in the wake of the tsunami disaster what has not occurred to the authorities and the powers that be is that preventive measures should be adopted and put in place side by side with reconstruction. all that is reconstructed could be washed off if there is another tsunami. it is the height of folly to believe that we cannot be struck by another tsunami. the answer is not only to run away, protecting our lives, but also to protect our property and belongings. we have missed the woods for the trees, and lulled ourselves into a state of complacency that there could not be another tsunami for quite sometime. we are wrong. we could have been hit by the quake of 28 / 03 / 05 if it developed into a tsunami, particularly as the quake registered 8. 7 on the richter scale. we are becoming increasingly vulnerable to tsunamis, as there is a tectonic plate developing just 300km south of sri lanka, and as there is a grave possibility of the australian plate and the ' sundar ' plate coming into collision. it is impossible for scientists to predict when, where and how this plate collision could cause tsunamis. all they can say is that it will reach sri lanka in 2 or 3 hours after a tsunami has occurred, depending on the intensity of the earthquake. it is believed that even a quake measuring over 7 on the richter scale can endanger sri lanka. how do we ward off the evil effects of a tsunami? speedy and immediate measures should be taken to identify the most important and vulnerable areas of the country. the port of colombo is the most vulnerable and an important spot. if the colombo port is struck our economy will come to a standstill. the fort, adjoining the colombo harbour is the financial hub of the country. all the head offices of all major banks are situated in the fort, viz the central bank, bank of ceylon tower, twin towers, grindlays bank, seylan bank and various other banks, the president ' s house, the telecom towers, naval headquarters, army headquarters and police headquarters... etc. apart from all these institutions and installations, over 250, 000 people work in the fort. if one traverses the areas struck by the tsunami, one would see that areas with coral reefs and / or mangroves were not affected at all, or their damage was minimal. we suggest adopting the following strategies to ward off the evil effects : immediate root - balling and planting of huge mangroves, with the assistance of a foreign government ; undertaking forthwith the construction of a breakwater


all, or their damage was minimal. we suggest adopting the following strategies to ward off the evil effects : immediate root - balling and planting of huge mangroves, with the assistance of a foreign government ; undertaking forthwith the construction of a breakwater. this breakwater can be built very close to the shore, so that there is no interference with ships coming into the harbour. a rock wall 20 - 25 feet in height spanning a length of less than a maximum of 1 / 2 a mile, and a thickness of about 7 - 10 ft commencing from the light - house area to about the pettah area would suffice to protect the fort - the financial hub of colombo. this whole operation will cost less than rs. 100 million. if the experts are consulted, they will probably inflate the estimate to about 1 billion, either foolishly or cunningly so that rs. 900 million can be shared between themselves and the contractors. some of the unintelligent so called experts will pooh - pooh this plan as not being feasible. there are quite a number of unintelligent professionals in this country. this is a sensible and intelligent approach to minimise damage. if we don ' t take timely action, all the millions spent on reconstruction will be reduced to zero if we are struck by another tsunami, and those experts should be held accountable if there is another catastrophe. we will not have international assistance a second time, if we don ' t take preventive measures. those in charge of rehabilitation, have lost sight of the possibility of another tsunami. the warning of the possibility of another tsunami given to us on the night of march 28, should open the eyes of these so called experts. pose on yourselves the question as to how the fort of galle was not affected by the tsunami of 26 / 12, whereas the immediate adjoining areas were badly struck. this is because of the existence of a break - water in the form of the ramparts - though built 350 years ago, and exposed to the elements day in day out. this strategy on a smaller scale can protect the fort of colombo and its environs. the cost will not be so heavy as compared to the destruction if hit by another tsunami. you don ' t need engineers to see the wisdom of this. any intelligent person with common sense will know that such a structure should be built forthwith to protect the port of colombo, the colombo fort and its environs. this way, we will avert the damage to hundreds of buildings, all built cheek


swarms of jellyfish, or sea nettles, have returned in full force to the chesapeake bay, according to reports from local environmentalists. the migration of jellyfish throughout the chesapeake bay can be seen in a real - time forecasting chart hosted by the national oceanic and atmospheric administration. this season is expected to spike, but so far the jellyfish projections are on par with previous years, according to sandy point state park ranger kenny hartman. hartman said the state park which doubles as a popular beach, has just started getting reports and sightings of jellyfish. " it ' s not bad right now, but it will get worse as the salinity in the water gets higher, especially because of the lack of rain, " hartman said. when it rains, the salt content in the water is lowered, which slows the migration and prevalence of jellyfish. but without rain, the jellyfish are free to roam wherever they find high levels of salt in the water. riverkeeper for the west and rhode rivers chris trumbauer said this year is no different from others, so far. " i have recently seen sea nettles in the west and rhode, as well as the mouth of the severn, " trumbauer said. " i think they are getting extra attention this year, since there were ( almost ) none in the area last summer. " trumbauer advised swimmers and beach joggers to be aware of their surroundings. he also reminded them that the old folk remedies for jellyfish stings of vinegar and urine aren ' t likely to work.


“ even if i thought there was hope for me,... ” ruth 1 : 12 jps hope – what is your definition of “ hope ”? two questions might help you determine if your idea of hope comes from biblical sources or from the culture of greek philosophy. the first question is this : “ is your idea of hope the projection of desired good things happening in the future? ” in other words, if you examine what you hope for, is it really just a collection of your wishes for good things for you? if you discovered that this element is present in your idea of hope, then you are right in line with plato. he taught that hope is the subjective projection of our yearnings for future benefits. of course, these yearnings often turn out to be disappointments. in plato ’ s view, hope is like a psychological crutch. it helps us manage contemporary difficulties by projecting a better tomorrow, but it is ultimately without real foundation. it ’ s just wishing things will be better. examine your feelings carefully. perhaps there is just a hint of plato lurking in your own definition. you might ask yourself, “ if nothing turns out the way i want it to, does that affect my idea of hope? ” if you answered, “ yes, ” then plato is your man. now let ’ s ask the second question. “ does your idea of hope depend entirely on god ’ s faithfulness regardless of any present or conceivable future circumstances? ” let ’ s ask the question another way. “ if none of your future expectations occur, do you still absolutely trust god and wait patiently for him to act? ” if you find that you can answer “ yes ” to these questions, then you are ready to examine the hebrew word tiqvah. when naomi uses this word, she doesn ’ t have the projection of future desires in mind. she is thinking about the color scarlet. what does scarlet have to do with hope. frymer - kensky points out that tiqvah is the hebrew word meaning “ thread ” in the story of rahab. “ the imagery in this idiom suggests that our life is spun out like a cord, and hope arises from the strength of that cord, representing the prospect of a viable future. ” she goes on to show that hope in hebrew thought is intimately connected with life here and now. to have a future is to not be cut off. to have a future is to see the continuation of your name in the lives of your offspring. tiqvah hope has


show that hope in hebrew thought is intimately connected with life here and now. to have a future is to not be cut off. to have a future is to see the continuation of your name in the lives of your offspring. tiqvah hope has nothing to do with getting to heaven. it is all about having a legacy on earth. it ’ s about a scarlet cord that can ’ t be cut. to this we must add paul ’ s comments in romans 8. in the brit chadashah, hope ( the greek is elpis ) is also not about personal wish fulfillment. it is about the absolute reliability of god, anchored in the completed evidence of yeshua ’ s resurrection. in other words, paul teaches us that our present hope has been guaranteed by yeshua ’ s finished act. that does not mean that our wishes will come true. it means that we can patiently wait for god to complete his purposes regardless of what happens to us. why can we take this attitude about our circumstances? because we know “ that all things work together for the good. ” by the way, all things work together for the good ( as defined by god ), not my good. put plato aside. our hope doesn ’ t depend on good things happening to us. our hope depends on god doing what he says he will do, “ on earth as it is in heaven. ” that is why hope cannot disappoint. that is why hope casts out fear. it doesn ’ t depend on you or me, and frankly, it ’ s not even about you or me. we are just along for the ride as god fulfills his purposes here. that is red letter hope. topical index : scarlet, hope, tiqvah, joshua 2 : 18, ruth 1 : 12 a previous study of tiqvahin the story of rahab can be found here. tamara eskenazi and tikva frymer - kensky, ruth : the jps bible commentary, p. 15.


the three most common types of solar cookers are heat - trap boxes, curved concentrators ( parabolics ) and panel cookers. hundreds — if not thousands — of variations on these basic types exist. additionally, several large - scale solar cooking systems have been developed to meet the needs of institutions worldwide. most solar cookers work on basic principles : sunlight is converted to heat energy that is retained for cooking. - sunlight is the " fuel. " a solar cooker needs an outdoor spot that is sunny for several hours and protected from strong wind, and where food will be safe. solar cookers don ' t work at night or on cloudy days. - dark surfaces get very hot in sunlight, whereas light surfaces don ' t. food cooks best in dark, shallow, thin metal pots with dark, tight - fitting lids to hold in heat and moisture. - a transparent heat trap around the dark pot lets in sunlight, but keeps in the heat. this is a clear, heat - resistant plastic bag or large inverted glass bowl ( in panel cookers ) or an insulated box with a glass or plastic window ( in box cookers ). curved concentrator cookers typically don ' t require a heat trap. - one or more shiny surfaces reflect extra sunlight onto the pot, increasing its heat potential. | previous : patricia mcardle | | next : next featured article |


body long and slender. prostomium elongate, oval to conical. ventral pair of antennae somewhat longer than dorsal. proboscis with two mediodorsal and two lateral rows of papillae, distally and ventrally only wrinkled ridges. often the proboscis is irregularly scattered with papillae, with two lateral papillae at the anterior edge. ventral pair of tentacular cirri longer than dorsal. dorsal cirri of anterior segments more or less asymmetrical, oval, somewhat longer than broad or broader than long, those of mid - body strongly asymmetrical, almost kidney - shaped, up to 2 1 / 2 times as long as broad ; posterior ones asymmetrical, oval, often somewhat longer than broad ( e. spetsbergensis - parapodium ). terminal end of chaetal shaft symmetrical with one large tooth and a few smaller ones on each side. blades long and slender. ventral cirri longer than parapodial lobes. pygidial cirri finger - like. up to 100 mm for 200 segments. living animal dorsally with reddish banding and dark dorsal cirri ; ventrally green. in alcohol almost colourless. on all substrata ; upper sublittoral to 400m. arctic, north pacific, north atlantic, northern north sea to oresund.


( this is reposted from the dictionary help page ) can ’ t understand some parts of the dictionary? fear no more! what do these things mean? n. – noun. usually definitions starting with “ a, ” “ an ” or “ the ” except for “ the state of being. ” used to name a person, place, thing, or idea. v. – verb. usually definitions starting with “ to ” except for “ to be. ” a word or combination of words that expresses an action or says something about the existence or condition of a noun or pronoun. adj. – adjective. usually definitions starting with “ to be ” or “ the state of being. ” a word that modifies a noun or pronoun. modify means to limit, qualify, or make partial changes. adv. – adverb. usually starts with “ the state of ” with a verb and the description of that action. a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another verb ( when, where, how, how often, to what extent ). many adverbs en in - ly. contraction. – a shortened word acronym. – the first letters of a bunch of words or phrase interjection. – a word that you would use to say something out loud, like “ damn ” or “ fuck. ” a word or phrase used to express pain, surprise, anger, pleasure, or some other emotions. stands apart from other words in sentences. klingon. – a word from the klingon language location. – a location phrase. – a phrase that has more than 1 word in it ebonics. – a word or series of words used in ebonics preposition. – a word like “ a. ” a word that shows a relation between the word following it and some other word or group of words in a sentence. conjunction. – a word that combines two parts of a sentence, such as “ but, ” “ and, ” and “ yet ” pronoun. – a word that replaces another noun. such as he, she, it. it stands for or takes place of a noun and functions in most ways as a noun.?. – we don ’ t know what kind of word it is ex. – example ; } – separates one definition from another definition for the same word. similar to the numbering system used in actual dictionaries. the reason we don ’ t use numbers in our definitions is because we use numbers sometimes to define


| canto 10 : the summum bonum | | chapter 20 : the rainy season and autumn in vrndavana | bhaktivedanta vedabase : srimad bhagavatam 10. 20. 8 tamasa bhanti na grahah yatha papena pasanda na hi vedah kalau yuge nisa - mukhesu — during the moments of evening twilight ; khadyotah — the glowworms ; tamasa — because of the darkness ; bhanti — shine ; na — not ; grahah — the planets ; yatha — as ; papena — because of sinful activities ; pasandah — atheistic doctrines ; na — and not ; hi — certainly ; vedah — the vedas ; kalau yuge — in the age of kali. in the evening twilight during the rainy season, the darkness allowed the glowworms but not the stars to shine forth, just as in the age of kali the predominance of sinful activities allows atheistic doctrines to overshadow the true knowledge of the vedas. srila prabhupada comments as follows : " during the rainy season, in the evening there are many glowworms visible about the tops of trees, hither and thither, and they glitter just like lights. but the luminaries of the sky, the stars and the moon, are not visible. similarly, in the age of kali, persons who are atheists or miscreants become very prominently visible, whereas persons who are actually following the vedic principles for spiritual emancipation are practically obscured. this age, kali - yuga, is compared to the cloudy season of the living entities. in this age, real knowledge is covered by the influence of the material advancement of civilization. the cheap mental speculators, atheists and manufacturers of so - called religious principles become prominent like the glowworms, whereas persons strictly following the vedic principles, or scriptural injunctions, become covered by the clouds of this age. " people should learn to take advantage of the actual luminaries of the sky — the sun, moon and stars — instead of the glowworms ' light. actually, the glowworms cannot give any light in the darkness of night. as clouds sometimes clear, even in the rainy season, and the moon, stars and sun become visible, so even in this kali - yuga there are sometimes advantages. the vedic movement of lord caitanya — the distribution of the


at any given time throughout a political campaign the media may want to know what the public at large thinks about policies or candidates. one solution would be to ask everyone who they would vote for. this would be costly, time consuming and infeasible. another way to determine voter preference is to use a statistical sample. rather than ask every voter to state his or her preference in candidates, polling research companies poll a relatively small number of people who their favorite candidate is. the members of the statistical sample help to determine the preferences of the entire population. there are good polls and not so good polls, so it is important to ask the following questions when reading any results. who was polled? a candidate makes his or her appeal to the voters because the voters are the ones who cast ballots. consider the following groups of people : - registered voters - likely voters the political composition of the sample sometimes plays a roll in interpreting poll results. a sample consisting entirely of registered republicans would not be good if someone wanted to ask a question about the electorate at large. since the electorate rarely breaks into 50 % registered republicans and 50 % registered democrats, even this type of sample may not be the best to use. when was the poll conducted? politics can be fast paced. within a matter of days an issue arises, alters the political landscape, then is forgotten by most when some new issue surfaces. what people were talking about on monday sometimes seems to be a distant memory when friday comes. news runs faster than ever, however good polling takes time to conduct. major events can take several days to show up in poll results. the dates when a poll was conducted should be noted to determine if current events have had time to affect the numbers of the poll. what methods were used? suppose that congress is considering a bill that deals with gun control. read the following two scenarios and ask which is more likely to accurately determine the public sentiment. - a blog asks its readers to click on a box to show their support of the bill. a total of 5000 participate and there is overwhelming rejection of the bill. - a polling firm randomly calls 1000 registered voters and asks them about their support of the bill. the firm finds that their respondents are more or less evenly split for and against the bill. how large is the sample? as the discussion above shows, a poll with a larger sample size is not necessarily the better poll. on the other hand, a sample size may be too small to state anything meaningful about public opinion. a random sample of 20 likely voters is too small to determine


bycatch of crab occurs in directed crab pot fisheries as well as groundfish and scallop fisheries. in the crab fisheries, crab bycatch includes females of target species, sublegal ( small ) males of target species, and non - target crab. in all other fisheries, crabs are a prohibited species, and must be discarded, so every crab caught incidentally is considered bycatch. crabs caught as bycatch in trawl fisheries are thought to have a high mortality rate ( estimated at 80 % ) ; in the scallop dredge and pot fisheries for crab and groundfish, mortality is considered to be much lower ( between 20 and 50 % ). limits on the bycatch of prohibited crab species have been established in some bering sea fisheries, to reduce the impacts on these species traditionally harvested by other gear types. when bycatch limits are reached, fisheries responsible for the bycatch are closed for the rest of the season, or are prohibited from fishing in areas with historically high bycatch rates. area closures have also been implemented throughout the bering sea and goa to protect crab. in addition to these tools, gear restrictions and other regulations have been implemented to reduce crab bycatch. for example : - biodegradable panels are required for pot gear, to minimize bycatch associated with so - called ghost fishing of lost gear. - tunnel openings for pot gear are limited in size to reduce incidental catch of halibut and crabs. - gillnets for groundfish have been prohibited to prevent ghost fishing and bycatch of non - target species. - in 1999, the use of bottom trawl gear was prohibited for vessels targeting pollock in the bering sea, to reduce crab and halibut bycatch. in 2011, a trawl sweep modification requirement was implemented for vessels participating in the bering sea flatfish fishery, to raise the trawl sweep off the seafloor. research has demonstrated that this gear modification reduces unobserved mortality of red king crab, tanner crab, and snow crab. the council intends for a similar modification to be implemented in the gulf of alaska.


beethoven ' s bagatelles are short compositions written over the span of the composer ' s lifetime, from the early to the late periods. ranging from easy to intermediate level, these popular pieces display a wide variety of moods and musical ideas and are favorites with students and accomplished pianists... read more customers who bought this book also bought : our editors also recommend : beethoven masterpieces for solo piano : 25 works by ludwig van beethoven this collection features 25 popular pieces, including the sonata in c - sharp minor, op. 27, no. 2 ( " moonlight " ) ; sonata in d minor, op. 31, no. 2 ( " tempest " ) ; 32 variations in c minor ; more. complete variations for solo piano by ludwig van beethoven all 21 sets of beethoven ' s variations, including the diabelli variations, op. 120, 32 variations in c minor ; the " eroica " variations, op. 35 ; plus variations on themes by dressler, salieri, sussmayr, righini, other composers. complete piano sonatas, volume i by ludwig van beethoven volume 1 of authoritative schenker edition includes op. 2, nos. 1 - 3 ; op. 7 ; op. 10, nos. 1 - 3 ; op. 13 ; op. 14, nos. 1 - 2 ; op. 22 ; op. 26 ; op. 27, nos. 1 - 2 ; and op. 28. bagatelles, rondos and other shorter works for piano by ludwig van beethoven reprinted from the authoritative breitkopf and hartel edition, this collection features 18 bagatelles, 3 rondos, and 12 landlers and minuets. popular works include rondo a capriccio in g and andante in f. complete sonatinas by friedrich kuhlau these 19 highly accessible sonatinas offer intermediate - level pianists training in pedagogical issues, including scales and arpeggios, that will prepare them for the demands of more rigorous works. five great piano sonatas by ludwig van beethoven this collection features the most famous of the composer ' s 32 piano sonatas. includes " pathetique, " " moonlight, " " waldstein, " " appassionata, " " les adieux. " new introduction by carl schachter, and performance notes by anton kuerti. allegro barbaro and other short works for solo piano by bela bartok includes allegro barbaro, a sonorous, boisterous piece of


. " new introduction by carl schachter, and performance notes by anton kuerti. allegro barbaro and other short works for solo piano by bela bartok includes allegro barbaro, a sonorous, boisterous piece of power and bravura ; 15 hungarian peasant songs ; 6 rumanian folk dances ; 20 rumanian christmas carols ; and 8 improvisations on hungarian peasant songs. beethoven symphonies nos. 1 - 5 transcribed for solo piano by franz liszt this memorable tribute reveals liszt ' s remarkable capacity for translating orchestral effects into pianistic terms. an astonishing, brilliant, and sensitive tribute to the master by the 19th - century ' s greatest piano virtuoso. favorite piano classics by ronald herder treasury of 83 best - loved pieces in authoritative editions : beethoven ' s fur elise, chopin ' s " minute " waltz and polonaise " militaire, " debussy ' s clair de lune, liszt ' s liebestraum no. 3, mozart ' s turkish rondo, many more. complete piano concertos in full score by ludwig van beethoven complete scores of 5 great beethoven piano concertos, with all cadenzas as he wrote them, reproduced from authoritative breitkopf & hartel edition. includes new table of contents. complete piano sonatas, volume ii by ludwig van beethoven volume 2 of authoritative schenker edition includes op. 31, nos. 1 - 3 ; op. 49, nos. 1 - 2 ; op. 53 ; op. 54 ; op. 57 ; op. 79 ; op. 81a ; op. 90 ; op. 101 ; op. 106 ; op. 109 ; op. 110 ; op. 111. complete string quartets by ludwig van beethoven reprinted from the authoritative breitkopf & hartel edition, this study score includes : 6 quartets of opus 18 ; 3 quartets of opus 59 ; opuses 74, 95, 127, 130, 131, 132, 135, and grosse fuge. beethoven ' s bagatelles are short compositions written over the span of the composer ' s lifetime, from the early to the late periods. ranging from easy to intermediate level, these popular pieces display a wide variety of moods and musical ideas and are favorites with students and accomplished pianists alike. the romantic era abounded in short compositions for piano : etudes, serenades, impromptus, and other miniatures. beethoven ' s term for his refined little piano gems was kleinigkeiten — " small things " — or bagate


according to the international labour organisation, there are over 215 million children working across the world and of these 115 million are thought to be involved in hazardous work. the number of those between the ages of 5 - 14 and engaged in child labour is estimated by unicef at around 150 million. world day against child labour came and went on june 12, 2012. this wonderful initiative, championed by hundreds of selfless individuals, undoubtedly passed by, unnoticed and unmarked by too many of us, otherwise absorbed in the busy - ness of our lives. child labour is considered to be the hiring or employment of anyone below the national minimum working age or the age of 15 – whichever is highest. it is a scourge to every supply chain that considers itself to be ethical. in transgression, however, there is opportunity. eradication of child labour is a chance for supply chain practitioners to shine. we can be the agents of change that the world demands, and that our children deserve. but such initiatives are not exclusively altruistic. they make business sense. by taking the necessary steps to ensure toxins like child labour do not impact the supply chain, businesses are protecting their brand, and developing competitive advantage. it is usually assumed that for most people in the developed world, a child ’ s right to an education is a self - evident truth. sending the child off to the factory or to the fields ( or even worse, to the army or to the brothels ) is a deprivation a fundamental human right in the 21st century. the stark reality is, that while many less - developed countries are categorized being at extreme risk of transgression, even the planet ’ s economic powerhouses are not completely faultless. here is a graphic that was prepared earlier this year by risk analysis firm maplecroft, that reveals the results of its child labour index 2012. i find it stunning : child labour transgressions can fall into two broad classifications : direct ( when a country or organization engages willfully in, or otherwise sanctions child labour practices ) and indirect ( when a country or organization turns a ‘ blind eye ’ to the practice either at home or in other jurisdictions with whom they interact ). the first is the object of metrics. sadly, most of us are guilty of the latter. this past week, i entered into some interesting conversations about the insecure supply chain. this is a systemic condition where the supply chain becomes open to abuse by any number of detrimental influences. the article that motivated these conversations was my post titled supply chain risk management : a matter of


entered into some interesting conversations about the insecure supply chain. this is a systemic condition where the supply chain becomes open to abuse by any number of detrimental influences. the article that motivated these conversations was my post titled supply chain risk management : a matter of life and death. in that submission, i wrote about poisons that can creep into the food supply chain. toxic labour practices, including child labor, are no less critical, although the damage done is far less obvious to the consumer. complicating matters are the difficult economic conditions that plague many countries of the world, that have cascaded from the 2008 global financial crisis. many more children are being forced to work to supplement family incomes. child labour, though, has been with us through good times and bad, for centuries, and has become a cultural norm in many regions. in the 21st century, supply chain practitioners will play a critical role in eradicating this problem, through engagement of ethical and sustainable business practices. eliminating child labour from the supply chain carmel giblin, general manager at sedex, crafted a compelling article in the guardian newspaper earlier this week, in recognition of world day against child labour. sedex, the supplier ethical data exchange, is a not for profit membership organisation dedicated to driving improvements in responsible and ethical business practices in global supply chains. as the largest collaborative platform for sharing ethical supply chain data, sedex is an innovative and effective supply chain management solution, helping firms to reduce risk, protect reputation and improve supply chain practices. so, why is child labour such an important issue for businesses? we all know that child labour deprives children of their basic rights, including their right to education, but ensuring that your supply chain is free of child labour can also bring important business benefits. the ethical performance of companies is under increasing scrutiny from customers, the media, investors and other stakeholders. revelations of child labour in the supply chain can damage a company ’ s reputation and lead to a loss of revenue. conversely, a child labour free supply chain can help protect your company ’ s reputation and ensure you have an educated and capable workforce for the long - term. sedex ’ s work with stakeholders has identified some of the most common reasons why children work : in countries or sectors where wages are low, families often rely on the additional income to buy food ; some agricultural jobs pay workers based on the amount of produce picked, which can encourage parents to bring their children into the field to help them ; others are unfamiliar with the rights of children and deem


families often rely on the additional income to buy food ; some agricultural jobs pay workers based on the amount of produce picked, which can encourage parents to bring their children into the field to help them ; others are unfamiliar with the rights of children and deem it acceptable to allow children to work. understanding the root cause of the issue can help companies to develop suitable mechanisms for effectively remediating child labour. to resolve the issue of child labour, businesses must first identify where this issue occurs. gaining complete visibility throughout the supply chain is vital if companies are to identify high risk areas and spot potential issues. by increasing visibility within supply chains, companies can engage with their suppliers in a much more focused manner, allowing critical issues like child labour to be dealt with more efficiently. once an occurrence of child labour has been identified, the business then needs to decide how to deal with this issue. kneejerk reactions should be avoided and any action taken should in no way be detrimental to the child. ( read more … ) maplecroft : conflict and economic downturn cause global increase in reported child labour violations – 40 % of countries now rated ‘ extreme risk. ’ maplecroft provides risk management products and services to leading global corporations across all sectors, governments, un agencies and international non - governmental organisations. for example, banks use our indices and in depth reports to screen and manage risk, corporations use our research to understand investment risk and supply chain managers use our tools for due diligence monitoring. it finds that brazil, china, india, indonesia and philippines, for example, expose companies to high levels of supply chain risk. launching their 2012 child labor index study earlier this year, maplecroft explained : an annual study by risk analysis firm maplecroft has revealed that 76 countries now pose ‘ extreme ’ child labour complicity risks for companies operating worldwide, due to worsening global security and the economic downturn. this constitutes an increase of more than 10 % from last year ’ s total of 68 ‘ extreme risk ’ countries. the child labour index 2012 evaluates the frequency and severity of reported child labour incidents in 197 countries. worryingly, nearly 40 % of all countries have been classified as ‘ extreme risk ’ in the index, with conflict torn and authoritarian states topping the ranking. myanmar, north korea, somalia, sudan are ranked joint first, while dr congo ( 5 ), zimbabwe ( 6 ), afghanistan ( 7 ), burundi ( 8 ), pakistan ( 9 ) and ethiopia ( 10 ) round off the worst performers. the child labour index has been developed by maplecroft to


first, while dr congo ( 5 ), zimbabwe ( 6 ), afghanistan ( 7 ), burundi ( 8 ), pakistan ( 9 ) and ethiopia ( 10 ) round off the worst performers. the child labour index has been developed by maplecroft to evaluate the extent of country - level child labour practices and the performance of governments in preventing child labour and ensuring the accountability of perpetrators. by doing so, the index enables companies to identify risks of children being employed within their supply chains in violation of the standards on minimum age of employment. the index also analyses the risk of the involvement of children in work, the conditions of which could have a negative impact on the health, safety and wellbeing of child labourers. maplecroft suggests that the global increase in the use of child labour is mainly caused by a deteriorating human security situation worldwide. this has resulted in increased numbers of internally displaced children and refugees who, together with children from minority communities, continue to be the groups at most risk of economic exploitation. sub - saharan africa is identified as the region posing the most risk in this respect but most of the growth economies have their own unique conditions in respect of child labour and its remediation. ( read more … ) finally, gerard oonk of the stop child labour campaign in india provides a link to a the campaign ’ s wonderful action plan for companies to combat child labour – published june 12, 2012, which will help companies, ngos and others to do what is needed : eradicate child labour in your supply chain. i recommend the action plan to all supply chain and corporate leaders who are committed to developing ethical and sustainable supply chains. your comments and feedback are welcome. supply chain almanac is now on facebook. “ like ” us on facebook, or become a friend, to stay up - to - date on all of our posts, our quote of the day, events, and more! also, do not forget to visit our supply chain daily newspaper, for the latest news and views on matters concerning practitioners in the supply chain, logistics, operations, and business. - slavery lives in the supply chain! food multinational nestle drafts its battle plan if you worked for five years or more without pay, and if you were brutally beaten if you tried to run away and were caught,... - what is supply chain management? “ social responsibility ” module 8 of the excellent “ what is supply chain management ” series, produced by asu and the w. p. carey school of business, discusses the topic... - foxconn : a


select the product you need help with - internet explorer - windows phone - more products how to extract information from office files by using office file formats and schemas article id : 840817 - view products that this article applies to. if you have to extract information from microsoft excel workbooks, microsoft powerpoint presentations, or microsoft word documents, you can use several methods. these methods include api programming calls, office open xml, xml, rtf, or html. if these methods do not address your needs, you may be eligible to participate in a royalty - free file format program and to receive technical documentation for certain microsoft office binary file formats. this article describes several techniques that are available for extracting information from excel workbooks, powerpoint presentations, and word documents. office open xmlthe office open xml formats are designed so that multiple applications on multiple platforms can create and access office open xml documents. by using the office open xml format, you can directly manipulate the file format. you do not have to use microsoft office applications to create or to access the files. benefits of office open xml http : / / www. ecma - international. org / news / tc45 _ current _ work / tc45 - 2006 - 50 _ final _ draft. htmadditionally, visit the following openxmldeveloper. org web site : http : / / openxmldeveloper. orgthe office open xml formats use the open packaging conventions to store the office open xml file information on disk. for more information about the open packaging conventions as used by office open xml, see the office open xml v1. 0 draft, part 2, " open packaging conventions ". office application programming interfaces ( apis ) office binary file formats are designed to be accessed through the office application programming interfaces ( apis ), instead of by direct manipulation of the file format. because of the complexity of the formats, direct manipulation can cause corruption and is strongly discouraged. for more information about the office apis, visit the following microsoft web site : http : / / msdn2. microsoft. com / en - us / library / aa165081 ( office. 10 ). aspxthe office 97 - 2003 binary file formats use the windows structured storage apis. the office - specific information is stored as streams in this more generalized format. common elements, such as document properties, can be accessed through the structured storage apis and do not require access to the office binary file format documentation. for more information about the windows


office - specific information is stored as streams in this more generalized format. common elements, such as document properties, can be accessed through the structured storage apis and do not require access to the office binary file format documentation. for more information about the windows structured storage apis, visit the following microsoft web site : http : / / msdn2. microsoft. com / en - us / library / aa380369. aspxthe microsoft excel 2007 binary format ( *. xlsb ) stores binary records. this format uses the same part and packaging technologies that are found in spreadsheetml. spreadsheetml is part of the office open xml format. important reading or manipulating the structure directly can cause corruption and is strongly discouraged. xmlxml is a plain - text, unicode - based metalanguage ( a language for defining markup languages ). xml is not tied to any programming language, operating system, or software vendor. xml provides access to a plethora of technologies for manipulating, structuring, transforming, and querying data. as the use of xml has grown, it is now typically accepted that xml is not only useful for describing new document formats for the web, but is also suitable to describe structured data. examples of structured data include information that is typically contained in spreadsheets, program configuration files, and network protocols. microsoft office includes support for xml schemas. microsoft maintains a licensing program for certain office xml schemas. to learn more about office xml schemas, visit the following microsoft web site to view the microsoft office system and xml : bringing xml to the desktop article : rich text format ( rtf ) the rich text format ( rtf ) specification is a method of encoding formatted text and graphics for easy transfer between programs. the rtf specification provides a format for text and graphics interchange that can be used with different output devices, operating environments, and operating systems. rtf uses the american national standards institute ( ansi ), pc - 8, macintosh, or ibm pc character set to control the representation and the formatting of a document, both on the screen and in print. with the rtf specification, documents that are created under different operating systems and that are created by using different software programs can be transferred between those operating systems and those programs. for more information about how to write or how to implement a sample rtf reader, visit the following microsoft web site, and then type rtf reader in the search msdn for box : visio


transferred between those operating systems and those programs. for more information about how to write or how to implement a sample rtf reader, visit the following microsoft web site, and then type rtf reader in the search msdn for box : visio xml schemathrough the microsoft documentation and a royalty - free license, customers and partners can take advantage of the xml schema in its diagramming and data visualization tool. the availability of the visio schema provides a complete and w3c - compliant description of the visio extensible markup language ( xml ) file format, enabling organizations to access information captured in their visio diagrams and uses it with other xml - enabled programs, such as customer relationship management ( crm ) and enterprise resource planning ( erp ) systems, as part of their business processes. for more information and download capabilities, visit the following microsoft web site : htmlhtml files are text files that include the information that users will see, and tags that specify formatting information about how the information will be presented for display purposes. you can use html to store, distribute, and present office documents and data in a format that can be viewed by using most web browsers while retaining the rich content and functionality of office documents. note in microsoft excel 2007, the html file format does not save features that are specific to excel. additionally, the html formal does not support or render all the features in excel 2007 when you save a workbook as html. for more information about how to edit html, visit the following microsoft web site : http : / / msdn2. microsoft. com / en - us / library / aa730778 ( vs. 71 ). aspxfor more information about how to work with code, html, and resource files, visit the following microsoft web site : royalty - free file format programs microsoft office binary file formatsmicrosoft makes its. doc,. xls,. xlsb, and. ppt binary file format specifications available under a royalty - free covenant not to sue to anyone who wishes to implement all or part of these specifications in their products. implementation includes the ability to use the specification documentation for analysis and for forensic reference purposes. microsoft office drawing file format for 2007 and visual basic for applications ( vba ) file format for 2007 are also available under this program. the documentation that covers the binary file format specifications is cumulative and covers the most current form of the binary file formats as well as earlier versions. office binary file format specifications are


by swami krishnananda life, ancient as well as modern, is generally calculated and assessed in the light of what we regard as civilisation and culture. we usually, and often, speak of india ' s civilisation as highly advanced, and its culture as superb in every way. but a cultural or sociological study of history is not the proper way of getting a little deeper into the basic impulses that make culture the essential value of life. why should anyone be cultured? unless this question is answered, it is difficult to say what culture is. it is another way of asking, " why should anyone be good? " we are very fond of saying that we have to be civilised, cultured and good, but have we found time to think of what consequences would devolve in our lives in the absence of this value? a highly comfortable life of physical satisfaction and social security, with friendliness among the constituents of a society in the manner it is interpreted at any given moment of time, may be regarded as a highlight of civilisation and culture. but we speak of cultures and civilisations, and accept the presence of a multitude of these, implying thereby a simultaneous acceptance of the validity of these multiplicities, and meaning thereby that every culture is relevant to that particular circumstance of society which upholds it as its ideal. it does not mean that the whole of humanity has one culture, one civilisation, one way of thinking. even the way of giving a friendly greeting differs from place to place, what to talk of other things. hence, when we speak of an ethical, moral or cultural society, we oftentimes speak tongue - in - cheek, not being able to assess the basic foundations of these efflorescences which appear outwardly as necessities in the form of culture, civilisation. a comfortable, happy life need not necessarily be a civilised life. who can say that horses or elephants are not happy? each group has its own standards of judging happiness, satisfaction, and even security. animals in the jungle have a satisfaction of their own which is commensurate with the type of understanding with which they are endowed in the state of their evolution. thus, the judgement of culture and civilisation also has something to say in regard to the stage of evolution. there are various types of people in the world. anthro - pologists generally classify humanity into races. this is only a broad classification of human beings, and it does not mean that we have given a clear


to the stage of evolution. there are various types of people in the world. anthro - pologists generally classify humanity into races. this is only a broad classification of human beings, and it does not mean that we have given a clear - cut idea of the varieties of the outlooks of people. it is a peculiar classification based on the physiognomy or bone structure, and the appearance of the face — the nose, particularly. this kind of anthropological classification is not the same as a cultural classification. the anthropological evaluation, if it is applied to people in india, will not find one kind or one set of people throughout the country. there is a geographical impact upon the structure of the body, and many other factors which differentiate the way or conduct of the day - to - day life of people. why go so far? in india there are very obvious and interesting differences even in religious practice, as between the south and the north, for instance. in a state such as kerala, it would be a horror for a person to enter a holy temple wearing a shirt — and much worse, a turban. it is not only irreligious, it is unthinkable, horrid behaviour to put on a coat and worship a holy deity in a temple. but if we go to a temple such as kedarnath, we will find the pujari wearing a turban and a coat, and it is not regarded as unholy or irreligious. now, why should this peculiar distinction be made in the conduct of a person — whether it is religious or otherwise — from place to place? it differs not merely from place to place, but from circumstance to circumstance. perhaps this particular example that i gave has some connection with the circumstance of living — the climatic conditions particularly, and so on. the dharma of a particular individual or a group of people is the culture, to mention it in a broad outline. the necessity of a person or the need of a group of people under a given set of circumstances, in the light of an ideal that they hold as their religious deity, may be regarded as the determining factor in the expression of culture or civilisation. in india we have various linguistic states. in one way, we may say each state has its own culture — though not in essence, at least in details. in essence, we have one single culture from kanyakumari to the himalayas, which is why we always speak of bharatiya samskriti, indian culture


say each state has its own culture — though not in essence, at least in details. in essence, we have one single culture from kanyakumari to the himalayas, which is why we always speak of bharatiya samskriti, indian culture ; but in minute details, we differ. hence, when we speak of culture or civilisation, we have to take it in generality as well as in particularity. sometimes differences arise among people due to their behaviour, which may appear to be perfectly recognised and valid from their own point of view — from the standpoint of their own culture and civilisation — but may be odd in another atmosphere. our dress in india is an incoherent cynosure in a country like britain, for instance ; and to us, british or european dress looks something quite different from the way in which we would like to dress ourselves. now, does dress make a culture, does language make a culture, or does the way of worshipping of god make a culture? what is culture? if we go threadbare into this problem of culture and civilisation, we will find that it is not one, two or three things, but it is everything that acts as the warp and woof in this fabric of one ' s life, and a total adjustability of the human group may perhaps be called for in the expression of a culture. when a person speaks sweetly, behaves politely, and expresses a generous feeling of charitableness, one feels that the person is cultured or civilised. we generally speak of a person as cultured when there is a charitable expression on the part of that person in regard to others in feeling, in words, and in outward conduct. but while we may regard this standard of judgement of culture and civilisation as something very beautiful, almost approximating perfection, we have to go a little deeper into the causes that motivate the behaviour of a person in this manner. why should one be impelled to speak sweetly to another? though we may accept that speaking sweetly is a part of cultured behaviour, what is it that prompts a person to speak sweetly to another person? if it is selfishness, exploitation — to utilise that person in some manner by hooking that individual — then sweet speaking would not be a part of culture. it would be a dramatic, deceptive attitude, and we cannot regard sweet speech as a part of culture. therefore, merely speaking sweetly is not a part of culture ; there is something else behind it. even a


not be a part of culture. it would be a dramatic, deceptive attitude, and we cannot regard sweet speech as a part of culture. therefore, merely speaking sweetly is not a part of culture ; there is something else behind it. even a charitable act cannot be called culture unless there is some living force behind it, because we may express a gesture of charity with a highly selfish motive. outward actions can bear the garb of holiness, intense culture, piety and civilisation, but they may have a peculiar axe to grind, which the individual alone will know. thus, culture is not any kind of external gesture — neither dress, nor even language. sometimes people base their culture on their religion, their scriptures. there are scripture - oriented religions whose adherents interpret everything in their lives from the point of view of that particular sacred text. if something is not mentioned in that text, it would not be a holy attitude. the moment they discover a statement in the text concerning a particular behaviour, it becomes sanctioned. so, the book becomes the guide. these are some of the religions we have in the world. but there are other religions which are prophet oriented. they may have no books, but they have a leader, and whatever that person says is valid and final. there is a final validity of a particular conduct, whether it receives its inspiration from a prophet or a book, and this final interpretation of the validity of the behaviour of a person or a group of people makes it impossible for mankind to have one culture and one civilisation, because it does not appear that we have only one book as our guide or only one man as our leader. sections of people have different leaders — religious, political, and social — and different texts are regarded as holy in their own parlance. so, how do we come to know whether a person is cultured or civilised? civilised nations today are those who have up - to - date gadgets of physical amenities. from the point of view of the interpretation of culture as possession of the highest material instruments of action, india cannot be regarded as highly cultured because there are other countries that are more technologically advanced. if technological advancement is the sign of culture and civilisation, india lags behind. but would we say that culture is technological advancement? certainly not! nobody would say ' yes ' to this, because something lurks within us and tells us that whatever be the might and force of the technology that we have in our hands, it may not be the criterion of our culture. we


| taekwondo bible, vol. 2 | | 8. unity of samjae and kang - yu 8 - 3. failure of technique people cannot use taekwondo techniques although they ' ve learned them. for they didn ' t learn them exactly. for they didn ' t learn exact techniques. what is the reason you don ' t learn exact techniques? first you don ' t understand the substance of kang - yu, and second you have no idea of samjae even though you understand kang - yu substantially. what ' s the reason you don ' t understand the substance of kang - yu? because you only imitate the technical motions yet losing the truth of kang - yu. what ' s the reason you have no idea of samjae though you know kang - yu? it is also because you lose its invisible foundation in the visible changes understanding kang - yu with the knowledge of samjae and taekwondo as its foundation you come to understand the importance of basics. and you also come to understand the importance of training, mental attitude, and furthermore, of the rightness in your life. the right life is the basis of the entire taekwondo. if you ignore this fact only attached to magnificent motions you will go in vain and danger like those who have exaggerated reputation. mencius warned of this mistake with his analogy to the water of no source. hence saying ¡ °if a thing has no source, it is like the rain water that collects after a downpour in the seventh and eighth months. it may fill all the gutters, but we can stand and wait for it to dry up. thus a gentleman is ashamed of an exaggerated reputation. ¡ ±2 ) likewise, taekwondo man should be ashamed of exaggerated magnificence of technique more than the firmness of basics. to sum up, the foundation of taekwondo technique is kang - yu ; the foundation of kang - yu is samjae ; and its foundation is ilgiyae as taekwondo. 3 ) and, the foundation of skill is basic motion ; it foundation is training ; and its foundation again is mental attitude. and the foundation of mental attitude is ethical ( right ) life. this is why we say the foundation of taekwondo is verily ethical ( right ) life. 1 ) diamond sutra, 10c. eeayaaßæoeiaay. yoeen¬ßaßæay. yoeen¬a¢ ¡ ¤ua ¡ ¤u « ¡ ¤oº ¡ ¤uoßæay.


this week we started looking at elements of fiction and nonfiction. of course, as the students compared and contrasted the two types of books, the kids quickly noticed some of the text features. i used this as a segway to introduce the text features that students in fourth grade should know such as graphs, timelines, and diagrams. today, the kids went on a text feature scavenger hunt. the students were to look in their own nonfiction books ( that they had check out from the library or the ones that i had available in the classroom - i prefer students to have a book on a topic they are interested in learning more about ). i used the shabby chic teacher ' s nonfiction text features unit ( freebie - check it out ) to show examples of text features on the promethean board. here are some of my kiddos on their text feature scavenger hunt. after all of the kids have finished, the kids traded books with a friend and they checked their friend ' s work. the kids loved this activity! when the kids were leaving my class, they made comments like, " mrs. shelby, the activity today was so much fun! " that ' s always a good thing to hear! : ) so, that ' s what we have been up to in my fourth grade reading class. do you have any awesome strategies you use to review / teach text features?


editor ’ s note : we ’ re proud to announce the launch of our newest state chapter – the kentucky tenth amendment center! by michael maharrey, kentucky tenth amendment center welcome to the kentucky chapter of the 10th amendment center. the principle is simple. it is not radical or extremist, nor should it be controversial. the founders of the united states clearly intended a federal government with defined and limited power. the bulk of governance was meant to happen at the state and local level. a the 10th amendment in the bill of rights reaffirms this principle in the simplest of language. a€œthe powers not delegated to the united states by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people. a€ simple. straight forward. no need for complicated exegesis or convoluted interpretation. james madison expanded the idea, writing in federalist no. 45. a€œthe powers delegated by the proposed constitution to the federal government are few and defined. those which are to remain in the state governments are numerous and indefinite. the former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation and foreign commerce ; with which the last the power of taxation will for the most part be connected. the powers reserved to the several states will extend to all objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement and prosperity of the state. a€ the foundation of our country was not laid on empty political theory. it was born from a deep understanding of the danger of concentrated power. as george washington said, a€œgovernment is not reason ; it is not eloquent ; it is force. like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. a€ or as gerald ford put it some 200 years later, a€œa government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have. a€ most people intuitively understand that the danger of power increases at higher levels of government. most citizens understand that state and local leaders are more accountable to those they represent at state and local levels. what does nancy pelosi care about the coal miner in eastern kentucky? kentuckians understand the potential tyranny of unbridled federal power. our founders certainly understood and created a brilliant system to keep government power in check. it takes only a quick scan of the news headlines to see that the


in eastern kentucky? kentuckians understand the potential tyranny of unbridled federal power. our founders certainly understood and created a brilliant system to keep government power in check. it takes only a quick scan of the news headlines to see that the current system of government in the united states bears little resemblance to what the framers of the constitution intended. in the 1990s, the american people cleaned house in washington d. c. republicans swept into power promising to limit government, slash spending, cut earmarks and reform government. instead, a€œwe the peoplea€ got more of the same. more big spending. more federal programs. more favors for special interests. more expanding bureaucracy. in 2008, pres. obama took office promising a€œhope and change. a€ instead, he and the democrats in power doubled down. clearly, to solution doesna€™t lie in sending different breeds of politician to washington. yes, we want to elect candidates to federal office who respect the constitutional limits of their power. but we the people of kentucky must insist, through our state government, that we will not accept any more unconstitutional governance from the feds. we must use our power to nullify unconstitutional law and render impotent federal power grabs. we must wean ourselves from the federal trough and stop allowing washington to control frankfort via a carrot and stick approach. the process wona€™t be easy. the federal government has grown far beyond its intended role and years will likely pass before we can reestablish a proper balance. but we must start now. we must stand together as kentuckians and fight for whata€™s best for the commonwealth of kentucky. we must demand our liberties and stand up for the constitution that unites us as a nation. it is up to us. we the people. government serves us, not the other way around.


a while back, 1863, actually, in san jose, california, citizens and business people got together to build a railroad from san jose north to san francisco. at the time, the only transportation available to span the 50 miles between the two cities ( although san jose wasn ’ t really large enough to be called a city ) was by wagon or by steamship. so farmers bringing produce and animals to market in san francisco or people having business in one of the cities or just visiting, had to put up with the steamship ’ s all - day transit time, or several days travel by wagon. and at the time it was being planned and built there was a large amount of criticism of the railroad plan from different groups : farmers complained that the train would disrupt farming ; steamship and stagecoach lines complained about the competition ; and many folks complained that the price ( $ 7 million ) was just too high and the train would never make any money. and all of these groups were a little bit right and quite a bit wrong. after the railroad, named the san francisco & san jose railroad, was put into operation, the horses and cattle in the farms along the route were spooked for a short time until they got used to the trains, then they settled down and things went back to normal. the $ 5 dollar fare ( one way ) charged by the railroad was half the fare charged by the steamship lines, who cut their fare down to $ 5 to try to compete, then dropped the passenger business altogether because the railroad had siphoned off nearly all the passengers. the railroad proved to be so successful that more locomotives and cars were ordered, and thanks to prudent management, the railroad repaid its initial investment and soon was making a profit. an added and unforeseen benefit was the creation and growth of many small towns along the route. and when the first transcontinental railroad was finished in 1869, san jose and all the farms and people served by the san francisco & san jose railroad had themselves, their commerce, their mail, and their information connected to the rest of the united states. and the railroad, known today as cal train, has run every day since 1863 between san jose and san francisco. it still runs several times a day, with amtrak providing passenger services under contract. the fare is a little higher now, though, as you might expect : one - way costs $ 8. 75. what keeps this from being just another nostalgia story is that some of the same arguments are being raised by some of the same groups about another


fare is a little higher now, though, as you might expect : one - way costs $ 8. 75. what keeps this from being just another nostalgia story is that some of the same arguments are being raised by some of the same groups about another railroad, the proposed high speed train project. initially, this service will run all - electric, 1, 000 - passenger trains ( about the same passenger capacity as amtrak ’ s coast starlight and southwest chief ) between fresno and los angeles at over 200 miles per hour, covering the 225 - mile distance in about an hour and a half. later on, a leg from san francisco and one from sacramento will be added. having a regularly - scheduled high speed train service will put california ’ s transportation system on a par with countries like argentina, belgium, china, france, morocco, south korea, and taiwan ; all of which ( along with several others ) use a high - speed electric rail system to move their citizens and visitors around. as with the san francisco & san jose railroad in 1863, farm groups are opposing high speed rail. they argue that the train will disrupt farming. as before, they are probably right, in the short run. then, as before, the animals and people will get used to the trains and things will settle down. transportation companies worried about the competition from the high - speed train may have reason to, at least in some cases. when france inaugurated its tgv ( train a grande vitesse, literally, high - speed train ) system in 1981, the decision was made to keep fares on par with conventional rail travel, to avoid the concorde effect where only the wealthy could ride. currently there is rail service on the fresno - to - los angeles route via amtrak ’ s san joaquin ; this will take you from fresno to los angeles for $ 34 if you don ’ t mind spending four and a half hours on the trip and making part of it by bus. flying is another option. several airlines provide service. flying shortens the trip to about an hour and a half, not counting the time spent navigating all of the airport checkpoints ; and costs about $ 200 one way. it also sets you down at lax, about 20 miles from downtown la ; not helpful if your destination is any of the government or entertainment venues. the groups basing their opposition to a california high speed rail system on the costs have a valid point, but as the san francisco & san jose railroad and other systems have shown, prudent management can enable california ’ s


government or entertainment venues. the groups basing their opposition to a california high speed rail system on the costs have a valid point, but as the san francisco & san jose railroad and other systems have shown, prudent management can enable california ’ s high speed train to recoup its costs and operate at a profit. using the french railway system as an example, their tgv has enabled the system to show an annual profit of €1. 1 billion ( $ 1. 75 billion ), moving over 100 million passengers a year ; over 2 billion passengers ( over 7 billion in japan ) since the trains were put into service. and then there are the bonuses. rather than just trains, think of the high speed rail more like part of our interstate highway system. based on the history of the interstate system and the history of railroads like the san francisco & san jose, people will begin traveling more because they can. it will now be easy for people in the central valley to come into los angeles to see a sports event or a concert, shop, have dinner, catch a connecting amtrak to chicago or san diego, or just ride the train. and zipping legally through the picturesque central valley at over 200 miles sounds exciting just by itself. and all of this : the convenience, the jobs, the business boosts, and — ok, the excitement – is all ready to go. all it requires is a few people to put partisanship aside and give some thought to the benefits for so many people and businesses. posted : thursday, 5 july 2012 look, boss, the train is a post from : la progressive


storrs - the march 2010 floods in southeastern connecticut and rhode island are part of a new pattern of extreme rainfall events in new england that is likely to continue as the region becomes warmer and wetter with climate change. so said david vallee, lead hydrologist at the national weather service ' s northeast river forecast center in taunton, mass., during the keynote address at the connecticut conference on natural resources at the university of connecticut on monday. " i believe we are now seeing the impact of a warming climate in the intensity of storms and the blocking up of multiple weather events in succession, " vallee said to an audience of about 270 gathered in the student union. tropical plumes are carrying slow - moving " atmospheric rivers " of rainfall to the northeast with historic frequency and intensity, he said, as more moisture is carried over land as average temperatures rise. " we are just not cold anymore, " he said, showing a graph of rising average winter termperatures over the last two decades. he traced the beginning of the pattern of annual floods in new england to twin flooding events in october 2005 that caused deaths and dam failures in southeastern new hampshire and eastern massachusetts. next came the may 2006 floods in the merrimack valley in massachusetts, then the april 2007 floods in new hampshire and maine, and the 2008 deluge in northern maine and quebec. " this was an area with a very infrequent flood history, " vallee said, showing photos of a town in quebec under water. " then in 2010, it hit my hometown. " on the projector were photos of floodwaters lapping the roof of the warwick, r. i., mall and another scene of a nearby flooded downtown showing the catholic church where vallee was confirmed as a boy. this was followed the next year by record flooding in the lake champlain region of new york state and vermont, only to be repeated in the fall of 2012 when hurricane irene brought destructive floods to other sections of the green mountain state. small watersheds of about 75 to 230 square miles are more vulnerable compared to large watersheds, he said, because of fewer large flood - control structures and development patterns that have sent runoff to rivers more quickly. " we are extremely vulnerable before the spring green - up and just after the fall leaf - out, " he said. the increased intensity of flooding, vallee said, has widespread implications for land - use and infrastructure decisions. many existing culverts, bridges and dams were built based on what are now outdated assumptions, he said


their 2011 human development report is out and you can download a copy from their website in a wide variety of languages. their emphasis this year is on " sustainability and equity " - not just for the living but for the yet to be born : this year we explore the intersections between environmental sustainability and equity, which are fundamentally similar in their concern for distributive justice. we value sustainability because future generations should have at least the same possibilities as people today. similarly, all inequitable processes are unjust : people ’ s chances at better lives should not be constrained by factors outside their control. inequalities are especially unjust when particular groups, whether because of gender, race or birthplace, are systematically disadvantaged. sustainable human development is the expansion of the substantive freedoms of people today while making reasonable efforts to avoid seriously compromising those of future generations. the world development report 2012 from the world bank is good one to read in conjunction with the undp report. their focus this year is on " gender equality and development. " as much as we like to cite extraordinary progress in developed countries to reduce gender inequality, women are still " systematically disadvantaged " in many parts of the world. here is ana revenga explaining why this is not just an issue of basic fairness ( equity ) but an economic issue :


it is imperative that children learn a second language in today ’ s society. it raises cultural awareness and appreciation in our world. there are also many educational benefits to learning another language, which leads toward greater achievement in other subject areas. learning a second language is a valuable skill for any child ’ s future. we live in a highly populated spanish speaking area and i want my daughter to be able to communicate with everyone in her community. my goal is to cultivate a strong desire for her to become a lifelong learner of the spanish language. therefore, we began introducing foreign language studies at a very young age. i received the spanish for you! fiestas curriculum package to review which is a unique spanish program created by debbie annett. it was developed for use in either the homeschool environment or for classroom purposes. debbie annett has been a spanish educator for more than 13 years, teaching children in first grade through high school. she has worked with homeschool families over the years. spanish for you! follows a thematic or unit study approach unlike any traditional textbook approach that i have seen. this product is suitable for children in 3rd - 8th grade. the curriculum teaches receptive language skills such as listening and reading while slowly engaging the child in expressive skills such as speaking and writing. debbie has experienced success in the classroom with teaching children how these components work well together leading towards a better understanding of the language. the curriculum is based upon a combination of different foreign language approaches including but not limited to tpr ( total physical response ), the natural approach, and traditional direct instruction methods. i received the 45 - page soft cover book with a stapled binding in hard copy format along with downloadable zip files in pdf and mp3 format. you will need a program that reads mp3 audio files and updated version of adobe reader. the curriculum includes clear audio files of the book read aloud by senora debbie. the pdf files consist of leveled self - checking worksheets and three leveled lesson guides. the archived worksheet file contains numerous practice sheets including the following formats : fill in the blank, word search, matching, write to respond, circle the correct answer, copywork, scrambled words, drawings, chart completions, tic - tac - toe boards, and the ever so popular question and answer format. you can try sample curriculum worksheets and mini lessons online. the lesson guides are organized into three grade levels 3 - 4, 5 - 6, and 7 - 8 each level progresses in difficulty. the worksheets are organized by lesson noting


. you can try sample curriculum worksheets and mini lessons online. the lesson guides are organized into three grade levels 3 - 4, 5 - 6, and 7 - 8 each level progresses in difficulty. the worksheets are organized by lesson noting the appropriate grade level in the title. the higher - grade level material leans more on the writing and reading intensive side requiring more independent thinking and less parental assistance. the fiestas lesson guide lasts 30 weeks for grades 3 - 4 and 24 weeks for grades 5 - 8 meaning one book covers an entire school year ’ s worth of lessons. there are currently two books to choose from including fiestas and estaciones. the books can be completed in any order. another book, viajes, is in the works and trial weeks are available to purchase on their website. i used this product on a mac computer with safari as my internet browser and itunes to listen to the mp3 audio files. make sure you familiarize yourself with mp3 reader so that you can pause lessons when necessary. i was unable to pause the audio in the beginning until i actually took the time to learn more about itunes. this curriculum and its components will also work on a pc computer. bonus support materials are included in this package. you will receive black and white flashcard illustrations and audio files of the book read aloud by a native speaker. this enables the child to hear the pronunciation and dialect of a native speaker at a faster pace. the flashcard pictures are utilized quite often during game time and interactive vocabulary lessons. black and white illustrations limit the amount of ink used while offering children the option of coloring them. the bonus flashcards saved us so much time because she didn ’ t have to draw every picture, which would have taken my detail - oriented daughter a lot of time to complete. the illustrations enable the child to connect the meaning to the word. in addition to all the material and bonuses, everyone has access to the website which is chock - full of a variety of game ideas requiring minimal, if any, prep work. the materials needed are most likely already in your home. many games found on the website are interwoven in the book ’ s lessons. several additional games can be found on the website. all games are complete with printable instructions. i was thrilled to see that many of the games include variations or alternate methods to play. these suggestions make it possible to differentiate learning on another level. the games captured my daughter ’ s attention. her favorite games were memory, hangman, bingo, cual falta


see that many of the games include variations or alternate methods to play. these suggestions make it possible to differentiate learning on another level. the games captured my daughter ’ s attention. her favorite games were memory, hangman, bingo, cual falta?, frio y caliente, burbujas, and the listen and draw activity. we could easily switch out one game for another if too many people were required to play a particular game. the lessons are divided into five topics or fiesta units each covering a different cultural component relevant to spanish - speaking countries : the birthday party, day of the dead, carnival, holy week, and april fair. the curriculum scope and sequence is quite impressive covering the basics such as the alphabet, numbers, commands, and common words or phrases related to the celebrations studied. the curriculum also covers more advanced concepts such as verb conjugates, demonstrative adjectives, possessives adjectives, definite articles, plural forms, adjectives, direct object pronouns, personal pronouns, present progressive, and comparing objects. each lesson introduces a new set of vocabulary terms, verbs, and focuses on several grammar concepts. the guide contains suggestions for making and practicing flashcards in a more interactive manner while playing purposeful games to help children learn spanish naturally. there were optional extension activities or projects included in the guide that enrich the study such as making sugar skulls, creating a day of the dead altar, making day of the dead flowers, and creating a small pinata filled with candies. these activities make the vocabulary learned more meaningful to the child. it is intended that spanish for you! be used four times per week for 10 - 30 minutes each day. each cultural unit included weekly guides that were broken down into four days so the parent or student knows what must be covered every day. the author suggests that the lessons could be done twice a week if necessary and even once a week in a co - op setting. one thing i loved about the curriculum was the flexibility. you set the schedule by deciding how long your child will study spanish and how many days per week. you can tailor the curriculum to meet the needs of your children. some days we completed four lessons a week and other days we extended lessons. the lessons presented in the book spiral and must be followed sequentially ( in the order presented ) since the lessons build on one another. for example, while learning about the day of the dead previously learned vocabulary and skills from the birthday lessons were reiterated and continuously reinforced throughout the book. we used the lesson guide


sequentially ( in the order presented ) since the lessons build on one another. for example, while learning about the day of the dead previously learned vocabulary and skills from the birthday lessons were reiterated and continuously reinforced throughout the book. we used the lesson guide and worksheets meant for children in 3rd - 4th grade as indicated in the guide with an occasional adaptation for my four - year - old daughter. my husband also participated in a few lessons. as much as my husband wanted to continue the lessons, he couldn ’ t due to schedule conflicts. he believes that the curriculum would serve as a great self - study or introductory program to use in the future preparing him for more difficult courses down the road. the curriculum is adaptable and can be easily modified for younger children. the author ’ s expectation for younger children is exposure and not necessarily mastery. grammar concepts will be gently introduced but your child will need ample amount of time to master the grammar concepts. the lessons can be spread out over a longer period, you can do less or more writing, play more games, have them listen to the audio more often than scheduled, lessons or responses can be verbalized, or you can require the child to verbalize their responses instead of writing them. the parent can also make the flashcards instead of requiring younger children to handwrite them. if your child has the ability to write independently, keep in mind that the more you do for children, the less they will absorb on their own. making the flashcards enhances the writing aspect of the curriculum. my daughter, even though very young, was able to make the flash cards. it took much longer than expected, but she had pride in making the materials herself and she was able to practice her writing skills. creating the flashcards without assistance helped her remember the meanings of the words associated with the illustrations. the short, quick lessons worked well in our homeschool environment. my daughter was learning and retaining the vocabulary words and phrases each week before moving on to the next lesson. the repetitiveness and built - in review was beneficial and allowed her to master the lesson ’ s vocabulary in a short amount of time. several of the concepts were review for my daughter but with young children repetition helps solidify learning. i appreciated the emphasis on the cultural components and traditions. it is difficult to find a spanish curriculum that teaches authentic information and vocabulary related to the culture of spanish speaking individuals while still covering pronunciation, grammar, spelling, vocabulary, syntax, and more. i also noticed that my daughter attempted to speak spanish more often


it is difficult to find a spanish curriculum that teaches authentic information and vocabulary related to the culture of spanish speaking individuals while still covering pronunciation, grammar, spelling, vocabulary, syntax, and more. i also noticed that my daughter attempted to speak spanish more often in public beginning conversations with employees at restaurants and in stores. the guide indicates that the worksheets and audio files are clearly labeled yet i found it difficult at times locating the worksheet material necessary for each lesson. i think the worksheet files could be more organized for the user and easier to locate if grade levels are separated into individual folders. it is also easier to locate materials when files match the text order exactly eliminating the need to search through each lesson reading every worksheet title to find the worksheet necessary. having flashcards that contain the words and text would enable younger children to participate in lessons while reducing the time spent creating them. this gives parents the option to differentiate by having their children handwrite or print the cards depending on their age or grade level. several games may be more appropriate for larger families with multiple children such as “ around the world. ” these games might need game substitutions or modifications for families with only one child. the audio files were occasionally too fast for my daughter. i do wish the curriculum included posters, recipes, more craft ideas, game boards and templates, verb charts, library literature suggestions, maps, video clips, internet links to meaningful content, and more songs with lyrics. singing spanish songs was one of my fondest memories when learning spanish in middle school and high school. you will also need to spend some time researching books and online resources to supplement the cultural component of the curriculum. i prefer these resources to be readily available within the curriculum for ease of use. there is, however, a short informative blurb about each celebration at the beginning of the guide. the parent should encourage and practice conversational skills several times throughout the day utilizing the vocabulary otherwise the speaking activities are limited in the book. the book does contain conversation activities that exhibit the child ’ s understanding and speaking skills through dialogue also known as question and answer format. spanish for you! is a reasonably priced curriculum compared to other curricula on the market costing merely $ 64. 95 for the complete package designed for 3rd - 8th grade students. it is also now available as split grade level packages for $ 39. 95 making it even more affordable and valuable for families with multiple children working at the same grade level. purchasing all the grade levels at once is obviously more cost


- 8th grade students. it is also now available as split grade level packages for $ 39. 95 making it even more affordable and valuable for families with multiple children working at the same grade level. purchasing all the grade levels at once is obviously more cost - efficient in the long run. furthermore, the recent budget - friendly price arrangement meets the needs of families with fewer children wanting to try a new curriculum or approach while limiting the cost up front. i recommend spanish for you! to families looking for a kid - friendly, step - by - step spanish language curriculum that allows for a more independent study approach with a manageable pace and workload. in fact, i was not as involved as i usually like to be in the lessons ; i actually felt more like a facilitator and partner game player. the parent can guide the child or participate more depending on their circumstances. this product can be used with homeschool families that have very minimal, if any, background with the language. you do not need to speak or know spanish to use this curriculum. the audio teaches proper pronunciation allowing the parent to learn the language with their children. this curriculum could definitely be used in a group setting including classrooms ( private and public ), co - op groups, after school care, or possibly in a tutoring setting. i do feel that individuals using a charlotte mason or unit study teaching approach may find this curriculum of ideal interest. the lessons are short and the topics are studied using a thematic unit approach based on cultural elements. the curriculum addresses a variety of learning modalities making the curriculum more usable to families because not all children in the same family have the same learning style or preferences. overall, this one - year curriculum was well written and is a good value for the price. my daughter shocked me with her intense participation and the delight she had towards this curriculum. she was responsive, engaged in the activities, and learned essential spanish that will hopefully help her gain fluency.


how to make a vegetable patch with children so that they can grow and harvest their own food! here ’ s what we did : on the opposite side of the lawn to the play garden, my wonderful dad and brother dug out a semi - circular patch from the grass and turned over the soil to loosen it up. we mixed in a whole bag of compost enriched with natural nutrients and turned them over together to mix them. next, the girls helped me to dig some little holes around the outside edge and we planted a border of box hedges. these will grow together to create a bushy, neat border if we keep them trimmed, and can even be shaped in a few years time! ( thanks to my wonderfully green - fingered friend tineke for this lovely idea! ) then they helped dig some more holes and we planted some vegetable plants that we bought at the garden centre. we planted broad beans, runner beans, peas, gourds and wildflowers. they stuck some bamboo canes into the ground as future supports for the climbers and as they start to grow we will secure them. right next to this patch we have a nectarine tree and a cox ’ s orange pippin apple tree, so those are being treated as part of the same area. pop was very enthusiastic and managed to break one of the fragile plants, but she learned along the way and ended up being extremely careful after she realised what had happened. she patted the soil around the tops with a flattened hand and asked for “ more, more! ” once in we set about giving hem a good drink of water. we have a hose pipe ban in the southern uk at the moment, so we used the watering can instead. great for problem solving and gross motor co - ordination! all planted and refreshed, waiting to start growing! we added some colourful pinwheels to help scare the birds away and also, just to look beautiful! pop enjoyed blowing them to make them spin. i drew the other plants that we had planted, including some wild poppies, and we laminated all of the labels and stuck them onto green lolly sticks with tape. when they were done the girls them stuck them into the ground in the appropriate spots. they are watering their patch each day, taking it in turns to do each row, and patently waiting to see the first fruits of their labours! if these are successful we will talk about what they want to grow next and try something new! if you ’ d like more ideas, sun hats and wellie


wind could power the world studies : wind potentially could power the world ap : by seth borenstein, ap science writer earth has more than enough wind to power the entire world, at least technically, two new studies find. but the research looks only at physics, not finances. other experts note it would be too costly to put up all the necessary wind turbines and build a system that could transmit energy to all consumers. the studies are by two different u. s. science teams and were published in separate journals on sunday and monday. they calculate that existing wind turbine technology could produce hundreds of trillions of watts of power. that ’ s more than 10 times what the world now consumes. wind power doesn ’ t emit heat - trapping gases like burning coal, oil and natural gas. but there have been questions, raised in earlier studies, about whether physical limits would prevent the world from being powered by wind. the new studies, done independently, showed potential wind energy limits wouldn ’ t be an issue. money would be. “ it ’ s really a question about economics and engineering and not a question of fundamental resource availability, ” said ken caldeira, a climate scientist at the palo alto, calif., campus of the washington - based carnegie institution for science. he is a co - author of one of the studies ; that one appeared sunday in the journal nature climate change. caldeira ’ s study finds wind has the potential to produce more than 20 times the amount of energy the world now consumes. right now, wind accounts for just a tiny fraction of the energy the world consumes. so to get to the levels these studies say is possible, wind production would have to increase dramatically. if there were 100 new wind turbines for every existing one, that could do the trick says, mark jacobson, a stanford university professor of civil and environmental engineering. jacobson wrote the other study, published in the proceedings of the national academy of sciences. it shows a slightly lower potential in the amount of wind power than caldeira ’ s study. but he said it still would amount to far more power than the world now uses is or is likely to use in the near future. jacobson said startup costs and fossil fuel subsidies prevent wind from taking off. the cheap price of natural gas, for one thing, hurts wind development, he added. henry lee, a harvard university environment and energy professor who used to be energy chief for the state of massachusetts, said there a few problems with the idea of wind powering the world.


pick up any 40 - year - old science textbook – on chemistry, biology, geology, physics, astronomy or medicine – and you ’ ll find a slew of “ facts ” and theories that have been proven wrong or are no longer the “ consensus ” view. climatology is no exception. back in the 1970s, many scientists warned of global cooling – and fretted that a new ice age brought on by fossil fuel use would cause glaciers to expand, wreaking havoc. they predicted every conceivable disaster, short of roving herds of wooly mammoths stampeding through ice - covered streets. ( the possibility of cloning a well - preserved mammoth could buttress the next scary ice age scenario. ) newsweek ’ s 1975 cover story “ the cooling world ” breathlessly reported that, “ after three quarters of a century of extraordinarily mild conditions, the earth ' s climate seems to be cooling down. ” meteorologists are “ almost unanimous ” that the trend will “ reduce agricultural productivity for the rest of the century, ” it intoned, and “ the resulting famines could be catastrophic. ” the cia, nasa, national academy of sciences and many news organizations issued similar alarums. dr. john holdren, now president obama ’ s science adviser, joined population bomb author paul ehrlich in penning an essay that warned : “ the effects of a new ice age on agriculture and the supportability of large human populations scarcely need elaboration here. even more dramatic results are possible, however ; for instance, a sudden outward slumping in the antarctic ice cap, induced by added weight, could generate a tidal wave of proportions unprecedented in recorded history. ” the chicken little ice age never arrived. instead, the new “ consensus ” view is that our planet now faces fossil - fuel - induced catastrophic global warming. a 2006 newsweek story conceded that its ice age theme had been “ spectacularly wrong. ” but the admission came amid decades of newsweek, time and even businessweek and national geographic stories about an imminent global warming “ apocalypse. ” be the first to read paul driessen ' s column. sign up today and receive townhall. com delivered each morning to your inbox. fox news ' roger ailes : administration ' s excuses won ' t work, americans died for press freedom | katie pavlich


by anthony davis the office of the president of the united federation of planets was created in 2184, at the same time as the ratification of the federation constitution. prior to that time, the federation government had no centralized executive authority, and while a “ president ” did exist to preside over the council, which was at that time a unicameral legislature, he / she had no real power. with the emerging threat posed by the klingon empire in the period following the founding of the federation in 2161, as well as the struggles in maintaining order and cohesion under this weak system of government, the federation ’ s leaders decided that a stronger, more effective government was necessary to accomplish the goals for which the federation had been created. thus, in 2183 representatives from the federation ’ s six charter member worlds met in the city of san francisco, california on earth and drafted the federation constitution, which, besides guaranteeing certain basic rights to federation citizens, also created a centralized bicameral parliamentary system of government that included an official head of state, the federation president. although the chambers of the upper house of the federation council were located in san francisco, the executive office of the president was headquartered on the top floor the palais de la concorde in paris, france ; this was to make it more difficult for the entire federation government to be destroyed in the event of an attack on earth by a hostile alien force, as well as to facilitate the passage of legislation down from the president to the lower house of the federation council, which was located on the bottom floor of the palais. in accordance with article ii of the federation constitution, any federation citizen over the age of 30 could be elected president, although the upper house of the council usually chose one of its own for the office. the president served as head of state as well as chief diplomat of the federation government ; however, he / she was still technically a part of the council, since the federation operated under a unitary, parliamentary system of government. the president could be removed from office with a vote of no - confidence by a majority of the upper house of the council, although this only actually occurred once in the entire history of the federation. aside from that, there was no fixed limit on how many years a single individual could or must serve as president, and indeed, several federation presidents served for twenty years or longer. however, elections in the federation had to occur at least once every five years, due to a five - year limit on how long any government could stay in power. the first