Datasets:

orionai

/

latest

like 0

Thrush, also known as candida, is a fungal infection most commonly caused by the Candida albicans yeast. The growth of candida in the vagina is normally kept under control by the presence of ‘helpful' bacteria and the immune system. However, harmless bacteria in the vagina may be destroyed as a result of changes in the levels of female hormones (this may occur during pregnancy, before a menstrual period or when taking the oral contraceptive pill), by taking antibiotics or using a spermicide. Diabetics and people on steroids or whose immune system is suppressed are more prone to developing thrush. Stress may trigger an episode of the condition. Thrush is less common in men but it can occur, causing irritation and redness particularly on the head of the penis. Thrush is often asymptomatic in men, so both partners should be treated. Symptoms of vaginal thrush include: - Swelling of the vagina and vulva. - White vaginal discharge. It is often painful too, especially during intercourse and may be associated with frequency of passing water and burning or pain on passing water. It may therefore be confused with cystitis (bladder infection). Thrush, however, is usually associated with itching and cystitis is not. Many women are affected by vaginal thrush at some point in their lives and in some women it may reoccur regularly. Fortunately many products are available from your pharmacy to treat the symptoms of thrush. One of the most commonly used drug is clotrimazole, which is available as creams, applicators and pessaries. You can also buy a single dose capsule of fluconazole from the pharmacist. There are some measures you can take to prevent vaginal thrush: - Wear cotton underwear and loose fitting clothes if possible. - Avoid latex condoms, spermicidal creams and lubricants if they cause irritation. - Avoid the use of perfumed soaps, vaginal deodorants or douches which may irritate the - Avoid unnecessary use of antibiotics. - Consider applying live yoghurt or taking probiotic preparations which may encourage ‘friendly' bacteria in the vagina. - Consider treating your partner at the same time as the infection may affect him without symptoms and can be causing reinfection. For further advice on thrush consult your local community pharmacy. The information provided on this website does not replace medical advice. If you want to find out more, or are worried about any medical issue or symptoms that you may be experiencing, please contact your local Numark pharmacist or see your doctor.

This series contains various correspondences, articles, documents, reunion yearbooks, etc. relating to the American Volunteer Group (AVG), known as the “Flying Tigers.” The 1st American Volunteer Group, also known as AVG, and more famously as the Flying Tigers—was a group of volunteer American pilots from various branches of the military, led by Lieutenant General Claire Lee Chennault. Answering a call from Madame Chiang Kai Shek, Chennault initially gathered together the AVG to perform a survey of the Chinese Air Force. The AVG was comprised of 3 squadrons: 1st Adam and Eves, 2nd Panda Bears, and 3rd Hell’s Angels. The group saw combat after Pearl Harbor in 1941, and went on to produce multiple victories against the Japanese, and emerged with multiple Flying Aces. Chennault employed his fighter doctrine, which was based on careful study of the enemy’s tactics, while employing their strengths in altitude. The Flying Tigers were famous too for their successes in the air battle over Rangoon. In addition to their combat victories, the Flying Tiger members and Chennault were highly celebrated, and in 1992, AVG veterans were finally recognized as members of the military services, and all members were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. The ground crew were rewarded the Bronze Star. In popular culture, the Flying Tigers are readily recognizable in their iconic shark face nose art. They have also been featured in various movies, books and documentaries.

Find the latest lung care discoveries at OHSU At OHSU, we use the latest technology to fight cancer. One of our newest diagnostic tools is the i•Logic™ System. Also known as Electromagnetic Navigation Bronchoscopy™, the i•Logic System is a minimally invasive way for your doctor to check your lungs and navigate through small airway passages to reach a lung nodule for diagnosis. A lung nodule is a mass of abnormal tissue that can either be benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous). This helps your doctor take tissue samples from smaller nodules, which can mean earlier detection of lung cancers. How does it work? The i•Logic System uses your chest CT scan results and Global Positioning System (GPS)-like guidance to create a 3-D image of your lungs. Before the procedure, your CT scan will be loaded onto the computer, creating a “roadmap” of your lungs. During the procedure, which is done while you are asleep, your doctor will place a bronchoscope through your mouth and into your airways. Electromagnetic sensors then guide a catheter to the exact location your doctor wants to reach. The whole procedure takes about 30 minutes to an hour. What are the benefits? The benefits of the i•Logic™ System include: - A minimally invasive alternative to surgical biopsy - Suitable for those with poor lung function or who have undergone previous surgery, radiation or chemotherapy - Ability to diagnose early stage lung cancer

Ariana Et Barbe-bleue Read More Articles About: Opera ( Originally Published Early 1900's ) Salome, the daughter of Herod's wife. The story is suggested by the Biblical account of the decapitation of John the Baptist at the caprice of the daughter of Herodias. The curtain rises on a terrace of the palace of Herod, tetrarch of Judea. Here are Narraboth, the Syrian, and a number of soldiers and pages; in the background is seen a cistern surrounded by a wall in which Iokanaan, or John the Baptist, is held prisoner. The moon, which proves the subject of an ensuing multitude of amazing similes, gleams in the sapphire of the Oriental sky. Narraboth is speaking of the beauty of Salome with whom he is in love. Just then Salome herself comes in from the feast, rejoicing to be free from the caresses of her licentious stepfather, Herod. As she reflects upon the glory of the night, the voice of Iokanaan issues forth solemnly, uttering the words " The Lord bath come : the Son of Man is at hand ! " Salome starts, listens and demands that he who has spoken be brought forth for her to see. Waving aside the slave of Herod, who bids her return to the royal company, she uses her arts upon the doting Narraboth so effectually that he disobeys Herod's orders and brings the prophet from the cistern. No sooner does she see him, splendid in manly beauty and stately in bearing, than her barbaric nature yields to his attraction, and she bursts forth in a passionate expression of her longing for him. He repulses her, speaking the name of the Lord, calling her daughter of Babylon and of Sodom and telling her that she is no better than her sinful mother. But unabashed, she renews her ravings over his physical beauty, and begs for a touch of his mouth. Again he repulses her and again and again she repeats, " Suffer me to kiss thy mouth, Iokanaan." Mourning over the degeneracy of the time, he returns to his cistern but not before the unhappy Narraboth, who has witnessed the scene, slays himself, and falls between them. It is he whose father was a king, whom Herod drove from his kingdom; whose mother was a queen, whom Herodias made her slave. Herod, the Queen and their retinue come in from the banquet-hall. They speak of Iokanaan and his prophecies and of the Nazarene who changed water into wine at a marriage in Galilee and who healed two lepers before the gate of Capernaum simply by touching them. Herod's eyes are only for Salome. He begs her to dance that he may better observe her charms. She refuses ; he implores ; he offers her anything that she may ask " even unto the half of his kingdom." Then she dances the dance of the seven veils and the king asks what she will have in reward. Even the degenerate Herod is shocked when she asks for the head of John the Baptist on a silver platter. He urges her to suggest something else, anything else; untold wealth, emeralds, pearls, turquoises and amber, white peacocks with gilded beaks; at last even the veil of the sanctuary, but she is obdurate. Finally he yields to her terrible will and orders the executioner to the cistern, while Salome, shaking with emotion, leans over listening for the death-struggle. Finally when the huge arm appears, she takes the bleeding head from the shield, and madly kisses its lips. Even the stars flee from the sky and the face of the moon is hidden behind clouds. As Herod, in fright and horror, hastens to depart, he hears the voice of Salome chanting " I have kissed thy mouth, Iokanaan." " Kill that woman," cries Herod and the soldiers crush beneath their shields Salome, daughter of Herodias, Princess of Judea. Salome had been widely heralded as unclean and revolutionary. It has proved the greatest operatic sensation since Wagner. The story is laid in the days 'of the decadent Roman Empire, which gives an opportunity and, perhaps, presents a necessity for a flagrant display of sensualism and earthiness. It was received with greater suspicion because the text came from the pen of Oscar Wilde, a text replete with the most unique and glowing poetical figures. Strauss in his score has caught the spirit of the text with the hand of genius. In orchestration, he is a veritable revolutionist, putting aside all previously made rules, and introducing startling effects which no one before him has been daring enough, or possibly creatively big enough to employ. The work is overpowering in the vividness of its musical description. Every sound has been pinioned in the score from the screaming of white peacocks to the dripping of blood. The whole work is dramatic to a degree and it would be difficult to find another moment in opera of tenser suspense than that in which Salome waits at the cistern for the head of John. The diversity of opinion as expressed in the countless magazine and newspaper discussions of the opera is both amazing and amusing.

|Search Results (22 videos found)| |NASASciFiles - The Sun Seventh segment of NASA Sci Files The Case of the Technical Knockout explaining the different layers of the sun and the sun's properties. This segment explains how satellites are used... Keywords: NASA SciFiles; Sun; Dwarf; proxima centauri; light years; plasma; convection cells; The Case of the Technical Knockout; Popularity (downloads): 1300 |NASA Connect - WATMTG - Microgravity Research NASA Connect segment exploring how NASA is working with students to develop new applications for microgravity research. The segment explains buoyancy-induced convection and the relationship between density and volume. Keywords: NASA Connect; Research; Microgravity; Students; Buoyancy-Induced Convection; Trends; Density; Temperature; Graphs; Volume; Frontal Polymerization; Convection; Interfacial; Popularity (downloads): 1522 |NASASciFiles - The Case of the Technical Knockout NASA Sci Files video containing the following nine segments. NASA Sci Files segment in which the tree house detectives have problems with their GPS device and decide to find out... Keywords: NASA SciFiles; Geocaching; Cache; Compass; Coordinates; Navigation; Maps; Pilots; GPS; Global Positioning System; Vikings; History of Navigation; Polaris; North Star; Lodestone; Sextant; Satellites; Trilateration; Electromagnetic spectrum; waves; radio waves; electricity; Observatory; Magnetism; Auroral Oval; Student Activity; Sun; Dwarf; proxima centauri; light years; plasma; convection cells; atmosphere; flares; coronal mass ejection; Forecasts; Space weather; Goes; Poes; Magnetometer; Solar Cycle; The Case of the Technical Knockout; Popularity (downloads): 1534 |NASAKSN - La Ebullicion en el Espacio Para que estudian la ebullicion en el espacio? Keywords: Alejandra; Burbuja; Bubble; Gravedad; Gravity; Ebullicion; Boil; Liquido; Liquid; Espacio; Space; Microgravedad; Microgravity; Convecci—n; Convection; Caliente; Calor; Heat; Hot; Sustentaci—n; Sustention; Tecnolog’a; Technology; Noticiencias; Noticias Cientificas; Kids' Science News Network; Popularity (downloads): 1388 |NASAKSN - Boiling Fluids NASA Kids Science News segment explaining why NASA is boiling foods in space. Keywords: NASA Kids Science News; Boil; Microgravity; Bubble; Vapor; Convection; Buoyancy; Dense; Weightless; Experiment; Space; Technology; Energy Transfer; Popularity (downloads): 1231 |NASASciFiles - Cells, Tissues, Organs, and Systems NASA Sci Files segment describing the building blocks of the body. Keywords: Dr. D.; Cell; Trillion; Nerve; White Blood Cell; Nucleus; Membrane; Cytoplasm; Skin; Digestive; Homeostasis; Popularity (downloads): 1706 |Atom and Biological Science, The Describes some of the biological effects of high energy radiations on plants and animal cells. Explains how typical experiments are conducted and demonstrates some of the protective measures required to... Popularity (downloads): 263 |NASAKSN - Nanotechnology NASA Kids Science News segment explaining what nanotechnology does. Keywords: NASA Kids Science News; Nano; Nanotechnology; Billionth; Nanometer; Computers; Technology; Nanorobots; Scientists; Ozone Layer; Nano Technology; Cancer; Cells; Popularity (downloads): 2743 |NASAWhy?Files - Electricity NASA Why? Files segment explaining the forms of electricity and the many sources of power. Keywords: NASA Why? Files; Electric Charges; Electrons; Lightning; Battery; Socket; Power; Solar Power; Solar Cells; Physics; Wires; Energy; Work; Chemical Energy; Mechanical Motion; Power Company; Current; Sources of Energy; Wind Power; Natural Gas; Coal; Oil; Nuclear Fission; Steam; Turbines; Generator; Niagara Falls Power Project; Hydro Power; Popularity (downloads): 2518 |The Future of Energy Gases, segment 05 of 13 Tight gas can be found in sandstone but may be too expensive or difficult to recover Keywords: Natural Gas;Acid Rain; Popularity (downloads): 530

The accounts, symbols and feelings that we have about national identity were largely imagined, created and popularized in the nineteenth century. The word ‘nationalism’ itself dates from the early nineteenth century and marked the increasing use of national identity in order to make political claims. So to argue that national identity is pre-political is itself a political statement. It is becoming chic among some of Europe’s young elites to call for a return to nationalism. This is the case not only with the current crop of xenophobic populists muddying our political waters from west to east, but also of a growing cadre of flashy academics and pundits. In some European countries, of course, nationalism never truly went out of fashion. But here in the Netherlands explicit nationalism has since the war been something considered embarrassingly distasteful in polite company, rather like an ideological fart: an indiscrete confession of hidden fascist longings. It is all the more striking then – rather like a canary in a coal mine – when young Dutch neoconservatives seeking to make a name for themselves begin to make chirping noises on behalf of nationalism. The fact that one of Britain’s sharper conservative philosophers has subsequently added his own encouraging grunts to the performance, in a maladroit attempt at fatherly support, only makes it worse. So last month, the legal philosopher Thierry Baudet, a growing presence in the Dutch media, published an opinion piece in our premier quality daily in which he argued that ‘nationalism does not lead to war,’ but that rather it is ‘the European project [that] will lead to war.’ In a march through modern European history, at once heavy-footed and superficial, Baudet argues that all the important wars for the last two centuries were caused by people and countries that crossed national boundaries in order to unite Europe in some fashion: Napoleon, Mussolini, Hitler, Austro-Hungary, the German empire and the Soviet Union. Then, in an attempt to make some concrete link between these and the European Union, Baudet describes one of its founders, Robert Schuman, as a Vichy collaborator who, among other things, had encouraged closer collaboration between Hitler and Mussolini. Baudet here seeks to suggest that the founding fathers of the European Union were sympathetic to fascist totalitarianism. Unfortunately, Baudet utterly neglects to mention that during the war Schuman was arrested for resistance and protest against the Nazis, only narrowly avoided being sent to Dachau, then escaped and joined the French resistance. Though Baudet likes to describe himself as a historian, this highly selective presentation of the past makes him more akin to a writer of fiction. Nor is he much better at the analytic level: our history simply fails to sustain the simplistic opposition between nationalism and imperialism that Baudet would like there to be. If we look at western history and its modern empires – the Dutch, the French, the British, the American – then we see that nationalism has been used as often as not to enable and support imperialism as it has been used to criticize it. On the European continent, this tension was there from the moment the French Revolution was launched in the name of universal ideals that the revolutionaries would subsequently seek to ‘give’ with force to other European nations and peoples. Indeed, the entanglement between nationalism and imperialism is one of the most complex and fascinating aspects of modern history. All this Baudet ignores and distorts, which requires him to erase so much history that little if any is left at all. For a man who calls himself conservative, that’s a problem. What is even more striking is that this should be published not in some obscure college rag or internet site, but in one of the most important newspapers for the Dutch cultural and political elite. Not only that, but Baudet’s article was soon taken up by the European news collator Presseurop.com – “the best of the European press” – which featured the article prominently. Apparently, the conceit that ‘Europe’ may yet again descend into war and that we must turn to nationalism to preserve all that is good and noble has struck a nerve. It was given further support in a follow-up editorial by Baudet’s mentor Roger Scruton. Unlike Baudet, Scruton is rather open to empires, as long as they are good ones. Good empires are the ones that ‘protect loyalties and customs under a canopy of civilization and law’ while bad empires ‘extinguish local customs and rival loyalties’ in order ‘to replace them by a lawless and centralized power.’ Such local loyalties and customs, for Scruton, are pre-political, unconditional and ordinary. They are simply given and are the most natural form of identity in which everyday people will express themselves. And yet, Scruton fiercely argues that this identity must be actively protected and safeguarded ‘from the predations of those who do not belong to it, and who are attempting to pillage an inheritance to which they are not entitled’. It is unclear here if Scruton is still talking about the European Union: does he mean Brussels is rapaciously pillaging London and attempting to lay claim to English identity? Or has he here slipped into an anti-immigrant rhetoric? And if so, how can this be: is not national identity simply given, natural and eternal through time? If English identity is ordinary, pre-political and unconditional, then any kind of social and political transformations should pose no threat to it. As in the case of Baudet, Roger Scruton’s argument rests on a wilful ignorance of history. As masses of the most innovative and interesting research in the last decades have shown, there is nothing natural or pre-political about national identity. The accounts, symbols and feelings that we have about national identity were largely imagined, created and popularized in the nineteenth century. The word ‘nationalism’ itself dates from the early nineteenth century and marked the increasing use of national identity in order to make political claims. So to argue that national identity is pre-political is itself a political statement. This assertion by Scruton masks the extent to which the success of national identity as a socio-political tool derives precisely from its flexibility: the extraordinary ability nationalism has had at moments in persuading people who are highly diverse that they are members of a shared community. The United States is one of the most obvious examples of this, but in fact all European countries created national communities out of groups of highly disparate peoples divided along lines of religion, language, region, ethnicity, sex and so forth. The fight for democracy since the nineteenth century has been, among other things, precisely this fight for the inclusion of minorities as full members of the nation. The reason that Scruton ignores this is because he wants to assert that the national identities we have now are the only national identities that are possible. This is more irrational conviction than rational assertion. At the same time, it is an utter dead end: the kind of purist national community that Scruton would like to protect could only be achieved in today’s multicultural societies through forms of exclusion that are violent, undemocratic and deeply undermine our commitments to human equality and justice. At the same time, his argument that national identities are the most natural form through which people commit themselves to sacrificing for a common cause ignores the great pressure that European states in the past have brought to bear in order to ensure that their citizens would sacrifice themselves for their nation-states. There is nothing natural about conscription, education, taxes and so forth. The nation-state as an organic and spontaneous community of like-minded people, sweetly committed to each other, naturally sharing values and traditions, and willing to sacrifice for the collective good has never existed. Scruton, in other words, can be located as part of the current crop of cultural and political nostalgists. What Scruton perhaps most cares about is the question of how people can be mobilized to sacrifice in the interest of a common cause and how it is that they can have a sense of belonging today. This is a crucial question that so many of us are asking. It is a shame, then, that Scruton gives such a useless answer to the question. The failure of Scruton, as with Baudet is two-fold: on the one hand, imagining that the source of our sense of dislocation is ‘Europe’ and on the other hand, imagining that the solution to this dislocation can only be found in retreating from Europe. Both of these assumptions are wrong. The sense of dislocation to which Baudet and Scruton respond is one that can be found far beyond Europe, in America, Asia, and Africa. It has everything to do with this brave new world that we are creating without knowing where we are going or what will happen. Our societies are changing tremendously fast in ways that we had not anticipated or imagined: all this we have in common across the globe. At the same time, ‘Europe’ offers us possibilities that our old nation-states do not and cannot offer. In order to take advantage of these possibilities, we have to consider creatively – rather than nostalgically or irrationally – where they might lie. So in closing, I would like to do just that by suggesting five concrete areas where we might transform that which is weakest in Europe – its democracy gap and the revival of escapist nationalism – into something productive and worthy of all our efforts. 1. The creation of European citizenship as a formal, legal category of identity and associated rights. Currently European citizenship goes via national citizenship. Correspondingly, despite the fact that the bulk of laws now are made in Brussels rather than in our national capitals, our first and primary frame of reference, set of legal resources, and means to politics as citizens remains national. In the first instance, European citizenship, even when formalized, will be largely symbolic: for example, the possibility of claiming a ‘European’ identity and having a ‘European’ passport in addition to a national one. With time, increasing institutional, social and political rights could be coupled explicitly to such European identity: this could include direct voting for European decision-making bodies and European political parties; a ‘European’ tax, pension and inheritance system that is the same wherever in Europe one lives; ‘European’ schools that one’s children can attend in any major city; ‘European’ courts that one can access directly as a citizen; the choice to work under ‘European’ labour laws rather than local ones, and so forth. What all of this entails is that at the level of citizenship, political organization, education, labour and culture we catch up with what has been happening at the level of governance and business. One of the most distinguishing features of the ‘European experiment’ is the wide variety of governance structures that it has enabled across the continent, some of them supra-national, others sub-national, and others creating new collaborations between government, semi-public and private entities. In combination with new media technologies, thismeans that European governance is being invented on the ground even as we speak. (A striking recent example of this was the conflict over control of SWIFT data, leading to a complex, innovative collaboration between European agencies and private business.) So far, much of this invention of governance on the hoof has bypassed citizens. Instead, the ones making the decision have been politicians, lawyers, diplomats, bureaucrats, and businessmen. The argument here, then, is to begin creating institutionalized forms of ‘European citizenship’, to match this transformative stage in the invention of European forms of governance, especially those that increasingly cross the line between public (government) and private (business). As this divide becomes increasingly fuzzy, citizens must find ways to make the private answerable for its influence and effect on the public domain. 2. Related to this: the shift from citizenship as blood-inheritance to citizenship as pure institution. As the legal philosopher, Ayelet Shachar has argued, our treatment of citizenship is a deeply ‘medieval’ one in which the accident of birth significantly determines the possibilities of and constraints on our future life chances. Born in a ‘citizenship lottery’ as it were, to parents with the‘wrong’ citizenship, we will have shorter life expectations and face increased risk of war, poverty and disease. All these are today largely determined not according to egalitarian criteria, but according to our bloodline. This maintains the deep global inequalities whose tensions, among other things, are disrupting European multicultural societies. At the same time, the persistence of sharp differences between ‘native’ Europeans and ‘non-European’ threatens to slowly tear our societies apart. Correspondingly, European citizenship should be offered to all residents within the European Union after a set period of time, for example five years. The qualifications for citizenship must be purely formal and in all ways ‘colour-blind’: they must be the same for all applicants whether they were born in Europe or have travelled here from elsewhere. In this way, European citizenship can offer an identity, cultural and socio-political domain which transcends national differences and inequalities, even as it leaves room for the persistence and perhaps even strengthening of national identities. More generally, there is a deep need to develop new forms of multiple citizenship that respond to the fact that our post-Copernican world has recently become more mobile and diverse. Citizenship should less and less constitute a test and proof of one’s national loyalty to a bounded bit of earth, Instead, more and more, the primary task of citizenship should become that of enabling the world’s peoples to create flexible and responsive political communities wherever they come together. 3. A democratization of the election of European leaders. In a united Europe, the results of national elections have continental consequences. Consider, for example, the role of Merkel and Sarkozy in addressing the financial crisis. Correspondingly, we need to adapt our election systems to reflect this fact. One intriguing possibility could involve making room for the input of voters in other European countries on national elections. If, for example, Merkel and other German politicians knew that the austerity measures that they impose on other countries could shape how Europeans vote in the next German election, might they have gone to work more democratically and less technocratically? The proposal here is not that all Europeans vote equally in all national European elections. This would both be a recipe for chaos and mean that the smallest countries would be swamped by the votes of other countries. Rather, the suggestion is that we find a carefully thought-through way of incorporating into our national elections the input of all those who will be impacted by that election, including those living outside our countries, while recognizing and preserving the dominance of the national community. This would be both highly controversial and a daunting legal, technical and technological challenge to achieve; but it is a project that has vital possibilities for addressing the democracy gap in Europe in a concrete and direct fashion. 4. A democratization of economic knowledge, skills and decision-making. One of the most striking and troubling aspects of the current European financial crisis is the utter lack of democratic debate and participation in the solutions that are being found. In part, this has to do with the existing democracy gap and the tradition of technocratic and elite problem-solving that has been typical of Europe. It also has to do with the fact that, by and large, we lack the economic understanding, as citizens, to participate in the debates and decision-making. Last but not least, it reflects the current poverty of our economic thinking more generally, in which, as Slavoj Zizek has pointed out, it is easier for us to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism. Not being able to imagine alternatives structurally weakens any decisions we might make about how to shape the place, form and nature of economic relations in our societies. This is particularly critical given the central role that has been given to economics in creating ‘Europe.’ There is a clear need to address one of our defining structures of European relation in a manner that does not reproduce but reduces the democracy gap. This we can do by organizing the knowledge, institutions, social organizations and ideologies that will stimulate a deep understanding of the economic processes shaping our world and allow us to imagine alternatives to them. 5. A recommitment to human rights as the fundamental normative framework for European cultural, social and political relations. Since the 1990s, we’ve seen a growing ambivalence towards human rights in western Europe. This is particularly the case since it has become clear that the European human rights regime could play a crucial role in by-passing national traditions, prejudices and injustices in the interest of protecting the rights of minorities and immigrants and also workers. Increasingly, there are politicians and pundits who argue that this is a violation of national and cultural sovereignty. European human rights then, threaten to become a victim of introvert nationalism. This is dangerous not only for the position of minorities, but also for Europe as a whole. While multiple critiques of this regime can be developed, the normative structure of human rights have offered the closest thing that we have to a collective supra-national norm and a reference point for developing the European public domain. Nationalism cannot solve the problems Scruton and Baudet would like it to. For the last 200 years at least, with the growth of the nation-state, people have disagreed intensely and continuously over how to define and give shape to nationality and nationalism within each country. Which traditions are retained and which are changed? Which values are paramount? Who has authority? Who decides? And who can claim to being ‘one of us’ and who cannot? So, for example, Thierry Baudet has a name whose origin is clearly not Dutch and yet he seeks to speak in the name of Dutch nationalism. Similarly, many others in the Netherlands today who can lay claim to being Dutch have ancestors who were German, Scandinavian, French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Indonesian, Chinese, and west African. Are all these people less Dutch than those who can trace their Dutch lineage in some pure form back to the Middle Ages? And how might we distinguish between the Dutch, German, Scandinavian, French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Indonesian, Chinese and African cultures, values and forms of sociality that we have inherited? A majority of countries in the world today either is already multicultural or is becoming increasingly so. Under these conditions, a politics of (purist) nationalism is utterly unrealistic and untenable. At the same time, the values and traditions we are used to thinking of as ‘national’ and ‘traditional’ have origins that are diverse, multi-national and global. Just consider some of Europe’s most distinctive national culinary traditions: where would Italy be without tomatoes, Northern Europe without potatoes and the Belgians without chocolate (all foods that came from the Americas)? It would be utterly unrealistic, as well as boring, to deprive Europe of these today in the name of European tradition and cultural continuity. Just as unrealistic and boring would be the effect of following the call by public nostalgists to return to imaginary national cultures and communities of the past. The fact that the vast majority of these public nostalgists do not themselves live in traditional communities, leading lives governed by traditional authorities, mores and values while producing and consuming only traditional national products, speaks volumes. Theirs is an ideological position that has little to do with how they themselves actually wish to live. At the same time, those politicians who today speak most fiercely in the name of nationalism are precisely those who most divide rather than unify us. Nor do they have any interest in encouraging their constituents to sacrifice in the interest of the common good, as Scruton would like them to. They have a politics of polarization, highly aggressive styles, and are much more interested in what they can lay claim to for themselves than in giving back to society. In the worst case (Breivik), they kill their fellow-nationals for their purported lack of nationalism. In place of such a dated and divisive politics, we need to develop new ways of organizing political communities, institutions and processes. Some of this is already happening on the basis of transnational identities, supranational organizations, consumer activism, crowd-funding, social media mobilization, and so forth. Other forms of politics are much more small-scale and local: neighbourhood initiatives to transform urban space, resources and services; community gardens; projects linking schools, parents and local businesses, and so forth. These new methods are being developed in all political directions (in Bavaria, for example, neo-right groups have become involved in 'green' farming in order gain legitimacy and constituents, just as Breivik was crucially nurtured by an international internet community, and the nationalist Geert Wilders is financed by American conservatives with global interests). In and of themselves, in short, these new political methods are not the privileged domain of either progressives or conservatives. Most important of all, however, is to look and see how effectively so many people are living with each other in our most diverse neighborhoods and cities. While our news is full of conflicts, our streets, our shops, our schools, and our sports teams are full of collaborations, exchanges, and negotiated compromises, if only we are willing to see them. This is not a matter of politics per se, but of ordinary people making use of everyday ingenuity to build lives that are liveable and worthwhile. This pragmatic ingenuity is the most valuable resource we have. Though Scruton and Baudet argue for nationalism and closed borders in the name of everyday people, around us as we speak everyday people are making enriching multiculturalism work. This is not to say that multiculturalism is easy: but it is both our only realistic option and already deeply and effectively embedded in our cities and societies. Just last week, two brothers in Leiden won the national competition for this year’s best haring. Raw haring, as you may know, is one of our most luscious treats, deeply rooted in Dutch history and tradition. One of the brothers, Abdullah, was born in Turkey and came to Holland when he was nine. The other, Umut, was born here. But what they talked about when interviewed was not tradition or inherited cultures of taste, but simply the importance of knowing your trade and producing a good product. Meanwhile, some weeks earlier, the Moroccan-Swedish Lorine Talhaoui won the Euro Song Festival, even as Najat Vallaud-Belkacem was being named the spokeswoman and public face of François Hollande’s new French government. As with haring and music, so with politics: it’s not a matter of borders and bloodlines, but of quality. Europe has a long tradition of migration and cultural exchange that has benefited us all. What a shame it would be to break with that tradition now.

||Stored Procedures for Java Programmers| |Subject:||Java Stored Procedures| Response to: Java Stored Procedures There is a great reason to use Java Stored Procedures (java inside the database). Let's say that you have an application that only knows how to talk to datasources (such as Crystal Reports). Now let's say you want to integrate that application with another software application that only provides you with a Java API to extract data from. There is the perfect union. Call java stored procedures (or views on top of stored procedures) in Oracle, and then the Java code can load the data it needs out of the Java API. Hear us Roar

Characteristics of Brown Recluse Spiders Brown recluse spiders (Loxosceles reclusa) are small to medium in size, measuring 6 to 11 mm body length when full grown. At the widest leg span, their bodies are roughly the size of a United States quarter. Adult specimens vary in color from dull yellow to tawny, dark brown. Younger spiders are lighter in color than adults. The abdomen of the brown recluse has no stripes or spots. They have six eyes, which are arranged in pairs known as dyads. The most telltale characteristic of brown recluse spiders is the presence of a dark, violin-shaped mark on the dorsum of the arachnid’s light brown or yellowish-brown cephalothorax. The neck of this distinct violin pattern is directed toward the abdomen. Due to this marking, brown recluses are also commonly known as fiddle-back spiders. To positively identify a spider as a recluse, both the eyes and fiddle marking must be seen, since other spiders may possess one or the other characteristic alone.

Climate Change and Food Security – A Story Written by Mary Minette, Director of Environmental Education and Advocacy, andDavid Creech, Director for Hunger EducationEvangelical Lutheran Church in America He will give rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and grain, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous.- Isaiah 30:23 In the small community of Las Jolotas, Nicaragua, subsistence farmers like Felicita and her son Ariel are already facing the impacts of climate change. Ever since Hurricane Mitch devastated western Nicaragua in 1998, rainfall patterns have grown increasingly unpredictable. Some years the rains fall late; other years the rains fall too hard, and there is no way to predict what type of year it will be. If the rains arrive late, seeds die without producing any harvest. If the rains cause flooding, seeds are swept away. Farmers in Las Jolotas traditionally save just enough seeds from the previous harvest to plant during the next rainy season. If those seeds are lost, the results are devastating. Farmers may have to borrow money at high rates to purchase more seeds for planting, and may have to take on additional work to pay the loans back. Some farmers have stopped planting during the rainy season, choosing instead to migrate to El Salvador, Costa Rica, or even the United States to look for work. Family members left behind struggle to keep food on the table and children in school while their land lies fallow. To support Felicita and her family as they try to adapt to the effects of climate change, The Lutheran World Federation - working with the Faith and Hope Lutheran Church of Nicaragua - helped them dig a shallow well. The water from the well is gravity-fed to irrigate crops during the dry season. Thanks to the well and Felicita's hard work, her lush garden - full of beans, corn, squash, tomatoes, and yucca - thrives in the middle of the dry summer months. Felicita will use the garden to feed her family and small farm animals. If there are leftover vegetables, she will sell them for added income. The well protects Felicita and her family from uncertain weather patterns. In turn, the increased food security ensures that they will have enough to eat and will not have to migrate to faraway places, disrupting and perhaps ending Ariel's schooling and leaving their culture and community behind. Solutions like this will need to be joined with other, much larger efforts, if subsistence farmers around the world are to adjust to the impacts of climate change that are already occurring. International development agencies are working hard to adapt to and address this new reality, but significant aid from governments and international agencies will be needed to ensure that families like Felicita's are able to survive and thrive as the earth's climate continues to change.

OTTAWA -- Canadian adults have a so-so record of physical activity, says a global couch potato survey. But it’s our kids who urgently need to ditch their iPhones and run somewhere. Younger teens in this country are two to three times as inactive as adults, says a survey by The Lancet, one of the world’s most influential medical journals. It finds our level of physical activity ranks high among Western nations -- better than in the U.S., and better than those pesky Swedes who were supposed to be fitter at age 60 than Canadians at 30. But it appears to be a myth that healthy, active teenagers are later turning into sedentary adults. The Lancet says between 70 and 79 per cent of Canadian boys aged 13 to 15 are inactive, and so are 80 to 89 per cent of girls the same age. (The findings for teens are shown in graph form, with increments of 10 percentage points.) There’s less time in school for physical education, and Canadian and U.S. students are increasingly riding to school in a bus or their parents’ car, the study says. “Reductions in physical activity have been recorded . . . in Canadian boys and girls aged 8-16 years from 2001 to 2006,” it says. All stats are based on self-reporting. In Canada, 33.9 per cent of adults are inactive, it says, against a global figure of 31.1 per cent. As with most countries, men fare a little better. The study says 32.3 per cent of men and 35.4 per cent of women are inactive. The difference between teens and adults comes partly from the stricter definition of exercise for teenagers. The Lancet wants adults to do at least five half-hour periods of moderate activity per week, or three 20-minute bursts of a vigorous workout. But it says teens aged 13 to 15 should get 60 minutes a day of exercise to build a healthy body. “The human body has evolved in such a way that most of its systems (skeletal, muscle, metabolic and cardiovascular) do not develop and function in an optimum way” unless they are physically active. We’ve known for years about the dangers of inactivity in a world of labour-saving machines. What’s new is the ability to measure rates of inactivity globally, and compare countries, regions and age groups. For instance, that inactivity rate of Canadian adults (33.9 per cent) is better than the rate in the U.S. (40.5 per cent), Sweden (44.2 per cent) or Denmark (35.1 per cent). It’s far better than this year’s Olympic hosts in Britain (63.3 per cent inactive). The 105 countries range from 4.7 per cent in Bangladesh to 71.9 per cent in Malta. More walking and cycling to work would help, The Lancet suggests. It says only six per cent of Canadians walk to work and fewer than two per cent cycle. It does see some good news: the length of time adults spend in sports and other physical activity is growing, at least in richer countries.

The dream of perpetual motion can be traced back at least as far as the 8th Century, to a seemingly magical, magnetically powered wheel. The idea held allure even for such luminaries as Leonardo da Vinci, but despite its long history has never amounted to anything. Perpetual motion remains an epistemic impossibility, that is, impossible within our current best understanding. Given that fact and the track record of failure, the U.S. Patent Office refuses to grant a patent for any such device without a working model. Everything old is new again and what were perpetual motion devices have been repackaged into free energy (or overunity) machines, whereby you can get more energy out than you put in. This would, of course, change the world and that’s exactly why “they” won’t let you know about it. Don’t worry though. We’ll keep you in the loop. For example, in 2008, a local inventor was given space at the University of Ottawa to work on a device that while not claimed to continue indefinitely was supposedly capable of operating at efficiencies of 7,000 %. Steve Watson (M.Eng.) took part in an investigation into this device. In this talk he will present a brief overview of historical attempts to produce perpetual motion machines, the basic physics of why they don’t work, and the results from the examination of this recent local free energy project. When: Sunday, April 14, 2013 at 4:00 PM Where: Clocktower Brew Pub, Westboro, 418 Richmond Rd, Ottawa. We’ll be in the room behind the bar. Which NASA mission first landed humans on the moon? With regard to animals, what is a digitigrade? And by what more common name are the nares known? None of these questions, but many others, will be asked at our next Science-Based Pub Quiz! Match wits and celebrate science, skepticism, and general geekery in this British-style pub quiz. No sports questions, we promise. Compete for prizes (maybe) in teams of three or four. The Ottawa Skeptics have hosted these occasional pub quizzes since 2011. This week’s edition is inspired by recent world events and Enrico Fermi. First time at the Ottawa Skeptics? Never been to an event before? This is a great way to meet and mingle, so come on out. If you don’t have a team, no problem. Just join up with other folks after you arrive. When: Sunday, March 24th, 2013, 7.00 pm Where: The Foolish Chicken, 79 Holland Avenue, Ottawa (just north of Wellington). This February 24th, join the Ottawa Skeptics for our third open conference event, Skepticamp Ottawa 2013. Skepticamps, modeled on the BarCamp approach of non-curated, user-driven content and participation, are entertaining, educational and informative events in a relaxed environment. The overall theme for the event is science and scientific skepticism. This year we are fortunate to be at the Shopify Lounge, right in the heart of downtown Ottawa. Come along to listen to some great talks, ask questions, and meet interesting people! We have a full roster of speakers. Here’s how it looks: 12.30: Doors open 1:00 PM – 1:20 PM: Darren McKee – Smart Giving 1:20 PM – 1:40 PM: Nic Watson – When video game players become designers: a Myst-erious ethnography 1:40 PM – 2:00 PM: Alex Gonzalez – Skepticism in the aquarium store 2:00 PM – 2:20 PM: Chris Hebbern – #DropJenny: an example of successful skeptical activism 2:20 PM – 2:40 PM: Break 2:40 PM – 3:00 PM: Dana Peters – Gedankenexperiments 3:00 PM – 3:20 PM: Diane Bruce – Propaganda 3:20 PM – 3:40 PM: Miranda Dixon-Luinenburg – The ape in the office 3:40 PM – 4:00 PM: Corey Yanofsky – Plausibility and probability 4:00 PM – 4:20 PM: Break 4:20 PM – 4:40 PM: Cliff Beninger – Faith and unreason 4:40 PM – 5:00 PM: Dave Green – From Free Energy to Clean Water – Recognizing Your Own Mistakes 5:00 PM – 5:20 PM: Kevin Brown – Anti-missile defences 5:20 PM – 5:40 PM: Ania Bula – Sex Mythbusters 5:40 PM – 6:00 PM: It’s a wrap! The Reality Check, the weekly Canadian podcast that explores scientific controversies and curiosities, has been running for over four and half years, produced 232 episodes, and received well over a million downloads. Darren and Adam will be discussing our upcoming Skepticamp this weekend, an informal and open Unconference covering scientific and skeptical topics that will be held at the Shopify Lounge, in the heart of downtown Ottawa. Everyone’s welcome: check out the event wiki for more information. Commemorate the 204th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth this year with the Centre for Inquiry Ottawa. From as early as 1972, scientists and academics have celebrated the occasion with what’s known as “Phylum Feasts”: attendees bring foods representative of as many different phyla as can be obtained. It’s entirely in keeping with Darwin’s own dietary proclivities: while at Cambridge University he was a member of the Glutton Club, a group convened to once a week eat animals not typically found in restaurants. This included hawk and bittern, but brown owl was apparently a challenge too far. While on the Beagle he consumed armadillos, agoutis, puma, rhea, iguanas and giant tortoise. At least one of those is now extinct, thanks, in some small part, to Darwin eating an ancestor or two. However our modern understanding of taxonomy provides plenty of insight in how to assemble a menu that is not at the same time an extinction-level event for rare species. Here in Ottawa CFI will be hosting their own version, with a biodiversity potluck and a talk on evolution. For the potluck, we are seeking biodiversity, so let’s see how many different species we can identify in our food. Both storebought and home-made items are welcome – post to the comments if you need suggestions. There will be a prize for the food item that includes the most species, but the challenge is that you must provide a list of scientific (binomial) names for the ingredients. (Chemistry doesn’t count, so if you are baking, better to use saccharomyces cerevisiae instead of sodium bicarbonate.) At 7:30, we will present the talk Change Through Time for the Times: Evolution for the Layperson, presented by biology graduate student Alex Gonzalez: The public imagination of what evolution is often veers from one misconception to the next. Alex will discuss some of these misconceptions, such as “spontaneous evolution” and “irreducible complexity” in order to provide a clearer understanding of what the science actually says about the appearance of the burgeoning variety of life on Earth, and of how evolution plays into the reality of the 21st-century. Get the details, and RSVP, here. Good news from the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation: responding to criticism from media, social media and groups including the Ottawa Skeptics, CFI, CASS and Bad Science Watch, they have dropped Jenny McCarthy from their upcoming Bust a Move charity fundraiser. This is the right thing to do and I’d encourage everyone to support them; while this week has been a difficult one for the organisers, they should be able to put this behind them and with help go on to make Bust a Move Ottawa 2013 a successful event. If you would like to donate, they suggest doing so here. You can leave a message saying why you are donating. Mention #dropjenny and thank them for doing the right thing. I’d promised to donate $100 and have done so, with pleasure. Thanks to everyone who participated in #dropjenny. Ottawans should be proud that so many people here stood up for science, reason, and evidence-based public health interventions, and that few to none defended the choice of an anti-vaccination advocate for a health event. The response has been positive and tremendous. Well done. Anti-Vaccination Advocate to Headline Ottawa Cancer Event: CFI Canada, CASS and Ottawa Skeptics Issue Response The upcoming fundraising event “Bust a Move”, held regionally in Ottawa is planning to host Anti-Vaccination Advocate Jenny McCarthy as headliner. McCarthy’s writings have contributed substantially to the belief that vaccines cause autism and cancer. Together with CFI Ottawa, CFI Canada, and the Comittee for the Advancement of Scientific Skepticism, we have released the statement below. An Open Letter to Bernice Rachkowski To Bernice Rachkowski Leadership Committee Chair Bust a Move 2013 Dear Ms Rachkowski, We are greatly disappointed to hear of your decision to select Jenny McCarthy as headliner for the Bust a Move fundraiser this year. As pointed out by the Ottawa Citizen, Ms. McCarthy is well-known for her outspoken support for deeply unscientific and anti-health claims regarding vaccination and autism. As such, she is entirely unsuitable to represent a cancer charity such as the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation, and we ask you to please reconsider this unwise invitation. McCarthy has claimed for years that vaccines cause autism, ignoring copious scientific evidence that there is no such connection. She has used her celebrity to spearhead a public campaign to discredit childhood vaccination, a medical advance responsible for saving millions of lives every year. Her celebrity status – which you cite as the reason for your invitation – has helped her to persuade large numbers of parents to leave their children defenceless against potentially lethal illnesses such as measles and whooping cough. The dangers of such reckless misinformation have become increasingly apparent in recent years with the tragically unnecessary resurgence of several of these diseases. McCarthy’s campaign against vaccinations should be of particular concern to the ORCF, for declining vaccination rates have an impact on cancer and cancer survival rates. The HPV vaccine, which shows great promise in reducing the incidence of cervical and other cancers, has met with resistance and disappointingly low uptake rates, in part because of the public distrust of vaccination sown by celebrities such as Jenny McCarthy. Moreover, the reduction in herd immunity caused by wide-scale refusal to vaccinate children poses a very real threat to the survival of immunocompromised cancer patients. By inviting Jenny McCarthy to participate in your fundraiser, you raise her profile within the community, and implicitly give support to her anti-vaccination efforts. Even though she may not mention these views as part of your event, she will gain credibility from association with such a reputable and well-liked charity as the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation. At the same time, you bring yourself into disrepute by inviting such a controversial figure to play a prominent part in your campaign. As members of the medical, scientific, and skeptical communities, we cannot help but question the judgement of an organization that would extend such an invitation. It is not too late. You are reported in the Ottawa Citizen to have said that you would be surprised if people were upset by your invitation of Ms McCarthy. This was clearly a miscalculation. We hope that you will recognize the error that you have made and restore public trust in your organization by rescinding this invitation. Michael Payton, National Executive Director, Centre for Inquiry Canada Iain Martel and Steve Livingston, Co-chairs, Committee for the Advancement of Scientific Skepticism Chris Hebbern, Chair, Ottawa Skeptics Seanna Watson, Chair, Centre for Inquiry Ottawa It’s disappointing to see that the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation has selected Jenny McCarthy to headline their fundraising Bust a Move event this year. Jenny McCarthy is a deeply controversial figure with anti-scientific and anti-health views on vaccination and autism, and is a very poor choice to represent ORCF. The chair of the event said McCarthy was not chosen for her views, and that she’d be surprised if people were upset by the choice. But of course people are upset – and with good reason. McCarthy has claimed for years that vaccines cause autism, a wholly unsupportable position. She and the organisation she fronts, Generation Rescue, discourage vaccinations and promote dangerous and evidence-free “cures” such as chelation therapy for autism. Like it or not, her views carry weight with the general public; a study from the University of Michigan found 24% of parents placed “some trust” in information provided by people like Jenny McCarthy. Her belief that the MMR vaccine causes autism has likely contributed to the decline in childhood immunisations for measles, mumps, and rubella, diseases which have seen a tragically unnecessary resurgence in recent years. Vaccination rates are now in decline across North America. So what about the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation? They work to improve cancer survivorship, helping “patients and families live and thrive with cancer”, working “to improve the odds and experience of cancer survivorship.” Many Ottawans will have passed by their Cancer Survivors Park at Riverside and Industrial. They do good and important work, but whoever made the decision to book Jenny McCarthy has done this organisation no favours at all. The backlash should have been entirely predictable. McCarthy has been an outspoken critic of demonstrably proven and effective science and medicine for so long that it’s inevitable people will be outraged by her selection to headline a cancer charity fundraiser. McCarthy’s goals and that of the ORCF are clearly in conflict: for example, rates of HPV-associated oropharyngeal and anal cancers, both preventable with the HPV vaccine, continue to rise, even as uptake of the vaccine remains low. They should not be giving a platform to someone who has done so much to lower vaccination rates and reduce herd immunity – especially when cancer survival, for the immunocompromised, can depend upon it– and when higher rates of HPV vaccination could prevent certain cancers from even forming. Vaccines work. McCarthy is a public health menace for saying otherwise and their association with her brings ORCF into disrepute. When you have a PR problem, first fix the problem and the PR can fix itself. There’s a lot of goodwill out there for ORCF; they need to cancel this booking and find someone else for Bust a Move Ottawa. It’s the right decision and one for which they will be applauded. I’ll personally donate a hundred dollars if they do. A Skepticamp follows the unconference model of being driven by the participants. All speakers are people who have something interesting to say about something they find interesting. The event will consist of around 12 presentations, each lasting 10-15 minutes with 5 minutes for questions (so a 20 minute time slot per person). This year we will be at the awesome Shopify Lounge! Sign up here if you are interested in giving a talk or want to help organise this event. When: Sunday, February 24th, 2013, 12:00 PM To Where: Shopify Lounge, 126 York Street, Ottawa And don’t forget to check out the wiki page for this event, where the current list of talks can be found. The Ottawa Skeptics proudly present another edition of our Science-Based Pub Quiz, this time presented by Steve and Seanna. Match wits and celebrate science, skepticism, and general geekery in this British-style pub quiz. No sports questions, we promise. Compete for prizes (maybe) in teams of three or four! First time at the Ottawa Skeptics? Never been to an event before? This is a great way to meet and mingle, so come on out! If you don’t have a team, don’t worry. Just join up with other folks after you arrive. Nobody will be without a team. When: Sunday, January 13, 2013, 6.00 pm Where: Burgers on Main (343 Somerset St. West, Ottawa). RSVP at meetup.com, or just turn up. Everyone welcome!

As soon as we read the opening lines of Terumah we begin the massive shift from the intense drama of the exodus with its signs and wonders and epic events, to the long, detailed narrative of how the Israelites constructed the Tabernacle, the portable sanctuary that they carried with them through the desert. By any standards it is a part of the Torah that cries out for explanation. The first thing that strikes us is the sheer length of the account: one third of the book of Shemot, five parshiyot – Terumah, Tetsaveh, half of Ki Tissa, Vayakhel and Pekudei, interrupted only by the story of the golden calf. This becomes even more perplexing when we compare it with another act of creation, namely G-d’s creation of the universe. That story is told with the utmost brevity: a mere thirty four verses. Why take some fifteen times as long to tell the story of the Sanctuary? The question becomes harder still when we recall that the mishkan was not a permanent feature of the spiritual life of the children of Israel. It was specifically designed to be carried on their journey through the wilderness. Later, in the days of Solomon, it would be replaced by the Temple in Jerusalem. What enduring message are we supposed to learn from a construction that was not designed to endure? Even more puzzling is that fact that the story is part of the book of Shemot. Shemot is about the birth of a nation. Hence Egypt, slavery, Pharaoh, the plagues, the exodus, the journey through the sea and the covenant at Mount Sinai. All these things would become part of the people’s collective memory. But the Sanctuary, where sacrifices were offered, surely belongs to Vayikra, otherwise known as Torat Kohanim, Leviticus, the book of priestly things. It seems to have no connection with Exodus whatsoever. The answer, I believe, is profound. The transition from Bereishit to Shemot, Genesis to Exodus, is about the change from family to nation. When the Israelites entered Egypt they were a single extended family. By the time they left they had become a sizeable people, divided into twelve tribes plus an amorphous collection of fellow travellers known as the erev rav, the “mixed multitude.” What united them was a fate. They were the people whom the Egyptians distrusted and enslaved. The Israelites had a common enemy. Beyond that they had a memory of the patriarchs and their G-d. They shared a past. What was to prove difficult, almost impossible, was to get them to share responsibility for the future. Everything we read in Shemot tells us that, as is so often the case among people long deprived of freedom, they were passive and they were easily moved to complain. The two often go together. They expected someone else, Moses or G-d himself, to provide them with food and water, lead them to safety, and take them to the promised land. At every setback, they complained. They complained when Moses’ first intervention failed: “May the Lord look on you and judge you! You have made us obnoxious to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.” (Ex. 5: 21) At the Red Sea they complained again: They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” (Ex. 14: 11-12) After the division of the Red Sea, the Torah says: “When the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and believed in him and in Moses his servant” (Ex. 14: 31). But after a mere three days they were complaining again. There was no water. Then there was water but it was bitter. Then there was no food. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” (Ex. 16: 3) Soon Moses himself is saying: “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.” (Ex. 17: 4) By now G-d has performed signs and wonders on the people’s behalf, taken them out of Egypt, divided the sea for them, given them water from a rock and manna from heaven, and still they do not cohere as a nation. They are a group of individuals, unwilling or unable to take responsibility, to act collectively rather than complain. And now G-d does the single greatest act in history. He appears in a revelation at Mount Sinai, the only time in history that G-d has appeared to an entire people, and the people tremble. There never was anything like it before; there never will be again. How long does this last? A mere forty days. Then the people make a golden calf. If miracles, the division of the sea and the revelation at Mount Sinai fail to transform the Israelites, what will? There are no greater miracles than these. That is when G-d does the single most unexpected thing. He says to Moses: speak to the people and tell them to contribute, to give something of their own, be it gold or silver or bronze, be it wool or animal skin, be it oil or incense, or their skill or their time, and get them to build something together – a symbolic home for my presence, a Tabernacle. It doesn’t need to be large or grand or permanent. Get them to make something, to become builders. Get them to give. Moses does. And the people respond. They respond so generously that Moses is told, “The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the Lord commanded to be done” (Ex. 36: 5), and Moses has to say, Stop. During the whole time the Tabernacle was being constructed, there were no complaints, no rebellions, no dissension. What all the signs and wonders failed to do, the construction of the Tabernacle succeeded in doing. It transformed the people. It turned them into a cohesive group. It gave them a sense of responsibility and identity. Seen in this context, the story of the Tabernacle was the essential element in the birth of a nation. No wonder it is told at length; no surprise that it belongs to the book of Exodus; and there is nothing ephemeral about it. The Tabernacle did not last forever, but the lesson it taught did. It is not what G-d does for us that transforms us, but what we do for G-d. A free society is best symbolized by the Tabernacle. It is the home we build together. It is only by becoming builders that we turn from subjects to citizens. We have to earn our freedom by what we give. It cannot be given to us as an unearned gift. It is what we do, not what is done to us, that makes us free. That is a lesson as true today as it was then. Reprinted with permission from Covenant & Conversation by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks published by OU Press and Maggid Books, an imprint of Koren Publishers Jerusalem, www.korenpub.com. Available at www.OUPress.org

Writing with NanotubesCategory: Science & Technology Posted: October 9, 2012 11:25AM Graphite is one of the most well-known forms of carbon because of its use in pencils, but it is no longer the only carbon-based pencil lead. Researchers at MIT have created carbon-nanotube pencil lead for creating devices, such as gas sensors. As this method of placing nanotubes on a device is free of solvents, it is both safer and cheaper than some other methods. Typically carbon nanotubes are added to a device while in a solution with a potentially hazardous solvent. Inspired by graphite pencil lead, the researchers compressed a powder of nanotubes into the shape of pencil lead for a mechanical pencil. With a mechanical pencil, they then started drawing connections on pieces of paper with gold electrodes, and found the lines they drew worked. Even when the lines were irregularly shaped, the nanotubes' ability to detect gases was not compromised. The researchers are now testing to see if they can expand this method's selectivity. Pure carbon nanotubes, like those they used, are great for detecting even minute amounts of ammonia, but to detect other gases other materials have to be added, such as metal atoms or polymers. If those doped nanotubes can also be made into pencil lead, we could see a myriad of low cost gas sensors with carbon nanotubes at their heart.

- Special Sections - Public Notices The tall grasses of Kentucky gave way to the mighty bison. These great shaggy beasts created trails leading to the salt licks and rivers that dotted the land. Trails that were further defined by the moccasin feet of the American Indian. In 1775, Daniel Boone and 30 men completed the first trail through the Cumberland Mountains. It moved through the Alleghenies at Cumberland Gap, at what is now the junction of the state boundaries of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. Heading northwest, it split at Hazel Patch, one route creating Boonesborough, the other Frankfort. If you currently subscribe or have subscribed in the past to the Owenton News, then simply find your account number on your mailing label and enter it below. Click the question mark below to see where your account ID appears on your mailing label. If you are new to the award winning Owenton News and wish to get a subscription or simply gain access to our online content then please enter your ZIP code below and continue to setup your account.

Python 2.6 Graphics Cookbook |Also available on:| - Create captivating graphics with ease and bring them to life using Python - Apply effects to your graphics using powerful Python methods - Develop vector as well as raster graphics and combine them to create wonders in the animation world - Create interactive GUIs to make your creation of graphics simpler - Part of Packt's Cookbook series: Each recipe is a carefully organized sequence of instructions to accomplish the task of creation and animation of graphics as efficiently as possible Book DetailsLanguage : English Paperback : 260 pages [ 235mm x 191mm ] Release Date : November 2010 ISBN : 1849513848 ISBN 13 : 9781849513845 Author(s) : Mike Ohlson de Fine Topics and Technologies : All Books, Cookbooks, Open Source, Python, Web Graphics & Video Table of Contents Chapter 1: Start your Engines Chapter 2: Drawing Fundamental Shapes Chapter 3: Handling Text Chapter 4: Animation Principles Chapter 5: The Magic of Color Chapter 6: Working with Pictures Chapter 7: Combining Raster and Vector Pictures Chapter 8: Data In and Data Out Chapter 9: Exchanging Inkscape SVG Drawings with Tkinter Shapes Chapter 10: GUI Construction: Part 1 Chapter 11: GUI Construction: Part 2 Appendix: Quick tips for running Python programs in Microsoft Windows Download the code and support files for this book. Please let us know if you have found any errors not listed on this list by completing our errata submission form. Our editors will check them and add them to this list. Thank you. What you will learn from this book - Install Python and create basic programs for making lines and shapes - Apply different colors to your graphics using widgets and schemes available with the Tkinter module - Work with raster images and animate them by combining vector images with raster images - Optimize the storage and retrieval of graphics using hard disks, datastreams, and so on - Develop GUIs for different purposes to enhance your interaction with the programs - Move graphic objects smoothly around a screen by adding minimum delay and shift - Explore alternative ways and means of getting graphic shape data into Tkinter programs - Create beautiful patterns by setting any number of pivot points in different directions - Use trajectory traces to examine the history of execution required for animating specific behavior of objects Python is a great object-oriented and interactive programming language that lets you develop graphics, both static and animated, using built-in vector graphics functions that are provided with Python. Python 2.6 Graphics Cookbook is a collection of straightforward recipes and illustrative screenshots for creating and animating graphic objects using the Python language. This book makes the process of developing graphics interesting and entertaining by working in a graphic workspace without the burden of mastering complicated language definitions and opaque examples. If you choose to work through all the recipes from the beginning, you will learn to install Python and create basic programs for making lines and shapes using the built-in Tkinter module. The confusing topic of color manipulation is explored in detail using existing Python tools as well as some new tools in the recipes. Next you will learn to manipulate font size, color, and placement of text as placing text exactly where you want on a screen can be tricky because font height, inter-character spacing, and text window dimensions all interfere with each other. Then you will learn how to animate graphics, for example having more than one independent graphic object co-exist and interact using various Python methods. You will also learn how you can work with raster images, such as converting their formats using the Python Imaging Library. Next you will learn how you can combine vector images with raster images so that you can animate the raster images with ease. You will also walk through a set of recipes with the help of which you can handle and manipulate blocks of raw data that may be hundreds of megabytes in size using datastreams, files, and hard drives. You will also learn how you can use Inkscape to dismantle existing images and use parts of them for your own graphics and Python programs. At the end of the book you will learn how you can create GUIs for different purposes. A quick reference for creating interesting graphic animations using Python programming This book has recipes that show enthusiastic users how easy graphic programming can be. Simple explanations in plain English are used. The recipes are built up, in each chapter, starting as simply as possible and moving to more complex programs with which you can comfortably create 2D vector graphics and animations. You will learn how to combine both vector and photo images seamlessly! Who this book is for If you are looking to create animated graphics to represent real-world scenarios then this book is for you. Teachers, scholars, students, and engineers who know it is possible to make fascinating models and demonstrations but have not found a handbook that pulls it all together in one place will find what they need in this recipe bank. Basic knowledge of Python programming is required and access to the Web and Google will be useful.

MS10-047 is not categorized as virus, worm, Trojan or backdoor. It is a group of important vulnerabilities in the Windows Kernel on Windows 2008/Vista/XP computers, which allows to gain local privilege escalation and to launch denial of service attacks. The kernel is the core of the operating system and provides basic services for all other parts of the operating system. If exploited successfully, MS10-047 allows to gain unauthorized privileges on a computer or network. An example of privilege elevation would be an unprivileged user who could manage to be added to the Administrator's group. In such case, the hacker could take complete control of the system: create, modify or delete files, install programs, create new user accounts, etc. It could also cause the system to stop responding until it is restarted. MS10-047 is usually exploited by running a specially crafted program in the vulnerable computer. In order to do so, a hacker must be able to log on locally to the system. If you have a Windows 2008/Vista/XP computer, it is recommended to download and apply the security patch for this vulnerability. Click here to access the web page for downloading the patch. Bear in mind that this security patch replaces a previous one, called MS10-021.

Superagüi National Park is located on the northern coast of Paraná State, in southern Brazil, and is part of Iguape-Cananéia-Paranaguá estuary complex. The park is totally contained in Guaraqueçaba municipality, Paraná State. However, Paranaguá and Cananéia municipalities are also adjacent to the park. The park limits are within the latitudes 25º12'23"S and 25º29'19"S and longitudes 48º01'24" W and 48º20'36" W. The park is a total of 33,988 hectares and is made up of two islands (Superagüi Island makes up 41% of the park and Peças Island makes up 27%), the continental portion (19%), and the aquatic estuary environment and smaller islands like Pinheiro and Pinheirinho (the remaining 13%). Peças Island's topography is completely flat. Superagüi Island presents three elevations: Morro do Superagüi, Morro das Pacas, and Morro do Canudal, although the elevation differences are not significant. There is higher elevation on the continental portion; Bico Torto is the highest point at 575 m above sea level. Superagüi Island was originally a peninsula but became an island after a canal was built. The canal, Varadouro Canal, now separates the continent from the island. It was originally constructed to facilitate the boat trips between the towns of Cananéia and Paranaguá, to promote commerce (Vivekananda, 2001). The climate classification of the region, according to Köppen, is Cfa or humid subtropical. The summer is hot; the highest temperatures occur in January (26.1o C is the monthly average); the coldest month is July (16.3o C is the average). Frosts are an uncommon occurrence. The annual precipitation is approximately 2,500 mm (IPARDES, 1990); there is no clearly defined dry season. The park shelters estuarine environments, mangroves, caxetais, lowland forests, sub-montane forests, and arboreal, herbaceous and shrubby restingas. In addition, there is approximately 35 km of beautiful, pristine beaches with little or no human presence. Superagüi mangroves and estuaries Superagüi lowland forests and submontane forests Superagüi restingas and pristine beaches According to Dinerstein et al. (1995), 49% of Superagüi National Park is located in Serra do Mar Coastal Forest Ecoregion, and 41% is classified as Ilha Grande Mangrove Ecoregion. The remaining 10% is made up of the aquatic estuarine environments. Map showing the two ecoregions of the park, Serra do Mar coastal forests and Illha Grande mangroves (Map produced by Gustavo Gatti, ParksWatch-Brazil/Fundação O Boticário)

Discover the opulent exteriors and interiors of the Roaring '20s Jazz Deco and the classic finishes of Art Moderne buildings in this 2 hour tour. Learn of Chicago's influence on the international Art Deco movement, and trace the history of lively architectural heritage. During the period between the two World Wars, an eclectic design style developed that later became known as Art Deco, used to refer to a mix of styles from the 1920s and 1930s. Through the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression of the 1930s, the Art Deco style infused the everyday world with an elegant style of cool sophistication. What characterizes Art Deco design most is its geometry and simplicity, often combined with vibrant colors and simple shapes that celebrate the rise of commerce and technology. From luxurious objects made from exotic materials to mass produced, streamlined items. Chicago's Jazz Age architecture was simply called Modernistic when it was created in the 1920s, and Moderne as it evolved into the Swing era of the 1930s. Whether starkly cubistic or smoothly streamlined, the new office and apartment buildings that redefined the skyline embodied the new language of building until the 1950s. On this tour you will discover the opulent exteriors and interiors of the Roaring '20s Jazz Deco buildings and the classic finishes of Art Moderne buildings. Learn of Chicago's influence on the international Art Deco movement, and trace the history of this short-lived but lively architectural heritage. Come and experience the very essence of Art Deco! Chicago Board of Trade Select a month to view a calendar of availability and departure details. Please meet 15 minutes before departure at the CAF’s Shop & Tour Center 224 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago. Click the link below to check pricing & availability on your preferred travel date. Our pricing is constantly updated to ensure you always receive the lowest price possible. Chicago Board of Trade - Walking tour of Downtown Chicago Art Deco architecture - Narration by a professional and certified Guide - Food and beverages - Confirmation will be received at time of booking - Tour Guides are trained and certified by the CAF. As volunteers, they are exceptionally motivated, enthusiastic, and capable interpreters of Chicago's world-class architectural legacy. CAF tours are the real deal - narrated, but not scripted, led by Chicago enthusiasts Please note: this tour is not suitable for young children. The academic and historic content of the tour is oriented to adults and mature young people. You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity. What's this? Local Operator Information: Complete Operator information, including local telephone numbers at your destination, are included on your Confirmation Voucher. Our Product Managers select only the most experienced and reliable operators in each destination, removing the guesswork for you, and ensuring your peace of mind.

Traditional parenting skills enhancement. This workshop is meant to educate parents in the Paul First Nation on family values and histories. What they are, and what they were for today’s parent. Our first traditional parenting workshop will be held FEBRUARY -8/2007 from 9:00am-4:00pm. The workshop will include Residential school effects on parenting today, a 45 minute video on the subject . The group involved will hear from the workshop facilitator as well, will begin a circle to address the problems that they see as major issues involving their parenting today. Once the workshop is concluded, the facilitator will take in all of the feedback and focus on major areas to be worked on. Consecutively, the coordinator will take these issues and create 2 parenting circles which will meet weekly in the community. One of these Group Circles will focus on Healing and will be derived directly from the initial parenting workshop identified issues. The second weekly Group Circle will focus mainly as a Parenting Support Group, and each member of the group will share, with the common goal of healing other families.

It took Adolf Hitler less than one year, from September 1939 to June 1940, to conquer the countries between central Poland and the Atlantic Ocean. But across Europe, soldiers, sailors, and airmen from those defeated nations made their way by the thousand to Great Britain, where they regrouped and trained under British command to fight another day. By July 1940, more than 25,000 foreign troops were training in Great Britain, including about 14,000 Poles, 4,000 Czechs, 3,000 anti-Nazi Germans, 2,000 Frenchmen, 1,000 Dutchmen, 1,000 Norwegians, and 500 Belgians. In Europe, the Poles had the largest contingent from an occupied country fighting with the British–their forces in the West ultimately numbered 200,000 men. In September 1939, the Polish armed forces had battled the Germans for two weeks before being blindsided by the Soviet Union’s attack from the east. With only minimal help from Poland’s allies, France and Great Britain, and with most of his forces fighting the Germans, Poland’s commander-in-chief Marshal Edward Smigly-Rydz ordered his soldiers in eastern Poland to withdraw south into Romania or Hungary, hoping to save them for future battles. By the end of the month, some 90,000 Poles had made their way into those two countries. A few more escaped through Lithuania and Latvia. The Polish government-in-exile , which moved to Paris in September 1939, quickly began reassembling units, using soldiers who made their way across Europe as well as members of Polish communities living abroad. By 1940, about 43,000 of these troops joined the Polish units forming in France and fought alongside the French when Germany attacked that country in May. Around 20,000 Polish soldiers were evacuated by Great Britain’s Royal Navy after the fall of France in June. They were taken to Scotland, where they worked in coastal defense. Polish Air Force squadrons in the Royal Air Force (RAF) played an important role in the Battle of Britain (July 1940–June 1941), shooting down a disproportionate number of German aircraft. They also manned supply flights to Warsaw during the 1944 uprising . By the end of the war, around 19,400 Poles were serving in the RAF. Polish fighters in the British army are remembered most often for their heroic efforts in the Italian campaign and their success in capturing the monastery at Monte Cassino in May 1944, where elite German troops had halted the Allied advance for months. “General Anders, who was Commander of the 2nd Corps, agreed to us taking part in the fight in the Battle of Monte Cassino. This was our baptism of fire.”- Wieslaw Wolwowicz, Polish 2nd Corps Polish units also fought notably alongside Canadian forces in the battle for Normandy , which began in June 1944. “Right, well the Poles, they were very admirable. You really have to say that. They were brave soldiers, they were the bravest of them all in fact. But it was more like an inner drive that went almost to the level of fanaticism.”- Joseph Klein, 1st Paratrooper Division, German Air Force The other European countries that Hitler conquered contributed fewer troops for battle, but their efforts were also vital to the Allied cause. In 1946, an immense parade was held in London to celebrate the Allied victory. Troops from every Allied country were invited to march along the parade route–except one. The British government did not want to anger the new Stalin-approved Communist government in Poland by including the Polish fighters who had fought so valiantly with the other Allies in the war, so the Poles were left out. “We were the allies, we were the allies of the British, and we weren’t even invited to take part in the victory parade after the war. We were like people who’d done the hard work and now whom nobody wanted anymore.”- Wieslaw Wolwowicz, Polish 2nd Corps

Lori Townsend, an elementary science teacher in Charlotte, NC introduces PBS’ EcoInvestigators, a collection of new resources for teaching and learning about the environment in grades 3 through 5. Download Video Script as PDF Welcome to the PBS EcoInvestigators! Please take a look around, try some of the activities with your students and/or share how you plan to use these resources with your students. EcoInvestigators is designed to get students in grades 3-5 engaged, excited, and prepared to take on and solve environmental problems in their community and beyond. So, what is the best way to do this? Hone their inquiry-based science skills by providing them activities that help them to collaborate, research, identify, and offer solutions to problems in their own communities. We have developed this program so that you will be able to take advantage of PBS and other media resources to learn more about global environmental problems and challenge your students to take the next step in — and to take control of — their own learning. We’ve also provided below a visual of how this program might best flow for you, as well as more info on using the CmPS Model in your classroom. About This Site Encourage Your Students to be EcoInvestigators. - PBS and International Paper are proud to introduce you to EcoInvestigators. Using the Community Problem Solving model of inquiry-based instruction, you and your students will use this website and its multimedia assets to build knowledge and develop projects that address your local community and its environment. On these web pages you will find lesson plans, project ideas, media assets and assessments rubrics related to four primary environments: Air, Land, Freshwater, and Saltwater. Which type of environment should you choose? That is up to you and your students! In fact, feel free to “EcoInvestigate” more than one if you wish! Click here to get a FREE Life of the Forest classroom poster series provided by International Paper!

People return to index The son of an Atlanta preacher, Martin Luther King, Jr. rose to national attention when, as a 26-year-old minister just starting out in Montgomery, Alabama, he helped lead the bus boycott that initiated the modern civil rights movement. In 1957 King and some associates formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and despite numerous arrests and threats, he remained committed to nonviolent protest as the means of effecting social change. King helped the United States re-envision itself as an interracial democracy when he delivered the famous "I Have a Dream" speech at 1963's March on Washington. Later that decade he broadened his focus to include economic justice, Northern ghettos, and opposition to the Vietnam war. King was assassinated by James Earl Ray on April 4 in Memphis, Tennessee, during the tumultuous year of 1968. In 1986 his birthday became a national holiday, making him the first non-president to be so honored.

|School Report Card| |The Commonwealth of Virginia is committed to providing quality education for all students. This commitment includes keeping parents and the public informed through the Virginia School Report Card of the progress of our schools in raising student achievement and enhancing the learning environment. The ratings for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and school accreditation for specific school year are based on the achievement of students on tests taken during the previous academic year.| |Stony Mill History| Stony Mill began as a one room log building in about 1897. Three brothers, Charlie, Fletcher, and James Hardy, built the school, which enrolled forty-five students and was originally named Hardy School. The Hardy family later gave the land and the school to Pittsylvania County. When the school was destroyed by fire, the county purchased land from a neighboring resident and built a two-room frame building. Today’s building was built as a result of consolidation of schools in 1963. In 1996, Stony Mill went through a massive renovation and construction program. The school plant now includes twenty-eight classrooms and five mobile units, a gymnasium, a library, technology labs, and a teacher workroom. The school consists of grades preschool through five, with three to four classes at each grade level. State Remedial Reading, music classes, gifted classes, physical education classes, and guidance services are offered to approximately 475 students enrolled at Stony Mill.

I have a few comments and I'll just leave them here in no particular order: I wish you would have defined "word" prior to using it willy-nilly. It's jargon that your tutorial's audience it's likely to be familiar with. From WordNet: a word is a string of bits stored in computer memory; "large computers use words up to 64 bits long". Bytes are almost always eight bits though that's not a universal constant. Perhaps it's infrequent enough that I didn't even need to mention but this one always gets my goat. Your use of "most" and "least" significant byte was also jargon. If you assume the value 0x12345678 then the most significant byte has the value 0x12 and the least significant has the value 0x78. From there the point on differently endian machines is just which order you start with when transcribing bytes. Your use of memory addresses is obfuscatory. This is better written as "Byte 0, byte 1, byte 2, byte 3". The only point at which a perl programmer cares about memory addresses is when doing non-perl programming or with the 'p' or 'P' format options. The point here is to indicate an order to the bytes in memory - that byte 0 might be located at a memory address 1000 is entire beside the point. White space is allowed without consequence in an unpack/pack format. It's just ignored except when it's a fatal error. I haven't nailed it down but some uses of whitespace just don't parse. That may be a bug but it's worth noting. This just means that in general people should use whitespace in a format to enhance readability - it doesn't affect it's operation. I've never been clear on the bit order within a byte - can you expand on that? I used to think that the differently endian machines also shuffled the bit order around as well. At this point I'm just confused. Posts are HTML formatted. Put <p> </p> tags around your paragraphs. Put <code> </code> tags around your code and data! Read Where should I post X? if you're not absolutely sure you're posting in the right place. Please read these before you post! — Posts may use any of the Perl Monks Approved HTML tags: Outside of code tags, you may need to use entities for some characters: - a, abbr, b, big, blockquote, br, caption, center, col, colgroup, dd, del, div, dl, dt, em, font, h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6, hr, i, ins, li, ol, p, pre, readmore, small, span, spoiler, strike, strong, sub, sup, table, tbody, td, tfoot, th, thead, tr, tt, u, ul, wbr Link using PerlMonks shortcuts! What shortcuts can I use for linking? See Writeup Formatting Tips and other pages linked from there for more info. | & || & | | < || < | | > || > | | [ || [ | | ] || ] ||

Gypsy Moth Scientific Name: Lymantria dispar Although very common in the United States, the Gypsy moth—one of the most damaging insects to our forests—actually originated in Europe and Asia and was brought to America by a French scientist. When the species was accidentally released in the late 1800’s, few people could have imagined the results. The Gypsy moth is fairly nondescript and doesn’t look like it could cause much harm, but every year millions of dollars are lost as Gypsy moths do unparalleled damage to economically important forests (primarily oak trees.) Ironically, the adult Gypsy moth does not do the principle damage to the forestry, but rather it is the larvae/caterpillar that is causing the irrevocable defoliation. Best Moth Control Products Gypsy Moth Life Cycle Because such a large amount of the Gypsy moth’s life is spent as larvae, it is important to understand the different stages of life and how these stages can make the species very dangerous, economically and environmentally. - Early Reproduction/Eggs - The female Gypsy moth in the United States are flightless; this is significant because unless the eggs are moved by the wind or carried by humans or animals, each generation of the moth will continue to feed on one tree. - Immediately after emerging from her cocoon, the female Gypsy moth will lay her eggs (which can range from under 100 to more than 1000) on the branches or trunk of its host tree. Again, she cannot fly and so at most she will be able to climb up a limb or branch. - The egg sacs are small, less than an inch in length. - The eggs can survive through winter and therefore a freezing climate stop the Gypsy moth life cycle. - Larvae Caterpillar - The caterpillar will usually hatch in mid-spring. - Each larva has vital growth periods known as instars. Male Gypsy moths have five instars and females have six. - During the first few stages, the larvae will feed on the surrounding leaves. In the later stages, the larvae feed on the higher leaves and the bark. - The damage caused to the trees depends on the number of larvae hatched that season. If a high number of larvae, the caterpillars will feed continuously day and night. If there are low numbers, the caterpillars will only feed at night. - Pupation and Adulthood - After about two months the caterpillars form cocoons where they will remain for one to two weeks depending on the season. - Once they emerge the adult Gypsy moths will only live a short time; their sole goal will be to mate and reproduce in this finite period of time. - The males are a mousy brown and generally come out of the cocoon first. While waiting, the males will eat both day and night on their host tree. - When the females (black and white in color) break free of their cocoon, they will already be carrying eggs and only require a brief mating session with the male to complete the process. - Because female Gypsy moths remain flightless during their short adult lives, their eggs will be dropped near their mother’s cocoon and the cycle will start all over again. Despite their short lives, the Gypsy moth thrives on one of the United States’ most important commodities: trees. Almost since their introduction, Gypsy moths and U.S Government have been working against each other. Fighting a battle over environment and territory, each year the Gypsy moth stays one step ahead as it continues to expand its habitat and reproduce. The majority of trees affected are in the eastern United States where host trees are generally oaks or aspens. Gypsy moths perform what is known as defoliation on the trees; the moths will strip the trees of their leaves. While this may not seem a major factor, forestry experts understand that this makes the trees weak and prone to disease. If this happens on a year-to-year basis it will increase the trees’ mortality rate. If the defoliation is extremely bad one year and there are other environmental factors involved (flooding, drought, termites, storms, etc.,) then there is a high probability that the tree will die that same year. The Gypsy moths work and move quickly; it is possible for them to defoliate an entire forest over the space of a few years. The Gypsy moth has deforested more than a million acres of U.S. forestland alone. The U.S. Government and local forest conservation groups are working to produce an effective method for eradicating the Gypsy moth from U.S. forests. The Gypsy moth does have natural predators such as mice and birds, but these predators do not consume enough to keep the Gypsy moth under control. Recently, efforts have been made using a fungus that is able to deter the moth. Questions still remain regarding the cost to mass produce the fungus and its effectiveness over large areas is not known. Currently, the only proven preventative method is pesticides which are sprayed over forestland every year. It is virtually impossible to cover every inch of land and so it remains to be seen who will win the battle: moth or man.

Ticks and Tick Control in Dogs The removal of ticks is done on an outpatient basis and is performed immediately upon observing them on the animal's body. Living and Management Wash the animal's skin thoroughly to prevent local inflammation or a secondary infection. To avoid contact with ticks, avoid environments that may harbor ticks, such as wooded areas. Maintained yards are less likely to encourage ticks. The tick does not jump, so it depends on long grass, shrubs, etc, to latch onto passing animals. Free roaming animals are most at risk, and should be checked regularly to prevent long term contact with ticks. The longer the tick stays in contact with the animal, the more likely the risk of disease transmission. Examination through feeling Anything pertaining to the blood vessel system in the body A reaction to a certain pathogen that is out of the ordinary A condition of the blood in which normal red blood cell counts or hemoglobin are lacking. Racoon Disease in Dogs Most commonly called “raccoon disease” because of its prevalence in the raccoon population,... Intestinal Parasite (Cyptosporidia) in Dogs Cryptosporidiosis is caused by a variety of factors and can be treated effectively... Latest In Dog Nutrition How Your Overweight Pet Could Benefit from ... Pet obesity has reached epidemic proportions. Fortunately, there are some things... Does My Senior Dog Need Special Dog Food? Whether or not your senior dog needs special dog food depends, to a large extent,...

Goodness, it is. Quick Look at the Early History of the Internet President Dwight D. Eisenhower initiated the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) after the Soviet launch of Sputnik I in 1957. Eisenhower believed in the great value of science, and formed ARPA in 1958 in a quest for “the scientific improvement” of U.S. defense. This project employed, at one time or another, some of the finest engineers and scientists of the late 20th century. The early emphasis was on missile-defense systems and the detection of nuclear bomb tests. It wasn’t until 1962, when J.C.R. Licklider arrived on the management team, that ARPA began investigating the idea of networked computers. In the early 1960s, Licklider, Leonard Kleinrock, Paul Baran, Lawrence Roberts and other research scientists came up with the ideas that allowed them to individually dream of and eventually come together to create a globally interconnected set of computers through which everyone could quickly and easily access data and programs from any site. Licklider jokingly called it an “Intergalactic Computer Network,” but he and his team began to seriously build the ideas and the technology that turned out to be the Internet. By 1964, some researchers had begun using their enormous mainframe computers to occasionally trade information by an early, informal form of e-mail – but the purpose wasn’t to formulate a research network; they were just trying to get their work done efficiently. In the early 1960s, Baran and British scientist Donald Davies both proposed the idea of sending blocks of data – packets – through a digital network. Roberts and many others got down to the serious business of taking this concept, combining it with other researchers’ proposals and building a real network in 1967, 1968 and 1969. 1969- Critical work on the first real network was being completed, and information had to be shared between far-flung research groups. Steve Crocker, a young computer scientist, wrote a long memo – the first of what came to be called a Request for Comments (RFCs). These are, to this day, the accepted way in which computer networking engineers and scientists suggest, review and adopt new technical standards. Since the day Crocker wrote the first Request for Comments, thousands more have followed. RFCs are a rich source of history about the development of the internet. The researchers also established a name for themselves at this time – the Network Working Group. The democratic way in which decisions were made by these pioneers became a basis for the free-speech, free-exchange format of the internet. ARPANET went online in an extremely basic format in late 1969, connecting four major universities: the University of California at Los Angeles, SRI at Stanford University, the University of California at Santa Barbara and the University of Utah. This rough system gave computer scientists and engineers the opportunity to begin refining ideas for a more efficient, reliable communications network. They had a lot of work to do in the years to come to get the “bugs” out, brainstorming, trying and failing, exchanging RFCs and improving the system.

Writing Intensive Courses Writing in the disciplines represents a national trend and multiple examples and models can be found in a variety of universities. In general schools define a discipline-specific writing intensive course by the following four criteria. Process writingProfessors wanting to integrate writing into classes in their discipline allow students to experience writing as a process activity not a summative evaluation. Students need to write, receive feedback, and then write again in the light of that feedback. The more students experience this process, the more opportunities they have to grow in writing and thinking skills. Quantity of writing requiredAlthough inclusion of writing used to be expressed in terms of a minimum number of pages required, many schools are also looking at the number of writing assignments required as well. The more students write on a continual basis, the stronger their engagement with the material and with the intellectual work of the course. Effective writing in the disciplines establishes a strong connection between writing assignments and the course material and course objectives. Writing should be an effective tool for student learning of the subject matter, should be designed to help students investigate the subject matter or to gain experience in interpreting data. Finally, the discipline’s audience and traditions should shape the writing. Significant writingFinally, if we want students to take writing seriously and progress in learning to think and write, we must grade them on the competence of their individual writing. In addition, writing will have to represent a high enough percentage of the student’s course grade to motivate the student to take the writing task seriously.

by Teresa J. Mitchell Summer's approaching and we're faced once again with the sunscreen dilemma. Which one should you use? Most experts agree that it's a good idea to use sunscreens to protect your skin from the sun. They disagree on just how well those products work. Some studies even suggest that some forms of skin cancer, occur more often among frequent sunscreen users. The FDA extended the labeling deadline for improving information on sunscreen packaging. It had been mandated to take effect by summer, 2012. According to these guidelines, if the products meets specific FDA criteria it will be allowed to claim "If used as directed with other sun protection measures, decreases the risk of skin cancer and early skin aging caused by the sun." Today, sunscreen makers can claim all sorts of benefits, from preventing skin aging and damage to protecting from skin cancer. By December 2012, products must meet FDA specification to make claims on packages. Studies show that regular sunscreen use protects against sunburn and reduces the risk of squamous-cell carcinoma. This slow-growing, treatable disease accounts for 16 percent of all skin cancers. Some researchers have observed an increased risk of malignant melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, among sunscreen users. Experts aren't sure why. They suggest the cause could be more time spent in the sun, chemicals that cause gene damage, formulas that are less effective than claimed or changes in the atmosphere that allow more ultraviolet light exposure. The FDA takes the position that to date, there are no clinical studies demonstrating that use of any sunscreen alone can prevent skin cancer. The EWG's top-rated sunscreens contain the minerals zinc or titanium. These chemical offer the the best UVA protection without contributing a chemical considered to be a potential hormone disruptor. At present, the sunscreen industry adds vitamin A to 25 percent of all sunscreens. Vitamin A is an anti-oxidant that slows skin aging. While true for lotions and night creams used indoors, it might not be safe for use in the sun. Scientists have known for some time that vitamin A can encourage excess skin growth. In sunlight, it can form free radicals that damage DNA. Recently available data from an FDA study indicates that a form of vitamin A, retinyl palmitate, might speed the development of skin tumors and lesions when applied to skin in the presence of sunlight. The Environmental Working Group recommends that consumers avoid sunscreens with vitamin A. Look for "retinyl palmitate" or "retinol" on the label. With the uncertainties surrounding sunscreens, you might be tempted to give up on them altogether. Despite the unknowns, public health agencies recommend using sunscreens. You can choose an effective and safe sunscreen for your family. The International Agency for Research on Cancer says, "Sunscreens should not be the first choice for skin cancer prevention and should not be used as the sole agent for protection against the sun." Instead, let your first line of defense against harmful radiation be shade, protective clothing and avoiding the midday sun. The ideal sunscreen for your family will protect from the sun's rays without causing skin damage or containing harmful chemicals that could be absorbed. Choose a product that meets these safe sunscreen guidelines. • Doesn't contain oxybenzone • Doesn't contain Vitamin A • Has zinc or titanium • Is not micronized • Does not contain nanoscale particles of those metals • Is not in spray or powdered form To learn which sunscreens made the list, visit EWG's save sunscreen guide for 2012. Are you ready for summer? Do you worry about the safety of sunscreens?

Click Image to Enlarge PET was invented in 1941 by ICI in the U.K. and played its first role as a fiber, and its second as film with DuPont’s introduction of Mylar in 1952. It took more than 20 years for PET molding grades to come onto the scene. When they did, they revolutionized the packaging industry with oriented bottles. In 1973, DuPont’s Nathaniel Wyeth patented the oriented PET beverage bottle. Because DuPont lacked solid-state PET resin production, its initial efforts to produce bottle preforms were unsuccessful, owing to insufficient intrinsic viscosity (I.V., a measure of molecular weight). The first commercial production of PET resin suitable for injection molding preforms came from Goodyear in 1974, which had solid-state capability in place. Between 1976 and 1978, three other suppliers—Celanese, American Hoechst, and Eastman—brought on PET bottle-resin capacity At NPE 1979, Eastman Chemical introduced “spruce green” bottle-grade PET resins so that plastic bottles could match the color of glass bottles. In the early 1980s, CPET (crystallized PET) arrived as a highly heat-resistant material for thermoformable, dual-ovenable food trays for prepackaged meals and entrees. At NPE 1991, amorphous PET (APET) resins for extrusion blow molding of handleware were introduced by Eastman, DuPont, and Goodyear. APET did not take off, as the market found it too costly because of the thicker walls required. More successful was a glycol-modified amorphous PET, called PETG, introduced by Eastman in 1977. It has been successful in injection and blow molded containers and extruded sheet and profiles. The current U.S. PET resin market is approaching 7 billion lb/yr. PET dominates the soda and “premium” water bottle market for 2-liter and smaller bottles, where handles are not required. Glass- or mineral-filled PET was introduced by DuPont in 1978. Rynite PET constituted the first “engineering” grade of PET for general-purpose injection molding. It overcame the limitations of previous reinforced PETs, which were difficult to mold and suffered poor surface quality, brittleness, and warpage. Many of the earliest applications were electrical parts, such as coil forms, automotive ignitions, transformer housings, terminal blocks, motor end brackets, fuse caps, and light housings. Some other applications in Rynite’s first decade were chair shells and arms, bicycle drive parts, and boat propellers. Within five years, Rynite had at least four domestic competitors and at least 15 by the end of the 1980s. PBT for injection molding was first brought to the market in 1969 by Celanese, with its Celanex 3300, a 30% glass-filled grade. In 1972, GE introduced both unreinforced Valox PBT and a 30% glass-filled grade. Not long after, GE launched flame-retardant grades. By 1977, Eastman, GAF, LNP, and Thermofil had entered the business, with Fiberfil and Mobay not far behind. The earliest PBT applications were in the electrical/electronic connectors, switches, controls, and automotive high-energy ignition systems. PBT also played a major part in the development of plastic automotive bumper systems. GE alloyed PBT with PC to produce Xenoy, a material with high impact strength at low temperatures plus heat and chemical resistance that enabled all-plastic auto-bumper systems to replace steel. The 1984 Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable were the first cars to utilizes this system in both front and rear bumpers. Very few readers of this issue can remember, or even imagine, what it was like when an injection mol...

Aims: To summarize literature data about the role of psychosocial factors in the etiology of bruxism. Methods: A systematic search in the National Library of Medicine’s PubMed Database was performed to identify all peer-reviewed papers in the English literature dealing with the bruxism-psychosocial factors relationship. All studies assessing the psychosocial traits of bruxers (by using questionnaires, interviews, and instrumental and laboratory exams) and reviews discussing the contribution of those factors to the etiology of bruxism were included in this review. Results: A total of 45 relevant papers (including eight reviews) were retrieved with a search strategy combining the term “bruxism” with the words stress, anxiety, depression, psychosocial and psychological factors. The majority of data about the association between psychosocial disorders and bruxism came from studies adopting a clinical and/or self-report diagnosis of bruxism. These studies showed some association of bruxism with anxiety, stress sensitivity, depression and other personological characteristics, apparently in contrast with sleep laboratory investigations. A plausible hypothesis is that clinical studies are more suitable to detect awake bruxism (clenching type), while polysomnographic studies focused only on sleep bruxism (grinding type). Conclusion: Wake clenching seems to be associated with psychosocial factors and a number of psychopathological symptoms, while there is no evidence to relate sleep bruxism with psychosocial disorders. Future research should be directed toward the achievement of a better distinction between the two forms of bruxism in order to facilitate the design of experimental studies on this topic. J OROFAC PAIN 2009;23:153–166. Key words: anxiety, bruxism, depression, etiology, psychosocial factors, stress

Man's idea regarding the spirit or the soul is vague and unclear. The pharaohs were the first to deal with these issues, yet their concepts in this respect is of no help. They were the first people to believe in the immortality of the soul, with the human body acting as its container. Thus, the immortality of the soul depends on its remaining inside the casket or coffin. To them, the soul is part of three sections that form the human character. They are the physical body, the soul that hovers in the cemetery to visit its body, and the Alka. The Alka is an independent spiritual mate that lives inside the human body and provides it with protection, life, security, luck, health, and happiness. This mate is loyal, constantly living with man, and also grows with him knowing every thing about him. The idea of the intimate companion is known in Islam and it refers to the jinni that accompany man, knowing his secrets and his hidden things. If he is a good jinni, he will keep man's secrets but if he is a bad one, he will reveal them. These jinn can be summoned to reveal these secrets and tell hidden things that might mislead the naïve and simple minded people. This is mentioned in Allah's saying: ''If anyone withdraws himself from remembrance of (God) Most Gracious, We appointed for him an evil one, to be an intimate companion to him''. The ancient Egyptians believed that this Alka takes trips after death, leaving the graveyard and returning through secret vaults and hidden tunnels. The Alka feeds on different kinds of stuffed food which are preserved in the walls' inscriptions in case the stored food was stolen. With the help of gods, theses drawings of food turn into real and actual food substitutes for the Alka. For theses reasons, the ancient Egyptians mastered the art of mummification where their genius in this respect greatly astonished modern scientists. Their miracles in this field bewilder researchers who are unable to uncover the secrets of this art despite their long and thorough research. Their belief also made them excel in another art which is agriculture; they managed to build fine domes, huge temples, and great pyramids. They painted on their walls wonderfully colorful pictures that still remain beautifully bright as if they were just drawn yesterday. Most of their tombs were buried underground to keep them away from man and the traces of time. Due to their spiritual creed, they thus became creative in the various arts, sciences, and branches of knowledge. They were able to establish the most outstanding civilization ever known to man kind. Their inscriptions indicate their belief that the soul is the immortal secret of the human body which can be pure or disturbed, a good or an evil one. They also inscribed on the temples and papyrus paper their morals, psychological beliefs, and spiritual teachings. Such heliographic writings remained just scribbles until they were translated by the French scientist Chameleon who deciphered their symbols. Their testaments were food for the soul to purify man from the evils of life and connect him to the other world. However, they did not differentiate between the soul and the spirit, for their testaments were for both of them. About Mohammad bin abbas THE HEALER : I graduated from the US, from where I obtained MA degree in clinical psychology. (Spiritually Oriented Psychotherapy), too, I am qualified, since I have memorized the Holy Qur’an. This website deals with the adverse effects of spiritual diseases ,, black magic, voodoo, evil eye, Jinn touch ... Read More >>

Pregnant women have a new reason to eat organic: babies exposed to pesticides while in the womb may grow up to have lower IQs and trouble focusing on tasks, three new studies have found. The federally-funded studies, by researchers in New York and California, tracked environmental exposures in hundreds of women and their children from pregnancy to the grade-school years. Children exposed to the highest levels of pesticide chemicals called organophosphates during pregnancy had IQ scores that were an average of 7 points lower than the IQ scores of kids with the lowest pesticide exposures. Every tenfold increase in a pregnant mother’s pesticide exposure meant a more than 5-point drop in her child’s IQ at age 7. Organophosphates have long worried scientists and regulators because they irreversibly block an enzyme critical to nerve function in both insects and humans. These pesticides are sprayed on fruits and vegetables, as well as in parks and on golf courses. “These findings make it all the more urgent for people to buy organic fruits and vegetables whenever they can afford to do so,” said Dr. Philip Landrigan, a professor of pediatrics and director of the Children’s Environmental Health Center at New York’s Mount Sinai Medical Center. “Organic fruits and vegetables have 90 percent less pesticides than so-called conventionally grown,” Landrigan added. If organic fruits and vegetables are unavailable or too expensive, wash your produce thoroughly using a scrub brush. Foods with the highest pesticide residues include strawberries, peaches, celery, apples, and spinach.

Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge, NH Fish and Wildlife Service Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) was established in 1992 and is located along the eastern shore of New Hampshire's Great Bay in the town of Newington. A variety of rich wildlife habitats from uplands to open waters can be found throughout the refuge. With its open coastal water and abundant prey, the refuge plays a significant role as migration and wintering habitat for the federally protected bald eagle. The bay area also provides prime migration habitat for the peregrine falcon. Many state protected species use the refuge including the common loon, pied-billed grebe, osprey, common tern, northern harrier and upland sandpiper. The bay area also serves as New Hampshire's major wintering area for black ducks. Great Bay NWR also manages the Karner blue butterfly easement in Concord, New Hampshire, that protects important habitat for this federally endangered species. Address:100 Merrimac Drive Directions:Take exit 1 off Route 16 or Spaulding Turnpike and turn onto Pease Blvd. heading into Pease International Tradeport. Go through one stoplight to a stop sign and turn right on Arboretum Drive. Follow refuge signs for 3 miles to refuge parking lot, office and trails.

CHALLENGE WINNER: “Museum” in “Architecture of the British Isles” – 30FEB2011 FEATURED: “Beginners’ Corner” – 14DEC2012 The museum is home to life and earth science specimens comprising some 70 million items within five main collections: Botany, Entomology, Mineralogy, Palaeontology and Zoology. The museum is a world-renowned centre of research, specialising in taxonomy, identification and conservation. Given the age of the institution, many of the collections have great historical as well as scientific value, such as specimens collected by Darwin. The Natural History Museum Library contains extensive books, journals, manuscripts, and artwork collections linked to the work and research of the scientific departments.

Organic Tomatoes Have More Vitamin C And Sugars Than Fruit That Is Grown Conventionally Public Library of Science Tomatoes grown on organic farms accumulate higher concentrations of sugars, vitamin C and compounds associated with oxidative stress compared to those grown on conventional farms, according to research published February 20 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Maria Raquel Alcantara Miranda and colleagues from the Federal University of Ceara, Brazil. In their study, the researchers compared the weights and biochemical properties of tomatoes from organic and conventional farms. They found that tomatoes grown on organic farms were approximately 40% smaller than those grown by conventional techniques, and they also accumulated more compounds linked to stress resistance. According to the authors, organic farming exposes plants to greater stress than conventional farming. They suggest that this increased stress may be the reason organic tomatoes had higher levels sugars, vitamin C and pigment molecules like lycopene, an anti-oxidant compound – all of which are associated with the biological response to stress. Based on these observations, the authors suggest that growing strategies for fruits and vegetables should aim to balance plant stress with efforts to maximize yield and fruit size, rather than trying to eliminate stress to increase yields. On The Net:

The Role of Climate Change On Future Hurricanes Scientists focus on hurricane-prone Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea to assess likely changes Researchers are homing in on the hurricane-prone Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea to assess the likely changes, between now and the middle of the century, in the frequency, intensity, and tracks of these powerful storms. Initial results are expected early next year. The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo., working with federal agencies as well as the insurance and energy industries, has launched an intensive study to examine how global warming will influence hurricanes in the next few decades. The goal of the project is to provide information to coastal communities, offshore drilling operations, and other interests that could be affected by changes in hurricanes. "This science builds on years of previous investment," said Cliff Jacobs, program director in the National Science Foundation (NSF)’s Division of Atmospheric Sciences, which is funding the project. "The outcome of this research will shed light on the relationship between global warming and hurricanes, and will better inform decisions by government and industry." The project relies on an innovative combination of global climate and regional weather models, run on one of the world’s most powerful supercomputers. "It’s clear from the impacts of recent hurricane activity that we urgently need to learn more about how hurricane intensity and behavior may respond to a warming climate," says NCAR scientist Greg Holland, who is leading the project. "The increasingly dense development along our coastlines and our dependence on oil from the Gulf of Mexico leaves our society dangerously vulnerable to hurricanes." The new study follows two major reports, by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), that found evidence for a link between global warming and increased hurricane activity. But many questions remain about future hurricane activity. For example, the CCSP report concluded that future changes in frequency were uncertain, and that rainfall and intensity were likely to increase, but with unknown consequences. Improved understanding of climate change and hurricanes is an especially high priority for the energy industry, which has a concentration of drilling platforms, refineries, pipelines and other infrastructure in the region that are vulnerable to severe weather. Hurricanes Gustav and Ike damaged offshore oil production and several refineries, disrupting gasoline supplies. The project is part of a larger effort examining regional climate change between 1995 and 2055. The simulations are being run on NCAR’s bluefire supercomputer with support from NSF, NCAR’s sponsor, and through a long-term collaboration with the insurance industry through the Willis Research Network. "This research program by NCAR is a major contribution to the insurance industry and public policy makers," says Rowan Douglas, managing director of Willis. "The primary way to improve our understanding of present and future hurricane risk is to generate computer simulations of storms in unprecedented detail." For the project, the model will examine three decades in detail: 1995-2005, 2020-2030, and 2045-2055. Scientists will use statistical techniques to fill in the gaps between these decades. A major goal is to examine how several decades of greenhouse-gas buildup could affect regional climate and, in turn, influence hurricanes and other critical weather features. Scientists will also investigate the impact of the powerful storms on global climate. One of the most difficult technical challenges for such a project is to create a model that can capture both the climate of the entire world and the behavior of a single hurricane. To get around this roadblock, NCAR has developed an approach called Nested Regional Climate Modeling (NRCM). The center "nests" a special version of its high-resolution weather model (the Weather Research and Forecasting model, or WRF) inside its lower-resolution, global climate model (the Community Climate System Model, or CCSM). The resulting simulations show fine-scale detail for certain regions, like the Gulf of Mexico, while also incorporating global climate patterns. For each of its decade-long time slices, the NRCM’s resolution will be about 20 miles across Africa, Europe, and the South Atlantic, 7.5 miles across the tropical Atlantic and northeastern United States, and an even sharper 2.5 miles over the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, southeastern United States, and drought-prone western United States. "Combining weather and climate models in this way enables more detailed projections of hurricanes in a warming world than any study to date," says Holland. "These projections will help reduce the uncertainty of current assessments, and they also serve the very important role of providing experience about applying future predictions of changes to high impact weather systems in general." Image 1: Research on the future likelihood of hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, such as Ike, is underway. Credit: NASA Image 2: Zooming in on future climate, scientists are "nesting" a regional weather model, at a resolution as fine as 2.5 miles, within a global model, at a resolution of about 100 miles. Credit: Steve Deyo, UCAR On the Net:

Charles Hartshorne by Alan Gragg Published by Word Books, Waco, Texas, 1973, as part of the series "Makers of the Modern Theological Mind," edited by Bob E. Patterson. This material was prepared for Religion Online by Ted and Winnie Brock. Chapter 2: What is Really Real? "…the social point of view is the final point of view. All creatures are fellow creatures. Nothing is wholly alien to us or devoid of inner satisfactions with which, if we could grasp them, we might more or less sympathize. It is merely a question of how accessible to our perception and understanding the inner values may be." The Centrality of Metaphysics in Hartshorne’s Philosophy All thinking persons assume that they know, at least in part, what is really real. Many also know that at times they have been deceived or mistaken in thinking that such entities as pink elephants, dream images, or oases in deserts were really "there" in the world when in actuality they were not. Nevertheless, most people still believe that they know the difference between realities and illusions, mere wishes and hard facts, imaginary entities and actual things. Moreover, most contemporary Westerners would include minds, bodies, atoms, bacteria, airplanes, and mountains in the class of things which they know to be real; but they may be uncertain about the status in reality of God, mathematical entities, and logical concepts such as "possibility." The typical Western man probably feels sure that angels, devils, and spirits do not exist in reality but only as figments in deluded imaginations, but he is not ashamed to admit that he does not yet know whether there are such entities as people on other planets. Nevertheless, the layman’s common-sense view of reality is baffled by such conundrums as the nature of time and space, the reality of human freedom, quantum jumps in physics, or the claim of modern science that colors are not really present in the objects of perception but only in the mind of the beholder. In addition, when exposed to such hoary doctrines of some classical Eastern religions and philosophies as that of the fundamental unreality or illusory character of the entire material world and that of the all-encompassing reality of God, the average Westerner can only respond with astonishment and incredulity. When subjected to puzzles, paradoxes, or conflicts, the certitudes about reality of the philosophically unsophisticated man quickly become either dogmatisms, doubts, or confusions. Obviously, no thoughtful person can escape at least some unsophisticated ventures into metaphysics, for "metaphysics" is what philosophers call the discussion about reality and unreality, being and nonbeing, or existence and nonexistence. "Metaphysics" as a term is derived from two Creek words which, when literally translated, mean "after physics"; but this translation is misleading, because proper metaphysics in philosophy includes (not follows) the entities known to physics within its total purview. True, metaphysics may pursue methods and descry entities beyond the scope of physics and the other sciences, but it intends to encompass rather than exclude authentic scientific methods and knowledge. In a word, then, one’s metaphysics is his comprehensive view of the universe or reality. A fully elaborated metaphysics would include an inventory of all real entities, a description of the various levels or degrees of reality or being, and an explanation of the nature of the difference between something and nothing or being and nonbeing. Customarily, philosophers will, for the sake of convenience, divide the metaphysical branch of philosophy into four major, interrelated subdivisions: ontology ("theory of being"), cosmology ("theory of the universe or nature"), anthropology ("theory of man"), and theology ("theory of God"). It seems, moreover, that the most satisfactory philosophy for the masses of humanity will be the one that affords the most adequate, comprehensive, and convincing answers to these four fundamental questions concerning the ultimate characteristics of being, nature, man, and God. And now to get to the point of this discussion, Charles Hartshorne is both willing and eager for his philosophy to be judged by this criterion. As suggested in chapter one, Hartshorne has, in an era of widespread distrust or hostility on the part of philosophers toward metaphysics, remained unabashed in his commitment to metaphysics as the central concern of philosophy. Without disparaging the importance or intrinsic interest of such other philosophical disciplines as logic, theory of knowledge, or analysis of language, he has insisted that the urgent issues raised by these and other branches of philosophy can be viewed in proper perspective only within the context of an all-comprehensive metaphysical vision. And what an ambitiously all-encompassing metaphysical vision does Hartshorne delineate! Confident that metaphysics is a completely legitimate rational enterprise for philosophy, he avows that it studies that "logical class of entities, the universal categories of all actual and conceivable worlds."1 Elsewhere, Hartshorne declares that his approach to metaphysics achieves "validity in principle for all cosmic epochs,"2 meaning that the metaphysical categories which he derives are applicable not only to all aspects of this immense universe but also to all facets of every possible future universe. Indeed the correct derivation of such categories would appear to be no mean achievement for the finite human reason. Regarding the metaphysical enterprise, Hartshorne is in complete agreement with Whitehead’s famous description of speculative philosophy: Speculative Philosophy is the endeavour to frame a coherent, logical, necessary system of general ideas in terms of which every element of our experience can be interpreted. By this notion of ‘interpretation’ I mean that everything of which we are conscious, as enjoyed, perceived, willed, or thought, shall have the character of a particular instance of the general scheme. Thus the philosophical scheme should be coherent, logical, and, in respect to its interpretation, applicable and adequate. Here ‘applicable’ means that some items of experience are thus interpretable, and ‘adequate’ means that there are no items incapable of such interpretation.3 Accordingly, Hartshorne defines metaphysics as "the search for necessary and categorial truth" and describes metaphysical truths as those which no experience can contradict and which any experience must illustrate.4 In a helpful article on this subject, Hartshorne elaborates: "Metaphysics, in an old phrase, explores ‘being qua being,’ or reality qua reality, meaning by this, the strictly universal features of existential possibility, those which cannot be unexemplified"; and he gives as an example of such a necessary truth the affirmation that "experience as creative process occurs."5 Moreover, Hartshorne’s optimism and his aesthetic passion are voiced in his declaration that the truth which metaphysics discloses is both good and beautiful and that it can never be evil or ugly or objectionable.6 In tones reminiscent of Plato, he affirms, "Metaphysical truth is in some fashion a realm of beauty unsullied by any hint of ugliness."7 Therefore, we may summarize his position by stating that metaphysical inquiry for him is reason s search for those contemplatively satisfying and beautiful truths that are necessarily exemplified in all possible experiences and aspects of every possible or actual universe. Hartshorne’s Method in Metaphysics Granted the legitimacy and desirability of Hartshorne’s conception of the quest for metaphysical truths, the crucial question becomes how such a quest may be validly conducted. But on this question of the proper method in metaphysical research Hartshorne is quite explicit. A lengthy quotation seems justified at this point as the best means of setting forth his position: Metaphysics is not a deduction of consequences either froni axioms dogmatically l)roclaimed true nor yet from mere arbitrary postulates or hypotheses. It is an attempt to describe the most general aspects of experience, to abstract from all that is special in our awareness, and to report as clearly and accurately as possible upon the residuum. in this process deduction from defined premises plays a role, but not the role of expanding the implications of the axioms. The great historical error was to suppose that some metaphysical propositions have only to be announced to be seen true, and hence all their implications must be beyond questioning. The true role of deduction in metaphysics is not to bring out the content of the initially certain, but to bring out the meaning of tentative descriptions of the metaphysically ultimate in experience so that we shall be better able to judge if they do genuinely describe this ultimate. Axioms are not accepted as self.evident, then used to elicit consequences that must not be doubted. They are rather set up as questions whose full meaning only deduction of the consequences of possible answers can tell us. When we know the meaning of the possible answers, we may, if we are lucky, be able to see that one of them Is evi. denily true to that residuum of experience which is left when all details variable in imagination have been set aside. Thus, self-evidence or axiomatic status is the goal of the inquiry. not its starting point. Metaphysical deduction justifies its premises by the descriptive adequacy of its conclusions; it does not prove the conclusions by assuming the premises. In this, metaphysics is like inductive science.8 From this statement we learn that Hartshorne’s method in metaphysics is one of abstraction and descriptive generalization. Since metaphysical truths are exemplified in all human experiences, they are exemplified in every one of our own concrete experiences. Therefore, if we could abstract those most general and common features of human experience from the welter of their vastly varied details, the residuum thus obtained would be metaphysical truth or truths; and, if our process of abstraction were sufficiently thorough and accurate, the resultant truths could be generalized as applying to all experiences in all possible universes. This statement of procedure makes manifest Hartshorne’s assumption that the microcosm of any particular human experience, at the utmost level of metaphysical generality, resembles the macrocosmic universe even though the latter is an almost infinitely vast conglomeration of other experiences. If this assumption is allowed Hartshorne (and its denial would entail the undesirable conclusion that the universe is incorrigibly unknowable by man), then it is theoretically possible to sit in one’s armchair and, by the method of abstraction and descriptive generalization, reflect one’s way to the ultimate truths about all facets of the universe in this and every cosmic epoch! However, Hartshorne does provide for the testing of the process of metaphysical abstraction by an assessment of the descriptive adequacy of its resultant truths to other experiences than those from which the truths were originally abstracted. Moreover, he would be quick to acknowledge that the most frequent and fertile source of error in a metaphysics that follows his method would be the inevitable human limitations upon the metaphysician’s powers to abstract from his experiences with sufficient generality for his conclusions to be universally valid. Finality and complete adequacy in metaphysical statement, manifestly, will never be achieved by man; and Hartshorne does not lay claim to these characteristics as properties of his own metaphysics. Yet he does contend that partial adequacy is possible and that he can demonstrate the necessity of some interesting and satisfying metaphysical truths -- truths that are also vital to the peace and well-being of the human race. What these truths and their implications are the remainder of this book will seek to describe and assess. The Ultimate Units of Reality Following the fashion set by the traditional founder of modern philosophy, René Descartes, Hartshorne locates the ground of metaphysical certainty in the immediate awareness of human consciousness. He reasons that the most certain and reliable knowledge accessible to man is the direct and intuitively self-evident knowledge of his own subjective experience. Since introspection gives us privileged access into the inner workings of our own consciousnesses, Hartshorne argues that, if we cannot have sure knowledge of human consciousness, then we cannot know anything else to which privileged access is not available; and his trust in reason will not permit him to acquiesce in the skeptical suggestion that no reliable knowledge is possible for man. Hence, the Hartshornian metaphysical edifice is based upon the bedrock of the fleeting human consciousness as the foundation and model of metaphysical knowledge. To Hartshorne it seems perfectly natural and obvious that subjective human awareness should be taken by all men as the ultimate clue to the nature of the universe: The human specious present is the only epoch we directly experience with any vividness, just as the spatial spread 0f a human experience is the only atomic unit. In perceiving the non-human world we are always apprehending collectives, both spatial and temporal. To form even a vague conception of the singulars composing these collectives our only resource is to generalize analogically the epochal and atomic characters of human experiences.9 On the basis, therefore, of the metaphysical clue to reality discovered in human consciousness, Hartshorne deduces that the ultimate units of reality are the "atomic characters" of various experiences, which are varyingly designated as "unit-experiences," "experient-occasions," or "actual entities."10 Here he is adopting Whitehead’s succinctly-stated cosmology: ‘Actual entities’ -- also termed ‘actual occasions’ -- are the final real things of which the world is made up. There is no going behind actual entities to find anything more real. They differ among themselves: God is an actual entity, and so is the most trivial puff of existence in far off empty space. But, though there are gradations of importance, and diversities of function, yet in the principles which actuality exemplifies all are on the same level. The final facts are, all alike, actual entities; and these actual entities are drops of experience. complex and interdependent.11 As will be explained in chapter four, Hartshorne disagrees with Whitehead’s statement in this quotation that God is an actual entity; but, otherwise, Hartshorne’s metaphysics totally agrees with Whitehead’s declaration that the "final facts" are "actual entities" or "drops of experience." Moreover, each human being must be constituted of many millions of these "unit-happenings" or "experiences," because Hartshorne affirms that persons have about ten new ones per second and that they fit together so smoothly that the transitions between them go largely unnoticed.12 And inasmuch as everything in the universe is composed of similar unit-experiences or actual entities, the number of them that occurs at any given instant of time (if we may legitimately speak of such instants) must be stupendously large. These myriads of drops of experience in the Whiteheadian-Hartshornian metaphysical scheme correspond roughly to the monads of Leibniz’s world-view and to the energy quanta of modern physics as the basic building blocks of the universe. It is essential to understand that, according to Hartshome, these drops of experience, as the ultimately real entities, are not permanently enduring "things" but rather very transient occurrences, happenings, occasions, acts, or events. Moreover, all these events are thoroughly value-oriented, for each one is a striving toward the realization of some value. As Hartshorne says, "Experience is an act; and every act at least strives to realize a value."13 Therefore, the cosmic universe at any given moment is a vast swarm of experience-events that are coming into existence, achieving some value, and passing out of existence. Once an experience achieves its aim or realizes some value, then it ceases to exist ("perishes" is Whitehead’s somewhat misleading term) in its unique form. Harts-home insists that the values in question here are not ethical values, since, according to him, ethical values cannot be universal. Instead, he holds that these are aesthetic values which are universal in scope. Hence, he concludes that aesthetic values are immediate values that are present in all experiences.14 Hartshorne is aware that his kind of metaphysics is a revolutionary change in perspective for most people. Whereas we usually think of things or people as individuals to which events happen, he advocates the converse proposition that things or persons are "certain stabilities…in the flux of events."15 He claims the support of modern science, especially current physics, for this recommended reversal of cosmological outlook. For example, he points out that quantum mechanics now suggests that atoms are not moving entities or things to which events happen but rather are the sequences of events or happenings themselves. If this suggestion is accepted, then we must accustom ourselves to thinking that there really are no such things as particles, atomic or otherwise, but only "particle-like events."16 Furthermore, when one becomes persuaded that such reasoning is sound and thus abandons the habit of supposing that events must happen to something rather than that happenings are the only real some-things, then he is well on the way toward a thoroughgoing Hartshornian cosmology. In his first book, entitled The Philosophy and Psychology of Sensation, Hartshorne announces his agreement with the Whiteheadian idea that the materials of all nature are events composed of aesthetic feeling," claiming the additional support of modern physics for the contention; and he has never wavered in this conviction.17 Moreover, he also expounds in this work the further Whiteheadian notion, which he tirelessly repeats in his later works, that what the Constituent experiences or feelings of the universe experience are other experiences. Hartshorne considers it obvious that no feeling can merely feel itself but must always feel other feelings, a doctrine which he says C. S. Peirce was among the first to hold.18 Hence, he declares, "The world may be conceived as the increasing specification of the theme ‘feeling of feeling’ "; and he affirms that the "spontaneous conviction of all exalted moments of life" is the presentiment that the key to the nature of things is "the sensitiveness of living beings for each other."19 Accordingly, Hartshorne’s main thesis in this book on sensation is that such occurrences as the human awareness of the color red are best explained as the results of an "affective continuum" in which the mind feels the redness of the brain cells (!) which feel the redness of light rays which in turn feel the redness of the object perceived.20 Indeed, the conclusion of this work is adequately descriptive of Hartshorne’s lifetime of metaphysical labors, so that a lengthy quotation may be justified: The possibility of a single science of nature at once follows. All individuals become comparable to ourselves, and physics may prove to be nothing but the behavioristic side of the psychology or sociology of the most universally distributed and low-grade or simple individuals. This is the only conception that can even pretend to represent an absolute ideal of scientific success. Its advantage is unique, and with every advance of science can only become more apparent. For everything moves toward it -- at least in the sense that it brings us nearer to the completion of less ambitious programs. and hence to the time when they can no longer function as goals -- and nothing can carry us beyond it… The reason this ultimate program seems so remote or Incredible is partly that we have as yet no real conception of the variables exhibited in human experience, and hence do not see how widely different values from any occurring in our experience are abstractly conceivable as missing areas or extended portions of the domains of potential characters which the variables permit. The reason is also partly our ignorance of the details of nature on its behavioristic side, the superficiality of even our physics and, much more, of our biology and physiology. When science has gained a more perfect picture of the spatio-temporal patterns exhibited by the life and adventures of a particle, including perhaps the evolution of the cosmos from a stage in which it did not contain this particle, and into one in which it will no longer contain it, then perhaps speculation as to an inner life of the particle. its pleasures, displeasures, etc., will take a more definite form. All science may thus become natural history, and all individuals studied by science, fellow-creatures. Physics will be but the most primitive branch of comparative psychology or of general sociology.21 We turn next to an explication of the term "panpsychism" as Hartshorne employs it. Hartshorne defines "panpsychism" (from Greek words meaning "all-soul") as "the view that all things, in all their aspects, consist exclusively of ‘souls,’ that is, of various kinds of subjects, or units of experiencing, with their qualifications, relations, and groupings, or communities."22 He acknowledges that the term is somewhat misleading, because the ultimate unit-experiences are not the same as the traditional concept of the human soul; but he is content to employ it because of some analogy of feeling-experience between human souls and the actual entities. Hartshornian panpsychism, then, realizes that there might be infinitely many different kinds of "souls," ranging from electrons to God, and, therefore, recommends that we generalize our own internal experience as a cautiously employed "infinitely flexible analogy."23 It would set no limits to the possible variety of psychic life, leaving to the science of comparative psychology the task of actually describing the various kinds of souls there are; but it does contend that all things, including ultramicroscopic entities, consist of "minds" or "souls" even if many of them are on an extremely low, subhuman level.24 Hartshorne avows that we are chiefly indebted to three great philosophers, Plato, Leibniz, and Whitehead, for the creative insights that have brought panpsychism to its present impressive status as a full-scale metaphysical system. Most obviously, Hartshorne’s panpsychism should be understood paramountly as an explicit repudiation of metaphysical materialism in all its forms, both ancient and modern. Similarly, it also repudiates metaphysical dualism in Cartesian or other forms that maintain that both mind and matter are equally ultimate principles of reality. Hartshorne vigorously argues that there is no evidence whatsoever, whether scientific or metaphysical, that even unambiguously suggests that the ultimate atomic units of the universe are dead, inert, and unconscious. To be sure, his panpsychism holds that the ultimate constituent units of all things are atomic; but they are atoms of conscious experience" at least remotely resembling human mental experiences. Hence, panpsychism categorically rejects as a colossal metaphysical error the entire tradition of atomistic materialism from Democritus to Lucretius to classical Newtonian mechanics. Furthermore, Hartshorne launches a surprisingly strong assault upon the reigning scientific materialism of today and simultaneously presents a stout defense of his own position. For example, he asserts in the following fashion that there is not one shred of evidence that shows that the atomic and subatomic particles of physics must be lifeless or unconscious: "It is impossible to mention, and no one has mentioned, any fact which physics now asserts about the pattern of individual occurrences which contradicts the supposition that individuals as such are sentient creatures."25 In other words, the assumption that modern science has revealed or demonstrated that the universe is fundamentally composed of dead or mindless matter in purely mechanical motion is completely unwarranted and gratuitous. Consequently, Hartshorne rejects the fashionable assumption that mind on planet earth has emerged from what was once mere matter. He denies that the notion of mere matter can be given any intelligible meaning, holding that "mere matter" is a totally opaque concept. He also disallows Descartes’ suggestion that "extension" is the main criterion of difference between matter and mind on the grounds that it has not been shown that mind cannot be extended in some respects. In addition, he contends that, before one can talk meaningfully of a material stuff devoid of experience, he must first show how to falsify the panpsychistic thesis that "mind or experience in some form is everywhere"; but this prerequisite demonstration is theoretically impossible for finite minds, because experience is conceivably capable of an infinity of forms and degrees. Therefore, he believes that he has a logically impregnable position in affirming that the zero case of mind would also be the zero case of reality.26 Hence, either we must talk about matter in terms of the infinitely flexible "psychic variables" of human mental experience, or we cannot talk intelligibly about it at all.27 Thus Hartshorne feels justified in the following caustic comment upon Santayana’s defense of materialism: " ‘Matter’ is the asylum of ignorance, pure and simple, whose only useful function is to postpone for a more convenient occasion the specification of the type of psychic reality required in the given case."28 Hartshorne does admit that panpsychism appears incredible to common sense at such points as the suggestion that stones may have feelings or be composed of sentient entities; but he counters the force of this objection by pointing out that such scientific conceptions as atomic and cellular structures of plants and animals also greatly transcend common sense. He also grants the common-sense view that a human corpse is a dead thing as a human body, but he still makes his panpsychistic point by insisting that even a corpse is composed of many living things and, as far as our knowledge runs, nothing else.29 In addition, he claims that his belief that there is only a relative and not an absolute distinction between mind and matter is given support by recent developments in physics that have shown that the differences between matter and various kinds of radiation are differences of degree and not of kind. Lest he be misunderstood, he says that panpsychism does not for once question the real existence of such entities as atoms or electrons but merely insists that such individuals must "feel" and "will" He does not shrink from the view that electrons "enjoy" their existence and deliberately alter their orbits in order to obtain vivid contrasts and thus avoid being bored.30 It is quite important to understand that, although Harts-home’s panpsychism resembles classical philosophical idealism in holding that reality is essentially mental or spiritual in character, it also defends the opposite of the standard Berkeleyan (or Kantian) idealism in epistemology or theory of knowledge. Whereas Berkeley seems to have maintained that an object is constituted by being known, Hartshorne’s realistic position in epistemology explicitly states that an object of knowledge is entirely independent of its being known by any particular subject. Conversely, Hartshorne also affirms that the subject of any knowledge always depends upon the objects of which it is aware. The subject is a different subject for knowing a particular object, but that object is in no degree different for being known by that subject. Moreover, Hartshorne affirms that he does not contradict himself when he asserts the additional twin theses that every concrete entity is a subject (or has objects of knowledge) and that every such entity must be an object for some (anyone will do) subject.31 Furthermore, he argues that only the panpsychistic doctrine of an ocean of subjects internally related to their objects of knowledge can make sense of our deeply ingrained conception of the world as a real nexus of temporal succession of cause-effect relationships. Therefore, after extensive analysis of the many issues involved, he concludes emphatically that "we know nothing of a form of concreteness other than that of subjects" and that the only alternatives in ontology and cosmology are either panpsychism or agnosticism.32 It is now possible to understand why Hartshorne designates his ontology and cosmology as "societal realism," "social organicism," or "social process." He means that ultimate reality actually is one vast social process or complexity of myriads of social processes. Each of the quadrillions of experience-occasions that comprise the universe is immediately and intrinsically social in nature, for experience is always experience of something else, namely, other experiences ("feeling of feelings") - Accordingly, "sympathy" is a key category of Hartshorne’s metaphysics. Every actual occasion has intrinsic reference…to preceding occasions, with which it has some degree of sympathetic participation, echoing their qualities, but with a new overall quality of its own as it reacts to them."33 That is, there are no completely isolated individuals in the universe. Every one of the ultimate units in the cosmos is related by some degree of awareness to some other ultimate events and responds sympathetically to this awareness. Preceding occasions act causally upon subsequent occasions, and the subsequent occasions react sympathetically to the preceding ones. The entire universe, therefore, may be envisioned as a virtually infinite series of instantaneous throbs and pulsations of sympathy. Moreover, all the larger (or more abstract) entities which are composed of the experience-events, from electrons to stones to animals to people to God, are bound in the bonds (or enjoy the freedom and love) of the universal sympathy. We may now proceed to the exposition of Hartshorne ‘s conception of "organism" and "society," which are for him intimately interrelated terms. He defines an "organism as a whole whose parts serve as ‘organs’ or instrument [sic] to purposes or end-values inherent in the whole."34 For example, a man is aware of himself as an organism, since he is conscious of realizing purposes through the parts of his body as organs. Moreover, Harts-home maintains that an organism may have other organisms as parts or organs but that not all the parts of organisms need themselves be organisms. The human being is the best example of this principle. A man is an organism composed of bodily cells which are likewise organisms; but a finger of his hand is an organ and not an organism, although it is composed of organisms (the cells) and is also part of the larger organism, the entire body.35 In addition, Hartshorne holds that every lesser organ and organism is organic" in the sense of being parts of the one supreme cosmic organism, the universe, which he regards as a well-unified, purposive whole. Thus he can say that a mountain (or sandpile) is not itself an organism, being only an aggregation of molecules or atoms (or grains of sand); but a mountain is composed of organisms, the atoms or molecules, and is also an organic part of the cosmic organism. Such entities as plants and termite colonies Hartshorne designates as "quasi-organisms." They are composed of organisms, either plant cells or termites; but, since such groupings of organisms probably have no unified purpose of their own, they should not be regarded as true organisms. He concludes: "Thus it is reasonable to deny that mountains, trees, or termite colonies enjoy feelings, but not so reasonable to deny that atoms, tree-cells, and termites enjoy them."30 Similarly, Hartshorne suggests that various collections of people, such as races, classes, or nations, do not have a "group mind," even though they may occasionally act with some unitary purpose; therefore, they are not to be considered genuine organisms. He looks askance at the idea of "any group mind above the human individual and below the mind of the entire cosmos."37 In order to forestall objections to his social-organic theory, Hartshorne states that an electron or some similar ultimate particle may still be an organism even though it has no parts. In such cases of the simplest organisms, they may respond sympathetically to (or feel) their nearest equal neighbors in a community-like relationship. Such simplest particles would resemble disembodied spirits because their only embodiment would be their environment.38 Hartshorne furnishes a similarly interesting reply to the converse objection that the entire universe could not be one organism, since it has no environment ("There is nowhere to go from the universe")39 His neat reply to this difficulty is that, although the universe has no neighbors to which it may respond, it may still respond to its own ‘‘internal environment’’ or the various internal organs of which it is composed. The cosmic mind would, therefore, be the most fully embodied of all things, having the universe for its body, and would also be the integration of all lesser purposes, since its purpose would be the prosperity of all its parts and their collective totality.40 A further significant facet of Hartshorne’s social conception of the universe is his idea that the wills or minds of organisms influence their component organs or parts as well as being influenced by them. For instance, he contends that the laws of quantum mechanics are not sufficient to account for all aspects of why human beings think as they do. His reason is that the electrons in the human brain are not only influenced in their actions by other electrons but also by the fact that they are parts of a human brain and thus must move in certain ways partly because the human being thinks as he does.41 Nevertheless, Hartshorne also affirms that no organism may completely control or dominate its constituent parts. Moreover, he regards this as a self-evident truth, since total domination of the part by the whole would erase all meaningful distinctions between them. Furthermore, if one keeps clearly in mind the all-important time factor of Hartshorne’s societalism, it becomes clear that an actual whole can never act upon the actualities of which it is composed at any given moment but only upon subsequent actualities. Hartshorne suggests that organisms may helpfully be regarded as societies which fall into two broadly different types, "democracies" and "monarchies." The democratic societies have no one supreme or dominant member, with examples being such things possibly as stones and probably as some cell-colonies and even special forms of many-celled plants and animals.42 Monarchic societies, on the other hand, do have a supreme or dominant member which radically subordinates the parts to its ruling purpose but which can never completely rob the parts of all measure of control over themselves. The best example of the monarchic society seems to be the case of the human personality which controls (albeit only partially) its own bodily cells. The human personality also presents the fascinating case of a monarchic society that may have democratic societies among its constituents; e.g., the cells of the heart appear to have no dominant member, although the total personality may influence the heart’s action to a certain extent. Hartshorne finds in this particular case a suggestive analogy for understanding the cosmic organism. The suggestion is that all societies, including the most democratic ones, are parts of an all-inclusive monarchic society, namely, the whole universe which is ordered by a single ruling member.43 Little examination is required to discern that the single ruling member of the universal organism or society is what Hartshorne understands God to be. The full explication of his doctrine of God, however, will be reserved for a later chapter. As previously indicated, Hartshorne’s metaphysics draws very heavily upon Whitehead’s insights, and Hartshorne justifiably looks upon their common version of process philosophy as presenting a profound shift of perspective in Western metaphysics. He deliberately sets his "neoclassical metaphysics" in opposition and contrast to the heretofore dominant "classical" metaphysics of Western philosophy. One of the major differences between the two rival systems revolves around the terms "being" and "becoming." For classical Western metaphysics, such categories as "being" and "substance" are the more fundamental concepts, and "becoming" and "change" are explained in terms of being. The Whiteheadian-Hartshornian neoclassical metaphysics takes precisely the opposite tack: it treats "becoming" and "change" as the absolutely fundamental categories and accounts for "being" as an aspect of or within becoming. According to Hartshorne, Western classical metaphysics, receiving a powerful impetus from the depreciation of change by Plato and Aristotle, reached its culmination in medieval theology. This theology denied any change or contingency in the world on the grounds that their possibility was logically excluded by the assertion that the omniscient and immutable God could not change in any of his aspects, including his knowledge. In contrast, Hartshorne affirms that Buddhism, in East. em philosophy, was the earliest great philosophy to stress becoming as basic reality. It insisted that momentary experiences which do not "change" but just "become" are the primary realities, a notion not fully developed in Western philosophy until Whitehead did so in the twentieth century.44 This emphasis in Buddhism largely accounts for the fact that Hartshorne frequently alludes to, and allies himself with, certain important features of Buddhist religious philosophy. As far as Hartshorne is concerned, all the efforts of classical metaphysics down to the present day to explain becoming in terms of being are bound to be dismal failures. Instead of "explaining" change, they all essentially deny change by affirming that it is unreal or mere appearance or "being" viewed from the finite human perspective. And inasmuch as change is intuitively obvious to the universal common-sense experience of mankind, Hartshorne reasons that a metaphysics which denies change deserves universal rejection. Contrastingly, Hartshorne’s neoclassical metaphysics claims to provide a fully adequate explanation of being and permanence in terms of becoming. Succinctly stated, the explanation is as follows. The ultimate units of experience, the actual occasions, just "happen" by virtue of creating themselves. However, in their self-creation, they always "remember" aspects of the immediately preceding occasions while creating a new synthesis of experience. Therefore, some facets of the past are always preserved in each succeeding set of experient. events, a process that literally goes on forever. It is the preserved aspects of past experiences in the ever-renewing present that we designate by such terms as "being," "substance," "permanence," and "stability." For example, the permanence of human personality consists in certain remembered aspects of past experiences that may occur as rapidly as ten per second. Hence, Hartshorne maintains that neoclassical metaphysics does not at all deny being and permanence but rather affirms them -- as aspects within the more ultimate process of universal and perpetual becoming. Obviously, process metaphysics is an excitingly different vision of an everlastingly dynamic reality in comparison with the static universe of classical metaphysics. The world of neoclassical metaphysics is a world that is fresh and new every moment; but, of course, it is not totally new, inasmuch as the perpetually new creative syntheses of each moment always utilize elements of the previous creations.45 Hartshorne’s own summary statement is appropriate: "Neoclassical metaphysics is the fusion of the idealism or panpsychicalism which is implicit or explicit in all metaphysics with the full realization of the primacy of becoming as self-creativity or creative synthesis, feeding only upon its own products forever"46 Surely, some elements of Hartshorne’s impressive statement of his vision of an awesomely dynamic universe deserve not to be forgotten but to be preserved in all serious future efforts to create new syntheses in metaphysics! The issue concerning the nature of time is inextricably intertwined with the notions of being and becoming, and the Hartshornian solutions to the problem are, as usual, intriguing. Just as he repudiates all conceptions of being that make problematic the reality of becoming, so Hartsborne also scorns all versions of time and eternity that swallow up time in eternity. His own constructive statement of the relationship may be described as an engulfing of eternity by the temporal process that is everlasting in duration. In this regard, Hartshorne’s main strictures are directed against those theologians and metaphysicians who advance views that imply the eradication of all meaningful distinctions among past, present, and future times. Included in this group of thinkers would be all theologians who insist that the omniscient God knows in detail all future events from the beginning and all philosophers who (following Laplace) contend that the present state of matter in the universe has conclusively determined in detail all future states of the universe. Both approaches, according to Hartshorne, obliterate all real distinctions between present and future by implying that all events are real now in an eternal present that can be known by a properly qualified (i.e., omniscient) being. Such unwarranted "spatializations" (Bergson) of time thus make nonsense of the idea of genuinely creative becoming and, therefore, are contrary to man’s intuitive experience. In contrast to such views, Hartshorne explicitly negates the notion that the events of the future can be known in detail by any being, including God. His line of reasoning is that, until they actually occur, all future events and their alternatives are merely possible, not actual; and even an omniscient God cannot know as actual what in fact is not actual but only possible. God knows the actual as actual and the merely possible as merely possible. For example, God cannot know specifically how many people will be living on earth at midnight, January 1, 2000 AD., for that number will not be precisely determined until that precise date. Consequently, no completely true statements can now be made about such future realities. Just as he does with becoming, so Hartshorne affirms the ultimate reality of the temporal process. The only eternity there is, according to him, is not beyond but within that process. Describing his constructive theory as "modal-psychological," he takes some cues from St. Augustine and suggests that the temporal dimension of reality may be "best conceived as the memory-creativity structure of experience as such."47 If we follow his suggestions, the relations of contemporary things should be conceived of in terms of mutual involvement or noninvolvement, the past should be viewed as the perpetual memory of all that has happened to become determinate and actual, and the future should be considered as the anticipation of possibilities that are not yet actual and determinate.48 For Hartshorne, obviously, there is a fundamental difference between the past and the future, the past being the realm of actual individualities and the future being the realm of potential or possible individualities.49 Thus it is not inaccurate to say that the past is real in a way that the future is not. Hartshorne finds important evidence for this modal asymmetry between past and future in the human ability to remember past events vividly and in detail and to anticipate the future only vaguely and generally.50 Moreover, he holds that the past is completely fixed in irrevocable detail, since every event, once it is actualized, is real forevermore. Once an individual becomes, he never "unbecomes," because something cannot ever literally become nothing in Hartshorne’s cosmology. The reality of past events is partially preserved as newly synthesized elements in later events but fully and infallibly in the never-failing memory of God.51 Hartshorne explains further that a denial of the full reality of the past would entail the conclusion that no true statements could be made about the determinate character of past events ("Lincoln was assassinated"), whereas acceptance of his doctrine of the nonactuality of the future entails the falsity of all statements that ascribe completely determinate character to future events.52 "Maybe" is the only correct mode of reference to the future. Inevitable Freedom and Tragedy An unusually striking and important feature of Hartshorne’s cosmology is his oft-repeated insistence upon the reality and universality of freedom in nature. The creative aspect of becoming in his philosophy of process involves the idea that freedom is of the very essence of reality. Moreover, he believes that the question of real freedom, especially for man, is not merely academic but of vital practical concern to the future well-being of all humanity. In his opinion, any metaphysics is dangerous if it minimizes the possibility of radical evil through the misuse of freedom. Evil and tragedy are both grimly possible and actual if freedom is genuine. Accordingly, there is some validity to pessimism as one contemplates the real capacity of the human race to do evil and the possibility that mankind may precipitate incalculably tragic evil and suffering by its wrong decisions regarding destructive warfare and the population explosion.53 Given creative becoming as an everlastingly continuous process, Hartshorne declares that there will always be some evil in the world; but the amount of evil will always be at least partially determined by creative choices. Indeed, he acknowledges that the universality of freedom means that there is an element of stark tragedy inherent in the very constitution of the universe. Following Berdyaev, he traces the root of tragedy to creative freedom and avows that mankind will always be confronted with pervasive peril as well as sublime opportunity. He elaborates as follows: All free creatures are inevitably more or less dangerous to other creatures, and the most free creatures are the most dangerous. Optimistic notions of inevitable, and almost effortless, progress are oblivious to this truth. They have tended to unfit us for our responsibilities. Man needs to know that he is born to freedom, hence to tragedy, but also to opportunity. He could be harmless enough, were he less free. Freedom is our opportunity and our tragic destiny. To face this tragedy courageously we need an adequate vision of the opportunity, as well as of the danger.54 Hartshorne clearly realizes that the manner of his defense of genuine freedom necessitates a definite break with metaphysical determinism in all its guises; and, consequently, he launches a vigorous attack upon it in several of his works. By "determinism" he means the view which asserts that all events are totally determined by their antecedent causes, so that, given a certain set of antecedent conditions, a particular result must follow necessarily. In contrast, he retorts that such complete determinism is never true for any event. In order to prevent any misconception, he stresses that neoclassical metaphysics does not contend that some events are uncaused but only that no events are fully determined by their causes.55 More fully, Hartshorne holds that all events (or ultimate individuals) have partial causes and no events have complete causes. Thus, in an important essay, he argues that "freedom requires indeterminism and universal causality"56 He freely admits that there is an element of regularity and order in nature which may be partially described in the statistical laws of science; but he also confesses his inability to give a rational explanation (other than the immanence of God) of why, in a world of freedom, we have an orderly cosmos instead of sheer chaos.57 Hartshorne’s view is that, although antecedent circumstances may predetermine in general the character of the next event, they cannot determine it absolutely and in all detail. Each moment exists in partial independence of all predecessors by virtue of an element of chance novelty and spontaneity in each occurrence; and this element of chance in each event means that it must be undeducible and unpredictable in determinate detail from all its predecessors combined.58 Therefore, he reasons that nothing, not even God, can rob persons of the self-determination that achieves a new creative synthesis in each moment of experience.59 In a brief paragraph, he delineates clearly the nature of freedom which is the birthright of every individual: Freedom is an indetermination in the potentialities for present action which are constituted by all the influences and stimuli, all "heredity and environment," all past experiences, an indetermination removed only by the actuality (event, experience, act) itself, and always in such fashion that other acts of determination would have been possible in view of the given total conditions up to the moment of the act. A free act is the resolution of an uncertainty inherent in the totality of the influences to which the act is subject. The conditions decide what can be done and cannot; but what is done is always more determinate than merely what can he done. The latter is a range of possibilities for action, not a particular act.60 Hartshorne’s elaborate critique of determinism is too detailed and intricate to be adequately surveyed here, so that we shall have to be content with briefly stating only a few of many carefully wrought out points.61 First, he calls attention to the fact that modern metaphysical determinism arose in the Newtonian era when it was believed that science discovers absolute and immutable natural laws, but science has now totally abandoned this conception of law in favor of the theory that scientific laws are merely statistical descriptions of the way nature happens to work. Second, there has never been scientifically discovered and demonstrated a single law that is absolutely valid for all times and circumstances. Next, recent developments in quantum physics have revealed an ineradicable indeterminacy concerning motions of electrons, and thus we may have a hint from physical science itself that there is some contingency in the ultimate physical particles. Fourth, man in moments of decision is intuitively aware of contingencies in his actual determinations of the future, for he often chooses from a continuum of infinitely varied possibilities. Fifth, determinism implies that the concept of possibility is vacuous and that time and change are essentially unreal; but Hartshorne contends that he can rationally demonstrate that all three of these concepts, taken in their most pregnant sense, are indispensable categories. In sum, then, there is something logically arbitrary about every detail of the universe which the determinist cannot eradicate. Indeed, Hartshorne goes as far as to say that "the world as a whole is a matter of chance."62 In the final analysis, things happen just because they happen; there is no sufficient reason why things are as they are, and "preference is ultimate."63 What is really real? With remarkable tenacity and consistency, Hartshorne has expended his lifetime in teaching and writing that the only satisfying answer to this age old query must come from man’s direct interrogation of his most intimate experience, namely, his own intuitively discerned consciousness. From this source, if he has rightly divined the matter, disciplined rational insight may discern that the ultimate components of this actual universe (and of every possible universe) must be evanescent occasions of sympathetic experience of other experiences which create themselves in freedom and love and then dissolve at once into new syntheses of experience in a vast, dynamic process that shall never cease. 1. Reality as Social Process, p. 174. 2. Charles Hartshorne, Beyond Humanism: Essays in the Philosophy of Nature (Chicago: Willett, Clark & Co., 1937), p. 260. 3. Alfred North Whitehead, Process and Reality: An Essay in Cosmology (New York: Harper & Row, 1960), p. 4. 4. The Logic of Perfection, p. 285. 5. Charles Hartshorne, "Metaphysical Statements as Nonrestrictive and Existential," The Review of Metaphysics 12 (September 1958): 37, 42. 6. The Logic of Perfection, p. 288. 7. Ibid., (italics his). 8. Reality as Social Process, pp. 175-76. 9. Charles Hartshorne, "Panpsychism," in A History of Philosophical Systems, ed. Vergilius Ferm (New York: The Philosophical Library, 1950). p. 450. 10. Ibid., pp. 450-51. 11. Whitehead. Process and Reality, pp. 27-28. 12. Charles Hartshorne, "Introduction: The Development of Process Philosophy," in Philosophers of Process, ed. Douglas Browning (New York; Random House, 1965), p. xviii. 13. Reality as Social Process, p. 44. 15. The Logic of Perfection, p. 219. 16. Ibid., p. 218. 17. Charles Hartshorne, The Philosophy and Psychology of Sensation (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1934), p.16. 18. Beyond Humanism, pp. 183, 185. 19. The Philosophy and Psychology of Sensation, pp. 208, 13-14. 20. Ibid., p. 247. 21. Ibid., pp. 269-70. 22. "Panpsychisrn," p. 442. 23. Ibid., p. 445. 24. Ibid., pp. 442, 445. 25. The Philosophy and Psychology of Sensation, p. 269. 26. The Logic of Perfection, pp. 123-26. 27. Beyond Humanism, p. 121. 28. Ibid., p. 236. 29. Ibid., p. 166. 30. Ibid., pp. 190, 177, 191. 31. Reality as Social Process, pp. 69-70. 32. Ibid., p. 84. 33. "Panpsychism," p. 4.51. 34. The Logic of Perfection, p. 191. 35. Ibid., p. 192. 36. Ibid., p. 193. 37. Reality as Social Process, p. 62. 38. The Logic of Perfection, p. 196. 39. Ibid., p. 204. 40. Ibid., pp. 196-98. 204. 41. Ibid., p. 193. 42. Ibid., p. 200. 43. Reality as Social Process, p. 38. 44. "Introduction: The Development of Process Philosophy," pp. vi-vii. 45. Ibid., pp. xiv, xvi-xix. 46. Ibid., p. xxii. 47. Charles Hartshorne, "time," in An Encyclopedia of Religion, ed. Vergilius Ferm (New York: The Philosophical Library, 1945), pp. 787-88; Reality as Social Process, p. 75. 48. "time," pp. 787-88; Beyond Humanism, p. 174. 49. The Logic of Perfection, p. 248. 50. Beyond Humanism, pp. 135-38. 51. The Logic of Perfection, pp. 246, 249-52. 52. "time," pp. 787-88. 53. The Logic of Perfection, pp. 5,12-14. 54. Ibid., p. 14. 55. Beyond Humanism, p. 150. 56. The Logic of Perfection, chap. 6. 57. Beyond Humanism, pp. 163-64. 58. Ibid., p. 156; Reality as Social Process, pp. 87-89. 59. The Logic of Perfection, pp. 230-33. 60. Ibid., p. 231. 61. Cf. especially The Logic of Perfection, chap. 6, and Beyond Humanism, chap. IX. Interestingly, Hartshorne does affirm that the present fully determines or logically implies the past but not, of course, the future. Cf. Beyond Humanism, p. 138. 62. Beyond Humanism, p. 131. 63. Ibid., pp. 132-33 (italics his).

Biofuels - March 30 (2) Click on the headline (link) for the full text. Many more articles are available through the Energy Bulletin homepage Corn is not the future of U.S. ethanol: DOE Timothy Gardner, Reuters New technology to make ethanol from crops such as grasses and trees instead of corn could ease price spikes of the grain within a decade, a U.S. Energy Department official said on Wednesday. "I'm not going to predict what the price of corn is going to do, but I will tell you the future of biofuels is not based on corn," U.S. Deputy Energy Secretary Clay Sell said in an interview. ...Sell said the future of biofuels is cellulosic ethanol, made from microbes that break down woody bits of non-food crops into sugars that can be fermented into fuel. (28 March 2007) Brazil's da Silva: Our Biofuels Partnership Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Washington Post Tomorrow I will visit with President Bush at Camp David to follow up on conversations we had a few weeks ago in Sao Paulo. We have taken an important first step toward committing our countries to developing clean and renewable energy sources that will ensure the prosperity of our peoples while protecting the environment. We are launching a partnership to enhance the role of ethanol fuel in our countries' energy mixes while moving to make biodiesel fuel more widely available. Simultaneously, we are creating opportunities to expand these programs onto the global stage. This initiative builds on what Brazil has achieved in biofuels. Thirty years of research and innovation have made my country self-sufficient in oil by replacing 40 percent of our gasoline consumption with ethanol. ...However, ethanol and biodiesel are more than an answer to our dangerous "addiction" to fossil fuels. We aim to set in motion a reassessment of the global strategy to protect our environment. As well as being renewable, biofuels in Brazil are clean and highly competitive The writer is president of Brazil. (30 March 2007) UK slams US biofuel subsidies Britain was looking for a way to tackle imports of biofuels from the US, which it believes will undermine the commercial case for European production, UK transport minister Stephen Ladyman said. "People who are being subsidised to produce renewable fuels in the US are now planning to export that fuel to Europe, where they hope to get a second subsidy when it is sold in Europe," Ladyman told a conference organised by the Environmental Industries Commission, a biofuels industry lobby group. "That is undermining the commercial case for investment in Europe. It is one of the things that we have got to try and sort out, " Ladyman said. The US bioethanol industry has grown rapidly, boosted by strong government support motivated by a desire for energy security. European biodiesel makers have made the same complaint to Brussels: that US biodiesel sales in the EU are rising with the help of unfair subsidies. (30 March 2007) Huge jump in corn planting expected Philip Brasher, Des Moines Register Not since 1981, when President Reagan ended the Soviet grain embargo, have Iowa farmers planted close to the record 14.4 million acres of corn they seeded that year. But that record could fall this year. The best indication will come when the U.S. Department of Agriculture releases on Friday its widely anticipated survey of farmers' 2007 planting intentions. Analysts are expecting the report to project historic increases in corn acreage both in Iowa and nationally because of soaring grain prices. Everyone from livestock farms to ethanol producers to food processors also will be watching the report because of the importance of farmers' plans to the price of commodities. (29 March 2007) Farmers may plant 10 million more acres (Farm News) Farmers to Plant Most Amount of Corn Since ’44 (NY Times) Ethanol Fuels Jumps in Nebraska Agricultural Land Values Bruce Johnson and Sandi Alswager Karstens, University of Nebraska Nebraska farm real estate market values and cash rent rates show sizable increases across the state with the average per-acre value of agricultural land up 14 percent statewide, according to the preliminary results of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's annual Farm Real Estate Market Development Survey. Statewide, Nebraska farmland's average value for the year ending Feb. 1 was $1,155 per acre, compared to $1,013 per acre at this time last year, said Bruce Johnson, the UNL agricultural economist who conducts this annual survey. "These preliminary findings show this was the largest all-land value increase in the past 19 years," Johnson said. "Moreover, the percentage increase follows on three previous years of solid advances, which puts the state's current all-land average value more than 50 percent higher than the 2003 level." Among other factors, sharply higher cash corn and soybean prices fueled by ethanol expansion toward the end of 2006 clearly boosted crop income levels and sparked enthusiasm in local land markets across much of the state, Johnson said. "The demand from rapidly-growing ethanol production has triggered higher the commodity market advances, and, in turn, worked into the agricultural land market dynamic - particularly in the major corn producing areas of the state," the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources economist said. (22 March 2007)

9.1 Information Tools and Resources 9.1.1 Online Resources BC Groundwater Association BC Hydro's Regional Hydromet Data – Provides near real-time hydro meteorological data from automated collection stations in or near our reservoir systems across the province. www.bchydro.com/about/our_system/hydrometric_data.html. BC Ministry of Environment’s Environmental Protection Division, Water Quality – Provides information about water quality in BC, including water quality guidelines, water quality objectives reports, water and sediment quality monitoring reports, area-specific studies and links to other relevant information. www.env.gov.bc.ca/wat/wq/. BC Ministry of Environment’s Groundwater Wells and Aquifer Database (WELLS) – Displays information related to the water resources of the Province of BC, such as watersheds, water quantity and quality monitoring sites, aquifers water wells and flood protection works. www.env.gov.bc.ca/wsd/data_searches/wells/index.html. BC Ministry of Environment’s River Forecast Centre – Provides access to, and interpretations of, snow, meteorological and streamflow data to provide warnings and forecasts of stream and lake runoff conditions around the province. http://bcrfc.env.gov.bc.ca/. Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment. Source To Tap National website where you can learn about protecting Canada’s water quality, and what governments across the country are doing in terms of research, monitoring, and guidelines. www.ccme.ca/sourcetotap/. Columbia Basin Trust, Communities Adapting to Climate Change This site is a regional planning and action initiative to help local governments and First Nations start to prepare for climate change impacts. An excellent publication for a general understanding of the issues in a specific location. www.cbt.org/Initiatives/Climate_Change/ Environment Canada’s Canadian Weather Data Services Provides Canadians with up-to-date information on past, present and future weather conditions and offers multiple data access services to specialized users. www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/canada_e.html. Environment Canada’s Real-Time Hydrometric Data – Provides public access to real-time hydrometric (water level and streamflow) data collected at over 1700 locations in Canada. www.wateroffice.ec.gc.ca/index_e.html. National guide to sustainable infrastructure. www.sustainablecommunities.fcm.ca/infraguide/. Know Your Watershed Searchable website from which you can generate a map of your local watershed. http://map.ns.ec.gc.ca/kyw/. Living Water Smart Living Water Smart is the provincial government’s plan to keep our water healthy and secure for the future. This site also includes information on the modernization of the Water Act in BC. http://livingwatersmart.ca/. The province maintains a Drought Information page and may initiate Drought Management Advisories and Directives for certain areas of the province. Municipal Sustainable Bylaw Collection A resource published by Federation of Canadian Municipalities highlighting excellent examples of bylaws, policies and procedures implemented by small and large Canadian municipalities in each sector of activity supported by the Green Municipal Fund. http://gmf.fcm.ca/Capacity_Building/Municipal-sustainable-bylaw-collection/default.asp *Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (PCIC), Plan To Adapt This tool is designed to help assess climate change in a region by providing information on maps and in graphs and data tables based on a standard set of climate model projections. Users can view the information online as well as download data for further analysis, reporting and presentation. http://plan2adapt.ca/. Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC and Waterbucket The Partnership is helping the Province of British Columbia implement the Living Water Smart and Green Communities initiatives. We are doing that through shared responsibility in delivering the Water Sustainability Action Plan. Waterbucket is a rich, highly interactive ‘designation location’ for timely and provocative information about water sustainability in British Columbia. www.waterbucket.ca. Re-Tooling for Climate Change The ReTooling for Climate Change website is a first stop for elected officials and staff of local governments, First Nations, and everyone else interested in learning about climate change adaptation. www.retooling.ca Water Balance Model The vision for the Water Balance Model (WBM) as a practical decision support tool that bridges engineering and planning. The WBM provides a continuous simulation of the runoff from a development area, or from a watershed with multiple land uses, given the following inputs: continuous rainfall data, evapotranspiration data, site design parameters, source control information, and soils information. Historic rainfall data can be modified to create climate change scenarios within the WBM. www.waterbalance.ca. For an example of how the WBM can be used to guide planning and design decisions about source controls for low impact development see www.waterbalance.ca/sql/tutorial/Demonstration.html. Water Conservation Calculator The Water Conservation Calculator is an on-line user-friendly tool geared for water purveyors of smaller communities. Its purpose is to illustrate how specific conservation measures yield both fiscal and physical water consumption savings. Smaller communities often cannot allocate resources to traditional infrastructure projects or cannot budget for the development of professional water conservation/efficiency plans. Water purveyors can use the tool to assist in presenting their conservation case to council and other decision makers. www.waterconservationcalculator.ca. Back to top 9.1.2 Climate Change, Impacts and Adaptation In order to identify and manage climate-related risks in the context of water and watershed planning, communities need easy-to-understand information about past and future climate change and its impacts on water, watersheds, and aquatic ecosystems across British Columbia. This section provides links to up-to-date information on climate change and impacts on water. Those resources created in easy-to-understand language for non-technical users are identified with an asterix (*). *Black, R.A., J.P Bruce and M. Egener (2010). Adapting to Climate Change: A Risk-Based Guide for Local Governments in British Columbia. Volume 1. http://adaptation.nrcan.gc.ca/projdb/pdf/212_e.pdf. *British Columbia Ministry of Environment (2007). Environmental Trends: Climate Change Indicators. www.env.gov.bc.ca/soe/et07/04_climate_change/overview.html. This document includes information on changes in air temperature, ocean temperature, precipitation, and sea level in BC. It is similar to Fraser, 2002 (listed below), but includes more detail on some indicators. *Columbia Basin Trust (2006). Climate Change in the Canadian Columbia Basin - Starting the Dialogue. Columbia Basin Trust, BC. http://pacificclimate.org/docs/publications/Columbia_Basin_Climate_Change_Dialogue_Brochure.pdf. Dawson, R.J., A.T. Werner, and T.Q.Murdock (2008). Preliminary Analysis of Climate Change in the Cariboo-Chilcotin. www.pacificclimate.org/docs/publications/CaribooChilcotinClimate.08Sept08.pdf. *Fraser, J. (2002). Indicators of Climate Change for British Columbia, 2002. BC Ministry of Environment, Victoria. www.env.gov.bc.ca/cas/pdfs/indcc.pdf. (22 December 2010). Although somewhat dated, this document describes in plain language historic changes in climate, potential future changes, and the impacts on water and aquatic ecosystems. Murdock, T.Q., J. Fraser, and C. Pearce, editors, (2007). Preliminary Analysis of Climate Variability and Change in the Canadian Columbia River Basin: Focus on Water Resources. Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium, University of Victoria, Victoria BC. http://pacificclimate.org/docs/publications/CBT.Assessment.pdf. Pearce, C. (2011). Pathways to Climate Resilience – A Guidebook for Canadian Forest-based Communities. This aims at helping small, rural communities prepare for climate change. www.modelforest.net/. Pike, R.G., K.E. Bennett, T.E. Redding, A.T. Werner, D.L. Spittlehouse, R.D. Moore, T.Q. Murdock, J. Beckers, B.D. Smerdon, K.D. Bladon, V.N. Foord, D.A. Campbell, and P.J. Tschaplinski (2010). Climate Change Effects on Watershed Processes in British Columbia. Chapter 19 from Compendium of forest hydrology and geomorphology in British Columbia. Forum for Research and Extension in Natural Resources (FORREX). The Compendium consolidates current scientific knowledge and operational experience into 19 peer reviewed chapters. Chapters in the Compendium summarize the basic scientific information necessary to manage water resources in forested environments, explaining watershed processes and the effects of disturbances across different regions of British Columbia. www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/pubs/Docs/Lmh/Lmh66.htm. *Pike, R.G., D.L. Spittlehouse, K.E. Bennett, V.N. Egginton, P.J. Tschaplinski, T.Q. Murdock, and A.T. Werner (2008a). A Summary of Climate Change Effects on Watershed Hydrology. BC Ministry of Forests and Range, Research Branch, Victoria BC. Extension Note 87. www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/pubs/Docs/En/En87.htm. This 4-page document summarizes information in Pike et al 2008b and 2008c. Pike, R.G., D.L. Spittlehouse, K.E. Bennett, V.N. Egginton, P.J. Tschaplinski, T.Q. Murdock, and A.T. Werner (2008b). Climate change and watershed hydrology Part I – Recent and projected changes in British Columbia. Streamline Watershed Management Bulletin. Vol. 11. No 2. www.forrex.org/streamline/ISS37/streamline_vol11_no2_art1.pdf. Pike, R.G., D.L. Spittlehouse, K.E. Bennett, V.N. Egginton, P.J. Tschaplinski, T.Q. Murdock, and A.T. Werner (2008c). Climate change and watershed hydrology Part II – Hydrologic implications for British Columbia. Streamline Watershed Management Bulletin. Vol. 11. No 2. www.forrex.org/streamline/ISS37/streamline_vol11_no2_art2.pdf. Richardson, G. R. A. (2010). Adapting to Climate Change: An Introduction for Canadian Municipalities. Ottawa, Ont. Natural Resources Canada. http://adaptation.nrcan.gc.ca/mun/index_e.php. Rodenhuis, D. et al. (2009). Climate Overview 2007: Hydro-climatology and Future Climate Impacts in British Columbia. http://pacificclimate.org/docs/publications/PCIC.ClimateOverview.Revised.March2009.pdf. *Walker, I.J. and Sydneysmith, R. 2008. British Columbia: in From Impacts to Adaptation, Canada in a Changing Climate 2007. Edited by D.S. Lemmen, F.J. Warren, J. Lacroix and E. Bush. Government of Canada, Ottawa, ON. http://adaptation.nrcan.gc.ca/assess/2007/pdf/ch8_e.pdf. Back to top 9.1.3 Water and Watersheds BC Ministry of Community Development. A Guide to Green Choices: Ideas and Practical Advice for Land Use Decisions in British Columbia Communities. www.cd.gov.bc.ca/lgd/planning/greenchoices.htm. BC Ministry of Environment (1999). Water Conservation Strategy. BC Ministry of Environment (2001). Drinking Water Protection Plan: A Discussion Document. Victoria, BC. www.watershed-watch.org/publications/. BC Ministry of Environment (2002). Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia. Victoria, BC. BC Ministry of Environment (2006). Develop With Care: Environmental Guidelines for Urban and Rural Land Development in British Columbia. Victoria, BC. BC Ministry of Environment. (2008). Living Water Smart: British Columbia’s Water Plan. www.livingwatersmart.ca. BC Ministry of Environment (2009). Dealing With Drought: A Handbook for Water Suppliers in British Columbia. Victoria, BC. www.livingwatersmart.ca/. BC Ministry of Environment (2010). British Columbia’s Water Act Modernization: Discussion Paper. www.livingwatersmart.ca. BC Ministry of Environment (2011). Water Allocation Plans. www.env.gov.bc.ca/wsd/water_rights/wap/. BC Ministry of Environment, Environment Canada, BC Groundwater Association (2006). Well Protection Toolkit. www.env.gov.bc.ca/wsd/plan_protect_sustain/groundwater/wells/well_protection/wellprotect.html. Note this includes a fictional example of Well Protection Plan For Pumphandle, BC). BC Ministry of Health Services (2002). Action Plan for Safe Drinking Water in BC. Victoria, BC. BC Ministry of Health Services and Ministry of Water Land and Air Protection (2004). BC Drinking Water Source To Tap Screening Tool. www.health.gov.bc.ca/protect/source.html#water1. BC Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport (2010). Comprehensive Drinking Water Source To Tap Assessment Guideline. www.health.gov.bc.ca/protect/source.html#water2. Bowker Creek Initiative (2010). Bowker Creek Blueprint. Prepared with assistance from Westland Resource Group Inc., Kerr Wood Leidal Associates Ltd., and Murdoch de Greef Inc., Victoria, BC. www.bowkercreekinitiative.ca/. Brandes, Oliver M., Tony Maas, and Ellen Reynolds (2006). Thinking Beyond Pipes and Pumps: Top Ten Ways Communities Can Save Water and Money. University of Victoria. http://poliswaterproject.org/publications. Brandes, Oliver, Renzetti, Steve, and Kirk Stinchcombe (2010). Worth Every Penny: A Primer on Conservation-Oriented Water Pricing. Victoria, BC: University of Victoria, POLIS Project on Ecological Governance. www.waterdsm.org/publication/344. Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment. Source To Tap. www.ccme.ca/sourcetotap/. Cox, Robert K, and Judith Cullington (2009). Wetland Stewardship Partnership (2009). Wetland Ways: Interim Guidelines for Wetland Protection and Conservation in British Columbia. Prepared for the Wetland Stewardship Partnership, Vancouver, BC. www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/documents/bmp/wetlandways2009/wetlandways_docintro.html. Curran, Deborah (2007). Green Bylaws Toolkit for Conserving Sensitive Ecosystems and Green Infrastructure. Prepared for the Wetland Stewardship Partnership, Ducks Unlimited Canada, Grasslands Conservation Council of BC, Environment Canada, and The Province of BC. www.greenbylaws.ca. Drinking Water Leadership Council (2007). Drinking Water Officers Guide. Victoria, BC. Fraser Basin Council (2005). Authorities Affecting Source Water Protection in British Columbia: Research Paper. Prepared for Environment Canada. Vancouver, BC. Heathcote, Isoble W., Integrated Watershed Management, Principles and Practice. John Wiley & Sons Inc., 1998. Inter-Governmental Partnership (2007). Beyond the Guidebook: Context for Rainwater Management and Green Infrastructure in British Columbia. www.waterbucket.ca/rm/?sid=43&id=486&type=single. Kerr Wood Leidal Associates Ltd. (2005). Template for Integrated Stormwater Management Planning. Prepared for Metro Vancouver. Burnaby, BC. www.metrovancouver.org/about/publications/Pages/default.aspx. McGuire, Gordon, N. Wyper, M. Chan, A. Campbell, S. Bernstein and J. Vivian (2010). Re-inventing Rainwater Management: A Strategy to Protect Health and Restore Nature in the Capital Region. A Submission to the Capital Regional District on behalf of the Veins of Life Watershed Society by the Environmental Law Clinic, University of Victoria. Victoria, BC. Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB) (2009) Groundwater Bylaws Toolkit: An Appendix to the Green Bylaws Toolkit. Kelowna, BC. Okanagan Water Stewardship Council (2008) Okanagan Sustainable Water Strategy: Action Plan 1.0. Coldstream, BC. POLIS Water Sustainability Project (2010) Action H20 Water Sustainability Charter and WaterSmart Toolkit. Victoria, BC. Available at: www.poliswaterproject.org/toolkit. Province of BC (1998). Water Use Plan Guidelines. Victoria, BC. www.env.gov.bc.ca/wsd/plan_protect_sustain/water_use_planning/index.html. Rosenau, Dr. Marvin L and Angelo, Mark (2000). Water Use Planning: A Tool to Restore Salmon and Steelhead Habitat in British Columbia. Prepared for the Pacific Fisheries Resource Conservation Council. Vancouver, BC. Rutherford, Susan (2009). Bill 27: Opportunities and Strategies for Green Action by BC Local Governments. West Coast Environmental Law, Vancouver, BC. US Environmental Protection Agency (2008). Handbook for Developing Watershed Plans to Restore and Protect our Waters. Water Sustainability Committee of the BC Water and Waste Association (2004). Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia: Framework for Building Partnerships. Watershed Watch Salmon Society et al (2009). Fish Out of Water: Tools to Protect British Columbia’s Groundwater and Wild Salmon. Vancouver, BC. West Coast Environmental Law, BC Guide to Watershed Law and Planning. http://watershedguide.wcel.org/. Wetlands Stewardship Partnership (2007) Green Bylaws Toolkit for Conserving Sensitive Ecosystems and Green Infrastructure. (Environmental Law Clinic, University of Victoria). Wong, Jennifer, Porter-Bopp, Susanne and Oliver M. Brandes (2009) Water Conservation Planning Guide For British Columbia’s Communities. The POLIS Project on Ecological Governance. University of Victoria. Victoria, BC. Back to top 9.1.4 Watershed Planning and First Nations Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources (2011). First Nation Watershed Management Tool. Winnipeg, Manitoba. “This three-year project will result in a First Nation Watershed Management Tool, comprised of a relevant and integrated framework, citizen workbooks and in-person and online training workshops to implement the framework and the management cycle for watershed planning, developed and piloted with our First Nation partners.” www.cier.ca/protecting-lands-and-water/current-initiatives.aspx?id=1658. Coastal Guardian Watchmen – on line support, resources and networking opportunities for BC coastal First Nations Guardian Watchmen Programs to monitor, steward and protect their lands and waters. http://coastalguardianwatchmen.ca. FORREX Watershed Planning Toolkit for First Nations – Forrex is in the process of developing a watershed planning toolkit for First Nations. The toolkit focuses on 100-150 agreements between the Province of BC and First Nations in forestry, looking at issues relating to economic access agreements, logging, forest tenure etc. Lower Mainland Treaty Advisory Committee (LMTAC) – provides support services to member local governments dealing with broader Aboriginal issues, including land management, servicing, inter-governmental relations, and communications with First Nations (in addition to coordinating the interests of 26 municipalities and regional governments in the Lower Mainland treaty negotiations). New Relationship Trust Fund – In March 2006, the BC government enacted the New Relationship Trust Act as part of an overall initiative to start a new relationship between government and First Nations. The Trust holds a fund that is designed to provide First Nations with tools, training, and skills so they can participate in land and resource management as well as land use planning processes, and also to develop social, economic, and cultural programs for their communities. The independent Board of Directors is appointed by the First Nations Summit, Union of BC Indian Chiefs, the BC Assembly of First Nations, the First Nations Leadership Council, and the BC Government. Union of BC Municipalities – On line Policy Documents and Initiatives for local governments and First Nations relating to Treaty, Governance, Memoranda and Protocols, and Building Relations. Back to top READ MORE ABOUT: TOOLS AND RESOURCES

Definitions of extinct: - adjective: of e.g. volcanos; permanently inactive Example: "An extinct volcano" - adjective: of a fire; being out or having grown cold Example: "Threw his extinct cigarette into the stream" - adjective: no longer in existence; lost or especially having died out leaving no living representatives Example: "An extinct species of fish" Search for extinct at other dictionaries: OneLook, Answers.com, Merriam-Webster Help, Feedback, Customize, Android app, iPhone/iPad app Copyright © 2013 Datamuse

Before arriving in San Jose, my father and I biked to the Monteverde cloud forest biological preserve. This preserve, at about 5,000 feet above sea level, literally sits in clouds, and is constantly blanketed by mist. We toured the forest, seeing bellbirds (see the video on the left and listen to the bird), quetzals (photo middle), monkeys, tarantulas, hummingbirds, strange insects, and much more. The forest’s thick fog provides moisture and nutrients for plants that grow on other plants, and the trees are thick with mosses and vines hanging off branches. As with most places in the tropics, the biodiversity in Monteverde is far higher than what I am used to coming from the U.S. My hometown may have only a dozen types of trees, but here, in Monteverde, you will find hundreds of different species of trees. Likewise, there are more bird species in tiny Costa Rica than found in the entire United States. This biodiversity, though, may be threatened, as the climate in Monteverde is already changing. As the oceans have warmed, the clouds at Monteverde are forming at higher altitudes, and the amount of mist in the forest is far less than it was in the 1970s (the photo on the left shows the clouds sitting on top of the mountain – Monteverde is behind the clouds). I talked with one researcher, Dr. Karen Masters, about what this means for the epiphytes – the plants growing on other plants, which account for half of the plant species in the forest. Her experiment (see video middle), although still underway, already shows the new conditions are poor for some species (see dead orchids on the right). Two recent extinctions of toads in Monteverde, the golden toad and the harlequin toad, appear to be linked to abnormally warm years. A more recent paper, which looks at extinctions of toads around the world, shows that recent abnormally warm years are extremely well correlated with toad extinctions, suggesting that climate change is already playing a large role in the loss of species. The climate is clearly changing here, and the science is backed up by common sense: if you change the climate, you will lose species that cannot adapt. There are many reasons we should preserve biodiversity, as diverse ecosystems provide better services as well as potential pharmaceutical benefits. For me, though, the strongest argument is for simple existence. Each species represents millions of years of evolution, which is completely lost every time a species goes extinct.

Written by Stratfor We answered that while the economy could reasonably go into recession — and we would not be surprised if it did — in our view, a recession did not seem imminent. As for whether such a recession would represent a fundamental shift in U.S. economic life, we answered, no, this would not be “the big one.” Americans have been waiting for the big one ever since 1929. In many ways, the Great Depression should not have come as a surprise. Some sectors of the U.S. economy — particularly agriculture — had been in a depression for years, and the global economy was deeply troubled. Nevertheless, there was a sense of euphoria in the 1920s, unjustified by circumstances. Indeed, euphoria is the classic sign of an economic peak, and one of the warnings of an impending collapse. Still, the market crash — followed by a prolonged depression — stunned the country and permanently scarred it. The contrast between the euphoric expectations of the 1920s and the grim reality of the 1930s imbued Americans with a fundamental fear. That fear is this: Underneath the apparent stability and prosperity of the economy, things are terribly wrong, and there suddenly will be a terrible price to pay. It is the belief that prosperity is all an illusion. This was true in 1929, and the American national dread is that 1929 is about to repeat itself. Every recession evokes the primordial fear that we are living in a fool’s paradise. There is now an emerging consensus that the United States has entered a recession. In a technical sense, this may or may not be true. Whether the economy will contract for two successive quarters or be considered a recession by some other technical measure, clearly the U.S. economy has shifted its behavior from the relatively strong expansion it has enjoyed for the past six years. But whether there is a recession now is not the question. Rather, the question should be whether what we are experiencing is a cyclical downturn on the order of 1991 or 2001 — which were passing events — or whether the economy is entering a different pattern of performance, a shift that could last decades. The dread of hidden catastrophe is one thing. Quite another thing is whether the economic expansion that began in 1982 and has lasted more than a quarter-century is at an end. The United States has had three economic eras since World War II. The first was the period from about 1948 until about 1968. It was marked by tremendous economic growth and social transformations, rising standards of living and cheap money. Then, there was the period between 1968 and about 1982. This period was marked by intensifying economic problems, including much slower growth, increasing commodity prices, high interest rates and surplus labor. The third period, which began in 1982, saw extremely high growth rates, rapid technological change, increasingly cheap money and low commodity prices. The first era lasted 20 years. The second lasted 14 years. The third has lasted 26 years. None of these eras moved in a straight line; each had cycles. But when we look back, each had a distinct character. The important question is this. Have we really been in a single era since 1948, with the 1968-1982 period representing merely a breathing space in a long-term, multigenerational expansion? Or are we in a period of alternating eras, in which expansionary periods alternate with periods of relative dysfunction and economic stagnation? If the former, then 1968-1982 was simply a period of preparation for an intensification of the 1948-1968 era, and the extremely long 26-year cycle makes complete sense: The United States has just resumed the long-term growth of the first era. If we are stuck in alternating eras, however, then the 26-year cycle is overdue for a profound cyclical shift. In confronting this question, of course, we are not only talking about the United States; we are talking about the very structure of the international system. If the United States periodically will be shifting into periods such as 1968-1982, we are facing a very different world than if the United States is in a long-term expansion with shorter down cycles. To answer this question, we need to consider why the United States underwent the 1948-1968 expansion in the first place. To begin with, the United States has been in a massive economic expansion since about 1880. The basis of that expansion was the massive inflow of labor through immigration coupled with intense foreign investment. That plus American land completed the triad of land, labor and capital. In a world of expanding population, the demand for American industrial and agricultural products always grew, as did the available labor force. The gold standard put in place at the time the American expansion began also accelerated the process by encouraging domestic investment and limiting consumption. Indeed, it was this combination that temporarily caught up with the United States in 1929: Surplus capacity combined with a shortage of demand and credit crippled the economy. World War II, not the New Deal, began solving the problem by using the industrial and agricultural plant while constraining consumer demand due to war production. It put people back to work and put money into their hands — money that could not easily be spent during the war. The war also created two other phenomena. The first was the GI Bill, which created massive credit supplies for veterans buying homes and cheap or free educations, increasing the quality of the labor pool. The children and grandchildren of immigrants became professionals, able to drive the economy through a variety of forms of increased productivity. The second phenomenon was the Interstate Highway System. That not only increased economic activity in itself, it decreased the cost of transportation, making hitherto inaccessible land usable for homes and later businesses. While the system devastated the inner cities by shifting population and business to the newly accessible suburbs, the availability of cheap land allowed for a construction boom that went on for decades. You could now live many miles from where you worked, which led to two-car families and so on. So where the expansion in 1880 was heavily dependent on foreign labor, capital and markets, the expansion in 1948-1968 depended instead on domestic forces. The first postwar era (1948-1968) also was driven by deficit financing during World War II and the creation of consumer credit systems; it was then disciplined by somewhat tighter economic policies in the 1950s. The basic principle remained encouraging consumption. This led to the use of the existing industrial plant, thus putting people to work in it and in building new businesses. The era ran out of steam in a crisis of overconsumption and underinvestment. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the desire to stimulate consumption created massive disincentives for investment. Low interest rates and high marginal tax rates shrank the investment pool. As time went on, the industrial plant became less modern and therefore less competitive globally. Demand for money drove interest rates up, while the inefficiency of the economy drove inflation. Moreover, the baby boomers became adults and began to use credit and social services at an increasing rate. Using an increasingly undercapitalized industrial plant meant greater inefficiency as usage increased. Inflation resulted, paradoxically along with unemployment. The attempt to solve the problem through techniques used in the first era — more credit and more deficit spending — ultimately created the crises of the late 1970s and early 1980s — high interest rates, increased unemployment and high inflation. The third era began when high interest rates forced massive failures and restructurings in American business. The Gordon Gekkos of the world (for those who have seen the 1980s movie “Wall Street”) tore the American economy apart and rebuilt it. Global commodity prices fell simply because the money not being invested in the United States was being invested in primary commodity production since the prices were so high. Therefore, they plunged inevitably. Finally— and this will be controversial — the Reagan administration’s slashing of the marginal tax rate increased available investment capital while increasing incentives to be entrepreneurial. Low marginal tax rates weaken the hand of existing wealth and strengthen the possibility of creating new wealth. This kicked off the massive boom that emerged in the 1990s. It drove existing corporations to the wall and broke them (Digital Equipment) and created new corporations out of nothing (Microsoft, Apple, Dell). The highly capable workforce, jump-started in the 1950s by the GI Bill, evolved into a large class of professionals and entrepreneurs. The American economy continued to rip itself apart and rebuild itself. America was indeed the place where the weak were killed and eaten, but for all the carnage of the U.S. economy, the total growth rate and the rise in overall standards of living were as startling as what happened in the first era. Now we get to the big question. The first postwar era culminated in a crisis of overconsumption and underinvestment that took almost a generation to work through. Are the imbalances of the last quarter-century such that they necessitate a generational solution, too, or can they be contained in an ordinary recession? Behind all of the discussions of the economy, the question ultimately boils down to that. To put it another way, the first era contained many leftover structural weaknesses of the Great Depression. It could not proceed without a pause and restructuring. Was the restructuring of the second era sufficient to give the third era the ability to proceed without anything more than an ordinary recession? There are certainly troubling signs. The return of commodity prices to real levels last seen in the late 1970s is one. The size of the U.S. trade imbalance with the rest of the world is another. Most troubling is the relative decline of the dollar, not so much because it directly affects the operation of the American economy but because it represents new terrain. When we take all these things together, it would appear that something serious is afoot. But there are the things that are not troubling, too. In spite of high commodity prices for several years, the inflation rate has remained quite stable. Interest rates have moved around, but actually are quite low, certainly by the standards of the 1970s when mortgage rates were in the high teens. The budget deficit in 2007 ran at 2.5 percent of gross domestic product, which is not any bigger than it has been since those Reagan tax cuts. Unemployment is higher than it was, but certainly is not soaring. And we are not seeing any of the combination of conditions we saw in the late 1970s, nor any of the conditions that led Richard Nixon to impose wage and price controls in the early 1970s. The most remarkable thing is the ability of the U.S. economy to absorb record-high oil prices without going inflationary. This is because oil consumption in the United States today is not much higher than it was in the 1970s. It is not simply a matter of efficiency; it is also a reward for de-industrialization. By shifting from an industrial to a technological/service-based economy, the United States insulated itself from commodity-driven inflation. The key to the U.S. economy is the service sector — which comprises everything from computer programmers to physicians to Stratfor employees. The service sector has high levels of productivity driven by technology. Productivity continues to grow, which is not historically what you would find as you enter a recession. So long as productivity grows and inflation and unemployment remain under control, the total wealth of a society increases. The transformation of the economy that occurred as a result of the pain of 1968-1982 is creating a situation in which massive economic disequilibrium has not yet interfered with productivity growth. The historical hallmark of the beginning of a recession is declining productivity due to overutilization of the economy. Productivity continues to rise. And that means, in the long term, wealth will continue to rise. As a result, while disequilibriums in the financial system require serious recalibration that must limit growth or even cause a decline, it is our view that we are not facing an end to the expansion that began in 1982. The old dread that this is the big one, the depression we all deserve, is actually a positive sign. The dread causes caution, and caution is the one thing that can control and shape a recession, since lack of caution is usually the proximate cause. Therefore, the effects of the changes forced in the second postwar era remain intact. The financial crisis is cyclical. And growing productivity rates indicate that while this will hurt like hell, it is not the big one — it is not even going to be like 1982. This is 1991 and 2001 all over again. Stratfor is the world’s leading private intelligence service. Our global team of intelligence professionals provides our Members with insights into political, economic, and military developments to reduce risks, to identify opportunities, and to stay aware of happenings around the globe

Java Documentation - java.sun.com is where to go do download the Java development systems, but also for the documentation. The HTML documentation has several sections, but the API (Application Programming Interface) documenation is extremely useful, and many programmers have a browser window open to this as they program to see the details of classes, method, parameters, etc. The Java Tutorial - This is the online version of portions of the The Java Tutorial books. Zipped HTML and Help versions can be downloaded. Thinking in Java - You can find the entire text of Bruce Eckel's well-regarded book Thinking in Java book. This book is more advanced than many introductory Java books. Downloadable. Introduction to Programming Using Java - David J. Eck's online Java text. Can be read online or downloaded. Open source (read the license). Introduction to Computer Science using Java - Bradley Kjell's notes are at an introductory level and include some interactive quizzes. Available for both online reading and downloading. Dick Baldwin's Java Programming Tutorials - almost 100 lessons on various aspects of Java. Many are introductory. View online for free or download for $15. Continuations for Curmudgeons - Nice essay which explains features. such as continuations, in newer languages (eg, Python, Ruby). How these are implemented is summarized in a clear manner. I didn't know what I was missing until after learning a little Ruby. It wasn't long before I was faced by a Java programming issue that would have been perfectly solved by yield, but which required me to choose a particular data structure for the return values, despite the fact that it would be used in such different contexts that no on data structure was right. www.waterfall2006.com - The Waterfall 2006 Conference annoucement. If you're into development methodologies, you'll appreciate this. Hint: The date of the conference is April 1.

A visit to Villahermosa’s Parque La Venta could easily fill half a day. The most important artefacts from the Olmec site of La Venta, some 120km west of Villahermosa, were transferred here in the late 1950s, when they were threatened by Pemex oil explorations. Little is known about the Olmec culture, referred to by many archeologists as the mother culture of Mesoamerica. Just inside the entrance, a display familiarizes you with what little is known about the Olmecs, as well as the history of the discovery of La Venta. The most significant and famous items in the park are the four gigantic basalt heads, notable for their African-looking features. Additionally, there’s a whole series of other Olmec stone sculptures. To conjure a jungle setting, monkeys, agoutis (large rodents) and coatis (members of the racoon family) wander around freely, while crocodiles, jaguars and other animals from the region are displayed in sizeable enclosures. At night, there’s a rather good sound-and-light show that involves strolling from monument to monument, dramatically illuminated amidst the shadowy trees – buy tickets and enter at a second gate, about 250m southwest along Paseo Tabasco. Parque La Venta is set inside the much larger Parque Tomás Garrido Canabal, which stretches along the shore of an extensive lake, the Laguna de Ilusiones. There are walking trails here and boats for hire, or you can climb the Mirador de los Águilas, a tower in the middle of the lake. Also in the park, opposite the La Venta entrance, the small Museo de Historia Natural features displays on the geography, geology, animals and plants of Tabasco, focusing on the interaction between humans and the environment.

Looking for help on RTI? Read the success stories of other people, locate a PIO and even access ready-made RTI applications for everyday problems. RTI Guide for Social Issues ( 4 items ) RTI is a powerful Act that allows a common citizen effect some remarkable changes. The Burning Brain Society in Chandigarh managed to use RTI to force the local government to implement the Supreme Court order for banning smoking in public spaces. Something even the militants were never able to do despite the power of fear. Sakshi Trust develops Guides on particular issues and distributes them free to concerned citizens. If you have an issue that you would like a Guide book developed on, contact Sakshi Trust. Sakshi has developed the following Guide books: 1. RTI Guide for Improving the Urban Environment 2. RTI Guide to track cases of Missing Children 3. RTI Guide to Improve Public Education 4. RTI Guide for People with Disabilities Daily Use RTI ( 20 items ) Even before the National Right to Information Act was passed, 7 states had already implemented state-level RTI Acts. Since then activists from across the country have been experimenting with RTI and have evolved a set of RTI applications that you can use for most daily issues like your roads, drains, streetlights etc. Now you can use these ready-to-use RTI applications for solving your everyday problems with your government.

Ever wondered how water agencies know if they will have enough water to serve their communities in the future? Well, one of the ways to help plan for sufficient future water supplies is through the preparation of a document called the Urban Water Management Plan. Every five years, California law requires all water providers that serve more than 3,000 connections or supply more than 3,000 acre-feet of water roughly 1 billon gallons per year to perform an evaluation and prepare an Urban Water Management Plan. The main purposes are for long-term water resource planning and to ensure adequate supplies are available for current and planned future demand. Demonstrating than an agency is meeting specified water conservation measures is an important component. Failure to produce an acceptable plan jeopardizes an agency's ability to receive state grants. Locally, the Scotts Valley Water District, San Lorenzo Valley Water District, Santa Cruz Water Department, Soquel Creek Water District and the Watsonville Water Department will be preparing their plans over the next several months with a completion goal of July 1. While most water agencies recognize their responsibility to meet both current and future water needs and have long-term plans in place, an Urban Water Management Plan generates analysis and documentation that may not otherwise occur. Aside from being an opportunity for agencies to take stock of their water supply, the plans provide the public with Some new components in 2011 are how agencies will meet the state mandate of a 20 percent water reduction by 2020, and how climate change may impact their supply. These are timely subjects. Water conservation continues to play a integral role for most suppliers in response to California's general water scarcity. Climate change can have a double whammy effect upon water resources, causing both a decrease in supply as a result of changes in rainfall and an increase in use due to warmer temperatures. Be on the lookout in the coming months for your water agency's solicitation for input to their plan, or contact them directly to know when a draft will be available to review. General plan information can be found at the Department of Water Resources website, www.water.ca.gov/urbanwatermanagement. Water is a community resource, and one that is best managed with community input. Ron Duncan writes a biweekly column for the Sentinel. He is a manager for the Soquel Creek Water District, which offers free visits to homes and businesses and suggests ways to save water. Contact him at [email protected] or call the district at 475-8500.

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women in this country (other than skin cancer). Each year, more than 211,000 American women learn they have this disease. Guidelines for Early Detection The American Medical Association, The American College of Radiology, and The American Cancer Society recommend the following three-step approach to supporting good breast health: Mammography - Beginning at age 40, women should have a mammogram every year. Breast Self-Exam - Beginning at age 20, women should examine their breasts every month. Clinical Breast Exam - Women ages 20-39 should have a breast exam performed by their health care provider every three years. Women ages 40 and older should have a breast exam performed by their health care provider every year. What is a Mammogram? Mammography is a low-dose X-ray of the breast. Sarah Bush Lincoln offers mammograms in two ways. Digital mammography is available in the Mammography Department and on the mobile mammogram van. It offers women and technologists greater ease and comfort than traditional (film) mammography. Since the X-rays it produces are reviewed for quality in "real time" while women are still in position, they are repositioned less frequently and called back less often to retake images that are of poor quality. Completed images are then sent electronically to radiologists who view, magnify and digitally manipulate images to accurately diagnose breast tissue. Women also benefit from the iCAD system for each mammogram read at Sarah Bush Lincoln. iCAD (or intelligent computer-aided detection) is a computer program designed to recognize patterns of calcification and tissue density of the breast. It can detect 23 percent of breast cancers an average of 14 months earlier than screening mammography alone. However, it does not replace the radiologists who interpret the films. Sarah Bush Lincoln also offers Mobile Mammography. The primary reason women report that they do not receive mammograms is access. The mobile mammography unit travels to area county health departments, businesses and SBL's extended campus clinics to provide access to women living in those communities, thus eliminating the issue of access. The mobile mammography unit travels to the following counties: Coles, Jasper, Moultrie, Clark, Cumberland and Douglas. To schedule a mammogram either at the Health Center or in the mobile unit, call SBL Central Scheduling at (217) 258- or 348-2588. Signs and Symptoms of Breast Cancer Mammograms often detect breast changes before women notice symptoms. The following symptoms, however, should be reported to a physician: A painful lump or thickening in your breast or surrounding tissue Any thickening or swelling that persists Nipple inversion or retraction Skin dimpling or puckering Any spontaneous discharge from the nipple Breast Prostheses and Mastectomy Bras In Home Medical of Sarah Bush Lincoln offers Mastectomy Services to help pave the road to recovery for many women by helping to restore their appearance and renew their self-confidence following breast surgery. In Home Medical is located at 300 Coles Centre Parkway, Mattoon, and at 903 N. Maple in Effingham. Fitting appointments can be scheduled by calling 1-800-345-3191. With access being cited as one of the main reasons women don’t have regular mammograms, Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center’s Mobile Mammography unit was put in place with help from BankCheck, a collaborative effort between nine area banks; the Illinois Department of Public Health, Office of Women’s Health; a rural Health Initiatives Partnership Program grant from the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine; and the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Together they help to support a van which provides mammograms and cholesterol assessments. For women who have not been regularly receiving mammograms and health screens, the mobile mammography unit travels to area county health departments, businesses and SBL’s outlying clinics to provide access to women living in those communities. The mobile mammography unit travels to the following counties: Coles, Clark, Cumberland, Douglas, Edgar, Effingham, Jasper, and Moultrie. The mobile mammography van offers mammography on digital equipment, and is performed by a registered technologist 15 First Neighbor Bank in Greenup 17 Women's Expo at the Arcola Center, 107 W. Main 20 Preferred Bank in Casey 21 Pinnacle Foods in St. Elmo, 11 am - 2 pm 22 Coles County Health Dept. 24 SBL Arthur Clinic< 30 Jasper County Health Fair at the Sunrise Community Center in Newton, 10 am - 2 pm 31 Moultrie County Beacon 4 George Saliba, MD, in Newton 5 SBL Family Medical Center in Mattoon 6 Mattoon Medical Center (near Cross County Mall by Premiere Video) 7 SBL Charleston Family Practice 10 SBL Sullivan Clinic 11 Agri Fab 12 SBL Casey Clinic 13 SBL Arcola Clinic 14 Altamont Medical Clinic - John Opilka, MD 17 SBL Arthur Clinic 21 Lucas Grocery in Oakland 24 SBL Neoga Clinic 25 Jasper County Health Dept. 26 Simonton Windows in Paris, 2 - 7 pm 27 Cumberland County Health Dept. 28 SBL Toledo Clinic Free blood screenings, at the health department locations only, if women fast after midnight (please drink water on that day). Dates and locations are subject to change. For more information or to make an appointment for a mammogram, call Central Scheduling at 258- or 348-2588 or 1-800-639-5929.

The best shape for containing a pressurised gas is a sphere, where by `best' we mean the shape that uses the smallest amount of material to contain a given mass of gas at given pressure. The simplest explanation for this is that, since pressure acts equally in all directions, the best container of pressure is a container that looks the same in all directions -- which is a sphere. We can see this by examining a pressure vessel made of a liquid: the walls of such a pressure vessel will flow to take up the best shape. Pressure vessels made of liquid are known as 'bubbles', and it is well-known that bubbles tend to be spherical. The bathyscape Trieste, built in Italy in the Fifties, carried its crew in a steel sphere down to a depth of 11 km below the surface of the ocean. This is a good illustration of the suitability of spheres for withstanding pressure. So why are scuba tanks cylinders rather than spheres? The cylinder is a compromise between the best pressure-containing shape and the need to mount the tank comfortably and conveniently on the diver's back. Similarly, gas cylinders in laboratories are usually cylindrical, since this allows them to be moved and stored conveniently. making a small donation to science.ca.

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have used a small crystal of ions (electrically charged atoms) to detect forces at the scale of yoctonewtons. Measurements of slight forces—one yoctonewton is equivalent to the weight of a single copper atom on Earth—can be useful in force microscopy, nanoscale science, and tests of fundamental physics theories. A newton is already a small unit: roughly the force of Earth's gravity on a small apple. A yoctonewton is one septillionth of a newton (yocto means 23 zeros after the decimal place, or 0.000000000000000000000001). Measurements of vanishingly small forces typically are made with tiny mechanical oscillators, which vibrate like guitar strings. The new NIST sensor, described in Nature Nanotechnology,* is even more exotic—a flat crystal of about 60 beryllium ions trapped inside a vacuum chamber by electromagnetic fields and cooled to 500 millionths of a degree above absolute zero with an ultraviolet laser. The apparatus was developed over the past 15 years for experiments related to ion plasmas and quantum computing. In this case, it was used to measure yoctonewton-scale forces from an applied electric field. In particular, the experiment showed that it was possible to measure about 390 yoctonewtons in just one second of measurement time, a rapid speed that indicates the technique's high sensitivity. Sensitivity is an asset for practical applications. The previous force measurement record with this level of sensitivity was achieved by another NIST physicist who measured forces 1,000 times larger, or 500 zeptonewtons (0.0000000000000000005 newtons) in one second of measurement time using a mechanical oscillator.** Previous NIST research indicated that a single trapped ion could sense forces at yoctonewton scales but did not make calibrated measurements. *** The ion sensor described in Nature Nanotechnology works by examining how an applied force affects ion motion, based on changes in laser light reflected off the ions. A small oscillating electric field applied to the crystal causes the ions to rock back and forth; as the ions rock, the intensity of the reflected laser light wobbles in sync with the ion motion. A change in the amount of reflected laser light due to the force is detectable, providing a measure of the ions' induced motion using a principle similar to the one at work in a police officer's radar gun. The technique is highly sensitive because of the low mass of the ions, strong response of charged particles to external electric fields, and ability to detect nanometer-scale changes in ion motion.

At a time of increasing concern about low vitamin D levels in the world's population and increased use of blood tests for the vitamin, scientists are reporting development of a much-needed reference material to assure that measurements of vitamin D levels are accurate. The report appears in ACS' journal Analytical Chemistry. Karen Phinney and colleagues explain that medical research suggests vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency may be even more common than previously thought and a risk factor for more than just bone diseases. An estimated 50-75 percent of people in the U.S. may not have enough vitamin D in their bodies. Low levels of vitamin D have been linked to the development of several conditions, including rickets (soft and deformed bones), osteoporosis, some cancers, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease. People can make their own vitamin D simply by rolling up their shirt sleeves and exposing their skin to sunlight. But for those cooped up in offices all day long, food and dietary supplements also can provide vitamin D. With this renewed interest in vitamin D, scientists need an accurate way to measure its levels in the blood. Measuring vitamin D itself doesn't work because it is rapidly changed into another form in the liver. That's why current methods detect levels of a vitamin D metabolite called 25(OH)D. However, the test methods don't always agree and produce different results. To help laboratories come up with consistent and accurate methods, the researchers developed a Standard Reference Material called SRM 972, the first certified reference material for the determination of the metabolite in human serum (a component of blood). The researchers developed four versions of the standard, with different levels of the vitamin D metabolites 25(OH)D2 and 25(OH)D3 in human serum. They also determined the levels of 3-epi-25(OH)D in the adult human serum samples. Surprisingly, they found that this metabolite — previously thought to only exist in the blood of infants — was present in adult serum. "This reference material provides a mechanism to ensure measurement accuracy and comparability and represents a first step toward standardization of 25(OH)D measurements," say the researchers.

A new study finds that following minor spinal cord injury, rats that had to use impaired limbs showed full recovery due to increased growth of healthy nerve fibers and the formation of new nerve cell connections. Published in the September 17 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, these findings help explain how physical therapy advances recovery, and support the use of rehabilitation therapies that specifically target impaired limbs in people with brain and spinal cord injuries. "After brain and spinal cord injuries, exercise-based physical therapy is the primary rehabilitative strategy in use today," said Stephen Strittmatter, MD, PhD, at Yale University School of Medicine, an expert unaffiliated with the study. "These therapies are so beneficial to patients, but the anatomical and molecular bases of improvement have not been clear," Strittmatter said. The researchers, led by Irin Maier and senior researcher Martin Schwab, PhD at the University of Zurich and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, tested rats with minor surgical injuries to the spinal cord that impaired the use of one forelimb. Slings were placed on the rats that restricted the use of either the injured or uninjured limb. After three weeks, researchers removed the slings and tested the rats on an elevated horizontal ladder. Rats that relied on their impaired limb because use of their unimpaired limb was restricted showed complete functional recovery: they negotiated the ladder as well as rats that had not been injured. In contrast, rats that had not worn slings and those that wore slings restricting the use of the injured limb performed poorly, showing difficulty grasping and negotiating the horizontal rungs of the ladder. In all of the rats, healthy nerve fibers, or axons, grew into injured regions of the spinal cord. However, rats that relied on their injured limb showed the most extensive nerve growth. "The study shows that when the axons that remain after a spinal cord injury are more active — because the animal is forced to use them — they grow more. This seems to help the animal recover more control of their movements," said John Martin, PhD, at Columbia University, an expert unaffiliated with the study. These nerve fibers formed more connections, or synapses, in rats relying on their injured limb compared with those relying on their uninjured limb. This finding suggests that forced limb use encourages healthy nerve cells to form new synapses with cells affected by spinal cord injury, perhaps rerouting and rewiring damaged spinal cord circuits that are important for movement. Using gene chip technology, the researchers found that forced limb use turned on or turned off genes known to be involved in nerve fiber growth and synapse formation in the spinal cord. Knowing which genes are involved in recovery from spinal cord injury may help researchers develop new drug treatments. "This study shows that a behavioral approach is remarkably effective in promoting both axon growth and recovery after injury," said Martin. "We know that physical therapy is effective after brain and spinal injuries. But these new results suggest that a more aggressive therapy, in which the unimpaired limb is prevented from use and the impaired limb is forced to be used, might lead to new neural connections," he said.

May 26, 2011 If you want to increase your chances of losing weight, reduce your stress level and get adequate sleep. A new Kaiser Permanente study found that people trying to lose at least 10 pounds were more likely to reach that goal if they had lower stress levels and slept more than six hours but not more than eight hours a night. The paper, published March 29 in the International Journal of Obesity, was the result of a study funded by the National Institutes of Health's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Nearly 500 participants from Kaiser Permanente in Oregon and Washington took part in the study, which measured whether sleep, stress, depression, television viewing, and computer screen time were correlated with weight loss. Several previous studies have found an association between these factors and obesity, but few have looked at whether these factors predict weight loss. "This study suggests that when people are trying to lose weight, they should try to get the right amount of sleep and reduce their stress," said lead author Charles Elder, MD, MPH, an investigator with the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore., who also leads Integrative Medicine at Kaiser Permanente Northwest. "Some people may just need to cut back on their schedules and get to bed earlier. Others may find that exercise can reduce stress and help them sleep. For some people, mind/body techniques such as meditation also might be helpful." The study involved two phases: during the first phase, participants were asked to lose at least 10 pounds over six months. If they succeeded, they moved to the second year-long phase of the study, which tested a complementary acupressure technique against more traditional weight-maintenance strategies. Findings from phase two are not yet available. During the study's first phase, all participants attended weekly meetings at which they were weighed and advised to reduce calorie intake by 500 calories per day, adopt a low-fat, low-sugar diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, increase physical activity to 180 minutes a week, and keep daily food records. People who kept more food records and attended more meetings were more likely to lose weight during this phase of the trial. Participants also were asked to report levels of insomnia, stress and depression, and to record how much time they slept and spent watching television or using a computer. The research team found that sleep and stress levels were good predictors of weight loss, but depression and screen time were not. People with the lowest stress levels who also got more than six hours, but not more than eight hours, of sleep were most likely to lose at least 10 pounds. In fact, nearly three-quarters of this group moved on to the second phase of the trial, and were twice as likely to be successful as those who reported the highest stress levels and got six or fewer hours of sleep per night. Participants who qualified for the second phase were divided into two groups: one received monthly guided instruction in the Tapas Acupressure Technique, which involves lightly touching specific pressure points on the face and back of the head while focusing on a problem (i.e., maintaining weight loss). The other group also met monthly with a trained interventionist and a support group, but used more traditional nutrition and exercise techniques to keep weight off. Both groups met for six months and then were followed for another six months to see which group kept more weight off. Results of that phase of the trial should be available in late 2011 or early 2012. The study authors caution that their findings may not apply to all groups trying to lose weight. The authors also noted that the participants were highly motivated, and that 90 percent had attended at least some college. These studies are part of ongoing research at Kaiser Permanente to better understand weight loss and the key factors to maintaining optimum weight. Another Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research study last year found that the more people logged on to an interactive weight management website, the more weight they kept off. Researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research also found that keeping a food diary can double a person's weight loss and that both personal contact and web-based support can help with long-term weight management. Study authors include: Charles R. Elder, MD, MPH, Christina M. Gullion, PhD, Kristine L. Funk, MS, Lynn L. DeBar, PhD, Nangel M. Lindberg, PhD, and Victor J. Stevens, PhD, all from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore. Other social bookmarking and sharing tools: Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above. - C R Elder, C M Gullion, K L Funk, L L DeBar, N M Lindberg, V J Stevens. Impact of sleep, screen time, depression and stress on weight change in the intensive weight loss phase of the LIFE study. International Journal of Obesity, 2011; DOI: 10.1038/ijo.2011.60 Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Oct. 5, 2012 The mice in which scientists expected to test treatments for Lou Gehrig's disease turn out to have problems that could slow research, reported Alzforum, a research news site specializing in Alzheimer's and related diseases. To the researchers' surprise, the mice didn't die of the spinal nerve disease. Instead, they succumbed to intestinal blockage. "There were high expectations," said Robert Baloh of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, who made the new mice. "The problem is, they are still mice. Humans and mice, even if they have the same genetic mutation, get different diseases." Between 20,000 and 30,000 people in the U.S. have Lou Gehrig's disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which kills nerve cells in the spine. It causes paralysis and death, typically within a few years. There is only one treatment, riluzole, which extends live by a couple of months. Difficulties in transferring treatments from mice to people have long plagued scientists trying to treat Lou Gehrig's and Alzheimer's. That's why researchers were excited when, five years ago, it was discovered that some people with Lou Gehrig's have mutations in a gene called TDP-43. They rushed to make mice with the same mutations, thinking the animals would be an excellent new testing ground. But problems, such as the intestinal blockage, are arising as scientists work to fully understand the new mice. Nonetheless, the mice could still be useful in testing drugs and should also help researchers understand just how Lou Gehrig's kills nerve cells, experts say. And in the process, scientists are learning just how rigorously they have to characterize a given mouse model, and design treatment studies in those mice, to then have a fair shot at success in the clinic. Other social bookmarking and sharing tools: - Jada Lewis et al. Are TDP-43 Mice Living Up to Expectations? Alzforum, September 20, 2012 [link] Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Coloured wax model of a female, half skeletal, half living and dressed in regency clothing, England, 1810-1850 This lady is dressed in Regency clothing typical of the first half of the 1800s. She is skilfully created out of wax. She is half woman, half skeleton. The statue may have been made for one of three reasons: a darkly comic novelty, a ‘memento mori’ (a reminder of death), or a teaching aid. She is paired with a separate male statue (A78827). These two examples of regency waxwork were exhibited in Montreal, Canada at the International and Universal Exposition in 1967. Related Themes and Topics There are 535 related objects. View all related objects Glossary: anatomical figure Highly detailed models of the full human figure for artists, teachers and medical practitioners. A branch of medical science concerned with the structure of living organisms.

The story of dinosaur extinction may be wrong, if a new scientific study of the Chicxulub crater in Mexico proves correct. The study’s authors argue that it wasn’t an asteroid that killed the dinosaurs off, but rather a comet... To continue reading, subscribe to Science Recorder today. |Subscribe to Science Recorder and gain access to one of the web's largest collection of science news and analysis.| |Already have an account? Sign in and begin reading Science Recorder today.|

Researchers have discovered a protein that might prevent neurons from dying after traumatic brain injuries such as those caused by severe car accidents. Seong-Seng Tan of the Howard Florey Institute in Australia and his colleagues tested the activity of 18,000 genes in surviving neurons that surrounded an injury site in the brains of mice. All but one gene--responsible for generating the protein N4WBP5--drastically reduced their protein production during the 24 hours after injury. When Tan manipulated stressed brain cells into producing more N4WBP5 than usual, a dramatically higher number of cells survived. This article was originally published with the title Protein Prevents Neuron Death.

Quake-Catcher Network sensors are light and fit on the palm of the hand. Courtesy of Mark Lyon, Quake-Catcher Network Update: The Quake-Catcher Network The Quake-Catcher Network (QCN) has renewed its call for citizen scientists to help its researchers capture key seismic data to improve scientific understanding of earthquakes, provide detailed information on how they shape Southern California and aid earthquake emergency response efforts. Quake-Catcher Network is a collaborative project sponsored by the National Science Foundation in which earthquake scientists around Southern California enlist volunteers to deploy small, easy-to-install seismic sensors in their homes, offices and other locations that have a computer with Internet connectivity. The project is conducted by scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at U.C. San Diego, California Institute of Technology, Stanford University, U.C. Berkeley, University of Delaware and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). - PRINCIPAL SCIENTIST: Elizabeth Cochran - SCIENTIST AFFILIATION: University of California, Riverside, and the U.S. Geological Service - DATES: Ongoing - PROJECT TYPE: Data Processing - COST: $20-$50 - GRADE LEVEL: All Ages - TIME COMMITMENT: Variable - HOW TO JOIN: Those interested in participating should visit the Quake-Catcher Network Web site to read more about participation requirements. If you are a science teacher at a K-12 school, apply for a free USB sensor and accompanying QCN software. QCN has been able to purchase sensors to donate to schools in need. If you are interested in donating to the program or requesting a sensor, click here.

More 60-Second Science In the last decade scientists have managed to sequence the genomes of everything from bacteria and fruit flies to individual human beings. But often overlooked are the genomic sequences of our food. We know the genomes of apples, bananas, potatoes, wheat, rice and now watermelon. A consortium of scientists from the United States, China and Europe has published the complete genome of the domesticated watermelon—one of the top five consumed fresh fruits—in the journal Nature Genetics. [Shaogui Guo et al., The draft genome of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) and resequencing of 20 diverse accessions] The group compared the genomes of 20 different watermelons across three different subspecies and found it takes roughly the same number of genes to make the sweet summer fruits as it does to make us. They researchers also found that, in the process of being selected for color, size and taste, domestic watermelon lost many of the genes that helped their wild ancestors resist disease. They hope that breeders can now use the genetic info to recover some of those natural disease defenses—as well as bringing a more nutritious, and tastier fruit to your table. Without the seeds, of course. —Gretchen Cuda Kroen [The above text is a transcript of this podcast.] [Scientific American is part of Nature Publishing Group.]

What is Piezoelectric-Light? Triboluminescence (TRI-bow-loom-en-NES-ence) is a light producing phenomenon that occurs when striking or rubbing two pieces of piezo-electric material together. The most common materials that exhibit triboluminescence are quartz and quartzite, rose quartz. We call these Flash Rocks. They are really quartz specimens that are translucent rather than transparent, with minimal fractures throughout the rock. Demonstrating Piezoelectric-Light phenomenon is easy with Flash Rocks. Take the rock specimens into a dark room. Wait a minute for your eyes to become dark adapted, then strike the specimens together quickly. At the point of impact you should see a light flash. Continued striking of the rocks will continue to produce light flashes. You can also play with triboluminescence using wintergreen-flavored Lifesavers (TM) candy. In a dark room, place the candy between the jaws of a pliers and crush it. You will see a bright flash. Crush the remaining pieces in a mortar and pestle for another visual effect. This is the most scientific method, and the best method for amazing your friends and kids with your knowledge of Triboluminescence and Piezoelectric-Light. Some people just like to bite down on them between their teeth and see the sparks fly. Don't bite down on Flash Rocks. Exactly how Flash Rocks produce their light flashes hasn't been exactly determined. One theory is that the impact causes electrons to jump to a higher energy shell. When the electrons jump back to the original shell orbit they release energy that creates the light. Try your own experiments and maybe you can solve this mystery. Packaged in three bags, two rocks per bag.

|Coordinate Reference Systems| Coordinate systems are used to accurately identify locations on the Earth's surface, and are one of the fundamental building blocks that make modern Geographic Information Systems possible. Many of the links below refer to our 2009 publication, Wisconsin Coordinate Reference Systems. This 119-page publication is a revision of the Wisconsin Coordinate Systems handbook published by the SCO in 1995. The new handbook contains expanded information on coordinate reference systems commonly used in Wisconsin. |Last Updated on July 30, 2012|

Originally, a temporary wooden tower used in warfare; hence, any tower or fortification. Related term(s): Fortification Category: Castles and Fortifications Wilhelm, Thomas. A Military Dictionary and Gazetteer. Philadelphia: L.R. Hamersly & Co., 1881. 48. List medieval glossary terms alphabetically:

SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association) — Islamic bioethics derives from a combination of principles, duties and rights, and, to a certain extent, a call to virtue. In Islam, bioethical decision-making is carried out within a framework of values derived from revelation and tradition. It is intimately linked to the broad ethical teachings of the Qur'an and the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad, and thus to the interpretation of Islamic law. In this way, Islam has the flexibility to respond to new biomedical technologies. Islamic bioethics emphasizes prevention and teaches that the patient must be treated with respect and compassion and that the physical, mental and spiritual dimensions of the illness experience be taken into account. Because Islam shares many foundational values with Judaism and Christianity, the informed Canadian physician will find Islamic bioethics quite familiar. Canadian Muslims come from varied backgrounds and have varying degrees of religious observance. Physicians need to recognize this diversity and avoid a stereotypical approach to Muslim patients. Case 1: An 18-year-old Muslim man sustains severe head injuries in a traffic accident while riding his motorcycle. He is declared brain dead. The transplant coordinator approaches the grieving mother to obtain consent for organ donation. At first the patient's mother is shocked at this approach. She then politely says that she would like to wait for her family to arrive before making a decision. Case 2: A 38-year-old Muslim woman is found to have a rapidly growing carcinoma of the breast. She requires surgery and postoperative chemotherapy. She is 5 weeks into her first pregnancy and is advised to terminate the pregnancy before the chemotherapy. What is Islamic bioethics? In Islam, human beings are the crown of creation and are God's viceregents on earth. They are endowed with reason, choice and responsibilities, including stewardship of other creatures, the environment and their own health. Muslims are expected to be moderate and balanced in all matters, including health. Illness may be seen as a trial or even as a cleansing ordeal, but it is not viewed as a curse or punishment or an expression of Allah's wrath. Hence, the patient is obliged to seek treatment and to avoid being fatalistic. Islamic bioethics is intimately linked to the broad ethical teachings of the Qur'an and the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad, and thus to the interpretation of Islamic law. Bioethical deliberation is inseparable from the religion itself, which emphasizes continuities between body and mind, the material and spiritual realms and between ethics and jurisprudence. The Qur'an and the traditions of the Prophet have laid down detailed and specific ethical guidelines regarding various medical issues. The Qur'an itself has a surprising amount of accurate detail regarding human embryological development, which informs discourse on the ethical and legal status of the embryo and fetus before birth. Islamic bioethics emphasizes the importance of preventing illness, but when prevention fails, it provides guidance not only to the practising physician but also to the patient. The physician understands the duty to strive to heal, acknowledging God as the ultimate healer. Islamic bioethics teaches that the patient must be treated with respect and compassion and that the physical, mental and spiritual dimensions of the illness experience be taken into account. The main principles of the Hippocratic oath are acknowledged in Islamic bioethics, although the invocation of multiple gods in the original version, and the exclusion of any god in later versions, have led Muslims to adopt the Oath of the Muslim Doctor, which invokes the name of Allah. It appears in the 1981 Islamic Code of Medical Ethics, which deals with many modern biomedical issues such as organ transplantation and assisted reproduction. In Islam, life is sacred: every moment of life has great value, even if it is of poor quality. The saving of life is a duty, and the unwarranted taking of life a grave sin. The Qur'an affirms the reverence for human life in reference to a similar commandment given to other monotheistic peoples: “On that account We decreed for the Children of Israel that whosoever killeth a human being ... it shall be as if he had killed all humankind, and whosoever saveth the life of one, it shall be as if he saved the life of all humankind.†This passage legitimizes medical advances in saving human lives and justifies the prohibition against both suicide and euthanasia. The Oath of the Muslim Doctor includes an undertaking “to protect human life in all stages and under all circumstances, doing [one's] utmost to rescue it from death, malady, pain and anxiety. To be, all the way, an instrument of God's mercy, extending ... medical care to near and far, virtuous and sinner and friend and enemy.†Islamic bioethics is an extension of Shariah (Islamic law), which is itself based on 2 foundations: the Qur'an (the holy book of all Muslims, whose basic impulse is to release the greatest amount possible of the creative moral impulse and is itself “a healing and a mercy to those who believe†) and the Sunna (the aspects of Islamic law based on the Prophet Muhammad's words or acts). Development of Shariah in the Sunni branch of Islam over the ages has also required ijmaa (consensus) and qiyas (analogy), resulting in 4 major Sunni schools of jurisprudence. Where appropriate, consideration is also given to maslaha (public interest) and urf (local customary precedent). The Shia branch of Islam has in some cases developed its own interpretations, methodology and authority systems, but on the whole its bioethical rulings do not differ fundamentally from the Sunni positions. In the absence of an organized “church†and ordained “clergy†in Islam, the determination of valid religious practice, and hence the resolution of bioethical issues, is left to qualified scholars of religious law, who are called upon to provide rulings on whether a proposed action is forbidden, discouraged, neutral, recommended or obligatory. To respond to new medical technology, Islamic jurists, informed by technical experts, have regular conferences at which emerging issues are explored and consensus is sought. Thus, over the past few years, these conferences have dealt with such issues as organ transplantation, brain death, assisted conception, technology in the intensive care unit, and even futuristic issues such as testicular and ovarian grafts. The Islamic Organization for Medical Sciences, (www.islamset.com), based in Kuwait, also holds conferences and publishes the Bulletin of Islamic Medicine. Most Islamic communities, however, would defer to the opinion of their own recognized religious scholars. Islam is not monolithic, and a diversity of views in bioethical matters does exist. This diversity derives from the various schools of jurisprudence, the different sects within Islam, differences in cultural background and different levels of religious observance. In Canada, some Muslim communities from central and eastern Europe and east Africa may be more liberal than more conservative communities, say, from Pakistan or some of the Middle Eastern countries. There is little that is strange or foreign in Islamic bioethics for Canadian physicians, who are often surprised at the similarities of approach to major bioethical issues in the 3 monotheistic religions, particularly between Islam and Judaism. The 3 monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, believe in the same God, the God of Abraham (hence the common designation as the “Abrahamic†religions) and of the entire universe. Of all the prophets of Islam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad are considered to be the most important. Although Islam has some doctrinal differences from Judaism and Christianity, it shares essentially the same code of morality. If secular Western bioethics can be described as rights-based, with a strong emphasis on individual rights, Islamic bioethics is based on duties and obligations (e.g., to preserve life, seek treatment), although rights (of God, the community and the individual) do feature in bioethics, as does a call to virtue (Ihsan). Why is Islamic bioethics important? In 1999 there were about 550 000 Muslims in Canada (out of about 1 billion worldwide), and their numbers are projected to increase. It is still primarily a young, immigrant population, and it is ethnically and linguistically diverse. Although settled throughout the country, two thirds of all Muslims live in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. Ontario and British Columbia are the provinces with the fastest growing Muslim populations. Those of Indo-Pakistani and Arab origin are the most numerous, although the Muslim community represents all continents and at least 60 countries. In recent years, the former Yugoslavia was the single largest source of Muslim immigrants, outpacing such traditional source countries as Pakistan, Lebanon, Egypt and India (Daood H. Hamdani: personal communication, 2000). Many Muslims incorporate their religion in almost every aspect of their lives. They invoke the name of God in daily conversation and live a closely examined life in relation to the Qur'an and the traditions of the Prophet, believing that their actions are very much accountable and subject to ultimate judgement. Although individuals are given certain concessions on assuming the status of a patient, some try to live their lives in a Muslim way as patients, even when admitted to hospital. Greater understanding of Islamic bioethics would enhance the medical care of this significant segment of the Canadian population. How should I approach Islamic bioethics in practice? Information about Islamic bioethics can be obtained most easily on the Internet (see related Web sites at end of the article). Another source is Muslim patients themselves. However, many Muslim patients may not be aware of contemporary rulings on bioethical issues. If the community has religious leaders or its own social workers, these can be useful sources. Hospitals should keep their contact numbers close at hand, especially in emergency departments. Canadian Muslims come from different cultural backgrounds, although many have become acculturated to the general Canadian way of life. There are varying degrees of observance of traditional Muslim beliefs and practices. Physicians need to be sensitive to this diversity and avoid a stereotyped approach to all Muslim patients. At the practical level, Canadian physicians who are aware of Islamic bioethics will understand that the provision of simple measures can make big differences for their Muslim patients. In addition to understanding the religion and culture, there are a few practical considerations that may apply, particularly for the more devout Muslim. Practical measures for Muslim patients Diet: Muslims have fairly strict dietary rules. Pork is forbidden, as is alcohol (although it can be used externally). Meat must be processed in special ways (halal), but if halal meat is unavailable, kosher meat (and kosher food in general) may be acceptable. Privacy: Women tend to be reluctant to uncover their bodies. If possible, physicians should ask female patients to uncover one area of their body at a time; they should be particularly careful and gentle when examining breasts or genitalia, and explain in advance what they are about to do. A chaperone should be present, particularly if the physician is male. Although not absolutely necessary, many Muslim families will prefer to have a female physician for the female family members, especially for gynecological examinations, and a male physician for the male members, if circumstances permit. Communication: Many Muslims will have arrived in Canada in the recent past and may have language barriers. It is advisable, therefore, to have an interpreter present who is preferably, but not necessarily, of the same sex as the patient. Religious observance: In general, health concerns override all religious observances. However, the more devout Muslims and those who are physically able, along with their companions, may wish to continue some religious observances in hospital. They would need running water for ablutions and a small quiet area to place a prayer mat facing Mecca (qibla). Staff should avoid disturbing them during the 10 minutes or so that it takes to pray, usually up to 5 times a day. Some patients will also frequently recite silently from the Qur'an or appear to be in meditation. During the month of Ramadhan Muslim patients may ask about fasting, even though they are not required to fast when ill. Muslims regard both fasting and praying as being therapeutic. Consent: Essentially, the principles and components of consent that are generally acceptable in Western countries are also applicable to Muslims, although Muslims (depending on their level of education, background and culture) will often want to consult with family members before consenting to major procedures. Particular care should be exercised when the consent involves abortion, end-of-life issues or sexual and gynecological issues. Hygiene: Muslims are on the whole very conscious of matters pertaining to bodily functions and hygiene. Bodily discharges such as urine and feces are considered ritually unclean and must therefore be cleaned in certain ways. Ablutions are especially important before prayers, and so it is crucial to provide running water close to the patient, with sandals to wear in the toilet. Muslim patients will resist having a colostomy because it makes ritual cleanliness for prayers difficult to achieve. The surgeon therefore needs to spend more time than usual explaining the medical need and the steps that can be taken to minimize soiling. Organ transplantation is practised in almost all Muslim countries. This generally involves kidney donations from living relatives, but cadaveric donation is increasing. The Qur'anic affirmation of bodily resurrection has determined many religious and moral decisions regarding cadavers. Mutilation, and thus cremation, is strictly prohibited in Islam. However, carrying out autopsies, although uncommon in Muslim countries, is permitted under certain circumstances, for example when there is suspicion of foul play. Similarly, many Muslim scholars have permitted cadaveric organ donation. Death is considered to have occurred when the soul has left the body, but this exact moment cannot be known with certainty. Death is therefore diagnosed by its physical signs. The concept of brain death was accepted by a majority of scholars and jurists at the Third International Conference of Islamic Jurists, in Amman, Jordan, in October 1986. Most, but not all, Muslim countries now accept brain death criteria. In Saudi Arabia, for example, about half of all kidneys for transplantation are derived from cadavers, with application of brain death criteria. The mother of the recently deceased boy in the intensive care unit was initially shocked because she did not expect an approach so soon after her son's death. The coordinator, however, has been specifically trained, and is very experienced and culturally sensitive. She allows the mother time to reflect and wait for her family to arrive. The mother's faith has taught her that God decides when a life is to end, and although she is grieving she knows that nothing could have saved her son when the moment of death arrived. A friend of the family, a lecturer in Islamic studies at a local college, arrives and confirms that it is acceptable in Islam to donate organs under such circumstances. The family jointly agrees to the donation. The surgical team is made aware of the Muslim requirement to bury the body on the same day and arranges for the organs to be removed that afternoon. The general Islamic view is that, although there is some form of life after conception, full human life, with its attendant rights, begins only after the ensoulment of the fetus. On the basis of interpretations of passages in the Qur'an and of sayings of the Prophet, most Muslim scholars agree that ensoulment occurs at about 120 days (4 lunar months plus 10 days) after conception; other scholars, perhaps in the minority, hold that it occurs at about 40 days after conception. Scholars of jurisprudence do have some differing opinions about abortion. Abortion has been allowed after implantation and before ensoulment in cases in which there were adequate juridical or medical reasons. Accepted reasons have included rape. However, many Shias and some Sunnis have generally not permitted abortion at any stage after implantation, even before ensoulment, unless the mother's life is in danger. Abortion after ensoulment is strictly forbidden by all authorities, but the vast majority do make an exception to preserve the mother's life. If a choice has to be made to save either the fetus or the mother, but not both, then the mother's life would take precedence. She is seen as the root, the fetus as an offshoot. In the case presented here the chemotherapy is necessary for the mother's health, although it might cause a miscarriage or severe developmental abnormalities in the fetus. The pregnancy itself may worsen her prognosis. These are medical indications for termination. Although not generally accepted, some modern Islamic opinions and rulings have also accepted prenatal diagnosis and accept severe congenital anomalies and malformations per se as a reason for termination before ensoulment. Two physicians certify that the chemotherapy and abortion are necessary, and the pregnancy is terminated with the consent of the patient and her husband. The couple say that they would dearly love to have a child in the future and inform the physician that Islam permits in-vitro fertilization. They ask if it is possible before chemotherapy to retrieve and freeze her ova, to be fertilized later. This would be permissible provided the sperm, with certainty, came from her husband, and that at the time of fertilization they are still married and the husband is alive. The option of surrogacy is broached by the physicians as an alternative. On checking with their local religious scholar, the couple is informed that, in Shariah, the birth mother, not the ovum donor, would be the legal mother. Surrogacy is therefore excluded.— www.shafaqna.com

“Amazing Grace” has a long history that helps to add color to the words, but it is primarily a spiritual song, so the setting of the hymn is open to interpretation. (In fact, of the six verses to the hymn, only the last truly mentions any type of place at all, and even that is more of a spiritual reference to the earth than a physical one.) When John Newton wrote the words for the hymn in the early 1770s, he was an experienced Anglican priest. He had been ordained eight years earlier, and his path to the priesthood was an unusual one. He had gone to sea at age eleven, and for the next twenty years he lived a self-admitted wretched and sinful life as a slave trader. “Amazing Grace” was a hymn of redemption, a topic that was deeply personal for Newton, as he himself had been a sinner who was lost but now found. Having been drawn from personal experience, “Amazing Grace” contains an almost indescribable feeling of truth and power. Many fans of the hymn in the early and mid-1800s would have known that Newton had been a slave trader turned preacher who had eventually become a strong voice in the abolitionist movement. These people may have envisioned that the hymn spoke of breaking spiritual and physical bonds, giving it a kind of setting particular to their experience even though there is very little visual evidence of a specific setting within the hymn itself. During the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, the song experienced a strong resurgence in popularity. Folk singers and social reformers gave the hymn a more secular and social reading. Activists within the civil rights movement embraced the song as a plea for social redemption. When Sam Cooke, Judy Collins, or Joan Baez sang “Amazing Grace,” their hope was that society, one blind to questions of racial injustice, would see its way to greater fairness. The words had not change, but those who heard or sang the song envisioned quite a different setting for the “wretch” being saved.

Hey, have you ever seen that movie Shakespeare in Love? You know, that whimsical, feel-good, romantic comedy that features a young, happy Shakespeare in a variety of romantic situations? Well, campers, if that movie is the sum total of your impressions of the man they call "The Bard," Sonnet 137 is here to turn those smiles upside down. This poem, like the rest of William Shakespeare’s 154 sonnets, appeared in 1609 in a published collection entitled, appropriately enough, Sonnets. And while the book may not have sold well in Shakespeare's day, these poems stand today as some of the finest achievements of the English language. Heck, these suckers are so successful that the form in which they were written now bears the name of the man himself: Shakespearean sonnets. Now, casual fans of the sonnets may have a line or two memorized ("Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?"), and those folks could be forgiven if they were to think that these poems are all about the good times, the high-fives and warm fuzzies of being in love. Of course, human experience is more complicated than that and, Billy S.—like any good poet—recognized that fully in his work. In particular, Sonnet 137 deals with the aftermath of romantic betrayal, accounting for the whirlwind of emotions that are kicked up when you learn that your best guy or gal has been stepping out on you behind your back. Now, we sincerely hope that you can't relate to this experience, Shmoopers, but the sad fact is that this is a not-uncommon realization. What happened for everything to go so wrong? How could we have been so blind to the truth? These are the kinds of gut-wrenching questions that Shakespeare is wrestling with in this poem. But did we say wrestling? A better metaphor would be painting. As a master wordsmith, ol' Shakes turns what, for most, would be a crushing blow into a work of technical mastery. They say that the best revenge for a broken heart is living well. Well, with Sonnet 137, Shakespeare takes a slightly different approach: crafting magnificent art from the pain of human experience. As readers, we'd say his pain was worth it, if just for the sake of this great poem. William Shakespeare’s Sonnets is probably the world’s most famous—and best—book of love poetry. But did you know that it’s probably also the world’s best explorations of break-up, betrayal, hatred, and all the other frustrations that go along with love? Actually, when you think about it, this isn’t really surprising. After all, who would know better than a love expert how truly awful love can sometimes be? Like, sure, Marvin Gaye knew how to rock a smooth love song like "Let’s Get It On," but he could also pour his heart out in a song about break-up, like in his cover of the Motown classic "I Heard It Through The Grapevine." Or what about Bob Dylan? Sure, he can bust out tender love songs with the best of them (like, say "Lay, Lady, Lady"), but he could also deliver ice-cold kiss-off lines like the immortal ending of "Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright"), in which he tells his unfortunate, soon-to-be-ex lover that "I ain't sayin' you treated me unkind/ You could have done better but I don't mind/ You just kinda wasted my precious time." Ouch. So, like Gaye or Dylan, Shakespeare not only writes about the joys of successful love, he also writes about the pain of unsuccessful love. In the case of Sonnet 137, specifically, he deals with the feeling of betrayal that comes when the speaker realizes that his lady-love has been cheating on him. But that isn’t even the biggest problem: the biggest problem of all is that he loves her so much that he just can’t get over her. We can probably all relate to this—but it’s what Shakespeare does with this basic theme that’s really special. Shakespeare uses his frustration with his lady love as a springboard for some of the most outrageously obscene insults we’ve ever read before. Of course, it isn’t like Shakespeare just blurts things out in boring, old, clinical terms. Instead, he uses all of the tricks of the poetic trade, including wordplay and metaphor, to get his message across. In the end, we think all this cleverness just makes his insults that much more hard-hitting. But you don’t have to take it from us—just read the poem (plus our "Detailed Summary" to help you with the tricky parts), and see for yourself.

By Robert Hochberg Shodor, Durham, North Carolina This module provides a quick review of dynamic programming, but the student is assumed to have seen it before. The parallel programming environment is NVIDIA's CUDA environment for graphics cards (GPGPU - general purpose graphics processing units). The CUDA environment simultaneously operates with a fast shared memory and a much slower global memory, and thus has aspects of shared-memory parallel computing and distributed computing. Specifics for programming in CUDA are included where appropriate, but the reader is also referred to the NVIDIA CUDA C Programming Guide, and the CUDA API Reference Manual. Upon completion of this module, students should be able to: The documents can be downloaded below: Dynamic Programming with CUDA Pt 1 Document : The module document in PDF format. Dynamic Programming Pt 1 Assessment Document : The student assessment document in PDF format. Dynamic Programming Pt 1 Code : A zip file of the module's accompanying code for student exercises. NVIDIA CUDA C Programming Guide : The NVIDIA CUDA C Programming Guide posted with special permission from the NVIDIA corporation. NVIDIA CUDA C Best Practices Guide : The NVIDIA CUDA C Best Practices Guide posted with special permission from the NVIDIA corporation. The CUDA Compiler Drive NVCC : The CUDA Compiler Drive NVCC Guide posted with special permission from the NVIDIA corporation.

American literary critic and author Lionel Trilling once noted that American culture “peculiarly honors the act of blaming, which it takes as the sign of virtue and intellect.” In the movie based on Michael Crichton’s book Rising Sun, Sean Connery’s character said that, by contrast, the Japanese confront a problem by focusing on the solution, not the blame, suggesting “their way is better.” The Japanese response to the devastating 2011 earthquake and resulting tsunami and nuclear disaster at Fukushima certainly support that claim. You will recall that on March 11 a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck just off the coast of Tōhoku, sending massive waves as high as 133 feet crashing across Iwate Prefecture. Nearly 16,000 lives were extinguished, 125,000 buildings destroyed, and the damage done to the Fukushima nuclear facility resulted in a meltdown that will affect many more lives for years to come. (For a little perspective consider that less than one-tenth that number died in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.) You would expect this kind of catastrophe to permanently scar the psyche of a nation. (Consider: The United States lost six buildings and 3,000 lives on 9/11, and the entire world changed as a result.) Stunningly, however, the Japanese simply picked up the pieces, licked their wounds, and moved on. You might have heard that Japan is a bit prone to quakes. Japan lies in one of the most seismically active areas of the world, at the junction of the Eurasian, Pacific, and Philippine Sea plates, the great tectonic plates on which the surface of the earth rests – and which insist on colliding with each other with disastrous consequences. Tokyo seems to be in the worst possible spot, and with its mass of skyscrapers and huge, densely-clustered population, a major quake here would be a catastrophe of historic proportions. The risk is so great and deemed so immediate that Bill McGuire, a hazards specialist of University College London, describes Tokyo as “a city waiting to die,” despite its stringent quake-proof construction ordinances. Other doomsday predictions for Japan’s fate come from all over, with Stanford University of California even predicting “The largest catastrophic loss in history!” The last major quake to hit Tokyo, in 1923, killed some 200,000 people. Tokyo’s population was a mere 3 million at the time. Today, it’s approaching 30 million. When it comes, it’ll be ugly. The residents of Tokyo go on about their business quite contentedly, as if blissfully unaware of the chaos lurking just below the skinny tires of their tiny kei cars. Out on the streets of this magnificent metropolis I found myself wanting to tap them on the shoulder and say, “Sorry to disturb you old chap, but you are aware that the ground beneath you plans to swallow you?” Americans are fond of saying, “live each day as if it’s your last!” The Japanese really do. It’s quite a remarkable thing to witness. And so, thoroughly enamored of her people, Soo and I set off to explore this ancient city. We began with a visit to the Meiji Shinto Shrine, where, since it was Sunday, we found ourselves right in the middle of a huge wedding. We were particularly fascinated with the ceremonial kimonos being worn by so many worshippers and wedding guests. We knew immediately we’d like the place when the first things we encountered were walls of extravagantly decorated sake casks at the Shrine entrance. Apparently Shinto gods really like to booze it up. We next explored the Imperial Palace, the centuries-old residence of Japan’s now mostly ceremonial ruler. I was delighted to discover that, though the Japanese revere the Emperor as a god, you could stroll right up to his front door. Not all gods are so hospitable. I suppose it’s a residence befitting a living god, straddling about 3 ½ square kilometers of parkland in the middle of Tokyo on land some estimate to be as valuable as the entire coast of California. Many of the original structures were destroyed (surprise, surprise) by earthquake, or damaged by American bombs during WWII. The entire residence was reconstructed, and in 1968 the East Garden, called Higashi-Gyoen, was turned into a charming public park, like New York’s Central Park without the hookers. The area is constantly abuzz with activity and a favorite spot for joggers and locals taking their pets out for an imperial poo. I couldn’t help but imagine the rooftop snipers picking off anyone foolish enough to try to jog across the White House lawn (which is not, by contrast, the home of a living god, just the house of a civil servant). Their open hospitality did not, however, extend to allowing us in for a cup of tea with the Heavenly Sovereign, a direct descendant of the crocodile goddess, Amaterasu. Pity. I’ve never met many people descended from crocodiles. I’ll bet they’re interesting, in a toothy, amphibian sort of way. So, ignored by the royal family, we contended ourselves by watching a regal sunset over the Nijūbashi Bridge and Imperial ponds. For dinner we met some colleagues at Gonpachi S Nishi-Azabu Restaurant, an old but spectacular two-story wooden structure with an open courtyard. The layout was the inspiration for the masacre scene in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill movies, and famous former patrons have included US Presidents Clinton and Bush the 2nd.. Our friends, who treated us to some of the best sushi we’ve ever had, casually inquired over dinner “how a great nation like America could indulge in the pervasive anti-intellectualism necessary to twice elect a man like the aforementioned Bush 2.” I noted that Japan has blown through seven not-outstanding prime ministers in the last six years alone, and we all agreed, loudly, that the world would be better off without politicians. I’m not sure we were really advocating anarchy here, but with a belly full of warm sake, everything sounds like a good idea. As delicious as that meal of raw fish was, it didn’t compare to the next night’s feast . After a long day of work I was exhausted, so instead of heading back downtown, Soo and I wandered across the street from our hotel to Hiroshimayaki, on the 38th floor of Ebisu Garden Place. We enjoyed some magnificent Japanese beef and a dish I’d not seen before, a vegetable Bracken-starch dumpling which was somewhat akin to a Japanese pizza. It was scrumptious. We ate til we hurt, not an easy proposition in a country of moderate portions. The Japanese way of cooking may just be better, too. If you find yourself in Tokyo, and you should before the earth swallows it up, go there. Your taste-buds will thank you.

Watch Out for Falling Bullets Is it dangerous to fire a gun into the air? A crowd of Libyans fired guns in the air and chanted slogans in support of Muammar Qaddafi at a rally in the city of Sirte on Monday. Isn't it kind of dangerous to shoot bullets into the sky? Yes ... well, probably ... maybe ... it kind of depends. The Explainer is far from being the first to ask this question. Everyone from the U.S. military to The Straight Dope's Cecil Adams has probed the lethality of falling bullets. That includes forensic scientists, cardio-thoracic surgeons, and the hosts of the Discovery Channel's Mythbusters—which devoted nearly a whole episode to the matter. And yet, no one has been able to come up with a straightforward answer. The general consensus is that a bullet fired straight up—at precisely 90 degrees to the horizontal—is unlikely to kill a healthy adult when it returns to Earth. That's because, on the way down, air resistance prevents the bullet from returning to its initial velocity. The bullet would deliver a painful wallop but could only have a chance of killing you with a direct hit to the eye, ear, or mouth. Things aren't likely to be much worse at angles just off the vertical. That said, bullets fired at an upward angle of 45 degrees or less can be far more lethal, since they're likely to hit someone on the ground while traveling at a much greater speed. In this case, gravity isn't directly opposing the bullet's motion, so the projectile stays at a higher velocity throughout its flight path. It's also more likely to maintain its initial, aerodynamically favorable orientation. Bullets fired vertically tend to fall nose-up or sideways, which creates a lot of drag. Why has this question confounded so many experimenters over the years? (British and German soldiers were firing vertical test shots way back in 1909, and American servicemen did it in World War I.) In part, because it's impossible to calculate the exact minimum velocity required for a bullet to perforate the skin. Based on hundreds of years of shooting at pigs, oxen, and human cadavers—not to mention ballistics gel and other objects—munitions experts estimate that a bullet must be traveling at least 200 feet per second (or 136 miles per hour) in order to break the skin, although one traveling as fast as 330 feet per second (225 mph) might bounce off your body under certain circumstances. The broad range depends on several factors, like how pointy the bullet is and which part of the body it strikes. Skin thickness varies significantly from person to person, and in different places on the same individual. Upper-lip skin is 50 percent thicker than cheek skin, for example. Babies have thin skin, and elderly skin has poor elasticity, which makes it easier to puncture. Even if you have a good sense of a bullet's minimum lethal velocity, it's still pretty difficult to clock the speed of a round fired in the air. Gunshots can travel as high as 10,000 feet, and the wind takes them in unpredictable directions. Julian Sommerville Hatcher, the U.S. military ordnance expert whose work on this topic is often cited, managed to land only four of his 500 vertically fired bullets in the target range. The Mythbusters crew lost all of its rifle shots. As a result of these obstacles, the experimental results are mixed. Hatcher calculated that his .30-caliber rifle bullets reached terminal velocity—the speed at which air resistance balances the accelerating force of gravity—at 300 feet per second. You might die from a bullet moving at that speed, but it's unlikely. Lighter bullets, like those fired from a 9mm handgun, max out at even lower speeds, between 150 and 250 feet per second, according to computer models. All this depends on the bullet's orientation during the fall. In the rare case where a bullet descends nose-first, it picks up more speed. In a 1923 experiment in which soldiers loaded bullets into their shells upside down, the total trip time dropped by as much as 80 percent. Air resistance also decreases at altitude, so falling bullets are more lethal in La Paz than in Amsterdam. Here's the good news: Bullets fired vertically spend at least 15 seconds in the air, and many hang for well over a minute. So, the next time you're at a party and some drunken lout goes Yosemite Sam, you've got time to grab your drink and take cover. Got a question about today's news? Ask the Explainer. Explainer thanks L.P. Brezny of Gun Digest and Michael G. Haag of Forensic Science Consultants.

A new anti-bullying program combats an ever increasing issue among Utah schoolchildren: bullied because of body-size issues, either being overweight or underweight, a University of Utah study released Sunday concluded. Maya Miyairi, a College of Health doctorate-candidate student, said that a survey found a 7 percent decrease in reports of students being bullied after the new, eight-week anti-bullying program. Miyairi said that now is more important than ever for kids to understand body-image and racial issues related to bullying, citing a recent suicide by a Taylorsville teen. Family members said David Phan, who shot himself in front of peers two months ago, could not deal with the bullying and the burden of being a gay Asian student in a school they believe did not support him. Miyairi created the new anti-bullying program specifically to address these issues. "It's important for [students] to understand the media messages and how our society views men and women," Miyairi said Sunday. "Those students were not too young to be educated about treating everyone equally regardless of appearance, color of skin, or body size." The new program met with applause from other counseling professionals. Miyairi conducted the new program at the beginning of the school year at Albion Middle School in Sandy. "Middle school is such a difficult time for most students and weight-body image concerns make this time even more challenging," said Albion counselor Cathy Nelson in an email. "This program's goals were to address weight-related bullying and to empower students with the confidence that they are beautiful just the way they are. This is a message that all students need, and need often." At the beginning of the program, 41 percent of students reported experiencing bullying, while 34 percent did so after the two-month program. Moises Prospero, a Utah research consultant on criminal and social justice issues with a doctorate in social work, said many students take their messages about the body from the media. "People don't remember how many factors are related to body images and the role models being pushed upon our children," said Prospero, who was a mentor of Miyairi. "The social norm has been females anorexic looking and males extremely muscular, but now we're seeing some of the men being extremely thin." "The message is it's your fault if you're overweight or underweight because we're an individualistic culture," Prospero said. "But we've taken away PE, there are preservatives in food, and we have these extreme views of what is the look of health ⦠rather than the mental health of the individual. Maya's intervention is trying to address those issues." Miyairi, who is finishing up her research for a doctorate in health promotion and education, said her program highlights the gap between what children know about bullying and how they actually behave in school around peers. "We're educating the kids that this is not acceptable and to become leaders for others," Miyairi said. "We want to teach empathy as a core value. We tell the students: Next year, new students will come here and copy what you do now." Miyairi, who came to Utah from her native Japan, said a significant component of her program includes healthy communication skills. "We role-play," she said. "The students are shy at first but then they get into it. They learn how to express their emotions in healthy ways." Albion Middle School does not have more of a bullying issue than other schools, Miyairi said, but school officials were open to her conducting her research an openness that is not always easy to find. Albion Middle School has other anti-bullying programs: anti-bullying lessons, Internet safety/cyber-bullying lessons, and anti-bullying video clips delivered through home-room classes.  "We are so fortunate to be able to partner with Maya and the University of Utah to provide this intervention program for our students," Nelson said. "With only two counselors for 900 students, it's wonderful to take advantage of as many resources as possible to address the needs of our students." Before pursuing her doctorate, Miyairi worked for four years at Avalon Hills in Logan, where she helped treat those with eating disorders. "I'm hoping more school districts and researchers can work together," said Miyairi, who will get her doctorate sometime this summer. "My next plan is to expand this project to educate parents, teachers and school administrators. If we create a nonjudgmental environment in the community, I believe bullying incidents will be reduced." People in need of help with bullying or other issues can call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or the Utah CrisisLine 1-801-587-3000. New anti-bullying program As part of her University of Utah doctorate thesis, Maya Miyairi created a two-month anti-bullying program designed to address issues not often found in such programs: ideal-body image, body esteem and racial issues, among others. Her study at a Utah middle school measured students' perceptions on teasing as well as bullying experiences, which decreased by 7 percent after the program. The new anti-bullying program had the following schedule. Week 1: Introduction and ground rules. Week 2: Helping students claiming their strengths. Week 3: Core values such as empathy. Week 4: How the media manipulates ideal-body images. Week 5: Media literacy and how it stigmatizes weight. Week 6 & 7: Role playing to foster healthy communication. Week 8: Students finishing by creating bullying-awareness posters.

In the course of a busy day, you may write a check at the grocery store, charge tickets to a ball game, rent a car, mail your tax returns, change service providers for your cell phone, or apply for a credit card. Chances are you don't give these everyday transactions a second thought. But an identity thief does. Identity theft is a serious crime. Identity theft is a crime in which an imposter obtains key pieces of information such as Social Security and driver's license numbers and uses it for their own personal gain. People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years and thousands of dollars cleaning up the mess the thieves have made of a good name and credit record. In the meantime, victims of identity theft may lose job opportunities, be refused loans for education, housing, or cars, and even get arrested for crimes they didn't commit. Humiliation, anger, and frustration are among the feelings victims experience as they navigate the process of rescuing their There are four types of identity theft crime: - Financial ID Theft This type of case typically focuses on your name and Social Security number (SSN). This person may apply for telephone service, credit cards or loans, buy merchandise, lease cars or apartments. - Criminal ID Theft The imposter in this crime provides the victim's information instead of his or her own when stopped by law enforcement. Eventually when the warrant for arrest is issued it is in the name of the person issued the citation- yours. - Identity Cloning In this crime the imposter uses the victim's information to establish a new life. They work and live as you. Examples: Illegal aliens, criminals avoiding warrants, people hiding from abusive situations or becoming a "new person" to leave behind a poor work and financial history. - Business or Commercial Identity Theft Businesses are also victims of identity theft. Typically the perpetrator gets credit cards or checking accounts in the name of the business. The business finds out when unhappy suppliers send collection notices or their business rating score is affected. No matter what type of identity theft is involved, the result is a long and sometimes arduous road to recovery. As in all crimes, preventing the crime from occurring in the first place is Identity theft is a complex problem. You will not be able to work on clearing your name as fast as you'd like. Companies move slowly, partly to protect you. Most imposters are never found, let alone arrested or convicted. This is often not the fault of law enforcement, but rather the nature of the crime. So, work with the police, help them out when you can, but let them investigate. Work on clearing your name and getting your life back to normal. thieves get your personal information »How identity thieves use your personal » Steps to Take When Identity Theft Happens » Chart of Action » Tips to Protect Yourself » File a Police Report » What You Can Do » Download Identity Theft Coach

Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish: Konungariket Sverige), is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. Sweden borders Norway and Finland, and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Øresund. At 450,295 square kilometres (173,860 sq mi), Sweden is the third largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of about 9.5 million. Sweden has a low population density of 21 inhabitants per square kilometre (54 /sq mi) with the population mostly concentrated to the southern half of the country. About 85% of the population live in urban areas. Sweden's capital city is Stockholm, which is also the largest city. Since the early 19th century Sweden has been at peace and has avoided war. Today, Sweden is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy form of government and a highly developed economy. Sweden has the world's eighth highest per capita income. In 2011, it ranked fourth in the world in The Economist's Democracy Index and tenth in the United Nations' Human Development Index (third on the inequality-adjusted HDI). In 2010, the World Economic Forum ranked Sweden as the second most competitive country in the world, after Switzerland. According to the UN, it has the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world. In 2010, Sweden also had one of the lowest Gini coefficients of all developed countries (0.25), making Sweden one of the world's most equal countries in terms of income. Sweden's wealth, however, is distributed much less equally than its income, with a wealth Gini coefficient of 0.85, which is higher than the European average of 0.8. Currency: Swedish krona National anthem: Du gamla, Du fria Population: 9,453,000 (2011) World Bank Government: Hereditary monarchy, Parliamentary system, Unitary state, More Official language: Swedish Language Situated in Northern Europe, Sweden lies west of the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Bothnia, providing a long coastline, and forms the eastern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula. To the west is the Scandinavian mountain chain (Skanderna), a range that separates Sweden from Norway. Finland is located to its northeast. It has maritime borders with Denmark, Germany, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, and it is also linked to Denmark (southwest) by the Öresund Bridge. Sweden lies between latitudes 55° and 70° N, and mostly between longitudes 11° and 25° E (part of Stora Drammen island is just west of 11°). At 449,964 km2 (173,732 sq mi), Sweden is the 55th largest country in the world, the 4th largest country entirely in Europe, and the largest in Northern Europe. The lowest elevation in Sweden is in the bay of Lake Hammarsjön, near Kristianstad at −2.41 m (−7.91 ft) below sea level. The highest point is Kebnekaise at 2,111 m (6,926 ft) above sea level. Sweden has 25 provinces or landskap (landscapes), based on culture, geography and history. While these provinces serve no political or administrative purpose, they play an important role in people's self-identity. The provinces are usually grouped together in three large lands, parts, the northern Norrland, the central Svealand and southern Götaland. The sparsely populated Norrland encompasses almost 60% of the country. About 15% of Sweden lies north of the Arctic Circle. Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, with increasing forest coverage northward. Around 65% of Sweden's total land area is covered with forests. The highest population density is in the Öresund Region in southern Sweden, along the western coast up to central Bohuslän, and in the valley of lake Mälaren and Stockholm. Gotland and Öland are Sweden's largest islands; Vänern and Vättern are its largest lakes. Vänern is the third largest in Europe, after Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega in Russia. Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia and in Fennoscandia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 871,952 in the municipality (2010), 1,372,565 in the urban area (2010), and 2,119,760 in the 6,519 km2 (2,517.00 sq mi) metropolitan area (2010). As of 2010, the Stockholm metropolitan area is home to approximately 22% of Sweden's population. Founded in c. 1250, possibly as early as 1187, Stockholm has long been one of Sweden's cultural, media, political, and economic centres. Its strategic location on 14 islands on the coast in the south-east of Sweden at the mouth of Lake Mälaren, by the Stockholm archipelago, has been historically important. Stockholm has been nominated by GaWC as a global city, with a ranking of Beta+. In The 2008 Global Cities Index, Stockholm ranked 24th in the world, 10th in Europe, and first in Scandinavia. Stockholm is known for its beauty, its buildings and architecture, its abundant clean and open water, and its many parks. It is sometimes referred to as Venice of the North. Stockholm is the site of the national Swedish government, the Parliament of Sweden (riksdagen), the Supreme Court of Sweden (Högsta domstolen), and the official residence of the Swedish monarch as well as the prime minister. Since 1980, the monarch has resided at Drottningholm Palace in Ekerö Municipality outside of Stockholm and uses the Stockholm Palace as his workplace and official residence. The government has its seat in Rosenbad and the parliament in the Parliament House. Gothenburg is the second largest city in Sweden by population and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 524,767, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 945,713 inhabitants in the metropolitan area. Gothenburg is classified as a global city by GaWC, with a ranking of Gamma−. The City of Gothenburg was founded in 1621 by King Gustavus Adolphus. It lies by the sea at the mouth of Göta Älv—the river running through the city—and is the largest seaport in the Nordic countries. Gothenburg is home to many students, as the city includes both the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology. Volvo was founded in Gothenburg in 1927. The city is a major centre in Sweden for sports and home to the IFK Göteborg, BK Häcken, GAIS and Örgryte IS association football teams as well as the Frölunda HC ice hockey team. Gothenburg is served by Gothenburg-Landvetter Airport, located 30 km (18.64 mi) southeast of the city centre. It is the second largest airport in Sweden. The city is also served by Gothenburg City Airport, located 15 km (9.32 mi) from the city centre. The city is famous for hosting some of the biggest annual and non-annual events in Scandinavia, which has nicknamed Gothenburg as the "Event City". Gothenburg Film Festival, held in January since 1979, is the leading film festival in Scandinavia with over 155,000 visitors annually. In the summertime a broad variety of music festivals are taking place, such as Way Out West and Metaltown. Gothia Cup, held every year in Gothenburg, is in regards to the number of participants even the world's largest football tournament: in 2011, a total of 35,200 players from 1567 teams and 72 nations participated. Additionally, many international artists often pick Gothenburg as their first choice for hosting concerts in preference to other Swedish cities such as Stockholm and Malmö. Gothenburg is also famous for Liseberg, chosen as one of the top ten amusement parks in the world (2005) by Forbes Magazine. Most of Sweden has a temperate climate, despite its northern latitude, with four distinct seasons and mild temperatures throughout the year. The country can be divided into three types of climate; the southernmost part has an oceanic climate, the central part has a humid continental climate and the northernmost part has a subarctic climate. However, Sweden is much warmer and drier than other places at a similar latitude, and even somewhat farther south, mainly because of the Gulf Stream. For example, central and southern Sweden has much warmer winters than many parts of Russia, Canada, and the northern United States. Because of its high latitude, the length of daylight varies greatly. North of the Arctic Circle, the sun never sets for part of each summer, and it never rises for part of each winter. In the capital, Stockholm, daylight lasts for more than 18 hours in late June but only around 6 hours in late December. Sweden receives between 1,100 to 1,900 hours of Temperatures vary greatly from north to south. Southern and central parts of the country have warm summers and cold winters, with average high temperatures of 20 to 25 °C (68 to 77 °F) and lows of 12 to 15 °C (54 to 59 °F) in the summer, and average temperatures of -4 to 2 °C (25 to 36 °F) in the winter, while the northern part of the country has shorter, cooler summers and longer, colder and snowier winters, with temperatures that often drop below freezing from September through May. The highest temperature ever recorded in Sweden was 38 °C (100 °F) in Målilla in 1947, while the coldest temperature ever recorded was −52.6 °C (−62.7 °F) in Vuoggatjålme in 1966. On average, most of Sweden receives between 500 and 800 mm (20 and 31 in) of precipitation each year, making it considerably drier than the global average. The southwestern part of the country receives more precipitation, between 1000 and 1200 mm (39 and 47 in), and some mountain areas in the north are estimated to receive up to 2000 mm (79 in). Despite northerly locations, southern and central Sweden may have almost no snow in some winters. Försvarsmakten (Swedish Armed Forces) is a government agency reporting to the Swedish Ministry of Defence and responsible for the peacetime operation of the armed forces of Sweden. The primary task of the agency is to train and deploy peace support forces abroad, while maintaining the long-term ability to refocus on the defence of Sweden in the event of war. The armed forces are divided into Army, Air Force and Navy. The head of the armed forces is the Supreme Commander (Överbefälhavaren, ÖB), the most senior officer in the country. Up to 1974 the head of state (the King) was pro forma Commander-in-Chief, but in reality it was clearly understood all through the 20th century that the Monarch would have no active role as a military leader. When King Gustav V asserted his right to decide and bypass the government in military matters just before the First World War ("borggårdskrisen", the Castle Court Crisis) it was seen as a deliberate provocation against established terms of how the country would be ruled. The office of an appointed Supreme Commander was set up in 1939; before that date, from the late 19th century onwards, the leading men of the army and navy would report directly to the cabinet (and the king), and no fully unified command existed in the professional military sphere itself. Until the end of the Cold War, nearly all males reaching the age of military service were conscripted. In recent years, the number of conscripted males has shrunk dramatically, while the number of female volunteers has increased slightly. Recruitment has generally shifted towards finding the most motivated recruits, rather than solely those otherwise most fit for service. All soldiers serving abroad must by law be volunteers. In 1975 the total number of conscripts was 45,000. By 2003 it was down to 15,000. On 1 July 2010 Sweden stopped routine conscription, switching to an all volunteer force unless otherwise required for defence readiness. The need to recruit only the soldiers later prepared to volunteer for international service will be emphasized. The total forces gathered would consist of about 60,000 men. This could be compared with the 80s before the fall of the Soviet Union, when Sweden could gather up to 1,000,000 men. Swedish units have taken part in peacekeeping operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Liberia, Lebanon, Afghanistan and Chad. Currently, one of the most important tasks for the Swedish Armed Forces has been to form a Swedish-led EU Battle Group to which Norway, Finland, Ireland and Estonia will also contribute. The Nordic Battle Group (NBG) had a 10-day deployment readiness during the first half of 2008 and, although Swedish-led, had its Operational Headquarters (OHQ) in Northwood, outside London. Sweden is an export-oriented mixed economy. Timber, hydropower and iron ore constitute the resource base of an economy heavily oriented toward foreign trade. Sweden's engineering sector accounts for 50% of output and exports. Telecommunications, the automotive industry and the pharmaceutical industries are also of great importance. Agriculture accounts for 2% of GDP and employment. The country ranks among the highest in telephone and Internet access penetration. In 2010, Sweden had the third lowest income Gini coefficient amongst developed countries, at 0.25, slightly higher than Japan and Denmark, suggesting Sweden had low income inequality. However, Sweden's wealth Gini coefficient at 0.853 was the second highest in developed countries, and above European and North American averages, suggesting high wealth inequality. Even on disposable income basis, the geographical distribution of Gini coefficient of income inequality varies within different regions and municipalities of Sweden. Danderyd, outside Stockholm, has Sweden's highest Gini coefficient of income inequality at 0.55, while Hofors near Gävle has the lowest at 0.25. In and around Stockholm and Scania, two of the more densely populated regions of Sweden, the income Gini coefficient is between 0.35 to 0.55. In terms of structure, the Swedish economy is characterised by a large, knowledge-intensive and export-oriented manufacturing sector, an increasing, but comparatively small, business service sector, and by international standards, a large public service sector. Large organisations both in manufacturing and services dominate the Swedish economy. High and medium-high technology manufacturing accounts for 9.9% of GDP. The 20 largest (by turnover in 2007) companies registered in Sweden are Volvo, Ericsson, Vattenfall, Skanska, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget, Electrolux, Volvo Personvagnar, TeliaSonera, Sandvik, Scania, ICA, Hennes & Mauritz, IKEA, Nordea, Preem, Atlas Copco, Securitas, Nordstjernan and SKF. Sweden's industry is overwhelmingly in private control, unlike many other industrialised Western countries and publicly owned enterprises have always been of minor importance. Some 4.5 million residents are working, out of which around a third has tertiary education. GDP per hour worked is the world's 9th highest at 31 USD in 2006, compared to 22 USD in Spain and 35 USD in United States. GDP per hour worked is growing 2½ per cent per year for the economy as a whole and the trade-terms-balanced productivity growth is 2%. According to OECD, deregulation, globalisation, and technology sector growth have been key productivity drivers. Sweden is a world leader in privatised pensions and pension funding problems are relatively small compared to many other Western European countries. The typical worker receives 40% of his or her labour costs after the tax wedge. Total tax collected by Sweden as a percentage of its GDP peaked at 52.3% in 1990. The country faced a real estate and banking crisis in 1990-1991, and consequently passed tax reforms of 1991 to implement tax rate cuts and tax base broadening over time. Since 1990, taxes as a percentage of GDP collected by Sweden has been dropping, with total tax rates for the highest income earners dropping the most. In 2010, it collected 45.8% of the country's GDP as taxes, the second highest among OECD countries and still nearly double of that in the United States or South Korea. The share of employment financed via tax income amounts to a third of Swedish workforce, a substantially higher proportion than in most other countries. Overall, GDP growth has been fast since reforms in the early 1990s, especially in manufacturing. The World Economic Forum 2009–2010 competitiveness index ranks Sweden the 4th most competitive economy in the world. In the World Economic Forum 2010–2011 Global Competitiveness Report, Sweden climbed two positions, and is now ranked 2nd in the world. Sweden is ranked 6th in the IMD Competitiveness Yearbook 2009, scoring high in private sector efficiency. According to the book, The Flight of the Creative Class, by the U.S. economist, Professor Richard Florida of the University of Toronto, Sweden is ranked as having the best creativity in Europe for business and is predicted to become a talent magnet for the world's most purposeful workers. The book compiled an index to measure the kind of creativity it claims is most useful to business—talent, technology and tolerance. Sweden maintains its own currency, the Swedish krona (SEK), a result of the Swedes having rejected the euro in a referendum. The Swedish Riksbank—founded in 1668 and thus making it the oldest central bank in the world—is currently focusing on price stability with an inflation target of 2%. According to the Economic Survey of Sweden 2007 by the OECD, the average inflation in Sweden has been one of the lowest among European countries since the mid-1990s, largely because of deregulation and quick utilisation of globalisation. The largest trade flows are with Germany, the United States, Norway, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Finland. See also: Nordic energy market, Nuclear power phase-out in Sweden, and Oil phase-out in Sweden Sweden's energy market is largely privatized. The Nordic energy market is one of the first liberalized energy markets in Europe and it is traded in NASDAQ OMX Commodities Europe and Nord Pool Spot. In 2006, out of a total electricity production of 139 TWh, electricity from hydropower accounted for 61 TWh (44%), and nuclear power delivered 65 TWh (47%). At the same time, the use of biofuels, peat etc. produced 13 TWh (9%) of electricity, while wind power produced 1 TWh (1%). Sweden was a net importer of electricity by a margin of 6 TWh. Biomass is mainly used to produce heat for district heating and central heating and industry processes. The 1973 oil crisis strengthened Sweden's commitment to decrease dependence on imported fossil fuels. Since then, electricity has been generated mostly from hydropower and nuclear power. The use of nuclear power has been limited, however. Among other things, the accident of Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station (United States) prompted the Riksdag to ban new nuclear plants. In March 2005, an opinion poll showed that 83% supported maintaining or increasing nuclear power. Politicians have made announcements about oil phase-out in Sweden, decrease of nuclear power, and multi-billion dollar investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency. The country has for many years pursued a strategy of indirect taxation as an instrument of environmental policy, including energy taxes in general and carbon dioxide taxes in particular. Sweden has 162,707 km (101,101 mi) of paved road and 1,428 km (887 mi) of expressways. Motorways run through Sweden, Denmark and over the Öresund Bridge to Stockholm, Gothenburg, Uppsala and Uddevalla. The system of motorways is still under construction and a new motorway from Uppsala to Gävle was finished on 17 October 2007. Sweden had left-hand traffic (Vänstertrafik in Swedish) from approximately 1736 and continued to do so well into the 20th century. Voters rejected right-hand traffic in 1955, but after the Riksdag passed legislation in 1963 changeover took place in 1967, known in Swedish as Dagen H. The Stockholm metro is the only subway system in Sweden and serves the city of Stockholm via 100 stations. The rail transport market is privatized, but while there are many privately owned enterprises, many operators are still owned by state. The counties have financing, ticket and marketing responsibility for local trains. For other trains the operators handle tickets and marketing themselves. Operators include SJ, Veolia Transport, DSB, Green Cargo, Tågkompaniet and Inlandsbanan. Most of the railways are owned and operated by Trafikverket. The largest airports include Stockholm-Arlanda Airport (16.1 million passengers in 2009) 40 km (25 mi) north of Stockholm, Gothenburg-Landvetter Airport (4.3 million passengers in 2008), and Stockholm-Skavsta Airport (2.0 million passengers). Sweden hosts the two largest port companies in Scandinavia, Port of Göteborg AB (Gothenburg) and the transnational company Copenhagen Malmö Port AB. Sweden has one of the most highly developed welfare states in the world. According to 2012 OECD report, the country had the second highest public social spending as a percentage of its GDP after France, and third highest total (public and private) social spending at 30.2% of its GDP. Sweden spent 6.3% of its GDP, the 9th highest among 34 OECD countries, to provide equal access to education. On health care, the country spent 10.1% of its total GDP, the 12th highest. Historically, Sweden provided solid support for free trade (except agriculture) and mostly relatively strong and stable property rights (both private and public), though some economists have pointed out that Sweden promoted industries with tariffs and used publicly subsidised R&D during the country's early critical years of industrialisation. After World War II a succession of governments expanded the welfare state by raising the tax level. During this period Sweden's economic growth was also one of the highest in the industrial world. A series of successive social reforms transformed the country into one of the most equal and developed on earth. The consistent growth of the welfare state led to Swedes achieving unprecedented levels of social mobility and quality of life—to this day Sweden consistently ranks at the top of league tables for health, literacy and Human Development—far ahead of some wealthier countries (for example the United States). However, from the 1970s and onwards Sweden's GDP growth fell behind other industrialised countries and the country's per capita ranking fell from the 4th to 14th place in a few decades. From the mid 90s until today Sweden's economic growth has once again accelerated and has been higher than in most other industrialised countries (including the US) during the last 15 years. Sweden began slowing the expansion of the welfare state in the 1980s, or even trimming it back, and according to the OECD and McKinsey, Sweden has recently been relatively quick to adopt neo-liberal policies, such as deregulation, compared to countries such as France. The current Swedish government is continuing the trend of moderate rollbacks of previous social reforms. Growth has been higher than in many other EU-15 countries. Sweden adopted neo-liberal agricultural policies in 1990. Since the 1930s, the agricultural sector had been subject to price controls. In June 1990, the Riksdag voted for a new agricultural policy marking a significant shift away from price controls. As a result, food prices fell somewhat. However, the liberalizations soon became moot because EU agricultural controls supervened. Since the late 1960s, Sweden has had the highest tax quota (as percentage of GDP) in the industrialised world, although today the gap has narrowed and Denmark has surpassed Sweden as the most heavily taxed country among developed countries. Sweden has a two step progressive tax scale with a municipal income tax of about 30% and an additional high-income state tax of 20–25% when a salary exceeds roughly 320,000 SEK per year. Payroll taxes amount to 32%. In addition, a national VAT of 25% is added to many things bought by private citizens, with the exception of food (12% VAT), transportation, and books (6% VAT). Certain items are subject to additional taxes, e.g. electricity, petrol/diesel and alcoholic beverages. As of 2007, total tax revenue was 47.8% of GDP, the second highest tax burden among developed countries, down from 49.1% 2006. Sweden's inverted tax wedge – the amount going to the service worker's wallet – is approximately 15% compared to 10% in Belgium, 30% in Ireland, and 50% in United States. Public sector spending amounts to 53% of the GDP. State and municipal employees total around a third of the workforce, much more than in most Western countries. Only Denmark has a larger public sector (38% of Danish workforce). Spending on transfers is also high. Eighty percent of the workforce is organised in trade-unions which also have the right to elect two representatives to the board in all Swedish companies with more than 25 employees. Sweden has a relatively high amount of sick leave per worker in OECD: the average worker loses 24 days due to sickness. In December 2008, the number employed in age group 16–64 was 75.0%. The employment tendency was very strong in 2007. The positive trend continued during the first half of 2008, but the rate of increase slackened. According to Statistics Sweden, the unemployment rate in June 2012 was at 8.8%. Unemployment among youth (aged 24 or less) is 24.2%, making Sweden the OECD country with the highest ratio of youth unemployment versus unemployment in general. Combined, the public and the private sector in Sweden allocate over 3.5% of GDP to research & development (R&D) per year, making Sweden's investment in R&D as a percentage of GDP the second-highest in the world. For several decades the Swedish government has prioritized scientific and R&D activities. As a percentage of GDP, the Swedish government spends the most of any nation on research and development. Sweden tops other European countries in the number of published scientific works per capita. SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Tycho Brahe, born in 1546 in an area of present-day Sweden which was then Denmark, made the careful astronomic observations upon which Kepler proved and quantified the heliocentric Copernican solar system. In the 18th century Sweden's scientific revolution took off. Previously, technical progress had mainly come from mainland Europe. In 1739, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences was founded, with people such as Carolus Linnaeus and Anders Celsius as early members. Many of the companies founded by early pioneers still remain major international brands. Gustaf Dalén founded AGA, and received the Nobel Prize for his sun valve. Alfred Nobel invented dynamite and instituted the Nobel Prizes. Lars Magnus Ericsson started the company bearing his name, Ericsson, still one of the largest telecom companies in the world. Jonas Wenström was an early pioneer in alternating current and is along with Serbian inventor Nikola Tesla credited as one of the inventors of the three-phase electrical system. The traditional engineering industry is still a major source of Swedish inventions, but pharmaceuticals, electronics and other high-tech industries are gaining ground. Tetra Pak was an invention for storing liquid foods, invented by Erik Wallenberg. Losec, an ulcer medicine, was the world's best-selling drug in the 1990s and was developed by AstraZeneca. More recently Håkan Lans invented the Automatic Identification System, a worldwide standard for shipping and civil aviation navigation. A large portion of the Swedish economy is to this day based on the export of technical inventions, and many large multinational corporations from Sweden have their origins in the ingenuity of Swedish inventors. Swedish inventors hold a total of 33,523 patents in the United States as of 2007, according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office. As a nation, only ten other countries hold more patents than Sweden. 2 is a Swedish led project concentrating on Sea Traffic Management with increased focus on the safe navigation of large passenger vessels, after the Costa Concordia and Baltic Ace accidents in January and December 2012. MonaLisa 2 is a continuation of the MonaLisa 1 project, the partners for which are as follows:- Maritime Authority has responsibility for the construction, equipment and operation of Danish ships including safety, navigational regulations, ship registration, shipping policy, maritime law as well as industrial policy, both nationally and internationally. The DMA is a government agency part of the Ministry of Business. Transport Agency The Finnish Transport Agency is responsible for the traffic management on roads, waterways and railways. The Finnish Transport Agency’s Hydrographic Office publishes printed and electronic charts of Finland’s coastal and lake areas and manages the ongoing chart update specialises in the development of technical software and system integration for advanced satellite communications and tracking systems. They are a leading independent provider of complete embedded software for Inmarsat BGAN the global market: governments (navy), coastguards and corporations with products, services and solutions from military defence to civil navigation via LPI pulsed radar, sonar and effective marine transport solutions for the maritime field – ship design, maritime operations, port development and coastal services. Seventy percent of the earth’s surface is water, with 90 percent of cargo transported by ships. SSPA is aware that the maritime industry has tremendous impact on our environment. Maritime Administration (SMA) offers modern and safe shipping routes with 24 hour service. SMA is a governmental agency and enterprise within the transport sector and is responsible for maritime safety and the future of shipping, primarily merchant shipping, but also pleasure boating and fishing. Services include: Port Pilots and Marine Traffic Information of Chalmers is a highly progressive, situated in Gothenburg. They are known globally for education, research and innovation. concerned with the development of safe sustainable traffic at sea - in particular the e-Navigation: "the harmonized creation, collection, integration, exchange and presentation of maritime information on board and ashore by electronic means to enhance berth-to-berth navigation and related services, for safety and security at sea and protection of the marine environment." Ref: Committee of the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities, IALA. MONALISA Project Leader Phone: +46 10 47 84 681 MUNIN project (Maritime Unmanned Navigation through Intelligence in Networks) is a collaborative research project, co-funded by the European Commission under its Seventh Framework Programme. MUNIN project is to develop and verify a concept for an autonomous ship, which they define as a vessel primarily guided by automated on-board decision system. The onboard system is finally controlled by a remote operator in a shore side control station. The concept therefore runs parallel to the thinking of the SolarNavigator team - provided only that the levels of autonomy may vary - clearly, a solar powered ship is that much more self reliant. Fraunhofer Center for Maritime Logistics and Services CML (Fraunhofer CML) is situated at the Hamburg University of Technology in Hamburg, Germany. Fraunhofer CML homepage Hans-Christoph Burmeister, is the project coordinator at Fraunhofer CML Norwegian Marine Technology Research Institute (MARINTEK), Trondheim, Norway. MARINTEK is a company in the SINTEF Group, one of Europe’s largest independent research institutions. MARINTEK University of Technology is a Swedish university located in Gothenburg that focuses on research and education in technology, natural science, and architecture. Chalmers Wismar – University of Applied Sciences Technology: Department of Maritime Studies is part of the faculty of Engineering at Hochschule Wismar, situated in Rostock-Warnemünde, Germany. They are exerts in simulator training as full mission ship handling carried out by Professors and lecturers with license management levels such as Master of a ship or Chief Engine Officer. Hochschule AS is a Norwegian company located in Trondheim specialising in marine sensor systems such as the SECurus system that combines advanced stabilized long range IR and digital video cameras with an Electronic Chart System which overlays information of several sources for a speedy evaluation of real time situations for good response. Aptomar Entwicklungs- und Logistikgesellschaft mbH is an internationally operating provider for maritime software solutions, located in Rostock-Warnemünde, Germany. It offers state-of-the-art solutions in the field of maritime simulation of machinery plants, computer based training applications, information and operation systems, consultancy and courseware. MarineSoft ehf is a leading provider of energy management solutions for the international shipping industry with it’s headquarters in Reykjavik, Iceland. Marorka’s products and services enable vessel operators to optimize fuel consumption by maximizing the energy efficiency of their vessel or College Cork UCC is situated in south-west Ireland and was founded as a Queen’s College in 1845. The Law Department at UCC is at the forefront of legal research in Ireland, the EU and internationally in various areas, including environmental law, human rights, marine law, business law, comparative law, constitutional law and legal theory. UCC Manager - Hans-Christoph Center for Maritime Logistics and Services CML Schwarzenbergstraße 95 D 21073 Hamburg, Germany Phone: +49 (0)40 42878-6131 Fax: +49 (0)40 42878-4452 Dep. Maritime Transport Systems Otto Nielsens veg 10 Phone: +47 7359 5257 As of 30 June 2012, the total population of Sweden was estimated to be 9,514,406. The population exceeded 9 million for the first time on approximately 12 August 2004 according to Statistics Sweden. The population density is 20.6 people per km² (53.3 per square mile) and it is substantially higher in the south than in the north. About 85% of the population live in urban areas. The capital city Stockholm has a population of about 800,000 (with 1.3 million in the urban area and 2 million in the metropolitan area). The second and third largest cities are Gothenburg and Malmö. Between 1820 and 1930, approximately 1.3 million Swedes, a third of the country's population, emigrated to North America, and most of them to the United States. There are more than 4.4 million Swedish Americans according to a 2006 U.S. Census Bureau estimate. In Canada, the community of Swedish ancestry is 330,000 strong. There are no official statistics on ethnicity, but as of 2011, a Statistics Sweden report showed that around 1.858.000 (19.6%) inhabitants of Sweden had foreign background, defined as born abroad or born in Sweden by two parents born abroad. The official language of Sweden is Swedish, a North Germanic language, related and very similar to Danish and Norwegian, but differing in pronunciation and orthography. Norwegians have little difficulty understanding Swedish, and Danes can also understand it, with slightly more difficulty than the Norwegians. The same goes for standard Swedish speakers, who find it far easier to understand Norwegian than Danish. The dialects spoken in Scania, the southernmost part of the country, are influenced by Danish because the region traditionally was a part of Denmark and is nowadays situated closely to it. Sweden Finns are Sweden's largest linguistic minority, comprising about 5% of Sweden's population, and Finnish is recognized as a minority language. Along with Finnish, four other minority languages are also recognized: Meänkieli, Sami, Romani and Yiddish. Swedish became Sweden's official language on 1 July 2009, when a new language law was implemented. The issue of whether Swedish should be declared the official language has been raised in the past, and the Riksdag voted on the matter in 2005, but the proposal narrowly failed. In varying degrees, depending largely on frequency of interaction with English, a majority of Swedes, especially those born after World War II, understand and speak English owing to trade links, the popularity of overseas travel, a strong Anglo-American influence and the tradition of subtitling rather than dubbing foreign television shows and films, and the relative similarity of the two languages which makes learning English easier. In a 2005 survey by Eurobarometer, 89% of Swedes reported the ability to speak English. English became a compulsory subject for secondary school students studying natural sciences as early as 1849, and has been a compulsory subject for all Swedish students since the late 1940s. Depending on the local school authorities, English is currently a compulsory subject between first grade and ninth grade, with all students continuing in secondary school studying English for at least another year. Most students also study one and sometimes two additional languages. These include (but are not limited to) German, French and Spanish. Some Danish and Norwegian is at times also taught as part of Swedish courses for native speakers. Children aged 1–5 years old are guaranteed a place in a public kindergarten (Swedish: förskola or, colloquially, dagis). Between the ages of 6 and 16, children attend compulsory comprehensive school. In the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Swedish 15-year-old pupils score close to the OECD average. After completing the 9th grade, about 90% of the students continue with a three-year upper secondary school (gymnasium), which can lead to both a job qualification or entrance eligibility to university. The school system is largely financed by taxes. The Swedish government treats public and independent schools equally by introducing education vouchers in 1992 as one of the first countries in the world after The Netherlands. Anyone can establish a for-profit school and the municipality must pay new schools the same amount as municipal schools get. School lunch is free for all students in Sweden, and providing breakfast is also encouraged. There are a number of different universities and colleges in Sweden, the oldest and largest of which are situated in Uppsala, Lund, Gothenburg and Stockholm. As of 2000, 32% of Swedish people hold a tertiary degree, making the country 5th in the OECD in that category. Along with several other European countries, the government also subsidises tuition of international students pursuing a degree at Swedish institutions, although a recent bill passed in the Riksdag will limit this subsidy to students from EEA countries and Switzerland. Sweden has many authors of worldwide recognition including August Strindberg, Astrid Lindgren, and Nobel Prize winners Selma Lagerlöf and Harry Martinson. In total seven Nobel Prizes in Literature have been awarded to Swedes. The nation's most well-known artists are painters such as Carl Larsson and Anders Zorn, and the sculptors Tobias Sergel and Carl Milles. Swedish 20th-century culture is noted by pioneering works in the early days of cinema, with Mauritz Stiller and Victor Sjöström. In the 1920s–1980s, the filmmaker Ingmar Bergman and actors Greta Garbo and Ingrid Bergman became internationally noted people within cinema. More recently, the films of Lukas Moodysson and Lasse Hallström have received international recognition. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s Sweden was seen as an international leader in what is now referred to as the "sexual revolution", with gender equality having particularly been promoted. At the present time, the number of single people is one of the highest in the world. The early Swedish film I Am Curious (Yellow) (1967) reflected a liberal view of sexuality, including scenes of love making that caught international attention, and introduced the concept of the "Swedish sin". The image of "hot love and cold people“ emerged. Sexual liberalism was seen as part of modernization process that by breaking down traditional borders would lead to the emancipation of natural forces and desires. Sweden has also become very liberal towards homosexuality, as is reflected in the popular acceptance of films such as Show Me Love, which is about two young lesbians in the small Swedish town of Åmål. Since 1 May 2009, Sweden repealed its "registered partnership" laws and fully replaced them with gender-neutral marriage, Sweden also offers domestic partnerships for both same-sex and opposite-sex couples. Cohabitation (sammanboende) by couples of all ages, including teenagers as well as elderly couples, is widespread. Recently, Sweden is experiencing a baby boom. Sweden has a rich musical tradition, ranging from mediaeval folk ballads to hip hop music. The music of the pre-Christian Norse has been lost to history, although historical re-creations have been attempted based on instruments found in Viking sites. The instruments used were the lur (a sort of trumpet), simple string instruments, wooden flutes and drums. It is possible that the Viking musical legacy lives on in some of the old Swedish folk music. Sweden has a significant folk-music scene, both in the traditional style as well as more modern interpretations which often mix in elements of rock and jazz. Väsen is more of a traditionalist group, using a unique, traditional Swedish instrument called the nyckelharpa while Garmarna, Nordman and Hedningarna have more modern elements. There is also Sami music, called the joik, which is actually a type of chant which is part of the traditional Saami animistic spirituality but has gained recognition in the international world of folk music. Sweden's most classic and notable composers includes Carl Michael Bellman and Franz Sweden also has a prominent choral music tradition, deriving in part from the cultural importance of Swedish folk songs. In fact, out of a population of 9.5 million, it is estimated that five to six hundred thousand people sing in choirs. In 2007, with over 800 million dollars in revenue, Sweden was the third largest music exporter in the world and surpassed only by the US and the UK. ABBA was one of the first internationally well-known popular music bands from Sweden, and still ranks among the most prominent bands in the world, with about 370 million records sold. With ABBA, Sweden entered into a new era, in which Swedish pop music gained international prominence. There have been many other internationally successful bands since, such as Roxette, Ace of Base, Europe, A-teens, The Cardigans, Robyn and The Hives, to name some of the biggest, and recently there has been a surge of Swedish Indie pop bands such as Loney, Dear, Shout Out Louds, The Radio Dept. and Dungen, a group which incorporates many elements of Swedish traditional folk music in their sound. One of the most popular rock bands domestically is Kent. Sweden has also become known for a large number of heavy metal bands. Swedish musicians are often credited for creating melodic death metal (aka MDM, melodeath). Some of the most popular metal bands (not necessarily melodeath) are In Flames, Amon Amarth, HammerFall, Pain of Salvation, Dark Tranquillity, Opeth, Arch Enemy and Meshuggah. The renowned neoclassical power metal guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen is also from Sweden. Starting in the 90's, Denniz Pop's Cheiron Studios became an international hit factory, with his disciple Max Martin responsible for Britney Spears breakthrough songs and for shaping the whole boy-band boom at the turn of the millennium with global hits for groups like the Backstreet Boys and N Sync. In the mid-00s, Martin came back with a more rock-tinged sound and cut major hits on artists like Kelly Clarkson, Pink and Katy Perry. Another producer worth mentioning is Moroccan-Swede RedOne, who is the creator of a slew of hits for Lady Gaga. In the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, Swedish songwriters and producers featured in 10 out of the 42 songs that qualified for the Contest. In The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 the Swedish artist Loreen took a landslide victory with the song Euphoria. Sweden has a rather lively jazz scene. During the last sixty years or so it has attained a remarkably high artistic standard, stimulated by domestic as well as external influences and experiences. The Centre for Swedish Folk Music and Jazz Research has published an overview of jazz in Sweden by Lars Westin. The most recent development in the Swedish music industry has been the rising of the house/techno genre. Where artists such as Swedish House Mafia, Avicii, Eric Prydz a.k.a Pryda, and Basshunter have gained world wide reputation. Before the 13th century almost all buildings were made of timber, but a shift began towards stone. Early Swedish stone buildings are the Romanesque churches on the country side. As so happens, many of them were built in Scania and are in effect Danish churches. This would include the magnificent Lund Cathedral from the 11th century and the somewhat younger church in Dalby, but also many early Gothic churches built through influences of the Hanseatic League, such as in Ystad, Malmö and Helsingborg. Cathedrals in other parts of Sweden were also built as seats of Sweden's bishops. The Skara Cathedral is of bricks from the 14th century, and the Uppsala Cathedral in the 15th. In 1230 the foundations of the Linköping Cathedral were made, the material was there limestone, but the building took some 250 years to finish. Among older structures are also some significant fortresses and other historical buildings such as at Borgholm Castle, Halltorps Manor and Eketorp fortress on the island Öland, the Nyköping fortress and the Visby ring wall. Around 1520 Sweden was out of the Middle Ages and united under King Gustav Vasa, who immediately initiated grand mansions, castles and fortresses to be built. Some of the more magnificent include the Kalmar fortress, the Gripsholm Castle and the one at Vadstena. In the next two centuries, Sweden was designated by Baroque architecture and later the rococo. Notable projects from that time include the city Karlskrona, which has now also been declared a World Heritage Site and the Drottningholm Palace. 1930 was the year of the great Stockholm exhibition, which marked the breakthrough of Functionalism, or "funkis" as it became known. The style came to dominate in the following decades. Some notable projects of this kind were the Million Programme, offering affordable but anti-human living in large apartment complexes. Swedes are among the greatest consumers of newspapers in the world, and nearly every town is served by a local paper. The country's main quality morning papers are Dagens Nyheter (liberal), Göteborgs-Posten (liberal), Svenska Dagbladet (liberal conservative) and Sydsvenska Dagbladet (liberal). The two largest evening tabloids are Aftonbladet (social democratic) and Expressen (liberal). The ad-financed, free international morning paper, Metro International, was originally founded in Stockholm, Sweden. The country's news is reported in English by, among others, The Local (liberal). The public broadcasting companies held a monopoly on radio and television for a long time in Sweden. Licence funded radio broadcasts started in 1925. A second radio network was started in 1954 and a third opened 1962 in response to pirate radio stations. Non-profit community radio was allowed in 1979 and in 1993 commercial local radio started. The licence funded television service was officially launched in 1956. A second channel, TV2, was launched in 1969. These two channels (operated by Sveriges Television since the late '70s) held a monopoly until the 1980s when cable and satellite television became available. The first Swedish language satellite service was TV3 which started broadcasting from London in 1987. It was followed by Kanal 5 in 1989 (then known as Nordic Channel) and TV4 in 1990. In 1991 the government announced it would begin taking applications from private television companies wishing to broadcast on the terrestrial network. TV4, which had previously been broadcasting via satellite, was granted a permit and began its terrestrial broadcasts in 1992, becoming the first private channel to broadcast television content from within the country. Around half the population are connected to cable television. Digital terrestrial television in Sweden started in 1999 and the last analogue terrestrial broadcasts were terminated in 2007. The first literary text from Sweden is the Rök Runestone, carved during the Viking Age c. 800 AD. With the conversion of the land to Christianity around 1100 AD, Sweden entered the Middle Ages, during which monastic writers preferred to use Latin. Therefore there are only a few texts in the Old Swedish from that period. Swedish literature only flourished when the Swedish language was standardized in the 16th century, a standardization largely due to the full translation of the Bible into Swedish in 1541. This translation is the so-called Gustav Vasa Bible. With improved education and the freedom brought by secularization, the 17th century saw several notable authors develop the Swedish language further. Some key figures include Georg Stiernhielm (17th century), who was the first to write classical poetry in Swedish; Johan Henric Kellgren (18th century), the first to write fluent Swedish prose; Carl Michael Bellman (late 18th century), the first writer of burlesque ballads; and August Strindberg (late 19th century), a socio-realistic writer and playwright who won worldwide fame. The early 20th century continued to produce notable authors, such as Selma Lagerlöf, (Nobel laureate 1909), Verner von Heidenstam (Nobel laureate 1916) and Pär Lagerkvist (Nobel laureate 1951). In recent decades, a handful of Swedish writers have established themselves internationally, including the detective novelist Henning Mankell and the writer of spy fiction Jan Guillou. The Swedish writer to have made the most lasting impression on world literature is the children's book writer Astrid Lindgren, and her books about Pippi Longstocking, Emil, and others. In 2008, the second best-selling fiction author in the world was Stieg Larsson, whose Millennium series of crime novels is being published posthumously to critical acclaim. Larsson drew heavily on the work of Lindgren by basing his central character, Lisbeth Salander, on Longstocking. Apart from traditional Protestant Christian holidays, Sweden also celebrates some unique holidays, some of a pre-Christian tradition. They include Midsummer celebrating the summer solstice; Walpurgis Night (Valborgsmässoafton) on 30 April lighting bonfires; and Labour Day or Mayday on 1 May is dedicated to socialist demonstrations. The day of giver-of-light Saint Lucia, 13 December, is widely acknowledged in elaborate celebrations which betoken its Italian origin and commence the month-long Christmas season. 6 June is the National Day of Sweden and, as of 2005, a public holiday. Furthermore, there are official flag day observances and a Namesdays in Sweden calendar. In August many Swedes have kräftskivor (crayfish dinner parties). Martin of Tours Eve is celebrated in Scania in November with Mårten Gås parties, where roast goose and svartsoppa ('black soup', made of goose stock, fruit, spices, spirits and goose blood) are served. The Sami, one of Sweden's indigenous minorities, have their holiday on 6 February and Scania celebrate their Scanian Flag day on the third Sunday in July. Sport activities are a national movement with half of the population actively participating in organized sporting activities. The two main spectator sports are football and ice hockey. Second to football, horse sports have the highest number of practitioners, mostly women. Thereafter follow golf, athletics, and the team sports of handball, floorball, basketball and bandy. The Swedish ice hockey team Tre Kronor is regarded as one of the best in the world. The team has won the World Championships eight times, placing them third in the all-time medal count. Tre Kronor also won Olympic gold medals in 1994 and 2006. In 2006, Tre Kronor became the first national hockey team to win both the Olympic and world championships in the same year. The Swedish national football team has seen some success at the World Cup in the past, finishing second when they hosted the tournament in 1958, and third twice, in 1950 and 1994. Athletics has enjoyed a surge in popularity due to several successful athletes in recent years, such as Carolina Klüft and Stefan Holm. Sweden hosted the 1912 Summer Olympics and the FIFA World Cup in 1958. Other big sports events held here include 1992 UEFA European Football Championship, FIFA Women's World Cup 1995, and several championships of ice hockey, curling, athletics, skiing, bandy, figure skating and swimming. Successful tennis players include former world No. 1's Björn Borg, Mats Wilander and Stefan Edberg. Other famous Swedish athletes include the heavyweight boxing champion and International Boxing Hall of Famer – Ingemar Johansson; World Golf Hall of Famer – Annika Sörenstam and multiple World Championships and Olympics medalist in table tennis – Jan-Ove Waldner. Swedish cuisine, like that of the other Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway and Finland), was traditionally simple. Fish (particularly herring), meat, potatoes and dairy products played prominent roles. Spices were sparse. Famous dishes include Swedish meatballs, traditionally served with gravy, boiled potatoes and lingonberry jam; pancakes, lutfisk, and Smörgåsbord, or lavish buffet. Akvavit is a popular alcoholic distilled beverage, and the drinking of snaps is of cultural importance. The traditional flat and dry crisp bread has developed into several contemporary variants. Regionally important foods are the surströmming (a fermented fish) in Northern Sweden and eel in Scania in Southern Sweden. Swedish traditional dishes, some of which are many hundreds of years old, others perhaps a century or less, are still a very important part of Swedish everyday meals, in spite of the fact that modern day Swedish cuisine adopts many international dishes. In August, at the traditional feast known as crayfish party, kräftskiva, Swedes eat large amounts of boiled crayfish with boiled potato and dill. Swedes have been fairly prominent in the film area through the years. A number of Swedish people have found success in Hollywood, including Ingrid Bergman, Greta Garbo and Max von Sydow. Amongst several directors who have made internationally successful films can be mentioned Ingmar Bergman, Lukas Moodysson and Lasse Hallström. Interest in fashion is big in Sweden and the country is headquartering famous brands like Hennes & Mauritz (operating as H&M), J. Lindeberg (operating as JL), Acne, Lindex, Odd Molly, Cheap Monday, Gant, WESC, Filippa K, and Nakkna within its borders. These companies, however, are composed largely of buyers who import fashionable goods from throughout Europe and America, continuing the trend of Swedish business toward multinational economic dependency like many of its bronze burial helmet Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages. In the 17th century, the country expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire. The empire grew to be one of the great powers of Europe in the 17th and early 18th century. Most of the conquered territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were lost during the 18th and 19th centuries. The eastern half of Sweden, present-day Finland, was lost to Russia in 1809. The last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Sweden by military means forced Norway into a personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, practicing "non-participation in military alliances during peacetime and neutrality during wartime". Sweden has been a member of the European Union since 1 January 1995 and is a member of the Sweden's prehistory begins in the Allerød oscillation, a warm period around 12,000 BC, with Late Palaeolithic reindeer-hunting camps of the Bromme culture at the edge of the ice in what is now the country's southernmost province. This period was characterized by small bands of hunter-gatherer-fishers using flint technology. Sweden enters proto-history with the Germania of Tacitus in AD 98. In Germania 44, 45 he mentions the Swedes (Suiones) as a powerful tribe (distinguished not merely for their arms and men, but for their powerful fleets) with ships that had a prow at each end (longships). Which kings (kuningaz) ruled these Suiones is unknown, but Norse mythology presents a long line of legendary and semi-legendary kings going back to the last centuries BC. As for literacy in Sweden itself, the runic script was in use among the south Scandinavian elite by at least the 2nd century AD, but all that has come down to the present from the Roman Period is curt inscriptions on artefacts, mainly of male names, demonstrating that the people of south Scandinavia spoke Proto-Norse at the time, a language ancestral to Swedish and other North Germanic languages. In the 6th century Jordanes named two tribes he calls the Suehans and the Suetidi who lived in Scandza. These two names are both considered to refer to the same tribe. The Suehans, he says, have very fine horses just as the Thyringi tribe (alia vero gens ibi moratur Suehans, quae velud Thyringi equis utuntur eximiis). Snorri Sturluson wrote that the contemporary Swedish king Adils (Eadgils) had the finest horses of his day. The Suehans were the suppliers of black fox skins for the Roman market. Then Jordanes names the Suetidi which is considered to be the Latin form of Svitjod. He writes that the Suetidi are the tallest of men together with the Dani who were of the same stock. Later he mentions other Scandinavian tribes for being of the same height. Originating in semi-legendary Scandza, believed to be somewhere in modern Götaland, Sweden, a Gothic population had crossed the Baltic Sea before the 2nd century AD, reaching Scythia at the coast of the Black Sea in modern Ukraine where Goths left their archaeological traces in the Chernyakhov culture. In the 5th and 6th centuries, they became divided as the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, and established powerful successor-states of the Roman Empire in the Iberian Peninsula and Italy. Crimean Gothic communities appear to have survived intact until the late 18th century. VIKINGS & MIDDLE AGES The Swedish Viking Age lasted roughly between the 8th and 11th centuries. It is believed that Swedish Vikings and Gutar mainly travelled east and south, going to Finland, the Baltic countries, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, the Black Sea and further as far as Baghdad. Their routes passed through the Dnieper south to Constantinople, on which they carried out numerous raids. The Byzantine Emperor Theophilos noticed their great skills in war, and invited them to serve as his personal bodyguard, known as the varangian guard. The Swedish Vikings, called Rus are believed to be the founding fathers of Kievan Rus'. The Arab traveller Ibn Fadlan described these Vikings as follows: I have seen the Rus as they came on their merchant journeys and encamped by the Itil. I have never seen more perfect physical specimens, tall as date palms, blond and ruddy; they wear neither tunics nor caftans, but the men wear a garment which covers one side of the body and leaves a hand free. Each man has an axe, a sword, and a knife, and keeps each by him at all times. The swords are broad and grooved, of Frankish sort. The adventures of these Swedish Vikings are commemorated on many runestones in Sweden, such as the Greece Runestones and the Varangian Runestones. There was also considerable participation in expeditions westwards, which are commemorated on stones such as the England Runestones. The last major Swedish Viking expedition appears to have been the ill-fated expedition of Ingvar the Far-Travelled to Serkland, the region south-east of the Caspian Sea. Its members are commemorated on the Ingvar Runestones, none of which mentions any survivor. What happened to the crew is unknown, but it is believed that they died of sickness. Sweden – Public service – Public service Local – Sweden's news in English – Independent English language – Official travel and tourism website for Sweden entry at The World Factbook entry at Encyclopædia Britannica from UCB Libraries GovPubs at the Open Directory Project profile from the BBC Atlas of Sweden data related to Sweden Development Forecasts for Sweden from International Futures in Sweden – Official guide to studying in Sweden – Economic Growth and Structural Change, 1800–2000 — EH.Net – A digital library that provides scientific information on the Nordic and Baltic countries — Sweden's official website Swedish Government – Official site Swedish Royal Court – Official website of the Swedish Royal House of State and Cabinet Members Utah - History - West Pier York - Au - S. America - Sri Lanka Isle of Wight of Wight - The Eye - Madame - The City - Tower Bridge - Central America Canal - Links Moresby - PNG Said - Egypt Lake City - Lanka - Links - Polynesia - Links - Lesser Antilles - United Arab Emirates - South America ultimate Robot Boat. Solarnavigator uses an advanced SWASSH hull as the platform mount the world's first autonomous circumnavigation. A successful expedition could pave the way for improved safety

22. February 2010 21:43 Developers often make use of constants to hold static values to use through the class or even through the application. Sometimes we use de const and sometimes the static readonly. They seem to do the same but aware of the differences. The const field is a defined and evaluated at compile time and cannot be changed at runtime. So therefore a const member can only be of a value type, an enumeration a string literal or null. The initialization of classes and structures is done at runtime with the new keyword os cannot be used with const. It behaves like a static member but cannot be decalered like one. public const string OwnerName = "Sottje"; The value of a readonly fields can be initialized at runtime by declaration of using the constructor. When having multiple constructors, readonly fields have different values. A readonly member is not static by default. Make it explicit by using the static keyword. public readonly string OwnerName = "Sottje"; public class MyClass public readonly string OwnerName; OwnerName = "Sottje";

New research led by University of Warwick physicist Dr. Kareem Osman has provided significant insight into how the solar wind heats up when it should not. The solar wind rushes outwards from the raging inferno that is our Sun, but from then on the wind should only get cooler as it expands beyond our solar system since there are no particle collisions to dissipate energy. However, the solar wind is surprisingly hotter than it should be, which has puzzled scientists for decades. Two new research papers led by Dr. Osman may have solved that puzzle. Turbulence pervades the universe, being found in stars, stellar winds, accretion disks, galaxies, and even the material between galaxies. It also plays a critical role in the evolution of many laboratory plasmas, causing diminished confinement times in fusion devices. Therefore, understanding plasma turbulence is essential to the interpretation of a large body of laboratory, space, and astrophysical observations. The solar wind and near-Earth environment provide an excellent laboratory for the study of turbulence, and are the only in-situ accessible astrophysical plasmas. The solar wind is much hotter than would be expected if it were just expanding outward from the Sun. Turbulence is the likely source of this heating. For neutral fluids such as fast flowing water, energy dissipation occurs through many microscopic collisions. As is the case for many astrophysical plasmas, the near-Earth solar wind is thin and spread out, which means collisions between particles are rare to the point that the plasma is considered collisionless. A major outstanding problem is how, in the absence of those collisions, does plasma turbulence move energy to small scales to heat the solar wind. The new research led by Dr. Kareem Osman at the University of Warwick's Center for Fusion, Space and Astrophysics has revealed how turbulence heats the solar wind. He says: "Turbulence stretches and bends magnetic field lines, and often two oppositely directed field lines can come together to form a current sheet. These current sheets, which are distributed randomly in space, could be sites where the magnetic field snaps and reconnects transferring energy to particle heating. There are also many more ways that current sheets can heat and accelerate the plasma." The researchers set thresholds in the strength of these current sheets, to determine how proton temperature was related to current sheet strength. The results show convincingly that these current sheets are associated with temperature enhancements, and that the strongest are also the hottest. While each current sheet does not provide a lot of heating, collectively the current sheets account for 50% of the solar wind internal energy despite only representing 19% of all the solar wind data. Even more striking, the strongest current sheets which only make up 2% of the solar wind were found to be responsible for 11% of the internal energy of the system. The researchers also found that current sheets heat the solar wind in a very interesting manner; the heating is not equal in all directions. This temperature anisotropy can drive plasma instabilities and the strongest current sheets where preferentially found in plasma that is unstable to particular types of these instabilities called 'firehose' and 'mirror'. Head of Communications +44 (0)24 76 523708, cell: +44 (0)7767 655860 Dr. Kareem Osman Center for Fusion, Space and Astrophysics +44 (0)24 76 151003, cell: +44 (0)7412 549228 1. K. T. Osman, W. H. Matthaeus, M. Wan, and A. F. Rappazzo, "Intermittency and Local Heating in the Solar Wind," Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 261102 (2012): http://prl.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v108/i26/e261102 2. K. T. Osman, W. H. Matthaeus, B. Hnat, and S. C. Chapman, "Kinetic Signatures and Intermittent Turbulence in the Solar Wind Plasma," Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 261103 (2012): http://prl.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v108/i26/e261103 The University of Warwick-led research was funded by The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).

Goggles are a form of protective eye wear that skiers/snowboarders use to keep wind and snow out of their eyes. Goggles also supplement their vision by filtering out unwanted light. This helps them see better in bright light conditions (where reflection from the snow can make vision sometimes difficult) and they can add contrast to the snow to make gradations and conditions more apparent (especially during flat light conditions). The main disadvantage to wearing goggles is that they have the ability to fog up. However, there is a host of technologies available to counter this problem, including thermal lenses, vents and even fans. When choosing a goggle, the main features to consider are field of vision, lens color, antifogging technology and comfort.Full Article

Arthrocentesis or aspiration is a treatment to relieve joint pain and swelling. Arthrocentesis is appropriate for larger joints including the knee, hip, sacroiliac, shoulder, elbow, and wrist. It is useful for treating joint swelling caused by infection, gout, and rheumatoid arthritis. Arthrocentesis is also used as a diagnostic tool. Arthrocentesis involves removing fluid from a joint with a sterile needle and syringe. The joint fluid is sent to a laboratory for examination. Tests often performed on the fluid include cell count, culture, crystal analysis, and rheumatoid factor. Anesthetic and or corticosteroid medications can be injected to help relieve pain and inflammation.

The idea of creativity is wonderful: that a spark of inspiration can eventually bring something new and useful into the world, perhaps even something beautiful. Something, as it were, from nothing. That spark may only be the start of a journey towards the finished article or idea, but it is still a wonderful moment. Without the initial spark there will be no journey. It's no exaggeration to say that our ability to be creative sits at the heart of our achievements as a species. Do incentives work? So, what methods do people naturally use to encourage creativity? In the creative industries the usual method is money, or some other related incentive. So, can incentives encourage people to be creative? According to the research, they can, but crucially these incentives need to emphasise that creativity is the goal (Eisenberger & Shanock, 2003). Studies find that if people are given an incentive for just completing a task, it doesn't increase their creativity (Amabile et al., 1986). In fact, incentives linked to task completion (rather than creativity) can reduce creativity. Another way of encouraging creativity is simply to be reminded that creativity is a goal. It seems too simple to be true, but research has found that just telling people to 'be creative' increases their creativity (e.g. Chen et al., 2005). The theory is that this works because people often don't realise they're supposed to be looking for creative solutions. This is just as true in the real world as it is in psychology experiments. We get so wrapped up in deadlines, clients, costs and all the rest that it's easy to forget to search for creative solutions. People need to be told that creativity is a goal. Unlike children, adults need to be reminded about the importance of creativity. Perhaps it's because so much of everyday life encourages conformity and repeating the same things you did before. Doing something different needs a special effort. Rational versus intuitive thinking However telling someone to 'be creative' is a bit like telling them to 'be more clever' or 'be more observant'. We want to shout: "Yes, but how?!" Another insight comes from a new study on stimulating creativity. This suggests one solution may lie in using an unusual thinking style—unusual, that is, to you (Dane et al., 2011). Let me explain... When trying to solve problems that need creative solutions, broadly people have been found to approach them in one of two ways: - Rationally: by using systematic patterns of thought. This involves relying on specific things you've learnt in the past, thinking concretely and ignoring gut instincts. - Intuitively: by setting the mind free to explore associations. This involves working completely on first impressions and whatever comes to mind while ignoring what you've learnt in the past. The researchers wondered if people's creativity could be increased by encouraging them to use the pattern of thinking that was most unusual to them. So, those people who naturally preferred to approach creative problems rationally, were asked to think intuitively. And the intuitive group was asked to think rationally for a change. Participants were given a real-world problem to solve: helping a local business expand. The results were evaluated by managers from the company involved. When they looked at the results, the manipulation had worked: people were more creative when they used the thinking style that was most unusual for them. One of the reasons this may work is that consciously adopting a different strategy stops your mind going down the same well-travelled paths. We all have habitual ways of approaching problems and while habits are sometimes useful, they can also produce the same results over and over again. A limitation of this study is that it only looked at the generation of new ideas. This tends to occur mostly at the start of the creative process. So once ideas have been generated and a more analytical mindset is required, these techniques may not work so well. Image credit: gfpeck The Psychology of Creativity → This post is part of a series on the psychology of creativity: - The Creative Power of Thinking Outside Yourself - Get Creative: 7 More Psychological Techniques - 6 Ways to Kill Creativity - Unusual Thinking Styles Increase Creativity - Creativity for the Cautious - Why People Secretly Fear Creative Ideas - How to Promote Visionary Thinking - Duck/Rabbit Illusion Provides a Simple Test of Creativity - The Dark Side of Creativity - Five Effortless Postures that Foster Creative Thinking - What’s The Best Time of Day to be Creative? - Creativity: Why You Should Seek Out Unusual or Downright Weird Experiences - The Incubation Effect: How to Break Through a Mental Block - The Brainstorming Tweak: How to Boost Creativity in Groups - How to Create Brand New Solutions From Old Objects and Ideas Making Habits, Breaking Habits In his new book, Jeremy Dean--psychologist and author of PsyBlog--looks at how habits work, why they are so hard to change, and how to break bad old cycles and develop new healthy, creative, happy habits. → "Making Habits, Breaking Habits", is available now on Amazon.Reviews The Bookseller, “Editor’s Pick,” 10/12/12 “Sensible and very readable…By far the most useful of this month’s New You offerings.” Kirkus Reviews, 1/1/13 “Making changes does take longer than we may expect—no 30-day, 30-pounds-lighter quick fix—but by following the guidelines laid out by Dean, readers have a decent chance at establishing fulfilling, new patterns.” Publishers Weekly, 12/10/12 “An accessible and informative guide for readers to take control of their lives.”

ECEN 4213 Computer Based System Design Microcontroller Architecture August 29, 2002 1 Microcontroller Architecture Dhinesh Sasidaran PIC16C57 GENERAL DESCRIPTION The PIC16C57 is an EEPROM/ROM based 8-bit CMOS Microcontroller. Microcontroller: PIC16C57 surface mount Speed: 20 MHz / ~4,000 instructions per second EEPROM: 2K bytes (program and data) Program Length: 500 lines of PBASIC RAM (variables): 32 bytes (6 for I/Os and 26 for variables) Input / Outputs: 16 (up to 17 RS-232 communication ports) On-board BS2 per I/O Source/Sink ... FIGURE 6-1: PIC16C54/CR54/C55 PROGRAM MEMORY MAP AND STACK FIGURE 6-2: PIC16C56/CR56 PROGRAM MEMORY MAP AND STACK FIGURE 6-3: PIC16C57/CR57/C58/ CR58 PROGRAM MEMORY MAP AND STACK PC<8:0> Stack Level 1 Stack Level 2 User Memory Space CALL, RETLW 9 000h 1FFh RESET Vector 0FFh 100h On-chip Program Memory PC<9:0> Stack Level 1 Stack ... The BASIC Stamp is comprised of several components: PIC16C57-20/SS - a Microchip 2K 8-bit microcontroller programmed with the the BASIC Stamp "Interpreter" that runs the Parallax BASIC Stamp code like a mini operating system; the 24LC16B EEPROM - a Microchip 2K EEPROM (electrically erasable ... ©1998 Microchip Technology Inc. DS00645B-page 5 AN645 Learn A LEARN input in any state will put the system in learn mode. After learn is completed or timed out the system returns to the previous state. The entrance and exit security gates are connected to the servomotors, which are controlled by the PIC16C57 microcontroller. These microcontroller servos are programmed to receive high and low signals that allow for the movement of the servomotors. DS40039C - page ii 2003 Microchip Technology Inc. Information contained in this publication regarding device applications and the like is intended through suggestion only and may be superseded by updates. WebControl TM Technical Manual 1 Version 1.1 1 Introduction This document provides an overview of the technical aspects of using WebControl TM. It mainly describes the inputs and outputs offered by the current version of the WebControl TM hardware and firmware. 2001 Microchip Technology Inc. DS41129B-page 1 DEVICE MIGRATIONS This document is intended to describe the functional differences and the electrical specification differences that are present when migrating from one device to the next. PIC16C57 has one 11-bit Program Counter capable of addressing a 2K x 12 program memory space. Figure 6 shows the PIC16C57 program memory map and stacks.

Tanks are Armored Fighting Vehicles characterized by thick armor and heavy weapons. They are designed as mobile weapon platforms, so they have no space to carry troops other than their required crews (although their have been instances in which soldiers have ridden on the outside of a tank). A typical crew consists of a driver, one or two gun crew, and a commander. Modern tanks are tracked vehicles used primarily for line-of-sight combat, armed with cannons and machine guns. The first tanks were built during the Great War by the British as a means of overcoming German trench lines. While they did have some success, they were slow, cumbersome, temperamental, difficult to produce, and inefficiently used. Proper design and strategy for using tanks would not develop until World War II. Several subclasses of tanks have been employed, including light tanks, amphibious tanks, and main battle tanks (MBTs). Several defunct classes have been used but are no longer in service, including Tankettes, Cruiser Tanks, Infantry Tanks, and Heavy Tanks. Tanks got their name from a ploy to avoid German intelligence discovering their first deployment; the British described them as "mobile water tanks" when shipping them to the front. The name stuck everywhere (with some local corruptions) except Germany (were they are refered to as panzers) and France (where they are known as char de combat). List of Real Life Tanks - British Mark V tank (United Kingdom) - T-34 (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) - Panzer-V Panther (Nazi Germany) - Leopard-II (Federal Republic of Germany) - Type 99 (People's Republic of China) - M1 Abrams (United States of America) Tanks in Science Fiction In addition to conventional tanks that move along on caterpillar tracks, science fiction often includes hover-tanks: tanks that levitate above the ground to better traverse terrain. In other instances in science fiction, tanks are completely automated robots. Tanks larger than real life armored fighting vehicles also appear in science fiction, some rivalling battleships in their scale.

The Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and Health supports the welfare of people in Finland via social and health services and by ensuring income security. In addition, the MSAH promotes people's health and welfare by: - increasing and maintaining their social welfare , security and participation in society, and by reducing poverty and social exclusion. - using health promotion to support health and functional capacity by encouraging healthy lifestyles, reducing substance use, preventing disease and reducing health gaps. prevention work to promote an understanding of preventive initiatives, identify diseases and social problems as early as possible and instigate support measures in response, and to prevent harm from substance use. - safeguarding a healthy living environment and safe work environment occupational safety and health. Municipalities' key responsibility in welfare promotion Welfare promotion requires diverse cooperation within municipalities and groups of municipalities, and with the state, church parishes, NGOs and the private sector. Social and health care in Finland is planned as a collaborative entity. Using systematic follow-up measures and national data systems, preventive activity and early intervention can be correctly targeted.

BOULDER, Colo., March 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. Operational Land Imager (OLI) aboard the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) has completed initial checkout and along with the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center built Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) snapped the mission's first multispectral images. Link to the satellite's first images taken on March 18, 2013 of the intersection of the U.S. Great Plains and the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming and Colorado. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/landsat/news/first-images-feature.html The stunning images follow the launch of the LDCM spacecraft on February 11, 2013 from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base. Ball Aerospace built the sophisticated OLI instrument and also provided the cryocooler for TIRS, which was built by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. The two sensors will coincidently collect multispectral digital images of the global land surface including coastal regions, polar ice, islands, and the continental areas. "Release of the first image from LDCM is a great step toward ensuring these improved instruments provide the nation with the most up-to-date understanding of changes taking place across the planet," said Robert D. Strain, Ball Aerospace chief operating officer and incoming president. For the past 40 years, the Landsat series, managed by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey, has provided vital management information on the use of land resources, such as food, water and forests. For example, data from Landsat helped forest managers determine best response methods and resource allocation for the mountain pine beetle infestation in the Rocky Mountain region. Triggered by an extended drought in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Landsat allowed forest managers to study changes in the ecosystem and identify areas where dead trees should be removed from recreation and camping areas to prevent wildfires. Improvements expected from the newest LDCM include increased radiometric sensitivity and additional spectral bands. LDCM will observe a total of 11 spectral bands, compared with eight bands on Landsat 7. Also, LDCM is expected to return 400 images per day, compared to 250 images per day from Landsat 7. "We are very proud that the advanced remote sensing technologies we've provided for the LDCM will nearly double data collected and returned to the U.S. Landsat archive," said Strain. Instruments on earlier Landsat satellites employed scan mirrors to sweep the instrument fields of view across the surface swath width and transmit light to a few detectors. Ball's OLI instrument instead uses long detector arrays, with over 7,000 detectors per spectral band, aligned across its focal plane to view across the swath. This "push-broom" design results in a more sensitive instrument providing improved land surface information. Described as "the best Landsat ever launched" by LDCM project scientist Jim Irons, the data will significantly expand Landsat's 40-year archive, the only system of its type with a mission to collect, archive and distribute data of all the Earth's land surface for use by scientific, commercial and governmental agencies to understand the impact of global land changes. Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. supports critical missions for national agencies such as the Department of Defense, NASA, NOAA and other U.S. government and commercial entities. The company develops and manufactures spacecraft, advanced instruments and sensors, components, data exploitation systems and RF solutions for strategic, tactical and scientific applications. For more information, visit www.ballaerospace.com. Ball Corporation (NYSE: BLL) is a supplier of high quality packaging for beverage, food and household products customers, and of aerospace and other technologies and services, primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ nearly 15,000 people worldwide and reported 2011 sales of more than $8.7 billion. For the latest Ball news and for other company information, please visit http://www.ball.com. This release contains "forward-looking" statements concerning future events and financial performance. Words such as "expects," "anticipates, " "estimates" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Key risks and uncertainties are summarized in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Exhibit 99.2 in our Form 10-K, which are available on our website and at www.sec.gov. Factors that might affect our packaging segments include fluctuation in product demand and preferences; availability and cost of raw materials; competitive packaging availability, pricing and substitution; changes in climate and weather; crop yields; competitive activity; failure to achieve anticipated productivity improvements or production cost reductions; mandatory deposit or other restrictive packaging laws; changes in major customer or supplier contracts or loss of a major customer or supplier; political instability and sanctions; and changes in foreign exchange rates or tax rates. Factors that might affect our aerospace segment include: funding, authorization, availability and returns of government and commercial contracts; and delays, extensions and technical uncertainties affecting segment contracts. Factors that might affect the company as a whole include those listed plus: accounting changes; changes in senior management; the recent global recession and its effects on liquidity, credit risk, asset values and the economy; successful or unsuccessful acquisitions; regulatory action or laws including tax, environmental, health and workplace safety, including U.S. FDA and other actions affecting products filled in our containers, or chemicals or substances used in raw materials or in the manufacturing process; governmental investigations; technological developments and innovations; goodwill impairment; antitrust, patent and other litigation; strikes; labor cost changes; rates of return projected and earned on assets of the company's defined benefit retirement plans; pension changes; uncertainties surrounding the U.S. government budget and debt limit; reduced cash flow; interest rates affecting our debt; and changes to unaudited results due to statutory audits or other effects. SOURCE Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.

represents a part of society. Jack, the leader of the choir boys and hunters, represents parts of society which can be broken down in three ways. The first part is Jack in society as a whole. Here, this blood thirsty savage is a symbol of all that is chaotic and disorderly. The tall, scrawny, “ugly without silliness” boy is constantly trying to break away from Ralph, who is orderly, and his rules. For example, Jack always breaks the rule of speaking while holding the conch. He interrupts almost everyone, especially Piggy, when they are speaking. The fact that Jack frequently picks on Piggy is a symbol of how brawn and brutality will often overwhelm intellect (Piggy represents the intellectual part of society). Jack even goes as far as to break Piggy’s glasses, another symbol of order and society, which shows how he is going to later destruct and eventually destroy every last part of normal society that remains on the island. The second part is life and death. In this case, Jack represents death. This is first symbolized by Jack’s black choir cloak, since black is associated with death. When Jack first appears, he comes out of the “darkness of the forest” and Ralph, the symbol of goodness, cannot see Jack’s face because his back is to the sun. Darkness can be another symbol of death. Also, blood is something that we often can relate with death, and Jack is obsessed with killing the pigs on the island and shedding their blood. The blood shows how Jack turns into a savage, since at first he is afraid of the blood but he eventually is thirsty for it and smears it all over his own body and those of his followers, showing how he was practically in love with the blood and death of the pig. The third part is how Jack relates to certain aspects of religion. Jack breaks practically all of the seven deadly sins associated with evil people. He lusts... [continues] Cite This Essay (1999, 10). Lord of the Flies Character an. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 10, 1999, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Lord-Flies-Character-9568.html "Lord of the Flies Character an" StudyMode.com. 10 1999. 10 1999 <http://www.studymode.com/essays/Lord-Flies-Character-9568.html>. "Lord of the Flies Character an." StudyMode.com. 10, 1999. Accessed 10, 1999. http://www.studymode.com/essays/Lord-Flies-Character-9568.html.

Senior Project Research Paper January 8, 2002 The Road to Becoming a Teacher Teachers bear the heavy responsibility of molding the minds of our nation's most precious resource, its children. The road to becoming a teacher is a long one, involving post-high school education, people skills, and a desire to change lives. These traits, when accompanied by experience and good techniques, form the foundation for an effective, life-altering educator. Before anything else, teachers must have a desire to impact the lives of their students (Education). Some teachers teach because they want to help children learn and grow and would like to make a contribution to society. Others have an intellectual fascination with a certain subject (such as math or history), have been inspired by one of their own teachers, or feel they have a sense of commitment to their country (Recruit). One thing is certain, teachers that go into the profession for selfish reasons will find it hard to commit to their career. The salary for a teacher is not likely to make a person rich, so their motives must be based on helping improve the minds of future generations (Kizlik). If there is a desire to be a teacher, it must also be coupled with education, training, and preparation. To serve as a public school educator, one must have obtained at least a bachelor's degree, completed an approved teacher education program, and be licensed (School Teachers). These qualifications are universal for all fifty States and the District of Columbia. Instructors may be licensed to teach the early childhood grades (usually nursery school through grade 3); the elementary grades (grades 1 through 6 or 8); the middle grades (grades 5 through 8); a secondary education subject area (usually grades 7 through 12); or a special subject, such as reading or music (usually grades K through 12) (School Teachers). The requirements for licensing differ from state to state. However, it is a... [continues] Cite This Essay (2002, 03). The Road to Becoming a Teacher. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 03, 2002, from http://www.studymode.com/essays/Road-Becoming-Teacher-38835.html "The Road to Becoming a Teacher" StudyMode.com. 03 2002. 03 2002 <http://www.studymode.com/essays/Road-Becoming-Teacher-38835.html>. "The Road to Becoming a Teacher." StudyMode.com. 03, 2002. Accessed 03, 2002. http://www.studymode.com/essays/Road-Becoming-Teacher-38835.html.

There have been no reports of further activity at Mount Tongariro overnight as scientists, like everyone else, wait to see what the volcano does next – and it could be a long wait with the next burst of activity coming with little or no warning. Volcanologists are today awaiting results of the analysis of ash samples from Monday night’s eruption taken to Massey University for analysis. Ash covers a track after Mount Tongariro erupted on Monday night. Mount Tongariro erupted at 11.50pm on Monday sending ash and rocks up to 1km into the air. Scientists are now looking for clues to the origin of the eruption, thought to be a steam eruption, caused by rising magma heating groundwater to the extent the steam pressure blows out. Vulcanologist Steve Sherburn says by putting the ash under the microscope they hope to tell if there was any magma involved. Tongariro’s first eruption in a century came after a sporadic increase in earthquakes, but the eruption itself was unexpected. The mountain’s seismic drum showed no earthquakes leading up to the eruption. “The earthquake activity was sporadic,” says Steve. “The text book example of what we experienced Monday night would be that we would have some trend in activity. But it had a bit of activity and quiet, a bit of activity, quiet. And it’s been relatively quiet the last few days, and then, bang. “That’s what made it very difficult. I guess we are fortunate we reacted to the earthquakes over the past few weeks by raising the alert level, so at least people were aware of this and it didn’t come straight out of the blue.” Volcanoes are individuals, each with their own patterns of activity, says Steve. The difficulty Tongariro presents for scientists is that it hasn’t erupted for 100 years. “We don’t know what happened before it started erupting last time,’ says Steve. “If you have a volcano that erupts quite frequently quite often you can see a pattern. When you can recognise a pattern, see what’s causing the pattern, then you are in a much better situation. “It’s very difficult to have a pattern if it hasn’t erupted for a 100 plus years.” This image shows seismic activity during the last 24 hours at a station at the Tongariro Volcano. Steve says Tongariro is similar to Mount Kirishima in southern Japan. “The Tongariro complex is a structured volcano with different eruptions having created different land forms,” says Steve. “Kirishima is very similar and hadn’t erupted for some time as well.” Kirishima’s Shinmoedake crater burst into action in January 2011 and continued for about six months. “We could potentially be looking at a Kirishima kind of thing. It’s the 64 million dollar question to which we don’t have any answers at the moment. “What we are hoping is if this is going to develop into a larger magmatic type eruption we will see some kind of signals preceding that, and we can interpret this in terms of seismic ground deformation, volcanic gases we can sample. “There’s a range of things, some dependent on weather. Of course we are not going up there until we know what’s going on.”

Entertainment / Photography / Miniature Camera Miniature Camera: Is a term commonly applied to cameras with a format size of less than 35mm. Panoramic Camera: Camera with a special type of scanning lens which rotates on its rear nodal point and produces an image of the scanned area on a curved plate or film. Pinhole Camera: Camera without a lens which uses a very small hole pierced in one end to allow light to pass through and form an image on the back of the camera which can be covered by film. Plate Camera: Camera designed to take glass plates but often adapted to take cut film. One Shot Color Camera: Is an obsolete plate camera making three color separation negatives from a single exposure. Polaroid Camera: An instant picture camera designed for polaroid materials. Multiple-Camera Production: A mode of production unique to television wherein two or more cameras are used to record the scene, enabling simultaneous and/or post-production editing. The mode used in most sitcoms and al . . . View Full Definition Miniature: A small picture not normally larger than 6 in in anyone direction. The greatest schools of miniature-painting flourished in England during the 16th and 17th centuries. The leaders were such . . . View Full Definition Monorail Camera: Is a sheet film camera, of modular construction, mounted on a rail system to give maximum camera movements. Multimode Camera: Is a 35mm camera that will operate in several modes.

Definitions for battleofshiloh Sorry, I could not find synonyms for 'battleofshiloh'. How to Cite an Interview in the Body With APA Format How to Cite a College Brochure What Is the Difference Between Compass & an ACT Test? How to Write a College Character Analysis Essay Can You Open a Narrative Essay With a Question? What to Expect on the ACT Test Synonym.com © 2001-2013, Demand Media, all rights reserved. The database is based on Word Net a lexical database for the English language. see

Stands for "Digital Subscriber Line." It is medium for transferring data over regular phone lines and can be used to connect to the Internet. However, like a cable modem, a DSL circuit is much faster than a regular phone connection, even though the wires it uses are copper like a typical phone line. An asymmetric DSL (ADSL) connection allows download speeds of up to about 1.5 megabits (not megabytes) per second, and upload speeds of 128 kilobits per second. That is why it is called ADSL and not just DSL (because of the asymmetric speeds). There is also a "Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line" (SDSL) which is similar to ADSL, but allows data transfer speeds of 384 Kilobits per second in both directions. Theoretically, this type of connection allows download speeds of up to 9 megabits per second and upload speeds of up to 640 kilobits per second. The difficult part in establishing an DSL circuit is that it must be configured to connect two specific locations, unlike a regular phone line or cable modem. DSL is often seen as the new, better alternative to the older ISDN standard.

Click on any phrase to play the video at that point.Close Organic chemists make molecules, very complicated molecules, by chopping up a big molecule into small molecules and reverse engineering. And as a chemist, one of the things I wanted to ask my research group a couple of years ago is, could we make a really cool universal chemistry set? In essence, could we "app" chemistry? Now what would this mean, and how would we do it? Well to start to do this, we took a 3D printer and we started to print our beakers and our test tubes on one side and then print the molecule at the same time on the other side and combine them together in what we call reactionware. And so by printing the vessel and doing the chemistry at the same time, we may start to access this universal toolkit of chemistry. Now what could this mean? Well if we can embed biological and chemical networks like a search engine, so if you have a cell that's ill that you need to cure or bacteria that you want to kill, if you have this embedded in your device at the same time, and you do the chemistry, you may be able to make drugs in a new way. So how are we doing this in the lab? Well it requires software, it requires hardware and it requires chemical inks. And so the really cool bit is, the idea is that we want to have a universal set of inks that we put out with the printer, and you download the blueprint, the organic chemistry for that molecule and you make it in the device. And so you can make your molecule in the printer using this software. But to take baby steps to get there, first of all we want to look at drug design and production, or drug discovery and manufacturing. Because if we can manufacture it after we've discovered it, we could deploy it anywhere. You don't need to go to the chemist anymore. We can print drugs at point of need. We can download new diagnostics. Say a new super bug has emerged. You put it in your search engine, and you create the drug to treat the threat. So this allows you on-the-fly molecular assembly. You can share this video by copying this HTML to your clipboard and pasting into your blog or web page. need to get the latest Flash player. Got an idea, question, or debate inspired by this talk? Start a TED Conversation. Chemist Lee Cronin is working on a 3D printer that, instead of objects, is able to print molecules. An exciting potential long-term application: printing your own medicine using chemical inks. A professor of chemistry, nanoscience and chemical complexity, Lee Cronin and his research group investigate how chemistry can revolutionize modern technology and even create life. Full bio »

Over the past year, I have been researching and building different smokeless stove designs along with investigating the use of their byproduct, charcoal, as an organic soil amendment. With this information, I traveled to Calhuitz, Guatemala along with 12 other students to lead an education and integration project focused on efficient cook stoves. In our month stay, we were successful in designing, testing, and integrating a cookstove design that produced hardly any smoke, could be built with local materials for under 10 dollars, and used 80% less wood than a traditional chimney stove. Our first step was to educate the community about the negative impacts of open stoves on the environment and health. To do this, we gave lectures in Spanish (translated into the Mayan dialect) to large groups of community members at local meetings. Next, we surveyed 15 families about their home situation, the type of stove they were using, and any problems associated with it. This step was used to assess the need for the new innovation. After meeting with the community's health committee and receiving their approval for integration, we began building the stove design, which consisted of two large pots and 14 cement blocks. In our last week there, we built 4 stoves in the homes of people that were identified as being in greatest need. To make the project sustainable, we taught the community leaders how to build and use the stove and left them manuals, education materials and building materials (enough for 10 stoves). 3 billion people worldwide still depend on inefficient cook stoves; 2 million of these people die annually due to smoke related COPD, bronchitis, pneumonia, lung cancer and acute respiratory infection. You need to be a member of Teens for Planet Earth to add comments! "Hi Noemi, Welcome to Teens For Planet Earth! I hope that you can connect with other teens, and find some useful information in case you are planning any projects in the near future. Best of luck, and let me know if you have any questions!" This is for the Indian Govt. and to the Indian forestry Deparment.,...In 2012-13,about HUNDREDS of trees were cut-down for construction in Allahabad,U.P for the kumbh fair.I want to ask you, where are the trees that should be planted in return according to the policy of Reforestation.And where was the forest department when they were being cut.See More "Sell your old things for money which you don't need anymore. Ask your friends and relatives to donate some muney Get yourself and some of your friends employed somewhere for a part time job Ask a local NGO for HELP. Publish it in a local…"

Is climate the new asbestos? Directors of polluting industries should check their liability insurance. JUST hours after the United States House of Representatives passed legislation curtailing greenhouse gas emissions, business groups were talking about going to court. The US Environmental Protection Agency proposition that greenhouse gas endangers public health and contributes to global warming is expected to result in a tsunami of litigation. It's not just those court-loving Americans either. In Australia, lawyers say, if the Senate is persuaded to adopt Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's emissions trading scheme, some big emitters might well challenge the allocations they get. Elsewhere, climate change litigation is shaping up as an issue that will tie up the judiciary, companies and politics worldwide for years. While other sectors of the global economy are bracing for the negative impact of government legislation on climate change, the litigation industry is set to boom. Insurer Swiss Re warns that climate change litigation will be the new asbestos. In a report (www.bit.ly/iuBjQ), it says that while courts have until now dismissed climate change lawsuits against companies, the same could be said for asbestos-related claims that surfaced in the 1950s. "By the 1960s, these asbestos-related claims were already becoming successful," the report says. "At issue is not any correlation between asbestos and climate change, but rather the speed at which an issue can become a widespread topic for collective actions … We expect, however, that climate-change-related liability will develop more quickly than asbestos-related claims and believe that the frequency and sustainability of climate-change-related litigation could become a significant issue within the next couple of years." Still, there is a difference between asbestos and climate change. With mesothelioma, there is a clear link between asbestos and disease. But global warming's impact is still being debated, with climate sceptics such as Senator Steven Fielding talking about "unconvincing green science". This is not criticising the credentials of climatologists. But while questions are being raised about the scientific modelling and climatic variability, it will be tough proving causation before a judge, at least for now. Still, that might change as more scientific evidence comes to light. The 7000-plus Torres Strait Islanders might well be the first to successfully sue for relief. A report from the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (www.bit.ly/RnW6z) found that sea levels there are already rising. Turtles and dugongs traditionally hunted for meat have grown scarce and people are now uncertain about when to plant crops. Climate change would affect every area of their society. It could reduce freshwater levels and result in the complete loss of some plants and animals. It could result in more disease and the potential destruction of essential infrastructure such as housing, water supply and power. The problem is compounded by the fact that Torres Strait Islanders do not have access to the same services and infrastructure as non-indigenous Australians. The HREOC report says this group has several avenues for a successful climate-related lawsuit. These include the Queensland Environment Protection Act, which recognises people and culture as part of the environment and does not require a particular power station to be the sole cause of climate change when it orders it to pay for the costs of repairs to infrastructure. Other legal avenues include: a negligence claim, where they could argue that governments failed in their duty of care to protect Torres Strait Islanders; public nuisance, where they could argue that life, health and property has been endangered; native title; and international human rights law. Would a successful Torres Strait Islander case create a precedent? Claire Smith, special counsel at Clayton Utz, believes courts everywhere will be bombarded with lawsuits, not all of them successful. But over time, as more scientific evidence comes to light, they will be. "You will end up finding that litigation will become more successful as more scientific data emerges and what you will find globally is that the courts will take into account the view of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)," Ms Smith says. "You could use those reports to translate that into litigation because, in the end, it's all about proving things on the balance of probability." Climate change is creating all sorts of possibilities. In the meantime, directors should check their liability insurance.

Commentary & Opinion Education Key to Ending AIDS September 27, 2012 "When we talk about HIV prevention, we tend to frame it as a medical challenge and of course it is one," UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe writes in the Huffington Post's "Impact" blog. "To accelerate the progress in the AIDS response we must reduce transmission and people's exposure to the virus," but "ending AIDS is as much a social challenge as a clinical one," he continues. "One of the clearest lessons of the past three decades is that illiteracy and poverty fuel the spread of HIV and that education can slow it," he states, adding, "Education -- not just sex education but literacy, numeracy, critical-thinking and global citizenship -- is the social equivalent of a vaccine, and it's already available for clinical use." "That's why I and other health advocates so strongly support Education First, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's new effort to expand and improve schooling around the world," Sidibe continues, detailing the initiative, which he writes "could open new pathways to peace, economic development and environmental sustainability." "The world has made immense progress since the year 2000, when 189 countries signed the groundbreaking Millennium Development Goals," but, "where education is concerned, our progress has not gone far enough and our promises to children are still unmet," he states. "Education First is the blueprint for a brighter future, but it won't succeed without steadfast commitment from all sectors of society, including governments and funders as well as students and families," he writes, concluding, "Ending AIDS is possible -- and education is the key to success" (9/26). This article was provided by Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. It is a part of the publication Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report. Visit the Kaiser Family Foundation's website to find out more about their activities, publications and services. Add Your Comment: (Please note: Your name and comment will be public, and may even show up in Internet search results. Be careful when providing personal information! Before adding your comment, please read TheBody.com's Comment Policy.)

September 17, 2001 In today's competitive market, two of the most important considerations for high-quality production are proper roll tooling setup and mill alignment. Poor tooling setup and mill alignment can be costly, especially when they result in decreased production quality and scrap. Both areas must be maintained continuously. A secret to achieving maximum roll integrity is simple, but often forgotten: Roll tooling design is based on known parameters and goals. Using this approach as a road map to quality can save money, downtime, and frustration. A good approach is to start with a part drawing which should contain the following information: 1. Tube size, dimensions, and tolerances 2. Material type, gauge, hardness, and finish 3. Length minimum and maximum 4. Notching or secondary operations 5. Reference to mating parts 6. Attention to critical areas If a worn-out sample roll is submitted instead of a roll drawing, the manufacturer should take the time to reverse-engineer the roll, make a new drawing, and get it approved by the customer to avoid any misunderstandings when the new roll tooling is delivered. If manufacturing managers get involved during the initial stages of a new product, they should point out trouble spots and help designers to develop a roll that does the job and is easy to produce--a move that benefits both parties. Trouble Spots. When a company receives a roll drawing with trouble spots, it ought to review it with design engineers and manufacturing managers, ask for design changes, and explain why it wants the changes. The roll drawing is an engineer's main reference. Engineering's purpose is to establish a common ground from which different parties can work. When laying out tool drawings over a flower progression, the material flow should be considered. Manufacturers should try to provide lead-in angles with generous radii to let the previous form flow in. Companies also should consider leading out into the next station—sometimes center fins can scrape a section's edges if stations are close. Splitting. Splitting rolls sometimes makes it possible to produce economically an otherwise difficult roll. Splitting rolls, or piecing them together, allows for sectional replacement rather than repetitive new tooling purchases. It also makes setup easier in some cases. It is easier to put one piece on at a time than it is to struggle with heavy mating top and bottom rolls. Splitting does add to tooling costs. However, machining a part and wasting tool steel is less expensive than boring and facing an extra small piece. Roller die setup should be a simple procedure. A setup person should only need to put the rolls on and adjust the vertical center distance equally. The first step in mill alignment is cleaning everything, especially bases and shafts. Then, operators should make sure horizontal centers are parallel by using micrometers to measure inboard and outboard distances. Most machines have a double bearing mount on inboard bottom shafts or an outboard that is keyed in place. If the bottom shafts have single inboard bearings and no outboard key, an operator may need to install taper pins in the outboards after setting them parallel to each other. The next step is to adjust the vertical center screws. This can be done by measuring with micrometers just like horizontal centering or by placing gauge blocks between the shafts. Once shafts are parallel, the datum plane must be checked. Tool design starts from an imaginary line on one side of the paper, which represents any station's top and bottom shaft shoulder. By going from station to station, a plane is established. The top-to-bottom relationship is most important because it affects design clearance. The horizontal line carries less weight but should be as straight as possible. Horizontal alignment should be checked first along the bottom (fixed) shaft shoulders. A straight edge works best on small mills. On both large and small mills, an optical scope with cross- hair sight can be used for better accuracy. Vertical alignment can be checked with short, straight edges or with similar top and bottom slugs that can be depth-milked from one face to another. Once a deviation is recorded, bearing assemblies can be taken apart and corrected, or a set of compensating collars can bring shoulders into a flat datum plane square to all parallel shafts. Once a mill is aligned, rolls need to be installed. Two basic methods for putting rolls on a mill predominate. One is to put all the rolls on at once, and the other is to put one pass on at a time while adjusting and checking profiles along the way. Most rolls are designed with rims and hubs using a stock thickness for clearance. This way, vertical centers can be set and an operator can ensure shafts are parallel at the same time. After rolls are installed, strip is run through one station at a time. At this point, fine adjustments can be made for any play in the vertical adjusting screws. This ensures that the rolls are set up the way the designer intended. The first goal in line troubleshooting is to define the problem. If dimensional problems arise, exactly which one is wrong? Is the material within specifications? Has a different wall thickness just been tried? Is the temper and chemical composition within specifications, or has it changed recently? Are galling problems present? Is the material too heavy? Is the surface softer than the specifications call for? Have frequency marks appeared, possibly from a chip on a roll? One way to fix problems on a particular dimension is to look through the tooling progression and find a pass that looks like it controls the dimension without having a major effect on the rest of the section. It is usually best to make only one adjustment at a time. Another tip is to look for damaged or worn tooling that may no longer define critical bend points and to make sure the entry table guides the material evenly and squarely. If possible, the operator should back up the machine and look at how the progressive forming flows. Operators should look for proper tracking and possible climbing or pinching. Sometimes, severe straightness problems are created by overworking one pass. If backing up does not show excessive pressure, an operator can try putting a coat of heavyweight lube oil on a roll.Running the roll around once can show high and low pressure points. If this fails to work, an operator can run the strip out, check tool clearance with a mirror, and go through the setup procedure as previously described before looking for possible tool design errors. The heart of roll tooling maintenance lies in good record keeping. Production records can help in finding trouble spots and predicting future problems. They can help justify regrinding an entire set or replacing key high-wear points. Maintenance starts with periodic visual inspection during production runs. This includes checking product dimensions (especially tolerance deviations), finish deterioration, noticeable tool wear, and especially damaged tooling. In between production runs, when tools are off the mill, it may be good to check bores and faces for wear. Worn bores can loosen dies, which can cause wandering part dimensions. Worn faces can create uneven clearances and pinching, which might lead to straightness problems. Should rolls be reground or replaced? Sometimes companies have no choice in this matter--if a machine has little or no vertical adjustment, one cannot just sink the rolls to clean them up. The best thing to do is push back female tools and replace key male tools. After doing this a few times, a fabricator may be forced to replace the entire set anyway. On machines with vertical adjustments, a variety of options is available. Rolls can be shimmed after regrinding to maintain the passline height, or the drive shafts can be idled on some applications. However, after replacing high-wear key forming tools a few times, it usually becomes necessary to regrind the entire set. Roll tooling manufacturers typically measure an entire set of tooling and record the information on a regrind chart, noting maximum wear on tooling. Certain highly worn tools may be replaced to avoid sinking an entire set more than necessary. Careful attention should be paid to situations such as an unequally geared machine. Worn faces can be welded up and reground. Worn bores can be plated and the inside diameter ground. It is usually less expensive to regrind a set of tools than to replace it, but production volume and records may alter this. For example, if many parts require replacement, the cost approaches that of a new set. Once a new set is in service, the old set should remain available as a standby. Also, if volume does not permit lengthy downtime while tools are being reground, a new set is the best choice because it only requires changeover. Again, good record keeping makes good maintenance. It also helps setups. Some minor adjustments are going to be made on a machine. One pass may be brought down a little hard, and one may be brought up a little bit. There may be a reverse reaction in the straightness adjustment. Little things like these can waste hours of setup time. All an operator has to do is write those things down, and eventually the set should go in little time. With highly maintained roll tooling and good record keeping, a properly aligned mill can produce high-quality parts. Roll tooling can be replaced to ensure proper dimensions are consistent on all products. If the mill is out of alignment, its roll tooling will never be used to full capacity. In today's workplace, lost production time resulting from emergency maintenance is no longer acceptable. Properly maintained roll tooling and mills that are aligned regularly can result in continuous quality. A good preventive maintenance program helps keep all tooling and mills in top working condition.

African-American Baptists and World War II.What was the relationship between African-American Baptists and World War II? This article examines how the two were related. The focus is on the beliefs, views, and theology of black Baptists regarding World War II and not on the participation of Baptist individuals or groups of Baptists in the war effort or other activities in support of the war. Furthermore, there are a number of contextual and deductive de·duc·tive 1. Of or based on deduction. 2. Involving or using deduction in reasoning. de·duc aspects of examining the topic. First, we must note that African Americans have had a long and consistent history of support of and physical involvement in American wars. (1) Indeed, African Americans have fought in every one of America's wars. Some brief observations might suffice to highlight this point. One of the first individuals, if not the first, to die in the early battles of the American Revolutionary War was Crispus Attucks Crispus Attucks (c. 1723 – March 5, 1770), was the first of five people killed in the Boston Massacre. He has been frequently named as the first martyr for the cause of American Independence and is the only person of the five killed whose name is commonly remembered. . Actually, African Americans, free and enslaved Enslaved may refer to: Expressing or conferring praise: a laudatory review of the new play. (of speech or writing) expressing praise Adj. comments regarding black fighting men in the War of 1812. In the Seminole Wars Seminole Wars (1817–18, 1835–42, 1855–58) Three conflicts between the U.S. and the Seminole Indians of Florida. The first began when U.S. authorities tried to recapture runaway slaves living among Seminole bands. After U.S. , blacks fought on both sides, with the U.S. government and others as members of the Seminoles. (2) Of course, we know that the introduction of black soldiers on the side of the Union during the Civil War played a great role in reversing the tides of a conflict hitherto being won by the Confederacy Confederacy, name commonly given to the Confederate States of America (1861–65), the government established by the Southern states of the United States after their secession from the Union. . In that conflict, black men and women served as scouts, spies, and chaplains. There were even some blacks who fought for the Confederacy! In 1898, black Christian denominations List of Christian denominations (or Denominations self-identified as Christian) ordered by historical and doctrinal relationships. (See also: Christianity; Christian denominations). Some groups are large (e.g. endorsed the United States's actions in its war against Spain. Church leaders passed resolutions and encouraged young black men to prove their loyalty and patriotism, which many of them succeeded in doing. (3) The same set of factors obtained for World War I. As we examine black Baptist support of World War II, we are exploring not a unique phenomenon but one common in American history before and since that great conflict. Second, there is a contextual note regarding African Americans in general and black Baptists in particular and their respective support of American wars generally And World War II especially. As seen by previous comments, black Christians supported war out of a sense of national patriotism. The conviction regarding all wars prior to World War II was that black people's enthusiastic support off and on the field of battle would demonstrate to all Americans, even to blacks' worst enemies, black people's proven loyalty. Black people hoped that this loyalty would remove any doubt or hesitancy hes·i·tan·cy An involuntary delay or inability in starting the urinary stream. in terms of recognizing and respecting their rights to full, first-class citizenship with all the rights and favorable sentiments appertaining there-unto. To be sure, the lynching of some black soldiers in their uniforms upon their return from World War I had clearly dampened the ardor ar·dor 1. Fiery intensity of feeling. See Synonyms at passion. 2. Strong enthusiasm or devotion; zeal: "The dazzling conquest of Mexico gave a new impulse to the ardor of discovery" of this conviction of the power of demonstrated bravery and loyalty to melt the stony heart of racial prejudice. Nonetheless, this belief still manifested itself in black secular and religious circles. Third, regarding black support of World War II, African Americans possessed a strong historic identity with the ideals and values of America. From the earliest years of the nation, and even prior, African-American Baptists as well as the larger black community embraced wholeheartedly whole·heart·ed Marked by unconditional commitment, unstinting devotion, or unreserved enthusiasm: wholehearted approval. whole the American values of freedom, justice, and democracy. The one critique, all encompassing as it was, proffered by African Americans was that white Americans steadfastly refused to practice the American credo in application to African Americans. The great majority of blacks, currently and historically, have consistently eschewed Socialism, Communism, Fascism, and Totalitarianism as deadly enemies to the American way The American way of life is an expression that refers to the "life style" of people living in the United States of America. It is an example of a behavioral modality, developed from the 17th century until today. of life and the Christian faith. The successive and, at times, concurrent struggles against racism, slavery, segregation, disfranchisement The removal of the rights and privileges inherent in an association with a group; the taking away of the rights of a free citizen, especially the right to vote. Sometimes called disenfranchisement. , racial terrorism, and unequal opportunities have been waged legally and morally under the twin banners of a pure, genuine Christianity and an America living true to its ideals of freedom and justice. Therefore, many black Baptists exercised little reluctance in supporting the Allied forces against Fascism and Nazism. The two previous points, however, must be balanced by this fourth one. A strong peace tradition has existed in the African American Christian history. While black Christians have supported America's wars, they have not by and large exhibited jingoistic, "my country right or wrong," positions. Perhaps the African-American experiences with the harshness and contradictions of the nation's history have inclined them to be more self-critical than one might discover among their white counterparts, Baptists and non-Baptists. In black-American major denominations, such as Baptists, who do not have a strong pacifist tradition, we see a clear hesitancy to glorify war both because of its sheer ugliness and brutality and the deep conviction that war is contrary to God's will Noun 1. God's Will - the omnipotence of a divine being omnipotence - the state of being omnipotent; having unlimited power . Black Baptists did not press their pacifist or peace leanings as far as Charles Harrison Mason should be added to this article, to conform with Wikipedia's Manual of Style. Please discuss this issue on the talk page. , the founder of the Church of God in Christ The Church of God in Christ, Incorporated is the nation's largest Pentecostal and African-American Christian denomination. History The Church of God in Christ, commonly referred to by its acronym, COGIC , who refused military service in World War I. African-American Baptists certainly did not agree with the Nation of Islam Nation of Islam: see Black Muslims. Nation of Islam or Black Muslims African American religious movement that mingles elements of Islam and black nationalism. It was founded in 1931 by Wallace D. founded in the 1930s that rejected any war for white people's governments. (4) Black Baptists recognized that some armed conflicts are inevitable but supported them more as "necessary evils" or "compromised goods" rather than glorious battles ennobled because they were fought for God and country. Fifth, a review of black Baptists' support, involvement in, and discussions of World War II reflects that the war had the effect of heightening the sense of racial injustice and inequality in the U.S. Surely racial prejudice was sufficiently powerful that black people needed no reminders of its severity. But a nation mobilized to save civilization and democracy certainly added to the urgency to overthrow discrimination. The words of one black soldier widely quoted during the war years succinctly captured the sense of contradiction felt by many blacks, Baptist and non-Baptist, military and civilian, between serving their country and enduring continued racial prejudice. In the event of his death, this soldier suggested the epitaph epitaph, strictly, an inscription on a tomb; by extension, a statement, usually in verse, commemorating the dead. The earliest such inscriptions are those found on Egyptian sarcophagi. : "Here lies a black man killed fighting a yellow man to protect a white man." (5) The preceding point is a fitting segue to our sixth and final point concerning African-American Baptists and the Second World War. While the nation at large operated under the motto of "V for victory," African Americans embraced the slogan "Double V," victory at home over discrimination and abroad against the forces of Fascism and Nazism. William E. B. Du Bois Du Bois (d`bois, dəbois`), city (1990 pop. 8,286), Clearfield co., W central Pa., in the region of the Allegheny plateau; inc. 1881. , educator and human rights activist, during the First World War, to his later regret, called for a type of moratorium on certain civil rights activities to demonstrate unity in the struggle against America's foes. By the time of the Second World War, however, such sentiment among blacks had drastically changed. Blacks were to conduct a two-pronged war--against two sets of Hitlers, Mussolinis, and Hirohitos-those abroad and those at home. The goal was to make the U.S. as hospitable for Christianity, civilization, and democracy for blacks as the rest of the world was to be made suitable for these qualities. As we examine events leading up to World War II, we pay special attention to the National Baptist Convention National Baptist Convention is the name of several historically African-American Christian denominations, among which are the following: NBCI North Branch Correctional Institute (Maryland) NBCI National Broadcasting Company Internet/Interactive ) national gatherings in 1942 (during the war) and 1947 (one year after the conflict) and witness the manifestation of the preceding referenced points. Events Leading to World War II and Black Baptists A collection of events and statements pointed the way to African-American support of the U.S. efforts in the Second World War. One event was the Italian-Ethiopian War of 1936. During the late 1800s, Italy sought to have its own colonial presence in Africa by bringing one of the few remaining independent black states under its control. In the Battle of Adwa The Battle of Adwa (also known as Adowa or sometimes by the Italian name Adua) was fought on 1 March, 1896 between Ethiopia and Italy near the town of Adwa, Ethiopia, in Tigray. It was the climactic battle of the First Italo–Ethiopian War. in 1896, the Italian forces met defeat at the hands of the Ethiopians defending their homeland. Such a loss at the hands of a nonwhite non·white A person who is not white. nonwhite adj. , black people caused severe embarrassment for Italy and a blow to the racially superior attitudes of other European nations. But it was a source of intense pride for African Americans. For blacks, Ethiopia, with a rich cultural legacy better known and acknowledged among non-Africans than those of most African peoples, had long stood as a source of pride and hope for African Americans facing chattel chattel (chăt`əl), in law, any property other than a freehold estate in land (see tenure). A chattel is treated as personal property rather than real property regardless of whether it is movable or immovable (see property). slavery and other aspects of racial prejudice. In 1936, however, Benito Mussolini, the Italian leader, saw an opportunity to heal the wounded Italian pride while securing colonial possessions. This time a modernized Italy defeated a non-industrialized Ethiopia, forcing the new emperor, Halle Selassie, into exile. But the Ethiopian cause and the person of Selassie captivated cap·ti·vate tr.v. cap·ti·vat·ed, cap·ti·vat·ing, cap·ti·vates 1. To attract and hold by charm, beauty, or excellence. See Synonyms at charm. 2. Archaic To capture. African Americans. They had little reluctance to fight an Axis alliance composed of a nation that had so imperially subjected a free, black, African people. (6) The rise of Nazi Germany with Adolf Hitler's espousal of fascism and racial superiority equally alarmed African Americans. The display of disrespect that Hitler personally demonstrated toward Jesse Owens and other black athletes in the Olympic games Olympic games, premier athletic meeting of ancient Greece, and, in modern times, series of international sports contests. The Olympics of Ancient Greece Although records cannot verify games earlier than 776 B.C. gave concrete expression to his racism. For some time, African-American Baptist leaders had watched the rise of Hitlerism. In 1937, Lewis G. Jordan, Baptist leader and historian, in his twelfth report to the NBCI spoke of "desperate attempts" by Russia and Germany to entice African Americans into accepting their godless god·less 1. Recognizing or worshiping no god. 2. Wicked, impious, or immoral. godless·ly adv. philosophies. Jordan attached to Communism the qualities of "hatred, dishonesty, murder, violence, strife, bloodshed, and disloyalty dis·loy·al·ty n. pl. dis·loy·al·ties 1. The quality of being disloyal; faithlessness. 2. A disloyal act. Noun 1. ." (7) NBCI President Lacy Kirk Williams in his address spoke in equally harsh terms about Communism, calling it a "menace," "heartless materialism," anti-American, antihuman and anti-God system," "atheistic a·the·is·tic also a·the·is·ti·cal 1. Relating to or characteristic of atheism or atheists. 2. Inclined to atheism. a " and "a scourge of the Devil." Nor did he think very highly of Russian Communism's efforts at commissioning "women and mothers to foundries and factories in a cruel competition with men" or of Communism's introduction of women to "the horrors and scourge of the battlefields." Williams felt that Communism "nationalizes children and makes man the slave of the state," taking away "his liberty and property." (8) Another leading black Baptist, Joseph Harrison Jackson, addressed the dangers posed by Hitler. Jackson at that time was corresponding secretary of the NBCI's Foreign Mission Board and later served for about thirty years as the NBCI president. In 1938, Jackson condemned fascism, Nazism, racial supremacy, and totalitarianism as "stalwart enemies of the Cross of Jesus Christ Jesus Christ: see Jesus. 40 days after Resurrection, ascended into heaven. [N.T.: Acts 1:1–11] See : Ascension kind to the poor, forgiving to the sinful. [N.T. ." He saw these philosophies or ideologies as direct attacks on the nature of humanity as defined by Christianity. (9) Later in 1942, another Jackson, J. C. Jackson, addressed the New England New England, name applied to the region comprising six states of the NE United States—Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The region is thought to have been so named by Capt. Baptist Missionary Convention. He wished the nation well in its struggle against totalitarianism but decried the discriminatory treatment of black soldiers training in the South. He spoke of brutalities, humiliations, and murder of soldiers, sometimes even while uniformed. Colored Americans are super patriots, 100 per cent Americans by birth and love of country, who are being trained to fight, and if need be to die for their native land and for democracy, although they do not fully share equally in its beneficences.... (10) The National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. Meeting in 1942 At the 1942 assembly of the NBCI in Memphis, Tennessee For the ancient Egyptian capital, see . Memphis is a city in the southwest corner of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. Memphis rises above the Mississippi River on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff just below the mouth of the Wolf River. , the war and treatment of African Americans during the war received much attention. The convention passed a resolution condemning discrimination in travel. Of the four specific cases mentioned, two of them involved black soldiers. The convention condemned discrimination and appealed to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to exercise his wartime powers to eradicate this injustice. A number of stellar leaders in black Baptist circles served on the committee offering this resolution, including Martin Luther King Sr., Walter H. Brooks, Nannie Helen Burroughs Nannie Helen Burroughs, (May 2 1879 – May 20 1961) was an influential African American educator, orator, religious leader and businesswoman. She gained national recognition from her 1900 speech "How the Sisters Are Hindered from Helping." at the National Baptist Convention. , and D. V. Jemison Sr. (11) Women, via the Woman's Convention Auxiliary to the NBCI, commented at even greater lengths about blacks and the war. A report from the Young People's Department saw Nazism as a threat to Christianity and civilization, reviewed the nation's wars and black participation therein, and assured the nation that blacks would remain patriotic during this conflict as they had in all other wars. (12) Nannie Helen Burroughs, the founder and corresponding secretary of the Woman's Convention, had some extended comments. She equated those in the U.S. who refused to stand up for equality, justice, and human rights in the nation to small Hitlers. After condemning sharecropping sharecropping, system of farm tenancy once common in some parts of the United States. In the United States the institution arose at the end of the Civil War out of the plantation system. Many planters had ample land but little money for wages. as a holdover hold·o·ver One that is held over from an earlier time: a political advisor who was a holdover from the Reagan era; a family tradition that is a holdover from my grandparents' childhood. Noun 1. from slavery, Burroughs turned her attention again to the international arena. She expressed sympathy for the Czechs, Poles, and Jews who suffered during the war but wondered if when they were free they would join other whites to make freedom a white preserve. Despite Executive Order 8802, Burroughs insisted that discrimination was very profound even in government hiring. In a section of her report titled "Democracy's Own Crime," Burroughs noted that of the two million men called for military service--nine hundred thousand were unprepared physically because of disabilities but one hundred thousand of them were educationally unprepared. She then proceeded to link this fact with her call for racial freedom and inclusion. She argued that if the nation committed itself to educational opportunity for all its citizens, it would have citizens ready for war and peace. This would save much expense if training was an on-going process rather than an exercise done haphazardly as emergencies arose. Burroughs then turned her attention to the postwar world. War itself had meant an expansion of job opportunities for African Americans. But after the war there would be competition from immigrants from other countries, including those from Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. , Burroughs predicted. Black people must prepare themselves to compete for these new opportunities, struggling to keep doors opened to them by the wartime situation. Interestingly, Burroughs emphasized self-help and taking responsibilities, a stance that fit the social-political philosophy of many African-American leaders at the time. She did not in this instance expend much energy talking about governmental assistance. During these rough decades, blacks had to depend on themselves and had little reason to expect the federal or state governments do much for African Americans and the particular challenges they faced. (13) Other black-Baptist voices expresser their viewpoints regarding the involvement of African Americans in the war and what the conflict meant. The annual report of the national director of the Young People's Department pointed out that three hundred and fifty thousand African Americans were involved in "the world's greatest conflict, war." The director provided a theological explanation of the conflict: people fight because they lack love. Christians must enlist soldiers in another army, the Lord's militia, in order to gain a victory that is truly eternal. (14) Miss Primrose Funches, the western director of the Young People's Department, also remarked on the war in her annual report. In reading her comments, one gets no sense that she believed that the U.S. should not have been involved in the war. War is regrettable and not God's will, but people must do what they must, she seems to have assumed. Funches did put a very human and divine face on the war. She noted that people were losing their lives and killing people, beings made in God's image. She also noted the sacrifices of youth taking on responsibilities to secure the world's future and the church. Funches spoke of youth having to surrender educational plans-with education so vitally needed. Youth were delaying marriage; young men were donning uniforms for service on the battlefields; women were serving in the WACS WACS World Association of Cooks Societies WACS World Association of Chefs' Societies WACS White Alice Communications System WACS Wireless Access Communication System(s) WACS Wire and Cable Services and working with other groups to protect the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and its values. Many civilian men and women were engaged in jobs vital to the success of the war effort. Just as others at the convention, Funches reminded assembled Baptists that as important as this war was, only the war fought for Christ and against evil provides the true, lasting victory. (15) In one sense, this is a theologically realistic assessment of the limitations of human endeavors. One wonders if it might not also be a lesson learned from the conclusion of the First World War. The nation entered that conflict to end all wars only to find many African-American servicemen beaten and murdered upon their return to the States while in uniform. That a generation later the world once again was embroiled em·broil tr.v. em·broiled, em·broil·ing, em·broils 1. To involve in argument, contention, or hostile actions: "Avoid . . . in worldwide military conflict also concerned them. Minutes of regional meetings included in the minutes of the 1942 NBCI convention illustrate the pride women took that they were actively engaged in supporting the war effort. There was also, perhaps, a willingness to suggest in concrete terms to some male observers that women were not to be relegated to the domain of the domestic and the feminine. At the Southwestern and Southeastern regional meeting of the Woman's Auxiliary meeting in March 1942, D. V. Jemison of Selma, Alabama Selma is a city in Alabama located on the banks of the Alabama River in Dallas County, Alabama, of which it is the county seat. As of the last census, the population of the city is 20,512. , addressed the assembled group in Tupelo, Mississippi Tupelo (IPA: [tu:pəlo]) is the largest city and county seat within Lee County, Mississippi. It is the eighth largest city in the state of Mississippi, smaller than Meridian, and larger than Olive Branch. . The recorder mentioned that "Dr. Jemison's message was one of deep thought, logic, and high appreciation for pure womanhood." But the recorder also noted the comments of the president of the Auxiliary, Mrs. S. Willie Layten, in her remarks on the NBCI president's address. His address was commented upon by President Layten who laid bare the facts of the noble part of the world's great work that is being done by woman, emphasizing the part that she may play in the Country's Defense Program. (16) While I do not have a transcript or even a more detailed account of his speech, one wonders if Jemison's discussion of "pure womanhood" was an emphasis on the conventional, traditional view of women, stressing moral strength and suggesting verbally silent and nonassertive witness to modesty and meekness. One wonders if he might have counseled women to be more feminine and traditional since many religious men, white and black, were not very happy about the changing roles in society women as were playing as a consequence of wartime conditions. It is possible that Layten saw the necessity to comment on Jemison's address to correct (or lay "bare the facts") that women have traditionally been deeply involved in hard work, risky, and nonconventional activities in the world and insisting that women would continue to play such roles "in the Country's Defense Program." About a month later in April 1942, when Jemison addressed the Western and Pacific Regional Meeting of the Auxiliary meeting in Des Moines, Iowa “Des Moines” redirects here. For other uses, see Des Moines (disambiguation). Des Moines (pronounced /dɪˈmɔɪn/ in English, , he apparently did not speak of "pure womanhood" but about the effectiveness of women's leadership. The recorder says that on this occasion Jemison "gave encouraging words and paid high tribute to the woman of the National Auxiliary Convention and our excellent leadership, President Layten." (17) Is it possible that Jemison had felt firmly corrected by Layten's comments at the earlier convention? Perhaps this researcher is reading into the words of these leaders, especially Jemison, points of view of stances foreign to their intents But if such an interpretation can be proven to be historically accurate, it would reflect the assertive role that African-American Baptist women in many ways, including the Woman's Auxiliary, had historically played and were playing in the work of the church on the international stage. The preceding hypothetical interpretation by this researcher, in addition, represents the tensions that sometimes came to the fore between male leaders with more traditional views of what should be women's activities, on one hand, and, on the other, women leaders' (and some male supporters') steadfast insistence that women continue to engage in unconventional or "unfeminine" activities and take advantage of any new opportunities. 1947 NBCI Convention An examination of Jemison's and Layten's comments at the 1947 National Baptist Convention meeting in Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City is the largest city in the state of Missouri. It encompasses parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest in Missouri, which includes counties in both Missouri and Kansas. , gives us postwar reflections on World War II and how it related to African Americans' continued insistence on first-class citizenship. Jemison, in his seventh annual message to the convention, reflected on the late World War II, noting how people had thought for centuries that world peace would come with the victory of a stronger, larger nation over weaker, smaller ones. Peace universal, they thought, would be established in this manner. But, Jemison said, it is God who governs the world, and the plans and schemes of peoples and nations cannot bring what is only accessible via God's righteousness and justice. Nor is a rationalistic education devoid of moral content the answer for a better world. Germany had made that mistake. As glorious as education is, it must be fortified fortified (fôrt´fīd), adj containing additives more potent than the principal ingredient. by morality or else it can be used for destructive ends. Christ has to occupy central place in the education of peoples around the world. According to according to 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Jemison, "Germany became a godless nation because she set aside the Bible Luther gave her. Her soldiers carried around in their pockets the raving pagan philosophy of Nietzsche. Hence, Germany "went down." Now, America must be careful because this "German rationalism" is invading its educational system, poised to wreak havoc on the nation. (18) Jemison's remarks at this convention demonstrated that black Baptists remained dedicated to the quest for Verb 1. quest for - go in search of or hunt for; "pursue a hobby" quest after, go after, pursue look for, search, seek - try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of; "The police are searching for clues"; "They are searching for the freedom. Words regarding the necessity to change the souls of human beings to effect real change in the world should not be interpreted to mean that black religious leaders were adopting a quietistic qui·et·ism 1. A form of Christian mysticism enjoining passive contemplation and the beatific annihilation of the will. 2. A state of quietness and passivity. approach to civil rights. To improve the world and bring justice, the church must preach the pure gospel. Lamenting racial prejudice and segregation at the recent Baptist World Alliance The Baptist World Alliance is a worldwide alliance of Baptist churches and organizations, formed in 1905 at Exeter Hall in London during the first Baptist World Congress. meeting at Copenhagen, Denmark, Jemison stated that the gospel purely preached with Christ accurately presented would eliminate racial prejudice. While the black preacher has freedom to preach the pure gospel, the white preacher, fearing dismissal by his church, feels compelled to preach an adulterated a·dul·ter·ate tr.v. a·dul·ter·at·ed, a·dul·ter·at·ing, a·dul·ter·ates To make impure by adding extraneous, improper, or inferior ingredients. 1. Spurious; adulterated. 2. Adulterous. gospel regarding race relations race relations the relations between members of two or more races within a single community race relations npl → relaciones fpl raciales Martin Luther King Jr. made a sad discovery almost a decade later in Montgomery. Part of the problem of employing the Christian church to combat racial prejudice was not simply the fear of many white preachers to proclaim the true gospel but the strong conviction by many of them that segregation was not only consistent with the gospel but mandated by it! Jemison contended that with the true understanding of the gospel, African-American Christians remained committed to goals such as fair trials rather than lynchings, an end to poll taxes, voting rights Voting rights The right to vote on matters that are put to a vote of security holders. For example the right to vote for directors. The type of voting and the amount of control held by the owners of a class of stock. , and a fair and equal (though not necessarily integrated) education. Consistent with most black Christian leaders of the time, Jemison stated that African Americans, particularly those in the South, did not feel the necessity to worship with whites. Rather, they were "satisfied to worship in [their] own [churches] and to be educated among [their] own people." (19) One could interpret these remarks in the context of a strong belief that full integration was not liable to occur anyway and that African-American leaders chose to place bettering the condition of the race over a commitment to an absolute and elusive principle of racial integration. On the other hand, these comments might reflect a commitment to a stance of racial pluralism--neither segregation nor a widespread type of integration or assimilation. At any rate, we find African-American Baptists after the conclusion of World War II equally if not more forcefully committed to the eradication of racial inequality racial inequality Racial disparity Social medicine, public health A disparity in opportunity for socioeconomic advancement or access to goods and services based solely on race. See Women and health. as they were prior to the conflict. At the Woman's Auxiliary Convention, President Layten turned her postwar attention to the international stage as well. She expressed concern about the future of European civilization. While the war had concluded, it remained unclear whether Europe would survive rather than devolve devolve v. when property is automatically transferred from one party to another by operation of law, without any act required of either past or present owner. The most common example is passing of title to the natural heir of a person upon his death. further into "misery and chaos." If this occurred, the U.S. would feel the effects. According to Layten, Europe faced severe challenges in three major areas: physically in dealing with "hunger and suffering," psychologically in grappling with "fear and despair," and morally and spiritually in confronting the "lost of faith in anything." Yet, she did see some indications of spiritual energy among European Christians. In remarks regarding world peace, Layten pointed out that everywhere people talked about one world--an ideal that Christians have always embraced. With the dropping of the atomic bomb atomic bomb or A-bomb, weapon deriving its explosive force from the release of atomic energy through the fission (splitting) of heavy nuclei (see nuclear energy). The first atomic bomb was produced at the Los Alamos, N.Mex. on Hiroshima on August 5, 1945, it became clear that there would be one world or none at all. But that world must be based on God's word, the Bible. Only a change of the human heart can bring about that one world. (20) African-American Baptists, as most other black and white Christians, supported the effort of the U.S. in World War II to stop Fascism and Nazism. Furthermore, African Americans, including Baptists, while plainly and painfully aware of the persistence of racial discrimination, understood that the journey to first-class citizenship entailed the responsibilities of that status. Optimism that black loyalty and commitment to the war effort would effect monumental changes in racial attitudes toward African Americans had declined from the years preceding World War I. Now, African-American Baptists understood that service to their country, though not assuring racial progress, helped to cement their claims to it. What we have also witnessed in the preceding pages were the words and dedication of both women and men to the war effort. These men and women supported the war, maintained their Christian convictions, and rededicated themselves to achieving all the rights and opportunities belonging to American citizens. (1.) For a very solid history of African Americans, see the classic John Hope Franklin Noun 1. John Hope Franklin - United States historian noted for studies of Black American history (born in 1915) Franklin and Alfred A. Moss Jr., From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans, 8th ed. (Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2000), esp. pp. 84-91, 122-25, 238-43, 327-40, 360-74, and 481-92, for discussions on black involvement in wars up to and including World War II. Other helpful works for this article include: A. Russell Buchanan Russell A. Buchanan (January 24, 1900 - December 6, 2006) was one of the last surviving American veterans of the First World War. He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and died in Watertown, Massachusetts. In 1918, Buchanan enlisted in the United States Navy at age 18. , Black Americans in World War II (Santa Barbara, Calif.: Clio Books, 1977; Neil A. Wynn, The Afro-American and the Second World War, rev. ed. (New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of : Holmes & Meier, 1993); and Hayward Farrar, The Baltimore Afro-American, 1892-1950 (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1998), esp. pp. 157-76. (2.) See Kenneth W. Porter, The Black Seminoles: History of Freedom-Seeking People, rev. and ed. by Alcione M. Amos and Thomas P. Senter (Gainesville, Fla.: University Press of Florida, 1996), 3-107. (3.) See, e.g., Sandy Dwayne Martin, For God and Race: The Religious and Political Leadership of AMEZ AMEZ African Methodist Episcopal Zion (church) Bishop James Walker Hood (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press The University of South Carolina Press (or USC Press), founded in 1944, is a university press that is part of the University of South Carolina. External link • , 1999), 132-33. (4.) Wynn, Afro-American, 104. (5.) Ibid., 102. (6.) Leslie Rollins, "Ethiopia, African Americans, and African-Consciousness: The Effect of Ethiopia and African-American Consciousness in Twentieth-Century America," Journal of Religious Thought 54 (Special Double Issue 2000): 1-25. (7.) Minutes, National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., 1937, 173. (8.) Ibid., 252-61. (9.) Leroy Fitts, A History of Black Baptists (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1985), 267-68. (10.) Ibid., 268-69; quote on p. 269. (11.) Minutes, NBCI, 1942, 51-52, 134. (12.) Ibid., 234, 241,260-63. (13.) For Burroughs's comments, see ibid., 1942, 271-77. (14.) Ibid., 281. (15.) Ibid., 1942, 283. For an account of African-American women in the armed services The Constitution authorizes Congress to raise, support, and regulate armed services for the national defense. The President of the United States is commander in chief of all the branches of the services and has ultimate control over most military matters. during World War II, see Martha S. Putney, When the Nation Was in Need: Blacks in the Women's Army Corps Women's Army Corps: see WAC. Women's Army Corps (WAC) U.S. Army unit. It was established (as the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps) by Congress to enlist women for auxiliary noncombat duty in World War II. Its first head was Oveta C. Hobby. During World War II (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Scarecrow goes to Wizard of Oz to get brains. [Am. Lit.: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz] See : Ignorance can’t live up to his name. [Am. Lit.: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; Am. Press, Inc., 1992). (16.) Minutes, NBCI, 1942, 286. (17.) Ibid., 1942, 290-91. (18.) Ibid., 1947, 91. (19.) Ibid., 1947, 95. (20.) Ibid., 1947, 373-74. Sandy Dwayne Martin is professor of religion and head, Department of Religion, University of Georgia Organization The President of the University of Georgia (as of 2007, Michael F. Adams) is the head administrator and is appointed and overseen by the Georgia Board of Regents. , Athens.

In key chapters, Estrin explains: - Ongoing, sustainable innovation results from interactions between the three communities of an Innovation Ecosystem - research, development, and application - at an organizational, national or global level. - Just as there are basic laws that underlie biological ecosystems, there is a set of core values that must work in balance to support innovation. As a group, they determine the capacity for change of an individual, organization, or nation. - Our short-sightedness has led to major challenges — dependence on oil, climate change, health care, and national security — that threaten our economy and quality of life. Each challenge also brings opportunities — if we give innovation the attention it deserves.

Broccoli is a member of the Brassica genus of vegetables, high in phytochemicals. Other members include bok choy, brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, mustard greens and turnips. Photo by Radek Bayek | SXC. This glossary is protected by copyright and cannot be reproduced in whole or part. An enzyme or other organic molecule that reduces the rate of particular oxidation reactions and can counteract the damaging effects of oxygen in tissues. Although the term technically applies to molecules reacting with oxygen, it is often applied to molecules that provide protection from any free radical (i.e., a molecule with an unpaired electron). While new foods seem to appear every day touting higher levels of antioxidants (the latest is the açaí berry from the rainforests of Brazil), the highest level of antioxidant foods generally found in supermarkets are, in order of strength: undutched cocoa powder; bittersweet chocolate (particularly that which has 85% or more in cocoa solids); white tea; green rooibos tea; green tea; red rooibos tea; oolong tea; and black tea. Highbush blueberries. Photo courtesy U.S. Agricultural Research Service. Some studies claim that the blueberry (especially wild blueberry, a.k.a. bilberry) contains more antioxidants than any other mainstream fruit or vegetable, when compared on the basis of equal calories. Others give the top award to Montmorency cherry juice—which does have more calories than blueberries, but is accessible year-round. Other fruits and berries that are high in antioxidants include the blackberry, raspberry, cranberry, cherry (especially the Montmorency, also known as the tart or sour cherry), dried plum (prune), dark grapes (including raisins, purple grape juice and red wine), crowberry (a North American berry that looks similar to a blueberry), kiwi, pomegranate, papaya (a source of vitamin E, lycopene and beta-carotene, three very powerful antioxidants), citrus fruit such as orange and grapefruit (the highest concentration of antioxidants are in the pulp, where the pectin is found); and leafy, dark green cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, daikon radish, kale, kohlrabi, mustard/chard greens, parsnip, rutabaga, turnip and watercress). See the chart below for a more extensive list. Biochemically, catechins are monomers (molecules that can be chemically bound as a unit of a polymer) of flavanol, a subclass of flavonoids, which are themselves a subclass of polyphenols. Catechins make up some 25% of the dry weight of a fresh tea leaf. The concentration of catechins is higher in green and white tea†; in black and oolong teas the oxidation process inactivates the catechins. Tea contains four main catechin substances: EC, EG, EGC and ECGC, all of which are inclusively called “catechin.” Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is the one most abundant in tea. EGCG as an antioxidant is about 25 to 100 times more potent than the antioxidant vitamins C and E. †White tea is substantially more expensive than green tea, and has a few more catechins per serving. Photo courtesy SXC. (Tea flavor, color and astringency are in part due to the condensation of the catechins to form the bright orange-red pigment thalami.) Researchers believe that catechin is effective because it easily sticks to proteins, blocking bacteria from adhering to cell walls and disrupting their ability to destroy them. Viruses have hooks on their surfaces and can attach to cell walls. The catechin in green tea prevents viruses from adhering and causing harm. Catechin reacts with toxins created by harmful bacteria and harmful metals such as lead, mercury, chrome and cadmium. Epigallocatechin gallate, a specific antioxidant compound found in green tea and elsewhere, is a key biological and biochemical driver for many health benefits, for reasons noted in the “Catechin” definition. It can reduce cancers and tumors, prevent cancer cells from growing, lower cholesterol, help digest excess fat and even protect against the common cold virus. Worldwide studies are ongoing and reports regularly discover new health benefits.

The blastomussa is a hard coral species of the Blastomussa and Micromussa genus that populates the waters of the Indo-Pacific region, and is also known as a Blasto Coral, Pineapple Coral or Branched Cup Coral. Most can be found on deeper reef slopes where the position provides an excellent shield from rough wave conditions and other environmental disturbances. Sometimes confused with the Candy Cane coral, it can be distinguished by a more compact and rounded appearance. It can also be mistaken for Mushroom Anemones because the fleshy polyps will usually cover the entire skeleton when they are wide open. Blastomussa is a rare coral, and only contains two distinct species- the Blastomussa Merleti and Blastomussa Wellsi. Blastomussa are colonial creatures and when fully formed, resemble brain corals when polyps are completely open. The centers of blastomussa are vivid neon green which seems to radiate and glow when exposed to light. Species ofblastomussa are usually dark red with shades of brown and green colors mixed in its bodies. The two types of blastomussa have very different size polyps and therefore easy to identify from one another. The B. Wellsi blastomussa have polyps that are large and fleshy, and range from 1-5 in size, while those of B. Merleti are less than one. The composition of B. Merleti is made of pipe-like polyps, which elongate the skeleton that connects to the base and ultimately other polyps in the colony. Reef hobbyists are able to easily propagate this type of blastomussa because of the lengthy polyps which break off easily into single or clustered polyps, allowing for new colonies to form in alternate locations. Blastomussa's Relationship With Algae What blastomussa doesn't share with other types of hard corals, it makes up for in its photosynthetic nature. While it does secure food from other sources, the majority of its nutritional content is made from exclusively the minute algae it hosts within its body. When blastomussa do hunt for prey, it uses its feeding tentacles to expand and trap organisms that are brought by in the ocean currents. When these tentacles are extended to full capacity, the blastomussa mimics the appearance of a sea anemone. Coexistence With Blastomussa There are many organisms that live in coexistence with the blastomussa. Organisms find the blastomussa attractive because the skeletal structure makes an obscure hiding place where they can be protected from predators. Neighboring sea creatures that prefer the blastomussa in which to settle include sponges mollusks, various sessile invertebrates and even other corals. Blastomussa In Captivity The blastomussa corals are hard to obtain, mainly because of their natural location within the ocean. By dwelling at significant depths and hiding on the side of lower reef slopes, blastomussa are difficult to harvest, and will therefore sell for high prices to hobbyists and reef enthusiasts. Individual polyps can sell at prices of $70 or more!

These beautiful and other-worldly photographs of ice were taken last year by University of Washington graduate student Jeff Bowman and his professor Jody Deming while they worked on a study combining oceanography, microbiology, and planetary sciences in the central Arctic Ocean as part of the Integrated Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) program. Their single focus was the study of frost flowers, a strange phenomenon where frost grows from imperfections in the surface ice amid extreme sub-zero temperatures nearing -22C or -7.6F, forming spiky structures that have been found to house microorganisms. In fact, the bacteria found in the frost flowers is much more dense than in the frozen water below it, meaning each flower is essentially a temporary ecosystem, not unlike a coral reef. Via IGERT: Around their research icebreaker in the central Arctic Ocean new ice grows on long open cracks that network amongst the thick floes of pack ice. Abruptly the surface of this new ice changes texture. The cold, moist air above the open cracks becomes saturated and frost begins to form wherever an imperfection can be found on the ice surface. From these nucleation points the flower-like frost structures grow vertically, quickly rising to centimeters in height. The hollow tendrils of these “frost flowers” begin to wick moisture from the ice surface, incorporating salt, marine bacteria, and other substances as they grow. The fog dissipates and the Arctic sun lights the surface of the frost flowers, initiating a cascade of chemical reactions. These reactions can produce formaldehyde, deplete ozone, and actually alter the chemical composition of the lower atmosphere. [...] Bowman and Deming have discovered that bacteria are consistently more abundant in frost flowers than in sea ice. Since microscopic pockets in sea ice are known to support an active community of psychrophiles (cold-loving microorganisms), even in the coldest months of the year, these results are encouraging. Bowman and Deming are currently building an ultra-clean chamber where they can grow artificial frost flowers and hope that their research leads to a better understanding of how life might be able to survive in extreme conditions elsewhere in the universe. Amazing! Photos by Matthias Wietz. (via the daily what)

Interested in reprint rights for this article? Deadly enemy, deadly friend By Dr. STEPHEN J. SNIEGOSKI Benjamin Ginsberg's The Fatal Embrace: Jews and the State, which deals with the rise and fall of Jews in different societies, is an intellectual bombshell. A liberal American Jew who teaches political science at Johns Hopkins, Ginsberg makes observations about Jewish influence in government and society that would be deemed anti-Semitic if expressed by a Gentile. Ginsberg, however, does not criticize that Jewish power for being harmful to Gentiles; his only concern is the harm it can cause for Jews by provoking Gentiles to anti-Semitic actions. Outlining Jewish power since the Middle Ages, Ginsberg notes that Jews helped kings expand and centralize their realms; in mediæval Spain, for example, Jews were closely tied to the monarchies, largely, but not solely, in the financial sphere. But they also took the lead in working for the revolutionary destruction of societies hostile to Jews; thus, Jews played key roles in European revolutions, liberal and Communist alike. In the liberal revolutions and in the development of liberal states, Jews propagandized the public and financed liberal groups. In France, Jews helped establish the Third Republic in the 1870s; their influence loomed especially large in the republic's anti-clerical campaigns. Jewish financial and media power also provided the underpinning for the Weimar Republic, whose depiction as the Judenrepublik by anti-Semites was not far from the mark. In late 19th-century Britain, the Jewish-dominated press championed imperialism, which benefited Jewish finance. And during the early stages of the Soviet regime, Jews were numerous in leadership positions, especially in the secret police and the propaganda agencies, which they dominated. In contrast to Judeophiles who claim that Jews observe a higher humanitarian ethos, Ginsberg acknowledges that Jewish Communists played a ruthless role in liquidating their opposition. Ginsberg warns that as a result of their great power, Jews become a highly visible target for the enemies of the regime and often suffer group destruction with the regime's demise. Thus in the late 15th century, Ferdinand and Isabella expelled the Jews from Spain, where they had occupied key positions under previous monarchs. In Germany, Hitler eliminated the Jews along with the Weimar Republic; what enabled Nazism to succeed was a coalescence of lower- and upper-class opposition to Jewish power. Where such a fusion of divergent classes does not take place, as in the French Third Republic, Jewish power survives despite a high degree of anti-Semitism. The Jewish fall from power does not always require the demise of a friendly regime. Sometimes a previously hospitable regime will eliminate Jews when they are no longer necessary for the maintenance of power, as was the case in the Soviet Union when Stalin dispensed with Jews. Ginsberg's fundamental theory is that the Jewish close relationship with the state is a "fatal embrace": the achievement of great power, and the concomitant high visibility, invite group destruction as situations change. Ginsberg devotes the greatest part of his book to the history of Jewish power in America. German Jews gained significant power in the United States after the Civil War, largely in the realm of finance. Jews financed the U.S. regime's Civil War debt, the debts of the reconstructed Southern states, and the nascent industries. In essence, according to our author, Jews were a part of the new business and industrial class of the Gilded Age, and became "identified with the worst excesses of the nineteenth-century industrial order." (p. 75) Jewish prominence induced an anti-Semitic opposition from Southern and Western agrarians (Populists), and from old-stock New England patricians. Reacting to that anti-Semitic criticism, the Gentile business class jettisoned its ties with the Jews and aligned itself with the patricians. Thus, the 1890s saw the emergence both of exclusive clubs that barred Jews and of anti-Jewish quotas in the Ivy League colleges. Having been thrust out of the business elite, Jews sought to alter the American economic system, Ginsberg writes. They identified with the Progressive reform movement and on the part of the newly immigrating Eastern European Jews with radical socialism. The Jewish role in the Progressive movement crested in the Wilson administration, with Louis Brandeis playing a major role in the creation of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Trade Commission. However, the Jewish rise was transitory, cut short by the anti-radical Red Scare in the aftermath of World War I, which destroyed radical and reform movements as well as (in Ginsberg's view) an emerging welfare state. It was with Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal that Jews gained long-term power in the United States, power that continues into the present. Jews served as Roosevelt's idea men and staffed his New Deal agencies. They played a fundamental part in fashioning the centralized American welfare state and Ginsberg asserts that they created it to serve their own interests. In contrast to American Protestants' success in the private sector, Ginsberg writes that Jews "relied upon the state and the public economy to achieve positions of influence and status in American society." (p. 103) That account contrasts, we should note, with Thomas Sowell's portrayal of Jewish success via the free market. Jews also played a significant role in getting the United States into World War II to destroy their Nazi nemesis. And they worked actively to undermine popular noninterventionist resistance to war. For example, the Anti-Defamation League "employed investigative agents who secretly penetrated isolationist and anti-Semitic organizations and collected potentially damaging or incriminating information" which it turned over to the FBI and other federal agencies. (p. 110) Ginsberg does not develop this point, but given the fact that the overwhelming majority of "isolationists" were not enemy agents and were simply exercising their constitutional right to oppose a policy, it is apparent that activist American Jews have been quite willing to crush the civil liberties of others in order to advance their own goals. Jews also played a critical part in turning the media toward a prowar stance. (That was quite an achievement, since the American mood in the 1930s was strongly antiwar and "isolationist.") In Hollywood, Jewish film makers concentrated on producing anti-Nazi propaganda films to prepare the masses for a crusade against evil. In the immediate postwar period, right-wing attacks on Communist subversion put Jews on the defensive. Since Jews had been numerous in the American Communist Party, to them the attacks reeked of anti-Semitism. But by joining forces with the also-imperiled WASP elite, Jews were able to destroy the threat by exercising their media power. They did not just succeed in downplaying the idea of Communist subversion; they were even able to change the issue from Communist subversion to the right-wing threat to American civil liberties. That was quite a striking ideological turnaround from the Jews' total disregard of the civil liberties of pre-World War II "isolationists." The Jewish success against the right-wing danger meant that by the late 1950s, "conservative anti-Communists who sought to maintain a modicum of respectability ... carefully avoided the least hint of anti-Semitism." (p. 125) Ginsberg cites William F. Buckley Jr. as an example. In the 1960s, the Jews played key roles in the civil rights revolution and the concomitant Great Society programs. For Jews, Ginsberg points out, support for black civil rights was not only a "moral commitment" but also an "important political tactic" to weaken the white South and the ethnic machine politicians in the North, and, as a consequence, increase their own relative power within the Democratic coalition. Moreover, the advancement of the concept of "equality of opportunity" bolstered Jewish power throughout society. (pp. 125-26) Jews opposed the Vietnam War because it inhibited the expansion of those liberal Great Society programs in which their power resided. By the end of the Great Society reforms, Jews, in Ginsberg's view, had become the major force in American politics and government: "From the 1970s onward, Jews led or were influential in most, though not all, of the political reform, feminist, consumer rights, gay rights, environmentalist and other public interest groups and related foundations, study groups, and think tanks that came to dominate the Democratic party during the 1970s and continue to be the leading forces within that party today." (p. 137) And Jews wield considerable power in the institutions of the American welfare state, holding as they do prominent positions in the "public or quasi-public economy of government agencies, helping professions, private foundations, think tanks, and universities." (p. 140) Since Jewish power and wealth is either directly or indirectly tied to the national government, rather than to state and local governments or to the strictly private sector, Jews have a vested interest in its maintenance and expansion. In short, Ginsberg contends, Jews support the liberal welfare state for reasons of material self-interest: "Jewish liberalism is more an institutional than an attitudinal phenomenon. It is associated more with Jews' political linkages and involvements than with their underlying attitudes." (p. 143) Ginsberg attributes the rise of black anti-Semitism over the past couple decades to the desire of upwardly mobile blacks to share in the positions of power held by Jews in the welfare-state apparatus. Jews may oppose some black activities, but they cannot become too critical of blacks because it is the idea of helping disadvantaged blacks that provides the "legitimation of the American welfare state." Indeed, Ginsberg maintains, "Many Jews and Jewish organizations believe that the fundamental interests of Jews are so closely tied, both politically and institutionally, to those of blacks, that it is sometimes necessary to support black demands even when, conceived narrowly or in the short term, these seem to be disadvantageous to Jews." (p. 165) It is that vested interest in the liberal welfare state that prevented most Jews from turning to Republicanism in the 1980s despite the Republicans' support for pro-Jewish positions on racial quotas and the defense of Israel. Although the overwhelming majority of Jews did not turn to Reagan Republicanism in the 1980s, "Jews played important roles in implementing the administration's economic and foreign policy objectives," Ginsberg writes. "The association of Jews with Reaganism, especially in the realm of foreign policy, helped to heighten the anti-Semitism of forces on the political Left but produced a measure of philo-Semitism on the right, most notably among Protestant fundamentalists." (p. 188) Neoconservative Reaganauts identified Israel as America's "strategic asset" in the Cold War, and Israel actually helped the United States fight communism in Latin America and elsewhere. In the economic realm, Jewish parvenu financiers such as Michael Milken were the major beneficiaries of the Reagan rollback of regulations. Ginsberg claims that the Republicans, unable to attract any significant number of Jews to their side, abandoned their support of the neocon elite with the end of the Cold War. Israel simply was no longer needed as an ally. Thus President Bush and Secretary of State James Baker tried to coerce Israel into following American Middle East policy and in so doing alienated their neoconservative support. Ginsberg, who completed Fatal Embrace at the beginning of the Clinton administration, emphasizes the large number of Jews who were entering that regime, reinforcing his theme of American Jewry's continued identification with liberal Democrats. The author attempts to gauge whether Jewish power which aroused strong opposition in the past is threatened today. Despite the explicit anti-Semitism of blacks, Ginsberg doubts that they pose a direct threat to Jews because of their dependence on the welfare state that Jews supervise: blacks and Jews are "locked into a long-term relationship which neither can easily abandon." (p. 183) Black anti-Semitic rhetoric, however, has loosened the taboo against anti-Semitism in American society, according to Ginsberg, so that white right-wing forces Joe Sobran, Patrick Buchanan, David Duke, paleoconservatives can attack Jews and their agenda. Ginsberg believes that those right-wingers, if they should use the correct populist appeal to unite upper- and lower-class whites in what he characterizes as the Nazi manner, could pose a formidable threat to American Jewry: "An alliance of radical populists and respectable conservatives would almost inevitably make vigorous use of anti-Semitic themes to attack the liberal Democratic regime, and the Jews would find themselves locked in the fatal embrace of yet another state." (p. 243) Ginsberg is far more explicit on the reality of Jewish power than any other pro-Jewish author of which this reader is aware. However, he leaves some important matters unresolved. First, it must be asked: What enables Jews to dominate societies? Ginsberg says they have certain talents scholarly, business, managerial not possessed by the bulk of the population. However, he does not claim (like Nathaniel Weyl) that Jews are innately more intelligent than other people. It is odd that societies supposedly based on equality (such as America's current welfare state) would come to reflect greater Jewish dominance. With all the purported equal educational opportunities and aid to the disadvantaged, one would think that social and economic differences among groups would lessen over time. Of course, it could be argued that the real purpose of the liberal welfare state is not to help the disadvantaged but rather to keep them dependent in order to maintain the rationale for the welfare institutions that Jews dominate. Ginsberg does not even hint at this explanation. Also problematic is the author's understanding of anti-Semitism. Ginsberg characterizes as anti-Semitic those Gentiles who are critical of Jewish power and its uses. Therefore, anti-Semitism does not necessarily entail racial hatred, threats of racial expulsion or racial extermination, or even lies. A statement can be perfectly truthful and still qualify as anti-Semitic! Despite this apparent meaning, Ginsberg still gives anti-Semitism a negative connotation. Presumably, it is wrong for Gentiles to oppose the Jewish agenda. A reader of Ginsberg's book should understand from the outset that the work is directed to Jews and Judeophiles, and that the author's concern is the long-term effect of Jewish power on Jews. He does not dwell on the negative impacts that Jewish power has had on Gentiles, even though he cites examples in which Gentiles have been harmed such as in the Soviet Union. Finally, Ginsberg underplays the importance of neoconservatism. (Paul Gottfried, the foremost paleoconservative analyst of neoconservatism, has underscored the significant power of neoconservatism in such works as The Conservative Movement. ) Bush and Baker did anger neocons, but neoconservatism still dominates the Republican Party and the American conservative establishment. Neoconservatism simply does not threaten the welfare-state apparatus that provides Jews a base of power. As paleoconservatives correctly point out, neoconservatism simply acts to coopt the conservative thrust of the electorate, rendering it harmless to those whose interests are served by the welfare state. Besides being innocuous to the domestic welfare state, a neocon Republican regime might better serve Jewish foreign policy interests than a liberal Democratic one. It could pursue a Zionist-oriented globalistic foreign policy without the inhibitions of the Democratic Left. And having neocons in strategic positions in the Republican Party means that the Jews have placed their eggs in more than one basket: no matter who controls the government, Democrat or Republican, Jewish power remains intact. Outside of the Jewish orbit there remain only Patrick Buchanan and the paleoconservatives, whom Ginsberg sees as imminent threats to Jewish power and its agenda. Despite some questionable interpretations, The Fatal Embrace is of immense value for its candid discussion of Jewish power, especially since it is authored by a Jew who identifies closely with Jewish interests. It is must reading for anyone interested in this taboo but critically important subject. Posted July 26, 2001 If you found this article to be interesting, please donate to our cause. You should make your check or m.o. payable in U.S. dollars to WTM Enterprises and send it to: P.O. Box 224 Roanoke, IN 46783 Thanks for helping to assure a future for TLD! Notice to visitors who came straight to this document from off site: You are deep in The Last Ditch. You should check out our home page and table of contents. *New York: Macmillan, *New York: Macmillan, 1992. [Back]