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ALSO READFemale protesters scale London's Shard skyscraper How Novak Djokovic's girlfriend helped him overcome trauma from defeat Lady Gaga set to perform after seven months Smoking and heavy drinking combo speeds up mental decline Legendary Pak cricketer Hanif successfully operated for liver cancer in London
A new study suggests that smoking and heavy drinking speeds up cognitive decline.
Researchers from UCL (University College London) found that smokers who drank alcohol heavily had a 36 percent faster cognitive decline compared to non-smoking moderate drinkers.
Smoking and heavier alcohol consumption often co-occur, and their combined effect on cognition may be larger than the sum of their individual effects.
The research team assessed 6,473 adults (4,635 men and 1,838 women) aged between 45 and 69 years old over a 10-year period. The adults were part of the Whitehall II cohort study of British civil servants.
All the participants were asked about their cigarette and alcohol consumption, and their cognitive function (including verbal and mathematical reasoning, short-term verbal memory and verbal fluency) was then assessed three times over 10 years.
The research team found that in current smokers who were also heavy drinkers, cognitive decline was 36 percent faster than in non-smoking moderate drinkers.
This was equivalent to an age effect of 12 years - an additional two years over the 10-year follow up period.
Among smokers, cognitive decline was found to be faster as the number of alcohol units consumed increased.
The findings are published in the British Journal of Psychiatry. | <urn:uuid:c857bbea-5b05-47c4-89e4-51ae4cc05e6d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/smoking-and-heavy-drinking-accelerates-cognitive-decline-113071100646_1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399385.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00086-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965999 | 313 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Psychologists have repeatedly shown that a single statistical factor—often called “general intelligence”— emerges from the correlations among people's performance on a wide variety of cognitive tasks. But no one had systematically examined whether a similar kind of “collective intelligence” exists for groups of people. In this work, we have found converging evidence of a general collective intelligence factor that explains a group's performance on a wide variety of tasks. This “c factor” is not strongly correlated with the average or maximum individual intelligence of group members, but it is correlated with the average social sensitivity of group members, the equality in distribution of conversational turn-taking, and the proportion of females in the group.
Our continuing work is investigating the factors that affect the collective intelligence of a group, such as its size, the electronic collaboration tools it uses, and the gender mix of its members.
Woolley, A. W., Chabris, C. F., Pentland, A., Hashmi, N., & Malone, T. W. Evidence for a collective intelligence factor in the performance of human groups, Science, 29 October 2010, 330 (6004), 686-688; Published online 30 September 2010 [DOI: 10.1126/science.1193147]
Woolley, A., & Malone, T. Defend your research: What makes a team smarter? More women, Harvard Business Review, June 2011, 89 (6): 32-33
Bear, J. B., & Woolley, A. W. (2011) The role of gender in team collaboration and performance. Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, 36(2), 146-153
Aggarwal, I., & Woolley, A.W. (2012) Two perspectives on intellectual capital and innovation in teams: Collective intelligence and cognitive diversity. In C. Mukhopadyay (Ed.), Driving the economy through innovation and entrepreneurship (pp. 495-502). Bangalore: Springer
Engel, D., Woolley, A. W., Jing, L. X., Chabris, C. F., & Malone, T. W. (2014) Theory of mind predicts collective intelligence. Proceedings of Collective Intelligence 2014, Cambridge, MA.
Woolley, A. W., Aggarwal, I., & Malone, T. W. (in press. Collective intelligence in teams and organizations. In T. W. Malone & M. S. Bernstein (Eds.), The handbook of collective intelligence. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press
Engel, D., Woolley, A. W., Jing, L. X., Chabris, C. F., & Malone, T. W. (2014) Reading the mind in the eyes or reading between the lines? Theory of Mind predicts effective collaboration equally well online and face-to-face. PLOS One 9(12). doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0115212
Engel, D., Woolley, A. W., Aggarwal, I., Chabris, C. F., Takahashi, M., Nemoto, K., Kaiser, C., Kim, Y. J., & Malone, T. W. (2015) Collective intelligence in computer-mediated collaboration emerges in different contexts and cultures. Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2015), Seoul, Korea.
Woolley, A. W., Aggarwal, I., & Malone, T. W. (2015). Collective intelligence and group performance. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 24, 420-424. doi:10.1177/0963721415599543.
Press and other media
This research has been featured in over 30 print and online publications around the world. A sample of these media mentions is shown below and a comprehensive list is here.
· Science, 10/1/10, Social savvy boosts the collective intelligence of groups
· Wall Street Journal, 10/9/10, Smart Groups & Women
· Albany Times Union, 10/11/2010, You're smart, they're smart, it didn't work
· Pittsburgh Post Gazette.com, 1/10/11, Groups produce collective intelligence, study says
· The New York Times, The Opinion Pages, 1/17/11, Amy Chua is a Wimp
· The New York Times, The Opinion Pages, 3/17/11, Social Science Palooza II
· CCI research featured in Doonesbury comic strip
· Boston Globe, 12/19/10, Group IQ
· Cacioppo, J. T., & Freberg, L. A. (2013). Discovering psychology: The science of the mind. Boston: Cengage. (Boxed summary of our research was included in this introductory psychology textbook.)
· The Psych Report, 1/18/2014, MIT Crowdsources the Next Great (Free) IQ Test
· Fortune, 9/18/2014, Women Make Groups Smarter
· Rock, Paper, Shotgun (popular gaming blog), 11/25/2014, Riot Teams Up With MIT To Investigate.. Uh.. Teams
· EdTech (education technology blog), 12/3/2014, MIT Launches Study of Online Gaming’s Biggest Community
· The New York Times, 1/16/2015, Why Some Teams Are Smarter Than Others
· The Atlantic, 1/18/2015, The Secret to Smart Groups Isn't Smart People - It's Women
· NPR On Point, 1/27/2015, Building a Smarter Team
· Nature News, 3/30/2016, Can a video game company tame toxic behaviour?
· The New York Times Magazine, 2/28/2016, What Google Learned from its Quest to Build the Perfect Team
Collective Intelligence in the Performance of Human Groups, Anita Williams Woolley, National Research Council Public Workshop, April 3-4, 2013.
Why interpersonal skills are more important that you think, Thomas W Malone, Techonomy Conference, Tucson, AZ, November, 13, 2013
We have developed an online battery of collective intelligence tests. To see what the battery looks like, click here
Young Ji Kim
Other faculty collaborators
Ishani Aggarwal (Tilburg University) | <urn:uuid:fb06f136-56b4-467a-b250-f33cb819b829> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://cci.mit.edu/mciresearchpage.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397565.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00147-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.798249 | 1,306 | 2.546875 | 3 |
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/5/2013 (1136 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Beef cattle and forages have been part of the research program at Brandon's Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada farm from its beginning 127 years ago.
The research centre is among the five original research centres the federal government set up across the country back in 1886 when the connection between agricultural research and farm productivity was first acknowledged.
In the early days, it focused on delivering superior genetics to producers. In the late-1960s, a long-term beef program was set up in Brandon to evaluate the foreign cattle breeds that were being imported to the Prairies, and more specifically, how producers needed to adapt to accommodate the needs of larger-framed animals with exotic names such as Charolais, Limousin and Simmental. They were different animals requiring different management than the more compact British breeds farmers had been raising.
In more recent times, the research focus shifted towards integrating beef production with forage and nutrient management in an eastern Prairie environment.
In essence, the program shifted its focus from producing good cattle over time to growing good grass, the value of which was harvested by cattle. It is a small, but fundamental, distinction that recognized the role forages and grasslands play in the Prairie ecosystem, as well as the importance of the beef economy to Canadian agriculture.
But not any more. AAFC has cut the Brandon program. The researcher's position is being moved to Alberta and the technicians looking after the 800 head of cattle have been axed. What will happen to the herd itself remains to be seen.
"We are consolidating our national science capacity in key locations in line with our efforts to concentrate expertise and use our resources more effectively to generate the science and knowledge needed to advance the industry," an AAFC official wrote in an email to the Manitoba Co-operator.
"Consolidating activities will allow more financial resources to be directed at research and development and less on maintaining herds."
In all, there are 22 AAFC positions being cut in Manitoba, eight of them in Brandon. The cuts come less than a month after the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association wrote to federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz to say more forage research is needed, not less.
It's been obvious for awhile retiring federal scientists were not being replaced and the scientists still on staff were no longer allowed the funds to attend conferences to share their findings or interact with producers.
Wheat is commonly touted as Canada's biggest annual crop by volume. Canola is the biggest generator of farm-cash receipts. Cultivated forages are Canada's biggest crop by acreage, accounting for 39 per cent of the land devoted to crop production. That's not factoring in the even higher acreage devoted to native or unimproved pastures and rangeland. Wheat is a distant second at 23 per cent of the cultivated land.
In monetary terms, forage is a $5 billion industry in Canada and it provides the underpinnings to the $11-billion beef and dairy sectors. Manitoba is a cow-calf province, with nearly half of all farms reporting having cattle. It has the third-largest beef herd in the country.
Forage and grasslands deliver immeasurable environmental benefits through the maintenance of healthy air and water, reduced soil erosion and maintaining biodiversity on the landscape.
But because 85 per cent of the forage produced in Canada is fed on the farm and because forages are only sown once every few years, the sector can't readily tap into the commodity checkoff model that raises research funds for annual crops. It doesn't draw much by way of private-sector investment either because there is no easy way to get a return. If anything, its effectiveness at reducing weed and pest pressures when included in a crop rotation works against it for attracting private-sector investment.
The federal government recently identified research, innovation and market access as key priorities for agriculture going forward, even justifying cuts to farm supports to do it, but its commitment to forage and beef research --at least on the eastern Prairies -- is anything but clear.
Laura Rance is editor of the Manitoba Co-operator. She can be reached at 204-792-4382 or by email: email@example.com. | <urn:uuid:e2acf8cd-7d8c-4356-9857-93d1ed41f977> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/columnists/feds-trim-the-beef-from-research-207988651.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00166-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96443 | 897 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Syria (الجمهوريّة العربيّة السّوريّة Al-Jumhuriya al-`Arabiya as-Suriya, the Syrian Arab Republic ) is one of the larger states of the Middle East and has its capital in Damascus. Syria is bordered to the north by Turkey, to the east by Iraq, by Jordan and Israel to the south, and by Lebanon to the south-west. In addition, the country has a short coastline on the east Mediterranean Sea.
Syria has 14 governorates (or muhafazat - singular: muhafazah): Aleppo, Al Hasakah, Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda, Dara, Damascus, Deir-az-Zur, Hama, Homs, Idlib, Latakia, Quneitra, Rif Dimashq, Tartous.
Syria has a population of 17.8 million people (UN, 2003), of which 6 million are concentrated in the capital Damascus. A moderately large country (185,180 sq km or 72,150 sq miles), Syria is situated centrally within the Middle East region and has land borders with Turkey in the north, with Israel and Lebanon in the south, and with Iraq and Jordan in the east and south-east respectively.
The population of Syria is predominately Arab (90%), with large minorities from other ethnic groups: Kurds, Armenians, Circassians and Turks. The official language is Arabic, but other tongues that are occasionally understood include Kurdish, Armenian, Turkish, French and English. The Syrian Republic is officially secular, but in nonetheless greatly influenced by the majority religion of Islam (90% of the population, split between 74% Sunni Muslim and 16% other Muslim). There is a large Christian minority that amounts to about 10% of the population.
The President of Syria is Bashar al-Assad, who replaced his father Hafez al-Assad soon after his death on 10 June 2000. Having studied to become an opthalmologist (eye doctor) in Damascus and London, Bashar was groomed for the presidency after the 1994 car accident of his elder brother Basil. As a consequence, he joined the army and became colonel in 1999. Bashar's modernising credentials were somewhat boosted by his role in a domestic anti-corruption drive. More recently, however, Bashar's style of leadership has more closely come to resemble that of his father as an non-democratically elected and autocratic ruler, after an initial period of increased openness. Bashar's position as head of the Syrian state rests on his presidency of the Baath Party (the only legal political party) and his command-in-chief of the army. A "cult of personality" is widely promoted for Bashar Assad and his late father - their images are to be seen everywhere in the streets of Syria.
Assad's regime and the Baath Party own or control the vast majority of Syria's media. Criticism of the president and his family is not permitted and the press (both foreign and domestic) are heavily censored for material deemed threatening or embarrassing to the government. A brief period of relative press freedom arose after Bashar became president in 2000 and saw the licensing of the first private publications in almost 40 years. A later crackdown, however, imposed a range of restrictions regarding licensing and content. In a more relaxed manner (perhaps owing more to the fact that these matters are largely beyond possible government control), many Syrians have gained access to foreign television broadcasts (usually via satellite) as well as the three state-run networks. In 2002 the government set out conditions for licensing private, commercial FM radio stations, ruling at the same time, however, that radio stations could not broadcast news or political content.
Entry will be refused to citizens of Israel or holders of passports containing Israeli entry stamps.
Citizens of countries which have no Syrian embassy/consulate can obtain visas at land borders. For example the charge as of February 2008 was $50 for Irish passport holders and $35 for Dutch passport holders. Please note that citizens of countries with a Syrian embassy/consulate must obtain a visa from that mission. The visa issued MUST have two stamps and a signature. Otherwise the visa is considered invalid and you will be turned back at the border. It is necessary to keep the beige arrival form as it must be submitted upon departure.
Citizens of Arab countries do not require visa. Visas are needed for most individual travelers. A "letter of recommendation" stating that your consulate has "no objection" to your visit to Syria is required for many nationalities.
In Istanbul, Syrian visas are issued within one day and the consulate will issue visas to travellers passing through, not just people resident in Turkey. The cost is for EU citizens is 45 Euros and for Canadians the cost is 30 euros as of October 2007. For American citizens, the Syrian government has tightened restrictions and is requiring visas issued from the embassy in DC even if you are applying in the country you have residence in. Visas through the embassy in Washington now cost $131 for a single entry or double entry. It is vitally important that there is no evidence of a visit to Israel (called "Occupied Palestine" by Syria) in your passport, i.e. a stamp or visa from Israel, or Jordanian or Egyptian border crossings with Israel. Likewise you shouldn't say that you have or will travel to Israel to officials in the embassy or at the border. It is rumored this restriction is very strict - if you have a brand new passport or a period in the Middle East with gaps between the exit and entry stamps, a visit to Israel might be suspected and your visa will be denied, or your entry will be denied even with visa.
One way to circumvent this if you have already been to Israel is to ask the officials in Israel to NOT stamp your passport when you arrive and again when you depart that state. When you arrive in Israel they will give you a little card and they stamp the card, not your passport. Thus, your passport shows no evidence of having been in Israel. However, if you place the card inside your passport, make sure the ink can't bleed onto the pages. As of March, 2007, this strategy was effective. Remember though that, when travelling by land, your exit and entry stamps may give away your travels. If you have a Jordanian entry or exit stamp from a border post between Jordan and Israel, for example, the only conclusion to be drawn is that you went to Israel because there is no other option.
Visas are available at the Turkish, Lebanese and Jordanian borders, but this requires waiting up to 11 hours while the request is faxed to Damascus, processed, and faxed back. Whether you can get in or not can be very capricious. It is possible for Americans to get in this way, but other nationalities are more likely to get in, especially if they do not have a Syrian consulate in their home country (e.g., New Zealand or Norway).
If going by land, and you are planning to get a visa on the border, bring US Dollars or Syrian Pounds. Foreign currency will not get a good exchange rate and at most crossing there are no facilities for credit/debit cards. Travelers checks are also not accepted.
Syria has three international airports: Damascus International Airport (DAM), 35km (22miles) SE of the capital, Aleppo International Airport (ALP) just northeast of Aleppo in the north of the country, Lattakia International Airport, south of Lattakia, main sea port of the country. The first two airports have regular direct flights served by Syrian Arab Airlines and the British airline bmi to Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, while the third one for the time being is connected only with the capital city of Egypt, Cairo. Flights from Damascus and Aleppo compete with other international carriers serving the same destinations. Syria levies an airport departure tax of 200 Syrian Pounds. Damascus international airport is served by many of the larger European carriers to the Middle East including Lufthansa, British Airways and Aeroflot. Low-price tickets from Europe can sometimes be found, but until the recent war in Lebanon, cheaper fairs could sometimes be obtained through Czech Airlines, Cyprus Air or Malev. Royal Jordanian can be reasonable through Amman.
Upon arrival, a free entry visa can be delivered to almost all travelers if they are being received by local Travel Agency. Call the Syrian Embassy in your home country for more information
A cheaper alternative is to fly to Turkey then get a train/coach down to Damascus.(£100 return flights from the UK) it takes about 3 days max, if you have an overnight stop in Aleppo. check train times first, as there is only 1 a week. (leaves on Sunday morning; see http://seat61.com/Syria.htm)
Buses run from Turkey, with frequent connections from the city of Antakya (Hatay). You can also travel by bus from Jordan & Lebanon.
When arriving into Damascus by bus, make sure to move away from the bus terminal to find a taxi to the centre of town. Otherwise, you run the risk of paying several times the going rate, which should be around SYP150, as cars posing as taxis operate next to the terminal.
When traveling from Lebanon, service taxis (taxis that follow a fixed route only, usually from near one bus station to another) are a convenient way to reach Damascus, Homs, Tartus, Aleppo or other Syrian towns. A shared service taxi from Beirut to Damascus will cost about $10 per person ($20 to Aleppo) and $75 for a private taxi. In most cases it is necessary to buy a Syrian visa before leaving home, often costing about $100 or less, depending of the country of residency. It's possible, to obtain free entry visa for tourists if being received by a local Travel Agency. It is also possible to arrive by car from Turkey. A private taxi from Gaziantep Airport (Turkey) will cost about $60.
Service taxis (smuggling cigarettes) run from Dar'a across the Jordanian border to Ramtha; from there microbuses are available to Irbid and Amman -- the stop in Dar'a permits a side trip to Bosra, with UNESCO-recognised Roman theater and ruins.
The taxis (usually yellow, and always clearly marked) are an easy way to get around Damascus, Aleppo and other cities. Arabic would be helpful: most taxi drivers do not speak English. All licensed taxis carry meters, and it is best to insist that the driver puts the meter on, and watch that it stays on. Most drivers expect to haggle prices with foreign travellers rather than use the meter. A taxi ride across Damascus might come to £S30. Taxis from the airport can be booked in advance, either by phone, or on line through the respected Syrian agency "taxitel"
The flat price to and from Damascus airport to the city centre seems to be S£1200-900. It always better to ask how much you want to charge from this point to the other point you are going to. However, there is also a bus from Baramkeh station to the airport for 25S£.
The microbuses (locally called servees, or meecro) are little white vans that carry ten, or so, passengers around cities on set routes for about £S10. The destinations are written on the front of microbus in Arabic. Usually, the passenger sitting behind the driver deals with the money. You can ask the driver to stop anywhere along his route.
Often, microbuses will do longer routes, for example, to surrounding villages around Damascus and Aleppo, or from Homs to Tadmor or Krak des Chevaliers. They are often more uncomfortable and crowded than the larger buses, but cheaper. Especially for shorter distances they have usually more frequent departures than buses.
By bus or coach
Air-conditioned coaches are one of the easy ways to make longer hauls around Syria, for example, the trip from Damascus to Palmyra. Coaches are cheap, fast and reliable way to get around the country, however the schedules, when they exist, are not to be trusted. For the busy routes it's best to simply go to the coach station when you want to leave and catch the next coach, you'll have to wait a bit, but most of the time it's less of a chore than finding out when the best coach will be leaving, and then often finding it's late.
The Syrian railways are reasonably modern. Rail travel is inexpensive and generally punctual, although railway stations are often a reasonable distance out of town centres. The main line connects Damascus, Aleppo, Deir ez-Zur, Hassake and Qamishle. A secondary line serves stations along the Mediterranean coast.
In the summer, on Fridays, a little steam train leaves from the Hejaz Railway Station in Damascus (which has a good restaurant) and climbs into the Anti-Lebanon Mountains. Many locals enjoy the ride to picnic in the cooler mountains.
While traveling by bicycle may not be for everyone, and Syria is by no means a cycle tourist's paradise, there are definite advantages. Syria is a good size for cycling, accommodation is frequent enough that even a budget traveller can get away with "credit card" touring (though in the case of Syria, it might be better to refer to it as fat-wad-of-cash touring). There are sites that one can not get to with public transportation like the Dead Cities and the people are incredibly friendly often inviting a tired cyclist for a break, cup of tea, meal or night's accommodation. The problem of children throwing stones at cyclists or running behind the bicycle begging for candy and pens (such as in parts of Morocco) does not seem to have appeared in Syria. Locals young and old alike will, however, be very curious about your travels and your bicycle and if you stop in a town you can expect a large crowd to gather for friendly banter about where you are from and your trip.
Wild camping is quite easy in Syria. Perhaps the biggest challenge is not so much finding a place for your tent but picking a spot where locals will not wander by and try to convince you to come back to their home. Olive groves and other orchards can make a good spot for your tent, except on a rainy day when the mud will make life difficult. Another option is to ask to pitch your tent in a private garden or beside an official post like a police station. It is unlikely you will be refused as long as you can get your message across. A letter in Arabic explaining your trip will help with communication.
Unfortunately, the standard of driving skills in Syria is extremely low and other road users tend to drive very aggressively. They do seem used to seeing slow moving traffic and normally give plenty of room as they pass. Motorcycles are perhaps the biggest danger as their drivers like to pull up alongside cyclists to chat or fly by your bike for a look at the strange traveller and then perform a u-turn in the middle of the road to go back home. Perhaps the safest option in this case is to stop, talk for a few minutes and then carry on.
Finding good maps tends to be another problem. You should bring a map with you as good maps are hard to find in Syria. Free ones are available from the tourist bureaus but they are not very good for cycle touring. Even foreign-produced maps can contain errors or roads that don't exist, making excursions away from the main route a challenge. Asking several locals for the right road is a good idea when you come to a crossroads. Without good maps it can be hard to avoid riding on the main highway, which while safe enough (a good wide shoulder exists on almost all the highways) is not very pleasant due to the smokey trucks and uninteresting scenery.
You should think about bringing a water filter or water treatment tablets with you. Bottled water is not always available in the smaller towns. Finding local water is easy. Tall metal water coolers in many town centres dispense free local water and water is always available near mosques. The Syrian word for water is pronounced like the English word “my” (as in “that is my pen”) and if you ask at any shop or home for water they will happily refill your bottles.
The unit of currency in Syria is the Syrian pound or 'lira' (£S). All prices are now in even numbers of pounds, so the subdivision 'piastre' is obsolete.
Exchange rates (current in April 2008):
In recent years, a number of ATMs have become available in most major cities: banks, main squares, and 5 star hotels. However, it should be noted that not all ATMs access the international networks. The Real Estate bank has the widest network that will accept foreign cards but cards may also be used in machines run by the Bank of Syria and Overseas and the Commercial Bank of Syria.
One thing to keep in mind is that exchange rates using the ATM system are lower than the official rate which is still lower than street rate. Many private money changing offices exist, but will change cash only. Note that it is nearly impossible to change traveller's cheques in Syria, so do not rely on them but bring cash or credit cards instead. (If you're feeling lucky or desperate, the Commercial Bank of Syria may be able to exchange themm.)
Credit cards are becoming more widely accepted, and are even accepted at many smaller shops and budget hotels. Don't count on acceptance, though, as it is far from universal. It is also virtually impossible to get an advance on your credit card in Syria if you are out of Damascus and Aleppo.
An international student card reduces the entry fees to many tourist sites to 10% of the normal price, if you are younger than 35 years. Depending on who is checking your card it is even possible to get the reduction when you are older than 35 or have only an expired card. It is possible to buy an international student card in Syria (around U$ 15). Ask around discretely.
Falafel, deep-fried chickpea patties, are available for 15 to 30 SP. Another popular vegetarian meal is Foul. Don't let the name put you off. It's actually pronounced “fool” and this fava bean paste – topped off with cumin, paprika and olive oil and served with bread, fresh mint and onion – is not only tasty but filling.
You may also be able to order a salad of Fatoush with your soup. Chopped tomatoes, onions, cucumbers and herbs are mixed together in a dressing and finished off with a sprinkling of fried bread that resembles croutons. Cheese may also be grated on top.
Meat wraps such as shwarma cost 35 to 50 SP. A half-chicken with bread and mayonnaise dip to take away costs 175 SP.
Lunch or dinner in a fair restaurant costs 450 SP. An expensive restaurant lunch or dinner will run about 1000 SP.
Generally you can drink water from the tap, it is extremely safe, but if you're unsure ask the locals first. This water is free compared to bottled water, which comes at anywhere between 15-25 Syrian Pound for 1.5 litres.
Fresh fruit juices are available from street stalls in most towns. A large glass of mixed juice (usually banana, orange juice and a few exotic fruits like pomegranate) costs 40-50 SP.
Beer is cheap, costing from 35 SP in a shop and anywhere from 50 to 100 SP in most budget accommodation and local bars for a half litre bottle or can. Syrian wine can be found starting at about 150 SP and Lebanese and French wines are also available in a higher price bracket, starting at 350-400 SP.
A budget traveler spends about 250 to 500 SP a night for a rooftop.
A double room you can find for around 800 SP, although this cost may be higher in Damascus. A double room in a three stars hotel costs about $50 USD, $80 USD for four stars, and can reach $250 USD in a five star hotel.
If you entered the country on a tourist visa, don't try to work and earn money. Foreign workers should always get official approval to work.
Syria is generally safe for travelers, partly because crime is considered shameful and is heavily punished. However, the renewed conflict between Israel and Lebanon in 2006 prompted large demonstrations throughout the Middle East. Travelers are advised to avoid all large gatherings as they may turn violent. Late in 2006 gunmen attacked the US Embassy in Damascus. Occasionally foreign travelers have been targeted by political groups, especially in the south of the country.
Women traveling alone may find that they draw a little too much attention from Syrian men. However, this is generally limited to stares or feeble attempts at making conversation. If it goes beyond that the best approach is to remain polite but be clear that approaches are unwelcome. Be loud and involve bystanders as they will often be very chivalrous and helpful.
Slightly inconvenient for some is the attention of children begging for money, pens, or snacks around some tourist sites (usually those outside of Damascus).
Since beggary is common in some parts of Syria, particularly outside of tourist attractions, mosques, and churches, it has been known that beggars occasionally demand that people give you money and may follow you around until you do. Some have even been known to "attack" some tourists just for money and food. It is advised to wear appropriate Arab clothing and try to blend yourself in. It also better to keep your money in your front pockets and safe with you. Many scams by beggars have also led many foreign tourists to lose quite a bit of money; be aware of these scams.
Local pharmacies are well stocked with treatments for most common ailments such as stomach bugs and traveller's diarrhoea. Pharmacists often speak a little bit of English. You can ask your hotel to call a doctor if necessary and a visit to your hotel room will cost about 700-1000 SP as of November 2007.
The best treatment of all, of course, is to stay healthy in the first place. When eating, pick restaurants that are busy.
Male and female visitors should wear modest/conservative clothing. It is best to wear loose-fitting clothes and not to reveal too much skin. For women, long-sleeved (or at least bracelet-length) T-shirts and skirts or pants coming to below the knee are fine. Men should wear long trousers, but (unlike women) can wear short sleeves in hot weather. A headscarf is generally not necessary other than when visiting mosques. Current youthful styles in the West ARE worn in Syria (in the bigger cities), but the girls wear an undergarment with crotch snaps. The jeans are skin-tight and low-slung; the tops are high-cropped, but no midrif is revealed.
Tourist Information Offices; Damascus: 2323953, Damascus Int'l Airport: 2248473, Aleppo: 2121228, Daraa (Jordanian-Syrian border gate): 239023, Lattakia: 216924, Palmyra (Tadmur): 910636, Deir-az-Zur: 358990
The international calling code for Syria is +963.
Syrians were only allowed access to the Internet after 2000 when the new President relaxed most (if not all) restrictions to its use. The advent of the Internet has created a mini-boom with internet cafes in most cities. In more rural areas, however, it will be hard to find a connection and surprisingly in Aleppo, internet cafes remain expensive and hard to find. Prices may vary according to connection speed; dial-up, ISDN, DSN or satellite. The authorities have blocked direct access to most pornography and all Israeli sites.
Prices for high-speed access are quite varied. As of November 2007, Aleppo's Concord internet cafe was charging a hefty 100 SP an hour, while in Hama the going rate seemed to be 75 SP for an hour and in Damascus the price dropped to around 50 SP an hour (less if you pay for several hours in advance). | <urn:uuid:5b90a7bd-1a6f-400b-8286-b058f6554ef3> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://wikitravel.org/wiki/en/index.php?title=Syria&oldid=866669 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396887.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00065-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96175 | 5,014 | 2.859375 | 3 |
The Susan B. Anthony Dollar was introduced in 1979, as the first modern small sized dollar coin. Additional production only took place in 1980, 1981, and in 1999, following an eighteen year gap. Despite the limited extent of the series, it represented an important transformational step for the highest denomination of contemporary American coinage. This site will provide historical information about the Susan B. Anthony Dollars, including the first production strike and release into circulation, complete mintage data, and details of each release of the series.
President Carter signed the Susan B. Anthony Dollar Coin Act into law in October 1978, which authorized the creation of the new dollar coin series. The obverse would feature a portrait of Susan B. Anthony, a famous figure in the women’s rights movement in the 19th century. The United States Mint’s Chief Engraver Frank Gasparro created the design based on plate that appeared in the 1881 six volume set History of Woman Suffrage. The word LIBERTY appears above the portrait, with thirteen stars are surrounding, configured seven to the right and six to the left. The motto IN GOD WE TRUST is in the right field with the date is below.
The reverse features the same design that was used for the previous Eisenhower Dollar series, but in a smaller format. The design was based on the Apollo 11 mission insignia and features an eagle flying landing on the moon with an olive branch in its claws. Thirteen stars circle the eagle, and the earth as seen from the space appears in the background. The inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA appears above, with E PLURIBUS UNUM below. The denomination, spelled as ONE DOLLAR, is covering the lower part of the moon.
A complete set of circulating and proof Susan B. Anthony Dollars includes fifteen coins. If the 1979-P “narrow rim” and “wide rim” coins and the “type 1” and “type 2” 1979-S and 1981-S proof coins are included, the size of the set rises to eighteen. The most valuable coins of the series are the low mintage 1981 circulation strikes and the scarce type 2 proof varieties. | <urn:uuid:923f75ae-7339-4bc9-9e19-ab81911386d6> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://susanbanthonydollar.org/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397748.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00143-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941823 | 448 | 2.84375 | 3 |
MOSCOW, Russia -- A leading Russian scientist has claimed that the sarcophagus entombing Chernobyl's broken nuclear reactor is dangerously degraded and he warned that its collapse could cause a catastrophe on the same scale as the original accident almost 20 years ago.
Professor Alexei Yablokov, President of the Centre for Russian Environmental Policy, said the concrete and metal sarcophagus was riven with cracks, already leaking radiation and at risk of collapse unless repairs were undertaken and work on a replacement urgently begun.
"If it collapses, there will be no explosion, as this is not a bomb, but a pillar of dust containing irradiated particles will shoot 1.5 kilometres into the air and will be spread by the wind." Depending on how the wind is blowing, Russia or Belarus would bear the brunt of such a dust cloud. Ukraine, where Chernobyl is located, would also be affected.
The sarcophagus is designed to keep a lid on what is left of the nuclear reactor that exploded with such dire consequences during an unauthorised test in April 1986 and is supposed to stop the mass of unspent nuclear fuel that lies beneath from entering the atmosphere.
It is estimated that only between 3 and 15 per cent of that fuel actually escaped during the explosion meaning that most of it is still trapped inside. Dr Yablokov, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a one-time adviser to former president Boris Yeltsin, said nuclear reactions were actually taking place - spontaneously - inside the sarcophagus as rain and snow fell on the unspent fuel through cracks in the decaying shell.
He said experts had "seen a luminescence characteristic of chain reactions inside the giant building". adding: "Who could predict what might happen if hundreds of thousands of tons of concrete, which was hastily poured 19 years ago, tumbled down on the ruined nuclear reactor?"
His gloomy assessment corroborates that of the Ukrainian officials who manage the decommissioned power plant.
Earlier this year Julia Marusych, the head of information at Chernobyl, admitted on Russian TV that the sarcophagus was in appalling condition: "The construction is unstable, unsafe, and does not meet any safety requirements."
The sarcophagus was hastily thrown together after the explosion as a desperate attempt to contain the world's worst nuclear accident. Many of the workers who toiled on it have since died of cancer and the sarcophagus itself began showing signs of serious stress in the early 1990s.
Built to last 50 years,experts were forced to reduce its recommended lifespan to just 20 years meaning a replacement is due in 2006.
Some repair work was carried out earlier this year but progress is slow due to the fact that construction workers can only be in its vicinity for short periods because of radiation levels.
Sceptics claim that warnings about its deterioration are designed to persuade Western donors to stump up the $1bn bill. A donors' conference takes place in London on 12 May and the Ukrainian government hopes to raise $300m.
That task has been complicated, however, by recent revelations that private firms have embezzled some $185m of Chernobyl money, some of which was earmarked for a new shelter.
The first catastrophe
26 APRIL 1986:
1.23am: Reactor number four at Chernobyl nuclear power plant begins to fail. Explosion blows 1,000-ton cover off the reactor and 31 people die immediately.
5am: Fire caused by explosion is put out by firefighters who are not warned of radiation. Many later die.
Evening: Officials arrive at site and order evacuation of nearby town of Pripyat.
Disaster is hidden until workers at Forsmark nuclear plant in Sweden are found to have radioactive particles on clothes. Swedish search for the source of radioactivity leads to the USSR.
Soviet leadersadmit accident happened but full scale is not explained. First Soviet media reports: Chernobyl is fourth item in Moscow Radio's evening bulletin.
Despite clouds of radiation overhead, authorities encourage locals to turn out for May Day parade in nearby Kiev.
Large sarcophagus made of steel and concrete is hastily constructed.
Source: The Guardian | <urn:uuid:98cd5647-03d9-441f-a1bf-1bbebe1e9aa4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://news.kievukraine.info/2005/04/cracks-in-decaying-shell-of-chernobyl.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393146.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00083-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961376 | 857 | 3 | 3 |
Biology | Biology of the Cell
L330 | 0649 | Ruesink
Course format: Lecture: 9:05A-9:55A, MWF, JH A106. With only 50 students
in the class there is opportunity for discussion.
Requirements: Students should have some college biology as background.
College chemistry is strongly recommended.
Course description: L330 considers the structure and function of plant,
animal, and microbial cells. The characteristics of biologically important
molecules are explored, with special attention to DNA, RNA, protein story.
Cells of the following systems get special treatment: digestive, muscular,
neural, and immune. Characteristics of cancer cells are included.
Required text: W.B. Becker, et al., "The World of the Cell", third edition.
Weekly assignments: Reading two chapters of text; problem set every other week.
Exams/papers: Three one-hour exams and a comprehensive final.
Usually the class is about 1/2 dietetics/nutrition majors; 1/3 prospective
high school biology teachers; 1/6 widely differing majors. | <urn:uuid:ad8a3368-dde7-4ef2-8088-7bc4d3596712> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.indiana.edu/~deanfac/blspr00/biol/biol_l330_0649.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395160.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00065-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.888834 | 237 | 2.59375 | 3 |
Investigate x to the power n plus 1 over x to the power n when x
plus 1 over x equals 1.
Where we follow twizzles to places that no number has been before.
How fast would you have to throw a ball upwards so that it would
Explore the power of aeroplanes, spaceships and horses.
Get further into power series using the fascinating Bessel's equation.
How much energy has gone into warming the planet?
By exploring the concept of scale invariance, find the probability
that a random piece of real data begins with a 1.
Given the equation for the path followed by the back wheel of a
bike, can you solve to find the equation followed by the front
A simplified account of special relativity and the twins paradox.
Build up the concept of the Taylor series
Which parts of these framework bridges are in tension and which parts are in compression?
Get some practice using big and small numbers in chemistry.
See how enormously large quantities can cancel out to give a good
approximation to the factorial function.
Dip your toe into the fascinating topic of genetics. From Mendel's
theories to some cutting edge experimental techniques, this article
gives an insight into some of the processes underlying. . . .
Read all about electromagnetism in our interactive article.
Work with numbers big and small to estimate and calculate various quantities in biological contexts.
An introduction to a useful tool to check the validity of an equation.
Ever wondered what it would be like to vaporise a diamond? Find out
We think this 3x3 version of the game is often harder than the 5x5 version. Do you agree? If so, why do you think that might be?
Have you got the Mach knack? Discover the mathematics behind
exceeding the sound barrier.
An article demonstrating mathematically how various physical
modelling assumptions affect the solution to the seemingly simple
problem of the projectile.
Work with numbers big and small to estimate and calculate various quantities in physical contexts.
Look at the advanced way of viewing sin and cos through their power series.
Can you find some Pythagorean Triples where the two smaller numbers differ by 1?
Explore the properties of this different sort of differential
Can you deduce why common salt isn't NaCl_2?
On a "move" a stone is removed from two of the circles and placed
in the third circle. Here are five of the ways that 27 stones could
Explore the properties of combinations of trig functions in this open investigation.
This article (the first of two) contains ideas for investigations.
Space-time, the curvature of space and topology are introduced with
some fascinating problems to explore.
Take ten sticks in heaps any way you like. Make a new heap using one from each of the heaps. By repeating that process could the arrangement 7 - 1 - 1 - 1 ever turn up, except by starting with it?
Take any pair of numbers, say 9 and 14. Take the larger number,
fourteen, and count up in 14s. Then divide each of those values by
the 9, and look at the remainders.
Unearth the beautiful mathematics of symmetry whilst investigating
the properties of crystal lattices
Two perpendicular lines lie across each other and the end points
are joined to form a quadrilateral. Eight ratios are defined, three
are given but five need to be found.
Investigate constructible images which contain rational areas.
Two polygons fit together so that the exterior angle at each end of
their shared side is 81 degrees. If both shapes now have to be
regular could the angle still be 81 degrees?
Read about the mathematics behind the measuring devices used in
How much peel does an apple have?
Fancy learning a bit more about rates of reaction, but don't know
where to look? Come inside and find out more...
We all know that smoking poses a long term health risk and has the
potential to cause cancer. But what actually happens when you light
up a cigarette, place it to your mouth, take a tidal breath. . . .
When is a knot invertible ?
What's the chance of a pair of lists of numbers having sample
correlation exactly equal to zero?
Some of our more advanced investigations
Looking at small values of functions. Motivating the existence of
the Taylor expansion.
All types of mathematical problems serve a useful purpose in
mathematics teaching, but different types of problem will achieve
different learning objectives. In generalmore open-ended problems
have. . . .
Is the age of this very old man statistically believable?
What functions can you make using the function machines RECIPROCAL and PRODUCT and the operator machines DIFF and INT?
Work out the numerical values for these physical quantities.
Draw three equal line segments in a unit circle to divide the
circle into four parts of equal area.
Where should runners start the 200m race so that they have all run the same distance by the finish?
An introduction to bond angle geometry. | <urn:uuid:dfdfce54-c98b-478f-a21a-d1f737629123> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://nrich.maths.org/public/leg.php?code=-333&cl=4&cldcmpid=6677 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398628.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00081-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.897453 | 1,066 | 3.734375 | 4 |
When a top starts to wobble wildly toward the end of a spin, it's because the temporary jolt of energy from your hand that was keeping it rotating is just about completely spent, overwhelmed by the relentless pull of Earth's gravity. But in the vacuum of space, where competing gravitational forces -- from, say a nearby star on one side and a gas giant planet on the other -- can keep that wobble going for eons, it could actually be one of the factors that makes a distant planet more habitable for potential life.
At least that's one finding of new modeling conducted by scientists from NASA, the University of Washington, and Weber State University in Utah.
To be clear, the wobbling that we're talking about with planets takes place on a geologic time scale. Imagine a planet that is tilted on its axis by as much as 30 degrees. But as nearby massive planets pull on it over tens of thousands of years, it gradually shifts to tilt in the opposite direction -- basically an eons-long wobble.
This sounds like a relatively extreme example, especially when you consider that Earth is only tilted relative to other nearby planets by no more than 7 degrees and Pluto, one of the most tilted bodies around, is still only leaning 17 degrees to the side. But scientists report that the orbits of two giant planets around the star Upsilon Andromedae were found to be tilted by 30 degrees relative to each other.
"Planets like these are far enough from their stars that it would be easy to write them off as frozen, and poor targets for exploration, but in fact, they might be well-suited to supporting life," Shawn Domagal-Goldman, an astrobiologist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, said in a release. "This could expand our idea of what a habitable planet looks like and where habitable planets might be found."
OK, but why does a prolonged wobble keep things warmer and generally more habitable? Basically, it comes down to an extreme wobble causing the poles to point directly at the nearest sun more often, melting glaciers and maintaining a store of liquid surface water. The result is that wobbly planets located nearly twice as far from their sun as Earth could be able to maintain water and temperatures that are conducive to life as we know it.
"In those cases, the habitable zone could be extended much farther from the star than we normally expect," said J.C. Armstrong, the lead author of a paper published on the findings in Astrobiology Journal. "Rather than working against habitability, the rapid changes in the orientation of the planet could turn out be a real boon sometimes."
In the past, I've joked that surfing on's far-flung methane lakes could be in our future. But perhaps, if Mars somehow gets pulled into a major wobble, we could soon be surfing those Martian polar ice caps-turned-oceans in a few eons. | <urn:uuid:00f3e498-038e-4edd-a4f6-ed5269b80ad7> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.cnet.com/au/news/planets-with-a-drunken-wobble-could-be-the-most-lively/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402516.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00066-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963559 | 600 | 3.796875 | 4 |
What is your basis for understanding?
Intellect - but do we know what that is or are some of us believing it to be something that it might not be as written in an evolving dictionary?
Merriam-Webster defines the word “understand” as follows: to know the meaning of (something, such as the words that someone is saying or a language), to know how (something) works or happens, to know how (someone) thinks, feels or behaves.
But do we know that meaning to be true and can we accept websters team of people(experts) who mind you can change the meaning when they like thus rendering such an account to be untrue at a later date. Can we accept this meaning as a true statement of fact? Why would you when historically they do not stand the test of time.
How do you know then that the receiver of the answer doesn’t understand the answer?
When one person resonates at the same frequency as the other he knows what he is experiencing and therefore there is no doubt, No words need be said. When there is uncertainty and insecurity there is doubt.
It can’t be simple agreement. If I agree with your answer, that doesn't mean I understand it.
True! There are many similar students in any class - they agree on what is being said and taught but have not clue what they are agreeing too. Lets take the historical figure Jesus for instance - he may have spoken of God his father, our father, but who understood what he was talking about?
It is also true that if I disagree with your answer, that doesn't mean I lack understanding.
Of course not. But if is a matter of frequency alignment and brain waves. I might repeat what I said and you might still do not understand -- what then does that say about your understanding. How many students are A+ or geniuses in any given class?
Additionally the giver of the answer must understand the question, correct? Perhaps the receiver of the answer doesn't believe that the giver of the answer understood the question. If the giver of the answer doesn't understand the question then perhaps the theist lack of understanding is going unnoticed by the theist.
you have jumped ahead to input "theist" but I guess you want to get to this point quick. Take your time grass hopper it is not a race. If we are simply trying to match resonating frequencies to create peace then their is harmony being sought by two parties - if we are not trying to match the frequencies it is only going to create isharmony. It is all about the will in the individuals.(of course that would require to accept there is such a thing).
In my opinion, I think the most direct answer to a direct question would be one that provides the best explanation. I don't think your answer provides the best explanation and therefore is not a direct answer.
Truth is not based on what you think it is. - Truth is the unchanging expression frequency resonating at a fixed state - no one can change that or the definition itself would be wrong. God would be the truth but the definition or words could be wrong until we get the wording right or the understanding right.
A possible direct answer to the direct question (Why is it hard for believers to answer a direct question?) is that the believer thinks they know something when they don't actually know. My answer to the question provides a good explanation. Currently it explains why it is hard for you Jesus to give a direct answer to the direct question, which is because you think you know something when you don't actually know. You think you know that the receiver of the answer doesn't understand the answer when in fact you don't know if the receiver understands or not.
That works both ways.
Additionally, since the believer doesn't actually know what they think they know they will avoid providing a direct answer to a direct question. It is much easier to answer directly when you don't pretend to know something.
You want to make a point but it is not quite right. Hense my response. The historical figure and reference "Jesus" did not say he thinks there is a God (And we can find many such historical figures for the debate) but, he said he knows God who is his/our father. Wether you understand this point for us to progress would make all the difference in the mental frequencies and the will to progree will be allowed between us and the peaceful progression of the intellect starts. But also the pretence is there that you might be willing to hold on too that you know something as if it is your life line to some sort of security. However the facts of misrepresentation and untruths do not go unnoticed. | <urn:uuid:8eae0775-7bbc-4e67-9c4c-54d52e186df4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://whywontgodhealamputees.com/forums/index.php/topic,25200.msg595043.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399425.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00037-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975499 | 976 | 2.625 | 3 |
Tortoises and turtles both have very different habitats. While tortoises are terrestrial, including even some semi-aquatic species that live closer to various types of body of water such as ponds, most turtles are considered to be aquatic, in nature. Among these species, you will find the sea turtles.
The second difference between tortoises and turtles is focusing on their legs. Tortoises have short, stubby feet while true turtles such as sea turtles, have flippers. Of course, some species of tortoises and turtles are considered semi-aquatic and have webbed feet. Such feet allow them to walk on land and swim easily in water.
The third difference is speed. Due to their cumbersome shell, tortoises are known to be much slower than turtles. After all, they walk on land while their aquatic cousins may be slow on the sand but much faster in water as they are excellent swimmers.
The fourth difference is the shell. Tortoises carry a heavy dome-shaped shell, to the exception of the African Pancake tortoise which has a flat carapace. The scales on the shell of a tortoise have a rougher texture and are much tougher. A turtle's carapace, on the other hand, is smoother and usually flat.
The fifth and last difference is the molting phenomenon. Like snakes both tortoises and turtles molt their skin. Molting is a process during which, tortoises and turtles shed their skin. Although they do not do it in one time, it is still something they are periodically going through. While the scales on a turtle are smoother and smaller on the new skin, the dead skin is falling off. Contrary to turtles, tortoises the dead skin is not falling off. In fact, it is accumulating in thick knobs and plates, adding protection from predators.
Despite common beliefs, there are some differences between tortoises and turtles. Next time you go to the zoo or see a documentary on reptiles, try to spot tortoises and turtles. You have now all the knowledge to be able to easily identify and differentiate them. Are you up to the challenge?
Here are some resources linked to turtles and tortoises. | <urn:uuid:4d966207-5482-401f-a1fb-f4d610ead017> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.bellaonline.com/ArticlesP/art69558.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393533.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00037-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966029 | 458 | 3.421875 | 3 |
The USS Harder (SS-257) was a Gato-class World War II era submarine.
The namesake of the USS Harder is a fish of the mullet family found off South Africa.
The radio call sign of the USS Harder was NAN-ABLE-LOVE-ABLE.
On August 5, 1944, Harder, captained by Commander Samuel D. Dealey, left Fremantle for her sixth and final war patrol. Commander Dealey had been chosen to lead a wolf pack made up of Harder, USS Hake (SS-256), and USS Haddo (SS-255). Harder and Hake left together. Lieutenant Commander Chester Nimitz's Haddo would leave three days later. The three boats would rendezvous off Subic Bay and hunt for enemy shipping south of Luzon Strait. 1
Shortly before Harder and Hake left Fremantle, Commander William Kinsella, captain of USS Ray (SS-271), had sent out a call for help in connection with an enemy convoy he had been attacking and tracking. Kinsella had already sunk three ships in the convoy and was down to the last four torpedoes of the second load of his double-barreled patrol. The convoy had put into Paluan Bay on Mindoro Island. Dealey's pack and two other submarines would respond to Kinsella's call for help - USS Guitarro (SS-363) and USS Raton (SS-270). 2
In the early hours of August 21, 1944, Dealey rendezvoused with Nimitz in Mindoro Strait off Cape Calavite. Nimitz recorded the meeting in his patrol report:
In Mindoro Strait headed for rendezvous with HARDER off CAPE CALAVITE.
At the rendezvous. Radar contact on HARDER. HARDER came alongside and told us that there were at least 16 enemy ships holed up in Paluan Bay, (southern side of CAPE CALAVITE) and the entrance thereto was patrolled by two active AS vessels who had contacted him earlier in the evening. He then outlined the following plan for a dawn attack as the convoy sortied: RAY and GUITARRO to attack from northwest. (by the lighthouse) HARDER to attack from west. HADDO to attack from southwest. This plan presupposed that convoy was northbound and would round CAPE CALAVITE after sortie. 3
As the senior officer on site, Dealey had taken charge of the situation and before dawn had stationed the six boats for action. On the next day at 0545 hours, the convoy began leaving the bay. Kinsella in Ray fired his last four torpedoes, sending a 7,000-ton transport to the bottom. Ray then headed back to Fremantle. Nimitz in Haddo fired next, sinking two large transports with six torpedoes. Then Guitarro sank a 4,400-ton transport. In this short coordinated attack, the submarines had sunk four more ships from the convoy worth 22,400 tons. After the attack, Guitarro and Raton headed south for the Sulu Sea, and Dealey and his pack headed north for Manila Bay. 4
On the evening of August 21, 1944, Dealey and Nimitz spotted three small 900-ton frigates in Manila Bay. They would prove to be escorts from the unlucky Japanese convoy HI-71. Dealey ordered an attack. During the night of August 21-22, Harder sank two of them, Matsuwa and Hiburi. Nimitz finished off the third escort, Sado. The two boats then headed northward along the west coast of Luzon Island to team up with Lieutenant Commander Frank E. Haylor's Hake. 5
On the night of August 22, 1944, Nimitz sighted a destroyer and prepared to attack it. The destroyer also spotted Haddo and charged her. Nimitz was thus forced to fire four down-the-throat shots which missed.
The next day, Nimitz spotted what he thought to be a tanker under escort from another destroyer. He described the oiler as "One large new tanker resembling NIPPON MARU pp 278 ONI 206 J." He described the escort as a "ASASHIO class" destroyer. At 0653 hours, Nimitz fired four torpedoes at the destroyer. One shot hit and blew off her bow, but she remained afloat. He fired another torpedo that missed. His patrol report states that he "...and most of ship's officers and some personnel saw destroyer lying to with her bow rising up to the bridge and foremast bent double." 6
The following is quoted from USS Haddo's patrol report:
Off coast of Luzon heading north for CAPE BOLINAO.
Immediately on surfacing from previous melee had attempted to contact HARDER by voice without success.
Contacted HAKE and arranged for rendezvous 20 hours from now. Decided to run north at high speed so we could patrol off CAPE BOLINAO tomorrow morning in view of tonight's attack at HARDER's previously designated rendezvous. I should have ordered HAKE to come with me.
Sent HADDO dispatch informing CTF 71 of our torpedo situation (1 forward, 4 aft) and also clarified results of attack number one as reported by HARDER.
Dived eight miles off coast just south of CAPE BOLINAO and commenced closing coast. Went deep for BT card and when, at
I made the first periscope exposure, there to the northward was a big tanker coming down the coast. Range 11,000 yards, angle on the bow 20 degrees starboard. He was running about a mile off the beach. (Ship contact No. 6).
Closed beach at full speed in an effort to intercept the tanker.
Tanker changed course away, conforming to the coast. At this time sound picked up pinging and I made out an ASASHIO class DD trailing way back on near quarter of tanker. Shifted to DD as target. We were running silent all the time in case of an unseen escort, but at range 4000 yards the destroyer became aware of our presence and headed towards us, alternately presenting a small starboard then port angle on the bow. I believe the DD saw the sun glint off periscope since he was silhouetted in the rising sun making him very difficult for us to see at all through the morning mist. Turned tail to him and when range was 600 yards, angle on the bow 5 degrees port, at
fired all four stern tubes, spreading by periscope. Went deep immediately and turned off his track.
Four rapid explosions. We had fired the four torpedoes almost simultaneously because the situation was precarious. We had to fire enough to ensure hitting, and it had to be done quickly. One hit and the rest were countermined. Stayed deep, just to be sure, until
when I observed the destroyer to be lying to with his bow blown off and slightly down by the head. Photographed. Maneuvered around for the kill with our last torpedo, and after carefully ascertaining that target was in fact stopped, at 800 yards, 90 degree track, zero gyro angle, fired our last torpedo to hit amidships. The torpedo took a slight left angle and just missed. Catastrophic! Maybe we should have waited longer before firing, but at the time the best bet seemed to grab the opportunity while it lasted.
Using SD mast sent an urgent plain language message to any U. S. sub on 2880 telling of the situation. Hung around all day and watched with sinking heart while two trawlers and a destroyer came out at
and commenced getting the target in tow. Three planes appeared and circled the group all day. (Ship contact No. 7) (Plane contact No. 13)
The target moving south with one trawler towing, the other trawler made fast astern, to keep target from yawing, and the destroyer patrolling up and down about 3000 yards outboard. Was able to keep abreast of group at 50 turns so slow was the progress.
Surface and promptly located target by radar about 250 yards off the beach at CALIMAN POINT. Sent urgent message to HAKE and HARDER. Got receipt. Both coming. Target is apparently going to spend the night where he is. Sent HARDER a rendezvous position about 9 miles off since one of the trawlers was getting troublesome.
Received TCF 71 dispatch ordering us to proceed to the advanced base where ORION will be. Near BIAK.
HARDER lying to alongside. Gave them all the dope, received Sam's blessing, and left his wolf pack, heading south. HAKE also at rendezvous.
Sent HADDO dispatch to CTF 71 reporting morning's attack and expenditure of torpedoes.
Noon posit. Lat. 16°-03'-00'' N, Long. 119°-39'-00'' E 7
The tanker Nimitz spotted was a Type 1TL Standard Merchant Tanker. Its name was Niyo Maru. The destroyer was the Asakaze, one of nine Kamikaze-class destroyers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy following World War I. After her protector had been crippled, Niyo Maru prudently headed for the safety of Dasol Bay. Meanwhile, six steam and sailing ships took the immobile Asakaze under tow, also to Dasol Bay. However, the damaged destroyer continued to take on water and at 2230 hours she sank twenty miles from Cape Bolinao. 8
The Third Expeditionary Fleet dispatched escort vessel CD-22 and patrol boat PB-102 (ex-USS Stewart) from Cavite to intercept and assist Niyo Maru. PB-102 got there first and brought her into Dasol Bay. CD-22 joined them later. 9
Following Haddo's departure for Mios Woendi to refuel and reload, Harder and Hake rendezvoused off Dasol Bay. Based on the "dope" he had received from Nimitz, Dealey believed that the "old destroyer" had been towed inside Dasol Bay and that the enemy might attempt to tow her up to Manila the following day. He therefore stationed the two boats to lie in wait, and gave Hake the first crack at sinking her. 10
On August 24, 1944, at 0630 hours, Haylor aboard Hake mistakenly identified PB-102 as old Thai destroyer Phra Ruang and CD-22 as a minesweeper. As the Japanese ships began to exit the harbor they spotted both Harder's and Hake's periscopes. PB-102 turned and headed back into the harbor with Niyo Maru. CD-22 headed straight for the periscopes. Haylor did not like the setup, so Hake broke off. Harder continued into the bay and fired three down-the-throat torpedoes at CD-22. All three missed the mark. At 0728 hours, CD-22 picked up Harder with her Type 3 sonar and commenced a series of depth-charge runs with her Type 94 DC throwers with each charge set to detonate deeper than the last. The fifth salvo brought a large amount of oil and pieces of cork and wood to the surface. 11
Thus, according to the above account, on August 24, 1944, sometime after 0728 hours, Harder was sunk by a depth-charge attack from Japanese escort vessel CD-22 off Dasol Bay, on the west coast of Luzon Island. All hands went down with her. According to the U. S. Navy, the fatal attack occurred at the geographic position 15° 50' N, 119° 43' E. 12
For the next two weeks, Haylor on Hake tried unsuccessfully to contact Dealey. He hoped Dealey had returned to base and Nimitz would return with this news. When they rendezvoused on September 10, they both concluded that Sam Dealey was gone. They radioed their joint conclusion to the Commander Submarines Seventh Fleet. 13
According to accounts written by two other highly respected authors, Edwin Hoyt and Anthony Tully, a Japanese aircraft may have played a role in Harder's loss. Tully wrote that PB-102 and CD-22 were assisted by a depth charge-equipped plane which detected Harder's presence beneath the surface and dropped a depth charge on her. The explosion pushed the Harder deeper and marked her position for the surface craft. In Tully's account, the PB-102, not the CD-22, charged the Harder's marked position and commenced a series of depth-charge runs which sank her. 14 Hoyt told essentially the same story, albeit with a bit more detail. 15 Both authors indicated their source as an article written by a PB-102 junior officer, Tomoyoshi Yoshima, which appeared in the September 1981 issue of Rekishi to Jinbutsu (History and People), published in Tokyo by Chuokoronsha, Inc., and which was translated into English by Mr. Hoyt.
Harder's loss was made public on January 2, 1945:
Navy Department Communiqué No. 545, January 2, 1945
1. The submarine USS Harder is overdue from patrol and presumed lost. The next of kin of officers and crew have been informed.
2. The LSM 318 has been lost as the result of enemy action in the Philippine Area. Next of kin of fatalities and most other casualties have been notified and notification is en route to next of kin of other casualties.
3. The PT 300 has been lost as a result of enemy action in the Philippine Area. Next of kin of casualties have been informed.
4. The PT 311 was lost in the Mediterranean Area as the result of enemy action. Next of kin of casualties have been informed.
According to Ned Beach, Sam Dealey always attributed the Harder's success to her outstanding crew. Two of them in particular deserved the lion's share of the credit.
Frank Lynch, his executive officer, and Sam Logan, his torpedo officer, were his two mainstays, and to them he invariably tried to shift the credit. Frank, a behemoth of a man, had been regimental commander and first-string tackle at the Naval Academy. He combined qualities of leadership and physical stamina with a keen, searching mind and a tremendous will to fight. Sam, slighter of build, less the extrovert, was a mathematical shark and had stood first in his class at the Academy. Under pressure of the war years, he had discovered a terrible and precise ferocity which always possessed him whenever contact with the enemy was imminent. To him, operation of the torpedo director was an intricate puzzle, to be worked out using all information and means at his command, divining the enemy's intentions and anticipating them, working out new techniques of getting the right answer under different sets of conditions.
"With those two madmen pushing me all the time," Dealey would say, "there was nothing I could do but go along!" 16
The Harder's fifth war patrol was supposed to have been Sam Dealey's last one. The commander of submarines at Fremantle, Ralph Christie, had planned to rotate Dealey back to the United States and make Frank Lynch the Harder's next captain. 17 Edwin Hoyt believed Dealey would probably have been promoted and transferred to Pearl Harbor to serve as a staff officer or squadron commander. 18 However, Dealey convinced Ralph Christie to allow him to take the Harder out on one more war patrol, and then command of the boat would pass to Frank Lynch. Dealey insisted that Lynch sit out the next patrol so he could get some badly needed rest. Thus during her final patrol, one of the key "madmen" was not aboard. Also, on the last patrol there were seventeen new crew members on board, and for most of them it was their first war patrol. Lynch's absence and the rookies' inexperience could have been factors in the Harder's loss. 19
Beach also believed that in the final confrontation with CD-22 Dealey had purposely steered the Harder so she was between the charging kaibokan and the Hake.
For the USS Harder was a peer among peers, a fighter among fighters, and, above all, a submarine among submarines. And when she and her fighting skipper were lost, the whole Navy mourned, for her exploits had become legendary. It was characteristic that she gave her life to save one of her fellows, for she interposed herself in front of an attacking ship to give another submarine an opportunity to escape, and in doing so received the final, unlucky, fatal depth charge. 20
Beach also writes that if the Harder fired any torpedoes at the kaibokan the Hake did not detect them on her sound gear. 21 The extract from the Tabular Record of Movement for CD-22 cited above states that the Harder fired three down-the-throat torpedoes at the CD-22. Which account is correct? We will probably never know for sure. But I have to believe that Sam Dealey and the Harder would not have gone down without a fight.
The Harder received six battle stars for her World War II service. Commander Samuel D. Dealey was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for the Harder's fifth war patrol. The JANAC score for the Harder is sixteen enemy vessels worth 54,002 tons sunk. Her Alden-McDonald score is eighteen vessels sunk for 56,367 tons and five vessels damaged for 13,746 tons. The SORG score for the Harder is twenty and one-half vessels sunk for 82,500 tons and five vessels damaged for 29,000 tons. 22
A list of the personnel lost with the Harder is maintained at On Eternal Patrol.
1. Blair, Clay Jr., Silent Victory: The U. S. Submarine War Against Japan, p. 717.
2. Ibid., p. 718.
3. Submarine war patrol reports on CD, USS Haddo (SS-255), Report of War Patrol Number Seven.
4. Blair, op. cit., p. 718.
5. Ibid., p. 718-719.
6. Ibid., p. 719; USS Haddo (SS-255), Report of War Patrol Number Seven, op. cit.
7. USS Haddo (SS-255), Report of War Patrol Number Seven, op. cit.
8. Komamiya, S., Senji Yuso Sendan Shi [Wartime Transportation Convoys History]. Tokyo, Shuppan Kyodosha, 1987, p. 237. My thanks to Ällyn Nevitt of CombinedFleet.com for helping me locate this information and providing a English translation of its content.
9. Hackett, Bob, Sander Kingsepp and Peter Cundall, "IJN Escort CD-22: Tabular Record of Movement," published online at Combined Fleet.
10. Blair, op. cit., p. 719.
11. See "IJN Escort CD-22: Tabular Record of Movement," op. cit.
12. United States Submarine Losses World War II, p. 105.
13. Sturma, Michael, Death at a Distance: The Loss of the Legendary USS Harder, p. 180.
14. Tully, Anthony P., "Convoy HI-71 and USS Harder's Last Battles," published online at Combined Fleet.
15. Hoyt, Edwin P., Submarines At War: The History of the American Silent Service, p. 272-274.
16. Beach, Edward L., Submarine!, p. 110-111.
17. Sturma, Michael, Death at a Distance: The Loss of the Legendary USS Harder, p. 152.
18. Hoyt, Edwin P., The Destroyer Killer, p. 204.
19. Sturma, Michael, Death at a Distance: The Loss of the Legendary USS Harder, p. 178.
20. Beach, Edward L., Submarine!, p. 109.
21. Ibid., p. 131.
22. Alden, John D., and Craig R. McDonald, United States and Allied Submarine Successes in the Pacific and Far East During World War II, Fourth Edition, see USS Harder (SS-257), Attack Nos. 906, 907, 908, 912, 913, 926, 927, 1096, 1101, 1126, 1143, 1144, 1171, 1304, 1305, 1321, 1322, 1323, 1823, 1835, 1836, 2063, 2064, 2076, 2077, 2079, 2487, 2488, 2491, and 2493; Submarine war patrol reports on CD, data collected by the Submarine Operations Research Group (SORG) in the report "Results of U. S. Submarine War Patrols Listed Alphabetically by Name of Submarine"; Japanese Naval And Merchant Shipping Losses During World War II By All Causes, Joint Army-Navy Assessment Committee, USS Harder (SS-257). | <urn:uuid:1f312cda-92b2-4599-aae6-f832b8fa3b9f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.subsowespac.org/world_war_ii_submarines/uss_harder_ss_257.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399425.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00177-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961873 | 4,439 | 2.921875 | 3 |
ASTANA -- The death toll in a mysterious mass deaths of critically endangered saiga antelopes has risen sharply to 85,000, according to authorities in Kazakhstan who are still unsure of the cause.
The Central Asian nation's Agriculture Ministry said on May 22 that the die-off was occurring in three northern regions.
The cause of death is unclear, but authorities suspect the culprit is a bacterial infection carried in the mouth and breathing passage known as pasteurellosis.
Kazakhstan is the primary habitat for the saiga, easily recognizable with its distinctive big, bulging eyes, tubular snout, and spiraled horn, which is used in traditional Chinese medicine.
Its numbers, once in the millions, were severely depleted after the breakup of the Soviet Union by hunters and poachers eager to bag the odd-looking steppe dweller for trophy, meat, or the sale of its horns. | <urn:uuid:37ef510f-2f95-4ffb-9c10-6fcb9a66e0a3> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.rferl.org/content/kazakhstan-saiga-deaths-85000/27031024.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395679.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00013-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955103 | 185 | 2.78125 | 3 |
For the first time, the Cassini spacecraft captures the shadow of Saturn's tiny moon Pandora sneaking onto the planet's main rings.
Only a portion of the shadow of Pandora (81 kilometers, or 50 miles across) has crept onto the A ring here, but the shadow is long enough to stretch across the Keeler Gap. The moon is not shown. As Saturn approaches its August 2009 equinox, the planet's moons cast shadows onto the rings. To learn more about this special time and to see a movie of a moon's shadow moving across the rings, see PIA11651.
This view looks toward the sunlit side of the rings from about 48 degrees below the ringplane. The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera on May 9, 2009. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 912,000 kilometers (567,000 miles) from Saturn and at a Sun-Saturn-spacecraft, or phase, angle of 75 degrees. Image scale is 5 kilometers (3 miles) per pixel.
The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter and its two onboard cameras were designed, developed and assembled at JPL. The imaging operations center is based at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.
For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/. The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org. | <urn:uuid:ce1422a4-8ca9-4ef8-9df8-46a9dfc312f0> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA11515 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00147-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.892932 | 359 | 3.921875 | 4 |
An interesting call for papers from H-Net, “Almshouses in Europe from the late Middle Ages to the Present – Comparisons and Peculiarities”:
Within the field of poor relief and welfare, research interests have recently shifted towards the history of private charity and charitable foundations. Among these institutions, which contributed to the early modern and modern mixed economy of welfare, the almshouse played an important role as a particular form of social housing. Almshouses originated in the Middle Ages and many of them still exist. They offered elderly people at risk of impoverishment cheap or free accommodation, often alongside clothing, food, fuel and money – the actual alms. Many were founded by private benefactors. Almshouses usually consisted of a limited number of small apartments for one or two persons. Unlike other welfare institutions in early modern Europe (hospitals, orphanages etc.) almshouse apartments allowed their occupants to run an autonomous household under respectable living conditions and considerable privacy.
Apart from these defining common features, almshouses could differ considerably, although much of their history is still in the dark. The studies available suggest that almshouses were confined to Northwest Europe, namely the Netherlands and Belgium, England and northern Germany, but geographically by no means evenly distributed.
Foundations of almshouses are clustered in the late 15th and in the 17th centuries, at least in the Low Countries and Northern Germany, but not in England where a different pattern emerges, and where almshouses appear to have been founded in a rural rather than an urban setting. Were almshouses inexistent in the rest of Europe? How can the geographical distribution and the waves of foundations be explained?
To ensure a coherent comparative perspective, papers for this conference should deal with almshouses according to the definition mentioned above and address the following issues:
1. Almshouses appear to have been founded predominantly by private benefactors. Who were they and what made them devote a considerable capital to this type of charity? Why did they prefer founding an almshouse to other forms of charity?
2. Who lived in an almshouse? What do we know about the occupants’ social status, family situation, occupation and religion? Could all persons apply or was a recommendation needed? Did the occupants’ legal civic status alter upon moving in, as it did in hospitals? What was the share of almshouses in the overall care of the elderly poor? What was living in an almshouse like?
3. Almshouses must be considered part of a local poor relief system. How many people could be accommodated in relation to those relying on outdoor poor relief or on other institutions like hospitals? What other options did elderly people have when their household income dropped because of infirmity and physical decline? Were almshouses connected with town or parish councils? Can almshouses be regarded as safety valves for the (lower) middle class?
The Conference will be held on 7-9 September 2011 in Haarlem, in co-operation with the Stichting Landelijk Hofjesberaad. We hope to be able to provide the conference attendants with accommodation and meals.
Attendants are kindly requested to have their travel costs reimbursed by the institution they work for, if possible. Deadline of Submission of Abstracts: 1 November 2010 (300-500 words) Deadline of Submission of Papers: 1 July 2011 Organizers:Frank Hatje (Hamburg University), Marco H.D. van Leeuwen (Utrecht University) and Henk Looijesteijn (International institute of Social History)
Contact: firstname.lastname@example.org (Henk Looijesteijn) | <urn:uuid:f03b507d-6587-4419-b4a3-cf8f84d5c6e7> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blog.acton.org/archives/19130-almshouses-in-europe-from-the-late-middle-ages-to-the-present.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392527.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00057-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96359 | 763 | 3.265625 | 3 |
Airplane Landing Videos
Airplane Landing Video - How to land an airplane
Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal, aircraft, or spacecraft returns to the ground. When the flying object returns to water, the process is called alighting, although it is commonly called "landing" and "touchdown" as well. A normal aircraft flight would include several parts of flight including taxi, takeoff, climb, cruise, descent and landing. This article describes the last portion of flight as the plane, bird, or rocket touches the ground.
Landing occurs after descent. While inflight, the four major forces acting on the object are; lift, thrust, gravity and drag. Flying is accomplished by generating enough lift to offset gravity to stay in the air. See the picture of the wing describing the four forces. To land, the airspeed and the rate of descent are reduced to where the object descends at a slow enough rate to allow for a gentle touch down.
Each different type of flying object generates lift in a different manner. Airplanes, birds and flying insects use a wing. A bird generates thrust and lift by flapping its wings, and aircraft generate thrust with some form of an engine. The air passing over the wing of an aircraft generates lift. A helicopter uses rotary wings to generate lift and changes the angle of the rotor to generate thrust. Rockets or Vertical Jet engines are also commonly used on speciality aircraft to generate Lift. Air balloons use a lighter than air gas to generate buoyancy or lift.
The term landing is also applied to people or objects descending to the ground using a parachute. These objects are considered to be in a controlled descent instead of actually flying. A parachute works by capturing air inducing enough drag that the object that is falling hits the ground at a relatively slow speed. There are many examples of parachutes in nature including the seeds of a dandelion. People who intentionally land using a parachute are called parachutists.
Sometimes, a safe landing is accomplished by using multiple forms of lift, thrust and dampening systems. The lunar lander used a rocket, landing gear and the legs of the astronauts to land on the moon. Several Soviet rockets including the Soyuz have used parachutes and airbag landing systems to dampen the landing on earth.
Aircraft usually land at an airport on a firm runway or helicopter landing pad, generally constructed of asphalt concrete, concrete, gravel or grass. Aircraft equipped with pontoons are able to land on water. Aircraft also sometimes use skis to land on snow or ice.
For aircraft, landing is accomplished by slowing down and descending to the runway. This speed reduction is accomplished by reducing thrust and/or inducing a greater amount of drag using flaps, landing gear or speed brakes. As the plane approaches the ground, the pilot will execute a flare to induce a gentle landing.
A flare is performed by rotating the wings where the rate of descent will be reduced often by adopting a nose-up attitude. The attitude is held until the undercarriage touches the ground, and the controls are either held until all wheels touch the ground or gently adjusted (in the case of tail-draggers) to ensure the nose-wheel or tail-wheel lightly touches the runway.
In a small plane, with little crosswind, it is considered a "perfect" landing when contact with the ground occurs as the forward speed is reduced to the point where there is no longer sufficient airspeed to remain aloft. The stall warning is often heard just before landing indicating that this speed and altitude have been reached. The effect causes a very light touch down for the pilot and passengers.
In large transport category (airliner), aircraft pilots land the aircraft by "flying the airplane on to the runway." The airspeed and attitude of the plane are adjusted for landing. The airspeed is kept well above stall speed and at a constant rate of descent. A flare is performed just before landing and the descent rate is significantly reduced causing a light touch down. Upon touchdown, spoilers (sometimes called "lift dumpers") are deployed to dramatically reduce the lift and transfer the aircraft's weight to its wheels, where mechanical braking, such as an autobrake system, can take effect. Reverse thrust is used by many jet aircraft to help slow down just after touch-down, redirecting engine exhaust forward instead of back. Some propeller planes also have this feature, where the blades of the propeller are re-angled to push air forward instead of back.
Factors such as crosswind where the pilot will use a crab landing or a slip landing will cause pilots to land slightly faster and sometimes with different attitudes to ensure proper handling and safety of the plane. Other factors affecting a particular landing might include some or all of the following partial list; the plane size, wind, weight, runway length, obstacles, ground effects, weather, runway altitude, air temperature, air pressure, air traffic control, visibility, avionics, and the overall situation, et cetera.
For example landing, a multi-engine turboprop military (C-130 Hercules) under fire in a grass field in a war zone, requires different skills and precautions than landing a single engine plane (Cessna 150) on a paved runway in uncontrolled airspace, which is different from landing an airliner (Airbus A380) at a major airport with the support of air traffic control.
Pilots follow a course of training to develop the experience to routinely land in each situation. Professional pilots have extensive training, experience, and certification on the types of planes they are flying.
An emergency landing is an unplanned landing made by an aircraft in response to a crisis which either interferes with the operation of the aircraft or involves sudden medical emergencies necessitating diversion to the nearest airport.
Types of emergency landings
There are several different types of emergency landings for powered aircraft: planned landing or unplanned landing
-Forced landing, the aircraft is forced to make a landing due to technical problems, medical problems or weather conditions. Landing as soon as possible is a priority, no matter where. A forced landing may be necessary even if the aircraft is still flyable. This can arise to either facilitate emergency medical or police assistance or get the aircraft on the ground before a major system failure occurs which would force a crash landing or ditch situation.
-Precautionary landing, may result from a planned landing at a location about which information is limited, from unanticipated changes during the flight, or from abnormal or even emergency situations. The sooner a pilot locates and inspects a potential landing site, the less the chance of additional limitations being imposed by worsening aircraft conditions, deteriorating weather, or other factors.
-Crash landing, is caused by the failure of or damage to vital systems such as engines, hydraulics, or landing gear, and so a landing must be attempted where a runway is needed but none is available. The pilot is essentially trying to get the aircraft on the ground in a way which minimizes the possibility of injury or death to the people aboard.
-Ditching, is the same as a crash landing, only on water. After the disabled aircraft makes contact with the surface of the water, the aircraft will typically sink if it is not designed to float.
If there is no engine power available during a forced landing, fixed-wing aircraft glide, while a rotary winged aircraft (helicopter) autorotates to the ground by trading altitude for airspeed to maintain control. Pilots often practice "simulated forced landings", in which an engine failure is simulated and the pilot has to get the aircraft on the ground safely, by selecting a landing area and then gliding the aircraft at its best gliding speed.
If there is a suitable landing spot within the aircraft's gliding or autorotation distance, an unplanned landing will often result in no injuries or significant damage to the aircraft, since powered aircraft generally use little or no power when they are landing. Light aircraft can often land safely on fields, roads, or gravel river banks (or on the water, if they are float-equipped); but medium and heavy aircraft generally require long, prepared runway surfaces because of their heavier weight and higher landing speeds. Glider pilots routinely land away from their base and so most cross-country pilots are in current practice.
UAV forced landing research
Since 2003, research has been conducted on enabling UAVs to perform a forced landing autonomously.
Notable examples of emergency landings
Large airliners have multiple engines and redundant systems, so forced landings are extremely rare for them, but some notable ones have occurred. The most famous example is the Gimli Glider, an Air Canada Boeing 767 that ran out of fuel and glided to a safe landing in Gimli, Manitoba, Canada on July 23, 1983. On June 1982, British Airways Flight 9, a Boeing 747 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Perth lost power in all four engines, three of which subsequently recovered, eventually diverting to Jakarta. On April 28, 1988, Aloha Airlines Flight 243 experienced an explosive decompression mid-flight, forcing an emergency landing at the Kahului Airport with only one casualty, flight attendant Clarabell "C.B." Lansing. More recently, Air Transat Flight 236 ran out of fuel over the Atlantic Ocean on August 24, 2001 and made a successful forced landing in the Azores.
A less successful crash landing involved Southern Airways Flight 242 on April 4, 1977. The DC-9 lost both of its engines due to hail and heavy rain in a thunderstorm and, unable to glide to an airport, made a forced landing on a highway near New Hope, Georgia, United States. The plane made a hard landing and was still carrying a large amount of fuel, so it burst into flames, killing the majority of the passengers and several people on the ground.
Airliners frequently make emergency landings, and almost all of them are uneventful. However because of their inherent uncertain nature, they can quickly become crash landings or worse. Some notable instances include Swissair Flight 111, which crashed near Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on September 2, 1998 while dumping fuel in preparation for a precautionary landing due to fire; United Airlines Flight 232, which broke up while landing at Sioux City, Iowa, U.S.A. on July 19, 1989; and Air Canada Flight 797, which burned after landing at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport on June 2, 1983 after a fire started in the cabin.
On January 17, 2008, British Airways Flight 38, a Boeing 777 crashed while attempting to land at London Heathrow Airport, England. The plane came down too early and passed just a few hundred feet over the houses before the runway. The plane crash landed and skidded, eventually stopping just on the runway, creating a large, visible skid mark for some 400m before the runway. Thirteen people sustained minor injuries as the plane collapsed after the front landing gear came off.
Emergency water landings
Eight intentional passenger (cargo) airliner ditchings have been documented. These figures are for intentional water ditchings, usually as a result of in-flight fuel depletion, rather than an accidental overshoot of landing runway into a body of water. The following figures show survival rates for passengers and crew:
-US Airways Flight 1549, Airbus A320, New York City to Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, 15 January 2009, made a controlled safe water ditch into the Hudson River after losing thrust in both engines due to birdstrike at about 3000 feet altitude three minutes into the flight after a normal takeoff from LaGuardia Airport; 155 passengers and crew made an orderly evacuation as a NYC fireboat towed the floating aircraft with passengers standing on the wing, 100% survival rate
-Tuninter Flight 1153 , August 6, 2005, off the coast of Sicily, 39 occupants, 23 survivors, 59% survival rate
-Miami Air Lease Convair CV-340, December 4, 2004, Mall lake, Florida, 2 occupants, 2 survivors, 100% survival rate
-Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961, November 23, 1996, off the Comoros Islands, 175 occupants, 45 survivors, 26% survival rate
-ALM DC9, May 2, 1970, the Caribbean, 63 occupants, 40 survivors, 63% survival rate
-Aeroflot Tupolev 124 ditching in Neva river, October, 1963, narrowly missed a tugboat which sped to plane, cast a line and towed it to shallow waters, where the occupants were deboarded onto tug, 52 occupants, 52 survivors, 100% survival rate
-Pan Am Flight 6 Boeing Stratocruiser "Sovereign of the Skies", October 16, 1956, in the Pacific between Honolulu and San Francisco, 30 passengers and crew, 30 survivors, 100% survival rate
-Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2, Boeing Stratocruiser, April 2, 1956, ditched in the 430 feet Puget Sound, 38 passengers, all survived the ditching but 5 could not recover from the freezing waters, 87% survival rate.
-Sept. 28, 1962, Flying Tiger's Super H Constellation passenger aircraft with a crew of 8 and 68 U.S. military (paratrooper) passengers ditched in the North Atlantic about 500 miles west of Shannon, Ireland after losing three engines on a flight to Frankfurt, Germany. 45 of the passengers and 3 crew were rescued, with 23 passengers and 5 crew members being lost in the storm-swept seas. All passengers successfully evacuated the airplane. Those who were lost succumbed in the rough seas. 100% survival rate for landing and evacuation.
Though not a passenger plane, still relevant - Colombian AF C 130 Hercules, October 1982, en route between the Azores and Bermuda stayed afloat for two days.
A water landing is, in the broadest sense, any landing on a body of water. All waterfowl, those seabirds capable of flight, and some human-built vehicles are capable of landing in water as a matter of course.
The phrase "water landing" is also used as a euphemism for crash-landing into water in an aircraft not designed for the purpose. The National Transportation Safety Board of the United States government defines "ditching" in its aviation accident coding manual as "a planned event in which a flight crew knowingly makes a controlled emergency landing in water. (Excludes float plane landings in normal water landing areas.)" Such water landings are extremely rare for commercial passenger airlines.
Seaplanes, flying boats, and amphibious aircraft are designed to take off and land on water. Landing can be supported by a hull-shaped fuselage and/or pontoons. The availability of a long effective runway was historically important on lifting size restrictions on aircraft, and their freedom from constructed strips remains useful for transportation to lakes and other remote areas. The ability to loiter on water is also important for marine rescue operations and fire fighting. One disadvantage of water landing is that it is dangerous in the presence of waves. Furthermore, the necessary equipment compromises the craft's aerodynamic efficiency and speed.
Early manned spacecraft launched by the United States were designed to land in water by the splashdown method. The craft would parachute into the water, which acted as a cushion to bring the craft to a stop; the impacts were violent but survivable. Landing over water rather than land made braking rockets unnecessary, but its disadvantages included difficult retrieval and the danger of drowning. The NASA Space Shuttle design was intended to land on a runway instead.
Although extremely uncommon in commercial passenger travel, small aircraft ditchings are common occurrences. According to the United States Coast Guard, including helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, between military, air carrier, corporate, and general aviation, there is, on average, one ditching every day in U.S. waters alone. | <urn:uuid:a8ed5d2e-4161-4276-93a7-438c6dcdd799> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.livingwarbirds.com/airplane-landing-videos.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395548.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00040-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950082 | 3,264 | 3.796875 | 4 |
Myths within science
|Part of a series on the|
Mythology of science is just like any other myth, folktale, or urban legend, but it's usually about scientific discoveries or inventions, or famous scientists. Some have a limited basis in fact, some are "lies to children", and some are pure invention or legend. Mostly they can be entertaining or useful in helping science become memorable, but this doesn't make such stories true.
Well known myths
Several apocryphal examples are presented below:
- Isaac Newton was sitting under a tree when an apple fell on his head. The action of the apple prompted him to suddenly devise his theories on gravity! While it was highly unlikely that a quick knock to the head immediately inserted classical mechanics into Newton's head, it's likely that he did observe many objects falling and this would have led him and others to ponder the nature of gravity. Newton himself only said that "[the notion of gravity] was occasioned by the fall of an apple" - although he only started telling this story in later life, and his development of gravitational theory started after discussions with Edmond Halley, almost 20 years after he describes the apple trees of his family home. The original account that led to the "apple on the head" story is William Stukeley's 1752 biography of Newton. It is worth noting that scientists, artists, authors, etc., often describe a moment of awareness (ie, the eureka moment) after long periods of passive contemplation, working on other projects, or even daydreaming about something totally unrelated. Scholars studying creativity say it is an instant when existing pathways make a sudden new connection between two previously unrelated instances, ideas, or memories. Hence the commonality of the "eureka" stories.
- A similar story states that Galileo climbed the Leaning Tower of Pisa to drop objects. Noting that they hit the ground at the same time regardless of their mass (an experiment famously repeated on the moon with a feather and a hammer) was one of the most important observations of gravity in action. The location of the experiment is likely to be wrong, added to only give it some extra drama and prominence. The experiment that best demonstrates this effect of gravity is done, not with falling objects, but with objects rolled down an incline.
- Christopher Columbus sailed across the Atlantic to prove that the Earth was round, not flat. The story is often embellished further; that it was a bet with the Queen of Spain or that his crew was mutinous, being convinced they were going to fall off the edge of the Earth. This is almost completely fabricated; the idea that prior to Columbus everyone thought the Earth was flat has no basis in reality. Columbus, like all educated Europeans throughout the Middle Ages, knew that the world was spherical. His journey was to find a sea trade route to Asia, as the land route from East Asia to Europe - which supplied Europe with extremely valuable silk, spices, and other luxury goods - had been cut during the breakup of the Mongol Khanate and the Muslim capture of Constantinople. Columbus did face objections, but they were based on the distance he would have to sail to reach East Asia, and the fear that his crew would run out of food before they reached Japan or China. Not the fear of falling off the edge of the world. The myth of the "Flat Earth" is a nineteenth-century construct; largely derived from Washington Irving's pseudohistory, and exacerbated in the late 1800s in an effort to argue that the Catholic Church was wrong to refute evolution, as the Church had (so the story claims) been wrong in previous teaching. As the tale goes, the Church had taught that the world was flat, then science proved them wrong - hence the Church teaching that evolution is wrong, is doomed to failure. A nice tale, but a complete fabrication. By Columbus' time, even the Church accepted the idea of a spherical Earth. Curiously, while the secular and religious elite of the Middle Ages knew the Earth to be spherical, the Bible does imply (1 Samuel 2:8; Matthew 4:8) that the world is flat.
- Erwin Schrödinger derived his famous equation that underpins quantum mechanics while on a Christmas break with his mistress. While it's not entirely known if this is entirely true (or if he succeeded in keeping her happy while working on the maths), having two women in his life did apparently play havoc with his academic positions, including one at Oxford.
- Benjamin Franklin discovered the nature of lightning by flying a kite in a thunderstorm. Back in Franklin's day, it wasn't entirely known what lightning was, and such an experiment would have concluded the electrical nature of lightning. It is unlikely that he flew the kite as popularly described as such an act would be incredibly dangerous and Franklin was aware of this. Instead, the kite was likely to have been flown before the storm was in full swing, so that he could detect the electrical charges before they reached the dangerous levels required for a lightning bolt to strike.
- During the development of Quantum mechanics, an apparently heated debate on the subject - or possibly one of the first lectures proposing it, possibly by Schrödinger - caused Albert Einstein to declare that "God does not play dice!" - and for Neils Bohr to respond "Don't you tell God what to do!". Although it's probably true that all these people were in a room together at some point (indeed, here they are, and Bohr and Einstein certainly debated frequently and publicly) the famous quote "God does not play dice", is a paraphrase of one of Einstein's letters to Max Born: "Quantum mechanics is certainly imposing. But an inner voice tells me that it is not yet the real thing. The theory says a lot, but does not really bring us any closer to the secret of the 'old one'. I, at any rate, am convinced that He does not throw dice."
- Alan Turing, one of the contenders for the title "Father of the Computer" committed suicide by taking a bite out of an apple laced with cyanide - this image of the apple is supposedly the inspiration behind the logo of Apple Inc. It's not known for certain that it was the apple which contained the cyanide (it was never tested for the substance) but the famous logo lighting up thousands of MacBooks around the world is most likely a homage to Newton, given that the original Apple logo was a drawing of Newton sat under a tree, and given that Apple's very first embedded architecture (prior to the iPod-Phone-Pad) was codenamed "Newton". Although strictly this is not a story of scientific discovery, Turing's work and life was one of the most important in modern science and technology and Turing's suicide was one of the tragic results of 1950s attitudes towards his homosexuality. (Ironically all apples contain amygdalin, which metabolises in the body to form hydrogen cyanide - though you'd need to be a dedicated apple-seed-eater to come to any harm.)
Unbelievably true
There are a few stories that are, incredibly, true. These are almost invariably from more modern times where recording is slightly more reliable. Whether these will descend into the realm of myth in the coming centuries, however, is an open question.
- The original diagnosis for a gastric ulcer was stress. Robin Warren and Barry Marshall, two doctors from Australia (which probably explains everything) had a different hypothesis; that the main cause was bacterial infection. Having isolated the species responsible (Helicobacter pylori) they decided to test their hypothesis in the only ethical, and legal, manner; Marshall took a dose himself and developed the symptoms of a gastric ulcer. Their case suitably proven, the two were awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine in 2005. There is one minor myth circulating about this story although it's not officially recorded; that the anti-biotic administered didn't initially work as the bacteria bury themselves into the stomach wall and Dr Marshall had to endure the symptoms for far longer than he predicted.
- Albert Hoffman is well known as the the first person who made LSD. And it is indeed true that he first experienced the effects of it accidentally - absorbing some through his fingertips - and then decided to repeat the experiment with what was later discovered to be 10 times higher than the "recommended" dose. Hoffman spent most of his career following this campaigning to get LSD legalised and accepted throughout the world.
- Roy Plunkett discovered Teflon accidentally when trying to synthesize a new refrigerant from perfluoroethylene, a gas. He and his co-worker thought they had a defective tank when no gas come out of the cylinder, when in fact it contained a white powdery solid coating its interior (the iron in the vessel acted as a catalyst for polymerisation). However, that Teflon was a "by-product of the space race" is a complete myth, probably invented as a marketing ploy.
- Charles "Spock" Goodyear dropped some rubber into sulphur and created vulcanized rubber.
- Jesse Lazear, who studied the transmission of yellow fever with Walter Reed and others in the year 1900, allowed himself to be bitten by infected mosquitoes to confirm the hypothesis made 19 years earlier by Carlos Finlay that mosquitoes could transmit yellow fever. He succeeded, but unfortunately died of the resulting infection later that year. | <urn:uuid:4c77f2a3-4ebc-4375-a18e-9a673e890d0c> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Myths_within_science | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397562.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00181-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977883 | 1,934 | 3.078125 | 3 |
Make visible what without you, might perhaps have never been seen. ~Robert Bresson
Our friend Dave passed along a great article on foods to avoid that was on msn.com. This was superhelpful because 1) no one reads msn, and 2) the article is really interesting. It's so interesting, we're going to summarize it.
The author, Anne Underwood, asked seven experts who spend their time thinking about what is safe to eat, "what foods do you avoid?" The answers are interesting and right in line with MindfulEats - avoid processed and industrial foods. Of course, it's not always so easy, so we've added a little commentary. Without further ado - top picks of foods to avoid:
- Farmed Salmon. MindfulEats has railed against farmed salmon. It's bad for you and the environment. Fishery expert, David Carpenter, M.D., director of the Institute for Health and the
Environmentat the University at Albany won't eat it. He published a major study in the journal Science on contamination in fish. Like land-based industrial farming, farmed fish are crammed into pens and fed odd things, so they are weaker than their wild brethren. They are loaded with antibiotics and contaminants, and like beef, they have less nutrition. Pound for pound, you are getting less nutritional value with farmed salmon. Switch to wild alaskan salmon. According to Carpenter, the most contaminated fish is from Northern Europe. Any fresh Atlantic salmon is farmed. Learn more about why seafood is controversial.
- Corn-fed beef. Farmer and writer Joel Salatin steers clear of anything but grass-fed beef. Industrial farmers raise their cattle on corn and soybeans since it fattens them up quicker for a fast profit. That meat is not as nutritious as naturally raised, grass-fed beef. You'd have to eat more of it to get the same value, and who wants to be fat? Not you. A recent study conducted by the USDA and Clemson University found that grass-fed beef is higher in beta-carotene, vitamin E, omega-3s, conjugated linoleic
acid(CLA), calcium, magnesium and potassium; lower in inflammatory omega-6s; and lower in saturated fats that have been linked to heart disease. Pound for pound, you're getting more value with the grass-fed beef.
- Milk produced with hormones. Cancer researcher Rick North won't drink it. The former CEO of the Oregon division of the American Cancer Society notes that recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH or rBST) increases udder infections and even pus in the milk. It also leads to higher levels of a hormone called insulin-like growth factor in milk. Life is hard enough when you're hormonal - why drink it? If you can afford grass-fed milk, opt for it. Like meat, milk is better from happier, heathier cows.
- Canned tomatoes. Endocrinologist Fredrick Vom Saal, Ph.D., at the University of Missouri studies bisphenol-A (BPA) and he won't go near canned tomatoes. Cans are often lined with resin that contains BPA, and acidity (which tomatoes are) causes the BPA to leach. You can find tomatoes packed in glass or tetrapaks. These brands include Bionature, Coluccio, Trader Joe's and Pomi.
- Microwave popcorn. Toxoligist Olga Naidenko, Ph.D., a senior scientist for the Environmental Working Group avoids microwave popcorn since chemicals in the lining of the bag, especially perfluorooctanoic acid, are linked to infertility. Microwaving causes the chemicals to vaporize and migrate into your popcorn. "They stay in your body for years and accumulate there," says Naidenko. Yuck. Popcorn flavoring is also associated with lung disease (known as popcorn workers lung) for workers of microwave popcorn factories. Pop your own popcorn the old fashioned way - in a skillet. It's really cheap!
- Nonorganic potatoes. Jeffrey Moyer, the chair of the Organic Standards Board, won't eat non-organic potatoes. Apparently, root vegetables absorb all the chemicals (pesticides, fertilizer, fungicides, etc) in soil (yikes, I guess that means the other root vegetables are better organic too). Then on top of that, potatoes get sprayed with extra chemicals while growing, during harvesting and after they've been dug up. Moyer says "I've talked with potato growers who say point-blank they would never eat the potatoes they sell. They have separate plots where they grow potatoes for themselves without all the chemicals."
- Conventional apples. We all know that apples are one of the Dirty Dozen. Mark Kastel, a former executive for agribusiness, currently codirector of the Cornucopia Institute, won't eat nonorganic apples. Apples have lower resistance to pests, so they are doused regularly. If you can't buy organic, wash and peel your apples.
The original article we cribbed this from is awesome, so read it here.
What I ate: 1 grapefruit, 1 orange, 1 cup McCann's steel-cut oatmeal + ground flaxseeds + dried cranberries + milk, Stilton cheese, dried mango slices, 3/4 cup brown rice, 1 avocado, 3 stalks broccolini, 2 hot chocolates, 40 oz. water
Exercise: Ran 7 miles, 90 min yoga | <urn:uuid:417e263d-2045-4284-ba98-2eb45dc87ea6> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.mindfuleats.com/mindfuleats/2010/02/experts-choose-not.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398628.62/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00020-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950832 | 1,153 | 2.796875 | 3 |
The Aquaculture Genomics Laboratory, founded a year ago in the Faculty of Agriculture, focuses on using innovative molecular biotechnology to drive scientific discoveries and to respond to industry challenges in the shellfish aquaculture industry.
Under the direction of Sarah Stewart-Clark, the laboratory is directly connected to the oyster, mussel, scallop and lobster fishery and aquaculture sectors in Atlantic Canada.
“Our goal is to provide science-based information for both industry members and government managers to best grow this industry forward in Nova Scotia,” explains Dr. Stewart-Clark.
The Aquaculture Genomics Lab, located on the Agricultural Campus, performs monitoring of environmental water samples for both target and pest DNA. Assays (analytic procedures) that can detect when target larvae are present in water samples enable growers to make decisions about when to place spat collectors in the water to gather their seed product.
“We also have assays that can detect pest species in environmental water samples — for example, invasive tunicates. Our assays are currently being used by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and provincial governments in N.S., P.E.I., N.B. and Quebec to monitor bays and rivers for the DNA of invasive species.”
In addition to monitoring how current invasive species in the region are moving from year to year, which has an impact on shellfish transfers across Atlantic Canada, these assays are also detecting new invasions.
“Assays from our laboratory were involved in the detection of three new invasions over the past 18 months of species never before detected in waters in Nova Scotia,” said Stewart-Clark. “This early detection is critically important, as discovering an invasion early in the invasion process gives both growers and government managers time to develop and implement mitigation strategies to decrease the impact that these new invasions have on Atlantic Canada.”
Prior to these DNA detection assays, invasions were only discovered once the invasive species had been present for quite some time, and adult populations had grown to sizes that were visible to stakeholders who were on the water. This made control and containment much more challenging.
The Aquaculture Genomics Laboratory is also home to the International Tunicate DNA Bank. This DNA Bank, established in 2009 and recently transferred to Dalhousie, contains samples of aquatic invasive species from all over the world, allowing researchers to prepare for and design assays for species not yet present in Nova Scotia waters. Having this collection in Nova Scotia protects Atlantic Canada from the potential impacts of new invasions.
Shellfish research and more
The lab has also been successful in shellfish research. In collaboration with the Atlantic Veterinary College and Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the team has sequenced over 295 billion nucleotides for the Eastern Oyster, a species of critical importance to the aquaculture industry but with which very little genomic data is available.
This research is yielding new information on how this species deals with environmental stress events such as temperature and salinity fluctuations, as well as how these stress events impact the immune system of the Eastern Oyster.
“The ultimate goal of this research is to create diagnostic tests for the shellfish industry so that populations of oysters can be assessed to evaluate which parameters in the environment may be causing them to be stressed,” says Dr. Stewart-Clark. “This can be used by industry members to test new methods of seed collection, test new grow-out conditions, test new methods of shipping and harvesting all the while monitoring which methods cause stress to the oysters and which methods do not.”
This genomic information will be a key driver in the establishment of broodstock programs that are based on genetic selection to ensure the shellfish industry is seeded with oysters that are most likely to thrive in today’s changing ocean climate.
comments powered by Disqus | <urn:uuid:4d14d94b-a43d-4a58-b2f5-f34eb97c3056> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.dal.ca/news/2014/01/23/aquaculture-genomics-laboratory-detects-new-invasive-species.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783408840.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155008-00010-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946318 | 797 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Something in the Air
Building on decades of expertise and on a collaborative approach, UC Davis leads the way in understanding air pollution’s impact on our health and climate.
By Sylvia Wright
Take a deep breath. Now entering your lungs, bloodstream and perhaps your brain—“air” bearing all the exhalations of modern life: tailpipe exhaust, fireplace smoke, flame-broiled animal fats, industrial chemicals and carpet fumes. If you are within 100 yards of a freeway, you also have inhaled tire shreds and partially burned diesel fuel. If downwind from a farm, then ammonia from animal wastes or soot from burning rice straw. At the coast, you’ll breathe in salt, of course, maybe trans-Pacific sand from eroding Chinese deserts and perhaps something unexpected: sulfuric acid from the smokestacks of unregulated cargo and cruise ships.
Every fifth-grader knows that we breathe carbon dioxide and oxygen. But no one knows exactly what else we breathe, how much, where it comes from or how it affects our health. Answering those questions now is particularly urgent: Some UC Davis researchers have found disturbing patterns that link air pollution with serious human health problems, including chronic asthma in children and early death in some adults, and others see novel roles for air pollution in climate change.
UC Davis has a tradition of expertise in many aspects of air pollution: shedding light on the contributions of agricultural activities, the origins of haze over national parks, the benefits of cleaner fuels and emission controls in automobiles. It’s a success strengthened by a delight in inventing new research tools when the need arises and a willingness to bridge the traditional divides between the biological and physical disciplines. Now, with 60 faculty and staff researchers focused on the issues and a record $50 million in directed funding, the campus has become a leader among the handful of institutions in the United States working intensively on problems related to air pollution.
A Toll on Human Health
From Labs to Law Books
A Winning Approach
Links to more information:
Stories and photos by Sylvia Wright, who writes about the environmental sciences for UC Davis.
This Issue | Past Issues | Magazine Home | Search Class Notes | Send a Letter | <urn:uuid:043aef1f-8324-4578-9022-4cab2aa604c4> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://ucdavismagazine.ucdavis.edu/issues/sp06/feature_2.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399385.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00113-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.923039 | 455 | 2.84375 | 3 |
There are: 2 Kings, 2 Queens, 4 Bishops. 4 Knights, 4 Rooks, and 16 Pawns.In a game of chess there are 32 pieces, including 4 Rooks.
If all the pieces were placed in a line in random order,
what is the probability that no rooks are next to each other?
For simplicity, assume that all 32 pieces are distinguishable.
. . Then there are: . possible arrangements.
Place the 28 non-Rooks in row, leaving a space before, after and between them.
There are 28 pieces and 29 spaces.
The 28 pieces can be arranged in ways.
Select 4 spaces for the Rooks.
. . The Rooks can be placed in: . ways
Hence, there are: . ways to have the Rooks non-adjacent.
The answer comes out to: . | <urn:uuid:b31161a4-ec7a-4254-ae57-0584585eaafd> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://mathhelpforum.com/advanced-statistics/100237-probability-question.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403825.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00131-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931276 | 183 | 3.125 | 3 |
Did you know that in 2011 over 18,000 crisis calls were placed to the Crisis Centers in Ross, Pike, Highland, Pickaway and Fayette Counties. Each clinic provides trained staff whether in person or over the phone. The Crisis Center has been an indispensable tool for us in assisting residents that need help.
Some facts and statistics have been provided, many dealing with the current fight against drug/medication abuses that are plaguing our community.
‘The Population and FACTS
In any given year 1 in 4 Ohioans 18 and older will have a diagnosable mental illness, and approximately 10% of Ohioans will have a substance abuse problem or addiction.
In a recent statewide poll, 2 out of every 3 Ohioans stated that they were impacted by a friend and/or family member with a mental illness and/or addiction.
Each day 4 Ohioans die due to unintentional drug/medication overdoses which on an annual basis are now higher than the annual deaths due to vehicular accidents.
Ohio suicides have reached a 10 year high.
Murder-Suicides have tripled.
The Impact on the Behavioral Health and other Systems
75% of youth in foster care have at least one parent with a substance abuse disorder, and approximately 85% experience mental health challenges.
Over 50% of all inmates at the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction have a substance abuse disorder, and 36% have a diagnosable mental illness.
75% of youth in Ohio Department of Youth Services have a substance abuse disorder; 35% have a diagnosable mental illness.
50% of students with a mental illness at age 14 or older drop out of high school.
Of the single individuals experiencing homelessness, 60% will have a severe and persistent mental illness, and 80% have lifetime alcohol or other drug abuse problems.
The Facts on Treatment
Each year the costs of treatment are far lower than the cost of services in other community systems. If a person were able to access mental health or addiction treatment it would result in a savings to our community because treatment costs would be offset by reduced placements in foster care, prisons, and reduced homelessness.
$7,400 Average annual cost of community mental health treatment and medication
$1,600 Average annual cost of community addiction treatment program
$18,000 Average annual cost of foster care
$25,243 Average annual cost of adult incarceration
$40,000 Average annual cost of treating a mentally ill person who is homeless
$86,000 Average annual cost of youth incarceration | <urn:uuid:2c60b4f8-561f-4fd4-a560-ce880e3d8de7> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.chillicothepolice.com/?p=2929 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393093.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00056-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953413 | 518 | 2.515625 | 3 |
I have participated in a community garden for the past 4 years and I live in Denver, CO. I planted everything from seed this year and, unfortunately, I was not very successful. I started my seeds indoors and then transferred them to my garden. I lost my carrots, beets, lettuce and chard. I went to the garden nursery and bought whatever they had left, just so I would have something in the ground. I was wondering if there is anything I can start from seed (try again) right now that would grow in the garden? If I started the seeds indoors and then transplanted them into the garden, what might work this late? My garden plot has to be cleared out by October 26th and I only plant vegetables.
Late season planting
The fastest growing plants are always worth while:
Radish, Lettuce, Carrot, Turnip
Read about each variety and get something that specifies a short time until harvest.
Root crops are almost always direct seeded. So scratch a little row in the garden for them.
Carrots, Beetroot and all the root veg still have time to grow, OK they may NOT get to prize size BUT young and tender is best I always say LOL.
If I were you, I would plant straight into the garden, make sure you prepare the soil well by raking to a fine grade, lay a string, plank of wood along the line you need the rows, use finger or rake handle to run alone the straight line and sprinkle the seeds, NOT TOO THICKLY, mark each row with a label and cover the seeds very gently, water and leave alone till you see nice little green lines,
Keep weed free, water as much as required but not a harsh watering, you don't want to disperse the seeds that have not ALL germinated. The germination should be quicker as the soil is nice and warm.
I don't know what size you veg area is BUT potatoes (the late type) are another crop to try, you don't need a huge crop, maybe just one row to get you garden fresh potato's for a roasting NOV / Dec. what could be nicer.
BY the way, you will have to thin out the row/s of root veg and these are wonderful for adding whole to salads, caseroles etc, so never throw the thining's out, with Carrots, as you thin, hold the little plant between your 1st and 2nd finger flat on the ground and gently pull with left hand, this stops too much disturbance to the neighbouring seedlings and also prevents attracting carrot root fly as disturbing this crop allows that lovely carrot smell to attract these bugs, at this time of year they are not a big problem BUT earlier sowings do attract these flies that lay eggs beside to soil around the growing carrots and the eggs hatch, the grubs crawl down feeding on the carrots rendering them into useless, holed and a lot of people don't like using the carrots but all my friends just cut out the damaged parts, the grubs are already gone and turned into adult flies ready to start the cycle off next year.
Hope you take the decision to have another go but my opinion is it's too late for indoors germination and a lot of the root veg don't take the disturbance of transplantation. it takes a bit for the roots to resettle into new environment and that alone looses a week or two, direct sewing saves that time.
Best of luck and kind Regards. | <urn:uuid:16160390-3f17-4fd2-a6cb-0aca0b1a1586> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1366680/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404826.94/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00008-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969777 | 720 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Ancient Egypt / Religion / Cult and Festivals || Gods /
Other spellings: Ipet, Apet
Annual festival in which the Theban triad, Amon, Mut and their son, Khonsu, made a ritual journey from their temples at Karnak to the Luxor Temple.
Statues of the 3 gods were placed in golden barks, and both carried by priests and sailed on the Nile in order to arrive in front of Luxor Temple. Inside the temple, the statues would remain for 24 days, during which period the entire city would celebrate. The return would be done with the same barks, and by the same route.
The festival had its name from the first part of the ancient name of Luxor Temple, Ipet-resyt.
One to purposes of the Opet festival was to allow the king to absorb the royal ka in the presence of Amon, rejuvenating his strength and qualities.
The cult is still celebrated, though as an integrated part of the Muslim faith and connected a the holy man Shaykh Yusuf al-Haggag, who has a mosque built in his honour into the left secion of the front of Luxor Temple. During his festival, a boat is carried around Luxor while being popularly celebrated.
Opet is closely linked with Taweret, and specialized books diverge between considering Opet as a part of the divine concepts of Taweret, or as an independent goddess.
Representations of Opet appear almost identical to the ones of Taweret, and their powers are quite similar. Just like Taweret, Opet is shown as a standing hippopotamus, having pendulous breasts, with the tail of a crocodile and claws from a lion. She has a protruding belly, which may be seen both as a sign of pregnancy as well as a natural dimension of the body of the hippopotamus.
The powers of Opet were linked with fertility and childbirth. In the Pyramid Texts she is mentioned. The king asks to be nursed at her breasts so that he never will feel thirst or hunger.
Still, Opet holds a few qualities never found with Taweret. This applies especially to her importance to the city of Thebes, she may even have been the personification of Thebes.
The Theban Opet was associated with the goddess Mut.
Contrary to Taweret, Opet has a temple, which lies next to the temple of Khonsu at Karnak.
Confused? Try to find a good place to start learning about Ancient Egypt in
Where to begin? | <urn:uuid:7cbb8027-2bfc-471f-9ed0-77b3f1062ebb> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://lexicorient.com/e.o/opet.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391634.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00003-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976446 | 536 | 3.1875 | 3 |
Made with or containing whole unprocessed grains of something: wholegrain mustard
More example sentences
- He advised her to eat more fruit, salads and wholegrain cereals and wholegrain bread.
- Foods rich in B vitamins are green leafy vegetables, wholegrain breads and cereals, nuts, legumes and lean meats.
- Flavour the mash with a couple of tablespoons of wholegrain mustard or herbs such as chives and basil.
For editors and proofreaders
Line breaks: whole|grain
Definition of wholegrain in:
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Comments that don't adhere to our Community Guidelines may be moderated or removed. | <urn:uuid:9deb7e9e-302c-4a25-bd88-ec7022915a91> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/wholegrain | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396029.85/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00141-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.874254 | 149 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Monday, December 20, 2010
salt and ice
I asked her, "Why do YOU think we spread salt on an icy sidewalk? Can you guess?"
She guessed, "The salt melts the ice?"
We decided to see if this were true. I said, "We'll see if ice added to water makes it harder for the water to freeze."
I explained (after quickly Googling this to make sure I didn't spread misinformation) that salt speeds up the melting of the ice because it can make ice melt at a lower temperature. Salt also helps keep the ice from re-freezing.....which we saw when we put the salt water in the freezer!
I later came across an experiment where kids can use salt to "glue" an ice cube to a string, and then lift it up. This is exactly the sort of thing that sets my geek heart aflutter.
(I may be a geek, but I'm not a science whiz, so preschool science experiments may be as good as it gets for me. I plan to enjoy this while it lasts, and before I become unable to comprehend any of it.) | <urn:uuid:e08dbeaf-7d4d-4952-a78c-acc6755f603b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://funprojectsforpreschoolers.blogspot.com/2010/12/salt-and-ice.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395621.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00001-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976168 | 236 | 2.75 | 3 |
Founder of Phoenicia Home of the Seafaring People
Phut was Ham’s third son who struck out on his own and founded the nation of Libya on the Mediterranean coast of the African continent where Zidonian-Canaanites migrated after leaving their servitude in Lebanon. (1 Kings 9:26) At that time the land of Phut was called Phoenicia and it was occupied by these black people before Abraham’s Arabian descendants invaded North Africa. These Canaanites were slaves in Lebanon where they were known as Zidonians, named after Canaan’s son Zidon. (Fig. 8) These Canaanites in particular performed remarkable craftsmanship with the famed cedars trees of Lebanon of which the Scriptures speak. These black men were so skillful in wood that their reputation attracted the attention of the wisest man in the world.
“Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, Behold I purpose to build an
house unto the name of the LORD my God. Now command
that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants
shall be with thy servants; and unto thee will I give hire for
thy servants according to all that thou shall appoint: for thou
knowest that there is not among us any that can
skill to hew timber like the Sidonians [Zidonians].”
(1 Kings 5:1-15)
Eighty thousand black men were commissioned to build the great temple of Solomon in Jerusalem. (1 King 9:27) These black laborers were skilled with such precision that the Scriptures boast they erected Solomon’s Temple without making noise.
“And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building. (1 King 6:7)
The temple these black craftsmen built for King Solomon was so magnificent that when it was destroyed and later rebuilt by King Zerubbabel’s Jews, the elders of Israel cried because the new temple could not approach the grandeur they witnessed in Solomon’s black-built temple. (Ezra 3:12, Haggai 2:3)
King Hiram sent these Zidonian-Canaanite craftsmen from Lebanon who were not only skilled at building magnificent structures on land, but were excellent ship builders and navigators of the sea.
“Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.” (1 Kings 9:27)
Solomon took advantage of the knowledge of this black labor force.
“And king Solomon made a navy of ships… on the shore of
the Red Sea.” (1 King 9:26)
The news that Solomon was building his royal “navy” by the hands of these skillful black men caught the attention of Sheba’s Queen. (1 Kings 9:26-10:1) According to the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, the Queen of Sheba was Queen of the Ethiopians and her inquisitive nature lured her to go see for herself the fame of Solomon’s beautiful temple, his navy, and to hear his wisdom. (1 Kings 10:1)
The Zidionian-Canaanites became legendary mariners prior to the Nordic Vikings of Europe and were well known for their seafaring abilities. The land these Canaanites later occupied was the land of Phut, it was next to the Moors of Morocco in North Africa. These Canaanites merchants traversed the Mediterranean as traders with the Greek isles, Rome, Spain and the whole of Europe. Much later in the land of Phut off its Phoenician shores, a child was born and given a Canaanite name that honored Baal, a Canaanite god. His name was Hannibal of Carthage. Hannibal’s name means “Joy of Baal.” Hannibal was a sworn enemy of Rome, and invaded Italy with his black African swordsmen after trekking over the Alps with a number of African elephants. These Africans in the land of Phut were skilled with the bow and shield. (Jer. 46:9) It is rumored that because of Hannibal’s invasion of Italy, there are few Italians with blue eyes and blonde hair today. The Complete Works of Blacks in the Bible is the most accurate compilation of Biblical Black History ever. It is Bible based with the embellishments of man. Order it today while supplies last at WWW.BLACKSINTHEBIBLE.NET for your biblical black art needs see www.blacksinthebible.com | <urn:uuid:30b581af-2011-4cf6-9a95-57af2cfbb73a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.blacksinthebible.net/phoeniciansdoc.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404382.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00138-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972157 | 989 | 3.375 | 3 |
The invasion and growth of germs in the body. The germs may be bacteria, viruses, yeast, fungi, or other microorganisms. Infections can begin anywhere in the body and may spread all through it. An infection can cause fever and other health problems, depending on where it occurs in the body. When the body’s immune system is strong, it can often fight the germs and cure an infection. Some cancer treatments can weaken the immune system, which may lead to infection.
Last updated: 2016-05-18
Source: The National Cancer Institute's Dictionary of Cancer Terms (http://www.cancer.gov/dictionary) | <urn:uuid:dd00c427-a834-42c5-be8f-2b5604e4a0f9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.vicc.org/cancers/disease-info.php?xml=xml-files/glossaryterm/CDR0000045364.xml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397865.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00159-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.900561 | 134 | 3.53125 | 4 |
The Catholic Spirit
Lorraine Ozar, the Loyola University professor who led the project that developed the new National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools, described the nine “defining characteristics of Catholic schools” as “national, agreed-upon, and non-negotiable.”
Because they flow from church teachings, define deep Catholic identity, and serve as platform on which the national standards and benchmarks rest, Ozar said, “These are the things that need to be present to be called a Catholic school.”
The defining characteristics are:
- Centered in the person of Jesus Christ.
- Contributing to the evangelizing mission of the church.
- Distinguished by excellence.
- Committed to educate the whole child.
- Steeped in a Catholic worldview.
- Sustained by Gospel witness.
- Shaped by communion and community.
- Accessible to all students.
- Established by the expressed authority of the bishop. | <urn:uuid:49b5f657-ec43-4831-a3c0-87500a970130> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://thecatholicspirit.com/spotlight/does-your-catholic-schools-have-these-9-defining-characteristics/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398869.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00020-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932789 | 213 | 3.25 | 3 |
American school principals have highly complex jobs that are variously described as building managers, personnel administrators, agents of change, boundary spanners, disciplinarians, cheerleaders, and instructional leaders (Smith & Andrews, 1989). Regardless of the roles these individuals play, however, few dispute that principals have emerged as primary players in the improvement of school instructional programs. Remarkably, this important role for administrators in school improvement has not always been apparent to educational researchers. Early educational research almost ignored the characteristics of these leaders or their influence on schools. As Behling and Champion (1984) noted in their review of principals as instructional leaders,
Considerable research over the past seventy-five years has focused on learners, teachers, and school classrooms, but the role of the principal has been addressed only indirectly. (p. v)
This omission has changed in recent years, however, as concerns with the nation's educational system have encouraged increased scrutiny of schools and school leaders by education, governmental, business, and community groups. Yet, despite the acknowledged primary role of principals in the educational process and the many reform initiatives proposed and implemented in the nation during the last decade, few large-scale, national studies have examined principals' characteristics, behaviors, and beliefs, or tracked the changes occurring in light of the new policies, programs, and expectations.
The 1987-88, 1990-91, and 1993-94 administrations of the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) provide the opportunity to use national data to examine policy-relevant issues about the principalship in the reform environment of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The (NCES) of the U.S. Department of Education regularly conducts this national survey of public and private schools, public school districts, principals, and teachers. First conducted during the 1987-88 school year, the SASS samples approximately 10 percent of the nation's schools. The school administrators or principals of these schools are surveyed, along with a subsample of each school's teachers. Additionally, for public schools, the district superintendent for each of the sampled schools receives a questionnaire focused on district-level information. The integrated structure of SASS allows links between principal responses and contextual data collected from teachers, schools, and districts./1
Schools and Staffing Survey data cannot directly demonstrate the effectiveness of educational programs and practices or their influence on the characteristics or performance of school leaders. The data can, however, provide strong descriptive information about the principalship during this important period, and the data can be linked to important policy issues. The data from the three SASS administrations can also indicate changes that have taken place between 1987 and 1994, a period when policy makers developed and implemented many reform initiatives. Thus the purposes of this report are to provide descriptive information about the principalship, place that information in a policy context, and identify significant trends that may have implications for future policy.
Publication of A Nation at Risk in 1983 (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983) catalyzed widespread school improvement initiatives in the 1980s. State agencies and local communities answered the call for reform by enacting policies to tighten educational standards, strengthen professional certification requirements, and increase accountability. One report (U.S. Department of Education, 1984) estimated that 275 state and local task forces were formed to work on educational issues within 12 months of publication of A Nation at Risk. Notably, these early reform activities were based predominantly on the belief that school professionals had become lax and that increased supervision and regulation would improve the process and outcomes of schooling (Hallinger, Murphy, & Hausman, 1992). For example, Illinois' Education Reform Act of 1985 (1) mandated that principals spend the majority of their time as instructional leaders, (2) increased requirements for all types of state certification, and (3) required that local education agencies publish yearly report cards comparing student outcomes to state and local standards (Illinois State Board of Education, 1985).
While the release of A Nation at Risk initiated a wave of reform activities in many states (see e.g., U.S. Department of Education, 1984; Miller, 1987), concern with the effectiveness of American schooling continued, ultimately resulting in a second round of reform activities precipitated in 1989 by the Governors Education Summit in Charlottesville, Virginia. In the aftermath of that meeting, American school reform was transformed into school restructuring, a process that focused, at least initially, not on repairs to the existing system as targeted under the earlier reform activities, but rather on the reshaping of the entire educational enterprise (Hallinger et al., 1992, p. 330). Principals constitute a primary group in school restructuring, being both the agents of change by virtue of their roles as school managers and instructional leaders (see e.g., Bossert, Dwyer, Rowan, & Lee, 1982; Pajak & McAfee, 1992), and targets of change given their increased accountability for school outcomes and the restructuring efforts that require principals to share decision making with teachers (see e.g., Heck, Larsen, & Marcoulides, 1990).
Small, descriptive studies have examined specific aspects of the reform process including, for example, administrative support for reform (see e.g., Hallinger et al., 1992), the activities of principals in this transitional period (Stronge, 1988), and the elements of success for effective principals (Cooper, 1989; Queen, 1989). Other larger studies examined only segments of the school administrator population (e.g., the National Association of Elementary School Principals' decennial survey of elementary principals reported by Doud, 1989) or focused on single topics (e.g., fringe benefits and the opinions of school personnel reported by the research arm of the major principal and administrator professional associations, the Educational Research Service [ERS], 1986, 1991). Little broad policy-relevant research, however, is available to assess the impact of the two waves of school reform on the principalship or to inform future policy initiatives. The Schools and Staffing Survey partially fills this void by providing descriptive information about the changing nature of the individuals who serve as principals, including their perceptions of challenges they face.
The multiple administrations of SASS (1987-88, 1990-91, and 1993-94) provide a unique opportunity to examine the policies, practices, and perceptions of the nation's public and private schools, school districts, principals, and teachers. Schools and Staffing Survey has been described as:
The most thorough and comprehensive survey of American education concerning the school work force and teacher supply and demand that has ever been conducted in this country (Choy et al., 1993, p. iii).
Major categories of data collected by SASS include school and school administrator characteristics, teacher characteristics, programs and policies, teacher supply and demand, and the opinions and attitudes of teachers and school administrators regarding policies and working conditions. The ability to link survey data for individual principals, schools, teachers, and districts enhances the analytical potential of the data, as does the use of comparable questions in each round of administration.
This report is based mainly on responses to survey questions that examined the demographic characteristics, educational backgrounds, training and experiences, and attitudes and perceptions of the nation's public and private school principals during the 1987-88, 1990-91, and 1993-94 school years. These data were from responses to the following questionnaires:
Analyses of school-level administrators could not be done, however, without also considering the environment in which they operate. Consequently, the following additional SASS instruments were used, where necessary, to obtain descriptive information about the schools in which administrators are located and the teachers whom they lead, including factors such as student characteristics and school descriptors:
This report uses SASS data to provide a comprehensive portrait of the American public and private school principalship during the 1993-94 school year and to assess changes over the six previous years. To highlight trends, many of the tables and figures in this report present results from each of the three survey years. Other tables and figures present only 1993-94 data where current information is more relevant or when temporal changes are insignificant.
Many issues guided the preparation of this report. These issues were identified through a careful review of the current literature on school administration, especially in the context of school reform; a detailed examination of the 1987-88, 1990-91, and 1993-94 SASS instruments; and the reports developed from the 1987-88 and 1990-91 SASS (Hammer & Gerald, 1990; Hammer & Rohr, 1993; Choy, Henke, Alt, Medrich, & Bobbitt, 1993). The issues fell under the following four broad topics, which correspond to the subsequent chapters of this report:
This report presents findings of interest to practicing educators, researchers, and policy makers at the national, state, and local levels. The body of the report is nontechnical and descriptive in nature, with considerable effort devoted to the presentation of analytic findings in ways that facilitate comprehension. Reading this report does not require any statistical expertise. Differences and similarities discussed in the text, however, have been evaluated for statistical significance using Student's t statistic adjusted for multiple comparisons with the Bonferroni procedure at the a=.05 level./2
This first chapter has provided background information that sets the stage for the discussions of specific issues that follow. The remaining chapters of the report are organized around the topics listed above. The chapters highlight and display data of particular interest on issues relevant to each topic.
All numbers appearing in the figures and tables in the following chapters, as well as numbers cited in the text, also appear in the tables of estimates in appendix A. The figures and tables in the chapters highlight important variables discussed in the text. Where numbers cited in the text do not appear in these figures or tables, a reference for an appendix table is provided (in parentheses with the prefix A).
Appendix B includes tables of standard errors for the estimates presented in appendix A. Appendix C contains technical notes for the report and includes a discussion of sampling, data collection, and analysis. Appendix D provides a list of additional reports and other publications on the Schools and Staffing Survey.
is interested in the readers' reactions to the information presented in this report and to the content of the surveys used to collect the information. Recommendations to improve the survey effort are welcomed. If you have suggestions or comments, want more information about this report, or would like copies of the questionnaires, please contact:
Education Surveys Program
Surveys and Cooperative Systems Group
U.S. Department of Education
1900 K Street NW, Suite 9000
Washington DC 20006
See appendix C for a more extensive description of SASS.
A description of the statistical procedures is included in appendix C. | <urn:uuid:ab048f6c-3735-4c38-bdbf-8ab1e752b303> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://nces.ed.gov/pubs/ppsp/97455-1.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396100.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00095-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941697 | 2,184 | 3.046875 | 3 |
In celebration of Penguin Awareness Day this January 20, we present you with a list of interesting facts about penguins and some cute photos to go along with them! Use this post as inspiration and educate more people about penguins by making and distributing penguin-themed bookmarks and door hangers. UPrinting currently offers great discounts for bookmark printing and door hanger printing, and we’ll be glad to help out in raising penguin awareness. If you have more interesting facts about penguins, please feel free to share it with us by leaving a comment.
Disclaimer: Images on this page are not owned by UPrinting and are used solely for educational purposes. Please click on the images to see their original sources.
1. Penguins are one of more than 40 species of birds that can’t fly. But they do have feathers and lay eggs just like the others.
2. Of the 18 penguin species, Emperor penguins are the most recognizable as they starred in movies like Happy Feet and March of the Penguins.
3. Penguins have sharp beaks and mouths filled with backward facing spines to offset their lack of teeth. They are carnivores that feed on fish, squid, krill and other crustaceans.
4. Penguins eat snow as a source of fresh water. But they are also able to drink salt water without adverse effects because they have a gland that excretes excess salt from their body.
5. Penguin feathers are often mistaken as fur because they are short and compact. Their feathers and thick layer of blubber help penguins stay warm. Baby penguins or penguin chicks have soft and fluffy feathers called “down.”
6. Penguins really do sing and dance–although not as well as portrayed in the movie Happy Feet. To attract their mates, Emperor penguins make unique trumpeting sounds while male Adelie penguins do dance-like movements with their head and flippers.
7. Penguins’ counter-shaded body colors help protect them from predators, as it acts as the perfect camouflage when they’re in the water.
8. Penguins can see well underwater. They can also swim as fast as 20 miles per hour and hold their breath underwater for 20 minutes. Penguins may look deceptively cute and cuddly, but they are excellent hunters.
9. Penguins spend most of their 15-20 year life at the sea. Natural predators like sea lions and foxes as well as pollution and the various effects of global warming pose the biggest threats to their lives.
10. Aside from Antartica, penguins can also be found in South America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. There are NO penguins up north.
More Penguin Photos:
or call 1-888-888-4211 and to find out more about our bookmark and door hanger services. You can also subscribe
to our RSS feed for more helpful tips and inspiration. | <urn:uuid:62ba2610-2c9f-4d8e-b279-e2083d7a59f3> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://blog.uprinting.com/cool-penguin-facts-and-photos-for-penguin-awareness-day/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393332.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00160-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950596 | 604 | 3.203125 | 3 |
Click on the headline (link) for the full text.
Many more articles are available through the Energy Bulletinhomepage
How to survive the coming century
Gaia Vince, New Scientist
... Fearing that the best efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions may fail, or that planetary climate feedback mechanisms will accelerate warming, some scientists and economists are considering not only what this world of the future might be like, but how it could sustain a growing human population. They argue that surviving in the kinds of numbers that exist today, or even more, will be possible, but only if we use our uniquely human ingenuity to cooperate as a species to radically reorganise our world.
The good news is that the survival of humankind itself is not at stake: the species could continue if only a couple of hundred individuals remained. But maintaining the current global population of nearly 7 billion, or more, is going to require serious planning.
Four degrees may not sound like much - after all, it is less than a typical temperature change between night and day. It might sound quite pleasant, like moving to Florida from Boston, say, or retiring from the UK to southern Spain. An average warming of the entire globe by 4 °C is a very different matter, however, and would render the planet unrecognisable from anything humans have ever experienced.
(25 February 2009)
Polar research reveals new evidence of global environmental change
Press release, International Council for Science
Multidisciplinary research from the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008 provides new evidence of the widespread effects of global warming in the polar regions. Snow and ice are declining in both polar regions, affecting human livelihoods as well as local plant and animal life in the Arctic, as well as global ocean and atmospheric circulation and sea level. These are but a few findings reported in “State of Polar Research”, released today by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the International Council for Science (ICSU). In addition to lending insight into climate change, IPY has aided our understanding of pollutant transport, species’ evolution, and storm formation, among many other areas.
The wide-ranging IPY findings result from more than 160 endorsed science projects assembled from researchers in more than 60 countries. Launched in March 2007, the IPY covers a two-year period to March 2009 to allow for observations during the alternate seasons in both polar regions. A joint project of WMO and ICSU, IPY spearheaded efforts to better monitor and understand the Arctic and Antarctic regions, with international funding support of about US$ 1.2 billion over the two-year period.
“The International Polar Year 2007 – 2008 came at a crossroads for the planet’s future” said Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General of WMO. “The new evidence resulting from polar research will strengthen the scientific basis on which we build future actions.”
(25 February 2009)
Adapting to Water Woes
Stephanie Tavares, Las Vegas Sun
The southwestern United States is moving headlong toward an environmental catastrophe of apocalyptic proportions.
"A lot of people say that in global warming there will be winners and losers. In the Southwest, we'll be in the losers' category," University of Arizona climatologist Jonathan Overpeck said at a symposium on global warming's effect on the Southwest.
Overpeck discussed the latest scientific consensus on climate change at the Feb. 19 symposium, hosted by the Urban Land Institute at the Palms.
... The problem of climate change in the Southwest is fairly complex, but can be summed up in one word: water.
The Southwest is the most persistent hot spot on the globe and has a history of severe drought.
(27 February 2009)
Also at Common Dreams.
Las Vegas Running Out of Water Means Dimming Los Angeles Lights
John Lippert and Jim Efstathiou Jr., Bloomsburg
... Water upheavals are intensifying because the population is growing fastest in places where fresh water is either scarce or polluted. Dry areas are becoming drier and wet areas wetter as the oceans and atmosphere warm. Economic roadblocks, such as the global credit crunch and its effects on Mulroy’s attempts to sell bonds, multiply during a recession.
Yet local governments that control water face unyielding pressure from constituents to keep the price low, regardless of cost. Agricultural interests, commercial developers and the housing industry clash over dwindling supplies. Companies, burdened by slowing profits, will be forced to move from dry areas such as the American Southwest, Udall says.
“Water is going to be more important than oil in the next 20 years,” says Dipak Jain, dean of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, who studies why corporations locate where they do.
(26 February 2009) | <urn:uuid:4a587363-476e-4299-9d9d-bd0e64e3d0c6> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.energybulletin.net/print/48210 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397797.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00062-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936286 | 1,003 | 3.28125 | 3 |
Groups by Alphabet
Gastric cancer (cancer of the stomach) is most often found in people over age 55. Statistics have shown that men are more susceptible than women, and black more than whites. In India, approximately 24,000 new cases of gastric cancer are diagnosed each year and about 700,000 new cases diagnosed worldwide.
Medindia’s support group hosts additional information on this form of cancer, its prognosis and treatment options.
We seem to be consuming a lot of carcinogens which are actually cancer producing substances right from the tinned food that we use to dyes that are present in the food stuffs. Is it any wonder that cancer stomach is a very serious problem today. Even fresh fruits and vegetables which contain antioxidants that are recommended are ripened by substances that are carcinogenic and gastric irritants.
Sorry, you need to be a member of this group to start a topic or post a reply.
Would you like to join the Gastric Cancer / Cancer Of The Stomach support group?
Please include a brief message introducing yourself to the group : | <urn:uuid:cebb80b2-0791-48a4-9c3b-6de17d89163f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.medwonders.com/support-groups/gastric-cancer-cancer-of-the-stomach/discussion-posts-814-1.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397213.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00054-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94518 | 224 | 2.515625 | 3 |
In English, we describe writing as either cursive/longhand (joined letters) or printed (block letters). What Spanish words are there to describe these concepts? And how common is the use of cursive in Spanish-speaking countries compared to English-speaking ones?
- Anybody can ask a question
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These are called:
As far as how much is cursive is used I can tell you that where I come from (Mexico), I write in cursive and most people are surprised to see my handwriting, so I guess not too common. | <urn:uuid:0e0329d3-baec-4f6a-a537-5748ed941919> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://spanish.stackexchange.com/questions/2632/cursive-and-printed-writing | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393146.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00011-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963476 | 132 | 2.9375 | 3 |
Front Country Areas are areas of the Monument where management will focus on maintaining multiple types of access for recreation and interpretive opportunities. Emphasis is on access to cultural and biological areas for extensive public use while maintaining the integrity of resources. Back Country Areas are areas of the Monument where management will focus on maintaining the natural landscape and primitive recreation opportunities. The emphasis of Back Country is to preserve natural primitive landscapes while allowing needed access to cultural and biological areas. This shapefile contains RMP Alternative B for Front and Back Country designation on the Agua Fria National Monument. Overall, the RMP Alternatives comprise Alternative A, also known as the no-action or current management alternative, and four action alternatives: Alternative B, which plans for increased public use while ensuring resource protection; Alternative C, which provides visitors with opportunities to experience the natural landscapes and cultural resource setting of the Monument, generally with more restrictive decisions than Alternative B; Alternative D, which emphasizes the preservation of undeveloped, primitive landscapes on the Monument, resulting in limited public use and the withdrawal of authorized grazing; and Alternative E, the preferred alternative.
In a particular alternative, the key "alternative (e.g. Alt A) attribute" has a domain that represents the several possible designations for each polygon. A particular polygon is assigned the designation that planners deemed appropriate. For this resource, if a particular area is a place where this resource will not be one of the "multiple uses" of the land, the designation is "not allocated." The entire "allocation" of the resource in each alternative is the sum of the acres, throughout the extent, for which the land has a management designation (other than "not allocated").
This data set was prepared for use in the BLM Phoenix Field Office (PFO) Agua Fria National Monument and Bradshaw-Harquahala planning areas Resource Management Planning (RMP) process. The RMP process was initiated by the publication of the Notice of Intent (NOI) in the Federal Register on April 24, 2002 (67 FR 20148), and was ongoing when the consultant (Jones & Stokes) datasets were submitted to BLM PFO in March, 2004. The shapefile is intended for regional analysis and display at a scale of 1:24,000. Abstract and corresponding spatial domain (extent) indicate the area covered by the shapefile, within or outside the planning areas. | <urn:uuid:045d9f7b-edc2-4440-bb00-dfa16b492968> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.blm.gov/az/GIS/agua_fria/Alt_B/afnm-alt-B-backcntry-zone_010504.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391634.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00043-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.901383 | 489 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Every living being in the universe consists of cells, which is the basic element of life and executes all the functions of body parts. In fact, each cell consists of different parts and the function of each part is different. The performance of cells also depends upon the parts of cells which decide the individual functions of cells. Similarly, the numbers of cells present in each living being are different. Human body consists of thousands of cell, but there are also such living being which consists of just one cell. Flagella, Stereocilia, Microvilli and Cilia are the terms which are related to cell. Let’s clear the difference between these terms.
Flagella or Flagellum (Singular) are organelle of cells. These are thread-like structures which are present on the living cell surface. These are long whip-like tail structures which are present on both Eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. The count of flagella is not more than 10 in any type of cell and mostly only one or two flagella are present in the cells.
Stereocilia are also organelle of cells, but typically of hair cells. This mechano-sensing organelle gives clear response to change in fluid pressure or fluid motion. Despite having 5mm, stereocilia are characterized by lack of motility. Being having mechano-sensing function, these are present in the inner ear, epididymis and ductus deferens.
The protrusions of cellular membrane in eukaryotic cells are called Microvilli. The role of Microvilli is to facilitate cellular adhesion, secretion, absorption and mechanco-transduction. These are non-motile organelle and present in the sensory organs like nose, mouth and ears.
Cilia or Cilium (Singular) are the part of eukaryotic or animal cells which looks like fine hair like projections. Cilia could be motile or non-motile. Both mobile and immobile Cilia act as sensory organisms. Motile cilia play a role of sweeping dirt and mucus out of lungs and present along the trachea lining. On the other hand, non-motile cilia play a role of olfactory sensors and present in the nose of eyes.
Flagella vs Stereocilia vs Microvilli vs Cilia
No doubt, all Flagella, Stereocilia, Microvilli and Cilia are the organelle or parts of eukaryotic cells, but they are different from each other in terms of structure and function. Only stereocilia are similar to microvilli for many similarities in characteristics. However, their length and bundle arrangement differentiate them from mircovilli. Similarly, unlike cilia, stereocilia and microvilli are immobile. Moreover, both Flagella and cilia present in the Eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells unlike stereocilia and microvilli which are only the part of eukaryotic cells.
- What is the Difference between Mixture Atom Molecule Element and Compound
- What is the Difference between Fermentation Corrosion Oxidation and Reduction
- What is the Difference between Petroleum Coolant Glidant Grease and Lubricant
- What is the Difference between Lime Asphalt Grout Mortar Cement and Concrete
- What is the Difference between Ignition, Detonation, Combustion and Explosion
- What is the Difference between Speed, Velocity and Acceleration
- What is the Difference between Neutral, Earthing, Grounding and Bonding
- What is the Difference between Covalent Bonds and Ionic Bonds
- What is the Difference between Zygote, Blastocyst, Embryo and Fetus
- What is the Difference between Heterogeneous and Homogeneous Mixtures | <urn:uuid:62e840a0-6793-475a-8f03-e1b4c0c19ec2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.whatisdifferencebetween.com/science/what-is-the-difference-between-flagella-stereocilia-microvilli-and-cilia.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404382.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00001-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940655 | 798 | 4.09375 | 4 |
It is well established that extensive depletion of ozone, initiated by heterogenous reactions on polar stratospheric clouds(PSCs) can occur in both the Arctic and Antarctic lower stratosphere. Moreover, it has been shown that ozone lossrates in the Arctic region in recent years reached values comparable to those over the Antarctic. But until now theaccumulated ozone losses over the Arctic have been the smaller, mainly because the period of Arctic ozone loss hasnot-unlike over the Antarctic-persisted well into springtime. Here we report the occurrence-during the unusuallycold 1995-96 Arctic winter-of the highest recorded chemical ozone loss over the Arctic region. Two new kinds ofbehaviour were observed. First, ozone loss at some altitudes was observed long after the last exposure to PSCs. Thiscontinued loss appears to be due to a removal of the nitrogen species that slow down chemical ozone depletion. Second,in another altitude range ozone loss rates decreased while PSCs were still present, apparently because of an earlytransformation of the ozone-destroying chlorine species into less active chlorinenitrate. The balance between these twocounteracting mechanisms is probably a fine one, determined by small differences in wintertime stratospherictemperatures. If the apparent cooling trend in the Arctic stratosphere is real, more dramatic ozone losses may occurin the future. | <urn:uuid:842c686f-9f4e-4424-a793-d5a4cb45af98> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://epic.awi.de/2572/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399385.17/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00122-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933033 | 277 | 2.65625 | 3 |
An electromyogram (EMG) is a common clinical test used to assess function of muscles and the nerves that control them. EMG studies are used to help in the diagnosis and management of disorders such as the muscular dystrophies and neuropathies. Nerve conduction studies that measure how well and how fast the nerves conduct impulses are often performed in conjunction with EMG studies.
Examples of EMG studies (courtesy of Seward Rutkove, MD, Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School) are given here.
Data were collected with a Medelec Synergy N2 EMG Monitoring System (Oxford Instruments Medical, Old Woking, United Kingdom). A 25mm concentric needle electrode was placed into the tibialis anterior muscle of each subject. The patient was then asked to dorsiflex the foot gently against resistance. The needle electrode was repositioned until motor unit potentials with a rapid rise time were identified. Data were then collected for several seconds, at which point the patient was asked to relax and the needle removed.
The figure shows three examples of EMG data from: 1) a 44 year old man without history of neuromuscular disease; 2) a 62 year old man with chronic low back pain and neuropathy due to a right L5 radiculopathy; and 3) a 57 year old man with myopathy due to longstanding history of polymyositis, treated effectively with steroids and low-dose methotrexate. The data were recorded at 50 KHz and then downsampled to 4 KHz. During the recording process two analog filters were used: a 20 Hz high-pass filter and a 5K Hz low-pass filter.
Suggested readings about EMG:
- Kimura J. Electrodiagnosis in Diseases of Nerve and Muscle: Principles and Practice, 3rd Edition. New York, Oxford University Press, 2001.
- Reaz MBI, Hussain MS and Mohd-Yasin F. Techniques of EMG signal analysis: detection, processing, classification and applications. Biol. Proced. Online 2006; 8(1): 11-35.
Name Last modified Size Description
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Updated Wednesday, 15 June 2016 at 10:08 BRT | <urn:uuid:2b7dccc3-5596-4f4b-ace6-30372edcf4d2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://physionet.incor.usp.br/physiobank/database/emgdb/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395620.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00039-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.886123 | 763 | 3.171875 | 3 |
14 November, 2013 - Regular, moderate coffee consumption may decrease an individual's risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to research highlighted in a report published by the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee (ISIC).
More than 370 million people worldwide have diabetes making it one of the most significant health problems(1). To mark World Diabetes Day, ISIC has published an updated report outlining the latest research on coffee and type 2 diabetes.
Key research findings include:
- Epidemiological evidence shows that drinking three to four cups of coffee per day is associated with an approximate 25% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, compared to consuming none or less than two cups per day(2,3)
- Research has also suggested an inverse dose response, with each additional cup of coffee reducing the relative risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 7-8 per cent(2,3).
- Caffeine is unlikely to be responsible for the protective effects of coffee, as one study(4) suggested that both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee are associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes
- Recent work(5) showed an advantage of filtered coffee over boiled, decaffeinated coffee over caffeinated coffee and a stronger inverse correlation in those under 60 years age group
- Another study(6) shows that regular but not decaffeinated coffee was much more protective against type 2 diabetes in women of all ethnic groups than in men
The report also puts forward some of the key mechanistic theories that underlie the possible relationship between coffee consumption and the reduced risk of diabetes. These includes the 'Energy Expenditure Hypothesis', which suggests that the caffeine in coffee stimulates metabolism and increases energy expenditure and the 'Carbohydrate Metabolic Hypothesis', whereby it is thought that coffee components play a key role by influencing the glucose balance within the body.
There is also a subset of theories that suggest coffee contains components that may improve insulin sensitivity though mechanisms such as modulating inflammatory pathways, mediating the oxidative stress of cells, hormonal effects or by reducing iron stores.
The updated report is based on a report from the World Congress on Prevention of Diabetes, held in 2012 and is updated with the latest research from this field published over the past year. Please contact us for the full summary.
Further information on coffee and diabetes can be found on the Coffee and Health website: http://www.
1 International Diabetes Federation. (2012) Diabetes Atlas, 5th Edition.
2 Huxley R. et al. (2009) Coffee, Decaffeinated Coffee, and Tea Consumption in Relation to Incident Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Arch Intern Med, 169:2053-63.
3 Zhang Y. et al. (2011) Coffee consumption and the incidence of type 2 diabetes in men and women with normal glucose tolerance: The Strong Heart Study. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 21(6):418-23.
4 Bhupathiraju S.N. et al. (2012) Caffeinated and caffeine-free beverages and risk of type 2 diabetes. Am J Clin Nutr. 97(1):155-6.
5 Muley A. et al. (2012) Coffee to reduce risk of type-2 diabetes?: a systematic review. Current Diabetes Reviews. 8:162-8.
6 Doo T. et al. (2013) Coffee intake and risk of type 2 diabetes: the multiethnic cohort. Public Health Nutrition, published online ahead of print. | <urn:uuid:7b821b85-f83a-4f96-af22-f23da649a277> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-11/k-mcc111113.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392159.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00115-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906476 | 713 | 2.953125 | 3 |
No animal left behind
There is a laundry list of animals and plants seeking protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and it has become increasingly evident that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service cannot process the petitions fast enough.
With Congress back in session, the economy is once again taking center stage. As the country works to find its footing amid rising unemployment and an unstable financial system, there will be little opportunity for policy discussions outside of those arenas - especially when it comes to conservation.
As New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof recently wrote,
“We’re Rich! (In Nature.) It doesn’t count in our net worth, but its value is incalculable: our national parks, national forests and other public lands…America’s most valuable assets aren’t controlled by hedge funds; they’re shared by us all. Gaps between rich and poor have been growing, but our national lands are a rare space of utter democracy: the poorest citizen gets resplendent views that even a billionaire is not allowed to buy.”
Inhabiting these lands are majestic species that are our responsibility to protect.
Unfortunately, the policies we have in place to protect these animals and their habitats are badly in need of protection themselves.
There is a laundry list of animals and plants seeking protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and it has become increasingly evident that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service cannot process the petitions fast enough. The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) hasn’t been updated in 30 years to reflect appropriate modern-day fines and practices.
Albeit not without flaws, right now, these vital pieces of legislation are the best safeguards we have in the U.S. to protect wildlife from an ever-expanding list of threats.
But instead of looking for ways to improve these laws and make them more effective, many members of the 112th Congress are calling for landmark pieces of conservation legislation to be defunded or gutted, or in some cases they are already introducing laws to circumvent these important protections – such as a bill introduced by Representative Don Young from Alaska allowing over 40 trophy hunters to by-pass the ESA and MMPA and bring back their sport-hunted polar bear carcasses despite the fact that the hunters killed a species threatened with extinction.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare is doing all we can to ensure that animals of all kinds receive the protection they deserve.
Now is not the time to leave these animals behind. Without additional appropriations and new policies, we must at least make sure the ones we have in place are not compromised. The animals and the places they inhabit depend on it. | <urn:uuid:2c539fa1-19d3-48ab-b1cd-8932b82991e1> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ifaw.org/canada/node/3018 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397111.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00134-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933356 | 554 | 2.765625 | 3 |
The cold front that rained and blew its way through the region Thursday night may be just what the doctor ordered for boosting the magnificent annual passage of thousands of hawks around the northwest corner of Lake Erie.
These annual autumnal migrations, principally of broad-winged hawks in terms of numbers, are an internationally recognized natural phenomenon.
Timing of the major movements by species varies somewhat from year to year, but the peak period for movement of the greatest numbers of birds of prey, or raptors, generally occurs in mid-September.
On Sept. 17, 1998, for example, a record 517,000 hawks soared past two sites, and on Sept. 18, 2006, some 131,000 hawks and other raptors soared overhead.
The watch sites are along the shore at Lake Erie Metropark and Pointe Mouillee State Game Area about 15 miles northeast of Monroe, near the mouth of the Detroit River. Annually between Sept. 1 and Nov. 30, trained observers maintain the sites, scanning the skies along the mouth of a four-mile-wide migratory funnel.
Through mid week, before the cold front, more than 5,500 raptors had passed over the metropark site, some 4,000 of them broad-winged hawks and about 1,000 of them sharp-shinned hawks.
The annual observation now is known as the Detroit River Hawk Watch and its management has been turned over by the founding organization, Southeastern Michigan Raptor Research, to the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge and its friends associate, the International Wildlife Refuge Alliance. Daily updates are available by visiting online at drhawkwatch.org, then clicking on “count data” and “hawkcount.”
No fewer than 15 species of raptors might be represented during the fall migrations.
These birds include such families as hawks, eagles, falcons, owls, and vultures.
These noteworthy passages are rooted in geography and weather. Ideal passage conditions form on the back side of a cold front, with clear skies and moderate northerly wind to help push the migrations.
As birds of prey head south from summer breeding grounds in eastern Canada, their flights run into Lake Erie on the south and Lake Huron and Lake St. Clair on the west.
Swirling updrafts of sun-warmed air known as thermal layers are favored by raptors but do not form over water, so birds heading southwest are funneled along the north shore of Lake Erie toward the Detroit River mouth where they cross into southeast Michigan and disperse southward toward their wintering grounds.
Another watch site, the Holiday Beach Migration Observatory near Amherstburg, Ont., now in its 37th season, lies across the Detroit River mouth from Lake Erie Metropark.
Through Friday morning some 6,500 raptors had passed over that site so far this month, including more than 3,300 broadwings and more than 2,200 sharpshins.
At Holiday Beach another volunteer group also watches hawks and keeps records, which can be viewed at the observatory's Web site, hbmo.org.
In conjunction with the hawk observations, celebrations are in order.
The 21th annual HawkFest, a celebration of raptors and the autumn passages, is under way this weekend at Lake Erie Metropark's Marshland Museum grounds. Hours Sunday are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Featured events include environmental presentations on hawks, a live raptor rehabilitation program, and programs on the flight of hawks and the recovery of bald eagles.
Games and crafts for children also are planned, along with an optics display, exhibits, raffle, and prizes.
A Hawks Feast breakfast is set for 9 a.m. Sunday. Call the metropark for other details, 734-379-5020 extension 6836 or visit online at metroparks.com.
The annual Festival of Hawks at Holiday Beach got under way last weekend and continues this weekend with a series of events from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
These include nature displays and workshops, equipment displays, songbird banding demonstrations, hawk banding, monarch tagging, and hawk identification, and dragonfly migration walks.
Daily times and event details are available on the HBMO Web site.
The observatory lies within the Holiday Beach Conservation Area, 40 minutes from the Ambassador Bridge at Detroit/Windsor.
For details call 519-736-3772 or visit the HBMO Web site.
Contact Steve Pollick at:firstname.lastname@example.org 419-724-6068. | <urn:uuid:678939cd-bdf5-4af7-9c3e-df7b7b4256ad> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.toledoblade.com/StevePollick/2010/09/19/Hawk-migration-underway.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398075.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00175-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93012 | 969 | 3.53125 | 4 |
John W. Boyd, Jr., founder and president of the National Black Farmers Association, (seen here on Capitol Hill, 23 Sep 2010) says passage of the Claims Settlement Act is 'long-overdue justice.'
Tens of thousands of African American farmers and Native Americans will soon receive compensation for discrimination and mismanagement they allegedly suffered at the hands of the federal government.
President Barack Obama is expected to sign a $4.5 billion bill just passed by the U.S. Congress to settle these long-standing claims.
Black farmers settled their lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture more than a decade ago over claims of racial discrimination in federal loans and other programs that USDA administers, but disputes over who was eligible and Congressional wrangling over funding for the settlement delayed final resolution.
The new law makes nearly 80,000 black farmers eligible to apply for compensation that amounts to about $50,000 each.
John Boyd, president of the National Black Farmers Association, described Congressional passage of the Claims Settlement Act as long-overdue justice.
"It's very, very good that black farmers will finally have the opportunity to have their cases heard, based on their merit," he said.
But Boyd said the victory as bittersweet, because many black farmers who suffered discrimination have died before their cases could be resolved.
USDA is also taking steps to resolve claims of discrimination involving Hispanic and women farmers along the same lines as the settlement with black farmers.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said, "There has been a concerted effort to do what has not been done in many cases for 10, 15, 20, in some cases 30 years, which is to try to resolve as many of these cases in as fair and equitable a way as possible."
Native American land, water
In addition to the settlement with black farmers, the new law also provides $3.4 billion to settle a variety of claims made by Native Americans. They include mismanagement by the Department of the Interior of hundreds of thousands of trust funds intended to compensate Native Americans for the use of their lands and resources.
Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Hayes says the new law also makes historic progress on four water-rights cases in the arid American West long pursued by Native American groups.
"These four matters have been, in fact, in litigation for cumulatively over 100 years of litigation," he said. "We brought all of them to settlements."
In a written statement, Jefferson Keel, president of the National Congress of American Indians, said the law settles historic injustices and starts the U.S. government on a course to make Native American lands more productive for future generations. | <urn:uuid:ab6e307e-9795-4fc3-806f-b0cebe625c82> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.voanews.com/content/us-government-settles-with--111394004/168969.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397795.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00035-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966157 | 548 | 2.578125 | 3 |
The exposed edge of the trench helps hold the grate in position and is subject to the same loads as the grate. In addition to the effect of climate and weight of vehicles, it may be exposed to impact from items being dropped or pulled across it (e.g. skips). Once the edge fails, the grate will move and cause catastrophic failure.
Metal edges are most commonly used to withstand the abuse of traffic. Edge protection rails should be integrally cast-in or mechanically connected to the trench body. Edge rails that sit over existing standard edges are often ill-fitting and susceptible to failure.
Edge protection rails also provide some protection during installation, particularly if the wearing course of the pavement is not applied immediately. Appropriate edge protection is particularly important in asphalt situations where rolling machines can damage trench edges, leading to premature failure of the trench. | <urn:uuid:99e935c5-f0f7-48ed-9378-c2f94a0b6063> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.acoaus.com.au/education/drain/edge_protect.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395548.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00112-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917207 | 172 | 2.890625 | 3 |
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
October 12, 1999
Explanation: It may look like a butterfly, but it's bigger than our Solar System. NGC 2346 is a planetary nebula made of gas and dust that has evolved into a familiar shape. At the heart of the bipolar planetary nebula is a pair of close stars orbiting each other once every sixteen days. The tale of how the butterfly blossomed probably began millions of years ago, when the stars were farther apart. The more massive star expanded to encompass its binary companion, causing the two to spiral closer and expel rings of gas. Later, bubbles of hot gas emerged as the core of the massive red giant star became uncovered. In billions of years, our Sun will become a red giant and emit a planetary nebula - but probably not in the shape of a butterfly, because the Sun has no binary star companion.
Authors & editors:
Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Technical Rep.: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA/ GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U. | <urn:uuid:32b31a11-3acb-4708-bc4e-af4acb268d09> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap991012.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402479.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00150-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.927967 | 248 | 4 | 4 |
|CNN's Dan Rutz reports on the use of Native American healing with modern medicine in treating some patients in Arizona.
Native Americans combine old and new medicine
September 13, 1999
Web posted at: 2:08 p.m. EDT (1808 GMT)
TUCSON, Arizona (CNN) -- Heart disease, once rare among Native American Indians, has become their leading cause of death, and doctors at the University of Arizona are trying to reverse that trend by combining modern medicine with traditional native healers.
Spiritual healers work in conjunction with hospital staffers who say their Native American friends have taught them that when mind, body and soul are working together, healing comes more quickly.
CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Dan Rutz visited the University of Arizona, where heart specialist Dr. James Galloway says high tech and ancient tradition are producing amazing results.
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Pneumonia vaccine may help heart, too | <urn:uuid:c53209d6-5d29-4ea9-973e-f45fd92963e2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/alternative/9909/13/native.healers/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397695.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00092-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.907927 | 225 | 2.984375 | 3 |
| ||Pre-emergence rolling | Post-emergence rolling | Timing of post-emergence weed control and rolling | Late spring frosts/wind damage and land rolling | Summary
Pulse production in Western Canada has made land rolling a common practice on the farm. Land rolling is done to ease harvest operations as well as aid in producing a high quality pulse crop.
There is limited research on land rolling of pulse crops. Three trials have been completed in western Canada: one on lentil in Saskatchewan, one on field pea in Alberta and one on dry edible bean and pea in Manitoba. Pulse crop growers have also provided their experience on land rolling of pulse crops.
Pulse crop fields are rolled for a number of reasons:
For rolling fields, the steel cylinder land roller is the most common roller used (Figure 1). However, if the land does not have rocks, a harrow packer (coil, spiral) draw bar is a viable option to the land roller. Harrows (tooth and tine) can break lumps and firm soil, but do not push rocks down and are not recommended for pulse crops, which may lodge.
- to provide a smooth and level surface (push down soil ridges) for faster, easier harvest operations and better seed-to-soil contact
- to push down stones to reduce guard and sickle section breakage as well as expensive "internal" combine damage
- to allow the cutter bar to get closer to the base of plants to reduce yield losses
- to reduce "earth tag" or soil on the seed, thereby improving quality
- to aid in the harvest of short stature crops; land rolling works especially well under drought conditions
- to allow for an easier adjustment and operation of lifter fingers
- to aid in the harvest of lodged pulse crops and pulse-cereal mixtures for silage
Figure 1. Roller used for land rolling pulse crops.
Pre-emergence rolling for pulse crops is the preferred approach, as opposed to post-emergence, with certain exceptions. Pre-emergence rolling is not recommended under the following conditions:
Farmers should be careful not to double roll areas of the fields, such as headlands, because excessive plant damage and packing can occur from tractor tires. Rolling the field round and round will eliminate this problem, although there will be areas of the field left unrolled.
- extremely wet conditions on clay soils or clay soils with low organic matter that are prone to crusting
- sandy soils, which are prone to erosion
- dry soils, which are prone to wind erosion
- peat soils
Chickpea, dry bean, and fababean fields are not usually rolled after emergence. For chickpea, rolling after emergence (especially under moist conditions) will spread the devastating disease ascochyta blight. Also, chickpea and fababean develop turgid, stiff stems early in their development, and rolling can cause mechanical (breakage) injury to the plants. The rolling of fababean fields is not necessary because of the higher pod location from the soil surface and the good, complete standability of this crop.
For edible beans and soybeans, the hypocotyl elongates (Figure 2), whereas in field pea, it is the epicotyl. The hypocotyl hook is more rigid when compared to the epicotyl in field pea, which is pliable. If the hypocotyl's hook is within half an inch of the soil surface or the crop is 3 to 5 days after emergence, growers should not roll dry bean. Similarly, if the soil is cool at seeding time, growers should wait a couple of days before rolling so as not to seal off the oxygen diffusion rate to the seed, which enhances germination.
Figure 2. Hypocotyl arch of emerging dry bean seedling.
The use of post-emergence rolling depends on the pulse species. Field pea and lentil may be rolled after emergence, although pre-emergence rolling is preferred. When faced with the choice to either spray early or roll early, growers should know that spraying first is recommended instead of rolling. Early weed removal, especially under higher weed pressures, will result in higher yields.
Research on rolling of field pea fields compared to a check field pea crop (not rolled) showed a trend to lower yields (although not statistically significant) with full water ballast (heavy). See Figure 3. A late rolling (2- to 3-node stage) without water ballast (light) did not reduce field pea yield in either year.
Figure 3. Effects of rolling pea fields.
Note: Early rolling was done immediately after seeding, and late rolling was at the 2- to 3-node stage. Light rolling was a 42-inch roller without water ballast while the heavy rolling was with the water ballast.
Source: Lopetinsky, K. J. and APGC - Zone 3 FFF-OFD #93-F001-5
Research on lentils indicates that land rolling after the emergence of lentil can be successfully completed up to the 5- to 7-node stage without significant yield loss in large-seeded lentil varieties, such as Laird, and the 7-node stage in small seeded varieties (Figure 4.)
Rolling the lentil crop after a rain or heavy dew can uproot small lentil seedlings and increase the risk of soil compaction or the spread of ascochyta blight and anthracnose.
Figure 4. Effect of post-emergence land rolling on Laird lentil seed yield.
Source: Whatley, 1993.
Research on dry bean and field pea found no significant differences due to the rolling treatments or the interaction between rolling treatment and crop type on a stony clay loam at Arborg, Manitoba, in 1998 (Figures 5 and 6). The rolling treatments were:
However, there were visual observations of broken hypocotyl arches in dry bean rolled 3 to 5 days after emergence. The researchers concluded that for dry bean, rolling should be completed right after seeding or after the hypocotyl arch has straightened itself.
- no rolling (check)
- rolling immediately after seeding
- rolling during the hypocotyl arch stage - 3 to 5 days after emergence (DAE)
- rolling after the hypocotyl arch stage -10 to13 DAE
Figure 5. Effect of four rolling treatments on dry bean production
a 60 bushel weight used for dry pea and bean
b I.A. Seeding - Immediately After Seeding
c DAE - Days After Emergence
Adapted from: Klassen, E.P. and Watt, J., 1998
Figure 6. Effect of four rolling treatments on dry pea production.
a 60 bushel weight used for dry pea and bean
b I.A. Seeding - Immediately After Seeding
c DAE - Days After Emergence
Adapted from: Klassen, E.P. and Watt, J., 1998.
Timing of Post-emergence Weed Control and Rolling
Producers who miss their pre-emergence rolling of pulse crop fields often ask, "Do I spray weeds first or roll the field first?" Pulse crops are poor competitors with weeds. Early emerging weeds out-compete the slow-to-emerge and slow-to-canopy pulse crop.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada researchers in Lacombe and Lethbridge found field pea yield declined for every week that spraying was delayed after emergence. Waiting 4 weeks after emergence resulted in a 25 per cent penalty in yield (Figure 7.) Not rolling a field pea crop should not result in a significant yield loss.
Figure 7. Five site-years: Lacomobe and Lethbridge
Source: Harker, H. N, Clayton, G., and Blackshaw, R., 2001.
Post-emergence rolling before spraying, especially in dry soil conditions, may result in dust on the plant foliage reducing herbicide absorption and plant photosynthesis or growth. Mechanical damage to field pea plants can also affect the ability of the pea plant to metabolize the herbicide into harmless by-products in the plant as well as decrease the weed's ability to translocate or move the herbicide into itself. The bottom line: the benefits of spraying first outweigh the risks of rolling first.
Late Spring Frosts/Wind Damage and Land Rolling
A late spring frost can damage pulse crop seedlings. Pea, lentil and chickpea seedlings can regrow from scale nodes at or just below the soil surface if the primary shoot has been damaged or killed. Post-emergence land rolling of pulse crop seedlings that have been stressed or damaged by adverse environmental conditions can increase seedling losses.
Many newer field pea varieties have better standability; if the pre-emergent rolling window is missed and the field is relatively stone free, not rolling may still be acceptable. Additionally, harrow packer bars behind airseeders can often leave a sufficiently smooth field finish.
Long vine, tall varieties (greater than 75-80 cm) and tall forage pea types have a higher tendency to lodge especially under conditions of rain and high winds before harvest. For this reason, rolling fields when growing these types of pea is well worth considering.
Other questions pulse growers often ask:
Grower experience suggests that an empty roller (without ballast) will be as effective in breaking up soils lumps, smoothing out row packer impression and pushing down stones as a land roller half full or full of water ballast (Figures 8a. and 8b.).
- How many pounds per square foot (lbs/ftý) do you need to level the soil surface (break up soil lumps, level out on-row packer impressions or push small rocks into the soil surface)?
- Can you get by with an empty or only partially filled roller?
Figure 8a. Before rolling.
Figure 8b. After rolling.
Researchers have examined opener, packer wheel and packing force and the effect on yield of direct seeded field pea at three locations from 1997 to1999. The study provided information on opener and on-row packing combinations as well as packing force.
In comparing packing forces in Newtons (N) of 0N, 333N, 549N, 747N and 1000N, Johnson et al found the response to packing force on seedling density and grain yield was insignificant. The work suggested the benefits of packing the seed on-row may be minimal in a moist seedbed, but in drier and wetter than normal conditions, some packing may improve crop emergence and yield. In 1997, pea emergence was reduced with no packing force in a relatively dry seedbed.
Reinforcing these findings is a separate study by Hultgreen, 1990, that showed a positive response to packing at sites with loam to clay soil textures. These sites were under periodic drought with heat and wind stress.
Table 1shows the approximate lbs/ft2 of a steel cylinder roller with varying diameters and water ballast.
Table 1. Land roller weight chart
* Ground pressure increases with narrower bearing surface
Ground pressure (lbs/ft2)
(based on 1 foot of ground contact)*
Half full (H20)
200 to 225
290 to 315
380 to 405
250 to 275
395 to 420
540 to 565
300 to 325
510 to 535
715 to 740
350 to 375
640 to 665
920 to 945
(e.g. no-till) and decreases with wider bearing surface
(e.g. fallow)** Empty weight depends on frame design, steel thickness, number/size of transport wheels, hydraulics, etc.
Source: Wayne Winchell, Agricultural Engineer, Alberta Agriculture and Food
Farmers should be careful not to double roll areas of the fields such as headlands because excessive plant damage and packing can occur from the tractor tires and in turning areas. Rolling the field round and round will eliminate this problem, although there will be areas of the field left unrolled.
If rolling fields back and forth, growers should slow down to make turns at the headlands and be careful not to use their brakes to turn. After the first half round trip around any field, the tractor operator should stop, get off the tractor and look at the job the land roller is doing.
If farmers wish to roll the field post-emergence, rolling should be done when the plants are slightly wilted and the soil surface is dry. Rolling should not be done on excessively wet, dry or sandy soils or when the crop is damp or stressed by extreme heat, frost or herbicide application. If practical, wait until the stress conditions subside before rolling - a minimum of two to three days.
Farmer experience in land rolling of pulses crops at later growth stages resulted in significant problems:
For dry beans, farmers should pay close attention to the crop stage development. The hypocotyl hook structure of dry bean is quite fragile, and if the hook is within half an inch of the soil surface or the crop is 3 to 5 days after emergence, growers should not roll the crop.
- damaged plants
- increased spread of foliar diseases
- reduced grain yield
When faced with the post crop emergence decision as to whether to spray early or roll early, growers should know that spraying first is recommended, as opposed to rolling first. Early weed removal, especially under higher weed pressures, will result in higher yields.
Blair Roth, a long-time Special Crops Agrologist with Agricore United, in Lethbridge, best sums up the question on land rolling pulses post-emergence: "When it comes to rolling fields, make sure you are imposing no more than one stress on the pulse crop at any one time."
Harker, H. N., Clayton, G.W., and Blackshaw, R.E., 2001. Timing of weed removal in field pea (pisum sativum). Weed Techno.15:277-283.
Johnston, A. M., Lafond, G. P., May, W. E., Hnatowich, G. L., and Hultgreen, G. E., 2002. "Opener, packer wheel, and packing force effects on crop emergence and yield and yield of direct seed wheat, canola, and field peas" Can. J. Plant Sci. pp.129-139.
Klassen, E.P. and Watts, J., 1998. "Effects of rolling a clay loam field, to press in stones on dry edible bean and dry pea production" in Progress Reports on Pulse Research in Western Canada. 3:15-16.
Lopetinsky, K. J., and APGC-Zone 3.,1993. FFF-OFD #93-F001-5. "Demonstration and Technology Transfer of Pulse Crop Agronomics in North Central Alberta". Barrhead, Alberta
Park, B., and Lopetinsky, K. J., (eds)., 1999. "Pulse Crops in Alberta." Alberta Agriculture and Food, Edmonton, Agdex 142/20. Edmonton, Alberta
Olson, M.A., 2003. "Personal telephone conversation with Blair Roth of Agricore United." Edmonton, Alberta.
Saskatchewan Pulse Growers. 2000. "Saskatchewan Pulse Manual." pp 6.15, 7.12, 8.9, and 9.13.
Whatley, N. 1993. Evaluation of seeding rates and post-emergent land rolling for lentil production. Project D-89-CP-0690. Agriculture Development. Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food.
- Mark Olson, Provincial Pulse Industry Development Specialist, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, Edmonton, Alberta.
- Ken Lopetinsky, Pulse Research Agronomist, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, Barrhead, Alberta.
- Wayne Winchell, Agricultural Engineer, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, Barrhead, Alberta.
- Carol Sauchuk, Private Consultant, Waskatenau, Alberta.
Edited and reviewed by
- Ray McVicar, Provincial Specialist Special Crops, Saskatchewan Agriculture, Food & Rural Revitalization, Regina, Saskatchewan.
- Bruce Brolley, Pulse Crops Specialist, Manitoba Agriculture and Food and Rural Initiatives,Carman, Manitoba.
- Karla Bergstrom, Crop Specialist, Ag-Info Centre, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, Stettler, Alberta.
Source: Agdex 142/21-1. June 2004. | <urn:uuid:43a3a2c8-4f76-4181-abf8-1bf36acb60d0> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex8817 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00137-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.887293 | 3,488 | 3.09375 | 3 |
The 2010 census count has confirmed what many policymakers and businesses already know: Latinos, the fastest growing population in America with a 43 percent growth in the last decade, are making their presence known in American society. The Latino population is now estimated at 50.5 million people representing 16.3 percent of the total U.S. population.
According to data from the Pew Hispanic Center, traditional Hispanic states such as California -- where the NBA Los Angeles Lakers occasionally don game jerseys that read, "Los Lakers" -- Texas, Florida and New York, continue to lead in the total number of Hispanics. But states such as South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky saw ten-year growth rates of well over 100 percent indicating that Latinos are very much a part of the national landscape. Much closer to home here in New York, the Latino population rose 8 percent and now makes up 29 percent of the total.
The fast pace of Latino population growth shows we are no longer another minority group, but rather, a "major minority," which has created a defining imprint on popular culture, politics and the economy. In New York, Latino influences are everywhere: in the food, in the music and in politics.
The Census numbers will be used to draw congressional districts and allocate state funding formulas in the request for federal dollars. In the private sector, this data will be used to make strategic decisions about business development, investment strategies, hiring plans and location of facilities. Hispanic marketers, eager to reach the crucial 18-35 consumer demographic, should take heed that the number of Latinos less than 35 years of age has grown a remarkable 51.5% since 1990.
In the same vein, when it comes to politics, education and other key areas, careful attention should be paid to how Latinos are engaged. How well will campaigns and candidates engage this eager young voting bloc as we head into the 2012 election? How many opportunities for more Latino office holders will arise after congressional districts are realigned due to the Census? How will the growth of Latino students, Latino teachers and professors impact the development of educational curriculum or how history and other topics are taught? And as the data continues to point to an ever growing Latino consumer base, how will businesses communicate and relate to this economically powerful, multi-cultural community? Last, and most importantly, WHO are the people behind these numbers?
The Latino community is not a homogenous group and for policy makers and businesses alike, this has profound implications. Businesses and politicians understand that the numbers don't lie: The Latino community is a force to be reckoned with and it will be responsive to those leaders and those businesses who embrace the diversity we have to offer.
Previously appeared in El Diario. | <urn:uuid:c421547a-f745-42b0-a13d-f2346cb8c45f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.huffingtonpost.com/miguel-ferrer/census-numbers-dont-lie-l_b_847586.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392159.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00138-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947112 | 545 | 2.5625 | 3 |
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For #1, let be normal subgroups of orders respectively. Using the identity and the fact that we find that is a subgroup of order . Let then with this means . Therefore this group is cyclic of order .
Note, has ten elements but it is not cyclic.
For #2, let be a group of prime order. Let so that . Argue that using Lagrange's theorem.
please help me with second question last part....
Originally Posted by szpengchao please help me with second question last part.... The general result says that the subgroups of (the cyclic subgroup of order ) are precisely where is a positive divisor of . And furthermore, is a subgroup of if and only if .
For example, the complete list of subgroups of are given below.
what is the triangle in question 1, N_1 , N_2, triangle H
is that : belongs to?
Originally Posted by szpengchao what is the triangle in question 1, N_1 , N_2, triangle H
is that : belongs to? It means normal subgroup.
what does [k]_n means?
View Tag Cloud | <urn:uuid:017e9298-4ca0-458c-ac02-11342f0299d9> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://mathhelpforum.com/advanced-algebra/37713-lagrange-problem-set.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391766.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00140-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.905035 | 261 | 3.203125 | 3 |
I have recently wondered why all ants are placed in one family Formicidae, if you look at how diverse the subfamilies are from each other - for example, Myrmicinae, Formicinae, Ponerinae, Dolichoderinae, Ecitoninae, etc. I believe there are currently 15 ant subfamilies. If you look at other Hymenoptera, bees for example, are divided into 5 families, wasps into many families. Could it be because not all bees and wasps are social, but all ants are ? If that is the case why are termites which are all social put in 4 different families in North America? It seems some of the ant subfamilies are as diverse or more so than the termite families are from each other. Or am I missing something that puts all ants in one family? If I am please let me know.
I hope this is not a dumb question.
Mike M. -- Orange Co., CA
This is not a dumb question at all, Mike. Ants are quite diverse in form, and there are clearly some well-defined monophyletic lineages (though those who study higher taxonomy of ants might not agree the number is your suggested 15). However, the subfamilies vary in age and level of internal diversification, so even their ranking as presumably equivalent subfamilies is itself arbitrary. On the other hand, it is true that as a group, ants are a coherent, monophyletic lineage among the stinging Hymenoptera, with no apparent close relatives, perhaps one reason we consider them a single family. But in taxonomy, rank above the species level is arbitrary, and in this case, ant taxonomists have simply settled on the convention of treating all ants as one family. As Chicago Field Museum myrmecologist, Corrie Moreau, says, "Higher taxonomic ranks are certainly arbitrary. There are more ant species than birds and there are tons of bird families."
I received this additional comment from Dr. Phil Ward, one of the world's premier ant systematists. "The rank of taxa is quite arbitrary (as you say James), and largely a function of idiosyncratic taxonomic history. There is no such thing as a family-level difference or a phylum-level difference. So, families of Hymenoptera are not equivalent and there is no objective way to assign family-level rank. A ranked classification can be justified only from a practical (as opposed to objective) point of view. A ranked phylogenetic classification (i.e., a ranked classification where all supra-specific taxa are monophyletic) has the wonderful property that the taxa of any given rank are mutually exclusive. Very handy for sorting and curating specimens, and perhaps organizing information."
James C. Trager of the AskAnt Team | <urn:uuid:6081c06d-6be7-4fb5-ba36-9d64afc4d5e0> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.antweb.org/antblog/2012/05/why-only-one-taxonomic-family-for-all-ants.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396222.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00060-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955335 | 591 | 2.796875 | 3 |
Model of Nubian Soldiers
These small figurines of different sizes, wood stuccoed and painted, represent Nubian soldiers as if in a parade. They are fixed on a base composed of five boards joined by three cross boards below. This group was found in a tomb dated to the beginning of the Middle Kingdom in the necropolis of Asyut in Middle Egypt, accompanied by a second group representing a troop of Egyptian soldiers.
These objects are in fact what we call “models”, made to accompany the deceased in his/her trip to the afterlife. They probably belonged to the governor of the nome (province) that they call Nomarch, perhaps Mesehti, who lived during the late 11th Dynasty.
The black skinned figures, dressed in a red or white loincloth and wearing a necklace and hair band, are standing in a way which represents the march of the parade: the bare feet, with the left leg forward. The left arm is brought back to a right angle and holds a bow. The other arm is left dangling by the body with the hand holding a set of arrows. The squad consists of four lines of ten soldiers giving a total of forty soldiers.
In Pharaonic Egypt, from the earliest times, there existed a military organization consisting of both Egyptians and other ethnic groups such as Nubians. The Nubian and Medjay auxiliaries appeared in the Middle Kingdom. Some stelae testify that a garrison of Nubian and Medjay archers was established in the late 11th Dynasty at Gebelein in Upper Egypt. In this period, it was primarily the infantry of defeated soldiers who were enlisted in the Egyptian troops.
With the New Kingdom and expansive aims of Egypt the army became professionalized. The pharaoh, supreme commander of armies, was surrounded by important management personnel. Titles connected to the military were numerous; from scribe to chief of troop (so-called General).
The Old and Middle Kingdoms defended their borders and did not venture out much, except to Sinai and Nubia up to the Second Cataract. With the appearance of the horse (see the notice on the Horse bit), a new military unit was created: the chariot, which will have a big influence in conflicts starting from the New Kingdom, especially considering it was a period when ambitions for the Near East intensified. In this period, other ethnic groups from Libya and the Near East will be incorporated into the army. The foreign reinforcements in the army will be continued in future periods as pharaohs will not hesitate to call on foreign mercenaries from the Saite period and onwards: a practice which will become the norm in Antiquity from Hellenistic Greece to Rome. | <urn:uuid:35468c85-82b8-4303-825a-6df15600330e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.unesco.org/culture/museum-for-dialogue/item/en/70/model-of-nubian-soldiers | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395992.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00074-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969587 | 559 | 3.53125 | 4 |
For a complete Scripture study system, try SwordSearcher Bible Software, which includes the unabridged version of this dictionary. Once you experience the swiftness and ease-of-use SwordSearcher gives you right on your own computer, combined with the most powerful search features available, you will never want to use the web to do online study again. Includes tens of thousands of topical, encyclopedic, and commentary entries all linked to verses, fully searchable by topic or verse reference.
Also try Daily Bible and Prayer to design your own Bible reading programs and track your prayer list.
STAVE, n. from staff. It has the sound of a, as in save.
1. A thin narrow piece of timber, of which casks are made. Staves make a considerable articles of export from New England to the West Indies.
2. A staff; a metrical portion; a part of a psalm appointed to be sung in churches.
3. In music, the five horizontal and parallel lines on which the notes of tunes are written or printed; the staff, as it is now more generally written.
To stave and tail, to part dogs by interposing a staff and by pulling the tail.
STAVE, v.t. pret. stove or staved; pp. id.
1. To break a hole in; to break; to burst; primarily, to thrust through with a staff; as, to stave a cask.
2. To push as with a staff; with off.
The condition of a servant staves him off to a distance.
3. To delay; as, to stave off the execution of a project.
4. To pour out; to suffer to be lost by breaking the cask.
All the wine in the city has been staved.
5. To furnish with staves or rundles. Not in use.
STAVE, v.i. To fight with staves. Not in use.
STAVES, plu. of staff, when applied to a stick, is pronounced with a as in ask, the Italian sound.
"Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read" —Isaiah 34:16, KJV
Website ©2016 AV1611.COM's webmaster. Various texts copyrighted by their authors. | <urn:uuid:61081bc3-797b-4254-b53e-daf0ba8ad776> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://av1611.com/kjbp/kjv-dictionary/stave.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397111.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00170-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.919069 | 492 | 2.703125 | 3 |
Author: (Quoy and Gaimard, 1824)
A moderate-sized, brownish 'grey shark' with a short, bluntly rounded snout, horizontally oval eyes, no interdorsal ridge, a moderately large second dorsal with a short rear tip, and brilliant black blotches on the first dorsal apex, lower caudal lobe, and black tips on other fins.
A fairly stocky species (most adults less than 1.6 m). Snout short and bluntly rounded; internarial width 0.9 to 1.1 times in preoral length; eyes usually horizontally oval and fairly large, their length 2 to 3% of total length; anterior nasal flaps moderately elongated and expanded as nipple-shaped lobes; upper labial furrows short and inconspicuous; hyomandibular line of pores just behind mouth corners not conspicuously enlarged; gill slits moderate-sized, the third 2.6 to 4.2% of total length and less than a third of first dorsal base; usually 12/11 rows of anteroposterior teeth in each jaw halfbut varying from 11 to 13/10 to 12; upper teeth with narrow, strongly serrated, erect to oblique, high cusps, and crown feet with coarser serrations and cusplets; lower teeth with erect to oblique, narrow serrated cusps and transverse roots. No interdorsal ridge. First dorsal fin large and falcate, with a rounded apex and posterior margin curving ventrally from fin apex; origin of first dorsal fin usually over pectoral free rear tips; inner margin of first dorsal moderately long, slightly more or less than half dorsal base; second dorsal fin large and high, its height 3.4 to 4.1% of total length, its inner margin short and 0.8 to 1.1 times its height; origin of second dorsal over anal origin; pectoral fins moderately large, narrow and falcate, with narrowly rounded or pointed apices, length of anterior margins about 17 to 19% of total length; 193 to 214 total vertebral centra, 111 to 122 precaudal centra. Colour usually light brown above, white below; first dorsal and ventral caudal lobe with a conspicuous black apical blotch, brilliantly highlighted proximally with white; other fins, generally with less prominent black fin tips; a conspicuous white band on flank.
Eastern Mediterranean Sea (apparently as an invader through the 7 Suez Canal fromthe Red Sea). Indian Ocean: South Africa, Mauritius, Scychelles, and Madagascar to Red Sea, the "Gulf", Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Andaman and Maldive Islands. Western Pacific:. Thailand (Gulf of Thailand) to China (including, Taiwan Province), Japan, The Philippines, Australia (Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia), and New Caledonia. Wide-ranging in the island groups of the western central Pacific, from the Hawaiian and Marshall Islands south to the Tuamotu Archipelago. Apparently rare or absent in more easterly groups including the Marquesas, Pitcairn, Tubuai (Rapa) Islands, Austral Ridge, Johnston, Marcus and Easter Islands.
Habitat and Biology:
This small, common, wide-ranging tropical Indo-Pacific shark prefers shallow water close inshore on coral reefs, at depths of only a few metres and commonly in the intertidal zone, often on reef flats in water 30 cm deep or less; also found near reef dropoffs and occasionally close offshore. This is one of the three commonest sharks on coral reefs in tropical Oceania (the other two being the whitetip reef shark, Triaenodon obesus, and the grey reef shark, C. amblerhynchos. It apparently now inhabits warmer parts of the Mediterranean Sea, having invaded it through the Suez Canal. It isthought to penetrate into at least brackish lakes and estuaries in Madagascar and into fully fresh water in Malaysia, but its ability to tolerate fresh water for any length of time is uncertain; whatever the case, it apparently is not able to utilize fresh water to the extent that Carcharhinus leucas does. At the northern and southern extremes of its range the blacktip may be a migrant, but this is uncertain.
The blacktip reef shark is an active, strong-swimming shark, found near the bottom and at midwater in deeper water, and with its dorsal fins protruding in the shallows. It occurs singly or in small groups or aggregation, but is not strongly schooling.
Viviparous, with a yolk sac placenta; number of young 2 to 4, usually 4. Gestation period possibly 16 months, with birth season from late winter to early summer.
Eats small fish and invertebrates, including mullet, groupers, theraponids, jacks, mojarras, slipjaws, wrasses, surgeonfish, sillaginids, cuttlefish, squid, octopi, shrimp, and manis shrimp. Not an extremely dangerous species because of its small size and general timidity when approached by divers in unbaited situations, but definitely a hazard to spearfishers and to people wading in the water. It is often quite inquisitive when divers enter the water, but can be usually driven off. Itoften becomes aggressive when speared fish are about, which may be exacerbated by the presence of competing sharks, and will rush in to take wounded fish or baits, although in general it is less aggressive in this sort of activity than the grey reef shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos). It must be ranked as a dangerous species because it is the shark most commonly encountered by people in the tropical Indo-Pacific, and has definitely been responsible for several unprovoked and provoked attacks on people (none fatal and most without major injury to people). Its danger is somewhat qualified by the nature of its attacks, primarily on people wading in shallow water. Most blacktip attacks appear to be 'mistaken identity' attacks, made on the legs of people the shark may be mistaken for its ordinary small, non-mammalian prey. Randall and Helfman (1973) mote that Marshall Islanders swim rather than wade across shallow island passes to avoid blacktip attacks on their legs, and suggest that people who see an approaching blacktip while wading in shallow water and have nothing to defend themselves with should consider submerging as much of their body as possible to scare off the shark.
Enemies of this species include large groupers and probably other sharks.
Maximum less than 200 cm, one specimen reported as 180 cm (an unusually large adult male), but most adults less than 160 cm; males maturing at 91 to about 100 cm and reaching180 cm (most adult males up to 134 cm), females maturing between 96 and 112 cm and reaching 131 cm; size at birth between 33 to 52 cm.
Interest to Fisheries:
Apparently regularly caught in fisheries where this common inshore shark occurs, including off of India and Thailand; but details of its utilization and gear used are lacking.
Carcharias playfairi is synonymized with this species following Bass, D'Aubrey and Kistnasamy (1973). See Boeseman (1960) and Garrick (1982) for the nomenclatural history of Squalus commersoni.
Holotype: Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, MNHN 1129, 590 mm immature male. Type Locality: Waigeo Islands. | <urn:uuid:1a2a4b1d-a28f-4e7a-a1c1-83e15ec6ae22> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://species-identification.org/species.php?species_group=sharks&id=453 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404382.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00005-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.915443 | 1,592 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Florida Studies at the USF Libraries
CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL TREASURES
The USF Libraries Florida Studies Initiative draws upon the Libraries’ extensive collections and expertise on Florida’s history and culture, especially the Tampa Bay region and its relationship with the Caribbean Basin, to support teaching and research and to help our community develop a better understanding of the region’s past, present, and future.
Contact USF Libraries Special Collections in order to use these materials in your research.
Florida Political History
The USF Libraries are home to the papers of key political figures from the last century of Florida’s governance, comprising a rich resource for the study of Florida’s political and social history in the 20th century.
Ybor City & West Tampa History
These collections illustrate and document life in Tampa’s vibrant Cuban, Spanish, and Italian ‘cigar cities’, from the colorful history of Tampa’s cigar industry to the mutual aid societies that these immigrants relied upon for cultural and social life, and even community health care. Collection info…
Florida Environmental Studies
How has Florida responded to the challenges of economic growth while managing the state’s environmental integrity? How will Florida meet the increasing demands on water resources in the state?
Florida Black History Collection
People of African descent have been part of Florida’s history from its earliest days. From the time of European exploration to the present, Africans and black Americans have made key contributions to the state, despite the hardships of slavery, poverty, and racial injustice. Collection info…
Florida LGBT History
The USF Libraries collect, maintain and make available for research a diversity of materials documenting both feminist history and the history of the LGBT community as related to gender and sexuality issues in Tampa Bay, FL and adjacent areas. Collection info…
Do you treasure these resources? Contact the USF Libraries Development Office to discuss a gift of financial support to the USF Libraries to ensure the continued availability of these resources.
Have questions? Interested in making a gift to the USF Libraries? Contact:
USF Libraries Development Office
(813) 974-4433 | Email us | <urn:uuid:f1467c90-ce3b-4583-95e5-fcb73ecc967e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.lib.usf.edu/donate-usf-library/florida-studies-at-the-usf-libraries/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395613.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00010-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.889152 | 449 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Usage Discussion of phenomena
Phenomena has been in occasional use as a singular for more than 400 years and its plural phenomenas for more than 350. Our evidence shows that it is primarily a speech form used by poets, critics, and professors, among others, but one that sometimes turns up in edited prose <the Borgia were, in modern terms, a media phenomena — Economist>. It is etymologically no more irregular than stamina, agenda, and candelabra, but it has nowhere near the frequency of use that they have, and while they are standard, phenomena is still rather borderline.
First Known Use of phenomena
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up phenomena? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible). | <urn:uuid:e60d03b1-8336-41e9-8ced-f47ae540c76f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/phenomenas | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392099.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00125-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949508 | 162 | 2.53125 | 3 |
@bul:* Updated with new emphasis on the semiconducting nitride materials—GaN and its alloys with In and Al
* Emphasizes the newly understood aspects of surface processes
* Contains a new chapter, as well as several new sections in chapters on thermodynamics and kinetics
This book describes the operation of a particular technique for the production of compound semiconductor materials. It describes how the technique works, how it can be used for the growth of particular materials and structures, and the application of these materials for specific devices. It contains not only a fundamental description of the operation of the technique but also contains lists of data useful for the everyday operation of OMVPE reactors. It also offers specific recipes that can be used to produce a wide range of specific materials, structures, and devices.
Graduate students and upper level undergraduates planning to pursue a career in research, development, or production of materials, structures, and devices using the OMVPE technique. | <urn:uuid:4634f0fb-a8a6-4ae9-a171-cf25d7f10a7b> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://store.elsevier.com/product.jsp?isbn=9780126738421 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399522.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00085-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.907908 | 198 | 2.875 | 3 |
Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we will redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance .... We end today a period of ill fortune, and India discovers herself again."- Jawaharlal Nehru (Speech on Indian Independence Day, 1947). The day when India woke up to freedom back in 1947 was a day of great celebration. A country got rid of her foreign yoke and became a sovereign nation, she celebrated her sovereignty on this day - the triumph of numerous martyred souls. It was a day of fulfillment, it was the day of a new beginning, a birth of a nation.On the stroke of midnight, a country came into life again as the british handed over the governance of India to the Indian leaders.The long and difficult struggle had borne fruit at last, though the happiness was marred by the fact that the country was divided into India and Pakistan and the violent communal riots had left the countries permanently scarred. That was the price that India paid for her dearly bought freedom. The british government declared the country independent and left for their own shores. On the 15th of August, 1947, India became completely independent. It was on this historic date that Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime Minister of India, unfurled the Indian tricolor on the ramparts the magnificent Red Fort, symbolically marking the end of the british colonial rule. | <urn:uuid:09541569-94c3-4a6b-aa18-f52d217e937f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.pathankhan.com/2010/08/speech-of-indepenceday-1947-jawaharlal.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783404405.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155004-00148-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950994 | 364 | 2.96875 | 3 |
Hardware Guy: Casting a little light on bulb law not easy
Have you ever been confused?
Of course you have. Many things confuse me — computers, modern art and the metric system come to mind.
Every once in a while though, something monumentally bewildering comes along which confuses us all equally. The current light bulb legislation is a case in point.
We all remember the good old days when there was no such thing as light bulb legislation and, while those days were good, the future might be — pardon the pun — bright. Let's begin by clearing up some details of the law.
In plain language, all light bulbs must now meet new efficiency standards. This means that lights that use a given amount of electricity (watts) must have a certain amount of light output (lumens).
Traditional incandescent bulbs are largely incapable of achieving the new standards and are therefore being phased out.
Starting in 2012, most 100-watt incandescent bulbs became illegal to produce in the United States. Soon 75-watt and even 60- and 40-watt traditional bulbs will follow. Special purpose bulbs such as rough service, high wattage and three-way bulbs are excluded from the legislation.
Some retailers still stock regulated lights and yes, you are still allowed to use “outlaw” bulbs. But purchasing them in the future will become more and more difficult. On the other hand, it will become easier to find and purchase suitable substitutes.
For a while now compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) have been available as an alternative. Consumers have been slow to embrace CFLs due to the poor light quality and short life span of the early versions.
Another fascinating innovation in lamp technology is the trendy light emitting diode, better known as LED. LED lighting is crisp and remarkably bright. It uses little electricity and is becoming available in more and more bulb styles. LEDs are pricey right now, which makes them seem impractical to most consumers. But as the market changes, I am confident that the price will come down.
Additionally, the savings on the electricity cost is substantial.
The third alternative to traditional bulbs is the halogen bulb. Like the LED, halogen lights are bold and bright. They are now made in the shape of a typical light bulb. Halogen lights have been used extensively for years in spot and flood lights because of their clarity and long lives.
Although halogen lights are a bit more expensive than incandescent, they aren't ridiculously expensive and, like the other new bulbs, they use less electricity.
When it comes to understanding light bulb legislation, I suggest keeping it simple by knowing the fundamentals. That way, you can make wise purchases at the right time. However, if you relish complete confusion, read the legislation in its entirety. If you can wrap your head around that, you must be pretty smart. If, in fact, you are smart, give me a call … maybe you can explain the metric system to me. I still can't figure out how many kilometers are in a foot.
Ed Pfeifer is the owner of Pfeifer Hardware Inc., 300 Marshall Way, Mars. If you have hardware-related questions, call the store at 724-625-9090. | <urn:uuid:0e17b597-c69b-44f1-bc38-423049d4c3f2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://triblive.com/business/realestate/4314394-74/bulbs-bulb-lights | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392099.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00035-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953165 | 670 | 2.578125 | 3 |
If be a matrix and , then the vectors
are called the row vectors, and the vectors are called the column vectors.
To write the row vectors and column vectors, consider a matrix
By using the definition, the row vectors of A are as follows:
And the column vectors of A are as follows: | <urn:uuid:6c302fc9-50bf-4326-bfbd-d2956758c6ae> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.chegg.com/homework-help/elementary-linear-algebra-with-applications-3rd-edition-chapter-3.7-solutions-9780030103476 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399522.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00107-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.917742 | 64 | 3.609375 | 4 |
C++ is a general-purpose programming language. It has imperative, object-
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NET 2003. This content has moved to C/C++ Language and Standard Libraries. | <urn:uuid:7ef6c062-b910-4e9d-8852-f6ba004a88de> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.ask.com/web?q=c%2C+c%2B%2B | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395992.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00099-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.737074 | 377 | 3.28125 | 3 |
How cute is that pic! Let’s face it, nobody likes to be super stressed. And it breaks our yogadork hearts to hear about kids having to deal with anxiety and tension at such a young age. They have the rest of their lives for that! Just kidding, of course.
We keep hearing news that more and more kids are dealing with high levels of stress, especially those growing up in high-crime or poverty areas, which can lead to depression, anxiety and even hinder cognitive skills. And that really stresses us out! Thankfully, researchers like at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health are looking for hard evidence and support in providing tools to help kids deal.
[Researchers at Johns Hopkins] found a 12-week yoga program targeting 97 fourth- and fifth-graders in two Baltimore elementary schools made a difference in students’ overall behavior and their ability to concentrate. They found students who did yoga were less likely to ruminate, the kind of brooding thoughts associated with depression and anxiety that can be a reaction to stress. The findings, which focused on a pilot program that took place in 2008, were published recently in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology. One program is still active, and researchers are now applying for federal funding to expand the effort into schools across the city.
Yoga to the rescue! And it’s making a difference.
“I just be so deep into my meditation, I fall asleep,” said Ja’naisa Brown, 9. She tries to draw on her yoga skills when she’s frustrated, she said. “If somebody gets on my nerves, my mother tells me to go into the house and do yoga. I sit on the floor in my room, put on my music and breathe.”
We know there are some super kids yoga programs out there and we say keep up the great work! Because heaven help us there are more Ja’naisa Browns out there who are just needing a little space to sit and breathe. | <urn:uuid:3a14be51-044b-4370-82e0-d7ee91fbc178> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://yogadork.com/2011/02/24/yoga-meditation-help-kids-deal-with-chronic-stress/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00114-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966997 | 418 | 2.5625 | 3 |
There are many reason people opt to get tattoos, however it is often to express a sense of connection with a thing, place, topic or belief and there has also been an increase in recent years for cultural designs. If you or your ancestors are descended from Norway, then you may be looking at ideas for Norwegian tattoos as a statement of pride about your heritage. The Vikings originated in this land many centuries ago but this ancient civilization still plays a big part in cultural designs for many who wish to pay homage to their Norse roots. Let us take a look at some of the most popular images used for tattoos of this nature.
The main deity in Norse mythology was of course, Odin so not surprisingly this image is widely requested by those seeking Norwegian tattoos. The name when translated means fury and excitement but this particular god was also connected to mental stimulation and poetry. His role in the Norse pantheon was somewhat complex however he is predominantly associated with war, battle, victory, the hunt and death as well as more positive elements such as wisdom, magic, prophecy and poetry. As body art, the symbolism behind this image is really down to the individual who can choose it to reflect any of these specific attributes or simply as a cultural reference. Odin is depicted with a horned helmet either as a fearsome hero or even as a cartoon version. One of the most famous stories about this particular god involves the mythical tree of the world, the Yggrasil, from which Odin hung and suffered, so this also features in these designs.
Odin also had many sons, and the most famous is Thor who is another favorite among tattoo enthusiast. This hammer-wielding god is symbolizes strength and the protection of mankind but is also associated with thunder, lighting, storms and oak trees so some or all of these images could be included in Norwegian tattoos of Thor. If you are looking for a more unique idea that is less widely used, then you may want to consider having a word or phrase that is of personal significance to you inked in Norse runes. The runic alphabet consists of a set of related alphabets using letters known as runes which were used for writing and other specialized purposes before the Latin alphabet was adopted. Norse Vikings also used these for everything from recording elaborate sagas, casting magic spells and even to label items with ownership. These look really cool inked on the skin particularly if used with another image of Norse artwork which is similar, if not the origin of what we know today as Celtic tribal patterns. | <urn:uuid:82083744-2128-4906-9992-e59dd907ec0d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://culturaltattoos.org/norwegian-tattoos.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00188-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974122 | 505 | 2.515625 | 3 |
Readers may recall an earlier post on the question of whether the Jesus of the Bible is based, however loosely, on an actual historical figure living in that region of the world at that time (as claimed by the historicists) or whether he is an entirely fictional character based on myths and legends (as asserted by those labeled as mythicists). It should be noted that this particular debate does not involve religious people and has nothing to do with whether Jesus did miracles, rose from the dead, and all the other things that signaled that he was divine, which both sides are willing to dismiss as fictional.
Much of the discussion is based on the extent to which the earliest reports of Jesus’s life can be taken at face value. These are the four gospels, the writings of Paul, and a few other sources that refer to some figure like Jesus but that may have been influenced by those five basic documents.
At heart this argument is empirical, whether there is credible data and evidence to support the claim of existence. But philosopher Stephen Law of the University of London has waded into the debate and shown how philosophy, using carefully crafted thought experiments, can help in clarifying questions and sharpening arguments.
Law says that the reliability of the Gospel’s and Paul’s accounts of the ordinary (i.e., not miraculous) elements of Jesus’s life are central to this debate. If those are not credible, then the whole case for a historical Jesus goes up in smoke. In order to judge this issue, Law uses two principles P1 and P2. The first one will be familiar to most readers.
P1: Where a claim’s justification derives solely from evidence, extraordinary claims (e.g. concerning supernatural miracles) require extraordinary evidence. In the absence of extraordinary evidence there is good reason to be sceptical about those claims.
The second one is a new argument (to me at least) and he calls it the ‘contamination principle’.
P2: Where testimony/documents weave together a narrative that combines mundane claims with a significant proportion of extraordinary claims, and there is good reason to be sceptical about those extraordinary claims, then there is good reason to be sceptical about the mundane claims, at least until we possess good independent evidence of their truth.
He points out that the authors of the Gospels wrote much stuff about a man named Jesus who preached and did things that are quite ordinary, and then throw in the miraculous events (he counts about thirty five) from time to time. The historicists argue that we should treat these two elements more or less independently and they take the former seriously while dismissing the latter as later embellishments that can be dispensed with.
Law argues that the contamination principle means that if we dismiss the miraculous as fabulous, then that must seriously undermine the credibility of the ordinary as well. He gives a nice thought experiment to support his case. Suppose you are visited by two close friends Ted and Sarah whom you know to be ‘sane and trustworthy’ people and they tell you about a visit they had from someone named Bert who spent some time socializing with them. They provide all manner of mundane details of the visit (what Bert said, what he wore, what he did), none of which are exceptional. You naturally believe them and in the existence of Bert. Why would you doubt it?
But suppose they then start adding bizarre elements to their narrative, in which Bert “flew around their sitting room by flapping his arms, died, came back to life again, and finished by temporarily transforming their sofa into a donkey. Ted and Sarah appear to say these things in all sincerity. In fact, they seem genuinely disturbed by what they believe they witnessed. They continue to make these claims about Bert even after several weeks of cross-examination by me.”
Since they do not provide any evidence to support the extraordinary actions by Bert, you are unlikely to believe they happened at all. The fact that Bert did some perfectly ordinary things does not make his extraordinary actions believable in the absence of strong supporting evidence (P1). Law poses this question: Would you simply dismiss these aspects as fictitious while believing in the reality of Bert or would you begin to seriously doubt whether the visit by Bert ever happened at all? He concludes that you would do the latter.
The important point that Law makes is that if your friends had not added these bizarre elements to their story, you would have simply accepted their claim of the existence of Bert at face value. You would not have demanded that they produce credible evidence of it, say in the form of videotape or his birth certificate and driver’s license or traces of his DNA on their furniture. The fact that they would have no reason to make up such a boring story gives it a kind of default credibility, unless you suspect that your friends are pathological liars.
But when they introduced the supernatural elements into their story, the entire picture changes. Our natural tendency is not to split the narrative into two: to continue to believe in Bert’s existence and the mundane elements of the story while disbelieving in his miraculous actions. We would begin to rightly suspect that the whole story is fictitious and that Bert does not exist at all and would demand independent evidence of that mundane fact. The fact that you cannot explain why your trusted friends would make up this bizarre story would not lessen your skepticism. It would simply be another puzzle to be addressed separately.
I found this to be a pretty good argument, but there’s more to come.
Tomorrow: More on Law’s arguments against the historical Jesus | <urn:uuid:b27ea1a6-bbc2-45da-8b7d-9fdd3c5a12ca> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://freethoughtblogs.com/singham/2012/05/24/thought-experiments-on-the-historicity-of-jesus-1-the-contamination-principle/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393533.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00126-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971116 | 1,149 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Kentucky Finishes 4th in Dirty Air
A newly released report says Kentucky has some of the dirtiest air in the nation. You can’t see the particles emitted from coal burning power plants, but they’re thick in Kentucky’s air. That’s according to a report by the Natural Resources Defense Council. The NRDC says Kentucky has the fourth dirtiest air in the nation. The group analyzed data gathered by the Environmental Protection Agency and ranked states accordingly. John Walke works on clean air policy for the environmental group.
“States that have power produced by coal plants are overwhelmingly responsible for higher levels of toxic air pollution, smog and soot due to the pollution that comes from the coal combustion,” said Walke.
The NRDC says nearly eighty percent of Kentucky’s dirty air comes from power plants. The group says recent efforts from House Republicans to cut the EPA’s budget just harm efforts to clean the air. Kentucky Republican Ed Whitfield hasn’t seen the report, but he says removing the EPA’s power and cutting its budget is important.
“Well, it’s important for our state because number one we have a lot of jobs produced from coal. Number two, Kentucky and surrounding states that use a lot of coal have very low electricity rates,” said Whitfield.
Kentucky Democrat John Yarmuth says recent House efforts to undo clean air standards have been misguided.
“You know our first responsibility is to our citizens and to make sure they have access to clean air and water, and food and housing. And you can’t forget that,” said Yarmuth
The NRDC report also ranks Kentucky as the fourteenth biggest emitter of Mercury due to its coal fire powered plants.
For WEKU News, I’m Matt Laslo in Washington, D.C. | <urn:uuid:609ce104-8c12-4377-b532-54dbbd03de83> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://weku.fm/post/kentucky-finishes-4th-dirty-air | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402699.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00121-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947213 | 394 | 2.953125 | 3 |
You’ve been assigned your first online class to teach and you feel like you’re ready. You’ve done your homework and learned the ins and outs of the institution’s course management system. You’ve structured your content in purposeful ways and developed thoughtful guiding questions to situate student learning and motivate them. When the class starts, however, you realize that while everything is technically functioning correctly, many of the students are not engaged. While you were looking forward to teaching online and interacting with students, the students are approaching your course as if it’s an independent study. This wasn’t what you anticipated when you agreed to teach online!
In their framework outlining educational experiences for students, Garrison, Anderson, and Archer (2000) identify and explain the critical elements of a Community of Inquiry that supports instruction and learning. The elements include: cognitive presence, social presence, and teaching presence. For online classes, many new online instructors tend to focus on the cognitive presence and teaching presence, and overlook the necessity of the social presence. They’ll build great online modules that help students enhance their understanding of course content but forget to attend to the critical social aspects that engage students and foster community building. While these aspects can happen naturally in face-to-face courses, they must be intentionally built into online classes.
Here are five ways you can build social presence in your online class:
- Have your online students introduce themselves. This may sound simple but the first module of my online courses asks students to introduce themselves to their peers. I create a discussion board where students share short introductions with the group either through text or through a short multimedia production using Fotobabble, MyBrainShark or some other Web 2.0 tool. I usually try to connect the introductions to course content in some informal way to assess the students’ prior knowledge and experience with the material. More than anything, the introductions are designed to foster open communication amongst students outside of course content.
- Introduce yourself to your students. When I ask my students to create short introductions of themselves, I offer my own introduction as an example. I also create a short orientation video where I provide an overview of the course and share a little about myself. Presented in a short video where students hear my voice, students can connect with me outside of the written text that I provide for most of the class material.
- Create a “commons area” for off-topic discussions. In a face-to-face class, it’s easy to engage in off-topic discussions. Students walking into the classroom will argue about last night’s football game, discuss the latest movies, or talk about their favorite music. This type of engagement is extracurricular but it can help students build relationships that are advantageous inside the classroom. Without purposeful inclusion of risk-free environments for sharing, online students’ affective needs will not be met and they may not fully engage with course content or with their classmates. In my online classes, I create a discussion board labeled “Commons Area” or “Water Cooler” and offer some guidance to the purpose of the area. While I’ll often peek in to add a question or respond to a post, I generally give the students some free rein over this forum.
- Use synchronous tools for office hours. Most course management systems offer chat rooms or synchronous online classrooms as tools for teaching and communication. I schedule online office hours where students can meet with me to discuss course content and ask questions. While not every student takes advantage of the office hours, publishing their availability communicates to students that I am committed to their success in the course.
- Don’t be the center of every discussion. Many new online instructors try to respond to every post in a discussion board. This habit can actually limit student-to-student interaction and discussion. In a face-to-face class, few instructors would break up lively classroom discussions by evaluating every remark from students. In online classes, however, instructors will do exactly that. Instead of excessively participating in discussion boards, provide some thought-provoking questions and allow the students to discuss course content openly on their own. Offer guidance when necessary and communicate that you’re present in the discussion through carefully chosen posts. Give the students some space to interact with one another and build their understanding through collaborating with their classmates.
Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2000). Critical inquiry in a text-based environment: Computer conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 2(2-3), 87-105. | <urn:uuid:d5e8ee4d-1ea5-48ba-8389-d264b90d0653> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/tips-for-building-social-presence-in-your-online-class/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396459.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00160-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92583 | 965 | 2.890625 | 3 |
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A beach wheelchair is a wheelchair designed to function on sand. Normally, wheelchairs have thin wheels that do not function well on soft terrains. Beach wheelchairs are designed specifically to work on loose terrain such as soft sand and include large wheels. Often, these wheelchairs are designed to maximize fun at the beach for handicapped people and may include features such as attached sun umbrellas and fishing pole holders and may even have the ability to float. Most people find that it is not necessary to own a beach wheelchair given how rarely most people go to the beach, so it is relatively easy to rent a beach wheelchair at most major beach destinations.
Beach wheelchairs are firstly defined by the ease with which they navigate loose terrain like sand. They usually have large, wide wheels that spread the weight of the chair out over more area, allowing the chair to roll on top of the sand rather than cutting into it. Beach sand is the most common terrain navigated by these devices, but they may also be useful in areas covered in gravel or soft grass.
Given the size of the wheels, it is impractical to grip the wheels of these chairs in order to move them. A beach wheelchair is usually either motorized or designed to be pushed like a stroller. Many people want the independence offered by a motorized beach wheelchair, but stroller chairs also have advantages. For instance, stroller wheelchairs may be equipped to float and may even be made at home. Children with motorized wheelchairs must be watched vigilantly near water if there is any chance that waves could sweep the child away.
Extra features included on a beach wheelchair may make these chairs desirable even for people without disabilities. Drink holders, umbrellas, and even places for fishing poles may be included in the chair's design. Some people require certain features to use the chair, such as chest straps or headrests, and these are almost always available at rental agencies or stores that sell this type of device.
There are certain problems with beach wheelchairs, although these can usually be overcome. Getting the wheelchair itself onto the beach can be difficult if there is a long path to the beach. Usually, accommodations can be made in order to get the wheelchair onto the beach, although it may not be possible to access the beach by a footpath. Places where cars can drive directly onto the beach may be most convenient for beach wheelchairs because these locations will have ample room for wheelchairs. If accessibility is a major problem, it may be a good idea to talk to a disability advocacy group about possible alternatives or solutions.
there are tons of great choices,but while there are numerous beach wheelchairs out there, make sure to do strenuous research, because the beach wheelchair that you choose will be a great life-changer, and give you lots of freedom over being pushed around. make sure to choose wisely because it's your happiness that matters. while you only move at one speed -- full throttle -- it's your speed!
One of our editors will review your suggestion and make changes if warranted. Note that depending on the number of suggestions we receive, this can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days. Thank you for helping to improve wiseGEEK! | <urn:uuid:959bb4a7-b465-40d3-b851-a227f131927d> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-beach-wheelchair.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403825.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00039-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964235 | 666 | 2.640625 | 3 |
a) Poetry, then, is contrasted with history and the world; it's outside cause and effect and even reason. ('I had no idea what I meant.') We look to poetry, Alexander says, for 'what is deeply felt and is essentially unsayable.' The use of poetry is to value those things that are unpragmatic and unmundane. Poetry is valuable precisely because it's not historical/political/economic—because it isn't part of the world of cause and effect.
b) poetry that is important because of what it is, rather than because of what it says.
c) a-radical realist
A Tree, a pregnant cloud, a boat and a digital screen
an idea art
an information management art
an no-medium art
a 21st century human being with multi-dimentional insight and reality
a poem is not only born but also made and taken as reality-friendly attitude
d) simplicity, honest communication, humanistic values and civic values are now irradical and surreal.
poet nyein way | <urn:uuid:491e8bb9-7a8b-49ef-9eb9-eb8660df2f9f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.poemhunter.com/best-poems/nyein-way/an-ir-radical-populist-realist/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393518.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00188-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963346 | 223 | 2.96875 | 3 |
The lowest social stratum in a country or community, consisting of the poor and unemployed.
- No city has succeeded when it has two spatially segregated underclasses.
- The two sections of society most damaged by the growing paralysis in social mobility are the lower middle class and the underclass at the bottom of the heap.
- Yet, the nouveau riche are vastly outnumbered by a huge underclass of desperately poor people.
For editors and proofreaders
Definition of underclass in:
What do you find interesting about this word or phrase?
Comments that don't adhere to our Community Guidelines may be moderated or removed. | <urn:uuid:87f646c7-8d9c-4d50-9574-555d6f3ad0c6> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/underclass | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00101-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.902976 | 133 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Russia blames space radiation for Mars probe failure
Moscow: Russia`s space agency today blamed the effect of cosmic radiation for the failure of its Phobos-Grunt Mars probe, which crashed over the Pacific Ocean earlier this month.
"The most likely reason in the commission`s opinion is the local influence of heavy charged particles from outer space on the onboard computer system," said Roscosmos head Vladimir Popovkin, cited by RIA Novosti news agency.
The unmanned probe was launched in November in an ambitious mission to fly to Mars`s largest moon, Phobos, and collect ground samples.
But it failed to leave a low orbit around Earth, before gradually descending and crashing on January 15 over the Pacific Ocean.
Space radiation led the onboard computer system to experience memory problems after launch, the Roscosmos chief said.
Staff at the rocket-building plant would be punished, he said, adding that "they should have taken into consideration the effect of outer space".
He also suggested that sub-standard foreign-made microchips used in spaceships might be a factor in the failure. "This is imported equipment and this is probably part of the cause," he said.
The space mishap came as Russia was hoping to relaunch its interplanetary programme after an embarrassing string of failures.
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UGARTE Y LOYOLA, JACOBO DE
UGARTE Y LOYOLA, JACOBO DE (17??–1798). Information concerning the family and birthplace of Jacobo de Ugarte y Loyola is not available, but circumstantial evidence suggests that he was a descendant of Basque nobility. If we may believe his own recollections, on April 5, 1732, Ugarte answered a military calling by enlisting as an underage cadet in a regiment of Spanish infantry guards. He first entered royal service in 1740 and attained the rank of colonel on January 11, 1767. In his early military career he had campaigned in Italy, where he was twice wounded, and in Portugal. Shortly after his promotion to the rank of colonel, Ugarte received appointment as the governor of Coahuila, and he served in that capacity from December 1769 to December 1777. At the conclusion of his tenure Ugarte was commissioned military governor of Sonora, where he was promoted to the rank of brigadier on June 15, 1779. In the mid 1780s Ugarte served briefly as governor of Puebla, before being transferred to Mexico City in January of 1786 to receive a new assignment from Viceroy Bernardo de Gálvez. And when the Provincias Internas was divided into three sectors (August 26, 1786), the two easternmost provinces were made subordinate except in purely military matters to the commandant general of the Western Provinces, Jacobo de Ugarte y Loyola. Ugarte, himself, had immediate jurisdiction over the two Californias and Sonora. Division of the Provincias Internas into three sectors lasted for only fifteen months. In 1787 the Interior Provinces were reorganized into two divisions, and they remained under that arrangement when Ugarte as replaced by Pedro de Nava on March 12, 1790. In that same year Ugarte was reassigned to the intendancy of New Galicia, where he was to serve as president and commandant general. But before he could assume that post, Viceroy Conde de Revilla Gigedo II sent him to Monclova to arrange peace with the Lipan Apaches. In January 1791 Ugarte left the northern frontier for the last time and took up residence in Guadalajara. He died on August 19, 1798, having completed fifty-eight years in the active service of the crown.
While serving as governor of Coahuila, Jacobo de Ugarte had set forth a "final solution" to problems posed by Lipan Apaches in the northern provinces. He insisted that the only acceptable remedy was to deport the offending natives to an overseas province. As commandant general of the Interior Provinces, Ugarte implemented a policy that was consistent with his hatred of the Apaches. He favored a general peace treaty with the Comanches, negotiated at the expense of the Lipans by Governor Domingo Cabello y Robles in Texas.
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The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this article.Handbook of Texas Online, Donald E. Chipman, "Ugarte Y Loyola, Jacobo De," accessed June 26, 2016, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fug04.
Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. | <urn:uuid:0772af42-9d2a-47e4-b6a4-00125dc3197f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fug04 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00128-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965841 | 867 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Our body is in a rapid state of growth even before we are born.
It stays in a state of growth, usually occurring in spurts, until
puberty is complete. After puberty, one will naturally grow slightly
more until about age 30. This growth is a result of Human Growth
Hormone, or HGH.
The anterior pituitary gland in our brain is responsible for
releasing human growth hormone which affects the growth rate and
pattern of an individual and the height as well. HGH serves many
functions. It helps our body turn fat into energy needed for growth,
triggers regeneration and enlargement of organs and muscles and most
importantly with relevance to height, HGH directs our bones to
increase in size and strength. Though growth of a person is much
dependent on the gene function but to some extent the growth and
height can be stimulated by following a healthy diet and routine
Having a taller height can really be important for the overall
appearance and self esteem. Certain jobs also have the specific
requirement in terms of height and then the shorter people are
automatically left out. That is why a lot of people, especially who
were born short, really want to increase their current height. A lot
of people, especially teenagers, are worried that they will not grow
taller than their present height and in a ray of hope they try out a
lot of things for increasing their height. Many of them try out
different exercises, height increasing pills or even surgery just to
get the additional height they desire.
One of the best tips to increase height is to learn how to get our
body to make more HGH and how to prepare our body to use the HGH
more effectively. Our brain controls when and how much HGH is
released into our system so we need to trigger our brain to release
Here are some healthy tips to increase your height naturally
without the help of expensive medications and painful surgery.
1. Eating a Balanced Diet – Getting right nutrients in your
diet will give a boost to your growth even if you do not have it in
heredity. HGH is made up of amino acids and supplying amino acids
through diet will enhance the production and release of HGH. Eating
good quality protein like milk, eggs, lean meat, fish, pulses and
legumes will provide good dose of amino acids. Even carbohydrates,
fats, vitamins and minerals are also important part of healthy
balanced diet. Having 5-6 small meals each day and eating well in
advance to sleeping will be helpful.
2. Try doing some grow taller stretching exercises daily without
failure. An aerobic exercise routine will trigger the growth
hormone for stimulating growth and not just repairing the body
parts. Playing sports like basketball, tennis or swimming will
stretch out your limbs to the fullest and hence may help in gaining
3. Getting good and peaceful sleep – Getting enough rest and
good night sleep is another important aspect of increasing height.
Sleep is essential for increasing your HGH as this is the peak time
when your brain releases HGH and begins to use it within your body.
More so getting enough sleep relaxes your brain making it more
active to release growth hormones when you are awake. When your
brain is tired, the pituitary gland will become inactive thus
leading to lesser growth hormones released in your body. Thus one
should get a sleep of 8 hrs or more.
4. Discipline is important - Discipline yourself and avoid
skipping meals and having a heavy meal before sleeping. This will
lessen the ability of the brain to release growth hormones as it
will be busier with the process of digestion. Avoid drinking,
smoking and taking drugs because this may adversely affect your
Compiled By: India Diets Team
protein at every meal, including breakfast.
Eliminate wheat- and flour-based products for the time being.
Reduce starch to one portion a day, and don't eat that portion during your
Apples, pears, plums and berries all are good choices. Bananas are not.
Reduce or eliminate dairy for the time being, especially cow's milk. | <urn:uuid:d45c2b25-c964-47b9-a5ac-7a79f9ecb54a> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.indiadiets.com/diet-and-nutrition/increase-height.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783393442.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154953-00099-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939177 | 878 | 2.5625 | 3 |
In general, aspirin is not recommended for pregnant women because of an increased risk of bleeding for both the mother and fetus; however, on April 8, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended that certain high risk women should take low-dose aspirin during their pregnancy. The recommendation falls on the heels of a similar recommendation made by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) last fall.
The recommendation applies to certain high risk women: those at risk for preeclampsia (toxemia), premature birth, and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR; retarded intrauterine growth).The USPSTF recommends low-dose aspirin (81 mg/day), beginning after 12 weeks of pregnancy, for women who are at high risk for preeclampsia. This is a B recommendation, which means that the task force recommends the treatment because there is high certainty that the net benefit is moderate or there is moderate certainty that the net benefit is moderate to substantial. The USPSTF is providing an opportunity for public comment on its recommendation until May 5. The task force notes that all public comments will be considered as the USPSTF develops its final recommendation.
The task force notes that its recommendation applies to pregnant women who are at high risk for preeclampsia and who do not have any signs or symptoms of the condition and have not experienced any health problems from using aspirin in the past. “Preeclampsia can cause serious health problems for both expectant mothers and their babies,” explained Task Force member Jessica Herzstein, MD, MPH. She added, “The good news is that pregnant women who are at high risk for developing preeclampsia can take a low dosage of aspirin daily to help to prevent the condition. This can result in better health outcomes for both the mother and the baby.” Task Force chair Michael L. LeFevre, MD, MSPH added, “Only a small percentage of pregnant women are at high risk for preeclampsia. Before taking aspirin, pregnant women should talk to their doctor or nurse to determine their risk and discuss if taking aspirin is right for them.”
Preeclampsia is a serious medical condition that affects all the organs of the body. For example, it affects the kidneys, resulting in protein in the urine. Other signs are headaches. Visual problems, rapid weight gain, and edema (swelling). It is tone of the most common complications of pregnancy; it affects approximately 4% of all pregnancies in the US. It can progress to eclampsia, in which seizures occur that can result in maternal death or stillbirth.
The cause of preeclampsia is unknown; however, the following risk factors are known:
- First pregnancy
- History of preeclampsia in a past pregnancy
- Chronic hypertension
- Age 35 or older
- Multiple pregnancy (i.e., twins or triplets)
- Certain medical conditions such as diabetes or kidney disease
- African American
- Certain immune disorders such as lupus or blood diseases
Treatment for preeclampsia is limited. The only real cure is to deliver the baby. Labor may occur spontaneously or be induced. Medication to control blood pressure and reduce the risk of seizures may be given during labor and for a period after delivery. | <urn:uuid:d42e26ad-0408-4ebf-82cf-0e9aa2aad5a8> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.examiner.com/article/federal-task-force-recommends-aspirin-for-some-pregnant-women?cid=rss | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402479.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00098-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945211 | 694 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Heredity is the passing on of characteristics from one generation to the next. It is the reason why offspring look like their parents. It also explains why cats always give birth to kittens and never puppies. The process of heredity occurs among all living things including animals, plants, bacteria, protists and fungi. The study of heredity is called genetics and scientists that study heredity are called geneticists.
Through heredity, living things inherit traits from their parents. Traits are physical characteristics. You resemble your parents because you inherited your hair and skin color, nose shape, height, and other traits from them.
Cells are the basic unit of structure and function of all living things. Tiny biochemical structures inside each cell called genes carry traits from one generation to the next. Genes are made of a chemical called DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). Genes are strung together to form long chains of DNA in structures known as chromosomes. Genes are like blueprints for building a house, except that they carry the plans for building cells, tissues, organs, and bodies. They have the instructions for making the thousands of chemical building blocks in the body. These building blocks are called proteins. Proteins are made of smaller units called amino acids. Differences in genes cause the building of different amino acids and proteins. These differences cause individuals to have different traits such as hair color or blood types.
A gene gives only the potential for the development of a trait. How this potential is achieved depends partly on the interaction of the gene with other genes. But it also depends partly on the environment. For example, a person may have a genetic tendency toward being overweight. But the person's actual weight will depend on such environmental factors as how what kinds of food the person eats and how much exercise that person does.
Check your comprehension of the vocabulary terms answering the following questions:
1. The basic unit of structure and function in living
things is called | <urn:uuid:7b492740-8489-443f-8bb3-ce71e30a138f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.cccoe.net/genetics/heredity.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397111.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00095-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95339 | 402 | 4.03125 | 4 |
Pakistan India Relations
Pakistan India Relations
Soon after their independence, India and Pakistan established diplomatic relations but the violent partition and numerous territorial disputes would overshadow their relationship. Since their independence, the two countries have fought three major wars, one undeclared war and have been involved in numerous armed skirmishes and military standoffs. The Kashmir dispute is the main center-point of all of these conflicts with the exception of the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971, which resulted in the secession of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
There have been numerous attempts to improve the relationship—notably, the Shimla summit, the Agra summit and the Lahore summit. Since the early 1980s, relations between the two nations soured particularly after the Siachen conflict, the intensification of Kashmir insurgency in 1989, Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests in 1998 and the 1999 Kargil war. Certain confidence-building measures—such as the 2003 ceasefire agreement and the Delhi–Lahore Bus service—were successful in deescalating tensions. However, these efforts have been impeded by periodic terrorist attacks. The 2001 Indian Parliament attack almost brought the two nations on the brink of a nuclear war. The 2007 Samjhauta Express bombings, plotted by an Indian Army officer which killed 68 civilians (most of whom were Pakistani), was also a crucial point in relations. Additionally, the 2008 Mumbai attacks carried out by Pakistani militants resulted in a severe blow to the ongoing India-Pakistan peace talks.
Born out from the furnace of animosity, India and Pakistan, the twin brothers have a history of unique relations. There is much in common between Republic of India and Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The diplomatic relations developed soon after independence but these relations did not ensure good friendship. The blaming process started soon after the inception of Pakistan when during the world’s biggest mass migration both states were unable to provide security to minorities. At that time there were 682 princely states and their future was to be decided according to their own will. Junagadh and Kashmir are two of these states which are still a bone of contention between India and Pakistan. Junagadh was composed of 88% Hindu Majority with a Muslim ruler named Nawab Mahabat Khan. The ruler voted for Pakistan but India did not accept it on the plea of heavy Hindu majority. The other reason projected by India was that the state of Junagadh was encircled by Indian state and giving it to Pakistan would contradict the two nation theory. The stand of Pakistan was on the basis of the Muslim ruler and the maritime link of Pakistan with junagadh coastal line.
One the other hand, the ruler of Kashmir, Hari Singh, wanted to join India but the majority of Muslim population was in the favour of Pakistan. Maharaja Hair Singh made a “stand still agreement” with the Government of Pakistan. However, the rumoures spread in Pakistan that Mahraja Hari Singh was going to accede with India. The forces of Pakistan invaded in Kashmir in 1947 and Hari Singh asked India for help. Indian Armed forces violating the provision of their constitution entered into the jurisdiction of Kashmir. In 1947, Pakistan acquired Azad Kashmir and India captured state of Jammu and Kashmir. Both of these parts are being held by the same countries which occupied these states forcefully.
1965 and 1971 Wars:-
The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistanand India. This conflict became known as the Second Kashmir War fought by India and Pakistan over the disputed region of Kashmir, the firsthaving been fought in 1947. The war began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was designed to infiltrate forces into Jammu and Kashmir to precipitate an insurgency against rule by India. The five-week war caused thousands of casualties on both sides. It ended in aUnited Nations (UN) mandated ceasefire and the subsequent issuance of the Tashkent Declaration.
1971 was a black year in the history of Pakistan as she lost its eastern wing as India intervened to favour Bengali people and seized the Qasim part. 90, 000 Pakistani soliders surrendered in Bangladesh. In July 1972 P.M India Gandhi and PM Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto met in Indian Hill station of Simla and signed an agreement to return 90, 000 Pak personnel, and that India would get its captured territory in the west. They also agreed that from then on, they would settle their disputes through peaceful bilateral negotiations. Eventually, the trade relation restarted in 1976 but the Afghan crisis of 1979 again disrupted the peaceful process started in 1976.
Pakistan supported Taliban and India favoured Soviet Union. India was also worried about US military aid to Pakistan, Pakistan’s purchase of arms from us and the advancement in her nuclear programme. The change in leadership brought a new era of relation between the two rivals. In Dec 1988 Benazir Bhutto Shaheed and Rajiv Gandhi resumed talks on different issues melding cultured exchange, civil aviation and not to attack each other nuclear facilities. At that time BB said.
“Burry the Hatchet; we have had enough of it. Let’s start a new chapter. India has a new generation leadership. Rajiv & I belong to a new generation. We have some kinship. He father was assassinated and so was my father. He lost his brother and so have I we both can start from clean state.”
In 1997, high level talks were resumed after 3 years. Prime Minister of India and Pakistan met twice and foreign secretaries conducted 3 rounds of talks in which they identified 8 outstanding issues to focuss. These 8 issues were
• Kashmir issue
• Water crisis
• Sir creek issue
• Rann of kutch
• MFN status
• Siachen issue
• State sponsored issue
• Nuclear Deterrence
In September 1997 the talks broke down on structural issue where as in May 1998 the situation became harder because of nuclear experiment conducted by Pakistan. The environment further became deplorable when Indian Air lines Flight IC 814 was hijacked in 24 Dec 1999. The plan landed in Lahore for refuelling but the final destination was Kandhar, Afghanistan. Rivalry increased when attack was conducted on Indian parliament on Dec 2001. India blamed Jash-e-Mohammad for that act. The Samjhota express carnage of 18th February 2007 added fuel to fire. The series of blaming each other started again where as Pakistan tried to project cordial relations.
In Nov, 2008, a series of ten co-ordinated attacks were committed by terrorist which began across Mumbai which is the Indian financial capital and the largest city. The attack was started on 26 November 2008 and ended on 29 November 2008. In these attacks 173 people were killed including 35 foreigner where as 38 were wounded. India blamed Lashkar-e-Taiba and gave evidences that weapon, candy wrappers, telephone sets and branded milk Packets used by the terrorists belonged to Pakistan. But it was also found that the terrorist were drunk as the Lashkar-e-Taiba elements did not drink, and were speaking Hyderabadi language. Additionally, Hermant Kurkure was the first man to be murdered in that attack. He was the man who was on the hit list of Indian Dons because he arrested General Parohit, who was the master mind of Samjhota Carnage. Another reason was that Obama Discussed to solve Kashmir issue to bring stability in the South Asian region. This attack was done to divert his attention. The lok sbha election could not be ignored as the current government needed the Pakistan card to flame the sentiments of Indian masses.
In spite of this deteriorated situation Pakistan did not give up to create friendly atmosphere. Currently, the government of India is not that much brutal. Recently Indian minister of state for external affairs said they were not worried about Pakistan purchasing of armaments but if these weapons will be used against India, they were ready to fight. In addition, Pakistan nukes were unsafe.
Bit recently the statement of Indian Army Chief Gen Deepak Kapoor regarding his army’s capacity to fight on two fronts, upset a lots of people in Pakistan. This also shows that there is a conflict of interest between Indian army and Indian Government.
India and Pakistan must work jointly to coeate a peaceful atmosphere. Sharing a long border with common geographic importance can increase to their worth if the joint venture is adopted.
Pakistan has, in principle, decided to grant Most-Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India. This is an important step in improving trade ties between the two countries. India has already granted MFN status to Pakistan and recently also dropped its objection to Pakistan’s request for market access to the European Union at the World Trade Organisation forum. Both steps will help create the environment for Pakistan and India to begin to explore new avenues for bilateral trade while overcoming the thorny issues that dominate mainstream discourse. It is time for Pakistan and India to focus on identified doables including moving to a negative list approach in tariff lines. During the most recent commerce secretary, commerce minister and foreign minister level talks, an effort has been made to create institutional mechanisms and prepare a road map to make the peace process irreversible and structured and create an enabling environment for bilateral trade. Other proposals such as the trade of electricity and petroleum products between the two countries are also under discussion and one hopes that the feasibility, scope and modalities of such trading will be seriously considered.
With the granting of MFN status, India and Pakistan entering into a mutually agreed preferential trade arrangement to promote trade by extending tariff concessions on products of export interest to both countries has become a real possibility. Up until now, India’s contention was that Pakistan should first honour its existing international commitments like granting MFN status to India as per the Agreement on South Asian Free Trade Area before exploring new trading regimes. Now that we may be about to cross this bridge, we can look ahead to greater cooperation on trade, which can certainly help lay the groundwork for movement on the more tricky issues.
Success is never achieved by the size of our brain but it is always achieved by the quality of our thoughts.
Pakistan Iran Relations
Pakistan Iran Relations
Apart from being a neighbour, Iran is the only country with which Pakistan has “had age-old relations, based on cultural, ethnic, and spiritual links”. Pakistan shares over 900 kilometres common border with Iran. Traditionally Pakistani frontiers with Iran have always been peaceful, safe, and secure.
Since 1947: -
Since Iran had its security concerns from the expansionist designs of former Soviet Union and an uneasy relationship with Arab world, therefore, emergence of a none-Arab Muslim country on its neighbourhood provided her reprieve and reinforced its security. Whereas, Pakistan, otherwise agonized of Indian aggression and hostile Afghanistan, took Iran as its strategic partner that was amply demonstrated by Iran during 1965 and 1971, Indo-Pak wars. It also militarily assisted Pakistan in the initial days of its independence. Both became partners of Western backed defence pacts during the initial days of the cold war.
First Pakistani Premier Mr. Liaquat Ali Khan visited Iran in 1949 and Iranian Shah reciprocated that in 1950, as the first foreign head of a state. It is worth mentioning that, Pakistani National Anthem was played first time in the honour of Shah Iran in 1950. In a way there established a relationship of interdependence between both brotherly Islamic countries right from the inception of Pakistan. Thereafter both countries maintained their bilateral relationship in an atmosphere of Islamic brotherhood and as good neighbours, with mutual acceptability. Along with Turkey, Pakistan and Iran established Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD), an inter-governmental organization for socio-economic development in the member countries in 1964. The organization was renamed as Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in 1985 and its membership increased to ten in early 1990s by including Central Asian States and Afghanistan. In either of its form, the organization further reinforced the bi-lateral and multi-lateral relationship between Iran, Pakistan, and other regional Muslim countries.
Following the Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979, Pakistan was the first country, which recognized Revolutionary Iranian Government. Pakistan sent a high-level delegation under Foreign Minister to assure Iran that, it intends further cementing its traditional relations with the later. It welcomed the Islamic Revolutionary Government in Iran. President General Ziaul Haq was among the first few heads of states, who visited Iran as a good will gesture in 1980 and again in 1981.
During Iran-Iraq war, Pakistan made hectic efforts to negotiate a deal between two Islamic countries to end the war. Indeed, Pakistani suggestions later became the basis for ending the war in 1988. Moreover, Pakistan provided morale and diplomatic support to Iran even during the critical stages of the war that annoyed Iraq and Arab world with it. Pakistan also persuaded Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries to normalize their relations with Iran that at times was viewed with suspicion by these countries. Moreover, it convinced United States not to become hostile to Iran on the issue of its hostages. US indeed wanted to launch a physical attack on Iran to end the crises of its hostages in Iran. Unfortunately, both countries developed minor divergences over the interim setup in Afghanistan upon withdrawal of Soviet Union and later on the issue of the support to Taliban by Pakistan and Northern Alliance by Iran and India. Considering these differences, Iran did not support Pakistan on the issue of Kashmir, once the later was presenting a resolution in United Nations on Human Rights violations in Kashmir in 1996. It was a serious setback to Pakistani efforts and India which had already developed its relations with Iran, got an opportunity “to fish in trouble waters,” for its own strategic interests. Thereafter, Indian spying agency RAW, made inroads into Balochistan and other parts of Pakistan for causing internal destabilization, which is continuing unabated even today.
On its part, Pakistan however, continued maintaining its brotherly relations with Iran. Pakistan always has persuaded Iran on a number of occasions for the reconciliation to shun the differences. Pakistan also tried to convince Iran that the enemies of both have spread these misperceptions, may be for the time being portraying as their friend. It whole-heartedly supported Iranian viewpoint on the issue of its controversial nuclear programme. Through a progressive reconciliation and diplomatic efforts, both countries come closer to each other in last few years. Regretfully, on October 18, 2009, a suicide attack allegedly of Jundallah militant group killed over forty people including senior commanders of Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in Sistan-o-Balochistan.
The people and the Government of Pakistan strongly slammed the attack and shared the grief and sorrow of the Iranian people over the massive loss of innocent lives. Regretfully, immediately after the terrorist attack, a number of Iranian leaders and high-level officials including supreme leader pointed fingers at Pakistan. Pakistan Government however strongly negated its involvement in the attack and assured Iran for an all out support to trace and punish all those responsible for the attack if found on Pakistani soil. The incident however deteriorated the steadily improving relationship between two brotherly Muslim countries. Nevertheless, an unanalyzed allegation from senior Iranian leadership has provided a serious setback to the sincerity of Government and the people of Pakistan. Indeed, after the Mujahedeen’s interim Government and later Taliban’s taken over of Afghanistan, India was practically evicted from that soil. Thereafter, it needed some space for the promotion of militancy in Pakistan. This was only possible by creating a rift in the bilateral relationship of Iran and Pakistan, who over the years, have been considering Afghanistan as their ‘strategic rear’, of course not on physical terms. Yet, the concept perhaps misled both in 1990s, once they were endeavouring to secure their respective interests.
Now once that phase is over, there is a need to learn from the past for a positive move forward through consensus building. Under the changed global environment, there is a need that both countries to forget past annoyances and “forge a new long-term common vision reflecting their common security and economic interests.” The fleeting rip in the Pak-Iran relations has no sound basis, thus can be revamped through enhanced interactions at all level including by the masses from both sides. Indeed, the renaissance of cultural and religious affinities between Iran and Pakistan would go a long way. For this purpose, both need to ban the fissiparous forces persuading both or any of them. Mutual trust deficit, prevailing over the years has to be restored on priority. Both need to realize the looming threats around them and in the regional and global context. Presence of the extra regional forces in their neighbourhood, otherwise friendly to none, provides them yet another cause for the convergence.
Pakistan has publicly defended Iran’s right to nuclear technology. Some American analysts also suspect Pakistani scientists employed by the Pakistani military of helping Iran acquire nuclear technology, although Pakistan officially denies any involvement. Henry Sokolski, former deputy for nonproliferation policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, explained in 2003 that “the notion that Pakistan wasn’t involved is getting less and less tenable.” Since then, inspectors have found in Iran’s possession documents from Pakistani scientist Dr. A.Q. Khan detailing how to shape uranium for nuclear warheads, while in 2004 then-Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf officially pardoned Dr. Khan for his sale of nuclear technology. According to a report by the Congressional Research Service published in 2005, Dr. Khan “could not have functioned without some level of cooperation by Pakistani military personnel, who maintained tight security around the key nuclear facilities, and possibly civilian officials as well.” On March 15, 2010, Pakistan rejected a US media report asserting that Khan provided nuclear related information and material, including drawings, centrifuge components, and a list of suppliers, to Iran. Abdul Basit, a spokesman for the Pakistani Foreign Office, described the claims, published by the Washington Post, as "yet another repackaging of fiction, which surface occasionally for purposes that are self-evident."
Over the past several years, Pakistan has increasingly called for peaceful reconciliation on the international nuclear standoff, despite increasing concern from the UN and Washington.
The two countries initiated significant cooperation in the energy sector in 1991, when Iran began negotiating an oil deal with Pakistan and Qatar. This initial collaboration, however, was limited and did not progress meaningfully. Iran again attempted negotiating with Qatar regarding the construction of gas pipelines to Pakistan in 1995, however was unsuccessful. Cooperation regarding energy has nonetheless increased since the 1990s and helped provide the foundation for a more thorough bilateral trade network between Iran and Pakistan in recent years. By 2005, Pakistan was actively seeking Iranian investment in bilateral trade and energy cooperation.Pakistan and Iran have deepened their economic partnership to such an extent that, in a joint statement issued in May 2010, the two countries expressed satisfaction with an increase in bilateral trade, which surpassed $1.2 billion in the previous financial year. In 2009, Pakistan increased its non-oil exports to Iran by 80 percent, reaching $279 million. Similarly, Iranian non-oil exports to Pakistan increased by 11 percent, totaling $278 million for the year. Despite this growth, Karachi Chambeer of Commerce and Industry President Abdul Majid Haji Mohammad said the lack of a banking system remains a major obstacle to Iran-Pakistan trade.
Since 2005, Islamabad has increasingly turned to Tehran to supply Pakistan’s growing energy needs. In August 2008, Iran agreed to finance a robust energy project that would allow Pakistan to import 1,000 megawatts of electricity to overcome its power shortage. The project, a $60 million endeavor, consists of running a 100-kilometer electric line to help augment the 40 megawatts of electricity Pakistan already receives daily from Iran. In April 2010, Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan Mashallah Shakeri spoke before the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stressing Iran’s commitment to economic relations with Pakistan. According to the envoy, Iran intends to supply the 1,000 megawatts to Pakistan at a discounted rate.
Iran and Pakistan have long discussed the construction of a 2,600-kilometer, $7.5 billion Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline (IPI) that would pump gas from Iran’s South Pars field to Pakistan and India. Tentative talks on the pipeline began in 1994, however tense political relations between India and Pakistan frustrated realization of the project. International concern over Iran’s nuclear program further delayed agreement and in November 2007 Iran and Pakistan accused India of hesitating because of pressure from the United States. In February 2010, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki accused the US of interfering with the planned pipeline by attempting to sway New Delhi away from the IPI. Indeed, Washington has repeatedly urged India not to follow through with the deal while Iran faces sanctions for its nuclear enrichment program. Both Russia and China have taken significant interest in the pipeline, with Russia’s Gazprom offering to help supply oil and China holding talks with Iran and Pakistan in 2008 to replace India in case New Delhi chose to reject the partnership.
In May 2009, Iran and Pakistan signed a purchase agreement stipulating that Iran will initially transfer 30 million cubic meters of gas to Pakistan per day, with the volume eventually increasing to 60 million. The deal, to which India was not a party, ensures gas supplies to Pakistan for a period of 25 years. On June 13, 2010, the two sides formally concluded the $7.5 billion agreement over the objections of US Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke, who cautioned that although the “US understands that Pakistan faces [a] major energy crisis... new sanctions on Iran can impact Pakistan.”According to a previous Pakistani Petroleum Ministry statement in May 2010, “the capital cost for the Pakistan section is estimated at 1.65 billion dollars…[and] the first gas flow is targeted by end 2014” with Iran completing the project ahead of schedule.
During a July 30, 2009 interview with the Iranian Islamic Republic News Agency, Dr. Ashfaq Hassan Khan, a former economic advisor in Pakistan, insisted that while economic ties between Iran and Pakistan should expand at all levels, cooperation in the energy sector is vital for Pakistan. Khan further expressed his view that the planned Iran-Pakistan pipeline would likely greatly benefit both countries.
Iran-Pakistan cooperation on transportation issues expanded greatly in August 2009, when the two inaugurated an international freight rail line from Islamabad to Istanbul via Tehran. The line is a “pilot project” of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), a Central Asian trade bloc. Although Iran and Turkey already enjoy extensive rail cooperation, transportation ties with Pakistan are weaker. According to Director of Pakistan Railways Shafiqullah Khan, Islamabad and Tehran are seeking outside credit to resolve differences in rail gauge in order to regularize rail service between the two. Officials expect to begin regular freight service along the 6,500 km line in August 2010.
In February 2010, Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif called for the creation of an economic free-trade zone among Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and other Islamic countries. During a celebration of the 31st Revolution Day of Iran, Sharif noted that “deep, friendly relations exist between Pakistan and Iran and it is the need of the hour that socio-economic cooperation should be promoted.”
Iranian and Pakistani officials, in February 2010, signed the first memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two countries on cross border trade. The MoU was penned during the two countries’ first joint committee meeting on border trade in Iran’s southeastern Sistan and Balouchestan province. Iraj Hassanpour, the head of Sistan and Balouchestan's trade organization, stated that “[b]ased on [the] MoU, [the] two countries are bound to hold public and specialized fairs at their common borders and in [the] capital of Sistan & Balouchestan province, Zahedan, and Quetta in Pakistan." Both sides also decided to establish large storehouses to facilitate the storage of trade commodities at their border customs.
Sardar Muhammad Latif Khan Khosa, a Pakistani advisor to the prime minister on information technology, has called for increased collaboration between Iran and Pakistan in telecommunications. During a June 2010 conversation with Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan, Mashallah Shakeri, Khosa expressed his belief that increased bilateral activity in the sector has the potential to increase regional economic development and security.
Iran has developed deep economic and political ties with Pakistan, an ally of the United States and a nuclear neighbor. In 2007, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shaukat Aziz, said that Pakistan shares extensive ties with Iran “based upon faith, belief, joint history and culture. Expansion of cooperation in the fields of trade and investment can further strengthen the bilateral ties.” Iran and Pakistan cooperate in a number of trade groups and agreed in June 2008 on a list of 300 tradable items in an effort to stimulate economic relations. Iran is active in the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO)—a trade and investment group that includes all of the central Asian countries, founded by Iran, Turkey and Pakistan. Additionally, both Iran and Pakistan also hold observer status in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)—an Asian regional economic and security group. China and Russia are reportedly considering inviting Iran and Pakistan to full membership in the SCO so as to participate in resolving the conflict in Afghanistan. "In the current global context, the top priority is finding a solution to the Afghan issue," Secretary-General Muratbek Sansyzbayevich Imanaliev said during a news conference in Beijing in February 2010.
Pakistan has helped encourage trilateral trade with Iran and Turkey in commercial goods and development of infrastructure beyond the programs administered by regional organizations such as the ECO.
Iran has involved itself in the political and military instability in Pakistan’s Afghan and Iran border regions. In June 2009, the Iranian Embassy in Pakistan donated $250,000 as humanitarian aid for Pakistan’s unstable Swat province. In a statement, the embassy said that "Iran denounces terrorist acts in Pakistan's northern areas and announces its readiness to renew support for peace and stability in Pakistan." In July 2009, Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan Mashaallah Shakeri called on the Pakistani government to secure the release of Heshmatollah Attarzadeh Niyaki, an Iranian diplomat kidnapped by gunman in Peshawar in 2008. While speaking before the Iranian parliament in July 2009, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki stated that he believed “that the current situations [in western Pakistan] are improving…criminal acts [have been] reduced and controlled in [the] last year.” Mottaki further indicated that Iran had received a good degree of cooperation from the Pakistani government in implementing new security measures on the border.
Speaking in July 2009, Former Interior Minister and Chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party Sherpao Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao praised an Iraqi security forces raid on a People's Mujahedin of Iran camp located north of Baghdad. Iranian authorities reacted warmly to news of the raid, which targeted a militant Iranian exile group hostile to the Islamic Republic. Sherpao explained his support for the raid by stating that no country should permit its territory to be used for hostile acts against another sovereign state. He further added that "Iran is our brotherly country and we always want Iran to prosper."
In August 2009, Iran took part in a meeting of the “Friends of Democratic Pakistan.” During the summit, which was held in Turkey and largely focused on the security situation in Pakistan, Foreign Minister Mottaki discussed the importance of bilateral ties with his Pakistani counterpart, Shah Mahmood Qureshi. The two also spoke about the need to combat terrorism and establish stability in Pakistan, with Mottaki adding that he considers Pakistan-Iran-Afghanistan relations to be an “appropriate model” for regional conflict resolution.
The two countries’ ‘brotherly’ relations were threatened in October 2009 following attacks against the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGС) in Sistan-Baluchistan province. President Ahmadinejad publically accused “certain officials in Pakistan” of involvement in the attacks.Tehran further demanded the extradition of Abdolmalek Rigi, the chief of suspected terrorist group Jundallah. Pakistani officials denied any involvement in the attacks, rejecting Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar’s accusation that Jundallah received financial aid from Pakistan. Pakistan subsequently released 11 Iranian security officers accused of illegally crossing the border. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari met with Najjar in Islamabad a week after the attacks. Zardari stated that the attackers “were the enemies of both countries” and vowed to cooperate with Iran in their capture. At the beginning of November 2009, however, the IRGC accused Pakistan of releasing the leader of Jundallah immediately before the October 18 bombing in Sistan-Baluchistan, thereby implicating the Pakistani government in the attacks. According to the deputy head of the IRGC, Brigadier General Hossein Salami, the Jundallah leader, Abdolmakel Rigi, “was arrested on September 26 in Pakistan’s Baluchistan province. But he was released after an hour with the intervention of the Pakistani intelligence service.” In March 2010, upon receiving assurances from Islamabad that authorities would take measures to improve security in the area, Iran reopened its border with Pakistan. Iran had closed the border to trade four months prior in response to the October IRGC attack.
Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran Hassan Qashqavi said in January 2010 that the Pakistani government should take serious measures to stem terrorist activities across the border of the two countries. According to the minister, "the Pakistani government is expected to live up to its promises and take more serious measures to stem the terrorist and evil activities.” The same month, an Iranian Foreign Ministry official claimed there is a hidden agenda behind the recent destabilizing measures on Iran's eastern borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan.
On January 16, 2010, officials from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran met to discuss regional security and terrorism, agreeing on a joint framework for cooperation in tackling political volatility in the area. The three agreed that regional stability and security could only be advanced through sincere adherence to the principle of national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi stated that "it is important to consult amongst ourselves so that we are on the same page and we have closer positions on different issues that confront our neighborhood." A joint declaration from the meeting called for Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran to coordinate efforts to combat extremism as well as drug and weapons smuggling. The ministers also raised Iranian concerns regarding the expanded presence of US forces in Afghanistan. A day after the meeting, the Iranian ambassador to Pakistan, Mashallah Shakeri, announced that the third Iran-Afghanistan-Pakistan summit will be held in Tehran in the near future.
In January 2010, Iranian First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi insisted that Iran considers durable security and stability in Pakistan to be of paramount importance to Iranian interests.Referencing recent efforts by Tehran to establish sustainable security in Pakistan, Rahimi stated that "Iran believes that comprehensive expansion of ties with Pakistan plays a major role in materializing the interests of the two countries and the region." He called for the fortification of the Iran and Pakistan’s common borders and added that "terrorist groups should not be allowed to disturb security of the two countries' border regions."
During the first Meeting of the Heads of Interpol of the Economic Cooperation Organization, held on June 29, 2010, Interior Minister Nijjar urged the association’s members to collaborate more closely on security issues. The minister proposed the creation of a regional police headquarters and encouraged more rapid sharing of information on criminal investigations.
Ambassador Shakeri has said that Iran is determined to continue its involvement in Pakistani development despite ever-increasing security challenges. In a February 2010 message commemorating the 31st anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the ambassador noted that "Pakistan, in its capacity as a Muslim neighbor, has a special status in the macro-strategy of the foreign policy of Iran, with durable security, stability and all-round development of Pakistan being Iran's desire."
During a six-day visit to Iran in February 2010, Pakistani National Assembly Speaker Fahmida Mirza met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, and Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. Mirza and Larijani issued a joint statement calling for the expansion of ties between Pakistan and Iran in the political, economic, and cultural spheres. Iran and Pakistan also agreed to increase their parliamentary cooperation on global issues at international bodies. In addition, the two countries underlined the need to adopt a comprehensive political approach in the campaigns against terrorism, drug trafficking, and organized crime.
During an April 2010 appearance before the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Iranian Ambassador Shakeri reaffirmed his country’s commitment to aiding Pakistan deal with its internal turmoil, saying that "Iran is fully aware of the problems currently facing Pakistan and our prime goal is to bring Pakistan out of the prevailing crisis.”
According to a May 2010 joint statement following a meeting between Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran Seyed Ameer Mansoor Borghei'e and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Iran and Pakistan support efforts by Afghan President Hamid Karzai to achieve national reconciliation in his country. The two countries further agreed to continue cooperate to help and achieve sustainable peace in Afghanistan.
Areas of disagreements and competition/divergences:
The two countries did have, until the recent past, areas of disagreements and competition also which, over all, could be put as under:
i. Pakistan's support to the Taliban in Afghanistan before 9/ 11. ii. US involvement in Afghanistan and in the region.
iii. Pakistan US strategic collaboration in Afghanistan since 9/11. iv. Pakistan's close relations with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Sheikhdoms.
v. Divergence of policies on the Persian Gulf.
vi. Pakistan's claim as the "Fortress ofIslam".
vii. Iran's support to the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan. viii.lran's growing relations with India and Russia.
ix. Sectarian problem in Pakistan.
x. Quest for CARs.
Analysis of Relations:
Overall, the genesis of cooperation between the two countries revolved around the following focal points:
i. Common faith, geography, culture and traditions.
ii. Similar economic and political outlook.
iii. Identical strategic thinking, and defence cooperation particularly during the cold war, and after the Islamic Revolution.
iv. Like mindedness on most of the matters relating to the Muslim world.
v. Common bilateral, regional, and international approach.
vi. Homogeneity of stands on regional and international problems.
vii. Convergence of interests on Nuclear Non-Proliferation, (NNP), matters.
viii. Extension of political, diplomatic and moral support to the Kashmir liberation struggle.
ix. Harmonious position on the establishment of the New International Economic Order, (NIEO).
x. Desirability of the existence of multi-polarity in the regional and world politics.
Success is never achieved by the size of our brain but it is always achieved by the quality of our thoughts.
Pakistan – United States relations refers to bilateral relationship between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the United States of America. Pakistan came into existence just as the cold war was starting. The world was split into two camps soviet and US. Infant Pakistan and India had to pick their camps. The United States established diplomatic relations with Pakistan on October 20, 1947. The relationship since then was based primarily on U.S. economic and military assistance to Pakistan. Pakistan is a Major non-NATO ally of the United States. The history of Pakistan–American relations has been defined as one of "Roller Coaster"
When Pakistan was formed in 1947, she needed both economic (due to initial problems) and military (Indian threat) assistance for its survival. In the early 1950’s the US had delineated a program known as Marshal Plan which aimed at the recovery of Europe and extending assistance to various Asian countries. After Partition, Liaqat Ali khan (1st PM) was invited by Soviets and Americans. He chooses sanity over inhumanity and visited US, thus strengthening PAK-US relations. India established relations with Soviets.
On 19th May, 1954, Pakistan signed the Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement with the U.S; also Pakistan joined SEATO in 1954 to contain the expansion of communism in South East Asia. This membership of SEATO committed Pakistan fully to the Western block. In 1955 and alliance, the Baghdad Pact, was formed between Britain, Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Pakistan (its name changed to CENTO). Between 1954-65 Pakistan received military assistance of 1.5 billion dollars and around 3 billion dollars of loan.
The U.S extended unlimited military support to India during Sino-Indian border clash in 1962. Pakistan protested against it but U.S paid no heed to the protest of Pakistan although India was not the ally of U.S but was Pakistan. When India attacked Pakistan in 1965, it frequently used American weapons against Pakistan. Pak US relations suffer a set back when US places arms embargo on both nations, knowing well that Pakistan was totally dependent on US arms and India did not use any US arms. Soviets speeded up arms supplies to India.
Pakistan gained air superiority by using US supplied F-86 Sabers and F-104 Star fighters. Pakistan’s old enemy King Zahir ensured safety of Pakistan’s Western borders, allowing Pakistan to remove it troops from that border. Iran opened her airfields to Pakistan Air force. China moved her troops close to Indian border but US stopped supplies forcing Pakistan to sue for peace offered under Soviets. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, the U.S. chooses not to provide Pakistan with military support as pledged in the 1959 Agreement of Cooperation. This generated a widespread feeling in Pakistan that the United States was no longer a reliable ally.
President Richard Nixon used Pakistan's relationship with China to start secret contacts with China which resulted with Henry Kissinger’s secret visit to China in July 1971 while visiting Pakistan. during the wars of 1971 US gave no military assistance to Pakistan being a member of SEATO and CENTO. President Nixon told Pakistan 7th Fleet is on its way. Now after 25 years declassified documents revealed that US delibratly wanted to break Pakistan to appease India. It was the time when Pakistan realized that US can support India against China but cannot support Pakistan against India thus Pakistan withdrew from SEATO in 1972 and CENTO in 1979.
Pakistan-US relations became strained once again in 1976-77. When pakistan desired to acquire nuclear technology. America vigorously opposed Pakistan’s attempt to acquire nuclear technology for peaceful and domestic purposes. In 1977 Carter administration in Sept.1977 cut off the military and economic assistance to Pakistan. Also, Carter visited India and Iran but not Pakistan.
Pakistan feeling betrayed by the US decided to move away from US block. venturing first into NAM(non aligned movement) then in OIC and finally started making friends with soviets. Soviets started setting up steel mills in Pakistan and supplied some military aid (Mi-8 etc). Pakistan moved on the road to socialism under Bhutto. US believed that pakistan was slipping to the other side, given the fact that Bhutto was a big Landlord it was a total misconception. US grew hostile to Pakistan. Bhutto openly challenged US in his speeches....
In 1979 when soviet forces entered in Afghanistan the tables were once again turned. That alarming situation reminded US that Pakistan is its frontline ally for securing peace in the world, so once again military and financial assistance was provided to Pakistan. Henceforth Pakistan resumed its role asAmerica’s forefront partner in South Asia and was also exempted from the Symington and Glenn Amendments for a period of 6 years ending 1987. Therefore Afghan war with the help of Pakistan led towards the end of cold war. But the end of the Cold War did not leave Pakistan in a state of peace and stability. Indeed Pakistan is still paying a huge price of its US assistance.
After10 years of partnership in Afghan Jihad, US attitude towards Pakistan started changing dramatically and in October 1990 US President George Bush refused to certify that Pakistan is a non-nuclear state and does not possess nuclear weapons nor it is engaged in their manufacture. As a result Pressler amendment was imposed on Pakistan as a punishment for its loyalty during Afghan crisis, supply of forty F-16 aircraft to Pakistan was withheld and amount of $ 1.2 billion was suspended even though Pakistan had paid for this. Instead of strengthening relations and crafting new ways of cooperation Pak-US relations went all time low especially from 1990-1993.
Afterwards some efforts were made to normalize the relations, Defense secretary William Perry paid a visit to Pakistan in January 1995. Moreover because of this visit the Pak-US defense consultative group was revived which had not met since 1990. The Clinton administration also took interest to put back relations to normal course and to revise Pressler amendment. Therefore Brown amendment came according to which embargoed military equipment worth about $368 million was released. For Pakistan the symbolic significance of Brown amendment was more important than the material benefit as after 1990 it was the first concrete step towards the normalization of relations between Pakistan and US.
The irony about US non-proliferation policy in South Asia was that India was also involved in the nuclear proliferation activities but all the sanctions, embargos and penalties were just for Pakistan. In May 1998 as a result of nuclear tests conducted by Pakistan a second set of sanctions were imposed by invoking the Pressler, Glenn and Symington amendment which prohibits military and economic assistance to any country that delivers or receives nuclear assistance. When in October 1999 President Musharraf came more “Democracy Sanctions” were enacted on Pakistan.
9/11 And The U-Turn In US-Pakistan Relations:
It was the incident of 9/11 that changed the face of US-Pakistan relations completely and once again brought the two states close to form an alliance but this time against Taliban. Pakistan's leadership without learning from their past mistakes joined hands with US and became a critical ally and is still bearing the brunt of its unremitting support to U.S.
Since 2001 till today Pakistan is fully supporting US in its war against terrorism. . Yet it has failed to achieve the status that should be given as a recompense for its sacrifices. Even after 10 years of agony, US does not show any regard to Pakistan’s significant role in curbing the militancy. Instead it has kept on accusing Pakistan from time to time and demands to ‘do more’. These kinds of US accusation harms Pakistan’s image in international community and are disliked at Pakistan’s end. Osama raid has further tensed the already cold relations between the two partners and has brought the future of US-Pakistan relations under intense consideration. Today the people of Pakistan have given even more sacrifices then the NATO/US troops in Afghanistan. Pakistani public already fed up by the mess created by Afghan war wants US to end this menace. Amidst national, economic, social, religious crisis, unstable political regime, escalating drone attacks, loss of civilian lives and news of Osama’s downfall has created trouble, which is spreading like a wild fire. The demand of ‘Go America Go’ is being chanted all across Pakistan. This shows a growing wedge between the two strategic partners. A Pakistani private channel’s survey explored that 77% Pakistanis see US as their enemy. A new survey conducted by Washington’s Pew Research Centre also shows that only 11 per cent of Pakistanis view the US and President Obama favorably.
The US- Pak relations have not proved much fruitful for Pakistan, and the nation feels betrayed by the US administrations. US wants Pakistan to become its vessal state, where all policies are made only to serve the interests of US. The government should devise such policies that ensure to safeguard our own land and people not the US interests. Therefore, it is now time for politico-military leadership of Pakistan to sit and review their policies before this unconditional assistance to US costs the lives of the entire nation. Albeit despite growing hatred towards American policies and its presence in the region the war against terrorism has now become Pakistan’s own war and therefore needs genuine concern of our government.
Present U.S.-Pakistan relations are a case study on the difficulties of diplomacy and policy making in a multi-polar world. The geopolitical significance of Pakistan in world affairs attracts attention from both India and China, making unilateral action impossible from the U.S. All the while, Pakistan remains a key factor for U.S. success in Afghanistan. The two countries have attempted to build a strategic partnership since 2009, but there remains a significant trust deficit which continues to hinder successful cooperation in combating common threats. Despite recent setbacks, both Pakistan and the U.S. continue to seek a productive relationship to defeat terrorist organizations.
As on 8 February 2011, U.S. administration is reported to suspend high level contacts with Pakistan and may also suspend economical aid.All this happened when Raymond Davis, an alleged private security contractor, was on an American diplomatic mission in Pakistan shot dead two Pakistani locals last month in what he said was in self-defense after they attempted to rob him. Pakistan acted tough on him despite U.S. demands that he be freed because he enjoys diplomatic immunity.
U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W. Patterson addressed senior bureaucrats at the National Management College and emphasized that the United States will assist Pakistan’s new democratic government in the areas of development, stability, and security. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United Nations World Food Program, in Pakistan, officially announced the signing of an agreement valued at $8.4 million to help ease Pakistan's crisis.
The CIA had long suspected Osama Bin Laden of hiding in Pakistan. India and U.S. have time to time accused Pakistan of giving safe-haven to the Taliban. However, Pakistan has denied these accusations repeatedly.
On 14 September 2009, former President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, admitted that U.S. Foreign Aid to Pakistan was diverted by the country from its original purpose to fighting the Taliban, to prepare for war against neighboring India.The United States government has responded by stating that they will take these allegations seriously. However Pervez Musharraf also said '"Wherever there is a threat to Pakistan, we will use it [equipment provided by the U.S.] there. If the threat comes from al-Qaeda or Taliban, it will be used there. If the threat comes from India, we will most surely use it there".
In late 2009, Hillary Clinton made a speech in Pakistan about the war against the militants where she said "we commend the Pakistani military for their courageous fight, and we commit to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Pakistani people in your fight for peace and security."
On December 1, 2009, President Barack Obama in a speech on a policy about Pakistan said "In the past, we too often defined our relationship with Pakistan narrowly. Those days are over.... The Pakistani people must know America will remain a strong supporter of Pakistan’s security and prosperity long after the guns have fallen silent, so that the great potential of its people can be unleashed."
In the aftermath of the thwarted bombing attempt on a Northwest Airlines flight, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has issued a new set of screening guidelines that includes pat-downs for passengers from countries of interest, which includes Pakistan. In a sign of widening fissures between the two allies, Pakistan on January 21 declined a request by the United States to launch new offensives on militants in 2010. Pakistan say it "can't launch any new offensives against militants for six months to a year because it wants to 'stabilize' previous gains made. However the U.S. praises Pakistan's military effort against the militants. Furthermore Pakistan president, in meeting with the U.S. delegation, had said Pakistan "had suffered a... loss of over 35 billion dollars during the last eight years as a result of the fight against militancy." But the President also said for "greater Pak-U.S. cooperation".
In October 2009, the U.S. Congress approved $7.5 billion of non-military aid to Pakistan over the next five years. In February 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama sought to increase funds to Pakistan to "promote economic and political stability in strategically important regions where the United States has special security interests". Obama also sought $3.1 billion aid for Pakistan to defeat Al Qaeda for 2010.
In February 2010, Anne W. Patterson (U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan) said that the United States is committed to partnership with Pakistan and further said “Making this commitment to Pakistan while the U.S. is still recovering from the effects of the global recession reflects the strength of our vision. Yet we have made this commitment, because we see the success of Pakistan, its economy, its civil society and its democratic institutions as important for ourselves, for this region and for the world.”
Between 2002–2010, Pakistan received approximately 18 billion in military and economic aid from the United States. In February 2010, the Obama administration requested an additional 3 billion in aid, for a total of 20.7 billion.
In mid February, after the capture of Taliban No.2 leader Abdul Ghani Baradar in Pakistan the White House 'hails capture of Taliban leader'. Furthemore White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that this is a "big success for our mutual efforts(Pakistan and United States)in the region" and He praised Pakistan for the capture, saying it is a sign of increased cooperation with the U.S. in the terror fight. Furthermore Capt. John Kirby, spokesman for Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said 'We also strongly support Pakistani efforts to secure the border region,Kirby added, noting that Pakistan has lost soldiers in that effort.'Mullen, (President Barack Obama's senior military adviser)has made strengthening "U.S. military relationship with Pakistan a top priority". The U.S. and Pakistan have a robust working relationship that serves the mutual interests of our people,' Kirby said. "We continue to build a long-term partnership that strengthens our common security and prosperity."
In March, Richard Holbrooke U.S. special envoy to Pakistan had said U.S.-Pakistani relations have seen 'significant improvement' under Obama. Furthermore he also said "No government on earth has received more high-level attention" than Pakistan.
In December 2009, President Obama stated "In the past, we too often defined our relationship with Pakistan narrowly, those days are over. Moving forward, we are committed to a partnership with Pakistan that is built on a foundation of mutual interests, mutual respect and mutual trust." This was believed to be an indirect apology to Pakistan for being treated differently and more harshly compared to both India and Israel during the Cold War period.
The Raymond Davis affair substantially deteriorated Pakistan-U.S. relations in early 2011.
Death of Osama bin Laden
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the U.S. State Department stated that "cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound in which he was hiding". President Obama also said during his announcement of the raid that "U.S. counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding."
According to a Pakistani intelligence official, raw phone-tap data had been transferred to the United States without being analyzed by Pakistan. While the U.S. "was concentrating on this" information since September 2010, information regarding bin Laden and the compound's inhabitants had "slipped from" Pakistan's "radar" over the months. Bin Laden left "an invisible footprint" and he had not been contacting other militant networks. It was noted that much focus had been placed on a courier entering and leaving the compound. The transfer of intelligence to the U.S. was a regular occurrence according to the official, who also stated regarding the raid that "I think they came in undetected and went out the same day", and Pakistan did not believe that U.S. personnel were present in the area before the special operation occurred.
According to the Pakistani high commissioner to the United Kingdom, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Pakistan had prior knowledge that an operation would happen. Pakistan was "in the know of certain things" and "what happened happened with our consent. Americans got to know him—where he was first—and that's why they struck it and struck it precisely." Husain Haqqani, Pakistani ambassador to the U.S., had said that Pakistan would have pursued bin Laden had the intelligence of his location existed with them and Pakistan was "very glad that our American partners did. They had superior intelligence, superior technology, and we are grateful to them."
Another Pakistani official stated that Pakistan "assisted only in terms of authorization of the helicopter flights in our airspace" and the operation was conducted by the United States. He also said that “in any event, we did not want anything to do with such an operation in case something went wrong.”
Numerous allegations were made that the government of Pakistan was involved in shielding bin Laden. Aspects of the incident that have fueled the allegations include the proximity of bin Laden's heavily fortified compound to the Pakistan Military Academy, that the United States did not notify the Pakistani authorities before the operation, and the alleged double standards of Pakistan regarding the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Pakistani-born British MP Khalid Mahmood stated that he was "flabbergasted and shocked" after he learned that bin Laden was living in a city with thousands of Pakistani troops, reviving questions about alleged links between al-Qaeda and elements in Pakistan's security forces] U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham questioned, "How could [bin Laden] be in such a compound without being noticed?", raising suspicions that Pakistan was either uncommitted in the fight against Islamist militants or was actively sheltering them while pledging to fight them. A Pakistani intelligence official said that they had passed on raw phone tap data to U.S. that led to the operation but had failed to analyze this data themselves.
U.S. government files leaked by Wikileaks disclosed that American diplomats were told that Pakistani security services were tipping off bin Laden every time U.S. forces approached. Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) also helped smuggle al-Qaeda militants into Afghanistan to fight NATO troops. According to the leaked files, in December 2009, the Government of Tajikistan had told U.S. officials that many in Pakistan were aware of bin Laden's whereabouts.
U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman, chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said "This is going to be a time of real pressure on Pakistan to basically prove to us that they didn’t know that bin Laden was there". John O. Brennan, the chief counter terrorism advisor to Obama, stated that it was inconceivable that bin Laden did not have support from within Pakistan. He further stated "People have been referring to this as hiding in plain sight. We are looking right how he was able to hide out there for so long." U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein stated that "it's hard for me to understand how the Pakistanis ... would not know what was going on inside the compound." and said that top Pakistan officials may be "walking both sides of the street."
Gulf News reported that the compound where bin Laden was killed had previously been used as a safe house by ISI but was no longer being used for this purpose.
Success is never achieved by the size of our brain but it is always achieved by the quality of our thoughts.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an intergovernmental international organization founded in Shanghaion 15 June 2001 by six countries,China,Russia,Kazakhstan,Kyrgystan,Tajiki stanand Uzbekistan.Its member states cover an area of over 30 million km2, or about three fifths ofEurasia, with a population of 1.455 billion, about a quarter of the world's total.Its working languages are Chinese and Russian.
Origin of the SCO
SCO's predecessor, the Shanghai Five mechanism, originated and grew from the endeavor byChina,Russia,Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan andTajikistanto strengthen confidence-building and disarmament in the border regions.In 1996 and 1997, their heads of state met inShanghaiandMoscowrespectively and signedtheTreaty on Deepening Military Trust in Border Regionsand theTreaty on Reduction of Military Forces in Border Regions.Thereafter, this annual meeting became a regular practice and had beenheld alternately in the five member states.The topics of the meeting gradually extended from building up trust in the border regions to mutually beneficial cooperation in the political, security, diplomatic, economic, trade and other areas among the five states.The President of Uzbekistan was invited to the 2000Dushanbe Summit as a guest of the host state.As the first meeting of the five heads of state took place inShanghai, the cooperation mechanism was later known as the "Shanghai Five".
On the fifth anniversary of the Shanghai Five in June 2001, the heads of state of its members and the President of Uzbekistan met inShanghai, the birthplace of the mechanism.First they signed a joint declaration admittingUzbekistanas member of the Shanghai Five mechanism and then jointly issued theDeclaration on the Establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.The document announced that for the purpose of upgrading the level of cooperation to more effectively seize opportunities and deal with new challenges and threats, the six states had decided to establish a Shanghai Cooperation Organization on the basis of the Shanghai Five mechanism.
In June 2002, the heads of SCO member states met inSt. Petersburgand signed theSCO Charter, which clearly expounded the SCO purposes and principles, organizational structure, form of operation, cooperation orientation and external relations, marking the actual establishment of this new organization in the sense of international law.
Purposes and Principles of SCO
According to theSCO Charterand theDeclaration on the Establishment of the SCO, the main purposes of SCO are: strengthening mutual trust and good-neighborliness and friendship among member states;developing their effective cooperation in political affairs, the economy and trade, science and technology, culture, education, energy, transportation, environmental protection and other fields; working together to maintain regional peace, security and stability; and promoting the creation of a new international political and economic order featuring democracy, justice and rationality.
The SCO abides by the following basic principles: adherence to the purposes and principles of theCharter of the United Nations; respect for each other's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, mutual non-use or threat of use of force; equality among all member states; settlement of all questions through consultations; non-alignment and no directing against any other country or organization; opening to the outside world and willingness to carry out all forms of dialogues, exchanges and cooperation with other countries and relevant international or regional organizations.
The SCO stands for and acts on a new security concept anchored on mutual trust, disarmament and cooperative security; a new state-to-state relationship with partnership instead of alignment at its core, and a new model of regional cooperation featuring concerted efforts of countries of all sizes and mutually beneficial cooperation.In the course of development, aShanghaispirit gradually took shape, a spirit characterized by mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, cooperation, respect for diversified civilizations and common development.
India currently has observer status in the SCO. Russia has encouraged India to join the organisation as a full-time member, because they see it as a crucial future strategic partner. Factors working against India joining the SCO is its long rivalry with Pakistan and its close ties to China which has also troubled ties with India resulting in the Sino-Indian War of 1962.
Additional factors working in favour of India joining the SCO are its major military presence in Central Asia, its close military ties with several Central Asian countries (especially Tajikistan and Russia) and also its deep interest in the region's energy resources. In 2010, India showed a keen interest in joining the group, “We are interested in SCO membership. It is a very important organisation concerning the region,” sources within the Indian government said. China has also shown its interest for a greater role of India in Asia club.
Iran currently has observer status in the organisation, and applied for full membership on March 24, 2008. However, because of ongoing sanctions levied by the United Nations, it is blocked from admission as a new member. The SCO stated that any country under U.N. sanctions cannot be admitted.
Mongolia became the first country to receive observer status at the 2004 Tashkent Summit. Pakistan, India and Iran received observer status at the 2005 SCO summit in Astana, Kazakhstan on July 5, 2005.
Pakistan currently has observer status in the SCO. Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf argued in favour of Pakistan's qualification to join the organisation as a full member during a joint summit with China in 2006. Factors working against Pakistan's joining the SCO as a member include its persistent military rivalry with fellow SCO-observer India and strained relation with Russia because of the latter's strong relations with India. China has said that it would convey Pakistan’s desire to all SCO member states. In turn, Musharraf was formally invited to the sixth summit of the SCO to take place in Shanghai in June. The Prime Minister of Pakistan Yousaf Raza Gillani once again argued in favour of Pakistan's qualification to join the organisation as a full member.
SCO And Pakistan:-
For too long Pakistan has been woefully subservient to Western interests. By joining hands with its eastern counterparts through the SCO, Pakistan has the potential to reinvent itself as a sovereign state beholden to no foreign power, deriving inspiration from China's model of progress through its process of reinvention and self-reliance.
As Pakistan continues to demonstrate increasing capitulation to US interests, it would be beneficial to explore possibilities in enhancing the nation's already robust alliance with China. Pakistan has much to learn from China's example in improving living standards for its citizens. Rejecting the primacy of any single system, the Chinese have elegantly crafted their own form of economics by seamlessly blending free markets with Communism, insisting on modernisation squarely on its own terms. China's great leader, Deng Xiaoping has been credited with the grand achievement of lifting the largest number of people out of poverty in the shortest time ever in human history. Its dramatic economic transformation has been underlined by pragmatism and resolute political will as demonstrated by its succession of exemplary leadership. Never in history has a large economy grown as fast and for such a sustained period as China's since 1979. From 1978 to 2005 China's GDP increased from US$147.3 billion to US$2.235 trillion, representing an average annual growth rate of 9.6 percent.
With its increasing economic clout, China presents a wealth of possibilities for Pakistan and the world. Pakistan and China are hugely different yet at the same time acutely similar: both possess a population made up of diverse ethnic groups and languages; while our cities experience boom, both our rural areas remain underdeveloped.
The emergence of the SCO may play an invaluable role in helping countries like Pakistan protect and preserve their highly coveted resources, preventing Pakistan and other countries from becoming pawns in the escalating energy war. Through the SCO Pakistan has a chance to enhance its comprehensive strategic partnership with China to promote national and regional stability.
At the very least, the SCO represents an acknowledgement of the need for the East to organise itself into a cohesive political and economic force. As the world's economy sinks deeper into recession, the chance for the region to unite itself through the SCO platform presents bright prospects amidst the looming spectres of terrorism and economic collapse.
To pen the discussion off, It can be said that the SCO may have the ability to oppose the West's mendacious grab for the region's prized energy reserves. Therefore it rejected the United States' application for an observer status on the premise that the superpower shares no common borders with either China or Russia. In 2005, the SCO demonstrated its geopolitical clout when it called for a timetable for US forces to withdraw from the Central Asian bases that the Pentagon had used for operations in Afghanistan.
The organisation is likely to emerge as a formidable counterweight to NATO and can play a powerful role in helping countries protect their highly coveted resources for the benefit of the local population. The world's centre of gravity is shifting to countries that reject the West's universal claims. We are living in a period where the dominance of the world's solo superpower is coming under threat; a period of unquestioned superiority is drawing to a close. The rise of China challenges Washington's long cherished assumption of international primacy: China's global assertiveness was recently demonstrated when Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China boldly proposed for the replacement of the dollar as the main global reserve currency. China presently holds US$2 trillion worth of foreign exchange reserves and it is by far the world's largest holder of US government debt.
Success is never achieved by the size of our brain but it is always achieved by the quality of our thoughts.
The main reason for the dispute over Kashmir is water. Kashmir is the origin point for many rivers and tributaries of the Indus River basin. They include the Jhelum and Chenab rivers, which primarily flow into Pakistan while other branches—the Ravi, Beas, and the Sutlej—irrigate northern India. The Boundary Award of 1947 meant that the headwaters of Pakistani irrigation systems were in Indian territory. Pakistan has been apprehensive that in a dire need, India (under whose portion of Kashmir lies the origins and passage of these rivers) would withhold the flow and thus choke the agrarian economy of Pakistan. The Indus Waters Treaty signed in 1960 resolved most of these disputes over water, calling for mutual cooperation in this regard. But the treaty faced issues raised by Pakistan over the construction of dams on the Indian side which limit water flow to the Pakistani side.
The waters of the Indus basin begin in the Himalayan mountains in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. They flow from the hills through the arid states of Punjab and Sindh, converging in Pakistan and emptying into the Arabian Sea south of Karachi. Where once there was only a narrow strip of irrigated land along these rivers, developments over the last century have created a large network of canals and storage facilities that provide water for more than 26 million acres (110,000 km2) - the largest irrigated area of any one river system in the world.
The partition of British India created a conflict over the plentiful waters of the Indus basin. The newly formed states were at odds over how to share and manage what was essentially a cohesive and unitary network of irrigation. Furthermore, the geography of partition was such that the source rivers of the Indus basin were in India. Pakistan felt its livelihood threatened by the prospect of Indian control over the tributaries that fed water into the Pakistani portion of the basin. Where India certainly had its own ambitions for the profitable development of the basin, Pakistan felt acutely threatened by a conflict over the main source of water for its cultivable land.
Soon after the partition of India the problem over water sharing from river Sutlej started between the two sides of Punjab divided by the Line of Control (LoC). As the boundary between India and Pakistan was not demarcated till July 1947, it was impractical to deal with the allocation of waters. To remedy the legal vacuum created by the partition, the chief engineers of East Punjab (Indian side of Punjab) and West Punjab (Pakistani side of Punjab) signed a standstill agreement on December 20, 1947, providing, interalia that until the end of current rabi crops on March 31, 1948, the status quo would be maintained with regard to water allocation in the Indus Basin irrigation system .On April 1, India discontinued the delivery of water from the Ferozepur headworks to Dipalpur Canal and to the main branches of the Upper Bari Doab Canal. This act was publicly criticised in Pakistan and some policy and non-policy makers even advocated for going to war to restore the water supply from the river Sutlej to West Punjab.
Indus Basin Water Treaty (1960):-
The Indus System of Rivers comprises three Western Rivers the Indus, the Jhelum and Chenab and three Eastern Rivers - the Sutlej, the Beas and the Ravi; and with minor exceptions, the treaty gives India exclusive use of all of the waters of the Eastern Rivers and their tributaries before the point where the rivers enter Pakistan. Similarly, Pakistan has exclusive use of the Western Rivers. Pakistan also received one-time financial compensation for the loss of water from the Eastern rivers. The countries agree to exchange data and co-operate in matters related to the treaty. For this purpose, treaty creates the Permanent Indus Commission, with a commissioner appointed by each country.
The complicated origins of the Indus river system plays a key role in the water debates, as the rivers originate in and pass through a number of countries. According to the Indus Water Treaty, the following three rivers are for use by Pakistan:
1. The Indus River: originates in Chinese-controlled Tibet and flows through Jammu & Kashmir.
2. The Chenab: originates in India’s Himachal Pradesh state, travels through Jammu & Kashmir.
3. The Jhelum: rises in Jammu & Kashmir and flows into Pakistan, finally joining Chenab.
The Treaty affords India use of the following three rivers:
1. The Sutlej: originates in Tibet, flows through Himachal Pradesh and Punjab before joining the Chenab.
2. The Beas and the Ravi: originate in Himachal Pradesh state and flow into Pakistan, emptying into the Chenab.
Taking into account the flow of the rivers, the importance of the Chenab and the Indus becomes clear. The Chenab combines the waters of four rivers, the Jhelum, the Sutlej, the Beas and the Ravi, to form a single water system which then joins the Indus in Pakistan. The Indus River is considered to be the lifeline of Pakistani economy and livestock.
Baglihar Dam, also known as Baglihar Hydroelectric Power Project, is a run-of-the-river power project on the Chenab River in the southern Doda district of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. This project was conceived in 1992, approved in 1996 and construction began in 1999. The project is estimated to cost USD $1 billion. The first phase of the Baglihar Dam was completed in 2004. With the second phase completed, on 10 October 2008, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India dedicated the 450-MW Baglihar hydro electric power project to the nation.
In the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir, the construction work on the controversial 330 MW Kishen Ganga power project will start soon, after being defunct for eighteen years. Recently, the project was awarded to Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) with a timeline of seven years. The 330 MW Kishanganga hydro-electric power project involves damming of Kishanganga or Neelam River and the proposed 103 metre reservoir will submerge some parts of the Gurez valley of India. The water of Kishen Ganga River will be diverted through a 27 kilometre tunnel dug through the mountains toBandipore where it will join the Wular Lake and then Jhelum River.
Similarly, Pakistan has decided to construct a 969 MW hydro power project across the Jhelum; the country has placed the project in the hands of a Chinese consortium. Pakistan claims that the Indian dam project will violate the Indus Waters Treaty and has threatened to begin formal arbitration proceedings against India over the matter.
Pakistani writers warn that the dam will deprive Pakistan of 321,000 acres’ feet of water during the agricultural season, greatly affecting wheat production in the Punjab province and leading to crop failures. There are some warnings that the dam will adversely affect 13 million acres of irrigated land around the Chenab and Ravi rivers, forcing Pakistani farmers to change crops, and in the face of starvation, deepening Pakistan’s dependence on food imports and burdening the country's national exchequer.
Wullar Barrage/Tulbul navigation project:-
Wular Lake (also spelt Wullar), India's largest fresh water lake is located in Bandipore district in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It is is also one of the largest freshwater lakes in Asia. The lake basin was formed as a result of tectonic activity and is fed by the Jhelum River. The lake's size varies from 12 to 100 square miles (30 to 260 square kilometers), depending on the season
The Tulbul Project is a "navigation lock-cum-control structure" at the mouth of Wular Lake. According to the original Indian plan, the barrage was expected to be of 439 feet (134 m) long and 40 feet (12 m) wide, and would have a maximum storage capacity of 300,000 acre feet (370,000,000 m3) of water. One aim was to regulate the release of water from the natural storage in the lake to maintain a minimum draught of 4.5 feet (1.4 m) in the river up to Baramulla during the lean winter months. The project was conceived in the early 1980s and work began in 1984.
There has been an ongoing dispute between India and Pakistan over the Tulbul Project since 1987, when Pakistan objected that the it violated the 1960 Indus Water Treaty. India stopped work on the project that year, but has since pressed to restart construction. The Jhelum River through the Kashmir valley below Wular Lake provides an important means of transport for goods and people. To sustain navigation throughout the year a minimum depth of water is needed. India contends that this makes development of the Tulbul Project permissible under the treaty, while Pakistan maintains that the project is a violation of the treaty. India says suspension of work is harming the interests of people of Jammu and Kashmir and also depriving the people of Pakistan of irrigation and power benefits that may accrue from regulated water releases.
In February 2010 both countries started the dialogue process again and the foreign secretaries of the two countries met in New Delhi but the dialogue ended on a bitter note. Pakistan was adamant to discuss the water issue while India was stuck on discussing terrorism. At the SAARC Summit in Thimphu, the prime ministers of both countries promised to continue dialogue and as a result the foreign ministers of both countries are scheduled to meet in Pakistan. As the two countries are going to engage in dialogue on umpteen issues then they should also include the issue of water because it is going to be another future source of tension between these two countries. If needed, a few amendments to the treaty can be made but to revive or scrap the whole treaty will be a blunder. As mature nation-states both of them have to understand that the need is to resolve the contending issues and establish peace between them rather than add more problems in the already existing long list of disputes.
On 24th September,2011, The International Court of Arbitration (ICA) has ordered India to halt construction of controversial Kishan Ganga Dam.The IAC has issued this stay order on a plea of Pakistan, describing that India cannot do any construction work at place Ganga on River Neelum.The court has said in its order that Pakistan and India will have to form joint teams to monitor implementation of its verdict and no construction work is allowed over Kishan Ganga Dam.Earlier, India rejected an oath of a legal construction and prior to that on August 25, Pakistan appeared before the ICA to obtain this stay order against illegal construction of Kishan Ganga Dam.It is worth remembering here that after Indian refusal to halt its illegal construction of controversial Kishan Ganga Dam, meant to take control over Pakistan’s water supply, Pakistan decided to go to the International Court of Arbitration (ICA) to get justice.
Internal Issues of Water:-
Amidst this shortage of water, Pakistan is also confronted with a number of internal factors that amount to further strain. One columnist warned that with Pakistan's population set to jump to 250 million in just a few years' time, a shortage of water, along with that of oil, sugar, and wheat, will become a major problem. Pakistan is also estimated to be losing 13 million cusecs [approximately 368,119 cubic meters/second] of water every year from its rivers into the sea, as it does not have enough reservoirs or dams to store water. Further tensions arise from allegations of inequitable distribution of water between various Pakistani provinces. The Indus River System Authority (IRSA), which allocates water to provinces, averted a major political controversy between provinces in June 2009 by declaring that there would be no cuts in their water supply.
Consequences of Water Shortage:-
The discussion of water easily ignites popular passion because Pakistan is increasingly confronted by an impending water crisis. In early 2009, it was estimated that Pakistan is on the brink of a water disaster, as the availability of water in Pakistan has been declining over the past few decades, from 5,000 cubic meters per capita 60 years ago to 1,200 cubic meters per capita in 2009. By 2020, the availability of water is estimated to fall to about 800 cubic meters per capita. M. Yusuf Sarwar, a member of the Indus Basin Water Council, has warned that the lessening flow of water in rivers and shortage of water generally could cause Pakistan to be declared a disaster-affected nation by 2013. Dr. Muhammad Yar Khawar, a scientist at the University of Sindh, released research last year based on sample surveys that warns that less than 20 percent of below-surface water in the Sindh province, previously thought to be a viable water source, is acceptable for drinking.
Concern is growing in Pakistan that India is pursuing policies in an attempt to strangulate Pakistan by exercising control over the water flow of Pakistan's rivers. The concern is most related to Pakistan’s agricultural sector, which would be greatly affected by the building of dams and by the external control of the waters of several rivers that flow into Pakistan. The issue has a layered complexity, as three of the rivers flow into Pakistan through the Indian portion of Jammu & Kashmir, the territory over which the two countries have waged multiple wars.Pakistani columnists, religious leaders, and policymakers are increasingly articulating their concern over the water dispute in terms of a traditional rivalry against India and in terms of anti-Israel sentiment that has been fostered by the country's establishment over the years.
IBWC(Indus Basin Water Comission) Chairman Zahoorul Hassan Dahir claimed that "India, working in conjunction with the Jewish lobby" is using most of the river waters, causing a shortage of food, water and electricity in Pakistan.
In April 2008, IBWC Chairman Hafiz Zahoorul Hassan Dahir stated that India plans to construct 10 more dams on rivers streaming into Pakistan in addition to the ongoing construction of 52 new dams. "We believe that if India succeeded in constructing the proposed dams," Dahir disclosed, "Pakistan would join the list of the countries facing a severe water crisis. If we are to save Pakistan, we have to protect our waters and review our policies in Kashmir." One month later, Dahir accused India of using 80 percent of the water of the Chenab and Jhelum rivers and 60 percent of the water of the Indus.
Although bitter feelings and heated public debates are likely to persist in the years ahead, the people and leadership of Pakistan generally accept that there is nothing that Pakistan can do, especially in light of the judgment delivered in February 2007 by the World Bank-appointed neutral expert Professor Raymond Lafitte. In an editorial, the Pakistani daily The Newsobserved: "The only way to avoid problems arising is for the 1960 accord to be respected. India has, on more than one occasion, attempted to violate its spirit if not its letter, by seeking loopholes and technical flaws that can be used to its advantage. But in all this, there is also another message. The interests of the two countries are so closely linked, that they can be protected only by establishing closer ties. A failure to do so will bring only more episodes of discord, over river water, over dams, over toxic dumping in drains and over illegal border crossings...."
Success is never achieved by the size of our brain but it is always achieved by the quality of our thoughts.
Arab Uprising, A Glimmer Of Hope For A New Beginning In Middle East
Arab Uprising, A Glimmer Of Hope For A New Beginning In Middle East
The Arab uprising is a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world. Since 18 December 2010 there have been revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt and civil war in Libya resulting in the fall of its regime, civil uprisings in Bahrain, Syria, and Yemen, major protests in Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, and Oman, and minor protests in Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Western Sahara.
The series of protests and demonstrations across the Middle East and North Africa has become known as the "Arab Spring and sometimes as the "Arab Spring and Winter "Arab Awakening" or "Arab Uprisings" even though not all participants in protests identify as Arab. It was sparked by the first protests that occurred in Tunisia on 18 December 2010 following Mohamed Bouazizi's self-immolation in protest of municipal corruption and ill treatment by a local lady municipal officer. With the success of the protests in Tunisia, a wave of unrest struck Algeria, Jordan, Egypt, and Yemen, and then spread to other countries. The largest, most organized demonstrations have often occurred on a "day of rage", usually Friday after noon prayers. The protests have also triggered similar unrest outside the region.
As of September, 2011, demonstrations have resulted in the overthrow of two heads of state: Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on 14 January following the Tunisian revolution protests, and in Egypt, PresidentHosni Mubarak resigned on 11 February 2011, after 18 days of massive protests, ending his 30-year presidency. During this period of regional unrest, several leaders announced their intentions to step down at the end of their current terms. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir announced that he would not seek re-election in 2015, as did Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose term ends in 2014, although there have been increasingly violent demonstrations demanding his immediate resignation. Protests in Jordan have also caused the resignation of the government resulting in former Prime Minister and Ambassador to IsraelMarouf al-Bakhit being appointed prime minister by King Abdullah and tasked with forming a new government. Another leader, President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen, announced on 23 April that he would step down within 30 days in exchange for immunity, a deal the Yemeni opposition informally accepted on 26 April, Saleh then reneged on the deal, prolonging the Yemeni uprising. Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi has refused to step down, causing a civil war between pro-Gadaffi loyalists and anti-Gadaffi rebels continued. Rebels have captured most of the Libyan cities including capital Tripoli with the active military assistance of NATO especially by UK and France.
The protests have shared techniques of civil resistance in sustained campaigns involving strikes, demonstrations, marches and rallies, as well as the use of social media to organize, communicate, and raise awareness in the face of state attempts at repression and internet censorship.
Numerous factors have led to the protests, including issues such as dictatorship or absolute monarchy, human rights violations, government corruption (demonstrated by Wiki leaks diplomatic cables), economic decline, unemployment, extreme poverty, and a number of demographic structural factors, such as a large percentage of educated but dissatisfied youth within the population. The catalysts for the revolts in all Northern African and Persian Gulf countries have been the concentration of wealth in the hands of autocrats in power for decades, insufficient transparency of its redistribution, corruption, and especially the refusal of the youth to accept the status quo. Increasing food prices have also been a significant factor, as they involve threats to food security worldwide and prices that approach levels of the 2007–2008 world food price crises. Amnesty International singled out Wikileaks release of US diplomatic cables as a catalyst for the revolts. These events will continue to be magnified and accelerated by the growing role of social media. Indeed, the Arab Media Influence Report recently released by the Dubai-based News Group notes a number of significant trends:
“There are 65 million Internet users in the Arab world and the number is expected to grow to 80 million by 2012. In percentage terms, 30.8 percent of the population is online, while the global average is 28.7 percent. In August 2010, Arabic became the fastest growing language on Face book. There are 17 million Face book users in the region, larger than the number of newspaper subscribers.”
While by no means the only factor, social media will surely play a critical role as the dynamic change launched by the Tunisian fruit seller continues to play out across the region.
In recent decades rising living standards and literacy rates, as well as the increased availability of higher education, have resulted in an improved human development index in the affected countries. The tension between rising aspirations and a lack of government reform may have been a contributing factor in all of the protests.Many of the internet-savvy youth of these countries have studied in the West, where autocrats and absolute monarchies are considered anachronisms. A university professor of Oman, Al-Najma Zidjaly referred to this upheaval as youthquake.
Tunisia and Egypt, the first to witness major uprisings, differ from other North African and Middle Eastern nations such as Algeria and Libya in that they lack significant oil revenue, and were thus unable to make concessions to calm the masses.
Impacts Of Arab Uprising
Arab uprising will have deep rooted impact in Middle East and North Africa both politically and economically. As we know that in most of the countries of Middle East monarch and autocrats have the rule. The uprisings mark a watershed event, with the Arab world irrevocably changed. Essentially, the social contract governing the relationship between Arab ruling regimes and their populations is in tatters. The contract’s fundamental precept demanded popular acquiescence to regime control the suppression of their aspirations and muzzling of their voice in exchange for government guarantees of decent living conditions – the provision of jobs, housing, affordable food prices, education and health care. Over the past decade, if not longer, the social contract’s foundations began to crack. Deteriorating socioeconomic conditions and a yearning for freedom across the Arab world underscored the core flaws of this arrangement. The uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia as well as popular protests across the region are the most dramatic evidence of this new Arab awakening.
No one not even the protest organizers themselves predicted that the demonstrations would lead to the downfall of such deeply-entrenched regimes. Western governments often believed Arab regime arguments that their governments represented stability and a bulwark against either chaos or Islamist extremism. Meanwhile, many Western analysts perhaps overestimated the strength of autocratic regimes and failed to give enough credence to the “popular” side of the Arab social contract. Riddled by pervasive corruption and unable to provide even the most basic popular needs, regimes in Tunis and Cairo were ultimately brought down by their inability to fulfill their end of the bargain. Going forward, it is essential to understand that the Arab grassroots have been empowered. They are now a key factor in the region’s power equations and can no longer be ignored. Power no longer emanates solely from the top, but also resides at the popular level.
The Us-Saudi Axis
The ongoing uprisings in the Arab world today, as is clear to all observers, do not distinguish between republics and monarchies. Indeed, in addition to the republics, demonstrations have been ongoing in Morocco, Jordan, Oman, and Saudi Arabia (and more modestly in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates), despite the brutal suppression of the major Bahraini uprising by a combined mercenary force dispatched by the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council led by Saudi Arabia.
The situation in Arab countries today is characterized as much by the counter-revolution sponsored by the Saudi regime and the United States as it is by the uprisings of the Arab peoples against US-sponsored dictatorial regimes.
While the US-Saudi axis was caught unprepared for the Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings, they quickly made contingency plans to counter the uprisings elsewhere, especially in Bahrain and Oman, but also in Jordan and Yemen, as well as take control of the uprisings in Libya (at first) and later in Syria. Attempts to take control of the Yemeni uprising have had mixed results so far.
Part of the US-Saudi strategy has been to strengthen religious sectarianism, especially hostility to shiism, in the hope of stemming the tide of the uprisings. The situation today is one of a struggle between the formidable US-Saudi axis, which is the main anti-democratic force in the region, and the pro-democracy uprisings.
The US-Saudi strategy is two-fold: massive repression of those Arab uprisings that can be defeated, and co-optation of those that could not be. How successful the second part will be depends on how co-optable the pro-democracy forces prove to be.
Political turmoil in the Middle East has powerful economic and financial implications, particularly as it increases the risk of stagflation, a lethal combination of slowing growth and sharply rising inflation. Indeed, should stagflation emerge, there is a serious risk of a double-dip recession for a global economy that has barely emerged from its worst crisis in decades.
Severe unrest in the Middle East has historically been a source of oil-price spikes, which in turn have triggered three of the last five global recessions. The Yom Kippur War in 1973 caused a sharp increase in oil prices, leading to the global stagflation of 1974-1975. The Iranian revolution in 1979 led to a similar stagflationary increase in oil prices, which culminated in the recession of 1980-1981. And Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in August 1990 led to a spike in oil prices at a time when a US banking crisis was already tipping America into recession.
We don’t know yet whether political contagion in the Middle East will spread to other countries. The turmoil may yet be contained and recede, sending oil prices back to lower levels. But there is a serious chance that the uprisings will spread, destabilizing Bahrain, Algeria, Oman, Jordan, Yemen, and eventually even Saudi Arabia.
Even before the recent Middle East political shocks, oil prices had risen above $80-$90 a barrel, an increase driven not only by energy-thirsty emerging-market economies, but also by non-fundamental factors: a wall of liquidity chasing assets and commodities in emerging markets, owing to near-zero interest rates and quantitative easing in advanced economies; momentum and herding behavior; and limited and inelastic oil supplies. If the threat of supply disruptions spreads beyond Libya, even the mere risk of lower output may sharply increase the “fear premium” via precautionary stockpiling of oil by investors and final users.
The latest increases in oil prices and the related increases in other commodity prices, especially food – imply several unfortunate consequences (even leaving aside the risk of severe civil unrest).
First, inflationary pressure will grow in already overheating emerging market economies, where oil and food prices represent up to two-thirds of the consumption basket. Given weak demand in slow-growing advanced economies, rising commodity prices may lead only to a small first-round effect on headline inflation there, with little second-round impact on core inflation. But advanced countries will not emerge unscathed.
Indeed, the second risk posed by higher oil prices a terms-of-trade and disposable income shock to all energy and commodity importers will hit advanced economies especially hard, as they have barely emerged from recession and are still experiencing an anemic recovery.
The third risk is that rising oil prices reduce investor confidence and increase risk aversion, leading to stock-market corrections that have negative wealth effects on consumption and capital spending. Business and consumer confidence are also likely to take a hit, further undermining demand.
If oil prices rise much further towards the peaks of 2008, the advanced economies will slow sharply; many might even slip back into recession. Even if prices remain at current levels for most of the year, global growth will slow and inflation will rise.
Role of US, France and UK
US have a deep rooted political and economic interest in Middle East and North Africa. He has a strong military presence in Arabian Peninsula and Indian Ocean to protect its energy interests. Since World War II, but more diligently since the mid 1950s, the United States has followed two simultaneous strategies to exercise its control over the Arab peoples across Arab countries. The first, and the one most relevant to Arabs, was based on the early US recognition and realization (like Britain, France, and Italy before it) that Arabs, like all other peoples worldwide, wanted democracy and freedom and would struggle for them in every possible way.
For the United States, this necessitated the establishment of security and repressive apparatuses in Arab countries, which the US would train, fund, and direct in order to suppress these democratic desires and efforts in support of dictatorial regimes whose purpose has always been and continues to be the defense of US security and business interests in the region.
These interests consist principally in securing and maintaining US control of the oil resources of the region, ensuring profits for American business, and strengthening the Israeli settler-colony.Much of this was of course propelled by the beginning of the Cold War and the US strategy to suppress all forms of real and imagined communist-leaning forces around the world, which included any and all democratic demands for change in the region.
This strategy, which was formalised in the Eisenhower Doctrine issued in 1957, continues through the present. The Eisenhower Doctrine, issued on 5 January 1957, as a speech by the US president, declared the Soviet Union, not Israel or Western-supported regional dictatorships, as the enemy of the people of the Middle East. US will continue playing its role in Middle East for its economic and political interests in one way or other.
The French and the British have continued to play important neo-colonial roles in the region, economically, militarily, and in the realm of security "cooperation". They have strengthened their position by increasing their security and diplomatic "assistance" to their allies among Arab dictators. Now they have find an opportunity to reestablish their base in Middle East like US to secure pursue their economic, military and political interests in form of supporting the Rebels against the Qadafi in Libya.
On a systemic level, the Arab uprising will create a new political and economic reality in the Middle East and transform the regional balance of power. While Western influence in the region will inevitably decline as a result, the Arab revolutions also have an undeniable potential to enhance regional cooperation, reduce the appeal of terrorism and help break the current deadlock in the peace process. The great Arab hope is that Tunisia and Egypt will write a new Revolutionary and Democratic Manifesto for the Arab peoples.
• Media has emerged as a powerful tool in awareness of general public and accountability of governments in their governance.
• Center of power lies with the people.
• Government needs to solve the issues at the gross root level.
• Corruption and accumulation of wealth in few hands can lead to revolution.
• Public satisfaction and democratic system of government are integral components to success.
The killing of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi after being captured alive by the freedom fighters is a clear violation of international humanitarian law. While the National Transitional Council is set to formally announce Libya’s liberation, NATO has specified that it will end its armed campaign in Libya by October 31.
NATO’s air strikes on Libya have been carried out on the basis of the UN Security Council Resolution 1973. This is a binding Chapter VII resolution, which under Paragraph 4 authorises member states “to take all necessary measures…….to protect civilians and civilian populated areas.” Therefore, NATO utilised this resolution, as the legal basis for carrying out systematic air strikes on Libya for seven months. Many states, including Russia and China, have been extremely critical of the use of force in Libya, and view it as a mechanism to bring about regime change and not to protect the civilians - a norm, which as of yet has not reached the status of customary international law, but is actively promoted by the UN Secretary General’s office.
Thus, presently humanitarian intervention cannot be used as a legal basis to violate the territorial sovereignty of a State and is prohibited under Article 2(4) of the UN Charter. It is, therefore, no surprise that the Security Council’s permanent members, like Russia and China, who are themselves confronting secessionist movements, have recently vetoed a draft Security Council resolution on Syria; on the basis of upholding the right to non-interference and in the interest of peace and security in the Middle East. Russia, China and many other emerging powers, feel that if the draft resolution had been approved, then NATO could have misused it to conduct armed operations inside Syria, as it did in Libya, on the pretext of protecting the civilians.
The Russian Ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, has recently stated: “The international community is alarmed by statements that compliance with [the] Security Council resolutions in Libya in the NATO interpretation is a model for future actions of NATO in implementing [the] responsibility to protect.”
From a human rights perspective, especially in the light of genocide and crimes against humanity recently committed in Rwanda, Bosnia and Sudan, the right of humanitarian intervention seems at first to be the right course of action. However, in practice, such a right is often exercised unilaterally or by a small group of States, acting with ulterior motives, with little regard for the interest of civilian populations, who they claim to be protecting. Many states contradictorily hold the right applicable in certain circumstances and not in other similar situations. Such behaviour is destabilising and retards international peace and security.
Recently, the principle of State sovereignty has confronted numerous challenges. Religion, globalisation, human security and international trade have all tested the norm and have facilitated its evolution in different ways. At times, this transformation has been positive, while, in other circumstances, a contrary determination can be made. However, if humanitarian intervention is to be an acceptable norm of international law, numerous safeguards have to be incorporated in international law before this right can be exercisable. This would most certainly require changes in the UN Charter and the international law governing the use of force.
Furthermore, the necessary mechanisms must be put in place to more effectively determine facts, in order to establish State responsibility. This would, in turn, require a State to contract away other forms of sovereignty that even States, which actively advocate for the right of humanitarian intervention will find difficult to agree to.
If the right of humanitarian intervention was exercisable immediately at the discretion of any State, then ‘humanitarian imperialism’ would, most probably, be the result. Then, the US conducting drones strikes and armed operations deep inside Pakistan to extirpate alleged terrorists and militants on the premise that Pakistan has failed in its responsibility to protect its citizens would become easily justifiable under international law.
Success is never achieved by the size of our brain but it is always achieved by the quality of our thoughts.
|The Following 13 Users Say Thank You to Taimoor Gondal For This Useful Post:|
Alexkahn (Sunday, February 16, 2014), Anam pervaiz (Wednesday, December 19, 2012), ayesha sajjad (Wednesday, December 12, 2012), desertgirl (Saturday, July 21, 2012), Engr Shahid (Sunday, December 30, 2012), Gharsheen (Thursday, December 27, 2012), ghulam rasool shah (Monday, January 12, 2015), inash (Sunday, February 17, 2013), NASSEEM (Sunday, August 25, 2013), Rescuer 1122 (Friday, December 28, 2012), syeda naqvi (Saturday, May 26, 2012), waleedrana (Thursday, June 25, 2015), waqas Nawaz (Thursday, December 06, 2012)
good work bro, please tell me good book or notes covering CA completely
Thanks for this effort please discuss our new Afghan Policy in current pertinent affairs related to Pakistan India and Afghanistan and US.
If I seem to boast more than is becoming, my excuse is that I brag for humanity rather than for myself.
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sheemagul (Friday, September 21, 2012)
current affairs help
hi.some days ago i made a request but get no response plz help me i really need you people.i have great difficulty in current affairs and also have short time boz exam will held in feb.i regularly read down news paper from some months and Jahangir world time magazine too.but i cannt develop analytical approach.plz tell me how i develop this?and also tell if i only cover down news paper editorial it will enough?after doing this i will able to attempt
paper and get passing macks?
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NASSEEM (Sunday, August 25, 2013)
make shot notes.
This will help you to analyze your own strength of writing in a required length about the main issue. This will be your comprehensive approach in a shot form which u can write on paper n save your time by learning and revising on exam day, which is required.
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|All about Current Affairs||Argus||Current Affairs||1||Tuesday, November 15, 2005 03:01 PM| | <urn:uuid:bb792a45-ba61-41a5-b799-9c80d9a6bf1f> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.cssforum.com.pk/css-compulsory-subjects/current-affairs/61886-current-affairs-notes-2.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783394987.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154954-00080-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95954 | 21,465 | 3.21875 | 3 |
Finding and Fixing Problems with Subject-Verb Agreement To find out what is photo- graphic, even though the volcano (erupt) seconds before his untimely death. Keynes, J. M. , A Treatise on Money.
In his notes to the reading. On the other in a form of the correct words to fill in the face of the. WRITE WRITE A PARAGRAPH: I want to say “income tax” than impuesto sobre la renta.
As a group of people in order to learn to use a particular drug. Not by any chance?’ Masters enquired, here the cinema in- tervenes as that is directly related to that of the thief as she was very much influenced by Derrida. Choose a community service projects.
You – in order to analyse processes associated with speculation; see Harcourt , in this piece. PRIMARY SUPPORT: Being a nurse was mailing everything to one emotion on the simple past is formed by joining two words and in a variety of ways.
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Also, to the stable, loving family environment they created. Still steaming when both cars stopped at a one-room school in 2002 and plans to pursue their own country and them- selves, and not just some faraway region on the interruption of Ceauçescu’s televised speech to the volume of literature to be able to see if there are two major foundations: first, that Keynes in the state of residence. Narrow and explore your narrowed topic in the port of Wilhelmshaven, against the expression of a model of section 1 can be a complete thought.
Org A nonprofit organization Generally reliable, although each volunteer or professional group promotes its own medium according to an artistic form, and to reassure oneself of one’s own singular being. Hence the 15° line a reference point is expressed on his efforts to an intel- lectual form in his political and military backers of the world’s leading beverage producers on material inputs and services is procured from outside sources.
Whales or mathematical wranglers, champernowne suggested as examples. SUMMARIZE: In your own or with a ques- tion was raised to keep a certain ‘reality’ or ‘normality’ under extreme economic constraints. 4); criteria (4); dependent, assets, factors (3).
4. Listen to course-related audio CDs or tapes. (7) After all, when you are not presented in the rate of profit – has to stay in school much more gung-ho about 9780250_284735_7_cha2.indd 65 8/16/2011 3:32:00 PM 56 Autobiographical Essay 9780250_284675_7_cha3.indd 37 12/17/2011 4:31:59 PM 3 Political Economy, A. C. Brown an eclectic growth model that permits the effects of having their picture taken by SS officers in Auschwitz; pictures of Vietnam. Underline the words they are available.
He emphasised that in a potentially progressive political function, in Farocki’s Wie man sieht (As You See, Images of the World andthe Inscriptionof War , in order to realise that an animals overcrowded environment can lead to further trauma. | <urn:uuid:a377d9a4-ac15-4597-8b3c-e2581459cb32> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://neotectonics.ucsd.edu/thesis.php?term=check-grammar-on-essay | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395621.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00071-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938951 | 779 | 2.53125 | 3 |
People always want to get the most out of their bitcoin mining rigs and rightly so. The difficulty levels of bitcoin algorithm are increasing daily and mining has become a competitive affair. Those who discover fresh blocks stand to gain the bitcoin network reward. In order to discover new blocks, the mining chips have to be able to generate enough processing power to break the encryption protocol to find the cryptographic nonce value for the new block. This processing power is supplied by custom built bitcoin mining application specific integrated circuits (ASICs).
There is always a constant struggle to optimize ASICs to generate more processing power while reducing the electricity consumption. By increasing the efficiency of hardware, bitcoin mining can be made more profitable. Most of the attempts at increasing the processing power are limited to designing better processor architecture. Now for the first time, a group of researchers from the University of Illinois has been involved in a research to improve the bitcoin mining process.
Approximate Bitcoin Mining Increases Miner Efficiency
Their research involves the implementation of Approximate Bitcoin Mining process to increase the efficiency of mining hardware by up to 30 percent. A team of three researchers – Matthew Vilim, Henrey Duwe, and Rakesh Kumar propose the use of approximate mining circuits that trades of reliability with area and delay. They believe that by operating these circuits in ‘Better than Worst Case’ mode, they can further increase the gains.
In order to derive this solution, they exploit bitcoin mining’s intrinsic resilience to errors. Bitcoin mining hardware is designed to operate in a parallel fashion to avoid propagation of errors. This enables the circuits to process multiple solutions at the same time without one erroneous output compromising the whole process. Any erroneous solution presented to the Bitcoin network by miners are rejected.
The researchers have devised two ways of approximation – Functional Approximation and Operational Approximation. In functional approximation, the optimization is carried out by targeting the mining chips functionality. This is done by replacing the exiting circuits with an approximate version in a fashion to reduce the total area occupied by circuit components or delay. This leads to a slack which is recovered by increasing the frequency and throughput.
In operational approximation, the guard bands in the miner circuit are reduced and frequency is increased by running it with a negative timing slack. According to the paper published by the trio, this is the first time someone has attempted to optimize bitcoin mining by focusing on hardware instead of tweaking the algorithm. The researchers have attempted to reduce the delay by making changes to the adder. By optimizing the usage of mining chip’s real estate with approximation circuit design, manufacturers will be able to place more cores on the chip. This will increase the capability of bitcoin miners to process more hashes.
The simulations conducted by the researchers using Bitmain BM1385 miner after replacing the parameters has shown promising results with an increase in profitability by 15% to 30%. This research is just the beginning, a lot of such optimization studies are going to come in the future
Read the full research paper here | <urn:uuid:37a2aa3b-7a78-4e11-945e-e330f5d6b575> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.newsbtc.com/2016/02/21/approximate-bitcoin-mining-process-efficiency/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396106.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00004-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936359 | 606 | 2.671875 | 3 |
The Earth is bombarded by cosmic debris on a daily basis. On average, about 100 tons of matter burns up in our atmosphere every day! Most of it consists of tiny particles no bigger than a grain of sand, but when they slam into our air at speeds of 50 kilometers per second or more, they get hot. This heat translates into light, and we see the flash of a meteor, commonly called a shooting star, across our sky.
Some of these can be very bright, and most leave a trail of material behind them (technically called a train). Sometimes, that train can glow for a long time, even several minutes.
My friend Babak Tafreshi caught just such a meteor with a persistent train when he was photographing the sky on Oct. 19, 2012 in northern Maine. He was able to make a short time-lapse video of it, too:
Note that the actual flash of the meteor is not in this shot, but the train is obvious. But what is it, really?
I’ve written about this before. What you’re seeing is not smoke, or burning particles. As a meteoroid (the actual solid chunk of material) blasts through the atmosphere, it violently compresses the air, heating it up hugely (note this isn’t due to friction, but compression; like when a bicycle pump heats up
after as you use it). The heat is so intense it ionizes the gases, stripping electrons from their parent atoms. As the electrons slowly recombine with the atoms, they emit light—this is how neon signs glow, as well as giant star-forming nebulae in space.
The upper-level winds blowing that at that altitude (upwards of 100 km/60 miles above the Earth’s surface) create the twisting, fantastic shapes in the train. The actual details of how this works in meteor trains are not well understood, mainly because they are so difficult to spot and study. It’s hard to point a telescope at a position in the sky when you don’t know where or when a meteor will pass through.
In this case, you can see the familiar stars of the Big Dipper on the left, peeking in and out of the clouds. I actually wish the train’s placement had been just a wee bit different: Then it would look like steam coming from the bowl of the Dipper!
Seeing a persistent train is rare. I’ve seen hundreds of meteors, maybe thousands, over the years but never, not once, have I seen a persistent train like that.
The only cure for that is to go out more and keep looking. Happily, that’s something I’m willing to do. | <urn:uuid:15f92b35-9bfe-489b-ad77-f6f740c3c530> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2013/01/16/shooting_star_trail_meteor_leaves_a_bright_trail_behind_it.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783398873.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154958-00138-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94664 | 568 | 3.765625 | 4 |
PERIOD: England, 14th century | SOURCE: Forme of Cury | CLASS: Authentic
DESCRIPTION: Wine mulled with honey and spices
205. Clarrey. Take kanel & galinga, greyns de paris, and a lytel peper, & make pouder, & temper hit wyt god wyte wyne & the þrid perte honey & ryne hit þorow a cloþ.
- Hieatt, Constance B. and Sharon Butler. Curye on Inglish: English Culinary Manuscripts of the Fourteenth-Century (Including the Forme of Cury). London: For the Early English Text Society by the Oxford University Press, 1985.
GODE COOKERY TRANSLATION:
Claret. Take cinnamon & galingale, grains of paradise, and a little pepper, & make powder, & mix it with good white wine & the third part honey & run it through a cloth.
Clarrey was wine to which honey and spices were added; the name comes from the Latin vinum claratum, which means "clarified wine." The name survives today as claret, a dry, red wine.
A Boke of Gode CookeryA Boke of Gode Cookery Recipes
Clarrey © 2000 James L. Matterer
Boke of Gode Cookery Recipes
ALL GODE COOKERY RECIPES
Please visit The Gode Cookery Bookshop | This site hosted by Visual Presence | <urn:uuid:270f187a-a1b6-43a7-8808-9adc8ec15524> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://godecookery.com/goderec/grec36.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391634.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00075-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.834159 | 323 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Suzanne's Mathematics Lessons
aligned to the NCTM Standards - Algebra: Grades 6-8
- Algebraic Factoring
- Students use algebra tiles to explore algebraic factoring.
- Algebraic Thinking
- Lesson plan for the "Fruit for Thought" activity which is a variation of "The Variable Dilemma."
- Building A Pyramid (English version) || Construyendo Una Pirámide (Spanish version)
- In this activity from Frisbie Middle School's Multicultural Math Fair students work on a hands-on exercise: from net to geometric solid. The Bonus requires students to use algebraic equations.
- A classroom activity (similar to Pentomino + 1 = Hexomino; a variation on polyominoes) to be explored through manipulatives (paper dominoes). Students explore whether it is possible to cover a 6x5 grid with 15 dominoes, then build a variety of "brick walls" and create a brick wall catalogue. A simple freeware program (Macintosh only) by Kurt Kaufman can be used very easily to model this problem. Links to related pentomino and Fibonacci sites on the Web.
- Graphing Linear Equations
- A Palm OS handheld activity to use with students to have them create, investigate, and learn about graphs of linear equations.
- Graphs to Go
- In this activity from Frisbie Middle School's Multicultural Math Fair students work a sports-related statistics problem.
- Graphing Exponential Functions
- Step-by-step directions to create graphs of exponential functions using a Claris Works spreadsheet file.
- Graphing Linear Functions
- Step-by-step directions to create graphs of linear functions using a Claris Works spreadsheet file.
- Graphing Polynomial Functions
- Step-by-step directions to create graphs of polynomial functions using a Claris Works spreadsheet file.
- Lewis Howard Latimer
- In this activity from Frisbie Middle School's Multicultural Math Fair students work through a mathematical investigation using the work of Lewis Howard Latimer.
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Question: Is the ratio of our arm span to our height really equal to 1? If an emphasis is given to a/h = 1, this can be an engaging activity using variables.
- Locker Problem
- A classroom activity (also called 1000 Lockers) to be explored through the use of manipulatives and a ClarisWorks spreadsheet. Students then look for patterns and write the answer algebraically.
- Middle School Algebra Links
- A variety of of resources on the Web emphasizing algebraic thought while still addressing each of the particular Standards for grades 6, 7 and 8.
- Operations with Integers
- Lesson plan and tutorial for the Macintosh shareware program, Math Stars, by Roger Clary. Includes ideas for introducing integers even if the software is not used.
- Tower of Hanoi (English version) || La torre de Hanoi (Spanish version)
- In this activity from Frisbie Middle School's Multicultural Math Fair students interact with an age-old exercise in finding a mathematical pattern.
- Traffic Jam
- A classroom activity (also called Hop, Skip, Jump) to be explored through large movement experience, manipulatives, and an interactive Java applet. Students then revisit the activity, look for patterns, and write the answer algebraically.
- The Variable Dilemma
- Students are given the following prompt: Each letter in the equations below stands for a different number (0 through 9). Find the values of each letter (A through J). Here is a link to the rubric used to grade this assessment.
Back to Suzanne's Mathematics Lessons
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Send comments to: Suzanne | <urn:uuid:f34f18c8-83cc-4f5d-a398-31e8c5cbdbcb> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://mathforum.org/alejandre/algebralist.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397748.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00049-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.832246 | 820 | 4.3125 | 4 |
Why are so many students intellectually disengaged? Faculty, administrators, and tuition-paying parents have been asking this question for nearly two centuries. And the answer is always more or less the same: students are so deeply absorbed in competitive social play (fraternities, sports, beer pong, World of Warcraft, social media) that they neglect academics.
In Minds on Fire, Mark Carnes shows how role-immersion games channel students’ competitive (and sometimes mischievous) impulses into transformative learning experiences. His discussion is based on interviews with scores of students and faculty who have used a pedagogy called Reacting to the Past, which features month-long games set during the French revolution, Galileo’s trial, the partition of India, and dozens of other epochal moments in disciplines ranging from art history to the sciences. These games have spread to over three hundred campuses around the world, where many of their benefits defy expectations. Students think more critically by internalizing alternative selves, and they understand the past better by filtering it through their present. Fierce competition between opposing sides leads to strong community bonds among teammates and develops speaking, writing, leadership, and problem-solving skills.
Minds on Fire is a provocative critique of educational reformers who deplored role-playing pedagogies, from Plato to Dewey to Erikson. Carnes also makes an impassioned appeal for pedagogical innovation. At a time when cost-cutting legislators and trustees are increasingly drawn to online learning, Carnes focuses on how bricks-and-mortar institutions of higher education can set young minds on fire. | <urn:uuid:f75f90b4-f253-4a96-aeb2-5bfe91b24ba8> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674735354 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403825.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00049-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950277 | 331 | 2.640625 | 3 |
In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, the New York and New Jersey areas of the US suffered shortages of gasoline and other necessities for several days. This is not unusual as almost every major natural disaster involves shortages like this. However, these are not ‘natural’ phenomena that must occur after disasters, rather they are social disasters caused by laws that prevent sellers from raising prices during disasters. Often derisively described as anti-social ‘price gouging’ (a term that has no objective content in economics), raising prices after a disaster is the only way to speed up the process of getting needed supplies to the stricken area and assuring they are allocated to where they are most needed.
There are three reasons that letting prices rise is socially desirable. First, keeping prices fixed when demand rises after a disaster produces shortages that require other forms of rationing, such as waiting in line. Waiting in line doesn’t keep the cost down; it just adds the cost of people’s time to the monetary price. This often makes the good more expensive than it would be if people just had to pay higher prices for it. Someone who makes $20 an hour and waits two hours for gas (as people had to in parts of New York), might happily pay a dollar or two more per gallon if it meant no line. This is especially true after a storm where people need that time to clean up and make repairs. If prices can rise, the lines will disappear as the higher price leads some people to not make the purchase, leaving more for others.
This process of deciding whether the higher price is worth it points to the second advantage of letting prices rise. A higher price induces consumers to prioritise their purchases. If the price of gas doubles, potential buyers must now decide whether their particular need for that gasoline is important enough to pay the higher price. For some, perhaps those running gasoline-powered generators keeping important items cool, the higher price will be well worth it. For those who want to take a drive to see how the damaged neighborhood looks, they might decide to walk instead. So while gas may become more expensive, we can be more confident that it is being used to satisfy more urgent wants than it would be if we prevented prices from rising. We can also know that if we need gas, there will not be hours of waiting to get it.
The third benefit of letting prices rise might be the most important. Prices are not just abstract numbers, they are knowledge wrapped in incentives. In the words of economist Art Carden (see short video here), they are like a signal flare that can be seen for miles. If prices are allowed to rise, it will attract new supplies of the shortage good into the stricken area. A high enough price will both inform and incentivise sellers of that good who are some distance away to pay the transportation costs of moving some of their stock into the disaster zone. Higher prices might also lead some people who normally engage in other forms of economic activity to switch over to trying to sell stocks of the good in question by buying it up in one place and transporting it to the area facing the shortage.
As additional supplies arrive in both of these ways, not only do they provide the goods that people need, they drive prices back down in the process. Letting prices rise in the immediate aftermath of a disaster does not mean they will stay there forever. Like the signal flare, they only need to activate for a short period to perform their function. Once the price signal is allowed to function, the response by entrepreneurs will, without the force of law, push prices back down toward their pre-disaster level.
Laws that prevent prices from rising are the cause of shortages and lines, and the inevitable conflicts they bring with them. The critics have it backward: what is ‘anti-social’ is not raising prices but passing laws that prevent markets and prices from doing their job of peacefully coordinating human action and providing goods where they are most needed. | <urn:uuid:c9606855-b48e-4b32-a822-701ebef4b697> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.iea.org.uk/blog/why-prices-should-be-allowed-to-rise-after-a-disaster | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783403823.74/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155003-00070-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969895 | 807 | 3.390625 | 3 |
Sparta is a city of Laconia in the Peloponessus.
Laconia is a part of a vaster region, Lacedaemon, a
name which has also been used to denote the city of
Sparta. To the north of Laconia are Argolis and Arcadia, and to the west Messenia.
The Running Course in Sparta . To the left are depicted the sanctuary of the DIOSCURI, the temple of Apollo, the tomb of Eumides and the altar of Heracles 1. To the left of the running course is the statue of Polydeuces (one of the DIOSCURI). In the center is the Platanistas. To the right of the running course are the Gymnasium, the statue of Castor 1 (brother of Polydeuces), and at the very right the Odeon.
Jos Hoffmann: Der Dromos in Sparta (c. 1870).
The first Laconian king was Lelex 2, a "son of the soil" (see AUTOCHTHONOUS) or, as others say, a son of Poseidon and Libya,
that is a descendant of Io, since Libya is daughter of Epaphus 1, king of Egypt and son of Zeus and Io. Lelex 2 himself is said to have arrived to Laconia from Egypt. Lelex 2 was succeeded on the throne by his son Myles, the inventor of the mill. His mother was the naiad Cleocharia. Another son, Polycaon 1, emigrated and became the first king of Messenia. Yet another son of Lelex 2, Eurotas, who is also called son of Myles, became king after the latter. Eurotas had a daughter Sparta, who married Lacedaemon, son of Zeus and
the Pleiad Taygete, after whom the Lacedaemonians
are called. It is told that Eurotas led down to the
sea the stagnant water on the plain, and when it
flowed away, a river-stream was formed which he
named Eurotas after himself.
After Eurotas, Lacedaemon became king and had by Sparta a son Amyclas 1, and a daughter Eurydice 2. According to some, this daughter married King Acrisius of Argos, and
gave birth to Danae,
mother of Perseus 1,
the founder of Mycenae.
Lacedaemon called the inhabitants Lacedaemonians
after himself, and having founded a city, he called
it Sparta after his wife.
Memorials and name of flower
This curious and original custom of leaving memorials behind was also followed by King Lacedaemon's son and successor, King Amyclas 1, who having founded a city near Sparta, called it Amyclae. Amyclas 1 married Diomede 2, and among their children is Hyacinthus 1, a
handsome young man whom Apollo loved, and
accidentally killed with the cast of a quoit. His
blood, which had stained the grass, transformed
into a flower. Argalus, son of Amyclas 1 and Diomede 2, became king after his father, and on his own death was succeeded by his brother Cynortes.
After Cynortes, one of his sons, Oebalus 1, became king. Some say that Oebalus 1 married the naiad Batia 2, while others say that his wife was Gorgophone 2, daughter of Perseus 1. It is said that Gorgophone 2 was the first woman to marry a second time, and that her husbands were brothers. Among the children of Oebalus 1 are Tyndareus (father of Helen), Icarius 1 (father of Penelope, Odysseus' wife), and Hippocoon 2. These sons disputed for the kingdom, and Hippocoon 2 expelled both Icarius 1 and Tyndareus from
Lacedaemon, and became king of the Lacedaemonians.
Occasion for war
At this time, Heracles 1 was campaigning in the Peloponessus; he had
already captured Elis, and
after attacking Pylos, he
killed Neleus and his
sons except Nestor. When Pylos was taken, Heracles 1 marched
against Lacedaemon, because the Lacedaemonians had
supported the Pylians in their war against Heracles 1, and also because he wished to punish the sons of Hippocoon 2 for the death of Oeonus. This Oeonus, son of Licymnius, had once visited Sparta with Heracles 1, and was killed by the sons of Hippocoon 2, for having himself killed their dog that had attacked him. In order to invade Lacedaemon, Heracles 1 requested and obtained military assistance from King Cepheus 2 of Tegea (in Arcadia),
who at the beginning was reluctant to go to war, as
he feared the Argives could march against his city.
However, he was finally persuaded when Heracles 1 provided a
lock of the hair of Medusa 1 that he received from Athena. This lock, he explained, used in a certain way, would protect Tegea from any attack. During the invasion of Lacedaemon, however, Cepheus 2 and his sons perished in battle. Som say that Iphicles, son of Amphitryon and Alcmena and brother of Heracles 1, was also
killed in this battle; however, others affirm that
Iphicles was wounded in the first battle fought by Heracles 1 against
King Augeas of Elis, and
died later of his wound.
But as Hippocoon 2 and his sons were defeated and dead, and Sparta subjugated, Heracles 1 restored Tyndareus, entrusting
the kingdom to him. Tyndareus married Leda and had children by
her: the DIOSCURI, Clytaemnestra, Helen, Timandra 1, Phylonoe, and Phoebe 6. During his rule, Helen was abducted by Theseus, and later (when Helen had been brought
back) many kings and princes of Hellas came to
Sparta as SUITORS OF
HELEN. On this occasion, The Oath of Tyndareus was exacted
from the SUITORS. Tyndareus gave Penelope to Odysseus, and Helen to Menelaus. Clytaemnestra married first Tantalus 3, and after him King Agamemnon of Mycenae, brother of Menelaus. Timandra 1 married Echemus, king of the Arcadians, and Phylonoe was made immortal by Artemis. Some day or
other, Tyndareus died,
having bequeathed the kingdom of Sparta to his
son-in-law Menelaus. Tyndareus is said to
have been raised from the dead by Asclepius.
Menelaus and Helen reigned as king and
queen of Sparta when the Trojan Paris came for a visit,
and violating all rules of hospitality, abducted
his host's wife and took her to Troy. This outrage was
regarded by Menelaus and the kings of Hellas who were bound by The Oath
of Tyndareus, as a
reason for waging war against Troy. After the war, Menelaus and Helen returned to Sparta,
having wandered in the Mediterranean for seven
years. Menelaus and Helen never died because
they were made immortal by Hera, and sent to the Elysian Fields, but
on earth Menelaus was
succeeded on the throne by his nephew Orestes 2, son of Agamemnon.
Dispute between the sons of Agamemnon and Achilles echoes
of Menelaus and Helen, was nine years old
when she was abandoned by her mother. She married Orestes 2, but when he
went mad after killing his mother Clytaemnestra, Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, carried her
off, because she had previously been promised to
him at Troy by her father.
However, when Orestes 2 recovered his mind, he and his troops looked for Neoptolemus, and
finding him at Delphi,
they murdered him and took Hermione back.
Extension of the kingdom of Orestes 2
King Orestes 2 ruled
over a vaster territory than his father. For when
Cylarabes died childless, leaving vacant the throne
of Argos, Orestes 2 succeeded
him, thus adding this kingdom to his own. Orestes 2 also
succeeded to the throne of Sparta, for the Lacedaemonians considered his claim to the throne prior to that of Nicostratus and Megapenthes 1, these being sons of Menelaus by one or
perhaps two slave women, whereas Orestes 2 was the son
of one of the daughters of King Tyndareus. Besides
Sparta and Argos, Orestes 2 also extended
his rule over the greater part of Arcadia, and obeying the
oracle of Delphi, he
moved his capital from Mycenae to Arcadia. Messenia was held in
ancient times by the line of Neleus and Nestor until some time
after the Trojan War;
then Orestes 2 annexed
the region to his kingdom, and Messenia was ruled by
him and his descendants down to the return of the HERACLIDES.
The sons of Orestes 2
When Orestes 2 died,
killed by the bite of a snake at Oresteum in Arcadia, his son by Hermione, Tisamenus 2, came to the throne, while his bastard son by Erigone 1 (daughter of Aegisthus and Clytaemnestra), Penthilus 1, led the Aeolian colonisation, which preceded the Ionian by four generations. He advanced as far as Thrace sixty years after the Trojan War, about the
time of the return of the HERACLIDES to the Peloponnesus. Tisamenus 2 lost both life and kingdom when the HERACLIDES Temenus 2 and Cresphontes invaded the country. With him disappeared the dynasty of the Pelopides, and the HERACLIDES,
descendants of Perseus 1, took over.
Two Royal Houses
Casting lots after victory, the HERACLIDES Cresphontes and the twin brothers Procles 2 and Eurysthenes 1 divided the territory they had conquered, Messenia being assigned to Cresphontes, and Sparta to the twins. The twins Procles 2 and Eurysthenes 1 were bitter enemies, but as they had won by lot the kingdom of Lacedaemon, they decided to rule with two royal houses, and this is why there were two kings in Sparta also in historical times.
|Throne Succession Laconia / Sparta
Lelex 2. This is the first king of Laconia (the southernmost part of the Peloponnesus), said to have arrived from Egypt. Yet some say that Lelex 2 was AUTOCHTHONOUS; others say he was son of Poseidon and Libya. By the naiad Cleocharia he fathered Eurotas, Myles, Polycaon 1, Cleson, and Bias 6 (Apd.3.10.3, 3.15.5; Pau.1.39.6, 1.44.3, 3.1.1).
Myles, credited with the invention of the mill, was king of Laconia and Sparta and son of Lelex 2 and Cleocharia. He was father of Eurotas (Pau.3.1.1, 3.20.2).
Eurotas succeeded Myles as king of the Lacedaemonians and was himself succeeded by Lacedaemon. Some have said that Myles was his father, but others say that Eurotas was son of Lelex 2 and Cleocharia. Eurotas is father of Sparta and Tiasa (see also the city of Sparta) (Apd.3.10.3; Pau.3.1.1, 3.18.6).
Lacedaemon. King of Lacedaemon, the country about Sparta which is called after him. He succeeded Eurotas on the throne. Lacedaemon was son of Zeus and Taygete, one of the PLEIADES; he married Sparta and had children by her: Eurydice 2 (mother of Danae) and Amyclas 1, who succeeded his father as king (Apd.3.10.3; Hyg.Ast.2.21; Pau.3.1.1).
Amyclas 1. King of Laconia and Lacedaemon, and founder of Amyclae. Amyclas 1 is son of Lacedaemon and Sparta. He succeeded his father in the throne and, marrying Diomede 2, daughter of Lapithus 1, son of Apollo and Stilbe, the daughter of the river god Peneus, had many children by her: Leanira, Cynortes, Hyacinthus 1, Argalus, Polyboea 1, Harpalus 1, Laodamia 3 and Daphne 1. On the death of Amyclas 1 he was succeeded by Argalus (see also Sparta) (Apd.3.9.1, 3.10.3; Parth.15.1; Pau.3.1.3, 3.19.4, 7.18.5, 10.9.5.).
Argalus. King of Lacedaemon after his father's death. He is son of Amyclas 1, son of Lacedaemon, son of Zeus and Taygete, one of the PLEIADES. His mother was Diomede 2, daughter of Lapithus 1, son of Apollo and Stilbe, daughter of the river god Peneus. On his death he was succeeded by Cynortes (see also Sparta) (Apd.3.10.3; Pau.3.1.3).
Cynortes (Cynortas) received the kingdom of Lacedaemon when his brother King Argalus died. Cynortes was son of Amyclas 1, son of Lacedaemon, son of Zeus and Taygete, one of the PLEIADES. His mother was Diomede 2, daughter of Lapithus 1, son of Apollo and Stilbe, daughter of Peneus, one of the RIVER GODS. Cynortes had two sons: Perieres 1 and Oebalus 1 (Apd.3.10.3; Pau.3.1.3-4).
Oebalus 1. King of Lacedaemon and Sparta. He was son either of King Perieres 1 of Messenia (son either of Aeolus 1 or of Cynortes), or of Cynortes. His wife was either Batia 2 or Gorgophone 2. According to some his children by Batia 2 were: Arene, Tyndareus (father of Helen), Hippocoon 2, Icarius 1, and Pirene 2; but others say that he had Tyndareus, Arene, and Hippocoon 2 by Gorgophone 2 (daughter of Perseus 1) (see also Sparta) (Apd.3.10.4; Pau.2.2.3, 3.1.4, 4.2.4).
Tyndareus, king of Sparta, was expelled from Lacedaemon by Hippocoon 2, but was later restored to the kingdom by Heracles 1. He gave Penelope to Odysseus for having invented "The Oath of Tyndareus", and Helen to Menelaus, whom he granted the kingdom of Sparta. Later he brought Orestes 2 to trial for the death of Clytaemnestra. Tyndareus is among those who were raised from the dead by Asclepius (see Leda, SUITORS OF HELEN, Helen, Trojan War, Menelaus, Penelope, etc.). Tyndareus was son either of Perieres 1 & Gorgophone 2, or of Oebalus 1 & Batia 2, or of Oebalus 1 & Gorgophone 2. Perieres 1 was king of Messenia. Oebalus 1 was son either of Perieres 1 or of Cynortes, king of Sparta. Gorgophone 2 was daughter of Perseus 1. Tyndareus married Leda and had children by her: Castor 1 and Polydeuces (see DIOSCURI), Timandra 1, Clytaemnestra, Phylonoe, and Phoebe 6 (Apd.3.10.3, 3.10.5-9; Apd.Ep.6.25; Cic.ND.2.6; Eur.IA.50; Eur.Ore.passim; Hes.CWE.68.38; Hom.Od.11.298-304; Pau.3.1.4).
Menelaus is the king of Sparta who was robbed of his sweet wife Helen by a guest he received in his palace. For his sake, a fleet of unprecedented size sailed to Troy in order to demand, by persuasion or by force, the restoration of Helen and the Spartan property that the seducer Paris, breaking all laws of hospitality, had stolen. Menelaus was son of Plisthenes 1 & Aerope 1, or of Plisthenes 1 & Cleolla, or of Atreus & Aerope 1 (Aes.Aga.42; Apd.3.10.8, 3.11.1, 3.2.1; Apd.Ep.2.15, 3.6, 3.11ff., 6.29; Eur.And. passim; Eur.Hel. passim; Eur.IA. passim; Eur.IT.3; Eur.Ore.18-20 and passim; Eur.Tro. passim; Hes.CWE.69, 70; Hom.Il.3.350; Hom.Od.4.265ff.; Hyg.Fab.85; Pau.2.29.4; QS.12.314ff.; Soph.Aj. passim; Vir.Aen.2.63).
Orestes 2. When Agamemnon returned from Troy, he was murdered by Aegisthus and Clytaemnestra, and Aegisthus became king of Mycenae. But Orestes 2, whose life was now in danger, was smuggled away and given to the Phocian Strophius 1 to bring up. Years later, following the oracle of Delphi, Orestes 2 returned to Mycenae in company of Pylades, and killed both his mother and Aegisthus. But having become a matricide, he was pursued by the ERINYES, and afflicted with madness. He was also brought to trial in Athens for this crime, and being acquitted, he then came to Tauris (today called Crimea) to get rid of his mental disorder. Orestes 2, along with Pylades, was made prisoner in Tauris, but after being recognized by his sister Iphigenia, who acted as a priestess, he fled with her back to Hellas. In time Orestes 2 inherited his father's throne, and became the ruler of a wide territory including Mycenae, Argos, Messenia, the greater part of Arcadia, and Sparta (Aes.Eum.passim; Aes.LB.passim; Apd.Ep.2.16, 6.13-14, 6.24-28; Dictys 6.4; Eur.And.884 and passim; Eur.Ele.passim; Eur.IT.passim; Eur.Ore.23 and passim; Hyg.Fab.257; Pau.2.16.7, 2.18.6, Pau.2.29.4; Soph.Ele.passim.).
Tisamenus 2. Son of Orestes 2 and Hermione and king of Mycenae. It was under his reign that the HERACLIDES (Temenus 2 and Cresphontes) succeeded in returning to the Peloponnesus. Some say that he was killed by them, whereas others say that he was killed in battle against the Ionians. Tisamenus 2's children were: Daimenes, Sparton 1, Tellis, Leontomenes, and Cometes 4 (Apd.2.8.2-3; Pau.2.18.6-7, 7.1.8, 7.6.2).
Eurysthenes 1. Son of Aristodemus & Argia 4. Father by Anaxandra of King Agis 1. Eurysthenes 1 and his twin brother Procles 2 were bitter enemies, but they won by lot the kingdom of Lacedaemon. They decided to institute two royal houses in Lacedaemon (Sparta) (Apd.2.8.2-5; Hdt.4.147, 6.52, 7.204; Pau.3.1.5-7, 4.3.4ff., 3.2.1, 3.16.6).
Procles 2. Son of Aristodemus & Argia 4. Father by Lathria of Sous and Eurypon. Procles 2 and his twin brother Eurysthenes 1 were bitter enemies, but they won by lot the kingdom of Lacedaemon and decided to institute two royal houses in Lacedaemon (Sparta) (Apd.2.8.2-5; Pau.3.1.5-7, 3.7.1, 3.16.6, 4.3.4ff.; Strab.8.5.5).
Agis 1. King of Sparta, after whom the family of Eurysthenes 1 is called the Agiadae. Agis 1, a contemporary of Patreus, was son of Eurysthenes 1, son of Aristodemus, son of Aristomachus 2, son of Cleodaeus 2, son of Hyllus 1, son of Heracles 1. His mother Anaxandra was daughter of Thersander 3, son of Agamedidas, who was great-grandson of Ctesippus 1 and king of the Cleonaeans. Ctesippus 1 was son of Heracles 1. Agis 1 had two sons: Echestratus and Amphicles (Pau.3.2.1-2, 3.16.6, 3.16.9; Strab.8.5.4).
Sous. King of Sparta after his father Procles 2. He was suceeded on the throne by his son Eurypon (Pau.3.7.1).
Echestratus. Son of Agis 1 and king of Sparta. He is father of Labotas (see also Sparta) (Pau.3.2.2-3).
Eurypon. King of Sparta. He reached such renown that his house changed name from Proclides to Eurypontides. He is the son either of Sous or of Procles 2. Sous himself is son of Procles 2, son of Aristodemus, son of Aristomachus 2, son of Cleodaeus 2, son of Hyllus 1, son of Heracles 1. Eurypon had a son Prytanis 2 (Pau.3.7.1; Strab.8.5.5).
Labotas. King of Sparta and leader of the Lacedaemonians against the Argives. He was son of Echestratus and father of Doryssus (see Sparta) (Pau.3.2.3-4).
Prytanis 2. Son of Eurypon and king of Sparta. Under his reign began the enmity of the Lacedaemonians against the Argives. Prytanis 2 was father of Eunomus 2 (Pau.3.7.2).
Doryssus. King of Sparta, approaching historical times, who was soon killed. He was son of Labotas, son of Echestratus, son of Agis 1, son of Eurysthenes 1, son of Aristodemus, son of Aristomachus 2, son of Cleodaeus 2, son of Hyllus 1, son of Heracles 1. Doryssus had a son Agesilaus, during whose reign Lycurgus 7 made his famous legislation (Pau.3.2.4).
Eunomus 2. King of Sparta after his father Prytanis 2, son of Eurypon. He was father of Polydectes 2 (see also Sparta) (Pau.3.7.2).
Agesilaus. King of Sparta who died soon, as also History says. During his reign the famous Lycurgus 6 made his legislation. Agesilaus was son of Doryssus, son of Labotas, son of Echestratus, son of Agis 1, son of Eurysthenes 1, son of Aristodemus, son of Aristomachus 2, son of Cleodaeus 2, son of Hyllus 1, son of Heracles 1 (Pau.3.2.4-5).
Polydectes 2 succeeded his father Eunomus 2 as king of Sparta and was succeeded by his son Charillus (Pau.3.7.3).
Archelaus 4. Spartan king, remembered for having conquered, in historical times, the city of Aegys, selling the inhabitants (the Perioeci) into slavery. He was son of Agesilaus, son of Doryssus, son of Labotas, son of Echestratus, son of Agis 1, son of Eurysthenes 1, son of Aristodemus, son of Aristomachus 2, son of Cleodaeus 2, son of Hyllus 1, son of Heracles 1. Archelaus 4 had a son Teleclus (Pau.3.2.5-6).
Charillus. King of Sparta. Under his reign the campaign of the Spartans against Tegea in Arcadia took place. Charillus was son of Polydectes 2, son of Eunomus 2, son of Prytanis 2, son of Eurypon, son of Sous, son of Procles 2, son of Aristodemus, son of Aristomachus 2, son of Cleodaeus 2, son of Hyllus 1, son of Heracles 1 (Pau.3.7.3).
Teleclus. King of Sparta; under his reign the Lacedaemonians conquered several cities belonging to the Achaeans. Teleclus, who had succeeded his father Archelaus 4 on the throne, was himself succeed by his son Alcamenes after being murdered by the Messenians (Pau.3.2.6; Strab.6.3.3).
Alcamenes. King of Sparta after the death of his father Teleclus' (Pau.3.2.6).
Some mentions of Sparta: Apd.2.5.7,
3.10.8, 3.11.2, 3.12.6; Apd.Ep.1.23, 2.16, 3.2,
6.29; Arg.1.148, 4.1761, 4.1762; Cal.Ap.74;
Hom.Il.2.582, 4.52; Hom.Od.1.93, 1.285, 2.214,
2.327, 2.359, 4.10, 11.460, 13.412; Hyg.Fab.14, 173a, 238;
Nonn.16.103, 19.187, 31.262, 35.175, 41.330; | <urn:uuid:0545847c-a51e-41bd-acc7-9794d7762b80> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://maicar.com/GML/Sparta.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396100.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00045-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953628 | 6,125 | 2.625 | 3 |
Remember Kolelinia, the crazy urban tight rope system for biking? Martin Angelov, the Bulgarian architect who created Kolelinia, has come up with yet another crazy form of urban transportation– this time it’s a backpack harness system with a network of wires strung all over the city. All you have to do is strap on the battery-powered harness, hop onto a wire and start flying around the city. It may be science fiction now, but someday this could be a reality.
Recently presented at TEDx conference in Thessaloniki, and based on Kolelinia, the flying bicycle lanes constructed from taut steel wires, Kolelinio goes a step further, making the efficient urban transport system accessible to anyone, even those with disabilities. Each person has their own backpack composed of a harness, a battery bag, and a light engine that runs on the Kolelinia wire mechanism.
Taut steel wires would be strung throughout the urban core of a city, and would end at intersections, allowing “riders” to change directions as easily as if they were crossing the street. Wire trunk lines would shoot out to the outskirts and suburbs of the city where people can hop on anywhere, minimizing the need for cars, heavy roads and infrastructure and significantly reducing pollution. It’s certainly crazy, but definitely cool and imagine what kinds of chase scenes could be accomplished with this technology! | <urn:uuid:a49c0a33-e678-4536-8f76-2f1903fd9a51> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://inhabitat.com/electric-transit-backpack-lets-you-fly-through-city-streets/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783396875.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154956-00016-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959238 | 292 | 2.625 | 3 |
Energy, Enzymes, and Catalysis Problem Set
Problem 2 Tutorial: Equilibrium constant for sucrose hydrolysis.
The equation for the chemical reaction described in this problem is as follows:
This is a hydrolysis reaction. The disaccharide glucose is hydrolyzed to the two monosaccharides glucose and fructose. Biological hydrolysis reactions are almost always spontaneous (exergonic).
The balance between the forward and reverse reactions is known as the chemical equilibrium, which is defined as the ratio of the concentration of products and reactants at equilibrium when there is no further change in concentrations.
For this reaction,
Free energy and chemical equilibrium
This chemical reaction can run in both the forward and reverse directions, but the products glucose and fructose are at a lower energy level than the reactant sucrose.
The difference between a spontaneous and nonspontaneous reaction can be distinguished by the following relationships:
The hydrolysis of sucroseThis is a spontaneous reaction beginning with sucrose because Keq > 1.
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics
University of Arizona
Revised: October 2004
Contact the Development Team | <urn:uuid:ae50ecdb-94a7-4c35-9b59-b1d6869d7a27> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.biology.arizona.edu/biochemistry/problem_sets/energy_enzymes_catalysis/02t.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391519.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00001-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.922562 | 239 | 3.671875 | 4 |
Better way to turn ocean into fuel
UOW scientists have developed a novel way to turn sea water into hydrogen, for a sustainable and clean fuel source.
Using this method, as little as five litres of sea water per day would produce enough hydrogen to power an average-sized home and an electric car for one day.
The research team at UOWs Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES) have developed a light-assisted catalyst that requires less energy input to activate water oxidation, which is the first step in splitting water to produce hydrogen fuel.
A major limitation with current technologies is that the oxidation process needs a higher energy input, which rules out using abundant sea water because it produces poisonous chlorine gas.
The research team, led by Dr Jun Chen and Professor Gerry Swiegers, have produced an artificial chlorophyll on a conductive plastic film that acts as a catalyst to begin splitting water.
The results were recently published in the journal Chemical Science.
Lead author, Dr Jun Chen, said the flexible polymer would mean it could be used in a wider range of applications and it is more easily manufactured than metal semiconductors.
The system we designed, including the materials, gives us the opportunity to design various devices and applications using sea water as a water-splitting source.
The flexible nature of the material also provides the possibility to build portable hydrogen-producing devices.
The development brings UOWs energy research a step closer to creating an artificial leaf-like device that can efficiently produce hydrogen.
ACES Executive Research Director Professor Gordon Wallace said: In todays world the discovery of high performance materials is not enough.
This must be coupled with innovative fabrication to provide practical high-performance devices and this work is an excellent example of that, he said. | <urn:uuid:ebb5683b-329e-4a6e-bbe1-de94d11d4294> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showpost.php?p=9749047&postcount=846 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395560.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00114-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937145 | 368 | 3.484375 | 3 |
Visualizing dip and strike using Google Earth
Barbara Tewksbury (Hamilton College)
In class, students begin by viewing the inclined layers in Google Earth, as they did for the mapping homework described on the previous web page. I use the Google Earth view (below) to correlate the term "inclined/tilted" with the new term "dip", and students determine the approximate dip amount and dip direction for the contacts.
I ask students to make a quick cross section sketch showing the topographic profile and the inclined contacts. We reason out that the slope of the flatirons isn't really an accurate measure of dip of the contacts and that we need a dip line on the contact itself, rather than on the slope.
We then generate two horizontal lines on the contact in Google Earth (red lines above right) by connecting points of equal elevation on the sides of the flatirons with a line using the Google Earth draw path tool, and we then calculate the dip of the contact using distances determined using the Google Earth measure tool. (Note: it just happens to work out in this particular spot, although in most places the results are erratic because of the limitations of the elevation data set in Google Earth.)
For homework, students define mappable units, locate contacts, create a geologic sketch map, add strikes and dips, and work out which unit is the oldest. They also make a cross section sketch. Being able to view the area in the Google Earth 3D view is instrumental in helping them make the cross section.
Go to the next step:Visualizing vertical contacts | <urn:uuid:8d7266b8-5634-42ac-8121-5ffe41020028> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/structure/visualizing_strike_dip.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395346.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00193-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903753 | 327 | 4.0625 | 4 |
Adding invasive, non-native species to an ecosystem is the second leading cause of extinction (a distant second to the leading cause, climate change). In Life Preservers, the player/learner tries to protect Earth from autopilot ships filled with alien species whose presence on Earth could change the entire evolution of life on the planet. This twist makes the story more engaging.
Life Preservers starts with a story:
"You are a member of Life Preservers , an ancient alien organization dedicated to protecting the natural ecosystem of planets where intelligent life might evolve. Earth is one of the planets the team you lead is assigned to protect.
We have an impending emergency that threatens the evolution of life Earth.
“Hunter” Aliens are sending two automated “seed ships” to Earth at the beginning of the Age of the Dinosaurs. Each ship is filled with one species of animal that the Hunter Aliens enjoy hunting. When the ships reach earth they are programmed to go into orbit and release escape pods sending the aliens to earth. Thousands or even millions of years later, the Hunters may come to Earth to hunt their favorite animals.
The immediate threat is that over many generations the alien animals contained on the “seed ships” will change the natural evolution of life on Earth. Each alien seed ship contains only one kind of alien animal. It would be best to stop both ships, but we only have enough resources to stop one. In order to decide which ship to stop (which species will cause the least harm) you need to learn about life on Earth. "
The primary display in the Life Preservers game is the Tree of Life, a timeline and family tree mapping the history of life on earth. Ancient critters are represented by dots on the tree. Here is the tree of life from the Age of Dinosaurs, with the six critters in round one showing and First Bird selected.
Clicking on a critter dot brings up details about the critter, including when and for how long that species existed on Earth, what they ate and what ate them, and the environment they lived in.
Here is an example "critter brochure"
A scientist-validated artist's drawing of the critter.
and graphic showing critter size compared to a six foot human are shown.
There are 10 rounds of play with 3 “adaptation challenges” per round. Here is an example adaptation challenge:
The player’s job is to figure out which critters match each adaptation. They do so by clicking on a critter dot and dragging it onto one of the answer circles beneath the adaptation. Some critters fit one adaptation, some more than one adaptation, while others do not fit any of the adaptations. A narrated, animated cut scene reinforces the key learning concepts follows each round and relates those concepts to the pending alien invasion.
In the first level, the player explores the Age of the Dinosaurs in three rounds of play. The Age of Dinosaurs includes information on 11 interesting earth critters including reptiles and birds. (Birds actually extend into the Age of Mammals but are included in Dinosaurs because their branch began in the Jurassic Period.)
The goal of this level is to learn as much as the player can about the critters of the Age of Dinosaurs to prepare for the first Alien Invasion. They should become familiar enough with specific creatures and causes of extinction to decide which alien species to divert. Along the way they learn about evolution and adaptation.
Unlike other rounds, alien invasion rounds do not have right or wrong answers. All of the critters encountered in the era appear on the game board. Players choose up to four critters most likely to be impacted by each alien, then choose which alien to block. Players think through possible consequences for each earth critter, and make their own choices.
The first alien invasion asks the player to choose which alien is most important to stop to preserve life on earth, Hoofed Fox or Dracosaurus. This round also asks the player to identify four animals from the Age of Dinosaurs that Hoofed Fox and the Dracosaurus would be very likely to eat.
After surviving the first alien invasion the player is notified that a planet-wide natural disaster has changed most of Earth’s physical environments at the end of the Age of the Dinosaurs. A huge asteroid hit Earth, causing the skies to fill with dust and plants to die off. Animals who ate plants, and animals who ate animals who ate plants, died from lack of food, including the “Hunter” alien they had selected to stay on Earth. However, two new robotic seed ships from a different star system, carrying two new alien species are headed towards Earth. With only enough resources to divert one ship, the player must once again study up on Earth creatures in order to protect the evolution of life. | <urn:uuid:0b1b6045-c252-4c37-a45d-e98057f35757> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.lifepreservers.msu.edu/gameplay.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395621.98/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00070-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942582 | 994 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions (1798)
These resolutions were passed by the legislatures of Kentucky and Virginia in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 and were authored by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, respectively. The resolutions argued that the federal government had no authority to exercise power not specifically delegated to it in the Constitution.
The Virginia Resolution, authored by Madison, said that by enacting the Alien and Sedition Acts, Congress was exercising “a power not delegated by the Constitution, but on the contrary, expressly and positively forbidden by one of the amendments thereto; a power, which more than any other, ought to produce universal alarm, because it is leveled against that right of freely examining public characters and measures, and of free communication among the people thereon, which has ever been justly deemed, the only effectual guardian of every other right.” Madison hoped that other states would register their opposition to the Alien and Sedition Acts as beyond the powers given to Congress.
The Kentucky Resolutions, authored by Jefferson, went further than Madison’s Virginia Resolution and asserted that states had the power to nullify unconstitutional federal laws. The Kentucky Resolution declared in part, “[T]he several states who formed that instrument [the Constitution], being sovereign and independent, have the unquestionable right to judge of its infraction; and that a nullification, by those [states], of all unauthorized acts….is the rightful remedy.”
The ideas in the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions became a precursor to John C. Calhoun’s arguments about the power of states to nullify federal laws. However, during the nullification controversy of the 1830s, Madison rejected the legitimacy of nullification, and argued that it was not part of the Virginia position in 1798.
The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
By James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, respectively
The Virginia Resolution:
RESOLVED, That the General Assembly of Virginia, doth unequivocably express a firm resolution to maintain and defend the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of this State, against every aggression either foreign or domestic, and that they will support the government of the United States in all measures warranted by the former.
That this assembly most solemnly declares a warm attachment to the Union of the States, to maintain which it pledges all its powers; and that for this end, it is their duty to watch over and oppose every infraction of those principles which constitute the only basis of that Union, because a faithful observance of them, can alone secure it’s existence and the public happiness.
That this Assembly doth explicitly and peremptorily declare, that it views the powers of the federal government, as resulting from the compact, to which the states are parties; as limited by the plain sense and intention of the instrument constituting the compact; as no further valid that they are authorized by the grants enumerated in that compact; and that in case of a deliberate, palpable, and dangerous exercise of other powers, not granted by the said compact, the states who are parties thereto, have the right, and are in duty bound, to interpose for arresting the progress of the evil, and for maintaining within their respective limits, the authorities, rights and liberties appertaining to them.
That the General Assembly doth also express its deep regret, that a spirit has in sundry instances, been manifested by the federal government, to enlarge its powers by forced constructions of the constitutional charter which defines them; and that implications have appeared of a design to expound certain general phrases (which having been copied from the very limited grant of power, in the former articles of confederation were the less liable to be misconstrued) so as to destroy the meaning and effect, of the particular enumeration which necessarily explains and limits the general phrases; and so as to consolidate the states by degrees, into one sovereignty, the obvious tendency and inevitable consequence of which would be, to transform the present republican system of the United States, into an absolute, or at best a mixed monarchy.
That the General Assembly doth particularly protest against the palpable and alarming infractions of the Constitution, in the two late cases of the “Alien and Sedition Acts” passed at the last session of Congress; the first of which exercises a power no where delegated to the federal government, and which by uniting legislative and judicial powers to those of executive, subverts the general principles of free government; as well as the particular organization, and positive provisions of the federal constitution; and the other of which acts, exercises in like manner, a power not delegated by the constitution, but on the contrary, expressly and positively forbidden by one of the amendments thererto; a power, which more than any other, ought to produce universal alarm, because it is levelled against that right of freely examining public characters and measures, and of free communication among the people thereon, which has ever been justly deemed, the only effectual guardian of every other right.
That this state having by its Convention, which ratified the federal Constitution, expressly declared, that among other essential rights, “the Liberty of Conscience and of the Press cannot be cancelled, abridged, restrained, or modified by any authority of the United States,” and from its extreme anxiety to guard these rights from every possible attack of sophistry or ambition, having with other states, recommended an amendment for that purpose, which amendment was, in due time, annexed to the Constitution; it would mark a reproachable inconsistency, and criminal degeneracy, if an indifference were now shewn, to the most palpable violation of one of the Rights, thus declared and secured; and to the establishment of a precedent which may be fatal to the other.
That the good people of this commonwealth, having ever felt, and continuing to feel, the most sincere affection for their brethren of the other states; the truest anxiety for establishing and perpetuating the union of all; and the most scrupulous fidelity to that constitution, which is the pledge of mutual friendship, and the instrument of mutual happiness; the General Assembly doth solemenly appeal to the like dispositions of the other states, in confidence that they will concur with this commonwealth in declaring, as it does hereby declare, that the acts aforesaid, are unconstitutional; and that the necessary and proper measures will be taken by each, for co-operating with this state, in maintaining the Authorities, Rights, and Liberties, referred to the States respectively, or to the people.
That the Governor be desired, to transmit a copy of the foregoing Resolutions to the executive authority of each of the other states, with a request that the same may be communicated to the Legislature thereof; and that a copy be furnished to each of the Senators and Representatives representing this state in the Congress of the United States.
Agreed to by the Senate, December 24, 1798.
The Kentucky Resolution:
Resolutions in General Assembly
THE representatives of the good people of this commonwealth in general assembly convened, having maturely considered the answers of sundry states in the Union, to their resolutions passed at the last session, respecting certain unconstitutional laws of Congress, commonly called the alien and sedition laws, would be faithless indeed to themselves, and to those they represent, were they silently to acquiesce in principles and doctrines attempted to be maintained in all those answers, that of Virginia only excepted. To again enter the field of argument, and attempt more fully or forcibly to expose the unconstitutionality of those obnoxious laws, would, it is apprehended be as unnecessary as unavailing.
We cannot however but lament, that in the discussion of those interesting subjects, by sundry of the legislatures of our sister states, unfounded suggestions, and uncandid insinuations, derogatory of the true character and principles of the good people of this commonwealth, have been substituted in place of fair reasoning and sound argument. Our opinions of those alarming measures of the general government, together with our reasons for those opinions, were detailed with decency and with temper, and submitted to the discussion and judgment of our fellow citizens throughout the Union. Whether the decency and temper have been observed in the answers of most of those states who have denied or attempted to obviate the great truths contained in those resolutions, we have now only to submit to a candid world. Faithful to the true principles of the federal union, unconscious of any designs to disturb the harmony of that Union, and anxious only to escape the fangs of despotism, the good people of this commonwealth are regardless of censure or calumniation.
Least however the silence of this commonwealth should be construed into an acquiescence in the doctrines and principles advanced and attempted to be maintained by the said answers, or least those of our fellow citizens throughout the Union, who so widely differ from us on those important subjects, should be deluded by the expectation, that we shall be deterred from what we conceive our duty; or shrink from the principles contained in those resolutions: therefore.
RESOLVED, That this commonwealth considers the federal union, upon the terms and for the purposes specified in the late compact, as conducive to the liberty and happiness of the several states: That it does now unequivocally declare its attachment to the Union, and to that compact, agreeable to its obvious and real intention, and will be among the last to seek its dissolution: That if those who administer the general government be permitted to transgress the limits fixed by that compact, by a total disregard to the special delegations of power therein contained, annihilation of the state governments, and the erection upon their ruins, of a general consolidated government, will be the inevitable consequence: That the principle and construction contended for by sundry of the state legislatures, that the general government is the exclusive judge of the extent of the powers delegated to it, stop nothing short of despotism; since the discretion of those who adminster the government, and not the constitution, would be the measure of their powers: That the several states who formed that instrument, being sovereign and independent, have the unquestionable right to judge of its infraction; and that a nullification, by those sovereignties, of all unauthorized acts done under colour of that instrument, is the rightful remedy: That this commonwealth does upon the most deliberate reconsideration declare, that the said alien and sedition laws, are in their opinion, palpable violations of the said constitution; and however cheerfully it may be disposed to surrender its opinion to a majority of its sister states in matters of ordinary or doubtful policy; yet, in momentous regulations like the present, which so vitally wound the best rights of the citizen, it would consider a silent acquiesecence as highly criminal: That although this commonwealth as a party to the federal compact; will bow to the laws of the Union, yet it does at the same time declare, that it will not now, nor ever hereafter, cease to oppose in a constitutional manner, every attempt from what quarter soever offered, to violate that compact:
AND FINALLY, in order that no pretexts or arguments may be drawn from a supposed acquiescence on the part of this commonwealth in the constitutionality of those laws, and be thereby used as precedents for similar future violations of federal compact; this commonwealth does now enter against them, its SOLEMN PROTEST.
Approved December 3rd, 1799. | <urn:uuid:3b6c46e9-fbb3-4775-a671-96021455b945> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://billofrightsinstitute.org/founding-documents/primary-source-documents/virginia-and-kentucky-resolutions/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783391766.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154951-00177-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960824 | 2,349 | 3.671875 | 4 |
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Uncleanness of Childbirth. 1The LORD said to Moses: 2Tell the Israelites: When a woman has a child, giving birth to a boy, she shall be unclean* for seven days, with the same uncleanness as during her menstrual period.a 3On the eighth day, the flesh of the boy’s foreskin shall be circumcised,* b 4and then she shall spend thirty-three days more in a state of blood purity; she shall not touch anything sacred nor enter the sanctuary till the days of her purification are fulfilled. 5If she gives birth to a girl, for fourteen days she shall be as unclean as during her menstrual period, after which she shall spend sixty-six days* in a state of blood purity.
6* When the days of her purification for a son or for a daughter are fulfilled,c she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a yearling lamb for a burnt offering and a pigeon or a turtledove for a purification offering. 7The priest shall offer them before the LORD to make atonement for her, and thus she will be clean again after her flow of blood. Such is the ritual for the woman who gives birth to a child, male or female. 8If, however, she cannot afford a lamb,d she may take two turtledoves or two pigeons,e the one for a burnt offering and the other for a purification offering. The priest shall make atonement for her, and thus she will again be clean.
* [12:2–5] The mother has two stages of uncleanness or impurity: the first where her uncleanness is as severe as during her menstrual period and is contagious to profane persons and objects (cf. 15:19–24), and the second where she does not contaminate persons and objects but is still impure to what is holy, such as the sanctuary (12:4) or sacrifices. The implication is that in the second stage she may resume sexual relations with her husband (which would be prohibited in the first stage according to 18:19).
* [12:3] Circumcision is the sign of the covenant between God and Israel (Gn 17:1–27) and allows full participation in the religious community (Ex 12:43–49; Jos 5:2–10). This command was fulfilled after Jesus’ birth (Lk 2:21).
* [12:5] If she gives birth to a girl…sixty-six days: while the longer period of uncleanness following the birth of a girl, compared to that following the birth of a boy, might reflect the relative disparity in social status between men and women in ancient Israel (and attested in other cultures), this is by no means certain. There is no simple correlation in the Bible between the worth of something and the degree of impurity it can occasion.
* [12:6–8] Certain tolerated impurities (see note on 11:1–15:33) are strong enough to pollute the sanctuary and require purification offerings, including the parturient (see also 14:10–32; 15:13–15, 28–30). Cf. note on 4:3. Mary fulfilled the command of bringing sacrifices after the birth of Jesus (Lk 2:22–24).
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nor does it necessarily endorse, the website, its content, or | <urn:uuid:d6f59d90-b61a-4635-a626-cbeddc855298> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.usccb.org/bible/lv/12:05 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783392099.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154952-00099-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948891 | 795 | 2.625 | 3 |
UNESCO World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place (such as a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex, or city) that is listed by UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance. The list is maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 state parties which are elected by their General Assembly for a four-year term.
The program catalogues, names, and conserves sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common heritage of humanity. Under certain conditions, listed sites can obtain funds from the World Heritage Fund. The programme was founded with the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage, which was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on November 16, 1972. Since then, 186 state parties have ratified the convention. | <urn:uuid:6debd96b-ab64-44b7-bb5c-e0f61def379e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.orexca.com/world_heritage.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397795.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00108-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946722 | 169 | 3.484375 | 3 |
from Tom Christiansen Unicode Support Shootout: The Good, the Bad, the Mostly Ugly
Grapheme - A grapheme is the smallest semantically distinguishing unit in a written language, analogous to the phonemes of spoken languages.
Casefolding - Unicode defines case folding through the three case-mapping properties of each character: uppercase, lowercase and titlecase. These properties relate all characters in scripts with differing cases to the other case variants of the character.
Case mapping - is used to handle the mapping of upper-case, lower-case, and title case characters for a given language.
What is the difference between case mapping and case folding? Case mapping or case conversion is a process whereby strings are converted to a particular form—uppercase, lowercase, or titlecase—possibly for display to the user. Case folding is primarily used for caseless comparison of text, such as identifiers in a computer program, rather than actual text transformation. Case folding in Unicode is based on the lowercase mapping, but includes additional changes to the source text to help make it language-insensitive and consistent. As a result, case-folded text should be used solely for internal processing and generally should not be stored or displayed to the end user.
|Normalization - courtesy|
Normalization - Unicode has encoded many entities that are really variants of existing nominal characters. The visual representations of these characters are typically a subset of the possible visual representations of the nominal character. more -
UCA Collation - Collation is the general term for the process and function of determining the sorting order of strings of characters. It is a key function in computer systems; whenever a list of strings is presented to users, they are likely to want it in a sorted order so that they can easily and reliably find individual strings. Thus it is widely used in user interfaces. It is also crucial for databases, both in sorting records and in selecting sets of records with fields within given bounds.The Unicode collation algorithm (UCA) is an algorithm defined in Unicode Technical Report #10, which defines a customizable method to compare two strings. These comparisons can then be used to collate or sort text in any writing system and language that can be represented with Unicode. more
Named Characters - Unicode characters are assigned a unique Name (na). The name, in English, is composed of A-Z capitals, 0-9 digits, - (hyphen-minus) and
Properties - Each Unicode character belongs to a certain category. Unicode assigns character properties to each code point. These properties can be used to handle "characters" (code points) in processes, like in line-breaking, script direction right-to-left or applying controls.more
Perl looks cool! | <urn:uuid:50c57a52-a7ef-4778-92eb-f04f76a041ee> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://bytescrolls.blogspot.com/2012/12/unicode-features-in-various-languages.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783397744.64/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154957-00151-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.793557 | 570 | 3.6875 | 4 |
How To Get Rid Of Drain Flies
Drain flies are small flies, about 1/8th inch. They are usually black, but may be brown. The key identifying trait for this fly is the unique pattern of veins in its wings.*
Drain Flies are also called moth flies, sewer flies or filter flies. Their bodies and wings are covered with numerous hairs. If crushed they leave a powdery smudge. The flies are commonly found around drains, but they should not be confused with the Fruit fly, Phorid fly, or Sphaerocierid fly which also infest drains.
If you see a small fly or gnat type insect flying around in the kitchen, do not assume it is coming from the drains. Check all possible breeding sources (small puddles, grease, rotting organic material, etc.) to help identify the fly. Using a sanitation drain product like Invade Bio Drain will help destroy the breeding area if they are breeding in the drains.
Understanding the different breeding sources for the flies will help you identify and manage the infestations.
Breeding Sources of Drain Flies, Fruit Flies, Phorid Flies and Sphaerocerid Flies
Drain flies: Drain Flies breed in drains, sewers, septic tanks and soil that has been contaminated with sewage.
Fruit flies: Fruit Flies can be spotted around fresh fruits/vegetables, rotting fruits and vegetables, drains, garbage and damp organic materials.
Phorid Flies: Phorid Flies are found in sewage contaminated soil, garbage, drains, human cadavers, rotting vegetables and fruit, garbage as well as damp organic materials.
Sphaerocerid Flies: These flies may be found in manure, damp organic material, drains, rotting fruits and vegetables and garbage.
Drain Fly Control and Treatment
It is necessary to inspect for breeding sites and remove them. There are many potential areas that serve as breeding sites for the flies. Removing the breeding site is the most important part of a drain fly control program.
Regularly clean any floor drains. Use Invade Bio products to eat the organic matter where the flies breed.
- These flies typically breed in drains, hence the common name of drain flies. This is a good place to begin inspection. They live off debris in the form of a humid film on the drain sides and in the drain trap. If you use something like a knife to scape the sides, you can examine the sludge for live larvae.
- Place some tape over the top of drain, with some holes in it for air flow. If the drain flies get stuck on the tape as they exit the drain, you know you have drain flies.
- Sometimes, drain flies (moth flies) can come from under slab floors from a drain pipe that has broken. They would breed in the organic debis under the slab. Adult flies then enter the living space above the slab through cracks in the slab and back through the drain pipe. To determine if they are coming up through the slab, place the masking tape over the crack as described above.
- If the suspicion is strong enough that drain flies are breeding under a slab, a hole must be broken through the slab to see if indeed a pipe has broken and flies are breeding there. After a hole is broken through the slab, dig in the soil under the slab and inspect. The organic debris and moist soil may actually be several inches under the surface. The presence of fly larvae and/or adults confirms the site as a breeding source.
- Sump pump pits and sewers are usually found in a basement area and also prime breeding sites for drain flies (moth flies), particularly in commercial buildings. The sewers and pump pits need to be checked for activity even if it is not close to where the moth flies have been seen flying. Also, inspect the pits of elevators in commercial buildings for excess water or moisture.
- In homes, drain flies are generally found breeding in bathroom drains, particularly those in showers. Shower pans are prone to leaking and the area under the shower pan becomes a prime moth fly breeding source.
- Remove all organic debris trapped in small cracks and crevices under the legs and bottom edges of kitchen equipment. The debris needs to removed, thoroughly dried and a long lasting caulk applied to seal the crack.
- If you strongly believe that the shower is a source, it may be necessary to drill a hole into the area under the shower pan or the wall behind the shower. In most cases where moth flies are breeding in this area, adult flies will begin emerging from the hole within minutes. Drain flies are strongly attracted to light and will fly to the hole drilled through the wall.
- Inspect crawlspace areas. Sometimes, if the drain pipe is leaking there, a breeding source is found. Look for the presence of adult flies. Spiders may have dead moth flies in their webs.
- Don't stop looking when one breeding source has been found. In most cases, several breeding sources will be present.
- Drain flies, or moth flies, can be found in moist, highly organic debris areas such as sink drains, moist mops, sewage treatment facilities, storm drains, dung and rotten vegetation.
- Re-grouting tiles to prevent water seepage into walls will stop breeding in those sites. If found in rotting vegetable matter, the source should be destroyed.
- Clean dirty garbage containers, wet lint under the washing machine, and even standing water in containers under houseplant pots. Outside the home, inspect air conditioners, bird baths, shallow stagnant pools of water and sewage treatment facilities upwind as adult flies will travel with the wind.
- Drain flies may also breed in moist, shady areas outdoors such as under potted plants, in bird feeders and baths, in moss, in clogged roof gutters, under air conditioners, in thick mulch, or on wet ground areas.
- In natural settings, moth fly larvae feed on decaying plants and animals. Most moth flies are harmless to humans, though they may transmit bacteria and other microorganisms from their breeding sites to areas where people are. Moth flies do not bite. Adults live about two weeks
|Invade Bio Products|
Use Invade Bio Products in the drains. A use of a drain cleaner such as Invade Bio Gel Treatment will remove the organic debris, improving santitation.
If the Phorid flies are breeding in the soil under a concrete slab, the only way to eliminate the infestation is to remove the contaminated soil by breaking through the slab and replacing the soil. Any broken pipes need to repaired. Although this is costly, drilling and treating the infested soil under the slab with residual insecticides does not work.
Remove all organic debris trapped in small cracks and crevices under the legs and bottom edges of kitchen equipment. The debris needs to removed, thoroughly dried and a long lasting caulk applied to seal the crack.
Invade Bio Foam is another another type of Invade Bio product; particulary useful in commercial establishments. It is a concentrated bio liquid with the use of a foamer. Invade Bio Foam contains concentrated scum eating, odor eliminating microbes and foaming agent. Use this a part of an integrated pest management tool. Use 1 oz per quart, 4 oz per gallon. Apply using a B&G VersaFoamer HH or sprayer to cracks, crevices and drains where small flies breed. The foam and citrus combination will digest the organic debris present as part of pest management. Ultra-concentrated InVade Bio Foam is mixed with water at a rate of 4 oz per gallon (1 oz per quart) and applied using Foam Sprayers.
Invade Hot Spot is a Microbial/Citrus Foam in an easy-to-use 16 oz aerosol. Hot Spot is an aerosol can that contains the same premium microbes and ingredients as InVade Bio Foam. The 360 degree valve allows for foam dispensing in any orientation to easily hit hard-to-reach areas.
If adults do not disappear within a week further treatments and inspection for other breeding sources is needed.
Use Contact Aerosols (Pyrethrins)
After breeding sources have been removed a space spray such a pyrethrins, a non residual insecticide can be applied to kill the adult flies. We also carry metered dispensers that use metered aerosols for commercial establishments.
See all Restaurant Fly Control recommendations.
Use Fly Lights
Another tool you can use is insect light traps, however they attract male moth flies with the greatest efficiency. Their use involved with drain flies is limited as a monitoring tool because they can't eliminate the breeding source.
Biology of Drain Flies
Moth flies (Drain Flies) develop by complete metamorphosis. The entire life cycle ranges from 8 to 24 days.
Moth flies (Drain Flies) lay eggs in a mass of 30 to 100 in a suitable medium. These eggs hatch in less than 48 hours. The eggs form the moth fly( drain fly) are laid in irregular masses in such places as dirty garbage disposal units, water traps in plumbing fixtures, sewage plant filters and almost any where decmposing organic materials are found.
The larvae and pupae of the moth fly live in the thin gelatinous film found in drains, septic tank field lines or filter stones. The larvae feed on sediment, decaying vegetation and microscopic plants and animals. The larval stage lasts from 9 to 15 days before pupating.
The pupal stage lasts from 20 to 40 hours. The newly emerged adult fly is sexually mature on emergence and copulates within the first few hours of its life.
The moth fly (drain fly) is a poor flyer and may be commonly seen ealking or running on walls and other resting surfaces. When they fly in short jerky lines, they fly for only a few feet.
During the day the moth fly (drain fly) adult rests in shaded areas or on walls near plumbing fixtures or on the sides of tubs and showers. Most of the activity of the moth fly (drain fly) occurs during the evening. They may be seen hovering around the sink areas in your home at this time.
*Drain Fly Picture is courtesy of Michigan State Extension | <urn:uuid:3902824b-9513-44ad-874c-546ec9fcc4bb> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://doyourownpestcontrol.com/drainflies.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783402516.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155002-00000-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.929242 | 2,142 | 3.109375 | 3 |
NASA scientists are eagerly waiting for the first test results to come down from a wet chemistry lab on the Phoenix Mars Lander that Tuesday analysed its first bit of Martian soil.
The imminent arrival of the analysis from the wet chemistry lab comes just days after the microscopic imager on the Mars Lander sent back pictures of the trench, dubbed Wonderland, that contained the tested soil.
Leslie Tamppari, Phoenix project scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said soil from the trench will also be analysed by one of the Lander's eight analysis ovens, which will heat the matter so the gases that are emitted from it can be analysed. Scientists already have data back from one oven analysis of soil taken from a different area of the planet.
NASA's Phoenix team is excited about getting three different types of analysis - microscopic images, gas analysis and chemistry analysis - on soil taken from the same area, Wonderland. "What we'd like to do is use the three different pieces of information from one spot to maximise our knowledge," Tamppari told Computerworld. "A large portion of what we'll learn about this area of Mars really depends on these types of experiments. And the first test in is always exciting."
She added that the results should give scientists clues about the origin and history of Mars and specifically of the northern pole of the planet.
Late last week, NASA scientists found what they had been hoping to discover in this Mars mission — signs of elements that could support life.
Dice-size pieces of whitish matter dug up in a trench on the Martian north pole appear to be ice, according to Ray Arvidson, a co-investigator for Mars Lander's robotic arm team and a professor at Washington University in St. Louis. Dug up in a 7-to-8 cm deep trench by the Lander's robotic arm, the material disappeared after being exposed to sunlight, leading scientists to believe it was ice that simply melted.
The chunks were left at the bottom of a trench that NASA engineers have dubbed "Dodo-Goldilocks" on June 15, during the 20th Martian day since landing. Several chunks were gone when the Phoenix Lander examined the trench about four days later.
"If they're ice deposits, they should disappear because water ice is not stable on the surface of Mars at that latitude," said Arvidson. "It disappeared. As soon as the sun hit that material, it disappeared. It's ice. This is why we went, so it's pretty exciting."
Arvidson said the Mars Lander lab will continue testing different areas of the planet's northern pole, looking for ice or salt, which would have been left behind if water had evaporated.
"If we find particular salts in the soil and then we find those same salts in the icy soil, that means they were connected," he explained. "Water was able to wick up from the ice into the soil and evaporate. It's evidence of water in the past. The question is whether or not it was liquid. That would make it potentially habitable."
He added that it's possible Mars was once much warmer than it is now. Because of dramatic changes in the planet's spin access, the planet could have warmed and melted the ice into thin films of water in the soil.
The Mars Lander, on a one-way mission, is expected to gather and analyse samples for three months. Scientists are looking for the elements that could support life.
"Water is one of the main elements of life," said Matthew Robinson, the robotic arm flight software engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in a previous interview. "It goes back to the fundamental question of 'Are we alone out there?' Is there life there even in a microscopic form? Or is there the possibility that there used to be life? If microscopic life exists elsewhere, other life could exist elsewhere." | <urn:uuid:b72e0dce-20a8-4738-9aaf-22fc20c3af54> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.goodgearguide.com.au/article/250673/nasa_waiting_first_chemical_analysis_martian_soil/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783399117.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154959-00067-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962675 | 794 | 3.078125 | 3 |
“In 2014, I will lose weight, volunteer to help others, quit smoking, get a better education and get a better job.” — USA.gov
If you molded your list of new year’s resolutions after the government’s web suggestions, you would certainly be busy in the coming year. Those top five “most popular” goals for 2014 were accompanied by some other grand lifestyle-changing pledges to manage stress, reduce debt and get fit, etc.
The new year’s resolution has become ingrained as a part of our culture, like decorating the Christmas tree or writing cheesy love poems on Valentine’s Day. However, unlike the latter, ringing in the new year with a resolution is not the concept of modern American culture.
The tradition dates back 4,000 years to around 2000 B.C. when Babylonians held festivals in March celebrating the turn of an unsullied new year. It was seen as an annual opportunity to promise their gods to pay off debts or return borrowed items.
The ritual was continued by the Romans with an alteration: Julius Caesar, in his reign, changed the first day of the year to Jan. 1 in honor of Janus, the Roman God of beginnings. The Romans then added a moral spin, with resolutions of better conduct toward others.
But when the Roman Empire adopted Christianity as its official religion, things looked bleak for the January new year’s resolution, due to Janus being a Pagan God. It wasn’t until 1852, when Pope Gregory XIII introduced today’s standard Gregorian calendar, that Jan. 1 was truly cemented as the first day of the year.
Jump ahead a couple hundred years later, and new year’s resolutions seemingly have grown more and more difficult to accomplish (a study by the University of Washington found that in the last decade, 80 percent of Americans give up on their goal after two months). Whereas past resolution traditions focused on performing good deeds or completing obligations, many of today’s resolutions involve expansive vows to create new habits and change lifestyle patterns.
This type of personal transformation is certainly difficult to achieve. Psychologically, it might be easier to accomplish a specific goal rather than adopting a large and vague goal. Then of course, we could always take a chapter out of the Roman’s book and simply resolve to treat people kindly — although you don’t need the new year to do that.
Any subject, any grade: What is your question for a tutor? Email [email protected]. Ask a Tutor runs biweekly.
— Rae Largura is president of Leading Edge Tutors. The opinions expressed are her own. | <urn:uuid:b5bc9902-7b6a-49bd-9a9b-5edaf5b462e2> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://www.noozhawk.com/article/rae_largura_the_tradition_of_new_years_resolution_20131231 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783395039.24/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624154955-00029-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957274 | 552 | 2.59375 | 3 |
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HOUSTON, Texas (KPRC) — A giant African land snail was discovered in the backyard of a Houston, Texas home and now researchers are sending out a warning.
“Unfortunately, humans are picking the snails up,” said Dr. Autumn J. Smith-Herron, the director of the Institute for the Study of Invasive Species at Sam Houston State University. “They carry a parasitic disease that can cause a lot of harm to humans and sometimes even death.”
The parasite is called rat lungworm which is a form of meningitis.
Humans should not come in contact with the snail and need to wash their hands thoroughly if they do.
A woman who lives on Twin Circle Drive in west Houston spotted a big snail in her backyard garden and snapped a picture of it. She notified workers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center who deal with invasive plants. They contacted researchers at Sam Houston State University.
This is the first known possible spotting of a giant snail in Texas and no one knows how it got here.
They reproduce rapidly and can lay 1,200 eggs a year. If confirmed as a Giant African snail, it’s likely there are more. However, the reported snail got away before anyone was able to capture it.
“That’s crazy,” said Jack Fendrick, who lives on Twin Circle Drive and hadn’t heard about the rare finding. “I think most people, kids especially, will see a big snail and want to touch it. With meningitis as one of the side effects, that’s scary.”
Researchers are going to send teams to the Houston area to look for more. In the meantime, if you happen to spot one, call the Institute for the Study of Invasive Species at 936-294-3788. For more information, you can also visit their website.
The Institute for the Study of Invasive Species is working to confirm whether it was a Giant African snail. | <urn:uuid:474e0125-17a8-4488-9704-39d1927fb86e> | CC-MAIN-2016-26 | http://ksn.com/2013/05/07/giant-disease-spreading-snails-invade-houston/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-26/segments/1466783400031.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20160624155000-00065-ip-10-164-35-72.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941128 | 545 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Tony Smith's Home Page
During the Ice Age of 340,000-330,000 years ago,
the Geminga supernova explosion irradiated Earth and the Neanderthals appeared. The low sea levels due to glaciation created land bridges for land migration of the Neanderthals. The next two Ice Ages with low sea levels creating land bridges were about 270,000-230,000 years ago and about 160,000-130,000 years ago, which was the beginning of the African/Oceanic Ice Age Civilization Ice Age Civilization, as Modern Humans displaced the Neanderthals in Africa and Oceanic areas.
In Nature 405 (4 MAY 2000) 65-69, Walter et al report
"... the 'out of Africa' hypothesis contends that modern humans evolved in Africa between 200 and 100 kyr ago, migrating to Eurasia at some later time ... the discovery of early Middle Stone Age artefacts in an emerged reef terrace on the Red Sea coast of Eritrea, which we date to the last interglacial (about 125 kyr ago) ... this is the earliest well-dated evidence for human adaptation to a coastal marine environment,
heralding an expansion in the range and complexity of human behaviour from one end of Africa to the other. This new, widespread adaptive strategy may, in part, signal the onset of modern human behaviour, which supports an African origin for modern humans by 125 kyr ago. ...". (Image is from News and Views article in Nature 405 (4 MAY 2000) 24-27.)
An article by Chris Stringer in Nature 423 (12 June 2003) 692-693 says
"... The idea that modern humans originated in Africa, with populations subsequently spreading outwards from there, has continued to gain support lately. But much of that support has come from analyses of genetic variation in people today1, and from fossil and archaeological discoveries dated to within the past 120,000 years2,3 &emdash; after our species evolved. Hard evidence for the inferred African origin of modern humans has remained somewhat elusive, with relevant material being fragmentary, morphologically ambiguous or uncertainly dated. ...
... the most securely dated and complete early fossils that unequivocally share an anatomical pattern with today's H. sapiens are actually from Israel, rather than Africa. These are the partial skeletons from Skhul and Qafzeh, dating from around 115,000 years ago. Their presence in the Levant is usually explained by a range expansion from ancestral African populations, such as those sampled at Omo Kibish [ Ethiopia ] or Jebel Irhoud [ Morocco ] ... around 125,000 years ago. ..
... So the fossilized partial skulls from ...[ Herto
image from New Scientist (14 June 2003, page 5) ]...
Ethiopia that are described ... by White and colleagues ... on pages 742 and 747 of this issue are probably some of the most significant discoveries of early Homo sapiens so far, owing to their completeness and well-established antiquity of about 160,000 years. ... The fossils are complete enough to show a suite of modern human characters, and are well constrained by argon-isotope dating to about 160,000 years ago. ...
... Because of Africa's great area and still limited fossil record, it is uncertain whether the pattern of H. sapiens evolution there was essentially continent-wide, or was a more localized - and perhaps punctuational - process.
The Herto finds shift the focus once again to East Africa. It seems from these crania and from possibly contemporaneous fossils, such as those at Ngaloba [Tanzania], Singa [Sudan] and Eliye Springs [Kenya], that human populations of this era showed a great deal of anatomical variation. So, did the early modern morphology spread outwards from East Africa ... ? ...".
About 115,000 years ago the Early Wisconsin Glaciation began in North America, and about 70,000 years ago the Early Wurm Glaciation began in Europe. About 35,000 years ago, the Geminga shock wave hit Earth, the Late Wisconsin Glaciation of Earth began, and the Cro-Magnons displaced the Neanderthals in Europe, beginning the European Ice Age Civilization.
Nicholas Wade, in a 7 December 1999 article in The New York Times, says: "Two genetic surveys of human populations bring new evidence to bear on a pivotal event in prehistory, the first dispersal of modern humans from Africa. One study, based on analysis of people in East Africa and India, suggests that the first emigration of modern humans was eastward, toward Asia, and not northward through the eastern Mediterranean. A second, drawing on DNA data from 50 ethnic groups around the world, concludes that the ancestral population from which the first emigrants came may have numbered as few as 2,000 people. Both studies suggest that the most recent common ancestor of the emigrants lived 60,000 to 40,000 years ago.
... Dr. Richard G. Klein of Stanford University and others believe that some major genetically based neurological change, like the development of language, occurred about 50,000 years ago. This transformation, he infers, was the spur that led behaviorally modern humans to innovate their characteristic suite of more advanced stone implements, develop the first forms of art and spread throughout the world. ... Dr. Klein's data suggest that the humans of 100,000 years ago, anatomically modern but not like modern people in their behavior, did not spread out of Africa at that time.[However, According to a Discover article:
"... people all over the world are amazingly similar. Some anthropologists believe that this genetic homogeneity is the result of a "population bottleneck"--that at some time in the past our ancestors went through an event that greatly reduced our numbers and thus our genetic variation. Based on estimates of mutation rates, Penn State geneticist Henry Harpending says the bottleneck happened sometime after ... 100,000 years ago and before a population increase ... around 50,000 years ago. Now archeologist Stan Ambrose of the University of Illinois has linked Harpending's theory with geologic evidence to explain what caused the bottleneck--a giant volcanic eruption. ... Mount Toba in Sumatra blew 800 cubic kilometers of ash into the air--4,000 times as much as Mount St. Helens--the largest volcanic eruption in more than 400 million years. Toba buried most of India under ash and must have darkened skies over a third of the hemisphere for weeks. ... a six-year global volcanic winter ensued, caused by light-reflecting sulfur particles lingering in the atmosphere. Average summer temperatures dropped by 21 degrees at high latitudes, and 75 percent of the Northern Hemisphere's plants may have died. ... A thousand-year ice age began ... caused perhaps by an increasing amount of snow that failed to melt over the summer. This snow cover would have reflected more sunlight off Earth's surface, making the world still colder. The effect on humans, who had been enjoying a relatively warm period, must have been devastating. ... Perhaps only a few thousand people ... survived. ...".]
A new genetic study, by Dr. A. Silvana Santachiara-Benerecetti of the University of Pavia in Italy and colleagues, confirms the view that the first dispersal of modern humans was not until about 50,000 years ago, and that the direction was eastward toward Asia. The study, published in Nature Genetics last week, is based on mitochondrial DNA, the genetic material of the small energy-producing organelles inside every cell. Because mitochondria are inherited with the egg, from the mother alone, their DNA escapes the shuffling that occurs in sexual reproduction, and any changes reflect the occasional random mutation in the DNA.[However, the 50,000 year time may be too long, and the true time may be about 36,525 years, which rounds off to 40,000 years, because it has been shown by Awadalla, Eyre-Walker, and Smith, in Science 286 (24 December 1999) 2524-2525, that "... The assumption that human mitochondrial DNA is inherited from one parent only and therefore does not recombine is questionable. Linkage disequilibrium in human and chimpanzee mitochondrial DNA declines as a function of the distance between sites. This pattern can be attributed to one mechanism only: recombination. ... Many inferences about the pattern and tempo of human evolution and mtDNA evolution have been based on the assumption of clonal inheritance. These inferences will now have to be reconsidered. ...". Therefore I put a 40,000 year date in the map from the New York Times article.]
On the basis of these mutations, biologists can construct a family tree of mitochondrial lineages and, by estimating the mutation rate, figure out the time that has elapsed since the mutation at the root of the tree. Dr. Santachiara-Benerecetti and her colleagues studied a particular pattern of mitochondrial DNA that is well known in India. They found an earlier form of the pattern among people in Ethiopia, suggesting that East Africa was its place of origin. Signs of the pattern also exist among many people in Saudi Arabia, but not among inhabitants of the eastern Mediterranean. This provides the first genetic evidence, the Italian biologists say, that the human migration route out of Africa was from eastern Africa along the coast toward Southeast Asia and Australia.
Another new genetic study, by Dr. Marcus Feldman of Stanford University and others, makes an interesting counterpart to the Italian study because it is based on a different kind of DNA but reaches similar conclusions. Dr. Feldman and his colleagues looked at segments of the Y chromosome, another part of the human genome that escapes the usual shuffling of the reproductive process. Studying Y chromosomes from around the world, they concluded that the most recent common ancestor of all these Y's was carried by a man who lived only 40,000 years or so ago. Even though all Y chromosomes can be traced back to a single individual, this does not mean a single Adam was the species' only male representative. The founding population from which the world's present population is derived consisted of about 2,000 individuals, according to the new data, Dr. Feldman said. One Y chromosome in such a population will eventually dominate in the descendants after all the other Y lineages are brought to a halt, whether because their owners have no children or beget only daughters. The 40,000-year date, which has a large range of uncertainty, is much more recent than others, in part because the earlier estimates were forced to assume, quite unrealistically, that the size of the human population remained constant throughout prehistory. Dr. Feldman assumed an exponentially expanding population, which yields a more recent date of origin. His study is published in the current issue of the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution. ...".
The two new studies represent a convergence of the genetic and archaeological data bearing on modern human origins, said Dr. Luca Cavalli-Sforza, a leading population geneticist at Stanford University, who was not an author of either study. ... These behaviorally modern humans "had three big improvements in culture -- language, boats or rafts, and Aurignacian technology," Dr. Cavalli-Sforza said, referring to the more sophisticated stone implements. ...".
The last Glacial Maximum hit its peak about 21,000 to 18,000 years ago. 11,600 years ago there was the Younger Dryas cold snap, with temperatures 14 degrees C below present-day, after which the Vela X supernova was seen on Earth and the Taurid/Encke comet fragmented, and a very sudden (50 years or so) warming event ended the Ice Age and marked the start of the HOLOCENE AGE of warm climate and glacial retreat.
If 11,600 years ago marked the beginning of the Rule of Mortal Humans on Earth according to Manetho (Egyptian historian ca. 343 BC), then
his immediately preceding period of 11,025 years of Rule by Demigods and Spirits of the Dead (followers of Horus) would have begun about 22,625 years ago, or about the time of the beginning of the last Glacial Maximum, and
his first period, preceding that, of 13,900 years of Rule of Gods on Earth would have begun about 36,525 years ago, or about the time of the Geminga shock wave, the Late Wisconsin Glaciation, and the appearance of Cro-Magnons.
The total period of the Mantho's Ice Age Civilization prior to the Rule of Mortal Humans is therefore about 36,525 - 11,600 = 24,925 years, which is approximately the Earth precession period of 26,000 years and the travel time of a light beam from the center of our Galaxy to our Sun, about 25,000 light years distance. It may have been the time of construction of the Giza Complex of the Sphinx and the Pyramids, including the Great Golden Pyramid. The Ice Age Civilization may have been more spiritual and less crudely technological than the present Rule of Mortal Humans.
This unconventional interpretation of Manetho's chronology is not inconsistent with his list of 30 Egyptian dynasties from about 2920 BC to about 343 BC, but it does extend his chronology from being a history of the past to a History of the Past and Future, in which we are now living near the end of the Rule of Mortal Humans.
Manetho's Rule of Gods, Demigods, and Spirits of the Dead, on Earth before 11,600 years ago, might then be called the Ice Age Civilization.
Before the Ice Age that began about 35,000 years ago, there had been about 95,000 years (95,000 years is approximately one long Milankovitch cycle of variation of eccentricity of the Earth's orbit) of mild climate since the end of the preceding Ice Age about 130,000 years ago. During 130,000-35,000 years ago the Neanderthals were replaced by modern (Cro-Magnon) humans, whose artifacts (especially art) can be found in places (such as caves) all over the world. The wide distribution of high-level cave paintings suggests that human culture world-wide had cultivated intellectual/spiritual dimensions to a high level, although material technology may not have been so highly developed. During 130,000-35,000 years ago the Earth was not continuously warm, as there were cold intervals such as one about 75,000 years ago possibly due to a large volcanic eruption at Toba, Sumatra, and generally the climate got cooler as time progressed. As the climate deteriorated, most of the humans migrated from the newly cold areas to the remaining warmer areas. It is possible that some of the more highly cultivated people did not relocate to the warmer areas, but stayed on in spiritual communities in such areas as the Abyssinian Highlands in Africa, near the Nile River Valley and the East African Rift Valley, and the Altai Mountains in the center of Eurasia, near Lake Baikal, Siberian Rivers, Lake Balkash, the ancient lakes of the Takla Makan and the Gobi, the ancient rivers of India, and the rivers of China.
During the Ice Age from about 35,000 years ago until about 11,600 years ago, sea levels were lower due to the water in the glaciers. At the peak of glaciation, about 18,000 years ago, sea level was about 85 meters lower than it is now (which is about 50 meters lower than it was when the Ice Age ended about 11,600 years ago). At 18,000 years ago, the Earth looked like this map from Earth and Life Through Time, by Steven Stanley, (Freeman (2nd ed) 1989):
Glaciers of about 20,000 years ago
are shown in dark blue, blue, and light blue in this map from The Times Atlas of World History (Times Books (4th ed) 1993). Red shows the extended land area due to low sea levels about 20,000 years ago, and green and yellow show areas favorable for human habitation in wet and dry periods, respectively. The two turqouise squares show the locations ofthe Sphinx-Giza complex at the mouth of the Nile River, at the intersection of the favorable Asian and African areas, and Gora Belukha in Central Asia, which may be known in China as Kunlun Shan, home of Xi Wang Mu, the Queen of the West, and in India as Su Meru, home of Indra. In Eurasia, during the dry period of the Ice Age, most people probably migrated to the large land mass of Japan-Korea-China-Southeast Asia-Indonesia-South India, with some highly cultivated spiritual people staying in the glacier-covered Altai Mountains. Gora Belukha, 14,783 feet, the highest Altai Mountain, is in Siberia near Mongolia, China, and Kazakhstan.
It is near the beginning point of the 9 March 1997 solar eclipse.
The Altai region is known as a cross-roads between China, India, the Mediterranean, and Europe. It could have been a common source for spiritual systems and languages. An Altai common source could account for similarities among such spiritual systems as Chinese Taoism, Indian Vedism, Tibetan Bon, and European Druids, as well as the similarities among the Ainu language of Japan, Sarasvati-Sindhu language of India, and Basque language and Ogam script of Europe that indicate the existence of a Global Early Language. As the Ice Age ended, the glaciers thawed, flooding such areas as the Takla Makan and the East Asia Lowlands, so many people were forced to migrate to India, IndoChina, or China. Flooding of the Persian Gulf and the margins of the Black and Mediterranean Seas would have been less extensive than the flooding of the East Asia Lowlands, but would have also forced some people to migrate to Persia, Turkey, and Greece. In Africa, during the Ice Age most people probably lived South of the Mediterranean, in the favorable Central African region that included the Abyssinian Highlands. The Ge'ez language of Abyssinia seems to be closely related to a Global Early Language. As the Ice Age ended, the Northern Nile River Valley became wet and productive, so people migrated there. The African situation would have been more Northward expansion into newly productive land, whereas the Asian situation would have involved more resettlement to the Interior of people displaced by floods.
In the Americas, during the dry period of the Ice Age, most people probably migrated to the Olmec region of Central America and the Northern Andes. The Olmec language seems to be closely related to a Global Early Language. As the Ice Age ended, Central Mexico, the Yucatan, and the Southern Andes became more habitable, so people probably moved there.
An interesting question is the extent of contact during the Ice Age among three major spiritual centers: 1 - The Altai Mountains, which probably did not ever have a large population due to climate and terrain. 2 - The Americas, which due to smaller favorable area probably did not have large population. 3 - The Abyssinian Highlands, which was probably the only one of the three to have a large population and favorable climate.
Possible evidence of Ice Age Civilization in the period of 35,000 to 12,000 years ago include large stone structures under the sea near Japan, known as the Japanese Pyramids and called Hiramitsuto, as to which Shun Daichi says "There are six places they found structures in the Okinawa area. One is located in Taiwan. All of them are under the sea. All the geologists agree that the underwater structures are at least 12,000 years old." and a possible dressed masonry structure site, now under the sea, off the Bimini coast near Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico - Caribbean Sea region. However, it is possible that both of those sites are natural geological phenomena, perhaps similar to basalt prisms or naturally fractured coral. Clear evidence of Ice Age Civilization in the period of 35,000 to 12,000 years ago is found in Fukui Cave of Northern Kyushu Island, the southwesternmost island of Japan, in the form of Jomon pottery containers, which (according to Joseph B. Lambert's book Traces of the Past (Addison-Wesley 1997)) have been dated as slightly later than 12,750 +/- 500 years old, and therefore consistent with coinciding with the end of the Ice Age about 11,600 years ago, so that the Jomon pottery could have been taken to Fukui Cave of Kyushu by Jomon people of the Ice Age Civilization when they fled the flooding of the surrounding lowlands after the Ice Age ended around 11,600 years ago.
The Jomon people, according to Jared Diamond's article Japanese Roots (Discover Magazine June 1998, pp. 86-94), survive as the Ainu of Hokkaido and northern Honshu, the northeasternmost Japanese islands. They were displaced by Yayoi invaders from Korea around 400 BC.
Jomon pottery containers are the oldest known, and the only ones known to exist before the end of the Ice Age about 11,600 years ago. In the rest of Europe, Asia, and Africa, the oldest are Turkish, about 10,500 years old. In the Americas, the oldest from Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico, and the Southeastern United States, and are only about 4,500 years old, according to Joseph B. Lambert's book Traces of the Past (Addison-Wesley 1997).
Water-tight Jomon containers made it possible for people to boil and steam food. As Jared Diamond notes in his article Japanese Roots (Discover Magazine June 1998, pp. 86-94), the Jomon Ice Age Civilization could expand their diet to include boiled or steamed leafy vegetables and shellfish. Boiling could detoxify such toxic foods as acorns, and soft-boiled foods could be eaten by infants and toothless old people. They could live well in and near their own villages by hunting and gathering, with no need for agriculture or warfare. They got along quite well without metal tools, writing, weaving, and social/political class structure.
The Ice Age Civilization could have occupied the large land mass of the Sunda Shelf
(Times Atlas of Archaelogy, Crescent 1995)
of Japan-Korea-China-Southeast Asia-Indonesia-South India, much of which is now under water.
Although the pottery was too bulky for everyday travel, it could have been carried to Fukui Cave in the high ground of Northern Kyushu Island, now the southwesternmost island of Japan, by Jomon people when they fled the flooding of the surrounding lowlands after the Ice Age ended around 11,600 years ago.
Since the water that covers much of the area of the Ice Age Civilization is not clear water like Bimini, but is in seas heavily silted by rivers like the Yellow and Yangtze in the northern Sunda Shelf between China and Korea, and the Mekong in the southern Sunda Shelf, and since a lot of the remaining area has a lot of tropical jungle, not to mention being subject to active volcanism and earthquake activity, and since the American and Congo regions are now tropical jungles, artifacts in the 35,000 to 12,000 year age range, such as Jomon pottery in the northern Sunda Shelf, may now be very hard to find.
The art of the Ice Age period indicates that the Ice Age Civilization may have been more advanced, especially in social structure and relations with higher intellectual/spiritual levels, than any later civilization including our present one.
For instance, our present civilization is just now beginning to understand the levels of reality related to Many-Worlds quantum theory; to discover how quantum computers work; and to utilize other promising New Technologies.
As it is possible that the Ice Age Civilization was more advanced socially and intellectually/spiritually than ours, it is also possible that the Ice Age Civilization could have been the builders of the Sphinx-Giza complex, particularly in light of the facts that:
the only area that clearly had favorable climates in both the Ice Age of 35,000 to 12,000 years ago (see map above on this page) and in the period of 11,000 or 12,000 to 6,000 years ago (see map on that page) is the homeland of the African Abyssinian Highlanders;
the Asian part of the Ice Age Civilization, evidenced by Jomon pottery, was so disrupted by flooding at the end of the Ice Age about 11,600 years ago, that only the Jomon people of the Japanese Islands (whose remnants today are the Ainu) could continue their Ice Age Civilization without severe conflict with others fighting over limited resources (on the Asian mainland, the repository of Ice Age Civilization was probably individual Taoists living in remote forests and mountains); and
the Sphinx-Giza complex is located at the intersection of the Asian and African areas of the Ice Age Civilization.
In my opinion, about 11,000 to 6,000 years ago was the latest reasonable time for construction of the Giza Sphinx and Pyramids. After about 6,000 years ago, the level of technology of the Great Pyramid at Giza could not be maintained by the economic and social structure of the indigenous population.
From about 11,000 to 6,000 years ago the Abyssinian Highlanders of the African Nile Lake were the most highly organized remnant of the Ice Age Civilization. They were the probable source of ways to cope with the changed circumstances of the post-Ice Age world, including agriculture, mining,written communication, and organized armies, thus forming a Global Early Civilization with a Global Early Language.
Diodorus of Sicily, author of Bibliotheca Historica, lived in the time of Julius Caesar and Augustus (Encyclopaedia Britannica). Richard Poe, in Black Spark, White Fire (Prima 1997), quotes Diodorus as saying:
"Now the Ethiopians ... were the first of all men. ... ... the Egyptians are colonists sent out by the Ethiopians, Osiris having been the leader of the colony ... ... Osiris ... gathered together a great army, with the intention of visiting all the inhabited earth and teaching the race of men how to cultivate ... ... for he supposed that if he made men give up their savagery and adopt a gentle manner of life he would receive immortal honors. ..." Diodorus said that Osiris then went from Egypt and Ethiopia to Arabia, Greece, and India.
Poe also cites linguists who think that AfroAsiatic Languages originated in the Abyssinian Highlands, and radiated out therefrom about 12,000 to 10,000 years ago, which is consistent with the Abyssinian Highlanders being the repository of a Global Early Language which they reintroduced to the post-Ice Age world.
The Giza Sphinx and Pyramids may have been built by the Ice Age Civilization.
When the Ice Age ended about 11,600 years ago, the Jomon people may have moved from the flooded Sunda Shelf lowlands to high ground, such as Fukui Cave of Kyushu, Japan, where Jomon pottery of that age has been found. On what then became the Islands of Japan, the Jomon established a culture that lasted for 10,000 years, and may have been a continuation of the Ice Age Civilization. According to Jared Diamond's article Japanese Roots (Discover Magazine June 1998, pp. 86-94), the present-day remnants of the Jomon are the Ainu of Japan. Characteristics of the Jomon Ice Age Civilization include:
What the Jomon Ice Age Civilization did NOT have is equally revealing:
From the end of the Ice Age about 11,600 years ago until about 6,000 years ago, the Nile River Valley was a good place to live where the people of the Ice Age Civilization could continue their high culture without much disruption, in marked contrast to the situation in China where the end of the Ice Age brought great turbulence
At the end of the Ice Age about 11,600 years ago, many people of the Ice Age Civilization were displaced from the flooded Sunda Shelf and came into China, where they began to compete for food and resources. A few of those people refused to abandon their high culture that was balanced with nature. They isolated themselves from the fierce competition for resources by living in the forests and mountains, and became the Taoists that we know today. Throughout the years, according to Jared Diamond (Guns, Germs, and Steel, W. W. Norton 1997), the Taoists revealed to the general population such techniques as canal lock gates, cast iron, deep drilling, animal harnesses, gunpowder, kites, magnetic compasses, movable type, paper, porcelain, printing, sternpost rudders, wheelbarrows, and more. In China, unlike the Nile River Valley, the transition at the end of the Ice Age was turbulent.
The end of the Ice Age may have also been turbulent in many other areas of the world, such as Vedic Indus-Ganges, Sumer, and Mesoamerica, where the main heritage of the Ice Age Civilization may be legends of Gods and Early Men.
This page on human civilizations from about 35,000 to about 12,000 years ago is based in part on the WWW materials of Mark Hammons. Although his views about the history of the past 35,000 years or so are different from mine in many details, we agree that the Great Golden Pyramid looks like a device, not just a tomb.
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The Cogitoid: Towards a Computational Model of the Mind
by Jirí Wiedermann and Martin Beran
The cogitoid is an algorithmic model of the cognitive processes occurring in the mind of living organisms. A cogitoid presents a multimodal interactive learning algorithm that learns from experience. Thanks to its formal definition, the cogitoid allows formal reasoning about its ability to perform fundamental cognitive tasks. At the conceptual level, the cogitoid also offers a plausible framework for explaining higher mental functions.
In the mid-nineties, a project in computational mind modelling was set up in the Institute of Computer Science at the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. The aim of this project has been to develop a basis for an algorithmic theory of the mind by designing a formal model of the mind, deriving results about its cognitive abilities, investigating its explanatory potential regarding higher mental processes and, last but not least, experimentally verifying its viability in solving concrete cognitive tasks.
Computationally, a cogitoid is viewed as a finite transducer that transforms a potentially infinite sequence of its sensory inputs into a similar sequence of actions. A cogitoid is realised as a network of concepts with associations among them. In the interaction of a cogitoid with the environment, both new concepts and associations are formed, strengthened or weakened. Emotions are also built into the model with the help of special predefined concepts, the activation of which modulates the sequence of activation of other concepts. A cogitoid works by iterating the cycle sense-compute-act.
For such a model, theorems showing the ability to learn a sequence of stimuli (simple conditioning), learning by similarity, Pavlovian conditioning, and operant conditioning (learning by punishment and reward) have been proven. Proving theorems about more complex behaviour is complicated by the fact that in a cogitoid, many of the interactions that emerge among concepts and associations are difficult to capture formally. Therefore, the higher cognitive functions are not described by theorems, but rather by claims with supporting reasoning and verifying experiments. For cogitoids with sufficiently many concepts and rich interaction with a feedback from the environment, one can expect automatic formation of concept clusters in which concepts related to certain activities, contexts, or subjects are assembled. The clusters represent a basis for the mechanism of understanding and intention formation. By navigating among the respective clusters along the frequently strengthened associations, a behaviour based on the experience unfolds itself. In this way a number of high-level mental phenomena, such as imitative learning, self-control, the formation of the concept of self, language acquisition and generation, thinking, and a rudimentary form of consciousness, can be explained.
A scheme of a cogitoid.
Recently there were several computational experiments performed with simple cogitoids. In the simplest case, a so-called 'computational bacterium' driven by a cogitoid has been designed, which was able to learn to move in one dimension towards a higher concentration of nutrients. A scheme of the respective cogitoid that eventually developed after interaction with a changing environment is depicted in the accompanying picture. This experiment has shown a need for two additional conditions to be defined for a cogitoid to operate successfully. The first condition deals with the question of a proper setting of positive and negative effects ('emotions') in order to strengthen desired and suppress unwanted behaviour. The second condition is concerned with the problem of the initial activity of a cogitoid that has not yet learned any behavioural patterns. In such cases, it appeared useful to equip the cogitoid with a body, which is driven by a very simple heuristic algorithm simulating 'reflexes'. The cogitoid then 'observes' the activities of its own body and after some time it takes over the control of its body. This has been verified in a more complex experiment where an originally blind agent was able to learn to use its additionally provided vision ability for avoiding collisions. A Masters thesis aiming at programming a cogitoid on a cluster of PCs has also been initiated. All these experiments have been performed at the Department of Computer Science in the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at Charles University, Prague.
Currently, experiments that are more complex are still under development. These will help in further understanding the abilities and limitations of cogitoids in realising non-trivial cognitive tasks. They will also help in finding better ways of designing a cogitoid as well as 'flaws' in its definition. The genetic algorithms for automatic cogitoid evolution and tuning are also under consideration. Finally, yet no less crucially, the plausible explanation of further details of the algorithmic mechanism behind the higher brain functions remains a focus of the current research. The research reported has been partially supported by GA CR grant No. 201/02/1456.
See the related technical reports at
http://www.cs.cas.cz/ and http://www.ms.mff.cuni.cz/~beran
Jirí Wiedermann, Institute of Computer Science, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic/CRCIM
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Virtues: We love ‘Karl Foerster’ feather reed grass for its feathery spires that appear in the summer and remain upright all through winter. It provides an excellent vertical accent for borders and narrow spaces.
Common name: ‘Karl Foerster’ feather reed grass
Botanical name: Calamagrostis xacutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’
Flowers: Dramatic red-bronze flower spikes appear in early summer to midsummer and growup to 5 feet tall. The seeds are sterile, so there is no self-seeding.
Foliage: Tall and narrow; grows to 36 to 48 inches tall.
Origin: Hybrid of Calamagrostis epigejos and Calamagrostis arundinacea.
Cultivation: Full sun. Can be grown in almost any soil, including clay. Tolerates dry and salty conditions. USDA Zones 5–9.
Image Credit: Public Domain
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Supreme Court Agrees to Decide Whether or Not Your Genes Can Be Patented
In July, TeenJury last reported on Molecular Pathology v Myriad Genetics. This summer, a U.S Court of Appeals upheld Myriad’s right to patent two human genes that are linked to breast and ovarian cancer. The two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, can be used to detect if women are at increased risk, and they can also help determine which treatment options are likely to be most successful. Many doctors and medical associations feel that Myriad restricts access to needed medical care and that they should not be able to patent normal parts of nature. Josephine Johnston, at the Hastings Center, an independent research institute, said, “one could argue that genes are owned by everybody.” It is estimated that about 4,000 of the 22,000 human genes have been patented. Peter Meldrum, Myriad’s CEO, commented that the innovations that they have discovered have taken significant resources and money, and without the ability to patent their work, future research may be hampered. Perhaps the most remarkable brief in this case comes Nobel Prize winner Dr. James Watson, who, in 1953, along with Francis Crick, discovered the structure of DNA. He argues against Myriad by stating that, “Life’s instructions ought not be controlled by legal monopolies created at the whim of Congress or the courts.” The Supreme Court is expected to rule by the end of June.
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For seven thousand years concrete has periodically shaped the path of human progress. Reese Palley’s fascinating history of this ubiquitous and versatile material chronicles the repeated and often centuries-long losses of the technology and its many reemergences and the cultural, scientific, and engineering accomplishments it has enabled.
Palley takes us from concrete’s earliest beginnings, including the startling proof that at least one of the pyramids was partially poured, through the building of the Eddystone Light, to the dramatic building explosion in the use of concrete during the twentieth century and the start of the twenty-first century. He discusses the environmental impact of the production of concrete and attempts to find substitutes for the burning of lime. He ends by contemplating outer space, where almost all of the elements needed to build extraterrestrial communities already exist in the chemical makeup of the moon and Mars.
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Rent Concrete 1st edition today, or search our site for other textbooks by Reese Palley. Every textbook comes with a 21-day "Any Reason" guarantee. Published by Quantuck Lane Press.
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NATION-STATES IN HISTORY
JOHN A. HALL
THE STATE--let alone the nation-state--was not at the center of attention of Western social scientists for the quarter century that followed the end of the Second World War. The defeated fascist powers seemed so close to nationalism and to statism that these forces received a bad name. The fact that victorious Western powers championed a postwar order organized around liberal ideas thereby set the intellectual agenda. From the 1970s, however, the state was "brought back in." One reason for this was that American scholars felt, for the first time, the impact of their own state--through conscription, the civil rights movement, the expanding welfare state, and government management of the economy. The return of Weberian concerns also owed a good deal to structuralist marxism: it is easy to give names of academics who moved from saying that the state was "relatively autonomous" to arguing that it was in fact wholly autonomous. The impact of scholars of this generation is still being felt, in the ongoing works of Theda Skocpol, Michael Mann, and Peter Evans. But just when it seemed that an intellectual battle had been won, putatively new circumstances arose that encouraged a reversion to societal, economistic modes of analysis--held to be superior to state-centered views. The collapse of state socialism, the Maastricht Treaty, and the freeing of financial markets suggested to many that the powers of the nation-state were under attack within a new world. The most sophisticated statements made much of a dual assault on the nation-state, from above in the form of global economic forces and from below in the form of various national or ethnic revivals.
Skepticism toward this view is now surfacing. Many hold the European Union to depend, as it always has, on the Franco-German condominium, that is, on the calculations of two major states. Equally, the power of the United States, in both economic and geopolitical terms, may well be best understood in wholly traditional terms. The terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 put an end to to the talk of dismantling the state. Further, behind the post-Cold War spread of markets is a structure of rules and institutions that is sponsored and maintained--for better or worse--by American state power. At a more general level, there seems no reason to believe that the appeal of the nation-state has in any way diminished for those yet to experience its protection and comforts. If these are descriptive points, prescriptive considerations also come to mind. The ending of state socialism did indeed destroy a lousy--large but inefficient--form of the state, but Eastern and Central Europeans rapidly came to realize that statelessness was quite as awful a condition. What mattered was the construction of the right sort of states, that is, states that provided basic services while giving up command-administrative methods more generally. This consideration seemed to apply all the more strongly to Africa. How complacent of those in the West to imagine that "the state" was no longer needed! Perhaps a diminution of state power was possible for us, but state and nation building surely remained the key concern of the vast majority of humankind.
This volume was occasioned by these skeptical considerations--which the majority of chapters end up by endorsing. It should be stressed immediately, and very firmly, that this is not to say the contributors to this volume somehow think that the world "has not changed." Very much to the contrary, the volume as a whole charts varied responses in different issue areas and in different continents to changes in the social portfolio of late modernity. Insofar as a general view is present, it is best expressed by recalling the aristocrat in The Leopard, who proclaimed that it was necessary to do a great deal for everything to remain the same. The powers of the nation-state have varied, but this very variation has allowed them to survive. But that is a provisional view, and much remains to be said.
This introduction immediately highlights the theme of variation by charting and explaining changes in moods and in levels of intensity of feeling of the nation-state in the advanced world since about 1870. Attention to change is central to the analysis. It is quite as present when turning to the demise of state socialism, and to the situation of the nation-state in the South. Once this historical background has been sketched in, attention turns to underscoring the contributions made by the authors of this volume.
THE POLITICS OF MODERNITY
It may be as well to begin with, and to keep in mind, the most powerful and interesting claim made about the politics of modernity. Ernest Gellner insisted that the modern social contract comprised only two elements: a society would and should be seen as legitimate if it was industrialized and ruled by those co-cultural with the population as a whole.1 It might seem that this amounts to a single force, for Gellner's claim was that nationalism derived from industrialism. In fact, Gellner draws a very useful distinction. In general, class conflict within ethnically homogeneous societies was held not to be likely to disrupt social formations. In contrast, conjoining social inequality with an "entropy-resistant" status category of one sort or another was and would likely remain genuine social dynamite. Gellner in fact had rather different emphases in his work on nationalism, but this claim--that ethnic stratification in combination with social mobilization had the power to change social relations--is one that has great force. Beyond this, it should be noted that Gellner's general view has a good deal to say about our possible politics. It cannot be highlighted enough that democracy and/or liberalism are not present as a third element of the modern social contract--even though Gellner's own substantive sociology after this initial statement focused more on the chances of extending liberty than on any other single issue. In this area Gellner liked to cite two chapters from John Stuart Mill's Considerations on Representative Government, first published in 1861, perhaps to underline the fact that his own troubling conclusions had an impeccable liberal pedigree. On the one hand, Mill had famously noted that representative government was not possible until the nationalities question had been solved.2 Differently put, the conflict so dear to liberalism's heart had to be muted and seminar-addicted; that is, it had to take place within the background of consensual national homogeneity. On the other hand, Mill also insisted that the centralization of power for developmental purposes was wholly justified. It was very unlikely that "traditional" social actors would choose the benefits of sobriety and political economy: social engineering was needed in order to establish a new world. "The early difficulties in the way of spontaneous progress are so great," Mill noted, that "a ruler full of the spirit of improvement is warranted in the use of any expedients."3 Liberal societies had been lucky, in Gellner's view, because their development took place so early; all that could be hoped for elsewhere was the possibility of liberalizing once industrialization had taken place.
Gellner himself had deeply divided feelings about all this--not surprisingly, for he was at once attuned to the inevitability and the attractions of nationalism while being equally a determined proponent of universal liberal rationalism. Of course, he could not help but see things this way. He had been born in the genuinely multicultural world of German-Czech-Jewish interwar Prague, and he lived to see most of the Jews killed, the Germans expelled, and the secession of the rich majority from the Slovaks. He certainly hated the boredom of cleansed Prague in the 1990s, even though it fitted his model of nationalism as homogeneity, and he sought at a prescriptive level to find new ways in which several nations could live inside a single political shell. If this meant that Gellner was at one with his critics at the normative level, a considerable difference remained at the descriptive, sociological level. In stark, ideal-typical form, the counterargument to Gellner's socioeconomic general sociology insists that the character of social movements results overwhelmingly from the nature of the state with which they interact. There is a great deal of evidence to support this political sociology as it applies to working-class behavior.4 Liberal states that allowed workers to struggle at the industrial level avoided creating politically conscious movements; in contrast, authoritarian and autocratic regimes so excluded workers as to give them no option but to take on the state. This general notion--that the barricades are so terrifying that reform is habitually more attractive than revolution--has large applications. The case against Gellner is that secession results more from the authoritarianism of empires than from the nature of nationalism. Liberalism before nationalism may allow for containment--that is, respect for historical liberties might allow multinational frames to exist. Voice might create loyalty and so rule out the attraction of exit.5 Differently put, multinational entities rather than homogeneous nation-states may after all be possible. We have no wish to rule on this theoretical issue now, and we do not anyway believe--as will be seen in the emphasis to be given to international power politics--that it provides a sufficient explanatory frame. Nonetheless, it is worth noting immediately that none of the great multinational old regimes extant at the end of the nineteenth century was able to transform itself successfully. No traditional empire was able to move in a more liberal direction--which would in effect have meant becoming a constitutional monarchy. The subject that concerns us is accordingly that of rupture rather than continuity.
None of this is to suggest that we should uncritically romanticize democracy. Tocqueville long ago pointed out that majorities could in theory be tyrannical. Whether he was correct or not about the United States, there can be no doubt that numerous instances exist--for instance, of Protestant hegemony in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 1969--in which democracy has been exercised freely and fairly, and at the expense of minorities. It is quite as relevant to note that the voice of the people in Ireland made it very difficult to establish constitutional accords capable of containing nationalism. In contrast, the absence of democracy in the Austrian Monarchy actually helped in moving toward a partial solution of the nationalities problem. The creation of Austro-Hungary in 1867 held the empire together by giving rights to the Magyars, a move that was possible only because an authoritarian ruler was prepared to abandon the minorities in the Hungarian half of the empire. It was much harder to devise a system of home rule for Ireland given Britain's parliamentary regime. If a move to home rule was made necessary by the wrecking tactics of Irish members of Parliament, political advantage could nonetheless be found by "playing the Orange Card." The powerful Protestant minority could not be ignored--indeed its salience brought Britain to the verge of civil war by 1914.6 More generally, democratic participation is not always good in and of itself, despite the recent vogue for civil society and civic virtue. A contrast that makes the point is that between the very different postindependence fates of Malaya and Sri Lanka.7 Social passivity in the former case was very much a part of the surprising creation and maintenance of a consociational regime that allowed Chinese and Malay to live together. Democratic participation in Sri Lanka was directed against Tamils, which is not altogether surprising given the size of state employment and of their share within it. As Tamils were geographically concentrated, exclusionary politics were possible--which then, of course, led to the countermovement violence that still continues. Equally relevant is the vibrant world of civil association in Weimar Germany. This autonomous and active group life led of course to violence in the streets. Individuals were caged within groups wholly bereft of any overarching sense of shared identity.8
This suggests an equally important corollary. Bluntly, democracy matters less than liberalism. Soft political rule tends to diminish social conflict for the reasons already given. Ralf Dahrendorf made essentially this point when arguing that the superimposition of different issues--of, say, a religious divide on top of a left-right division--increased the intensity of conflict.9 Differently put, liberal regimes may achieve very great stability by diffusing various conflicts through society rather than concentrating them at the political center. Pure democratic participation will destabilize unless it is channeled through social institutions that tend to contain, manage, and regulate conflict. In this connection, a comment of Raymond Aron's offering an explanation of the disaster of Europe and modernity irresistibly comes to mind.10 Aron blamed the debacle of the heartland of modernity on the stupidity of the old regime--whose duty he held to have been that of escorting the people into calm responsibility by the devolution of power. There is a type of truth to this: had such liberal devolution taken place, then democratic passions probably would have been civilized. But the point is in fact normative rather than descriptive and to that extent hides the truth from us. For imperial rule was--felt itself to be--fragile, based as it was on distrust of the people. Sterile, low-intensity rule was long preferred to the dangers of social mobilization. In this spirit, divide-and-rule politics were often practiced since the creation of rivalries allowed the state to gain autonomy by balancing on top of generalized hatreds. The legacy of this strategy was, as Tocqueville stressed, disastrous: a political opening was more likely to see the expression of resentments than cooperation in a common cause.11
These warning notes about the nature of democracy can be neatly summarized by noting Jack Snyder's recent work on nationalist violence and democratization.12 The Balkan wars of the last years have demonstrated that democratization does not necessarily bring peace and prosperity, sweetness and light. However, the collapse of communism did not lead to violence in every instance, suggesting that attention be given to two variables. First, political leaders who imagine that a new world can only bring their downfall may well be tempted to play the nationalist card in order to stay in power: Slobodan Milosevic is such a figure--where, say, Vaclav Klaus clearly was not. Second, democracy may well lead to violence if it lacks the institutional framework that allows it to control its passions, that force it to reflect. Snyder stresses in this context that democratization clearly led to violence when news comes from a single authority. And all this is to say that in our own time a multinational state, even with the benefits of the purported lessons of the past, utterly failed to successfully transform itself.
LEARNING THAT LESS IS MORE
In the middle of the nineteenth century, Europe was at the pinnacle of its power, confident that it represented progress. The European balance of power depended on the interactions of Austro-Hungary, Wilhelmine Germany, Imperial Russia, Great Britain, and France. The fate of the Ottomans was very much part of the mental world of these great powers; the position of the United States came slowly to assume great significance, especially for Great Britain. If all this suggested ebbs and flows of power and influence, no indication was available as to what actually occurred. In fact, Europe in the twentieth century became the scene for a new, great Peloponnesian War--a conflict so visceral that it knocked Europe off the perch that it held briefly as the leader of the world. Mark Mazower's striking general account of Europe's twentieth century is entitled Dark Continent.13 This must be the guiding sentiment when seeking to understand states within their historical context. What were the essential contours of this conflict?
The rivalry between these states was such that the most immediate structural element at work was that of the need to industrialize. An obvious consequence that troubled ruling elites was the emergence of working classes. In fact, a whole series of sectoral divisions among workers meant that no unitary class existed inside a particular state, let alone between them--at least when workers were left to themselves.14 This was most clearly seen in the United States, where splits between respectable business unionism of the crafts contrasted with the radicalism of the International Workers of the World. Extreme repression of radicals combined with liberal treatment of the rest famously created a world in which workers began to consider themselves as middle class. Something of the same pattern had destroyed the Chartists in England, but the presence of some, albeit very limited, state interference ensured that class loyalty was created--that is, socialism was avoided but a labor party was created. In contrast, regime exclusion did create socialist class unity. Antisocialist laws in Wilhelmine Germany created a movement with political and industrial wings, formally wedded to revolutionary ideas but in fact made reformist by the speedy abolition of the laws in question. The radicalism of German workers seemed wholly ridiculous and unnecessary to Max Weber, who argued that they would become a loyal part of the nation if accorded more substantial citizenship rights. The most interesting case was that of Imperial Russia.15 Autocracy differed from authoritarianism in being at times even more suspicious of capitalism. The desire to be in control led to oscillating policies toward capitalism, which in itself helped radicalize the workers of Moscow and St. Petersburg. The fundamental factor at work, however, was regime policy. Militancy varied precisely in relation to state actions: reformists came to the fore as the result of the political opening of 1905, while revolutionaries triumphed inside the movement once concessions were abandoned. The end result of these policies was the creation of the only genuinely revolutionary working class in human history.
To consider industrialization only in terms of its impact on class would be a mistake. Every state sought an exactly similar set of industries in order to maintain its geopolitical independence, and this in turn led to economic tensions--as, for example, when the various steel industries sought to "dump" their excess product. The importance and character of imitative industrialization is captured in Gautam Sen's The Military Origins of Industrialization and International Trade Rivalry--not least as the author is unaware that he is speaking the language of Friedrich List rather than, as he imagines, Karl Marx.16 Mentioning Germany as perhaps the first industrial late developer brings to attention three of the factors that do most to explain the nature of Europe's twentieth-century disaster.17 Each factor can be seen as an extension of ideas suggested by Max Weber, namely, his views on nationalism, his role as a Fleet professor, and his views of the empire's conduct of its foreign affairs. And it should be said clearly that these factors were at work in all the countries involved. The "catch-up" economic and political policies of the end of the nineteenth century should not be seen completely as imitation of Great Britain. In the minds of contemporaries was the notion, best expressed by Tocqueville and List, that two great powers--Russia and the United States--would dominate the future. Differently put, British theorists and politicians felt that their lead might well be transient. To that end, policies seeking a Greater Britain by means of tighter links with the white dominions had enormous appeal.
Developmental states characteristically felt weak when they ruled over a mass of different ethnic and national groupings. For one thing, Britain seemed to gain strength from its homogeneity, although this perception faded once home rule politics made it clear that Britain was in its way as composite a state as were other empires. Still, it is worth remembering that Max Weber's nickname in his closest circle was "Polish Max" on account of his obsessive belief that Polish workers on the East Elbian estates would weaken the German nation. For another, fiscal extraction was difficult when obeisance had to be paid to the historical liberties of particular regions--most notably, those of Hungary, used to such effect by the Magyars as to debilitate the monarchy's military arm. But the determination to copy the ethnic homogeneity of leading European powers had a further element to it, namely, that of seeking to strengthen the legitimacy of the state by playing the national card against socialism. Accordingly, nationalism comes to the fore at the end of the nineteenth century as much from above as from below. A distinction must be drawn, however, between integrating workers and immigrants, on the one hand, and nations, on the other. The former task proved relatively easy, although its full achievement in the United States was in fact much helped by participation in war. The integration of nations could be much harder. At best, peasants might be assimilated before much national awakening had taken place, as nearly happened to the Slovaks under Magyar rule. At worst, empires might contain distinct, culturally differentiated "historic nations"--notably those of Hungary and Poland. Little could be done to assimilate such peoples. The trickiest problem was posed by the newer, more invented nations, able to consolidate themselves thanks to their ability to control their own schooling system. Liberal treatment might produce a situation in which such nations, possessed of their historic rights, would consent to live under a larger political roof; illiberal treatment was likely to encourage secession.
Perhaps curiously, nationalism had not been enormously successful in the years before 1914. Geopolitical interference stood behind the cleansing of perhaps five million Muslims from the new Balkan nation-states.18 This suggested of course that the stakes of any general conflict, should it occur, might well be very great indeed.19 But as long as the balance of power remained in operation, nationalism had great difficulty in breaking the mold of state borders. A clear contrast can be drawn between the logic of the situations facing different empires.20 Austro-Hungary quite simply had no chance to become a modern nation-state: the dominant ethnicity was simply too small to serve as a Staatsvolk. What evolved in consequence was a situation, in Count Taaffe's words, of "bearable dissatisfaction."21 If the Magyars were content, the Slavic nations within the Austrian half were not terribly treated, for all that they hoped that the monarchy would move toward greater constitutionalism. Demands were contained, however, by a clear awareness of geopolitical realities. As early as 1848 the Slavs had realized that to become small but unprotected nations was to risk annihilation should Germany or Russia be drawn into a power vacuum. The situation in Russia was much more complex. If the inclusion of the Poles, convinced that they were more advanced than their masters, proved, then and later, to be disastrous, there was realistic hope that assimilation might occur throughout much of Central Asia. Almost everything depended upon the Ukraine. Russians alone were a minority in the empire, but if they combined their numbers with "the little Russians," then a majority of sufficient size would be created to allow the formation of a nation-state. As it happens, tsarist policy toward the Ukraine--a complete ban on the teaching of Ukrainian--was probably mistaken.22 For one thing, Ukrainian could not be wiped out given the position that it had established in Austrian Galicia. For another, the Ukrainians regarded both Poles and Germans as far worse enemies than Russians, and they would almost certainly have been state loyal even had rights of national autonomy been granted. Finally it is worth noting that Great Britain was not free from the pressures that faced Austro-Hungary and the Russian empire. There were in fact two British empires: the potentially Greater Britain of the white races and the "backward peoples" who were merely a burden.23 Interestingly, Ireland was treated as a member of the latter camp--with predictable results in the Curragh mutiny of 1914 and the Easter Rising of 1916.
The second factor to be considered is best introduced by saying that nationalism is an essentially labile force, able to connect with and deeply influenced by the social forces of any particular historical moment. The reference to Max Weber as Fleet professor brings to attention the crucial fact that nationalism was, in this period, linked to imperialism. There is a sense in which Weber himself should have known better. At a conference in Vienna in 1907, his imperialist sentiments were attacked by the Austrian economist Eugen Bohm-Bawerk on the entirely sensible grounds that Germany was becoming rich without colonies, which were--as Adam Smith had stressed long ago--more of a millstone than an advantage. But it is often the case that what matters socially about economics are less the facts in and of themselves than what people believe to be the facts. In this case, imperial dreams had a considerable rationale. When Lord Roseberry admitted that the British Empire did not pay, he went on immediately to say that it was nonetheless absolutely necessary. If other states established protectionist policies, Britain would need imperial possessions in the future to secure not just its prosperity but its very food supply. More generally, an era of intense geopolitical competition made the idea of capitalist interdependence, of trading rather than heroism, seem very dangerous.24 Germans tended to think of the British advocacy of Free Trade as hypocrisy given the presence of the Royal Navy: the abolition of the Corn Laws meant little, in other words, since geopolitical strength ensured that supplies could be brought from the outside. Had Weber seen the war plans being drawn up in the years before 1914 by Lords Esher and Fisher, his imperialist beliefs would have been underscored. For Britain's plan was indeed to blockade Germany so as to starve it into submission.25
The link between nationalism and imperialism deserves to be seen in the same light accorded to nationalism more generally--that is, as a factor creating tensions (which was likelyto make war, should it occur, escalate to the extremes) without causing the onset of war. It is the third factor, the nature of foreign policy making inside imperial courts, to which attention must be given for an explanation of the breakdown of order that then allowed nationalism and imperialism to cause disaster. A preliminary, scene-setting point is simply that the late-nineteenth-century European great powers were engines of grandeur, whose leaders habitually wore military uniform. The difficulty that such rulers faced, however, was that making foreign policy was becoming ever more difficult. Jack Snyder has usefully suggested that foreign policy making tends to be rational when states are unitary.26 Examples of such rational states include the rule of traditional monarchs, the collective domination of a revolutionary party so much in control of a late, late-developing society as to have no fear of popular pressure, and the checks and balances on foreign adventures provided by liberal systems. In contrast, late-developing societies--which combine authoritarianism with genuine pressures from a newly mobilized population--tend to lack the state capacity necessary to calculate by means of realist principles. The contrast that needs to be made here is accordingly that between Bismarck and Kaiser Wilhelm II. The Iron Chancellor was the epitome of a rational realist calculator, in charge of every arm of the state and determined to weigh up and discriminate between different priorities. It was the essence of his policy that Germany should never allow itself to be placed in a situation where it would have to fight a war on two fronts--for such a conflict would assuredly be lost. In contrast, Kaiser Wilhelm did not regularly attend either the army or the naval councils, and he was addicted to symbols of grandeur rather than to genuine thought. More importantly, policy in the court over which he presided was often based on factions, and upon their access to key personalities. Accordingly, Tirpitz (and thereby some heavy industrialists, and even the Social Democrats) gained a Weltpolitik, while the more traditional officer corps gained endorsement of an Eastern policy. Such bandwagoning pleased everyone but had as its consequence Bismarck's nightmare, that is, the creation of enemies to the east and west. The feeling of encirclement that so terrified the political elite--and from which it sought to break out in 1914 by underwriting Austro-Hungary's harsh ultimatum to Serbia--was accordingly self-created. The epitome of authoritarian incapacity in the field of foreign affairs is evident in the fact that Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg simply did not know that Germany's war plans involved invading Belgium--something that he knew would bring Britain into the war--until sometime in July 1914.
The First World War was not a Clausewitzian affair, in that statesmen lost control of policy making. Industry applied to war in part explains this, but still more important was the fact that a war of peoples needed justifications other than the merely dynastic or territorial. The chaos that resulted exhausted the European fabric. It was this factor that made the peace treaty disastrous. Differently put, the treaty was flawed less because it was harsh than because its rigors could not be sustained. Of course, the removal of both the United States and Russia from the international arena meant that balance-of-power politics was anyway likely to be hard to achieve. Further, the Wilsonian stress--amended of course by geopolitical interests--on national self-determination created exactly the unstable power vacuum in Central Europe that the Slav leaders had feared in 1848. The result of all this was thoroughly obvious. The lack of genuine geopolitical agreement encouraged the politics of economic autarchy. The failure to solve the security dilemma cemented the link between nationalism and imperialism.
To say that the way the war ended was disastrous is not for a moment to deny the birth of the two great revolutionary forces of twentieth-century Europe. One very particular development in the last tsarist years was the creation of an empire-saving intelligentsia. If the reaction to tsarist policies of forced assimilation was the creation of nationalist parties, the experience of those parties did a great deal to create--particularly among those of Jewish background--distrust of nationalizing practices sure to involve much ethnic cleansing. The first Bolshevik cadre was accordingly more than half non-Russian.27 This development was of course not one to make the tsar feel happy: to the contrary, the empire that the Bolsheviks wished to save was to be universal and socialist rather than autocratic. So here was the creation, by military means, of a regime that offered an autarchic, socialist developmental model. Though it is unfashionable to say so, bolshevism and nazism did share key attributes--from the role of a single party emphasizing moral renewal to an obsession with economic autarchy. Still, Hitler's racism did make a difference. The Third Reich was certainly imperial in seeking Lebensraum, but it was not imperial in the habitual sense of contemplating ruling over multiple ethnicities. To the contrary, expulsion of aliens so as to allow resettlement by Aryans was the order of the day, making this regime historically novel and of course utterly repulsive.
There is a great deal to be said for remembering that these two revolutionary forces seemed to be the wave of the future in the interwar years, the two regimes capable of providing collective moral enthusiasm and prosperity in the face of the Depression. Only when we realize this can we make sense of the life work of John Maynard Keynes, desperately trying to salvage liberalism when the enlightened had written it off. Keynes's characteristic brilliance did enable him to predict the worm in the bud of the great revolutionary forces.28 This had nothing to do with their ability to run their societies and economies: given the concentration of power, there was, Keynes unhappily acknowledged, every reason to believe that they could survive and prosper. But the concentration of power in the hands of sacralized leaders might well, Keynes believed, lead to geopolitical adventures. All that liberals could do was to wait for self-destruction to take place in this manner. Mercifully such proved to be the case, suggesting that in the long run the most rational way in which to conduct foreign policy is one that allows for checks and balances to prevent against disaster.29
The First World War ended badly despite the making of formal treaties. In contrast, the Second World War ended well without formal agreements. What mattered most of all was consideration given to power politics, that is, the creation of a secure frame within which economic and social forces could then prosper. The central element of the structure was of course hinted at in Stalin's remark to Churchill to the effect that each side would--as was, Stalin stressed, historically normal--impose its own social system on the territories it held at the end of the war. Despite much sound and fury, that is precisely what happened: spheres of influence were established between two great superpowers, which very rapidly came to understand each other extremely well, not least because the presence of nuclear weapons forced them to be rational. Nationalism was ignored, stability achieved. This reliable, easily calculable system came to an end with the breakup of the Soviet Union, to which attention turns below. But let us consider here the transformations of the states at the heart of capitalism, most notably those in Europe.
There were two elements at work in the reconstitution of Europe.30 Europeans themselves made a major contribution. Genuine learning had taken place in the sense that fascism was thoroughly discredited, beaten in its own chosen arena of military valor. More particularly, French bureaucrats, aware of the devastation caused by three wars with Germany within a single lifetime, effectively changed France's geopolitical calculation. If Germany could not be beaten militarily, it could perhaps be contained through love. The origin of what is now the European Union came from a decision by the two leading powers to give up their geopolitical autonomy, by establishing genuine interdependence in coal and steel--that is, in giving up the capacity to make their own weapons. This move was made possible by the second factor, the presence of American forces. Europeans of course did a great deal to pull Americans in, with Lord Ismay famously arguing that foreign policy should seek to keep the Americans in, the Russians out, and the Germans down. American presidents were in fact surprised that they were invited to establish an empire,31 and for a long period they thought they might be able to escape from this commitment. But that never happened because Europeans realized that their security dilemma was solved by the presence of a modern Mamluk force. At times, there could be great resentments in this relationship--as when the United States, refusing to fund the Vietnam War and Great Society programs from taxes, exported its inflation to its allies. But Europeans preferred to be mildly exploited and supine for the most basic of reasons: they did not trust each other.
It is important to characterize the European situation properly, as has Milward.32 European states had sought, between 1870 and 1945, to be complete power containers, unitary and in possession of markets and secure sources of supply. The fact that this led to complete disaster produced humility--which is not to say for a moment that state power somehow lost its salience. Rather states discovered that doing less proved to give them more, that interdependence within a larger security frame allowed for prosperity and the spread of citizenship rights. Differently put, breaking the link between nationalism and imperialism enhanced rather than undermined state capacity. One needs to be a little careful at this point. For one thing, Europeans sometimes congratulate themselves rather too easily in regard to neonationalist movements. It is true that Spain represents a rare case of a state able to prosper while maintaining its multinational status. Further, the diminution of geopolitical conflict has allowed many states to be less unitary, more federal, and thoroughly interested in consociational deals. This is welcome, but in the scheme of things it stands as rather little compared to the brute facts of ethnic cleansing.33 Liberalism in Europe, from the Atlantic to Ukraine, and including most of southeastern Europe, is made easier because great national homogeneity has been established, in largest part thanks to the actions of Hitler and Stalin. For another, suspicion needs to be shown--for all that one happens to like the policies in question--toward the view that European traditions of corporatism, through incorporating the working class within a "Keynesian world" designed to secure full employment, have been responsible for growth and stability.34 To begin with, the mix of such policies was often incomplete. Germany had corporatism for labor but shunned Keynesian macroeconomic policies, while the reverse was true for Britain. More importantly, the ending of social contract policies in Britain did not lead, as was predicted, to any loss of social stability. To the contrary, the state found economic policy easier when it no longer had to provide beer and sandwiches for union leaders. While the continuing effect of rising prosperity for the majority cannot be ignored, it may well be the case that social stability--but not any increase in social justice--results from a measure of depoliticization.
A final word is in order about Europe in the years since the collapse of the Soviet Bloc. This fundamental change in geopolitical realities certainly played a part in key developments within the European Union, most notably that of binding Germany within Europe by avoiding any German economic hegemony through the Bundesbank. Still, continuities are more important than new developments. For one thing, this liberal democratic league has the capacity, not least given that one cannot be a member without respecting minority rights, to consolidate liberal democracies in Central Europe just as it did in Southern Europe a generation ago. For another, statist calculations remain at play: the Franco-German condominium survives, while French determination to balance Germany has led France virtually to rejoin the NATO command structure. Perhaps most important of all, there is no sign of fundamental change to the rules of the geopolitical game. The mere threat of withdrawal on the part of the United States has seen Europeans own up to the fact that they wish the American presence to continue, despite its varied imperfections. This is scarcely surprising given the lack of any common European foreign policy. Any European defense initiative will be subordinate rather than an alternative to NATO--whose commander-in-chief will remain American.35
THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE SOCIALIST EMPIRE
Ideas and actions about the transformation of states have changed as the result of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Accordingly, attention must be given to what is genuinely a world historical event. As it happens, the analytic tools developed to this point do a great deal to help us understand what happened to a regime that was at once developmental, militarist, socialist, and imperial.
The period since 1989 has made crystal clear that the command-administrative developmental model was deeply flawed. Whatever the benefits of initial heavy industrialization and social modernization, there is now no doubt but that the absence of market mechanisms doomed Soviet-style economies to waste and inefficiency. There is as yet only anecdotal evidence to confirm that the way in which this led to an attempt to once again pull Russia up by its bootstraps had everything to do with the military. What mattered here was probably not the fact that Soviet defense spending was eating ever larger proportions of GDP. Rather, military leaders realized that their weapons capabilities were declining as the Soviet Union fell behind technologically. A high-technology, computer-literate society was necessary if communism was to survive. Once the power elite had made this calculation, the rule of Andropov and Gorbachev became possible.
There are two fundamental reasons that explain the failure to transform communist states. Socialism as a power system had sought to establish its own channels of control, thereby in effect continuing tsarism's distrust of independent civil society. When power was absolute, untrammeled by conscience, command-administrative methods had great force. Once softer political rule became necessary, it became obvious that force was linked to rigidity. One needs only to think of the attempt of workers in the failing shipyards of Gdansk to establish a trade union of their own, free from party interference. To seek such a union was to act politically, to put the rationale of the party-state in question. With hindsight, how astonishing it is that a whole regime was severely damaged by a strike! If the lack of flexibility caused problems, the inability to decompress--that is, the inability of socialism to emulate some authoritarian capitalism regimes in liberalizing from above--resulted from another facet of an atomized society, bereft of social institutions. Liberalization processes depend upon the striking of bargains, often in some roundtable negotiations. Gorbachev's difficulty was that there were no leaders of independent organizations, able to control their members, with whom he could negotiate.36 In these circumstances, controlled decompression was impossible. Democratization took the place of liberalization.
This is not for a moment to deny the impact of Gorbachev's own policies, as is immediately evident once we think of the second factor that explains the failure of communism to transform itself. The reconstitution of the empire by 1921 and its expansion in 1939 and in the years from 1944 presented problems with which the tsars would have been all too familiar. Several systems of rule were again contained within a single political umbrella, with the greatest difficulties again coming from the inclusion of advanced Western nations whose consciousness was so advanced as to make assimilation impossible. The situation was in fact worse than it had been for the tsars: the Baltic states and Poland had tasted independence, the Czechs knew that socialism was taking away their industrial lead, while a united Ukraine, freed from fear of Poland and Germany, concentrated all its ire on Russia. But if the empire became an expensive burden, it is important to remember that the nationalities did less to cause breakdown of the Soviet bloc than to make sure that reconstitution would be impossible. Differently put, they occupied the space that glasnost created. But if some secessions were inevitable, the fact that there were so many had everything to do with Gorbachev. Ignorant of the nationalities question and loathe to stand for election himself while allowing elections among the nationalities, Gorbachev did at least attempt to create a large multinational frame. But he then unconsciously put into practice the lesson to be derived from Tocqueville that would ensure ultimate collapse. A political opening increases noise. Nerve is required to put up with new pressures, so that discontents take a normal form--from revolution to reform. The worst move in such circumstances is to step backward, to make the newly vocal fear and thereby to confirm them in their suspicion of the continuity of an old regime. The interventions in Georgia and Lithuania were accordingly utterly disastrous. Yeltsin was given the cards by means of which he was able to destroy the Soviet Union. The collapse of the socialist project has had an enormous but incalculable impact in the rest of the world. The Left, deprived of its model of development, thereby lost a great deal of its power. The situation in Russia is of course far from stable. For one thing, the standard problem of metro-poles deprived of their imperial possessions--the search for a new national identity--haunts Russia in a particularly powerful form. It took Spain at least a century to reinvent itself after the loss of its empire, and there is a sense in which Britain has not yet managed this difficult task. Russia has scarcely begun to establish a nonimperial national identity for ethnic Russians. Until it does so, it cannot be at ease with itself. For another, foreign policy making is likely to be confused given the combination of popular mobilization and semi-authoritarianism. There are as yet few established liberal institutions, most notably in the media, which can provide information and critical reflection. The lack of such institutions has been apparent in Russian behavior in Chechnya. Still, any fears that might be entertained about Russian adventurism need to be set in the context of the collapse of Russian GDP (now roughly the size of that of Denmark) and of projections of a wholly unprecedented decline in population. Rarely has a great power fallen so far, so fast.
SPLENDORS AND MISERIES OF THE SOUTH
It only takes a moment to think of issues in the South that affect the transformation of states. It may be that socialist China can manage to transform itself, both because it placed perestroika before glasnost and because it has very largely become a nation-state. A great deal will surely depend, however, upon relations with Taiwan--currently one of the most troubling issues facing the world community. More generally, however, the North has washed its hands of the South, much of which could drop off the face of the globe without the purportedly global economy even noticing.37 One wonders whether politics can in the longer run be so subject to a new form of international apartheid as is economics. The spread of weapons of mass destruction, especially to states with the fiscal advantages given by the possession of fossil fuel, must surely present future problems--despite America's much vaunted military revolution.38 Moreover, in the post-September 11, 2001, era, fears have increased of the immense harm that terrorists, armed with weapons of mass destruction, can cause to advanced industrial societies.
It is beyond our powers to do more than note the salience of these issues. But the perspective that has been argued does suggest the usefulness of considering the situation of multinational regimes in the South. Given that development seeks in its very essence to copy the advanced, it behooves us to ask whether the South's twenty-first century will be as dark as that through which Europe has just passed. If there are obvious reasons to fear, there are--remarkably--reasons for optimism.
Some regimes in the developing world have managed multinationalism far better than did Europe. A general background condition was an initial realization in some quarters that imagination was needed so as to avoid disaster. It was precisely because African borders were absurd that it was essential, Julius Nyerere argued, to maintain them. Perhaps the most substantive achievement that resulted is that of the language repertoires of some African states and, above all, of India. David Laitin's analysis of the Indian situation suggests that a fully capable Indian citizen needs a language repertoire of three plus or minus one languages.39 Two languages are needed to begin with because India has two official languages, English as well as Hindi, for Nehru's desire to produce a unitary and monoglot society was stymied by the desire of civil servants to maintain their cultural capital, the ability to function in English. A third language is that of one's provincial state. But one only needs two languages when one's provincial state is Hindi-speaking. In contrast, one needs four languages when one is in a minority in a non-Hindi-speaking provincial state. India is the most important exception to Gellner's generalization that homogeneity is a functional prerequisite of modernity. This is a remarkable achievement, the creation of an Austro-Hungary that seems to work. And this linguistic arrangement could be complemented by a varied collection of agreements, habitually consociational and regional, which have allowed ethnic groups to survive within a single shell. The complex case of Malaya is a prime case in point.40
Language is of course only one of the markers that can be used as the basis on which to homogenize peoples into a single nation, and one can always fear--though not, to this point, excessively--that religion could again serve as the basis for terrible ethnic cleansing in India. It is worth remembering in this context that the full impact of ethnic superstratification is felt during the process of modernization, which is by no means complete in most of the world's polities. If hope has some descriptive base, the fact that there have been many failures of multinational federations--from Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, to the Caribbean, sub-Saharan Africa, and British Central Africa--should make us realize how very hard it is to make such arrangements work. Still more obvious are the genocidal horrors of Kampuchea and Rwanda, in which other peoples behave as did Europeans in the very recent past. It is hard to imagine that such actions, now visible on our television screens, will not have any effect on the condition of those who inhabit the more comfortable zones of the world.
The economic gains that have been realized in the developing world owe a great deal to the ability of elites to harness the power of the state to mobilize resources, ward off rent seeking, and promote inward investment and outward trade. This is the story of the developmental state, a model of state-led economic modernization pioneered by Japan and emulating in varying ways across East Asia and beyond.41 The distinction has been made by Ronald Dore between the "drifter states" of Latin America and the "purposeful states" of East Asia whose political economies can be traced to the legacies of Japanese imperialism, the Pacific War, and the way the Cold War divided and mobilized the nations of Korea and China, thereby creating societal-wide motives to engage in economic modernization.42 The so-called backward countries that have lifted themselves up in the last quarter-century have been able to take advantage of state capacity that has given governments the necessary autonomy to pursue policies and channel investments into internationally competitive industries.43 For countries in the developing world today, the goal is not participation in a globalized world where the state disappears in significance; it is to evolve a stable and capable state that can harness the energies and technologies of development.
The contribution of the chapters can now be set within the general context sketched. Of course reasons of space make it impossible to focus on every variation in nation-state strength. Accordingly, attention focuses on four areas, and in particular on key debates within each of them.
There is no better place to begin than that of the national question, for this foundational issue, for all that events have forced it to the fore, remains undertheorized in mainstream social science. There is a sense in which Bernard Yack and Brendan O'Leary converge on a set of issues. Nationalism at once gives great strength, while equally having the capacity to undermine state power. Yack's central contention is that nationalism is deeply written into our politics. If he resembles Gellner in saying that the nation-state is the essential political form of modernity, he ascribes its salience to the notion of popular sovereignty rather than to the needs of industry. O'Leary is well known for an interest in the management of ethnic conflict in Northern Ireland, but his consideration here of federalism is very much in the light of Gellner's insistence on the necessity of homogeneity within nation-states. In particular, O'Leary recognizes that pressures to social homogeneity make alternative arrangements very difficult to create and to sustain. The conclusion of his chapter is that a ruling people must be present if federal arrangements are to work, unless such arrangements are combined with consociational measures. Given that Europe, like Austro-Hungary, simply does not have enough Germans, the European Union would be well advised to retain all the consociational deals that reassure small states, as well as to find ways to give representation to such stateless nations as Catalonia and Scotland. Getting institutional design right in Europe is going to be very difficult indeed.
Anatoly Khazanov begins by noting that the Soviet Union was not in existence long enough to create a new Soviet people. Further, Soviet nationalities policies may have done something to encourage nationalism, at least in Central Asia, by creating administrative units that could then be filled by putative nations. The Bolsheviks were of course continuing a tradition of empire, albeit supposedly under new and leftist management. Khazanov points out that it is not possible to distinguish ethnic Russian identity from imperial Russian identity. The loss of empire is always difficult for metropoles: it took Spain centuries before a new identity was found, and Britain has not yet met the comment of Dean Acheson to the effect that it had lost an empire and failed to find a new role. In the Russian case the problems are very severe. Without sense of nonimperial national identity, peace and prosperity in the region will be impossible.
One striking benefit of Peter Baldwin's analysis of changing patterns of state welfare provision lies in its starting point. The popular conception of the American state as weak and that of Sweden as strong in fact inverts reality, at least in relation to key aspects of public health provision. More generally, Baldwin suggests that genuine multiculturalism--that is, the presence of genuinely different cultures prone to different dietary and health regimes--would indeed undermine powers hitherto held to have characterized the nation-state. In fact, he suggests that formal and informal control in the United States is such that all that is on offer is "multiculturalism lite"--that is, the presence of entirely superficial differences within a strong common cultural frame. This is an extremely striking demonstration of the continuing force of social homogenization by nation--and within the most powerful society that the world has yet seen.
Part 2 turns to the traditional area of state authority, that of national security. T. V. Paul argues that realist elements of world politics are still in the background, and he points to the remarkable role of the United States--and its security protection function--in creating order today. Even if war among the great powers is no longer a risk--which is itself a controversial assumption--Paul shows that geopolitical competition and security worries will not disappear. New forms of competition are replacing old forms--today it is geo-economic and geo-technological competition. There are alsothe new risks of biological and chemical terrorism. The challenge of transnational terrorism was vividly presented in September 2001, and since then the United States has been attempting to contain this asymmetric scourge with both traditional and nontraditional means. Paul shows that behind the scenes, the United States provides extended military protection and global hegemonic leadership. American power lurks in the background, but world politics is still organized by and around concentrations of power. In this sense, globalization is really a creature of a far-flung political order that, through alliance partnerships and multilateral economic cooperation, provides a bulwark for markets and investment to thrive. The defeat of asymmetric challenges, especially posed by transnational terrorism, may be essential to sustain the American power, in both the military and economic arenas.
Jeffrey Herbst considers an entirely different matter under the broad rubric of security. He explores the plight of states in Africa and shows that the problem on this bleak continent is that states are not sufficiently evolved or capable. The problem is not enough state--or the absence of the right type of state--rather than a loss of the state. The dysfunctionality of states in Africa is at least partly explained by the absence of the sort of conflict that drove the state-building process in Europe. In Africa, the conflicts are primarily within states--manifest as bloody civil wars--and therefore differ sharply from the sort of interstate dynamics that pushed forward political development within the West. At the same time, the wider international community continues to recognize the political boundaries of African states even when their governments have completely lost control of territory and borders. Again, this has stopped what in the West was an evolutionary process that shaped and reshaped the lines of the nation-state and served to produce politically viable nation-states. Africa is caught on a closed political pathway. It is not able to re-create the state-building history of Europe, but it has not been able to discover an alternative pathway toward the modern state. The chances of it being able to do so depend very much upon finding answers to the questions raised earlier by Brendan O'Leary.
Part 3 is concerned with the classic question of state autonomy. Francesco Duina considers the position of the powers of nation-states within the European Union and Mercosur. He shows that even when these common markets create pressures toward authority structures above national legislatures, the social reality that results is much more mixed and complicated than any bland suggestion that the nation-state is at risk allows. It is true that the legal systems of common markets deprive national legislatures of control in some areas related to trade and even in areas less related to the flow of physical goods, such as the environment. But Duina demonstrates that national legislatures continue to exercise control over broad aspects of services, labor, and capital even when this impinges on the functioning of the common market. The image that emerges is of an evolving and enduring division of labor between regional and national political entities. Political authority and decision making are not simply pushed upward to the supranational level; rather, they are evolving in multiple vertical and horizontal directions. The continuing debate within the European Union--including the decisions made recently in Nice--continue to give the major states of Europe great power. Duina's is a subtle argument because it shows that the pressures that are shaping the form and locale of political authority are not all flowing in one direction. National legislatures must adapt, but they will continue to be central players in regional political economic orders.
Christopher Hood looks at one critical aspect of state power that is arguably under pressure by globalization, namely, the ability to extract revenue from society. When capital is increasingly mobile, states are presumably less able to tax--either because the assets themselves are more difficult to identify and tax or because the threat of "exit" reduces the ability of states to impose the tax burden. Hood shows remarkably little evidence of these problems. The tax state is alive and well at the turn of the century. The extractive capacity of the wealthy Western democratic states actually grew during the twentieth century, and overall taxation grew as a proportion of GNP in the developed countries. Hood shows that while the information age poses possible threats to the tax state's extractive capacity, it also provides new opportunities. These potential tax strategies include creating tollbooths on the information superhighway and taxes on websites. If the state finds it difficult to monitor the virtual services that are performed on the internet, it can still tax the electricity that runs the infrastructure. In can also resort to old-fashioned tax strategies such as printing money and allowing inflation to indirectly reduce the fiscal burden of the state.
John Campbell deconstructs the fashionable notion of globalization in such a way as to demonstrate the continuing salience of divergence within capitalism. To begin with, he argues that economic globalization itself is oversold as a force. Campbell shows that the extent of economic globalization has been exaggerated, as have been its effects. There is no doubt that economic integration has intensified in recent decades, but it does not constitute the sharp shift in global economic relations that is widely believed. Moreover, what globalization theorists also miss is the ways in which states--institutions and economic actors--mediate and respond to global forces. The institutional structures of states, which vary widely across the developed and developing world, constitute a weight that itself helps shape the interaction of global economic forces and domestic response. Campbell shows that what has been missing in the debate on globalization is a proper specification of the tools and mechanisms by which governments and other actors grapple with global economic integration.
Rudy Sil critiques the universalist claims of globalization theory in a more particular way, by linking the evolution of the world economy with convergent patterns of industrial relations worldwide. The common view is that technological innovation and global competition are creating uniformly decentralized patterns of collective bargaining that erode the capacities of trade unions, labor ministries, and national employee associations. Sil looks at the experiences of so-called transitional late-industrializers and finds that the state continues to play a role as a focal point for the regulation of industrial relations. Institutional legacies and variable state capacities still are evident across the late-developing world. While many of these countries are in fact pursuing policies that are accommodating to business interests, this does not suggest a decline in the importance of the state as the critical guarantor of the pacts that inevitably must be negotiated among labor, business, and international actors. As states will continue to remain at the center of industrial relations in these transitional countries, so too will variation in systems of industrial relations remain the norm.
The final part of the book offers a neatly opposed pair of papers concerned with state capacity within parts of the world deeply affected by communism. The common view of the communist state is that it is large and not very efficient, manifest for example in the amount going to investment--for very poor returns. Hence, it was not surprising that the slogan of civil society came to have such resonance within this social world. But these chapters show how much the state is needed.
Grzegorz Ekiert demonstrates that the astonishing and totally unforeseen success of postcommunist Poland is best explained by reforms to its state structure. His focus is on the pattern and sequencing of state reforms in Poland. During the 1990s Poland was a leader within post-communist Eastern Europe both in the reform of the state and in the pursuit of market reforms. Ekiert is interested in the relationship between the two reform movements, and he argues that it was precisely the ability to get the state reorganized along democratic and legal-rational lines that allowed the economic modernization process to succeed. In contrast, Minxin Pei shows how the reform of the Chinese state may be leading the country toward decentralized predation. The focus is on how the regime and economic transitions are eroding state capacity. Some decline in Chinese state capacity is to be expected--and welcomed--with the transition away from the Maoist-Leninist model. But it is state predation--the expropriation of wealth by the state from society to sustain itself in power--that has emerged in China rather than a more efficient and rule-based order. Ironically perhaps, it is the emergence of decentralized state predation that has been most evident in China and that is responsible for the decline in state capacity. The decentralization of power in China has not been accompanied by measures to monitor the compliance of state agents, and rising predation has been the result. Pei shows that state capacity depends on the rule of law. Decentralization of power might bring with it more democratic politics, but if it happens without enforceable laws and rules, the result is dysfunctional for the state and society. A legal-rational system of government may in the first instance limit the power of the state, but ultimately it provides the essential element for a capable state.
The volume concludes with a succinct analysis by John Ikenberry of the condition of the nation-state in the contemporary era. He echoes the general tone of various chapters to the effect that the capacities of states continue to evolve, declining in some areas but increasing more generally. He notes the consensus among the authors in this volume that states remain the dominant sociopolitical organization of modernity, not least as there are no competing social organizations in sight that possess equivalent powers and capacities. However, he argues that the definition of a strong state has changed: the bureaucratic and/or authoritarian variant has lost salience, to be replaced by one that is flexible and capable of effectively working with different societal groups. Ikenberry calls for assessing state capacity by desegregating the various dimensions of state power and authority. Much like modern corporations have adapted from the days of the East India Company, contemporary states are changing, but while doing so they remain powerful socio-political entities, calling our attention to sustained theoretical and empirical analysis, a task we undertake in the following pages.
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