The final refrain of Martin Luther King Jr.'s most famous speech will echo around the world as bells from churches, schools and historical monuments "let freedom ring" in celebration of a powerful moment in civil rights history.
Organizers said sites in nearly every state will ring their bells at 3 p.m. their time Wednesday or at 3 p.m. EDT, the hour when King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech in Washington.Commemorations are planned from the site of the speech in Washington to the far reaches of Alaska, where participants plan to ring cow bells along with church bells in Juneau.
"When we allow freedom to ring - when we let it ring from every city and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, `Free at last, free at last, great God almighty, we are free at last," King said in closing.
On Wednesday, bells will answer his call from each of the specific states King named, as well as at other sites around the nation and the world. At the Lincoln Memorial, President Barack Obama and former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter will join members of the King family and indoor Tracking. John Lewis, who also spoke at the March on Washington, in ringing a bell that hung in the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., before the church was bombed in 1963, organizers said.
International commemorations will be held at London's Trafalgar Square, as well as in the nations of Japan, Switzerland, Nepal and Liberia. London Mayor Boris Johnson has said King's speech resonates around the world and continues to inspire people as one of the great pieces of oratory.
"The response to our call to commemorate the March on Washington and my father's `I Have a Dream' speech has been overwhelming," King's daughter, the Rev. Bernice King, said in a written statement.Some of the sites that will host ceremonies are symbolic, such as the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in Topeka, Kan., a monument to the landmark Supreme Court case that outlawed segregated schools in 1954. Bells will also be rung at Lookout Mountain in Tennessee and Stone Mountain in Georgia, a site with a Confederate memorial that King referenced in his speech.
In the nation's capital, numerous organizations and churches will ring their bells at 3 p.m., including the Smithsonian Institution on the National Mall. Washington National Cathedral will play a series of tunes and spirituals on its carillon from the church's central bell tower, including "Lift Every Voice and Sing," "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory," "Amazing Grace," "We Shall Overcome" and "My Country `tis of Thee."The Very Rev. Gary Hall, the cathedral's dean, said bell ringing is a symbol of freedom in the nation's history and that many churches are trying to answer King's call to be faithful to the roots of the civil rights movement.
"It's a kind of proclamation of our aspirations for the expansion of freedom for all people," he said. "It's always important to remember that the civil rights movement started largely as a church movement. ... It was essentially a group of black clergy with some white allies."
King preached his final Sunday sermon at the National Cathedral in 1968 before traveling on to Memphis, Tenn., where he was assassinated. King had been turning his attention more toward economic inequalities with his Poor People's Campaign, moving beyond solely racial issues to talk about all poor people and high unemployment.
His presence at the commemorative ceremony Wednesday will embody the fulfilled dreams of the hundreds of thousands who rallied there 50 years ago for racial equality - and will personify the continued struggle for that elusive goal.
When he became president, Obama blasted through a heavy barrier that many before him had only pushed against. But his presidency has been marred by racist backlash and his administration has found itself refighting battles already thought won, such as ensuring equal access to the polls.
Obama is expected to speak just after an organized ringing of bells by churches and others at 3 p.m. EDT, the time when the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his spellbinding "I Have a Dream" speech. Obama will be joined by former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton at the memorial's steps. Other luminaries include Lynda Bird Johnson Robb, daughter of President Lyndon Johnson, who signed the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
A march, led by a replica of a transit bus that civil rights leader Rosa Parks rode when she refused to give up her seat to a white man in 1955, and an interfaith service also were planned for Wednesday morning. A march held Saturday drew tens of thousands to the Lincoln Memorial.
Obama considers the 1963 march a "seminal event" and part of his generation's "formative memory." A half-century after the march, he said, is a good time to reflect on how far the country has come and how far it still has to go.
The first lady spoke Tuesday before a screening of the documentary "The Powerbroker: Whitney Young's Fight for Civil Rights." It follows Young's rise from segregated Kentucky to leader of the National Urban League during the 1960s.
Young was one of the organizers for the 1963 March on Washington, which featured Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech. Mrs. Obama is scheduled to join President Barack Obama as he makes a speech Wednesday commemorating the 50th anniversary of the march.
"For every Dr. King, there is a Whitney Young or a Roy Wilkins or a Dorothy Height, each of whom played a critical role in the struggle for change," she said before the screening at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, part of the White House complex.
Mrs. Obama said she learned from the documentary that Young drew from his intelligence and sense of humor to face discrimination and challenges. He worked with three presidential administrations, community leaders, business executives and regular citizens to champion for race relations.
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Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Babysitter sexually abused young boys
Thomas Curley, 73, of Cedar Road, Ribbleton pleaded guilty at Preston Crown Court to 14 counts of historic abuse dating back to the early nineties. Two of the charges were attempted rape, the other 12 were indecent assault.The frail pensioner, who appeared in the dock on crutches, escaped a life term because his offences over a 12-year period - which also involved a third, unconnected, boy - were committed before sentencing rules were tightened up.
Two of the victims, now adults, were in court as Judge Pamela Badley told Curley: “The family trusted you and the way you repaid that trust was to perform acts that these days would be called rape.“You don’t see yourself as a child sex offender. You don’t see yourself as presenting a potential risk to children. But your pattern of behaviour is such that young people have been at risk from you and will be in the future.”
Curley befriended the family and then set about abusing the eldest of the two boys on an almost daily basis when he was just six.Most of the offences, said prosecuting barrister Jeremy Grout-Smith, happened when he was babysitting, or when he called to take the children to school. He also assaulted the boy on a fishing trip and when he accompanied him on his paper round.
When the victim reached 16 and threatened to kill Curley with a knife, he turned his attention to the boy’s younger brother, abusing him several times a week for between 18 months and two years.“He was a trusted, close family friend,” said Mr Grout-Smith. “He won the family’s trust and gained free access to their home.”
The court heard Curley became more physical and aggressive and at times grabbed the eldest boy by the throat or tied his hands before abusing him.The impact on the family, said Mr Grout-Smith, had been ?“devastating.” The abuse had a “catastrophic” effect on the eldest brother in particular. He felt Curley owned him and made him feel worthless and full of self-loathing. He turned to drink and drugs to cope with the abuse and Indoor Positioning System.
The youngest brother felt he was “a piece of meat,” was stripped of his confidence and was disgusted with himself. He too turned to cannabis.“The whole family has been tortured by Curley’s evil conduct towards the boys,” added Mr Grout-Smith. Defending Curley, who had previous child sex convictions dating back to 1955, Jane Dagnall told the court her client had himself been a victim of abuse as a child. “He is at risk of self-harm and has made suicide attempts in the past,” she said.
Judge Badley told him he was guilty of “depraved and disgusting behaviour towards children.”The older brother, she said, “was only six when he had the misfortune to be put in close proximity to you. His family have gone through agonies of regret over this.“I have considered whether a life sentence is available, but there are no complete rape offences here so I must move on from that.
“Despite you advanced age I am of the opinion that there is a significant risk to the public. This is a lengthy sentence and it is certainly one where your victims will be counting the days.”
The last time Dan Braniff fomented a seniors’ revolution, he was a sprightly 74. This time he’s a less nimble 82, but the issue compels him to sound the bugle again.
His first crusade ended in victory, although it took a change of government to get it. In 2005, Braniff and a few friends — “five old geezers” as he put it — launched a campaign to persuade former prime minister Paul Martin to allow married seniors to split their retirement income equally, reducing their tax bill. They managed to enlist 2.5 million people.
Braniff expects this battle to be bigger. Pensioners across Canada will be sideswiped if Ottawa gives American telecommunications giant Verizon privileged access to the Canadian telecommunications market. Many have a large portion of their savings invested in Bell, Rogers and Telus.
As a former executive of Bell Canada, Braniff is more exposed than most. But he is by no means alone. Robert Farmer, president of the Canadian Federation of Pensioners, which represents a quarter of a million retirees, fired off a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, warning that the failure of any of the big three Canadian telecommunications companies would bring “irreparable harm to all pensioners.”
Bernard Dussault, former chief actuary of the Canada Pension Plan, issued an analysis calling seniors the forgotten victims of the government’s scheme to intervene in the telecommunications market. “The three wireless incumbents represent a core investment for most Canadian pensions, savings plans, RRSPs, RRIFs and numerous nest eggs,” he wrote, pointing out their market value had dropped by about $15 billion since Aug. 9.
No one is accusing the government of deliberately putting the incomes of pensioners at risk. But federal officials would be trading seniors’ security for the possibility of lower cellphones rates under the rules the Tories have set for next year’s wireless spectrum auction.
Industry Canada has stipulated that Bell, Rogers and Telus would each be restricted to bidding on 25 per cent of the 700-megahertz band (which provides the highest-speed service). New entrants, such as Verizon, would be allowed to bid for 50 per cent of the new frequency.
Read the full products at www.ecived.com/en/!
Two of the victims, now adults, were in court as Judge Pamela Badley told Curley: “The family trusted you and the way you repaid that trust was to perform acts that these days would be called rape.“You don’t see yourself as a child sex offender. You don’t see yourself as presenting a potential risk to children. But your pattern of behaviour is such that young people have been at risk from you and will be in the future.”
Curley befriended the family and then set about abusing the eldest of the two boys on an almost daily basis when he was just six.Most of the offences, said prosecuting barrister Jeremy Grout-Smith, happened when he was babysitting, or when he called to take the children to school. He also assaulted the boy on a fishing trip and when he accompanied him on his paper round.
When the victim reached 16 and threatened to kill Curley with a knife, he turned his attention to the boy’s younger brother, abusing him several times a week for between 18 months and two years.“He was a trusted, close family friend,” said Mr Grout-Smith. “He won the family’s trust and gained free access to their home.”
The court heard Curley became more physical and aggressive and at times grabbed the eldest boy by the throat or tied his hands before abusing him.The impact on the family, said Mr Grout-Smith, had been ?“devastating.” The abuse had a “catastrophic” effect on the eldest brother in particular. He felt Curley owned him and made him feel worthless and full of self-loathing. He turned to drink and drugs to cope with the abuse and Indoor Positioning System.
The youngest brother felt he was “a piece of meat,” was stripped of his confidence and was disgusted with himself. He too turned to cannabis.“The whole family has been tortured by Curley’s evil conduct towards the boys,” added Mr Grout-Smith. Defending Curley, who had previous child sex convictions dating back to 1955, Jane Dagnall told the court her client had himself been a victim of abuse as a child. “He is at risk of self-harm and has made suicide attempts in the past,” she said.
Judge Badley told him he was guilty of “depraved and disgusting behaviour towards children.”The older brother, she said, “was only six when he had the misfortune to be put in close proximity to you. His family have gone through agonies of regret over this.“I have considered whether a life sentence is available, but there are no complete rape offences here so I must move on from that.
“Despite you advanced age I am of the opinion that there is a significant risk to the public. This is a lengthy sentence and it is certainly one where your victims will be counting the days.”
The last time Dan Braniff fomented a seniors’ revolution, he was a sprightly 74. This time he’s a less nimble 82, but the issue compels him to sound the bugle again.
His first crusade ended in victory, although it took a change of government to get it. In 2005, Braniff and a few friends — “five old geezers” as he put it — launched a campaign to persuade former prime minister Paul Martin to allow married seniors to split their retirement income equally, reducing their tax bill. They managed to enlist 2.5 million people.
Braniff expects this battle to be bigger. Pensioners across Canada will be sideswiped if Ottawa gives American telecommunications giant Verizon privileged access to the Canadian telecommunications market. Many have a large portion of their savings invested in Bell, Rogers and Telus.
As a former executive of Bell Canada, Braniff is more exposed than most. But he is by no means alone. Robert Farmer, president of the Canadian Federation of Pensioners, which represents a quarter of a million retirees, fired off a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, warning that the failure of any of the big three Canadian telecommunications companies would bring “irreparable harm to all pensioners.”
Bernard Dussault, former chief actuary of the Canada Pension Plan, issued an analysis calling seniors the forgotten victims of the government’s scheme to intervene in the telecommunications market. “The three wireless incumbents represent a core investment for most Canadian pensions, savings plans, RRSPs, RRIFs and numerous nest eggs,” he wrote, pointing out their market value had dropped by about $15 billion since Aug. 9.
No one is accusing the government of deliberately putting the incomes of pensioners at risk. But federal officials would be trading seniors’ security for the possibility of lower cellphones rates under the rules the Tories have set for next year’s wireless spectrum auction.
Industry Canada has stipulated that Bell, Rogers and Telus would each be restricted to bidding on 25 per cent of the 700-megahertz band (which provides the highest-speed service). New entrants, such as Verizon, would be allowed to bid for 50 per cent of the new frequency.
Read the full products at www.ecived.com/en/!
Monday, August 26, 2013
How the Video Game Sacked Its Rivals
The year was 1988. George Michael’s “Faith” was top of the pops. “Roseanne” was the number-one show on TV. Bruce Willis, starring in “Die Hard,” still had hair. As a sophomore at Bowdoin College, I was rocking a wicked moustache. And a game called “John Madden Football” from Electronic Arts slipped onto the market for the primitive consoles and computers of the era.
On Tuesday, the Madden franchise turns 25, with versions of “Madden 25” for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and next-generation consoles going on sale. Madden stands pretty much alone, with EA’s wallet ensuring few others will be able to match its might in licensing National Football League teams and players or bearing the development costs to set industry standards in motion graphics and realism.
It wasn’t always that way. The original Madden game was several years in the making, and when it came out, it was essentially a football version of the stats-and-blocky-graphics hit, “Earl Weaver Baseball.”
In 1988, it was the most-realistic pro football simulation out there, but because there were no NFL team or player licenses for football computer games, teams were only loosely based on the Hands free access. Players were colored blips on a green-and-white-lined screen. Play success was based on stats. You could only play one-off exhibition games, but you could store those games in progress on a floppy disk.
Even then, you could see the possibilities. That has long been the hallmark of the EA game, as it took out competitor after competitor. Does anyone remember Joe Montana Football, also an EA game? NFL 2K? NFL Game Day? NFL Fever? NFL Blitz? They were all roadkill under the wheels of the ever-growing Madden team bus.
I remember playing Madden for the first time in a computer lab. I wasn’t hooked. It wasn’t as good or easy to play as Earl Weaver Baseball, and in 1991, I switched briefly to Joe Montana Football. That was a more arcade-like experience, with fewer choices and easier-to-master computer controls.
But with a great leap in computer processing power, I switched back to Madden — now cool enough to have just one, single name — in the mid-1990s. I bought and played each annual update religiously, reveling in the ever-improving and more-realistic graphics and gameplay.
I also cussed over some of the developers’ decisions to change controls or introduce new features that scratched the shine off the user experience or marred gameplay. EA and developers are under constant pressure to innovate what’s basically the same game, year after year. Some years, they succeeded. In others, they failed.
For this column, I hark back to earlier versions of Madden, giving you the five memorable features, good and bad. I am leaving out the amazing advances in graphics that we’ve seen through the years, because new and faster hardware have largely made that all possible for pretty much every game.
from the very first version, Madden was about customization, however simple-structured. Back then, there was a blank team you could name, and a roster you could populate, providing ratings for the players. I remember the roster crashed regularly on my PC, and I was forever trying to figure out how to save the roster I had spent hours building before the next crash. Now, customization of rosters or creation of players (first seen in Madden NFL 1996) is all very visual and is handled through menus and icons. You can make your player look any way you want, give him tattoos, gear, rtls, helmet styles and fit him out with other purchased or unlocked kit. Player ratings can be set and adjusted whenever you like. You can earn boosts. Ultimate Team, the online customizable team you assembled through card packs, trying to improve skills and chemistry, first appeared in 2010 and has become a favorite mode for online gamers.
Madden NFL 1999 first let you step back and think about more than calling plays. Using the new franchise mode, you could behave like a general manager, trading players, signing free agents and carrying your new team through over several seasons. Several seasons later, Madden NFL 2004 added owner functions, like letting you bring in consultants to advise on your franchise decisions and set ticket prices to draw in crowds. Madden NFL 2006 recognized that super-rich players could also make or break a franchise and let you take control of your career from your rookie year to the Hall of Fame via Superstar Mode. Madden started letting you play head-to-head with other gamers in Madden NFL 2003, but it wasn’t until Madden NFL 2010 that you could finally take your franchise online and play it against other players. This year, Madden 25 has merged Superstar Mode and the Online Franchise mode, letting you hop between coach or player without having to start a new dynasty. And Owner Mode is back as part of the Connected Franchise feature.
In the real game of football, a quarterback has multiple choices for receivers. In the early days of electronic football games, it wasn’t like that. You locked in one play for one receiver and hurled the ball in his general direction. If he was covered, you either ran the ball or threw it out of bounds. Then came Madden NFL 1994 and the introduction of choice. Early icon passing was done via multiple, tiled windows through which you picked a receiver. That has since been gradually improved and modified to let you pick any receiver you want, on the fly, with a single button push on your controller. Precision passing, both as a named feature and a refinement of the single-choice pass, was a welcome refinement. Just like in the NFL, the quarterback can do a touch or lob pass with a tap of a button or fire a bullet by holding the button down and slightly alter the receiver’s route with a touch of a stick, allowing him to reach around, behind or in front of a defender. The subtlety makes all the difference in a skilled player’s hands and has made Madden inherently more-realistic and fun.
Less fun was the introduction of the Vision Cone in Madden NFL 2006. Supposedly tied to the quarterback’s skill level and tendencies, it totally skewed the game in an unrealistic direction, favoring pocket passers. Great passers had a cone that encompassed nearly everything, from sideline to sideline, while scrambling and running quarterbacks were nearly blind when they stepped back to pass, meaning they were far more-likely to be off-target. Good thing that cone disappeared without a further word and hasn’t been seen since.
Read the full products at http://www.ecived.com/en/!
On Tuesday, the Madden franchise turns 25, with versions of “Madden 25” for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and next-generation consoles going on sale. Madden stands pretty much alone, with EA’s wallet ensuring few others will be able to match its might in licensing National Football League teams and players or bearing the development costs to set industry standards in motion graphics and realism.
It wasn’t always that way. The original Madden game was several years in the making, and when it came out, it was essentially a football version of the stats-and-blocky-graphics hit, “Earl Weaver Baseball.”
In 1988, it was the most-realistic pro football simulation out there, but because there were no NFL team or player licenses for football computer games, teams were only loosely based on the Hands free access. Players were colored blips on a green-and-white-lined screen. Play success was based on stats. You could only play one-off exhibition games, but you could store those games in progress on a floppy disk.
Even then, you could see the possibilities. That has long been the hallmark of the EA game, as it took out competitor after competitor. Does anyone remember Joe Montana Football, also an EA game? NFL 2K? NFL Game Day? NFL Fever? NFL Blitz? They were all roadkill under the wheels of the ever-growing Madden team bus.
I remember playing Madden for the first time in a computer lab. I wasn’t hooked. It wasn’t as good or easy to play as Earl Weaver Baseball, and in 1991, I switched briefly to Joe Montana Football. That was a more arcade-like experience, with fewer choices and easier-to-master computer controls.
But with a great leap in computer processing power, I switched back to Madden — now cool enough to have just one, single name — in the mid-1990s. I bought and played each annual update religiously, reveling in the ever-improving and more-realistic graphics and gameplay.
I also cussed over some of the developers’ decisions to change controls or introduce new features that scratched the shine off the user experience or marred gameplay. EA and developers are under constant pressure to innovate what’s basically the same game, year after year. Some years, they succeeded. In others, they failed.
For this column, I hark back to earlier versions of Madden, giving you the five memorable features, good and bad. I am leaving out the amazing advances in graphics that we’ve seen through the years, because new and faster hardware have largely made that all possible for pretty much every game.
from the very first version, Madden was about customization, however simple-structured. Back then, there was a blank team you could name, and a roster you could populate, providing ratings for the players. I remember the roster crashed regularly on my PC, and I was forever trying to figure out how to save the roster I had spent hours building before the next crash. Now, customization of rosters or creation of players (first seen in Madden NFL 1996) is all very visual and is handled through menus and icons. You can make your player look any way you want, give him tattoos, gear, rtls, helmet styles and fit him out with other purchased or unlocked kit. Player ratings can be set and adjusted whenever you like. You can earn boosts. Ultimate Team, the online customizable team you assembled through card packs, trying to improve skills and chemistry, first appeared in 2010 and has become a favorite mode for online gamers.
Madden NFL 1999 first let you step back and think about more than calling plays. Using the new franchise mode, you could behave like a general manager, trading players, signing free agents and carrying your new team through over several seasons. Several seasons later, Madden NFL 2004 added owner functions, like letting you bring in consultants to advise on your franchise decisions and set ticket prices to draw in crowds. Madden NFL 2006 recognized that super-rich players could also make or break a franchise and let you take control of your career from your rookie year to the Hall of Fame via Superstar Mode. Madden started letting you play head-to-head with other gamers in Madden NFL 2003, but it wasn’t until Madden NFL 2010 that you could finally take your franchise online and play it against other players. This year, Madden 25 has merged Superstar Mode and the Online Franchise mode, letting you hop between coach or player without having to start a new dynasty. And Owner Mode is back as part of the Connected Franchise feature.
In the real game of football, a quarterback has multiple choices for receivers. In the early days of electronic football games, it wasn’t like that. You locked in one play for one receiver and hurled the ball in his general direction. If he was covered, you either ran the ball or threw it out of bounds. Then came Madden NFL 1994 and the introduction of choice. Early icon passing was done via multiple, tiled windows through which you picked a receiver. That has since been gradually improved and modified to let you pick any receiver you want, on the fly, with a single button push on your controller. Precision passing, both as a named feature and a refinement of the single-choice pass, was a welcome refinement. Just like in the NFL, the quarterback can do a touch or lob pass with a tap of a button or fire a bullet by holding the button down and slightly alter the receiver’s route with a touch of a stick, allowing him to reach around, behind or in front of a defender. The subtlety makes all the difference in a skilled player’s hands and has made Madden inherently more-realistic and fun.
Less fun was the introduction of the Vision Cone in Madden NFL 2006. Supposedly tied to the quarterback’s skill level and tendencies, it totally skewed the game in an unrealistic direction, favoring pocket passers. Great passers had a cone that encompassed nearly everything, from sideline to sideline, while scrambling and running quarterbacks were nearly blind when they stepped back to pass, meaning they were far more-likely to be off-target. Good thing that cone disappeared without a further word and hasn’t been seen since.
Read the full products at http://www.ecived.com/en/!
Mutoh America Exhibits
Mutoh will be introducing a new G7-enabled process control solution for its ValueJet family. Working in conjunction with ColorMetrix Technologies and SA International, Mutoh will demonstrate an enhanced version of its ColorVerify process control software with G7-based calibration, providing its users with an advanced set of tools for ensuring consistent color reproduction over time.
The new ValueJet 1617H - 64" hybrid printer prints on both rigid and roll substrates, with CMYK plus white ink, up to a half inch thick. Perfect for any sign shop looking to expand applications, increase production and save floor space. Print packaging prototypes, trade show graphics, POP signage, vehicle wraps and indoor and outdoor signage. The VJ1617H will be show in Mutoh's booth as well as the "Inkjet Candy Store," booth 1631.
Mutoh will also be demonstrating print/cut solutions with the new ValueCut Cutting Plotters. Available in three different cut widths, the ValueCut plotters are ideal for home, office and professional users providing the finest cutting quality with unsurpassed tracking capabilities. All models come standard with a roll support system for Indoor Positioning System, perfect tracking and multi-segment registration for long run cut job accuracy.
With the new ValueJet 1617H, Mutoh will also be presenting printing demonstrations on the ValueJet 1624 - 64" and 1324 - 54" printers. With blazing print speeds up to 600 sqft/hr (VJ1624), the VJ1624 and VJ1324 include a two year warranty, SA International FlexiPrint software and take-up system. Both printers have Smart Printing features including: Intelligent Interweave print technique that virtually eliminates banding, ValueJet Status Monitor app for remote printer monitoring, and can both printers can be equipped with Mutoh's SpectroVue VM-10 on-printer spectrophotometer for easy customized profile creation. The ValueJet 1624 printer is known as the "Wrapper's Choice" printer for speed, size and quality. Mutoh will be showcasing vehicle wrap tips and tricks at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. daily.
Mutoh will also be partnering with the Printerverse, booth 5440, providing an interactive booth for print professionals that includes seminars, meet and greets, social media forum and more.
An iPad or laptop, along with a cell phone or smartphone, will be a staple in some students’ backpacks this fall, as a growing number of districts now allow students to bring their own electronic devices with them to use in school.Once banned from school, schools are now recognizing today’s students are tomorrow’s digital citizens, and have adopted “bring your own device” policies.
The policy is new for Carlisle Area, Cumberland Valley and East Pennsboro Area school districts this year. Mechanicsburg Area School District piloted it last year, and is expanding it this year.Lower Dauphin, Northern York and West Shore school districts adopted the practice last school year, and Derry Twp. and Harrisburg Academy have had “bring your own” practices for two years.
Hazen said young people have some form in technology in their hands almost constantly. “For them to come to school and suddenly disconnect” isn’t realistic, he said. “School shouldn’t be a technology- free zone. We should try and incorporate it as best we can in daily practice.”
At Cumberland Valley, the reaction to the “bring your own device” policy was “very positive” when it was unveiled last spring, said Amy Lena, district supervisor of curriculum, instruction and indoor Tracking.“Of course there are some people who are a little nervous, because we don’t know what it will be like on a full scale,” she added.
But students “need to know how to be digital citizens. By allowing them to bring devices into the classroom, they can learn to use them in a real world situation,” Lena said. Students will learn how to evaluate Internet sites, and learn why some are not appropriate or credible as sources.
At Lower Dauphin High School, students can use cell phones “door-to-door,” Hazen said. “We allow teachers to regulate how they manage their classrooms, rather than making it a blanket rule,” Hazen said.
“It has worked really well in terms of students knowing what the rules were,” Hazen said. “Putting them away for tests – the kids get that.”One of the first uses in Cumberland Valley classrooms will be to allow students to provide immediate feedback or answers to teachers, either through their Internet-ready device or response pads the district purchased.
Students will also be able to type their work directly on their electronic tablet or laptop. That answers the questions posed by students who had been asking why they have to do a rough draft on paper, rather than type it, Lena said.“We will also save money, since we will not need to print as much, and can give it to them electronically,” she said. “We still will have.
devices available, since not everyone will be able to bring them right away.” But the district doesn’t have enough to give to every student, which is where the “bring your own” initiative helps.Lena said she isn’t sure how many students will be bringing their devices. The district did a survey on home Internet access, which showed most have some type of device at home.
As to whether the policy will highlight difference between the affluent and less fortunate, Lena doesn’t foresee it being an issue.
Read the full products at http://www.ecived.com/en/!
The new ValueJet 1617H - 64" hybrid printer prints on both rigid and roll substrates, with CMYK plus white ink, up to a half inch thick. Perfect for any sign shop looking to expand applications, increase production and save floor space. Print packaging prototypes, trade show graphics, POP signage, vehicle wraps and indoor and outdoor signage. The VJ1617H will be show in Mutoh's booth as well as the "Inkjet Candy Store," booth 1631.
Mutoh will also be demonstrating print/cut solutions with the new ValueCut Cutting Plotters. Available in three different cut widths, the ValueCut plotters are ideal for home, office and professional users providing the finest cutting quality with unsurpassed tracking capabilities. All models come standard with a roll support system for Indoor Positioning System, perfect tracking and multi-segment registration for long run cut job accuracy.
With the new ValueJet 1617H, Mutoh will also be presenting printing demonstrations on the ValueJet 1624 - 64" and 1324 - 54" printers. With blazing print speeds up to 600 sqft/hr (VJ1624), the VJ1624 and VJ1324 include a two year warranty, SA International FlexiPrint software and take-up system. Both printers have Smart Printing features including: Intelligent Interweave print technique that virtually eliminates banding, ValueJet Status Monitor app for remote printer monitoring, and can both printers can be equipped with Mutoh's SpectroVue VM-10 on-printer spectrophotometer for easy customized profile creation. The ValueJet 1624 printer is known as the "Wrapper's Choice" printer for speed, size and quality. Mutoh will be showcasing vehicle wrap tips and tricks at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. daily.
Mutoh will also be partnering with the Printerverse, booth 5440, providing an interactive booth for print professionals that includes seminars, meet and greets, social media forum and more.
An iPad or laptop, along with a cell phone or smartphone, will be a staple in some students’ backpacks this fall, as a growing number of districts now allow students to bring their own electronic devices with them to use in school.Once banned from school, schools are now recognizing today’s students are tomorrow’s digital citizens, and have adopted “bring your own device” policies.
The policy is new for Carlisle Area, Cumberland Valley and East Pennsboro Area school districts this year. Mechanicsburg Area School District piloted it last year, and is expanding it this year.Lower Dauphin, Northern York and West Shore school districts adopted the practice last school year, and Derry Twp. and Harrisburg Academy have had “bring your own” practices for two years.
Hazen said young people have some form in technology in their hands almost constantly. “For them to come to school and suddenly disconnect” isn’t realistic, he said. “School shouldn’t be a technology- free zone. We should try and incorporate it as best we can in daily practice.”
At Cumberland Valley, the reaction to the “bring your own device” policy was “very positive” when it was unveiled last spring, said Amy Lena, district supervisor of curriculum, instruction and indoor Tracking.“Of course there are some people who are a little nervous, because we don’t know what it will be like on a full scale,” she added.
But students “need to know how to be digital citizens. By allowing them to bring devices into the classroom, they can learn to use them in a real world situation,” Lena said. Students will learn how to evaluate Internet sites, and learn why some are not appropriate or credible as sources.
At Lower Dauphin High School, students can use cell phones “door-to-door,” Hazen said. “We allow teachers to regulate how they manage their classrooms, rather than making it a blanket rule,” Hazen said.
“It has worked really well in terms of students knowing what the rules were,” Hazen said. “Putting them away for tests – the kids get that.”One of the first uses in Cumberland Valley classrooms will be to allow students to provide immediate feedback or answers to teachers, either through their Internet-ready device or response pads the district purchased.
Students will also be able to type their work directly on their electronic tablet or laptop. That answers the questions posed by students who had been asking why they have to do a rough draft on paper, rather than type it, Lena said.“We will also save money, since we will not need to print as much, and can give it to them electronically,” she said. “We still will have.
devices available, since not everyone will be able to bring them right away.” But the district doesn’t have enough to give to every student, which is where the “bring your own” initiative helps.Lena said she isn’t sure how many students will be bringing their devices. The district did a survey on home Internet access, which showed most have some type of device at home.
As to whether the policy will highlight difference between the affluent and less fortunate, Lena doesn’t foresee it being an issue.
Read the full products at http://www.ecived.com/en/!
Monday, August 19, 2013
Kean computer science students in Union travel 'beyond the grave'
Nestled under ancient trees beside the First Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth lies a cemetery, richly studded with gravestones. Even through few words, the aged markers tell eloquent tales of the lives lived long ago in this town famous for its role in history. The fates of entire families, of patriots as well as unknowns, can be gleaned from the inscribed details on each slab.
A thoroughly modern innovation, developed by Kean University Computer Science students, now provides access to the wealth of information contained in the cemetery. Historical researchers, genealogists and any interested person can hold all the tales from these crypts in their own hands.
In September 2012 Reverend Higgs, a pastor of the Church, challenged Kean University Computer Science students to create a smartphone app to make the burial ground’s information easily accessible. This was indeed no small task as the cemetery contains more than 2,000 tombstones, in various stages of corrosion.
The Kean Computer Science and Information Technology student team, under direction of Professor Patricia Morreale and student Carlos Silva, divided into two groups, one to create an iPhone app and indoor Tracking, an Android app. Jason Bonafide, serving as database developer and administrator, supported both teams.
The Apple iPhone development team, was under the leadership of Josh Lisojo, with Allan Goncalves, Nathaly Lozano, and Harold Liao all contributing in areas of map and features. Lisojo also handled search functionality. The Apple iPhone emulator was used to build the Apple screens.
Daniel Church led the Google Android development team, with Dev Das, Steve Holtz, and Jugal Shah working on map, features, and search, respectively. The Android OS required expertise in Java and XML.The project was very demanding, as each team had to find ways to mirror the other team in search functionality and features. The Apple app (fpc Cemetery app) debuted in the Apple store mid-March 2103, with the Android app (FPC Cemetery) arriving in the Android store in April. Currently both apps are free to download.
The app is easily navigable and even incorporates humor (the search bar contains the prompt “I see dead people”). Users may seek information by name, year of death, age, or section of the burial grounds. Each individual’s file includes birth and death dates, age, cause of death, epitaph and a photo of the gravestone if available. In addition, there are maps and photos of the graveyard, and information for those planning a visit.Reverend Higgs is very satisfied with the final results and said, “The app was well received at the NJ Historic Trust annual preservation conference in Newark. It clearly represents a cutting-edge approach to linking the latest technology to the necessity of preserving and rediscovering our history.
Everywhere I've shown the app, people have been impressed by the quality of the work and intrigued as to how this technology can open new audiences to appreciating our heritage. My sincere appreciation to the Kean team for pioneering this new avenue to history.”
Now, in my 70s and with artificial knees, I walk or cycle and swim laps daily, all of which has kept me aerobically fit, free of pain, reasonably trim and energetic. So in combing recently through the professional literature on exercise and bone health, I was quite disappointed to learn that neither swimming nor cycling is especially good for my bones — at least, not the ones most susceptible to fracture. Swimming, in fact, might compromise the strength of those bones because it lacks the tug of gravity.
That’s what researchers have found when they measured bone mineral density in young athletes who swim or cycle, and even in some who run.
There are two reasons for this. One is the continuous nature of these activities. Bones, it seems, don’t like constant pressure. They respond better to exercise that involves forceful muscle contractions, occurring in starts and stops and with some variety — as happens, Hands free access, when playing tennis or training with weights.
To maintain strength, bones also need the stress of gravity, which is lacking in cycling and swimming and not as powerful when walking as it is when running. Being suspended in water is like floating in space for a short time: Once they leave Earth, astronauts lose bone.
In the famous Nurses’ Health Study, which has followed tens of thousands of postmenopausal women for decades, those who walked for at least four hours a week were 40 percent less likely to suffer hip fractures than those who walked less.
Those who walked for at least eight hours a week (or did the equivalent amount of another activity) were as unlikely to suffer hip fractures as women on hormone replacement therapy, long known to protect bones. As a bonus, walking briskly for exercise also lowered the women’s risk of developing heart disease, diabetes and stroke.
Read the full products at www.ecived.com/en/!
A thoroughly modern innovation, developed by Kean University Computer Science students, now provides access to the wealth of information contained in the cemetery. Historical researchers, genealogists and any interested person can hold all the tales from these crypts in their own hands.
In September 2012 Reverend Higgs, a pastor of the Church, challenged Kean University Computer Science students to create a smartphone app to make the burial ground’s information easily accessible. This was indeed no small task as the cemetery contains more than 2,000 tombstones, in various stages of corrosion.
The Kean Computer Science and Information Technology student team, under direction of Professor Patricia Morreale and student Carlos Silva, divided into two groups, one to create an iPhone app and indoor Tracking, an Android app. Jason Bonafide, serving as database developer and administrator, supported both teams.
The Apple iPhone development team, was under the leadership of Josh Lisojo, with Allan Goncalves, Nathaly Lozano, and Harold Liao all contributing in areas of map and features. Lisojo also handled search functionality. The Apple iPhone emulator was used to build the Apple screens.
Daniel Church led the Google Android development team, with Dev Das, Steve Holtz, and Jugal Shah working on map, features, and search, respectively. The Android OS required expertise in Java and XML.The project was very demanding, as each team had to find ways to mirror the other team in search functionality and features. The Apple app (fpc Cemetery app) debuted in the Apple store mid-March 2103, with the Android app (FPC Cemetery) arriving in the Android store in April. Currently both apps are free to download.
The app is easily navigable and even incorporates humor (the search bar contains the prompt “I see dead people”). Users may seek information by name, year of death, age, or section of the burial grounds. Each individual’s file includes birth and death dates, age, cause of death, epitaph and a photo of the gravestone if available. In addition, there are maps and photos of the graveyard, and information for those planning a visit.Reverend Higgs is very satisfied with the final results and said, “The app was well received at the NJ Historic Trust annual preservation conference in Newark. It clearly represents a cutting-edge approach to linking the latest technology to the necessity of preserving and rediscovering our history.
Everywhere I've shown the app, people have been impressed by the quality of the work and intrigued as to how this technology can open new audiences to appreciating our heritage. My sincere appreciation to the Kean team for pioneering this new avenue to history.”
Now, in my 70s and with artificial knees, I walk or cycle and swim laps daily, all of which has kept me aerobically fit, free of pain, reasonably trim and energetic. So in combing recently through the professional literature on exercise and bone health, I was quite disappointed to learn that neither swimming nor cycling is especially good for my bones — at least, not the ones most susceptible to fracture. Swimming, in fact, might compromise the strength of those bones because it lacks the tug of gravity.
That’s what researchers have found when they measured bone mineral density in young athletes who swim or cycle, and even in some who run.
There are two reasons for this. One is the continuous nature of these activities. Bones, it seems, don’t like constant pressure. They respond better to exercise that involves forceful muscle contractions, occurring in starts and stops and with some variety — as happens, Hands free access, when playing tennis or training with weights.
To maintain strength, bones also need the stress of gravity, which is lacking in cycling and swimming and not as powerful when walking as it is when running. Being suspended in water is like floating in space for a short time: Once they leave Earth, astronauts lose bone.
In the famous Nurses’ Health Study, which has followed tens of thousands of postmenopausal women for decades, those who walked for at least four hours a week were 40 percent less likely to suffer hip fractures than those who walked less.
Those who walked for at least eight hours a week (or did the equivalent amount of another activity) were as unlikely to suffer hip fractures as women on hormone replacement therapy, long known to protect bones. As a bonus, walking briskly for exercise also lowered the women’s risk of developing heart disease, diabetes and stroke.
Read the full products at www.ecived.com/en/!
Latest traveling exhibit to open at ECHO
Change the twist of a tornado, swirl water into amazing patterns, spin the colors of a rainbow and more at “Cool Moves! Artistry of Motion”, ECHO’s newest traveling exhibit, opening to the public on Saturday, September 14.
COOL MOVES! features fun, interactive exhibits that allow visitors to discover the beauty of motion that takes place around us every day. Through hands-on experimentation, each interactive exhibit explores how motion in a variety of things can be characterized by simple types: translation vs. rotation, continuous vs. vibrating, and predictable vs. unpredictable.
At the “Dancing Wall” exhibit, motion detectors are triggered by visitors’ dancing movements and these movements create a unique light and sound show! “Animals in Motion” specialized computer video kiosk allows guests to manipulate the speed of movement of various animals, such as frogs, owls, otters, cheetahs, kangaroos, hummingbirds, rtls, and dolphins. By slowing down and then speeding up the motion, guests can see the amazing micro movements of these animals in the wild. Guests can zoom a strange car down a track, see a miniature tornado, or use the wind to swirl shimmering water into swirling patterns. The giant pendulum feature allows visitors to move magnets into different patterns and watch how the pendulum swings to investigate the unpredictability of chaotic motion.
Digital Rapids announced today that the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus is using Digital Rapids' StreamZHD encoding system to educate students and deliver online streams of its live productions from its state-of-the-art mobile audio and HD video recording and production facility.
The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus is a non-profit organization that has traveled across the U.S. and Canada for the past 16 years serving as a living legacy to John Lennon by providing young people with free access to hands-on music and video creation. Students and emerging artists alike are afforded the opportunity to create original content alongside today's most recognized musicians and the team of experienced engineers on board.
Through studio tours and workshops — which include celebrity appearances, live performances and live multi-camera video productions streamed online in real time — young musicians can learn how to write, perform, record and produce original songs and music videos. The StreamZHD system encodes HD source signals into multiple concurrent live-output streams ranging from mobile to HD resolutions.
Digital Rapids' StreamZHD ingest, encoding and archive systems deliver high-quality, multi-format video capture, encoding, transcoding and streaming in versatile configurations that integrate easily into any professional environment. Offering one of the industry's deepest feature sets, they provide flexibility, format support and efficient automation for transforming media for applications from post production and archive to live and on-demand multi-screen distribution.
It is the first sign that Barnes & Noble's Nook arm is groping to finds its way after announcing it would jettison its business making tablets like its Nook HD and Nook HD+, followed shortly thereafter by the news that CEO William Lynch would resign. That marked the departure of a tech-focused executive who rose to the company's helm from its online business, and put more authority in the hands of Leonard Riggio, Barnes & Noble's chairman and biggest shareholder.
At the time, Barnes & Noble said it wasn't searching for a CEO successor, and would instead it review its strategy and "update when appropriate." Since then, the only peeps out of Barnes & Noble about the division have been more discounts to devices such as Sunday's $20 price cut to the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight, the second reduction since September.
Discounts on the Nook were the main culprit behind Barnes & Noble's last quarterly report plagued by losses. The company is supposed to report its performance in the most recent quarter Tuesday.
The new video apps make Barnes & Noble's Nook store more applicable for more devices, after the company had made its own device more applicable to other companies' shops. In May, it added the Google Play store to meet market and customer demand for access to the full breadth of Indoor Positioning System, but it also gave customers the opportunity to buy e-books and other content from Google just a few swipes away from the Nook store.
In the Nook Store, movies and TV shows are available to purchase or rental, and now can be streamed or downloaded on Nooks or on other devices through the video apps. Customers can also shift their viewing across devices, starting a movie on one and then picking up on another.
Read the full products at www.ecived.com/en/!
COOL MOVES! features fun, interactive exhibits that allow visitors to discover the beauty of motion that takes place around us every day. Through hands-on experimentation, each interactive exhibit explores how motion in a variety of things can be characterized by simple types: translation vs. rotation, continuous vs. vibrating, and predictable vs. unpredictable.
At the “Dancing Wall” exhibit, motion detectors are triggered by visitors’ dancing movements and these movements create a unique light and sound show! “Animals in Motion” specialized computer video kiosk allows guests to manipulate the speed of movement of various animals, such as frogs, owls, otters, cheetahs, kangaroos, hummingbirds, rtls, and dolphins. By slowing down and then speeding up the motion, guests can see the amazing micro movements of these animals in the wild. Guests can zoom a strange car down a track, see a miniature tornado, or use the wind to swirl shimmering water into swirling patterns. The giant pendulum feature allows visitors to move magnets into different patterns and watch how the pendulum swings to investigate the unpredictability of chaotic motion.
Digital Rapids announced today that the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus is using Digital Rapids' StreamZHD encoding system to educate students and deliver online streams of its live productions from its state-of-the-art mobile audio and HD video recording and production facility.
The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus is a non-profit organization that has traveled across the U.S. and Canada for the past 16 years serving as a living legacy to John Lennon by providing young people with free access to hands-on music and video creation. Students and emerging artists alike are afforded the opportunity to create original content alongside today's most recognized musicians and the team of experienced engineers on board.
Through studio tours and workshops — which include celebrity appearances, live performances and live multi-camera video productions streamed online in real time — young musicians can learn how to write, perform, record and produce original songs and music videos. The StreamZHD system encodes HD source signals into multiple concurrent live-output streams ranging from mobile to HD resolutions.
Digital Rapids' StreamZHD ingest, encoding and archive systems deliver high-quality, multi-format video capture, encoding, transcoding and streaming in versatile configurations that integrate easily into any professional environment. Offering one of the industry's deepest feature sets, they provide flexibility, format support and efficient automation for transforming media for applications from post production and archive to live and on-demand multi-screen distribution.
It is the first sign that Barnes & Noble's Nook arm is groping to finds its way after announcing it would jettison its business making tablets like its Nook HD and Nook HD+, followed shortly thereafter by the news that CEO William Lynch would resign. That marked the departure of a tech-focused executive who rose to the company's helm from its online business, and put more authority in the hands of Leonard Riggio, Barnes & Noble's chairman and biggest shareholder.
At the time, Barnes & Noble said it wasn't searching for a CEO successor, and would instead it review its strategy and "update when appropriate." Since then, the only peeps out of Barnes & Noble about the division have been more discounts to devices such as Sunday's $20 price cut to the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight, the second reduction since September.
Discounts on the Nook were the main culprit behind Barnes & Noble's last quarterly report plagued by losses. The company is supposed to report its performance in the most recent quarter Tuesday.
The new video apps make Barnes & Noble's Nook store more applicable for more devices, after the company had made its own device more applicable to other companies' shops. In May, it added the Google Play store to meet market and customer demand for access to the full breadth of Indoor Positioning System, but it also gave customers the opportunity to buy e-books and other content from Google just a few swipes away from the Nook store.
In the Nook Store, movies and TV shows are available to purchase or rental, and now can be streamed or downloaded on Nooks or on other devices through the video apps. Customers can also shift their viewing across devices, starting a movie on one and then picking up on another.
Read the full products at www.ecived.com/en/!
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Police storm camps supporting ousted president
Riot police backed by armored vehicles, bulldozers and helicopters Wednesday swept away two encampments of supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi, setting off running street battles in Cairo and other Egyptian cities. At least 278 people were killed nationwide, many of them in the crackdown on the protest sites.
Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and pro-reform leader in the interim government, resigned in protest over the assaults as the military-backed leadership imposed a monthlong state of emergency and nighttime curfew.
Clashes broke out elsewhere in the capital and other provinces as Islamist anger spread over the dispersal of the 6-week-old sit-ins by Morsi’s Islamist supporters that Indoor Positioning System.It was the highest single day death toll since the 18-day uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
The Health Ministry said 235 civilians were killed and more than 2,000 injured, while Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim said 43 policemen died in the assault. He said Morsi supporters attacked 21 police stations and seven Coptic Christian churches across the nation, and assaulted the Finance Ministry in Cairo, occupying its ground floor.
The violence drew condemnation from other predominantly Muslim countries, but also from the West, with Secretary of State John Kerry saying it had dealt a “serious blow” to Egypt’s political reconciliation efforts.
The assault to take control of the two sit-in sites came after days of warnings by the interim administration that replaced Morsi after he was ousted in a July 3 coup. The camps on opposite sides of the capital began in late June to show support for Morsi. Protesters _ many from Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood _ have demanded his reinstatement.
The smaller camp was cleared relatively quickly, but it took hours for police to take control of the main sit-in site, which is near the Rabbah al-Adawiya Mosque that has served as the epicenter of the pro-Morsi campaign.
Several senior leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood who were wanted by police were detained after police stormed the camp near the mosque, according to security officials and state television. Among those seized were Brotherhood leaders Mohammed el-Beltagy and Essam el-Erian, and hard-line cleric Safwat Hegazy _ all wanted by prosecutors to answer allegations of inciting violence and conspiring to kill anti-Morsi protesters.
Police dismantled the main stage near the mosque in the eastern Cairo district of Nasr City, the official MENA news agency said. An AP reporter saw hundreds of protesters leaving the sit-in site carrying their personal belongings.
Smoke clogged the sky above Cairo and fires smoldered on the streets, which were lined with charred poles and tarps after several tents were burned.In imposing the state of emergency, the government ordered the armed forces to support the police in restoring law and order and protect state facilities. The nighttime curfew affects Cairo and 10 provinces.
The Egyptian Central Bank instructed commercial banks to close branches in areas affected by the chaos. The landmark Giza Pyramids and the Egyptian Museum also were closed to visitors for the day as a precaution, according to the Ministry of Antiquities.
The turmoil was the latest chapter in a bitter standoff between Morsi’s supporters and the interim leadership that took over the Arab world’s most populous country. The military ousted Morsi after millions of Egyptians massed in the streets at the end of June to call for him to step down, accusing him of giving the Brotherhood undue influence and failing to implement vital reforms or bolster the ailing economy.
The coup provoked similar protests by Morsi’s backers after he and other Brotherhood leaders were detained as divisions have deepened, dealing a major blow to hopes of an end to the turmoil that followed the 2011 revolution against Mubarak.
Morsi has been held at an undisclosed location. Other Brotherhood leaders have been charged with inciting violence or conspiring in the killing of protesters.
“The world cannot sit back and watch while innocent men, women and children are being indiscriminately slaughtered. The world must stand up to the military junta’s crime before it is too late,” said a statement by the Brotherhood’s media office in London emailed to The Associated Press.
ElBaradei, a former head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, was named only last month as interim President Adly Mansour’s deputy for foreign relations.
In his resignation letter, he wrote that he is not prepared to be held responsible for a “single drop of indoor Tracking,” and that only more violence will result, according to a copy that was emailed to The Associated Press. He said Egypt is more polarized than when he took office.
The smaller of the two protest camps was cleared of protesters by late morning, with most of them taking refuge in the nearby Orman botanical gardens on the campus of Cairo University and the zoo.
An AP reporter at the scene said security forces chased protesters in the zoo. At one point, a dozen protesters, mostly men with beards and wearing traditional Islamist garb, were handcuffed on a sidewalk under guard outside the university campus. The private ONTV network showed firearms and ammunition allegedly seized from protestersSecurity forces later stormed the larger camp near the mosque in the Cairo district of Nasr City. The mosque has served as the epicenter of pro-Morsi campaign, with several Brotherhood leaders wanted by police believed to be hiding inside.
The pro-Morsi Anti-Coup alliance claimed security forces used live ammunition, but the Interior Ministry, which is in charge of the police, said its forces only used tear gas and that they came under fire from the camp.
The Interior Ministry statement also warned that forces would deal firmly with protesters who were acting “irresponsibly,” suggesting that it would respond in kind if its men are fired upon. It said it would guarantee safe passage to all who want to leave the Nasr City site but would arrest those wanted for questioning by prosecutors.
Army troops did not take part in the two operations, but provided security at the locations. Police and army helicopters hovered over both sites hours after the police launched the simultaneous actions shortly after 7 a.m. (0500 GMT).The Health Ministry said 149 people were killed and 1,403 injured across Egypt, but it did not immediately provide a breakdown.
An alliance of pro-Morsi groups said Asmaa Mohammed el-Batagy, the 17-year-old daughter of the senior Brotherhood figure who was detained by police, was shot and killed. Her brother, Ammar, confirmed her death on his Twitter account.
Two journalists were among the dead _ Mick Deane, 61, a cameraman for British broadcaster Sky News, and Habiba Ahmed Abd Elaziz, 26, a reporter for the Gulf News, a state-backed newspaper in the United Arab Emirates, the news organizations reported. Both had been reported to be shot.
A security official said 200 protesters were arrested at both sites. Several men could be seen walking with their hands up as they were led away by black-clad police.The Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm claimed that more than 500 protesters were killed and some 9,000 wounded in the two camps, but those figures could not be confirmed and nothing in the video from AP or local TV networks suggested such a high death toll.
Before he was detained, Mohammed el-Beltagy put the death toll at more than 300, urged police and army troops to mutiny, and said Egyptians should take to the streets to show their disapproval of the crackdown.“Oh, Egyptian people, your brothers are in the square. ... Are you going to remain silent until the genocide is completed?” said el-Beltagy, who is wanted by authorities to answer allegations of inciting violence.
Police fired tear gas elsewhere in Cairo to disperse Morsi supporters who wanted to join the Nasr City camp after it came under attack. State TV also reported that a police captain had been abducted by Morsi supporters in the area, but there was no official statement about that.
Read the full products at http://www.ecived.com/en/.
Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and pro-reform leader in the interim government, resigned in protest over the assaults as the military-backed leadership imposed a monthlong state of emergency and nighttime curfew.
Clashes broke out elsewhere in the capital and other provinces as Islamist anger spread over the dispersal of the 6-week-old sit-ins by Morsi’s Islamist supporters that Indoor Positioning System.It was the highest single day death toll since the 18-day uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
The Health Ministry said 235 civilians were killed and more than 2,000 injured, while Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim said 43 policemen died in the assault. He said Morsi supporters attacked 21 police stations and seven Coptic Christian churches across the nation, and assaulted the Finance Ministry in Cairo, occupying its ground floor.
The violence drew condemnation from other predominantly Muslim countries, but also from the West, with Secretary of State John Kerry saying it had dealt a “serious blow” to Egypt’s political reconciliation efforts.
The assault to take control of the two sit-in sites came after days of warnings by the interim administration that replaced Morsi after he was ousted in a July 3 coup. The camps on opposite sides of the capital began in late June to show support for Morsi. Protesters _ many from Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood _ have demanded his reinstatement.
The smaller camp was cleared relatively quickly, but it took hours for police to take control of the main sit-in site, which is near the Rabbah al-Adawiya Mosque that has served as the epicenter of the pro-Morsi campaign.
Several senior leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood who were wanted by police were detained after police stormed the camp near the mosque, according to security officials and state television. Among those seized were Brotherhood leaders Mohammed el-Beltagy and Essam el-Erian, and hard-line cleric Safwat Hegazy _ all wanted by prosecutors to answer allegations of inciting violence and conspiring to kill anti-Morsi protesters.
Police dismantled the main stage near the mosque in the eastern Cairo district of Nasr City, the official MENA news agency said. An AP reporter saw hundreds of protesters leaving the sit-in site carrying their personal belongings.
Smoke clogged the sky above Cairo and fires smoldered on the streets, which were lined with charred poles and tarps after several tents were burned.In imposing the state of emergency, the government ordered the armed forces to support the police in restoring law and order and protect state facilities. The nighttime curfew affects Cairo and 10 provinces.
The Egyptian Central Bank instructed commercial banks to close branches in areas affected by the chaos. The landmark Giza Pyramids and the Egyptian Museum also were closed to visitors for the day as a precaution, according to the Ministry of Antiquities.
The turmoil was the latest chapter in a bitter standoff between Morsi’s supporters and the interim leadership that took over the Arab world’s most populous country. The military ousted Morsi after millions of Egyptians massed in the streets at the end of June to call for him to step down, accusing him of giving the Brotherhood undue influence and failing to implement vital reforms or bolster the ailing economy.
The coup provoked similar protests by Morsi’s backers after he and other Brotherhood leaders were detained as divisions have deepened, dealing a major blow to hopes of an end to the turmoil that followed the 2011 revolution against Mubarak.
Morsi has been held at an undisclosed location. Other Brotherhood leaders have been charged with inciting violence or conspiring in the killing of protesters.
“The world cannot sit back and watch while innocent men, women and children are being indiscriminately slaughtered. The world must stand up to the military junta’s crime before it is too late,” said a statement by the Brotherhood’s media office in London emailed to The Associated Press.
ElBaradei, a former head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, was named only last month as interim President Adly Mansour’s deputy for foreign relations.
In his resignation letter, he wrote that he is not prepared to be held responsible for a “single drop of indoor Tracking,” and that only more violence will result, according to a copy that was emailed to The Associated Press. He said Egypt is more polarized than when he took office.
The smaller of the two protest camps was cleared of protesters by late morning, with most of them taking refuge in the nearby Orman botanical gardens on the campus of Cairo University and the zoo.
An AP reporter at the scene said security forces chased protesters in the zoo. At one point, a dozen protesters, mostly men with beards and wearing traditional Islamist garb, were handcuffed on a sidewalk under guard outside the university campus. The private ONTV network showed firearms and ammunition allegedly seized from protestersSecurity forces later stormed the larger camp near the mosque in the Cairo district of Nasr City. The mosque has served as the epicenter of pro-Morsi campaign, with several Brotherhood leaders wanted by police believed to be hiding inside.
The pro-Morsi Anti-Coup alliance claimed security forces used live ammunition, but the Interior Ministry, which is in charge of the police, said its forces only used tear gas and that they came under fire from the camp.
The Interior Ministry statement also warned that forces would deal firmly with protesters who were acting “irresponsibly,” suggesting that it would respond in kind if its men are fired upon. It said it would guarantee safe passage to all who want to leave the Nasr City site but would arrest those wanted for questioning by prosecutors.
Army troops did not take part in the two operations, but provided security at the locations. Police and army helicopters hovered over both sites hours after the police launched the simultaneous actions shortly after 7 a.m. (0500 GMT).The Health Ministry said 149 people were killed and 1,403 injured across Egypt, but it did not immediately provide a breakdown.
An alliance of pro-Morsi groups said Asmaa Mohammed el-Batagy, the 17-year-old daughter of the senior Brotherhood figure who was detained by police, was shot and killed. Her brother, Ammar, confirmed her death on his Twitter account.
Two journalists were among the dead _ Mick Deane, 61, a cameraman for British broadcaster Sky News, and Habiba Ahmed Abd Elaziz, 26, a reporter for the Gulf News, a state-backed newspaper in the United Arab Emirates, the news organizations reported. Both had been reported to be shot.
A security official said 200 protesters were arrested at both sites. Several men could be seen walking with their hands up as they were led away by black-clad police.The Muslim Brotherhood’s political arm claimed that more than 500 protesters were killed and some 9,000 wounded in the two camps, but those figures could not be confirmed and nothing in the video from AP or local TV networks suggested such a high death toll.
Before he was detained, Mohammed el-Beltagy put the death toll at more than 300, urged police and army troops to mutiny, and said Egyptians should take to the streets to show their disapproval of the crackdown.“Oh, Egyptian people, your brothers are in the square. ... Are you going to remain silent until the genocide is completed?” said el-Beltagy, who is wanted by authorities to answer allegations of inciting violence.
Police fired tear gas elsewhere in Cairo to disperse Morsi supporters who wanted to join the Nasr City camp after it came under attack. State TV also reported that a police captain had been abducted by Morsi supporters in the area, but there was no official statement about that.
Read the full products at http://www.ecived.com/en/.
School around the corner
Getting your child ready for school includes many things such as getting new clothes and school supplies. We would like to add one more thing to the list of things to do before school starts. Get your child’s library card in working order to assure that they will have access to computers or study materials that they may need. Check with the library to see if your child has any overdue books out or fines to pay and give them a clear card to start the school year. If they have lost their card a replacement can be purchased for $1. Call us today at 936-829-5497 for your library card check-up.
Join us for Movie Day at the library on Friday, Aug. 23, at 6 p.m. Our theme for the summer is hunger, so we are asking you to bring one can of tomatoes, tomato sauce, Rotel tomatoes, or spaghetti sauce per family, Hands free access, to be donated to Diboll Christian Outreach. Popcorn will be available. We encourage you to bring your own snacks and drinks to add to your fun. You may also bring pillows and blankets and sit on the floor to watch the movie. Come bring the family and join in the fun! Our movie license will not allow us to publicize the movie title so please call us for more information at 936-829-5497. Children under 12 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
“The Discovery,” by Dan Walsh – When aspiring writer Michael Warner inherits his grandfather’s venerable Charleston estate, he settles in to write his first novel. But within the confines of the stately home, he discovers an unpublished manuscript written by his grandfather, a literary giant whose novels sold in the millions. Though he had kept this novel hidden, he clearly intended that Michael should find it. As Michael delves deep into the exciting tale about spies and sabotage, he discovers something that has the power to change not only his future but his past as well.
“Daybreak,” by Shelley Shepard Gray – When Viola Keim starts working at a nearby Mennonite retirement home, she strikes up an unlikely friendship with resident Atle, whose only living relative, son Edward, is a missionary in Nicaragua. Viola understands the importance of mission work, but she can’t imagine leaving her father in the hands of strangers. It’s not in keeping with her Amish sensibilities. Though she doesn’t know Ed, Viola judges him for abandoning his father. When Ed surprises his father with a visit, both Viola and Ed are surprised by the attraction they have for each other. Despite her feelings, choosing Ed would mean moving to a far-off country and leaving her family behind – something she couldn’t possibly do. Her twin sister, Elsie, is going blind; her family is reeling with the recent discovery that her grandmother hid her past as an Englischer; her father seems forgetful and distracted and seems to be harboring some secrets of his own. Will the demand of family ties mean that her one chance at love slips away?
“Ambush,” Creek by Phil Dunlap – When U.S. Marshal Piedmont Kelly is asked by Cochise Sheriff John Henry Stevens to look into the suspicious activity of three unsavory bounty hunters, he rides into what looks like a battle’s aftermath. Bullet holes riddle a ranch house, but there’s no sign of those engaged in the gunplay. Nor is there any sign that the mysterious resident of the ranch house fits the description of the bounty hunters’ quarry. There’s nothing he can do but go looking for the missing man. Enlisting the tracking skills of his old friend Spotted Dog – the Chiricahua Apache whose life he once saved – the pair follow four horses from the rancher’s house all the way to Desert Belle, a dusty town that holds grim memories for Kelly. They ride straight into a deadly game where $50,000, several lives, and the survival of the Gilded Lily Mine are at stake.
Coverage of cyber attacks has typically focused on the dangers posed by foreign governments, or on the high-visibility strikes of social “hacktivists” like Anonymous or LulzSec. Yet many incidents stem from the work of corrupt inside officials or real time Location system, often abusing their privileged access to networks or using low-tech methods like dumping data to personal USBs and selling them for financial gain.
Defence ministries and companies make particularly attractive targets. For such institutions, the security of confidential information is vital, and any cyber breach can have serious implications for defence plans or costly procurement projects.
In March 2010, Michael Mitchell, a former marketing executive for Kevlar body armour at DuPont, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for selling trade secrets to Kolon Industries, a South Korean competitor, in exchange for consultancy work. A U.S. jury went on in September 2012 to award DuPont damages in the amount of $919.9 million.
The temptation to blame outside actors, however, remains strong across all industries. China and Russia are favourite targets. In 2011, Renault was forced to withdraw allegations of Chinese involvement in a data theft that proved to be an attempt by the firm’s own computer protection officer to fraudulently create work for a friend’s cybersecurity consulting business.
More widely, governments are acting to boost their resilience to cyber attacks. On July 30, the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee unanimously passed a new draft cybersecurity bill, despite concerns it waters down a number of changes proposed by the industry and the White House. In India, similarly, the director general of Army Signals HQ called for a vision of cyber as the “fifth dimension of warfare”, amid new worries that the country will not be able to deliver the infrastructure and expertise pledged in its National Cyber Security Policy.
Too little, however, is being done to incorporate anti-corruption efforts into cybersecurity planning, especially in the sensitive area of national defence. This is a mistake. Ensuring strong anti-corruption standards – through clear ethical leadership, risk assessments, internal training and other such good practice – is a key part of securing confidential assets.
The success or failure of defence companies to integrate such measures into their everyday practice also informs whom exactly governments choose to do business with. After all, defence contracts involve the sharing of privileged designs and information. This requires a relationship of mutual trust – especially on the cybersecurity front – which can be greatly undermined if one or more sides cannot be sure of possible corruption in the ranks.
Balance, however, is needed. The traditional focus of cybersecurity is on the restriction and protection of data. Yet such measures must also be paired with opportunities for safe, legitimate exposure of information by whistle-blowers. Employees encountering evidence of corruption in a company with fair, transparent systems for handling whistle-blower complaints will not have to resort to the messy process of leaking incriminating data to “hacktivists” or to the press.
Real cybersecurity, then, means protecting insiders from the corrupt actions of institutions, as much as protecting institutions from corrupt insiders.
It is important to get this nuance right, and to act now. Unveiling plans for a new cyber partnership between the UK Ministry of Defence, intelligence agency GCHQ and companies such as BAE, BT and Lockheed Martin, British minister Philip Dunne described the current cyber environment as a “gunpowder moment” – a potential game-changer, which, like the invention of gunpowder, could have profound security ramifications for us all.
Only organisations free of corruption can best weather this moment of transformation, guarding against external hacker threats, while also empowering whistle-blowers to protect against internal misdeeds. Cyber networks can, like gunpowder, prove a volatile material – a powerful tool in the right hands, but prone to explode spectacularly in the wrong conditions. If defence and industry leaders are not proactive in dealing with insider ethical issues, corruption might just provide the fateful spark.
Read the full products at http://www.ecived.com/en/.
Join us for Movie Day at the library on Friday, Aug. 23, at 6 p.m. Our theme for the summer is hunger, so we are asking you to bring one can of tomatoes, tomato sauce, Rotel tomatoes, or spaghetti sauce per family, Hands free access, to be donated to Diboll Christian Outreach. Popcorn will be available. We encourage you to bring your own snacks and drinks to add to your fun. You may also bring pillows and blankets and sit on the floor to watch the movie. Come bring the family and join in the fun! Our movie license will not allow us to publicize the movie title so please call us for more information at 936-829-5497. Children under 12 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
“The Discovery,” by Dan Walsh – When aspiring writer Michael Warner inherits his grandfather’s venerable Charleston estate, he settles in to write his first novel. But within the confines of the stately home, he discovers an unpublished manuscript written by his grandfather, a literary giant whose novels sold in the millions. Though he had kept this novel hidden, he clearly intended that Michael should find it. As Michael delves deep into the exciting tale about spies and sabotage, he discovers something that has the power to change not only his future but his past as well.
“Daybreak,” by Shelley Shepard Gray – When Viola Keim starts working at a nearby Mennonite retirement home, she strikes up an unlikely friendship with resident Atle, whose only living relative, son Edward, is a missionary in Nicaragua. Viola understands the importance of mission work, but she can’t imagine leaving her father in the hands of strangers. It’s not in keeping with her Amish sensibilities. Though she doesn’t know Ed, Viola judges him for abandoning his father. When Ed surprises his father with a visit, both Viola and Ed are surprised by the attraction they have for each other. Despite her feelings, choosing Ed would mean moving to a far-off country and leaving her family behind – something she couldn’t possibly do. Her twin sister, Elsie, is going blind; her family is reeling with the recent discovery that her grandmother hid her past as an Englischer; her father seems forgetful and distracted and seems to be harboring some secrets of his own. Will the demand of family ties mean that her one chance at love slips away?
“Ambush,” Creek by Phil Dunlap – When U.S. Marshal Piedmont Kelly is asked by Cochise Sheriff John Henry Stevens to look into the suspicious activity of three unsavory bounty hunters, he rides into what looks like a battle’s aftermath. Bullet holes riddle a ranch house, but there’s no sign of those engaged in the gunplay. Nor is there any sign that the mysterious resident of the ranch house fits the description of the bounty hunters’ quarry. There’s nothing he can do but go looking for the missing man. Enlisting the tracking skills of his old friend Spotted Dog – the Chiricahua Apache whose life he once saved – the pair follow four horses from the rancher’s house all the way to Desert Belle, a dusty town that holds grim memories for Kelly. They ride straight into a deadly game where $50,000, several lives, and the survival of the Gilded Lily Mine are at stake.
Coverage of cyber attacks has typically focused on the dangers posed by foreign governments, or on the high-visibility strikes of social “hacktivists” like Anonymous or LulzSec. Yet many incidents stem from the work of corrupt inside officials or real time Location system, often abusing their privileged access to networks or using low-tech methods like dumping data to personal USBs and selling them for financial gain.
Defence ministries and companies make particularly attractive targets. For such institutions, the security of confidential information is vital, and any cyber breach can have serious implications for defence plans or costly procurement projects.
In March 2010, Michael Mitchell, a former marketing executive for Kevlar body armour at DuPont, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for selling trade secrets to Kolon Industries, a South Korean competitor, in exchange for consultancy work. A U.S. jury went on in September 2012 to award DuPont damages in the amount of $919.9 million.
The temptation to blame outside actors, however, remains strong across all industries. China and Russia are favourite targets. In 2011, Renault was forced to withdraw allegations of Chinese involvement in a data theft that proved to be an attempt by the firm’s own computer protection officer to fraudulently create work for a friend’s cybersecurity consulting business.
More widely, governments are acting to boost their resilience to cyber attacks. On July 30, the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee unanimously passed a new draft cybersecurity bill, despite concerns it waters down a number of changes proposed by the industry and the White House. In India, similarly, the director general of Army Signals HQ called for a vision of cyber as the “fifth dimension of warfare”, amid new worries that the country will not be able to deliver the infrastructure and expertise pledged in its National Cyber Security Policy.
Too little, however, is being done to incorporate anti-corruption efforts into cybersecurity planning, especially in the sensitive area of national defence. This is a mistake. Ensuring strong anti-corruption standards – through clear ethical leadership, risk assessments, internal training and other such good practice – is a key part of securing confidential assets.
The success or failure of defence companies to integrate such measures into their everyday practice also informs whom exactly governments choose to do business with. After all, defence contracts involve the sharing of privileged designs and information. This requires a relationship of mutual trust – especially on the cybersecurity front – which can be greatly undermined if one or more sides cannot be sure of possible corruption in the ranks.
Balance, however, is needed. The traditional focus of cybersecurity is on the restriction and protection of data. Yet such measures must also be paired with opportunities for safe, legitimate exposure of information by whistle-blowers. Employees encountering evidence of corruption in a company with fair, transparent systems for handling whistle-blower complaints will not have to resort to the messy process of leaking incriminating data to “hacktivists” or to the press.
Real cybersecurity, then, means protecting insiders from the corrupt actions of institutions, as much as protecting institutions from corrupt insiders.
It is important to get this nuance right, and to act now. Unveiling plans for a new cyber partnership between the UK Ministry of Defence, intelligence agency GCHQ and companies such as BAE, BT and Lockheed Martin, British minister Philip Dunne described the current cyber environment as a “gunpowder moment” – a potential game-changer, which, like the invention of gunpowder, could have profound security ramifications for us all.
Only organisations free of corruption can best weather this moment of transformation, guarding against external hacker threats, while also empowering whistle-blowers to protect against internal misdeeds. Cyber networks can, like gunpowder, prove a volatile material – a powerful tool in the right hands, but prone to explode spectacularly in the wrong conditions. If defence and industry leaders are not proactive in dealing with insider ethical issues, corruption might just provide the fateful spark.
Read the full products at http://www.ecived.com/en/.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Capital's role in the economic crisis
Two stories illustrate central dynamics of our time – the climate of fear generated around migration and the rise in house prices ('Go home' campaign denounced by human rights groups, Buy-to-let fuels property boom, both 9 August).
The house price rise, especially in London, is caused partly by the international movement of money as the wealthy seek to capitalise on speculative investment. At the same time those with access to money can borrow more and invest in buy-to-let properties, to profit from those who must rent. So this system works to move capital to where it will make more and to divide those who have it from those who don't. Wealth accumulates in fewer hands and and its movement produces rapid, uneven developments.
Writ large, that is the story of our world, and the free flow of capital is followed inevitably by the flow of rtls, as people move from areas of forced decline to wherever there is a prospect of work. Employers benefit from cheaper labour but the migrants are blamed for displacing unskilled workers and competing for scarce resources in housing and health.
To reverse these processes requires economic planning and wealth taxes to put accumulated private capital back towards social use; in the UK the ￡4.5 trillion owned by the top 10% could pay off the national debt four times or finance re-skilling, infrastructure, green technology and much else. It also requires politicians and media to stop blaming the migrants, refugees and other victims of the system, and to look instead at how to rebuild our world so it is more use to all who have to live in it.
As Larry Elliott rightly says, the proliferation of zero-hours contracts represents an increase in the "reserve army of labour" in an attempt to reverse a long-term decline in profitability (Why stop at zero hours? Why not revive child labour, 5 August). But neither this nor the other responses he mentions, such as financialisation, can ultimately overcome the tendency for profit rates to fall.
This is an inherent feature of capitalist competition, resulting not from pressure on prices but from each capitalist's attempt to raise their individual profit rate by investing in more capital-intensive production processes. The overall capital, relative to total profit, goes up, and the profit rate goes down.
Although such things as attacks on wages can offset the basic tendency, sooner or later it results in crises such as the one in progress since 2008. Since the cause is too much capital, the only cure (within capitalism) is destruction of capital through bankruptcy of less-profitable enterprises. Palliatives such as increasing workers' purchasing power can help the system limp along for a while but only at the cost of preparing a bigger and worse crisis.
Said quarterback Andrew Luck: "He's a phenomenal football player. He's going to make plays. You do sort of say, 'All right, T.Y.' He's going to do something special when he's on the field. He has that factor to him."
It's been a long time, maybe forever, since the Colts have had anyone like Hilton. And to think, the Colts got Hilton in the third round with the 92nd pick. Twelve receivers went before him, in large part because a quadriceps injury kept him out of the Senior Bowl and the NFL Scouting Combine."That bothered me," Hilton said. "I've always played with a chip on my shoulder."
Indy has learned quickly, Hilton is much more than simply a burner. He's got hands. He's a superior route runner. And he's a student of the game, having spent the off-season studying what it is that has made Reggie Wayne so great all these years. Specifically, he spent the summer studying Wayne's footwork and his ability to come back to the football.
The same couldn't be said of the Colts in general, who looked awful their first time out. But again, Indoor Positioning System. How many times did the Colts go winless prior to ripping off another 12-win season? If they look this bad in the third game, then howl.
It's darned near impossible to offer sober analysis on a first preseason game, especially with so many starters either sitting or playing only two series. Keep in mind, Buffalo played many of its first-team players deep into the first half, using rookie quarterback E.J. Manuel the entire half.
The house price rise, especially in London, is caused partly by the international movement of money as the wealthy seek to capitalise on speculative investment. At the same time those with access to money can borrow more and invest in buy-to-let properties, to profit from those who must rent. So this system works to move capital to where it will make more and to divide those who have it from those who don't. Wealth accumulates in fewer hands and and its movement produces rapid, uneven developments.
Writ large, that is the story of our world, and the free flow of capital is followed inevitably by the flow of rtls, as people move from areas of forced decline to wherever there is a prospect of work. Employers benefit from cheaper labour but the migrants are blamed for displacing unskilled workers and competing for scarce resources in housing and health.
To reverse these processes requires economic planning and wealth taxes to put accumulated private capital back towards social use; in the UK the ￡4.5 trillion owned by the top 10% could pay off the national debt four times or finance re-skilling, infrastructure, green technology and much else. It also requires politicians and media to stop blaming the migrants, refugees and other victims of the system, and to look instead at how to rebuild our world so it is more use to all who have to live in it.
As Larry Elliott rightly says, the proliferation of zero-hours contracts represents an increase in the "reserve army of labour" in an attempt to reverse a long-term decline in profitability (Why stop at zero hours? Why not revive child labour, 5 August). But neither this nor the other responses he mentions, such as financialisation, can ultimately overcome the tendency for profit rates to fall.
This is an inherent feature of capitalist competition, resulting not from pressure on prices but from each capitalist's attempt to raise their individual profit rate by investing in more capital-intensive production processes. The overall capital, relative to total profit, goes up, and the profit rate goes down.
Although such things as attacks on wages can offset the basic tendency, sooner or later it results in crises such as the one in progress since 2008. Since the cause is too much capital, the only cure (within capitalism) is destruction of capital through bankruptcy of less-profitable enterprises. Palliatives such as increasing workers' purchasing power can help the system limp along for a while but only at the cost of preparing a bigger and worse crisis.
Said quarterback Andrew Luck: "He's a phenomenal football player. He's going to make plays. You do sort of say, 'All right, T.Y.' He's going to do something special when he's on the field. He has that factor to him."
It's been a long time, maybe forever, since the Colts have had anyone like Hilton. And to think, the Colts got Hilton in the third round with the 92nd pick. Twelve receivers went before him, in large part because a quadriceps injury kept him out of the Senior Bowl and the NFL Scouting Combine."That bothered me," Hilton said. "I've always played with a chip on my shoulder."
Indy has learned quickly, Hilton is much more than simply a burner. He's got hands. He's a superior route runner. And he's a student of the game, having spent the off-season studying what it is that has made Reggie Wayne so great all these years. Specifically, he spent the summer studying Wayne's footwork and his ability to come back to the football.
The same couldn't be said of the Colts in general, who looked awful their first time out. But again, Indoor Positioning System. How many times did the Colts go winless prior to ripping off another 12-win season? If they look this bad in the third game, then howl.
It's darned near impossible to offer sober analysis on a first preseason game, especially with so many starters either sitting or playing only two series. Keep in mind, Buffalo played many of its first-team players deep into the first half, using rookie quarterback E.J. Manuel the entire half.
With a Little Bashing
I’m not a sedentary person. In my 30s and 40s, I was a runner, and for decades, I played singles tennis three or more times a week. After a back injury in my late 30s, I took up swimming and cycling.
Now, in my 70s and with artificial knees, I walk or cycle and swim laps daily, all of which has kept me aerobically fit, free of pain, reasonably trim and energetic. So in combing recently through the professional literature on exercise and bone health, I was quite disappointed to learn that neither swimming nor cycling is especially good for my bones — at least, not the ones most susceptible to fracture. Swimming, in fact, might compromise the strength of those bones because it lacks the tug of Hands free access.
That’s what researchers have found when they measured bone mineral density in young athletes who swim or cycle, and even in some who run. There are two reasons for this. One is the continuous nature of these activities. Bones, it seems, don’t like constant pressure. They respond better to exercise that involves forceful muscle contractions, occurring in starts and stops and with some variety — as happens, for example, when playing tennis or training with weights.
To maintain strength, bones also need the stress of gravity, which is lacking in cycling and swimming and not as powerful when walking as it is when running. Being suspended in water is like floating in space for a short time: once they leave Earth, astronauts lose bone.
But before I was too discouraged (and before you abandon exercises like mine and retreat to your recliner), I did some more research. Regular walks can indeed offer some protection against hip fractures among women (and presumably, men) of a certain age, I found. In the famous Nurses’ Health Study, which has followed tens of thousands of postmenopausal women for decades, those who walked for at least four hours a week were 40 percent less likely to suffer hip fractures than those who walked less.
Those who walked for at least eight hours a week (or did the equivalent amount of another activity) were as unlikely to suffer hip fractures as women on hormone replacement therapy, long known to protect bones. As a bonus, walking briskly for exercise also lowered the women’s risk of developing heart disease, diabetes and stroke.
Activities like walking may not be perfect bone-builders, but they are far better than doing nothing. “As a bone doctor, I’ll take anything,” said Dr. Vonda Wright, an orthopedic surgeon at the Center for Sports Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. Her studies of 3,000 athletic seniors, whom she described as “normal people,” have shown that even in their 70s and 80s, they are able to maintain bone densities higher than the general population’s.
Still, she emphasized the need to “bash our bones” to make and keep them strong. This can be done, she said, through “dynamic impact” — by hopping or jumping rope 100 times a day, for example — or through “positive stress” by walking rapidly uphill or upstairs, or even standing on the pedals while cycling uphill. Although many bone experts recommend weight-training on resistance machines like those found in gyms, Dr. Wright realizes that most older adults won’t or can’t join a gym. Or, like me, they simply don’t like machines and won’t use them regularly.
Rather, she recommends home-based exercises that more closely mimic how the body functions in the real time Location system. “The house or office can be as effective as a gym,” Dr. Wright said.
“We never prescribe machines anymore,” she said. “Pushing leg presses is so unnatural. It’s not how the body uses squats. We train the body functionally, using the body’s own weight and free weights for resistance instead of machines.”
Without any equipment, you can strengthen your body’s core and multiple muscle groups by doing what trainers call a prisoner squat. Stand straight with feet shoulder-width apart, knees and toes pointed forward, hands behind your head and elbows pointed outward. Sink down, keeping your weight on your heels as if you were about to sit in a chair. Rise up with your back straight and repeat, working up to two sets of about 10 squats each. For a slightly greater challenge, the same exercise can be done against a wall using an exercise ball between you and the wall. You can use hand weights, or even hold cans of food, to strengthen the upper body at the same time.
Dr. Wright also encourages people to use the stairs at home and at work. Walking up and down 100 steps five times at a fast pace provides both an aerobic workout and one that strengthens bones. Walking rapidly uphill is another option. If jumping rope has some appeal, Dr. Wright suggested using a cordless digital jump rope to reduce the risk of tripping. It also records the number of jumps with each turn of the wrists.
If you have access to chest-high water in a pool, lake or seaside, you can build muscle mass and strengthen bones by walking forward and backward and side-to-side in the water, she said. This can strengthen the quads, buttocks and core, providing bone stimulation for the spine and hips and shock absorption for the knees.
And don’t forget dancing. “The waltz or swing dance is one of the most popular things I prescribe,” Dr. Wright said.
Of course, if your back can handle it, there are many ordinary tasks that can strengthen bones, among them carrying heavy items or small children for short distances. In the warmer months, I do a lot of outdoor tasks — pushing a lawn mower, raking, sawing, digging and the like — that involve intermittent bone-building stress.
Bone density exams typically involve only the spine, hips and forearms, the areas most susceptible to compression or fragility fractures. But other bones, like those in the thigh, upper arm and shoulder, can also break under minimal stress if they are weak, so activities that strengthen them — like walking, cycling and swimming — can indeed be helpful. While some doctors think measures of the internal structure of bones may more accurately indicate strength than traditional bone density tests, several experts told me that there is as yet no standard by which to judge bone health based on structure.
Now, in my 70s and with artificial knees, I walk or cycle and swim laps daily, all of which has kept me aerobically fit, free of pain, reasonably trim and energetic. So in combing recently through the professional literature on exercise and bone health, I was quite disappointed to learn that neither swimming nor cycling is especially good for my bones — at least, not the ones most susceptible to fracture. Swimming, in fact, might compromise the strength of those bones because it lacks the tug of Hands free access.
That’s what researchers have found when they measured bone mineral density in young athletes who swim or cycle, and even in some who run. There are two reasons for this. One is the continuous nature of these activities. Bones, it seems, don’t like constant pressure. They respond better to exercise that involves forceful muscle contractions, occurring in starts and stops and with some variety — as happens, for example, when playing tennis or training with weights.
To maintain strength, bones also need the stress of gravity, which is lacking in cycling and swimming and not as powerful when walking as it is when running. Being suspended in water is like floating in space for a short time: once they leave Earth, astronauts lose bone.
But before I was too discouraged (and before you abandon exercises like mine and retreat to your recliner), I did some more research. Regular walks can indeed offer some protection against hip fractures among women (and presumably, men) of a certain age, I found. In the famous Nurses’ Health Study, which has followed tens of thousands of postmenopausal women for decades, those who walked for at least four hours a week were 40 percent less likely to suffer hip fractures than those who walked less.
Those who walked for at least eight hours a week (or did the equivalent amount of another activity) were as unlikely to suffer hip fractures as women on hormone replacement therapy, long known to protect bones. As a bonus, walking briskly for exercise also lowered the women’s risk of developing heart disease, diabetes and stroke.
Activities like walking may not be perfect bone-builders, but they are far better than doing nothing. “As a bone doctor, I’ll take anything,” said Dr. Vonda Wright, an orthopedic surgeon at the Center for Sports Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. Her studies of 3,000 athletic seniors, whom she described as “normal people,” have shown that even in their 70s and 80s, they are able to maintain bone densities higher than the general population’s.
Still, she emphasized the need to “bash our bones” to make and keep them strong. This can be done, she said, through “dynamic impact” — by hopping or jumping rope 100 times a day, for example — or through “positive stress” by walking rapidly uphill or upstairs, or even standing on the pedals while cycling uphill. Although many bone experts recommend weight-training on resistance machines like those found in gyms, Dr. Wright realizes that most older adults won’t or can’t join a gym. Or, like me, they simply don’t like machines and won’t use them regularly.
Rather, she recommends home-based exercises that more closely mimic how the body functions in the real time Location system. “The house or office can be as effective as a gym,” Dr. Wright said.
“We never prescribe machines anymore,” she said. “Pushing leg presses is so unnatural. It’s not how the body uses squats. We train the body functionally, using the body’s own weight and free weights for resistance instead of machines.”
Without any equipment, you can strengthen your body’s core and multiple muscle groups by doing what trainers call a prisoner squat. Stand straight with feet shoulder-width apart, knees and toes pointed forward, hands behind your head and elbows pointed outward. Sink down, keeping your weight on your heels as if you were about to sit in a chair. Rise up with your back straight and repeat, working up to two sets of about 10 squats each. For a slightly greater challenge, the same exercise can be done against a wall using an exercise ball between you and the wall. You can use hand weights, or even hold cans of food, to strengthen the upper body at the same time.
Dr. Wright also encourages people to use the stairs at home and at work. Walking up and down 100 steps five times at a fast pace provides both an aerobic workout and one that strengthens bones. Walking rapidly uphill is another option. If jumping rope has some appeal, Dr. Wright suggested using a cordless digital jump rope to reduce the risk of tripping. It also records the number of jumps with each turn of the wrists.
If you have access to chest-high water in a pool, lake or seaside, you can build muscle mass and strengthen bones by walking forward and backward and side-to-side in the water, she said. This can strengthen the quads, buttocks and core, providing bone stimulation for the spine and hips and shock absorption for the knees.
And don’t forget dancing. “The waltz or swing dance is one of the most popular things I prescribe,” Dr. Wright said.
Of course, if your back can handle it, there are many ordinary tasks that can strengthen bones, among them carrying heavy items or small children for short distances. In the warmer months, I do a lot of outdoor tasks — pushing a lawn mower, raking, sawing, digging and the like — that involve intermittent bone-building stress.
Bone density exams typically involve only the spine, hips and forearms, the areas most susceptible to compression or fragility fractures. But other bones, like those in the thigh, upper arm and shoulder, can also break under minimal stress if they are weak, so activities that strengthen them — like walking, cycling and swimming — can indeed be helpful. While some doctors think measures of the internal structure of bones may more accurately indicate strength than traditional bone density tests, several experts told me that there is as yet no standard by which to judge bone health based on structure.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Okanagan College Esthetics program scores
A global leader in professional skin care has partnered with Okanagan College to offer students in the new and enhanced Esthetics and Nail Technology program a range of innovative training and professional development opportunities starting this September.
The Okanagan College Spa Training Centre is now officially designated as a Dermalogica Partnership School. This prestigious association connects students with the professional Dermalogica skin-health product line developed by the International Dermal Institute.
Dermalogica is renowned in the esthetics industry for the high quality of its products and its emphasis on providing excellence in education through training and awards initiatives. Students at Dermalogica Partnership Schools around the world benefit by gaining business knowledge and advanced skin-care skills from one of the most respected names in the professional skin consultation and treatment field.
Learning initiatives for students in the Esthetics and Nail Technology program now include introductions to products and therapies unique to Dermalogica, as well as business-focused learning that indoor Tracking, event planning, and advanced retailing. After graduation, the connection with Dermalogica continues as students have access to further post-graduate professional development opportunities.
This fall, students in Okanagan College’s Esthetics and Nail Technology program can enjoy a new and enhanced curriculum that gives them the full range of skills needed for careers in the growing field of esthetics. Students are trained in a wide variety of spa treatments, ranging from manicures and pedicures to facials, make-up application, and relaxation massage.
The College blends theory and practical application, using field trips, guest speakers, practicum, and a visit to a spa tradeshow where students can learn and make career connections.
Esthetics and Nail Technology graduates have an extremely high job placement rate within a month of graduation, with students easily finding rewarding work in many different settings such as day spas, destination spas, cruise ships and in their own entrepreneurial ventures.
I reflected a little on my response to his pain and realized that "tough love" grandparenting doesn't always work and leaves you feeling lousy. Very similar to a work-related performance evaluation, I realized I required more training in this field.
I decided to contact a couple of experts on how to be more supportive to sensitive kids. Although some of this is "Love 101" common-sense stuff, it's a good review for grandparents — for me, in particular. These experts gave me some insight in supporting kids who have some self-esteem issues as well.
Heck, when I was 10, I didn't know what self-esteem was. Are kids today oversensitive and do they have more issues to deal with? I don't know, but I suspect they might.I feel kids today lose out on that experience of life that most of us baby boomers had. Going outside and Indoor Positioning System. Riding our bikes, figuring things out on our own, making mistakes, doing things with our hands. Many of today's kids can't venture outside unsupervised like we did — it's a different world than the one we grew up in.
We could be happy, innocent kids unaware of many of the bad things going on in the world, but I don't know if that is the case for children today. They get to witness replays of disasters time after time, and for my grandchildren our country has been at war their entire lives. There is so much of a "dark side" world they see daily.
The first expert I reached out to was Dr. Steve Bingner, a licensed psychologist with the Center for Effective Living, here in Rochester. Dr. Bingner indicated that we need to be very good listeners to our grandkids. We should try to determine how they are feeling, to see where they are at and not to just try to quickly fix everything for them.Bingner said we need to empathize with our grandchildren and validate their emotions. I should have said, "I have been stung before and it hurts a great deal. Let's see if I can put something on it to make it feel better."
We should consider that any concern or emotion is an opportunity for intimacy and to teach. Dr. Bingner said that maybe a mood or outburst might be a specific problem that is an obstacle to them. Heck, maybe they are just having trouble with their math homework.
My opinion is that involving kids in real jobs and activities that offer a little bit of a challenge is a good thing. This is something I try to do by getting the grandkids to help water our flowers, wash vehicles, sweep the garage and even do some painting. If they can help you with something, it gives you the opportunity to tell them how valuable they have been.
Dr. Else also mentioned that kids need to feel part of something. They need to know they are an important part of the family. If we can also connect them in positive ways to different pieces of society, such as school, activities, church, they will feel they belong.
We all see the things that make us feel bad. We've witnessed grandparents or parents screaming at their kids in sporting events. Ridiculing their performance. Maybe they are 10 and maybe they are 17, it still hurts them a great deal. I witnessed this on many occasions as a high school basketball official.
Read the full products at http://www.ecived.com/en/.
The Okanagan College Spa Training Centre is now officially designated as a Dermalogica Partnership School. This prestigious association connects students with the professional Dermalogica skin-health product line developed by the International Dermal Institute.
Dermalogica is renowned in the esthetics industry for the high quality of its products and its emphasis on providing excellence in education through training and awards initiatives. Students at Dermalogica Partnership Schools around the world benefit by gaining business knowledge and advanced skin-care skills from one of the most respected names in the professional skin consultation and treatment field.
Learning initiatives for students in the Esthetics and Nail Technology program now include introductions to products and therapies unique to Dermalogica, as well as business-focused learning that indoor Tracking, event planning, and advanced retailing. After graduation, the connection with Dermalogica continues as students have access to further post-graduate professional development opportunities.
This fall, students in Okanagan College’s Esthetics and Nail Technology program can enjoy a new and enhanced curriculum that gives them the full range of skills needed for careers in the growing field of esthetics. Students are trained in a wide variety of spa treatments, ranging from manicures and pedicures to facials, make-up application, and relaxation massage.
The College blends theory and practical application, using field trips, guest speakers, practicum, and a visit to a spa tradeshow where students can learn and make career connections.
Esthetics and Nail Technology graduates have an extremely high job placement rate within a month of graduation, with students easily finding rewarding work in many different settings such as day spas, destination spas, cruise ships and in their own entrepreneurial ventures.
I reflected a little on my response to his pain and realized that "tough love" grandparenting doesn't always work and leaves you feeling lousy. Very similar to a work-related performance evaluation, I realized I required more training in this field.
I decided to contact a couple of experts on how to be more supportive to sensitive kids. Although some of this is "Love 101" common-sense stuff, it's a good review for grandparents — for me, in particular. These experts gave me some insight in supporting kids who have some self-esteem issues as well.
Heck, when I was 10, I didn't know what self-esteem was. Are kids today oversensitive and do they have more issues to deal with? I don't know, but I suspect they might.I feel kids today lose out on that experience of life that most of us baby boomers had. Going outside and Indoor Positioning System. Riding our bikes, figuring things out on our own, making mistakes, doing things with our hands. Many of today's kids can't venture outside unsupervised like we did — it's a different world than the one we grew up in.
We could be happy, innocent kids unaware of many of the bad things going on in the world, but I don't know if that is the case for children today. They get to witness replays of disasters time after time, and for my grandchildren our country has been at war their entire lives. There is so much of a "dark side" world they see daily.
The first expert I reached out to was Dr. Steve Bingner, a licensed psychologist with the Center for Effective Living, here in Rochester. Dr. Bingner indicated that we need to be very good listeners to our grandkids. We should try to determine how they are feeling, to see where they are at and not to just try to quickly fix everything for them.Bingner said we need to empathize with our grandchildren and validate their emotions. I should have said, "I have been stung before and it hurts a great deal. Let's see if I can put something on it to make it feel better."
We should consider that any concern or emotion is an opportunity for intimacy and to teach. Dr. Bingner said that maybe a mood or outburst might be a specific problem that is an obstacle to them. Heck, maybe they are just having trouble with their math homework.
My opinion is that involving kids in real jobs and activities that offer a little bit of a challenge is a good thing. This is something I try to do by getting the grandkids to help water our flowers, wash vehicles, sweep the garage and even do some painting. If they can help you with something, it gives you the opportunity to tell them how valuable they have been.
Dr. Else also mentioned that kids need to feel part of something. They need to know they are an important part of the family. If we can also connect them in positive ways to different pieces of society, such as school, activities, church, they will feel they belong.
We all see the things that make us feel bad. We've witnessed grandparents or parents screaming at their kids in sporting events. Ridiculing their performance. Maybe they are 10 and maybe they are 17, it still hurts them a great deal. I witnessed this on many occasions as a high school basketball official.
Read the full products at http://www.ecived.com/en/.
2013 Ford Escape
“There isn’t much this doesn’t have to offer,” joked Lee Ward, a sales rep at Friendly Ford in Geneva, referencing the five-passenger SUV.From an EcoBoost engine with turbochargers and direct-injection to a hands-free lift gate with video-game-inspired motion-sensing technology, the Escape allows users to connect, move and venture without a worry.
A best-in-class, fuel-nursing 33 mpg on the highway serves as a strong selling point for the 1.6L EcoBoost engine, which features a turbocharger on the inline four-cylinder setup. The engine features variable camshaft timing to improve the economy, boasting 178 hp while allowing plenty of low-end torque for passing.
A second engine option is the 2.0L EcoBoost, featuring 30 mpg highway and 240 hp. The engine combination allows 3,500 pounds of towing capacity. The third engine, coming standard, is the Duratec inline four-cylinder with 168 hp. Each comes mated to the six-speed SelectShift Automatic, allowing the driver to select a gear like a manual, or run with the ease of an automatic.
“I’m pretty impressed with the Hands free access,” Ward said. “This can do more than you might expect it to.”The ease of access is a major selling point of the vehicle. A simple toe-wave has the rear hatch springing open. A class exclusive, a gentle kicking motion under the bumper with the Intelligent Access key fob in a pocket or purse combine to trigger the lift gate to open; replicating the action will make it close.
The height can be reprogrammed to fit inside tighter garages, so the lift gate doesn’t swing to its full height and avoids contact with roofs and rafters.The lift gate exposes a 67.8-cubic-foot storage area; the seats split in 60/40 fashion and form a flat path all the way to the backs of the front seats with the adjustable cargo load floor in place.
“You can have a flat shot all the way to the front and maximize your length or drop the floor to a lower spot,” Ward said.The tech-savvy aren’t left wanting, either. Ford SYNC can pair with a cell phone, transferring all contacts to support voice-activated calling. The technology can also play MP3s, USBs or iPods. Anything with Bluetooth can stream to the system, including popular audio sources such as Pandora, iHeartRadio.
The controls are mounted on the steering wheel, and can be activated by simply pressing a button and asking Ford SYNC to do what you wish: “Call Mom” or “Play playlist: Road Trip.”Additional activated services include turn-by-turn navigation.
“Just say the word, SYNC will get it done,” Ward said. “SYNC can also read incoming text messages to you.”The huge MyFord Touch LCD display makes controlling the devices easy and also places an LCD screen in the gauge cluster. The five-way controls on the steering wheel mirror the display panel and allow access to the media hub and dual USB ports. Voice commands also bring up weather reports and can find destinations or points of interest without a physical address. Looking into blind spots is a snap with the in-dash display, with a meter to help judge rear-backing maneuvers.
The Escape can even parallel park itself; a press of a button engages active park assist, which alerts the driver when an appropriate opening is found. Then, the driver removes his or her hands from the wheel, and the vehicle will park itself, giving commands to the driver to shift gears and apply the brake and accelerator.
The Escape also features intelligent four-wheel drive, available to determine road conditions and adapt 20-times faster than the blink of an eye. Ford advertises the on-demand system as its most advanced intelligent four-wheel drive system ever.“If you can’t find something you like about Escape, take it out and look a second time. There’s so much more to go over. I’m still learning everything about rtls. Ford did a really good job getting it together on this one,” Ward said, listing off additional available items such as Curve Control, Roll-Stability Control, and the ability to cue the MyKey functionality to block calls and texts while driving.
The dozens of innovations make the Escape a multi-segment offering with multi-level appeal. The body even features 10 pounds of recycled clothing in the sound-dampening system, and the post-consumer and post-industrial polyester fabric carpeting includes 25 recycled 20-ounce plastic bottles per vehicle. More than 85 percent of the vehicle is recyclable after it’s retired from service.
Some herald it as a debt-free degree, but that largely depends on how you define “debt.” Students won't have a fixed sum hanging over their head, gathering interest that’s being skimmed off by a for-profit lender or big bank—but they will be making regular payments of a (small) chunk of their income for a (rather long) time. Though the final details will be hammered out in the pilot program, the bill suggests that graduates of four-year programs pay 3 percent of their income—and grads of two-year schools pay 1.5 percent—for 24 years. The goals are to eliminate the upfront cost of college and to allow students to take jobs that pay less but have more social benefit without worrying about making monthly debt payments. Students who make a lot of money will pay a larger amount into the fund, and each generation will fund schools for the generation after them—hence the name, Pay It Forward.
It's noteworthy that the proposal came from students themselves. In the fall of 2012, Barbara Dudley, the founder of the Oregon Working Families Party, taught a capstone class at Portland State University on student debt with professor Mary King. The Pay It Forward plan had been considered elsewhere—most recently in Washington state—and the students considered it as along with other proposals for state and national action to solve the student debt crisis. “We fell in love with it,” says Kevin Rackham, who was a junior at Portland State when he took Dudley and King's course.
The students were deeply involved in every step of shaping the bill, says Sami Alloy, a WFP campaign manager. “They decided that they thought this was a just way to create a shared responsibility model that would remove that initial financial and psychological barrier.”
The students presented their proposal (the full text of which is available on the Oregon WFP's website) to a panel of legislators and secured a champion in Portland Democrat Rep. Michael Dembrow, chair of the Oregon House higher education committee, who introduced the bill. The Working Families Party made the bill a legislative priority, and the students worked with Alloy and Dudley to lobby for the bill. They were backed by a coalition that included the Oregon Student Association, Portland State University Association of University Professors, Jubilee USA, the United Food and Commercial Workers union and Teamsters Local 206.
“With the hard work of the students and the political power we've built as the WFP, we were able to build consensus in the legislature, but I don't think that anybody expected it to move this fast or to be so unanimous,” Alloy says. “The reason this has struck such a chord is that people are hungry for a solution to the student debt crisis.”
A best-in-class, fuel-nursing 33 mpg on the highway serves as a strong selling point for the 1.6L EcoBoost engine, which features a turbocharger on the inline four-cylinder setup. The engine features variable camshaft timing to improve the economy, boasting 178 hp while allowing plenty of low-end torque for passing.
A second engine option is the 2.0L EcoBoost, featuring 30 mpg highway and 240 hp. The engine combination allows 3,500 pounds of towing capacity. The third engine, coming standard, is the Duratec inline four-cylinder with 168 hp. Each comes mated to the six-speed SelectShift Automatic, allowing the driver to select a gear like a manual, or run with the ease of an automatic.
“I’m pretty impressed with the Hands free access,” Ward said. “This can do more than you might expect it to.”The ease of access is a major selling point of the vehicle. A simple toe-wave has the rear hatch springing open. A class exclusive, a gentle kicking motion under the bumper with the Intelligent Access key fob in a pocket or purse combine to trigger the lift gate to open; replicating the action will make it close.
The height can be reprogrammed to fit inside tighter garages, so the lift gate doesn’t swing to its full height and avoids contact with roofs and rafters.The lift gate exposes a 67.8-cubic-foot storage area; the seats split in 60/40 fashion and form a flat path all the way to the backs of the front seats with the adjustable cargo load floor in place.
“You can have a flat shot all the way to the front and maximize your length or drop the floor to a lower spot,” Ward said.The tech-savvy aren’t left wanting, either. Ford SYNC can pair with a cell phone, transferring all contacts to support voice-activated calling. The technology can also play MP3s, USBs or iPods. Anything with Bluetooth can stream to the system, including popular audio sources such as Pandora, iHeartRadio.
The controls are mounted on the steering wheel, and can be activated by simply pressing a button and asking Ford SYNC to do what you wish: “Call Mom” or “Play playlist: Road Trip.”Additional activated services include turn-by-turn navigation.
“Just say the word, SYNC will get it done,” Ward said. “SYNC can also read incoming text messages to you.”The huge MyFord Touch LCD display makes controlling the devices easy and also places an LCD screen in the gauge cluster. The five-way controls on the steering wheel mirror the display panel and allow access to the media hub and dual USB ports. Voice commands also bring up weather reports and can find destinations or points of interest without a physical address. Looking into blind spots is a snap with the in-dash display, with a meter to help judge rear-backing maneuvers.
The Escape can even parallel park itself; a press of a button engages active park assist, which alerts the driver when an appropriate opening is found. Then, the driver removes his or her hands from the wheel, and the vehicle will park itself, giving commands to the driver to shift gears and apply the brake and accelerator.
The Escape also features intelligent four-wheel drive, available to determine road conditions and adapt 20-times faster than the blink of an eye. Ford advertises the on-demand system as its most advanced intelligent four-wheel drive system ever.“If you can’t find something you like about Escape, take it out and look a second time. There’s so much more to go over. I’m still learning everything about rtls. Ford did a really good job getting it together on this one,” Ward said, listing off additional available items such as Curve Control, Roll-Stability Control, and the ability to cue the MyKey functionality to block calls and texts while driving.
The dozens of innovations make the Escape a multi-segment offering with multi-level appeal. The body even features 10 pounds of recycled clothing in the sound-dampening system, and the post-consumer and post-industrial polyester fabric carpeting includes 25 recycled 20-ounce plastic bottles per vehicle. More than 85 percent of the vehicle is recyclable after it’s retired from service.
Some herald it as a debt-free degree, but that largely depends on how you define “debt.” Students won't have a fixed sum hanging over their head, gathering interest that’s being skimmed off by a for-profit lender or big bank—but they will be making regular payments of a (small) chunk of their income for a (rather long) time. Though the final details will be hammered out in the pilot program, the bill suggests that graduates of four-year programs pay 3 percent of their income—and grads of two-year schools pay 1.5 percent—for 24 years. The goals are to eliminate the upfront cost of college and to allow students to take jobs that pay less but have more social benefit without worrying about making monthly debt payments. Students who make a lot of money will pay a larger amount into the fund, and each generation will fund schools for the generation after them—hence the name, Pay It Forward.
It's noteworthy that the proposal came from students themselves. In the fall of 2012, Barbara Dudley, the founder of the Oregon Working Families Party, taught a capstone class at Portland State University on student debt with professor Mary King. The Pay It Forward plan had been considered elsewhere—most recently in Washington state—and the students considered it as along with other proposals for state and national action to solve the student debt crisis. “We fell in love with it,” says Kevin Rackham, who was a junior at Portland State when he took Dudley and King's course.
The students were deeply involved in every step of shaping the bill, says Sami Alloy, a WFP campaign manager. “They decided that they thought this was a just way to create a shared responsibility model that would remove that initial financial and psychological barrier.”
The students presented their proposal (the full text of which is available on the Oregon WFP's website) to a panel of legislators and secured a champion in Portland Democrat Rep. Michael Dembrow, chair of the Oregon House higher education committee, who introduced the bill. The Working Families Party made the bill a legislative priority, and the students worked with Alloy and Dudley to lobby for the bill. They were backed by a coalition that included the Oregon Student Association, Portland State University Association of University Professors, Jubilee USA, the United Food and Commercial Workers union and Teamsters Local 206.
“With the hard work of the students and the political power we've built as the WFP, we were able to build consensus in the legislature, but I don't think that anybody expected it to move this fast or to be so unanimous,” Alloy says. “The reason this has struck such a chord is that people are hungry for a solution to the student debt crisis.”
Monday, August 5, 2013
Tictail’s trick for easy e-commerce
As I cosily swap mobile numbers with 27-year-old Swede Carl Waldekranz, founder of Tictail, the new e-commerce tool for shops that is sweeping European high streets, I have a strong sense that I am sitting with the next Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak or Mark Zuckerberg, all internet entrepreneurs who started young and took the world by storm. In two or three years’ time, the boyish Waldekranz could join their ranks as another global icon – and one who will no longer be taking my calls. He certainly seems to be on the brink of something big.
Tictail launched only a year ago – although after long gestation around Waldekranz’s kitchen table in Stockholm – but already it has attracted headlines, backing from noted venture capitalists, and even investment from key personnel at Skype and Spotify. These two major-league web operators see big potential in Tictail’s offer of an internet platform for shopkeepers who want to create an online store to complement their Indoor Positioning System.
“While I was working in an advertising agency in Sweden,” the engaging Waldekranz explains, “I was very drawn to e-commerce. It is the most exciting area, where the message we create and the buying done by consumers converge. Elsewhere, people see the advertising and then, later, go into the shop. In e-commerce it is all one.”
So far, so good, but then he spotted one big obstacle. “Many retailers, particularly smaller ones with indie brands and boutiques, who could benefit from e-commerce, can only do it by spending a lot of money that they can’t afford on constant technical support or having their own IT section.”
Which is where no-cost, no-frills Tictail steps in. “Back in January,” Waldekranz recalls, “we received an email from a guitar shop in Dublin. It had been in the hands of the same family for 150 years but e-commerce was driving it out of business. They told us, 'We thought that this Christmas would be our last, and that going online was beyond our means and expertise, but within weeks of using Tictail to sell online we are doing so well that we are going to be here for another 150 years.’”
It sounds like a line from a television advertisement – especially to this default technophobe. Doesn’t Tictail require some aptitude for computers, or at the very least access to a willing teenage helper? Waldekranz laughs. “You sound like my mother. She is a brilliant artist but not great with technology and so she hasn’t been able to sell the ceramics she makes online. I told her that is absurd.” And he immediately opens up on his ever-present laptop the “By Mutti” website to display ceramicist Eva Gernandt’s distinctive porcelain designs, plus those handy boxes where you can click to buy one.
“It became our benchmark when we were planning Tictail,” Waldekranz says with one of those toothy smiles that stretches across his face. “If my mother couldn’t set it up and operate it on her own, then we hadn’t got it right.”
And since she clearly can and is profiting by it, this must count as a case of mission accomplished. Which brings us neatly to Tictail’s mission statement. It wants not only to be the world’s most used e-commerce platform, but also its most loved. E-commerce and the Hands free access of shops can suddenly be friends, not foes, and Britain’s stand-alone high-street retailers can more easily get a share of the UK’s ￡78 billion online sales market.
So if Waldekranz’s mother was instinctively hostile to using the internet to promote her business, I can’t help wondering, where does her son get his can-do attitude from? “Oh, my dad. He was always buying the latest bit of technology, even though he couldn’t work them.” And, he adds, then there was also what sounds like a very different approach to technology in the classrooms of Sweden.
“I’m not a digital native,” says Waldekranz, “like children in Swedish schools today. I only got my first computer when I was 11. But there is also a spirit in Sweden that we know we are a small country of nine million people, and that anything we develop can never be sustained if the only market we envisage is Sweden. We have to think global from day one. That mindset is part of our culture.” As evidenced by the success of Skype and Spotify, both now worldwide brands with their roots in Sweden.
Waldekranz is the public face of Tictail but is always careful to stress he is one of four founders, anxious perhaps to avoid future disputes such as those that engulfed Zuckerberg and his early Facebook collaborators. “In Sweden,” he says, “we prefer flat hierarchies.”
So I can see how Tictail could benefit smaller, independent high-street retailers and sole traders in all sorts of other fields – like Waldekranz’s mother – but since this is a business not a charity, how does he make any money?
“Well, businesses getting started on Tictail is good,” he says, “but it is not enough if they are going to succeed. The important question then is what happens next? How do you get traffic to your website? How do you handle your first sales? How often do you keep refreshing your site? How do you use social media to encourage people to take a look at what you are offering? How do you seek feedback? And that is where we offer Tictail feeds. These applications help you tackle all these issues.” And for these there is a charge.
The “feed” is essentially a stream of messages that acts as an automated adviser, prompting and occasionally cajoling shop owners not to rest on their laurels. The idea is both to offer as good a service online as off, and to build loyalty and repeat custom, using social media features such as newsletters and alerts about new products. New plans include allowing users to add extensions, such as the ability to hand out discount codes to their store.
So Tictail is definitely a business, with a bottom line, but what gives Waldekranz that added edge of persuasion is his vocal attachment not just to being profitable but also to the democratic ideals of the world wide web. So he compares the rise of Tictail in relation to the major retailers as akin to that of the blog in recent years. “It wasn’t that long ago that the big media outlets controlled most of the written content on the web, but now that has changed. Anyone can write a blog and go mainstream. It can be the same with e-commerce. Right now the big giants are controlling it, but my belief is that we can now offer a way for small, independent retailers on the high street to take them on. It is a major shift.”
Tictail launched only a year ago – although after long gestation around Waldekranz’s kitchen table in Stockholm – but already it has attracted headlines, backing from noted venture capitalists, and even investment from key personnel at Skype and Spotify. These two major-league web operators see big potential in Tictail’s offer of an internet platform for shopkeepers who want to create an online store to complement their Indoor Positioning System.
“While I was working in an advertising agency in Sweden,” the engaging Waldekranz explains, “I was very drawn to e-commerce. It is the most exciting area, where the message we create and the buying done by consumers converge. Elsewhere, people see the advertising and then, later, go into the shop. In e-commerce it is all one.”
So far, so good, but then he spotted one big obstacle. “Many retailers, particularly smaller ones with indie brands and boutiques, who could benefit from e-commerce, can only do it by spending a lot of money that they can’t afford on constant technical support or having their own IT section.”
Which is where no-cost, no-frills Tictail steps in. “Back in January,” Waldekranz recalls, “we received an email from a guitar shop in Dublin. It had been in the hands of the same family for 150 years but e-commerce was driving it out of business. They told us, 'We thought that this Christmas would be our last, and that going online was beyond our means and expertise, but within weeks of using Tictail to sell online we are doing so well that we are going to be here for another 150 years.’”
It sounds like a line from a television advertisement – especially to this default technophobe. Doesn’t Tictail require some aptitude for computers, or at the very least access to a willing teenage helper? Waldekranz laughs. “You sound like my mother. She is a brilliant artist but not great with technology and so she hasn’t been able to sell the ceramics she makes online. I told her that is absurd.” And he immediately opens up on his ever-present laptop the “By Mutti” website to display ceramicist Eva Gernandt’s distinctive porcelain designs, plus those handy boxes where you can click to buy one.
“It became our benchmark when we were planning Tictail,” Waldekranz says with one of those toothy smiles that stretches across his face. “If my mother couldn’t set it up and operate it on her own, then we hadn’t got it right.”
And since she clearly can and is profiting by it, this must count as a case of mission accomplished. Which brings us neatly to Tictail’s mission statement. It wants not only to be the world’s most used e-commerce platform, but also its most loved. E-commerce and the Hands free access of shops can suddenly be friends, not foes, and Britain’s stand-alone high-street retailers can more easily get a share of the UK’s ￡78 billion online sales market.
So if Waldekranz’s mother was instinctively hostile to using the internet to promote her business, I can’t help wondering, where does her son get his can-do attitude from? “Oh, my dad. He was always buying the latest bit of technology, even though he couldn’t work them.” And, he adds, then there was also what sounds like a very different approach to technology in the classrooms of Sweden.
“I’m not a digital native,” says Waldekranz, “like children in Swedish schools today. I only got my first computer when I was 11. But there is also a spirit in Sweden that we know we are a small country of nine million people, and that anything we develop can never be sustained if the only market we envisage is Sweden. We have to think global from day one. That mindset is part of our culture.” As evidenced by the success of Skype and Spotify, both now worldwide brands with their roots in Sweden.
Waldekranz is the public face of Tictail but is always careful to stress he is one of four founders, anxious perhaps to avoid future disputes such as those that engulfed Zuckerberg and his early Facebook collaborators. “In Sweden,” he says, “we prefer flat hierarchies.”
So I can see how Tictail could benefit smaller, independent high-street retailers and sole traders in all sorts of other fields – like Waldekranz’s mother – but since this is a business not a charity, how does he make any money?
“Well, businesses getting started on Tictail is good,” he says, “but it is not enough if they are going to succeed. The important question then is what happens next? How do you get traffic to your website? How do you handle your first sales? How often do you keep refreshing your site? How do you use social media to encourage people to take a look at what you are offering? How do you seek feedback? And that is where we offer Tictail feeds. These applications help you tackle all these issues.” And for these there is a charge.
The “feed” is essentially a stream of messages that acts as an automated adviser, prompting and occasionally cajoling shop owners not to rest on their laurels. The idea is both to offer as good a service online as off, and to build loyalty and repeat custom, using social media features such as newsletters and alerts about new products. New plans include allowing users to add extensions, such as the ability to hand out discount codes to their store.
So Tictail is definitely a business, with a bottom line, but what gives Waldekranz that added edge of persuasion is his vocal attachment not just to being profitable but also to the democratic ideals of the world wide web. So he compares the rise of Tictail in relation to the major retailers as akin to that of the blog in recent years. “It wasn’t that long ago that the big media outlets controlled most of the written content on the web, but now that has changed. Anyone can write a blog and go mainstream. It can be the same with e-commerce. Right now the big giants are controlling it, but my belief is that we can now offer a way for small, independent retailers on the high street to take them on. It is a major shift.”
Protect yourself from creep
Last week, I described my debt situation as leaving the casino busted, ready to face the consequences of my gambling. But what if, as you stepped outside, you found a loose scratch ticket on the ground, and it came up a winner?
Two weeks after my months of living largely on credit ended as a result of the banks denying me any more fantasy funds the payoff I had been gambling on finally came through. Amazon offered my comedy group a contract and an order for six sitcom-episode scripts. Not a lot of money, but enough to cover my debt after taxes. I had just pulled off the financial equivalent of jumping a bicycle over the Grand Canyon.
To ground what seems like a dramatic, real time Location system, this Amazon deal was the result of my previous 10 years working in comedy. Each stepping stone can be traced back, eventually to the first time I stepped on stage at the downtown Comedy Works on May 14, 2003. So lest this seem like an improbable rags to, well, less ragged, tale, it's spread over a long timeline.
Was it wise? Not at all. Living on beans and rice and adhering to a strict budget while pursuing one's dreams is wise. Wading blithely into the swamps of credit-card debt is not. When I was approached for this column, I had my reservations about accepting it, mainly because I did not want to address my own stupid behavior.
All told, as the wild roller coaster ride pulls back into the station, I am at least left with some valuable lessons, which I can share with you after my firsthand experience making these mistakes.Don't open a credit card. I have plenty of friends who bemoan the fact that they've never been offered a credit card. Good for them. A credit card is not a status symbol despite the imagery used to sell them to you. A credit card is a big bank's debit card. That's the best way to view them. If you already have a credit card?
Destroy your physical cards. Having a credit card in your wallet just for emergencies, you tell yourself is nothing but bait. You may not normally use it, but if you came across the right item at the right price...Likewise for keeping it in your rtls. If you just don't feel right cutting the card up, put it in a jar of water in the freezer. At least it will take you some time to access it if you feel compelled to use it.
Never use credit cards as an online payment option. If you use a credit card number for online shopping, you just made it that much easier to spend money that isn't yours. Online shopping is the impulse buyer's best friend, so the worst thing you could pair that with is a seemingly bottomless source of funds.
Take the time to do the math. If you're like me and despise math, steel yourself and actually figure out how long it will take you to pay off your debt using only the minimum monthly payment. In your head you may think "forever," but having the actual amount of time is both sobering and inspiring. You can't work toward "forever," but you can work toward reducing a real number. It will also motivate you to pay more than the monthly minimum.
It's never too late to put on the brakes. When you're sinking quickly into debt, it's easy to lose perspective. "Well, I'm already $12,000 in, what's another $1,000?" The answer is, of course, $1,000 plus the accumulated interest by the time you eventually get around to paying it, which could result in a much larger amount. It's a lot easier to extricate yourself when you're ankle-deep in quicksand than neck-deep.
After my free fall of living on credit, it feels good to live on a budget. It feels like I have both hands on the wheel of my life, and the money I spend comes out of my bank account. If I don't have the money in there, there's nothing to spend. And that's the way it should be.
Slocan Valley residents unable to use their water following a fuel spill last month can now visit Winlaw elementary school for access to water, showers, washrooms, and disaster relief personnel.Executive Flight Centre, which owned the tanker that spilled its load of jet fuel into Lemon Creek, has opened what it calls a "community resiliency centre."But a Winlaw man says while it's a nice gesture, it's not really what affected residents need most.
"I don't want to diminish it, but if they wanted to help us, our health should be monitored and finances made available to compensate us, because it was human-caused," Michael Kaye told the Star. "The community wants hands-on help with their yards and animals that are badly affected."
Kaye, who lives around the corner from the school, said he feels "abandoned, stranded, and abused" since the spill. Although he has a deep well and therefore his water was not affected, he says the fumes took a toll on his lungs, leaving him with a sore throat, headaches, and nausea.
Interior Health says in most cases, well water is not affected. However, shallow wells close to the creek or rivers, particularly those in gravel or sandy soils, may be affected. The health authority says residents shouldn't use their well water if there is a fuel smell in the well or at any tap.
Garden vegetables, fruit, eggs, and dairy milk contacted by the fuel vapour are safe to consume as long as they don't smell like fuel or have a fuel sheen, Interior Health said. But they recommend washing fruit and vegetables thoroughly — easier said than done given that many residents aren't able to use their tap water.
Read the full products at http://www.ecived.com/en/.
Two weeks after my months of living largely on credit ended as a result of the banks denying me any more fantasy funds the payoff I had been gambling on finally came through. Amazon offered my comedy group a contract and an order for six sitcom-episode scripts. Not a lot of money, but enough to cover my debt after taxes. I had just pulled off the financial equivalent of jumping a bicycle over the Grand Canyon.
To ground what seems like a dramatic, real time Location system, this Amazon deal was the result of my previous 10 years working in comedy. Each stepping stone can be traced back, eventually to the first time I stepped on stage at the downtown Comedy Works on May 14, 2003. So lest this seem like an improbable rags to, well, less ragged, tale, it's spread over a long timeline.
Was it wise? Not at all. Living on beans and rice and adhering to a strict budget while pursuing one's dreams is wise. Wading blithely into the swamps of credit-card debt is not. When I was approached for this column, I had my reservations about accepting it, mainly because I did not want to address my own stupid behavior.
All told, as the wild roller coaster ride pulls back into the station, I am at least left with some valuable lessons, which I can share with you after my firsthand experience making these mistakes.Don't open a credit card. I have plenty of friends who bemoan the fact that they've never been offered a credit card. Good for them. A credit card is not a status symbol despite the imagery used to sell them to you. A credit card is a big bank's debit card. That's the best way to view them. If you already have a credit card?
Destroy your physical cards. Having a credit card in your wallet just for emergencies, you tell yourself is nothing but bait. You may not normally use it, but if you came across the right item at the right price...Likewise for keeping it in your rtls. If you just don't feel right cutting the card up, put it in a jar of water in the freezer. At least it will take you some time to access it if you feel compelled to use it.
Never use credit cards as an online payment option. If you use a credit card number for online shopping, you just made it that much easier to spend money that isn't yours. Online shopping is the impulse buyer's best friend, so the worst thing you could pair that with is a seemingly bottomless source of funds.
Take the time to do the math. If you're like me and despise math, steel yourself and actually figure out how long it will take you to pay off your debt using only the minimum monthly payment. In your head you may think "forever," but having the actual amount of time is both sobering and inspiring. You can't work toward "forever," but you can work toward reducing a real number. It will also motivate you to pay more than the monthly minimum.
It's never too late to put on the brakes. When you're sinking quickly into debt, it's easy to lose perspective. "Well, I'm already $12,000 in, what's another $1,000?" The answer is, of course, $1,000 plus the accumulated interest by the time you eventually get around to paying it, which could result in a much larger amount. It's a lot easier to extricate yourself when you're ankle-deep in quicksand than neck-deep.
After my free fall of living on credit, it feels good to live on a budget. It feels like I have both hands on the wheel of my life, and the money I spend comes out of my bank account. If I don't have the money in there, there's nothing to spend. And that's the way it should be.
Slocan Valley residents unable to use their water following a fuel spill last month can now visit Winlaw elementary school for access to water, showers, washrooms, and disaster relief personnel.Executive Flight Centre, which owned the tanker that spilled its load of jet fuel into Lemon Creek, has opened what it calls a "community resiliency centre."But a Winlaw man says while it's a nice gesture, it's not really what affected residents need most.
"I don't want to diminish it, but if they wanted to help us, our health should be monitored and finances made available to compensate us, because it was human-caused," Michael Kaye told the Star. "The community wants hands-on help with their yards and animals that are badly affected."
Kaye, who lives around the corner from the school, said he feels "abandoned, stranded, and abused" since the spill. Although he has a deep well and therefore his water was not affected, he says the fumes took a toll on his lungs, leaving him with a sore throat, headaches, and nausea.
Interior Health says in most cases, well water is not affected. However, shallow wells close to the creek or rivers, particularly those in gravel or sandy soils, may be affected. The health authority says residents shouldn't use their well water if there is a fuel smell in the well or at any tap.
Garden vegetables, fruit, eggs, and dairy milk contacted by the fuel vapour are safe to consume as long as they don't smell like fuel or have a fuel sheen, Interior Health said. But they recommend washing fruit and vegetables thoroughly — easier said than done given that many residents aren't able to use their tap water.
Read the full products at http://www.ecived.com/en/.
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