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Distressed by Sesamoiditis? Foot Health with Leana What is Sesamoiditis? Sesamoiditis is the inflammation of the sesamoid bones, along with the surrounding tissues. The sesamoid bones are a pair of tiny bones, whose function is to act as a support to hold the tendons further away from the joint. Varying in size from individual to individual, the bones are usually about the size of a jelly bean. As with any inflammation of tissue and bone, sesamoiditis can cause intense pain. The pain usually gets worse over a period of time, helping with the diagnosis and differentiation of it from other ball of foot problems. • Pain is focused under the great toe on the ball of the foot. The pain may develop gradually; but with a fracture, it will be immediate. • Swelling and bruising may or may not be present. • You may experience difficulty and pain in bending and straightening the great toe. There are many reasons why this condition can occur, some of which are preventable; others that are not and are due to defects in the bones themselves. Having bony feet puts you at more risk for sesamoiditis, as you have less foot padding to absorb the shocks when walking, and as these bones are weight bearing. The condition is commonly caused by performing similar actions that involve the toe over and over again. The most common causes are as follows: • Direct injury to the sesamoid bones, by hurting your foot or stepping on a rock while walking or running barefoot. • Trauma caused by repetitive and excessive movements involving the toe. This type of injury develops over a period of time and includes: • Jumping and falling/landing directly on your heel. • Squatting for several minutes to hours. • Dancing without shoes, or using shoes with very thin soles. • Walking and standing for longer hours while wearing high heel shoes. • Using high heeled shoes, with a narrow toe box, or very short toe box. Changes that occur with age 1. Osteoporosis develops when bones become weak due to loss of calcium deposits inside the bone. This creates pain and inflammation of the sesamoid bones, and their surrounding tissues. 2. Osteoarthritis is another disorder that precipitates sesamoiditis, since it initiates the appearance of bone spurs on sesamoid bones. 1. Enlarged sesamoid bones are required to bear unusual amounts of the body’s weight, every time one walks or moves forward. Sooner or later, due to too much weight and pressure put upon them, their condition starts to decline and weaken until they become inflamed and intensely painful. 2. Feet with high arches are also commonly stiffer than normal, and will not permit the high arch to make contact with the ground when stepping down. 3. A pronated foot forces one to walk on the inner aspect of the foot, rather than on the arch. 4. A plantar-flexed first metatarsal is another triggering factor. This happens when the first metatarsal head is skewed down in the forefoot, instead of lying straight. Diagnosis and treatment Due to the small size of the bones, it is sometimes difficult to diagnose the condition with an X-ray. A bone scan, therefore, is the most reliable way of getting an accurate diagnosis, and also determining the severity of the condition. If there is chronic and intense pain in the ball of their foot, it may be a case of sesamoiditis. This is relatively common, and results from the inflammation and irritation of the tiny sesamoid bones, along with surrounding tissues and ligaments. Treatment is usually straightforward, with rest the best way to ease pain. Sesamoiditis treatment is possible in the comfort of your own home, and pain can be relieved with low-cost corrective devices. Home diagnosis of the condition is possible, although it is better to seek the advice of a doctor or podiatrist for an accurate diagnosis. • Take something for the pain. • Ice the sesamoid bones. • Choose lower-heeled shoes. • Wear an orthotic insole or metatarsal pad. In cases where sesamoiditis symptoms have already settled, but the pain is still there, surgery is recommended. In other cases, if the sesamoids are fractured and do not heal correctly, removal might be necessary. If surgery is considered, it should be deliberated and given much thought, since it will affect the performance of the toe permanently. Enlarged sesamoids can also be reduced via surgery to relieve discomfort, and avoid the need to remove the sesamoids completely. Your feet mirror your general health . . . cherish them! Leana Huntley is an English-trained foot health practitioner attached to ALMAWI Limited The Holistic clinic. Contact the Clinic at [email protected] or visit the Website at www.almawiclinic.com

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DLVR: Using personalized medicine and nature’s cellular toolkit to target cancer tumours Today is World Cancer Day, an initiative of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) that provides an opportunity to discuss how we can take control of cancer and help stop myths, confusion and fear about the disease. In light of the event, we are featuring the work of Toronto-based DLVR Therapeutics, a MaRS Innovation biotechnology company whose founders believe they have discovered the ideal molecular Trojan horse for targeting cancer tumours. What if you could use a cancer tumour’s proteomic profile to make it easier to target and destroy? Targeting specific proteins on the surface of individual tumours—or, more precisely, targeting a cell receptor that naturally allows substances to pass into a cell—would allow clinicians to more effectively deliver drugs designed to deactivate cancer-promoting genes within the tumour, while minimizing the addition of toxins to the patient’s body. This is personalized medicine’s promise for cancer treatment: targeted therapies that stand a better chance of success, with reduced side effects, based on the unique profile of a patient’s tumour, either administered on their own or in combination with traditional chemotherapy. And DLVR Therapeutics Inc., which was spun off from University Health Network (UHN) research and technology with early-stage investment and business development support from MaRS Innovation and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, believes they have discovered the ideal molecular Trojan horse. Their ultra-small technology, which is nontoxic, biocompatible and biodegradable, represents a novel and potentially more effective means of delivering RNA interference (RNAi) sequences to cancer cells. Discovered in 1998 by Andrew Z. Fire and Craig C. Mello, later recipients of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, RNAi interference provides a new mechanism for gene regulation using a cell’s basic biochemical machinery. “RNAi molecules, called siRNA (or small interfering RNA) for therapeutic purposes, bind to gene products in the cell to decrease or down-regulate their activity, such as protein production,” explains Frank Gleeson, CEO of DLVR. “If you can deliver the correct RNAi sequence into a cancer cell without it being broken down by the cell’s natural degradation process, you have the potential to down-regulate cancer-promoting genes and improve cancer treatment with less toxicity.” The pharmaceutical industry invested considerable resources into siRNA drug development following Andrew and Craig’s discovery to find ways to down-regulate disease-causing genes. So far, no company has produced a new therapeutic for treating cancer, though clinical trials are underway. Two big challenges “There are two big challenges with many existing siRNA delivery technologies,” says Frank. “First, you need a targeting agent to bind and adhere to a specific receptor on the cancer cell. Second, to deliver the drug itself, the particle must also clear the cell’s endosomal compartment, an environment that is hostile to intruding foreign objects, and enter the cytosol where the RNA machinery is active. At that point, you’ve still got to have enough of the drug intact to deactivate the cancer-promoting gene you’re targeting.” Enter the Trojan horse He observed that high-density lipoprotein (HDL, also known by nutritionists everywhere as “good” cholesterol) transports cholesterol to the liver via a surface receptor (SR-B1 or scavenger receptor B1) that coincidentally appears on many human tumour cells, including ovarian, prostate and breast cancer. Better still, the way that HDL and the SR-B1 receptor interact at the cell membrane enables the contents of HDL (that is, cholesterol) to be transferred directly into the cytosol of liver cells, bypassing endosomal degradation through the cell’s interior. Gang recognized that this natural process could help solve the challenge of delivering RNAi to the cytosol of tumour cells. He and his team have invented a patentable nanoparticle that mimics HDL’s functionality to transport siRNA, acting as the proverbial Trojan horse. This nanoparticle self-assembles into a sphere roughly the same size as natural HDL and can load and transport siRNA directly into the cytosol of tumour cells. “Our experimental data suggest that SR-B1 recognizes Gang’s molecule, which is capable of delivering an siRNA sequence and down-regulating cancer-promoting genes of interest, blunting tumour growth,” says Frank. “We’re focused now on demonstrating our technology’s therapeutic potential as broadly as possible through our research and in collaboration with pharmaceutical partners.” Interest from pharma and investors Big pharmaceutical companies and venture capital investors are following DLVR’s progress with interest. One major multinational company, which cannot be named due to confidentiality reasons, has already partnered with DLVR. Together, they are exploring ways to down-regulate disease-causing genes. “Our partner, who has deep expertise in the siRNA space, has seen positive results in DLVR’s technology that exceed what they’ve experienced with competing approaches,” says Frank. “We’re working closely with them on proof-of-concept and feasibility studies this year. When we’ve got those results, we’ll be in a better position to decide where to take this partnership.” DLVR has raised approximately $2 million in cash and in-kind contributions and will seek a Series A financing round of $8 to $12 million in 2014.

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The Oregon Trail - Amy Puetz Contributing Writer - 2007 9 May Since the early days of America’s history, brave pioneers had been instrumental in opening up new land and reclaiming it from the wilderness. This same spirit of adventure had been steadily moving people west since the days of the Pilgrims, but by the mid-1800’s, the farmers had reached the western plains which they thought were not suitable for agriculture. These people heard that across the prairie and over rugged mountains was a land that was fertile. Some stories told about Oregon were true, but others were so exaggerated that it is amazing to think that people believed them; it seemed rather like a modern day Promised Land, flowing with milk and honey. Long before the pioneers reached Oregon, industrious white men saw the territory was rich with fur pelts. During the early 1800’s, John Jacob Astor planned to set up trading posts in the vast western land and build a large settlement along the Columbia River where his company could trap and trade for furs. Soon a race began between Astor’s Pacific Fur Company and the British Hudson Bay Company to be the first to establish a fort in Oregon. Triumphantly the Americans arrived in Oregon aboard the Tonquin in 1811, and set up a post they dubbed Fort Astoria in honor of their founder. These early mountain men paved the way for future settlements by Americans. Robert Stuart, one of Astor’s partners, discovered a route over the Rocky Mountains in October of 1812, when he crossed the Great Divide at South Pass in present day Wyoming. This discovery seemed insignificant at the time, but soon became valuable as the easiest pass through the Rocky Mountains. As reports of Oregon reached the east, missionaries became interested in serving there. A story was widely circulated in the east about four Indians who traveled from Oregon to St. Louis to seek the White Man’s Book of Heaven. Although some claim that the story was fictional, it helped missionaries to see Oregon as a spiritually hungry place and they began setting up missions in the new territory. In 1836, Dr. Marcus Whitman, his wife Narcissa, Reverend Henry Spalding, and his wife Eliza, left the comforts of the east to minister in Oregon. Narcissa and Eliza were the first white women to cross the Continental Divide. Their journey proved that women, and thus whole families, could travel overland to Oregon. An economic depression that took place in the late 1830’s, called the Panic of 1837, led countless emigrants to seek new land in Oregon. Many people longed for a fresh start and the vivid tales of Oregon were just what their itching ears wanted to hear. Oregon promised fertile soil and a pleasant climate. During the following years a few pioneers reached this alleged Promised Land, but in 1843, the Great Migration began. A wagon train with 1,000 emigrants and 120 wagons headed west. Thus begins the history of the Oregon Trail, which vibrantly lives as one of the greatest chapters in American history. The road to Oregon was hard, long, and dangerous. Attempting to cross over 2,000 miles of seemingly endless prairies, perilous rivers, and rugged mountains was not for the faint hearted. Another daunting fear was the possibility of attacks by Native Americans. In the early years of the Trail, Indians were very helpful to emigrants; they served as guides and willingly traded supplies with the pioneers. As time passed, however, the relationship between the Indians and pioneers deteriorated, and conflicts became more frequent. Most of the deaths on the trail, however, were caused by accidents or diseases, such as dysentery, cholera, and scurvy. Every day they faced situations that could be fatal--river crossings, poisonous snakes, unsanitary water, attacks from wild animals, and storms. Approximately 300,000 people traveled on the Oregon Trail from 1840–1860, and it is estimated that 34,000 emigrants perished. Pioneers who wished to travel to Oregon journeyed from their homes in the east to jump-off points along the Oregon Trail. The most well known was Independence, Missouri. During the spring the city would be bustling with the noises of wagon trains preparing to start their six-month journey. Meticulously, families loaded their sturdy Conestoga wagons with food, tools, supplies, and household necessities. Each family would need about $1,000 to buy provisions. To keep off the sun and weather the wagons were covered with strong white canvases that reminded people of ships, and the wagons were nicknamed prairie schooners. When choosing animals to pull the wagons, most pioneers went with oxen as they were strong, sturdy, good-tempered (unlike donkeys), and could live off the land. Once their provisions were purchased and the wagons loaded, the eager pioneers started their tedious journey, usually in April or May. In the beginning everything seemed like a fantastic adventure, but it soon became a monotonous routine. At 4:00 o’clock in the morning, the watchman fired his rifle to announce a new day. While the men yoked the oxen and reloaded the wagons, the women-folk lit fires and cooked their breakfast of coffee, bacon, and johnnycakes. On the prairie, trees were scarce and they used buffalo chips (dried buffalo droppings) in place of firewood. At 7:00 in the morning the pilot or wagon master blew a trumpet or bugle to get the wagons started. If a wagon was slow to get in their assigned position they had to ride at the back of the wagon train and would soon be covered with dust. Each day the wagon in front was changed so every family had a chance to be free from the dust of the other wagons. At noon they stopped for the midday meal which consisted of leftovers from breakfast. During nooning, the animals were given a much needed hour’s rest. Continuing their journey, they stopped at 6:00 o’clock in the evening to make camp. The wagons were placed in a circle and attached together using the oxen’s chains. The area inside the circle was used as the campground and also gave the pioneers protection. Soon a crackling fire was blazing and a dinner of rice and beans or bacon, bread, and occasionally a pie, was prepared. By 9:00 a quiet settled over the weary wagon train. As they slipped into an exhausted slumber, the fatigues of the day disappeared and they would be refreshed when morning came. Each day was much like the last. The early pioneers relied on landmarks to determine their progress and assure them they were on the right track. An average of 12–15 miles were traveled each day. Whenever possible, they followed major rivers such as the North Platte, Sweetwater, Snake, and Columbia. This allowed them to have a constant water supply, but when it was impossible to follow a river they suffered greatly from thirst. Some major landmarks along the Trail included Courthouse Rock, Chimney Rock, Fort Laramie, Register Cliff, Independence Rock, South Pass, Soda Springs, and Fort Hall. Once the pioneers reached their Promised Land, the Willamette Valley, they began the grueling work of cutting logs to make shelters for themselves and their animals before winter set in. The men, women, and children who traveled the Oregon Trail probably never realized that their sacrifices and hardships would be remembered almost two centuries later. In a harsh and vast wilderness they marked out a trail that was followed by thousands of other enterprising pioneers. Soon the number of Americans living in Oregon outnumbered the British. The Oregon Treaty of 1846 set the Canadian boarder at the 49th parallel thus making Oregon a U.S. territory. In 1859, Oregon joined the Union as the thirty-third state. The daring pioneers who settled in Oregon had found their Promised Land, a place of fertile soil with delightful surroundings. Through their bravery and perseverance they carved a home out of the wilderness. Amy Puetz, a homeschool graduate, loves history, sewing, and working as a computer graphic artist for her company A to Z Designs. She is also the author of the exciting book Costumes with Character. Visit her website at www.AmyPuetz.com. She makes her home in Wright, Wyoming.

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“Increased hydropower generation and larger salmon stocks are not necessarily a contradiction in terms,” says senior scientist Atle Harby. Harby leads the CEDREN research centre – one of Norway’s “national teams” in environmentally friendly energy, which is manned by scientists from SINTEF Energy, NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) and NINA (Norwegian Institute for Nature Research ). The centre has recently put the final touches to a unique guide describing what we need to do in practice to combine the ecological needs of the salmon while maintaining a high hydropower generation. The handbook is a world first of its type. It was ready for distribution to users in September. The book is aimed at river managers, power utility companies and other interest groups. Atle Harby has met many people who believe that salmon by definition will suffer by electric power generation in regulated rivers. So it is all the nicer for him to be able to tell them that we in many cases can have even more renewable power and more salmon at the same time. “We can use new knowledge and new methods to increase salmon production without compromising power production in many of the regulated rivers. And this can be done using measures that don’t necessary require major investments.” Important salmon rivers Scientist Atle Harby leads the CEDREN research centre in Norway which has recently published the world's first handbook of environmental design in regulated salmon rivers. Photo: SINTEF “Can you promise both more salmon and more hydropower in all Norwegian regulated rivers?” “That won’t be possible everywhere, but it is quite possible to obtain this in many important salmon rivers. In other rivers we will be able to produce more salmon while maintaining existing power generation. We believe that our conclusions will be valid for a good number of important highly regulated rivers. Of course, in some rivers this will not be possible and we have to choose between salmon and power. “However, in some of the rivers in the last group it should be possible to extract more power while we maintain a sustainable salmon production. We hope that the handbook will be used to identify what will be possible in each individual river,” says Harby. Senior scientist Torbjørn Forseth of NINA has led the project that is behind the handbook - an important aspect of CEDREN’s activities. Forseth tells CEDREN’s newsletter that salmon is an important indicator species in rivers. If salmon are doing well, and reproduce and thrive as they should, then other aspects of the river’s ecological system are also probably functioning well. Physical interventions and releases of water Handbook of Environmental Design in Regulated Salmon Rivers The book describes measures for ensuring simultaneous optimal salmon production and electricity generation. It suggests the following procedures: Make a diagnosis: - Identify current bottlenecks that limit salmon production in rivers, such as a lack of spawning grounds or shelter, low-water periods or periods of disadvantageous water temperature. Describe the power generation system: - For example, identify other potential operating strategies for power station operation, such as investigating transfer of water from neighbouring rivers, and increase the capacity of turbines and waterways to make operation more flexible. Identify solutions for how the water is used: - Differentiated distribution of environmental water flow and water releases at different times of the year. - Set up a flexible “water bank” to ensure a good supply of water when needed. - Ensure smooth transitions between high and low water flows. - Save water for critical periods. If necessary, implement physical measures in the river: - These might include adding favourable gravel for spawning, restoring rapids and pools sequences in the river, making shelter in the river bed as hiding-places for fish and removal of fine sediment. The methodology described in the handbook is based on long-term research collaboration between NINA, NTNU, UNI Research, University of Oslo and SINTEF Energy Research. Some of the measures involved will require investment, while others do not (see fact-box). The measures that do not require investment are based on the fact that inflow, water temperature, river bed structures and habitat conditions are all important for the salmon – and that these variables change over the year and from river to river. According to CEDREN director Harby, therefore, it should be quite possible to take the salmon’s needs into account while saving water at the same time – by concentrating releases of water down the river during periods that are important for the salmon’s living conditions. In other words, to concentrate mitigation when it is most effective The measures that do require investments include a wide range of measures, ranging from physical interventions to transfers of water from neighbouring rivers so that the salmon and the hydropower companies will have more water to share. CEDREN has also developed computer models based on its research results. These are used to simulate what will happen to the salmon stock when a regulated river is developed and environmentally friendly measures are put into effect. Harby says that CEDREN scientists have used such tools to help the Sira-Kvina Electricity Company to draw up plans for new hydropower generation and environmental protection measures in the River Kvina in South-Norway. According to the senior scientist, the simulations show that it would be possible to increase the amount of electricity generated by Tonstad Power Station on the River Sira by transferring water from the neighbouring River Kvina – while increasing the level of salmon production in the very same River Kvina. Data from the River Orkla development “How can you be sure that your model gives you reasonable estimates?” “Because it is based on many years of knowledge development and practical experience from several rivers. An example of good environmental design is the River Orkla in Mid-Norway, which was regulated in the eighties. Although currently knowledge was not available at that time, many of the principles that you can find in our handbook were actually used in regulating the River Orkla – and the result was a very productive salmon population.” by Svein Tønseth - Full name: Centre for Environmental Design of Renewable Energy - One of eleven national research centres for environmentally friendly energy appointed by the Research Council of Norway. - Lead partners are SINTEF Energy Research, NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) and NINA (Norwegian Institute for Nature Research) - Financed by the Research Council of Norway, public authorities and Norway’s largest energy companies

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Twitter and other social media platforms are quickly becoming a major outlet for breaking news (doubters should just look at @BBCBreaking which now has over 1.9 million followers). From national disasters to political movements, Twitter is increasingly being used by people on the ground to report events as they happen around them, and these tweets can reach strangers on continents thousands of miles away before the man a couple of streets away has had a chance to stroll down to the shops to pick up a paper. And as we have seen, social media can operate in areas that traditional journalism cannot, such as bypassing celebrity super-injunctions. Readers are no longer passive consumers. They expect to comment, to debate and even disagree with arguments that you express in your articles. Major news publishers all accept user-generated content on their sites - which can be anything from comments on articles to blogs responding to articles - with or without involvement from the journalist who wrote the original piece.Readers are no longer passive consumers. They expect to comment, to debate and even disagree with arguments that you express in your articles.Tamara Littleton The main concern of any journalist has traditionally been the story rather than the response, yet the response has now become something that helps shape the story. Journalists are finding their roles include the management of these responses. How do you approach this? Be cautious when responding to reader comments We know from our own experience that where there is evidence of an authoritative voice within the community, there are fewer issues with abusive user behaviour, so it can help to get involved with user comments. It also cuts down the amount of spam posted to the site. But it can be problematic. Dealing with angry or abusive responses can be challenging, particularly when the abuse is personal. Avoid getting involved in any contentious debates, and walk away from criticism. If you do not, it can backfire. AdAge published a great story on the ‘chapter missing’ from Twitter’s newsroom guide, citing a ‘throw down’ on Twitter between Jeff Jarvis and Jeff Bercovici. It is very easy to respond in anger with the online world watching. Know when you are on dangerous ground There are always certain types of stories that are more likely to generate abusive comments from readers. Anything covering emotive issues - religion, race, sexuality, war, politics - attracts strong feelings. Recognise which stories are likely to generate strong emotions, and deal with them appropriately: Make sure you adhere to the terms of the site. Do not allow abusive or threatening posts If appropriate, move the discussion elsewhere, for example to a forum that is separate from the main news site. This gives you a bit of distance and allows you to treat it slightly differently from a normal article discussion If you know there is a contentious story coming up, and you are employing moderators, brief them in advance so they can prepare. Report abuse or threatening behaviour or abusive behaviour is not ok, and you do not have to accept it as inevitable. Have a clear escalation process in place so that any reader comments that worry you (such as threats) can be dealt with by trained community managers. Do not tackle them yourself. There may come a time when one of your articles contains either an editing error, or a genuine mistake which results in an incorrect fact being published. It is easy enough to get the article corrected, but what if it is already being re-tweeted by your followers? MediaShift’s Nathan Gibbs has some great advices which includes getting a screen grab of the error, sending out a correction on the same platform and informing those people who shared the wrong information. Moderating reader comments There are four options: Pre-moderation (all comments are moderated before they go live). This is obviously the safest route to take to protect the reputation of the organisation and is the one most serious news organisations opt for. However, it has a major disadvantage in that there will be a time lag and many comments may never be screened due to high volumes. Post-moderation (all comments are moderated after they go live, and removed if they are abusive). This is slightly more risky, as inappropriate comments will be seen by the community, and associated with the media brand. Again, there is danger that high volumes may mean that not all comments are screened. A combination of pre and post moderation. Reuters has ‘approved’ commentators – people who have a strong record of behaving well in a community and having their comments approved – who can move away from pre-moderation to post-moderation. There is a cost advantage to this approach, as you do not need round-the-clock moderation. Relying on the community to moderate comments by flagging them. This is the most risky strategy, and has the most potential to damage the brand. In the UK, however, unlike the US, there is still some confusion around who is responsible for user-generated content on a news site, and some news organisations take this route to try to cover themselves under the EU Commerce Directive hosting exemption. But in practice, legal rulings on the use of the Hosting Defence have varied: it is an extremely grey legal area. In the main, brands take their duty of care very seriously, and agree that it is important to moderate thoroughly, to protect the brand’s own reputation and, of course, its users. Moderating comments on Twitter Of course, you can not moderate what people say on Twitter – and creating hashtags for particular subjects can be a risk, as there is no way of moderating a live feed. What you can do is to moderate Twitter feeds that are pulled into websites, to avoid being ‘brandjacked’ on your site or Facebook page. Blocking comments completely Blocking comments completely is an option in some cases, for example those stories most likely to incite a strong reaction from the community, or on coverage of a legal case. The Portland Press Herald blocked user comments entirely in late 2010, in response to 'vile, crude, insensitive and vicious postings'. (That policy has since been reversed and comments are enabled, but with a strict no-bullying policy made clear at the top of each comments page.) there is a real difference between negative and abusive comments. Inviting commentary on news articles will generate differences of opinion and healthy debate. Views that disagree with those of the news organisation should be accepted (and actually help to make the site feel authentic, open and honest). But there is no need to put up with abuse, personal comments or spam. Equally, libellous comments should be removed. Although in the US publications are not legally responsible for libellous postings on their sites (unless altered by the organisation – see our legal section, below), this is a more grey area in the UK, and it is good practice to remove anything that could drag you or your users into a court of law. The future for social news There is an excellent article in the Economist which claims that news is going back to its traditional roots before mass media: a time when it was spread through word of mouth in coffee houses and taverns, via leaflets and newsletters. Those coffee house conversations are now held on Facebook, and Twitter has replaced the pamphlet. But the basic human behaviour – sharing information and views on current events – has not changed. While of course social media does not cause revolutions, it plays a part in communicating those revolutions to the outside world, faster than we have ever known (and in doing so facilitates them, provides critical mass to nascent movements). A consumer with a mobile phone is as likely to provide that front page story as a journalist in situ. The traditional news model – one way communication of news – has shifted for good. But consumers are still seeking out reliable news sources over these new channels, just as journalists are seeking out reliable sources. Managed properly, the engagement between news media and consumers could benefit both sides immeasurably.About Tamara Littleton Her white paper, Managing Social Media: a guide for news sites and media organisations, is free to download from www.emoderation.com/about/publications.

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Te Pito Te Henua, or Easter Island, by William J. Thompson, , at sacred-texts.com In describing the personal appearance of the islanders (Plate XIV) the early writers give us a pleasing variety to choose from. Behrens solemnly states that a boat came off to the ship steered by a single man, a giant 12 feet high, etc. He afterwards observes, "with truth, I might say that these savages are all of more than gigantic size. The men are tall and broad in proportion, averaging 12 feet in height. Surprising as it may appear, the tallest men on board of our ship could pass between the legs of these children of Goliath without bending the head. The women can not compare (Fig. 3) in stature with the men, as they are Fig. 3. NATIVE WOMEN. commonly not above 10 feet high." Roggeveen does not commit himself to a measurement, but states, "the people are well proportioned of limb having large and strong muscles, and are great in stature. They have snow-white teeth, which are uncommonly strong; indeed, even among the aged and gray we were surprised to see them crack large hard nuts whose shells were thicker than those of our peach seeds." La Pérouse contradicts the account as to their enormous height and praises the beauty of the women, who, he says, resemble Europeans in color and features. M. Rollin states that the females were more liberally endowed with grace and beauty than any which were afterwards met with. The natives are not of large stature; a few of the men are tall, but they are of spare build, stand erect with straight carriage, and appear taller than they really are. Great care was taken to measure accurately the human remains found in the oldest tombs excavated on the island. These proved the ancient islanders to have been of medium size, and the largest skeleton found measured a little short of 6 feet. The men are strong, active, and capable of standing great fatigue--a fact demonstrated to our satisfaction during the exploration of the island. The women are shorter and of smaller bone than the men, as is usually the case throughout Polynesia. Mendana states that the islanders are nearly white and have red hair. They resemble the Marquesans more than any other Polynesians, and considerable variety prevails in their complexions. The children are not much darker than Europeans, but the skin assumes a brown line as they grow up and are exposed to the sun and trade-winds. The parts of the body that are covered retain the light color, and the females, who are usually protected from the sun, are much fairer than the men. Bronze complexions are believed to indicate strength, and a dark skin is considered a mark of beauty. The eyes are dark-brown, bright, and fall, with black brows and lashes not very heavy. The countenance is usually open, modest, and pleasing. The facial angle is slightly receding, the nose aquiline and well, proportioned; the prominent chin with thin lips gives somewhat the appearance of resolution to the countenance. The native character and disposition has naturally improved as com. pared with the accounts given by the early navigators. They were then savages wearing no clothes, but with bodies painted in bright colors. The women are said to have been the most bold and licentious in Polynesia, if the reports are correctly stated, but we found them modest and retiring and of higher moral character than any of the islanders. The repulsive habit of piercing the lobe of the ear and distending the hole until it could contain bone, or wooden ornaments of great size is no longer practiced, but there are still on the island person s with earlobes so long that they hang pendent upon the shoulder. In disposition the natives are cheerful and contented. Our guides were continually joking with each other, and we saw no quarreling or fighting. They are said to be brave and fearless of danger, but revengeful and savage when aroused. They are fond of dress and ornaments. Very little tappa cloth is now worn, the people being pretty well equipped with more comfortable garments, obtained from the vessels that have called at the island. (Plate XV). Straw hats are neatly braided by the women and worn by both sexes. The women wear the hair in long plaits down the back, the men cut the hair short and never discolor it with time as is the custom in many of the islands of Polynesia. The hair is coarse, black, and straight, sometimes wavy, but never in the kinky stage. The beard is thin and sparse. Gray hair is common among those beyond middle life and baldness is very rare. Kava is not grown upon the island and the drink made from the kava-root, common throughout the South Sea, is not known to these people. The diminution of the inhabitants can not be ascribed to the introduction of intoxicating drinks, or indeed any of the factors usually advanced in such cases. The decadence was no doubt accelerated by the introduction of the small-pox, and by the deportation of large numbers, but it is earnestly hoped that the small remnant of the people will increase and multiply under the comforts and protection acquired front contact with civilization.

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The House That George Romney Built "Put differently, policy makers in the late 1960s and early ’70s confused the cause of prosperity (good jobs) with its symptom (homeownership). And for 40 years, we kept doing the same — finding new ways to funnel money into housing, while doing little to put it into small-business growth. One solution would be to begin securitizing small-business debt, which would provide a safe and profitable outlet for all that capital that corporations and banks are nervously hoarding right now. Unlike houses, small businesses will produce growth, which will benefit not only the owners and the lenders, but all of us." A Brief History of Debt "Paradoxically, it was the very prosperity of that postwar generation that enabled so much borrowing to occur because it was in the postwar that bankers began to discover how profitable it could be to lend to consumers. The good wages of the postwar made profitable borrowing possible. As those good jobs faded, the borrowing remained. Unlike our parents and grandparents, we borrow but we just don't earn enough to pay back what we borrow." The Evolution of American Debt "Along the way we meet characters like the Henry Ford, the xenophobic inventor of the Model T whose scorn for the liberal age of borrowing got the best him, and Lower East Side grocery clerk Joseph Miraglia, whose miraculous $10,000 spending spree in 1965 made history as one of America’s heftiest credit cart blunders." The Powerful Illusion of Thrift "In a 1956 essay in Fortune magazine, Whyte labeled budgets the “opiate of the middle class” since they dulled borrowers to the dangers of overspending. Even if monthly payments could be made, interest still sapped families’ wealth." Choice subject editors recognize the most significant titles reviewed during the calendar year by compiling the “Outstanding Academic Titles” list, which is published each January. Laid Flat by Layaway "The programs’ return, then, isn’t a signal that consumers have more choice. It’s a signal that in today’s cruel economy, there’s no choice left." "What if the financial stratagem that got us into this mess could help get us out? Here’s a thought: Securitize loans to small businesses like those to consumers, as a way to bolster the credit-starved employers that goose the common good. Bundling the debt of cheese shops with those of florists and contractors and T-shirt makers, then selling these as securities to investors, might draw capital away from dead-end consumer loans and into businesses that create jobs." "Guns and Housing are, economically, empty calories." "What we need is a Bobby Mac [to securitize business loans] not Freddie Mac [to securitize housing loans]." "The rich are getting rich and the gap between the rich and poor in America is getting wider. Fifty years ago the gap wasn't all that big, but in the 1970s it began to grown. There's a new documentary film about the origins of today's budget crisis called "The Flaw." One of it's backers is economic historian Louis Hyman, also the author of a book called "Debtor Nation." He tells Anne Strainchamps that inequality is the driving force behind the change in America's economic structure." "After nine, Veronica Rueckert and her guest examine the evolution of how the government, financial intuitions, and individuals think about debt in America, and how it led us to our current economic state. " "So how and why did the United States trade factories for finance in the 1970s? The young scholars collected in The Shock of the Global anthology have many more answers. Louis Hyman, a 2007 Harvard history PhD who landed at McKinsey & Co., gives us a groundbreaking account of how a new financial instrument called the "mortgage-backed security" emerged, irony of ironies, from the embers of the urban riots of the 1960s. It was intended as a safe way for industrial unions to invest their pension funds but ended up as the turbo-charged vehicle of choice for go-go hot-money investment banks seeking to "evade geographic and state boundary restrictions on lending." "As an elegantly crafted historical analysis of how consumer credit grew to a colossus, Debtor Nation is compelling reading. As a well-documented financial analysis, Debtor Nation exposes the weak underside of lenders' balance sheets. Legislators should read it. Lobbyists for banks and other lenders may not be able to ignore it." "The drive to yield is one of the things that makes capitalism both powerful and dangerous" "On the one hand you have home buyers who are struggling to make ends meet,” argues Harvard economic historian Louis Hyman, “looking for the only way they know how to make money in our economy. They can’t make money through their labor, so but maybe they can make it through buying a house and seeing the value of that house increase. So people look to mortgages, these easy-to-get mortgages as a way to finally get their share of the American Dream. And, on the other hand, the income inequality produced a ready supply of capital at the top to be invested in these kinds of mortgages. So while the top was not willing to pay the bottom higher wages, they were willing to lend them money.” "Has your research changed your spending habits? Oh, no. I love to shop. But as an academic, I don't have a lot of money to spend." "Structurally the program could not work because it tried to solve a problem of wealth creation through debt creation. Homeowners cannot build equity in an overvalued house, no matter what the terms of the mortgage. Whether that inflated value comes from corrupt inspectors or frenzied markets is immaterial. The crisis, now as then, is a symptom of inequality — not its cause." Backstory radio (NPR) "Louis Hyman talks about the structural changes that led to record levels of personal debt in the late 20th century. It’s not that Americans are more willing to go into debt than they used to be, he says, but rather that they are no longer able to pay that debt off." Rear Vision (Australian Broadcasting Channel) "In the 1930s you see the emergence of the larger capitalist institutions becoming involved in lending, often through the interventions of the Federal State, so in the midst of the New Deal, you had for the very first time, large banks lending personal loans to working class people. This is very weird; why would you lend money to someone in the midst of the Depression?" The Flaw, a documentary on the financial crisis "We need capitalism to work for us, not work us over" On the Subprime Crisis (American Historical Association 2009) Consumer history, Labor history, New Deal history (Organization of American Historians 2009)

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Learn how to use Root Cause Analysis to fix problems more easily. In medicine, it's easy to understand the difference between treating the symptoms and curing the condition. A broken wrist, for example, really hurts! But painkillers will only take away the symptoms; you'll need a different treatment to help your bones heal properly. But what do you do when you have a problem at work? Do you jump straight in and treat the symptoms, or do you stop to consider whether there's actually a deeper problem that needs your attention? If you only fix the symptoms – what you see on the surface – the problem will almost certainly return, and need fixing over, and over again. However, if you look deeper to figure out what's causing the problem, you can fix the underlying systems and processes so that it goes away for good. Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is a popular and often-used technique that helps people answer the question of why the problem occurred in the first place. It seeks to identify the origin of a problem using a specific set of steps, with associated tools, to find the primary cause of the problem, so that you can: RCA assumes that systems and events are interrelated. An action in one area triggers an action in another, and another, and so on. By tracing back these actions, you can discover where the problem started and how it grew into the symptom you're now facing. You'll usually find three basic types of causes: RCA looks at all three types of causes. It involves investigating the patterns of negative effects, finding hidden flaws in the system, and discovering specific actions that contributed to the problem. This often means that RCA reveals more than one root cause. You can apply RCA to almost any situation. Determining how far to go in your investigation requires good judgment and common sense. Theoretically, you could continue to trace root causes back to the Stone Age, but the effort would serve no useful purpose. Be careful to understand when you've found a significant cause that can, in fact, be changed. RCA has five identifiable steps. You need to analyze a situation fully before you can move on to look at factors that contributed to the problem. To maximize the effectiveness of your RCA, get together everyone – experts and front line staff – who understands the situation. People who are most familiar with the problem can help lead you to a better understanding of the issues. A helpful tool at this stage is CATWOE . With this process, you look at the same situation from different perspectives: the Customers, the people (Actors) who implement the solutions, the Transformation process that's affected, the World view, the process Owner, and Environmental constraints. During this stage, identify as many causal factors as possible. Too often, people identify one or two factors and then stop, but that's not sufficient. With RCA, you don't want to simply treat the most obvious causes – you want to dig deeper. Use these tools to help identify causal factors: Use the same tools you used to identify the causal factors (in Step Three) to look at the roots of each factor. These tools are designed to encourage you to dig deeper at each level of cause and effect. Analyze your cause-and-effect process, and identify the changes needed for various systems. It's also important that you plan ahead to predict the effects of your solution. This way, you can spot potential failures before they happen. One way of doing this is to use Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA). This tool builds on the idea of risk analysis to identify points where a solution could fail. FMEA is also a great system to implement across your organization; the more systems and processes that use FMEA at the start, the less likely you are to have problems that need RCA in the future. Impact Analysis is another useful tool here. This helps you explore possible positive and negative consequences of a change on different parts of a system or organization. Another great strategy to adopt is Kaizen , or continuous improvement. This is the idea that continual small changes create better systems overall. Kaizen also emphasizes that the people closest to a process should identify places for improvement. Again, with Kaizen alive and well in your company, the root causes of problems can be identified and resolved quickly and effectively. Root Cause Analysis is a useful process for understanding and solving a problem. Figure out what negative events are occurring. Then, look at the complex systems around those problems, and identify key points of failure. Finally, determine solutions to address those key points, or root causes. As an analytical tool, RCA is an essential way to perform a comprehensive, system-wide review of significant problems as well as the events and factors leading to them. Click on the button below to download a template that will help you log problems, likely root causes and potential solutions. Thanks to Club member weeze for providing the basis for this. This site teaches you the skills you need for a happy and successful career; and this is just one of many tools and resources that you'll find here at Mind Tools. Subscribe to our free newsletter, or join the Mind Tools Club and really supercharge your career! This ensures that you don’t lose your plan. Please enter your username or email address and we'll send you a reminder. Your log in details have been sent to the email account you registered with. Please check your email to reset your login details. Please check your Inbox, and click on the link in the email from us. We can then send you the newsletter.

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FDR "lied us into war because he did not have the political courage to lead us into it," Rep. Clare Luce blurted out in 1944. The target of Luce's accusation was a president who by then had entered the pantheon alongside Lincoln and Washington. FDR's courtiers savaged the lady for maligning the Great Man, but few could credibly deny the truth of what she had said. No matter the justice and nobility of America's cause in World War II, FDR had lied us into war. Even as he soothingly reassured the mothers and fathers of America ("I have said this before, but I shall say it again and again and again: Your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars"), he was stoking war, and provoking Germany and Japan. FDR lied about the secret war he had ordered U.S. warships to conduct against German U-boats. He lied about who fired the first shots when the U.S. destroyers Greer and Kearney were attacked. He lied about having discovered Hitler's plans for the conquest of South America and the Nazification of Christianity. No such plans existed except in the fertile and creative minds of British intelligence. FDR sent picket ships out into the path of the Japanese fleet in the hope they would be sunk. He gave Lord Halifax secret, but unconstitutional, assurances America would defend His Majesty's colonies in the Pacific. He spurned a secret peace offer from Japan's Prince Konoye and issued a secret ultimatum to Tojo's regime on Nov. 26, 1941. As Secretary of War Henry Stimson wrote in his diary two weeks before Pearl Harbor, "We should maneuver them into ... firing the first shot." FDR was guilty of impeachable high crimes. But as Field Marshal Moltke told Admiral Tirpitz, as he ordered the German army to invade neutral Belgium in 1914, "Success alone justifies war." And America succeeded absolutely. And with FDR's death on the eve of total victory in the "Good War" in 1945, people no longer cared how the war had begun. Yet, our politics were poisoned by Roosevelt's mendacity, as it would be by Truman's undeclared war in Korea ("a police action") and by Vietnam, when senators learned they had been deceived in the Tonkin Gulf incident. Today, America is being stampeded into a new undeclared war, against Iraq. Thus it is a time for truth – a time for Congress to do its duty, and debate and decide on war or peace. We do not need to have our politics poisoned for yet another generation by the mutual recriminations of a War Party and a Peace Party in the aftermath of yet another undeclared war. Questions need answering. Was Saddam involved in the massacres of Sept. 11? Was he behind the anthrax attacks? Is he harboring terrorist cells of al-Qaida? Is he preparing nuclear or bio-terror weapons to attack us? If the answer is "Yes," let Congress lay out the evidence before the nation and empower the president to take us to war. Henry Hyde and Joe Biden, chairmen respectively of the House and Senate foreign relations committees, should assume their duty to the nation and history, and assert Congress' rightful role in the decision on war or peace. Both have said that they oppose a war on Iraq. But that is not enough. On Sunday, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice seemed to assert that President Bush had the justification and right to take us to war against Saddam, should he so choose. But where did he get this authority? When did Congress cede it to him, or authorize U.S. attacks on the other Arab states on the War Party's enemies list? While the United States could launch air strikes on Iraq at any moment, the ground troops needed for an invasion are not in place. And given the halving of U.S. forces since Desert Storm, it would take months before they are ready to march – time enough for reasoned debate. Indeed, the semi-hysteria of the War Party suggests it does not have the evidence to convict Saddam of Sept. 11, and a war on Iraq is but the next move on the little chessboards of empire they carry about in their book bags. But a war on Iraq could ravage our relations with Britain, Russia and NATO; shatter the Afghan war coalition; inflame the Arab street; and destabilize our Arab allies, Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Should the Saudi monarchy fall to a revolution as a result of an attack on Iraq, Bush would have lost the oil storehouse his father went to war to defend in 1991. It's time for Congress to debate again Iraq and Saddam Hussein. Is it to be containment or war? If it is to be war, we have a right to know why, and to hold accountable those who take us into war. No more Munichs, no more Yaltas, Bush said. Right he is. But let us add: No more undeclared wars. No more presidential wars.

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Field Guide to Wisconsin Sedges An Introduction to the Genus Carex (Cyperaceae) Publication Year: 2008 Published by: University of Wisconsin Press Title Page, Copyright, Dedication Download PDF (20.3 KB) Preface and Acknowledgments Download PDF (39.8 KB) This book is a guide to the identification of Wisconsin’s Carex species, written for naturalists at varying levels of taxonomic expertise. Part 1 provides dichotomous keys to and brief descriptions of the 157 Carex species that inhabit the state. Where practical, keys and descriptions emphasize those characters that are easiest to evaluate in the Weld, deemphasizing measurements ... Download PDF (30.5 KB) Introduction to Sedges and Use of This Book Download PDF (14.5 KB) Download PDF (53.7 KB) Sedges grow in alpine tundra and bottomland forests, dry prairies, sedge meadows, peat lands of all kinds, upland forests, ditches and roadsides, and many other habitats. Sedges form an important component of forest understories, provide food for waterfowl and habitat for invertebrates, and carry fire through wetlands, prairies, and oak woodlands. Sedges directly increase the biodiversity of some communities: ... What Is a Sedge? Download PDF (194.0 KB) In common parlance, sedges and rushes often become just “some kind of grass.” Yet sedges, grasses, and rushes, which make up almost all of the grasslike plants in temperate ecosystems, comprise three separate families: the Cyperaceae (the sedge family, approximately 5,000 species worldwide), Poaceae (the grass family, also known by the name Gramineae, approximately ... Download PDF (51.8 KB) The Weld of taxonomy encompasses several interrelated areas of study: nomenclature, the system of scientific (Latin) names applied according to a set of standard, internationally recognized rules; classification, the system by which species are gathered into an increasingly complex hierarchy of groupings, including genera, families, orders, etc.; species circumscription, ... Studying Sedges in the Field Download PDF (45.9 KB) Having access to a dissecting microscope is helpful in learning and identifying sedges and will be essential for identifying some species. However, most North American sedges can be learned in the Weld with a hand lens and a little patience. The following recommendations should make for more enjoyable study. ... PART 1: Keys and Abbreviated Descriptions of Wisconsin Carex Sections and Species Download PDF (23.1 KB) Key to Subgenera of Carex Download PDF (41.0 KB) Learning to distinguish the major Carex subgenera—subgenus Carex and subgenus Vignea—makes learning sedges much easier. The subgenera are easy to recognize in the Weld once you are familiar with them, but numerous characters are needed to distinguish the two in a dichotomous key. You will save yourself time and frustration if you study this key to subgenera for five ... Key to Carex Subgenus Carex Download PDF (89.9 KB) Plants in this group have a solitary bisexual spike at the tip of each culm. Plants in section Phyllostachyae often have additional lateral spikes very low on some culms, but these are usually inconspicuous. Inflorescences of our unispicate species typically have few perigynia, and the staminate portions of the spike are relatively inconspicuous. All are androgynous except Carex ... Key to Carex Subgenus Vignea Download PDF (89.1 KB) The distinction between an androgynous spike and a gynecandrous spike can be difficult to see at first. The lower scales on a gynecandrous spike hold staminate flowers, which are obvious at flowering time by their dangling stamens. After the stamens fall off, the bare filaments are visible for at least a short time. When the perigynia ripen, the gynecandrous condition is often evident ... Carex Subgenus Carex Download PDF (143.2 KB) In practice, the subgenus is easily recognized in the Weld because there is obvious division of sexes between the spikes of a given plant, each spike usually unisexual or dominated by either pistillate or staminate flowers. The subgenus is referred to as subgenus “Eucarex” in Fernald and several other treatments, but that name is invalid under the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, ... Carex Subgenus Vignea Download PDF (121.3 KB) It is morphologically distinctive, most easily recognized in the Weld by the bisexual, sessile (unstalked) spikes, which are typically all similar to one another on a given plant. This differs from the condition of most members of subgenus Carex, in which the lower spikes are predominantly or wholly pistillate, the upper spikes are largely or altogether staminate, and at least some spikes on each plant are ... PART 2: Field Guide to Wisconsin Carices Download PDF (22.7 KB) Common Wisconsin Species of Carex Subgenus Carex Download PDF (2.0 MB) Grass sedge and its relatives share a highly distinctive inflorescence. The terminal spike (illustrated here) is androgynous with a long, foliose lowermost pistillate scale that resembles the bracts subtending the entire inflorescence in other sections. Flowers May, fruits May to June, most perigynia falling by mid- to late July. ... Common Wisconsin Species of Carex Subgenus Vignea Download PDF (1.1 MB) Sphagnum bogs, white cedar swamps, and calcareous swales adjacent to Lake Michigan; primarily in the northeastern quarter of the state and Door County, with disjunct populations in Taylor and Ozaukee counties. Associates include black spruce, larch, white cedar, Carex tenuiflora, C. crawei, white beak-rush (Rhynchospora alba), small round-leaved orchis ... Appendix A: Principal Carex Habitats of Wisconsin and Their Typical Species Download PDF (75.9 KB) Appendix B: Atlas of the Wisconsin Carex Flora Download PDF (1.2 MB) Download PDF (60.0 KB) Download PDF (46.4 KB) Download PDF (229.0 KB) Publication Year: 2008

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Rubric Training, April 2010 Mapping Session with Dr. Ruth Stiehl Assessment Day August 2010 Frequently asked questions - What are student learning outcomes (SLOs)? - Who writes SLOs? - Why are SLOs important? - How do SLOs affect me? - What are the SLOs for AHC? - Will my outcomes be used in my evaluation? - Isn’t this just a fad that will pass? - Who is going to collect this data from instructors? - Who do I contact for help? - Why should I participate in this if I am not an instructor? What are student learning outcomes (SLOs)? The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) defines outcomes as: The anticipated or achieved results of programs or the accomplishment of institutional objectives, as demonstrated by such indicators as student attitudes, knowledge, and/or performance. (WASC Handbook of Accreditation/2001) The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) defines SLOs as: Knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes that a student has attained at the end (or as a result) of his or her engagement in a particular set of collegiate experiences. (p.49, Accreditation Standards—ACCJC The Academic Senate for California Community Colleges defines SLOs as: Overarching specific observable characteristics developed by local faculty that allow them to determine or demonstrate evidence that learning has occurred as a result of a specific course, program, activity, or process. Outcomes are broader statements of intent or vision that are not necessarily measurable, but observable. Objectives are small steps that lead toward an outcome or goal. Measurability refers to both quantitative and qualitative means of measuring. (p.9, Standards and Practices Committee: Faculty Role in Accreditation.) Who writes slos? - Student Services staff - During retreats and workshops, department meetings, and as part of the program review annual update process. SLOs may be modified during the assessment cycle. why are slos important? - They represent a shift in focus for the college from teaching-centered instruction to student-centered learning and provision of service. - They tell us whether students are learning what we want them to learn. - They affect classroom instruction methods, assessments, and outcomes/service delivery. - They are used as a basis for determining budget allocations to departments, and for supplying staff needs. - Accreditation will use them to measure what our students gain from instruction and services and as a measure of institutional effectiveness. How do SLOs affect me? - Instructional and student services SLOs have been developed by your department. You are expected to design your instruction/service so that your students can achieve and demonstrate the identified outcomes. - Certain measures for assessing student performance in courses are expected to be administered by each faculty member teaching a course. - Certain measures from your student performance assessments will be culled to help measure program success. What are the SLOs for AHC? - Institutional Learning Outcomes are available on the outcomes page of this website. - Degree and certificate outcomes are listed in the college catalog. - Course SLOs are available on eLumen and will be listed in the course outline of record. Course SLOs should be listed in each course syllabus so that students are aware of them. Will my outcomes be used in my evaluation? You will use the feedback you obtain from your student learning outcomes to improve your teaching. In evaluation, AHC is looking for you to work toward becoming the best instructor you can be. If you are responding to the feedback about your students’ performance with changes to promote learning you are excelling as an instructor. You are not going to be required to report individual instructor data. Isn’t this just a fad that will pass? Definitely not. This is a global paradigm shift in education that is asking us to put student learning at the center of everything that we do. To ensure that we are quickly responding to the needs of learners. To do this, we must shift from viewing our activities from what the instructor does to what the student learns. Scholarship and practice is showing that this model is much more effective and efficient in improving Who is going to collect this data from instructors? Instructors can input their own data directly into eLumen software. This software will then aggregate the data for AHC's annual report to ACCJC. Who do I contact for help? The Learning Outcomes & Assessment Committee (LOAC) is an on-going committee that meets monthly, each semester. All members of this committee are available for support of the implementation of the SLO process. In addition, the campus provides a SLO coordinator for both instruction and student services and there are identified departmental SLO liaisons to assist you. SLO and assessment related professional development is offered frequently through each semester. Trainings and conferences opportunities arise frequently so contact the Learning Outcomes Analyst for more information or to schedule individual training. Why should I participate in this if I am not an instructor? Student learning experiences don’t just occur in the classroom. Support for learning is required across the college community. For example, students need to be able to readily utilize the available resources in the library. Every one of us is here to improve student learning. The challenge is knowing how to directly improve our work and our processes to have that impact. Feel free to submit any question not addressed here to the Learning Outcomes Analyst. Top of Page

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What was the effect of the Gulf War of 1991 on Israel and the Palestinian Arabs? During the 1980′s, two regional focal points began to take shape in the Arab world. In the early 1980′s, six Persian Gulf countries Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates formed their own economic alliance. In the late 1980′s, the countries of North Africa Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania and Libya did the same. At the end of the 1980′s, and the beginning of the 1990′s, the power of these two focal points increased. The 'revolt of the margins' the 'revolt' of the North African states on the one hand, and of the Persian Gulf on the other, against the states of the Arab 'center,' i.e. the confrontation states neighboring Israel became apparent mainly in the Gulf War period. In March 1991, the 'Damascus Declaration' was agreed to in the Syrian capital by the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, Egypt and Syria, regarding mutual security arrangements in the Persian Gulf waters. This declaration was never implemented, since the Arab Gulf states, in practice, opposed Egyptian and Syrian military hegemony, and in fact any involvement by those two countries in their territory. Despite the great pressures brought to bear by Damascus and Cairo, the oil emirates stuck to this position. Before the Gulf War, these states would not have dared to rebel like this against Egypt and Syria the two most important 'center' states according to the old terminology. They would also not have dared to halt payment of the 'steadfastness funds' the billions of dollars which the Gulf emirates paid to the states which were in confrontation with Israel and to the PLO in 1978-90. These funds were, to some extent, protection money, which the Gulf states paid because of their fear of Arab, primarily Palestinian, subversion. Since the war, the two new regional focal points have slowly begun to detach themselves from the Arab world's institutions, and to create independent institutions and new points of linkage. From many standpoints, the 'center' moved precisely towards these two focal points. Today, Manama and Abu Dhabi in the Persian Gulf are the economic capitals of the entire Arab world, while Casablanca and Tunis are the face of the Arab world to Western Europe. The cultural center has also shifted, from Egypt and Lebanon to the Gulf states and North Africa, and the Arab League's center has moved from Egypt to Tunisia. In a world of pan-Arab television satellites, the foci are located precisely at the former margins: MBC and ArabSat operate out of the Persian Gulf, Morocco and Tunisia operate the all-Arab M2 satellite broadcasts, etc. The growing strength of these processes is fed to a great extent by the distress of the old center. Lebanon collapsed and has not yet recovered, neither economically nor culturally; Egypt, which after the peace agreement with Israel was boycotted and disappeared from the all-Arab body, suffers from severe domestic problems and has ceased to serve as the most important political center. Syria finds itself in a daily worsening isolation, and its supposed pan-Arab regime has yet to adjust to the changes taking place in the region and the world. The slogans of the past about pan-Arabism and the unity of the Arab nation, 'from the (Atlantic) Ocean to the (Persian) Gulf,' after the region's division into three substantive focal points appear to be unrealistic today. The Persian Gulf states could not defend themselves from Iraqi aggression. Despite billions in arms purchases, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other Gulf states had small armies who did not match the large Iraqi army, battle hardened from its war with Iran. The only Army in the region that could provide a deterrent to Iraq was Israel. The US took immediate steps to bolster Israel's stockpiles and Israel, in turn, made clear that Iraqi moves against Jordan would not be unanswered by Israel. Israel provided logistical and technical support to the US-led coalition that was a vital part of the swift victory, offering intelligence, military techniques and Israeli-developed weaponry, the use of Haifa for port calls and R and R, and medical support. The Gulf War increased Israel's importance to the United States. Israel was held in reserve, but had the American position become jeopardized, it would have had Israel as an ally. Israel benefited from the destruction of Iraq's military capability by the United States-led coalition, a weakening of Israel's enemy, but the cost was enormous. To maintain its forces at a heightened state of alert, Israel had to drastically increase its budget for military and civil defense. The damage caused by the 39 Iraqi Scud missiles that landed in Tel Aviv and Haifa was extensive with approximately 3,300 apartments and other buildings were affected in the greater Tel Aviv area. Beyond the direct costs of military preparedness and damage to property, the Israeli economy was also hurt by the inability of many Israelis to work under the emergency conditions. The economy functioned at no more than 75 percent of normal capacity during the war, resulting in a net loss to the country of $3.2 billion. The PLO, Libya and Iraq were the only members who opposed an Arab League resolution calling for an Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait. The intifada leadership sent a cable of congratulations to Saddam Hussein, describing the invasion of Kuwait as the first step toward the "liberation of Palestine". Yasser Arafat played a critical, active role in sabotaging an Arab summit meeting that was to have been convened in Saudi Arabia to deal with the invasion. The PLO claimed that more than 50,000 Palestinian fighters were ready to attack US and Saudi targets if the US attacked Iraq. The PLO used its contacts among Palestinians in Kuwait to facilitate the Iraqi invasion. Arafat and the PLO continued their support through the war and even after Iraq's defeat. The vast majority of Palestinians made no secret of their support for Iraq, and many were seen on their rooftops cheering as Scuds rained on Israeli population centers. After the War Following the war, Secretary of State James Baker undertook several trips to the Middle East, an effort that resulted of an international conference on Arab-Israel peace jointly sponsored by the United States and the Soviet Union in Madrid in October 1991. Representatives of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria as well as a Palestinian delegation participated from the Arab block. The increased Arab readiness to participate in such talks was probably created by the war. It was certainly helped by Israel's non-retaliation posture during the conflict. The after-effects of the war also enabled the United States to forge closer cooperation with certain regional allies that participated in the coalition. The US signed new defense agreements with several coalition members providing for joint exercises, training, and pre-positioning of military equipment. These enabled the administration of US President Bill Clinton to react quickly and decisively when Iraq briefly threatened Kuwait again in October 1994 by moving troops toward the Kuwait border. Note: This is a moderated site. Only comments that add value to the discussion will be published.

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Kill or cure: the smallest help must wait till we've conquered our fear of grey goo Nanomaterials may have the power to save millions of lives, if scientists can manage the potential risks Sunday 20 November 2005 Having promised to revolutionise everything from skincare to space travel, nanotechnology is finally coming to terms with the practicalities of bringing science fiction into the real world. As technology so small the eye cannot see it makes its way into commercial products, companies are facing up to a host of legal, ethical and public relations challenges that could determine the shape of the sector for years to come. Prince Charles recently came out against nanotechnology - voicing fears of the risks presented by "grey goo", self-replicating nano-robots that threaten to eat the world - and those behind the new industry fear it could be mired in the same issues that hit the development of genetically modified products. A discipline that focuses on objects measured in billionths of a metre, nanotechnology promises to deliver spectacular advances in almost every aspect of life, from manufacturing to healthcare. By manipulating material at a level a thousand of times smaller than a red blood cell, it's already possible to make stronger yet lighter products. Ultimately, devices and electronics could transform medical care. With applications in both the civil and military sphere, the global market is expected to reach $1,000bn (£570bn) over the next decade. But fears continue to grow about the risks to human health and the environment. Nanoparticles have been absorbed by liver cells, setting the stage for huge leaps in medical science: but the flipside is that they can potentially be absorbed by bacteria too, allowing them to enter the food chain. Just as worryingly, a study in the US last year showed that fish exposed to synthetic carbon molecules developed brain damage 17 times faster than normal. And carbon nanotubes, which are vastly stronger than steel, have a similar profile to asbestos fibre, and might have an equally devastating effect if released into the environment and absorbed by our bodies. The Nanoethics Group, a US research organisation, points to a number of other potential dangers. If these amazingly strong nanomaterials are not biodegradable, will they become as long-lasting a pollutant as nuclear waste? How will individuals and organisations protect their privacy in a world where nano-sized listening devices are undetectable? And from a security perspective, what happens if undemocratic countries make breakthroughs in nanotechnology that threaten the West? Or what if terrorists get hold of weapons that can create "new, unimaginable forms of torture - disassembling a person at the molecular level or worse"? All these issues were aired recently at the International Congress of Nanotechnology in San Francisco. But delegates found that it's all but impossible to answer many of these questions today. Few toxicology tests have been carried out in the nanotechnology field, and the risks cannot be fully assessed as we don't yet know how pervasive nanoparticles will become. Despite that, many in the commercial world are pushing products on to the market. "An estimated 475 products containing invisible, unregulated and unlabelled nano-scale particles are already commercially available (including food products, pesticides, cosmetics, sunscreens and more) - and thousands more are in the pipeline," says ETC Group, a Canadian pressure group. At heart, the ethical debate is whether nanotechnology research and development should continue before its impact is fully understood. As Patrick Lin, the research director of the Nanoethics Group, points out, the debate partly centres on interpretation of the scientific "Precautionary Principle", which argues that if you're not sure of the outcome of a project and there's a danger that it may be catastrophic, the prudent move is not to push ahead. Many pressure groups follow that line: ETC Group, for example, has called for a moratorium on research and commercial products until the technology is proved safe. If some degree of risk is accepted, however, the ethical dilemmas become complex. Professor Deb Bennett-Woods from Regis University in Denver, Colorado, points to fundamental questions about whether research should be publicly funded, and whether knowledge gained from military research should be transferred to the private sector. Issues such as privacy also need to be taken in the context of changing public expectations, which have already shifted in the face of global security concerns. "Just because something has a potential to reduce our privacy, it is not necessarily 'bad'," says Dr Lin. "We need to weigh the benefits of that technology (eg nanosensors that protect us by sniffing out minute traces of biochemicals) or competing interests (eg safety)." As the subtleties begin to play out, more public and private bodies are getting involved. The European Commission's latest advisory group on ethics in science, for example, has made its first task to examine the ethical issues of nanomedicine research. For the commercial world, this debate is more likely to be viewed from the perspective of public opinion rather than ethical absolutes. With memories of the backlash against GM foods still fresh in everyone's mind, there's a feeling that the nanotechnology sector has to start doing a far better job of explaining the benefits and risks to the wider public. "That's one of the lessons from the GM debacle. This is not just a scientific issue," says Dr Peter Singer, the director of the Joint Centre for Bioethics at the University of Toronto. "Half of it is toxicology, and half is communications." He argues for a concerted awareness campaign, from putting nanotechnology science and ethics on to the school curriculum to influencing media perceptions. Larry Gibbs, the associate vice-provost in environmental health and safety at Stanford University in California, believes that perceptions of risk could have a bigger commercial impact than the real risks of nanotechnology. "Once an opinion becomes established, it's difficult and costly to persuade people to the contrary," he says. At the San Francisco congress, he argued that the sector has to face the fact that public perception of risk is different from professional assessments. Industry tends to focus on quantitative issues such as the risk of harming or killing people: public perception, however, is both rational and emotional and takes account of threats to what we value. As a result, there can be a higher level of public outrage over things that, in reality, are low risk, than over proven high risks (like smoking). "The risks that harm or kill people and the risks that upset people are often completely different," Mr Gibbs says. These practical and ethical issues are not going to go away soon. If anything they'll get more complex. Dr Singer says that while there are pressing short-term issues to understand the environmental health and safety risks of nanotechnology, in the long term he believes the issues are part of the broader "North to South" debate. With average life expectancy in Britain twice as long as in parts of Africa, he argues that the "mother of all challenges" is to use nanotechnology to help the developing world, such as in tackling malaria that kills hundreds of millions of people. He adds out that some developing countries have already made significant innovations in this field, including states with strong technology reputations such as India and China, as well as Thailand and Argentina. Best practices need to be replicated: "The end game is to have innovation in developing countries themselves," he says. GM's promotion in the developing world became a fraught ethical issue. Can the makers of what Prince Charles fears may become "grey goo" convince us of its safety before fear overcomes any benefits? - 1 What happens to your body when you give up sugar? - 2 Have sex with your iPad thanks to the new sex toy no-one asked for - 3 Bali nine: Welcome to 'Execution Island' – the Indonesian holiday resort where foreigners are sent to die - 4 The 'sex selfie stick' lets you FaceTime the inside of a vagina - 5 Why you're almost certainly more like your father than your mother Mark Zuckerberg: Facebook CEO's one simple test for who to hire Bali nine: Welcome to 'Execution Island' – the Indonesian holiday resort where foreigners are sent to die 'A girl is more responsible for rape than a boy': The statement that shocked the world... except India The 'sex selfie stick' lets you FaceTime the inside of a vagina Saudi Arabia executions now at 'unprecedented rate' after kingdom kills four more in two days Durham Free School: 'Creationism taught at' free school facing closure Nearly 100,000 of Britain's poorest children go hungry after parents' benefits are cut Ukip would cut billions from Scottish budget to fund English tax cuts End of the licence fee: BBC to back radical overhaul of how it is funded Ukraine crisis: Top Chinese diplomat backs Putin and says West should 'abandon zero-sum mentality' Boris Nemtsov shot dead: Outspoken Putin critic who had expressed fears for his life is killed near the Kremlin iJobs Money & Business £8 per hour: Recruitment Genius: This Pension Specialist was established early... £30 - 35k + Bonus & Benefits: Guru Careers: We are seeking an Executive Assist... £25000 - £30000 per annum + benefits: Ashdown Group: A global leader operating... Voluntary post, reasonable expenses reimbursed: Reach Volunteering: Would you ...

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April 5, 2010 Western Catholic Reporter The 16th century Council of Trent, in response to the Protestant Reformation, called for religious imagery that would encourage piety, uphold doctrine and be decorous. Much sacred art already met that description. But in Spain, in the early 17th century, several leading sculptors and painters took up that challenge with particular passion. They produced works of art designed to nurture the piety and devotion of the faithful through an intense realism. One such piece was Juan Martinez Montanes’ Christ of Clemency that still hangs in the cathedral in Seville. Montanes portrays in a most realistic fashion the crucified Christ moments before his death looking down at the person praying at the foot of the cross. Christ’s eyes are open and he is ready to offer forgiveness to the repentant sinner kneeling before him. THE SACRED MADE REAL Christ of Clemency was not one of the artworks that I was privileged to observe during a recent visit to the National Gallery of Art in Washington where 22 pieces from 17th century Spain are currently being displayed in an exhibit entitled The Sacred Made Real. Christ of Clemency remains in the Seville cathedral doing what it has always done – inspiring devotion and strengthening faith. Indeed, several of the pieces that were on display had never before been shown outside of a church setting. Because of that, they have been overlooked as an art form and are virtually unknown outside of Spain. Intense realism is the common feature of the 22 pieces on display. The piece I found most gripping was Gregorio Fernandez’s statue, Ecce Homo (Behold! The Man) that depicted Christ at the moment he was brought before Pontius Pilate. Already beaten and scourged, Jesus appears to know his fate before Pilate has pronounced it. He looks toward his judge with eyes that are sorrowful yet also compassionate. What Fernandez managed to achieve with wood, glass and paint is striking. Ecce Homo is a statue before which one can meditate at length and with fruitfulness on the soon-to-be-condemned Christ. It speaks volumes about our pride-filled human condition and about God’s willingness to look upon it with compassion and understanding. Another similar, but more bloody statue by Fernandez, Christ at the Column, is annually taken on procession through the street in Valladolid during a Holy Week devotion similar to those that take place in many Spanish cities and towns. Floats weighing up to two tonnes and bearing life-sized sculptures are carried through the streets to help the faithful meditate on the sorrows of the Passion. In a film made to accompany the exhibit, curator Xavier Bray sings a flamenco lament to Christ that is inspired by one of the paintings. Such laments spring spontaneously or ready-made from occasional onlookers during the street devotions and testify to the powerful effect of the statues and the processions themselves. Even St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits whose own writing was economical and barren of rhetorical flourish, recognized the importance of art that could fire the imagination during prayer. For Ignatius, imagination was crucial to the development of deep devotion. So it is perhaps fitting that a life-sized statue of Ignatius – by Montanes and Francisco Pacheco — is included in the current exhibit. As a devotee of Ignatius, I have long been dismayed by the many poor representations of him. Montanes and Pacheco, however, have to my mind captured the unique combination of practicality and mystical spirituality that helped make Ignatius both a trailblazer and a saint. Pacheco, perhaps immodestly, felt the way I do – he described the Ignatius he produced with Montanes as the best representation of the saint “because it seems really alive.” BLOCKS OF WOOD Seeming really alive is a relative judgment. Today, of course, we are entertained by high-tech movies such as Avatar next to which the optical effects created by the use of painted, carved blocks of wood in the 17th century can seem primitive by comparison. Fortunately, we don’t – most of us, at least – kneel before Avatar. Unfortunately, we don’t kneel much at all. Reverence before the sacred is a crucial virtue for both individuals and society as a whole. But it is a virtue that is becoming endangered. LACK OF REVERENCE Perhaps one reason for the lack of reverence is the paucity of suitable images in our churches today. Attention is rightly directed to the Eucharistic sacrifice on the altar. But after the mass-produced statues were trucked out of churches following the Second Vatican Council, little was brought in that might inspire private prayer and devotion. Nevertheless, as I visited this exhibit on two afternoons, it seemed that many in the art gallery were viewing these pieces with eyes of faith at least as much as with the eyes of the art critic. The human need to revere the infinite God of love has not been vanquished. Nearly 400 years after they were created, these Spanish statues and paintings retain their ability to stir the human soul and lead it into the presence of God. Currently rated by 0 people

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Tracheostomy Care For Children WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: Tracheostomy (trach) care is done to ensure your child's trach tube and the area around it stays clean. This helps prevent a clogged tube and decreases the risk of infection. Trach care includes suctioning and cleaning your child's skin and parts of the tube. Your child's healthcare provider will show you how to care for the trach tube, and what to do in an emergency. - Antibiotics: This medicine will help fight or prevent an infection. Make sure your child takes his antibiotics until they are gone, even if he feels better. - Give your child's medicine as directed. Call your child's healthcare provider if you think the medicine is not working as expected. Tell him if your child is allergic to any medicine. Keep a current list of the medicines, vitamins, and herbs your child takes. Include the amounts, and when, how, and why they are taken. Bring the list or the medicines in their containers to follow-up visits. Carry your child's medicine list with you in case of an emergency. Follow up with your child's healthcare provider as directed: Write down your questions so you remember to ask them during your child's visits. - Wash your hands: Always wash your hands before and after any trach tube care. - Clean the trach equipment: Use clean or sterile trach care methods and clean the equipment as your healthcare provider directs. - Keep your child's neck clean and dry: Change the gauze and trach ties when they are wet or dirty. - Keep your child's mouth clean: Saliva and mucus contain germs that cause infection if they enter your child's airway. Your child's teeth should be brushed twice a day. Suction his mouth as needed to help prevent lung infections. If your child is having trouble breathing: - Try to clear the trach tube: Have your child cough to help move mucus, water, or irritants out of his airway. Small children often put small objects into the trach tube. Check the tube for any objects that may block your airflow. Suction the tube if coughing does not clear his airway and there are no objects present. - Gently move the trach tube: The tube opening may be against your child's airway. Gently reposition the tube to make sure it sits in your child's airway properly. - Replace the trach tube: Insert a new trach tube. Try a smaller size if a regular sized tube will not go in properly. - Call 911: Call 911 if your child still cannot breathe easily. Keep your child's secretions thin: - Keep water and other materials out of your child's trach tube: Do not let your child swim. Cover the opening with a shower shield or trach cap while your child bathes to keep water from entering his airway. Prevent him from breathing in dust. Do not use powders or sprays near your child's trach tube. - Give plenty of liquids: Ask your child's healthcare provider which liquids are best for your child. Ask how much liquid your child should drink each day. - Humidify the room: Use a room humidifier or vaporizer as directed. - Humidify your child's airway: You may be directed to use a heat moisture exchanger (HME), a trach collar, or fabric stoma covers. An HME attaches to your child's trach tube and prevents moisture loss. A trach collar connects to a machine that supplies humidified air to the trach. Fabric stoma covers are moistened and worn over the trach tube. Suction your child's trach tube: You may be told to suction your child's trach tube at least twice a day. Your child's healthcare provider will tell you if you need to suction more often. - Watch for signs that your child needs suction: Suction when your child cannot cough up his secretions. Your child may seem restless or scared, and his breathing may be louder or faster than usual. Mucus may be coming out of the trach tube. His skin may look gray or blue. - Wait after feedings: Do not suction your child's trach tube soon after he has eaten. He may cough or vomit if you suction too soon. Ask how long you should wait to suction. - Prepare the suction machine: Suction machines have a pressure gauge. Your child's healthcare provider will tell you what amount of pressure to use when you suction the trach tube. You can test the pressure before you suction by covering the suction valve on the catheter with your thumb. - Use saline only as directed: Your child's healthcare provider may tell you to insert a few drops of sterile saline into the trach tube to make your secretions thin. Do not use saline unless directed by your child's healthcare provider. - Suction the trach tube: The catheter should be inserted until it is just past the end of the tube. Your child's healthcare provider will tell you how far to insert the catheter. The catheter may have measurements marked on it for you to follow. You can also measure and mark the catheter so you do not put it in too far. Have your child take a deep breath and try to cough up the secretions before you suction the trach tube. Only cover the suction valve as you remove the catheter. Gently twist the catheter as you pull it out. It should take less than 15 seconds. Contact your child's healthcare provider or pulmonologist if: - Your child has a fever. - Your child has increased or thicker secretions than usual. - Your child's secretions are yellow or green. - You see thick, red tissue around your child's stoma, or the skin is red, swollen, or leaking pus. - It is harder for your child to breathe than usual. Your child may be breathing faster than normal. - Your child says that it hurts to swallow. Return to the emergency department if: - You see food or liquids coming from your child's trach. - Your child's breathing problems are getting worse. - There is blood on the trach tube or stoma. - You cannot insert a new trach tube and your child is having breathing problems. © 2014 Truven Health Analytics Inc. Information is for End User's use only and may not be sold, redistributed or otherwise used for commercial purposes. All illustrations and images included in CareNotes® are the copyrighted property of A.D.A.M., Inc. or Truven Health Analytics. The above information is an educational aid only. It is not intended as medical advice for individual conditions or treatments. Talk to your doctor, nurse or pharmacist before following any medical regimen to see if it is safe and effective for you.

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The Real Poop The Food and Drug Administration is huge, HUGE—to paraphrase Mr. Trump of TV and real estate notoriety. Known by one and all as the FDA, this US government agency is a regulatory juggernaut that oversees a big chunk of what American consumers buy and ingest, all for the protection of the health of the US public. Now, really, how huge is huge? The FDA just happens to mention on its government-issue website that it regulates one trillion dollars’ worth of products. It's got the power, too, to do things like shut down plants for running afoul of safety regulations or recall a popular and profitable drug that just might hurt people. And believe us, despite its name, the FDA pays attention to a heck of a lot more than mere food and drugs. It's in charge of overseeing a grab bag of stuff like cosmetics, tobacco, medical devices, infant formulas and even microwaves. Yep, that bowl of macaroni and cheese you nuked the other day has the FDA's fingerprints all over it. FDA scientists play a huge role in keeping the FDA humming along. These scientists are the bouncers guarding the door of the American marketplace. They check out the products begging to get on the shelves, make sure they're on the up-and-up and decide if they deserve to get in and mingle. Those scientists conduct experiments, review data and make decisions on what products are safe for us to use. To get the job done, the FDA hires scientists who fall into three broad categories: reviewers, researchers and inspectors. The reviewers review clinical trial data from drug or product companies. Researchers develop and perform experiments to test new products. Inspectors visit the companies and make sure they are following all the rules. You can think of inspectors as schoolmarms with rulers in the school of product regulation, ready to whack the knuckles of companies that might be trying to slack off. The FDA belongs to the US Health and Human Services Department, and does all this regulatory business to improve public health. It's been around in one form or another since the mid-19th century, when the agency's main job was to do chemical analysis of agricultural products. Then, the feds began to regulate food and drugs et al., in the early 20th century. A big part of its mission—well, crusade—was protect sometimes-gullible Americans from so-called snake oil salesmen who were hawking "miracle," but often fatally dangerous, elixirs. Federal agents chased down these traveling con artists whose "medicine" bottles never got around to listing ingredients. Often, hapless buyers discovered that a miracle oil made from a snake didn't work one bit, or worse, was really and truly deadly. Eventually, the Bureau of Chemistry got itself a new name—FDA—in the 1930s and eventually grew into the big-time consumer protection agency that it is now. FDA scientist watchdogs care about safety issues, like making sure that the injury-prone high school soccer player who goes in for an X-ray of a bum ankle doesn't end up with a burn from all the radiation zaps. They see that cosmetics are properly labeled so folks with skin allergies don't end up looking all swollen like the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man. They look at clinical drug trial data, and decide if the drug is safe enough to be marketed. Being an FDA scientist is a high-stakes job, since what these scientists do directly affects the health of the consumer. Of the three types of FDA scientists, it's the research scientist who spends a big part of his day doing those stereotypical scientist things. The typical researcher is at the lab bench, doing experiments to test different products. Then he analyzes all that data and puts them into reports and presentations. Researchers have meetings with other scientists, where they discuss a product and the types of results they are getting. They'll also have meetings with the review scientists, explaining what their research says about the product. Think of them as the auto mechanics of the FDA, sliding under the product to check out all its bits and pieces, making sure each part is going to run like it's supposed to. If the researchers are the lab rats, scientific reviewers are the bookworms. A reviewer spends most of her day at a desk, going through the mountains of paperwork that pharmaceutical and other companies have submitted in the hopes that their product will be approved for the market. A good part of her day is also spent in meetings with researchers or other reviewers, where they'll discuss ideas and whether they're being won over by the applications and their supplicants. When she ultimately reaches a decision about the product, the reviewer writes up reports detailing the recommendations for approving the product. Or, she sends the disappointing news to the pharmaceutical companies that their 10 years of research didn't cut it. You can think of her as the skeptical mother sizing up the date her daughter brought home, warily eyeing that motorcycle in the driveway and figuring out whether it’s a deal-breaker. Then there's the scientific investigator who gets to travel to the different companies, tour their facilities, and make sure they are following all the government's rules for research and manufacturing a product. It's one thing for the FDA to tell a company it has to make a product a certain way for it to be sold, but it generally helps if you've got people who can actually go and make sure it's being done. No matter what category FDA scientists belongs to, one thing is clear: They need to have scientific chops, preferably degrees (note the plural) in hard sciences. And since they'll be doing more than gazing into a microscope, they'll need to be able to talk, often to companies whose products the FDA just recalled. Since it's common for all FDA scientists to write reports and give oral presentations, they've got to write and speak science-y well. So much of the job is scientists talking to other scientists, you'll need to have your lingo down pat. FDA scientists have got to work well under pressure and meet deadlines—companies have millions of dollars at stake on a product, so no spending the afternoon looking at kitten pictures on the Internet when that FDA research report is due. Scientists should also revel in the glory of the tiny detail and the picayune, since their job is to assess the safety and validity of a product. Because an FDA scientist works for the government, most of the jobs are located in the bustling city of our nation's capital — or to be more specific, in the Maryland suburbs of said city. There's also a research center in Arkansas that hires research scientists, and the Office of Regulatory Affairs that hires regulatory or review scientists nationwide. But if you are looking to get that FDA gig, your best bet is to get ready to rub shoulders with Abe Lincoln's statue in Washington, DC.

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East Africa Food Crisis One year later, Oxfam emphasizes that while the situation has improved, Oxfam will continue to work with communities in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya, to help reduce chronic vulnerability to drought and food insecurity. From a historical perspective, the world has undoubtedly moved on in our ability to save lives. The numbers of disasters are on the increase. So too is the number of people exposed to them. But the numbers that actually die has gone down. The UN declared famine in six regions of Somalia in the summer of 2011. Thanks to rains, a good harvest in river areas and effective humanitarian aid, the famine status was downgraded to ‘very critical food crisis’ in February, 2012. About 125,000 children no longer face severe malnutrition. However, Oxfam’s country director in Somalia says “the world should not turn its back on Somalia, solely because statistics say there is no longer a famine.” The UN says 2.34 million Somalis remain in crisis. This is now the worst food crisis in the region of the 21st century, and the first time that famine has been declared in this region since at least 1992. Droughts and food crises have occurred regularly in recent years, but the current situation is particularly serious. In many areas emergency conditions are expected to persist well into 2012. Oxfam is there and, together, we need to provide immediate assistance before it's too late. Oxfam is on the ground responding to the crisis Oxfam needs your help to reach 3.5 million people with clean water, food and basic sanitation. With the donations we have received so far, we are already helping hundreds of thousands of people: - Oxfam has reached 1.5 million people in Somalia with clean water, sanitation and public health promotion to prevent diseases like cholera and acute water diarrhea (AWD). - Oxfam partners are operating the single largest public health program in Somalia and providing clean water to tens of thousands displaced Somalis in camps outside Mogadishu. - In Kenya, Oxfam has water, sanitation and hygiene programs reaching over 1.2 million people and is providing clean water to over 500,000 people in Dadaab, Kenya – the site of several refugee camps. - In Ethiopia, where Oxfam is delivering clean water, rehabilitating water points and distributing hygiene kits, over 425,000 people have been reached. Oxfam's humanitarian work has been ceaseless from the beginning of the crisis. Highlights from Oxfam's activities in the few first months of 2012, include: - Through the distribution of non-food item kits such as jerry cans, body soap, and laundry soap, along with home visits for hygiene education, Oxfam has already reached 1,506 households and counting. - In the Arero district 15,675 animals were given preventative treatments and sustenance. This ensures 791 rural households have long-term reliance on, what is often times, their sole form of livelihoods security. - 1,104 households in the Yabello, Dhas, Wachille and Arero districts have been involved in cash-for-work programs that in the end benefit their entire communities through activities such as bush clearing, pond rehabilitation and traditional well restoration. Somalia continues to be one of the world’s biggest humanitarian emergencies, with severe drought exacerbated by years of conflict. Insecurity makes Somalia one of the most difficult places to deliver aid. However, working with local Somali partner organisations, Oxfam has so far reached around 1.3 million people affected by the crisis. - Therapeutic Feeding Centres: Oxfam partners operate 15 centres throughout Mogadishu that provide care for malnourished children and their mothers. These centres have treated 150,000 children in the past year, making it the single largest nutrition programme in South Central Somalia. Children under five years old are also vaccinated here, and pregnant mothers are provided with tetanus vaccines. - Water and sanitation: Around 900,000 people in Somalia benefit from water systems built and maintained by Oxfam partners. In the Afgooye Corridor alone – one of the world’s most densely populated areas, with an estimated 415,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) crowded into a 15 km stretch of land – Oxfam partners have built water tanks and pumps, latrines, and carried out health campaigns to reduce the spread of disease. Oxfam also helps prevent acute watery diarrhoea and cholera at Banadir hospital, the only children’s hospital in Mogadishu. - Cash transfers: Over 320,000 people in Somalia have benefited from cash distributions that help people to buy food, seeds and water. - Support for farmers: Our partners have carried out technical training and provided seeds and tools to help farmers in the Lower Juba region to plant for the next harvest. A recent Oxfam study found that more than half of displaced families in Mogadishu used mobile phones, and 75% of them were interested in using these to communicate information about health. Oxfam is piloting a project to convey public health information to insecure and hard to reach communities through a new mobile phone application. This is being used to mitigate the spread of cholera by reaching 100,000 displaced people in camps in Mogadishu. - In Dadaab, where the population is over 85,000 displaced people, Oxfam is offering much needed assistance in water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructures. This ensures the prevention diseases such as cholera. - 1,850,000 litres of water are delivered to the camps in Dadaab by pipelines and trucks. - 139 communities in Wajir have received cash transfers, to jump start their markets and feed a healthy economy from which the community can grow. - This is now the worst food crisis in the region of the 21st century, and the first time that famine has been declared in this region since at least 1992. - The crisis is worst in the triangle of south and central Somalia, southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya. - Other areas are also badly affected, such as Somaliland and parts of central Ethiopia. Parts of Uganda and Djibouti have also been affected by the drought. - Hundreds of thousands of livestock have died, harvests have declined dramatically and the price of staple foods reached record levels in many areas. Many people have lost their livelihoods and it will take time to rebuild. - The price of staple foods are at record levels in many areas, while at the same time the value of livestock – people’s main assets in many of the worst affected areas – has plummeted and livestock markets have collapsed, so people have much less purchasing power than before. Estimated number of people in need of emergency humanitarian assistance Kenya: 4.3 million (in Northern Kenya) Ethiopia: 4.8 million (in West / South Ethiopia) Somalia: 4 million (Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, December 16, 2011) Oxfam installs a new water tank on the outskirts of an IFO camp at Dadaab. 4.3 million people in Kenya are affected by the crisis – mainly in the southern agricultural areas and the northern pastoralist regions, such as Turkana and Wajir where Oxfam is working. 4.8 million people in Ethiopia are affected by the crisis. Oxfam is working in drought-hit parts of Borena and Somali regions, distributing cash and improving water supplies. The situation in Somalia this year is the worst in the past 10 years. 4 million people are currently affected, as the drought worsens across Somalia. People are fleeing into Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti from the Bay, Bakol and Lower Shabelle regions. Children arriving from Somalia in the Dadaab refugee camp in northern Kenya are exhausted, malnourished and severely dehydrated. Recognizing the huge scale of need in East Africa and the need to work collectively to bring urgent assistance to disaster survivors, Oxfam Canada is proud to participate in the HUMANITARIAN COALITION. By joining our efforts the members of the HUMANITARIAN COALITION are able to save more lives and reduce the costs of fundraising. To find out more click here.

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A friend or family member has experienced Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). You want to help, but are not sure how to go about it. This article will guide you in ways to turn your cares and concerns into actions. A vital part of helping SIDS survivors is to educate yourself about the syndrome. The term itself can be difficult to comprehend. Why? Because it is really a non-definition. This clinical-sounding term doesn't describe what doctors know, but, instead, what they don't know. For example, a formal definition of SIDS is: the sudden death of any infant which is unexpected by history, and in which a detailed exam after death fails to find an adequate cause for the death. Essentially, no one knows what causes these deaths. What we do know is that each year in the United States over 7,000 families experience the death of their babies to SIDS. These sudden deaths occur in apparently healthy infants, almost always while the child is asleep. This experience creates an overwhelming crisis for parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, other family members and friends. * SIDS is not hereditary. There is no greater chance for it to occur in one family than in another. * SIDS is not caused by aspiration, regurgitation, or suffocation. * SIDS and apnea (cessation of breathing) are two different things. Do not assume that if the baby had been on a breathing monitor, she would not have died. Remember--SIDS cannot be predicted or prevented. * SIDS is slightly more common in the winter months, but occurs at any time of the year. * Birth control pills do not cause SIDS. Learning these and other facts about SIDS can help prevent harmful accusations. Grief following a SIDS death is always complex. The infant has died at a time when the family is very focused on caring for him or her. The lack of knowledge about SIDS often adds to the trauma. All too often a SIDS death is not socially supported in the way other deaths are. Some people fail to realize that despite the shortness of the infant's life, the family's feelings of love for him have existed since conception. Survivors are confronted with mourning not only the immediate death, but also the loss of hopes and dreams for the child's future. Don't be surprised by the intensity of their feelings. Sometimes when family members least suspect it, they may be overwhelmed by grief. Accept that survivors may be struggling with feelsings of guilt, anger and fear well beyond those experienced after other types of deaths. Be patient, compassionate and understanding. With SIDS, the lack of a definitive cause of death makes it especially difficult for families to understand what has happened. Not knowing what caused the death, both adults and children naturally assume responsibility and guilt, even though nothing they did or didn't do caused the death. Try to listen patiently as families explore their "If only's" and "Why didn't we's." Because SIDS is sudden and has no known cause, families may be confronted with an onslaught of questions from emergency medical personnel, hospital workers, medical examiners and sometimes the police. Of course, these questions are asked in an effort to protect the interests of the child, yet they can leave parents wondering if they were at fault. This necessary, but painful experience, if handled inappropriately, may place additional guilt and trauma on the family. Helping begins with your ability to be an active listener. Your physical presence and desire to listen without judgment are critical helping tools. Willingness to listen is the best way to offer help to someone who needs to talk. The SIDS survivors's thoughts and feelings may be frightening and difficult for you to acknowledge. Don't worry so much about what you will say. Just concentrate on the words being shared with you. Do use the baby's name when you talk about the death, however. For survivors, hearing the name can be comforting, and it helps confirm that the baby was not just a baby, but an important person in their lives. Your friend or family member may tell the same story about the death over and over again. Listen attentively each time. Realize that repetition is part of the healing process. Simply listen and understand. And, remember, you don't have to have the answer. Clichés, though they are often intended to diminish the pain of loss, can be extremely painful for survivors of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Comments like, "You can have another baby," "They died young and avoided life's hurts" and "Think of what you still have to be thankful for" are not constructive. Instead, they hurt and make a friend's journey through grief more difficult. Instead of simplistic explanations, familiarize yourself with the wide spectrum of emotions your friend or family member may experience. Allow the person to experience all the hurt, sorrow and pain that he or she is feeling at the time. And recognize that tears are a natural and appropriate expression of the pain associated with the death of the infant. Often ignored is the grief of siblings. Why? Because adults have an instinct to protect children from painful realities. Yet any child old enough to love is old enough to mourn. When a child's brother or sister dies, another young person has died. So, for a child, confronting this reality can mean confronting the possibility of one's own death. Be prepared to honestly but reassuringly answer questions such as, "Will I die, too?" Also, don't expect young people to acknowledge the reality of death in the same way adults do. Many children naturally embrace the reality slowly and may at times seem indifferent. Typically, the full sense of loss does not come about until several months after the death. Preparing food, washing clothes, cleaning the house or answering the telephone are just a few practical ways to show you care. And, just as your presence is needed, this support is helpful at the time of the death and in the weeks and months ahead. Your presence at the funeral is important. As a ritual, the funeral provides an opportunity for you to express your love and concern. At the funeral, a touch of your hand, a look in your eye or even a hug often communicates more than any words could ever say. Don't just attend the funeral, then disappear. Be sure to remain available afterwards as well. Remember, your grieving friend or family member may need you more in the days or weeks after the funeral than at the time of the death. A brief visit or a telephone call in the days that follow are usually appreciated. Support groups are one of the best ways to help families who have experienced SIDS. In a group, survivors can connect with other people who share their experience. They are allowed and encouraged to tell their stories as much, and as often, as they like. Sharing the pain won't make it disappear, but it can ease any concerns that what one is experiencing is crazy, or somehow bad. You may be able to help survivors locate such a group. This practical effort on your part will be appreciated. Remember that the death of a child to SIDS is a shattering experience. As a result of this death, your friend's life is under reconstruction. Be gentle and compassionate in all of your helping efforts. "While the above guidelines in this brochure will be helpful, it is important to recognize that helping others after a SIDS death will not be an easy task. You may have to give more of your concern, time and love than you ever knew you had. But this effort will be more than worth it. As a "helping friend," you need to join with other caring persons to provide support and acceptance for people who need to grieve in healthy ways." Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. Center for Loss and Life Transition Dr. Alan D. Wolfelt is a noted author, educator and practicing grief counselor. He serves as Director of the Center for Loss and Life Transition in Fort Collins, Colorado and presents dozens of grief-related workshops each year across North America. Among his books are Healing Your Grieving Heart: 100 Practical Ideas and The Healing Your Grieving Heart Journal for Teens. For more information, write or call The Center for Loss and Life Transition, 3735 Broken Bow Road, Fort Collins, Colorado 80526, (970) 226-6050 or visit their website, www.centerforloss.com.

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Malingering is common these days with liberal workmen compensation act. Lots of concessions are given to physically challenged these days. It is our duty to ensure that these incentives reach the deserving. In order to identify the beneficiaries we should weed out malingerers. Fortunately there are various tests which can be performed to weed them out. This article is a treatise of how to identify malingerers. It enumerates various bed side tests, tuning fork tests and objective tests to identify non organic hearing loss. Tests for Malingering Non organic hearing loss can be defined as an apparent hearing loss with no evidence of known disorder or insufficient evidence to explain it 1. It is of two types: 1. Psychogenic 2 2 2. Malingering Psychogenic hearing loss: This includes hearing loss associated with psychological conditions. The patient is not aware that he is simulating deafness.This is also known as conversion deafness. Individual is consciously pretending to be deaf to avoid some responsibility / seeking concession even though his hearing may be absolutely normal.It occurs suddenly and disappears suddenly. It is often associated with mutism when bilateral. How to identify Malingering ?3Quality of voice: Unlike in deaf persons the quality of voice is normal in malingerers.Cochleoauricular / pupillary / palpebral reflexes are normally present in these patients.These reflexes cause twitching of pinna / contraction of palpebral muscles on exposure to loud noise.Malingering should always be suspected when there is a gross discrepancy between pure tone audiometry and speech audiometry.Lack of cross over (shadow effect) in pure tone audiometry should cause suspicion. Tests for malingering: Voice tests for Malingering: These are simple to perform. Erhardt’s test: This test is based on the principle even with a head shadow effect sound can easily be conducted through bone. This test helps in the detection of feigned total unilateral hearing loss. Occusion of ear will cause attenuation of 30 dB. This test is performed with the patient’s eyes closed. Sound is projected to the closed normal ear. Even with the head shadow effect patient should be able to hear the spoken word as external canal occlusion casues only about 30 dB dampening of sound. If the patient denies hearing spoken word then this test for malingering is positive. Lombard’s test:This test is based on “Lombard’s principle”. This principle says that one raises his / her voice when speaking in noisy environment. While performing this test,the patient is allowed to read a book. Noise is introduced into the ear. The noise is gradually increased till the patient raises his / her voice or stops the process of reading.If there is no change in voice loudness level the patient does not have functional hearing defect. Hummel Double conversation test: When two different voices are applied to two ears it causes lots of confusion to the patient. If one ear is deaf then the patient is not confused by two different questions being projected to two ears since one ear is deaf, where as in malingering the since the patient has normal hearing in both ears it causes lots of confusion. A malingerer wont respond. Delayed speech feed back test: In this test the patient is subjected to spoken words whose output is delayed by 200 milliseconds. The level at which it caused difficulty in speaking is observed. This test is positive in malingerers. Two tube test of Teuber: This is actually a modification of Hummel double conversation test. This test is performed using two tubes coupled with each other. Examiner holds one end of both tubes and starts speaking to it. By alternate compression of the tube he is able to confuse the malingerer to expose his designs. Stethoscope test: In this test, one ear piece of the stethoscope is closed with wax and used on the side of deafness. The funnel shaped chest piece is used to talk to the patient.The malingerer gets confused and cannot tell whether he is hearing on the right / left side. Erhardt’s test: This test is also known as loud voice test. In normal person when the ear is occluded with a finger, it dampens the sound but it can still be heard. Malingerer often denies hearing the sound even when it is loudest. Doerffler Stewart test:This test is based on the fact that persons with normal hearing raise their voice in the presence of background noise. This test can be performed in two ways:The patient is made to read a passage from a book, while masking noise is fed into the so called deaf ear. In the case of true deafness, the masking noise has no effect on thevoice until it reaches the threshold of deafness.The patient may also be asked to listen to spoken voice instead of reading from a book. Tuning fork tests for malingering: Stenger’s test:This test is based on “Stenger’s phenomenon”. In stenger’s phenomenon when a listener is presented with the same type of sound in both ears he /she will hear a single sound, that too only in the ear which it is louder. Procedure: Two tuning forks with frequency of 512 Hz are kept equidistantly from both ears, one should be able to hear equally well in either side. In malingering say i.e. left ear, even if thetuning fork is moved too close to the left ear, the patient denies that he is hearing in the right side also. Teal’s test: In this test a vibrating tuning fork is applied over the mastoid process of the so called deaf ear, the patient accepts to hear it. Then the patient is blind folded andwith a non vibrating fork on the mastoid process, the malingering patient claim’s to hear the sound. Chimani Mooss test: This is nothing but a variation of Weber’s test. Normally in Weber’s test the patient hears the best in the occluded ear. In ,malingering the patient will not accept to hear better in the occluded ear. Pure tone audiometry4: While performing puretone audiometry the following features if present are suggestive of malingering: Variable response to stimuli: During pure tone audiometry patients usually come out with uniform, repeatable response. In malingerers this response is not uniform and highly variable. Variations between clinically observable deafness and degree of pure tone audiometry hearing loss Air conduction shadow tests: Maximum interaural attenuation for any frequency is about 85 dB, average attenuation across various frequencies would be 63 dB. Hence unmasked difference between two ears which exceeds 80 dB for any frequency or 70 dB over a range of frequencies is suggestive of non organic hearing loss Bone conduction shadow tests: Maximal bone conduction transcranial hearing loss has been found to be less than 15 dB. A difference of unmasked bone conduction hearing threshold between both ears of more than 15 dB should point towards malingering. Stenger’s test: This test is based on Tarchanow phenomenon which states that when pure tones of equal intensities are presented bilaterally, they are fused into a single tone in the midline. A malingerer is not aware of this and hence would report hearing loss / lateralisation of the stimuli. Auditory reflex threshold: In normal individuals the stapedial reflex is elicited at 70 – 100 dB. If a malingerer says he is totally deaf and if this reflex is elicited it is suggestive of malingering .Bekesy audiometry: This uses continuous and pulsed tone tracings. The normal graph recorded may be interleaved / continuous tracings below pulsed tone tracings.In patients with non organic hearing loss will have opposite curves – their pulsed tracings are tracked below the continuous tracings. This type of curve is known asType V Bekesy pattern. Lengthened off time test:LOT: Conventional Bekesy audiometry uses pulsed tones that are on and off for equal amounts of time (200 milliseconds on and 200 milliseconds off).The LOT is a test for non organic hearing loss that uses Bekesy audiometry in which the pulsed tones have an off time that is lengthened from 200 ms to 800 ms. In addition the LOTuses fixed frequency rather than sweep frequency tracings. In this test the continuous tracing is compared to the pulsed tracing that is obtained with a tone that pulses at a rateof 200 ms on and 800 ms off. The LOT increases the degree to which the pulsed tracing falls below the continuous tracing in malingerers. - 1. Hinchcliffe J Clinical tests of auditory function in the adult. Audiology 1974:3:349-51 - 2. Psychogenic Hearing Loss with Panic Anxiety Attack after the Onset of Acute Inner Ear Disorder Shigehito Mori, Shigeharu Fujieda, Takehito Yamamoto, Noboru Takahashi, Takehisa Saito, Hitoshi Saito ORL 2002;64:41-44 (DOI: 10.1159/000049268) - 3. McDermott BE, Feldman MD (2007). "Malingering in the medical setting". Psychiatr Clin North Am30(4): 645–62. doi:10.1016/j.psc.2007.07.007.PMID17938038 - 4. Screening tests for non organic hearing loss Lt Col A.K. Metha MJAFI 2000;56 79-81

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See your doctor or practice nurse if you are drinking above the recommended limits of alcohol and are finding it difficult to cut down. What are the recommended safe limits of alcohol? - Men should drink no more than 21 units of alcohol per week, no more than four units in any one day, and have at least two alcohol-free days a week. - Women should drink no more than 14 units of alcohol per week, no more than three units in any one day, and have at least two alcohol-free days a week. - Pregnant women. Advice from the Department of Health states that ... "pregnant women or women trying to conceive should not drink alcohol at all. If they do choose to drink, to minimise the risk to the baby, they should not drink more than 1-2 units of alcohol once or twice a week and should not get drunk". Where do these recommendations come from? - The Department of Health recommends that men should not regularly drink more than 3-4 units of alcohol a day and women should not regularly drink more than 2-3 units a day. 'Regularly' means drinking every day or most days of the week. And if you do drink more heavily than this on any day, allow 48 alcohol-free hours afterwards to let your body recover. - The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) advises no more than 21 units per week for men and 14 units per week for women. But also, have 2-3 alcohol-free days a week to allow the liver time to recover after drinking anything but the smallest amount of alcohol. A quote from the RCP... "in addition to quantity, safe alcohol limits must also take into account frequency. There is an increased risk of liver disease for those who drink daily or near daily compared with those who drink periodically or intermittently." - The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee advise that people should have at least two alcohol-free days a week. - Some would argue that the upper limits of the recommendations are too high. For example, one study found that more than two units a day for men and more than one unit a day for women significantly increases the risk of developing certain cancers. Why these recommendations? Your liver processes alcohol. It can only cope with so much at a time. Drinking more alcohol than the liver can cope with can damage liver cells and produce toxic by-product chemicals. The more you drink, and especially above the recommended limits, the greater the risk of developing serious problems such as: liver disease (cirrhosis or hepatitis); cancer; gut and pancreas disorders; depression; anxiety; sexual difficulties; muscle and heart muscle disease; high blood pressure; damage to nervous tissue; serious accidents; obesity (alcohol is calorie-rich). See separate leaflet called Alcohol and sensible drinking for more details. Alcohol gets to a baby through the placenta if a pregnant woman drinks alcohol. A baby cannot process alcohol very well. So, any alcohol in your baby stays in their body much longer than in you. This is known to be a risk for causing serious problems such as: a low birth weight; learning, behavioural, and thinking (cognitive) problems; defects of the heart and other organs; abnormal facial features. When these problems are severe, the condition is called fetal alcohol syndrome. However, there has been debate over the years as to whether small amounts of alcohol are safe to drink during pregnancy. Also, if there is a time of pregnancy when alcohol is most likely to cause harm. But, recent research supports the advice of not drinking any alcohol whilst pregnant. For example, a study by Feldman et all (cited below) looked at the relationship between drinking alcohol during pregnancy and it causing facial defects in the baby. This study showed that the more alcohol a woman drank, the more likely there was to be a facial defect in the baby. BUT, there was no safe amount of alcohol to drink during pregnancy, as there was still some risk with small amounts of alcohol. The study also found that drinking alcohol has risks throughout pregnancy, but it may be most likely to cause facial defects during weeks 6-12 of pregnancy. The authors of the study concluded that ... "Women should continue to be advised to abstain from alcohol consumption from conception throughout pregnancy." What is a unit of alcohol? One unit of alcohol is 10 ml (1 cl) by volume, or 8 g by weight, of pure alcohol. For example: - One unit of alcohol is about equal to: - half a pint of ordinary strength beer, lager or cider (3-4% alcohol by volume); or - a small pub measure (25 ml) of spirits (40% alcohol by volume); or - a standard pub measure (50 ml) of fortified wine such as sherry or port (20% alcohol by volume). - There are one and a half units of alcohol in: - a small glass (125 ml) of ordinary strength wine (12% alcohol by volume); or - a standard pub measure (35 ml) of spirits (40% alcohol by volume). But remember, many wines and beers are stronger than the more traditional ordinary strengths. A more accurate way of calculating units is as follows: the percentage alcohol by volume (% abv) of a drink equals the number of units in one litre of that drink. For example: - Strong beer at 6% abv has six units in one litre. If you drink half a litre (500 ml) - just under a pint - then you have had three units. - Wine at 14% abv has 14 units in one litre. If you drink a quarter of a litre (250 ml) - two small glasses - then you have had three and a half units. Some other examples Three pints of beer, three times per week, is at least 18-20 units per week. That is nearly the upper weekly safe limit for a man. However, each drinking session of three pints is at least six units, which is more than the safe limit advised for any one day. Another example: a 750 ml bottle of 12% wine contains nine units. If you drink two bottles of 12% wine over a week, that is 18 units. This is above the upper safe limit for a woman. Isn't alcohol good for you? For men aged over 40 and for women past the menopause, it is thought that drinking a small amount of alcohol helps to protect against heart disease and stroke. The exact amount is not clear, but it is a small amount. So, do not exceed the recommended amount of alcohol as described above in a mistaken belief that it may be good for the heart. Dr Tim Kenny Dr Tim Kenny Dr Beverley Kenny

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Phillip Tobias, who has died aged 86, was born on the right continent, in the right country, at the right time. He would joke that, at the moment he was conceived, the anthropologist Raymond Dart was examining a skull and establishing that the cradle of humankind was not Asia, but Africa. Tobias grew up to collaborate with Dart and to become an internationally renowned palaeoanthropologist in his own right. For half a century Tobias led excavations at the Sterkfontein caves in South Africa, the world's oldest continuous paleontological dig, now a world heritage site known as the Cradle of Humankind. Sterkfontein has produced more than a third of the world's early hominid fossil finds, including Little Foot, an almost complete skull and skeleton which had opposable big toes. At 4.17m years old, this was the most ancient skeleton that had thus far been found. In 1995 Tobias, with Ronald J Clarke, presented Little Foot as "probably the most momentous palaeoanthropological find ever made in Africa". Much earlier in his career, in 1959, Tobias had been involved in another momentous discovery. The archaeologists Louis and Mary Leakey sent him a damaged skull to examine, which they had discovered in Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania. The story has it that in sympathy with evidence of damage inflicted 2m years earlier, Mary Leakey had exclaimed: "Oh, the dear boy!" The ancestral branches of humans and chimpanzees had diverged 3m years before Dear Boy, as the specimen came to be known, appeared and in 1964 Tobias finally confirmed that a new human species had been found. It was named Homo habilis, in reference to its capacity to use tools. Tobias was nominated three times for a Nobel prize and became a popular – indeed adored – professor who stood out even among South African academics as an extremely brave opponent of apartheid. He regarded it as a profoundly political fact that life began in Africa and believed it was the duty of science to expose the truths about race that ran counter to the tenets of apartheid, saying: "The colour of someone's skin is genetically of no scientific importance whatsoever." Tobias was also among those who exposed the Piltdown Man hoax in 1953, helping to show that bone fragments found in Sussex that were supposed to represent a missing link between man and ape were a forgery, a mixture of human and orangutan remains. Tobias was born in Durban, South Africa. He was able to read by the age of three, but had to contend with his parents' divorce as well as his father's bankruptcy. When he was 15, his sister Valerie, then 21, died of diabetes. "It smote me bitterly," he later said, adding: "My maternal grandmother had died of diabetes. But I never had diabetes, nor did my mother." Neither the family doctor, nor anyone else, could explain and Tobias resolved to be the first South African to understand such mysteries of genetics. In 1944, after attending Durban high school and, briefly, St Andrews in Bloemfontein, he enrolled at the medical school of the University of the Witwatersrand, receiving BSc degrees in histology and physiology in 1946-47, and gaining his medical degree in 1950. He was elected three times as president of the students' union (1948-50) and led some of the earliest campaigns against the apartheid government. In 1953 he obtained a PhD with a thesis entitled Chromosomes, Sex-Cells and Evolution in the Gerbil. But he was to be diverted from his work with the living by a chance discovery he had made one day in 1945. With a botanist friend in the Transvaal, he was taking a closer look at a twisted, horizontal yellowwood tree in a cave when he felt a hard object beneath the soft sand. He pulled it out and recognised it as a stone tool, which proved to be of the Southern African middle stone age, 50-100,000 years old. A dig was launched, and around 3,000 tools were excavated, some of which suggested artistic activity, making the site one of considerable archaeological importance. Tobias undertook postgraduate research in 1955 at Cambridge University and, in 1956, in Chicago. In all, he garnered five degrees, including a DSc for his work on hominid evolution. In 1959 he succeeded Dart as professor and head of the department of anatomy and human biology at the University of the Witwatersrand, adding honorary professorships in palaeoanthropology and zoology. Skills and abilities impressed Tobias. He loved cricket; his alma mater, Durban High, had given the world Hugh Tayfield, Trevor Goddard and Barry Richards. He encouraged his students to expect the unexpected in experiments. He objected strongly to supporters of intelligent design employing the word "science" in defence of their beliefs. South Africans saw him as a kind of Indiana Jones figure. He was short, but always dapper and in his youth his moustache made him look rather like a 1940s film star. He loved tea, chocolate, teasing TV directors – "I'm glad I put my teeth in" – having singsongs and braais (barbecues). One of his favourite tales involved Dart's wife leaving the fossilised Taung skull in a London taxi. After the end of apartheid, Tobias led negotiations to have the remains of Saartjie Baartman, a Khoi woman paraded through Europe in the 19th century as the Hottentot Venus, to be repatriated from Paris. Her grave is now a national heritage site. Tobias published more than 1,000 articles in academic journals and authored or co-authored 33 books including a memoir, Into the Past (2005). He received 17 honorary degrees from around the world and was a fellow or member of 28 learned societies, including the Royal Society, to which he was elected in 1996. He said: "I'm often asked why I didn't marry or have children. I've had 10,000 children. Those medics, dentists, therapists, pharmacists, nurses who've been through here – those are my children." • Phillip Vallentine Tobias, palaeoanthropologist, born 14 October 1925; died 7 June 2012

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Federalism—the division of power between regional governments and Baghdad—is among the most controversial issues in Iraq’s new constitution. Tanya Gilly-Khailany, director of democracy programs at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a Washington D.C.-based, nonprofit research organization, discusses the demands of Shiite and Kurdish leaders for more federalism in the south and north of Iraq and believes “the local population is best suited to govern itself.” Why are some Shiites calling for a semi-autonomous state in the south of Iraq? They believe it would create a balance in the country, since everyone should be entitled to form their own regional entities, not just the Kurds [in northern Iraq]. Now the Shiites are calling for nine out of Iraq’s eighteen provinces to be part of this southern federal region. But we must remember the southern provinces do not have the proper institutions in place; they don’t have a parliament as the Kurds do, nor the same government organizations. According to some religious Shiite leaders, the region’s oil wealth is for all Iraqis, but there was a proposal from some of these same leaders who want 90 percent of Basra’s oil wealth to stay in the region. Does the newly written constitution resolve this issue? The latest text of the constitution says that everyone in Iraq should have an equal share to its natural resources and wealth, which tells us the issue of oil wealth is at an acceptable level for all. Is the Shiites’ request motivated more by economic or religious issues? Personally, I believe it’s religious. The Islamists believe having an autonomous region in the south is the best way to assert their power and keep in place their upper hand in these regions. Of course, Basra, having one of the biggest oil wells in the world and the only open seaport that connects Iraq to the rest of the world, would prove very profitable for them as well. What are the arguments against granting Shiites greater autonomy? The Sunnis argue that an autonomous region in the south threatens the territorial integrity of the Republic of Iraq. Secular Shiites fear this might grant excessive power to religious parties. Is the issue of federalism the same for the Kurds? For them, I believe it is more of a precautionary mechanism than anything else. They want to make sure they are the ones governing their lives and are not subjected to genocide and ethnic cleansing, as was the case under the many different [previous] Iraqi governments. The Kurds also want to go a little bit beyond what they have now. Yes, they want a decentralized Iraqi government and feel that laws pertaining to the Kurds should be passed by a Kurdish parliament that knows their society and culture best. But they also want a reversal of the Arabization process that took place under Saddam Hussein, where in many Kurdish cities, including [oil-rich] Kirkuk, Kurds were evicted and Arabs from the south and center of Iraq were brought in to change the demographics of the area. You hear a lot about Kirkuk and Kurds’ claims to the city. Do they primarily want the profits from oil? To the Kurds, Kirkuk is not about oil. It’s a city historically in Kurdistan, where they have lived for centuries; they were kicked out of their homes by force and had their livelihoods destroyed. It’s the place of their ancestors that they want to go back to. It has more of a sentimental value. Yes, Kirkuk has a big oil field, but I don’t think that’s the main motivating factor; and besides, it’s not an infinite supply of oil. But aren’t Iraq’s Shiites also motivated by sentimental reasons? After all, they too were oppressed by Saddam Hussein. Yes, but it’s interesting that [Shiites in the south] have less freedom now and are more afraid of speaking out because of some of these extremist entities who hold so much power and try to enforce sharia [traditional Islamic] law. For example, a while ago some students from the University of Basra had a mixed picnic and members of a religious militia attacked and killed one of the students. Would federalism rein in the Shiite and Kurdish militias? They will mostly be integrated into the Iraqi army. For example, in the case of the peshmerga [Kurdistan’s 100,000-strong security force], they would be part of a special Iraqi brigade but would receive orders from Kurdistan’s regional government, since they are stationed in the north, not in the center or south of Iraq. Shiite militias such as the Badr Brigade will be fully integrated into the Iraqi army and will receive orders from the Iraqi Defense Ministry. Are you concerned Iraq could come apart if these regions are granted too much autonomy? Definitely not. I think the [federalism] issue’s being overblown. All the sides have reaffirmed their commitment to the territorial integrity of Iraq. It won’t mean the disintegration of Iraq. The Kurds are smart enough to realize, at this point in time, it’s better for them to remain a part of Iraq. The Shiites will not break away either, since they have a high sense of Iraqi nationalism. So you think the Kurds and Shiites are using this issue as a bargaining chip? Yes and no. For one, the notion of federalism has been agreed to by all different sides since, I think, 1991 or 1992, at the first opposition meeting that took place when the Iraqi National Congress [INC] was formed. One of the things they agreed on is that [federalism] should have been automatically included [in the constitution]. But mostly it’s the Sunnis who have had the hardest time with the notion of federalism, by not understanding what the term means. For example, they were happy to switch the word “federalism” with the word “united.” What are the main advantages of federalism? Federalism is a mechanism by which different people are given a degree of autonomy and self-rule within a united structure. Therefore, one of its biggest advantages is it ensures Iraq will remain a united country. We have to understand that Iraq is a very diverse country with many religions and cultures. Also, a lot of people are not willing to go back to the times of Saddam Hussein, when all things were dictated by the center. Is federalism popular among most Shiites in the south? The sense I have is there’s a disconnect between the Shiite populace and the Islamist parties. If the general population looked at the issue of federalism economically, they would see that they’d benefit more from a federal arrangement. Others might think [if they’re granted more regional autonomy] they may not be persecuted by the state, so they see it as form of security blanket. But the biggest problem I’ve noticed in Iraq is people don’t fully understand what federalism means. So you sound very much in favor of some form of regional federalism. I’m very much for a confederation of these different regions and provinces, since I believe the local population is best suited to govern itself. These regions should go about their own business and just be loosely connected to a federal government. Under the current conditions, it won’t be too bad for the Kurds, but it would have been better to have more rights granted to them. In the south, if the Shiites want to come together to form a federal state, I support it also, but it must be the vote of the people and not imposed on them. But couldn’t this region mirror Iran’s government, a theocratic-style Islamic state? No, because most Iraqis do not associate themselves with Iran or its culture. The model I predict we’ll have is something closer to Indonesia or Malaysia. That is, it will be a democracy, but the constitution will have language that supports Islam.

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Source: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons KINEUBENAE (Quinipeno, Quenebenaw), Mississauga Ojibwa chief; his name means the golden eagle; fl. 1797–1812 on the north shore of Lake Ontario. During the War of 1812 a group of Mississaugas gathered by a river mouth at the western end of Lake Ontario. As the warriors squatted around him the old chief, Kineubenae, slowly began to tell of the fast in which, through the grace of unseen spirit powers, he had obtained protection against arrows, tomahawks, and even bullets. And he would demonstrate this gift. He took a tin kettle and, with some difficulty on account of his age, walked a short distance away from the circle. As soon as he raised the kettle up before his face a warrior was to fire, and Kineubenae would collect the bullet in the kettle. The marksman, like the others, believed in Kineubenae’s “medicine” and he fired. The chief instantly fell. The band, to their horror, found that “the lead went into his head and [had] killed him on the spot.” That one bullet did more than kill a respected leader; it shook the faith of many Mississaugas in their traditional way of life. The life and death of Kineubenae symbolizes the decline of the Ojibwas known to the whites as Mississaugas. Born in the mid 18th century, Kineubenae grew up in the last decades of Ojibwa domination of present-day southern Ontario. Two generations earlier his ancestors had swept southward from the Upper Lakes and by 1700 had expelled the Iroquois. For the next 75 years Mississaugas alone would occupy the north shore of Lake Ontario [see Wabbicommicot*; Wabakinine*]. But all changed with the outbreak of the American revolution. Kineubenae soon witnessed the arrival in his homeland of thousands of white and Iroquois refugees. Suddenly the Mississaugas were obliged to cede their territory at the western end of the lake in order to provide land for the newcomers. Retaining for themselves the “Mississauga Tract,” an area lying between Burlington Bay (Hamilton Harbour) and the Credit River, they agreed in 1784 to the surrenders on the understanding, in Kineubenae’s later words, that “the Farmers would help us,” and that the Indians could “encamp and fish where we pleased.” In fact – as the chief himself complained in 1805 – the promises were not kept. Instead of assisting the Indians, the farmers “when we encamp on the Land . . . drove us off and shoot our dogs and never give us any assistance as was promised to our old Chiefs.” Meanwhile the Mississaugas were fast disappearing. Close contact with Europeans had brought to the villages diseases such as smallpox and tuberculosis, against which they had no natural immunity. Over the period from 1787 to 1798 the Mississaugas at the western end of Lake Ontario declined from more than 500 to approximately 350. As the principal chief of the Mississaugas on Twelve Mile (Bronte) Creek, Kineubenae frequently spoke for the Mississaugas in the early 19th century. In 1805, for example, he negotiated with the British over the proposed sale of the “Mississauga Tract.” The surviving minutes of the conference reveal that Kineubenae was a shrewd bargainer. On the first day he firmly opposed the surrender of more land, for, as he told William Claus*, deputy superintendent general of Indian affairs in Upper Canada, “the young Men & Women have found fault with so much having been sold before,: it is true we are poor, & the Women say we will be worse, if we part with any more.” Only after the British applied pressure on the second day did he comply. Then, in return for ceding the entire lakefront of the tract (the Indians retained the interior section until 1818), Kineubenae extracted a promise from the British that the Mississaugas would keep the river mouths and their rights to the fisheries there. Within a year, however, Kineubenae was protesting against the settlers’ encroachments on the fisheries. In 1806 he complained about the white man who had taken over his cornfield at Bronte Creek and then destroyed it, as well as that of a poor Indian widow who had four children to support. The same white settler, Kineubenae reported, was building a weir to catch salmon on their way upstream to spawn. In addition, a white squatter at the Credit River had so disturbed the waters “by washing with sope and other dirt, that the fish refuse coming into the River as usual, by which our families are in great distress for want of food.” By 1812 Kineubenae was becoming extremely weak and on his own admission “getting too old to walk.” For nearly two decades he had led his people and during this time most of their lands had been taken, the fish and game populations had declined drastically, and their own numbers had been severely reduced. Then the war between the British and the Americans had extended to the north shore of Lake Ontario. It was at this point that Kineubenae, in order to inspire his band with an example of the strength of their traditions, fasted and obtained “warrior’s medicine.” The fact that it could not resist the white man’s bullet would, a decade later, facilitate the work of Peter Jones [Kahkewaquonaby*] in converting the demoralized Mississaugas to Christianity. PAC, RG 10, A2, 27: 420; 438; “Proceedings of a meeting with the Missisawque Indians,” 3 Oct. 1810; A6, 1834: 197. PRO, CO 42/340: ff.49–53. Victoria Univ. Library (Toronto), Peter Jones coll., anecdote book, no.53 (“Powwowiska Quenebenaw’s death”). Canada, Indian treaties and surrenders . . . [1680–1906] (3v., Ottawa, 1891–1912; repr. Toronto, 1971), 1: 23. Corr. of Hon. Peter Russell (Cruikshank and Hunter), 2: 304, 306. Peter Jones (Kahkewaquonaby), History of the Ojebway Indians; with especial reference to their conversion to Christianity . . . (London, 1861), 108–9, 155.

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The Center for AIDS and Humanity Remembering the Past, Honoring the Heroes, Working for a Future Without AIDS After nearly eighteen months of meetings, focus groups, and intense discussion, the 159 Center Partnership (AIDS Survival Project, AIDS Treatment Initiatives and Positive Impact) are pleased to announce the formation of the Center for AIDS and Humanity. The Center for AIDS and Humanity in Atlanta is a proposed "living museum" for the documentation, study, and interpretation of the global spread of the AIDS epidemic. By documenting and presenting the history of the AIDS epidemic to the public, the Center will serve as a memorial to the millions of people who have died during the epidemic. Although details are still being developed, the vision of The Center for AIDS and Humanity will include permanent display areas and administrative offices located at 159 Ralph McGill Boulevard in Atlanta. The 159 Center Partnership is working to create a multifaceted community center that will serve as the home of numerous agencies providing services to those living with HIV and agencies devoted to promoting an array of human rights issues. A Living MuseumThe AIDS epidemic is twenty years old. Although the spread of the HIV virus is preventable, this disease has continued its worldwide expansion. Unfortunately, systematic neglect by national and international governmental and non-governmental organizations has contributed to the proliferation of this epidemic. In nearly every region of the world, strategies for intervention, treatment, and prevention of AIDS has become politicized in response to the prevailing social prejudices of each particular region. Consequently, this epidemic has disproportionately impacted poor, uneducated, and/or disenfranchised populations. The Center's primary mission is to document, advance and disseminate knowledge about this global tragedy with a special focus on the social and political aspects of AIDS; to articulate cross-cultural patterns that have been the defining features of the AIDS epidemic; and to encourage its visitors to reflect upon the moral and spiritual questions raised by the events of the AIDS epidemic as well as their own responsibilities as citizens to help to diminish the catastrophic impact of this health crisis. The proposed Center for AIDS and Humanity aligns itself philosophically with other international museums of conscience by promoting tolerance and understanding. The Center will aim to stimulate dialogue on the pressing social issues that have been the result of the AIDS epidemic, and will encourage a global and humanitarian approach to dealing with the present and future ramifications of the disease. By dealing with racism, homophobia and the other aspects of intolerance the AIDS epidemic has revealed, the Center will address issues that far transcend the disease itself-thus making it a place for all people. More Than an ExhibitThe Center for AIDS and Humanity will fulfill its mission through multifaceted programs: exhibitions, regular AIDS memorial commemorations, distribution of educational materials, oral history and archival projects, web sites, and a variety of public programming designed to enhance understanding of the AIDS epidemic and related issues. As a major metropolitan center, Atlanta is a representative American city that has been deeply affected by the AIDS epidemic. As elsewhere, the epidemic has stimulated grassroots activism -- at first emanating from the gay community, and then expanding to Atlanta's many diverse communities. There are many local individual and organizational stories to tell. At the same time, Atlanta is a center for global activity in health, humanitarian, political and environmental research and action, and has many ties to the continent of Africa. The Centers for Disease Control, The Carter Center, and CARE are among the agencies headquartered in close proximity to Emory University, a major research center. Because of the city's many possibilities, the NAMES quilt commemorating over 80,000 people who have died of AIDS has been moved from San Francisco to be housed in Atlanta. Thus, Atlanta can place faces on the history of the AIDS epidemic by telling its own history. At the same time, it is a gateway to the international history of the epidemic, and is on the frontlines of dealing with the current global situation. While one of the goals of the Center is to create an area in the 159 Center building for permanent exhibits, political gatherings and cultural events, input from community members has expanded the vision of the Center to intentionally pursue partnerships with other organizations. In addition to providing sources of information for the various projects of the Center, it is hoped that these partnerships will allow the various exhibits to travel into the community. Ultimately, the Center hopes to have a number of exhibits that can be made accessible at any given time to schools, churches, civic and service organizations, and private corporations. From the Beginning: The Pilot Project Although it could take years for the full vision of the Center to become a reality, the members of the initial steering committee felt that the true test of the Center lies in its ability to produce exhibits of meaningful content and high quality. Rather than waiting until all funding has been secured and the permanent staff hired, the decision was made to go forward immediately with plans for a first exhibit. Working with an advisory group, Dr. Saralyn Chestnut of Emory University and Louise E. Shaw, former Executive Director of Nexus Contemporary Art Center, have begun work on an oral history project that will document well-known and not so well-known heroes from the Black community in Atlanta who were AIDS activists, volunteers, health care providers and visionaries in the early days of the epidemic. Using the oral histories as a departure point, the goal of the project is to develop a well-researched, historically accurate, creative and versatile exhibition to introduce the Center for AIDS and Humanity to the public and demonstrate the potential of such an initiative. Additional information regarding the pilot project will be made available in the coming months. Bringing the Vision to RealityThe Center for AIDS and Humanity is looking for your support. As with any new idea or organization, the greatest need is for both human and financial resources. Members of the steering committee currently include individuals from AIDS Survival Project, Positive Impact, AIDS Treatment Initiatives, Emory University, the Center for Pan-Asian Community Services and community volunteers. The main focus of the steering committee is to secure the funding necessary to support both the pilot project, From the Beginning: African American Heroes and the AIDS Epidemic in Atlanta (working title only), and to build the foundation for a permanent Center for AIDS and Humanity. If you would like to join the steering committee, please contact Jim Struve at [email protected] or leave a message at 404-373-2145. The Wall of RemembranceDesigns for the physical space of the Center are still in the early stages. However, remembering the lives of those lost to AIDS will be central to the Center's mission. With that in mind, later this year we will be unveiling the Wall of Remembrance. The Wall of Remembrance will be displayed in a central area of the 159 Center building. Brass-plated plaques inscribed with the name, year of birth, and year of death of those we have lost fill the wall. If you would like to add a plaque to the Wall of Remembrance in memory of someone special in your life who has passed away, simply fill out the form located on the last page of Survival News or call the offices of AIDS Survival Project or Positive Impact. A donation of $50.00 or more is requested, with all proceeds directly supporting the work of the 159 Center and the Center for AIDS and Humanity. This article was provided by AIDS Survival Project. It is a part of the publication Survival News.

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The regulation, according to a report in The New York Times, “takes aim at the largest source of carbon pollution in the U.S., the nation’s more than 600 coal-fired power plants. If it withstands an expected onslaught of legal and legislative attacks, experts say that it could close hundreds of the plants and also lead, over the course of decades, to systemic changes in the American electricity industry, including transformations in how power is generated and used.” It is “one of the strongest actions ever taken by the U.S. government to fight climate change. . . . It is also likely to stand as President Obama’s last chance to substantially shape domestic policy and as a defining element of his legacy. The President, who failed to push a sweeping climate change bill through Congress in his first term, is now acting on his own by using his executive authority under the 1970 Clean Air Act to issue the regulation.” How the regulations, if implemented, will affect the U.S. railroad industry is unclear at this point. U.S. Class I coal loadings and revenues have declined in the past few years, largely due to low natural gas prices. In 2012, the railroads originated about 800 million tons of coal—about 7 million carloads (second to intermodal), 41% of all tons, and 21.6% of gross revenues. The AAR issued a statement from President and CEO Edward R. Hamberger in response to the EPA’s Clean Power Plan proposal: “While AAR is still reviewing the proposal, freight railroads are concerned about the economic consequences the rule could have for both the coal industry and the larger American economy. We must not lose sight of the energy needs required to maintain our nation’s well-being and economic competitiveness in the years ahead. EPA needs to strike the right balance between environmental goals and technological and economic feasibility, and avoid actions that undermine job growth or place American manufacturers at a competitive disadvantage in world markets.” “While RSI and its member companies are still reviewing the proposal, we are concerned that the EPA’s proposed carbon emissions regulations will burden consumers and cause disproportionate harm to the U.S. rail industry and its supply companies, which manufacture goods for and provide services to our nation’s freight railroads,” said Railway Supply Institute Vice President of Government Affairs Nicole Brewin. “Not only is EPA’s proposal unprecedented in its reach, cost, and complexity; the proposed carbon regulations could strike a major blow to our nation’s economy, raising energy prices and costing jobs. “Recent analyses of potential carbon regulations show the impacts could include as many as 178,000 jobs lost per year; Double-digit electricity price increases in many states; and forced shutdown of more than half of all U.S. coal-fired power plants. “The proposed regulations are of great concern to RSI because most coal in the U.S. is consumed at coal-fueled power plants. Historically, coal has dominated U.S. electricity generation because it is such a cost-effective fuel choice, and freight rail is a big reason for that. According to the Association of American Railroads, more than 70% of the coal delivered to coal-fueled power plants is delivered by rail. In 2012, coal accounted for 41% of rail tonnage and 21.6% of rail gross revenue. “RSI’s member companies represent a $23 billion-a-year industry supporting 90,000 American workers. We are very concerned about the consequences this proposal will have on American companies.” Under EPA’s proposed rule, which the President has directed to be completed in June 2015, states will be given a variety of policy options to achieve the emissions cuts. Rather than immediately shutting down coal plants, states would be allowed to reduce emissions by making changes to their electricity distribution systems (for example, installing wind and solar generation technology, or starting or joining state and regional “cap and trade” programs, in which states agree to cap carbon pollution and buy and sell permits to pollute). States will be required to implement emissions reduction measures and submit compliance plans to the EPA by June 2016. Though states will have their own reduction standards, the national average is expected to be 25% by 2020 and 30% by 2030. The rule gives states and companies as many as 15 years to comply, more time than some environmental groups had wanted, and a base year favored by utility companies. EPA says its flexible approach should allow states to comply with the regulation more easily and cost-effectively, by adopting policies best tailored to regional economies and energy mixes. Coal industry groups, particularly those in energy-producing states, are planning to sue to block or delay the rule, and say EPA’s flexible approach makes the rule more open to legal challenges. EPA’s proposal, according to The Wall Street Journal, “is already an explosive point of debate in some Senate and House midterm races, particularly in some energy-producing states where Democrats are vulnerable. . . . Republicans are using the proposed rule to assert that Democrats will raise energy costs and kill jobs, and that carbon restrictions are futile in the absence of similar action by China and other large polluting nations. Many Republicans are linking the rule to other Obama Administration actions that they view as overly intrusive in the economy.”

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- Historic Sites The Working Ladies Of Lowell Proud and independent, the farm girls of New England helped build an industrial Eden, but its paternalistic innocence was not to last February 1961 | Volume 12, Issue 2 Dusk fell over the city of Lawrence, Massachusetts, a few minutes before five o’clock on January 10, 1860. In the five-story brick textile factory owned by the Pemberlon Manufacturing Company, lamps began to flicker in the ritual of “lighting-up time.” The big building—nearly three hundred feet long and eighty-five wide—rumbled unceasingly with the noise of its hundreds of machines for turning cotton into cloth: its scutchers and spreaders, carders, drawing frames and speeders; its warpers and dressers; and its power looms for weaving the finished fabric. Inside, the noise was higher-pitched, a relentless squeak, clatter, and whirr from the belt-and-shaft system that transmitted water power to the machinery. Some six or seven hundred “hands,” mostly women, were at work that afternoon. Those near the windows could look through the twilight at the factory yard, with its two lower buildings running out at right angles from the ends of the main plant. Next to the yard lay the canal which carried the waters of the Merrimack River to the giant water wheels, and beyond that was a row of frame boardinghouses for the employees. Sometime after seven o’clock, bells would jangle and the workers would stream across footbridges over the canal, home to dinner. But not that night. Suddenly there was a sharp rattle, and then a prolonged, deafening crash. A section of the building’s brick wall seemed to bulge out and explode, and then, literally in seconds, the Pemberton Mill collapsed. Tons of machinery crashed down through crumpling floors, dragging trapped, screaming victims along in their downward path. At a few minutes after five, the factory was a heap of twisted iron, splintered beams, pulverized bricks, and agonized, imprisoned human flesh. Bonfires, lit to aid rescue workers, made pockets of brightness in the gathering night. But the darkness was merciful, hiding sights of unforgettable horror. Girls and men were carried out on stretchers, with arms and legs torn from their bodies, faces crushed beyond recognition, open wounds in which the bones showed through a paste of dried blood, brick dust, and shredded clothing. The worst was yet to come, however. At about 9:30 P.M., the moans of pain, delirium, and cold coming from those still pinned in the wreckage changed to screams of panic. Someone scrambling through the ruins had upset an oil lantern. Flames raced through the oil-soaked wood and cotton waste, drove back doctors, rescue crews, and spectators (many of them relatives of the mill workers), and snuffed out the final shrieks. Next morning saw only a black and smoking mass of “brick, mortar and human bones … promiscuously mingled” at the scene of the tragedy. There were ninety dead—fourteen of them unidentifiable or never found—and a long list of crippled and hospitalized. The casualty list read like a cross section of New England’s labor force. There were Yankee girls like Mary York, of Brighton, Maine, and men like Ira Locke, of Derry, New Hampshire. But there were also Nancy Connelly and Bridget Doyle and Kate Harridy, and many others whose names were of Ireland’s “ould sod.” ‘liiere were men like the Swiss George Kraclolfer, the German Henry Bakeman, and the Scotch-Irish Robert Hayer, who had come a long way to suffer at the edge of a New England canal. And there was not a church in Lawrence—Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Congregational, Unitarian, Universalist, Episcopalian—that did not have parishioners to mourn or to console on the Sunday after the accident. What had gone wrong? A lengthy coroner’s inquest did a certain amount of hedging, but certain unpleasant facts emerged. During the factory’s construction, in 1853, cast-iron pillars supporting the floor beams had been shown to be cheap and brittle. They went in nevertheless. Extra machinery had been crowded into the upper floors, ignoring already questionable load limits. Brick walls had not been sufficiently reinforced against the outward thrust of those overburdened doors. After the disaster, the ministers of Lawrence spoke sermons on God’s inscrutable wrath, but it was clear that human oversight and corner cutting on expenses bore much of the blame. This seemed to point the finger at the owners, David Kevins and George Howe, who had bought the factory from its first owners in 1857, during a financial panic. Yet neither man was callous or dishonest. Both undoubtedly shared the shocked dismay of their fellow businessmen in the New England Society for the Promotion of Manufactures and the Mechanic Arts, who, ironically, had scheduled a dinner in Boston for that dreadful January 10. Nevins and Howe had acted in response to pressures which they themselves did not fully understand, and such guilt as they bore was partly the guilt of the generation of men who had brought industry to New England’s hills forty years before. Those men had nursed lordly dreams of progress and profit through the machine, and some of their visions of growth and gain and uplift had been realized. But industrialism, as America was to learn, brought pain and perplexity with it as well. The horror at the Pemberton Mills was a symbol of another collapse: that of an experiment in creating a strifeless industrial society showering blessings alike on workers and capitalists. Like most such experiments, it expected too much of human nature and counted too little on the unforeseen. For a time, however, it gave a thrill of promise, its beginnings went back beyond Lawrence, to the early days of the Republic.

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"Chapter 109." by Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall (1876-) IN 1769 A.D., Captain Cook landed in North Island, New Zealand. He cut the name of his ship upon a tree, planted the British flag, and claimed the land in the name of King George III. Then he sailed all round the island, proving to himself and his officers that it was indeed an island. In January of the following year, he landed in South Island, again hoisted the Union Jack, and again claimed the land, and all the lands near in the name of King George. For many years no white people settled in New Zealand, for it was peopled by a wild and warlike race of savages called Maoris. These Maoris were cannibals, that is, people who eat human beings. After a battle, those who were killed would be roasted and eaten by the victors. The Maoris fought among themselves, and they fought with the white traders who came from time to time to their shores. Yet although they were cannibals, the Maoris were not nearly such a low kind of savage as the Australian, and a missionary called Marsden, hearing about these islands and their people, made up his mind to teach them to be Christian. Mr. Marsden was working among the convicts in Australia, and one day he set sail from there, and landed in New Zealand. For the price of twelve axes, he bought two hundred acres of land from one of the Maori chiefs, and there he founded a missionary settlement. Mr. Marsden himself could not stay, for his work was in Australia, but he left two men behind him who taught the natives, and he often came back to the islands and was greatly loved by the Maoris. For many years Britain did not acknowledge New Zealand as a colony. Dreadful deeds were done there, but when the British Government was asked to put a stop to them, the answer was that the islands were not within His Majesty's dominions. Yet at other times the Government acted as if the islands were part of the Empire. It was only very gradually that white people went to live in New Zealand. The first colonists who came did not stay long, for the dreadful customs of the savage Maoris frightened them away again. That was not to be wondered at, for, in spite of all the missionaries could do, many of the Maoris remained cannibals. When Queen Victoria came to the throne there were only about two thousand white people in all the islands. But, as many of these were British, it was felt at last that it was the duty of the British to do something to protect their colonists against the Maoris, and also to protect the Maoris from being cheated and ill-treated by bad white people, who went there to steal the land from the native chiefs. So a governor was sent out from Britain who was told to make a treaty with these native chiefs. This treaty was signed at a place called Waitangi, in North Island. The Governor, with all the principal white people, sat upon a platform which had been set up in an open space near the town. Round them sat the Maori chiefs, and behind them stood all the rest of the white people. Beyond gleamed the white of the British tents, gay with flags, which showed brightly against the background of waving green trees. When all were gathered, the Governor spoke to the people, and, as he could not speak the Maori language, one of the missionaries translated his words to them. He told them how the great White Queen in an island far away was anxious that they should be happy and at peace. And because so many of the great White Queen's own subjects had come to live in these islands of New Zealand, she felt that she must send a governor to rule them and to see justice done between them and the Maoris. The great White Queen asked the Maori chiefs to acknowledge her as over-lord, promising that if they did so she would protect them, their families, their people, and their goods, as she protected all her other subjects and their possessions. Then the Maori chiefs spoke. Some of them did not want to sign the treaty. "Send the man away," said one, springing up and pointing to the Governor, "do not sign the paper. If you do you will become slaves, you will be made to break stones upon the roads. Your lands will be taken away from you, and you will no longer be chiefs." Another chief then rose. He spoke so calmly and so well, that all the white people were quite astonished. "You will be our father," he said turning to the Governor, "you must not allow us to become slaves. You will keep all our old customs, you will not let our land be taken from us." This chief was a very great man, very mighty in battle, so the others listened to him, and, after more talking, it was agreed that they should think about it for a day, before signing the treaty. Then with cheers from both the natives and the white people, the meeting was ended. Next day, with firing of guns and great ceremony, the treaty was signed. The great chief who had spoken in favor of the treaty signed his name as the missionaries had taught him to do, but the others made marks like the marks called tattooing with which their bodies were covered. A few months later the chiefs of South Island also signed the treaty, and the Union Jack was hoisted amid the thunder of guns and the cheers of the people. So New Zealand became an acknowledged British colony, nearly one hundred years after it was discovered and claimed by Cook. Many years have passed since the signing of this treaty, and many things have happened of which I cannot tell you here. New Zealand has become an important part of the British Empire. Instead of two thousand white people there are now about seven hundred thousand in the islands. It is a self-governing colony and, like Australia, has a Parliament of its own, and in New Zealand the women help to choose the members for Parliament, just as the men do. This book has been put on-line as part of the BUILD-A-BOOK Initiative at the Celebration of Women Writers. Initial text entry and proof-reading of this book were the work of volunteers at

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Mount Hood National Forest |Mount Hood National Forest| IUCN category VI (protected area with sustainable use of natural resources) Snow covered Mount Hood in the Mount Hood National Forest |Nearest city||Government Camp, Oregon| |Area||1,071,466 acres (4,336 km2)| |Established||July 1, 1908| |Visitors||4.4 million (in 2006)| |Governing body||U.S. Forest Service| The Mount Hood National Forest is located 62 miles (100 km) east of the city of Portland, Oregon, and the northern Willamette River valley. The Forest extends south from the Columbia River Gorge across more than 60 miles (97 km) of forested mountains, lakes and streams to the Olallie Scenic Area, a high lake basin under the slopes of Mount Jefferson. The Forest includes and is named after Mount Hood, a stratovolcano. The Forest encompasses some 1,067,043 acres (4,318.17 km2). Forest headquarters are located in Sandy, Oregon. A 1993 Forest Service study estimated that the extent of old growth in the Forest was 345,300 acres (139,700 ha). The Forest is divided into four separate districts - Barlow (with offices in Dufur), Clackamas River (Estacada), Hood River (Mount Hood-Parkdale), and Zigzag (Zigzag). Mount Hood National Forest was first established as the Bull Run Forest Reserve in 1892. It was merged with part of Cascade National Forest on July 1, 1908 and named Oregon National Forest. The name was changed again to Mount Hood National Forest in 1924. The Mount Hood National Forest is one of the most-visited National Forests in the United States, with over four million visitors annually. Less than five percent of the visitors camp in the forest. The forest contains 170 developed recreation sites, including: - Timberline Lodge, built in 1937 high on Mount Hood - Lost Lake - Burnt Lake - Trillium Lake - Timothy Lake - Rock Creek Reservoir - The Old Oregon Trail, including Barlow Road Other common recreational activities in the Mount Hood National Forest include fishing, boating, hiking, hunting, rafting, horseback riding, skiing, mountain biking, berry-picking, and mushroom collecting. A portion of the Pacific Crest Trail passes through the National Forest on the flanks of the mountain. Mount Hood is a popular destination for mountain climbers. There are eight officially designated wilderness areas within Mount Hood National Forest collectively adding up to 311,448 acres that are part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Acreages are as of 2011. - Badger Creek Wilderness at 29,057 acres (118 km2) - Bull of the Woods Wilderness at 36,731 acres (149 km2) - Clackamas Wilderness at 9,181 acres (37 km2) - Lower White River Wilderness at 1,743 acres (7 km2) not counting 1,063 acres (4 km2) on BLM land - Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness at 65,822 acres (266 km2) - Mount Hood Wilderness at 63,177 acres (256 km2) includes the peak and upper slopes of Mount Hood - Roaring River Wilderness at 36,768 acres (149 km2) - Salmon–Huckleberry Wilderness at 62,455 acres (253 km2) - "Land Areas of the National Forest System". U.S. Forest Service. January 2012. Retrieved June 30, 2012. - "The National Forests of the United States". ForestHistory.org. Retrieved July 30, 2012. - Revised Visitation Estimates - National Forest Service - "About Us". Mt. Hood National Forest. U.S. Forest Service. Retrieved 2007-09-06. - Bolsinger, Charles L.; Waddell, Karen L. (1993). "Area of old-growth forests in California, Oregon, and Washington". United States Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. Resource Bulletin PNW-RB-197. - Table 6 - NFS Acreage by State, Congressional District and County - United States Forest Service - September 30, 2007 - Davis, Richard C. (September 29, 2005). "National Forests of the United States" (pdf). The Forest History Society. - "Mount Hood Quarter Introduced". United States Mint. - Michael Milstein (September 20, 2007). "Rethinking camping—A Forest Service plan could dramatically change Mount Hood's offerings". OregonLive.com. The Oregonian. Retrieved 2007-10-06. - Hikes & Events - Oregon Wild - Activities - Bark - "Mount Hood National Recreation Area, Oregon". Public Lands Information Center. Retrieved March 9, 2012. - Wilderness Data Search, Wilderness.net website |Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mount Hood National Forest.| - Mount Hood National Forest - US Forest Service - Mount Hood National Forest - Wildernet.com - Hiking Mount Hood National Forest - GORP

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Congo Fighting Leaves A Fragile City On Edge Goma, a city on the eastern border of the Congo, has been a magnet for war refugees for nearly two decades. And in an expanding camp for displaced people, called Mugunga I, school principal Emmanuel Kibanja Miteso holds up a three-ring binder that reflects the history of war here. The pages are a logbook for parent-teacher conferences. Every time fighting flares in the region, people flood into the displacement camps and the roster of names swells in the principal's binder. Goma has seen its share of battles during the repeated convulsions in eastern Congo, but for the past decade or so it has often been seen as a relatively safe shelter from fighting. But now Goma itself is a prize in the latest round of war. The M23 rebels, a group made up of army defectors, launched an uprising last spring and have been advancing in eastern Congo against the weak Congolese army. On Nov. 20, the M23 rebels came marching down from villages to the north and took over Goma. Ten days later, the rebels appeared to retreat under international pressure on the rebels and on neighboring Rwanda, which is widely believed to be the movement's biggest supporter. Rebels In Hiding But it seems M23 never really left Goma. The rebel fighters just changed into civilian clothes, went into hiding and remained in the town. Many residents say the rebels are right here in the city. Fidel Bafilemba, a field researcher with the Enough Project, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group working to end crimes against humanity, has been tracking the movements of M23 through conversations with residents of Goma. "We have even spoken to people who have been providing them food and water, things like that," he said. "The M23 is in town." From the sunny balcony of his office, Bafilemba pointed out many neighboring houses where residents have fled, fearing another outbreak in fighting. Meanwhile, the Congolese army is also back in Goma. This is the same army that last month tucked tail and ran when M23 moved in. Now the army has taken up position on a hill just outside the Mugunga camp, with its thousands of tents of sticks and plastic sheeting. Some of the displaced people in this camp are here because they fled M23; others fled the Congolese army. They all came seeking safe ground. Now they find themselves between the positions of the two forces. An elected leader in the camp, who asked not to be named because he's afraid of army commanders, said the camp is "right at the combat zone, with M23 on one side, the Congolese army on the other." And, he added, Lake Kivu blocks the army's route of retreat from Goma. Army Doesn't Inspire Confidence Congo's army is not a comforting presence for the residents of the town. Rape has been a recurring nightmare in the fighting, and Kahindo Immaculee, who is a sexual violence counselor in this camp, says the soldiers on the hill come into the camp at night. On Dec. 17, she says, some women collecting firewood were ambushed by soldiers who selected the seven most attractive and sent the others home. The captive women were taken to the base and raped for three days. Immaculee tried to get the women to stay for counseling, but they all collected their children and fled the camp. "We can't bear the life here," they told her. United Nations forces still patrol this camp, but are seen as ineffective. They did not defend the city when the rebels arrived last month. So all eyes are on M23 and the army. For almost two weeks now, no shots have been fired, but virtually no one expects it to stay this way. Soldiers, Rebels Taking Supplies Tariq Riebl, the humanitarian coordinator for Oxfam in Congo, says soldiers and rebels are stealing their water and other donated supplies. "At what point does it become unsustainable?" he said. "You have so many armed groups from so many different factions. Is this just to push the political hand, the negotiations?" Negotiations between M23 and the Congolese government in Uganda are supposed to come up with a power-sharing deal. But M23 insists on administrative control of Goma. The Congolese government refuses. And back at the camp, many people are looking to the United States. Emmanuel Kibanja Miteso, the school principal, looks for signs of hope wherever he can find them. He says he heard last week that President Obama telephoned Rwandan President Paul Kagame and asked him to stop supporting M23. "I was really happy because M23 by themselves, they have no power to do anything." Despite the violent history here, he's optimistic, he says, that it's only a matter of time before peace returns. Source: NPR [http://www.npr.org/2012/12/31/168345346/congo-fighting-leaves-a-fragile-city-on-edge?ft=3&f=1003,1004,1007,1013,1014,1017,1019,1128]

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Anna Groundwater. The Scottish Middle March, 1573-1625: Power, Kinship, Allegiance. London: Royal Historical Society, 2010. x + 236 pp. $95.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-86193-307-5. Reviewed by Daniel Trifan (Missouri Western State University) Published on H-War (May, 2012) Commissioned by Margaret Sankey The border regions between Scotland and England have been characterized as much by mythology as by history, particularly since the early nineteenth century. The twentieth century, though, has witnessed a far more systematic and factually based examination of this contested and contentious area; and Anna Groundwater's meticulously researched study continues and extends the effort to shed light on what made the borderlands unique in the British Isles, and to place this region within the larger political and cultural context of the transition from Tudor to Stuart rule. The specific area of Groundwater's research is the Middle March, the central region of the Scottish Borders, which overlapped its English counterpart both to the east and west. The Middle March included the "dales," dominated by a handful of extended family groups of frequently shifting allegiance and complicated by fractious quarrels, both between and within these surnames. The overall purpose of Groundwater's study is to situate the evolution of the Middle March within the reign of the Scottish king James VI, both before and after his accession to the English throne as James I, and to demonstrate how James utilized specific Scottish political and cultural institutions in his attempt to include this region within his personal conception of a single and united realm. The popular conception of the Scottish borderlands has been as a turbulent and lawless region, with Englishmen habituated to the rule of law attempting to bring order to unruly and barbarian Scots still living in semi-tribal anarchy, a sort of sixteenth-century Waziristan riven by blood feuds and frequent "reiving,"or organized theft of property and livestock. Groundwater proceeds to bring such fantasies under control, demonstrating that most of the surviving accounts of border turbulence proceed from English march wardens, who unsurprisingly sought to blame the Scots for every disruption while frequently minimizing the role played by English borderers. The first historical examinations of this region did little to dispel this image, beginning with those of George Ridpath in the eighteenth century. While Ridpath's work is an invaluable resource for study of this topic, Ridpath himself was a passionate supporter of the Act of Union, and wrote from an English perspective (the name "Ridpath" is an English border surname). Scottish rulers echoed these sentiments during the sixteenth century, particularly during the contentious regency for the young James VI between 1567 and 1578, frequently referring to their border subjects as vagabonds, malefactors, thieves, and "broken men." What appears to have motivated such opprobrium, though, was not so much actual crimes but the distressing independence of thought and action that tended to accompany them, a daunting prospect for a ruler determined to impose his vision of personal rule over a region accustomed to a significant degree of autonomy. The Romantic-era novels of Sir Walter Scott, born with one of the Middle March's most prominent surnames, did little to correct the image of Scottish borderers, only now they were transformed into romance-novel caricatures rather than barbaric villains. The reality, as Groundwater maintains, is far more complex. While English bureaucracy was more differentiated than that of Scotland, it was not necessarily more effective at keeping order. While there might have been reiving and feuding by the more irrepressible surnames of the Middle March, such as the Armstrongs and the Elliots of Liddesdale, there was no Scottish equivalent of the Northern Rising of 1569, in which the earls of Northumberland and Westmorland, two of the principal four counties of the English Borders, openly rebelled against Elizabeth I. The close proximity of English and Scottish borderers appears to have fostered a border mentality, in which differences tended to be resolved locally rather than by appeal to Edinburgh or London. James VI's approach to the Scottish Borders was, according to Groundwater, to coopt local lairds and surname leaders into serving the interests of crown policy, chiefly by granting them powers and privileges and then holding them responsible for the good behavior of their dependents. In England, meanwhile, greater authority was placed in the hands of march wardens, frequently from outside the region, who relied on crown authority rather than ties of kinship to enforce their will on the local population. Following James's accession to the English throne in 1603, he tried increasingly to unify the cross-border legal system, only to be faced with stiff opposition from local authorities, and chiefly in Scotland. As a result, during the 1620s the principal lairds in the Scottish Middle March were from the same families who had dominated the region in the 1570s, and it was still through traditional ties of kinship and allegiance that the region was governed, although the lairds now held government offices. At the same time, Groundwater shows how disorder in the borderlands was sometimes utilized by James VI for ancillary political objectives. One example of this was the "rescue" from English captivity of "Kinmont Willie" Armstrong by Walter Scott of Buccleuch in 1596, following Armstrong's seizure by deputies of the English border warden Lord Scrope on an announced day of truce. Armstrong was a dependent of Buccleuch, so in so doing Buccleuch upheld his lordship by protecting a dependent, upheld his personal honor as a man not to be taken lightly, demonstrated martial prowess at the expense of the English, and publicly thumbed his nose at Scrope for violating Border custom. Despite the furious response by both Scrope and Elizabeth I, James would not turn Buccleuch over to English justice, but merely went through the motions of diplomatic nicety. This had occurred, though, at a time when James was growing impatient at Elizabeth's vague assurances of James's right to the English succession; and England, concerned with foreign policy, was not anxious to see an escalation of hostility on the Borders. Elizabeth contented herself with connecting payment of James's English government pension with the surrender of Buccleuch and another Scottish border laird, Robert Ker of Cessford; Buccleuch surrendered himself in 1597 and Cessford in early 1598, and both were released on pledges in 1598. Both were subsequently drawn into Scottish government service and ennobled, Cessford as Lord Roxburgh in 1600 and Buccleuch as Lord Scott of Buccleuch in 1606. It is difficult not to see the hand of prior agreement in this resolution. Following James's accession to the English throne, the imposition of order in the borderlands became a top priority for the crown, and it was accomplished steadily and methodically. The Scots did not become anglicized, and largely preexisting institutions were utilized in Scotland for imposing a greater degree of crown control in the region. In Groundwater's view, the mechanisms already in place in 1573 would have brought order to the region at that time had they been implemented coherently and systematically, but there was no compelling need for the Scottish government to do so at that time. After 1597 and the confirmation of James as heir to the English throne, James proceeded to do exactly that. The last large-scale raid into England was carried out, not surprisingly, by the Armstrongs and the Elliots in 1611, and James had eighteen of them hanged as a result. While the Borders had largely been pacified by 1625, the region did not become quiescent until after the Act of Union in 1707. Groundwater ends her study with the obligatory acknowledgment of the new British history, and warning, appropriately if not originally, that this new British history should not become the vehicle for yet another anglocentric interpretation of Scottish history. Groundwater's book is meticulously researched, with an extensive bibliography of both primary and secondary sources. While it is well written, with clear and cogent exposition, and plentifully cited, it tends to read in places like a doctoral dissertation. One area that perhaps receives short shrift is the special and unique qualities of border societies, and the equally unique mechanisms of law and order in such societies. For example, the English Middle March warden, Sir John Forster, walked the fine line between a law enforcer and a law breaker with as much finesse as the Earp brothers of frontier Tombstone, Arizona Territory some three hundred years later; and one wonders how many parallels could be found between the Kers and Scotts and their equivalents along the Welsh marches two centuries earlier. Overall, Groundwater's study is an essential addition to the corpus of Scottish border history, and contributes greatly to the recognition of the importance of Scottish institutions in the history of Great Britain. If there is additional discussion of this review, you may access it through the list discussion logs at: http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl. Daniel Trifan. Review of Groundwater, Anna, The Scottish Middle March, 1573-1625: Power, Kinship, Allegiance. H-War, H-Net Reviews. |This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.|

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Ching! tick, tick, tick, Ching! tick, tick, tick ... These are metronome sounds with four beats to the measurefor instance a time signature of 4/4, with stress here on the first beat. A metronome produces a pulse you can hear and/or see. It lays down a steady rhythm in beats-per-minute (BPM) when you play a piece of music. It's an invaluable composing and practice tool that goes back hundreds of years. Many synthesizer keyboards have built-in audible timekeepers. And battery-powered digital metronomes these days are little bigger than handheld cards. They may beep, show a pulse of light, swing a needle on the beat, display the BPM number. You can order metronome beats sent to your cell phone. You can even download a virtual metronome to your computer. More about this in a minute. The word metronome first appeared in English c.1815, formed from the Greek words metron (measure) and nomos (regulating). The earliest metronome, first described in 1696, took a team of horses to cart around. It drew little more than gawks and guffaws because composers in those days were also conductors. Written directions for playing speed were rare, anyway. "But a century later, in 1816, early in the Industrial Revolution, Johann Maelzel created the first metronome of the kind we're accustomed to," writes the late Robert Jourdain in his 1997 book, Music, The Brain and Ecstasy: How Music Captures Our Imagination. "In short order, metronome markings went on to everything, new and old alike. [BPM numbers were added] to the music of Haydn and Mozart.... Never again would there be confusion about the proper tempo!" Except there was. Beethoven at first embraced Maelzel's invention. He added metronome markings to his works, including all nine symphonies. After BPM-marking all movements of the Ninth, however, he lost the manuscript somewhere in his cluttered loft. "He later marked a second score, then rediscovered the first," writes Jourdain. "Hardly any metronome markings matched." The composer threw up his hands. "No metronome at all! Whoever has the right feeling needs none; and whoever lacks it, has no use for onehe will run away with the whole orchestra anyhow." In our own era, Stravinsky, Ellington and Marsalis have taken metronome markings lightly in recording their own music. Many composers and musicians today, however, do rely on those digits, often softening them with the old expressive descriptions (allegro moderato, andantino, adagio, whatever). Returning to the score: A jazz composer writes something in an "irregular" time of 7/8. That might produce this pattern: Ching! tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tick.... Another pattern for 7/8 is Ching! tick, tick, tock, tick, tock, tick.... Try reading either bar aloud and briskly (allegro)keep repeating it without a break while you tap your foot in rhythm. Julius Hemphill (1938-1995), a reeds player remembered as leader of the World Saxophone Quartet, left a body of extended works (Last Supper at Uncle Tom's Cabin) as rich as anyone in jazz since Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus. To replicate the band's sound without Hemphill in it would be as hard as recreating Duke's sound without Johnny Hodges. All the same, as his onetime sideman Marty Ehrlich points out, Hemphill's "manuscripts had metronome markings and expressive markings, so we're not flying blind." You can't hold the newest form of metronome in your hand because you can't touch it. The gadget exists only virtually. You see it and program it on screen. You hear it, in whatever beat sounds you enter, over your computer loudspeakers. Many models are offered on the Net. "Weird Metronome," as Los Angeles animator David Johnston dubbed his creation, is "a program that runs in Windows and functions as a timekeeper." The inventor plays several instruments. He set out "to make the metronome that I had been looking for," he told me. "That meant the ability to play weird time signatures and be as customizable as possible." Weird Metronome uses any of some 50 different instrument "voices" to sound the beats. Say you're playing a jazz piece with five beats to the bar. Say the first and third beats should be accented. "For this," writes Johnston on his Web site, "you would set tick sound 1 to be a basic beat sound (I like 'Side Stick') and tick sound 2 to a more emphasized sound (I use 'Bass Drum 1'), and set your custom measure to read "21211." We'll leave it there. Except to say that Weird Metronome ishold that tickerFREE. "I wanted to share what I had created with others," Johnston told me. "It gives great satisfaction to have so many people use my program." You can download it and ask questions of the inventor at: pinkandaint.com.

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This first historical fiction book in the "Mark of the Lion" series by Francine Rivers is published by Tyndale House Publishers. A Voice in the Wind is written for adults but is sometimes studied by kids ages 16 and up. Hadassah, a young Jewish girl, lives in Jerusalem during its fall to the Roman Empire. After the death of her entire family, Hadassah finds herself as a servant in Rome, living with the wealthy and prominent Valerian family. As a believer in Christ, Hadassah longs to share her faith with the Valerians, but she is afraid of being rejected for her beliefs. Hadassah quickly becomes the personal servant of Julia Valerian, a demanding young girl who seeks temporary pleasures and rebels against the restrictions placed on her by her parents. Instead, Julia engages in a series of troubled relationships, including a love affair with the famous gladiator, Atretes. As Hadassah continues to love and serve Julia, she attracts the attention of the handsome Marcus Valerian. Though she loves Marcus, Hadassah makes the difficult decision to openly follow and profess Christ, even at the risk of being killed in the Roman arena. Hadassah is a devoted Christian whose faith is evident in every area of her life. She is constantly in prayer, and she longs deeply for others to trust Christ. Hadassah often struggles to share her faith in an environment that is hostile to Christians, but she prays for boldness and faithfully lives out her Christian beliefs. When Julia faces a beating from her second husband Claudius, Hadassah throws herself over Julia and takes the punishment for her, a beautiful metaphor of Christ's love. Hadassah's father is another example of strong Christian faith. Having been healed by Jesus as a young boy, he is eventually martyred for sharing the gospel in public. One of the major themes is, "Whom do you serve?" Hadassah's whole-hearted allegiance is to God, and she makes decisions to serve Him even when it is difficult or unpopular. When Hadassah becomes a servant in the Valerian household, she chooses to serve the family from her heart, rather than out of obligation, realizing that her earthly service is also spiritual. Her example stands in contrast to many other characters' responses to authority: Julia and Marcus both openly rebel against their father's wishes, Julia repeatedly defies her husband's authority and Atretes often opposes his instructors during his time as a gladiator. Marcus asserts that Romans serve their emperor first, and he often serves Rome and himself even before serving his own family. Other Belief Systems Hedonism runs rampant in the Roman Empire, and both Marcus and Julia seem eager to lose their innocence in exchange for instant gratification and pleasure. Like most other Romans, the Valerians worship Roman gods and goddesses by praying to stone idols or visiting elaborate temples. Many of the characters view death as the end of life and thus worship intellect and sensuality. Atretes worships the Germanic war god Tiwaz, and he hopes to gain Tiwaz's favor and honor by dying in battle. Julia's friend Calabah believes people can improve themselves through the power of the mind. There are also a few references to black magic. The brutality of the Roman Empire is accurately portrayed. The story contains explicit depictions of death, including death by crucifixion, beheading, beating and burning alive. Vivid war scenes describe soldiers amputating limbs and slicing groins with their weapons. During Atretes' gladiator training, he is whipped severely and branded as a Roman slave. In the arena, gladiators fight to the death and slit the throats of their victims before a cheering crowd. There are several references to rape, as captive women are stripped and abused by Roman guards. A less overt murder occurs when Julia poisons and kills one of her husbands. Many of the book's characters seek fulfillment through sensuality and promiscuity. Numerous accounts of pre-marital and extramarital infidelity appear. The beautiful woman, Arria, actively attempts to arouse Marcus' sexual passions, and several intense kissing scenes are included throughout the book, including an implication of sexual abuse between Caius and Julia. Julia even pretends to be a prostitute at the temple of Artemis in order to win the affections of Atretes. Homosexuality is widely accepted in Roman culture, and two men are seen kissing in public. Julia's friend Calabah encourages Julia to marry a homosexual man with a boy lover. The Roman arena is full of sexual innuendos as well, where gladiators not only entice crowds with violence, but also by provocatively revealing their bodies. In addition, Julia aborts her first baby, and Hadassah must bury the unborn child's remains. If your children have read this book or someone has read it to them, consider these discussion topics: - While Hadassah's faith remains strong throughout the novel, she is often afraid to openly share her faith for fear of persecution. The apostle John encourages Hadassah to continue trusting God for the strength to carry out His good purpose. How do you feel trapped by fear when sharing your faith? - How have you hesitated to tell others about Christ because you were afraid of what they would think or do? - How could you apply John's advice to Hadassah in your life? - The theme of service runs throughout the novel. Marcus serves Rome; Julia serves her passions; Decimus serves his business; and Phoebe serves Roman gods. Hadassah, however, serves the one true God, and her life is marked by far more peace and joy than the other members of the Valerian family. How does Hadassah demonstrate her total devotion and service to God? - In what ways do the other characters prove that serving anything or anyone other than God leaves people empty and broken? Whom do you serve? Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. A book's inclusion does not constitute an endorsement by Focus on the Family.

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Bypassing Script Filters with Variable-Width Encodings 13 Aug. 2006 We've all known that the main problem of constructing XSS attacks is how to obfuscate malicious code. In the following paragraphs Cheng will attempt to explain the concept of bypassing script filters with variable-width encodings, and disclose the applications of this concept to Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail web-based mail services. A variable-width encoding(a.k.a variable-length encoding) is a type of character encoding scheme in which codes of differing lengths are used to encode a character set. Most common variable-width encodings are multibyte encodings, which use varying numbers of bytes to encode different characters. The first use of multibyte encodings was for the encoding of Chinese, Japanese and Korean, which have large character sets well in excess of 256 characters. The Unicode standard has two variable-width encodings: UTF-8 and UTF-16. The most commonly-used codes are two-byte codes. The EUC-CN form of GB2312, plus EUC-JP and EUC-KR, are examples of such two-byte EUC codes. And there are also some three-byte and four-byte codes. Example and Discussion: The following is a php file from which Cheng will start to introduce his idea. echo "Char $i is <font face=\"xyz".chr($i)."\">not </font>" ."<font face=\" onmouseover=alert($i) notexist=".chr($i)."\" >" // NOTE: 5 space characters following the last \" For most values of $i, Internet Explorer 6.0(SP2) will display "Char XXX is not available". When $i is between 192(0xC0) and 255(0xFF), you can see "Char XXX is available". Let's take $i=0xC0 for example, consider the following code: Char 192 is <font face="xyz[0xC0]">not </font><font face=" onmouseover=alert(192) s=[0xC0]" >available</font> 0xC0 is one of the 32 first bytes of 2-byte sequences (0xC0-0xDF) in UTF-8. So when IE parses the above code, it will consider 0xC0 and the following quote as a sequence, and therefore these two pairs of FONT elements will become one with "xyz[0xC0]">not </font><font face=" as the value of FACE parameter. The second 0xC0 will start another 2-byte sequence as a value of NOTEXIST parameter which is not quoted. Due to a space character following by the quote, 0xE0-0xEF which are first bytes of 3-byte sequences, together with the following quote and one space character will be considered as the value of NOTEXIST parameter. And each of the first bytes of 4-byte sequences(0xF0-0xF7), 5-byte sequences(0xF8-0xFB), 6-byte sequences(0xFC-0xFD), together with the following quote and space characters will be considered as one sequence. Here are the results of the above code parsed by Internet Explorer 6.0(SP2), Firefox 126.96.36.199 and Opera 9.0.1 in different variable-width encodings respectively. Note that the numbers in the table are the ranges of "available" characters. Cheng doesn't think there is a typical exploitation of bypassing script filters with variable-width encodings, because the exploitation is very flexible. But you just need to remember that if the webapp use variable-width encodings, you can bury some characters following by your entry, and the buried characters might be very crucial. The above code might be exploited in general webapps which allow you to add formatting to your entry in the same way as HTML does. For example, in some forums, [font=Courier New]message[/font] in your message will be transformed into <font face="Courier New">message</font>. Supposing it use UTF-8, we can attack by sending Again, the exploitation is very flexible, this FONT-FONT example is just an enlightening one. The following exploitation to Yahoo! Mail is quite different from this one. Using this method, Cheng has found two XSS vulnerabilities in Hotmail and Yahoo! Mail web-based mail services. Cheng has informed Yahoo and Microsoft on April 30 and May 12 respectively. And they have patched the vulnerabilities. Yahoo! Mail XSS: Before Cheng discovered this vulnerability, Yahoo! Mail filtering engine could block "expression()" syntax in a CSS attribute using a comment to break up expression( expr/* */ession() ). I used [0x81] with the following asterisk to make a sequence, so that the second */ would close the comment. But the filtering engine considered the first two comment symbol as a pair. Content-Type: text/html; charset=GB2312

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Atmospheric Sciences & Global Change Division Testing a Relationship: Arctic Warming and China's Summer Monsoon New research links Arctic warming to China's environmental trends in recent decades Drought robs populations of drinking water, water for crops, and industrial production and can indicate climate trends. Scientists found a link between summer monsoon rainfall in China and the Arctic spring warming causing sea-ice melt and changes in atmospheric circulation. They are working to capture this phenomenon in a global climate model. Better simulation of observed climate effects will enable better predictions of future climate states. Enlarge Image. Results: In the late 1970s, eastern China experienced a shift in the summer monsoon circulation causing a "North-drought/South-flood" trend. In two related studies, researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and China Meteorological Administration found a climate linkage that explains this phenomenon, and they tested six global climate models to see if they captured it. The observed rainfall trend coincides with rising Arctic temperature and reduced Arctic sea ice in the last three decades. While the atmospheric linkage between interdecadal summer precipitation changes in China and the Arctic spring warming can be established from observations, only one climate model was able to simulate both the recent decadal trends as well as their linkages. The two studies showed the importance of Arctic and mid- to high-latitude warming on the long-term variability of the East Asian summer monsoon. Why It Matters: Monsoons have a large influence on the world's atmospheric moisture, and directly affect millions of people who depend on summer monsoon rain to provide water for their crops, their homes, and industry. Scientists have long studied a "North-drought/South-flood" trend in eastern China. While many regions in East Asia receive abundant rainfall during the summer monsoon, others experience extreme drought. In previous studies, scientists showed the influence of tropical ocean temperatures and snowpack in the Tibetan Plateau in causing these changes; however, less is known about the influence of the Arctic and high-latitude trends on monsoon rainfall. Because Arctic warming is expected to continue, scientists are interested in understanding its impacts on the East Asian monsoon to better predict decadal rainfall. At the same time, it's important to improve climate models to reproduce the key mechanisms that link the climate and high-latitude atmospheric patterns. Methods: To explore the linkages between Arctic warming and interdecadal rainfall variability in East China, the international research team used observational data of rainfall, sea ice, the 20th Century Reanalysis of temperature and ice concentrations, and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction and National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) global reanalysis to examine various trends and spatial modes of variability. The researchers selected model outputs from six global climate models (GCMs) developed in the United States, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom, China, and Japan that represent a wide range of climate sensitivity from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) data archive. They analyzed GCM simulations of historical conditions to determine if the models reproduced the observed differences in decadal rainfall, circulation patterns, and Arctic and mid- to high-latitude temperatures and their various relationships. However, of the six models analyzed, the team found only one model correctly reproduced observed changes in summer rainfall and the relationships between the summer monsoon rainfall and large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns. The researchers found that Arctic and mid- to high-latitude warming may influence East Asian summer monsoon rainfall through changes in the location and strength of the Baikal high pressure center, an important climate feature that serves as the bridge linking the high-latitude and monsoon weather systems. What's Next? To further understand the mechanisms that connect the Arctic warming and East Asian summer monsoon, future studies need to more clearly show the dynamical processes linking Arctic and high-latitude warming to the monsoon circulation. Numerical experiments with climate models can be used to delineate the relative influence of the oceans, Tibetan Plateau snowpack, and Arctic warming, all of which are important factors that modulate the characteristics of the East Asian summer monsoon. Sponsors: The two studies were supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science as part of the Regional and Global Climate Modeling Program; the National Basic Research Program of China; Special Fund for Meteorological Scientific Research in the Public Interest of China Meteorological Administration; and China Ministry of Science of Technology. Research Team: Yuefeng Li and L. Ruby Leung, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Ziniu Xiao, China Meteorological Administration Training Center, Bejing; Min Wei, National Meteorological Information Center, Bejing; and Qingquan Li, National Climate Center, Bejing. Research Area: Climate and Earth Systems Science Li Y, LR Leung, Z Xiao, M Wei, and Q Li. 2013. "Interdecadal Connection between Arctic Temperature and Summer Precipitation over the Yangtze River Valley in the CMIP5 Historical Simulations." Journal of Climate 26(19):7464-7488. DOI: 10.1175/JCLI-D-12-00776.1 Li Y and LR Leung. 2013. "Potential Impacts of the Arctic on Interannual and Interdecadal Summer Precipitation in China." Journal of Climate 26(3):899-917. DOI: 101175/JCLI-D-12-00075.1

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Scientific Investigations Report 2010–5220 The rare earth elements (REE) are fifteen elements with atomic numbers 57 through 71, from lanthanum to lutetium (“lanthanides”), plus yttrium (39), which is chemically similar to the lanthanide elements and thus typically included with the rare earth elements. Although industrial demand for these elements is relatively small in tonnage terms, they are essential for a diverse and expanding array of high-technology applications. REE-containing magnets, metal alloys for batteries and light-weight structures, and phosphors are essential for many current and emerging alternative energy technologies, such as electric vehicles, energy-efficient lighting, and wind power. REE are also critical for a number of key defense systems and other advanced materials. Section 843 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, Public Law 111-84, directs the Comptroller General to complete a report on REE materials in the defense supply chain. The Office of Industrial Policy, in collaboration with other U.S. Government agencies, has initiated (in addition to this report) a detailed study of REE. This latter study will assess the Department of Defense’s use of REE, as well as the status and security of domestic and global supply chains. That study will also address vulnerabilities in the supply chain and recommend ways to mitigate any potential risks of supply disruption. To help conduct this study, the Office of Industrial Policy asked the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to report on domestic REE reserves and resources in a global context. To this end, the enclosed report is the initial USGS contribution to assessing and summarizing the domestic REE resources in a global perspective. In 2009, the Mineral Resources Program of the USGS organized a new project under the title Minerals at Risk and For Emerging Technologies in order to evaluate mineral resource and supply issues of rare metals that are of increasing importance to the national economy. Leaders and members of this project, with the assistance of the USGS National Minerals Information Center, prepared the enclosed USGS report on domestic REE resources. The USGS Mineral Resources Program has investigated domestic and selected foreign REE resources for many decades, and this report summarizes what has been learned from this research. The USGS National Minerals Information Center (formerly Minerals Information Team) has monitored global production, trade, and resources for an equally long period and is the principal source of statistics used in this report. The objective of this study is to provide a nontechnical overview of domestic reserves and resources of REE and possibilities for utilizing those resources. At the present time, the United States obtains its REE raw materials from foreign sources, almost exclusively from China. Import dependence upon a single country raises serious issues of supply security. In a global context, domestic REE resources are modest and of uncertain value; hence, available resources in traditional trading partners (such as Canada and Australia) are of great interest for diversifying sources of supply. This report restates basic geologic facts about REE relevant to assessing security of supply, followed by a review of current United States consumption and imports of REE, current knowledge of domestic resources, and possibilities for future domestic production. Further detail follows in a deposit-by-deposit review of the most significant domestic REE deposits (see index map). Necessary steps to develop domestic resources are discussed in a separate section, leading into a review of current domestic exploration and a discussion of the value of a future national mineral resource assessment of REE. The report also includes an overview of known global REE resources and discusses the reliability of alternative foreign sources of REE. Posted November 16, 2010 For additional information contact: Part or all of this report is presented in Portable Document Format (PDF); the latest version of Adobe Reader or similar software is required to view it. Download the latest version of Adobe Reader, free of charge. Long, K.R., Van Gosen, B.S., Foley, N.K., and Cordier, Daniel, 2010, The principal rare earth elements deposits of the United States—A summary of domestic deposits and a global perspective: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2010–5220, 96 p. Available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2010/5220/. Introduction and Background The Rare Earth Elements Basic Geology of Rare Earth Elements Mineralogy of United States Deposits Current Sources and Domestic Reserves Concentration of Supply Risk of Supply Interruption Domestic and World Resources Developing Rare Earth Elements Resources Developing a Rare Earth Elements Mine Principal Rare Earth Elements Deposits of the United States Glossary of Terms Alaska— Bokan Mountain California— Mountain Pass Deposit and Mine Music Valley Area Colorado— Iron Hill Carbonatite Complex Wet Mountains Area Idaho— Diamond Creek Area Lemhi Pass district, Idaho–Montana Illinois— Hicks Dome Missouri— Pea Ridge Iron Deposit and Mine Nebraska— Elk Creek Carbonatite New Mexico— Capitan Mountains El Porvenir District Gold Hill Area and White Signal District Laughlin Peak Area Lemitar and Chupadera Mountains Red Hills Area Wind Mountain, Cornudas Mountains New York— Mineville Iron District Wyoming— Bear Lodge Mountains Phosphorite Deposits in the Southeastern United States Placer Rare Earth Elements Deposits North and South Carolina—Placer Deposits Florida and Georgia—Beach Placer Deposits

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Civil War 150th Anniversary Michigan in the American Civil War (1861-1865) By: Kerry Chartkof -Michigan State Capitol Historian Here is a very brief synopsis of Michigan's extraordinary involvement in the American Civil War (1861-65), America's bloodiest war: Michigan was the first "western" state to answer Lincoln's call for volunteers following the CSA (Confederate States of America) attack on Fort Sumter in the early hours of April 12, 1861. Despite a depleted treasury and an almost complete lack of a military organization, the First Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment (three months) marched into Washington, D.C. one month and one day from Lincoln's call. Lincoln personally greeted the regiment and said, "Thank God For Michigan!" Before the war ended four years later, Michigan had sent 50 such regiments into the field, including infantry, artillery, cavalry (among the most famous of the war), engineers and mechanics, and sharpshooters. More than one half of the able-bodied males in the state marched away from Michigan, and over 15,000 died. Michigan troops fought in more than 800 battles on almost every major battlefield of the war, from First Bull Run in 1861 to Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House in 1865. The First Michigan Sharpshooter's flag was the first Union flag raised over Petersburg, Lee's last stronghold, to signal the virtual end of the war, and the Fourth Michigan Cavalry captured Jeff Davis, the President of the Confederacy, as he tried to flee the country. Even though there are no Civil War battlefields in Michigan, there are several places in the greater Lansing area where visitors can learn about this history: - The Michigan Historical Museum has an entire gallery devoted to a permanent exhibit of Michigan in the Civil War. - In addition, the temporary exhibit area of the Michigan Historical Museum will feature a rotating display of Michigan Civil War battle flags. Each flag will tell the story of one Michigan regiment and the men who carried the flags into battle. This exhibit, titled Plowshares into Swords examining how the war changed Michiganians' lives. - Mt. Hope Cemetery not only has a Civil War section with at least 50 headstones, but also features Lansing's official Civil War monument, erected in 1877. The monument was rededicated on October 14, 2007 by the descendants of Civil War veterans. There are also many others in the cemetery with notable Civil War connections: an example is George E. Ranney (Ranney Park is named for him), who served as an assistant surgeon in the Second Michigan Cavalry and won the Congressional Medal of Honor for extraordinary bravery at the Battle of Resaca in 1864. - The Michigan State Capitol: the capitol was built in the shadow of the Civil War, and even its architectural form owes its meaning to the war. The dome had emerged during the war as a powerful symbol of the Union, but our capitol was the first to fully recognize and pay homage to that. Almost every northern state wanted a capitol with a dome after the construction of ours. This fact is one reason why our capitol has been declared a National Historic Landmark. - The rotunda of the Capitol features eight cases encircling the walls with generic reproductions of Michigan's Civil War battle flags. Part of the reason the Capitol was built in 1870s was to provide a fireproof and dignified shrine for 165 tattered, bloody battle flags, brought back to the state at great price. These flags stood as the state's greatest monument to the memory of the sacrifices of the approximately 90,000 Michigan men and boys who fought during the war. - The Capitol portrait collection features fine (and rare) portraits of two of Michigan's leading figures during the war: Governor Austin Blair and U.S. Senator Zachariah Chandler. Both are on public display. In addition, there are several notable Civil War monuments on Capitol Square. One is the statue of Austin Blair, the only person the state has ever honored with a statue on the grounds of the Capitol. Blair is recognized as one of the finest of the nation's "war governors," yet he remains largely unknown today. I have been researching him for several years and hope to publish an article about him during the Sesquicentennial. We also have a monument dedicated to the First Michigan Sharpshooters, whose flag was the first raised over Petersburg. This regiment had an entire company of Native Americans (Company K). Historian Ray Herek has recently published a book, "These Men Have Seen Hard Service," on the history of this famous regiment. Another monument is dedicated to the First Michigan Regiment of Engineers and Mechanics, the forerunner of today's Army Corps of Engineers. This regiment's job was to build roads, railroads, bridges and buildings, and tear down enemy roads, railroads, bridges, etc.-all while under fire in the worst possible conditions. Finally, there is Grand Army of the Republic monument on the grounds, erected by the Michigan Women's Relief Corps in 1924. At one time, the GAR was one of the largest and most powerful political organizations in the country, lobbying for veterans benefits and issues. Learn more about Michigan & the Civil War at Seeking Michigan.

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No one will argue the fact that heroin, morphine, and pain killers are highly addictive substances. They become addictive due to their ability to suppress pain, reduce anxiety, and can even cause us to have a higher sense of joy. There is another opiate that most of us consume on a daily basis that may be just as addicting, and that is sugar. Opioid receptors are located in the brain and the spinal column. They are 7 transmembrane-spanning, G protein-coupled receptors. They are responsible for aiding neurotransmitters and hormones, the most well known being our endorphins. Addictive substances work by enacting upon these receptor sites (Waldhoer, 2004). To further understand this, let us look at heroin addiction. Basically, heroin increases the amount of dopamine. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter responsible for energy, memory, and focus. Our system has a checks and balances process. When dopamine is released, we also release GABA to counteract it. The problem with heroin is it enacts upon the opioid receptor responsible for GABA. This disallows GABA to do its job. We are then left with a dopamine surge left unbalanced. This brings about sustained energy and feelings of euphoria. Here is a link that explains it in a little further detail and also has a chart for any visual learners. If we are dopamine deficient, this can lead to addiction according to Kenneth Blum's Reward Deficiency Syndrome. High sugar foods can cause similar reactions as what we see with heroin. Excessive amounts of sugar (as well as fat) can lead to the release of increased amounts of dopamine. This is the same as with heroin (Avena, 2009). Sugar also inhibits the release of GABA from pancreatic beta cells (Wang, 2005). The pancreatic beta cells also release insulin, so this mechanism is important for a couple of reasons. GABA being released from those pancreatic cells shows that it may play a role in regulating insulin. Also, GABA needs to be released to balance out the dopamine. This could lead to diabetes and weight gain. High sugar foods can also be the cause of binge eating. They enact upon the opioid receptors that help control our appetite (Avena, 2009). This means that everything in moderation may not work for everyone. Studies have shown that opioid receptor antagonists are beneficial to treating obesity. One study performed by Yeomans placed 20 male volunteers on 50mg of the opioid antagonist naltrexone. Appetite was monitored by determining how much food was left, and the volunteers also made appetite ratings after every 50g consumed. Pasta with tomato sauce, and pasta with a tomato and cheese sauce were the meals. The subjects ate significantly less when taking the naltrexone compared to the initial day and the placebo condition (Yeomans, 1997). When beginning a weight loss protocol these are important mechanisms to understand. Addictive habits can be very difficult to kick, and there is a lot more at play then just willpower. Seeking the help of a healthcare practitioner to determine any neurotransmitter deficiencies and to apply appropriate nutritional supplementation should be the first step. Certain amino acid therapies can be used to help restore neurochemical balance. Julia Ross and her colleagues have utilized these treatments to treat addiction successfully for 30 years, so there is hope. Also, having a talk with the people you eat your meals with is important. Would you have a beer with an alcoholic? Most likely you would not. Explaining to your family and friends the reason behind your weight loss goals may help them to understand that being around addictive foods may be problematic for you. This can decrease the availability as well as the temptation. We live in a world where processed, high sugar foods are highly available. A lot of us are typically on the run, and constantly stressed for time. This makes grabbing that muffin and that sandwich for lunch much easier and more tempting. This can lead to blood sugar swings, food addiction, and binge eating, none of which are going to help us lose weight if that is our goal. For some of us that have struggled losing weight in the past, we need to identify and treat our food addictions so that we can succeed in the future. A study by Marabia stated that "addicts have the same caloric intake as non-addicts. However, addicts tend to replace foods that are rich in fats and proteins with foods rich in sucrose and relatively poor in vitamins and minerals" (Morabia, 1989). Does this sound like anyone you know? Sound like any children you know? We introduce cereal grains and dairy products right off the bat to our children. The gluten from grain products and the casein from dairy products contain morphine like substances on top of the increased appetite, increased dopamine, and decreased GABA. Could this be why the obesity rate, depression rate, rates of ADHD, etc. continue to climb? Have we just been creating a society addicted to sugar, and if so, how do we go about correcting it? The answer seems to be more difficult and more dynamic then just counting calories and exercising more.

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Moses und Aron ACT I. Thirteenth century B.C. In the desert, Moses calls upon God and is answered by voices from the Burning Bush, asking the reluctant man to become a prophet. It is God's intention to free the Jews from bondage in Egypt, and Moses has been chosen to lead them. Moses greets his brother, Aron, who will have to serve as his spokesman, explaining his difficult ideas in terms the people can understand. Moses assures him that love is the key to unlocking this mystery. When Aron praises God for hearing prayers and receiving offerings, Moses cautions that the purification of one's own thinking is the only reward to be expected from paying such tributes. A young couple discusses Moses' having been chosen to lead the Jews. Because he killed an Egyptian guard, bringing retribution on his people, they are afraid he will get them into further trouble. One man expresses hope that the new idea of a single God will prove stronger than Egypt's multiple gods, stronger than Pharaoh's hold. The people reiterate this hope, looking toward the arriving Moses and Aron, who keep changing roles, so that it is difficult to distinguish one from the other. Trying to explain how God can be perceived only within oneself, Moses grows frustrated by Aron's glibness, which seems to weaken his idea. Aron defies Moses, seizing his rod and throwing it down, whereupon it turns into a serpent; this, says Aron, shows how a rigid idea can be made flexible. The people wonder how this new God can help them against Pharaoh. Aron shows them another wonder: Moses' hand, which appears leprous, is healed when he places it over his heart, wherein God dwells. The people now believe God will strengthen their own hands: they will throw off their shackles and escape into the wilderness, where Moses says purity of thought will provide the only sustenance they need. Pouring Nile water, which appears to change into blood, Aron interprets the sign, saying they will no longer sweat blood for the Egyptians but will be free. When the water appears clear again, Aron says Pharaoh will drown in it. Promised a land of milk and honey, the people pledge their allegiance to this new God. INTERLUDE. Moses has been gone for forty days. Unnerved by his long absence, the people wonder whether God and Moses have abandoned them. ACT II. At the foot of the mountain, Aron, a Priest and a group of elders wonder why Moses is gone so long, as license and disorder prevail among the people. Aron assures them that once Moses has assimilated God's intent, he will present it in a form the people can grasp. To the anxious people who flock to him for advice, however, he admits that Moses may have defected or be in danger. Seeing them unruly and ready to kill their priests, Aron tries to calm them by giving them back their other gods: he will let them have an image they can worship. A golden calf is set up, and offerings are brought, including self-sacrifices at the altar. An emaciated youth who protests the false image is killed by tribal leaders. Priests sacrifice four maidens, and the people, who have been drinking and dancing, turn wild and orgiastic. When they have worn themselves out, and many have fallen alseep, a lookout sees Moses. Destroying the golden calf as the people slink away from him, Moses demands an accounting from Aron, who justifies his indulgence of the people by saying that no word had come from Moses. While Moses' love is entirely for his idea of God, Aron says, the people too need his love and cannot survive without it. In despair Moses smashes the tablets of laws he has brought down from the mountain. Aron denounces him as fainthearted, saying he himself keeps Moses' idea alive by trying to explain it. Led by a pillar of fire in the darkness, which turns to a pillar of cloud by day, the people come forth, encouraged once more to follow God's sign to the Promised Land. Moses distrusts the pillar as another vain image, but Aron says it guides them truly. As Aron joins the people in their exodus, Moses feels defeated. By putting words and images to what cannot be expressed, Aron has falsified Moses' absolute perception of God. "O word, thou word that I lack!" he cries, sinking in despair. ACT III. (Schoenberg wrote no music for this act.) Moses puts Aron under arrest, accusing him of fostering idle hopes with his imagery, such as that of the Promised Land. Aron insists that Moses' word would mean nothing to the people unless interpreted in terms they can understand. Moses declares that such sophistry has won the people's allegiance to Aron rather than to God: "Images lead and rule this people you have freed, and strange wishes are their gods." By misrepresenting the true nature of God, Aron keeps leading his people back into the wilderness. When Moses tells the soldiers to let Aron go free, Aron falls dead. Even in the wilderness, Moses says, the people will reach their destined goal — unity with God. N.B. The Met will perform only Acts I and II. -- courtesy of Opera News

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| Public Administration: | PAPER – I Meaning, scope and significance of Public Administration; Wilson’s vision of Public Administration; Evolution of the discipline and its present status; New Public Administration; Public Choice approach; Challenges of liberalization, Privatisation, Globalisation; Good Governance: concept and application; New Public Management. 2. Administrative Thought: Scientific Management and Scientific Management movement; Classical Theory; Weber’s bureaucratic model – its critique and post-Weberian Developments; Dynamic Administration (Mary Parker Follett); Human Relations School (Elton Mayo and others); Functions of the Executive (C.I. Barnard); Simon’s decision-making theory; Participative Management (R. Likert, C.Argyris, D.McGregor). 3. Administrative Behaviour: Process and techniques of decision-making; Communication; Morale; Motivation Theories – content, process and contemporary; Theories of Leadership: Traditional and Modern. Theories – systems, contingency; Structure and forms: Ministries and Departments, Corporations, Companies, Boards and Commissions; Ad hoc and advisory bodies; Headquarters and Field relationships; Regulatory Authorities; Public - Private Partnerships. 5. Accountability and control: Concepts of accountability and control; Legislative, Executive and Judicial control over administration; Citizen and Administration; Role of media, interest groups, voluntary organizations; Civil society; Citizen’s Charters; Right to Information; Social audit. 6. Administrative Law: Meaning, scope and significance; Dicey on Administrative law; Delegated legislation; Administrative Tribunals. 7. Comparative Public Administration: Historical and sociological factors affecting administrative systems; Administration and politics in different countries; Current status of Comparative Public Administration; Ecology and administration; Riggsian models and their critique. 8. Development Dynamics: Concept of development; Changing profile of development administration; ‘Anti-development thesis’; Bureaucracy and development; Strong state versus the market debate; Impact of liberalisation on administration in developing countries; Women and development - the self-help group movement. 9. Personnel Administration: Importance of human resource development; Recruitment, training, career advancement, position classification, discipline, performance appraisal, promotion, pay and service conditions; employer-employee relations, grievance redressal mechanism; Code of conduct; Administrative ethics. 10. Public Policy: Models of policy-making and their critique; Processes of conceptualisation, planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and review and their limitations; State theories and public policy formulation. 11. Techniques of Administrative Improvement: Organisation and methods, Work study and work management; e-governance and information technology; Management aid tools like network analysis, MIS, PERT, CPM. 12. Financial Administration: Monetary and fiscal policies; Public borrowings and public debt Budgets - types and forms; Budgetary process; Financial accountability; Accounts and audit. PAPER - II 1. Evolution of Indian Administration: Kautilya’s Arthashastra; Mughal administration; Legacy of British rule in politics and administration - Indianization of public services, revenue administration, district administration, local self-government. 2. Philosophical and Constitutional framework of government: Salient features and value premises; Constitutionalism; Political culture; Bureaucracy and democracy; Bureaucracy and development. 3. Public Sector Undertakings: Public sector in modern India; Forms of Public Sector Undertakings; Problems of autonomy, accountability and control; Impact of liberalization and privatization. 4. Union Government and Administration: Executive, Parliament, Judiciary - structure, functions, work processes; Recent trends; Intragovernmental relations; Cabinet Secretariat; Prime Minister’s Office; Central Secretariat; Ministries and Departments; Boards; Commissions; Attached offices; Field organizations. 5. Plans and Priorities: Machinery of planning; Role, composition and functions of the Planning Commission and the National Development Council; ‘Indicative’ planning; Process of plan formulation at Union and State levels; Constitutional Amendments (1992) and decentralized planning for economic development and social justice. 6. State Government and Administration: Union-State administrative, legislative and financial relations; Role of the Finance Commission; Governor; Chief Minister; Council of Ministers; Chief Secretary; State Secretariat; Directorates. 7. District Administration since Independence: Changing role of the Collector; Union-state-local relations; Imperatives of development management and law and order administration; District administration and democratic decentralization. 8. Civil Services: Constitutional position; Structure, recruitment, training and capacity-building; Good governance initiatives; Code of conduct and discipline; Staff associations; Political rights; Grievance redressal mechanism; Civil service neutrality; Civil service activism. 9. Financial Management: Budget as a political instrument; Parliamentary control of public expenditure; Role of finance ministry in monetary and fiscal area; Accounting techniques; Audit; Role of Controller General of Accounts and Comptroller and Auditor General of India. 10. Administrative Reforms since Independence: Major concerns; Important Committees and Commissions; Reforms in financial management and human resource development; Problems of implementation. 11. Rural Development: Institutions and agencies since independence; Rural development programmes: foci and strategies; Decentralization and Panchayati Raj; 73rd Constitutional amendment. 12. Urban Local Government: Municipal governance: main features, structures, finance and problem areas; 74th Constitutional Amendment; Global-local debate; New localism; Development dynamics, politics and administration with special reference to city management. 13. Law and Order Administration: British legacy; National Police Commission; Investigative agencies; Role of central and state agencies including paramilitary forces in maintenance of law and order and countering insurgency and terrorism; Criminalisation of politics and administration; Police-public relations; Reforms in Police. 14. Significant issues in Indian Administration: Values in public service; Regulatory Commissions; National Human Rights Commission; Problems of administration in coalition regimes; Citizen-administration interface; Corruption and administration; Disaster management.

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By John Cherrie Each year there are 1,800 people killed on the roads in Britain, but over the same period there are around four times as many deaths from cancers that were caused by hazardous agents at work, and many more cases of occupational cancer where the person is cured. There are similar statistics on workplace cancer from most countries; this is a global problem. Occupational cancer accounts for 5 percent of all cancer deaths in Britain, and around one in seven cases of lung cancer in men are attributable to asbestos, diesel engine exhaust, crystalline silica dust or one of 18 other carcinogens found in the workplace. All of these deaths could have been prevented, and in the future we can stop this unnecessary death toll if we take the right action now. In 2009, I set out some simple steps to reduce occupational exposure to chemical carcinogens. The basis was the recognition that the overwhelming majority of workplace cancers from dusts, gases and vapours are caused by exposure to just ten agents or work circumstances, such as welding and painting (see chart). Focusing our efforts on this relatively short priority list could have a major impact. Many of these exposures are associated with the construction industry. Almost all are generated as part of a process and are not being manufactured for industrial or consumer uses, e.g. diesel engine exhaust and the dust from construction materials that contain sand (crystalline silica). The strategies to control exposure to these agents are well understood and so there is no need to invent new technological solutions for this problem. Use of containment, localized ventilation targeted at the source of exposure and other engineering methods can be used to reduce the exposures. If further control is needed then workers can wear personal protective devices, such as respirators, to filter out contaminants before they enter the body. There are also robust regulations to ensure employers understand their obligations to employees, contractors and members of the public, both in Britain through the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations and in the rest of Europe via the Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive. We know that as time goes on, most exposures in the workplace are decreasing by between about 5% and 10% each year. This seems to be true for many dusts, fibres, gases and vapours, and it is a worldwide trend. There is every reason to believe this is also true for the carcinogenic exposures we are discussing. This means that over a ten-year period the risk of future cancer deaths is may drop by about half. If we could increase the rate of decrease in exposure to 20% per annum then after 10 years the risk of future disease should have decreased by about 90%. However, during the five years since my article was published, very little has been done to improve controls for carcinogens at work. Recent evidence from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the regulator in Britain, shows widespread non-compliance at worksites where there is exposure to respirable crystalline silica. Most people are still unaware of the cancer risks associated with being a painter or a welder and so no effective controls are generally put in place. There have been no effective steps taken to reduce exposure to diesel engine exhaust, or most of the other “top ten” workplace carcinogens. What is the barrier preventing change? In my opinion, the main issue is that we don’t perceive most of these agents or situations as likely to cause cancer. For example, airborne dust on construction sites, which often contains crystalline silica and may contain other carcinogenic substances, is considered the norm. Diesel soot is ubiquitous in our cities and we all accept it even though it is categorized as a human carcinogen. In my paper I complained that there were ‘no steps taken to reduce the risk from diesel exhaust particulate emission for most exposed groups and no particular priority given to this by regulatory authorities.’ Nothing has changed in this respect. We need an agreed commitment from regulators, employers and workers to change for the better. Perhaps we need to consider requiring traffic wardens to wear facemasks and encourage painters to work in safer healthier ways. At least we should take a fresh look at what can reasonably be done to protect people. We know that since 2008 the number of road traffic deaths in the United Kingdom has decreased by about a third and downward time trend seems relentless. Road traffic campaigners have envisaged a future of zero harm from motor vehicles. Similarly we know that the level of exposure to most workplace carcinogenic substances is decreasing. Can we not also consider a future world where we have eliminated occupational cancer or at least reduced the health consequences to a tiny fraction of today’s death toll? It will be a future that our children or their children will inhabit because of the long lag between exposure to the carcinogens and the development of the disease, but unless we act the danger is that we never see an end to the problem. As a first step we need to have an effective campaign to raise awareness of the problem of workplace cancers and to start to change attitudes to the most pernicious workplace carcinogens. John Cherrie is Research Director at the Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) in Edinburgh, UK, and Honorary Professor at the University of Aberdeen. He has been involved in several studies to estimate the health impact from carcinogens in the workplace. He is currently Principal Investigator for a study that will estimate the occupational cancer and chronic non-malignant respiratory disease burden in the constructions sector in Singapore. In 2014 he was awarded the Bedford Medal for outstanding contributions to the discipline of occupational hygiene. He is the author of the paper ‘Reducing occupational exposure to chemical carcinogens‘, which is published in the journal Occupational Medicine. Occupational Medicine is an international peer-reviewed journal, providing vital information for the promotion of workplace health and safety. Topics covered include work-related injury and illness, accident and illness prevention, health promotion, occupational disease, health education, the establishment and implementation of health and safety standards, monitoring of the work environment, and the management of recognised hazards. Subscribe to the OUPblog via email or RSS. Subscribe to only health and medicine articles on the OUPblog via email or RSS. Image credit: Graph provided by the author. Do not reproduce without permission.

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Could someone explain to me how this works? I get perfectly how Vertical works but i'm having some trouble with this one y= f(4x) and y=f(1/4x) It's not a trick. You just have to play with it until it soaks in. Look at f(x). What will f(4x) do? 'f' does the same thing, but it now takes a different input value to get it to do the same thing. If you want f(1), you must put in f(4(1/4)) = f(1) If you want f(4), you must put in f(4(1)) = f(4) What will f((1/4)x) do? 'f' does the same thing, but it now takes a different input value to get it to do the same thing. If you want f(1), you must put in f((1/4)4) = f(1) If you want f(4), you must put in f((1/4)16) = f(4) One way to think about it, anyway. So basically when 0 < c < 1, then it is stretching which means getting closer to the x-axis? When c > 1 then it is shrinking which means it is getting further away from the x-axis. Also isn't horizontal at all similar to vertical stretch and shrink? Sorry i'm not understanding at all why the division is there. Can someone else explain it to me in an easier sense.... much appreciated The problem that i'm doing with instructions is Suppose the graph of f is given. Describe how the graph of each function can be obtained from the graph f. a) y = f(4x) and b) y = f((1/4)x) for part a) it would be, the graph is horizontally shrinking by 4 and part b) the graph is horizontally stretching by 1/4. Am I correct? If not could you explain. Thanks~ rephrase: (a) f(4x) is obtain by horizontally compressing f(x) by a factor of 4 ...............(b) f((1/4)x) is obtained by horizontally stretching the graph of f(x) by a factor of 4 Note, particularly, that we stretch it by a factor of 4, not 1/4, when we have f(1/4)x) haha I'm confused and dont' understand what you're saying. Could we work with problems? y = f(4x) means it will shrink by 4 and y = f((1/4)x) means it will stretch by 1/4? You told me the second one will stretch by 4 and not 1/4. I'm not understanding why we use 4 and not 1/4. Sorry for being such a pain it's just i'm really needing to understand this stuff think of it this way. we use our x-value as a measure of the horizontal distance traveled, right? so when we say, for example, f(1), what we are saying is, "the value of the function when we are one horizontal unit from the y-axis" now, staying with f(1), and assume we are dealing with a function f(x) on a finite inteval. let's say we want to get to f(1) from the function f(x). well, we just plug in x = 1 and we're done. what about f(4x). well, to get f(1), we need to plug in x = 1/4, since f(4*(1/4)) = f(1). so you see, we reach the desired value, four times as fast. no longer do we have to go all the way to 1, we can just travel to 1/4, which is 4 times LESS the distance. so f(4x) shrinks the graph by a factor of 4. or we can equivalently say, it shrunk by 1/4, to say the graph is now 1/4 of its original length what about f((1/4)x)? to get to f(1), we need to plug in x = 4, since f((1/4)*4) = f(1). so now instead of going to 1, we have to go all the way to 4 to get the same value. so the graph stretches 4 times as long as it was, and therefore, we stretch it by a factor of 4. Ok I think some things are starting to click in my brain. Question, the book doesn't specify to use f(1) but to just tell what would happen. You using f(1) and and the book not telling me to use f(1) is giving the same answer. Does this mean whenever I horizontally stretch or shrink, I should aim to try to find how much the graph stretches or shrinks by trying to make it equal to 1? *sigh* my professor didn't explain it the way you are in the least bit. He just told us one gets closer to the x-axis and the other gets further away. Can you by any chance you can just tell me how to do horizontal stretching and shrinking in a really easily understandable way? I feel like i'm getting more and more confused and I have my first major test on this stuff tomorrow. =/ thanks

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Building Solar Panels Solar Panels now come in many shapes and sizes to reflect growing demand for the products. In fact, there are so many companies out there and so many new products that figuring out which ones to buy has become much more difficult than it should be. In our own search for the right solar-panels we quickly learned that we just didn’t know enough about solar energy and solar panels in general. We knew we needed help in understanding the new solar panels but where would we find that help? We needed a simple guide that even we could understand. We had decided to install solar panels in our home, we just didn’t know enough about them to make a good decision. So we did an internet search, which quickly revealed a number of sources of information. We were relieved that there was so much information out there to help us! It looked like all of the books were basically the same so we bought one called ‘The Solar Energy Installation Guide” The title sounded right on and we were excited to get started. What a mistake! In this book, Jane and I couldn’t understand the complicated installation drawings. The technical language looked like it was designed to show us how much the author knew about solar energy, and that didn’t help us at all. We hadn’t learned anything new, and we were now out $20. A little wiser we continued our search for a simple guide to understanding solar energy and installing our own We ended up buying another 4 books that really didn’t help at all. Yes, there was some useful information in each one, but not one of the books really got down to showing us what to do and how to do it. We had now spent $94 and still didn’t know how to install our own Solar Panels. Our son Andre’ was just itching to get started on this latest project of installing solar-panels and we still had not found a suitable guide book. We had searched every online book store and magazine rack we could find and still no guide to understanding and installing solar panels. Then our friend Bill told us that he would spend weekends with us and show us the ins and outs of installing solar panels. We're very grateful for his help as he explained everything in laymans terms without that complicated jargon that we had accustomed to reading. We got started with our Solar-Panel selection the next day, and the next weekend Andre’, Bill and I were installing the first SolarPanels on the house. Here is some of what we learned: Some basic choices… Right now you can choose from three main types of SolarPanels- Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline and ThinFilm ( Tried and True Monocrystalline Solar Panels For many years monocrystalline solar modules have been the mainstay of the solar market. Those iridescent blue faced panels you have been seeing on rooftops are probably of this type of panels. They have distinct rounded individual solar cells visible from all angles stacked in very uniform rows. This type of solar panel is produced from a single silicon ingot or crystal. Manufacturing costs are very high because of this process making them the most expensive solar modules on the market. They are, however the most space efficient type of solar panel making them the correct choice when space is at a Monocrystalline cells have a life expectancy far exceeding 25 years, probably over 50 years. The only real problem with this type of cell is it’s fragile nature making it a requirement that it be mounted in a very rigid Polycrystalline Solar Panels… Polycrystalline modules are manufactured from a block of multi-crystalline silicon. They are usually square and have a varied, almost mosaic-like appearance. Only slightly less efficient than monocrystalline modules they are cheaper to manufacture and thus cost less You can expect the same great lifespan as monocrystalline cells too. Thin Film Solar Panels… Recently a new product was introduced into the market that could provide some much needed answers for solar power users. Amorphous silicon PV or thin film technology could make rigid solar panels obsolete if some better research is done. Thin film solar panels are produced by applying silicon material on glass or stainless steel, or more commonly between two pieces of flexible laminate material. Solid or rigid thin film panels are in use by flexible laminated thin film panels are more popular. The flexible panels can be applied to any surface and sometimes used as roofing material. Most customers like the almost seamless blending of solar panels right into their roof top. Saving you the cost of regular shingles or steel roofing, thin film solar panels are a good choice. These panels are not nearly as efficient at converting light to electricity when compared to mono or polycrystalline solar panels- not nearly by half. You would need twice the space to accommodate their From a manufacturing standpoint they do absorb light more efficiently though, allowing for a thinner design and less material being used in their manufacture. The real benefit, because less material is needed, is in the simplified manufacturing process resulting in lowered costs to build. The lower price has pushed thin film panels to the lead in price per watt of output. The panels may have to be slightly larger, but it costs less for the homeowner for every watt of power production. They are flexible, light and rarely break during shipping. Add in the great price and this makes thin film panels a great choice where space is not a consideration. The jury is still out on the lifespan of these panels though. Some say they will last just as long as monocrystalline panels, others point to their decreased efficiencies only a couple of years after purchase. We've decided to put all of our hard earned information about installing solar panels into an easy to understand guide for people who were like us and just could figure out how to set up their solar installation. Did I mention this saves $3000? The great part about this is that you can save a lot of money by installing and wiring the solar panels yourself. Trust me, once you've been shown how to do it the rest is easy... it's getting someone who can explain it without using rocket scientist lingo.

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Conversely, when oil prices began to decline in 1975, because of the world recession, OPEC found itself powerless to stop its members from undercutting each other and competing for sales. Despite OPEC's price declarations, the real price of oil declined by more than 25 percent between 1975 and 1978. The decline was reversed, not by any actions of OPEC but by another series of events in the Persian Gulf: the revolt against the Shah in Iran; a brief rebellion in Saudi Arabia; Iraq's invasion of Iran. In a matter of months, some 5 or 6 million barrels a day of Persian Gulf oil vanished from the export market. In 1979, importers feverishly bid up the remaining supply for their strategic reserves until prices reached $35 a barrel. Throughout this roller coaster of falling and soaring prices, OPEC demonstrated little ability to affect or even moderate The actions of its members. Price agreements were totally ignored, and the idea of regulating oil production was preemptively rejected. In a comprehensive study of OPEC prices, Walter J. Mead, an economist at the University of California, found that "price and output policies [of members] appear to be determined independently of OPEC policy." He concluded that OPEC could not be considered a cartel in the light of this data, because "the essential ingredient to an effective cartel, coordinated control over output, is totally lacking." OPEC merely took credit for the results of current events. Whereas OPEC may have proved to be no more than a paper cartel, one nation—Saudi Arabia—succeeded in altering the market by dramatically varying the output from its fields. After all, it was Saudi Arabia, not OPEC, that shut off oil during the Yom Kippur War. It was also Saudi Arabia that, without even consulting OPEC, arbitrarily reduced production in the midst of the Iranian revolt. And it was Saudi Arabia that later flooded the market for the stated purpose of forcing other OPEC members to conform to its pricing policies. Yet, even though Saudi Arabia was the real manager of the world oil supply, statesmen around the world preferred to blame an almost nonexistent organization—OPEC. In July of 1979, President Jimmy Carter received a memorandum from his chief domestic adviser, Stuart Eizenstat, suggesting that public attention be focused on OPEC. Specifically, it counseled that "with strong steps we can mobilize the nation around a real crisis and with a clear enemy—OPEC." Whether Carter and his advisers were cynical in their search for a scapegoat or ill-informed about the determining role Saudi Arabia played in manipulating the supply of oil, they adopted the general strategy of blaming OPEC for the world's ills. Carter said, "I don't see how the rest of the world can sit back in a quiescent state and accept unrestrained and unwarranted increases in OPEC oil prices." Then, after castigating OPEC in a nationwide address, he read from his notebook a chilling assessment: "Our neck is stretched over the fence and OPEC has the knife." Carter gave this enemy a quality of omnipotence several months later, when he said that OPEC "has now become such an institutionalized structure that it would be very doubtful that anyone could break it down." OPEC was turned into an undefeatable foe. OPEC made an especially convenient "clear enemy" pre-cisely because it hardly existed. If a real country were chosen for this role, there would be real consequences. Consider, for example, what would have happened if Carter had substituted "Saudi Arabia" for "OPEC" in his denunciations. He would have to have depicted Saudi Arabia holding a knife to America's outstretched neck—an image hardly consistent with continued military and technical aid to that country. OPEC, on the other hand, with which the United States had neither trade nor foreign relations, provided an ideal diversion from reality. It also yielded a four-letter word for the press to use in headlines. Oil companies could put the blame for gas lines and soaring prices on OPEC, with which they had no commercial relations, without offending the countries on which they depended for supplies. OPEC served an even more important purpose for the oil-exporting nations. It gave powerless nations, which had the means neither to operate their oil fields nor to defend themselves, a dazzling mask. Specifically, for Saudi Arabia, which produces almost half of OPEC's oil, it provided international camouflage for its oil policy. Just as the United States used the OAS as a mask for the embargo on goods shipped to Cuba in the 1960s, and the Soviet Union used the Warsaw Pact as a mask for intervention in Czechoslovakia in 1968, Saudi Arabia used OPEC to obscure its manipulation of the oil market. Such diversionary tactics were especially important to Saudi Arabia, since in 1973 its oil fields were almost entirely in the hands of American technicians and engineers, and its army, fewer than 3,000 men located at bases 1,000 miles away from the oil fields, was hardly in a position to defend the fields. Finally, OPEC, with its 300-seat press auditorium and television studio, provided a theater in which member countries could play the roles they preferred—hawk, dove, or moderate—for public consumption without constraining their actions in the marketplace. Libya and Iran, for example, chose to play the role of price hawk in the 1982 season; in fact, both countries relentlessly cut prices and gave secret discounts. Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, chose to play the role of a moderate and friend of the West. In 1977, for example, it approved an average production increase of 2 million barrels a day over a six-month period. The promised oil, however, never materialized; Saudi Arabia perfunctorily explained that a seven-week storm in the Persian Gulf had prevented oil loadings. The U.S. Weather Bureau was unable, with all its electronic wizardry, to find any meteorological evidence of this putative act of God. Until 1982, OPEC set prices for oil very much the way the king in Le Petit Prince, to impress his subjects, commanded the sun to set each day—after consulting a timetable. As long as the wars and chaos in the Middle East drove prices up, OPEC could continue with due pomp to make its announcements of price rises. This game could not be played, however, in the face of falling prices. By March of 1982, world demand for oil had so diminished that refineries were closing throughout Europe and stocks were being dumped onto the market at an alarming rate. The competition within OPEC for shares of the oil market has been greatly exacerbated in recent years by the loss of nearly one third of the world market to interlopers such as Mexico, Great Britain, Norway, Malaysia, Russia, and Egypt. In 1973, when OPEC began its thundering rise to eminence, its members produced almost all the exportable oil in the world. In 1983, according to a recent Exxon projection, non-OPEC nations (not including the United States) will produce about 13 million barrels a day, equivalent to nearly two thirds of OPEC's total. Mexico, which will produce 2.9 million barrels a day, will export more oil than any OPEC country except Saudi Arabia; and Great Britain and Norway will produce 2.7 million barrels a day from North Sea fields. As the available portion of the market shrinks, OPEC nations, many of whom are desperate for revenues, can compete only by lowering prices. As prices last year continued to slip day by day, it became clear to all concerned that OPEC could no longer even pretend to command prices to rise with any effect. On March 6, Saudi Arabia called a strategy meeting in advance of the scheduled Vienna meeting in the tiny city of Doha, on the Persian Gulf. It was attended by only nine OPEC members, who confronted the vexing problem of how OPEC could lower its official price to a competitive level without undermining its image of exerting control over the market. Saudi Arabia proposed shrouding the necessary price reduction in a semantic fog in which the "official OPEC price" would remain at $34 a barrel but the premiums charged for "differentials" in quality and transportation would be "adjusted." This would effectively reduce the price. The plan was ultimately rejected, because, as Petroleum Intelligence Weekly, a trade paper, observed, "The 'differential umbrella' is not large enough ... to mask the market's perception of the price reductions required." The only answer, it was decided in Doha, was for Saudi Arabia to cut its production substantially.

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Of the eight species of Pelican in the world, Pelecanus occidentalis is the smallest and, if its latin name is meant to be indicative, the species whose range extends furthest west of all it’s large-billed co-geners. I’ll give ole Linneaus a pass here when he named the Brown Pelican in 1766 since he wasn’t yet aware of the even more western American White Pelican. I’ll simply state that directional names seem a bit presumptive when the vast majority of a massive continent still remains to unknown beyond the westward horizon and leave it at that, knowing full well that my critique of his technique coming nearly 250 years too late totally puts the great taxonomist in his place. Take that Carolus! Of the five subspecies of Brown Pelican that can be found on coastal environments all up and down the North and South American continents, the one most familiar to birders on the east coast is Pelcanus occidentalis carolinensis, the eastern Brown Pelican, which nests along the Gulf coast, around Florida, and as far north as Maryland and is a common as a non-breeder north all the way to New York. The subspecific name, carolinensis, refers to the very first specimen which came from Charleston harbor in South Carolina where they can still be found nesting in the barrier islands beyond the city. There’s something inherently prehistoric about watching a Brown Pelican in flight. Other birds may have larger wingspan, or strike a more dinosaurian pose when perched, but the Pelican, by virtue of it’s long, thin wings and massive bill necessitating that the head rest just-so on the front of the torso, that seems practically Pterodactylic. There’s no bird alive that so resembles those massive flying lizards, specifically the genus Pteranodon. And it’s not much of a leap when watching a lazy flock of Pelicans slowly cruising down the beach to imagine they’re flying again. There’s a good reason for that of course. Natural selection, which slowly and inexorably drives species to fill certain niches. This one, filled prehistorically by Pteranodon and currently by Brown Pelicans, involves taking advantage of the bounties of the sea. A massive bill holds many fish and squid and long, narrow wings find thermals that exist just inches above the ocean’s surface. A Brown Pelican can travel far on little energy, which is a clear advantage when you have an entire ocean in which to forage. And forage seems like such an imperfect word for watching a massive Pelican turn into the wind and drop from 40 feet up into the water with a spectacular splash, a sight even the least bird aware person in the world can appreciate. But it wasn’t always that way. Not more than 40 years ago, the Brown Pelican, specifically the eastern populations, were in big trouble. North Carolina, which now has the largest nesting population of the species, was down to 75 breeding pairs. That’s it. Other states saw similar declines. Louisiana had 11. The entire state of Texas had 8. The culprit was the same toxin that was doing a similar number on other large predatory birds, DDT, which causes the birds to lay eggs with shells so thin that the weight of a brooding bird was enough to crush them. The situation was so dire that the Brown Pelican, the eastern subspecies as well as the Pacific californicus, was placed on the Endangered Species list in 1970 and efforts immediately taken to bring them back from the brink. DDT was banned in the United States in 1972, and the Brown Pelican, as well as other affected species like Osprey and Bald Eagle, famously rebounded, a real deal success story. Delisted in 1985, Brown Pelicans are once again thriving in their former range, a common sight along any coastline in the southeast United States including Wrightsville Beach in New Hanover County, North Carolina, where I found this small flock. What images of soiled birds that have come out of the Deepwater Horizon clean-up effort have by and large been Brown Pelicans. Because they’re so distinctive, so indicative of sunny days at the beach and lazy summer vacations, they’re an excellent way to relate the severity of the disaster to regular people. Pelicans are proud and adept and just so big, and to see them reduced to a pathetic oil-soaked lump of feathers is wrenching in a very visceral way. They’re not supposed to be like this. But birds are remarkably good at recovering given the opportunity to do so. There’s some solace, then, in the realization that Brown Pelicans have endured far worse. They’ve been laid lower and returned. Every Brown Pelican on every beach is a testimony to the power of simply giving birds the time and space they need. It’s inspiring really, at a time when we probably all could use a little inspiration.

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“Rain is falling” – On what is it falling??“I’m coming to home” – I’m going home would sound much better, eh? “I speak in English”- Is English a room or something??! “Speak on your favorite person” – Omigosh!Standing on your favorite person to speak out?!“Why do you left your job?”- Dunno ….????“What you will do” – Go on… waiting for your command….“jinc”, “”jero”, “joo”, “Jebra”- in which country is Z pronounced J? huh? Whew! Listening to something like these phrases would put Shakespeare to shame!That is what mother tongue influence has done to the beauty of English Language. A lot of people refer to mother tongue ‘influence’ on English, as mother tongue ‘influenza’ and have a good laugh at others’ expense. Of all the influences, the mother tongue influence is the most difficult to get rid of, or so we believe! In my Verbal Ability sessions, I invariably come across people who carry around an inferiority complex, just because they speak English with a mother tongue influence.Some people pronounce ‘measure’, ‘pleasure’,‘treasure’, ‘support’, ‘develop’ etc, and some cannot say ‘school’ or ‘zero’. The words are coolly influenced by mother tongue, making them ‘meayure’, ‘pleayure’, ‘treayure’ ‘sport’,‘divolp’, ‘iskool’ and ‘jero’ . But as you go out into the world for further studies or some other reasons, your ears open up to correct any pronunciation errors that we inadvertently made.If you are not sure about the pronunciation of a certain word, don’t feel shy or hesitate instead, ask, practice, and learn (you can take help of a Dictionary). After all any language is learnt over a lifetime! You can never proclaim to know all the words or their correct pronunciation, especially in English. English is an evolving language. New words keep getting added to it virtually on a daily basis. There are a lot of French, Spanish, German, Chinese, Japanese and even Indian words being added to English, much to the horror of purists! Now can any one say that I have mastered English? We are all learners.The only difference is that we are placed at different levels of learning.When we make mistakes in our own mother tongue (or even our national language for that matter), these are taken as ‘oh, s/he can’t speak her tongue’. No one cares if you can’t speak your native language. But English is something else; it is the language of commerce and higher learning. Not being able to converse in impeccable English marks one as someone not up to the mark. The first step towards limiting this unwanted influence (it is difficult to overcome overnight) is by acknowledging the problem. If we are ready to admit to ourselves and to others that we have a problem, and solicit everyone’s help in correcting us by pointing out our errors, our language will soon improve.But this effort requires a lot of courage, and deep willingness on our part. Listening to English news, reading aloud (to hear your own voice),paying attention when others are speaking, and making continuous effort to correct yourself, go a long way in helping overcome mothertongue influence. Americans chose to defy Standard English language of the British and got away with it. A country as financially strong as USA could do it. They made American English a new standard.Similarly Australians speak English in their own peculiar way. Why, even the Queen’s own country doesn’t follow a single way of pronouncing a word. Each region of England has its own special influence. Now what do you call that influence? Their mother tongue is English,so it can’t be called ‘Mother tongue influence’,at best you can call it ‘regional influence’. So you see while none of these people are under pressure to improve their pronunciations and grammar; we Indians have become the torch bearers for ‘Queen’s English’. Why? Why can’t we just relax, and learn to speak deliberately in as much a neutral accent as possible? We should have the confidence that as we practice more, we will eventually become proficient in speaking so called ‘Public School’ english. The purpose of any language is to communicate. When we speak slowly and deliberately we can be understood better.In case someone still doesn’t understand a particular word, we can always spell it out for them. We need to be willing to give ourselves and others time to learn these skills. We need to be patient with each other. The day is not far when India would be a Superpower. That day we will not feel inferior to any one because of our mother-tongueinfluence.We will be proud of it. (We have already started feeling proud of our cuisine, customs, and Indian-ness). Words like ‘prepone’,‘redressal’, and ‘wheatish complexion’,expressions like ‘I am understanding it’, ‘She is knowing theanswer’, preposition usage like,‘discuss about’, ‘pay attention on’ and frequent use of question tags like, ‘you are going, no?’ etc will become a part of Standard Indian English that we will expect the world to understand.Let us wait for such a day to dawn. That will be the new ‘Freedom’ day!

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The Ohio Supreme Court this week issued its decision in State ex rel. Merrill v. Ohio Department of Natural Resources, holding that the public has no right to use the shore of Lake Erie above the “natural shoreline.” Professor Ken Kilbert, Director of the Legal Institute of the Great Lakes at the University of Toledo College of Law, has followed the case closely and published a comprehensive article on this issue, “The Public Trust Doctrine and the Great Lakes Shores,” 58 Clev. St. L. Rev. 1 (2010) (available free online through SSRN). His previous Great Lakes Law guest posts analyzed the lower court’s decision and previewed the Supreme Court case based on oral arguments. Ken once again offers his insights and analysis of the Ohio Supreme Court’s decision. The Ohio Supreme Court this week ruled that the public has no right to use the shore of Lake Erie above the “natural shoreline,” which it defined as the line at which water usually stands when free from disturbing causes. The Court in State ex rel. Merrill v. Ohio Department of Natural Resources also decided that same line represents the boundary between privately owned uplands and the state-owned lakebed. The unanimous 7-0 decision is a blow to lakefront property owners because it reversed aspects of earlier decisions in this case by lower Ohio courts which had drawn the boundary line for purposes of the public trust and state ownership at the water’s edge as it exists moment to moment. However, the Court also rejected the argument advocated by other parties in the case, the State and two environmental groups, that the boundary should be the ordinary high water mark (OHWM). In the aftermath of the Court’s opinion, both sides in the case seem to be declaring victory. While the Court explained that neither the water’s edge nor the OHWM is the boundary, the opinion did not explain where “the line at which water usually stands when free from disturbing causes” exists on the shore. Fleshing out the meaning of that phrase, and the location of the boundary line, apparently will be left to future court opinions and/or future Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) regulations. The Merrill case was begun in 2004 by a group of lakefront property owners in response to ODNR’s position that the state owned the shore up to the OHWM and the owners must obtain leases from the state for certain uses of the shore below the OHWM. (ODNR subsequently abandoned that position, leading the court of appeals to rule that the Ohio Attorney General lacked standing to pursue the appeal on behalf of the State, a ruling that the Supreme Court reversed.) Although the case began as a dispute over title, also at issue was the public’s right to use the Lake Erie shore. Pursuant to the public trust doctrine, the public has a right to use land and water within the public trust for certain important purposes, including boating and fishing. It is undisputed that Lake Erie and the lakebed are owned by the state and are subject to the public trust. The Merrill case involved questions of how far state ownership and the public trust extend up the Lake Erie shore and, secondarily, whether walking the shore is a protected use. The Lake County Court of Common Pleas and the Ohio Court of Appeals for the 11th District had ruled that the public has no right to use the Lake Erie shore above the water’s edge; the public has a right to walk along the shore, but only to the extent they keep their feet wet by staying on state-owned lakebed (see this previous guest for more on the court of appeals decision). The Ohio Supreme Court did not expressly discuss the public’s right to walk along the shore, but it did hold that the territory held in trust by the state does not extend landward beyond the “natural shoreline” as it defined the term, meaning that the public has no right to use the privately owned shore above that natural shoreline. The Court held that the lakefront property owners have no title lakeward of that same natural shoreline. Although the Court of Appeals had called the case one of “first impression,” the Supreme Court emphasized that its decision regarding the boundary of the public trust along the shore of Lake Erie was merely a reiteration of law settled in an 1878 Ohio Supreme Court case, which was clarified in a 1916 Court case and codified by a state statute in 1917. The Merrill decision sharply contrasts with the 2005 decision by the Michigan Supreme Court in Glass v. Goeckel, which held that the public trust extends to the OHWM along the Michigan shores of the Great Lakes. The Glass Court ruled that the public has a right to walk along even privately owned shores up to the OHWM in Michigan. I respectfully disagree with the Merrill opinion, at least regarding the public trust. The boundary of the public trust was not at issue in the 1878 case or any subsequent Ohio Supreme Court case, and Ohio Rev. Code §§ 1506.10 & .11 were not intended to modify the geographic scope of the public trust. Further, the Court erred in assuming that the boundary for title must be the same as the boundary for the public trust. Rather, in my view, the shores of Lake Erie passed to the State of Ohio up to the OHWM at the time Ohio became a state, and the State has never clearly relinquished the public trust in the shores of Lake Erie below the OHWM, so the public should have a right to walk along the Ohio shore of Lake Erie up to the OHWM. See Kenneth Kilbert, The Public Trust Doctrine and the Great Lakes Shores, 58 Clev. St. L. Rev. 1 (2010) (available free online through SSRN). The Merrill case and its implications will be the topic of a panel discussion, featuring attorneys from both sides of the case, at the annual Great Lakes Water Conference on November 4 at the University of Toledo College of Law.

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Euphorbia pulcherrima, the botanical name, or poinsettia as we call it, is native to Mexico and Guatemala in Central America. Poinsettias are part of the Euphorbiaceae family. Many plants in this family ooze a milky sap. The botanical name, Euphorbia pulcherrima, was given to the poinsettia by German botanist, Karl Ludwig Wilenow. The plant grew through a crack in his greenhouse. Dazzled by its color, he gave it the botanical name Euphorbia pulcherrima, meaning “very beautiful”. The History of the Poinsettia in its native Habitat The Aztecs in the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries called this plant “Cuetlaxochitl” in their native Nahuatl language. Cuitllatl means “residue” and xochiti means flower, thus it is “the flower that grows in the residues or soil”. Montezuma, the last of the Aztec kings, had poinsettia plants brought up to what is present day Mexico City by caravans. The Aztecs saw the plant as a symbol of purity and used it as a dye and against fevers. Seventeenth century Spanish botanist Don Juan Balme mentions poinsettia plants in his writings. He found the plant flourishing on the slopes and in the valleys near Cuernavaca. He described the plant as having large green leaves and a small flower surrounded by brilliant red bracts, almost as if for protection. At the same time the Spanish Franciscan Friars, who settled in the Taxco region of southern Mexico, included the timely winter grown red blooms of the plants in their Fiesta de Pesebre, the Nativity procession. The star-shaped leaf pattern is said to symbolize the Star of Bethlehem and was named “Noche Buena” meaning Christmas Eve. The name “poinsettia” is derived from Joel Roberts Poinsett who was the first United States Minister to Mexico from 1825 to 1829. Mr. Poinsett first brought poinsettia plants to America. Poinsettias are fascinating winter blooming small shrubs or trees which can grow anywhere from about two to sixteen feet tall. Dark green leaves which are about three to six inches in length add to the festive appearance of this plant. The colored bracts of poinsettia plants are actually leaves. Colors of the bracts can be red, pink, orange, white, or marbled. These colored bracts are caused by photoperiodism. Many flowering plants use a photoreceptor protein, such as phytochrome or cryptochrome, to sense changes between daylight and the darkness of night or photoperiod, which they take as signals to flower. People not familiar with poinsettia plants believe that the colored bracts are the actual flowers. But the flowers, called cyathia, are located at the center of each leaf bunch. Poinsettia plants are considered toxic by many. But this is not the case. They may cause mild skin irritations to some individuals who are sensitive to it. If any part of the plant is ingested, it may cause an upset stomach, diarrhea and vomiting. In addition, the sap that exudes from a broken branch may cause temporary blindness if it comes in contact with the eyes. History of the Poinsettia Arrival in the Unites States and its Name The poinsettia was introduced to the United States by Mr. Poinsett in 1828. He had sent and brought cuttings from Mexico to his greenhouses in Greenville, South Carolina. He shared these cuttings with friends and other horticulturalists he knew at the time. Euphorbia pulcherrima, the name originally given by German botanist Karl Ludwig Wilenow was changed to Poinsettia in honor of Mr. Poinsett in 1836 by William Prescott, the historian and horticulturalist, who was asked to rename the plant. In his newly published historical work at the time on Mexico, Conquest of Mexico, Mr. Prescott details Mr. Poinsett’s discovery of this beautiful plant in the area of Taxco del Alarcon in southern Mexico. During the 1920s Albert Ecke and his son Paul became interested in poinsettia plants which grew wild in southern California at this time. As these plants bloomed during the Holiday season both Albert and Paul thought that this would be a perfect plant to introduce to the public. Paul continued to foster the idea of making the poinsettia the “official holiday flower” for Christmas. They grew fields of poinsettia plants and began to sell them commercially. The plants were initially sold at roadside stands in the Hollywood and Beverly Hills area. In 1923 the family moved their business to Encinitas, about 2 hours south of the very fast developing area around Los Angeles. Encinitas proved to be the perfect location for growing poinsettias as it mirrored the growing conditions of its native Mexico where these plants grow wild. From 1923 to the mid-1960s they grew fields of poinsettia mother plants, and shipped them to plant nurseries around the country that purchased them for cultivation and future commercial sales. Paul personally traveled the country promoting the plant to nurseries nationwide and encouraged nursery owners to market the plant as a holiday flower. But this changed in 1963 when the first commercial-quality poinsettia cultivar was developed. It grew best as a potted plant and was introduced to the public. This dramatically changed the nature of commercially growing and selling poinsettia plants. Even for the Ecke Family Business, they moved indoors from the fields to growing these smaller plants in greenhouses. They began shipping by air freight rather than by rail. Paul Jr. with his marketing ideas to always keep the poinsettia plant in the public eye used the very popular growing medium of television to promote these bright red and later red and white potted flowering plants. They became a part of the scenery in most every popular TV show and all the Christmas Specials during the holiday season. No holiday scene would be complete without at least one blooming poinsettia plant. Today Dr. Ruth Kobayashi continues to produce new poinsettia hybrids for the Ecke family. Dr. Kobayashi’s work resulted in the knowledge of the most important poinsettia genetics known today. In 2002 ‘Prestige Red’ was introduced known for its outstanding branching capabilities and very sturdy stems. ‘Prestige Red’ quickly became the number one selling red poinsettia. Presently experiments continue to breed other species with the Euphorbia genus. Currently there are more than 100 varieties of poinsettias available. Here are some of the cultivar names exhibiting some of the most spectacular poinsettia colors available today....Cortez Red, Cranberry Punch, Flirt, Galaxy Red, Marblestar, Nutcracker Pink, Monet, Plum Pudding, Silverstar White, Sonora Fire, Victory Red, White Christmas, Spotlight Apricot, and Pearl. In addition many commercial growers have cultivated new plants which have longer lasting bract colors and lasting foliage that can survive poor watering schedules. Poinsettia growers have characteristically made today’s plants bruise resistant and more flexible with less fragile bracts that can survive shipping without dropping their leaves that allows them to arrive beautifully intact to the stores and nurseries for retail sales. Next, for your FREE Tropical Plant Guide, Grow Your Own Tropical Garden, visit Free Tropical Plant Guide. Copyright @ Bob Walsh

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- Radar van locations, traffic incidents & today's gas prices - The New (G.O.P.) Math - JTED head: Ducey's budget cuts would gut career training - Bill would create REAL ID-compliant licenses – if Arizonans pay for them2 - CDC: Heroin OD deaths rose significantly from 2010-2013 Posted Sep 25, 2011, 11:59 am LIMA, Peru — For years, Peru had a simple policy to fight cocaine: destroy the coca plants that were the key ingredient in the drug. It did not go so well. As the government burned coca harvests, it offered no support for impoverished farmers to grow alternative cash crops such as coffee or cacao. Predictably perhaps, many kept planting coca, simply moving their plots further from the reaches of law enforcement to more remote corners of the eastern Andes. That has nearly propelled Peru to the top of the cocaine-production ladder. According to U.N. figures, Colombia had 62,000 hectares of coca crops in 2010 while Peru had 61,200. Crucially, the Colombian figure represents a 34 percent decrease since 2005 while the Peruvian figure is up 41 percent over the same period. Colombia’s cocaine production was estimated last year at 350 metric tons and although no such calculation exists for Peru, experts believe it is not far behind. Now, Peru's new government under President Ollanta Humala, who took office in July, is changing its strategy. “We need to move from eradication to reduction,” said Ricardo Soberón, Peru’s new anti-drug tsar. He is drawing up a broader, more sophisticated strategy that accepts that simply wiping out coca by force will not succeed. It also acknowledges that some coca cultivation in Peru remains legal; an estimated 8,000 hectares is dedicated to meeting the demand for coca tea and traditional consumption, in which Andeans chew coca leaf for a mild high. The new policy will include some enforced eradication but will also target drug kingpins by cracking down on the cartels’ money laundering and the chemicals used to make cocaine. At the same time, the government will offer a helping hand to the poorer cocaleros, or coca farmers, the traffickers rely on by promoting sustainable development in coca-rich areas. Similar tactics have been tried previously, with relative success, in the northern region of San Martin, according to analyst Jaime Antezana. International aid agencies provided sustainable development support, complementing the government’s eradication efforts. Coca cultivation fell from 18,000 hectares in 1995 to 1,700 hectares last year. Most independent experts agree these measures were long overdue at a national level in Peru. And they blame the previous administration of President Alan García for neglecting the problem. “A policy that has not existed has not failed,” said Professor Jaime Garcia, an economist specializing in the drugs trade, summing up the sporadic counter-narcotics efforts of Humala’s predecessor. García, meanwhile, has blamed Washington for Peru’s surging coca harvest because he said the U.S. dedicated most of its Latin American counter-narcotics resources to Colombia. Yet Soberon’s new approach has been even more controversial. For much of his seven weeks in office, he has endured daily calls for his sacking and accusations that he worked as an adviser to coca growers’ organizations. In his first days in office, Soberon briefly suspended the coca-eradication program in one coca hotspot to “reevaluate” the program. Meanwhile, the release of an email from Soberon to cocaleros saying he could not hold off eradication efforts indefinitely only strengthened the storm. The two moves triggered a wave of criticism, principally from rightwing politicians and media, and led to a diplomatic standoff with Washington, which helps fund the eradication program. The U.S. ambassador to Peru, Rose Likins, then hosted a lightning visit to inaugurate the new combined police-military command center in another of Peru’s main coca-growing regions, the Valley of the Ene and Apurimac Rivers, to see the results of a $1.8 million U.S. donation. Peru’s defense and interior ministers were invited but not Soberón, who officially leads Peru’s anti-narcotics strategy. The U.S. embassy did not respond to requests for comment. Soberón appeared unruffled by the row. “I don’t have a problem if there was no room on the helicopter,” he told GlobalPost. Of the calls for his resignation, he said: “It is the first time in Peru that someone has described another way of doing things.” Soberon will seek U.S. support for additional equipment to pursue the cartels, including helicopters, drug scanners and communications technology. Many police units on the coca frontline lack basic equipment, including even mobile phones and internet connections. He also hopes to offer more basic services to the cocaleros, who, like many of Peru’s Andean and Amazonian communities, have historically been abandoned by decision-makers in Lima, often receiving little or no healthcare, education or other government services that are routine in urban areas. That government neglect has embittered Serafín Andrés Luján, head of Peru’s largest cocalero organization, who remains skeptical of Soberon’s promises. “We don’t need anyone to tell us to change crops,” he said. “What we need are opportunities.” The reinstatement of the eradication program, just days after its suspension made headlines around the world, has particularly angered Luján and his organization’s members. Most of them grow less than an acre of coca, often the only cash crop they can market, given the lack of paved roads in their isolated communities. TucsonSentinel.com's original reporting and curation of border and immigration news is generously supported in part by a grant from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation.

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If New Jersey Were a Country … - In some key areas, the Garden State (if it were the Garden Nation) would perform well in comparison to other countries. For example, New Jersey’s per-capita gross national income would be the sixth-highest in the world. - In other key areas, the nation of New Jersey would lag. Among the 149 countries for which the World Bank has compiled income data, only 19 have income distributions that are more top-heavy than New Jersey’s. - Only four countries in the world are more urbanized than New Jersey, where the population density is 10 times that of the United States as a whole. World Bank Data Yield Some Surprises The recent publication of the World Bank’s World Development Indicators [pdf] report makes it possible to compare New Jersey to other nations on a number of indicators related to economic productivity, development and urbanization. Overall, New Jersey’s performance relative to the rest of the world reveals some room for improvement, but also illustrates how New Jersey can be seen as a harbinger of how the trend toward greater urban development might play out elsewhere. New Jersey’s 2008 population density of 1,168 people per square mile is more than 10 times that of the country as a whole (86) and exceeds the densities of some of the countries we think of as being the most crowded: India (992), Belgium (917), Japan (907), Israel (875) and the Philippines (785). In fact, excluding a handful of small island nations and city-states (e.g., Monaco, Singapore, Malta) that are more properly compared against other cities rather than nations, New Jersey would rank as the fifth most densely populated country in the world, trailing only Bangladesh, West Bank/Gaza (which the World Bank treats as the de facto nation of Palestine), South Korea and the Netherlands. New Jersey is definitely ahead of the worldwide curve when it comes to accommodating large numbers of people relatively close together. On a similar note, New Jersey is much more urbanized than the rest of the world, with 94 percent of its population living in urbanized areas (roughly defined as areas with a population density of 1,000 or more per square mile). Only four countries—Singapore, Kuwait, Belgium and Qatar—are more urban. And if we look at what percent of the population lives in urbanized areas of 1 million people or more, New Jersey rises to second place among the 105 nations for which these data are available; only the city-state of Singapore (100 percent) is higher. (In the United States overall, 43 percent of the population lives in urbanized areas of 1 million or more.) If the future of the world is in large urban agglomerations, as the United Nations projects, New Jersey is already there. New Jersey is also ahead of the curve in using agglomeration economies to translate urbanization into prosperity. If it were its own country, New Jersey’s per-capita gross national income (as approximated by Gross State Product) of about $55,000 would rank it sixth in the world, behind Liechtenstein ($98K), Norway ($87K), Luxembourg ($69K), Denmark ($59K) and Switzerland ($56K), and ahead of several other countries—including Sweden, Ireland and the Netherlands—whose per-capita GNI exceeds that of the United States as a whole ($47,000). In terms of income disparities, however, New Jersey (and the rest of the United States) more closely resembles Latin America or southern Africa than Europe. In New Jersey, the top 20 percent of income earners in 2008 earned 15 times more than the bottom 20 percent, just slightly more lopsided than the national figure of 14.7 but far more unequal than the countries of both Western and Eastern Europe, where the ratios typically run in the three-to-six range. New Jersey’s income inequality is more pronounced than that of Russia, China, Turkey, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Cambodia, Nigeria, Kenya or Nepal, and is about even with Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru. Within New Jersey, the wealthiest municipalities (e.g., Saddle River, Alpine, Far Hills) boast per-capita incomes of $150,000 or more, while the poorest (e.g. Camden, Bridgeton, Paterson, Asbury Park) barely exceed $10,000. New Jersey’s income distribution is not only more skewed than in most of the rest of the world, but the disparity expresses itself geographically, resulting in a stark contrast at the municipal level between the haves and the have-nots. Though highly urbanized, New Jersey has done a respectable job of preserving and protecting its open lands. As of 2009, open space, farmland and parks that had been permanently preserved by all levels of government comprised 29 percent of the state’s total land area. The comparable figure for the United States (lands in federal hands that are not open for development) is not far behind, at 27 percent. Both New Jersey and the nation as a whole are well ahead of most of the world on this score, including most of the developed world, though there are some surprising exceptions; several southern African nations with huge wildlife preserves—Zambia (41 percent), Tanzania (39) and Botswana (30)—surpass New Jersey’s rate of preservation, as do Guatemala (33) and Costa Rica (31) in Central America. That New Jersey is more densely populated and more urbanized than most of the rest of the world, yet has also managed to protect a larger share of its open lands, could be seen as a model for developing countries as they transition from agrarian societies to ones powered by major urban centers. Of course, much of New Jersey’s recent development has been low-density, single-use and automobile-dependent and hence probably not desirable to replicate in countries that are only recently urbanizing. But if New Jersey were to seriously embrace its State Development and Redevelopment Plan as a blueprint for determining the future of the 29 percent of its land (as of 2002) that is still available for development, it could show the rest of the world how to balance growth and preservation as it approaches full build-out—another milestone that New Jersey appears destined to reach before the rest of the world. UPDATE [11-10-10]: Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times [reg. required] looks in more depth at the issue of income inequality, notices the US’s similarity to Latin America, and muses on the implications of our becoming a banana republic.

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Orange Mound, Memphis ||The neutrality of this article is disputed. (May 2012)| Built on the grounds of the former Deaderick plantation, the Orange Mound subdivision was developed for African-Americans in the 1890s to provide affordable land and residences for the less wealthy. Drugs and crime infected the neighborhood in the 1980s and 1990s. In the first decade of the 21st century, revitalization efforts were started and show positive effects. - 1 Geography - 2 Demographics - 3 History - 4 Culture - 5 References Orange Mound is a neighborhood bounded by Lamar Avenue to the south, Southern Avenue/Illinois Central Railroad tracks to the north, East Parkway South and Cooper St to the west, and Semmes Street to the east. The neighborhood has a population of approximately 14,400 of which 95 percent are of African-American heritage. Deaderick plantation - 1800s Orange Mound stands on the site of the former John Deaderick plantation. Between 1825 and 1830, Deaderick (whose family donated the land in Nashville on which the Tennessee State Capitol was built) purchased 5,000 acres (20 km²) of land and built a stately house there (at what is now the east side of Airways, between Carnes and Spottswood). In 1890, a developer named Elzey Eugene Meachem purchased land from the Deaderick family and began developing a subdivision for African-Americans, selling lots for less than $100. In the 1890s, a typical Orange Mound house was a small, narrow "shotgun"-style house. Vibrant black community - 1970s In the 1970s, Orange Mound was billed as "the largest concentration of blacks in the United States except for Harlem in New York City." The neighborhood provided a refuge for blacks moving to the city for the first time from rural areas. Although the streets of the early Orange Mound were unpaved, it was a vibrant community in which a mix of residences, businesses, churches, and cultural centers flourished. During the era of desegregation, Orange Mound entered a period of decline as younger residents began to move away. Drugs and crime - 1980s-1990s Built on strong families, preachers, churches, and civic pride, this was a huge community of black homeowners in the 1940-50's. [cit needed] Drugs and alcohol had been an issue for many years, as they are in any concentration of poverty, but in the 1980s, the use of crack cocaine began separating families, generating violence, ravaging the community with crime, and breaking homes. Drug use devastated poor and middle-class families. The community role models shifted away from teachers, preachers, and doctors to drug dealers and gang members. Orange Mound was listed in 1994 as the # 1 area for murders, burglaries, and rapes in Memphis. Since 1994, Orange Mound has improved considerably as crime has moved south & east. Revitalization - 2000s In the first decade of the 21st century, Orange Mound has been the focus of a variety of revitalization efforts. One such effort, the Orange Mound Collaborative, funded by a Ford Foundation grant, stresses "education through empowerment." The Orange Mound Collaborative's projects include an Early Childhood Institute, and an oral history project in which researchers conduct videotaped interviews with Orange Mound's older residents. In 2003, Orange Mound was named one of 21 areas in Memphis that are the focus of the S.M.A.R.T. Revitalization Plan ("Servicing the Metropolitan Area through the Redevelopment of Targeted neighborhoods"), a public-private partnership to create vibrant neighborhoods in declining areas. In a 2004, editorial in the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Robert Lipscomb, director of Memphis's Housing and Community Development division, wrote that much progress has been made in revitalizing Orange Mound, through a combination of code enforcement, tenant education programs, and neighborhood cleanup efforts. In the Fall of 2009, Melrose High School opened its stadium with new state of the art technology, new field, bleachers, and park. This was only a minor point of a changing community. In recent years crime has gone down nearly 10%. Alumni of the high school are taking it upon themselves to become more involved in the lives of the upcoming generation in order to insure a brighter future. Orange Mound Community Garden A group called the Mid-South Peace & Justice Center helped neighborhood residents to create the Orange Mound Community Garden. Organizers of the garden project hope the project will help beautify the community, provide a source of nutritious food, teach leadership skills, and encourage self-reliance. Churches in Orange Mound, and throughout Memphis, have played a critical role in developing community leaders and fostering stability. Particularly important has been Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, which has been at the corner of David and Carnes Streets since 1926, and Mt Pisgah CME Church on the corner of Park Avenue and Marchaneil. This church played a role in the American Civil Rights Movement by assisting activists jailed for their activities in support of racial equality. Orange Mound hosts a growing underground rap scene as well as national hip-hop stars. The hit rap duo 8 Ball & MJG (Premro Smith and Marlon Jermain Goodwin) grew up in Orange Mound. They met at Ridgeway High in East Memphis where many Orange Mound children were educated from the early 1970s to the early 1990s. Orange Mound is the title and setting of a novel written by author Jay Fingers, who grew up in the neighborhood. The novel was recently deemed a "Memphis Book for Summer Reading" by the Memphis Flyer. Melrose High School and Dunbar Elementary School are located in Orange Mound and serve as a sources of pride and focal points for the community. Every Friday during football season the community comes together to cheer on the Golden Wildcats at Melrose Stadium. Melrose has a great football program. Key to Orange Mound Tyler Glover, who operates Tyler's Place restaurant at 2481 Park Avenue, has been dubbed the "Mayor of Orange Mound," and his restaurant the unofficial Orange Mound "city hall." During the first term of Memphis Mayor W. W. Herenton, Glover presented Herenton with an orange "key to Orange Mound." Glover's words convey the love that Orange Mound's long-term residents feel for Orange Mound: "This is the greatest community in the world.... It is the greatest community because I know everybody here and I love working on committees and making this a better place in which to live. I don't want to live any other place than Orange Mound. I have had numerous opportunities to move some place else, but there is no other place in the world I want to live, but Orange Mound, Tenn." Online Community Newsletter On October 6, 2011, a member of the Orange Mound community launched a website for former and current residents of the community, and others, to follow community events, share community-related information, and enlighten each other about the history, events, and vitality of Orange Mound. The website address for the newsletter is http://www.orangemoundunited.com. - Endpapers: Memphis Books for Summer Reading. |Wikimedia Commons has media related to Orange Mound, Memphis.| - Jones, Yolanda (Dec. 24, 2004). "Ludacris hustles back to town -- Memphis's working artists stay busy on the road, too." The Commercial Appeal (Memphis), p. G18-G19. - Kelley, Michael (Feb. 1, 1996). "Reality with a Beat: Memphis Rappers Speak to Urban Life." The Commercial Appeal (Memphis), p. C1. - Lipscomb, Robert (Apr. 18, 2004). "Paving the Way to Livable Neighborhoods." The Commercial Appeal (Memphis), p. B5. - Magness, Perre (Apr. 23, 1992). "Orange Mound Holds Unique Niche." The Commercial Appeal (Memphis), p. E2. - Perkins, Pamela (Aug. 12, 1999). "Oral History Project is Open Mike For Voices of Experience." The Commercial Appeal (Memphis), p. CC7. - Perkins, Pamela (Nov. 14, 2003). "City Picks Needy Areas for Revitalization Plan." The Commercial Appeal (Memphis), p. C1. - Perkins, Pamela (Oct. 31, 1998). "Orange Mound is Rekindling Its Glow." The Commercial Appeal (Memphis), p. A9. - Unsigned Article (Oct. 8, 2003). "Pride Still Blooms Amid Faded Glory of Orange Mound." The Commercial Appeal (Memphis), p. B2. - Risher, Wayne (Oct. 20, 1994). "Orange Mound Church Now 115." The Commercial Appeal (Memphis), p. EC1. - Scott, Jonathan (May 29, 1998). "'Mayor' of Orange Mound Reviving Business with a Little Help from City-County Program." Memphis Business Journal.

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- Development & Aid - Economy & Trade - Human Rights - Global Governance - Civil Society Friday, February 27, 2015 - Efforts to promote the use of hydraulic fracturing, a controversial method of obtaining oil and natural gas, face stiff opposition from researchers and citizens who say that in its present form, the technology’s risks far outweigh its worth. Proponents argue that hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, as it is known, could make the United States energy independent, or perhaps even become an exporter. But critics voice serious concerns about water contamination, air and noise pollution, and other hazards associated with the process. Pollutants involved in fracking include known carcinogens and neurotoxins. Accidents are also risks. On Nov. 20, a gas pipeline explosion at a natural gas compressor station run by Bill Barrett Corporation in Nine Mile Canyon in Utah consumed several buildings on site and seriously injured two employees, one of whom remains in critical condition. Leading the fight against fracking-related infrastructure being built in residential communities is the small town of Minisink in Orange County in upstate New York. Since July 2011 they have vigorously opposed a natural gas compressor station being established there. Most of the 200 homes in this rural community, including several organic farms, are within half a mile of the 43-million-dollar project, a gas compressor station owned and operated by Millennium Pipeline, a division of the billion-dollar energy company, NiSource. By approving the project, say residents, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has failed to follow not only its own guidelines but also federal law. They allege that FERC is hindering their due process rights by refusing to issue a final decision so they can go to federal court. A FERC official told IPS that “the commission does not comment on ongoing cases”. Residents fear that the station, which would compress gas derived from the Marcellus shale region of Pennsylvania, will emit over 100,000 tonnes of pollutants (including known carcinogens) per year into the community. “The project just doesn’t belong in a residential community,” says Leanne Baum, mother of four young children, whose front porch looks across at the proposed site where construction has begun. In response to these concerns, Millennium Pipeline spokesman Steve Sullivan told IPS that the Utah accident occurred in a station running a gathering system very different from the one being set up at Minisink. Accidents at the 1,500 or so compressor stations in the United States are “very rare”. He said that Millennium has “gone to extreme measures to safeguard against accidents” as well as noise and other pollutants. Meanwhile the high demand for cleaner energy in the northeastern part of the United States has led to a visible reduction of emissions. The Minisink plant “has been a boon to the local economy” by employing dozens of locals, Sullivan said. Locals like Baum remain unconvinced, however. On Nov. 15, she and 80 other Minisink activists travelled to Washington DC to protest outside the FERC office – their sixth such trip. “There is no one protecting the public,” Pramilla Malick, a Minisink resident and one of the organisers of the town’s opposition to the project, told IPS. “Our environmental laws may as well not exist because, right now, no one is enforcing them,” she said. “Foreign companies are rushing in to buy drilling leases and the regulatory agencies are handing out permits like candy,” at Americans’ expense. In Minisink, the citizens who suffer the costs include 9/11 first responder Nick Russo, who lives down the road from the upcoming gas project. Already suffering from respiratory problems since 9/11, the retired New York Police Department (NYPD) sergeant is “worried sick” about what the project will do to his health. Many other retired NYPD and Fire Department of New York (FDNY) officers, including first responders on 9/11, live in Minisink. John Feal of the Fealgood Foundation, a 9/11 advocacy group, has written to the FERC asking it to reverse the order allowing the project. As the pushback gathers momentum, the gas industry is finding new ways to get its message across. A report on Truthout.org exposed how search engines like Google were placing “pro-fracking propaganda” and advertisements at the top of search results to discredit research that exposes the risks posed by fracking. The Truthout report said that the top result of a search for Robert Howarth, a Cornell University ecology professor whose research concludes that fracking has an even greater carbon footprint than coal, yielded an ad against him by America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA). Since then, the ad placement has been removed.. New York has a moratorium on fracking, which Governor Andrew Cuomo has considered lifting, although he backed off under pressure from anti-fracking activists. Meanwhile, companies in Pennsylvania are aggressively extracting “fracked” gas that the United States hopes to export. New York-based Angela Monti Fox, founder of The Mothers Project, which supports a sustainable energy future, warns of a large-scale, peaceful civil disobedience movement if the gas industry continues to ride roughshod over communities like Minisink. If companies continue to build infrastructure in residential areas, “it builds a groundswell of individuals and communities that will ultimately rise up against them”, she told IPS in an email. Minisink’s spirited campaign includes residents filing over 800 objections against the project with FERC. Attending the FERC meeting earlier this month, they occupied the entire FERC chamber, forcing industry insiders to stand in the back. “This is the first time in FERC’s history that industry has had to take a back seat to the America people,” said Carolyn Petschler, a spokesperson for the group. “If our town does not get a fair outcome, no town has a chance.”

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Skull Base Rhabdomyosarcoma Rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare type of cancer that starts in skeletal muscle cells, the muscles that control all of your voluntary muscle movements. A rhabdomyosarcoma can form anywhere in the body. A skull base rhabdomyosarcoma forms in the head and neck, around the area where the spine connects to the skull. It may involve structures near the eyes or sinuses. Facts about skull base rhabdomyosarcoma Rhabdomyosarcoma is most common in children, but it is still quite rare, affecting only about 4 in 1 million children each year, and boys slightly more often than girls. Although adults can also get a rhabdomyosarcoma, that occurrence is even rarer. The vast majority of people who get this disease are younger than 15 years old. The most common sites where rhabdomyosarcomas develop are in the head or neck, and these cancers involve the base of the skull as well. Doctors do not know the cause of rhabdomyosarcoma, but some genetic conditions (meaning they are passed down through families) increase a child's risk. Genes may play a role in some of these cancers. Genetic conditions that may be associated with rhabdomyosarcoma include Li-Fraumeni syndrome, neurofibromatosis, Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, and Costello syndrome. Types of rhabdomyosarcoma A rhabdomyosarcoma is categorized as one of three types: Embryonal type is the most common, accounting for two-thirds of all cases. It is more common in younger children and is the most likely type to affect the base of the skull area. Alveolar type is more common in teenagers and more likely to form in the arms or the legs. This type grows more quickly and is more likely to metastasize, or spread to other areas of the body. Symptoms of rhabdomyosarcoma depend on the location of the cancer. Skull base rhabdomyosarcomas cannot be seen from the outside and may not cause any symptoms until they grow large or spread. These are common symptoms: Headache, ear, or eye pain Nerve weakness or numbness in the head and neck area Bulging or crossed eyes Symptoms of rhabdomyosarcoma that has spread may include swollen nodes in the neck, bone pain, weakness, cough, and weight loss. Diagnosis of skull base rhabdomyosarcoma begins with a complete history and physical exam. Imaging tests and blood tests are also important for making this diagnosis and for determining if the cancer has metastasized (spread). These are important diagnostic studies: X-rays of the skull and chest CT scan of the skull base area MRI of the base of the skull, considered the best test for detecting rhabdomyosarcoma Bone scan, an imaging test to see if any cancer cells have spread to the bones Lumbar puncture (spinal tap), in which a sample of spinal fluid is removed to check for cancer cells Biopsy, in which a small sample of cancer cells is removed to examine under a microscope to make a more exact diagnosis Because skull base rhabdomyosarcomas are so rare, it's important to have the treatment done in at a place where the staff have had plenty of experience with it. Once all the diagnostic studies have been done and the cancer has been seen under a microscope, your doctor will determine the best treatment for you. This usually involves a team because this type of tumor usually needs both chemotherapy and radiation. These are the primary options: Chemotherapy. Cancer-killing drugs are always used to help prevent a skull base rhabdomyosarcoma from coming back. Two or more types of chemotherapy drugs, given through an intravenous line, may be used. Radiation therapy. Targeted X-rays may be used to kill cancer cells. Alveolar type cancers nearly always need radiation treatment. Radiation also may be added to chemotherapy in embryonal types if all of the cancer cannot be removed through surgery. Surgery. Skull base cancers are difficult to reach. One approach that may be used is endoscopic endonasal surgery, involving a thin, lighted scope with a camera on the end. The surgeon can pass this scope through the nose to reach the base of the skull and operate through the scope to remove the cancer. Your doctor will determine the most appropriate treatment or combination of treatments. Usually, all skull base rhabdomyosarcomas are treated with chemotherapy. Surgery is used to remove as much of the cancer as possible. If all of the cancer cannot be removed or if the cancer has spread, a combination of chemotherapy and radiation therapy may be used. If your child or a family member has been diagnosed with skull base rhabdomyosarcoma, you may want to consider getting a second opinion. In fact, some insurance companies require a second opinion for such diagnoses. According to the American Cancer Society, it is very rare that the time it will take to get a second opinion will have a negative impact on your child's treatment. The peace of mind a second opinion provides may be well worth the effort. Managing skull base rhabdomyosarcoma Skull base rhabdomyosarcoma usually occurs in children, and managing the disease involves a team of experts. Parents should learn as much as they can about this cancer and work closely with their child's doctors before, during, and after treatment. Follow-up care is important and may include blood tests and imaging studies to see if the cancer has returned. Psychological and social support can also greatly help both parents and children.

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CONDITIONS WE TREAT Esophageal cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the esophagus. Esophageal cancer starts at the inside lining of the esophagus and spreads outward through the other layers as it grows. Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Non-small cell lung cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the lung. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a lung disease that makes it hard to breathe. It is caused by damage to the lungs over many years, usually from smoking. COPD is often a mix of two diseases: Chronic bronchitis and Emphysema. With emphysema, the air sacs in the lungs are damaged and lose their stretch. Less air gets in and out of the lungs, which makes you feel short of breath. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) means that stomach acid and juices flow from the stomach back up into the tube that leads from the throat to the stomach (esophagus). This causes heartburn. When you have heartburn at least 2 times a week, it is called gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. Achalasia is a rare disorder of the esophagus, characterized by enlargement of the esophagus, impaired ability to push food down toward the stomach (peristalsis), and failure of the ring-shaped muscle at the bottom of the esophagus, the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), to relax. Primary hyperhidrosis is a rare disorder characterized by excessive sweating without known cause on the palms of the hands, the soles of the feet, in the armpits (axillary), in the groin area, and/or under the breasts. PROCEDURES WE DO Bronchoscopy is a procedure that allows your doctor to look at your airway through a thin viewing instrument called a bronchoscope. During a bronchoscopy, your doctor will examine your throat, larynx, trachea, and lower airways. Bronchoscopy may be done to diagnose problems with the airway or to treat problems such as an object or growth in the airway. An upper gastrointestinal (UGI) endoscopy is a procedure that allows your doctor to look at the interior lining of your esophagus, your stomach, and the first part of your small intestine (duodenum) through a thin, flexible viewing instrument called an endoscope. The tip of the endoscope is inserted through your mouth and then gently moved down your throat into the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum (upper gastrointestinal tract). Mediastinoscopy is a surgical procedure to examine the inside of the upper chest between and in front of the lungs (mediastinum). During a mediastinoscopy, a small incision is made in the neck just above the breastbone or on the left side of the chest next to the breastbone. Then a thin scope (mediastinoscope) is inserted through the opening. A tissue sample (biopsy) can be collected through the mediastinoscope and then examined under a microscope for lung problems, such as infection, inflammation, or cancer. A surgical procedure to look at the organs inside the chest to check for abnormal areas. An incision is made between two ribs and a thoracoscope (a thin, lighted tube) is inserted into the chest. Tissue samples and lymph nodes may be removed for biopsy. In some cases, this procedure may be used to remove portions of the esophagus or lung. Surgery to remove all or part of a lung involves making a cut on one side of your chest (thorax) during a procedure called a thoracotomy. Surgery that uses this approach avoids areas in the chest that contain the heart and the spinal cord. Laparoscopy is a surgery that uses a thin, lighted tube put through a cut (incision) in the belly to look at the abdominal organs. Laparoscopy is used to find problems such as cysts, adhesions, fibroids, and infection. Fix a hiatal hernia or an inguinal hernia. Esophageal resection is the surgical removal of part of the esophagus. During a esophageal resection, the part of your esophagus that contains cancer is removed. - Nissen Fundoplication During fundoplication surgery, the upper curve of the stomach (the fundus) is wrapped around the esophagus and sewn into place so that the lower portion of the esophagus passes through a small tunnel of stomach muscle. This surgery strengthens the valve between the esophagus and stomach (lower esophageal sphincter), which stops acid from backing up into the esophagus as easily. This allows the esophagus to heal.

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Editor’s note: This is the first in a two-part series. Watch for the Sierra Sun’s next installment in two weeks. Over-snow vehicles are ubiquitous today in Tahoe’s mountain country. They range from high powered “sleds,” as modern snowmobiles are commonly called, that scream up the steepest slopes, to the super expensive and sophisticated snow cats that level moguls and groom a resort’s snow surface into ribbons of corduroy. Outfitted with specially designed implements, modern snow cats enable operators to trick out perfectly formed half pipes popular with snowboarders and skiers. Improving technology for these rigs has been a boon for both winter power-sports enthusiasts and downhill skiers and riders looking for artificial terrain features or a smooth level surface. The first mechanical over-snow vehicle was invented by Virgil D. White of New Hampshire in 1913. Over the course of nine years he modified a Model T Ford automobile, substituting runners or skis for the front wheels. Another set of rear wheels were added and traction belts installed to provide additional grip on the snow. The traction belt consisted of a series of metal plates joined together by steel links. The outer plates were cleated for traction and side-slipping protection and the inside plates were curved to fit over the tires and act as track guides. The steering runners were fitted with keels to facilitate turning and prevent slide-slipping. White’s “Snowmobile Attachment” invention worked, but it never reached production. The first commercially successful snowmobile was designed and built by Carl Eliason in northern Wisconsin in 1924. Eliason, an auto mechanic, steam engineer, blacksmith and general store owner, struggled with a foot deformity and could not ski or snowshoe into the forest to hunt, fish, and trap with his friends. To make up for his disability, Eliason used his mechanical knowledge and old fashioned Yankee ingenuity. During a two-year period, he built a small over-snow vehicle using various automobile and bicycle parts, powered by a 2.5 horsepower, liguid-cooled outboard boat engine. This primitive motorized toboggan utilized four snow skis to glide on and a cleated conveyor belt webbing to provide floatation and propulsion. The driver steered by a rope attached to two short skis mounted under the front of the rig. The Eliason Motor Toboggan was patented in 1927 and sold to hunters, fishermen and trappers. Over time the prototype unit was improved upon and within a few years certain models of the machine could seat up to four passengers and reach speeds of 40 miles per hour. James McIver, Jr. was exactly the kind of man a pioneer mountain community like Truckee needed in the early days. A horseshoer, dairyman, dynamite expert, engine mechanic — McIver was a man of many talents. In the early 1930s he built one of the first snowmobiles, a bulky one from a kit that adapted a Fordson Tractor power plant for traveling through snow. Unlike Eliason’s nimble motor toboggan, McIver’s “Snow Devil” utilized two long rotating drums with raised screw threads welded to its surface. The two rotors were chain driven to “screw” their way through the snow. McIver’s rig could travel up to 5 miles per hour and haul supplies and passengers on the sled it pulled behind. This rugged, reliable vehicle was too slow to travel very long distances, but one year Jim and Constable Tom Dolly used it to deliver the mail from Truckee to Hobart Mills five miles away. During the 1986 World’s Fair in Vancouver, Canada, a transportation movie in the California Exhibit showed Jim and his snow devil crossing over frozen Donner Lake. Snowmobiles served a purpose, but their small size and exposure to the winter elements limited its function. Inventors and innovators realized there was a market for a more substantial over-snow vehicle, such as one that could carry utility repair crews into the mountains or troops into war. One of the first successful innovators was Emmitt Tucker. Tucker was born in a log cabin near Grants Pass, Ore., in 1892, and even at a young age he began dreaming of a transportation vehicle that could travel through deep, soft snow. In the mid-1920s he moved to southern California where he continued working on his idea of an over-snow tractor. Similar to McIver’s corkscrew-powered snow devil, Tucker built several spiral-driven machines that also worked on a screw principle to move though snow. Dissatisfied with the machine’s performance, he searched for a better system. By the late 1930s, he developed the first Tucker Sno-Cat using a steel track that rotated around a rear-mounted pontoon. In 1942 Tucker moved his business to Grass Valley, Calif., just below the Sierra snow belt. He set up a production line and was able to sell about 70 of his prototype Model 222. Some of his first customers were the railroads, the U.S. Soil Conservation Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey. Read more about the evolution of over-snow transport in the next column. Tahoe historian Mark McLaughlin is a nationally published author and professional speaker. His award-winning books are available at local stores or at www.thestormking.com. You can reach him at [email protected]. Check out Mark’s blog at www.tahoenuggets.com.

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The shuttle’s trip to the space station should take two days. Once there, Discovery’s crew will unload and install the $1 billion lab and hand-deliver a specially made pump for the outpost’s finicky toilet. About five pieces of debris — what appeared to be thin pieces of insulating foam — broke off the fuel tank during liftoff, but the losses did not occur during the crucial first two minutes and should be of no concern, said NASA’s space operations chief, Bill Gerstenmaier. This was the first tank to have all safety changes prompted by the 2003 Columbia disaster built in from the start. Three spacewalks are planned during Discovery’s 14-day flight: to install Kibo, replace an empty nitrogen-gas tank and try out various cleaning methods on a clogged solar-wing rotating joint. Gov. Ritter’s Energy Office selected The Climate Trust to implement the Colorado Carbon Fund. The Colorado Carbon Fund was designed to provide high quality, verifiable carbon offsets for consumers concerned about climate change. Consumers can mitigate their own carbon emissions by helping to fund offset projects, which, according to The Climate Trust and the Governor’s Energy Office, quantifiably reduce greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. One aspect of this program I particularly like: the Colorado Carbon Fund will only spend funds on greenhouse gas reduction projects that are developed in Colorado. That keeps those projects local, which is admirable. There are other projects that develop projects nationally and internationally, The Climate Trust being one of them. From the GEO’s press release: Tom Plant, GEO Director. “Carbon offsets are a part of a three step process for consumers to engage in a sustainable energy lifestyle. First is measurement of emissions; second is reduction of emissions through efficiency and renewable energy; third is offset of the remaining emissions through the Colorado Carbon Fund. Taken as a package, the Colorado Carbon Fund’s voluntary carbon offsets will help us to meet our greenhouse gas emissions goals from the state’s Climate Action Plan.” The Climate Trust will work with GEO staff over the next several months to develop the framework for the Colorado Carbon Fund including defining funding opportunities for in-state offset projects, developing web-based carbon footprint calculators, and creating the offset tracking and retirement system. The official launch of the Colorado Carbon Fund is anticipated for late summer 2008. Here is something from the press release that’s confusing: Colorado residents who offset over 50% of their vehicle’s emissions will qualify to purchase a “Carbon Neutral Colorado” license plate through legislation recently passed by the Colorado General Assembly. How ironic is that? I fail to see how this “reward” encourages positive behavior. It makes it seem like the Fund is only a feel-good measure, which I don’t necessarily think it is. Overall all though, a good plan is being set up here. A short while back, Gov. Ritter’s Energy Office announced the recipients of the second round of “New Energy Economic Development (NEED)” grants. 13 entities were awarded $656,000 in funding. The group includes some pretty interesting projects and ideas. I’ve commented on some of them. The list: • Bardwell Consulting of Denver received $25,000.00 for its OptiMiser program, which is a PC-based program that creates and evaluates a full range of near-optimal solutions for energy retrofits. The NEED grant will be used to complete and launch the distributable version of OptiMiser. • Black Hawk Transportation Authority received $50,000.00 for a biodiesel processing facility that will process used cooking oil from area restaurants into biodiesel, and blend the produced fuel for B5-B20. The biodiesel will power the Black Hawk and Central City Tramway buses and municipal fleets. • City and County of Denver received $60,000.00 to support the launch of Denver’s new green business program that will engage and educate businesses in energy efficiency and sustainable practices while providing a framework for regional action. • Community Energy Systems of Crestone, received $24,170.00 for biomass thermal heating systems for the Homelake Veterans’ Home. • Coolerado of Arvada, received $25,000 to build a solar powered, mobile, five-ton air conditioning system. I’m not sure how a five-ton mobile solar powered air conditioning system is going to be used, but I do find the concept intriguing. • Czero, Inc. of Fort Collins, received $67,500.00. They will partner with the Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory and the College of Business at Colorado State University to develop a low cost hydraulic hybrid retrofit kit. I like this one because it’s a small (seemingly) business partnering with an educational facility. More of this, please. • Denver Zoological Foundation received $100,000.00 to incorporate a biomass gasification system in Asian Tropics, its next major exhibit showcasing Asian elephants and other wildlife native to Southeast Asia. This makes so much sense. Think of all the biomass generated by zoos across the country for umpteen years. Finding a way to use it all as an energy source reflects forward thinking by zoo officials. Kudos to them. Tropical Storm Arthur has formed. For the past week, water temperatures south of Cuba’s southern coast and west of it’s eastern coast has averaged over 28C, warm enough to support the heat energy required by tropical storms. The Bay of Campeche is warmer still: over 29C. All that was needed was more favorable upper air conditions. Those conditions have at least temporarily come together. Arthur basically made landfall right after designation on the east coast of Belize. The associated low pressure system is forecasted to move across the Yucatan peninsula and reemerge over water (southern Gulf) Sunday or Monday. If it does, it has the chance to restrengthen to weak tropical storm force before making second landfall somewhere over Mexico’s coast. More information can be found at the Tropical Prediction Center. I found the following on the tubes. It’s about Ben Stein’s piece that mocks science: Ben Stein Assails the Intelligentsia Ben Stein’s new documentary “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” is a riveting expos of the intolerant academic community that systematically declares war on anyone or any institution that dares to question liberal Darwinian orthodoxy. “Correct speak” and “correct think” are de rigueur among scholars, who are expected to tow the line that “evolution” and “natural selection” are the be all and end all when it comes to deciphering the origins of mankind. Obviously, the writer supported the movie. Take a close look at the kind of language used to drum up support for Stein’s “documentary”. “Assails the Intelligentsia”. My goodness. I wasn’t aware there was a group of intelligent people that needed assailing. This single headline is a good example of a giant problem I have with people like the author: they have effectively convinced a significant portion of the American public that being intelligent is somehow bad. What possible purpose could be expressed for a requirement that smart people need to feel bad about themselves and their work? Is it jealousy from folks who were lazy when they were supposed to be learning? I’m not sure. By the way, I recognize and agree that our current education system doesn’t propel every student to their maximum capabilities. But in the age of conservatives screaming for more personal responsibility, I find it discouraging that too many tend to practice just the opposite. How many externalities can they point their fingers at while professing their perceived victim-hood? The May 2008 Scientific American had a “Working Knowledge” feature (in the back) that focused on green roofs. It gave a brief overview of materials commonly used and why they’re used. They included a graph that caught my eye (nice job, that’s what they’re supposed to do). It presented the square footage of green roofs completed in U.S. cities in 2006. The numbers: Kansas City, MO: 178,000 sq. ft. Dulles, VA: 230,000 sq ft. Wildwood Crest, N.J.: 240,000 sq. ft. Washington, D.C.: 302,000 sq. ft. Chicago, IL: 359,000 sq. ft. That’s 1.3 million sq. ft. of roof area that will reduce heat islands and require less energy to cool the buildings in the summer. An additional tidbit: at least 20% of any new roof on medium and large buildings must be cultivated in Tokyo, Japan. That would be nice. Canadian scientists joined a military expedition to the Arctic. What the scientists found is quite disturbing. Scientists travelling with the troops found major new fractures during an assessment of the state of giant ice shelves in Canada’s far north. The team found a network of cracks that stretched for more than 10 miles (16km) on Ward Hunt, the area’s largest shelf. There is a satellite image at the link provided above. 10 mile cracks in sea ice is not indicative of a stable system. Unstable systems don’t move gradually from one state to another. Typically, changes are quick. Don’t be surprised if the break up occurs with minimal signals: the notice has already been given.

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There is a considerable amount of contention over the true source of the word “chapbook.” Scholars of Anglo-Saxon history and language contend that the prefix “chap-” is derived from the ancient word “ceap,” while others maintain it is merely a corruption of “cheap;” however, most attribute the word’s popularity to the chapman—European peddler, reporter, and rogue-of-all-trades from the 16th to at least the 18th century. During the intervening years, the chapbook morphed in size and intention to its modern form: a slim, inexpensive poetry volume of interest to casual readers and avid collectors alike. Since the Middle Ages, the chapman had been a vital link between the rural towns and hamlets of the European countryside and the rest of the “civilized” world. Criminals though some may have been (some chapmen were reported to have been moonlighting as pickpockets and highwaymen), they nevertheless brought every manner of household necessity in their packs: sewing kits, ribbon, small tools, ink, and assorted miscellany. The chapman’s skills also included reportage, as inhabitants of each town were relatively isolated and lusted for news and entertainment from the outside world. As time wore on, the public’s tastes began to shift. In 1693, England repealed the Act of 1662, which had placed strict limitations on the number of Master Printers in the country; as a result, the publishing trade began to expand by leaps and bounds. The late 17th century also saw the rise of “charity schools”–educational institutions readily available to the poor and working classes—throughout Europe, greatly increasing the literacy rate across the continent. By 1700, chapmen had begun to carry small books and pamphlets of less than 20 pages with them, costing one or two pennies apiece and containing every kind of popular literature, entertainment and reference material required by the rural masses. For their part, the masses seemed to have developed a voracious appetite for reading—several tears after the publication of The Rights of Man, Thomas Paine reported that a cheap version was highly in demand across Scotland and in varying parts of England, recommending that small print runs be made in country presses to satisfy the reading public. Commoners now had the resources to establish libraries of their own. The lure of these chapbooks was not merely due to their inexpensive price. A typical chapbook could contain information about any number of things: travel almanacs and tales of adventure in far-off lands; household guides; reference materials on religion, superstition, and the occult; bardic collections of songs, jokes, and riddles, the direct predecessors of the Elizabethan jest-book; and, often, tales of romance, comedy, drama, and sundry works of prose fiction. Without copyright law or any way to enforce such a thing, however, piracy was a commonplace problem. Often, woodcuts and chunks of copy would be lifted directly from one chapbook and deposited into another, then sold by a rival publisher in a different area of the country. Not that the customers minded; as long as the chapbooks were made available at low prices, the originality of their content was rarely (if ever) called into question. Ultimately, the chapman and his sack of supplies and books went the way of the dinosaur, and the chapbook—in its original form, at any rate—went with him. The Industrial Revolution brought drastic change to Europe in many different forms, not least of which were the laws banning public solicitation and hawking of wares—laws which almost single-handedly put chapmen out of business themselves. Advances in printing presses made newspapers much easier to produce, reducing the demand for cheap reference guides. Readers across the globe began to shift their allegiance to the novel as a more accepted form for popular literature. For all these reasons and countless more, chapmen could no longer make a living and chapbooks were no longer the coveted resources they had once been. For some time, they languished, as Victor Neuberg put it, in “a barely tolerated existence in the form of comic postcards…in the windows of stationers’ shops”. When a majority dismisses something as useless, however, a minority will often pop up nevertheless to force it back into usefulness. In the early 20th century, the chapbook was revitalized as a tool of the offbeat Dada movement and avant-garde artists in Russia to make their art and messages more widely heard. Though the chapman was no longer a valid means of distribution, the concept of a cheaply printed book that could be made readily available for lower classes with small purses held an undeniable appeal. That appeal was not lost on the American Beat poets of the 1950s and 60s, who were themselves poor and without access to high-quality printing apparatuses. As was the case so long ago, however, the draw was not merely financial; there was certainly something to be said for the idea of printing short pieces of writing in a similarly small format. Using mimeograph machines and the cheapest paper and cardstock available, the beats were able to present their often obtuse verse in more easily-digestable chunks. Though they were longer than their old European ancestors, often clocking in at just under 50 or 60 pages, the price was still right for young beatniks and members of the counterculture. Allen Ginsberg’s Howl and Other Poems was originally published in this manner—a small, square, black-and-white volume with great ambition but no grandeur. The modern poetry chapbook had been born. As the decades passed, further advances in technology allowed these new chapbooks to be produced in an ever-expanding variety of ways. Soon, mimeographs had been rendered obsolete by public copy centers, which were eventually made irrelevant themselves by the advent of commonly available digital printing. In the age of the Internet, we have seen the rise of “online chapbooks,” which are not proper “books” at all, but rather collections of poetry of comparable length to most print chapbooks of previous years but only available for viewing on the Web. In cases such as these, the issue of cost has sometimes been done away with altogether, producing an egalitarian chapbook made specifically for public consumption as a way of popularizing the poet’s work. Though the original chapbooks may be out of favor today, their mutated grandchildren are celebrated by poets and their fans worldwide. While the content and methods of production of chapbooks has changed wildly, their bindings have changed even more so. The publishers of the first chapbooks had thrift ever in the forefront of their minds, and it showed in their binding. Most consisted of a single twelve-page signature, loosely sewn together, occasionally with a moderately stiff paper cover attached for a bit of added protection. Sometimes, the books went entirely unbound, remaining simple collections of folded paper. The poor, after all, would buy whatever was made available to them. Today, however, we enjoy many more options when considering how our chapbooks shall be constructed. The most common chapbooks are still single-signature affairs, which can be mass-produced with only a cardstock cover and two staples along the crease. (A saddle- or long-necked stapler can be used.) This is the most cost- and time-effective method of contemporary chapbook manufacturing. Should a more classical and durable aesthetic be desired, there is always the option of classic saddle-stitch binding, wherein the signature is sewn together along the crease rather than stapled. This method is more time-consuming, but produces a product that may be more durable than simple stapling. If a spine is required or desired for the finished product (especially when there are multiple signatures), the publisher may opt to just have the chapbook Perfect-bound. In this case, after the signature(s) is/are compiled and arranged together, the folded edges are machine-cut roughly and then rubbed in hot glue, after which they are immediately stuffed into their paper cover. Though impractical for self-publishers, this is an attractive option for those who can afford large publishing machinery, as the process can be completely automated with little fuss, eliminating human error and increasing profit. Chapbooks are now one of the most widely-accepted forms in which contemporary poetry is published. The prolific combination of desktop publishing programs and high-quality digital printing has struck millions of people with the ability to affordably publish a small book of poetry, prose, or anything else they desire (though poetry chapbooks have dominated the field for decades). Some chapbooks are issued in limited runs, often signed in the case of more famous writers, for collectors and devotees. This has led to a lively trade in antiquarian and modern collectable chapbooks, and today these slender tomes are appreciated by readers of every class—something the simple chapman, peddling his wares through the English countryside, would have thought ridiculous so many centuries ago.

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What do the Global Brain (GB) and human biological immortality have in common? At first, this appears to be a strange question. However, I believe that the realisation of the Global Brain will, perhaps inevitably, result in humans achieving extreme life extension, and eventually abolishing death due to aging. The GB is an emergent worldwide entity of distributed intelligence, one facilitated by communication and the meaningful interconnections between billions of humans, via technology such as the internet. I take the Global Brain to mean the expressive integration of all (or the majority) of human brains through technology and communication. It is a result of a ‘metasystem transition’ from the human brain (HB), to a global (Earth) brain. The GB is truly global, not only in geographical terms, but also in function. It has been suggested that the GB has clear analogies with its human equivalent. For example, the basic unit of the HB is the neuron, whereas the basic unit of the GB is the human brain itself. While the HB is restricted to the space within a human cranium, the GB is constrained within the limits of our planet. The HB contains several regions that have specific functions, but remain connected to the whole (e.g., the occipital cortex for vision, the temporal cortex for auditory function, the thalamus, etc.). The GB contains several regions that have specific functions, but remain connected to the whole (e.g., search engines, governments, Wikipedia, etc.). Both neurons and brains carry evolutionary replicators: neurons carry genes, whereas brains carry memes. Some specific analogies are: 1. The Broca’s area in the inferior frontal gyrus, which is associated with speech. This could be the equivalent of, say, media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s communications empire. 2. The motor cortex is the equivalent of the worldwide railway system. 3. The sensory system in the brain is equivalent to all digital sensors, a closed-circuit television network, internet uploading facilities, etc. If we accept that the GB will eventually become fully operational (and this may happen within the next 40 to 50 years), then human evolution could face potentially severe repercussions. Apart from the fact that we would be able to change our genomes using technology (through techniques like synthetic biology or nanotechnology), there could be new evolutionary pressures that help extend the human lifespan to an indefinite degree. Empirically, there is a basic underlying law that allows cortical neurons (the most relevant ones in my analogy) to have the same general lifespan as their human host. As natural laws are universal, I would expect the same law to operate in similar metasystems, with humans functioning as the basic operating units of the GB. Therefore, if individual units (neurons) within a brain must, on the whole, live as long as the brain itself, around 100-120 years, then the individual human units within a GB must live as long as the GB itself, which could be indefinitely. The pre-determined maximum limit on the human lifespan would then cease to exist. One valid suggestion is that neurons are maintained in good repair because they are so intricately interconnected, and contain so much valuable information, that it costs less in thermodynamic terms to repair them than to substitute them. Humans may now be in the same position. We will become so deeply integrated and embedded within the GB’s virtual and real structures that it may make more sense for nature, when allocating resources, to maintain existing humans indefinitely, rather than eliminate them through aging and create new ones who would require extra resources to re-integrate themselves into the GB. The net result will be that humans will start experiencing an unprecedented prolongation of their lifespan, as the GB evolves to higher levels of complexity at low entropy and at a low thermodynamic cost. A small number of new neurons are formed during adulthood, at least in certain parts of the brain; this would be the equivalent of new babies being born to replace any losses within the GB. However, neurons do not replicate or reproduce. Analogously, the same law that allows a neuron to live so long (because it does not reproduce) must also be true for humans: there must be a negative correlation between longevity and reproduction. The majority of cortical neurons are maintained in good operating condition, and remain the same throughout life, instead of actively being replaced every few weeks (as in the case of, say, skin or blood cells). Neurons that form good synaptic connections are less likely to be eliminated through apoptosis (programmed cell death), and remain alive and operational until their host’s passing. According to some predictions, humans will increasingly embed themselves within the GB, through highly sophisticated digital interfaces (the first examples include iPhones) that can anticipate the subject’s wishes, preferences and habits. Eventually, there could be suitable technology allowing direct brain-to-computer-to-brain (GB) communication. As mentioned above, I would expect that it will cost more in energy terms to replace a human brain (through allowing to die and then creating a new one via the conventional route) than to maintain an existing one. Those humans who integrate themselves into the GB, and form robust connections with others, will be less likely to die compared to those who are weakly integrated. When fully operational, the GB must rely on its individual constituents – individual human brains interconnected through technology. Without human input, the GB cannot exist. Furthermore, it cannot exist without technology. This is similar to the human brain – a neuron contributes to the whole, but without suitable connections, the individual neuron does not survive. This is not a magical or fictional process. The sequence of events will happen according to natural laws. Human brains. as individual units of the GB, will be subjected to increased pressures that facilitate longer survival. This is not a teleological argument. The GB does not have any intent or purpose. It is just an instrument of nature, forming part of the general direction of evolution from simple to complex. Within our specific niche, dependent on technology, society and communication, we must adapt and evolve quickly in order to be successful. A hierarchical progress from simple to higher intelligence is a natural consequence (or requirement) of this. It follows that nature will favor mechanisms that lead to higher intelligence quickly, abandoning slow, non-specific mechanisms, such as traditional natural selection. Resources will be shifted from primarily maintaining the germline at the expense of the body (the slow process of natural selection), to maintaining the brain (a fast process for achieving higher intellectual complexity). This issue is also relevant from another point of view. Those of us who are interested in significant life extension, and have exhausted the benefits offered by nutrition, lifestyle, supplements and exercise, have little choice. We must wait for new biological or nanotechnology-based therapies in order to prolong our lifespan. There is little else we can do (apart from some fundraising perhaps), but wait for others to come up with the research and solutions. However, if the GB – longevity theory is considered, there could be direct, practical steps available to anyone who is interested. The main suggestion of this theory is to increase cognitive input, and facilitate integration into the GB. This means we should follow an intentional, purposeful and meaningful program of increased cognitive stimulation, avoiding routine, boredom, and monotony. We should broaden the fields of our awareness, and engage in goal-seeking behaviour to maximise cognitive and behavioural resources, actively searching out any cognitive stimulation or challenge through exposure to novel and innovative environments, societal interactions, cultural inputs, interactions with technology (meaningful internet use, digital assistants and other silicon-based technology), positive thinking, intellectual achievements and hormetic stimulation via unconventional channels (sexual, mechanical, chemical, etc.) We should act to increase available choices. Normally, if our brain has only a limited number of options, it selects the first available one by default, without any purposeful effort. However, if it faces several choices, it will need to evaluate and compare each, to decide which one is most suitable under the circumstances. Somebody may ask: “Are you saying that I will live longer if I just regularly update my Facebook profile? Will I live longer if I only think about it, or if I do a few crosswords?” This is like telling someone who wants to become a fit athlete: “All you have to do is a few push-ups.” I am referring to an all-encompassing lifestyle, a sustained, intentional effort to embed oneself in the GB and increase meaningful input of cognitive information of sufficient magnitude into one’s brain. This will cause epigenetic changes that will repair and maintain somatic cells, reducing their risk of age-related death. Research into the effects of environmental enrichment shows that increased social and ambient stimulation has positive physical effects on diverse parts of the body, such as neural tissues, the immune system and antioxidant defences, among others. This is a direct link between information (cognitive inputs), and biological/genetic mechanisms. As information is received, processed and distributed, several biological processes are activated. Mechanisms based upon hormesis (low-dose stimulation, high-dose inhibition) influence physical molecules throughout the body, and thus improve mechanisms that repair, maintain and protect bodily tissues against age-related insults. These epigenetic modifications result in a fitter organism, that is better able to cope with the new pressures encountered in our increasingly sophisticated society. So, in summary, I believe that the emerging GB is a natural step towards the progressive increase of complexity and universal intelligence. We must adapt to this change and form part of it, in order to facilitate natural mechanisms that lead to a reduced rate of aging and an increased lifespan. Otherwise, we will continue to perish as individuals.

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Mill begins by explaining that his purpose in this essay is to discuss the maximum power that society can exercise over an individual and study the struggle between Liberty and Authority. In earlier times, liberty was utilized as protection against political tyranny because rulers were endowed with the power to both suppress the rights of would-be aggressors and their own citizenry. As time elapsed however, the citizens began to want an limit to be placed on the power of the government in order to achieve their liberty. This attempt to ensure liberty involved two steps: 1) obtaining political rights that were safe against all forms of tyranny and 2) implementing the safeguard of community consent in the form of a mandate or body that would guard against an abuse of power. The first step was easily obtained, but the second step was met with more opposition by governments. After a while, people began to see an importance in having their government act as their delegates, a democratic body who would make decisions according to what the people wanted. This development was seen as the end to tyranny by many how could people oppress themselves? "Self-government" and "the power of the people over themselves" were common ways to refer to the new, empowered system of government. Mill refuses these characterizations; rather he asserts that the people who have the power are not necessarily those that are affected by the power. He goes on to conclude that the will of the people is simply the will of the majority of the active governed people. Mill asserts that this type of tyranny, tyranny of the majority, is just as evil as any other form of political despotism. In fact, he believes that it is often much worse than other forms of despotism because it is more pervasive and able to infiltrate our lives and social interactions. Mill concludes that there needs to be protection against this tyranny of prevailing opinion. Mill acknowledges that finding the correct limit on the majority's influence is a difficult task, especially since most people have different perceptions of the correct limit to be implemented. Each person, Mill claims, will think that their own opinion on a matter is right, but their reasoning is affected by their own self-interest and the external and internal pressures that they may or may not be aware of. As a result, several principles determine the standards of a country's people. First of all, the moral standards and self-perceptions of the higher class in a society will likely have the most influence on the morality of their country. Secondly, men are likely to follow the mandates of their religion and this adds to the rules of conduct for society. Finally, the basic interests of society influence moral sentiments as a whole Mill points out that it isn't the actual interests that influence, but rather the empathy and apathy that stem from these interests. From these principles, Mill states that it is society's likes and dislikes that create most of the rules for the citizenry. Oftentimes, the question of what society dislikes or likes wrongly supersedes the question of whether society should implement these preferences as laws. An exception to this is in regards to religion, where society was refused the right to uniformly implement its preferences due to the concept of liberty and freedom, along with the minority religious factions that left few majorities to enforce their will. However, Mill claims that there is really no complete religious freedom because although there is religious tolerance, there is still little accommodation for religious dissenters where the majority of a society has a strong religious preference. Mill speaks about his native country, England, and how people resent the government telling its citizens what to do because the opinion exists that government's opinion is usually not the same as or in the best interest of the public. The English people didn't know what it was like to have their vote reflected in the country's decisions, but they did believe that government shouldn't exercise control in areas that they hadn't previously. They also had the tendency to decide the government's worth by its adherence to their own personal preferences, some wanted the government to do good things while rectifying bad things and some wanted the government to not interfere no matter the cost to society. Mill believes that the extent to which society can impose its influence on an individual is to ensure the self-protection of others. If a person is places himself in a position that is dangerous solely to him, society has no right to interfere according to Mill. Just because society believes an action is good, it can not be imposed on its citizens, because each citizen is autonomous. Mill does not apply this independence to small children or those who cannot take care of themselves -Mill extends this to undeveloped races that need to be improved by society's rules- but once manhood or womanhood is reached, there is no reason for society to impose its values on an adult. If a person inflicts harm on others, he is subject to legal prosecution, the consequences of his actions. Mill asserts that a person should be held accountable for both the direct harm to another person or inaction that results in harm being done to an individual. Mill believes human liberty should encompass 1) the inward domain of consciousness, 2) liberty of thought and feeling 3) liberty of expressing and publishing opinions, 4) liberty of tastes and pursuits, and 5) the liberty of individuals to join a collective group. He believes that his expressed ideas form the opposite of what society's instincts dictate. Society is based largely on the art of conformity in opinion and action and Mill only sees the imposition of society on the individuals growing over time. Analysis of Chapter 1 In perhaps his most passionate work, Englishman John Stuart Mill's writes about the rights of individuals to do what they wish with their own life as long as the ramifications from their actions don't harm other people. This type of advocacy for an autonomous life for all citizens is typical of Mill's Utilitarian beliefs. Utilitarianism supports each person having the ability to maximize their own utility (happiness) as long as they don't negatively affect others on their path to happiness. A paradoxical issue that often arises with Mill's On Liberty regards the concept of an absolute principle. Mill asserts that it is absolutely necessary that a society adopt an autonomic view in order for utility to be achieved, but this mandate goes against Mill's other assertion that coercion has no place in a free society. Mill is definitely skeptical of the power of democracies to liberate; he takes the position that this so-called control of the people is more dangerous than a tyrannical government. Democracies, he contends, are more subtle in their influence but more complete in their infiltration into society. When it appears that the people are making their own rules, it is easier for citizens to follow along, subscribing to a false sense of empowerment. Mill contends that in truth, democracy is tyranny in numbers, where the active political members of a society can dictate what is best for all and the majority's decision is rendered as law. Mill was a liberal thinker and his thoughts shocked a world where democratic governments were seen as the utmost in political freedom. It could be of important note that Mill himself, was a powerful member of the British government as the chief civil servant of the East India Company which controlled India, then a British colony. Truly, Mill was speaking from a position of authority while he was supporting a extremely laissez-faire government. In 1850's Britain, the time and place in which Mill composed On Liberty, the middle class had just received the right to vote twenty years earlier. The working class and women were still not allowed to have their votes count in their government. Mill was observing while his country's government evolved into a democratic structure and undoubtedly was using his observations as his stimulation for this work. In this first chapter, one can see Mill's strong aversion to conformity, which will play an important role in this essay. He is particularly averse to the middle-class, which he views as the ultimate conformers. He believes that conformity is society's default, the easiest, and hence most popular action for citizens to take.

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I looked at some articles about Laozi, Taoism and Tea. What I found was the phrase "the froth of liquid jade" might not be due to Laozi, though there are some English Internet articles saying so. What I found was the following: 1) There is no Chinese literature saying Laozi used the phrase 琼浆玉液 to describe tea. Actually, Laozi did like tea, but it was because of its plain taste and medical feel (not the sensational taste as described by the phrase "the froth of liquid jade"). According to some research article (http://cart.ntua.edu.tw/upload/st/200412/200412A03.pdf), Laozi was against food/drinks with strong flavors (五味 = 酸sour﹑甘sweet﹑苦bitter﹑辛spicy﹑咸salty) : 茶的少滋味，正符合《老子》：「五味令人爽」的飲食觀點，所謂「五味令人爽」指五味亂口，使口爽傷之意，此一飲食觀點也與《莊子‧天地》篇所說：「夫失性有五…四曰五味濁口，使口厲爽；五曰趣舍滑心，使性飛揚」的旨趣相同。可見老莊以「無為」為貴，在飲食生活中已涵化為去滋味，依本性的養生實踐。 2) What Laozi commented about tea was a story like this. Laozi was leaving the Hangu Pass, the local officer Yinxi treated him at home with tea, which was the beginning of tea. Laozi said: Those who drink this tea are our disciples. 道经《天皇至道太清玉册》记载：“老子出函谷关，令尹喜迎之于家首献茗，此茶之始。老子曰：食是茶者，皆汝之道徒也。” However, he did not comment on the flavor of tea. 3) The phrase 琼浆玉液 was first used in the Warring States period (476–221BC): 《楚辞·王逸＜九思·疾世＞》：“从卭遨兮栖迟，吮**玉液**兮止渴。”原注：“玉液，琼蘂之精气。” 战国·楚·屈原《招魂》：“华酌既陈，有**琼浆**些。” But Laozi was generally believed to live in the Spring and Autumn period (771-476BC). So the translation of "liquid jade" 玉液could not be attributed to Laozi, according to known Chinese sources. Rather, "froth of liquid jade" seems to describe a kind of bubbling green tea (Matcha). This method was introduced in Song Dynasty (960–1279, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matcha). Therefore, the phrase "froth of liquid jade" might not be from Laozi. And, there is no well-known Chinese record showing the quote. It might actually be a mistranslation, due to the famouseness of Laozi in the Western world. If you want to cite some Chinese classics about Tea. You can refer to The Classics of Tea (茶经 by 陆羽, http://a2tea.com/luyu/luyu12.php). It's actually the very book that made tea famous in China itself. After the tea acquired a symbolic and cultural status due to the Classics of Tea, many poets wrote famous quotes about tea. Here are some of them. Hope they are helpful. :) 《答族侄僧中孚赠玉泉仙人掌茶并序》 〖唐〗 李白 《一言到七言诗》 〖唐〗 元稹

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About the Course This course is an introduction to the great buildings and engineering marvels of Rome and its empire, with an emphasis on urban planning and individual monuments and their decoration, including mural painting. While architectural developments in Rome, Pompeii, and Central Italy are highlighted, the course also provides a survey of sites and structures in what are now North Italy, Sicily, France, Spain, Germany, Greece, Turkey, Croatia, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, and North Africa. The lectures are illustrated with over 1,500 images, many from Professor Kleiner's personal collection.View class sessions » This Yale College course, taught on campus twice per week for 75 minutes, was recorded for Open Yale Courses in Spring 2009. Video and audio elements from this course are also available on: About Professor Diana E. E. Kleiner Diana E. E. Kleiner is the Dunham Professor of History of Art and Classics at Yale University, Founding Project Director and Principal Investigator of Open Yale Courses, and former Deputy Provost at Yale. She is the author of numerous books on Roman art in its political and social context including Roman Sculpture (Yale University Press), the fundamental reference on the subject. She has done seminal work on Roman women, centered around the ground-breaking exhibition, I Clavdia: Women in Ancient Rome, and is the author of Cleopatra and Rome (Harvard University Press), which opens a new perspective on one of the most intriguing women who ever lived. Professor Kleiner has resided in Rome and Athens and has traveled extensively throughout what was once the Roman Empire, experiencing firsthand nearly every site and building featured in Roman Architecture. Update: Professor Kleiner recently released an e-Book that is a companion to this online course. Roman Architecture: A Visual Guide (Yale University Press, 2014) is an interactive e-book featuring chapter overviews for the major time periods, sites, and monuments and concise interpretations of the most important buildings in the Roman Empire, illustrated in over 250 photographs and site plans. They provide the “Monument Lists” mentioned in the lectures and are presented primarily through my her digital images. Above all, these custom created resources make learning easier than ever with maps, pop up references, visual book navigation, geolocation links, flashcards, and recommendations for further reading. Roman Architecture: A Visual Guide is available from Apple iBooks. Click here to purchase the iBooks version. The iBooks version is only available in the US, UK, Canada, Europe and Australia. The e-book is also available for Amazon Kindle. Click here to purchase for Amazon Kindle. If you do not own an iPad or Kindle device, you can enjoy the eBook using a personal computer through the Amazon Kindle app or through the iBooks app for Mac (the latest iOS release is required). You can download the Kindle reading app: Please check the stores now that the eBook has been made available for all areas. Diana E. E. Kleiner, Dunham Professor of History of Art and Classics This course is an introduction to the great buildings and engineering marvels of Rome and its empire, with an emphasis on urban planning and individual monuments and their decoration, including mural painting. While architectural developments in Rome, Pompeii, and Central Italy are highlighted, the course also provides a survey of sites and structures in what are now North Italy, Sicily, France, Spain, Germany, Greece, Turkey, Croatia, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, and North Africa. The lectures are illustrated with over 1,500 images, many from Professor Kleiner's personal collection. Ward-Perkins, John B. Roman Imperial Architecture. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994. Claridge, Amanda. Rome: An Oxford Archaeological Guide, second edition, Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. The course requires two midterms and a term paper. The paper is approximately 8 pages of text, plus footnotes or endnotes, bibliography, and illustrations. Students should choose their topic from three options: traditional research paper, select a building/select a theme, and design a Roman city. Midterm examination 1: 30% Midterm examination 2: 30% Final paper: 30% Participation in online forum: 10% Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts about this course through the survey linked below. We also invite you to provide general feedback about Open Yale Courses by visiting the Feedback area of the site.Take the survey Join a Study Group Through a pilot arrangement with Open Yale Courses, OpenStudy offers tools to participate in online study groups for a selection of Open Yale Courses, including HSAR 252. If you wish to participate in one of these study groups, you will need to register for a free account with OpenStudy.View study group Course Books and Other Related Titles Yale University Press offers a 10% discount on the books used in HSAR 252 that it publishes, as well as on other related titles. A portion of the proceeds from your purchases will be donated for the ongoing support and development of the Open Yale Courses program.View the catalog for this course

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The nation’s gas shortage was a source of almost-constant news coverage beginning in the spring of 1973 and continuing for the better part of a year. On April 24, 1973, the ABC Evening News warned: “Gas prices may hit 70 cents a gallon next year.” (If this news doesn’t leave you trembling, remember gas could be had for 30-some-cents a gallon at the time and the occasional gas war would drop the price into the range of 25 cents.) Americans drove land yachts (Cadillacs of the era were affectionately referred to as “Living rooms on wheels”) and saw no need to change. The Arabs were about to give them a reason. The Yom Kippur War started in October 1973 when Arab nations including Egypt and Syria attacked Israel during the Yom Kippur holiday. When the United States supported Israel, the countries that made up the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (made up primarily of Arab nations) stopped almost all oil shipments to the United States. For Americans, things got hairy in a hurry. An Oct. 6, 1973, headline in the Times-News (at the time the Daily Times News) read: “Fighting erupts in Middle East.” An Oct. 9 headline questioned: “Will Faisal cut off the oil spigot?” in reference to King Faisal of Saudi Arabia halting the flow of cheap crude to the United States. News of possible gas shortages began to dominate and Americans responded by doing what Americans do best, by panicking. Gas hoarding became commonplace. Locking gas caps, previously all but unheard of, became the rage. There was something of a move toward economy cars, but Chevrolet Vegas and Ford Pintos will never be perceived as the American car industry’s finest hour. The Volkswagen Beetle was another story. In November, North Carolina Gov. Jim Holshouser rolled interstate speed limits across the state back to 55 mph, a move that outraged truckers who argued their rigs were geared to get better mileage at 60 or 65 mph than at 55. Burlington’s leaders also jumped into the energy fray. City Manager J.D. Mackintosh announced that thermostats in city buildings would be cut to 68 degrees. In Elon College, things were worse. Fire Chief Fred Loy announced the thermostat in the fire department would be cut to 60 degrees during on-duty hours and 50 degrees when firefighters were off-duty (this proclamation led to a witty remark from a Times-News reporter who wondered in print if firefighters might secretly hope for a fire to respond to so they could get warm). Downtown Christmas lights in a number of local municipalities weren’t put up as a means of conserving energy. In Mebane, the lights were put up, but weren’t turned on. As fewer stations had gas and Sunday sales were virtually nonexistent, travel was curtailed. The owner of Beech Mountain ski resort in the North Carolina mountains promoted longer stays that would require less travel. A Nov. 23 headline in the Times-News read: “Gas shortage becomes real.” The accompanying story told of cars and trucks sputtering to halts on freeways around the country as there was no gas to be found. A photograph in the Dec. 1 Times-News showed Howard Blanchard of Blanchard Oil Co. standing beside his empty gas pumps. An editorial in that day’s paper was titled: “Slower and safer,” detailing how the cutback in speed might be a positive thing for us all. A couple of days later a Times-News reporter spent three hours traveling with Trooper J.R. Jones of the N.C. Highway Patrol. According to the reporter, as a result of the reduced speed limits, Jones stopped only one driver for speeding, leading him to comment: “If everybody drove like this all the time, this would be a wonderful world to live in.” At the December meeting of the Burlington City Council, Mackintosh warned the city’s gas contract was up for renewal and prices may jump from 16.8 cents per gallon to 50 cents or more. By Dec. 22, the Carolina Travel Club of Charlotte predicted 98 percent of North Carolina gas stations would be closed Christmas Day. A local story predicted mandatory rationing of 10 gallons per individual per week. A picture of a local gas station showed pumps dispensing gas in half-gallon price increments because the cost had exceeded 50 cents a gallon, and the pumps weren’t designed to register such exorbitant costs. Locally, the worse was still to come. On Feb. 5, 1974, the Times-News reported 75 trucks were involved in a blockade at the Red Horse Truck Stop in Haw River. Some truckers formed a ring around the business to block in other truckers. It was being done to protest rising gas prices and lower speed limits. They vowed to maintain the blockade until fuel prices were dropped. The next day, the blockade ended, its organizers admitting they did so because some of the truckers blocked in against their will were to the point of “desperate measures” in order to return their rigs to the road. Meanwhile, a trucker was shot and killed at the wheel of his rig in Delaware because he didn’t comply with a shutdown called for by some of his cohorts. A headline in the Feb. 7 Times-News read: “Finding gas a hide-and-seek game.” Al’s Exxon on North Church Street was open for gas sales only one hour each morning. At Sox Texaco on South Church Street, sales were limited to $3 per customer. To make matters worse, officers with the Burlington Police Department warned that motorists blocking traffic while waiting in line for gas were subject to tickets. On Feb. 8, legendary Times-News photographer Jack Sink produced a montage of “No gas” signs — the pictures shot at local stations. By mid-February, most local gas stations had adopted an even/odd policy of gas sales, the day a driver could purchase gas based on the ending number on his license plate. Cars with even-numbered tags could buy gas on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. For odd, it was Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Even then, most stations were pumping only three hours a day and sales were typically limited to either $3 or $5. Problems also arose because motorists with odd-numbered tags felt slighted when the majority of dealers were now closed on Saturdays. If your father argued there’d be plenty of gas available as soon as “they” got the prices where they wanted them, well, it’s hard to argue against that point of view. The promise of a negotiated settlement between Israel and Syria was sufficient to convince Arab oil producers to lift the embargo in March 1974. Sporadic shortages have followed in the years since (remember the energy crisis of 1979?), but for the most part, for Americans, gas — at inflated prices — has been available.

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4 weeks 1 day Why Microbiology Rules!!! Submitted by JR junior on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 12:23 Jason Sylvan is a microbiologist on an expedition about deep-sea volcanoes. As our last expedition was all about microbiology, you might be thinking that Jason is here because he was on that earlier expedition, forgot to get off the JOIDES Resolution in Auckland and, since he was stuck with us, we figured, “Might as well put him to work.” Jason has been part of the plan for this expedition all along, though. To find out what he is doing and why microbiology rules, read on! Microbiologists study microbes, which is why they are not called giganticbiologists. Microbes are living things that can only be seen with a microscope. We usually think of microbes as being germs, but only a teeny, tiny percentage of microbes make people sick. Most of them are completely harmless to people and some we could not live without! Microbes may be tiny, but there sure are a lot of them. If you weighed every living thing on earth, much more than half of the weight would be made up of microbes. As scientists learn more and more about microbes, they have realized that microbes inhabit places that we would normally not expect living things to be, like inside rocks in Antarctica, in incredibly hot springs in Yellowstone National Park and on your elbow. There are so many different kinds of microbes that scientists are pretty sure there are way more of them than they have discovered yet. Here are some pictures of a few different microbes found around the world to give you an idea of the variety. One is not a microbe, though. See if you can guess which one. Hopefully you figured out that the guy in the middle is not a microbe. He is, Jason our microbiologist. Jason is on our expedition because the inside of seamounts may be a habitat for microbes. The seamounts we have been drilling are all extinct volcanoes. Volcanic rocks tend to have a lot of holes in them, like a sponge, and like a sponge, they soak up water. Anything containing water can be a habitat for microbes. Jason is one of the first scientists ever to see what might be living inside these mountains deep in the ocean. When a core comes up, Jason selects a small sample of rock to take to his lab to look for microbes. Jason does a lot of cool things to find out what kinds of microbes may be living in these rocks. Here he is blasting the rock with a blowtorch to make sure no non-seamount microbes snuck on the rock after it came out of the seamount and contaminated his sample. One thing Jason has been doing is trying to grow more microbes from the ones he finds in his samples. He crushes the rock to get to the microbes inside of it, carefully places the microbes and rock bits back in seawater and takes them into a special container, the Anaerobic Hard Shell Chamber. Here is a picture of me inside of it. The seamount microbes go in here because, most likely, they find oxygen to be poisonous, and the Anaerobic Hard Shell Chamber is oxygen-free (so I’m holding my breath in that picture). Jason sticks his hands in gloves attached to the chamber. He then is able to put the bits of microbe-inhabited rocks into sample jars without poisoning the microbes to death in the process. You can see Jason holding some of his sample jars in the photo on top. The Anaerobic Hard Shell Chamber is in the Cold Room, which is why I am wearing my Steve Zissou hat in the photo. The seamounts we are drilling are deep in the ocean where the water is just above freezing, so the microbes that live there are adapted to cold temperatures. The Cold Room is always 4 degrees Celsius (i.e. really cold!) to provide the right environment for them to live and grow in their sample jars. Jason will not be able to see what microbes may be in the jars until he returns to his lab on land. The sample jars are growing cloudier, though, so Jason is pretty sure microbes are growing inside of them. Jason has always wanted to be a scientist ever since he can remember. At different times he wanted to be a paleontologist and an astronomer, but when he was still a kid, he received a book by Jacques Cousteau about the oceans and he became interested in marine biology. He received a degree in biology in college and then in grad school took a class on microbiology that made him really interested in all the amazing things that microbes can do. He received his Ph.D. in microbiology and today works in a lab at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. When he’s not studying microbes and their ocean floor habitats, Jason likes photography and also plays guitar in a punk rock band. So if you would like to be out at sea sometimes and working inside other times, using a variety of cool lab equipment and learning about microscopic creatures, maybe you can be an ocean floor microbiologist too! PS. To find out more about what Jason does as a microbiologist, read his own blog here on the JR website.

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India Prepares to Launch Mars Orbiter in Space Race With China India is preparing to launch a spacecraft to Mars tomorrow, striving to put a probe into orbit around the red planet before China and Japan. A rocket is scheduled to blast off at 2:38 p.m. from southeast India, embarking on a journey of 423 million miles (680 million kilometers) that will take almost a year, according to the Indian Space Research Organization. Only the U.S., Europe and Russia have successfully orbited Mars. “There is an ongoing race for space-related power and prestige currently in Asia, although few officials will admit it,” said James Moltz, a professor at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, who has written books about the space race. “India is clearly concerned about China’s recent rise in space prestige and wants to minimize that damage.” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has rebuffed critics of the mission, who say India can ill-afford the project’s 4.5 billion-rupee ($73 million) price tag when about two-thirds of the nation’s 1.2 billion people live on less than $2 a day. He’s counting on the space program to yield technological advances that bolster the country’s development prospects. “Questions are sometimes asked about whether a poor country like India can afford a space program and whether the funds spent on space exploration, albeit modest, could be better utilized elsewhere,” Singh, who served on the country’s Space Commission in the 1970s, said in a speech last year. “This misses the point that a nation’s state of development is finally a product of its technological prowess.” The mission aims to map the Martian surface, study the atmosphere and search for methane gas, a sign that the planet can support life, according to the ISRO, a government agency. Earlier this year, India successfully launched a satellite that provides a space-based navigation system. ISRO’s Chairman K. Radhakrishnan denied there was a space race with countries such as China, adding there would be a “trickle down” of technology from the research and design of the orbiter that will benefit the economy. India spends about $1.1 billion a year on its space programs, compared with $3.3 billion in Japan and $17.9 billion in the U.S. Japan failed in its 1998 bid to send a satellite to orbit Mars. China’s probe was destroyed about two years ago. India and China have become competitors in the space industry over the past decade. China has taken the lead, putting its first woman astronaut into space as it strives toward goals such as establishing a manned space station. “India is a major space power today, but it faces competition from countries such as China that have greater resources,” Moltz said. “It cannot expect to match China mission for mission. But it can develop a solid technical competency in space activities that will help its economy, military, and scientific potential.” India’s Mars mission is much cheaper than a U.S. launch to the planet later this month, according to Mayank N. Vahia, an academic at the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai. Unlike China, which has sent astronauts into space, India has focused on less costly missions that provide technology for the aerospace and pharmaceutical sectors, he said. The space program amounts to about half what India spends providing free school lunches and nutrition programs for the country’s 160 million children under the age of six. India has the world’s highest percentage of malnourished children except for East Timor, according to the 2012 annual Global Hunger Index. Whether it’s right for a country with substantial poverty to invest in space exploration remains an emotive issue, said Satish Misra, a political analyst at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi. India launched its first space rocket in 1963 and its first satellite in 1975. An unmanned mission to the moon ended in August 2009 after scientists failed to restore contact with the Chandrayaan-1 craft. Data from the probe showed water formation may be an ongoing process on the moon. The country’s satellites form one of the largest communications systems in the world. Last month, they tracked a cyclone heading for Odisha state in eastern India, giving the government time to evacuate a million people, according to Vahia. “We invested in satellites that gave us the exact details of the way the weather was going,” Vahia said. “As a result, we have saved hundreds or thousands of lives.” For Related News and Information: India’s $82 Million Mission to Mars Orbit Planned for 2013 Water Discovery on Moon’s Surface Spurs India’s Lunar Ambition To contact the editor responsible for this story: Daniel Ten Kate at [email protected]

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Apples Keep Your Family Healthy Apple Information - also see: The Original Health Food® Apples are Really Good For You! Eating fresh apples is always good for you, but to get the full nutritional benefits associated with eating apples you should eat at least one fresh apple every day. The average U.S. consumer eats about 19 pounds of fresh apples a year - about one apple per week. Ongoing consumer attitude tracking in nine major markets across the United States has shown that Washington apples remain number one as far as consumers are concerned. According to a one report, 56 percent of those surveyed named Washington as the brand they look for when buying apples. Apples Work Magic on Bad Cholesterol (April 11, 2012 - The Chicago Herald) It raises good cholesterol, lowers bad cholesterol and contributes to weight loss. So what is this miracle substance? An apple. "I consider apples a magic food," said Bahram H. Arjmandi, Ph.D., director for the Center for Advancing Exercise and Nutrition Research on Aging at Florida State University. "Apples are not my favorite food, but I buy a bag a week and try to eat two per day. I am convinced this is what I should do if I want to remain healthy." Learn more... Apples: The Next Superfruit (March 31, 2010 - US Apple Association) A new national survey of 1,021 chief household shoppers across the nation conducted for the US Apple Association by SupermarketGuru.com, shows people think of apples as the next superfruit. It is an accessible, value-priced, nutritional energy source on par with blueberries and pomegranates. Learn more... Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (February 17, 2010 - US Apple Association) Heart disease, including stroke, is the nation's number one killer. Studies have shown that apples and apple products (like sauce and juice) can help lower your risk of developing heart disease and may also help decrease your waist size and possibly even your blood pressure. Learn more... Colon Cancer Prevention There's more good news when it comes to eating healthy apples and apple products! New research suggests that both apple pectin and apple juice extracts may enhance the body's ability to protect from colon cancer. German researchers found that components of apples and apple juice react in the colon and help to slow the growth of precancerous and tumor cells. The study is published in the scientific journal, Nutrition (April 2008). Learn more... Over the past several years, apple consumption has been linked with reduced cancer risk in many studies. A 2001 Mayo Clinic study indicated that quercetin, a flavonoid abundant in apples, helps prevent the growth of prostate cancer cells. A Cornell University study indicated phytochemicals in the skin of an apple inhibited the reproduction of colon cancer cells by 43 percent. The National Cancer Institute has reported that foods containing flavonoids like those found in apples may reduce the risk of lung cancer by as much as 50 percent. - Carcinogenesis (March, 2001) - Nature (June, 2000) - Journal of the National Cancer Institute (January, 2000) Two recent British studies indicated that eating apples can improve lung health. A study of Welsh men indicated that people who ate at least five apples per week experience better lung function. Researchers at the University of Nottingham reported that those who ate five apples per week also had a lower risk for respiratory disease. In the Netherlands at the University of Groningen, apples were singled out as a fruit that could cut smokers' risk of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) in half. Scientists believe antioxidants found in apples may ward off disease by countering oxygen's damaging effects on the body. - American Thoracic Society Meeting (May, 2001) -Thorax (January, 2000) Apples are a delicious source of dietary fiber, and dietary fiber helps aid digestion and promotes weight loss. A medium apple contains about five grams of fiber, more than most cereals. Also, apples contain almost zero fat and cholesterol, so they are a delicious snack and dessert food that's good for you. UC-Davis: Apples are Heart Healthy Researchers at the University of California-Davis recently reported that apples and apple juice may help protect arteries from harmful plaque build-up. In the first study conducted in humans, adults who added two apples, or 12 ounces of 100% apple juice, to their daily diet demonstrated a significant slowing of the cholesterol oxidation process that leads to plaque build-up - thereby giving the body more time to rid itself of cholesterol before it can cause harm. Apple Consumption Linked to Improved Brain Health (January 13, 2010 - US Apple Association) A growing body of evidence suggests that eating apples and apple products can be beneficial when it comes to improving brain health and diminishing the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. Learn more... US: Study Links Apples to Reduced Risk of Heart Disease in Women American Heart Association new recommendations support increased fruit, vegetable consumption Apples may prove to be a winner when it comes to reducing the risk of heart disease, says a new study of more than 34,000 women. In this study, flavonoid-rich apples were found to be one of three foods (along with red wine and pears) that decrease the risk of mortality for both coronary heart disease (CHD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) among post-menopausal women, The findings were published in the March 2007 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Learn more... For more studies about the healthy benefits of eating apples, visit the US Apple Association.

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Individual differences | Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology | Groupthink is a term coined by psychologist Irving Janis in 1972 to describe a process by which a group can make bad or irrational decisions. In a groupthink situation, each member of the group attempts to conform his or her opinions to what they believe to be the consensus of the group. In a general sense this seems to be a rational way to approach the situation. However this results in a situation in which the group ultimately agrees upon an action which each member might individually consider to be unwise (the risky shift). Janis' original definition of the term was "a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when the members' strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action." The word groupthink was intended to be reminiscent of George Orwell's coinages (such as doublethink and duckspeak) from the fictional language Newspeak, which he portrayed in his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Groupthink tends to occur on committees and in large organizations. Janis originally studied the Pearl Harbor bombing, the Vietnam War and the Bay of Pigs Invasion. Recently, in 2004, the US Senate Intelligence Committee's Report on the U.S. Intelligence Community's Prewar Intelligence Assessments on Iraq blamed groupthink for failures to correctly interpret intelligence relating to Iraq's weapons of mass destruction capabilities. Causes and symptoms of groupthinkEdit Janis cited a number of antecedent conditions that would be likely to encourage groupthink. These include: - Insulation of the group - High group cohesiveness - Directive leadership - Lack of norms requiring methodical procedures - Homogeneity of members' social background and ideology - High stress from external threats with low hope of a better solution than the one offered by the leader(s) Janis listed eight symptoms that he said were indicative of groupthink: - Illusion of invulnerability - Unquestioned belief in the inherent morality of the group - Collective rationalization of group's decisions - Shared stereotypes of outgroup, particularly opponents - Self-censorship; members withhold criticisms - Illusion of unanimity (see false consensus effect) - Direct pressure on dissenters to conform - Self-appointed "mindguards" protect the group from negative information Finally, the seven symptoms of decision affected by groupthink are: - Incomplete survey of alternatives - Incomplete survey of objectives - Failure to examine risks of preferred choice - Failure to re-appraise initially rejected alternatives - Poor information search - Selective bias in processing information at hand (see also confirmation bias) - Failure to work out contingency plans One mechanism which management consultants recommend to avoid groupthink is to place responsibility and authority for a decision in the hands of a single person who can turn to others for advice. Others advise that a pre-selected individual take the role of disagreeing with any suggestion presented, thereby making other individuals more likely to present their own ideas and point out flaws in others' — and reducing the stigma associated with being the first to take negative stances (see Devil's Advocate). Anonymous feedback via suggestion box or online chat has been found to be a useful remedy for groupthink — negative or dissenting views of proposals can be raised without any individual being identifiable by others as having lodged a critique. Thus the social capital of the group is preserved, as all members have plausible deniability that they raised a dissenting point. Institutional mechanisms such as an inspector general system can also play a role in preventing groupthink as all participants have the option of appealing to an individual outside the decision-making group who has the authority to stop non-constructive or harmful trends. Another possibility is giving each participant in a group a piece of paper, this is done randomly and without anyone but the receiver being able to read it. Two of the pieces of paper have "dissent" written on them, the others are blank. People have to dissent if the paper says so (like a Devil's Advocate), no-one is able to know if the other person is expressing dissent because they received a pre-marked "dissent" piece of paper or because it's an honest dissent. Also, as with every Devil's Advocate, there exists the possibility that the person adopting this role would think about the problem in a way that they wouldn't have if not under that role, and so promoting creative and critical thought. Another way which is of special use in very asymmetric relations (as in a classroom) is to say something which is essentially wrong or false, having given (or being obvious that the persons that may be groupthinking know about that) the needed information to realize its inconsistency previously, if at the start of the class the teacher told the students that he would do so and not tell them when he did until the end of the class, they would be stimulated to criticize and "process" information instead of merely assimilating it. An alternative to groupthink is a formal consensus decision-making process, which works best in a group whose aims are cooperative rather than competitive, where trust is able to build up, and where participants are willing to learn and apply facilitation skills. Robert S. Baron contends that recent investigation and testing has not been able to defend the connection between certain antecedents with groupthink. This may simply be due to the fact that the groupthink theory is very difficult to test in a lab situation using the scientific method. Alfinger and Esser also came to the same conclusion. After ending their study, they stated that better methods of testing Janis' symptoms were needed. It is impossible to create in labs the same conditions under which important government groups work. It is impossible to create the same levels of stress and pressure experienced by high level government officials, with the future of an entire nation hanging in the balance. Baron also contends that the groupthink model applies to a far wider range of groups than Janis originally concluded. This contention remains to be tested. ^ The Senate Intelligence Committee concluded in its July 2004 unanimous report that "the Intelligence Community (IC) suffered from a collective presumption that Iraq had an active and growing weapons of mass destruction (WMD) program. This "group think" dynamic led Intelligence Community analysts, collectors, and managers, to both interpret ambiguous evidence as conclusively indicative of a WMD program as well as ignore or minimize evidence that Iraq did not have active and expanding weapons of mass destruction programs. This presumption was so strong that formalized IC mechanisms established to challenge assumptions and group think were not utilized." - Janis, I. (1972). Victims of Groupthink: A Psychological Study of Foreign-Policy Decisions and Fiascoes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0395140447 - Janis, I. & Mann, L. (1977). Decision Making: A Psychological Analysis of Conflict, Choice and Commitment. New York: The Free Press. - Error on call to Template:cite paper: Parameter title must be specified See also Edit - Abilene paradox - Appeal to belief - Cognitive dissonance - Communal reinforcement - Consensus reality - False consensus effect - Group-serving bias - Group polarization - Herd behaviour - Hive mind - Informational cascade - Mob mentality - Mob rule - Pack Journalism - Peer pressure - Social comparison theory - Spiral of silence - Victory disease - Article on Groupthink from MeatballWiki - Article on Groupthink from SourceWatch - A Collaborative Game by Lot23 |This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).| <ref>tags exist, but no <references/>tag was found

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Your dad’s habits may wreck your genesComment on this story London - For years, scientists and doctors have blamed illnesses on our parents, showing how conditions such as blindness and deafness can be passed down genetically, and bad lifestyle habits can put babies at risk of heart defects. But medicine is increasingly pointing the finger specifically at fathers, with studies showing how male genes and even men’s diets and stress levels can create serious health problems for their offspring, including diabetes, depression and obesity. It seems that the Bible warning holds true for health: the sins of the fathers really do plague their children - and this effect may pass on to their grandchildren, too. The latest evidence in this newly emerging jigsaw comes from research that shows a common genetic flaw may increase a son’s risk of heart disease by 50 percent. Scientists at Leicester University who analysed samples from more than 3,000 men found that those with a common group of genetic traits (called haplogroup I) had a 50 percent higher risk of coronary artery disease than men in other genetic groups. This genetic flaw is at the centre of male genetic identity; it’s carried in the Y chromosome, responsible for determining that babies are born as boys (chromosomes are found in all cells and carry our genetic blueprint) - so it’s passed only from fathers to sons. It is thought that as yet unidentified genetic flaws in men’s immune systems may cause chronic inflammation in their arteries, which can lead to heart disease. The British Heart Foundation, which funded the study, said the findings could lead to new tests and treatments for coronary problems. And while men can’t change their genes, they could benefit from learning if they have inherited this danger, says research scientist Lisa Bloomer, one of the study’s authors. Indeed, while there are no tests for this haplogroup yet, if your father and uncles have had heart troubles, it is sensible to assume there is a strong chance you may be affected. “You can reduce your risk if you mitigate the effects of other dangers, such as your weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels,” says Ms Bloomer. This latest finding is part of a larger picture where scientists are starting to discover diseases passed from man to boy through the Y chromosome. “It has already been found genes on this chromosome can increase people’s risk of being born with autism and for contracting HIV,” says Ms Bloomer. “We need to do more work to understand how these problems occur.” Scientists are also learning how the bad effects of men’s lifestyle habits, such as their diet, stress levels, weight and smoking, can be transmitted through the genes in their sperm. Just as disturbingly, it seems that men can pass on addictive behaviours and stress-related depression. Here, it is not only sons who are affected but daughters, too, because these problems are passed on through genes that are not on the Y sex chromosome. Early clues to this have been found by Washington University researchers who studied the sperm of a group of male heroin addicts. The men’s sperm contained genes that had been changed from normal and would affect the development of any children they had. These changes are called “epigenetic” - alterations to a person’s genes that are caused by their lifestyle habits. Significantly, the researchers found epigenetic changes that boosted the activity of OPRM1, a gene that controls how the body responds to its own heroin-like feel-good hormones. This change is believed to be a factor in making people more liable to develop addictions. In a similar fashion, men may transmit stress-related diseases across generations. Scientists at New York’s Mount Sinai School of Medicine say lab experiments on rats have found epigenetic changes in the semen of males who show signs of stress and anxiety after being isolated or threatened. Their studies show that baby rats sired by these fathers show an increased vulnerability to stress, and become anxious and depressed more quickly than normal. They also have higher levels of stress hormones. This is despite the fact that their mothers showed no such problems, according to the study published in the journal Biological Psychiatry. This may offer one explanation as to why depression can run in families. Even smoking when very young can affect men’s sperm - and surprisingly, this may make their sons prone to becoming overweight. The discovery was made using survey results from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children - an investigation into the health of 14,000 mothers and their children in the Bristol area. It began in 1991 and is the most comprehensive study of its kind. Professor Marcus Pembrey, a clinical geneticist at the Institute of Child Health in London, found men who smoked before puberty had sons who were fatter by the age of nine, even when other lifestyle factors were taken into account. There was no similar effect among women. “It seems that before puberty, our genes are tuned to suit the environment we are living in. It is these genetic changes that are passed down the male line,” says Professor Pembrey. Perhaps the most important factor in determining a man’s legacy to his children comes from his dietary habits. This takes us into a newly emerging field of science called nutri- epigenomics - the study of how food can alter our genes. “Rather than ‘you are what you eat’, this science shows ‘you are what your dad ate’,” says Anne Ferguson-Smith, professor of developmental genetics at Cambridge University. She points to research that showed fathers who eat high-fat diets and are obese tend to have daughters with a high risk of developing diabetes. These girls are born with low insulin levels and glucose intolerance - classic signs of the disease. The research, published in the journal Nature, concluded that the problems seem to be transmitted through the father’s sperm. Professor Ferguson-Smith warns in the journal Cell Metabolism that these studies show the problem of ill-health being passed from parents to children “is not only just maternal territory. The father’s nutritional and metabolic status merits attention, too, if we are to optimise the health of his children and grandchildren”. Parents must understand that having healthy offspring is a joint enterprise if their babies are to inherit healthy genes. This is most starkly illustrated by a study that found obese mothers produced sons at risk of being morbidly overweight. These boys grew up to father daughters who, in turn, had an inherited tendency to be perilously overweight. The Biblical prediction turns out to be more complex than anyone thought: the lifestyle sins of both parents can be visited on their children and are passed on in ways we are only beginning to understand. - Daily Mail

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"Nov. 1, 2012 -- Two more drugs made by the New England Compounding Center (NECC) are crawling with various kinds of bacteria, FDA tests reveal. The NECC is the Massachusetts compounding pharmacy whose drugs are the likely source of th"... VICOPROFEN (hydrocodone and ibuprofen) was administered to approximately 300 pain patients in a safety study that employed dosages and a duration of treatment sufficient to encompass the recommended usage (see DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION). Adverse event rates generally increased with increasing daily dose. The event rates reported below are from approximately 150 patients who were in a group that received one tablet of VICOPROFEN (hydrocodone and ibuprofen) an average of three to four times daily. The overall incidence rates of adverse experiences in the trials were fairly similar for this patient group and those who received the comparison treatment, acetaminophen 600 mg with codeine 60 mg. The following lists adverse events that occurred with an incidence of 1% or greater in clinical trials of VICOPROFEN (hydrocodone and ibuprofen) , without regard to the causal relationship of the events to the drug. To distinguish different rates of occurrence in clinical studies, the adverse events are listed as follows: name of adverse event = less than 3% adverse events marked with an asterisk * = 3% to 9% adverse event rates over 9% are in parentheses. Body as a Whole Central Nervous System Metabolic and Nutritional Disorders Skin and Appendages Incidence less than 1% Body as a Whole Allergic reaction. Central Nervous System Metabolic and Nutritional Skin and Appendages Altered vision; Bad taste; Dry eyes. Drug Abuse and Dependence Misuse Abuse and Diversion of Opioids VICOPROFEN (hydrocodone and ibuprofen) contains hydrocodone, an opioid agonist, and is a Schedule III controlled substance. VICOPROFEN (hydrocodone and ibuprofen) , and other opioids used in analgesia can be abused and are subject to criminal diversion. Addiction is a primary, chronic, neurobiologic disease, with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. It is characterized by behaviors that include one or more of the following: impaired control over drug use, compulsive use, continued use despite harm, and craving. Drug addiction is a treatable disease utilizing a multidisciplinary approach, but relapse is common. “Drug seeking” behavior is very common in addicts and drug abusers. Drug-seeking tactics include emergency calls or visits near the end of office hours, refusal to undergo appropriate examination, testing or referral, repeated “loss” of prescriptions, tampering with prescriptions and reluctance to provide prior medical records or contact information for other treating physician(s). “Doctor shopping” to obtain additional prescriptions is common among drug abusers and people suffering from untreated addiction. Abuse and addiction are separate and distinct from physical dependence and tolerance. Physical dependence usually assumes clinically significant dimensions only after several weeks of continued opioid use, although a mild degree of physical dependence may develop after a few days of opioid therapy. Tolerance, in which increasingly large doses are required in order to produce the same degree of analgesia, is manifested initially by a shortened duration of analgesic effect, and subsequently by decreases in the intensity of analgesia. The rate of development of tolerance varies among patients. Physicians should be aware that abuse of opioids can occur in the absence of true addiction and is characterized by misuse for non-medical purposes, often in combination with other psychoactive substances. VICOPROFEN (hydrocodone and ibuprofen) , like other opioids, may be diverted for non-medical use. Record-keeping of prescribing information, including quantity, frequency, and renewal requests is strongly advised. Proper assessment of the patient, proper prescribing practices, periodic re-evaluation of therapy, and proper dispensing and storage are appropriate measures that help to limit abuse of opioid drugs. Read the Vicoprofen (hydrocodone and ibuprofen) Side Effects Center for a complete guide to possible side effects Reports suggest that NSAIDs may diminish the antihypertensive effect of ACE-inhibitors. This interaction should be given consideration in patients taking VICOPROFEN (hydrocodone and ibuprofen) concomitantly with ACE-inhibitors. The concurrent use of anticholinergics with hydrocodone preparations may produce paralytic ileus. The use of Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs) or tricyclic antidepressants with VICOPROFEN (hydrocodone and ibuprofen) may increase the effect of either the antidepressant or hydrocodone. MAOIs have been reported to intensify the effects of at least one opioid drug causing anxiety, confusion and significant depression of respiration or coma. The use of hydrocodone is not recommended for patients taking MAOIs or within 14 days of stopping such treatment. When VICOPROFEN (hydrocodone and ibuprofen) is administered with aspirin, the protein binding of aspirin is reduced, although the clearance of free VICOPROFEN (hydrocodone and ibuprofen) is not altered. The clinical significance of this interaction is not known; however, as with other NSAID-containing products, concomitant administration of VICOPROFEN (hydrocodone and ibuprofen) and aspirin is not generally recommended because of the potential of increased adverse effects. Patients receiving other opioids, antihistamines, antipsychotics, antianxiety agents, or other CNS depressants (including alcohol) concomitantly with VICOPROFEN (hydrocodone and ibuprofen) may exhibit an additive CNS depression. When combined therapy is contemplated, the dose of one or both agents should be reduced. Ibuprofen has been shown to reduce the natriuretic effect of furosemide and thiazides in some patients. This response has been attributed to inhibition of renal prostaglandin synthesis. During concomitant therapy with VICOPROFEN (hydrocodone and ibuprofen) the patient should be observed closely for signs of renal failure (see WARNINGS - Renal Effects), as well as diuretic efficacy. Ibuprofen has been shown to elevate plasma lithium concentration and reduce renal lithium clearance. The mean minimum lithium concentration increased 15% and the renal clearance was decreased by approximately 20%. This effect has been attributed to inhibition of renal prostaglandin synthesis by ibuprofen. Thus, when VICOPROFEN (hydrocodone and ibuprofen) and lithium are administered concurrently, patients should be observed for signs of lithium toxicity. Ibuprofen, as well as other NSAIDs, has been reported to competitively inhibit methotrexate accumulation in rabbit kidney slices. This may indicate that ibuprofen could enhance the toxicity of methotrexate. Caution should be used when VICOPROFEN (hydrocodone and ibuprofen) is administered concomitantly with methotrexate. Mixed Agonist/Antagonist Opioid Analgesics Agonist/antagonist analgesics (i.e., pentazocine, nalbuphine, butorphanol and buprenorphine) should be administered with caution to patients who have received or are receiving a course of therapy with a pure opioid agonist analgesic such as hydrocodone. In this situation, mixed agonist/antagonist analgesics may reduce the analgesic effect of hydrocodone and/or may precipitate withdrawal symptoms in these patients. Neuromuscular Blocking Agents Hydrocodone, as well as other opioid analgesics, may enhance the neuromuscular blocking action of skeletal muscle relaxants and produce an increased degree of respiratory depression. The effects of warfarin and NSAIDs on GI bleeding are synergistic, such that users of both drugs together have a risk of serious GI bleeding higher than users of either drug alone. Read the Vicoprofen Drug Interactions Center for a complete guide to possible interactions Last reviewed on RxList: 9/3/2008 This monograph has been modified to include the generic and brand name in many instances. Additional Vicoprofen Information Vicoprofen - User Reviews Vicoprofen User Reviews Now you can gain knowledge and insight about a drug treatment with Patient Discussions. Report Problems to the Food and Drug Administration Chronic Pain/Back Pain Find tips and advances in treatment.

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With 29 people now dead, listeria-tainted cantaloupe has caused the deadliest recorded U.S. outbreak of food-borne illness, surpassing a 1985 outbreak with similarly tainted Mexican cheese. Just a few weeks ago, food safety experts said the contaminated musky melons were behind what was shaping up to be the worst cluster of food-related illnesses and deaths in a generation. On Wednesday, that was largely confirmed when the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the 29th death from Listeria monocytogenes linked to melons from Jensen Farms, based in Holly, Colo. Depending on whose figures you use, the fruit-linked outbreak is, at the very least, just as deadly as a 1985 listeriosis outbreak that killed 29 Southern Californians who ate Mexican-style soft cheeses such as queso fresco and cotija. In its final report, the CDC tallied 29 deaths from the cheese: eight in infants, 13 stillbirths and eight others in non-neonates. But a Sept. 29, 1988, article in the New England Journal of Medicine, which followed additional review by the CDC, the Los Angeles County health department and the Food and Drug Administration, revised the 1985 death toll downward to 28 -- 20 infants and 18 adults. The revision would give the current cantaloupe outbreak the grim distinction of being the worst ever. Although the rate of newly confirmed cantaloupe cases has slowed, more Americans could still succumb because listeria can deliver its wallop months after the invisible trip from a plate into the depths of the digestive system. In addition, after someone starts feeling sick, they may delay seeing a doctor and the illness may not come to the attention of public health officials until a laboratory confirms the diagnosis and ties it to other cases. Since Aug. 15, tainted cantaloupes, which also caused a pregnant woman in northwest Iowa to miscarry, have sickened 139 people with four strains of listeria. All were traced to cantaloupe grown and processed by Jensen Farms. Listeriosis infections may cause fever, stiff neck, muscle aches, headache, confusion and vomiting; the most serious complications are sepsis, a potentially fatal blood infection, and meningitis, inflammation of the membrane surrounding the brain. Of the 142 people sickened in the 1985 cheese-linked outbreak, 93 were pregnant women or their children, underscoring the risk that rod-shaped listeria bacteria pose to pregnant women, who can miscarry or transmit the infection to their fetuses. Also vulnerable are infants, the elderly and anyone else with a compromised immune system. The number of people sickened or killed in the current outbreak could very well increase, especially given that some victims are still fighting for their lives. "I have two clients who are in the ICU, both in their 80s, both in Colorado," said Bill Marler, a Seattle food safety attorney whose law firm is representing the families of 26 victims of the current outbreak (10 who died and 16 who survived). Although relatives of the two ICU patients remain hopeful about their prognoses, both have been hospitalized a month and a half and subjected to the risks of prolonged hospitalization, including additional infections and pneumonia. Marler has represented thousands of victims of food-borne illness since 1993, when he won a $15.6 million settlement from Jack in the Box for Brianne Kiner, who survived a life-threatening infection with E. coli 0157:H7 from a tainted hamburger. So far, he has filed eight lawsuits against Jensen Farms and Frontera, the Texas-based wholesaler that handled the melons. "We also will be suing the grocery stores," he said. He estimated that the cost of litigation for 139 people sickened and 29 dead "is probably $125 million to $150 million -- what they're going to have to pay out in damages, in past medical costs, in future medical costs." The monetary costs extend beyond that, he said, to the cost of the recall and the cost to other growers whose cantaloupes went unsold because of fear. Then, there are the psychic costs that make eating some fresh fruits and vegetables seem more risky than eating processed foods with artery-clogging fats. The current outbreak, which has spread to 28 states, most recently Nevada and Utah, was traced in September to Jensen Farms. On Sept. 14, the FDA announced that Jensen Farms had voluntarily recalled whole cantaloupes, and subsequently Carol's Cuts of Kansas City and Fruit Fresh up of Buffalo, N.Y., recalled cut cantaloupe and cut mixed fruit containing cantaloupe produced by Jensen Farms. FDA and Colorado inspectors who visited the Jensen processing plant on Sept. 10 detected listeria on machinery, and found some of the equipment couldn't easily be cleaned and sanitized, according to an FDA assessment released on Oct. 19. "Here you've got listeria, which loves cool, wet environments," Marler said. "You basically have a washing and packing facility that wasn't cleaning the cantaloupe, it was infecting the cantaloupe." Outrage at contamination in Chicago's meat-packing plants, fueled by Upton Sinclair's graphic depictions in his novel "The Jungle," led to passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906 and eventually to creation of the Food and Drug Administration. Yet more than 100 years later, the most advanced country in the world remains plagued by food-related illnesses. Asked why, Marler blamed human nature. "Humans make mistakes," Marler said. "Humans don't pay attention to details. The question is how do you set up systems that help humans not make mistakes and how do you help them pay attention to details?" Some companies do a good job, he said. "A lot of companies out there make food safe every single day and they never poison anybody," he added. Some industries have shown they can set and follow minimum standards for bacterial and viral contamination. He cited the example of the "leafy green industry," which got together and set up minimum standards after a 2006 E. coli outbreak traced to fresh spinach sickened more than 200 people and killed three. Since 2006, "Have we had a couple of outbreaks involving leafy greens? Yes. Have they been big? No. Do I expect big ones in the future? No," he said. "The problem we have is we don't really set hard standards that everyone has to play by," Marler said. "And we have no inspections because the FDA inspection force has been absolutely decimated over the last decades, so these plants never get inspected." The country needs a system that works consistently, so that "you don't feel that every time you go to the fresh fruit and vegetable aisle, or the salad bar, you think, 'Is this going to be my last time?'"

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In the midst of the Torah’s discussion concerning the festival cycle, immediately after the commandment concerning the Omer offering (a barley offering in the Temple which marks the beginning of the harvest and allows the use of that season’s grain), the following mandate is found: “And you shall count for yourselves – from the day after the Sabbath, from the day you bring the waved offering of the Omer – seven weeks; complete shall they be. Until the day after the seventh Sabbath, shall you count fifty days; and you will offer a new meal offering to the Lord.” As codified by the rabbis, this mitzva, known as the mitzva of Sfirat Ha’omer, the Counting of the Omer, obligates each Jew to verbally count the days and weeks from the second day of the holiday of Pesach until the first day of the holiday of Shavuot. What possible purpose can there be in verbally counting the days and weeks between Pesach and Shavuot? The Torah offers no explanation for this mitzva. Most obviously, the Counting of the Omer is perceived by many scholars as an act of linkage between the two holidays that border the mitzva, Pesach and Shavuot. Through the act of counting we testify that the Revelation at Sinai (commemorated on Shavuot) was the goal and purpose of the Exodus from Egypt (commemorated on Pesach). This relationship is established at the outset when God informs Moshe at the burning bush: “And this is your sign that I have sent you: when you take the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” On a deeper level, our counting consequently affirms that the physical freedom of the Exodus is incomplete without the spiritual freedom granted by God’s law; a truth mirrored in the famous rabbinic dictum: “No one is truly free other than he who is involved in the study of Torah.” By counting the days between Pesach and Shavuot, many scholars continue, we also are meant to re-experience the sense of excitement and anticipation that marked this period for the Israelites, newly redeemed from Egypt. Just as we would “count the remaining days” towards an extraordinary event in our personal lives, so too we should feel a real sense of anticipation each year as we again approach the holiday that marks the Revelation at Sinai. Other authorities choose to view these days primarily as a period of “purification from” rather than “anticipation towards.” By the time of the Exodus, the Israelites have been defiled from centuries of immersion in Egyptian society and culture. Numerous sources, in fact, maintain that they have descended to the forty-ninth of fifty possible stages of defilement and are on the verge of becoming irredeemable. With haste, at the last moment, God pulls the nation back from the brink. The newly freed slaves, however, must now undergo a process of purification before they can encounter God and receive the Torah at Sinai. Forty-nine days – to counter each level of defilement experienced – must elapse before Revelation can take place. By counting the days between Pesach and Shavuot each year, we remember and mark this refining journey. Just as a married woman monthly counts the days leading to her immersion in a mikva we must count and spiritually prepare ourselves for our reunion with God at Sinai. Based on this approach, the Ohr Hachaim explains why Sfirat Ha’omer begins each year on the second day of Pesach, rather than on the first. The Exodus, he observes, occurs on the first day of the festival. For a portion of that day, therefore, the Israelites yet remain in Egypt and the journey of purification cannot yet begin. Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik perceives yet another lesson embedded in the act of Sfirat Ha’omer. The Rav suggests that, in Jewish experience, an individual can perform the act of counting within two realms: the realm of Sfira and the realm of minyan (the root of each of these terms means “to count”). When you count in the realm of minyan, the Rav explains, all that matters is the attainment of the ultimate goal, the endpoint of your counting. Nine upstanding, righteous men can assemble for a prayer service but, without a tenth, there is no minyan. When you count in the realm of Sfira, however, things are different. Although you still count towards a goal, each individual unit in the calculation becomes a goal, as well. While someone counting precious diamonds, for example, is certainly interested in the total number of diamonds he has, he also pauses and holds each gem up to the rays of the sun, admiring its unique facets, color and shape. The act of Sfirat Ha’omer teaches us to “count our days in the realm of Sfira” – to see each day as a goal unto itself. Too often, we live exclusively goal-oriented lives; moving from accomplishment to accomplishment, from milestone to milestone, rarely stopping to appreciate the significance of each passing day. And yet, when all is said and done, the quality of the journey, in large measure, defines our lives – and the ordinary moments spent with family and friends are as significant, if not more significant, than the milestones themselves. The Rav’s observation may also be mirrored in two versions of the verbal formula for Sfirat Ha’omer which have developed over the years. Some communities recite, “Today is the —-day la’Omer (literally “to the Omer”)” while others count “ba’Omer (literally “in the midst of the Omer”).” Taken together, these two versions form the balance that should mark our approach to life. On the one hand, without goals our lives are aimless. We therefore count la’Omer, towards the endpoint of the Omer count. On the other hand, never losing sight of the journey’s value, we also count ba’Omer, in the midst of the Omer. Adapted from one of the multiple essays on this parsha in Unlocking the Torah Text by Rabbi Shmuel Goldin.

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Map of Ethiopia showing Amhara Region |• Total||154,709 km2 (59,733 sq mi)| |• Density||110/km2 (290/sq mi)| |ISO 3166 code||ET-AM| Located here is Ethiopia's largest inland body of water, Lake Tana, which is the source of the Blue Nile river. The region also has the Semien Mountains National Park, which includes the highest point in Ethiopia, Ras Dashan. During Ethiopia's imperial era, Amhara included several provinces (such as Dembiya, Gojjam, Begemder, Angot, Wollo, Shewa and Lasta), most of which were ruled by native Ras or Negus. The Amhara Region then incorporated most of the former provinces of Begemder, Dembiya, Angot, bete Amhara (Wollo), Gojjam, and Shewa. When Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) took over Ethiopia, most of the Amhara Region land, especially in Gonder, was redesignated as part of Tigray Region. Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia (CSA), the Amhara Region has a population of 17,221,976. 8,641,580 were men and 8,580,396 women; urban inhabitants number 2,112,595 or 12.27% of the population. With an estimated area of 159,173.66 square kilometers, this region has an estimated density of 108.2 people per square kilometer. For the entire Region 3, 983,768 households were counted, which results in an average for the Region of 4.3 persons to a household, with urban households having on average 3.3 and rural households 4.5 people. In the previous census, conducted 1994, the region's population was reported to be 13,834,297 of whom 6,947,546 were men and 6,886,751 women; urban inhabitants numbered 1,265,315 or 9.15% of the population. According to the CSA, as of 2004[update], 28% of the total population had access to safe drinking water, of whom 19.89% were rural inhabitants and 91.8% were urban. Values for other reported common indicators of the standard of living for Amhara as of 2005[update] include the following: 17.5% of the inhabitants fall into the lowest wealth quintile; adult literacy for men is 54% and for women 25.1%; and the Regional infant mortality rate is 94 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, which is greater than the nationwide average of 77; at least half of these deaths occurred in the infants’ first month of life. At 91.47% of the local population, the region is predominantly inhabited by people from the Semitic-speaking Amhara ethnic group. Most other residents hail from other Afro-Asiatic language communities, including the Agaw/Awi, Oromo, Agaw/Kamyr and Argobba. |Ethnic group||1994 Census||2007 Census| |Religion||1994 Census||2007 Census| The Amhara Region is the location of Laka Tana, the source of the Blue Nile, at Bahir Dar. The flow of the Blue Nile reaches maximum volume in the rainy season (from June to September), when it supplies about two-thirds of the water of the Nile proper. The Blue Nile, along with the Atbara River to the north, which also flows out of the Ethiopian Highlands, caused the annual Nile floods that contributed to the fertility of the Nile Valley. This supported the rise of ancient Egyptian civilization and Egyptian Mythology. With the completion in 1970 of the Aswan High Dam in Egypt, the Nile floods ended. Lake Tana has a number of islands, whose numbers vary depending on the level of the lake; it has fallen about 2 metres (6.6 ft) in the last 400 years. According to Manoel de Almeida (a Portuguese missionary in the early 17th century), there were 21 islands, seven to eight of which had monasteries on them "formerly large, but now much diminished." When James Bruce visited the area in the later 18th century, he noted that the locals counted 45 inhabited islands, but wrote he believed that "the number may be about eleven." A mid-twentieth century account identified 37 islands, of which 19 were said to have or have had monasteries or churches on them. The lake islands were the home of ancient Ethiopian emperors. Treasures of the Ethiopian Church are kept in the isolated island monasteries (including Kebran Gabriel, Ura Kidane Mehret, Narga Selassie, Daga Estifanos, Medhane Alem of Rema, Kota Maryam and Mertola Maryam). The body of Yekuno Amlak is interred in the monastery of St. Stephen on Daga Island; other Emperors whose tombs are on Daga include Dawit I, Zara Yaqob, Za Dengel and Fasilides. Other important islands in Lake Tana include Dek, Mitraha, Gelila Zakarias, Halimun, and Briguida. In the late 20th century, the scholar Paul B. Henze reported being shown a rock on the island of Tana Qirqos and being told it was where the Virgin Mary had rested during her journey back from Egypt. He was also told that Saint Frumentius, the bishop known for introducing Christianity to Ethiopia, was "allegedly buried on Tana Cherqos." The CSA of Ethiopia estimated in 2005 that farmers in Amhara had a total of 9,694,800 head of cattle (representing 25% of Ethiopia's total cattle), 6,390,800 sheep (36.7%), 4,101,770 goats (31.6%), 257,320 horses (17%), 8,900 mules (6%), 1,400,030 asses (55.9%), 14,270 camels (3.12%), 8,442,240 poultry of all species (27.3%), and 919,450 beehives (21.1%). The Amhara Region contains Ethiopia's largest inland body of water, Lake Tana, which is the source of the Blue Nile river, and the highest point in Ethiopia, Ras Dashan (4,543 m) in the Semien Mountains. UNESCO has designated the Semien Mountains National Park as part of a World Heritage Site. The mountains consist of plateaux separated by valleys and pinnacles. Other notable heights include Mounts Biuat (4,437 m) and Abba Yared (4,460 m). Most of the Amhara Region is mountainous and is covered with large trees and forest. Endemic species of animals include the Gelada Baboon, the Walia Ibex and the Ethiopian wolf (or Simien fox). The wide range of altitudes has given the country a variety of ecologically distinct areas, leading to the evolution of endemic species in ecological isolation. Presidents of the Executive Committee - Addisu Legesse (ANDM/EPRDF) 1992 - Oct 2000 - Yoseph Reta (b. 1956) (ANDM/EPRDF) Oct 2000 - 5 Oct 2005 - Ayalew Gobeze (ANDM/EPRDF) 5 Oct 2005– 19 Dec 2013 - Gedu Andargachew (ANDM/EPRDF) 19 Dec 2013–Present (This list is based on information from Worldstatesmen.org.) - 2011 National Statistics - Census 2007 Tables: Amhara Region, Tables 2.1, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2, 3.4. - "Households by sources of drinking water, safe water sources" CSA Selected Basic Welfare Indicators (accessed 28 January 2009) - Macro International Inc. "2008. Ethiopia Atlas of Key Demographic and Health Indicators, 2005." (Calverton: Macro International, 2008), pp. 2, 3, 10 (accessed 28 January 2009) - 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results for Amhara Region, Vol. 1, part 1, Tables 2.1, 2.9, 2.10, 2.17 (accessed 9 April 2009) - "Census 2007", first draft, Tables 1, 4, 5, 6. - C.F. Beckham and G.W.B. Huntingford, Some Records of Ethiopia, 1593-1646, (series 2, no. 107; London: Hakluyt Society, 1954), p. 35 and note. - Paul B. Henze, Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia (New York: Palgrave, 2000), p.73 - "CSA 2005 National Statistics", Tables D.4 - D.7 |Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amhara Region.| - FDRE States: Basic Information - Amhara - Africa Guide: Amhara - Map of Amhara Region at UN-OCHA - Map of Amhara Region at DPPA of Ethiopia

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HTML Forms: The Right Way(s) I recently stumbled upon a Reddit discussion thread on the proper way to write an HTML form. First, there is no one right way to code an HTML form. Well, I should say there is no one right way to code an HTML form assuming you are using semantic and accessible markup. Here are several methods I use (or have seen others use) when writing HTML forms. Method 1: Semantic Nirvana <form> <fieldset> <legend>Legend Name</legend> <label for="name">Name</label> <input type="text" name="name" /> </fieldset> </form> This example is self-explanatory and employees the recommended form elements provided by HTML. The form element contains a fieldset with a legend. The fieldset contains a label and an associated input field. This method is the purest state of a semantic HTML form, and I encourage you to implement this structure whenever possible. However, if your design requires more structural flexibility, I encourage you to explore the definition list approach. Method 2: Definition List <form> <fieldset> <dl> <dt><label for="name">Name</label></dt> <dd><input type="text" name="name" /></dd> </dl> </fieldset> </form> This example encapsulates the form and its elements within the context of a definition list. One could argue the semantic accuracy of this approach, but I believe there is some semantic truth to this scenario. A definition term (the "Name") is defined by the user input. This method also remains accessible to assistive technologies by providing a label for the associated input field. Label's allow assistive technologies to associate the label with a form input field. Label's also provide a larger, clickable "focus" area for a form field; when a user clicks on a label, the associated form input field is focused. This method also degrades nicely in text-only web browsers or hand-held devices. I often use this method when I create forms with labels to the left of their associated input fields, similar to the Sign Up form on Campaign Monitor's website (see Figure A). The DT elements are floated left and assigned a common width. The DD fields are floated right and assigned a common width. The DT fields will clear any previous DT or DD elements using CSS. One might consider ordered or unordered lists to accomplish this same structure. However, such an approach would require the markup developer to attach custom class meta information to each LI element to indicate which LI element contains the label and which the form input field. I believe the definition list provides more accurate semantics without additional meta information. Overall, I prefer this method when I require semantics and design flexibility. This method provides plenty of elements to work with out of the box: form, dl, dt, dd, label, and input. CSS developers will have plenty to work with without extraneous markup. Method 3: Paragraphs galore! <form> <fieldset> <p> <label for="name">Name</label><br /> <input type="text" name="name" /> </p> </fieldset> </form> I mention this method only because I see many developers abuse it too often. This method encapsulate a label and its input field within a paragraph. The result is a pleasant visual separation when rendered in most desktop web browsers like Firefox, Safari, or Internet Explorer. However, the good ends there. This method is semantically flawed; a form and its elements are not a series of paragraphs. Also, one should not mix markup with presentation (as this method does). After all, not everyone uses visual web browsers (Google bots and screen readers come to mind). Method 4: What about columns? Many HTML forms are presented in a column layout. This is an example where aesthetics take precedence over semantics. Which is fine. Semantics are only rules, and rules can be broken, right? In this case, I encourage you to at least try to maintain some form of semantic value. Method 4a: Use DIVs with appropriate class meta data One method to implement a column layout is to use DIVs. <form> <fieldset> <legend>Legend Name</legend> <div class="left-column"> <label for="name">Name</label> <input type="text" name="name" /> </div> <div class="middle-column"> <label for="email">Email</label> <input type="text" name="email" /> </div> <div class="right-column"> <label for="phone">Phone</label> <input type="text" name="phone" /> </div> </fieldset> </form> Each DIV may be floated left to simulate columns, and the class attributes convey the intended semantics. Method 4b: Tables: Those are bad, right? Tables are great, assuming you use them to display tabular data. Tables were given a bad reputation when print designers first started developing websites in the late 90s and early 2000s. Print designers used tables for lack of better layout tools. If you have no other option, one might argue that a form could be a table (try not to smirk when you explain this to your resident web standards evangelist). Such a form may look like this: <form> <fieldset> <table border="0"> <thead> <tr> <th>Column 1</th> <th>Column 2</th> <th>Column 3</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td> <label for="one">One</label> <input type="text" name="one" /> </td> <td> <label for="two">Two</label> <input type="text" name="two" /> </td> <td> <label for="three">Three</label> <input type="text" name="three" /> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> </fieldset> </form> At this point, the form markup is becoming convoluted and less semantic. Consider this method a last resort, and only if you require a form with multiple columns. So which method do I choose? There are many more ways to write HTML forms. As I said before, there is no one right way to write HTML forms. If your form is structured with semantic and accessible markup, you can't go wrong. For further reading on this subject, I strongly encourage you to pick up a copy of "Web Standards Solutions: The Markup and Style Handbook" by Dan Cederholm (Apress, 2004; ISBN 1590593812).

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OHSU Examines Herb's Effects On Diabetic Neuropathy 02/23/11 Portland, Ore. Positive results in 2005 preclinical study prompt trial of Ayurvedic botanical A 2005 OHSU study showing an herbal supplement speeds recovery in an animal model of nerve damage has triggered a clinical trial to determine if the compound has the same effect in humans suffering from diabetic neuropathy. Oregon Health & Science University researchers have launched a Phase II, National Institutes of Health-funded study of an extract of Centella asiatica, a botanical traditionally used as a nerve tonic in the ancient Hindu system of healing known as Ayurveda. They will follow 60 subjects with diabetic neuropathy who will be given the herbal extract or placebo for a year in the randomized, double-blind trial expected to last through 2010. The trial's principal investigator, Jau-Shin Lou, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of neurology in the OHSU School of Medicine, said those with diabetes have some options to treat symptoms like numbness, pain and weakness, but there is no way to promote regrowth of the damaged nerves. This means these people will have these symptoms as long as they have diabetes. "Physicians really don't have a good way of preventing diabetic neuropathy other than trying to control blood sugar," said Lou, director of the OHSU's EMG Laboratory. "This drug, if effective, will give us a treatment for diabetic neuropathy on top of regular sugar control." Bethany Klopfenstein, M.D., a diabetologist at the OHSU Diabetes Center, serves as a co-investigator of the study. Klopfenstein, an assistant professor in the OHSU School of Medicine, said "neuropathy is one of the most disabling complications of diabetes, and also the most difficult to treat. The medications currently available can dull the symptoms, but also have side effects that can be difficult to tolerate. In addition, once neuropathy is present, we have no way to reverse the damage. The preliminary studies suggest Centella asiatica may lead to recovery of damaged nerves." The trial was prompted by results from an OHSU study on laboratory rats that lost use of their hind legs due to sciatic nerve damage. The results, published in 2005 by OHSU's Bruce Gold, Ph.D., associate professor of neurology, and Amala Soumyanath, Ph.D., associate professor of neurology an expert on medicines derived from botanicals, in the Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, showed that Centella asiatica, sometimes sold as gotu kola, regenerated nerve cells in the rats when given an extract of the herb in their drinking water. Soumyanath said the rats tend to recover spontaneously from their disability without Centella asiatica over three weeks. But things change after they consume the extract. "We found if you put this extract in their water, they just recover a whole lot faster," she said. "They start to recover virtually from day four, and they recover so much of their function by day 18, it's a statistically significant difference." Klopfenstein, Soumyanath and Lou hope to see similar results in humans. The trial will use a blend of Centella asiatica's three active ingredients - asiatic acid, madecassic acid and asiaticoside - known collectively as Centella asiatica selected triterpenes (CAST), prepared by Indena, a manufacturer of high quality botanical extracts. "What we tested in the rats was actually a crude extract (of Centella asiatica), which means it had a whole mishmash of things, including these compounds," Soumyanath said. "We did test these compounds on nerve cells, and we found they all had the same effect as the crude extract, suggesting that these three components were responsible, to a large extent, for the activity of the extract." Significantly, these three compounds also have been shown to improve "microcirculation" - the flow of blood through the body's smallest vessels, such as arterioles, capillaries and venules - in other studies in humans. "We believe it's kind of double-whammy for those with diabetic neuropathy," Soumyanath said. "It improves your microcirculation and it helps your nerves regenerate. I mean, if it works, that would be great." Centella asiatica is a slender plant with fan-shaped leaves that is found primarily in the swampy regions of India, Madagascar and other tropical climates, including the southern United States. It is often prepared as a tea and can be dried for use in capsules; dietary supplement retailers describe it as an energy and vitality booster that promotes circulation to the brain and throughout the body. The validity of those claims is uncertain, and the research at OHSU is aimed at clarifying the facts surrounding this and other botanical therapies. Diabetic neuropathy occurs when poor circulation caused by high glucose levels in diabetes damages nerve cells. According to the National Institutes of Health, about half of diabetes sufferers have some form of neuropathy, but not all with neuropathy have symptoms. Peripheral neuropathy, which affects the arms and legs, is the most common type of diabetic neuropathy. Lou's laboratory specializes in finding and studying damage to large and small nerve fibers, the thin, branch-like threads through which signals are sent between the cell body and its terminal. Typically, weakness and numbness occur if the large fibers are damaged, while burning and stabbing sensations result when small fibers are damaged. "It's very disturbing to a lot of diabetic patients," Lou said. "In diabetic neuropathy, both of these fiber types can be affected. In our laboratory, we have specific procedures to test large fibers and small fibers so we can document the changes of these nerve functions over the time of this drug trial to see if CAST can slow down the progression of neuropathy." Doing so "can improve the patient's quality of life because of reduced pain and burning, and it can preserve their motor function so they can begin functioning without losing muscle strength," he added. Klopfenstein, Soumyanath and Lou hope the trial, if successful, leads to similar therapies for other disorders of both the peripheral and central nervous systems. In fact, in a study co-authored by Soumyanath and presented to the Society for Neuroscience in late 2005, Centella asiatica appeared to normalize the behavior of mice bred to express a protein mutation that causes Alzheimer's-like symptoms. "At some point, we may also want to see whether it can actually penetrate the central nervous system, in which case there are a whole other bunch of diseases where you've got nerve degeneration," Soumyanath said. "And there are many other conditions, like paralysis, and other causes of neuropathy, and we would like to study this same herb in those." One such cause of neuropathy is alcohol abuse, Lou said. "Alcoholic neuropathy is very common," he said. "If you drink too much, it damages your nerves. It's the same type of neuropathy you see in diabetics. It's a huge population." For more information on the clinical trial, contact Grace Arnold, research coordinator for this study, at 503 494-4987 or [email protected]. OHSU STATEMENT: Dr. Soumyanath is the director of research and development for Oregon's Wild Harvest, which was involved in the preparation of investigational products used in this research. This potential conflict of interest has been reviewed and managed by OHSU.

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Posted by: Loren Coleman on September 6th, 2006 The 70th anniversary of the Thylacine’s extinction is September 7th! Do they still walk among us? Did Steve Irwin see one in Tasmania? The last captive thylacine died in the Hobart Zoo on September 7, 1936. Today in Australia, the day is now known as “Threatened Species Day.” Ten years ago it was known as “National Thylacine Day.” The last thylacine (third one pictured below) was captured in 1924, with its mother and siblings, in Florentine Valley, Tasmania. In 1933, this last thylacine, a female, was sold to the Hobart Zoo. (Whether or not it was ever named “Benjamin” is a subject of much debate.) The world’s last captive then died in that zoo three years later. In the same year, 1936, or in 1938, by some accounts, the Tasmanian tiger was added to the list of Protected Wildlife. Finally, 50 years after the death of the last captive, in 1986, the thylacine was declared extinct by international standards. But sightings in the wild persist. Do they live today out in the forest bush of Tasmania (almost 400 sightings), on mainland Australia (over 4000 sightings), or in the rainforests of New Guinea (a handful)? As mentioned earlier this week, the late Steve Irwin went to Tasmania and filmed an episode of “The Crocodile Hunter” about the search for the Thylacine or Tasmanian Tiger. He reportedly may have captured footage of a Thylacine. (Read more on this angle here at Steve Irwin #1 and Steve Irwin #2.) The Thylacine today is the subject of much discussion and searching within cryptozoology. The cryptid, for example, is the subject of one of the best cryptozoology books of recent years, Carnivorous Nights: On the Trail of the Tasmanian Tiger, shown here with well-known artist Alexis Rockman’s cover, in all of the spectacular colors of the Tasmania rainforest. Many locations have good museum collections educating the public on the Thylacine, especially in Australia and Tasmania. In the United States, in the traveling exhibition, at Bates College’s Museum of Art and Kansas City’s H&R Artspace, Cryptozoology: Out of Time Place Scale, many exhibits are tied to the thylacine, including more Rockman paintings, a full-size steel thylacine sculpture by Rachel Berwick, the continuous running of the last footage of the Hobart Zoo thylacine, Tasmanian tiger popular culture souvenirs from Jeffrey Vallace’s collection, and a 2001 footcast of an allegedly post-extinction Thylacine encounter and other items from my cryptozoology museum. Will evidence of the Thylacine be found in the next decade? In 1984, Ted Turner offered a $100,000 reward for proof of the continued existence of the Thylacine. It went unclaimed by the time it was withdrawn at the end of the 20th century. Reportedly still current, an offer of $1.75 million (probably Australian dollars) has subsequently been offered by a Tasmanian tour operator, Stewart Malcolm, but this is also unclaimed today. Click on this 1910 image for a full-sized version Thanks to the one-sentence reminder from Chris Rehberg in Sydney about this anniversary, which stimulated me to write the above and share these images with you. Rehberg has likewise decided to author his own reflective moment about this event at “70 years extinct! Or is it?” Xeni Jardin at Boing Boing acknowledges this story, in “Get ready for National Thylacine Day, Sept. 7!”. And as she learned, the Thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) is not a feline, but a “tiger” only in looks. It’s a dog-sized carnivorous marsupial. Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct). Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013.

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The history of Tonga stretches back to around roughly 4000 B.C. when the Polynesians became known as the Tongan Empire through extensive trading. The Europeans arrived in the 17th century which was followed after a couple hundred years by a single unified Tongan kingdom. Archaeological evidence shows that the first settlers in Tonga sailed from the Santa Cruz Islands , as part of the original Austronesian-speakers' (Lapita ) migration which was believed to have originated out of S.E. Asia some 6000 years before present. Archaeological dating places Tonga as the oldest known site in Polynesia for the distinctive Lapita ceramic ware, at 2800—2750 years before present. The Lapita people lived and sailed, traded, warred, and intermarried in the islands now known as Tonga , and Fiji for 1000 years, before more explorers set off to the east to discover the Marquesas , and eventually the rest of the Pacific Ocean islands. For this reason, Tonga, Samoa, and Fiji are described by anthropologists as the cradle of Polynesian culture and civilization. This was part of the Austronesian expansion that spread people from southeastern Asia across the Pacific to the east and across the Indian Ocean and eastern Africa in the west. Over time and space, Tongan society became more settled, shaped strictly by both internal pressure and external influences. The external influences came in the form of imperial activities beginning with the Tu’i Pulotu empire in the Lau group (Fiji) and followed by the Tu’i Manu’a empire in Samoa. In other words, Tonga was under considerable influence from the imperialism of Samoa. However, Tonga was able to free herself through bitter and bloody wars from the imperial domination of the Tu’i Manu’a -- which eventually led to the formation of the Tu’i Tonga empire around AD 950 in the person of ‘Aho’eitu , the first Tu’i Tonga -- whose father was a deified Samoan high chief, Tangaloa ‘Eitumâtupu’a, and mother a Tongan woman, Va’epopua, of great noble birth. This double origin entitled the Tu’i Tonga to hold both divine and secular offices. In principle, the close cultural and historical interlinkages between Fiji, Samoa and Tonga were essentially elitist, involving the intermarriage between regional aristocratic families. Centuries before Westerners arrived, Tongans created large monumental stoneworks, most notably, the Haʻamonga ʻa Maui and the Langi (terraced tombs). The Haʻamonga is 5 meters high and made of three coral-lime stones that weigh more than 40 tons each. The Langi are low, very flat, two or three tier pyramids that mark the graves of former kings. Tongan Maritime empire By the 12th century, Tongans, and the Tongan king, the Tuʻi Tonga, were known across the Pacific, from Niuē,Samoa to Tikopia they ruled these nations for 400 years plus, sparking some historians to refer to a 'Tongan Empire'. A network of interacting navigators, chiefs, and adventurers might be a better term. It is unclear whether chiefs of the other islands actually came to Tonga regularly to acknowledge their sovereign. Distinctive pottery and Tapa cloth designs also show that the Tongans have travelled from the far reaches of Micronesia, all the way to Fiji and even Hawaii. The Tongans were known as the powerhouse of the pacific, known for their intimidating cow skin drums, and for their amazing sailing ability, but most of all, the size and beauty of their people. European arrival and Christianisation In the 15th century and again in the 17th, civil war erupted. It was in this context that the first Europeans arrived, beginning with Dutch explorers Willem Schouten and Jacob Le Maire . Between April 21 to 23 1616 they moored at the Northern Tongan islands "Cocos Island" (Tafahi ) and "Traitors Island" (Niuatoputapu ), respectively. The kings of both of these islands boarded the ships and Le Maire drew up a list of Niuatoputapu words, a language now extinct. On 24 April 1616 they tried to moor at the "Island of Good Hope" (Niuafo'ou ), but a less welcoming reception there made them decide to sail on. On 21 January 1643, the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to discover and visit the main island (Tongatapu) and Haapai after rounding Australia and discovering New Zealand. The most significant impact had the visits of Captain Cook visits in 1773, 1774, and 1777, followed by the first London missionaries in 1797, and the Wesleyan Methodist Walter Lawry in 1822. Around that time most Tongans converted en masse to the Wesleyan (Methodist) and Catholic faiths. Later other denominations followed like: Pentecostal, Mormons, Bahaʻi, Seventhdays, and still more. the 14th Tui Kanokupolu, Tukuaho was murdered, which sent Tonga into a civil war for fifty years. Finally the islands were united into a Polynesian kingdom in 1845 by the ambitious young warrior, strategist, and orator Tāufaʻāhau. He held the chiefly title of Tu'i Kanokupolu , but was baptised with the name King George Tupou I . In 1875, with the help of missionary Shirley Baker, he declared Tonga a constitutional monarchy, at which time he emancipated the 'serfs', enshrined a code of law, land tenure, and freedom of the press, and limited the power of the chiefs. Tonga became a British protected state under a Treaty of Friendship on 18 May 1900 , when European settlers and rival Tongan chiefs tried to oust the second king. The Treaty of Friendship and protected state status ended in 1970 under arrangements established prior to her death by the third monarch, Queen Sālote . Tonga joined the Commonwealth of Nations in 1970, and the United Nations in 1999. While exposed to colonial forces, Tonga has never lost indigenous governance, a fact that makes Tonga unique in the Pacific and gives Tongans much pride, as well as confidence in the monarchical system. The British High Commission in Tonga closed in March 2006. Tonga's current king, George Tupou V, traces his line directly back through five generations of monarchs. The king, born in 1948, continued to have ultimate control of the government until July 2008. At that point, concerns over financial irregularities and calls for democracy led to his relinquishing most of his day-to-day powers over the government.. - Queen Salote of Tonga: The Story of an Era 1900-1965 (ISBN 1-86940-205-7) - Latukefu, S. (1974)Church and State in Tonga, ANU Press, Canberra

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The CST is an official, sober, experienced and serious organization, with roots in all parts of the Jewish community in Britain. It is not a politically motivated organization – it is at the forefront of British Jews’ collective response to antisemitism. When Dave Rich and Mark Gardner of the CST say that Caryl Churchill’s play “Seven Jewish Children” is antisemitic, and when they carefully explain why, people should take them seriously. They don’t have to agree. But to dismiss such criticism as dishonest pro-Israeli propaganda will not do. Such a response exacerbates the antisemitism of which they are accused, it does not address it. The Jewish festival of Passover celebrates the Jewish exodus from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the land of Israel. The festival begins with the seder, when Jewish families gather around the dining table and the story is retold by the adults to the children, who are encouraged to ask questions throughout. There is a moment in the seder when the whole family recount the names of the ten plagues visited upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians. As each plague is named, all present dip their finger into red wine – unmistakably reminiscent of blood – and spill a drop onto their plate. The Guardian chose a photograph of this scene to illustrate its online production of Caryl Churchill’s Seven Jewish Children. The association of blood with Jews is a well-established antisemitic tradition. It is embodied in the blood libel charge, which first appeared in 12th-century England and quickly spread. The accusation was that Jews murder non-Jewish children to use their blood in religious rituals, especially at Passover. Ironically, when Jews spill their wine at the seder, it is to remember with sadness the pain of the Egyptians, not to celebrate their loss. Nevertheless, so many Jews died in blood libel massacres at Passover, that a rabbi in 17th-century Poland ruled that Jews could use white wine, not red, during the seder, lest antisemites mistake the red wine for Christian blood. Seven Jewish Children is not a play about Israel. It was written by Churchill as a “response to the situation in Gaza in January 2009″, but it is a play explicitly about Jews. Her response to Gaza is to accuse Jews of having undergone a pathological transformation from victims to oppressors. The play comprises seven brief scenes, of which the first two are generally taken to represent the Holocaust, or perhaps pogroms during an earlier period of antisemitic agitation; in other words, they take place in Europe, before Israel even existed. It is Jewish thought and behaviour that links the play together, not Israel. The words Israel, Israelis, Zionism and Zionist are not mentioned once in the play, while Jews are mentioned in the title and in the text itself. We are often told that when people talk about Israel or Zionists, it is mischievous to accuse them of meaning Jews. Now, we are expected to imagine that a play that talks only of Jews, in fact, means Israelis. In the first two scenes, it is Jewish “uncles” and “grandmother” who are killed, despite approximately one and a half million Jewish children having perished in the Holocaust. Whereas it is elderly Jews who are killed, the Jews’ victims are overwhelmingly depicted as children: there are two mentions of dead adults, namely “Hamas fighters” and “policemen”, but seven of dead children: “the boy”, “the family of dead girls”, “babies” and “their children covered in blood”. The play lands its blows in the final two scenes, culminating in a monologue of genocidal racist hatred: “they’re animals … I wouldn’t care if we wiped them out … we’re chosen people.” A spokesman for the Royal Court Theatre, where the play was first performed, defended it with the formulaic argument that: “While Seven Jewish Children is undoubtedly critical of the policies of the state of Israel, there is no suggestion that this should be read as a criticism of Jewish people. It is possible to criticise the actions of Israel without being antisemitic.” The anti-Zionist conceit that, as long as you are talking about Israel, you can say whatever you want about Jews, is laid bare here. It is not even possible to discuss whether or where this play crosses a line from criticism of Israel into antisemitism, because the play does not present us with a specific criticism of an Israeli policy or action. The Guardian’s illustration of a Jewish family seder table is far more appropriate than a photograph of the Israeli cabinet table would ever have been. The dishonesty and amorality of the adult voices in Seven Jewish Children is striking. Nowhere are right and wrong considered, when deciding how to answer their children’s questions. Never does an adult in the play consider whether their suggested answer is true or not, nor whether this should have any bearing on which answer is given. Their only thought is which answers will best shield Jewish children from difficult moral questions. It is as if Jewish children are brought up in a moral vacuum, with Jewish power and vulnerability the only things that matter. Michael Billington, the Guardian’s theatre critic, noted that the play “shows us how Jewish children are bred to believe in the ‘otherness’ of Palestinians”. Howard Jacobson described this as an example of “how easily language can sleepwalk us into bigotry.” Billington’s use of the word “bred” should have shaken Guardian readers and editors from their slumber. After all, if used in connection with black or Muslim children, then the racism alarms would sound loud and clear. In fact, wittingly or not, Billington used exactly the right language to describe the message of Seven Jewish Children. The original text of the play (pdf) does not specify the actual number of actors, nor who speaks which lines. There are no distinct characters: any Jew can speak any of the lines, in combination with any of the other lines, without distorting the narrative. This homogenising is bad enough, but the Guardian’s production goes a step further. By presenting the play with just a single performer, speaking every Jewish voice in each time and place, the Guardian distils the play into an internal conversation inside the head of every Jew – the increasingly manic neuroses of a screwed-up people. Howard Jacobson identified this as “a fine piece of fashionable psychobabble that understands Zionism as the collective nervous breakdown of the Jewish people”. All the “tell her/don’t tell her” answers in the play are really attempts to answer one simple question: what do those Jews learn as children that they behave like this as adults? The end result of this “psychobabble” is to slander Jews as being psychologically compelled to become the new Nazis. Not so much a blood libel perhaps, but certainly a deadly new libel for a new millennium. In the play’s concluding monologue, presumably set during the Gaza conflict, the Jewish speaker declares: “… tell her I look at one of their children covered in blood and what do I feel? Tell her all I feel is happy it’s not her.” What are we to make of the “all” in that sentence? This nameless Jew, seemingly representing any and every Jew, who cannot escape the pain of the Holocaust and the shame of Gaza, can now feel nothing for the other, dead, non-Jewish child, covered in its own blood. Jews, children, blood and, for the Guardian at least, the Passover seder: this mixture has a murderous antisemitic past. The virus of antisemitism is easily transmitted by those who are not aware they are carrying it. Churchill almost certainly does not intend it, but her play culminates in powerful antisemitic resonances. The Guardian’s online production further amplifies them. People sometimes ask when does anti-Zionism become antisemitism. Here is a rule of thumb: when people describe Israel with the same language and imagery that antisemites use to talk about Jews, the difference between the two disappears. Dave Rich and Mark Gardner work for Community Security Trust, a charity that monitors antisemitism and provides security for the UK Jewish community This piece, by Dave Rich and Mark Gardner, is from Comment is Free.

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AKA Claudius Ptolemaeus Born: c. 87 AD Birthplace: Alexandria, Egypt Died: c. 150 AD Location of death: Alexandria, Egypt Cause of death: unspecified Race or Ethnicity: White Occupation: Astronomer, Cartographer, Mathematician Nationality: Ancient Rome Executive summary: Egyptian geographer and astronomer Ptolemy, a celebrated astronomer and geographer, whose proper name is Claudius Ptolemaeus, was a native of Egypt, though it is uncertain whether he was born at Pelusium or Ptolemais in the Thebaid. Nothing is known of his personal history, except that he flourished in Alexandria in 139 AD, and there is probable evidence of his having been alive in 161 AD. The chief of his writings are: Megale Syntaxis tes Astronomias, which, to distinguish it from the next-mentioned, was probably denominated by the Arabs megiste, the greatest, from which is derived the name Almagest, by which it is generally known; Tetrabiblos Syntaxis, with which is combined another work, called Karpos or Centiloquium, from it containing a hundred aphorisms, both works treating of astrological subjects and held by some on this account to be of doubtful genuineness; Phaeis aplanon asteron kai synagoge episemaseion, a treatise on the phenomena of the fixed stars, or a species of almanac; Geographike Hyphegesis, his great geographical work, in eight books. The rest of his works are of inferior importance, and consist of descriptions of various kind of Projections, the thory of the musical scale, chronological and metaphysical treatises, and a summary of the hypotheses employed in his great work, the Almagest. Others of Ptolemy's works have been lost, and it is still a moot point whether or not they contained a treatise on optics, as a Latin version of what is said to have been an Arabic translation of Ptolemy's original treatise on that subject is still in existence. Both as an astronomer and geographer, Ptolemy held supreme sway over the minds of almost all the scientific men from his own time own until about the 15th century; but, and in astronomy specially, he seems to have been not so much an independent investigator as a corrector and improver of the works of his predecessors. In astronomy, he had the labors of Hipparchus to guide him; and, indeed, scrupulously distinguishes between Hipparchus's labors and his own. To Ptolemy belongs the invention of a planetary theory, the discovery of the moon's evection, and the singular distinction of being the sole existing authority on the subject of ancient astronomy. From this last-mentioned fact, the system of astronomy which he sets forth in the Almagest received his name; and, as the Ptolemaic System, obtained the homage of succeeding generations until the time of Nicolaus Copernicus. The Almagest is divided into thirteen books. Ptolemy seems to have been little of an independent observer, trusting implicitly to his predecessor, Hipparchus; but his geometical powers were of a very high order, unless, as Delambre suggests (most likely incorrectly), the leegant demonstrations here and there occurring in the Almagest were borrowed from other sources. As a geographer Ptolemy occupies a similar position to what he holds in astronomy; he appears before his readers as the corrector and improver of the works of a predecessor, Marinus of Tyre, about whom, except from Ptolemy's writings, little is known. Ptolemy here seems to more advantage as an independent investigator, and his improvements and suggestions are at once more valuable and correct; but it is sometimes difficult to separate his data from those of Marinus. His geography is divided into eight books, all of which, with exception of the first, eight, and a portion of the seventh, are nothing more than a gazeteer, to 12ths of a degree, with a brief general description prefixed to each continent and country or tribe, and interspersed here and there with remarks of a miscellaneous character on any point of interest. The rest of the work contains details regarding his mode of nothing the positions of places -- by latitude (mekos) and longitude (platos) -- with the calculation of the size of the sphere of the arth, and the extent of surface then known. He also describes the mode adopted by him of projecting the surface of a hemisphere on a flat surface, and shows its superiority over the projections of Eratosthenes, Hipparchus, and Marinus. He also constructed a series of twenty-six maps, together with a general map of the world, in illustration of his work. The Almagest and Geography were the first standard textbooks to succeeding ages, the first until the time of Copernicus, the second until the great maritime discoveries of the 15th century demonstrated its deficiencies. They have passed through numerous editions, the best of which are, for the Almagest and most of his minor works, that of Halma (Paris, 1813-16, etc.); and for the Geography, the Latin versions of 1482 and 1490, published at Rome, the editio princeps of the Greek text by Erasmus (Lugd. Bat. 1619). The catalogue of stars has been frequently printed separately. Lunar Crater Ptolemaeus (9.3S, 1.9W, 164km dia) Do you know something we don't? Submit a correction or make a comment about this profile Copyright ©2014 Soylent Communications

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Burt Wolf is the host and author of nine internationally syndicated television series that deal with cultural history, travel and gastronomy. Burt, a former James Beard Foundation Award winner, has also worked as a travel journalist and written or edited nearly 60 books. When Money Grew On Trees: The Story of Chocolate During the spring of 1502 the Maya of Mexico introduced Columbus to the cacao bean which was their currency as well as the source of chocolate. This program looks at the history of chocolate in Mexico; its arrival in Spain, where it was used as a medicine and an aphrodisiac; its evolution into a drink for the rich in France as opposed to a drink available to all classes in England. We follow the beans from a plantation in Mexico to a chocolate bar in the United States, explore the story of chocolate in America and discover that on more than one occasion women have killed to have chocolate. How Sweet It Is: The Story of Sugar Sugar started out in Asia, traveled to the Middle East and then to Europe first as a medicine and then as a rare spice. During his second voyage in 1493, Columbus brought it to the Caribbean where it changed into a common necessity, became a key element in the Caribbean slave trade and an early example of capitalist manufacturing. We'll find out why people who had a sweet tooth had a better chance of surviving than people who didn't and how sugar became the basis for England's international trade, a key element in the control of Britain's working class, and an essential part of the temperance movement. Some Like It Hot: The Story of Chili Peppers When Columbus set out from Spain his objective was to get King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella into the black pepper business. He believed that the islands he landed on in the Caribbean were off the coast of China. When the natives showed him chilies he decided to call them peppers and he had two good reasons. First, when it hit his tongue it felt like black pepper. Second and more importantly, he was getting paid to find "peppers" and so he did. This program looks at how the hot pepper spread around the world and changed the way we cook from China to India to Texas. We'll follow hot peppers into outer space, find out how they affect our brains, how they help to cure the common cold and how they may soon be used by pharmaceutical companies as the primary ingredient for 21st Century pain killers. Domesticated Bliss: The Story of Livestock In America When Christopher Columbus sailed into the Americas there were no chickens, no pigs, no horses, no cattle - no large animals to ride or help with the farming. When the domesticated animals of Europe arrived they changed the way people ate, how they lived and traveled, and even the surface of the land itself. We'll find out how the piggy became a symbol of bankable security, how Spanish ranchers, British Highlanders and West Africa slaves developed virtually every name and task we associate with western cattle ranching from cowboy and bronco to lasso and rodeo. We'll discover the origin of the barbecue, visit the site of the earliest ranches in North America, find out why we love beef, and see how the horse turned Native Americans from subsistence farmers into great buffalo hunters. Time to Play Ketchup: The Story of the Tomato When he marched into Mexico in 1519, Hernando Cortez became the first European to see a tomato. He sent some to the Spanish settlements in the Caribbean and from there back to Europe. In this program we find out why the tomato was readily accepted in Italy and Southern Europe but not in the north. We discover the story of the tomato pill that claimed to cure all illnesses, the true origin of ketchup and how it became our national condiment, why the Supreme Court changed the tomato from a fruit to a vegetable, the strange history of tomato juice, and why we throw tomatoes at people who get on our nerves. This Spud's for You: How The Potato Changed The World On two occasions the potato, which originated in South America, changed the course of world history. The first time was when it fed the great Inca Empire and the Spanish explorers who conquered it. The second was when it arrived in Europe, fed an expanding population that provided the workers for the Industrial Revolution, and allowed a small group of Northern European nations to dominate the world for over 200 years. This program looks at the details behind these stories: how the potato became a hidden food that saved people during times of war, how it changed the way people farmed, caused a population explosion in Ireland and then destroyed millions of Irish farmers. We'll discover when the French fry arrived in America and how it got turned into a chip. The Seed of Life: The Story of Corn On the 4th of November 1492, Columbus came ashore on what is now the island of Cuba. The natives greeted him with a gift of corn. Because it is a strong plant, grows fast and produces food for both people and animals, it has been cultivated everywhere but the North and South Poles. We'll see how corn oil, corn starch and corn syrup have become essential to every industrial society on the planet. We' ll discover the source of corn flakes, and find out how gourmet popcorn was invented. Milk's Leap Toward Immortality: The Story of Cheese The first cows in the Western Hemisphere were brought to the Caribbean by Columbus and were soon producing milk which the colonists turned into cheese. This program traces the history of cheese with a close look at what has happened in California - the largest dairying state in the United States. We'll find out how cheese is made, visit a few women who make some of the finest cheeses in the world and find out how cheese is used in cooking. Taking The High Grounds: The Story of Coffee Christopher Columbus never had an espresso, a latte or a double, skinny mochaccino grande. When he set sail from Spain in 1492, coffee was an exotic luxury available only in the Muslim world. Five hundred years later, it is the second most valuable legal export on earth and the most widely used psychoactive drug. This program looks at the discovery of coffee in Ethiopia, its ability to control the economy of major nations, and its role in both the American and French Revolutions. We'll find out how it is grown and processed, the truth about decaffeination, and how to make a perfect cup of Joe. The Hand That Stirred The Pot: African Foods In America Over 10 million slaves were brought from Africa to the Americas and they brought with them many of their traditional foods and the knowledge of how to grow and cook them-peanuts, bananas, watermelon, rice, yams and okra are just part of our African culinary heritage. This program takes a look at the origins of these foods and the roles they played and continue to play in western cooking and culture. Simple Pleasures: Mediterranean Foods in the Americas When the first Spanish explorers set sail with Columbus in 1492, they provisioned their ships with olive oil, dried peas, wine, pork and fish-the foods that made up the Mediterranean diet of the time. As the explorers returned to Spain, they brought with them tomatoes, potatoes, hot peppers, and beans. When all these foods are taken together you have today's Mediterranean diet, which has become the most popular gastronomic tradition in America. This program looks at the history of the foods of the Mediterranean and how they have affected people in Europe and the Americas. Here's Looking at You Kid: The Story of Wine In The Americas Soon after the Spanish colonists arrived in the Americas they tried to grow grapes so they could make wine. It was the beverage of choice and essential for communion in the Catholic Church. But wine grapes couldn't survive the dry heat of the Caribbean. The priests who had come to the Americas with the Spanish colonists became concerned that they had entered a world created by a devil that had no use for wine and its relationship to Christ. Five hundred years later the Americas have become a winemaker's heaven. This program looks at the history, folklore and culture of winemaking in America from the earliest plantings, through prohibition and up to our present vintages, which are considered to be some of the best in the world. Connecting The Dots: An Overview of the Consuming Passions Ignited by Columbus When Christopher Columbus left Spain he thought he would reach China or Japan. When he got to the Caribbean he had no idea of where he was and when he got home to Spain he had no idea of where he had been. And yet he has ended up as one of the most celebrated explorers in the world-a constant reminder that you can become famous and not have a clue. But Chris' lack of insight does not detract from the enormous impact his voyages had on the history of the world. This program looks at the forces that led to the voyages of Columbus and their continuing effect on our world.

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Unlock Art Museum Wonders With your guidance, a child’s first art museum visit can be very exciting and influence her feelings about art for years to come. An art museum is a magical place, filled with ancient and modern wonders from around the world. A child’s first visit to an art museum can be very exciting and influence her feelings about art for years to come. Parents can facilitate this positive experience by asking questions, playing games and structuring trips in a child-friendly way. Here are a few ways you can turn any art museum visit into a fun family adventure. Be clear about the rules ahead of time. Often a young child's earliest museum experience is at an interactive institution. The “no touch” rule at art museums can be a confusing switch from the Franklin Institute or Please Touch Museum. Many fun family activities can prepare your child for the “no touching” rule. First, fold a white piece of paper in half and pass it around the room. After everyone in the family has touched it, open the paper and compare the wrinkles on the touched side to the untouched side. Or, ask your child to rub his hands together until his fingers get hot. Have your child feel the oils that come out of his fingers and explain that these oils can damage a work of art. Rules are a part of life. The best way to make a child feel comfortable in an art museum is to help him understand the rules before the visit! Arrive early. On the weekends, the peak hours for most art museums are 12noon-3pm. If you arrive in the morning, you can beat the crowds. Don't try to see everything. The Philadelphia Museum of Art has close to 10,000 objects on view. The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art in Philadelphia also has a large collection. If you want your children to come back to an art museum, do not burn her out on the first visit. Instead, pick one area, culture or time period in a museum to explore. Take your time. Exploring the galleries at a relaxed pace encourages your children to actually look at objects instead of simply walking by them. At the Noyes Museums of Art in Oceanside, NJ, family study guides that are inserted into the wall of each gallery enhance this looking process. At galleries in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, you can find laminated sheets that suggest family activities, or you can pick up family self-guided tours at the information desk. Make it fun! Visiting an art museum should be both educational and fun. Playing looking games in the galleries is great ways to increase the fun factor of your visit. One of my favorite museum games is Eye Spy. A parent says, for example, “Eye spy a china cup with pink flowers” and the child then finds the cup. The child in turn says, “Eye spy a man with a red hat” and the parent has to find a painting that contains a man in a red hat. Another good game is to ask, “How are these two things alike and how are they different?” Or bring a sketchbook along and encourage children to draw or sketch what they like. You can download Images of displayed paintings at most art museum websites. You and your child can then find the original of that image in the museum. Similarly, you can purchase postcards of displayed objects at museum gift shops or online stores, which you can then bring on your family visit. Some collections are traditionally popular with children. At the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Arms and Armor, Asia, and the Contemporary Collections are family favorites. Put what you see in context. When walking through a museum, it is often hard to imagine what life was like during the time the artwork was created. You can play a guessing game asking what an object, such as a suit of armor, an umbrella stand or a bed warmer, was used for when it was created. After everyone in your family takes a guess, compare the answers against information on the gallery walls. When visiting the Philadelphia Museum of Art, stop by the 18 period rooms to get reinforcements for your imagination. In rooms such as the Japanese Teahouse and the Colonial Kitchen, artwork and household objects can be viewed in their original surroundings. The Winterthur Museum in Winterthur, Del. runs a context-based tour every day at 12:30pm called “Once upon a Family.” The tour brings the Winterthur house to life by teaching children about the original family that lived on the property. Discuss what you see. An art museum can be an exciting starting point for family discussions, playful games, and imaginative conversations. Don't be afraid to ask your child open-ended questions, even if you don't know the answer yourself. Tools for discussion. One of the best things about art is its ability to awaken the imagination. Therefore, the best questions are ones that lead into broader discussions. Ask questions such as these: - What do you think the person in the painting liked to do? - How would the weather feel if you were inside this landscape? - Who do you think used this cabinet and how was it used? - Does this armor remind you of anything that we have read in a book or seen in a movie? - If you could spend the day inside of any painting, which one would it be? Let the experts help you! There are excellent family programs at many of the art museums in the Delaware Valley. Self-guides, family tours, and classes are all excellent ways of exploring the museums in a structured manner. Many museums have special days that are specifically geared towards families. For instance, the Philadelphia Museum of Art has something every Sunday for families. PMA Sunday programs include family tours, performances and art activities. Every October, The Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia celebrates the book Dracula, written by Bram Stoker, an event that typically includes family activities and a puppet parade. Visit often! The best way to spark a child’s interest in art is to visit art museums on a regular basis. There are many wonderful art collections in the Delaware Valley. Try incorporating local museums into a monthly family activity! Katy Rose Friedland is a Museum Educator at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and co-author of A is for Art Museum (Temple University Press, $16.95).

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This is Week 5 in my Beyond the Internet series of topics in which I explore the sources of information beyond our computer screens. I’d love it if you wanted to join in with your own posts on this week’s topic which is school admission records. I’d particularly like to hear how people in other states and countries use these records so we can all learn from each other. It’s return-to-school time in Australia so February seemed like a good time to talk about school records of various sorts. Let’s start with school admission records, or how your ancestor entered the school system. I do most of my research in Queensland, Australia so inevitably that’s where I’ll usually speak about. However I’ve also seen school admission records listed in Scottish and Irish archives. Why use these records? What will they tell you? We are all familiar with the documents signed with an X signifying that one of our ancestors couldn’t write, and perhaps read. When did that change? Did they ensure their children could read? In my experience with my early Queensland pioneers, education was something that they valued but was subject to the availability of schools and the other demands of the family such as farming seasons. I’ve used the school admission records to learn a little more about my ancestor’s lives and round them out as people. My great-grandfather George Kunkel is first found in the Queensland school records as a boy of 11 going into the second level of reading with his younger brother Joseph, aged 10. Both were in the basic level of maths. They were pupils 33 and 34 at the newly opened Highfields State School. The enrolment also documents their religion (RC) and their father’s occupation (farmer) as well as where they lived, Broadies Quarry (no one knows precisely where this was). All this is grist to the mill of their lives and stories. Although I assume they had attended school in Ipswich for a while, I have been unable to find them there. It’s likely their education had suffered by the fact their father was working in the construction of the Ipswich-Toowoomba railway line in their early school years. Their mother signed with a X on her marriage but she, too, may have had some education at the little hedge school in her townland in County Clare, Ballykelly. Their father had received a good education in Germany but his ability to help them would have been affected by the language differences. Similarly George’s son Denis, also suffered from moving around with the railway. Children regularly travelled a few miles to school by horse or shank’s pony (walking) in all weathers. In my family it was common to see an older child enrolled at the same time, and in the same class, as a much younger sibling. I do wonder how their self-esteem suffered as a consequence. Denis was 9 and his sister Julia nearly 7 when they were enrolled in Grade 2 reading and basic maths at Logan Village School in 1890 while their younger brother George went into Grade 1. On letters, Denis’s handwriting was very well formed and neat though his grammar left a little to be desired. Perhaps the eldest children suffered by being needed to help with the family chores while the younger ones had a chance to go to school earlier. What’s interesting about this entry is that it shows they were in the Logan area about six years before their father’s railway employment records document his move there. In other cases you may find a change of occupation or a slightly different variation in the father’s job. Just recently I learned from school admission records at the Queensland State Archives that prior to going onto high school my father had attended a school I’d never even heard about. Of course it’s now too late to ask him about that and why it was so. Apart from learning more about my ancestor’s education levels and length of schooling, the admission records provided some insights into what may have happened to my grandfather’s younger siblings after the death of both their parents in 1901. Thanks to the indexes prepared by the Queensland Family History Society, I was able to pinpoint some of the schools they attended and sometimes make guesses about which family member had taken them in for a while. What I found interesting was that when I went to the original documents it usually still stated their father’s name even though he was deceased. While not all schools have been indexed, this is certainly a useful starting point. Another benefit of the school admission books is that they can be used to reconstruct the community where your family lived. They could be used to complement post office directories or electoral rolls, or (overseas) census records. Of course, Murphy’s Law says that the school I’m most interested in, Murphys Creek State School, has no extant admission registers for its earliest years. Such is life! As with any archival records we are limited by the survival of records. I use the Queensland State Archives catalogue to assess what’s available for the town or area the family lived in. There are other education records which are helpful in regard to schooling such as the school’s correspondence registers or school histories of which more in coming weeks.

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Readers are still hashing out the meaning of the terms “designer” and “engineer.” And although they have no problem defining ethical behavior, they also think ethical behavior is disappearing. An engineer is an engineer . . . Having run an engineering and design business for over 40 years, I have followed with amusement the “CAD Jockey ” discussion (“The Attack of the CAD Jockey?” Aug. 23). We design and build commercial products and production machinery, and I find that a person’s title or degree doesn’t matter. It is what comes out at the end of a project that’s impor tant. We let people do whatever they can and benefit from their experience. A good engineer must be both a good engineer and a good designer. A good designer is not an engineer (and is not expected, or required, to be one). Dayle D. Winnie Anybody can learn CAD and create geometry. But not all people can design. Designers have creativity and some sense of what will make a product work. I’ve been on all sides of this designer/engineer debate for many years and have met many design engineers who could not design something as simple as a pin. On the other hand, I’ve worked with designers who understood basic principles and could engineer and design products. In companies, there is a mix of people. There are those who can analyze things once they are designed, those who can take something from concept all the way through manufacturing, and those who create geometry from concepts sketched out on napkins. It is not correct to state that design is simply creating geometry. I realize that in some places, CAD jockeys are called designers, but nothing could be further from the truth. It takes someone with engineering-design knowledge to create designs. Over the last 25 years I have gone from a technical illustrator to an automation design engineer without an engineering degree. However, it is important to note that at some companies I would not be considered an engineer without an engineering degree. Prior to the meltdown of 2008, I was a special projects engineer at a company that was growing and letting HR control titles. As a result, HR personnel would not consider anyone without an engineering degree for any engineering positions and were forcing people with 10 to 15+ years of experience but no degree out of engineering positions. At another company, I was given the title mechanical designer because I do not have an engineering degree. Those with engineering degrees were called mechanical engineers. My experience indicates that the term “designer” has two basic definitions. The one used in the editorial refers to the person responsible for the look, touch, and feel of the product. The second is the person who does the same functions of an engineer without an engineering degree. The second definition is the one most of your readers are most familiar with. Another way to look at it is that the first definition refers to industrial design, while the second refers to mechanical design. As a side note, I found the definitions for “designer” frustrating during a job search. A thorough and specific list of job duties and responsibilities is much clearer than just a title with generic qualifications. By the way, I have continued my education by earning Associates degrees in technical illustration and math, a BA in Family Studies, an MBA, and a graduate degree in accounting. It would be nice if engineering classes were offered in the evenings like so many other programs. John E. Melton CAD jockeys are computer-age draftsmen and draf tswomen. They are not designers unless they have additional training in, knowledge of, and aptitude for one or more of the numerous fields of design. Even sketching or drawing free hand requires talent not necessary for good CAD jockeys. Indeed, I am a CAD jockey and I can’t draw a pretty picture to save my life. Our society has gone from a Christian-based one in the idealistic past to the “if it feels good do it” attitude in the 60s, to our current and cynical “get it while you can” mood today (“Where Did Ethics Go?” Sept. 6). There is a tendency to push morals to the side when it comes to personal responsibility in society. Why are we surprised to find out it carries over into professional careers? Or, if we take the Darwinistic approach of survival of the fittest, instead of taking care of the least among us, did Madoff actually do anything wrong other than get caught? Ethics went to the same place morals and principles went. Our nation has been in a state of decline for many years now as we stand idle watching entertainment, and political and other institutions raise our kids to be what we see today. This will not stop until we get off the sidelines and get involved. Thanks for your words of wisdom, I was feeling like a loner in this new world. Curing the U. S. blues More engineers, greater encouragement of the entrepreneurial spirit, and most importantly, fewer MBA’s (“Made in America?” June 14). This is what we need for manufacturing to thrive in this country. This is one of the best and most encouraging articles I have seen in a long time regarding the state of American manufacturing. We need more forward thinkers like the folks mentioned here. Buy American. Be American. If the Super Draco can develop 150,000 lbf of thrust, then the metr ic equivalent should be 670,000 N (“Spacetruckin’ with SpaceX,” Sept. 6). Good catch. The correct figures for the Super Draco should be 15,000 lb of thrust or 67,000 N — Stephen J. Mraz

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Order materials for use with an FNEP audience (FNP and/or EFNEP) through your regional office. Approved Curriculum & Resource Lists These are checklists of all the materials needed for each curriculum – teaching and marketing materials – as well as where to find the following forms: food restriction, consent, evaluation and reporting. Some materials are found in Publications, others are on the Web or the FNEP share drive. Eating from the Garden Live It! (updated Pyramid Plus) Jump Into Foods and Fitness Checklist Kids in the Kitchen Checklist The Lewis and Clark Expedition: A Journey of Food Discovery Teen Parents Checklist Show Me Nutrition Checklists: Eat Smart Live Strong Eating Smart, Being Active Eating Smart, Being Active During Pregnancy Eating Smart, Being Active – Feeding Your New Baby Eating Smart, Being Active – Feeding Your Baby Solid Foods Loving Your Family, Feeding Their Future Food Related Intergenerational Discussion Group Experiences (FRIDGE) Show Me Nutrition Spanish Newsletters (Pre-K – Grade 5) Eating Smart, Being Active Jump into Foods and Fitness The Jump Into Foods & Fitness curriculum is designed to teach students, grades three through five, about healthy eating and physical activity. Each lesson includes opportunities for students to learn about and practice healthy eating and physical activity habits. A family newsletter, reinforcing classroom lessons, accompanies each lesson. - Lesson 1: Pyramids for health - Lesson 2: Go the distance with grains - Lesson 3: High 5 for health - Lesson 4: Moving and motion - Lesson 5: Power up the day - Lesson 6: On the go - Lesson 7: Choices for good health - Lesson 8: Celebrating JIFF Identifying New Educational Materials (doc) Show Me Nutrition Alternate Activities Criteria for Choosing Music for Physical Activity in FNEP (doc) Show Me Nutrition Education Displays The Show Me Nutrition Education Displays are designed to reach teachers who will take the information into the classroom and share with their students. With these exhibits we are “training trainers” to deliver good nutrition messages. Use of 4-H Materials in FNEP Programs Lessons for adults – core lessons include: - Get Moving! - Plan, Shop, $ave - Vary Your Veggies, Focus on Fruit - Make Half Your Grains Whole - Build Strong Bones - Go Lean with Protein and Iron - Make a Change - Celebrate! Eat Smart and Be Active Additional lessons address nutrition during pregnancy and feeding infants and children. Lessons for pregnant and parenting teens on healthy nutrition habits for improved birth outcomes. Also covers breast-feeding and feeding babies and toddlers. Through Food Power Classroom Activities, the Food Power Adventure and the Food Power Digest, elementary school students learn the importance of healthy food choices and regular physical activity. As students travel the path food takes from the farmer’s field to the sports field, they learn where the food they eat comes from and how it gives them the energy to grow and play. Food Power Young Adventure As an integral compliment to the Food Power curriculum, Young Adventure targets early childhood through kindergarten aged students. The program is titled “Healthily Ever After”. Using nursery rhyme puppet characters and music, students are introduced to eating a variety of foods, being physically active, and washing hands to kill germs. A parent digest with family cooking ideas, games, and resources is sent home to reinforce learning concepts. Food Power Round Up Round Up offers an enrichment option to the Food Power curriculum. Designed as a traveling nutrition assembly performance for grades 2nd to 4th, the program uses puppetry, music, and audience participation learning. Content information helps support students in making positive food and physical activity choices. Classroom activity handouts for teachers follow up are provided. Jump into Action Jump Into Action is a team-taught, school-based program to change food behaviors and increase physical activity in fifth-grade students. Jump Into Action helps students make healthy food choices and be more physically active. Students in Jump Into Action learn how fast they are growing now and about the food choices that can help them. They set goals to drink more milk and fewer sodas and other sweetened drinks. Fitting in five or more fruits and vegetables helps them hit their fiber target. They read nutrition facts and ingredient lists on food labels to make informed food choices. Students also learn about the connection between physical activity and healthy weight. They use pedometers to see how active they are. They learn to trade screen time for 60 minutes of physical activity every day.

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[Click on these images to enlarge them.] Byzantine churches are all distinguished by a great central square space covered with a dome, supported by means of pendentives, shown above in figures J and K. On each side extend short arms, forming a Greek cross, which with the narthex and side galleries make the the plan nearly square (Nos. 80, 84). The narthex was was placed within the main walls. Byzantine churches compared to Early Christian basilican churches The essential difference in plan between a Byzantine church and an Early Christian basilican church are as follows: The leading thought in a Byzantine church is vertical, by the grouping of domes round a principal central one, towards which the eye is drawn. The leading idea in an Early Christian basilica is horizontal, by neans of the long perspective of columns, which direct the eye towards the apsidal termination. These were often constructed of brick. Internally, all the oriental love of magnificence was developed, marble casing and mosaic being applied to the walls; hence a flat treatment and absence of mouldings prevailed. Externally the buildings were left comparatively plain, although the facade was sometimes relieved by alternate rows of stone and brick, in various colors. Doors and windows are semicircular headed (see above), but segmental and horse-shoe arched openings are sometimes seen. The windows are small and grouped together (see above). The universal employment of mosaic in Byzantine churches, and the consequent exclusion of painted glass, rendered the use of such large windows as the Gothic architects employed quite inadmissible, and in the bright climate very much smaller openings sufficed to admit the necessary light. Tracery was, in consequence, practically non-existent as a northern architect would understand it. The churches depend largely for light on the ring of windows at the base of the dome, or in the "drum," or circular base on which the dome is sometimes raised, and on openings grouped in the gable ends. Such windows, grouped in tiers within the semicircular arch beneath ilie dome, are a great feature in the style. Portions of the windows are occasionally filled with thin slabs of translucent marble (G above). The method of roofing these buildings was by a series of domes formed in brick, stone, or concrete, with frequently no further external covering. In S. Sophia the vaults are covered with sheets of lead, a quarter of an inch thick, fastened to wood laths, resting on the vaults without any wood roofing. Hollow earthenware was used in order to reduce the thrust on the supporting walls (No. 83 d). The Byzantines introduced the dome placed over a square or octagonal plan by means of pendentives, a type not found in Roman architecture. In early examples the pendentives were part of one sphere. A good idea of this type is obtained by halving an orange, cutting off four slices, each at right angles to the last, to represent the four arches, and then scooping out the interior; the portion above the crown of these semicircles is the dome, and the intervening triangles are the pendentives. Such domes are rare, however, perhaps the only example in Europe being that over the tomb of Galla Placidia (No. 73 H, ], K). In the later type the dome is not part of the same sphere as the pendentives, but rises independently from their summits. The early domes were very flat; in later times they were raised on a drum or cylinder. In the earlier buildings, these were taken from ancient structures. which not being so numerous in the East as in the neighborhood of Rome, the supply was sooner exhausted; and thus there was an incentive to design fresh ones. Capitals sometimes took a form derived from the Roman Ionic (C) or Corinthian types (D). or consisted in the lower portion of a cube block with rounded corners, over which was placed a deep abacus block, sometimes called a "dosseret" (D & E). This represented the disused Classic architrave and aided in supporting the springing of the arch. which was larger in area than the shaft of the column. Further, an altered shape of capital was required to support the arch, a convex form being best adapted. The surfaces of these capitals were carved with incised foliage of sharp outline, having drilled eyes (No. 88) between the leaves. Columns were used constructively, but were always subordinate features, and often only introduced to support galleries, the massive piers alone supporting the superstructure. These were unimportant, their place being taken by broad flat expanses of wall surfaces. Internally, the decorative lining of marble and mosaic in panels was sometimes framed in billet mouldings, probably derived from the Classic dentils, and flat splays enriched by incised ornamentation were used. Externally, the simple treatment of the elevations in flat expanses of brickwork, with occasional stone banded courses, did not leave the same scope for mouldings as in other styles. The scheme of ornamentation was elaborate in the extreme, the walls being lined with costly marbles with the veining carefully arranged so as to form patterns, and the vaults and upper part of walls with glass mosaic having symbolic figures, groups of saints and representations of the peacock (the emblem of immortal life), the whole forming a striking contrast to the less permanent painted frescoes usually adopted in the Western Romanesque churches (page 227). Mosaic thus was used in a broad way as a complete lining to a rough structure, and architectural lines were replaced by decorative bands in the mosaic. One surface melts into another as the mosaic sheet creeps from wall, arch, and pendentive up to the dome, and the gold surfaces being continued as a background to the figures, unity of surface is always maintained. Greek rather than Romain technique was followed in the carving, due to the origin of the craftsmen. The carving was mainly executed in low relief, and effect was frequently obtained by sinking portions of the surfaces. A special character of the carving was due to the use of the drill instead of the chisel (No. 88). The acanthus leaf, deeply channelled, and of a V-shaped section, is adopted from the Greek variety, but became more conventional, with acute-pointed leaves, drilled at the several springings of the teeth with deep holes. The great characteristic of Byzantine ornament as compared with Classical. is that the pattern is incised instead of seeming to be applied, for the surface always remained flat, the pattern being cut into it without breaking its outline. Grecian and Asiatic feeling strongly pervades Byzantine ornamentation, and this is accounted for by the tact that Constantinople was a Greek city, and in close contact with the East, and Oriental methods. Related material from Banister Fletcher - The Byzantine system of construction - Two Byzantine Greek churches - Comparison of St, Mark's Venice, and St. Front, Pericueux - Santa Sophia, Constantinople (Instanbul) - Santa Sophia (interior) - A gallery of John Ruskin's drawings of Byzantine architectural details John Oldrid Scott's Santa Sophia (Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Aghia Sophia), London. [Click on images to enlarge them and to obtain a detailed discussion of this church.] A good general idea of the exterior of a church in this style is to be gained from the Greek Church in the Moscow Road, Bayswater, erected by Oldrid Scott, as also the new Roman Catholic Cathedral at Westminster by the late John F. Bentley. The mosaics and casts in the Victoria and Albert Museum should also lie inspected. Victorian book related to Byzantine architecture Choisy (A.). "L'Art de Bâtir chez les Byzantins." Folio. Paris, 1883. Didron (A. N.). Christian Iconography. 2 vols., 8vo. 1886. Knight (H. G.). Ecclesiastical Architecture of Italy." 2 vols., folio. 1842-1843. Lethaby (W. R.) and Swainson (H.). Church of Sancta Sophia, Constantinople. 8vo. 1894. Milligen (A. van). Byzantine Constantinople. 8vo. 1899. Saint Mark's, Venice. A large and beautiful monograph in several vols., 4to and folio, published by Signor Onngania. Venice, 1881. Salzenburg (W.). Alt-Christliche Baudenkmal von Constantinopel. 2 vols., folio and 4(0. Berlin, 1854-55. Schultz (R. W.) and Barnsley (S. H.) The Monastery of St. Luke of Stiris in Phocis. Folio, nui. Texier, (C.) and Pullan, R.P.) “Byzantine Architecture.” Folio. 1664. Scull (Sir W.). Count Robert of Paris." (Historical Novel [note in original].) Fletcher, Banister, and Banister F. Fletcher. A History of Architecture on the Comparative Method for the Student, Craftsman, and Amateur. 5th ed. London: B. T. Batsford, 1905. Last modified 22 February 2014

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en

On May 21, the day the White House unveiled its Open Government Initiative, it also launched the website data.gov, which put information like Medicare cost reports, residential energy consumption and toxic waste reports online. Finding new technical means to make data accessible is central to the Obama administration's plans for increasing government transparency, and as those plans unfold, the administration will have growing support from the World Wide Web Consortium's eGovernment interest group. MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) is one of three hosts worldwide for the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which develops and approves the technical standards for the web: it's the organization that gave the world the markup languages html and xml, among other, more exotic standards. Two years ago, it created the eGovernment group to investigate ways in which Web technologies can give citizens greater access to government, considering questions like how to verify the identity of people accessing personal data on government websites, what media should be used to disseminate what information, and how to grant people with disabilities access to government sites. Now, however, the group is redrawing its charter to focus on a single question: how best to put government data online. A draft of the new charter has been posted on the W3C website and is open for public comment until Monday. "I have a great deal of respect for the W3C," says Aneesh Chopra, who was confirmed as the United States' first chief technology officer in August. "Its contributions to advance the president's Open Government Initiative are both useful and a good source of feedback to ensure we are delivering to the best of our ability on the president's vision." Unlike most of the W3C's other groups, the eGovernment group isn't developing new standards. But according to Sandro Hawke, the group's technical lead, it is drawing on W3C's contacts in both industry and government and its expertise in facilitating conversation. "They have been wonderful about really galvanizing volunteers and creating ways to usefully organize the work," says Beth Noveck, Chopra's deputy for open government, "where their know-how about process as well as their know-how about the substantive things is very useful." The eGovernment group has about 200 participants representing roughly a dozen U.S. federal agencies, governments in South America, Africa, Europe, and Oceania, international development organizations, and major manufacturers of computer software and hardware. About a quarter of those participants have joined in the last week, as the group has been trying to build momentum behind its new charter. The group signaled its change of direction in early September, however, when it posted a first draft of its guidelines for publishing government data. The draft also has an associated wiki page, where group members can propose revisions online. "In working on plans for the open-government directive," says Noveck, "I've read through their work more than once, because it's evolved and changed over time and gotten additional contributions." The document advises governmental organizations not to worry, initially, about making data pretty for online presentation but simply to post them in their raw form — preferably a "structured" form, where, at the very least, columns and rows of data are labeled. "You don't turn a spreadsheet into a PDF and then send the PDF unless you want to make sure that someone can't get at the numbers," says Hawke. "It's the kind of thing someone might do to dodge the mandate, if the mandate is to put data online." The logic behind this and many of the group's other recommendations is that posting machine-readable data now is more useful than posting human-readable data later. That's because machine-readable data, however chaotic to the human eye, gives hundreds of millions of interested parties the chance to create programs that mine it, recombine it, and present it in any way they see fit. That, the W3C believes, will yield useful results more quickly than the labor of a small team of overworked developers trying to predict how the data will be used and designing accordingly. Indeed, making data on the web machine-readable is the overarching goal of the W3C as a whole. The html and xml standards are well established; the W3C is working now on the standards that will define the so-called Semantic Web. If the current web is like a disk full of word-processing documents — you can either summon a page by its name or search for words it contains — the Semantic Web would be like a database, where every item of information is categorized, and new queries can combine categories in any imaginable way. The W3C has published several Semantic Web standards, and while they have a few high-profile adopters — the New York Times, for instance, has said that it will use Semantic Web technologies to organize its entire archive of articles — they are by no means widely used. Although the eGovernment group's shift of focus is too recent for it to have settled on any long-term research projects, Hawke predicts that its members will want to develop demonstrations that show how useful Semantic Web standards can be in organizing government data. "What people have referred to a few times as the killer app for government data is just localizing everything," says Hawke. "Right now, all the data flows to Washington and then sits there." But with Semantic Web technologies, he says, local communities could build applications that automatically pull together data from the scattered web sites of different federal agencies, Congressional or Senate committees or subcommittees, and courts and "let people see anytime a regulation is coming along that is actually going to affect their neighborhood or job status."

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CC-MAIN-2015-11

http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2009/w3c-092409

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en

The human abdomen (from the Latin word meaning "belly") is the part of the body between the pelvis and the thorax. Anatomically, the abdomen stretches from the thorax at the thoracic diaphragm to the pelvis at the pelvic brim. The pelvic brim stretches from the lumbosacral angle (the intervertebral disk between L5 and S1) to the pubic symphysis and is the edge of the pelvic inlet. The space above this inlet and under the thoracic diaphragm is termed the abdominal cavity. The boundary of the abdominal cavity is the abdominal wall in the front and the peritoneal surface at the rear. Functionally, the human abdomen is where most of the alimentary tract is placed and so most of the absorption and digestion of food occurs here. The alimentary tract in the abdomen consists of the lower esophagus, the stomach, the duodenum, the jejunum, ileum, the cecum and the appendix, the ascending, transverse and descending colons, the sigmoid colon and the rectum. Other vital organs inside the abdomen include the liver, the kidneys, the pancreas and the spleen. The abdominal wall is split into the posterior (back), lateral (sides) and anterior (front) walls. |Muscle||Origin and insertion| |The obliquus externus (external oblique) muscle is the outermost muscle covering the side of the abdomen. It is broad, flat, and irregularly quadrilateral.||It originates on the lower eight ribs, and then curves down and forward towards its insertion on the outer anterior crest of the ilium and (via the sheath of the rectus abdominis muscle) the midline linea alba.| |The obliquus internus (internal oblique) muscle is triangularly shaped and is smaller and thinner than the external oblique muscle that overlies it.||It originates from Poupart's ligament/inguinal ligament and the inner anterior crest of the ilium. The lower two-thirds of it insert, in common with fibers of the external oblique and the underlying transversus abdominis, into the linea alba. The upper third inserts into the lower six ribs.| |The transversus abdominis muscle is flat and triangular, with its fibers running horizontally. It lies between the internal oblique and the underlying transversalis fascia.||It originates from Poupart's ligament, the inner lip of the ilium, the lumbar fascia and the inner surface of the cartilages of the six lower ribs. It inserts into the linea alba behind the rectus abdominis.| |The rectus abdominis muscles are long and flat. The muscle is crossed by three tendinous intersections called the linae transversae. The rectus abdominis is enclosed in a thick sheath formed, as described above, by fibers from each of the three muscles of the lateral abdominal wall.||They originate at the pubic bone, run up the abdomen on either side of the linea alba, and insert into the cartilages of the fifth, sixth, and seventh ribs.| |The pyramidalis muscle is small and triangular. It is located in the lower abdomen in front of the rectus abdominis.||It originates at the pubic bone and is inserted into the linea alba half way up to the umbilicus.| The abdomen contains most of the tubelike organs of the digestive tract, as well as several solid organs. Hollow abdominal organs include the stomach, the small intestine, and the colon with its attached appendix. Organs such as the liver, its attached gallbladder, and the pancreas function in close association with the digestive tract and communicate with it via ducts. The spleen, kidneys, and adrenal glands also lie within the abdomen, along with many blood vessels including the aorta and inferior vena cava. Anatomists may consider the urinary bladder, uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries as either abdominal organs or as pelvic organs. Finally, the abdomen contains an extensive membrane called the peritoneum. A fold of peritoneum may completely cover certain organs, whereas it may cover only one side of organs that usually lie closer to the abdominal wall. Anatomists call the latter type of organs retroperitoneal. In the mid-line a slight furrow extends from the ensiform cartilage/xiphoid process above to the symphysis pubis below, representing the linea alba in the abdominal wall. At about its midpoint sits the umbilicus or navel. On each side of it the broad recti muscles stand out in muscular people. The outline of these muscles is interrupted by three or more transverse depressions indicating the lineae transversae. There is usually one about the ensiform cartilage, one at the umbilicus, and one between. It is the combination of the linea alba and the linea transversae which form the abdominal "six-pack" sought after by many people. The upper lateral limit of the abdomen is the subcostal margin formed by the cartilages of the false ribs (8, 9, 10) joining one another. The lower lateral limit is the anterior crest of the ilium and Poupart's ligament, which runs from the anterior superior spine of the ilium to the spine of the pubis. These lower limits are marked by visible grooves. Just above the pubic spines on either side are the external abdominal rings, which are openings in the muscular wall of the abdomen through which the spermatic cord emerges in the male, and through which an inguinal hernia may rupture. One method by which the location of the abdominal contents can be appreciated is to draw three horizontal and two vertical lines. The two vertical or mid-Poupart lines are drawn from the point midway between the anterior superior spine and the pubic symphysis on each side, vertically upward to the costal margin. These three horizontal and two vertical lines divide the abdomen into nine "regions." (Note that "hypo" means "below" and "epi" means "above", while "chond" means "cartilage" (in this case, the cartilage of the rib) and "gast" means stomach. The reversal of "left" and "right" is intentional, because the anatomical designations reflect the position on the patient. ) |right hypochondriac/hypochondrium||epigastric/epigastrium||left hypochondriac/hypochondrium| |right lumbar/flank/latus/lateral||umbilical||left lumbar/flank/lateral| |right inguinal/iliac||hypogastric/pubic||left inguinal/iliac| Another way of dividing the abdomen is by using 4 quadrants: |right upper quadrant (RUQ)||left upper quadrant (LUQ)| |right lower quadrant (RLQ)||left lower quadrant (LLQ)|

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CC-MAIN-2015-11

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en

Over the last 30 years the reversal in the declining death rate due to infectious diseases has alarmed international health experts. Dramatic successes in eradicating small pox, controlling polio and tuberculosis, and eliminating vector-borne diseases such as yellow fever, dengue and malaria from many regions convinced most experts the era of infectious diseases would soon be over. Unfortunately this optimistic prognosis was premature as a number of diseases have dramatically reemerged. Tuberculosis, cholera, dengue, plague and malaria have increased in incidence or geographic range, as have new drug-resistant strains of bacteria. In addition newly recognised diseases, such as Aids or Sars, have emerged. By Bruce A. Wilcox and Duane J. Gubler, Asia-Pacific Institute of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases University of Hawaii The present global emergence of infectious diseases is clearly associated with the social and demographic changes of the past 50 years, particularly urbanisation and globalisation, with the attendant spread of pathogens (agents causing disease) via infected humans, hosts, vectors or commodities. The change in the environment caused by human activities is also apparent in the transformation of much of our landscape and conversion of regional systems once dominated by natural ecosystems. Factors include expansion into urban or peri-urban habitat, deforestation, and the spread of intensive farming. The environment’s role in the emergence of diseases is apparent in the connections between the direct consequences of human changes to urban and rural landscapes and ecosystems, and the secondary effects on disease emergence factors. Developing irrigated agriculture, for example, can create breeding grounds for mosquitoes, a vector for malaria. Likewise the inadequate storm drainage and sewerage systems often associated with rapid urbanisation not only increase the breeding habitat for disease vectors but facilitate the spread of waterborne pathogens causing cholera and leptospirosis. Overwhelming evidence points to human demographic changes as the major direct and indirect factor contributing to the increase in infectious disease, with somewhat different dynamics and mechanisms at work in urban and rural environments. In the first case the increasing number of people crowded into dense settlements has dramatically increased opportunities for food, water, rodent and vector-borne pathogens to “colonise” and persist in human populations. Each pathogen has unique transmission and adaptive characteristics that determine a minimum population for survival (the threshold for measles is about 250,000 people). Whether the threshold is 100,000 or a million the number of large urban settlements and the average settlement size has been growing fast in recent decades. The number of cities of one million or larger was 76 in 1950, 522 in 1975, 1,122 in 2000, and is set to exceed 1,600 by 2015. This 20-fold increase translates to a roughly similar increase in global infectious disease vulnerability due to this one factor alone. This type of growth has indirect social and environmental consequences that contribute to multiplying the actual increase in population. Poverty, poor living conditions, including lack of sanitation and infrastructure for waste-water and solid waste management, increases opportunities for vector- borne diseases and others passing from animals to humans. The geographic spread and expansion into peri-urban areas of the mosquito Aedes albopictus, exquisitely adapted for breeding in discarded plastic containers and used automobile tires, is a good example of how a potential vector of viral diseases has taken advantage of environmental change. Lack of sanitation and waste water treatment, and industrialscale intensification of animal production systems the world over, contribute to exotic species, and the proliferation and spread of water and food-borne pathogens. Increasingly frequent outbreaks of infections are caused by these and other organisms, many of which may eat alongside or prey on wild mammals and birds as natural parasites. The contamination of surface waters and spread of pathogens is further promoted by the alteration of catchments and watersheds accompanying urbanisation, and intensive farming around cities. Channelling streams, removing vegetation on the banks, and filling in wetland – all of which accompany unplanned urbanisation – eliminate the natural retention and nutrient recycling systems, as well as barriers to surface run-off contaminated with intestinal pathogens. Nutrient pollution leading to oxygen depletion in estuaries, lakes, streams and even stretches of ocean, such as the Gulf of Mexico, helps such pathogens survive too. In rural areas population and consumption play a less direct role in contributing to disease emergence, particularly as rural emigration is fuelling the demographic explosion in cities. It is more that urban areas are driving a sustained increase in the timber trade, agriculture, stock raising and mining, resulting in turn in deforestation and changes in land use that are transforming rural landscapes and natural areas in ways that often facilitate the emergence of disease. Deforestation or even “patchy” reforestation leads to ecological changes such as increased edge habitat and local extinction of predators that favour some disease vectors and reservoir species. Encroachment of individuals and settlements on natural ecosystems brings humans into contact with known and novel pathogens. The spread and intensification of farming results in the development of irrigation systems, ideal breeding sites for mosquitoes and a habitat for opportunistic insects and rodents that may be vectors or reservoirs for disease. Dams provide a favourable habitat for other vectors. Climate change represents a potential environmental factor affecting disease emergence. Shifts in the geographic ranges of hosts and vector, the effect of increasing temperature on reproductive, development and mortality rates on hosts, vectors, and pathogens, and the effects of increased climate variability on flooding and droughts all have the potential to affect disease incidence and emergence positively or negatively. At present there is insufficient evidence to indicate what the net effect will be once climate changes begin to have a major affect on ecosystems. However, a dominant theme emerging from research on the ecology of infectious disease is that accelerated and abrupt environmental change, whether natural or caused by humans, may provide conditions conducive to pathogen emergence: pathogen adaptation, host switching, and active or passive or dispersal. The resurgence of infectious diseases worldwide reflects our quick-fix mentality, with poor development planning, a lack of political determination and institutional inertia. It is not the inevitable result of development, environmental change, or even incremental population growth. On the contrary much can be done to reverse the current trend. As well as rebuilding the public health infrastructure for infectious diseases, there is substantial evidence and a growing number of examples of how regional planning and development, including urbanisation, agricultural expansion, and the management and conservation of forests and other ecosystems can minimise and even reduce outbreaks of infectious disease as well as environmental damage. Basically we need an integrated approach to pathogen control. This approach will involve meshing social and economic development programmes, environmental and natural resource management, with intervention based on the reinvigorated field of disease ecology and methods involving community participation.

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CC-MAIN-2015-11

http://www.grida.no/publications/et/ep4/page/2631.aspx

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en

The supercontinent Pangaea Credit: Designua | Shutterstock The Permian Period was the final period of the Paleozoic Era. Lasting from 299 million to 251 million years ago, it followed the Carboniferous Period and preceded the Triassic Period. By the early Permian, the two great continents of the Paleozoic, Gondwana and Euramerica, had collided to form the supercontinent Pangaea. Pangaea was shaped like a thickened letter “C.” The top curve of the “C” consisted of landmasses that would later become modern Europe and Asia. North and South America formed the curved back of the “C” with Africa inside the curve. India, Australia and Antarctica made up the low curve. Inside the “C” was the Tethys Ocean, and most of the rest of Earth was the Panthalassic Ocean. Because Pangaea was so immense, the interior portions of the continent had a much cooler, drier climate than had existed in the Carboniferous. Little is known about the huge Panthalassic Ocean, as there is little exposed fossil evidence available. Fossils of the shallower coastal waters around the Pangaea continental shelf indicate that reefs were large and diverse ecosystems with numerous sponge and coral species. Ammonites, similar to the modern nautilus, were common, as were brachiopods. The lobe-finned and spiny fishes that gave rise to the amphibians of the Carboniferous were being replaced by true bony fish. Sharks and rays continued in abundance. On land, the giant swamp forests of the Carboniferous began to dry out. The mossy plants that depended on spores for reproduction were being replaced by the first seed-bearing plants, the gymnosperms. Gymnosperms are vascular plants, able to transport water internally. Gymnosperms have exposed seeds that develop on the scales of cones and are fertilized when pollen sifts down and lands directly on the seed. Today’s conifers are gymnosperms, as are the short palm like cycads and the gingko. Arthropods continued to diversify during the Permian Period to fill the niches opened up by the more variable climate. True bugs, with mouthparts modified for piercing and sucking plant materials, evolved during the Permian. Other new groups included the cicadas and beetles. Two important groups of animals dominated the Permian landscape: Synapsids and Sauropsids. Synapsids had skulls with a single temporal opening and are thought to be the lineage that eventually led to mammals. Sauropsids had two skull openings and were the ancestors of the reptiles, including dinosaurs and birds. In the early Permian, it appeared that the Synapsids were to be the dominant group of land animals. The group was highly diversified. The earliest, most primitive Synapsids were the Pelycosaurs, which included an apex predator, a genus known as Dimetrodon. This animal had a lizard-like body and a large bony “sail” fin on its back that was probably used for thermoregulation. Despite its lizard-like appearance, recent discoveries have concluded that Dimetrodon skulls, jaws and teeth are closer to mammal skulls than to reptiles. Another genus of Synapsids, Lystrosaurus, was a small herbivore — about 3 feet long (almost 1 meter) — that looked something like a cross between a lizard and a hippopotamus. It had a flat face with two tusks and the typical reptilian stance with legs angled away from the body. In the late Permian, Pelycosaurs were succeeded by a new lineage known as Therapsids. These animals were much closer to mammals. Their legs were under their bodies, giving them the more upright stance typical of quadruped mammals. They had more powerful jaws and more tooth differentiation. Fossil skulls show evidence of whiskers, which indicates that some species had fur and were endothermic. The Cynodont (“dog-toothed”) group included species that hunted in organized packs. Cynodonts are considered to be the ancestors of all modern mammals. At the end of the Permian, the largest Synapsids became extinct, leaving many ecological niches open. The second group of land animals, the Sauropsid group, weathered the Permian Extinction more successfully and rapidly diversified to fill them. The Sauropsid lineage gave rise to the dinosaurs that would dominate the Mesozoic Era. The Great Dying The Permian Period ended with the greatest mass extinction event in Earth’s history. In a blink of Geologic Time — in as little as 100,000 years — the majority of living species on the planet were wiped out of existence. Scientists estimate that more than 95 percent of marine species became extinct and more than 70 percent of land animals. Fossil beds in the Italian Alps show that plants were hit just as hard as animal species. Fossils from the late Permian show that huge conifer forests blanketed the region. These strata are followed by early Triassic fossils that show few signs of plants being present but instead are filled with fossil remnants of fungi that probably proliferated on a glut of decaying trees. Scientists are unclear about what caused the mass extinction. Some point to evidence of catastrophic volcanic activity in Siberia and China (areas in the northern part of the “C” shaped Pangaea). This series of massive eruptions would have initially caused a rapid cooling of global temperatures leading to increased glaciations. This “nuclear winter” would have led to the demise of photosynthetic organisms, the basis of most food chains. Lowered sea levels and volcanic fallout would account for the evidence of much higher levels of carbon dioxide in the oceans, which may have led to the collapse of marine ecosystems. Other scientists point to indications of a massive asteroid impacting the southernmost tip of the “C” in what is now Australia. Whatever the cause, the Great Dying closed the Paleozoic Era.

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CC-MAIN-2015-11

http://www.livescience.com/43219-permian-period-climate-animals-plants.html

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en

Sarti knows nothing of the outside world, has never seen a town, a car and, until I met her, a foreigner. She is about 12 years old, she thinks. She lives deep in the forests of Siberut, one of the remote Mentawai islands off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, where she looks after her father's pigs, along with Bojuok, a crippled old man. "My world is complete," she says. "I have the gibbons in the trees, the sago which I help harvest from the palms, and the fish and shrimps which I net in the rivers." Sarti's world is no paradise, but it is hers and all she knows. It is a world about to be ripped apart. As Indonesia struggles to solve its economic crisis by increasing exports, oil palm plantations are being established throughout the country's outer islands. It was hoped that Siberut might be spared this fate - in 1981 Unesco had demarcated the island as a man-and-the-biosphere reserve. Its isolation has made it ecologically unique, and home to - among other intriguing things - four endemic species of primate. But while western Siberut is, for the moment, protected by a national park, the government has now begun parcelling out the primary forest in the eastern half of the island. Over the last few months, timber operations have been getting under way - and last week news came that a logging gang is moving into Sarti's neighbourhood. "They will destroy the trees, the plants, the animals and the water," says Amam Maom, Sarti's father. A gaunt man in his 60s, emblazoned with traditional tattoos, he understands the scale of what will be lost. He is a kerei, or medicine man, and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of medicinal herbs. One ethno-botanist, Wanda Avé, studying the island's indigenous medicines, found that some of his treatments consisted of a mind-boggling 40 different herbal ingredients. Maom picks a tender shoot - it's just one of the species he learned to use during his seven-year apprenticeship as a kerei. "This one is good for worms, all types of worms," he says. He plucks more, apparently at random, and lists their properties, which range from disinfecting cuts to curing the bite of the red tail snake. "If they cut down the trees, these plants will be crushed and we won't be able to find them any more," he says, blinking sadly at the dark undergrowth around us, the world he is about to lose. "What will we do to protect our health and heal us from sickness?" To Maom, the forests are a spiritual as well as physical resource. The water, plants, stones are all part of a living system. "Everything radiates a 'bajou'," he says, and I understand from the anthropologist Reimar Schefold, this is a radiating energy that has to be respected. Everything has a soul that must be kept content, which is why islanders beautify their bodies with tattoos and flowers. For Sarti - considered too young to endure the painful tattooing process - it's more than a question of wearing a couple of hibiscus blossoms behind her ears; her house must also be decorated with toy birds and palm flags for its pleasure. Now, though, the sound of the chainsaws biting their way through the trees mocks these traditional efforts to achieve harmony. It's not certain what, if anything, will be spared. According to the vociferous Siberut students in Padang, on the Sumatran mainland, businessmen are now "falling over themselves" to get logging permits. Approval has been given for a 70,000 hectare oil palm concern in the buffer zone adjoining the national park, which some ecologists argue is anyway not big enough to sustain its larger species. Elsewhere, a proposed 42,000ha oil palm development by PT Citra Madirir Widya Nusa, owned by ex-employment minister Adbul Latif, has established a seedling plantation. Meanwhile, the government plans to import 10,800 transmigrant families to harvest the oil palms. Despite being aware of the coming onslaught, Sarti shows no interest in leaving home. "I have tried it already," she says when I ask her about attending school. "And I don't like it." She tosses the pigs their sago lunch, and talks of her world: "Yesterday we ate prawns we caught with our hand-held scoop nets. That is the sort of thing I like to do." Ironically, the Indonesian education system is an accomplice to the environmental vandalism going on in the forests. Since 1999, Islamic schools, universities and other higher education institutions have been able to apply for logging concessions. The minister of forestry has now given Padang's main university, Universitas Andalas, a plot on Siberut; in the last month, it has increased from 48,000ha to 60,000ha. Yan Rienks, one of the few Siberut islanders living in Europe, and trying to set up a foundation to protect the island and his culture, agrees that the system works against tribals like Sarti. "We are made to learn the vocabulary of the faraway cities, not our own forests," he says. "We learn that we are at the bottom of the hierarchy, that we should abandon forest ways that work, and adopt those that don't." Children, he adds, learn only that they are not "maju" [developed] - the key word in President Suharto's vision for Indonesia's future. Rienks says: "The village head of Taileleu explained to the minister that I was a medicine man. He said that, although I was small and young, I had the experience of an old man. Regarding the new settlements they wanted us to live in, the village head told the minister that we didn't need them because when we got sick, out here in the forests, beside the small streams, there were medicines." The last thing the authorities want to hear is that the commercially valu able forest is a suitable home. Maom and others were recently told to leave the forest to live in nice, government-approved modern, small, standardised tin-roofed houses by the coast, even though they said they didn't need them. "Now the new village head checks my house to see if it's dirty," he says. "If it is, he knows I've lingered too long here in the forest." The kereis have endured decades of government persecution for pursuing their religion. Over the years, Amam Maom has had his regalia confiscated and his rituals banned. He has even cut off his long hair, trade-mark of a kerei, to avoid further trouble. But he has continued to heal to this day. "And remember to write down that I've initiated 24 young kereis!" he says. For Sarti's forest, though, time really does seem to have run out. "I like everything here," she says, looking around the curtain of leaves that surround her house, oblivious to the oncoming world beyond. "I like rolling sago logs, fishing for prawns, fishing for the little fish. I like the quietness." Soon it will be all too quiet. Benedict Allen's book, Last of the Medicine Men, is published by BBC Worldwide (price £17.99). For further information about the crisis facing Siberut, contact Yan Rienks at the Kirekat Foundation (e-mail: [email protected]), Down to Earth or Survival International

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CC-MAIN-2015-11

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en

New frog species in New York City Biologists regularly discover new species in remote rainforests. Finding one in ponds and marshes--sometimes within view of the Statue of Liberty--is a big surprise. Hiding in Plain Sight, New Frog Species Found in New York City Leopard frog's habitat covers very small region, likely went extinct in larger territory In the wilds of New York City--or as wild as you can get that close to skyscrapers--scientists have found a new leopard frog species. For years, biologists mistook it for a more widespread variety of leopard frog. While biologists regularly discover new species in remote rainforests, finding this one in ponds and marshes--sometimes within view of the Statue of Liberty--is a big surprise, said scientists from the University of California, Los Angeles; Rutgers University; the University of California, Davis and the University of Alabama. "For a new species to go unrecognized in this area is amazing," said UCLA biologist Brad Shaffer, formerly at UC Davis. Shaffer's research is funded by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Environmental Biology. In recently published results in the journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Shaffer and other scientists used DNA data to compare the new frog to all other leopard frog species in the region. "Many amphibians are secretive and very hard to find, but these frogs are pretty obvious animals," said Shaffer. "This shows that even in the largest city in the U.S., there are still new and important species waiting to be discovered." The researchers determined the frog is an entirely new species. The unnamed frog joins a crowd of more than a dozen distinct leopard frog species. The newly identified wetland species likely once lived on Manhattan. It's now only known from a few nearby locations: Yankee Stadium in the Bronx is the center of its current range. Lead paper author Cathy Newman, now of Louisiana State University, was working with Leslie Rissler, a biologist at the University of Alabama, on an unrelated study of the southern leopard frog species when she first contacted scientist Jeremy Feinberg at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Feinberg asked if she could help him investigate some "unusual frogs" whose weird-sounding calls were different from those of other leopard frogs. "There are northern and southern leopard frogs in that general area, so I was expecting to find one of those that for some reason had atypical behaviors or that were hybrids of both," Newman said. "I was really surprised and excited once I started getting data back strongly suggesting it was a new species. It's fascinating in such a heavily urbanized area." Feinberg suspected that the leopard-frog look-alike with the peculiar croak was a new creature hiding in plain sight. Instead of the "long snore" or "rapid chuckle" he heard from other leopard frogs, this frog had a short, repetitive croak. As far back as the late 1800s, scientists have speculated about these "odd" frogs. "When I first heard these frogs calling, it was so different, I knew something was very off," Feinberg said. "It's what we call a cryptic species: one species hidden within another because we can't tell them apart on sight. Thanks to molecular genetics, people are picking out species that would otherwise be ignored." The results were clear-cut: the DNA was distinct, no matter how much the frogs looked alike. "If I had one of these three leopard frogs in my hand, unless I knew what area it was from, I wouldn't know which one I was holding because they all look so similar," Newman said. "But our results showed that this lineage is very clearly genetically distinct." Mitochondrial DNA represents only a fraction of the amphibian's total DNA, so Newman knew she needed to do broader nuclear DNA tests to see the whole picture and confirm the frog as a new species. She performed the work at UC Davis. Habitat destruction, disease, invasive species, pesticides and parasites have all taken a heavy toll on frogs and other amphibians worldwide, said Rissler, currently on leave from the University of Alabama and a program director in NSF's Division of Environmental Biology. Amphibians, she said, are great indicators of problems in our environment--problems that could potentially impact our health. "They are a good model to examine environmental threats or degradation because part of their life history is spent in the water and part on land," Rissler said. "They're subject to all the problems that happen to these environments." The findings show that even in densely-populated, well-studied areas, there are still new discoveries to be made, said Shaffer. And that the newly identified frogs appear to have a startlingly limited range. "One of the real mantras of conservation biology is that you cannot protect what you don't recognize," Shaffer said. "If you don't know that two species are different, you can't know whether either needs protection." The newly identified frogs have so far been found in scattered populations in northern New Jersey, southeastern mainland New York and on Staten Island. Although they may extend into parts of Connecticut and northeastern Pennsylvania, evidence suggests they were once common on Long Island and other nearby regions. They went extinct there in just the last few decades. "This raises conservation concerns that must be addressed," said ecologist Joanna Burger of Rutgers University. "These frogs were probably once more widely distributed," Rissler said. "They are still able to hang on. They're still here, and that's amazing." Until scientists settle on a name for the frog, they refer to it as "Rana sp. nov.," meaning "new frog species." March 14, 2012

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By: Steve Palmer Don’t we all wonder why we are who we are? Why are some of us more outgoing, more conscientious, or more assertive than others, for instance? I know I have certainly been curious about this as I’ve tried to understand myself and others. It’s probably one of the reasons I went into the study of psychology in the first place! Anyone who has more than one child has probably already noticed how kids seem different right from the start. Read more > As with so many human traits and habits, there are certainly some genetic forces at work; we inherit at least certain personality tendencies, but at the same time, our environment has a definite role in determining our personalities. Ultimately, most experts agree that there is a very complex interaction of genes and environment that go into the development of our personalities. We have at last transcended the old nature versus nurture debate. It’s both! Yet, researchers are still trying to determine whether or not birth order, in fact, plays a role in personality. What the research says: Traditional theories have suggested that first-born children are typically conscientious, have strong or dominant personalities, and can tend to favor perfectionism. Middle kids are competitive (having to fight for attention in the family), flexible, and good negotiators. And the youngest (who are typically seen as used to getting attention) are selfish, but also confident, fun-loving, and sociable. Only children have been perceived as a mix between first and youngest kids – conscientious, sometimes spoiled, but often mature for their age. There have been many recent research studies on the topic, but the debate continues. Where one researcher sees a significant impact from birth order, another suggests that their study was flawed and that no impact could be seen. One writer (Hartshorne, 2010 3) says there are almost 65,000 studies that in some way relate to the topic, so there’s plenty of room for debate! So, can we make a clear case about how birth order affects personality? Scientifically speaking, no. But what’s interesting in all the research that has been done, is that some scientists suggest that the real impact from birth order comes from our perceptions and expectations as much as reality, which means that we can have a direct impact on our children’s personalities. Our expectations of our kids – and their interpretation of their place or role in the family – probably account for a fair amount of the personality characteristics that are noticed. Even one of the earliest proponents of birth order impact, Alfred Adler, stated “It is not, of course, the child’s number in order of successive births which influences his character, but the situation into which he is born and the way in which he interprets it” (Eckstein, 2010 1). Here’s the bottom line: While some studies continue to suggest that there may be something to the intuitions and ideas presented in birth-order theories, these are really only part of a very complex picture. So, now that we’ve unpacked the research, what do we need to know, as parents, about how to support our kids related to their position in the family? Well, I think the best we can say is that while birth order may be one variable that makes a difference in our kids’ personalities, it is probably not any more of an impact than the many other variables in their lives – their in-born tendencies, the experience of having secure attachment with caregivers, the importance of a supportive and stimulating environment, opportunity to learn and practice the skills that will help them succeed (like social skills), and a healthy, positive peer group. Even if their objective place in the row of siblings has some impact, it’s likely to be ameliorated by the rest of their experiences. Tailoring our parenting to our child’s unique temperament and developmental needs is where we need to focus our attention – and this may include the particular challenges of being an oldest or youngest. Noticing the extra responsibility an oldest child may take on or trying to avoid spoiling the youngest simply because they occupy the position of “baby” can be important things to take into account. But, in my opinion, the sorts of things that research has helped identify and encourage are really the best place to focus our parenting energies—with all of our children—no matter where they may fall, sequentially: 1. Creating a warm, caring, environment, 2. Practicing open communication, 3. Connecting our kids to other caring, responsible adults, 4. Getting involved in our kids’ activities, 5. Empowering our kids to contribute, 6. Keeping our kids safe, 7. Setting boundaries and high expectations, 8. Getting to know our kids’ friends, 9. And consistently being positive role models to them – these are the real things to focus on giving our kids. For more information on the subject of birth order and personality: 1. Eckstein, D., Aycock, K. J., Sperber, M. A., McDonald, J., Van Wiesner, V., Watts, R. E., & Ginsburg, P. (2010). “A review of 200 birth-order studies: Lifestyle characteristics”. The Journal of Individual Psychology, 66(4), 408-434. 2. Frank Sulloway, PhD has written a number of books on this subject (especially well known is Born to Rebel), and is also well known as a researcher on this topic. See his website for some more information. 3. Hartshorne, J.K. (2010). “How birth order affects your personality”. Scientific American, January 2010. 4. Pinker, Steven. (2003). The blank slate: The modern denial of human nature. New York: Penguin. Pinker is a professor at Harvard and I really enjoy all of his books. He does not give much space or credence to birth order in this book, but it is a fascinating read on human personality, especially from the angle of evolutionary psychology. And he’s just a plain good writer!

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It is every new parent’s nightmare. Your previously healthy newborn baby turns pale and has difficulty breathing. She is irritable and won’t nurse. By the time you drive to the emergency room, her face looks blue and she won’t wake up. In the ER, multiple caregivers swarm around her, placing an oxygen mask on her, starting an IV, taking X-rays, and drawing blood. A doctor comes in with an ultrasound machine and begins scanning her chest, frowning as he does so. After what seems an eternity of waiting, the doctor tells you he believes your baby has a serious heart condition and will be transferred to the intensive care unit to be stabilized before undergoing heart surgery sometime in the next few days. “I don’t understand,” you say slowly, trying to comprehend what has just happened. “When I had the ultrasound during my pregnancy, they said her heart was OK.” Or, imagine an alternative scenario. As part of normal newborn care, the hospital where your baby was born administers various screening tests: hearing exam, blood test for inherited diseases, and an oxygen saturation test for congenital heart disease. When your baby is a little more than a day old, the pediatrician comes into the room to inform you that your baby’s oxygen level was lower than expected and she will be having an ultrasound of her heart, or echocardiogram. Later that day, you learn the results: your baby does indeed have a problem with her heart. The doctor informs you that a team of nurses and paramedics from Children’s Hospital is on the way to transfer your baby to the intensive care unit. “It’s a good thing we discovered this now,” she tells you. “Your baby has a serious condition, but she’s stable.” Obviously, as new parents, all of us would choose “neither of the above”: we all hope for a perfectly healthy baby. But congenital heart disease is a reality that affects about 2-3 of every 1000 newborns. The development of the heart during the early weeks of pregnancy is a complex process requiring tissues to grow, fold, twist, and attach just so. If something goes wrong, the structures of the heart may not be properly connected, and blood may not be able to flow through the heart normally. We know some of the risk factors for congenital heart disease: exposure to certain medications or toxins during pregnancy, chromosomal disorders like Down syndrome, and a family history of congenital heart disease. But many babies with heart defects have no risk factors. Screening with ultrasound during pregnancy is an imperfect process; only one-half to two-thirds of congenital heart disease is diagnosed via these ultrasounds. Another 20% of babies may be diagnosed by showing signs while in the newborn nursery, such as a loud or atypical heart murmur, bluish skin color, or a weak pulse in the baby’s legs. So that still leaves about 20% of babies who have a serious heart condition that might go home from the hospital after birth without a diagnosis. Why does this happen? While in the womb, the baby is still “breathing” through the umbilical cord. There are two connections in the fetal circulation, known as the ductus arteriosus and foramen ovale, which divert blood away from the lungs. When baby takes his first breath after birth, more blood begins flowing to the lungs, but the ductus arteriosus and foramen ovale remain open for a variable amount of time (hours to days). If a baby’s heart is not formed correctly, these connections may literally be lifelines, allowing blood to take a different route through the heart and lungs but still get where it is needed. As these connections close, the baby will develop symptoms from the heart defect, which can occur very rapidly and dramatically: breathing problems, low blood pressure and shock, or even sudden death. Screening with pulse oximetry is a strategy that pediatricians have developed in recent years to improve our timeliness in diagnosing critical congenital heart disease. The actual test for pulse oximetry screening consists of a nurse or technician measuring the baby’s blood oxygen level with a bandaid-like sensor that is applied to the skin. This test is performed in the baby’s right hand and one of their feet. If the oxygen reading is less than 95%, or if the two numbers don’t match up, the baby will be retested an hour later. If the oxygen level is less than 90%, a doctor or nurse practitioner will see the baby right away and order further testing, including an echocardiogram, or heart ultrasound. The screening is noninvasive and painless and may be performed in the mom’s hospital room. We started screening all babies with pulse oximetry in the nursery at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in March 2013 and at Progress West Hospital and Missouri Baptist Medical Center in April 2013. Starting in 2014, the screening will be required by law in all Missouri hospitals. Although parents have the right to decline the screening, along with other newborn procedures, I would recommend having it done or at least talking with your pediatrician before declining it. The screening gives peace of mind when a normal result is found, and could save your baby’s life if a problem is detected.

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Nullification, the Duty and Right of the States-Pt. 2 by Kris Anne Hall Click here to read part one. James Madison gives us this answer regarding the remedy to the states for combating federal overreach. In fact, according to our founders, it was not only the remedy but the DUTY of the states to stand in defense of the Republic. “…in the case of deliberate, palpable, and dangerous exercise of other powers not granted…the states…have the right, and are in duty bound, to interpose, …for maintaining, within their respective limits, the authorities, rights, and liberties…” Virginia Resolutions of 1798 James Madison What is this interposition? It is what Jefferson referred to as NULLIFICATION of the unauthorized acts of the federal government. It is the States declaring, “The federal government is NOT our master, the States and the people are the masters of the Constitution and we do not have to, nor will we comply!” “Whenever the general government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void and of no force.” Thomas Jefferson, Kentucky Resolutions of 1798 Nullification is legitimate act of refusing to implement unconstitutional federal directives. “That the several states who formed [the Constitution], being sovereign and independent, have the unquestionable right to judge of its infraction; and, That a nullification, by those sovereignties, of all unauthorized acts done under the color of that instrument, is the rightful remedy.” Thomas Jefferson,Kentucky Resolutions 1799 To deny the States this right is tyrannical and is an unconstitutional doctrine. In fact our founders believed that if the States did not refuse to submit to unconstitutional use of federal power, the result would be the elimination of state powers, elimination of the rights of the people, and the complete dissolution of the Union and our Constitution. “the doctrine which denies to the States the right of protecting their reserved powers, and which would vest in the General Government (it matters not through which department) the right of determining, exclusively and finally, the powers delegated to it, is incompatible with the sovereignty of the States, and of the Constitution itself, considered as the basis of the Federal Union.” Fort Hill Address, John C. CalhounJuly 26, 1831 If the federal government uses a power that it was not delegated, it does so unconstitutionally. The federal government exists solely because of the Constitution. Therefore any act that is unconstitutional destroys the very legitimacy of the federal government’s actions and therefore has no effect whatsoever. Since it has no effect, the States are merely declaring that fact, and are therefore not required to submit. An epidemic of Constitutional ignorance has made it popular in our day to declare “this is the law of the land because the Supreme Court says so,” and since SCOTUS has said “nullification is not valid,” then it is not a proper remedy, some even claim that it is treasonous. The men who founded the nation found the assertion offensive that the Supreme Court had the ultimate authority to dictate to the States the acts of the federal government. “The idea that the general government is the exclusive judge of the extent of the powers delegated to it, stop nothing short of despotism- since the discretion of those who administer the government, and not the Constitution would be the measure of their powers.” Thomas Jefferson, Kentucky Resolution 1799 To assume that the Supreme Court has the final word on what will or will not be implemented throughout the land is to abandon all power of the states, and throw them into complete submission to a federal power. It would be like allowing a criminal to determine his own guilt or innocence. “If the decision of the judiciary be raised above the authority of the sovereign parties to the Constitution… dangerous powers, not delegated, may not only be usurped and executed by the other departments, but that the judicial department, also, may exercise or sanction dangerous powers beyond the grant of the Constitution… consequently, that the ultimate right of the parties to the Constitution, to judge whether the compact has been dangerously violated, must extend to violationsby one delegated authority as well as by another–by the judiciary as well as by the executive, or the legislature.” James Madison,Virginia Assembly Report of 1800 Even Federalist, Alexander Hamilton made clear that the Constitution is binding upon any branch of the federal government. To suggest that the creature could overrule its creator was to our founders a complete absurdity. “No legislative act, therefore, contrary to the Constitution, can be valid. To deny this, would be to affirm, that the deputy is greater than his principal; that the servant is above his master; that the representatives of the people are superior to the people themselves; that men acting by virtue of powers, may do not only what their powers do not authorize, but what they forbid.” Alexander Hamilton Federalist Paper #78 It is incumbent upon the STATE REPRESENTATIVES to carry out their oath of office, “support and defend the Constitution of the United States” and be the guardians of the liberty of its citizens. The Governors and Legislatures must draft a Resolution proclaiming the sovereignty of the state and the unconstitutionality of the federal power and asserting the state’s duty to deny said power. That Resolution must then be transmitted by the Governor to the Senators and Representatives representing the state in Congress. Unwilling to shrink from our representative responsibilities… It would be [deceitful] in those entrusted with the GUARDIANSHIP OF THE STATE SOVEREIGNTY, and acting under the solemn obligation of the following oath, — “I do swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States,” — not to warn you of encroachments, which, though clothed with the pretext of necessity, or disguised by arguments of expediency, may yet establish precedents which may ultimately devote a generous and unsuspicious people to all the consequences of usurped power. Address of the General Assembly to the People of the Commonwealth of Virginia January 23, 1799 When petition fails…when Congress refuses to enforce Separation of Powers and protect the sovereignty of the States…when the Supreme Court joins in the unconstitutional use of power, we cannot admit that revolution is the only solution that remains! Revolution does not save the Constitution, it can only destroy it. There must be another peaceful resolution; and there is: It is called Nullification. For the federal government or the States to deny this method of constitutional remedy is to say they are resolved to the destruction of the Constitution and the potential of driving its people to revolution. “…our Constitution is most worthless and tyrannical, if the usurpations of those who administer it, cannot be resisted by any means short of revolution. I have always considered the reserved powers of the States, as the only real check upon the powers of the federal government; and I have always considered it, not only the right, but the imperious duty of the States, so to apply that check, as not to dissolve the Union. And I have never been able to discover any mode of doing this, except by the positive refusal of the States to submit to usurpations…” Judge Able P. Upshur, An Exposition of the Virginia Resolutions of 1798 (No. I) The acquiescence of the states, under infractions of the federal compact, would either beget a speedy consolidation, by precipitating the state governments into impotency and contempt, or prepare the way for a revolution, by a repetition of these infractions until the people are aroused to appear in the majesty of their strength. Address of the General Assembly to the People of the Commonwealth of Virginia, January 23, 1799 Therefore, in upholding their oath the States must stand against any legislation that serves to steal power from the state, thus destroying the Constitution. If the States fail to stand against this tyrannical use of power by the federal government, they will consent to their own destruction, or worse, to revolution. “Let history be consulted; let the man of experience reflect; nay, let the artificers of monarchy be asked what further materials they can need for building up their favorite system.” Address of the General Assembly to the People of the Commonwealth of Virginia, 1799

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The Death Warrant of Charles I and the Bill of Rights have been inscribed individually, with the suffragette documents forming part of an eight-item inscription in a joint bid from the Parliamentary Archives and The Women’s Library at London Metropolitan University. Each of the items is unique and marks a significant point in British history, a fact which has been recognised by UNESCO and resulted in the inscription on the Register. The list of items that have been inscribed is: - The Death Warrant of Charles I 1649 - The Bill of Rights 1689 - A Women’s Freedom League banner, unfurled in the House of Commons in 1908 - The 1913 Prisoners Temporary Discharge for Health Act (Cat and Mouse Act) - The Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act of 1928 Caroline Shenton, Clerk of the Records at the Parliamentary Archives, said: “It is fantastic that these archival documents have been recognised by UNESCO. They are some of the most significant items from our political history and are truly irreplaceable. The Death Warrant of Charles I is perhaps one of the most dramatic of all records relating to English history, whilst the suffragette banner and subsequent Acts tell the story of the suffragette movement and acknowledge the significance of the women’s struggle for equality – one of the key movements in modern western history. “And as well as being the closest thing the UK has to a written constitution, the Bill of Rights has huge international significance as a model for documents such as the US Bill of Rights 1789 and the European Convention on Human Rights. The historical importance of this exceptional document extends far beyond the UK and its impact is still incredibly significant today.” The nominations have been supported by historians and constitutional experts from institutions including the History of Parliament Trust, The Royal Courts of Justice and the Universities of Cambridge and Princeton. The items from the Parliamentary Archives that have been inscribed are: The Death Warrant of Charles 1 The document, a flat parchment containing seals and signatures, is handwritten in iron gall ink and led to the execution of Charles I and subsequent rule of Oliver Cromwell, one of the 59 signatories. Charles was tried in the House of Commons and executed on 30 January 1649, outside Banqueting House in Whitehall. Following the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, the Death Warrant was used to identify the commissioners who had signed it and prosecute them for treason. Even the signatories, who had died, including Cromwell, were dug up and their bodies hanged. The House of Lords ordered the return of the Death Warrant from Charles’ executioner who was imprisoned in the Tower of London. It was returned on the 31 July 1660 and it has been in the custody of Parliament ever since. The Bill of Rights The Bill of Rights 1689 is an iron gall ink manuscript on parchment. It is an original Act of the English Parliament and has been in the custody of Parliament since its creation. The Bill firmly established the principles of frequent parliaments, free elections and freedom of speech within Parliament – known today as Parliamentary Privilege. It also includes no right of taxation without Parliament’s agreement, freedom from government interference, the right of petition and just treatment of people by courts. The main principles of the Bill of Rights are still in force today - particularly being cited in legal cases – and was used as a model for the US Bill of Rights 1789. Its influence can also be seen in other documents establishing the rights of humans, such as the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights. Women’s Freedom League banner, unfurled in the House of Commons The banner is comprised of a printed handbill pasted onto cloth and mounted on bamboo sticks. Suffragettes smuggled the banner into the Ladies Gallery of the House of Commons in 1908, passed it through the grille that covered the window and unfurled it into the debating chamber. During this incident, two of the women chained themselves to the grille and had to be cut free. The banner is seen as being both a literal and metaphorical representation of the protests made by women behind the grille. Prisoners Temporary Discharge for Health Act 1913 (Cat and Mouse Act) Many women imprisoned during the suffrage campaign went on hunger strike. These women were force-fed by prison doctors, who would insert a tube into their mouths, forcing it down their oesophaguses and pouring liquidised food into their stomachs. However, in 1913 the Government changed its tactic and the Cat and Mouse Act was rushed through Parliament. It allowed for prisoners on hunger strike to be released when they became weak or ill but, when sufficiently recovered, to be re-imprisoned – hence the name Cat and Mouse Act. Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928 In 1918, women over the age of thirty were given the right to vote which meant they were still not on an equal footing with men. Full equality only came 10 years later, on 2 July 1928, with the Equal Franchise Act, when women became the majority of the electorate. You can see the full inscriptions on the UNESCO UK website. Further historical background to these documents is available in the Living Heritage ages: The Parliamentary Archives holds and provides access to the several million historical records relating to Parliament, dating from 1497. Image: Parliamentary copyright

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Design and Function of a Turbocharger: Turbine basic functions have not fundamentally changed since the times of Alfred Büchi. A turbocharger consists of a compressor and a turbine connected by a common shaft. The exhaust-gas-driven turbine supplies the drive energy for the compressor. Design and function The turbocharger turbine, which consists of a turbine wheel and a turbine housing, converts the engine exhaust gas into mechanical energy to drive the compressor. The gas, which is restricted by the turbine's flow cross-sectional area, results in a pressure and temperature drop between the inlet and outlet. This pressure drop is converted by the turbine into kinetic energy to drive the turbine wheel. There are two main turbine types: axial and radial flow. In the axial-flow type, flow through the wheel is only in the axial direction. In radial-flow turbines, gas inflow is centripetal, i.e. in a radial direction from the outside in, and gas outflow in an axial direction. Up to a wheel diameter of about 160 mm, only radial-flow turbines are used. This corresponds to an engine power of approximately 1000 kW per turbocharger. From 300 mm onwards, only axial-flow turbines are used. Between these two values, both variants As the radial-flow turbine is the most popular type for automotive applications, the following description is limited to the design and function of this turbine type. In the volute of such radial or centripetal turbines, exhaust gas pressure is converted into kinetic energy and the exhaust gas at the wheel circumference is directed at constant velocity to the turbine wheel. Energy transfer from kinetic energy into shaft power takes place in the turbine wheel, which is designed so that nearly all the kinetic energy is converted by the time the gas reaches the wheel The turbine performance increases as the pressure drop between the inlet and outlet increases, i.e. when more exhaust gas is dammed upstream of the turbine as a result of a higher engine speed, or in the case of an exhaust gas temperature rise due to higher exhaust gas energy. The turbine's characteristic behaviour is determined by the specific flow cross-section, the throat cross-section, in the transition area of the inlet channel to the volute. By reducing this throat cross-section, more exhaust gas is dammed upstream of the turbine and the turbine performance increases as a result of the higher pressure ratio. A smaller flow cross-section therefore results in higher boost pressures. The turbine's flow cross-sectional area can be easily varied by changing the turbine Besides the turbine housing flow cross-sectional area, the exit area at the wheel inlet also influences the turbine's mass flow capacity. The machining of a turbine wheel cast contour allows the cross-sectional area and, therefore, the boost pressure, to be adjusted. A contour enlargement results in a larger flow cross-sectional area of the turbine. Turbines with variable turbine geometry change the flow cross-section between volute channel and wheel inlet. The exit area to the turbine wheel is changed by variable guide vanes or a variable sliding ring covering a part of the cross-section. In practice, the operating characteristics of exhaust gas turbocharger turbines are described by maps showing the flow parameters plotted against the turbine pressure ratio. The turbine map shows the mass flow curves and the turbine efficiency for various speeds. To simplify the map, the mass flow curves, as well as the efficiency, can be shown by a mean curve For a high overall turbocharger efficiency, the co-ordination of compressor and turbine wheel diameters is of vital importance. The position of the operating point on the compressor map determines the turbocharger speed. The turbine wheel diameter has to be such that the turbine efficiency is maximised in this operating range. The turbine is rarely subjected to constant exhaust pressure. In pulse turbocharged commercial diesel engines, twin-entry turbines allow exhaust gas pulsations to be optimised, because a higher turbine pressure ratio is reached in a shorter time. Thus, through the increasing pressure ratio, the efficiency rises, improving the all-important time interval when a high, more efficient mass flow is passing through the turbine. As a result of this improved exhaust gas energy utilisation, the engine's boost pressure characteristics and, hence, torque behaviour is improved, particularly at low engine speeds. Turbocharger with twin-entry turbine To prevent the various cylinders from interfering with each other during the charge exchange cycles, three cylinders are connected into one exhaust gas manifold. Twin-entry turbines then allow the exhaust gas flow to be fed separately through the turbine. Water-cooled turbine housings Turbocharger with water-cooled turbine housing for marine applications Safety aspects also have to be taken into account in turbocharger design. In ship engine rooms, for instance, hot surfaces have to be avoided because of fire risks. Therefore, water-cooled turbocharger turbine housings or housings coated with insulating material are used for marine applications.

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CAN I GROW RASPBERRIES? Raspberries need full sun, well-drained soil with a pH between 5.8-6.5, good air circulation, and protection from strong winds. Raspberries detest "wet feet." Soils with standing water cause disease problems and suffocate roots. If drainage is a problem, plant raspberries in raised beds or mound up soil into ridges before planting. Whatever the soil, add organic matter each season. Raspberries have a shallow root system and can dry out during droughts. They need adequate water from spring through harvest usually about 1 to 1.5 inches per week. Raspberries are found growing in most areas of the world from Alaska to the tropics. Cultivated varieties of raspberries grown today are usually crosses of native American and RASPBERRY SEEDS OR PLANTS? Plant raspberries as either bare-root or potted plants in early spring as soon as the soil can be worked. Before planting, work the soil to a depth of at least 18 inches and incorporate several inches of organic matter like compost into the planting area. Plant red and yellow raspberries 3 feet apart within rows and space the rows about 6 feet apart. Plant black and purple varieties 4 feet apart within rows and leave about 8 feet between rows. Water and lightly mulch after planting. Keep raspberries well watered, weeded, fertilized, and pruned. To prevent foliage disease problems, water at soil level using a waterwand attached to a hose, or trickle or drip lines placed around the base of the plants. Keep plants mulched. While brambles benefit from some fertilizer, an excessive amount can be harmful. Add about 5 pounds of a 10-10-10 fertilizer per 100 linear feet of plantings in the spring. RASPBERRY GROWING TIPS Raspberries benefit from a support system that prevents wind damage and makes pruning and harvesting easier. While it's easiest to construct a support system before planting, a trellis can be added to established plantings after fall pruning or in early spring. Create a trellis system by using wooden posts spaced at 12 to 15-foot intervals in the center of each row. Attach cross arms to the posts about 3 feet above the ground to attach support wires or heavy twine. Place the support wires or twine about 2 feet apart on the cross arms. Tie the plants' main canes to the wires or twine using rag scraps or twist ties. For taller growing black and purple types, place support wires about 40 inches above the ground. Pruning is essential to maintaining strong prolific raspberry plants and can be done twice a year - after summer fruit production and in early spring. After the summer harvest, cut back to the ground all canes that have produced fruit. In early spring, prune out weak or dead canes and any canes over 5 feet tall. Prune the rest to 4.5 to 5 feet. (For heavier fall production of everbearers, prune back all canes to the ground in early spring only). INSECTS & DISEASES Insect pests include the raspberry cane borer, raspberry fruitworm, and Japanese beetle. Disease problems include mosaic virus, crown gall, and verticillium wilt. Good cultural practices like annual pruning, removal of pruned canes from the garden area, uncrowded conditions and good air circulation will hinder many disease and insect problems. Always buy certified virus-free plant material. To prevent disease problems in new plantings, select a garden site where raspberries, strawberries, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers or eggplants have not grown before, and at least 500' away from any woodland or field where wild brambles may be growing. For additional information on controlling raspberry disease and insect problems, consult your local extension RASPBERRY HARVEST TIPS Pick berries when they easily come off stems when pulled. Having to pull hard to harvest means the berries aren't ripe. When harvesting, use shallow 1/2 pint-size containers to avoid crushing the delicate berries under too much weight. Raspberry yields usually range from 1 to 2 pounds per linear foot of plantings. If birds are stealing too much fruit, cover plants with bird netting as the berries ripen and uncover as needed to harvest. RECIPES & STORAGE Raspberries are best used soon after harvesting or can be refrigerated for a few days. They can also be frozen or canned to store as jams, jellies, and sauces. Raspberry sauce is a classic dessert topping delicious over ice cream, pound cake, cheesecake, baked custard, and lemon mousse. 2 cups fresh raspberries, washed 2 tbsp. cold water 1 cup sugar 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice 2 tbsp. cornstarch In a medium saucepan, combine raspberries with sugar and heat to a boil stirring frequently. Mix water with the cornstarch and stir into the berries. Continue cooking until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Refrigerate before serving. Yields 2 cups. See all our raspberries

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(page 2 of 2) In the U.S., the futures market was institutionalized with the founding of the Chicago Board of Trade in 1848. Its original purpose was to mitigate volatility in grain prices with “to-arrive” contracts. Such agreements allowed farmers to negotiate a set price and delivery date for the grain, as opposed to shlepping it to Chicago and hoping for the best. The Chicago Board of Trade would eventually grow into the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the largest futures and options exchange in the world. Henry Horner, a Jewish wholesale grocer and flower merchant, was “instrumental” in founding the Chicago Board of Trade, according to historian Irving Cutler, but that may be Jewish boosterism. An 1885 history of the institution refers to Horner as an “influential member of the Board of Trade for many years.” But his name appears nowhere in a 1917 “History of the Board of Trade of the City of Chicago.” This latter book, in fact, only mentions one Jew in its 1,200 pages: Bernhard Pfaelzer, a “dealer in grain, hay and millstuff [who] is identified with the Masonic fraternity and the Jewish church [sic].” Horner’s grandson and namesake, however, did become the first Jewish governor of Illinois. A fact which would certainly have brought a lot of nakhes to his Prussian-born grandfather. Derivatives were involved in a more shameful episode in the history of American Jewry. Judah P. Benjamin (1811-1884) was a New Orleans-based lawyer, politician and slaveholder. In an era when very few Jews were prominent in public life, Benjamin was held in high esteem: He was a senator of Louisiana and was twice nominated for a Supreme Court post, which he declined both times. When the Civil War broke out, Benjamin sided with the Confederacy, serving as its first attorney general and later as secretary of war. In 1863, as secretary of state, Benjamin arranged the Erlanger loan. The South was desperate for credit and its only fungible asset was cotton. Smelling an opportunity, a French banker, Frédéric Emile Baron d’Erlanger (whose father, Raphael, had converted from Judaism to Catholicism), offered to arrange a loan. Through intermediaries, Benjamin and Baron d’Erlanger negotiated the terms of a bond that would be redeemable in cotton at six British pence per pound. With Southern cotton selling for 21 pence in London, the bondholder stood to make a substantial profit. This, of course, made the bonds attractive to European investors, especially with unscrupulous dealers claiming that the North would honor the bonds in the event of a Confederate defeat. It’s unclear how much cash the South raised through the Erlanger loan — estimates range between $5 million and $8 million. But it is clear that the loan extended the Civil War by giving the South the credit it needed to keep fighting — as well as making millions in commissions for Baron d’Erlanger’s investment company. (There is anecdotal evidence that the Rothschilds would have nothing to do with the loan.) A less shameful but certainly unethical episode came about in the 1950s, when Vincent Kosuga, a farmer from upstate New York, and Sam Siegel, a Chicago produce wholesaler and son of an Orthodox rabbi, cornered the onion futures market. This was less piffling than it sounds: In the mid-1950s, onion futures contracts accounted for 20% of the trades on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. In 1955, Kosuga and Siegel bought virtually all of the onions in Chicago, and then bought short positions of onion futures — essentially betting that the price of onions would go down. Which it did — when Kosuga and Siegel flooded the market with onions. The partners made millions, and put plenty of onion farmers out of business in the process. A rising young congressman named Gerald Ford sponsored a bill that banned the trading of onion futures; the Onion Futures Act was passed in 1958. The loss of trading volume nearly killed the CME, until the trading of futures on a diverse range of commodities such as pork bellies and frozen orange juice concentrate made up the volume. To this day, it is illegal to trade onion futures. The 1970s saw two revolutionary changes in the derivatives market, which led to shifts in the very nature of finance and today’s gargantuan and complex virtual global economy. And Jews were in the thick of it. The first was in 1972, when Leo Melamed (a member of the Forward Association), whose family had fled the Holocaust via Japan, created the Internal Monetary Market. The IMM traded futures based on currencies and the interest rate of Treasury bills and Eurodollars (or dollars in foreign banks) — meaning, for the first time in the history of finance, the underlying asset of a derivative was not a physical commodity. The second was in 1973, when two economists, Fischer Black and Myron Scholes, published a formula for pricing options that came to be known as the Black-Scholes model. Robert C. Merton, another economist, expanded on their work. I’m not even going to pretend that I understand the formula. But I can tell you that its importance was compared to the discovery of DNA, and that it led to explosive growth in derivative markets. In 1997, Scholes and Merton, both Jews, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics, and their mothers were awarded lifetime bragging rights. (Black died in 1995; unfortunately the Nobel Committee does not award posthumous prizes.) Derivatives help investors “hedge,” or reduce risk. But in the 21st century, their astonishing complexity can make them dangerous investments. In 2002, Warren Buffett famously described them as “time bombs” and “financial weapons of mass destruction.” Buffet was right. The 2008 crash was in no small part caused by an unregulated derivative called a “credit default swap.” In this case, the underlying assets turned out to be crappy subprime mortgages. When thousands of Americans became unable to make their mortgage payments, the swaps imploded in value, and severely damaged the American economy. Thus it’s probably best to follow our forebears’ advice. In 1688, de la Vega wrote: “Whoever wishes to win in this game must have patience and money.” Or we could go even further back to Rabbi Yitzchak, the Talmudic sage who urged us to divide our money into three parts: “one third in land, one third in commerce and one third at hand.” Rabbi Yitzchak, in other words, advises us to diversify. Gordon Haber is a frequent contributor to the Forward. His new novella “Adjunctivitis” was published as a Kindle single on October 30.

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Deuteronomy 26.1-11; Romans 10.8b-13; Luke 4.1-13 Almighty God, whose Son Jesus Christ fasted forty days in the wilderness, and was tempted as we are, yet without sin: give us grace to discipline ourselves in obedience to your Spirit; and, as you know our weakness, so may we know your power to save; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. WHEN preparing people for confirmation, I suggest that they keep a journal to record this important journey, and to begin by reflecting on the two questions that the angel asked Hagar in the wilderness: "Where have you come from, and where are you going?" (Genesis 16.8). These questions confront us with the truth about ourselves: I recommend them as we begin our observance of Lent. Where have you come from? The people in Deuteronomy had experienced God's deliverance from slavery, and the gift of a new land; now they were to bring their offerings as an expression of their relationship with their saving God. Their history went back before slavery, to a nomadic existence: they were people of promise, who had grown from a single family; aliens who became a nation; people whose cry to God in their hardship was answered. Where have you come from? Paul wrote to Christians who had been separated by racial origins, Jew and Greek. They were people who had learned that their backgrounds were not defining when it came to their relationship with God, and thus with each other. "There is no distinction; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him." Where have you come from? "If you are the Son of God . . ." The devil's approach to Jesus was cunning, an attempt to get him to do the work of undermining his own vocation by doubting where he came from. Sometimes, it takes only a challenge to our sense of identity, and our whole world crumbles. People who inflict mental abuse on others know too well the power of words to harm, and the power of implanted doubt. Where have you come from? Luke has been careful to tell us. At Jesus's baptism, the voice from heaven declared: "You are my Son, the beloved." Luke followed this immediately with a list of Jesus's ancestry, going back not just to Abraham, as in Matthew's genealogy, but beyond that to Adam, the son of God. Then Luke describes Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit who descended on him at his baptism, being led by that Spirit into the wilderness, where the first thing the devil did was to try to call that sonship into doubt. If the devil could undermine Jesus's awareness of where he had come from, then the rest was easy. So Jesus's robust answers went behind the particular temptations to the underlying question of vocation. Where are you going? The people whom Moses addressed were learning to live with the fruits of God's generosity - delivered by signs and wonders, fed with abundant milk and honey. They were no longer to be wanderers, honey being the product of a settled existence, but people with land and identity, who celebrated with all the bounty that God had given, living as people who knew themselves to be the recipients of sheer gift from God. Where are you going? In multicultural Corinth, they were going to experience God's salvation in Jesus Christ, and to know God's generosity to all people, regardless of racial or religious Where are you going? To live as the Son of God in a broken world, and, ultimately, to save that world. At the end of the temptations, Luke omits Matthew's and Mark's reference to angels' waiting on Jesus, and instead reports that when the devil had finished every test (there were far more than the three we know about), he departed from Jesus until an opportune time. When was that opportune time for the devil? It was in Gethsemane, when Jesus told the disciples to pray not to come into the time of trial. Where was Jesus going? To suffering and death, to resurrection and ascension, and, through that, to bring salvation to the world. God knows our weakness, and is powerful to save us. Our readings encourage us to know ourselves as recipients of God's extraordinary generosity, which made a people of promise out of slaves; one people out of divided Jews and Greeks; people who follow the one who knows our weakness, and longs that we should know his power to So, this Lent, where have you come from? Where are you

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The earliest instances of Austronesian and Chinese intermarriage probably occured on the island of Taiwan. Prior to Chinese immigration, the inhabitants of of Taiwan were the descendants of neolithic Austronesians who settled the island around 4000 B.C., absorbing the previous inhabitants.1 Immigrants from China started entering Taiwan as early as the 7th century A.D.2 Significant numbers of Hakka from China had established themselves in Taiwan by the 10th century, they were followed by migrants from Fujian Province, across the strait from Taiwan.3. But large scale Chinese immigration did not take place until European powers established their rule on the island in the 16th-17th century.4 The Dutch in particular encouraged Chinese immigration as a source of agricultural labor for cash crops.5 Chinese immigration continued after Koxinga's forces from China took control of Taiwan in 1644.6 Most of the early Chinese immigrants were male, and marriages with aboriginal women was common.7 There was an old saying among Taiwanese Chinese: 'We have China fathers but not China mothers.' The pingpu, inhabitants of the western plains, were the first aborigines to encounter Chinese migrants; their intermarriage with the Chinese and the adaptation of Chinese names was documented during the Qing Dynasty.8 Pingpu intermarriage with Chinese and assimilation into Chinese culture occured to such a degree that the pingpu's Aborigine status has come under dispute in modern times.9 Although 98% of Taiwan's population today is officially classified as Han Chinese, while the remaining 2% are classified as aborigines, the percentage of Taiwanese 'Chinese' with aborigine ancestry is quite high. Among the benshengren (Chinese Taiwanese descended from Chinese immigrants who arrived before the KMT takeover) population, recent genetic studies reveal that more than 88% of the benshengren population have some degree of aboriginal heritage.10 Chinese junks first started visiting the Malay world around the 9th century. As early as the 10th century, Chinese refugees from Guangdong and Fujian settled in Java. There had been small numbers of Chinese present in Malaysia and Indonesia prior to the 15th century, but large scale immigrations took place after the reopening of trade routes between China and the Malay world following the visits of the Chinese envoy Zheng He. Another wave of Chinese came to the Philippines during the 16th century to seek opportunities in the Spanish-controlled Mexico-Manila trade, boosting Manila's Chinese population dramatically.11 During the 19th century, the coolie trade brought another influx of Chinese immigrants to the region. Many worked the plantations of European masters in Malaysia and Indonesia. Chinese Muslims integrated easily into Muslim communities in pre-dominantly Islamic Malaysia and Indonesia, marrying local Muslims. Their children identified as Malay or members of other indigenous ethnic groups. Some of these Chinese immigrants were already Muslims in China. The current Prime Minister of Malaysia is the descendant of a Muslim man from China and a local woman. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's maternal grandfather Hassan (Ha Su Chiang) came from China's Hainan Island to Malaya in the mid 19th century.12 Badawi's Chinese relatives lived in the Muslim village of Hainan's Sanya city, home to descendants of Muslim immigrants from Arabia, Persia and Vietnam who came to China to trade.13 (For more information on the history of Muslims in China, see West Asians in China.) Other Chinese converted to Islam during their sojourn in Malaya or Indonesia. In parts of Indonesia, Chinese closely involved with native courts tended to convert to Islam and marry native women.14 Non-Muslim Chinese also intermarried with local women. Chinese immigrant fathers often preferred that their mixed children be identified as Chinese, and married their daughters to other Chinese.15 Those who had become well-off could also acquire brides from China for their sons. A new cultural group, distinct from either the natives or the 'full-blooded' Chinese, came into being. They came to be known as the Peranakan Chinese. (The term 'Peranakan' itself encompasses other immigrant groups, such as Indians, which adopted a native lifestyle.) The Chinese Peranakan men are called Baba and traditionally wear Chinese apparel. The women are called Nonya and combine Malay dress styles with Chinese influences. The blending of cultures is also reflected in the famed Nonya cuisine. Most Peranakan communities speak native languages as the home language (albeit with many Chinese dialect loan words). Others speak Chinese dialects. Most retain ancestral Chinese religions or accept Christianity. In Singapore, full-blooded Chinese regard the Peranakan as a more beautiful people because of large eyes and distinct features inherited from Malay foremothers. In the past, many older Peranakan regarded more recent immigrants from China as unintegrated foreigners who did not fit into local life. Some full-blooded Chinese in turn mocked the Peranakan as "Chinese who are not Chinese". Today, the line between Peranakan and full-blooded Chinese is blurring due to a high level of intermarriage between the 2 communities, and the government policy that the Chinese language should be taught to all Chinese children, whether they are of Peranakan or "new immigrant" background. In Indonesia, the more recent, 'pure-blooded' ethnic Chinese tend to look down on the Peranakan Chinese. Documented history give many illustrations: In Jakarta in the 50s-70s, the Glodok complex was owned only by Encek-encek's, the slang word for pure bred ethnic Chinese. Peranakans were (and still are) seen to be of lower class and thus not worthy of setting shop there. The Peranakans themselves sometimes look unfavorably upon the recent immigrants because they feel that the recent immigrants' lack of integration fuels negative perceptions against all ethnic Chinese. These fears proved well-founded in the light of in recent tensions between the ethnic Chinese and the native Indonesians, in which both Peranakan and full-blooded Chinese were targeted for violence. A distinct mixed Chinese-indigenous cultural group arose in the Philippines, as it did in Malaysia and Indonesia. The early Chinese immigrants were mostly men. Many took native wives. By the 19th century, the mixed descendants of Chinese men and Filipinas had established themselves as a community separate from the Chinese. They were called Mestizo de Sangley (A mestizo is someone of mixed parentage, while Sangley, from Hokkien seng di, meaning to trade, was the generic name of the Chinese as used by the Spaniards here in the Philippines.16 In the 20th century, the Chinese-Filipino mestizos have lost their identity as a distinct communities as new mestizos came to be counted as either Chinese or native Filipino.17 A large proportion of Filipinos, especially those from areas with a high mercantile population, have Chinese ancestry, but they no longer identify as Chinese mestizos.

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was born in Shelbyville, Kentucky, on the twentieth day of December, 1833. He was sent to school at that place till arriving at the age of twelve years, when he was removed to Daviess county. His father, William A. Bradshaw, was born in Shelby County n 1809, and was raised by his uncle, James, in Shelbyville, until fourteen or fifteen years of age, when he was sent to Owensboro and placed, as a clerk, in the dry goods store of James Bradshaw and Anthony Kirkpatrick. Here he remained until he was twenty-three or four years of age, when he returned to Shelbyville. In 1813, he married Miss Fanny Buntin Allison, of Vincennes, Indiana. He then returned to Shelby County, and engaged in farming up to 1844. Then, again, he returned to Owensboro, and there died November, 1876. His wife died in the same place in 1856, leaving six children, Robert Allison--subject of this sketch--Mary Elizabeth, Sally, William, Catharine and Frank. The maternal grandfather of our subject was Dr. Robert Allison, a native of Kentucky. In 1812 he married Miss Mary A. Buntin, of Vincennes, and removed to Henderson, Kentucky, his then home. Subsequently he removed to Shelbyville, and then to Vincennes, where he died, 1820, leaving his widow and three children. His wife, the grandmother of our subject, was the daughter of Captain Robert Buntin, the commandant of Post Vincennes. When a child, she was exceedingly popular with the officers of the army, and spent much of her time with an aunt, who was the wife of Colonel Francis Vigo, a noted Spanish merchant, and for whom the County of Vigo, Indiana, is named. She was a great favorite of the Colonel, and witnessed the council of General Harrison and Tecumseh. She was well acquainted with General Harrison, Judge Parke, Territorial Representative in Congress, Colonel Hamar, General St. Clair, and others. When thirteen years of age she was sent to school at Lexington, Kentucky. An Indian trail was the only road between the two places, and the trip required two weeks' time. Her wardrobe was carried in saddle-bags by the horse she rode. She had two school girls as companions, with her brother as escort, each, of course, riding on horseback, while a fifth horse carried a tent and camp equipage. Mrs. Allison was three times married, and spent the greater portion of her life in the South. In 1827, although having been baptised by a Catholic Bishop, Mrs. Allison united herself with the Presbyterian Church, and proved a devoted member to the day of her death. She was an untiring reader, and most exemplary woman. Robert Allison Bradshaw married in Owensboro on the twenty-ninth day of January, 1856, Miss Rebecca May Bell, and unto them have been born seven children; six of them are yet living, Robert Bell, Mary Eliza, Frankie Allison, May Belle, William Archer, Sallie Kate, and John Matthews. Robert Bell Bradshaw, eldest son, was born on the fifth day of November, 1856, in Daviess County. He was educated in Owensboro and subsequently married in 1883, at Vincennes, Indiana, Miss Alice Stewart, granddaughter of Rev. Dr. Alexander, who was the officiating clergyman. A pleasant coincident in the family is the fact that Dr. Alexander, just fifty years prior to that time, officiated at the marriage of his grandfather, William A. Bradshaw, in the same place Mr. and Mrs. Bradshaw have two daughters, Nora Belle, and Clara. Mary Eliza married James Samuel Taylor of Henderson, now of Richmond, Virginia, a prominent tobacconist, and has one daughter, Laura Holloway. Robert A. Bradshaw lived in Owensboro thirty-two years, and, in 1876, moved to Uniontown, Union County, where he resided up to 1883, when he removed to Henderson. Before arriving at legal age he made several trips with horses and cattle to Natchez and New Orleans. For twenty years of his life in Owensboro, and during his entire residence in Uniontown, Mr. Bradshaw followed the tobacco business, and has been thus engaged in Henderson since his residence here. In politics Mr. Bradshaw was an old line Whig, then a Know-nothing, and since the war a consistent Democrat. He was never an office holder, from the fact he was never an applicant for one. In 1873, at Owensboro, he joined the Presbyterian Church. He was an Elder of the Uniontown Church, and on the ninth day of November, 1883, was elected an Elder of the Second Presbyterian Church of this city. He has for a number of years been a member of the Knights of Pythias and Knights of Honor. Mr. Bradshaw is a quiet, reserved man of business, the soul of honor, far seeing, and judicious in all that he does. -The History of Henderson County, Kentucky by Starling 1887 page 815-17; Return to the Henderson County KyGenWeb Home Page

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vasthu rogāschāhara sambhavāh visheshātcha visheshah sukhadukhayoh!! Diet plays an important role in Ayurveda, restriction or modification of which would help in curing of the disease. The Panchabhoota theory of Ayurveda says that the same primordial elements combine to form gross elements of nature whether in the form of food, medicine or man. The disturbance of doshas caused in man due to disease are brought back to equilibrium by the medicines and suitable foods containing the opposite effects of the symptoms caused by the Diet also plays major role in the maintenance of a healthy life. If the diet consumed by the individuals is in accordance with their constitution, sound health prevails. If unsuitable and wrong diet is consumed, disease follows. So a planned and knowledgeable intake of diet prevents disease. Dietary products due to their inherent qualities, either pacify the vitiated doshas and restore health, or aggravate the doshas causing imbalance in their equilibrium and cause disease. Dietary products are classified according to their sources namely plant products, animal products and minerals. Charaka has mentioned the dietary products, which are generally suitable for maintenance of health as; rice, green gram, Rock salt, Amalaki (Emblica officianalis), barley, milk, ghee, meat from animal sources and honey. Charaka has also mentioned the dietary products, which generally are not suitable and to be avoided are; Dried meat, Dried vegetables, tubers of lotus, milk of diseased animals, pork, beef, curd, fish etc. There are certain food items which should never be taken in combination, as they disturb the equilibrium of the doshas and lead to onset of several diseases. For eg… 1. Meat with milk, honey, jaggery, radish, black gram or sprouts. 2. Fish with milk 3. Honey and ghee in equal proportions 4. Milk with black gram, sour fruits, salt and raw foods 5. Banana with milk, curd (Yoghurt), butter milk (Yoghurt diluted with 6. Lemon with curd (Yoghurt), jaggery, ghee, or honey. 7. Fruits along with lunch or dinner (can be had with a gap). 8. Curd (Yoghurt) during nights. Seasonal variations can also influence our digestive system and as well as our health. Dietary products to be consumed in various seasons are mentioned in Ayurveda. Vasantha ritu (autumn): Wheat, meat of wild animals is recommended. Avoid sour, sweet and oily food. Greeshma ritu (summer): Sweets, cold liquids, oily diet, meat of wild animals, ghee (clarified butter), milk, rice. Avoid salty, sour and pungent food, alcohol. Varsha ritu (rainy): sour, salty and oily food, barley, wheat, old rice, meat of wild animals, honey. Sharad ritu (post-rainy): Sweets, easily digestible food, bitters, meat of wild animals, barley, wheat, old rice, ghee (clarified). Hemantha ritu (winter): Rice, Cow milk, dishes made from cane juice, oily food, sour and salty food, oils, warm water. Shishira ritu (pre-autumn): Pungent, bitter and astringent tasting foods and easily digestible food. A general direction to the diets advised to persons with certain predominant constitutions is described in Ayurveda. All the three doshas prevail in all persons and permutations and combinations of the three doshas in differing proportions ascertain the dominant constitution of any individual. The various diets advised are as follows. Diet advised to the Vata predominant constitution persons: Should possess tastes of Madhura (sweet), Amla (sour) and Lavana (salt). Wheat, rice, millets, black gram, green gram, sesame, radish, brinjal, yellow pumpkin, bottle gourd, onion, grey gourd, carrot, beet root, ash gourd, snake gourd, garlic, ginger, black pepper, long pepper, mustard, fenugreek, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, Asafoetida, ripe mango, papaya, orange, pine apple, apple, banana, grapes, coconut, strawberry, custard apple, gooseberry, cherry plum, lemon, pomegranate, guava, dates, cashew, sesame oil, coconut oil, mustard oil, cow milk, buffalo milk, butter, ghee, cream, cheese, curd, sea food, mutton, beef, chicken, pork, egg, deer meat Diet advised to the Pitta predominant constitution persons: Should possess tastes of Madhura (sweet), Tikta (bitter) and Kashaya (astringent). Old rice, millets, Maize, green gram, Bengal gram, pigeon pea, sesame, drum stick, bitter gourd, yam, cabbage, bottle gourd, ribbed gourd, lady's finger, ash gourd, cucumber, snake gourd, spinach, mushroom, cauliflower, long pepper, clove, coriander, ripe mango, apple, banana, grapes, custard apple, gooseberry, pomegranate, jack fruit, dates, sesame oil, cow milk, buffalo milk, butter, ghee, cream, mutton, pork, deer meat etc. Diet advised to the Kapha predominant constitution persons: Should possess tastes of Katu (pungent), Tikta (bitter) and Kashaya (astringent). Rice, millets, corn, barley, green gram, red gram, horse gram, pea nut, Bengal gram, pigeon pea, sesame, drum stick, bitter gourd, potato, tomato, bottle gourd, grey gourd, ribbed gourd, carrot, cucumber, cauliflower, garlic, ginger, black pepper, long pepper, mustard, fenugreek, cinnamon, cardamom, red chillies, green chillies, coriander, cumin, Asafoetida, raw mango, pineapple, grapes, gooseberry, lemon, pomegranate, jack fruit, dates, sesame oil, mustard oil, sunflower oil, cow milk, mutton, chicken, deer Dietary products influence the pathophysiology of the diseased conditions and also interfere with the pharmacological actions of the prescribed drugs. Due to this reason, dietary products to be consumed in different diseases were mentioned and these should not be ignored to get better

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July 4th celebrates one of history’s great documents, the Declaration of Independence that was adopted in 1776. This Declaration has been an inspiration not only for this nation, but also for governments and people around the world. Today, however, at home there is serious erosion of the Declaration’s basic principles that must be corrected. It begins with the task of regaining our democracy from the emerging plutocracy that rules our country today through a massive concentration of national wealth in the hands of a small minority. In 2004 the congressional budget office reported the income gap in the United States was the worst since just before the Great Depression. The top one percent of households has nearly 40 percent of the wealth. The top five percent have over 50 percent of the total wealth, and the top 20 percent have over 80 percent of the wealth. The CEOs of major corporations lead the greed parade. Business Week reports the average salary for the CEOs was 42 times the average worker’s salary in 1980. By 1990 it increased to 85 times, and by 2000 it reached over 500 times the average worker’s salary. Next in line are the ludicrous salaries and compensation paid to entertainers and athletes that makes a mockery of our social values and the worth of work. Another area that needs immediate change is the corrupt and anti-democratic election process where the candidates that collect the most money usually win and many owe their votes not to the people, but the rich and corporate donors. Consider this shocking statement by Senator Ernest F. Hollings (D-S.C.) that fundraising for all senators “distracts us from the people’s business…It corrupts and degrades the entire political process…Fundraisers used to be arranged so they didn’t conflict with the Senate schedule; nowadays, the Senate schedule is regularly shifted to accommodate fundraisers.” It’s also evident that democracy cannot function when the media, which should operate for the benefit of the people, is owned and run by a handful of corporations. This guarantees the suppression of ideas, cleverly accomplished by the corporate-run media simply ignoring people with progressive ideas, keeping them off the airwaves, and thus restricting their exposure to the public. One of the country’s most respected journalists, Bill Moyers, had this to say about freedom of the press: “If you think there is freedom of the press in the United States, I tell you there is no freedom of the press.They comes out with the cheap shot. The press should be ashamed of itself. They should come to both sides of the issue and hear both sides and let the American people make up their minds.” On the world level in this first decade of the 21st century we need an additional document, a Global Declaration of Interdependence that sets the framework to free humanity from the apocalyptic terror of the 27,000 nuclear weapons stockpiled worldwide, and from the lunatics who want to build additional ones. Another imperative is to free humanity from the atrocity of modern warfare that civilization cannot long endure, and from the war business that for profit has saturated the globe with weapons. It is criminal that the world total for military spending exceeds one trillion dollars annually; with the United States accounting for nearly have of this total. The U.S. spends more on the military than the next 42 countries combined. A very dangerous policy that is underway, but must be stopped before it is too late is the militarization of space. The agency in charge of weapons in space is the U.S. Space Command, created during the Reagan Administration. The Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Space Command, General Joseph Ashy, made the purpose of the Space Command perfectly clear: "It’s politically sensitive, but it’s going to happen. Some people don’t want to hear this, and it sure isn’t in vogue, but—absolutely—we’re going to fight in space. We’re going to fight from space, and we’re going to fight into space. That’s why the U.S. has development programs in directed energy and hit-to-kill mechanisms. We will engage terrestrial targets someday—ships, airplanes, land targets—from space." (Aviation Week and Space Technology, August 9, 1996) Keith Hall, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space, stated in a speech to the National Space Club: “With regard to space dominance, we have it, we like it, and we’re going to keep it. Space is in the nation’s economic interest.” Another imperative is to end the corporate domination that is rapidly turning the planet into a giant marketplace where the only thing that counts, including our culture, is what sells. And for half of humanity the most needed and immediate freedom is from poverty, hunger, and disease. The statistics collected by the United Nations are truly staggering: *Number of people living in poverty on roughly $2 a day: 2.7 billion *Number of people living in abject poverty existing on less than $1 a day: 1.2 billion so poor they live in garbage dumps and shantytowns, virtually without hope. Not surprisingly, 70 percent of the world’s poor are the most defenseless: women children. *Number of people who die every day from hunger: 24,000 *Number of children under five who die every day from preventable causes: 30,000 *2.4 billion people live without decent sanitation, and 4 billion are without wastewater disposal. To achieve the changes and the goals that we need is truly revolutionary, however this revolution is not to be fought with violence, guns and missiles, but with ideas, education, and an iron will commitment to work together as Global Citizens to overcome our divisions, leave beyond the violence of the past, and move forward to create a better world with lasting peace and a new civilization. This will require global governance capable of settling disputes between nations and peoples, and dealing with terrorism, through the framework of international law. Then, as the visionary Arthur C. Clarke would contend, the long childhood of our species will finally end.

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