; and by supplying a catchall for emancipated slaves it would encourage manumission in the south — which finley hoped would ultimately rid the nation of slavery. there was also an additional philanthropic attraction in the colony ’ s potential for redeeming africa, since it would act as a spiritual, educational, and mercantile lighthouse on the dark continent. encouraged by the reception given the idea among his friends in new jersey, finley went to washington at the end of 1816, and during the christmas season the american society for colonizing the free people of color in the united states was formally established. among the fifty or so leading lights who participated in its founding were speaker of the house henry clay, representatives john randolph of virginia and daniel webster of new hampshire, secretary of the treasury william harris crawford, attorney general richard rush, the author of “ the star - spangled banner, ” francis scott key, general andrew jackson, and the nephew of george washington, supreme court justice bushrod washington, who became the society ’ s first president. it was an auspicious beginning. bushrod washington memorialized congress in january, 1817, asking legislative support for creating an african colony. but congress did not respond favorably, and in hopes of becoming more convincing through the presentation of some solidly researched data on possibilities, the society sent out a two - man expedition to west africa in the next year. the reverend samuel j. mills and professor ebenezer burgess visited sierra leone, sherbro island ( a hundred miles southeast of the british colony ), and a number of villages along the coast of africa ’ s “ shoulder, ” close to the gulf of guinea. the best that mills and burgess took away from their many parleys with black native leaders was a few hedged promises that land for colonists might be made available. most of the local negroes were hostile to the idea. but the visitors ’ impressions of what they saw and heard were strongly influenced by their hopes. when they headed home in may, 1818, they were highly optimistic, particularly about sherbro island as a location. mills had been ill for much of their trip, and he died on the homeward voyage ; but professor burgess communicated their joint enthusiasm to the society. with the support of the colonizationists, a bill was now pushed through congress to stiffen regulation of the african slave trade by making the federal government, rather than the states, responsible for suppressing it. the law gave president monroe power to care for and relocate any slaves captured from the holds of slave ships by


pushed through congress to stiffen regulation of the african slave trade by making the federal government, rather than the states, responsible for suppressing it. the law gave president monroe power to care for and relocate any slaves captured from the holds of slave ships by the government in its policing of the seas. it authorized him, moreover, to commit a naval squadron to the task and, most significantly from the society ’ s point of view, to create a station on the coast of africa for the landing of “ contraband ” blacks rescued from their kidnappers. the colonizationists hoped that this might be the nucleus of their hoped - for colony. monroe thought well of negro resettlement, and he leaned toward such a liberal interpretation. but an adverse opinion from secretary of state john quincy adams blocked the society ’ s attempt to get the president to buy land for a colony under the new statute. adams felt that neither the law nor the constitution could be construed as permitting the nation to set up a colony anywhere. at length, monroe and the colonizationists worked out a compromise : the society would buy the land, and the federal government would post two agents to africa, along with a number of negro volunteer colonists as workmen, to set up the african station. in january, 1820, eighty - six black “ workmen, ” two thirds of whom were women and children, sailed for sherbro island aboard the merchant ship elizabeth, with a sloop of war as convoy. the expedition was led by two federal agents, both nominated by the society, the reverend samuel bacon and john p. bankson. also on board was the society ’ s own agent, samuel crozer. on sherbro they found a rude camp waiting for them, built by a former american slave, john kizell ; he had been mills ’ s and burgess ’ interpreter on the island two years earlier. crozer went off to negotiate with the island leaders for a larger tract of land. they, as it turned out, wanted the colony as little as they had when mills and burgess had talked to them earlier. the thwarted colonists moved into kizelps camp, and shortly “ african fever ” began to strike them down. crozer came back to find several of them dead. he himself fell ill and died. so did john bankson. so did a navy officer. and so, finally, did the last surviving agent, the reverend mr. bacon. crozer had turned over authority to one of the black colonists, the reverend daniel coker of baltimore,


did john bankson. so did a navy officer. and so, finally, did the last surviving agent, the reverend mr. bacon. crozer had turned over authority to one of the black colonists, the reverend daniel coker of baltimore, and coker contended with a disunited and unhealthy colony for a while before giving it up and taking some of the survivors to a refuge on the mainland. nevertheless, despite this discouraging beginning, two more federal agents and two more colonization - society representatives were sent out, along with thirty - three more settlers, in 1821. two of the four leaders died, but the team managed to work out arrangements for the use of forty square miles of land on the coast south of sierra leone. but the deal committed the society to an annual rent of three hundred dollars, and the society, when the issue was presented to it, refused to accept the agreement, considering the sum an unjustified tribute to the heathen king who controlled the land. with all their difficulties, the colonizationists still had monroe ’ s support, and now they arranged for a physician, eli ayres, and a navy lieutenant, robert f. stockton, to be posted by the government to africa to continue the search for a suitable site. ayres and stockton headed for cape mesurado, a promontory thirty - six miles long and three miles wide, on the grain coast. earlier agents had not been able to buy the cape from the local chief, king peter, and the first attempt by ayres and stockton was also fruitless. after days of waiting for king peter to palaver again, they marched inland to his village and at pistol point forced him to sell. the price for cape mesurado was less than three hundred dollars in clothes, guns, powder, rum, tobacco, and trinkets. this “ purchase ” from an unwilling seller the american colonization society named liberia — “ free land ” — and the first settlement there, monrovia. for more than forty years the society got along with varying degrees of the sort of limited federal support that had helped found liberia. this backing was augmented by contributions from individuals and occasionally from state legislatures. agents of the society toured the country, spreading information about colonization, raising money, starting state and local auxiliaries. this effort was aided after 1825 by the publication of a monthly paper, the african repository and colonial journal. liberia grew. by the time of the civil war, some eleven thousand free negroes — at


money, starting state and local auxiliaries. this effort was aided after 1825 by the publication of a monthly paper, the african repository and colonial journal. liberia grew. by the time of the civil war, some eleven thousand free negroes — at least half of them newly emancipated slaves — had been resettled there. the managers of the society never gave up hope that the federal government would eventually commit itself to resettlement on a massive scale. but they soon found themselves in an insoluble dilemma over that question. they were determined to act as a national, unifying force, but there was no way for the society to bid for federal aid and yet to avoid being caught up in the growing sectional debate or to become itself a cause for debate. for one of the burning issues of the day was the very question of whether the federal government had any power to deal with slaves ( or ex - slaves ) in any fashion. such controversy made it inevitable that until the civil war, help for colonization from the national government would be small. and meanwhile the hope of federal assistance on a grand scale acted as a damper on private contributions, and these were further reduced by the competition of many other enterprises in philanthropy. moreover, the sheer size of the task to be performed was also defeating. realistically, this was the sort of project that could not hope to succeed if left to private philanthropy. by 1830 the number of free negroes in the united states was over 319, 000 ; it had increased by nearly 86, 000 in the preceding ten years. and in that ten - year span the american colonization society had raised $ 113, 000 and resettled 1, 430 free blacks. but in spite of many obstacles and limited progress, the colonizationists remained confident that eventually the country would see things their way. many respectable, influential men, of both north and south, belonged to the society or were in sympathy with the idea. liberia had survived serious trials — the ever - present malaria, small wars with the native population, the unreliability of supply shipments, the difficulties of administration at long distance, and rebellions by the colonists. settlers now held appointive posts in the government, and a newspaper, the liberia herald, was being published. still, the optimism of the society could not overcome a second paradox in its very nature. just as they could not easily be healers of sectional strife while asking federal help for a program distrusted by many southerners, so they could not avoid the fact that their program had both


society could not overcome a second paradox in its very nature. just as they could not easily be healers of sectional strife while asking federal help for a program distrusted by many southerners, so they could not avoid the fact that their program had both proslavery and antislavery implications, which conflicted with each other. some indeed wanted emancipation and believed that if slave - holders were offered the prospect of getting rid of their bondsmen, they would be willing to sign the deeds of manumission. but others, especially in the south, wanted resettlement to be used simply to secure the peace and safety of the slave states by isolating the slaves from the contaminating influence of the free blacks. even members of the society who were antislavery in principle had developed serious misgivings about emancipation unless it was accompanied by resettlement. as francis scott key put it in 1838 : i have emancipated seven of my slaves. they have done pretty well, and six of them, now alive, are supporting themselves comfortably and creditably. yet i cannot but see that this is all they are doing now ; and, when age and infirmity come upon them, they will probably suffer. … i am still a slaveholder, and could not, without the greatest inhumanity, be otherwise. … the laws of maryland contain provisions … under which slaves, in certain circumstances, are entitled to petition the courts for their freedom. as a lawyer, i always undertook these cases with peculiar zeal, and have been thus instrumental in liberating several large families and many individuals. i cannot remember more than two instances, out of this large number, in which it did not appear that the freedom i so earnestly sought for them was their ruin. it has been so with a very large proportion of all others i have known emancipated. nor was this exclusively the view of a southerner. john a. dix of new york declared to a meeting of his state ’ s colonization society in 1830, “ the mass of crime committed by africans is greater, in proportion to numbers, in the non - slaveholding than in the slaveholding states ; and as a rule the degree of comfort enjoyed by them is inferior. this is not an argument in favor of slavery ; but it is an unanswerable argument in favor of rendering emancipation and colonization co - extensive with each other. ” officially, the society took no line except advocating removal of free negroes. but in the interests of “ sound


favor of slavery ; but it is an unanswerable argument in favor of rendering emancipation and colonization co - extensive with each other. ” officially, the society took no line except advocating removal of free negroes. but in the interests of “ sound policy, ” as a modern defender of the society points out, the organization let its members make what they wished of that aim, depending on where they worked. with some fairness, colonization was criticized in the north as being the tool of slaveholders and in the south as a tool of the abolitionists — as was bound to happen when it was depicted by its own members both as a way to eliminate and to guarantee slavery. but the problems of trying to satisfy a northern and a southern membership were common to all organizations of the ante - bellum period, especially those seeking compromise. a much more serious handicap for the society was that it uncritically accepted the theory that blacks were inferior to whites. in this, of course, the members had the company of most of their contemporaries, for it was a belief deeply rooted in american life even though it ran against the grain of the official american credo. both jefferson and lincoln had at least tentatively subscribed to it, and their support of resettlement proposals was motivated in part by it. the society did not conceal its prejudice. negroes, said ralph gurley, secretary of the society and editor of the african repository, were “ a people which are injurious and dangerous to our social interests, as they are ignorant, vicious, and unhappy. ” that was why it was necessary to send them to africa. the disparity of principles did not go unnoticed. “ they can love and benefit [ negroes ] four thousand miles off, but not at home, ” wrote william lloyd garrison to a friend in 1831. “ they profess to be, and really believe that they are, actuated by the most philanthropic motives ; and yet are cherishing the most unmanly and unchristian prejudices. ” garrison had himself been a supporter of colonization — had even spoken for it publicly in 1829. but he was struck by the racial bias that lay at the root of the colonization idea. it was entirely at odds with christianity, he thought ; and it was most certainly at odds with the american political philosophy that “ all men are created equal. ” he prepared a long essay, thoughts on african colonization, which he published in 1832. taking as his keynote the phrase “ out of thine own mouth will i condemn thee


at odds with the american political philosophy that “ all men are created equal. ” he prepared a long essay, thoughts on african colonization, which he published in 1832. taking as his keynote the phrase “ out of thine own mouth will i condemn thee, ” he built his attack around quotations from the colonizationists. for instance, the president of union college, the reverend eliphalet nott, was one who spoke of free blacks in terms garrison found offensive : “ we have endeavored [ he quoted nott ], but endeavored in vain, to restore them either to self respect, or to the respect of others. ” it is painful to contradict so worthy an individual ; but nothing is more certain than that this statement is altogether erroneous. we have derided, we have shunned, we have neglected them, in every possible manner. … again : “ it is not our fault that we have failed. … ” we are wholly and exclusively in fault. what have we done to raise them up from the earth? what have we not done to keep them down? once more : “ it has resulted from a cause over which neither they, nor we, can ever have control. ” in other words, they have been made with skins “ not colored like our own, ” and therefore we cannot recognize them as fellow - countrymen, or treat them like rational beings! one sixth of our whole population must, for ever, in this land, remain a wretched, ignorant, and degraded race, — and yet nobody be culpable — none but the creator who has made us incapable of doing unto others as we would have them do unto us! horrible — horrible! if this be not an impeachment of infinite goodness, — i do not say intentionally but really, — i cannot define it. that was the crux of the matter, the essential contradiction that defeated large - scale resettlement. prejudice, garrison pointed out, ought not to be countenanced in a country founded on an assurance of the inherent nobility of every man. to be true to itself the nation should be putting on armor and battling against racial bias. furthermore, by grounding their appeal in a view of blacks that was derogatory — however gentle and sympathetic it might sometimes be — the colonizationists bore a heavy responsibility for keeping free negroes in a depressed condition. as for the society ’ s effect on slavery, it actually retarded the freeing of slaves, garrison believed, since it concentrated on the slow process of


be — the colonizationists bore a heavy responsibility for keeping free negroes in a depressed condition. as for the society ’ s effect on slavery, it actually retarded the freeing of slaves, garrison believed, since it concentrated on the slow process of voluntary emancipation and voluntary colonization — which showed no honest promise of success anyway. as negro abolitionist james porten had put it in 1817, “ let not a purpose be assisted which will stay the cause of the entire abolition of slavery. ” the direct assault of garrison ’ s thoughts proved disastrous to the society ; for while garrison was perhaps in a tiny minority, his views carried weight with the very humanitarians who might otherwise have unswervingly supported a high - minded organization like the society. but in addition, the society ’ s most important opposition came from free negroes themselves. the colonizationists operated on the assumption that of course negroes would want to go “ home ” to africa. but most did not. black resistance to the colonization idea was evident as soon as the society was founded. a philadelphia meeting in january, 1817, resolved : “ our ancestors were, though not from choice, the first cultivators of the wilds of america, and we, their descendants, claim a right to share in the blessings of her luxuriant soil which their blood and sweat manured. we read with deep abhorrence the unmerited stigma, attempted to be cast on the reputation of the free people of color. … we declare that we will never be separated from the slave population of this country. … ” outright deportation of unwilling negroes would not have been at all in keeping with the society ’ s spirit of philanthropy ; it would have represented too great a departure from its concept of christian charity. nonetheless, with the shadow of slavery behind it, the “ offer ” of deportation to the blacks had something of a threat about it. in any event, many of the manumitted slaves who were sent to liberia were freed only on condition that they exile themselves there. rarely did large numbers of free negroes volunteer to go, and then only in times of extreme distress, as during the uproar that followed nat turner ’ s rebellion, when their situation was especially uncomfortable. the repression of free negroes by law was aimed in part at “ encouraging ” their emigration. the contradictions between resettlement under pressure and human dignity, as well as the inextricable entanglement of the venture in the sectional quarrel, began to tell. many disillusioned and discouraged colonizationists


“ encouraging ” their emigration. the contradictions between resettlement under pressure and human dignity, as well as the inextricable entanglement of the venture in the sectional quarrel, began to tell. many disillusioned and discouraged colonizationists defected to the ranks of abolition. state auxiliaries went off in separate directions — those of maryland, kentucky, mississippi, new york, and pennsylvania created their own settlements of negroes in liberia. such losses multiplied the already serious financial difficulties of the national organization, which had been burdened all along with the cost of having to help support liberia in addition to its normal organizational costs. in 1847 liberia was finally cut loose from the parental purse strings and given independence. the society continued to send out settlers — nearly six thousand in the final thirteen years before the war. relocation of negroes still appealed to many americans, but after decades of denunciation by both sides in the sectional quarrel, the american colonization society was in such bad odor it could not even get the federal government to recognize liberia as a nation until 1862. and by then president lincoln was considering various resettlement programs of his own and giving liberia short shrift. the society outlasted the war and the nineteenth century. in 1909 it had five surviving members, who bequeathed its records to the library of congress, and one of its recent historians relates that a “ skeletal organization ” received “ a small legacy ” as recently as 1959. help was given to negroes immigrating to liberia until 1899. but long before that year, the nation had turned — however haltingly — to a solution more in keeping with america ’ s best impulses. “ … [ i ] t is the purpose of god, i am fully persuaded, ” garrison had declared, in a prophecy still not completely realized, “ to humble the pride of the american people by rendering the expulsion of our colored countrymen utterly impracticable, and the necessity for their admission to equal rights imperative. … i see them here, not in africa, not bowed to the earth, or derided and persecuted as at present, not with a downcast air or an irresolute step, but standing erect as men destined heavenward, unembarrassed, untrammelled, with none to molest or make them afraid. ”


last modified : friday, june 22, 2012 7 : 55 pm i ’ ve heard of concerns that fracking — a process that ’ s used for drilling for oil and gas — may be associated with causing earthquakes. has the environmental protection agency issued any warnings about its safety and the environment? the epa has issued no official warning about fracking and earthquakes. but it did mount an extensive investigation of allegations that the practice — formally called hydraulic fracturing — has contaminated groundwater around pavillion, wyo. the town, with a population of 231, sits just west of the pavillion gas field, site of 169 production wells and 33 surface pits used for drilling - fluid disposal and storage, according to a draft report on the epa ’ s investigation. the draft, released in december, says the agency, at the behest of residents, tested water from shallow wells and later drilled two monitoring wells to collect deep - groundwater samples for analysis. the report says testing detected multiple synthetic chemicals related to hydraulic fracturing in samples from both the shallow and deep wells. researchers said the contaminants in the shallow wells — including benzene and xylenes — likely came from the nearby storage and disposal pits. the concentrations of chemicals found in the deep wells suggest the contaminants may have migrated upward from the gas field layer, according to the report. “ alternative explanations were carefully considered to explain individual sets of data, ” the report reads. “ however, when considered together with other lines of evidence, the data indicates likely impact to ground water that can be explained by hydraulic fracturing. ” the epa plans to open the study for peer review, but it has postponed the move until it finishes analyzing additional samples from several wells. the agency will accept public comments on the report through october. a national research council report released earlier this month — titled “ induced seismicity potential in energy technologies ” — listed three major findings from a study of drilling operations ’ and earthquakes : hydraulic fracturing “ does not pose a high risk for inducing felt seismic events. ” injection well operations “ pose some risk for induced seismicity ” — a fact the informer pointed out in january. carbon capture and storage operations, “ due to the large net volumes of injected fluids, may have potential for inducing larger seismic events. ” “ although induced seismic events have not resulted in loss of life or major damage in the united states, their effects have been felt locally, and they raise some concern about additional seismic activity and its consequences in areas where energy development is ongoing or planned, ”


inverting the turing test the most human human : what talking with computers teaches us about what it means to be alive. brian christian. xiv + 303 pp. doubleday, 2011. $ 27. 95. in his book the most human human, brian christian extrapolates from his experiences at the 2009 loebner prize competition, a competition among chatbots ( computer programs that engage in conversation with people ) to see which is “ most human. ” in doing so, he demonstrates once again that the human being may be the only animal that overinterprets. you may not have heard of the loebner competition, and for good reason. the annual event was inspired by the turing test, proposed by alan turing in his seminal 1950 paper “ computing machinery and intelligence ” as a method for determining in principle whether a computer possesses thought. turing meant his test as a thought experiment to address a particular philosophical question, namely, how to define a sufficient condition for properly attributing intelligence, the capacity of thinking, to a computer. he proposed that a blind controlled test of verbal indistinguishability could serve that purpose. if a computer program were indistinguishable from people in a kind of open - ended typewritten back - and - forth, the program would have passed the test and, in turing ’ s view, would merit attribution of thinking. the loebner competition picks up on this idea ; it charges a set of judges to engage in conversation with the chatbot entrants and several human confederates, and to determine which are the humans and which the computers. at the end, a prize is awarded to the “ most human ” chatbot — that is, the chatbot that is most highly ranked as human in paired tests against the human confederates. “ each year, the artificial intelligence ( ai ) community convenes for the field ’ s most anticipated and controversial annual event, ” christian says. well, not so much. the ai community pretty much ignores this sideshow. it ’ s the chatbot community that has taken up the loebner competition. the loebner prize has done little for ai beyond spreading confusions about turing ’ s test, some of which unfortunately find their way into christian ’ s ( otherwise quite sound ) book. for instance, christian promulgates the common misunderstanding that turing ’ s test would be passed by a computer if it “ fool [ ed ] 30 percent of human judges after five minutes of conversation. ” ( although turing makes a


sound ) book. for instance, christian promulgates the common misunderstanding that turing ’ s test would be passed by a computer if it “ fool [ ed ] 30 percent of human judges after five minutes of conversation. ” ( although turing makes a side comment about this more limited criterion, he understood the test to have no time limit and a threshold of statistical indistinguishability, which is the only philosophically sustainable stance. ) and most important, christian conflates the turing test with the loebner competition. but the two are different in many ways. in particular, on the turing test, unlike in horseshoes and hand grenades, close doesn ’ t count. better performance on a turing test is not a valid basis for concluding that a machine is “ closer to thinking ” or “ more human. ” as a kind of afterthought, the promoters of the loebner competition have been naming, in addition to the “ most human ” chatbot, the “ most human ” human — the confederate who performs best according to the same criteria in the paired tests against the chatbots. the conceit of the book is that christian takes on a kind of moral charge to win this dubious distinction on behalf of humanity. of course, there ’ s nothing “ most human ” about the person so named. rather, the awardee is the person whose behavior is most distinguishable from the particular bag of tricks that the chatbots happen to use. if you ’ re interested in winning this award, it behooves you to understand how the chatbots work, and how to distinguish yourself from them. certainly christian ’ s book is successful in providing this guidance. he points out that the chatbots tend to deal with each turn in the conversation independently ; they have no memory. so a good confederate will tie multiple turns of dialogue together. the chatbots are light on factual knowledge, so they ’ ll deflect questions rather than answering them. a good confederate will answer directly. this is all useful information for the confederates, but it is even more important for the judges. in reading the transcripts, you wish that the judges had read turing ’ s original paper, which does a great job of exemplifying a good judge ’ s probing approach. under that kind of attack, the chatbots would have no hope at all, which is why the loebner competition is such thin gruel. with so little substance, can the loebner competition really shed any light on what makes us human? early


kind of attack, the chatbots would have no hope at all, which is why the loebner competition is such thin gruel. with so little substance, can the loebner competition really shed any light on what makes us human? early on, christian talks about an only slightly tongue - in - cheek claim made by harvard psychologist daniel gilbert : gilbert says that every psychologist must, at some point in his or her career, write a version of “ the sentence. ” specifically, the sentence reads like this : “ the human being is the only animal that _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _. ” when nonhumans rival humans in some area, we learn what can ’ t fill that blank. but given the vast gulf in verbal performance between chatbots and people, they don ’ t seem to illuminate the matter. why is it, then, that even with such poor performance the chatbots still hold people ’ s interest? why, after rehearsing all of the limitations of chatbot performance, does christian still stick to the claim that even the primordial chatbot eliza ’ s performance was “ stunning, maybe even staggering ”? it comes back to the issue of overinterpretation. human cognition is geared toward finding patterns ; that ’ s what we do, and we do it well. as infants, we track the changing conditional probabilities of sounds in human speech, which allows us to learn where the boundaries are between words. as children we learn new words at a rate of several per day. we hear the patterns in music, see the objects in images, understand the logic of a story in a sequence of sentences. we can ’ t help ourselves. we even do it when it isn ’ t appropriate. sure, we learn to recognize the faces of our family members and our friends. but we also see faces where there aren ’ t any, in the moon, in clouds. we see causality where there is only coincidence — when a supplicant ’ s prayer is answered, or when the rain dance is followed by rain. and we hear coherent language use where there are only snippets of canned text. turing understood all this, which is why he left his turing test wide open, unconstrained by time limit or style of questioning. christian understands this too ; the book ’ s conceit is more honored in the breach than in the observance. in the end, who cares about distinguishing oneself from the weak performances put on by even the


time limit or style of questioning. christian understands this too ; the book ’ s conceit is more honored in the breach than in the observance. in the end, who cares about distinguishing oneself from the weak performances put on by even the best chatbots? i expect not even christian, who admits the award is “ disappointing, anticlimactic. ” the book is most successful when it roams farthest from its ostensible subject. christian uses the hook of pursuing the “ most human human ” award as an opportunity to explore a wide range of matters related, more or less, to issues of language use by humans and computers, and it is here that the book is most rewarding and entertaining. he riffs from the statelessness of chatbot conversation to markov chains to information theory to text compression to morality, from phonagnosia to speed dating to the coherence of personality to the television show the office to the travails of customer service. the connections of these subjects to the hook and to one another are tangential at best, but that ’ s okay in a popular science book. these are fascinating topics more or less related to cognitive science and its broad connections to the humanities. the “ most human human ” bit is the macguffin. stuart m. shieber is james o. welch, jr., and virginia b. welch professor of computer science and director of the office for scholarly communication at harvard university. he is the editor of the turing test : verbal behavior as the hallmark of intelligence ( the mit press, 2004 ). » post comment


august 6, 2011 civil gideon : an idea whose time should not comeby lawrence j. siskind the u. s. supreme court recently revisited the heavily disputed territory of " civil gideon " - - the doctrine delineating when, if ever, indigent civil litigants are legally entitled to counsel appointed and paid for by the state. the name " civil gideon " comes from the 1963 landmark decision of gideon v. wainwright, which held that the sixth amendment grants indigent defendants the right to state - appointed and state - paid counsel in criminal cases. in turner v. rogers, the high court confronted the case of michael turner, a deadbeat dad with a drug problem. after repeatedly failing to pay child support, turner was sentenced to serve a 12 - month sentence for civil contempt. at the contempt hearing, turner did not have counsel. neither did rebecca rogers, the mother of their child, who sought the hearing and asked the court to confine turner because of his pattern of nonpayment. in its 5 - 4 decision, the court vacated the south carolina judgment. the court acknowledged that the sixth amendment right to counsel established in gideon v. wainwright was inapplicable because turner was sentenced to civil, not criminal, contempt, and in such cases, the defendant " holds the keys of his prison in his pocket. " once he complies with the order, he is discharged. if he is financially unable to pay, he cannot be held in contempt. nevertheless, because turner did not receive clear notice that his ability to pay was a critical question, the majority found that his incarceration violated the fourteenth amendment ' s due process clause. the dissenting justices maintained that the due process clause never provides a constitutional right to appointed counsel in civil contempt hearings, even if those hearings may lead to incarceration. justice clarence thomas pointed out that reading the due process clause to provide a right to appointed counsel for indigent defendants facing incarceration would render the sixth amendment superfluous. in the wake of its narrow holding, the court seems closely divided between those who believe that the due process clause never provides a civil gideon right, and those who would cite the captain of hms pinafore : " what never? well, hardly ever. " the closeness of the decision suggests that the civil gideon issue is likely to remain hotly debated in the legal profession and in the states. the aba house of delegates has passed a resolution urging the states " to provide legal counsel as a matter of right at public expense where


the decision suggests that the civil gideon issue is likely to remain hotly debated in the legal profession and in the states. the aba house of delegates has passed a resolution urging the states " to provide legal counsel as a matter of right at public expense where basic human needs are at stake, such as... shelter, sustenance, safety, health or child custody. " the alaska bar association board of governors and the conference of delegates of california bar associations ( now known as the conference of california bar associations ) have passed similar resolutions. many other state bar associations have set up committees to study the issue, as have local organizations, such as the san francisco and alameda county bar associations. the california legislature has enacted a pilot program, funded by increased court cost fees, that is expected to funnel about $ 11 million to legal aid societies that provide counsel to civil litigants. the idea of providing free legal counsel to poor civil litigants sounds not only idealistic, but also eminently sensible, at least at first blush. our adversarial system rests on the notion that truth and justice will emerge from the crucible of a carefully structured contest, conducted under legal procedures and principles. arming the litigants with professionals trained to utilize those procedures and principles should render the crucible more likely to generate fair results. but even if providing poor civil litigants with counsel is a good idea, should it be a government entitlement program? those who agree with the aba house of delegates and contend that counsel should be provided to poor litigants " at public expense " argue that privately funded legal aid societies aren ' t up to the task because their resources are limited. but limited resources are exactly why legal aid societies are a better solution than a government entitlement program. civil gideon proponents inhabit a world in which every indigent is a deserving litigant. she is a tenant about to be evicted by a greedy landlord, or a loving parent denied access to his child. that is not reality. legal aid societies, precisely because their resources are limited, are adept at choosing their cases carefully, screening out the frivolous and the undeserving. criminal gideon illustrates the shortcomings of a system that lacks the screening mechanism. at the trial level, because every indigent is entitled to free counsel, few if any receive competent representation. attorney general eric holder, jr. recently described a missouri county where the public defender office refused to accept more criminal cases after its caseload exceeded 395 cases per lawyer


because every indigent is entitled to free counsel, few if any receive competent representation. attorney general eric holder, jr. recently described a missouri county where the public defender office refused to accept more criminal cases after its caseload exceeded 395 cases per lawyer per year. he mentioned a tennessee public defender office where six attorneys were assigned to handle 10, 000 misdemeanor cases in a single year. it is simply impossible to imagine the system providing adequate representation under those circumstances. the new york civil liberties union is pursuing a class action against the state, alleging that its public defenders are so overwhelmed that they routinely fail to investigate their cases or make basic legal arguments. considering the sorry state of criminal gideon, one would expect proponents of a government entitlement program for poor civil litigants to have chosen a different title from " civil gideon. " it ' s a badly tarnished brand. providing criminal counsel at public expense has ensured that deserving cases are lost in the sea of undeserving ones. the same will happen in the civil sphere if civil gideon proponents have their way, and the screening function now provided by legal aid societies is removed. apart from a lack of screening, a government entitlement program is also a bad idea because of plain economics. economists may not agree on much, but they do agree on one basic idea. if you price a good or service below the market rate, people will want more of it. if civil litigation is free, there will be more of it. and that ' s not necessarily good for the litigants themselves, or for society as a whole. consider turner v. rogers, the case recently reviewed by the high court. on at least four occasions, turner refused to pay child support until threatened with contempt. then he somehow found the money to provide for his child. had turner been provided with counsel, free of charge, to oppose the mother ' s efforts to obtain child support, is it more likely he would have paid - - or that he would have taken advantage of the system to dodge his responsibilities? thousands of marital, landlord - tenant and debtor - creditor disputes are resolved every year by informal negotiation and settlement. perhaps the results are not always " fair, " a difficult term to define in these circumstances. but the fact that one or both parties cannot afford counsel ensures that there will be pressure to reach a quick and efficient resolution. making counsel available for free, to any party below a certain income level, ensures that many ordinary disputes, once settled by discussions, will become cl


one or both parties cannot afford counsel ensures that there will be pressure to reach a quick and efficient resolution. making counsel available for free, to any party below a certain income level, ensures that many ordinary disputes, once settled by discussions, will become clogs in an increasingly overloaded justice system. a government - funded entitlement program is also problematic because such programs have to draw lines, and those lines are seldom fair. take the california pilot program. to qualify for a state - appointed attorney, the litigant must earn under twice the federal poverty line, which comes out to roughly $ 44, 500 for a family of four. imagine two immigrants, one of whom has been here longer than the other, and has saved up enough to purchase his residence and rent out a room. in a landlord - tenant dispute between the two, why should one party earning $ 44, 000 per year receive free legal service while his opponent making $ 45, 000 pays full freight? that leads to a related question : why should the public, through their tax dollars, take sides in any civil dispute? that may make sense in the criminal gideon context, where the resources of the state are mobilized against the defendant, and taking sides tends to level the playing field. but why should the public take sides in a private dispute between two neighbors? finally, civil gideon is a bad idea today because the states cannot afford it. the california court system has seen a 30 - percent reduction in its resources over the past three years. the legislature has slashed the current $ 3. 5 - billion budget by $ 350 million. san francisco has been particularly hard - hit. the court has sent layoff notices to 40 percent of its employees, and officials predict a five - year wait for lawsuits to get to trial. the situation is not much better in other states. when the aba house of delegates passed its resolution urging the states " to provide legal counsel as a matter of right at public expense, " it did not bother to calculate what that expense might be, or how the states might pay for it. lawyers providing advice in other circumstances with such blithe indifference to the consequences might face malpractice charges. the lack of foresight is particularly galling when one considers that the aba was asking the public to fund a program that would generate revenue and create employment for its own members. of course, that apparent self - interest, by itself, should not bar the organization from taking a stand in favor of civil gideon. but it should at least motivate the aba


program that would generate revenue and create employment for its own members. of course, that apparent self - interest, by itself, should not bar the organization from taking a stand in favor of civil gideon. but it should at least motivate the aba to explore and disclose all the potential pitfalls of the proposal. in 2007, the california state bar ' s 2007 commission on access to justice report found a $ 394 - million gap in unfunded civil legal services. ironically, that figure is about the same size as the recent budget cut. if california cannot afford its current legal budget, where is it going to find the money for a new legal entitlement program? in an ideal economic climate, civil gideon would be problematic. in today ' s financial emergency, it is a non - starter. there are measures the states can take, short of accepting the aba ' s invitation to create a new entitlement program at public expense, to address the problem. states can encourage and expand clinics and help - lines which provide advice to pro se litigants. they can reduce our profession ' s monopoly by allowing non - lawyers, such as paralegals, to represent indigent parties in certain cases. they can expand the jurisdiction of small claims courts, where neither side is allowed to use counsel. they can increase opportunities for prevailing parties to recover attorney fees, so that deserving indigent parties will have a greater chance of attracting private counsel. ultimately, however, it falls on the shoulders of our own profession to address the problem. helping poor people navigate the civil justice system remains a laudable goal, one which private attorneys should support. they should do so on their own time and on their own nickel. thousands already do. a government entitlement program is not the solution. lawrence j. siskind, of san francisco ' s harvey siskind, chairs the aba intellectual property law section ' s pro bono committee. follow us on


the chronology of the new world : two faces of one reality by n. guidon and b. arnaud the paper gives a review of archaeological work in the south - eastern part of piaui state, brazil, with particular reference to the chronology and geological history of rockshelter sites, such as toca do boqueirao da pedra furada, and toca do sitio do meio. the article analyses critiques of early dates in south america, notes a bias towards the rejection of early dates, and gives additional documentation to the early dates in piaui state. it concludes by urging that a new consensus be developed among archaeologists studying early american sites. the chronology of the earliest period, of occupation in the new world is a subject of intensive controvesy. in the endless debate one might reflect that everything seems to have been said already. the situation does not change each time there is a new discovery, unfailingly the dehate takes up again around the same arguments. this results in dogmatic positions and a climate of ideological fervour. today, it seems to us that we have no hope of writing an article ahout the chronology of pleistocene america which will not convince the convinced, and augment the suspicions of the sceptics! yet it is time for the ' cold war ' of americanist archaeology to come to an end ; the two camps - those favouring early colonization, and those setting a limit at 12, 000 - 14, 000 before present - must seek out in collaboration the evidence necessary for building up a cultural sequence which can be accepted as the only really accurate record of the peopling of the continent in this paper, as our contribution to such an exercise, we review the work of our own expedition in piaui ( brazil ), and the arguments for and against the evidence which we have revealed. a climate of scepticism first we draw attention to the climate of, cepticism attending old dates. reviewing work mried out in the old crow hasin of north - west canada, guthrie ( 1984 ) begin " the following critique deal, only with the pleistocene archaeological interpretatio ", pertaining to the old crow osteological material and is not intended to reflect negatively on the excellent paleontological, taphonomic, paleoecological, paleoclimatic, geographic, stratigrapt, ic and holocene archaeological studies which have been and are being carried out by highly qualified old crow basin re " arch team '. one may


state. for the holocene, our results have never provoked controversy, even though we have discovered new aspects of culture. the unexpected age of a certain pottery type, and the ages of rock paintings covered by archaeological layers dating to 10, 500 bp have drawn no reaction - even though rock paintings and pottery have always been considered as very recent features in the prehistory of north - eastern brazil. in spite of the bias seen above, we know now that homo sapiens sapiens has an antiquity of 100, 000 to 90, 000 years in the old world, and must concede that this is sufficient to allow the possibility that humans were in america from 70, 000 to 50, 000 years ago. north - eastern brazil showing the area of sao raimundo nonato. the excavations at toca do boqueirao da pedra furada the area of sao raimundo nonato in the south - eastern part of piaui state occupies a region of broken country between the sedimentary basins of piaui - maranhao and the sao francisco river. all along the cuesta front which separates the two basins, and in the valleys inside the basins, thousands of rockshelters have formed - hundreds of which have traces of prehistoric human activity ( guidon and delibrias 1985, 1986 ; delibrias et al. 1988 ). for over twenty years we have carried out investigations in this area. we will give a rapid review of the excavations undertaken in the great rockshelter of toca do boqueirao da pedra furada ( 42o 33 ' 30 " w, 8o 50 ' s ) between 1978 and 1988. the rockshelter is over 70 meters long. the initial area of excavation, up against the rockwall of the site, measured 7 m by 3 m. the subsequent seasons of work raised the extent up to 700 square metres, through an average depth of 4 metres. from 1978 to 1983 we encountered problems in interpreting the stratigraphy in the western part of the site. the holocene layers were well preserved, but in the east they had been eroded. in contrast, the pleistocene layers had been partly destroyed in the west, whereas to the east they were perfectly preserved, since they were protected by blocks fallen from the shelter roof. the slopes ofthe layers presented a complex picture, highly variable from place to place. it was only in 1983, after discovering a mass of fallen rocks almost directly in contact with the rocky floor, that we were able to understand how the site had


. the slopes ofthe layers presented a complex picture, highly variable from place to place. it was only in 1983, after discovering a mass of fallen rocks almost directly in contact with the rocky floor, that we were able to understand how the site had been formed. this basic discovery allowed us the certainty that we had primary archaeological layers which had not been disturbed by erosion. let us pause for a moment over this assertion : it is effectively almost impossible to interpret a stratigraphic sequence, or the association between a charcoal sample and stone tools, if one is working in a small test - pit. unfortunately a high proportion of american excavations are carried out using the technique of test - pits, and only small areas are excavated. our experience at pedra furada is much more conclusive : we would never have been able to make interpretations with assurance or work out the details of deposition without uncovering the site almost completely. the great abri ( rockshelter ) of boqueirao da pedra furada was thus formed in the following manner, beginning with a major rockfall about 60, 000 years ago. the rockfall isolated the part of the site under the overhang from the slope down to the valley ( the shelter is situated 19 metres above a plain, and so safe from all flooding ). sands composed of material derived from the sandstone shelter walls then began to be deposited over the rockfall. the first humans arrived at the site, perhaps drawn by the presence of a water source towards the west, in the depths of a vertical crevice funneling water down from the plateau above. this water course was probably responsible for the erosion which destroyed the outer part of the pleistocene layers, but it never penetrated the area of the archaeological site. plan and section of toca do boqueirao da pedra it appears that the first inhabitants then cleared a level area, using fire to break up the largest boulders. these events were not forest fires : the boulders destroyed were only those by the shelter wall, under the overhang, and none of the boulders isolating the shelter from the valley were touched. the first campsite thus lay protected between the pile of boulders and the back wall of the shelter. as the ancient rocks of the plateau are composed of conglomerates, the violent torrents of water which occurred during wet periods were able to transport quartz and quartzite pebbles downwards. as we have already explained, these pebbles were unable to fall down into the shelter, except for the outer parts which were not protected by the overhang. under


of water which occurred during wet periods were able to transport quartz and quartzite pebbles downwards. as we have already explained, these pebbles were unable to fall down into the shelter, except for the outer parts which were not protected by the overhang. under the overhang the only sediments are sands derived from the sandstone of the cliffs. in their fall, the pebbles sometimes broke naturally, forming flakes which are often larger than those produced in human stoneworking. a flake formed as the result of such a fall thus remains outside the covered part of the site. there is no possibility that such a flake could cross the wall of boulders and enter the interior of the shelter without human transport. radiocarbon ( c14 ) dates in years before the present and correlation between divisions and sedimentological layers for the site of pedra furada. in the area of human habitation, the flakes and other stone pieces are concentrated primarily around the edges of structures which contain charcoal. these structures were situated close to the shelter wall, and were made up of fragments of rock derived from it, and large cobbles ( these could not have fallen in from outside the shelter, for the reasons already given ). large excavations made outside the overhang have not revealed any similar structures. outside the shelter, in the talus, charcoal was rare and sparse. the features are therefore interpreted as hearths, and we regard any hypothesis invoking forest fires as quite impossible, since, whatever else, these would have had to move from the outside to the inside. over thousands of years the sediments accumulated gently, covering the boulders of the rockfall. then around 22, 000 to 18, 000 years ago there was a further rockfall on the eastern side, creating a new entry for water to plunge down from the plateau. this ran along the edge of the shelter area, then changed its course at the middle of the shelter, finally taking the direction of the talus, down to the plain. it did not encroach upon the inhabited areas cose to the shelter wall. another watercourse existed on the easlern side, around 12, 000 to 11, 000 years ago. because of the topography of the site, the water in this new channel only ran in the eastern area. radiocarbon ( c14 ) dates from pedra furada seen in relation to stratigraphy and granulometry ( courtesy fabio parenti, 1991 ) in summary. there were times, at different stratigraphic levels, when lorrents of rainwater ran across


) dates from pedra furada seen in relation to stratigraphy and granulometry ( courtesy fabio parenti, 1991 ) in summary. there were times, at different stratigraphic levels, when lorrents of rainwater ran across the east and west margins of the sheltered area, and also on its southern edge, in the direction of the talus - but the areas under the shelter itself have not been subjected to water action, either in the pleistocene and the holocene, owing to the palaeotopography of the site, and thanks to the protection offered by the pile of fallen rocks. a summary of the various occupations and dates is given in table 1. we have given this account of the areas outside the abri. including the walercourses, so as to make comparisons with the area within the overhang. all this work. adding even more data to the mass obtained from a large excavation, allows us to interpret the totality of the depositional processes : and so we are happy to invite specialists in micro - stratigraphy to come and discuss issues on site. at pedra furada a favourable conjunction of natural factors allowed major complexes of prehistoric campsites of different ages to succeed one another on the site, and to be preserved intact. these factors include the rockfalls, the shape of the shelter, and the position of the crevasses carrying water. their relative importance has only been discovered because we have excavated over 70 per cent of the total site area. in an excavation of large extent, it is possible to expose the areas surrounding any structures, and so easier to establish the relationships between them, the charcoal which they contain, and the lithic pieces deposited around them. the geological history of pedra furada has been reconstructed by geomorphologists, with whom we have worked for many years studying the stratigraphy and the sequence of formational episodes on the site in great detail. fabio parenti is writing a doctoral thesis on the pedra furada excavations under the direction of one of us ( ng ). this will provide much more detail of problems concerning formation of the site over a long period. other rock shelters have been investigated in the same area, including the rockshelter of toca do sitio do meio ( 42o 33 ' w, 80 49 ' s ), which is less than 2 km from pedra furada. the oldest date obtained for the site is 14, 300 ± 400 years before the present ( gif - 539


meio ( 42o 33 ' w, 80 49 ' s ), which is less than 2 km from pedra furada. the oldest date obtained for the site is 14, 300 ± 400 years before the present ( gif - 5399 ). the holocene levels have been disturbed by modern use of the site, but the pleistocene levels are sealed, like those at pedra furada, by a great rockfall, later than 15, 000 before the present, and which we place provisionally at about 12, 000 years. the site will be excavated again in 1991, which should allow us to ascertain the extent of the zone of human occupation sealed under the rockfall. toca do cima dos pilao, 2 km from pedra furada, is a limestone site. the fossil fauna recovered from such limestone sites shows us that not long ago the area had a quite different climate. prairies with scattered clumps of trees stretched across the plain, while the rims of the basin, including pedra furada, were covered with humid tropical forest. the excavations in the limestone caves have yielded long stratigraphic sequences. in these sediments deposited during drier periods succeed those of wetter periods. the former have not yet been dated, but excavations in baixao do perna i, a site on the massif of sediments, may provide answers, as this rockshelter contains almost exclusively holocene layers. in the final pleistocene the inhabited part of the site was only 4 m above the valley bottom. there was a rocky surface protected by a shelter wall covered with paintings. this floor was strewn with a cover of cobbles, indicating a former stream of great force. in the rainy seasons the water used to rise and flood the site completely, carrying everything away. hence, the first hearths which survive probably indicate the end of a very wet period. a date of 10, 500 ± 110 before the present ( beta 32971 ) has already been obtained for one of these hearths, situated 40 cm above the base of the site. this evidence tends to confirm - and it is a working hypothesis - that there was a very wet period about 12, 000 years ago. thus excavations carried out on sites protected from water action ( pedra furada, sitio do meio, caldeirao dos rodrigues i ) provide dates substantially earlier than 12, 000 years, while sites in valley bottoms exposed to erosion preserve only material aged less than 12, 000 years. this emphasizes


of the tendency to define a complex by its most striking elements, the fine pieces. these simplistic labels hide the reality of great cultural complexity ( cf. hallam 1977 ). then again, the reconstruction of the palaeoclimate presented by schmitz ( 1987 : 55, 60, 71 ) is not substantiated. no pollen analyses are cited, nor any studies of palaeofauna as indicators of vegetation, and consequently of climate. the author continues ( p. 59 ) ' the absence of gregarious animals ( bison, horse, guanaco, etc. ), which could support a specialized hunting economy, led to the development of a generalized hunting and gathering subsistence on the planalto dominated by parkland. ' this statement is incorrect since numerous sites in the north - east of brazil have yielded abundant remains of megafauna, including mastodon, llama and horse ( guerin 1991 ). although no dates have been obtained as yet, the associated lithic material indicates that this fauna disappeared relatively late. the concepts of ' specialized hunting economy ' and ' generalized hunting and gathering subsistence ' are in our view artificial partitions created in the industrial age. we now turn to some points made by lynch ( 1990 : 20 - 1 ). the author voices concern that the site lies ' at the level of the modern flood plain '. since the rockshelter still exists, it can be verified that pedra furada is situated more than 19 metres above the immense plain surrounding the sao francisco river. this is an important point, since this is not a narrow valley subject to flooding. the sites are set into the cuesta front of the sedimentary basin which encompasses the plain, and on the east this is open to the atlantic, some 1, 200 km away. one can thus be quite sure that the waterlevel has never reached the height of the rockshelter. the watercourses which transported cobbles down from the plateau are found at the two ends of the great shelter, which is more than 70 metres long. we have considered in our analyses only the material coming from the protected area. lynch is concerned that we have taken charcoal samples in disturbed areas, ' including parts... in the stream channel itself, labelled " actual torrent ' s passage " '. our plan, however, refers to a present - day watercourse which involves only one part of the site. it traverses only the upper layers in the eastern part. the plan shows the surface contours


found in association with flint artifacts, nobody has called their anthropogenic nature into doubt. equally difficult to explain would be pottery using peoples, who are predominant in the region from about 3, 000 years before the present, and who used exclusively quartz and quartzite for making tools, although they used jade for exquisite ornaments. as a further example, the inhabitants of some shell middens on the brazilian coast were working in quartz at 5, 000 years before the present. as for the flint knappers, we would like the opportunity to show them certain specimens which have been made in these ' difficult raw materials '. experiment enables us to understand certain parts of the ' operational chain ', but we will never have the same facility as an individual who has been knapping from childhood, and who does not have other techniques at his disposal. technical competence is not acquired as easily as one might think, and the stone age knapper will use his hands and arms quite differently from a professor of archaeology. in the case of pedra furada the work being carried out by fabio parenti at present will provide more precise answers, but we can state definitely now that there are retouched pieces. we agree with butzer ( 1988 ) who suggests that, even if the pieces were naturally formed, the stone material has been carried by humans, since we have found cobbles, fragments flakes and retouched pieces in parts of the abri where they could not possibly have arrived by natural means. another alleged problem ( p. 21 ) is that we have found no wooden or bone tools. this observation could be seen to increase doubts about the human manufacture of the stone industry, since in the classical scheme for this period, one ought always to find a stone industry associated with bone or wood tools. at piaui we have never found any of these, even in the holocene levels. on this point, guidon recalls the advice of a great master of archaeology, andre leroi - gourhan : ' carry on excavating : sooner or later excavation resolves problems '. hearths and bushfires many hearths have been recorded and dated at pedra furada ( cf. guidon and delibrias 1986 ), but these have also raised doubts. lynch ( 1990 : 21 ) writes ' it seems quite possible that these resulted from natural brush fires in the surrounding semi desert caatinga '. we do not accept this, since in that case : - we should find charcoal scattered in layers, and not concentrated


1990 : 21 ) writes ' it seems quite possible that these resulted from natural brush fires in the surrounding semi desert caatinga '. we do not accept this, since in that case : - we should find charcoal scattered in layers, and not concentrated in the centre of the hearth arrangements ; - the quantity of charcoal should have been greater on the talus side than under the less - vegetated abri ; - patches of charcoal should have been found in the stratigraphy of the plain, since it would have been impossible for wind and water to have collected charcoal and placed it systematically and exclusively in small heaps inside the structures. in relation to the critique which has been made of the hearth arrangements ( foyers ) at pedra furada we emphasize that they were made from blocks and cobbles, and that these cobbles could not have fallen naturally where they were found. the charcoal exposed existed only inside the structures. lynch attempts to link the dated charcoal with caatinga fires. in the present - day the site area of pedra furada is covered with forest vegetation. the caatinga covers the plain and the lower part of the talus. contrary to what one might imagine, the trees and shrubs of the primary caatinga consist of very hard wood which burns only with difficulty. some of these cannot even be used for firewood, and one has to select particular kinds for making a fire. when agriculturalists practise fire - clearing, the fire only takes in cut and dried trees, and does not survive more than 3 metres around. it takes hold only in secondary caatinga, resulting in bush - clearing in areas where shrubs and low growth are dominant. a further reason for rejecting the link between the charcoal and caatinga fires is the quite different nature of the pleistocene vegetation cover, as noted above. lynch is also concerned by the possibility of bioturbation by animals in the archaeological layers. this factor cannot be applied to the pleistocene levels on this site, since they were protected from animal activities by a screen of boulders from the rockfalls. only the holocene levels have suffered some disturbance, which can be attributed to an armadillo ( thet tatouay ). at toca do sitio do meio, lynch mentions ' badly disturbed contexts ' and a date of over 40, 000 before the present. in fact, the oldest date obtained for the site is 14, 300 ± 400 before the present ( gif - 5399 ). although the holocene levels have been disturbed


' and a date of over 40, 000 before the present. in fact, the oldest date obtained for the site is 14, 300 ± 400 before the present ( gif - 5399 ). although the holocene levels have been disturbed by modern activity on the site, the pleistocene levels are sealed, like those at pedra furada, by a great rockfall ( see above ). in relation to a third site, toca do caldeirao dos rodrigues, lynch considers that the charcoal is the result of natural fires, because we stated that the date of 18, 000 before the present obtained for the site was not associated with a lithic industry, but we have indicated the presence of hearths ( guidon and delibrias 1985 ). carbon contamination has also been invoked to explain the old dates. the three rockshelters which have yielded dates older than 12, 000 before the present are, however, sited in the sandstone cuesta, where it is impossible for the charcoal to have been contaminated by ancient carbon, for the simple reason that there is no carbon in the geological formations of the region. the only possibility of contamination, if there were any, would be from the humic acids of groundwater, or from roots, factors which could only tend to make the dates younger ( delibrias, pers. comm. ). a way forward we have attempted to provide answers to certain doubts expressed about the interpretations in our work carried out in south - east piaui. it is fair to stress that current theory about the peopling of the americas is only a working hypothesis, based on conjectures rather than on facts. reworking of the hypothesis is therefore necessary whenever new evidence indicates that it does not correspond with present realities. this procedure is the controlling rule of all scientific research. often, one can sense the wish to reproduce in america a model derived from the old world, where prehistoric people must be moulded to the needs of archaeological theories. we think, on the contrary, that archaeologists should build their models on the basis of the facts available to them. many archaeologists could benefit from the article of hallam ( 1977 ) concerning australia. for an archaeology of the peopling of the americas to progress, it must similarly free itself from old world models. when one classifies a tool, for example a sidescraper ( racloir ), the critical judgement is based on the edge angle, and not on the fact that the piece in question can be identified as one of


old world models. when one classifies a tool, for example a sidescraper ( racloir ), the critical judgement is based on the edge angle, and not on the fact that the piece in question can be identified as one of the types on bordes ' list, or some other old world typology. these names are not satisfactory, and are used by default because there is a need for some common language, but the typology of the new world ought to free itself completely from this influence, and be reviewed in its entirety. it would be helpful if we could rise above the present state of controversy about new world chronologies, so as to establish an entente between the different currents of thought. it is unfortunate, for example, that authors, who doubt the discoveries made at piaui have not visited the sites. working parties, meetings of specialists on site, and formal debates, should take place regularly if we are to establish an agreed basis for evaluating evidence. it would be constructive for american prehistory if we could seek out a consensus upon the value of the factual material which accumulates year by. then, on the basis of the evidence which we now possess, new theoretical propositions could be set forward. ecole des hautes etudes en sciences sociales butzer, k. w. 1988. " a marginality ' model to explain major spatial and temporal gaps in the old and new world pleistocene settlement records. " geoarchaeology, 3 : 193 - 203. delibrias, g., guidon, n. and parenti, f. 1988. " the toca do boqueirao do sitio da pedro furada : stratigraphy and chronology. " in early man in the southern hemisphere, supplement to archaeometry : australasian studies 1988. guerin, c. 1991. " la faune de vertebres du pleistocene superieur de l ' aire archeologique de sao raimundo nonato ( piaui, bresil ). " comptes rendus de l ' academie des sciences ( paris ), 312, series ii : 567 - 72. guidon, n. and delibrias, g. 1985. " inventaire des sites sud - americaines anterieurs a 12, 000 ans. " l ' anthropoloqie, 89 : 385 - 407. guidon, n. and delibrias, g. 1986. "


cleon in " wasps " and " knights " " wasps was produced in 422, the year of cleon ' s death ; " knights " was two years earlier. in 424, the mission to pylos and the capture of the spartans by cleon was probably uppermost in most athenians ' minds as heralding a new and favourable phase of the war ; it certainly was in aristophanes ' mind, if " knights " is any evidence. after this date, the war became more remote from attica, so there is not the same immediacy about it and this is reflected in the predominantly " civil " aspect of the references to cleon in " wasps ". overall, the picture of cleon is consistent in the two plays, the arrogant behaviour of the victor of pylos is inseperable from the patronising purchaser of votes in the assembly : we can say that aristophanes can detect no false modesty in the man! pylos runs through " knights ". aristophanes ' major justification for critcising cleon is that he did not acknowledge the preliminary roles of demosthenes and nicias ( 54 - 7 ), aristophanes keeps returning to it and claiming that the rewards accruing are out of proportion to the gains ( free dining rights ( 176 and 531 ), illicit " take - aways " ( 271ff ) and front seat at public events ( 529 and 702 etc ) until cleon must have cringed at the very mention of pylos - assuming him to have been present. but, what is more, an opportunity for peace was lost. cleon had a vested interest in the war continuing ; so long as it continued no one would know what he was doing - even though he was filling his coffers ( 1218 ) at the expense of the people of athens - as a moment ' s reflection would have revealed. cleon attempts ( successfully, suggests aristophanes ) to avert suspicion by his " gifts ", but these are small slices ( 1220 ) of big cakes ( 1219 ). he is relying on this policy - again with success - to remain in a position where he will wield influence and receive reward. he has forgotten the veterans, believing that if a real enemy, that is a non - greek one, comes along then the aristos will again be needed - the knights - but that, in buying the " great unwashed ", cleon will destroy


forgotten the veterans, believing that if a real enemy, that is a non - greek one, comes along then the aristos will again be needed - the knights - but that, in buying the " great unwashed ", cleon will destroy the whole class. the main point of contact between the two plays is the demonstration that jurors receive a small share of the wealth of the empire ( 653ff ) - and anticleon proves that it is a very real wealth. the whole agon demonstrates how cleon ' s mind works as he manipulates the citizen body and, in this context of the drama, how easily it is duped. just as he is dismissive of nicias and demosthenes, his attitude to the old men is to ignore their value, and use them for his own glory. aristophanes lodges the blame eith the whole army of demagogues ( 701 ), but it is unlikely that he is spreading the blame ; more likely that he is branding cleon as the worst of a thoroughly disreputable bunch! the trial of the dogs is pointed at cleon, and he suggests that he is fiercely protective of his reputation as a general, inferring that the failure of laches / labes to produce a military victory was evidence of bribery by the enemy ( 236 and 895 ) and that he has bought the verdict beforehand. this very willingness to pursue litigation ( of which aristophanes has had first hand experience ) contrasted with the " gentlemanly " behaviour of a pericles, beneath whose dignity such a thing would have been. it was fair play for " jack ' s as good as his master " when the " master " was only a tanner, but it took aristophanes ( anticleon ) to pont out that he was indeed the master! the main point of consistency in the references, veiled or overt, to cleon is that if he has any redeeming features, then they are incapable of detection.


share with those who care spina bifida association of delaware po box 807 wilmington, delaware, 19899 spina bifida is a birth defect which involves damage to the spine and nervous system. spina bifida means that the vertebrae and the spinal cord did not form properly as the fetus developed in the motheris womb. there are three forms of spina bifida. the mildest form, occulta, is harmless and may never be detected. the second is called meningocele, and can cause weak muscles and poor skin. the third and most serious condition is called myelomeningocele. when this condition occurs the spinal column does not form properly leaving the spine split in two. this usually results in paralysis of the legs and no control of the bowels and bladder. spina bifida is often accompanied by hydrocephalus ( water on the brain ) which can be controlled by a surgical procedure called shunting. children with sb also have a condition called arnold chiari malformation type ii, an abnormality of the two parts of the brain. most of the children in our association and the tri - state area go to the " dupont hospital for children ", located in wilmington, delaware for their medical care. the dupont hospital runs a spinal dysfunction clinic on tuesdays of each week, which consists of urology, orthopedics, rehab, social service workers and physical therapy evaluations. neurosurgery is also available. one out of 1, 000 babies in the u. s. have spina bifida. more than 11, 000 children are born with this defect every year. it is the second most common birth defect, the most disabling and one of the least understood. what causes spina bifida? many theories about spina bifida have been advanced but none have been substantiated. even though the cause of spina bifida still remains a mystery, most researchers believe it is a result of a combination of factors, including heredity and environment. one of the goals of the spina bifida association of delaware ( sbad ) is to discover the cause. we are a group of parents, relatives, and friends of people who have spina bifida. by acting as a source of information, we can help organizations who are conducting spina bifida research. the spina bifida association of delaware is a non - profit organization. all donations are tax deductible


news release from the royal society for the prevention of accidents as the warm weather continues, the royal society for the prevention of accidents ( rospa ) is issuing advice about how to stay safe in and around water. traditionally, the number of accidental drownings peaks during spells of warm weather, particularly when the warm conditions coincide with weekends, school holidays and national celebrations. rospa ' s advice particularly covers inland waters, such as rivers, lakes, lochs, quarries and reservoirs, which are the most common locations for accidental drownings throughout the year. figures from the national water safety forum show that in 2010, 420 people died from accidents or natural causes in water across the uk, and, of these, more than half ( 217 ) died as a result of incidents in inland waters. rospa believes that leisure should be " as safe as necessary, not as safe as possible ", and the accident prevention charity is keen that families get out and about to enjoy the outdoors during the summer. to enable them to have fun and stay safe, rospa has put together the following water safety tips : - swimming at properly - supervised sites, such as beaches, lidos or swimming pools, is best, although rospa appreciates that not everyone can go to these locations - if you choose to go to an unsupervised site, think through the hazards first and ensure you know what to do if something goes wrong - among the hazards to consider are that water can be a lot colder than you are expecting so be careful if you jump in or go for a swim to cool off. also, there may be strong currents and underwater debris that you cannot see from the bank - before you get into the water, consider how you are going to get out again - be honest about your swimming ability - remember that alcohol and swimming never mix - parents and carers : discuss the hazards with your children and remind them that children should never swim alone at unsupervised locations. david walker, rospa ' s leisure safety manager, said : " rospa ' s advice is to swim at properly - supervised sites, such as lifeguarded beaches, lidos or swimming pools. however, we appreciate that not everyone can get to these locations and understand the temptation to go swimming in inland waters like rivers and lakes, especially during warm weather. " among the hazards to consider at inland waters are that, even on a hot day, water can be a lot colder than you are expecting and there may be strong currents and underwater debris


circa : 600 bc to 300 bc dimensions : 13. 5 " ( 34. 3cm ) high x 11. 25 " ( 28. 6cm ) wide style : late kingdom this monumental granite head is a fragment from a stone sarcophagus of the late dynastic period. in its complete state the head would have been attached to a recumbent body above a large rectangular coffin containing the mummified remains of the deceased. hieroglyphic inscriptions would have the named the owner and possibly included spells from the book of the dead. the expense of the material and the quality of the carving indicate that the sarcophagus belonged to a high ranking official who had both the wealth and the status to place such a commission. for the ancient egyptians the furnishing of a tomb could be a life - long occupation. preparing for the afterlife as well as displaying worldly wealth were the two main concerns. the mummified remains would not have been placed directly within the granite sarcophagus. for extra protection and ceremony another equally elaborate coffin, probably made of a more perishable material such as wood, would have been included inside. anthropoid - shaped coffins originated during the middle kingdom and soon became the standard form. the preservation of the deceased ’ s image, albeit highly idealised, was considered critical to the soul ’ s rebirth.


most researchers agree that the roots of tourette ' s syndrome are largely biological. the disorder ' s characteristic tics - - head jerks, eye blinks and grunts, to name a few - - seem to stem from abnormalities in the basal ganglia or with dopamine function. what ' s more, people with the disorder generally experience tics as involuntary, which would seem to make tourette ' s a poor candidate for behavior therapy, notes psychologist john piacentini, phd, director of the child ocd, anxiety and tic disorders program at the university of california, los angeles. " for the last 50 years, tourette ' s has been considered a neurological disorder with very little role for behavioral interventions, " piacentini says. however, attitudes are changing, he says. though previously people believed that the tics of tourette ' s could only be stopped by medication, new research indicates that environmental contingencies play a role in tic expression. for instance, people suppress tics if they are rewarded for doing so, according to several recent studies. this finding is promising, but a barrier remains : many medical professionals still falsely believe that holding in tics leads to an explosion of tics later, notes michael himle, a fifth - year graduate student and tourette ' s syndrome researcher at the university of wisconsin - milwaukee. " there is a lot of belief out there that when a child suppresses their tics, what you get is a rebound effect, " himle says. " some professionals have used this to caution against the use of behavior therapy. " research by himle and others is countering that belief, and, as a result, funding agencies are now taking a serious look at nonpharmacological treatments for tourette ' s. in fact piacentini and his colleagues recently received about $ 6 million in grants from the national institute of mental health to try out a new behavioral technique for treating tourette ' s. the treatment, known as the comprehensive behavioral intervention for tics, ( cbit ) combines behavior therapy with an attempt to root out anything that might be inadvertently rewarding tic attacks. " this is a really exciting time, " piacentini notes. " we are... developing behavioral interventions for what at root cause is a neurological disorder. " fifty - five percent of medical professionals believe that tourette ' s tics can ' t be controlled and 77 percent believe that if tics are suppressed, they will be even worse later, according to a 2004


root cause is a neurological disorder. " fifty - five percent of medical professionals believe that tourette ' s tics can ' t be controlled and 77 percent believe that if tics are suppressed, they will be even worse later, according to a 2004 survey published in cognitive and behavioral practice ( vol. 11, no. 1, pages 298 - 305 ). the survey of 78 neurologists, family practitioners, psychiatrists and clinical psychologists showed that many members of the medical community held beliefs about tourette ' s syndrome that were false or untested, says study author douglas woods, phd, a university of wisconsin - milwaukee psychology professor. " it ' s almost freudian, this idea that you can try to repress an unwanted urge, and the more you suppress it the more it will bubble up somewhere else, " woods notes. woods and his student himle set out to test those assumptions. in a study published in a 2005 issue of behaviour research and therapy ( vol. 43, no. 1, pages 1443 - 1451 ), they rewarded seven children, ages 8 to 11, for suppressing their tics. they told the children a " tic detector " would reward them with a token for every 10 seconds they did not tic. they also said the tokens were worth a few cents each, but regardless of their performance, all the participants received $ 2 at the end of the study. while the children believed the tic detector worked automatically, a behind - the - scenes experimenter actually controlled the dispensing of the tokens. the tics exhibited by the participants in the study - - which included throat clearing, nose scrunching and grunting - - were too complex and subtle to be detected by a machine, woods notes. before introducing the tic detector, the researchers recorded the frequency of the children ' s tics. afterward, they also " turned off " the machine for five minutes and instructed the participants to tic freely, to measure any rebound effect. they found that the children were able to suppress their tics - - they expressed a tic during 16 percent of the 10 - second intervals when they were being rewarded, as opposed to 50 percent of the intervals at the beginning of the experiment. though the children returned to a high rate of tics once they thought the machine was off, they flinched and grunted less after the suppression period than they did at the beginning of the experiment. that same year, another study - - published in behavior modification ( vol. 29, no


high rate of tics once they thought the machine was off, they flinched and grunted less after the suppression period than they did at the beginning of the experiment. that same year, another study - - published in behavior modification ( vol. 29, no. 5, pages 716 - 745 ) - - showed no rebound effect for tic suppression in five people with tourette ' s syndrome, ranging in age from 7 to 20. in that study, psychology professor raymond miltenberger, phd, and his colleagues. at north dakota state university asked the participants to consciously suppress their tics for 30 minutes while watching television or while holding a conversation with an experimenter. in both cases the participants were only modestly able to control themselves - - though some were much better than others. and, during a 30 - minute period afterward they did not tic more than they had at the beginning of the experiment. " there is really no support for a rebound effect, based on that study, " says miltenberger. " and what we found is that kids have variable ability to control their tics to begin with. " in addition to debunking the rebound myth, the studies demonstrate that environmental factors can influence the expression of tourette ' s syndrome, says woods. the findings also show that people can control their tics - - especially if rewards are involved, woods adds. that is an important foundation for therapy ; however, chasing after clients with a coin - dispensing " tic suppressor " would not be a good way to help them control their behavior, he notes. tools for tic suppression most people with tourette ' s are treated with drugs, says roger kurlan, md, a psychiatry professor and tourette ' s syndrome researcher at the university of rochester. " behavioral interventions for tics... have never been shown to have more than modest potential benefit, " he notes. for that reason, people with tourette ' s are generally prescribed medications like risperidone, an antipsychotic, or clonidine, a blood pressure medication. the drugs do reduce tics, but the side effects are often worse than the symptoms they treat, says woods. " the antipsychotics have a 70 to 80 percent tic reduction, but the side effects are abysmal, " he notes. " they experience weight gain and fatigue, have dry mouths - - and a lot of parents just don ' t want to put their kids on medication. " the time is ripe for


, but the side effects are abysmal, " he notes. " they experience weight gain and fatigue, have dry mouths - - and a lot of parents just don ' t want to put their kids on medication. " the time is ripe for an alternative treatment, says piacentini. so he is leading a consortium of scientists who are using the basic science foundation to develop a new behavioral treatment for the disorder. currently, they are testing cbit with 120 adults and 120 children in a randomized controlled trial funded by the national institute of mental health, with administrative support from the tourette syndrome association. the intervention hinges on findings that show tourette ' s tics can be affected by environmental and internal reinforcement. while a tic attack in the lab might be discouraged by a token reward system, in school it might be discouraged by the likelihood of teasing. or, alternately, a child who gets out of doing household chores due to a tic attack might tic more when it ' s time to wash dishes, notes joyce chang lee, phd, a clinical psychologist who is applying the cbit treatment as part of her postdoctoral fellowship at the university of california, los angeles. " we try to change those things and stress that the child be treated as normally as possible, " lee says. for instance, parents might let children take a break if they have a tic attack during chore time, but should send them back to finish afterward, she says. in addition to removing external rewards, lee and her colleagues teach children to break the internal reward system for doing tics. many people with tourette ' s syndrome report a premonitory urge or sensation right before they flinch or flail, notes lee. so, over the course of eight one - hour sessions, she teaches them to be aware of that feeling and then perform a quick countermeasure to quash the tic. for instance, one child she worked with would feel tension build up in his arm right before he flung it outward. lee taught him to hold his arms tightly by his side whenever he started to feel that tension build. the training tends to weaken tics over time, lee says. " usually what happens is, once they use the competing response, the premonitory urge fades away, " she notes. the treatment addresses the symptoms of tourette ' s, not its root causes. but it can make a big difference in the lives of people with the disorder, woods says. in fact, pilot data show that people who undergo the treatment have a


overview of content related to ' dcc ' this page provides an overview of 1 article related to ' web services '. note that filters may be applied to display a sub - set of articles in this category ( see faqs on filtering for usage tips ). select this link to remove all filters. a web service is a method of communication between two electronic devices over a network. the w3c defines a " web service " as " a software system designed to support interoperable machine - to - machine interaction over a network. it has an interface described in a machine - processable format ( specifically web services description language wsdl ). other systems interact with the web service in a manner prescribed by its description using soap messages, typically conveyed using http with an xml serialization in conjunction with other web - related standards. " the w3c also states, " we can identify two major classes of web services, rest - compliant web services, in which the primary purpose of the service is to manipulate xml representations of web resources using a uniform set of " stateless " operations ; and arbitrary web services, in which the service may expose an arbitrary set of operations. ( excerpt from wikipedia article : web service ) see our ' web services ' overview for more data and comparisons with other tags. for visualisations of metadata related to timelines, bands of recency, top authors, and and overall distribution of authors using this term, see our ' web services ' usage charts. ariadne contributors most frequently referring to ' web services ' :


battle drill # 1 : conduct platoon attack ( 7 - 3 - d101 ) task. conduct platoon attack ( 7 - 3 - d101 ). conditions. an enemy squad has occupied defensive positions or is moving to the platoon front. the enemy has indirect fire and cas capabilities. the platoon is attacking separately or as part of a larger unit. plans, preparation, and movement to the objective have been accomplished. the platoon is directed to attack the enemy. 1. the platoon main body is not surprised or fixed by the enemy. 2. the platoon accomplishes its assigned task within the commander ' s intent. the platoon kills, captures, or forces the withdrawal of the enemy. 3. the platoon maintains a sufficient fighting force to defeat the enemy ' s counterattack and continue operations. 1. action on enemy contact. a. the platoon initiates contact. the platoon leader directs when and how his base of fire element will establish a base of fire. the element must be in position and briefed before it initiates contact. the base of fire squad leader ( normally the weapons squad leader ), upon the signal from the platoon leader, initiates contact with a high casualty - producing weapon. the squad marks the engagement area with ir illumination ( mtett dependent ), while the squad leader uses his hand - held laser pointer and an / paq - 4 to designate enemy positions, crew - served weapons, and vehicles. soldiers focus on the squad leader ' s laser as well as the team leader ' s tracers and an / paq - 4 to engage targets. if the platoon has not been detected, steps 1 and 2 consist of positioning the support element and identifying the enemy ' s positions. b. if the enemy initiates contact, the platoon takes the following actions : ( 1 ) the squad in contact reacts to contact ( battle drill no. 2, react to contact platoon / squad, 7 - 3 / 4 - d103 ). it attempts to achieve suppressive fires with one fire team and maneuvers the other team to attack the enemy in the flank. the team providing suppressive fires marks its flanks by throwing ir chemlight bundles or ir flares and continues to use its an / pvs - 7b and an / paq - 4 to place well - aimed, accurate fires on the enemy. the squad employs m203 and hand - held ir smoke to screen the assaulting teams movement. the squad leader notifies the platoon leader of his actions. ( 2 ) the platoon leader, his rto, the


accurate fires on the enemy. the squad employs m203 and hand - held ir smoke to screen the assaulting teams movement. the squad leader notifies the platoon leader of his actions. ( 2 ) the platoon leader, his rto, the platoon fo, the squad leader of the next squad, and one machine gun team move forward to link up with the squad leader of the squad in contact. ( 3 ) the squad leader of the trail squad moves to the front of his lead fire team. ( 4 ) the platoon sergeant moves forward with the second machine gun team and the weapons squad leader and links up with the platoon leader. if directed, he assumes control of the base of fire element and positions the machine guns to add suppressive fire against the enemy. the platoon sergeant uses his hand - held laser to designate the left and right limits of fires while the weapons squad leader uses the pointer to designate targets. ( 5 ) the platoon leader assesses the situation. he follows the success of the squad ' s flank attack by leading the trail squads along the covered and concealed route taken by the assaulting fire team of the squad in contact. the base of fire element uses the an / pvs - 7b to monitor the movement of the assaulting element. c. if the squad in contact cannot achieve suppressive fire, the squad leader reports to the platoon leader. ( 1 ) the squad in contact establishes a base of fire. ( a ) the squad leader deploys his squad to provide effective, sustained fires on the enemy position. the squad leader continues to designate targets using the hand - held laser pointer and an / paq - 4 while soldiers see through their an / pvs - 7b and place accurate fires on the enemy with the an / paq - 4. ( b ) the squad leader reports his final position to the platoon leader. ( 2 ) the remaining squad ( not in contact ) takes up covered and concealed positions in place and uses the an / pvs - 7b to observe the flanks and rear of the platoon. ( 3 ) the platoon leader moves forward with his rto, the platoon fo, the squad leader of the nearest squad, and one machine gun team. 2. locate the enemy. a. the squad leader of the squad in contact reports the enemy size, location, and any other information to the platoon leader. the platoon leader completes the squad leader ' s assessment of the situation. b. the squad continues to engage the enemy positions and mark the engagement area with ground ir flares