself wasting time on projects and completing them to find out that they were not the right projects to work on in the first place? Can you know this ahead of time and be able to make the right decision in the first place?
Once you know where you stand, you can take corrective action to be able to help yourself make the right decision.
Take the quiz to see where you are!
Count the number of A, B, C and D responses to each of the questions below at the end of the quiz.
For instance, you have 10 questions and you get five A's. Your characteristics will match the characteristic of "A" type decision maker revealed when you hit Submit on the challenge.
Decision making challenge
A. I never make decisions that are outside my comfort zone
B. I never have any intuitive abilities or gut feelings involved
C. I felt that I would get lucky with my decisions without using gut feelings
D. I get a gut feeling on which decision is right & see signs from the Universe to decide
A. winning an argument for yourself, you may or may not be right
B. make a decision where you can win easily but return may not be high
C. deferring the decision until you test out small pieces of each option
D. make the right decision even if the road to success is difficult
A. I re-evaluated everything when that happened
B. I had to do what I had to do
C. I went and got help because I knew something was off
D. I would rather walk than making such a decision
A. I have been there before for sure
B. I had known it long before I reached the top that it may be the wrong mountain
C. I used the lessons I learned from there to apply for the future
D. I course-corrected before I reached the top
A. I already think I can do it without the crystal ball
B. I am not sure if a crystal ball would help
C. I would like the ability to look into the crystal ball
D. I use signs from the Universe to make a decision
A. Yes, it seems that I am left with explaining for what didn't work in the past
B. Yes, even though I am good at making decisions, I am never trusted
C. I am very bad at making decisions when others influence it
D. I don't like to clean up other people's mess when I am making a decision
A. I keep delaying such decisions
B. I get completely overwhelmed when too many factors need to be addressed
C. I get lost in analysis-paralysis
D. I can almost see thr' the complexity and the pick the winner
A. Yes, sometimes I delay things due to fear
B. I feel that all fingers will point to me for a bad decision
C. I delay things to analyze things in the middle of a project
D. Sometimes other factors beyond my control will delay things
A. Yes, I was taking the crap from previous bad decision makers
B. It's always the case, but I know what I am doing
C. Winning the argument is a pain in the neck because I feel that others lack my foresight
D. I am so good that my word is the winner no matter what I say
A. Go with geneal consensus
B. Take data from past projects
C. Try to argue your point
D. Decide from your gut
Please enter the word that you see below.
Return to decision-making method
Return to business intuitive consultant | http://www.vaishalinikhade.com/decision-making-challenge.html | dclm-gs1-191111087 |
0.041002 | <urn:uuid:cd3c1619-927c-49a7-9527-cb8de0cd5b53> | en | 0.756698 | Search in gallery
Back to Medium sized version | With labels
Hair on the surface of a leaf of petunia
1 hair
English name: Petunia
Scientific name: Petunia sp.
Familia: Solanaceae
Classis: Dicotyledonas
Phylum: Angiospermae
Regnum: Plantae
Hairs are common structures of the surface of leaves. They protect the plant against desiccation, predators or parasites. Hairs are specific epidermal appendages (trichomes). This petunia hair is multicellular. It contains a secretion cell (glandular cell) at its tip which secretes etherical oils that defend the plant against various aggression by other organisms.
last modified: 5 Jun 2014 | http://www.vcbio.science.ru.nl/en/image-gallery/show/print/PL0175/print/ | dclm-gs1-191121087 |
0.239259 | <urn:uuid:a36e9e22-44ca-440a-a4ce-c4463a0bec68> | en | 0.961725 | Goat Evolution: Tips, Tricks, Cheats, and Strategy Guide
Goat Evolution is a new game by Tapps, the makers of Cow Evolution, and just like that game, this game has you merging goats together in order to make bigger and ever more mutated goats, which, of course, earn you more coins per second than all of the little goats. Your goats grow from being small enough to fit on a farm to big enough to be seen from outer space, and the coins that they earn you go from the single digits to the billions and trillions. Read on for some tips and tricks for Goat Evolution!
The bigger the goat, the more coins that they earn, and the most basic way of getting more goats is by opening the boxes that pop up on the farm. They give you the smallest goat, but luckily, if you go to the second power-up window (with the box icon), you can upgrade boxes so that you have a higher chance at bigger and better goats from the little boxes. That is just one of the many power ups that pops up in that area.
Others include the magnet, which automatically merges goats together, the tractor which collect coins while you are offline, the weird berries which give special effects, and upgrades to all of these. Upgrade the time of the boxes and magnets and the chances of rare goats, and you can have a very active racket going.
If you want to earn the most coins while you are gone, set the phone or tablet that you play on so that it never goes into sleep mode on its own, and then go to the highest level of area that you earned, and set the phone down so that the biggest goats will keep pooping. The bigger the goat the more coins their poops are worth, so you can more than double your income by doing this.
You can get coins right away from the tractor by setting the time ahead on your phone. However, be aware that if you set the time back to normal, the game will penalize you by taking away the tractor for a whole day. So if you are going to do this trick, do it right before bed so that you don’t get stuck without the tractor. Or just don’t set the time back to normal (haha yeah right).
The main free way to get diamonds is to use the berries. The blue berry will cause a goat to poop out a diamond if you give it to them. The yellow one will cause a coin explosion to come out of the goat. The red one will cause them to start pooping uncontrollably, so give a red berry to the highest goat that you can. | http://www.writerparty.com/party/goat-evolution-tips-tricks-cheats-and-strategy-guide/ | dclm-gs1-191191087 |
0.468572 | <urn:uuid:e4abd560-7d30-45f9-87f2-5347d79339a2> | en | 0.971312 | Now we know what happened to Saddam and Gaddafi when they went down this route, but Iran are a different prospect. In recent months Iran has announced that it is to trade its oil with Russia, China and India in their own currencies but the Iranian state news agency IRNA has stated that it will accept payment in gold instead of dollars as a result of being unable to make the transactions in dollars due to sanctions. As Reuters put it
China and India, two of the largest consumers of Iranian oil, have said they will continue imports, but Japan and Korea have announced cuts to quotas following pressure from the United States. As a result the value of Iran’s rial has plummeted, pushing the price of goods sharply higher across the country.
Iran also has another way around the sanctions
Iran imports commodities from China and India in exchange for the countries’ currencies. Tehran’s move is aimed at bypassing the upcoming freeze on CBI’s assets and the oil embargo, which the European Union’s foreign ministers agreed to impose on the Islamic Republic. | https://alternativeeconomics.wordpress.com/2012/02/28/iran-calls-for-gold-instead-of-dollars-for-oil/ | dclm-gs1-191281087 |
0.97874 | <urn:uuid:b290df14-6e72-42b3-b1d8-04a94e670282> | en | 0.729865 | What's wrong with my code?
• 0
int findLHS(vector<int>& nums) {
unordered_map<int,int> map;
for(auto i:nums)
int cnt=0;
for(auto it:map)
cnt = max(cnt,max(map[it.first-1]?(map[it.first-1]+map[it.first]):0,map[it.first+1]?(map[it.first]+map[it.first+1]):0));
return cnt;
My code failed on the following testcase. But I got the correct answer when I run this code on my laptop.
[1,2,1,3,0,0,2,2,1,3,3]. correct answer: 6. I always got 5 running on the webpage.
What mistake did I make? Could anyone help me find out?
• 0
can you make you're code more readable?
Log in to reply
| https://discuss.leetcode.com/topic/93246/what-s-wrong-with-my-code | dclm-gs1-191451087 |
0.515045 | <urn:uuid:feebe5da-0d54-4fcb-b5fd-f5ba05ba6bbb> | en | 0.966921 | Alpha Clock Five powers off intermittently
I just finished building my Alpha Clock Five White kit, and it powered on fine and displayed Hello World. A few minutes later it shut off, and I couldn't get it working again. Then it came on again. Now it sometimes works, sometimes not. Not sure if it's a bad solder joint or bad component somewhere.
Are there any troubleshooting tips? Or areas to check for proper voltage or operation? Or should I refer to the schematic and figure it out myself?
• That very much sounds like a soldering issue, but it could also be an issue of a loose component -- for example a chip not fully seated in a socket. To start debugging, it would be helpful to try to reason from what the exact behavior is. For example if the display is going off but it's still keeping time, then it's probably something in the display drivers, rather than something to do with the power. If it's fully losing power, then start looking at the power jack, and see if (for example) you can find a point that you can wiggle to cause it to lose power. If you can identify where the problem is coming from, then perhaps there's something not fully seated, or something that needs to be resoldered.
Also visually check for loose or missing solder joints of course-- these are by far the most likely cause of issues like these.
• It looks like it might be a bad power supply. The one that shipped with the clock had voltage ranging all over the place, from 1-9V. I replaced it with one of my own and it's staying on constantly now. So far, at least.
• That's no good! Please contact tech support, and we can send you a replacement power supply.
Sign In or Register to comment. | https://forum.evilmadscientist.com/discussion/722/alpha-clock-five-powers-off-intermittently | dclm-gs1-191511087 |
0.021957 | <urn:uuid:27aeb4b1-0cf6-466d-86d0-c835beadcbe5> | en | 0.941897 | The US Treasury's recent announcement that the government will reach the debt ceiling on November 3 means Congress will soon be debating raising the government's borrowing limit again. Any delay in, or opposition to, raising the debt ceiling will inevitably be met with hand-wringing over Congress' alleged irresponsibility. But the real irresponsible act would be for Congress to raise the debt ceiling.
Cutting up its credit card is the only way to make Congress reduce spending. Anyone who doubts this should listen to the bipartisan whining over how sequestration has so drastically reduced spending that there is literally nothing left to cut. But, according to the Heritage Foundation, sequestration has only reduced spending from $3.6 trillion to $3.5 trillion. Only in DC would a less than one percent spending reduction be considered a draconian cut.
Defense hawks have found a way around sequestration by shoving billions of dollars into the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) account. OCO spending is classified as "emergency" spending so it does not count against the spending limits, even when OCO is used for items that do not fit any reasonable definition of emergency.
Yet, even using OCO to boost military spending by as much as $80 billion does not satisfy the military-industrial complex's ravenous appetite for taxpayer dollars.
During the majority of my time in Congress, debt ceiling increases were routinely approved. In fact, congressional rules once allowed the House of Representatives to increase the debt ceiling without a vote or even a debate! Congress' need to appear to respond to growing concerns over federal spending has forced it to end the practice of rubber-stamping debt ceiling increases.
Continuously increasing spending will lead to rising inflation as the Federal Reserve tries to monetize the ever-increasing debt. This will eventually lead to a serious economic crisis. When the crisis occurs, Congress will have no choice but to cut spending. The question is not if, but when and under what circumstances, spending will be cut.
The only alternative for cutting spending in response to economic crisis involves Congress gradually unwinding the welfare state in a manner that does not harm those dependent on federal programs. Congress will not even consider doing this until enough people have embraced the ideas of liberty to force the politicians to reconsider the proper role of government.
Those who accept the premises of the welfare statists are incapable of making principled arguments against welfare and entitlement programs. Thus, they can only quibble over spending levels or how to more efficiently manage the federal bureaucracy. While fiscal conservatives may gain some minor victories with this approach, their failure to challenge the welfare state's morality or effectiveness dooms any effort to seriously curtail welfare state spending.
Similarly, one cannot favor both serious reductions in the military budget and an aggressive foreign policy. So-called cheap hawks may achieve some reforms in the Pentagon's budget. They many even succeed in killing a few wasteful weapons projects. However, their unwillingness to oppose a foreign policy of perpetual war means they will always cave in to the war hawks' demands for ever-higher military budgets.
Those who understand the dangers from continuing on our current path should support efforts to stop Congress from raising the debt ceiling. However, supporters of liberty will not win the political battle over government spending on welfare and warfare until we win the intellectual battle over the role of government. Those of us who know the truth must do all we can to spread the ideas of liberty.
| https://freedomoutpost.com/dont-mention-the-warfarewelfare-state-in-the-debt-ceiling-debate/ | dclm-gs1-191541087 |
0.920874 | <urn:uuid:2271d037-32d7-4d66-9a45-de432595055e> | en | 0.851943 | Create a gist now
Instantly share code, notes, and snippets.
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Initialize Drinking Age Gateway
$(function() {
//Settings for drinkingAge Plugin
var settings = {
"image" : '',
"message" : "As part of our commitment to responsible drinking, we just need to check that you're of legal drinking age.",
"redirect" : '',
"deny_message" : "Sorry, but you are not of legal drinking age.<br>You'll be redirected soon...",
"deny_timeout": 5000,
"link_terms" : '/terms',
"link_privacy" : '/privacy'
//Initiate bouncer.js (drinkingAge) | https://gist.github.com/d0n601/dd393b7a72cd4ef5b645 | dclm-gs1-191551087 |
0.033216 | <urn:uuid:4fe49b39-bcbf-4a1b-b0f6-965d12b8cc28> | en | 0.86685 | Can I setup my Signature with Logos (images) and hyperlinks?
Zoho Mail allows you to set up richly formatted signatures with your organizations logos, links to websites and other social media pages. The Signature editor has the same rich text editor as in the Composer. You can insert images and hyperlinks to the images in the same way you insert images in emails. Refer here for more detailed instructions.
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0 0 | https://help.zoho.com/portal/kb/articles/when-i-have-multiple-accounts-configured-can-i-have-separate-signatures-vacation-replies-etc-set-for-individual-accounts | dclm-gs1-191611087 |
0.604225 | <urn:uuid:863dc051-3ed2-47aa-bd97-8e7fb218d9b6> | en | 0.914126 | Explore Funny Comics, Adult Humor, and more!
Explore related topics
I hardly ever post Donald Trump memes (because they're usually boring, not because I like him) but this needs some looking into.
una brutta giornata
una brutta giornata
All about the dark side.....
The Emperor is pleased. Why does it make the mom mad she doesn't have a princess?
Awesome dragon sculpture carved from a tree stump.
I can’t even sharpen a pencil right…
Why Cut Down That Tree in Your Yard? Instead, Carve It into a Dragon. Powers Bach, I think you need this in your yard!okay maybe not a dragon but art. | https://in.pinterest.com/pin/434456695292314391/ | dclm-gs1-191651087 |
0.030306 | <urn:uuid:7fb2c50b-5c9b-4a0b-8e93-b6169fa0687d> | en | 0.745933 | Malignant epithelioid hemangioendothelioma of the liver in young women
Clear cell change in primary thyroid tumors
Vascular tumors of the breast
Juvenile (cellular) adenofibromas
Juvenile granulosa cell tumor—Another neoplasm associated with abnormal chromosomes and ambiguous genitalia
Pneumocystis carinii pneumonitis
Plasma-cell dyscrasia with polyneuropathy and endocrine disorders associated with dysfunction of salivary glands
Follicular center-cell lymphoma with plasmacytic differentiation, monoclonal paraprotein, and peripheral blood involvement | https://insights.ovid.com/american-surgical-pathology/ajsp/1985/10/000 | dclm-gs1-191661087 |
0.020448 | <urn:uuid:f24b1d34-446e-4b4d-b188-a82012b12c1e> | en | 0.901224 | Klassic here, talking about Manifestations today! Oooh, scary.
Manifestations sprout up in the third stage of Grief, aka “Bargaining”. They’re cute/creepy little ghosts that float casually around the level and do their best to get in your way. One touch, and it’s back to the start for you. Annoying? Yes. Awesome? Also yes.
The Manifestations follow preset paths through the level, so it’s not exactly DIFFICULT to avoid them. That being said, solving a puzzle and avoiding evil ghosts that want you dead isn’t as simple as it sounds. Or maybe it is. You decide, Mr. Hotshot.
In Grief, you have two (three?) ways to deal with the manifestations. You can avoid them completely, or use your “technique”. Your technique (aka the L key) does one of two things. In PS mode, it turns you partially invisible and the manifestation slides right on past you. In OP mode, you deflect the manifestation and send it backwards along its path.
The manifestations represent that dark, lingering fear that resides within all of us. Fear of change, fear of acceptance, fear of damn well everything there is to be scared of. Fear will set you back, if you let it, but fear is also combatable. You can move past your fears, if you try. The manifestations make usually easy (or difficult, if you suck at puzzles) acts much more challenging.
Hah, I bet you were expecting a picture. Too bad, sucker!
See ya tomorrow,
(PS: Combatable is totally a word, shut up spell check >.>)
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0.03566 | <urn:uuid:b18263ed-8040-463f-a2fc-339216afab9b> | en | 0.950105 | Valve Turner Micheal Foster’s Climate Necessity Defense
The Climate Necessity Defence for criminal acts to impede the lawful business of the fossil fuel industry cannot be justified. The acts will never of themselves have a significant impact in constraining global greenhouse emissions. In any event, there will always be more than sufficient proven fossil fuel reserves in countries out of the reach of any activist action, or even Government-backed action, to constrain aggregate cumulative fossil fuel emissions to anywhere near the levels commensurate with constraining temperature to 2°C of warming. What it does do is impose immediate harms on the actual victims of the crimes, and harms on the countries in which the crimes are committed. Some of the harms are from benefitting non-policy countries who produce fossil fuels. The conviction last week of climate activist Michael Foster is a clear case study.
The New York Times reports (hattip GWPF) on the conviction by the North Dakota Supreme Court of Seattle resident Michael Foster.
Foster took part in effort on Oct. 11, 2016, to draw attention to climate change by turning off valves on five pipelines that bring Canadian oil south. Foster targeted the Keystone Pipeline in North Dakota. Other activists targeted pipelines in Minnesota, Montana and Washington state.
A jury in North Dakota’s Pembina County on Friday convicted Foster after a weeklong trial of criminal mischief, criminal trespass and conspiracy. He faces up to 21 years in prison when he’s sentenced Jan. 18. The man who filmed his protest action, Samuel Jessup of Winooski, Vermont, was convicted of conspiracy and faces up to 11 years.
What I found interesting was the next sentence.
Foster had hoped to use a legal tactic known as the climate necessity defense — justifying a crime by arguing that it prevented a greater harm from happening.
The Climate Disobedience Center in its article for activists on the climate necessity defense says
The basic idea behind the defense — also known as a “choice of evils,” “competing harms,” or “justification” defense — is that the impacts of climate change are so serious that breaking the law is necessary to avert them.
Foster had his action filmed, shown from 2.07 here.
Keystone Pipeline. North Dakota. I’m Michael Foster. In order to preserve life as we know it and civilization, give us a fair chance and our kids a fair chance, I’m taking this action as a citizen. I am duty bound.
This was a significant action. The video quotes Reuters news agency.
Was this action “preserving life as we know it“? In shutting down the pipeline, (along with four pipelines others in the coordinated action) 590,000 barrels of oil failed to be transported from Canada to the USA that morning. It was merely delayed. If the pipelines are working at full capacity it would maybe have been transported by rail instead. Or more produced in the USA. Or more imported from the Middle East. But suppose that those 590,000 barrels (83000 tonnes) had been left in the ground, never to be extracted, rather than delaying production. What is the marginal difference that it would make climate change?
From the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2016 (full report), I find that global oil production in 2015 was around 92 million barrels per day, or 4362 million tonnes in the full year. Global production would have been 0.6% lower on Oct. 11, 2016 or 0.002% lower in the full year. Yet there is plenty of the stuff in the ground. Proven global reserves are around 50.7 years of global production. Leaving 590,000 barrels in the ground will reduce proven reserves by around 0.000038%. That is less than one part in a million of proven oil reserves. Yet in the last few years, proven reserves have been increasing, as extraction techniques keep improving. This despite production climbing as well. 2015 production was 21% higher than in 2000 and 56% higher than in 1985. Proven reserves in 2015 were 30% higher than in 2000 and 112% higher than in 1985.
I have divided up those 50.7 years of reserves by major areas.
The effect of turning off the oil pipeline is posturing unless it shuts down oil production in Canada and the USA. But that would still leave over 40 years of proven reserves elsewhere. Are Russia and Middle Eastern countries going to shut down their production because of the criminal acts of a few climate activists in the USA?
But oil is not the only major fossil fuel. Production of coal in 2015 was 3830 Million tonnes of oil equivalent, 88% of oil production. Proven coal reserves are 123 years of current production. Further, if oil prices rise to the levels seen over the last few years, it will become economic to convert more coal to liquids, a process which consumes four to five times the CO2 of burning oil.
Are China, Russia, India, Australia, Ukraine, Indonesia, South Africa and many other countries going to shut down their production because of the criminal acts of a few climate activists in the USA?
The third major fossil fuel is gas. Production in 2015 was 3200 million tonnes of oil equivalent, 73% of oil production. Proven reserves are equivalent to 52.8 years of current production levels.
The reserves are slightly more centralized than for oil or coal. Like with oil, a large part of available reserves are concentrated in Russia and the Middle East.
Leaving 590,000 barrels in the ground would reduce proven reserves of fossil fuels by around one part in ten million.
The 50+ years of proven reserves of oil and gas, and 120+ years of proven reserves of coal needs to be put into a policy context. The IPCC AR5 Synthesis Report gave a very rough guide to how much CO2 (or equivalent greenhouse gases) could be emitted to limit warming to less than 2°C. From 2012 it was 1000 GtCO2e.
With emissions in 2011 at around 50 GtCO2e, that gave 20 years. From next year that will be less than 15 years. The recent paper “Emission budgets and pathways consistent with limiting warming to 1.5C” (hereafter Millar et. al 2017) reevaluated the figures, with the 1.5°C not being breached for a further 20 years. Whatever way you look at the figures, most of the proven fossil fuels in the world will have to be left in the ground. That requires the agreement of Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, Turkmenistan, China, India, Venezuela, alongside USA, Canada, Australia and a large number of other countries.
Further, there can be no more extractions of fossil fuels from unproven reserves, which will likely exceed the proven reserves.
The efforts of Micheal Foster and his mates could incite further criminal acts. But massive lawbreaking throughout the United States, it would still be insufficient in the USA to significantly dent the production and distribution of fossil fuels in the USA. Even if that happened, there are plenty of other countries who would willingly meet the existing demand. All that the action is likely to do is push up the costs of production and distribution in the USA, harming the US economy and the futures of people involved in the fossil fuel industries and energy-intensive industries.
It is the aspect of failing to make a significant marginal difference through the action – that is reducing global greenhouse gas emissions – than renders the climate necessity defense void. Even if large numbers of other actions are inspired by Foster and others, it would still be insufficient to get anywhere close to the constraint in emissions to constrain warming to 1.5°C or 2°C. On a larger scale, even if all major Western economies shut down all fossil fuel production and consumption immediately, it would merely delay by a few years the cumulative aggregate emissions from 2012 onwards exceeding 1000 GtCO2e.
It gets worse. A particular case must be decided on the damage caused to the victims of the crime. In this case the owners of the pipeline, the employees of the business, the customers who do not get their oil, etc. If there are beneficiaries, it is the billions of people in generations to come. The marginal difference to the victims of the action is tangible and has happened. The marginal difference to the beneficiaries is imperceptible and even then based on belief in what amount to nothing more than pseudo-scientific prophecies. But given that a shut-down of production in the USA is likely to be met by increased production elsewhere even these future dispersed and speculated benefits are unlikely to accrue.
More broadly, if specific people need to have their immediate interests sacrificed for the greater good, surely that is the function of Government, not some wayward activists? In that way the harms could be more equitably distributed. With random acts of criminality, the harms are more likely to be based on the prejudices on the activists.
The Climate Necessity Defence is an invalid justification for the criminal actions of Michael Foster and others in shutting down the oil pipelines from Canada into the USA. The marginal impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions by the action, if they were not made up by increased production elsewhere, is about one part in ten million. But given that most of the global proven fossil fuel reserves are concentrated in a small number of countries – many of whom have no commitment to reduce emissions, let alone leave the source of major revenues in the ground – the opportunity of producing more is likely to be taken up. Further, the harms the activist’s action is immediate, very definite and concentrated, whilst the benefits of reduced climate change impacts from reduced emissions are speculative and dispersed over tens of billions of people.
Kevin Marshall
Larson C ice-shelf break-away is not human-caused but Guardian tries hard to imply otherwise
A couple of days ago the BBC had an article Giant iceberg splits from Antarctic.
After looking at various evidence the BBC concludes
“Most glaciologists are not particularly alarmed by what’s going on at Larsen C, yet. It’s business as usual.”
Researchers will be looking to see how the shelf responds in the coming years, to see how well it maintains a stable configuration, and if its calving rate changes.
That is the theory about a link with accelerating global warming is no longer held due to lack of evidence. But the Guardian sees things differently.
Unlike thin layers of sea ice, ice shelves are floating masses of ice, hundreds of metres thick, which are attached to huge, grounded ice sheets. These ice shelves act like buttresses, holding back and slowing down the movement into the sea of the glaciers that feed them.
“There is enough ice in Antarctica that if it all melted, or even just flowed into the ocean, sea levels [would] rise by 60 metres,” said Martin Siegert, professor of geosciences at Imperial College London and co-director of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change & Environment.
Despite the lack of evidence for the hypothesis about accelerating ice loss due to glaciers slipping into the sea the Guardian still quotes the unsupported hypothesis. Then the article has a quote from someone who seems to extend the hypothesis to the entire continent. Inspection of their useful map of the location of Larson C might have been helpful.
Larsen C is located mid-way up the Antarctic Peninsula, which comprises around 2% of the area of Antarctica. The Peninsula has seen some rapid warming, quite unlike East Antarctica where very little warming has been detected. That is the Antarctic Peninsula is climatically different from the vast majority of the continent, where nearly all of the ice mass is located.
The article the goes on to contradict the implication with climate change, so the quote is out of context.
Andrew Shepherd, professor of Earth Observation at the University of Leeds, agreed. “Everyone loves a good iceberg, and this one is a corker,” he said. “But despite keeping us waiting for so long, I’m pretty sure that Antarctica won’t be shedding a tear when it’s gone because the continent loses plenty of its ice this way each year, and so it’s really just business as usual!”
However, the Guardian then slips in another out of context quote at the end of the article.
The news of the giant iceberg comes after US president Donald Trump announced that the US will be withdrawing from the 2015 Paris climate accord – an agreement signed by more than 190 countries to tackle global warming.
Another quote from the BBC article helps give more perspective.
How does it compare with past bergs?
It has been known also for the Larsen C Ice Shelf itself to spawn bigger bergs. An object measuring some 9,000 sq km came away in 1986. Many of Larsen’s progeny can get wound up in a gyre in the Weddell sea or can be despatched north on currents into the Southern Ocean, and even into the South Atlantic.
Bigger events have happened in the past. It is only due to recent technologies that we are able to measure the break-up of ice shelves, or even to observe icebergs the size of small countries.
Note that the Guardian graphic is sourced from Swansea University. Bloomberg has a quote that puts the record straight.
Although this is a natural event, and we’re not aware of any link to human-induced climate change,” said Martin O’Leary, a glaciologist at Swansea University, in a statement.
Kevin Marshall
My Amazon Review of Ladybird Book of Climate Change
The following is my Amazon review of Ladybird Book of Climate Change.
The format goes back to the Ladybird Books of my childhood, with text on the left and a nice colour picture on the right. Whilst lacking in figures and references it provides an excellent summary of the current case of climate alarmism and the mitigation policies required to “save the world”. As such it is totally lopsided.
For instance, on page 35 is a drawing of 3 children holding a banner with “1.5 to stay alive”. The central estimate of the climate consensus since the Charney report of 1979 is that a doubling of CO2 levels will lead to 3C of warming. That means a rise from 280 to 400ppm would give 1.54C of warming. With the impact of the rise in other greenhouse gas levels the 2C of warming should already of happened. Either it is somehow hidden, ready to jump out at us unawares, or the the impact of emissions on climate has been exaggerated, so policy is not required.
The other major problem is with policy. The policy proposals are centered around what individuals in the UK can do. That is recycle more, eat less red meat and turn the heat down. There is no recognition that it is global GHG emissions that cause atmospheric GHG levels to rise. If the theory is correct, constraint of global warming means global emissions reductions. That includes the 80%+ of the global population who live in countries exempt from any obligation to constrain emissions. Including all the poorest countries, these countries accounted for all the emissions growth from 1990 to at least 2012.
If people genuinely want to learn about a controversial subject then they need to read different viewpoints. This is as true of climate change as history, economics or philosophy.
Ladybird Book on Climate Change
A couple of weeks ago there was a big splash about the forthcoming Ladybird Book for adults on Climate Change. (Daily Mail, Guardian, Sun, Telegraph etc.) Given that it was inspired by HRH The Prince of Wales, who wrote the forward, it should sell well. Even better, having just received a copy in a format that harks back to the Ladybird Books I grew up with. That is on each double page words on the left and a high quality coloured picture filling the right hand page. Unlike, the previous adult Ladybird series, which was humorous, this is the first in a series that seeks to educate.
The final paragraph of the forward states:-
I hope this modest attempt to alert a global public to the “wolf at the door” will make some small contribution towards requisite action; action that must be urgently scaled up, and scaled up now.
The question is whether there is enough here to convince the undecided. Is this is founded on real science, then there should be a sufficient level of evidence to show
(a) there is a huge emerging problem with climate.
(b) that the problem is human caused.
(b) that there are a set of potential steps that can be taken to stop constrain this problem.
(c) that the cure is not worse than the disease.
(d) that sufficient numbers will take up the policy to meet the targets.
My approach is is to look at whether there is sufficient evidence to persuade a jury. Is there evidence that would convict humanity of the collective sin of destroying the planet for future generations? And is there evidence that to show that, through humanity collectively working for the common good, catastrophe can be averted and a better future can be bequeathed to those future generations? That presumes that there is sufficient quality of evidence that an impartial Judge would not throw the evidence out as hearsay.
Evidence for an Emerging Problem with Climate.
Page 8 on melting ice and rising sea levels starts with the reduced Arctic sea ice. The only quantifiable estimate of the climate change other than the temperature graph on page 6, in claiming at the end of the 2016 melt season the sea ice levels were two-thirds that of at the end of the end of the twentieth century.
Any jury would hear that there has only been satellite data of sea ice extent since 1979; that this was the end of a period known as the “sea ice years“; that the maximum winter ice extent in April was likely less in the eighteenth century than today; that ships log books suggest that general sea ice extent was the roughly the same one hundred and fifty years ago as today; and that in the Antarctic average sea ice extent increase has largely offset the Arctic decrease.
The rest about sea levels correctly state both that they have risen; that the reasons for the rise are a combination of warming seas and melting ice caps. It is also correct that flooding occurs in storm surges. But there is no quantification of the rise in sea levels (about 8-12 inches a century), nor of the lack of evidence of the predicted acceleration.
Page 10 on heatwaves, droughts, floods and storms states that they can cause disruption, economic damage and loss of life. there are also recent examples, and speculation about future trends. But no evidence of emerging trends, particularly increasing loss of life. This lack of evidence is because the evidence of the harms of extreme weather appear on the decrease. Indur Goklany has been a rich source of the counter-evidence over many years.
Page 12 begins
Threats to food and water supply, human health and national security, and the risk of humanitarian crises are all potentially increases by climate change.
The rest is just padding out this speculation.
Page 14 is on disappearing wildlife. One quote
The polar bear has come to symbolize the threats posed to wildlife by climate change….
You can probably find many images of starved dead polar bears to back this up. But the truth is that this creatures live by hunting, and as they get older slow down, so are no longer fast enough to catch seals, their main food source. Zoologist Susan Crockford has a blog detailing how polar bear numbers have increased in recent years, and far from being threatened the species is thriving.
The climate change problem is mostly human caused
The book details that emissions of greenhouse gas levels have gone up, and so have the levels of greenhouse gases. The only quantities is for CO2, the major greenhouse gas. (Page 20) There is simple diagram explaining how CO2 emissions impacts on atmospheric CO2 levels, before explaining the major sources of the net increase – fossil fuel emissions and clearing forests. There is no actual testing of the theory against the data. But Page 20 begins
The scientific evidence shows that dominant cause of the rapid warming of the Earth’s climate over the last half century has been the activities of people…
The relevant quote from UNIPCC AR5 WG1 SPM section D3 says something slightly differently.
The extremely likely phrase is a Bayesian estimate. It is a belief that should be updated on the best available evidence. Lack of evidence, after much searching, suggests the original guess was wrong. Therefore true Bayesians would downgrade their certainties if they cannot refine the estimates over time. But this was written in 2013. Since the Carney Report of 1979 and the previous four IPCC reports of 1990 to 2007, there has been no refinement in the estimate of how much warming will eventually result from a doubling of CO2.
But how does the evidence stack up? On page 6 there is a chart of global surface temperature anomalies. That increase in temperatures can be tested against the doubling effect of CO2. Since around the turn of century the rate of rise in CO2 emissions and atmospheric CO2 levels has accelerated. But global warming stopped for over a decade until 2014, only to restart due to a natural phenomena. Comparing the actual data to the theory, fails to support the strong beliefs that GHG emissions are the dominant cause of recent warming.
Policy to contain the problem
Page 34 go into the benefits of containing warming to 1.5C. Given that the central estimate from the climate community since 1979 has been that a doubling of CO2 will lead to and eventual rise in average temperature of 3C, a rise in CO2 levels from the pre-industrial levels of 280ppm to 400ppm reached in 2015 would give 1.544C of warming. With other greenhouse gases it should be nearer to 2C of warming. Either it is way too late (and the warming is lurking like the Loch Ness monster is the dark and murky depths) or the central estimate is exaggerated. So the picture of three young people holding a banner with 1.5 to stay alive is of the doomed who we can do nothing about, or false alarmism.
Page 36 has a nice graphic adopted from the IPCC Synthesis Report of 2014, showing the liquid dripping through an egg-timer. It shows the estimate that 2000 billion tonnes of CO2 have been emitted so far, 1000 billion tonnes can be emitted before the 2 C of warming is breached. This was from a presentation to summarize the IPCC AR5 Synthesis Report of 2014. Slide 33 of 35.
Problem is that this was the data up to 2011, not five years later to 2016; it was for GHG emissions in billions of tonnes of CO2 equivalents; and the 40 billions tonnes of CO2 emissions should be around 52-55 billion tonnes CO2e GHG emissions. See for instance the EU Commission’s EDGAR figures, estimating 54GtCO2e in 2012 and 51GtCO2e in 2010 (against the IPCCs 49 GtCO2e). So the revised figure is about 750GtCO2e of emissions before this catestrophic figure is breached. The Ladybird book does not have references, to keep things simple, but should at least properly reflect the updated numbers. The IPCC stretched the numbers in 2014 in order to keep the show on the road to such extent that they fall apart on even a cursory examination. The worst part is at the very top of the egg-timer, coloured scarlett is “Coal, oil and gas reserves that cannot be used“. These are spread across the globe. Most notably the biggest reserves are in China, USA, Russia, Canada, Australia, Middle East and Venezuela, with the rest of the World have a substantial share of the rest.
The cure is worse than the disease
For the rest of the book to suggest European solutions like recycling, eating less red meat, turning down the heating to 17C and more organic farming, the authors write about making very marginal differences to emissions in a few countries with a small minority of global emissions. Most of those reserves will not be left in the ground no matter how much the first in line to the Throne gets hot under the collar. The global emissions will keep on increasing from non-policy countries with over 80% of the global population, two-thirds of global emissions and nearly 100% of the world’s poorest people. Below is a breakdown of those countries.
These countries collectively produced 35000 MtCOe in 2012, or 35 GtCO2e. That will increase well into the future short of inventing a safe nuclear reactor the size weight and cost of a washing machine. Now compare to the global emissions pathways to stop the 1.5C or 2C of warming prepared by the UNFCCC for the 2015 Paris talks.
The combined impact of all the vague policy proposals do not stop global emissions from rising. It is the non-policy developing countries that make the real difference between policy proposals and the modelled warming pathways. If those countries do not keep using fossil fuels at increasing rates, then they deprive billions of people of increasing living standards for themselves and their children. Yet this must happen very quickly for the mythical 2C of warming not to be breached. So in the UK we just keep on telling people not to waste so much food, buy organic, ride a bike and put on a jumper.
There is no strong evidence would convict humanity of the collective sin of destroying the planet for future generations. Nor is there evidence that to show that a better future can be bequeathed to those future generations when the policies would destroy the economic future of the vast majority. The book neatly encapsulates how blinkered are the climate alarmists to both the real-world evidence and the wider moral policy perspectives.
Kevin Marshall
The Climate Alarmist Reaction to a Trump Presidency
A few weeks ago cliscep had a piece Trump, climate and the future of the world that looked at the immediate reactions to the surprise victory in the US Presidential election amongst the climate community. Brad Keyes noted Jo Romm’s piece will President Trump pull the plug on a livable climate?. To support this Romm stated
Indeed, one independent firm, Lux Research, projected last week that “estimated emissions would be 16 percent higher after two terms of Trump’s policies than they would be after two terms of Clinton’s, amounting to 3.4 billion tons greater emissions over the next eight years.”
There is a little graph to sort of back this up.
Whilst Romm then states two reasons why he does not think emissions will rise so much (Trump will cause a massive recession and will not win a second term) he then states the Twitter quote:-
That said, the damage and delay that even a one-term President Trump could do will make the already difficult task of keeping total warming well below 2°C essentially impossible.
So a difference of much less than 3.4 GtCO2e over eight years will make keeping total warming well below 2°C essentially impossible.
Before looking at the evidence that contradicts this, there are even more bizarre claims made by the expert climate scientists at RealClimate. They use a different graph which is probably a couple of years old and explain:-
This large quantity of gas can be put into the context of what it will take to avoid the peak warming threshold agreed to in Paris. In order to avoid exceeding a very disruptive warming of 1.5 °C with 66% probability, humanity can release approximately 220 gigatons of CO2 after January, 2017 (IPCC Climate Change 2014 Synthesis report, Table 2.2, corrected for emissions since 2011). The 4-6 Gtons of Trump CO2 will not by itself put the world over this threshold. But global CO2 emission rates are now about 36 gigatons of CO2 per year, giving a time horizon of only about six years of business-as-usual (!) before we cross the line, leaving basically no time for screwing around. To reach the catastrophic 2 °C, about 1000 gigatons of CO2 remain (about 20 years of business as usual). Note that these estimates were done before global temperatures spiked since 2014 — we are currently at 1.2 °C! So these temperature boundaries may be closer than was recently thought.
RealClimate come up with nearly twice the difference made by Joe Romm / Lux Research, but at least admit in the final paragraph that whoever won would not make much difference.
There are two parts to putting these analyses into context – the US context and the global one.
In the USA emissions have indeed been falling since 2000, this despite the population growing. The rate of decline has significantly increased in the years of the Obama Presidency, but for reasons quite separate from actions to reduce emissions. First there was the credit crunch, followed by the slowest recovery in US history. Second, the high oil price encouraged emissions reductions, along with the loss of energy-intensive industries to countries with lower energy costs. Third is that the shale gas revolution has meant switching from coal to gas in electricity production.
But the global context is even more important. RealClimate does acknowledge the global figure, but only mentions CO2 emissions. The 36GtCO2 is only two-thirds of total greenhouse gas emissions of about 55GTCO2e and that figure is rising by 1-2% a year. The graph – reproduced from the USA INDC submission to the UNFCCC – clearly states that it is in million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. What is more, these are vague policy proposals, that President Obama would have been unable to get through Congress. Further, most of the proposed emission reductions were through extrapolating trends that of what has been happening without any policy intervention.
If the 1.5°C limit breached from 220 GtCO2e of additional emissions, it will be breached in the run-up to Christmas 2020. The 1000 GtCO2e for the 2°C limit was from 2011. By simple arithmetic it is now below 800GtCO2e with about 15 years remaining if (a) a doubling of CO2 levels (or equivalent GHG gases) leads to 3°C of warming (b) the estimated quantity of emissions to a unit rise in atmospheric gas levels is correct and (b) the GHG gas emitted is retained for a very long period in the atmosphere.
Even simple arithmetic is not required. Prior to the Paris talks the UNFCCC combined all the INDCs – including that of the USA to cut emissions as shown in the graph above – were globally aggregated and compared to the approximate emissions pathways for 1.5°C and least-cost 2°C warming. The updated version, post-Paris is below.
The difference Donald Trump will make is somewhere in the thickness of the thick yellow line. There is no prospect of the aimed-for blue emissions pathways. No amount of ranting or protests at the President-elect Trump will change the insignificant difference the United States will make with any politically-acceptable and workable set of policies, nor can make in a country with less than a twentieth of the global population and less that one seventh of global emissions.
Kevin Marshall
John Cook undermining democracy through misinformation
Kevin Marshall
Hiroshima Bombs of Heat Accumulation – Skeptical Science reversing scientific reality
Skeptical Science blog has a little widget that counts the heat the climate has accumulated since 1998 in terms of Hiroshima Atomic Bombs.
One the first uses of the Hiroshima bomb analogy was by stalwart Dana Nuccitelli, in the Guardian.
But what does this mean in actual heat energy? I did a search, and found out the estimated heat generated by the Hiroshima bomb was about 63TJ, or terra joules, or 63 x 1012 joules. A quick calculation reveals the widget actually uses 62TJ, so I will use that lower value. It is a huge number. The energy was sufficient to kill over 100,000 people, cause horrific injuries to many more, and destroying every building within a large radius of the blast site. Yet in the last 17 years the climate system has accumulated over two billion times that energy.
Most of that energy goes into the oceans, so I was curious to estimate the impact that phenomenal heat accumulation would have on the average temperature of the oceans. Specifically, how long would it take to heat the oceans by 1oC.
The beauty of metric measurements is that weight and volume are combined all around the unit of water. I will ignore the slight differences due to the impurities of sea water for this exercise.
The metric unit of energy, a joule, is not quite so easy to relate to water. The old British thermal unit is better, being the quantity of energy sufficient to raise a pound of water through 1oF. Knowing that 1lb=454g, 1.8oF = 1oC and 1btu ≈ 1055J, means that about 4.2 joules is the energy sufficient to raise 1 gram of water the one degree.
So the Hiroshima bomb had the energy to raise (62 x 1012)/4.2 ≈ 15 x 1012 grams of water through one degree.
That is 15 x 109 kilos (litres) of water, or 15 x 106 tonnes (cubic metres) of water. That is the volume of a lake of 1 kilometre in area, with an average depth of 15 metres.
The largest lake in England is Lake Windermere, which has approximately a volume of 1 cubic kilometre of water, or 1 billion tonnes of water. (The biggest freshwater lake in the United Kingdom by volume is Loch Ness, with about 9 km3 of water.)
It would take the power of 67 Hiroshima bombs to heat Lake Windermere by 1 degree. Or the oceans are accumulating heat at a rate that would the temperature of this lake by one degree in 16.67 seconds.
Although Lake Windermere can look quite large when standing on its shoreline, it is tiny in relative to the Great Lakes, let alone the oceans of the world. With a total area of about 360,000,000 km2, and an average depth of at least 3000 metres, the oceans have a volume of about 1,080,000,000 km3, or contain 108 x 1018 tonnes of water. If all the heat absorbed by the global climate system since 1998 went into the oceans, it would about 18 billion seconds to raise average ocean temperature by 1oC. That is 5,000,000 hours or 208,600 days or 570 years.
Here I am slightly exaggerating the warming rate. The UNIPCC estimates that only 93% of the warming from extra heat absorbed by the climate system was absorbed by the oceans.
But have I got this wrong by a huge margin? The standard way of stating the warming rates – used by the UNIPCC – is in degrees centigrade per decade. This is the same metric that is used for average surface temperatures. Warming of one degree in 570 years becomes 0.0175°C/decade. In Chapter 3 of the UNIPCC AR5 Working Group 1 Report, Figure 3.3 (a) on page 263 is the following.
The ocean below about 1000 metres, or more than two-thirds of the water volume, is warming at a rate less than 0.0175°C/decade. This may be an overstatement. Below 2000 metres, average water temperature rise is around 0.005°C/decade, or 1oC of temperature rise every 2000 years.
The energy of four Hiroshima bombs a second is trivial on a global scale. It causes an amount of temperature change that is barely measurable on a year-on-year basis.
There are two objectives that I believe Skeptical Science team try achieving with their little widget.
The first objective is to reverse people’s perception of reality. Nuclear explosions are clearly seen by everybody. You do not have to be an expert to detect it if you are within a thousand miles of the detonation. Set one off anywhere in the world, even deep underground, and sensitive seismic detectors will register the event from the other side of the globe. Rejection of the evidence of a blast can only be on the basis of clear bias or lying.
But trying to measure changes of thousands of a degree in the unimaginable vastness of the oceans, with changes in the currents and seasonal changes as well is not detectable with a single instrument, or even thousands of such instruments. It requires careful collation and aggregation of the data, with computer modelling filling in the gaps. Small biases in the modelling techniques, whether known or unknown, due to technical reasons or through desiring to get a particular result, will be more crucial than accuracy of the instruments. Even without these issues, there is the small matter of using ten years of good quality data, and longer periods of sparser and lower quality data, to determine underlying trends and the causes of it. Understanding of the nature of the data measurement issue puts the onus on anyone claiming the only possible answer to substantiate those claims.
The second objective is to replace a very tiny change in the very short period for which we have data, into a perception of a scientifically-validated catastrophic problem in the present. Whether it is a catastrophic problem relies on the projections of climate models.
It is easy to see why Skeptical Science needs this switch in the public perception of reality. True understanding of climate heat accumulation means awareness of the limits and the boundaries of our current knowledge. That requires a measure of humility and recognition of when existing knowledge is undermined. It is an inter-disciplinary subject that could result in a whole range of results of equal merit. It does not accord with their polarized vision of infallible enlightened scientists against a bunch of liars and ignoramuses who get nothing right.
Kevin Marshall
Numbers of Respondents
Climate Science
lead or follow Political belief?
Final Comments
Kevin Marshall
Note – “Out of Office” until 11th Aug
1. Climate Science Bands
2. Acceptance Ratio
3. The five “Free-market” statements
Labour’s Hypocrisy on Rising Energy Bills
If you go to the Labour Party’s website there is an announcement.
Clicking down will take you to energy price calculator. I found out with Ed’s policy I could save £112 per year.
Two weeks after the announcement, still no links to the actual plan, but there is a video to watch.
Just one minute and twenty-six seconds for a distinguished actor to say the following:-
How do you feel when you see your energy bill sitting at the front door and you know that it is going to be even higher than the last one?
And how do you feel when you read in the newspaper that your energy providers’ profits are up yet again?
Millions of ordinary families are struggling to keep up with bills. Bills that are rising faster than wages.
Since David Cameron became Prime Minister, he’s allowed gas and electricity to rise by an average of £300 a year and sat by as energy companies make record profits. Under this Government a privileged few come before hard-families. Ed Miliband and Labour are going to change that. Ed’s energy plan will mean a tough new regulator with the power to challenge the energy companies and keep prices down. Under Ed’s energy plan gas and electricity bills will be frozen. That’s right frozen. Under the Tories you have overpaid. Labour will fight the cost of living crisis and build an economy that works for working people.
The inference is that your bills are rising solely due to the ever-increasing profits of the energy companies. Further the nasty Tories had it in their power stop it. Along will come Labour and stop all that.
I have looked up the figures. Since the 2009, the energy regulator OFGEM has required the six big energy companies to produce financial data by five segments. That is for electricity generation, along with supply data for electricity and gas, each split between domestic and non-domestic supply. I have analysed all four years of data for the six companies, using links provided by OFGEM. There is, of course, no financial data available for 2013 as the year has yet to finish.
If Labour are correct in their inference of price rises being due to increasing profits then profits will be increasing as a percentage of sales. With the typical household’s bill rising by over 20% between May 2010 and the end of 2012, profits as a percentage of revenue would be rising sharply. The following shows the percentage components of revenue.
The narrow band in purple for profit increased from 1.8% of sales to 3.8%. It is not increasing profits that have caused the price rises. The reason for doubling is because, in total, the six major companies lost money on gas supply in 2009. Nor is there a sharp difference between domestic and non-domestic supply margins. You could claim that the energy companies are making more money on generation instead. They are not, as the full margins, by segment, by year, show below.
The total sales breakdown enhances the picture.
Although total are broadly the same in 2009 and 2012, revenue from domestic customers was 13%, whilst that from non-domestic customers was 17% lower. The reason Labour have a higher figure is they rely on OFGEM’s notional average user, who uses the same amount of energy year-in-year out. Real hard-working families have responded to rising prices by reducing consumption.
What is most important is why unit costs have risen. Labour are correct when they say it is not due to the wholesale price of energy. As already demonstrated, they are incorrect to say it is due to rising profits. The real reason is “other costs”. These rose from 32% to 40% of revenue in just four years. That is from £14.1bn to £17.7bn in just four years or a 25% increase. On declining volumes this is more significant for consumers.
These figures are corroborated by a breakdown by my energy supplier, Scottish Power.
With VAT at 5%, the Scottish power says that its charges to the domestic customer in 2013 are made up of 53% for fuel and 43% for other charges. This compares to the industry average in 2012 of 55.7% for fuel and 40.6% for “other costs” plus “amortization”. The higher proportion of other charges to domestic customers is to be expected, as small domestic customers have lower costs. The relevant domestic figures from the big six are 51.8% for fuel and 44.0% for other charges. Given the obviously rounded Scottish Power figures, they are remarkably close to the industry average.
The supply market is fiercely competitive, hence the real reason for the ability of customers to save money by switching suppliers. Therefore it is doubtful that internal costs will have risen. What has risen is the delivery of the energy to the home (National Grid, local delivery, and cost of meters), along with green levies. So it is likely over 75% of the price increases to the customer are due to factors outside of the energy supplier’s control.
Where does responsibility lie for the above-inflation price increases?
The dash for “clean” energy to save the planet is enshrined in the Climate Change Act 2008. It was pushed through the House of Commons when Ed Miliband was Environment Secretary. This accelerated the growth in green levies and the requirement for a more extensive grid network to carry the wind-generated electricity from remote turbines. Delve further in the profits on electricity generation and you will find that fossil fuel generation has margins of 10%. A price freeze will eliminate the supply profits in six months, and the generation profits in two years. The is a sure way to get a near monopoly in gas supply, and cause the rapid shut-down of three-quarters of generating capacity. It is an act of gross hypocrisy by Ed Miliband to threaten to destroy a competitive industry to remedy a problem that he is responsible for.
NB First time comments are moderated. The comments can be used as a point of contact.
Kevin Marshall
Lewandowsky et al. 2012 MOTIVATED REJECTION OF SCIENCE – Part 2
This post was based on the belief that the survey I took in June was the one used in the paper. I realize now this is not the case. The one I took at “Watching the Deniers” is a development of the 2010 survey. There are less questions on conspiracy theories (but “NASA faked the moon landing”, along with Diana, JFK and MLK assassinations are are still in) along with exactly the same questions on Free markets v Environmentalism. But the new survey has more on political beliefs (a good thing in my view) along with new sections on religious beliefs and GM foods. The summary I made back in June is here.
The paper Lewandowsky, Oberauer & Gignac – NASA faked the moon landing|Therefore (Climate) Science is a Hoax: An Anatomy of the Motivated Rejection of Science (in press, Psychological Science) is one of the biased and pernicious surveys I have come across. The previous posting was on the opening remarks on the validity of climate science. There are a few points where the survey deviates from a professional and balanced opinion survey.
Problems with the survey
1. The access to the survey. It was an internet based survey, with links posted on 8 “pro-science” blogs. Five skeptic blogs were approached. As such, one would expect that “pro-science” responses would far outweigh “denialist” responses. I cannot find the split.
2. There should have been a record kept of abandoned survey results. The survey gets more dogmatic as it progresses, and becomes far longer than originally stated (74 questions, as against 40 in 10 minutes quoted at the outset). Moderate skeptics would have quickly abandoned the survey when they realised what was being inferred. Others, as the questions became more time consuming and “weird”. See if this is a valid conclusion by first reading the questions, then my analysis.
3. Not reported is the relationship between “climate denial” and genetically modified foods. Is the correlation the reverse? Nor is there any reporting of the section on climate change against conservative Christian religious views, or climate change against views on corporations. The survey only reported the most dogmatic results. Could it be that there is something relevant, but adverse to the desired conclusions here, or no relationship?
4. There were also final questions on age and gender. Again, this should be reported.
5. The main inference of the survey is that those who oppose climate change science are nut-jobs, whilst those who agree with it are pro-science. This saves having to explain the lack of any credible scientific evidence for the projected global catastrophe that we all need to be saved from. | https://manicbeancounter.com/tag/climate-alarmism/ | dclm-gs1-191791087 |
0.071268 | <urn:uuid:d2006749-6a23-4a91-ab75-8f99115ffd88> | en | 0.976446 | Category Archives: chemistry
Step 1: Buy the kit
When I first started teaching, I was fortunate to walk into a fully stocked Chemistry classroom. It was a Chemistry teacher’s dream room. Problem was I didn’t know how to use the stuff. Well, I mean I had a degree in Chemistry so I knew how to physically use everything; I didn’t know why I should be using it.
So, I went to the catalog and ordered some kits.
The kits have it all: lab manuals (teacher and student copies), everything pre-measured, all the right equipment, and expected results. Now I just had to photocopy everything (yes, I used to use paper. A LOT!!) and the lab would run itself.
Now that I had experience to guide me, I knew everything I needed for the lab. I found cheaper ways to buy the chemicals, I reused equipment from the kit, and I rewrote the lab sheet to make it work better for my classroom.
The best advice I can give anyone just starting out in teaching or teaching a class they have never bought before: buy the kit first. Let someone else do all the prep work so you can make the activity as meaningful as possible. Then go about making it your own.
17 years and…
What does a typical #flipclass lesson look like?
“What does a typical flipped lesson look like?”
This is one of the most common questions I get asked when I talk to educators about the Flipped Classroom. The truth is there isn’t a “typical” lesson in my class. Every class has a general plan, but since each student is working toward an individual goal, each day is different. But, my classes on Monday went really well so I wanted to share what was happening along with some pictures to illustrate.
On Monday, we were finishing the work we were doing on Electron Configurations and starting the unit on Naming and Forming Compounds. I had a DO NOW on the screen asking students to write the electron configurations for Zn, Ba, and Rn. Since the lesson on EC was 4 days prior (one of the negatives of block schedule) most of the class was confused. I asked a student who felt he knew EC’s well to come up to explain it to the class and answer their questions.
Now came the divide. The students who were still struggling and wanted more practice were given a few more elements to complete on the side whiteboards. Those who were ready to move on worked on the “Homework.” Homework is in quotes because I don’t assign outside of class HW other than to find Chemistry in the world around you. All homework is actually classwork, but it is called homework for the traditionally minded. As the students finished the HW, they gave it to me or my co-teacher to grade and provide feedback on the spot. If they did well, they moved onto the assignment posted in Google Classroom; if they didn’t they were given the opportunity to complete another. [Note: we use a modified mastery learning system in which students can complete up to 4 versions of any of our Quizzes, HW, Tests, or Projects. Some students do it just to add extra grades; some do it to offset low grades. No matter what all are more knowledgeable at the end.]
Now, the assignment posted in Google Classroom kicked off the next unit we were studying. There were 2 instructional videos to watch (both less than 5 min), a Self-Check Quiz in a Google Form (which was auto-graded by Flubaroo with the score and answer key emailed in return immediately), and practice problems to complete (yes, you can read that as a worksheet). The practice problems are necessary because we are at a point where drill and kill is a necessary technique to get students to truly understand what is happening.
Now, this is why I can’t give you a traditional lesson. At this point in the block, I have 3 levels of students: those still working on the Electron Configuration HW because they needed that extra practice, those taking notes, and those working on the practice problems. That is 25 students spanning 2 different units. But, if a class didn’t have the faster learners, they might all have stayed together on the same topic for longer. I can’t predict that until we are actually in the middle of the lesson somewhere.
The Flipped Classroom isn’t a magic bullet and I don’t think that I am a good teacher just because I use it. What I do know is my students get a greater level of support from their teachers because of it. My faster learners no longer feel like they are being held back, the students who need more support get more attention from me and get more of their questions answered, and I get to talk to every student every day.
The beauty of the Flipped Classroom is that no 2 classes look exactly the same. My Flipped Classroom will and SHOULD look different from yours. You have different kids, a different school, and you are a different teacher. No matter what you do or how you do it, just remember to make the time that you spend with your students meaningful!
[Author’s Note]: this post was originally written at the beginning of October, but was never posted.
How Chemistry Explained Deflategate
Mr. B and I brainstorm and come up with an idea about mounting a pressure gauge on a football and having the students immerse the ball in several water baths. We knew that the small change in pressure the footballs experienced wouldn’t cause the almost 20% pressure drop caused at the game so we made the water baths go from over 100F to around 35F to have a more dramatic effect. After trips to Dick’s Sporting Goods, Sports Authority, Five Below, Home Depot, AND Lowes, I found our original idea of simply installing a pressure gauge attached to a ball pin wouldn’t work. I made some modifications and decided to add a Vernier Pressure Sensor to the footballs to give us better readings. Here is a picture of the final setup:
Room Temperature–approximately 23C
Hot Water–approximately 40C
Ice Water–approximately 5C
Overall, this lab was a success. I loved that I planned this with a first year teacher. I loved that it had real world application. I loved that it was STEM driven. And I loved how it was real chemistry, but didn’t feel that way to the students. It reaffirms my belief that we need less formal labs and more real-world activities for the students to be doing. I also love that it was messy because that’s what learning truly is.
When Chemistry Becomes Math Class
At a convention I was at the presenter told the following anecdote:
A group of science educators wanted to see what students’ impressions were of Chemistry class. Immediately before the first day of class, the evaluators asked the students to describe what they thought Chemistry was in three words of less. As they expected, words like fire, explosions, reactions, chemicals, dangerous were among those at the top of the list. At the end of the first quarter, the evaluators returned and asked the same question and were surprised at how the students’ idea of chemistry had changed. Now words like math class, boring, work were at the top and nowhere could be found words about science.
One of my biggest complaints about typical Chemistry curricula and textbooks are that they start with significant figures, scientific notation and conversions, very little of which has no impact on Chemical principles or the understanding of Chemistry in general, but rather only how students report their answers. I decided to start with actual Chemistry and teach naming and forming ionic compounds. We then worked backward through the curriculum, through the Periodic Table, basic Atomic Structure, and now we are in the dreaded sig figs and scientific notation.
Since I am very activity driven in class I wanted this to be more than notes and worksheets. I trolled Googled looking for “innovative significant figures activity.” It is amazing what some people call innovative. Some things I found were webquests, an “interactive” website that was a just a digital worksheet, and an activity that required students to count popcorn kernels. I decided to just make my own.
I went through my sons’ toys and grabbed random objects as seen below.
Each student received either a 6 in ruler, 12 in ruler or a meter stick as they walked in the classroom. I then asked them to measure the length of the object in both centimeter and inches and compared the accuracy of both. This part was fun because I made sure the kids with large objects received small rulers and the ones with small objects got the meter stick.
We then calculated the volume of their object. This led to a lot of questions because we needed to figure out what was the better measurement to use for the calculation. After this, we answered the Essential Question for the day which was “How many of your object will fit into this room?” My room is an odd shape so the class needed to figure out how to find its volume as well as make the measurements of length, width and height with meter sticks.
Once each student calculated the number of their objects that fit in the room (the answer really surprised them as many of them had in the millions or even billions) we needed to discuss accuracy of their answers which is where significant figures came in.
As we just finished the Quarterly where they needed to use significant figures and scientific notation I saw a definite improvement in the scores involving those questions. There were still students who got those questions wrong, but I noticed during the exam students who were clearly recalling the rules we used and, hopefully, the activity.
Was this a fool proof method? Absolutely not. Did we have a lot more fun learning about something so dry as sig figs? Definitely!
Leading With The Lab
As I mentioned in my previous post, I have been asked to write 2 articles for Carolina Biological Supply’s monthly newsletter. My first was about transitioning students to using video as instruction. Sorry for not making this post last week. The second article is below:
Leading with the Lab
When I first started teaching fifteen years ago, I ran my classroom the way my high school chemistry teacher ran hers. I decided to become a teacher when I was eight years old so I paid close attention in school to what my favorite teachers did with us so I could duplicate it when I finally became a teacher. A typical unit would start with notes. We would cover basic definitions and vocabulary that would be used throughout the unit. I would then move on to example problems and have the students complete questions from the review sheet in class so I could see they knew how to solve the problem correctly. I would assign daily or weekly homework to reinforce what we were doing in class and administer 5 point quizzes every couple of days to check for retention of learning. Somewhere in the middle or latter half of the unit we would perform a lab to give a context to what we had been learning and then close the unit with some sort of major assessment, like a test.
This method proved to be effective for a long time. I thought I was a successful teacher because I would see the light bulbs go off for students during the lab. I incorporated more and more lab activities to show students there was a practical reason why they had to balance reactions or memorize Boyle’s law. Lab experiments were the “real-world” uses of the material we were learning because “this is what chemists do.” When I heard students say ‘now I get it’ I felt like a success.
Deep down there was something missing for me, though. Science is a ‘Why?” subject; we observe something in the world around us, ask ‘why did that happen?’, design an experiment to test our hypothesis, then go back and revise our original thinking. I wasn’t getting a lot of kids asking why. I got a lot of ‘Oh!’ and ‘Why did you say that in the beginning?’, but not a single ‘why did it do that?’ If lab is my students’ favorite part of class, why do I wait so long to have them perform labs?
I decided that I am going to lead my units with the labs. When we perform the labs first, students ask “why did that happen?” Now the questions drive the learning! At the end of the lab, each lab group must submit 3 questions to a Google Form that I created. I look through the questions and rearrange the lessons for the next day based on what they want to know. Let me give you a couple of examples:
• For Atomic Theory, we start the unit with a flame test lab. It is a traditional lab in which students move to different stations, insert different ionic salts in a burner flame, observe and record their results. Questions that come from the lab are ‘why did each chemical have a different color?’, ‘what other substances change color in flames?’, ‘Could I perform this lab with any substance?’
• For Solutions, we start by making kool-aid of different concentrations to set up our molarity and molality notes. Students choose how much Kool-Aid mix and how much water they want to make their drink out of. They weigh the mix and use a graduated cylinder to measure their water. Students will ask ‘why did I get a different amount of drink at the end if I used the same amount of water each time?’, ‘could I still measure concentration without measuring the Kool-aid in the beginning?’
• For Thermochemistry, students design and conduct an experiment to determine the specific heat of substance. They are given standard lab equipment and a list of objects to study which include toothpicks, cotton, rocks, glass marbles, various metals, isopropyl alcohol, water, and vegetable oil. A thorough explanation of specific heat is given in the introduction along with links to videos explaining the topic on YouTube. They utilize Google searches to find experiments to model theirs after, conduct their experiments and collect their results. They analyze the results after we complete the lessons on heat transfer and specific heat. Questions that arise are ‘Why are metals the best objects to conduct specific heat experiments on?’and ‘How can you test the specific heat of a liquid when it evaporates easily?’
The labs we use in class are very similar to traditional lab experiments. What has made them more effective is their placement in the learning, how student questions are driving the direction of the lessons, and how students are beginning to see science as exploratory instead of sit-and-get.
The Engaged Learner
One of the reasons I like guided inquiry labs is it inspires my students to ask more ‘What if…’ questions. I tried a new lab this year for Stoichiometry in which the students mixed different amounts of baking soda with vinegar. A balloon was placed on the top of each test tube and the students got a great visual for the amount of gas produced.
One group finished the lab and I noticed they started to fill another balloon with a very large amount of baking soda. When I inquired about what they were doing, they said they wanted to figure out if they could pop a balloon only using baking soda and vinegar. With wry smile, I told them they could do it, but only if they showed, using Stoichiometry calculations, how much vinegar they would need based on the amount of baking soda they had already weighed out (28g).
After some Internet research and a bunch of calculations later, they figured out they needed nearly 400mL (for the non-chemistry folks, that’s A LOT) which is more than would fit inside their 25 mL test tube. I happen to have a giant test tube and the experiment was off.
Here is what the face of an engaged learner looks like:
The balloon didn’t pop, but it got really close. When doing these labs, sometimes you just need to let the students’ run with their ideas. It’s amazing what they will come up with and what they will learn (about science and themselves) in the process. | https://marcseigel.com/category/chemistry/ | dclm-gs1-191801087 |
0.201112 | <urn:uuid:01dc4e9a-1733-4f00-8dc6-280d23d658c3> | en | 0.972202 | 23 June 2005
Vertical Takeoff
Helicopters are the most amazing contraptions!
Nope. Not always.
The results are interesting:
Happy Birthday, Grandpa!
UPDATE, 25 June:
Rubberducky1.0 said...
I would laugh at the stupidity of the guy, but it scares me a little to much.
I'm sure the guys down at the airport will want to see this.
You have me worried now. When I thought noone was reading my blog, I figured it was safe to skip days. I'll be sure to stay on top of it, and check yours now and again for kicks and adivce when needed
Aviatrix said...
Can you give us non-rotary pilots more information on what seems to have happened here?
Was he initially backing up to get a bit of room in order to puck up horizontal speed and climb?
Did he misjudge the proximity of the trees or have some control difficulty that caused him to hit them. (I'm guessing that even a few leaves are not something you want to whack with your rotor blades).
Walk us through what seems to have occurred.
Aviatrix said...
Ahh, thank you. Excellent explanation. We didn't notice the utility pole hidden in the trees -- I guess neither did the pilot, until he hit it.
Do helicopter operating manuals have tables to calculate the amount of space you need to gain a certain amount of altitude, based on wind and weight and temperature and elevation, the way fixed wing ones do?
Greybeard said...
The answer to your question is yes, BUT!
I think most of that stuff is now required by the FAA (CAA?) in order for an aircraft to be certified......
The MI-2 is old, and may not have had performance planning charts to fall back on.
We are also watching a video of a Russian aircraft in Sweden making this takeoff attempt, so FAA rules don't apply here anyway.
And of course there is always reality rearing its' ugly head.....
You land and pick up your clients. They are excited to get the ride under way. In this case, the pilot was dealing with a 100 year old passenger that may have been difficult to get aboard.
The charts, if there are any, are in the P.O.H. (Pilot/Operators Handbook). This document may be stored under the seat....difficult to grab and refer to, particularly if you are in a hurry.
Helicopter pilots more often than not use their "gut feeling" about takeoff power. When you have difficulty maintaining a hover, alarms should be going off, unless you are in an area with no obstacles.
This pilots' "alarm system" failed him.
I've always wondered about the charts anyway. For most helicopters, they are difficult to read, and when you do it correctly, require a certain amount of interpolation. Do they illustrate power that can be expected of a new machine, or one that has 1500 hours on the engine, bleed air leaks, and lots of bugs on the main rotor?
In the real world of helicopters they are nearly useless........I know of no pilot that ever REALLY refers to them! | https://pitchpull.blogspot.com/2005/06/vertical-takeoff.html | dclm-gs1-191901087 |
0.019211 | <urn:uuid:faa41473-fcee-4a43-ad22-ad794300a62c> | en | 0.654183 | Prawa pracy i pracownika w tym Polaków po Brexit zostają utrzymane
Prawa pracy i pracownika w tym Polaka po Brexit zostają utrzymane
Według białej księgi po wyjściu Wielkiej Brytanii z Unii Europejskiej prawo Brytyjskie będzie nad prawem Unii Europejskiej .
Jednak niektóre prawa obecnie już istniejące zostają w obecnym kształcie a nawet będą jeszcze bardziej szły do przodu.
Dokument Legislating for the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union mówi wyraźnie że prawa pracownika będą dalej utrzymane takie jakie są a nawet będą się rozwijać.
Ponadto zachowane zostają prawa do prowadzenia biznesów jak i ich ochrona.
oto kilka słów potwierdzających .
Workers’ rights and equalities
The Great Repeal Bill will convert EU law into domestic law. This means that the workers’ rights that are enjoyed under EU law will continue to be available in UK law after we have left the EU. Where protections are provided by the EU treaties as a final ‘backstop’ – such as the right to rely on Article 157 of TFEU (equal pay) directly in court – they will also be preserved. Protections are further strengthened by the Great Repeal Bill’s incorporation of CJEU case law (see paragraphs 2.12 to 2.17), which means that where workers’ rights have been extended by CJEU judgments, those rights will continue to be protected in the UK once we have left the EU. In a number of areas, UK employment law already goes further than the minimum standards set out in EU legislation, and this Government will continue to protect and enhance the rights people have at work.
Furthermore, all the protections covered in the Equality Act 2006, the Equality Act 2010 and equivalent legislation in Northern Ireland will continue to apply once the UK has left the EU. This approach will give certainty to service providers and users, as well as employees and employers, creating stability in which the UK can grow and thrive
Environmental protection
The Government is committed to ensuring that we become the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than we found it. The UK’s current legislative framework at national, EU and international level has delivered tangible environmental benefits, such as cleaner rivers and reductions in emissions of sulphur dioxide and ozone depleting substances emissions. Many existing environmental laws also enshrine standards that affect the trade in products and substances across different markets, within the EU as well as internationally.
The Great Repeal Bill will ensure that the whole body of existing EU environmental law continues to have effect in UK law. This will provide businesses and stakeholders with maximum certainty as we leave the EU. We will then have the opportunity, over time, to ensure our legislative framework is outcome driven and delivers on our overall commitment to improve the environment within a generation. The Government recognises the need to consult on future changes to the regulatory frameworks, including through parliamentary scrutiny.
Konrad W
oto pełny dokument tzn Bill white paper
11 kwietnia 2017
Czytaj inne artykuły w dziale Prawo UK | https://polskie-echo.com/prawa-pracy-i-pracownika-w-tym-polakow-po-brexit-zostaja-utrzymane/ | dclm-gs1-191911087 |
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Biotech Government It's funny. Laugh. Politics
Louisiana Rep. Preps State Bill Banning Human-Animal Hybrids 422
Louisiana Rep. Preps State Bill Banning Human-Animal Hybrids
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• by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 17, 2009 @10:35AM (#27614025)
As they say, "It's the thought that counts." In this case, the thought is "What can we pass that will have no significant effect on anything in the state other than making us look better to a certain portion of our electorate?" It's a safe way of soliciting votes.
Personally, I would much rather we do something productive, such as codifying right-arm signaling for right turns on bicycles, passing a "complete streets" bill, or repealing RS 32:197(C).
• by MeanMF ( 631837 ) * on Friday April 17, 2009 @10:41AM (#27614167) Homepage
Bacteria are not technically classified as animals, so the new law would not affect them. Human/tree and human/mushroom hybrids would also still be legal.
• by gringofrijolero ( 1489395 ) on Friday April 17, 2009 @10:43AM (#27614237) Journal
...House Bill 517 that would protect from being fired or demoted people who refuse to participate in any health care practice that violates their conscience...
Now way! You serve everybody without prejudice. If you can't/won't, then find another line of work. I don't want witch doctors in the operating room. I can go to the mountains for that.
• by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 17, 2009 @10:56AM (#27614551)
Gotta love the Catholic Church, the bastions of innovation and human progress that they are. Not.
WTF does the Catholic Church have to do with this? Yes, the bill was suggested by a Catholic bishop, but given that the Catholic Church accepts Evolution and the Protestant faiths do not, I know which faith I'd rather have influencing law makers.
This law is at least based on ethics, as opposed to Protestant laws which are made to try and force their beliefs onto everyone. (Like, say, Prohibition, a law designed explicitly to attack Catholic Irish. Or any of the more recent laws demanding the teaching of "intelligent design.")
My point is that while the Catholic Church does do some anti-science things, they can't hold a candle to the anti-science that comes from Protestants. Calling them out and not calling out the even more anti-science Protestants simply isn't fair. After all, if the Protestants had their way, stem cell research would be banned completely.
• by IndustrialComplex ( 975015 ) on Friday April 17, 2009 @11:10AM (#27614831)
I am not a female, but I seem to notice that women do seem to be pretty able to handle their workforce chores quite well during the gestation period. It's the time they need after the little squirt comes out that makes them need to take a few extra days off.
As my wife is currently near 7 months and still working. I'll point out some of the observations of my wife:
1. She feels forgetful. Enough to notice that there is a difference.
2. She has to keep her feet elevated (not much of an issue)
3. She had to get a different vehicle as she was getting too close to the wheel. (Nissan Murano with adjustable pedals helped a lot)
4. Distractions, and there is a lot of extra work to do. Even though I pretty much take care of everything at home now, there are still things that take up time.
Then comes the risk of being ordered home from work. My mother was sent home a month early when I was born. Then if a C-section is required, you can expect to not return up to 12 weeks from the birth.
It's not so much of a hurt on your career, but it basically takes a 6 month chunk out of time where you could be performing (impressing the boss).
• Re:Surprising (Score:5, Informative)
by omfglearntoplay ( 1163771 ) on Friday April 17, 2009 @11:13AM (#27614917)
Actually LSU is probably has one of the most advanced agricultural research centers around. There's the old tour with the living cow with the hole in its side for tourists to put their hand in a living stomach (fun for the family!) and other scary things. I wouldn't be surprised if one of the fuckers was working on a pig with a human head or something.
Don't be a tool and think that everybody in the southern states is an uneducated freak.
• by Half-pint HAL ( 718102 ) on Friday April 17, 2009 @11:17AM (#27614989)
Louisiana is a majority baptist area. If you're going to bash Christian sects, at least have the decency to pick the right one!
• by lazyforker ( 957705 ) on Friday April 17, 2009 @11:18AM (#27615031)
The question "What is a human?" was recently answered: []
The Human Ecosystem, Posted 12/23/2008, Matthew Child; George Macfarlane
Genetic analysis shows that our gastrointestinal tracts are home to more than 100 000 billion (1014) individual micro-organisms of perhaps 36 000 different species. And more than 90% of the cells in our bodies are non-human.[1] These bacteria form a diverse and complex ecosystem with a total gene pool (microbiome) more than 100 times larger than the human genome -- in effect we are hybrid "superorganisms." The types and numbers of bacteria differ from the stomach to the distal colon, reflecting the changes in pH, concentration of oxygen, and availability of nutrients. Small numbers persist in the stomach (notably Helicobacter pylori, which causes ulcers) and the small intestine, but most of these organisms are found in the anaerobic environment of the large intestine ( Table ).
To see the full article you need some kind of login which I don't have, but SlashDot had a similar story a couple of days ago: []
So I think there's a lot of tough questions to ask before allowing legislation like this to pass. We can't even define "human" very well, and we already appear to be hybrids (mitochondrial DNA etc).
• by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 17, 2009 @11:40AM (#27615517)
You know what else that list has in common?
All those names involved people who died more than a century ago.
The fact remains that the modern Catholic church is quite open to science.
As opposed to the modern Protestant church, which remains quite closed to science.
Of course, both statements are relative, but it's not fair to just pick on Catholics when Catholics are by far one of the most open faiths when it comes to science, especially compared to other larger faiths in the US.
Don't forget, the modern Catholic church supports evolution. The modern Protestant church continues to push for the teaching of "intelligent design".
• Re:Damn (Score:5, Informative)
by the_humeister ( 922869 ) on Friday April 17, 2009 @11:57AM (#27615833)
Seriously? do we really want to go down this route? We've already screwed with the planet and life enough. Do we really need to screw with it more and more by allowing human/animal hybrids?
We already have them. They're called "transgenic mice" and we use them for research. We also have bacteria with human genes too. They make insulin for diabetic people, etc.
• by Emor dNilapasi ( 455542 ) on Friday April 17, 2009 @12:00PM (#27615897)
Humulin ("Human Insulin") is produced by a recombinant DNA process which transferred the gene for human insulin production into a variety of e. coli, and was approved by the FDA in 1982 ( []). The bottom line is that we've been making human-animal hybrids for decades, they already treat some diseases and hold great promise in treating more, and legislation such as this only reinforces the image of Louisiana as a Luddite backwater.
• Re:Damn (Score:1, Informative)
by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 17, 2009 @12:21PM (#27616401)
Babies are easy to assemble
And fun too!
• Re:Damn (Score:3, Informative)
by Culture20 ( 968837 ) on Friday April 17, 2009 @01:00PM (#27617123)
When my wife was pregnant with our first child, she asked me very seriously how I would respond if something went wrong and the doctor told me that he could only save either her or our child (she watches too much TV)
That's not a TV fiction (although the doctors usually make the choice to save the mother and coerce the emotionally destabilized husband into thinking he made the decision). In cases of preeclampsia, it often is a "Mom or Baby" decision, and Baby's usually too premature to live.
• Re:Damn (Score:3, Informative)
by Thaelon ( 250687 ) on Friday April 17, 2009 @01:03PM (#27617173)
It's why you can calm a baby by placing it close to your chest, it hears the heart beat again.
Surely it couldn't be the baby is also warm, cushioned (boobs, yay), and comfortable being held.
The law prohibits using animal wombs for human babies. You seem to have something mechanical in mind. I imagine that a sheep or pig womb (biologically very similar to humans) would probably handle a human embryo just fine. Sheep wombs have been making sheep babies for about the same amount of time as human wombs have been making human babies.
What if out of this proactively banned research we were able to save babies' lives because the they can be transplanted into sheep? It would not an abomination, or some frankensteinian sheep-baby, it would be a perfectly normal human that happened to gestate in an unusual place. A baby's genetics (and therefore all characterstics aside from birth defects) are determined at conception, not gestation. So it wouldn't matter what womb the baby formed in, it would still be completely human if it was conceived with human sperm and ova.
The mother's body (kidney, hearts, lungs, livers) act as the baby's for the first 9 months. We haven't perfected artificial copies of those yet, so what is the artificial womb supposed to do? We're already seeing problems where a constant flow motor in place of a heart causes problems in the rest of the body that had grown accustom to a (1/60) Hz throbbing.
Who said it was artifical? The law is talking about animal wombs. One, almost no human heart rate is 1/60hz. Two, it's not that regular most of the time. "accomstomed" is a very vague and unscientific term. The human body is very capable of becoming "accostomed" to all sorts of new conditions. Three, you cited absolutely no evidence. I would hazard a guess that a pulsing pump was simply the best natured could come up with as a substitute for a constant flow. It works because the body has adapted to it, as is proven by the fact that blood flow can be completely stopped for minutes without any detectable damage. People have heart attacks every day, or heart murmors where bloodflow ceases and the body lives anyway. So you have it rather backwards. It's not that the body has become "accostomed" to ~1/60hz or so, but rather the body has evolved to be able to handle intermittent flow.
Artificial / Cow milk is no substitute for breast milk during young development.
Wrong. You can raise a baby just fine without any milk whatsoever. Many women can't breast feed at all, and so the baby never had any human milk and they turned out just fine.
The fatty chains and stuff can't be replicated by any formula
Yet. There's nothing magical about it, stop pretending that there's some unquantifiable characteristic in any aspect of conception, gestation, or birth. There isn't. It's only that we may not understand some aspects yet.
what makes them think that the fluids the mother and baby exchange?
What makes you think there's something special about a chemical process that we'll never be able to replicate it?
The human body is an infinitely complex system of feedback loops and control systems. I can't ever see us getting this right artificially. If the baby is low on X, the mothers body will give it more X.
Again, you seem to be attributing magical unfathomable properties to the birth process. Also, I do not think that word means what you think that it means. Infinity as far as we know is a completely made up mathematical concept that doesn't actually occur in reality. Again, nothing magical. Just problems we haven't solved yet. And there's no scientific proof that a mother's body automatically follows with providing whatever the baby needs. In ord
• by PJ1216 ( 1063738 ) * on Friday April 17, 2009 @01:53PM (#27618057)
Its not as difficult as you'd expect. Here's some simple requirements:
1) Not genetically altered by mankind
2) Parents are human
3) Conceived traditionally or by any of the means that have been approved in section bloopitybloop.
You don't have to categorize by that genes they have, just classify them by where they came from. Its much easier.
• by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 17, 2009 @02:12PM (#27618369)
"...given the Catholic Church accepts Evolution and the Protestant faiths do not ..."
That's not true. Most mainstream Protestant denominations are fully accepting of evolution and other findings of modern science. I can speak with certainty that my own church (Presbyterian Church-USA) accepts evolution, and AFAIK several other large denominations (Methodists, Episcopalians) share essentially the same theology.
I do know that many Baptist churches reject evolution, and they make up a large portion of Protestants in the US, but by no means all Protestants are anti-science.
• by lwsimon ( 724555 ) <> on Friday April 17, 2009 @02:15PM (#27618425) Homepage Journal
As an attendee of one of the tea party events, I can assure you that the "movement" nor the individual event I attended was organized by the Republican party.
The one at my capitol was organized by a libertarian with no affiliation. He voted for Baldwin the last cycle.
• Re:Religion (Score:3, Informative)
by LionMage ( 318500 ) on Friday April 17, 2009 @02:15PM (#27618429) Homepage
This is the second time someone has brought up the whole Baptist thing (that I've seen).
You do remember your history, right? You know what the Louisiana Purchase is, and where we bought that land from, right? You know the people settled there were French, and most French people (even in the New World) are Catholic, right?
Here are two sources for demographic data: Wikipedia's Louisiana article [] and this blog entry summarizing a survey []. If you believe Wikipedia, then 30% of Louisiana is Catholic overall, and 38% is Baptist -- not that this is all Baptist groups, not just one group calling itself Baptist. If you believe the survey, then 28% of the state's population is Catholic, and 31% is "evangelical," which includes Baptists -- again, this category is a catch-all, and isn't just one group calling itself Baptist.
So while the Catholic Church is considered one monolithic organization, the Baptists are not. That's another thing to consider when looking at those numbers.
As the person to whom you responded wrote, the Catholic population is heavy in the south of the state... which should be no big surprise, as that's where New Orleans is.
Not sure why you'd conflate Creole and Baptist. Creole could just as likely mean a practitioner of Voodoo (seriously) as a member of any other religion. That said, most Creole who practice Voodoo are also nominally Catholics.
Again, the relevance here is that the Catholic Church is very obviously sponsoring this legislation. The Archbishop specifically petitioned for it, as did the Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Your "out of touch" comments are spot-on. This is really just pandering to a particular religious group. I suspect if this passes, someone in Louisiana is going to get convicted for violating this law in a way that nobody foresaw... causing a great outcry from some quarters to either repeal or modify the law. But by that point, it'll be too late.
• Re:Surprising (Score:3, Informative)
by rts008 ( 812749 ) on Friday April 17, 2009 @04:19PM (#27620167) Journal
...with the living cow with the hole in its side for tourists to put their hand in a living stomach (fun for the family!)...
The purpose is not for tourist's entertainment.
Most Universities with a Veterinary Medicine program will have a cow with a 'cannula' into it's rumen [] as a means to extract some of the fluid content for the clinical treatment of other bovine patients that have suffered some digestive disease, or (frequently) after treatment with antibiotics(which kill rumen flora, unabling the cow to digest their food).
How it usually works:
You have 'Bessie' the donor cow. She has a 'hole' in her side as you say. (cannula into her rumen)
You also have 'Gertrude', who has been a patient receiving antibiotics in treatment. She is 'getting better' and the antibiotic treatment ceases.
Your treatment has killed off most of the natural microbes that help Gertrude ferment(start digestion) of her food she eats. Left on her own, she may starve to death no matter how much she eats.
Enter Bessie to the rescue. You remove the plug in the cannula(it may have been removed for your tour, but normally the plug is kept in place), extract several gallons of rumen fluid(chock full of healthy microbe goodness), and 'tube feed' it to Gertrude.
You also replace Bessie's rumen fluid with equal amount of warm water, and replace the plug.
Gertrude can now continue living and eating thanks to the hole in Bessie's side!
Not some 'mad scientist crazy experiment', but sound, helpful, humane medicine. I used to have to deal with this attitude from people all the time when I worked at the Vet Med Teaching Hospital at the University here. | https://science.slashdot.org/story/09/04/17/156203/louisiana-rep-preps-state-bill-banning-human-animal-hybrids/informative-comments | dclm-gs1-191951087 |
0.125348 | <urn:uuid:7fefcd38-5f73-4c55-a06e-88a0cab0ff57> | en | 0.933306 | Ignorance is not bliss
Yesterday I used part of my day-off to watch 2 of the dozens of documentaries that are pilling up in my hard disk. There were two major similarities between both the films: they portray life in the USA and talk ’bout stuff that goes into our body.
I’ll leave you with two small reviews.
This film starts off with the objective of showing what is the true origin of the food the general public puts in their plate everyday, and what is done to that food before it reaches the plates. To my surprise, the director does that in a very objective way and does not go into the common mistake of trying to shock the audience with constant brutal images of animals being killed in slaughterhouses.
It goes through a big range of products and explains why and how they are connected, how they are manipulated and what big corporate food industries are doing to fuck up the general health of America and to ruin lives.
Food, Inc. unveiled many unknown stuff to me, like the substances coming from corn that are on the most unexpected products, or the gene altered beans that are patented by a single company and basically are taking over farms without much stuff the regular farmers can do against it.
The film finishes of with some propaganda messages that really leave you thinking ’bout what you eat…of course it has to be contextualized, in Europe there are much more healthy products and politics concerning alimentation, but still, from now on I think I’m gonna care even more ’bout what really is in my plate everyday, even though I already read labels and I think that’s a habit not many people have.
More than a documentary about steroids and other drugs, this is a documentary about the American mentality, conveyed in a very personal way by a guy that just wanted to know why people take anabolic substances.
“Bigger, stronger, faster, no matter the means or the costs” is not the motto solely to the bodybuilders and sportsmen, but as we get to understand from the film, it’s the motto that pushes the American way of life, it’s impregnated in their culture. Cheating is not cheating if everybody else is cheating, and morals are subverted to the will of becoming the best…The movie only touches that wound very lightly, but it still does it and tries to brings up the true issues behind anabolic drugs and other substances used not only in sports but in many other human activities.
I liked the personal outlook that this film gives, that’s part of the reason why it works as a documentary.
It’s not the most neutral perspective, as it tries to convey steroids almost as a completely harmless thing, but still the guy exposes his life and his family’s issues in a very honest way, and still asks all the right questions.
There’s one third similarity both movies have that I intentionally omitted until this part of the post, and that is the one about the corruption and the bullshit that takes place in America nowadays.
Both movies try to expose many clear situations of corruption that occur in the American system without anyone with power taking action, and that action is not being taken because almost in every governmental institution and/or public entity there are lies and stuff that is being held from the population’s eyes. Their legal system is so fucked up that even the most common sense decisions cannot be taken immediately, not even if everyone knows that something is wrong.
These 2 documentaries helped me understand that I’m not that bad living in a European country.
At least I don’t eat shit all the time and my culture and legal system doesn’t protect cheating and corruption as much as the Americans do (although there is big time corruption going on in Portugal too). What is left of that country is becoming more and more a really fucked up “American dream”.
4 Responses to “Ignorance is not bliss”
1. 1 maria 14 November, 2009 at 1:05 am
Adore este post, mt bom msm!! estou mesmo curiosa para ver os dois, mas especialmente o primeiro documentário!***
2. 2 Hermano 14 November, 2009 at 1:15 pm
falaram destes no forum n foi? ainda bem que me lembraste disto, vou sacar os dois e largar as seasons de six feet under que tenho andado a ver compulsivamente
3. 3 A Constant Refrain 14 November, 2009 at 4:05 pm
lol. nao deves ter lido bem o post.
eu tou a dizer tipo “calma miudagem, calma aí com a passareca” ahaha.
4. 4 nuno 2 December, 2009 at 12:03 pm
tenho de ver esse sobre as bombas
curti ver o trailer e acho que dentro do genero tem a sua piada
um amigo meu viu o food inc. e ficou desiludido.
tenho de ver tb
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0.602971 | <urn:uuid:c4e1bfa0-8f08-44a1-8736-57fadb178538> | en | 0.950947 | Slogging Through The Mud
There are days when even the simplest of things seem like rocket science to me. I’ve never studied rocket science, not so much because it seemed to challengingly. Although I admit it is not something that would come naturally to me. My mind doesn’t gravitate towards numbers as much as it does words.
Anyhow, now that this is out in the open, back to our regularly scheduled discussion. Okay a monologue because really it’s only me talking here unless you leave a comment. But again I digress.
One of the added benefits that can come with lupus is someone called brain fog. It’s a nice way and a somewhat easy explanation of how lupus can affect the mind. I’m not talking about an attack to the organ itself in the same sense as it does my kidneys. Instead what it does in the case of brain fog is it makes it hard to process thoughts or recall things.
To paint the picture for you, imagine that you have to do everything while working through thick, sticky mud. It slows you down. It makes carrying out tasks harder than they normally would be. And it can hide things that you once could easily see. Drop something in that mud and you might have a very hard time finding it again.
Today was one of those days. It meant that the stir fry I meant to make became something I cannot describe. Tender crisp veggies became soggy, over seasoned veggies. I cannot explain how the rice became sticky, but it did. Thankfully Beloved is game for any adventure and so he bravely tried the food before proclaiming it edible. He also suggested next time I find myself deep in the mud, I just leave the food to someone else, either him or take out!
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0.106576 | <urn:uuid:a477ba73-ef06-454e-a373-91282148f287> | en | 0.97943 | Attitude, Belief, Lupus and Me
Over the course of my life I have heard that my attitude makes all the difference. When I used to hear this kind of stuff I’d chalk it up to my parents or some other authority figure trying to control me in a way I didn’t want to be controlled.
When I got a little older I took some courses in psychology where I was taught that you can trick yourself into believing things that aren’t actual facts yet, at least when it comes to yourself. For example if you dont feel confident but you keep telling yourself you are a confident person and pointing out the things you did accomplish with confidence, well you’d wind up believing in yourself when it comes to confidence.
So I would try these little tricks of the kind when I was feeling the effects of a flare. I’d tell myself I did have the energy for a shower and getting dressed and my follow thigh would happen even if it was a huge struggle. And I’d basically carry on with whole day by breaking it up into little bits. Sure there were some things that became too much to do, but I would wind up the day by feeling really pleased with myself and all I had accomplished. I’d even feel proud when other people marvelled at how I pushed myself on despite being in a flare because I was in charge not my illness.
Here’s the rub though, I never enjoyed any of the time I spent pushing myself so hard. In fact I barely remember most of what I did and why I had to do it at that time. I just remember it felt like I was pulling myself through thick mud and there wasn’t a helping hand in sight. The reality is there were tons of helping hands, most of them trying to pull me out of the mud to rest when I had expected them to get into the mud and push me through. Truth be told, there was no real need to push myself so hard because the only person I had to prove anything to was myself. What I should have been doing was being more compassionate towards myself, caring a bit more about my health and less about how I could push through and beyond what some of my health coworker’s were doing.
As a result, my disease would flare horribly out of control and end up doing permanent harm to myself. Which I would then shrug off as I pushed through something else. It was a pretty regular routine in my part, until recently. You see I acquired a new member of my medical team and he put it to me like this: “why should I bother to put in time and effort to keep you alive and healthy if you won’t put in the same for yourself ?” He also told me that all my accomplishments in my personal life and my work life wouldn’t mean much if I ended up stuck in a hospital.
What I had realized was this man had listened to me talk with other lupus patients about the importance of rest and self-care while I refused to do the same for me. He wondered why I disliked myself so much that I saw no value in me as a person. And he voiced all of this and much more during one of my appointments. It’s not that I dislike myself or devalue myself (although I am my own worst critic), it’s that I felt that if I could push back at lupus id win the battle. I have since tried to shoe myself the same compassion and understanding I share with others who have a chronic illness and I must say it is a huge relief to not have to do more than I feel I can do. It’s nice to accept that some days having a shower and getting dressed is a huge accomplishment and that is perfectly fine. The only thing that has changed, and it’s such a small change with such a huge impact is that I’m allowing myself to be a woman who sometimes must stay within certain limitations, but those limitations do not reflect on my impact.
Reframing My Critically Internal Thoughts
Can we talk about reframing? No not the kind you do with pictures or photos, although I definitely need help in that area. No friends, I’m talking about how we think about things. How we view things and how we can alter the context in which we speak and how we handle things.
Instead of viewing something as a problem, you see it as a challenge or opportunity. You know, that kind of thing.
Why do I want to talk about it? Because friends I am wondering how this works for you. It’s been all the rage the last few years in various arenas both corporate and private sectors.
I understand the theory, changing how you think about things should change how you respond to them. This makes sense to me. What I want to do, because I’m a bit too cynical I fear, is how does it work in practice.
I’m working on my cynicism this year because I want to be more open to experiences. I know, from my experiences, that being conical gives into my internal critic and my internal critic is not very nice. I’m sure she means well, but she is quick to shut things down, and a fast judge of things. I wish she were a bit more like the two old guys from the Muppets. Of course we can’t always have wishes come true, I work on my cynicism.
Needless to say I’m taking my first steps on this journey of reducing cynicism and not always giving my internal critic the spotlight or microphone. The is why I’m asking you, dear readers, how your experiences have been with reframing your thoughts. | https://waltzingwithwhims.wordpress.com/tag/inner-critic/ | dclm-gs1-192141087 |
0.026773 | <urn:uuid:e62d90ba-b636-4749-ab80-660b5ebd33cb> | en | 0.966061 | Deleted Scenes
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Standish/Carlyon are a duo from London whose moody synth pop with shoegaze guitars and dub-inspired production is very reminiscent of another London duo that came before them, A.R. Kane. Like them, Standish/Carlyon make music that sounds wrapped in gauze, simmering and smoldering but rarely breaking out into overt displays of showy emotions. Deleted Scenes isn't some kind of trip back to a sound that was out of fashion until right around the time of the album's release; it's a well-crafted modern electronic pop record that uses a full range of sounds and textures to create music that is full of heartache and downtrodden soul. The duo creates tension and drama by holding back. Conrad Standish's vocals are often buried in the mix and have a quietly yearning quality that draws the listener in closer by being just a little bit reserved. He's got a lovely falsetto that occasionally floats over the murky beats like a stray red balloon. His partner Tom Carlyon's smeared guitars fill the arrangements with a mysterious haze of sound and his heavy beats sink the songs deep into the brain. When it all comes together on songs like the gently soaring "Feb Love," the almost light-footed "Aqua Valerie," or the gloriously melancholy "Gucci Mountain" (which sounds like R. Kelly after a week spent in a floatation tank), their sound is breathtakingly good. Their deeply echoed excursion into dub sounds, "New People," is also quite impressive, and the one time they get some forward momentum going, on the almost uptempo "Moves, Moves," they almost sound a little happy. (They might want to head in this direction a little more in the future -- it worked for A.R. Kane!) The only song that doesn't quite work is the overly long and monochromatic instrumental, "Industrial Resort," which weighs down the center of the album just a little too much. Luckily, it's an isolated moment and easy to skip over in favor of the songs that will grab you in all the right ways instead. Just like A.R. Kane were able to do at their peak, Standish/Carylon are capable of captivating your ears and wrenching your heart. This is a very promising debut.
blue highlight denotes track pick | https://www.allmusic.com/album/deleted-scenes-mw0002520057 | dclm-gs1-192181087 |
0.137321 | <urn:uuid:f41fd913-723e-450a-a6cd-b85f444878eb> | en | 0.964142 | Category: Sydney
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0.223791 | <urn:uuid:d682691e-5577-415f-8715-2deb4fed6395> | en | 0.968166 | Social Studies Final REVOLUTION
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The flashcards below were created by user peacemaster704 on FreezingBlue Flashcards.
1. What is geography?
Geography is the study of the Earth. It includes landforms, natural resources, climate and people.
2. Why do historians need to study geography?
Geography affects the way people live because it is the reason for a lot of human behavior.
3. What were the three parts of the Declaration of Independence?
• (Preamble)
• Basic rights
• British wrongs
• Independent nation
4. Who were Patriots? Who were Loyalists?
Patriots wanted the U.S. to separate from England. Loyalists wanted to stay a colony of England.
5. Why was the Battle of Yorktown important? What was it?
• It led to the independence of the U.S.
• In it, the Americans and French trapped the British while they were trying to get supplies at port. It was an American victory.
6. Why did Europe start exploring?
• crusades
• all water route to Asia for trade
• spread Christianity
• easier navigation tools
• Marco Polo -China
7. How did conquistadors looking for gold in America help the country?
Along the way, they claimed lands in the country and helped to populate it.
8. What were the results of Christopher Columbus' exploration on different groups of people?
• Native Americans - they were taken as slaves and they had their homes taken away from them
• Europe - gained a new interest in exploration after Columbus' success
• Spain - became more wealthy and powerful
• Columbus - became more rich and famous and more of his journeys were sponsored
9. steps of the slave trade
slaves captured in africa -- Middle Passage -- get ready for presentation -- sold at auctions
10. Who were Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys and what did they do?
Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys were a group of Vermonters. In 1775, they decided that action needed to be taken against England and leg a surprise attack on Fort Ticondroga, held by the British. They won the fort over when the British surrendered.
11. Why was the capture of Fort Ti and important victory for the Americans?
The colonists gained vital supplies and a key route into Canada. They also got weapons which they used later on in the war and the resources of Lake Champlain. Image Upload
12. Explain the Olive Branch Petition.
• The 2nd Continental Congress wanted to exterminate the upcoming war so they declared loyalty to King George and asked him to repeal the Intolerable Acts because these acts made many colonists want to go to war and break away from England. The King was mad because he thought it was an excuse to request independence so he rejected the petition.
• This petition and its rejection made Americans and the English mad and brought the two closer to war.
• Image Upload
13. List some strengths of America during the Revolutionary War. List some weaknesses.
• strengths:
• had a noble commander (GW)
• could obtain supplies quickly
• motivation
• weaknesses:
• not very much money
• no united government
• no Navy
14. List some strengths of England during the Revoltionary War. List some weaknesses.
• strengths:
• organized government
• hired Hessians
• Americans were dependent on them
• weaknesses:
• don't know the land as well
• 90 years at war before
• a while for news and supplies to travel
15. Battle of Bunker Hill, 1775
The Battle of Bunker Hill was the first major battle of the Revolution in 1775. Before Washington arrived in Boston, 1,200 minute men were led up Bunker Hill near Boston. They fired on British ships in the harbor then moved to nearby Breed's Hill where they dug trenches. The British, who climbed up the hill to attack, were weak and exhausted. The Patriots lacked gunpowder so the Brits won, gaining control of both the hills. The Battle of Bunker Hill was important because it showed that both sides were strong fighters.
16. Which side of the revolution used guerilla warfare?
only America at first but they both did later on because it was the winning strategy
17. Common Sense
"Common Sense" was a persuasive pamphlet written by Thomas Paine written in 1776. It was made to convince Patriots to stand up and break away from England. It explained the need to break away from England in one part and put down monarchy (England's govt.) in another. "Common Sense" was important because it turned many colonists into patriots.
18. "The Crisis"
a pamphlet used to convince soldiers to keep fighting
19. Battle of Long Island
• NY = communication between north and south
• Americans waited for British there
• British attacked
20. Battle of Trenton
• The Americans sailed across the Delaware on x-mas night. They surprised attacked the Hessians (for British) guarding Trenton and took them prisoners. Then the Americans tricked the British. They won. :)
• guerilla warfare: at night, ambush, holiday
21. Lexington and Concord
• first shots of the revolution were fired
• the british wanted to steal american arms, left late at night
• sons of liberty warned americans
• minutemen were waiting in the morning
• they were attacked in lexington and concord
22. Battle of Saratoga?
• The British thought they could cut off New England but they failed and Burgoyne had to surrender when he was trapped by Americans.
• Major turning point in the war: ended british threat in new england, gave americans hope, convinced france to become allies with america
23. Washington
• General of American army in the revolution
• first president of the U.S.
• convinced his troops to keep going
• strategic
24. Marquis de Lafayette
brought soldiers to help Americans fight and led them
25. Swamp Fox (Francis Marion)
used hit and run tactics
26. Benedict Arnold
felt he wasn't getting enough credit in american army so switched to british side. won many american battles
27. What treaty ended the revolution? What did it say?
• the Treaty of Paris
• England recognized U.S. as separate nation
• extended borders - atlantic - mississippi river
• americans paid loyalists for property that they lost in the war
28. Articles of Confederation
29. sam adams
Card Set Information
Social Studies Final REVOLUTION
2011-06-17 00:34:08
flash cards final history chapters
studying for the social studies final REVOLUTION AND BEFORE
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I'm trying to get hold of some SO-DIMM memory with ECC (It's part of some hardware for some research I'm doing) which is proving to be tricky. First of all I can't actually find SO-DIMMs with ECC, but I can find SORDIMMs which do. As far as I can tell a SORDIMM is exactly like a SO-DIMM apart from it's registered and generally comes with ECC, does anyone know if this is the case or if there's any other differences I should be aware of (I'll be plugging this into an FPGA dev board, so it needs to fit the SO-DIMM form factor and have the same electrical characteristics)? Second does anyone know where I can buy SORDIMMs with ECC in the UK at a vaguely reasonable price? Digikey UK has some 4GB ones from Micron however they cost £651.87 each and you have to order at least 100.
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Quake 3: Creating a QVM....arrrggghhh!!
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Hi there. I''m trying to set up the Quake 3 source via the tutorials on Code3Arena( However when I get to this section... 7. CREATE A QVM A .qvm, or ''quake virtual machine'' is fairly easy to create (assuming your environment was set up correctly). What is a .qvm ? I like to think of it a as a ''safe'' substitute for a .dll. It''s safer than a .dll because a .qvm isn''t able to do nasty things that .dll''s can (wipe your hard drive, for example). Not to say that they are 100% safe (remember when people broke the security on Java applets by overflowing the virtual machine''s stack ??) but qvm''s are certainly safer. Let''s make a .qvm now. Open a DOS shell and go to the quake3\source\game directory. Then run game.bat. Voila - You''ll see a .qvm file appear in the quake3\source\vm directory! We can run cgame.bat and ui.bat (in their respective directories) to make two more .qvm''s. You can distribute these .qvm files to other people so that they can run your mod. ...the game.bat batch file fails, saying: *********** ERROR *********** Error opening g_main.asm: No such file or directory. I''ve installed the v127g_TA game source (Q3A_TA_GameSource_127.exe) and installed it in C:\quake3 directory. My actualy Q3 game folder is in C:\Games\Quake III Arena\. How the hell can I make these batch files work so that I can create the QVM''s???? Really need some help here.... RM. Tron Software -=Kicking Butt and Writing Code=-
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0.345432 | <urn:uuid:8cdee869-50ff-4d36-9235-f137c4ba0673> | en | 0.940554 | all 5 comments
Drwolf72 1 point2 points 1 month ago
basically you find people who are in the same field as you, you go to events, conferences, mixers, people who are in the same interest as you and share you desire for the field. Eventually when you continue meeting people or associating with the same people you met more people through these people. Afterwards they can set you up with people in the advent you are looking for a job
wasabicupcakes 0 points1 point 1 month ago
So what's the plan upon graduation? Teaching?
SlavNation[S] 0 points1 point 1 month ago
I want to work in the film industry.
wasabicupcakes 6 points7 points 1 month ago
Starting now: join every on campus club, industry trade group or union, directly related to the film industry. Try and get an internship while in college in that industry. You want a job offer, the minute you graduate.
I had this discussion with my daughter: Who you know is where you go".
50pcVAS-50pcVGS 0 points1 point 1 month ago
Let me hook u up with my boy HW | https://www.reddit.com/r/jobs/comments/7bw5dz/how_does_one_network/.compact | dclm-gs1-192501087 |
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Life science quiz17
a organism where the 2 alleles factors are different (Rr) hybrid
what type of plants did Mendel use Pea Plants
f2 stands for ------------ etc. second generation
study of inheritance genetics
the from parent to offspring inheritance
a section of chromosomes that specifics a trait or protein genes
the 2 genes that carry information for the same traits are called alleles
an organism where both alleles are the same (AA or aa) purebred
according to Mendel how many factors are there for a trait at least 2
uniting of a reproductive fertilization
the mating of an organism to see how the offspring inherits cross (x)
what is expressed if present? dominant allele
difference between recessive and dominant if a dominant allele is present it will always be expressed and the recessive will be hidden
not expressed if a dominant allele is present recessive allele
dominant allele is always represented by a upper case letter
the physical appearance is phenotype
genes of genetics of a person genotype
the 1st cell after the union of the reproductive cells zygote
a recessive allele is represented by a lower case letter
all of Mendel's f1 generation appeared ? tall
f1 stands for first generation
father of modern day genetics Gregor Mendel
the 4 steps in mendel's experiment 1. made sure he had purebred parents 2. crossed parent with opposite traits 3. observed f1 and recorded results 4. continued this by crossing f1, f2, f3, etc generations & looking at the results
2 things mendel discovered 1. each trait had 2 factors one from each plant 2. the traits could be represented by a dominant allele or recessive allele
2 examples of dominant traits in humans brown eyes are dominant tongue rolling is dominant
2 examples of recessive traits in humans attached earlobes is recessive left handed is recessive
what are the two types of alleles dominant, and recessive | https://www.studystack.com/flashcard-1132471 | dclm-gs1-192601087 |
0.052773 | <urn:uuid:aa09e3b6-2ef6-4c1a-83c8-86563021ee4a> | en | 0.959682 | Archive: The Life Before Her Eyes is a good film let down by an awful twist
Because I am strange and get very obsessive about the world of cinema, I sometimes watch films for odd reasons. I chose to watch The Life Before Her Eyes because James Horner wrote the music. His scores have the power to weave a curtain of quality around a film that’s actually rather mediocre (Titanic, Avatar ect). This film belongs to this clan.
Uma Thurman plays Diana, a woman going through her life saddled with guilt. When she was a teenager, she survived a Columbine-style high school massacre. The story flashes backwards and forward, slowly making it clear why she acts so strangely towards her own daughter. There is a lot more going on here than survivor’s guilt.
Ukrainian director Vadim Perelman gets some good performances out of his actors, particularly Evan Rachel Wood as the teenage Diana, and for much of the film I was very impressed with the quality of the picture overall. But as it heads towards a climax, the whole thing starts to unravel, and it becomes clear just how misconceived the whole thing is. I can’t say too much, but a preposterous twist makes a mockery of the entire picture. What started as an intelligent, well-observed character study quickly becomes silly, Hollywood nonsense.
The film really started to irritate me when I realised the conservative worldviews that were occasionally expressed by characters weren’t just there to add balance, but were actually the film’s main backbone. Christian conservatism has its place in cinema, but when it’s as head-bangingly patronising as this, it is hard not to resent it.
In the end, The Life Before Her Eyes, wastes the talents that went into making it. The cinematography is breathtaking at times, and Thurman handles her role with restraint and sensitivity, but the story (based on a novel by Laura Kasischke) renders all this pointless.
A note on the disc: High Flier’s DVD release is a mixed bag. Warm vibrant colours shine out from the screen, and the clarity is superb. Sound is fine. However, the aspect ratio is been manipulated into a 1.78:1 ratio, instead its original (2.39:1). This means a substantial part of the image is cut off (assuming they haven’t done an ‘opening-up’ process). This is a puzzling choice and very poor in this day and age.
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