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Sunday, April 5, 2009
Liberal Youth Threaten to Topple One Member One Vote
It's already a challenge getting One Member One Vote to fly at the Vancouver convention. 66% of the voters must vote for the constitutional amendment to get it passed. Now, the youth want to complicate the measure even further by demanding a quota of 25% of the riding votes. This is an actual amendment to the amendment.
My suggestion is that the youth reconsider and withdraw their amendment. The idea behind One Member One Vote is that NOBODY gets left out in selecting the leader of the party. If you're a member, you get a vote. Whether you're a youth, senior, aboriginal, female or fat middle-aged white guy, YOU GET A VOTE!
The youth, on a good day may represent up to 14% of the party, including those between the age of 14 and 18 that aren't able to vote in a general election. So why on earth are they DEMANDING a 25% quota? Show me a year in this party's history where the youth ever had 25% control of the membership.
One commenter on Jeff's thread suggests there should also be a 50% quota for women. That's a good idea. Now we're up to 75% of the riding's vote being controlled by the youth and the women. Why not take it a step further. 25% for the seniors as they are under represented, yet form a HUGE part of the population in Canada (read baby boomers). While we're at it, let's ensure that the true original Canadians have a say because our Aboriginal Peoples are the most under represented in the entire system. We'll give them a 25% quota too.
Now let's do the math. 25+50+25+25= 125%. I guess if every riding gets 200% of their votes, regular non-female, non-youth, non-Aboriginal, non-seniors might get a say in the party.
The same fellow also suggests that the age limit of youth members should be extended to include all youth up to the age of 30. 30!!! I'm sorry, but if someone suggested to me that I was a youth at 30, I would have laughed in their general direction. If anything, I think youth membership should end the day before your 22nd birthday. In a lot of jurisdictions, 21 is considered the age of majority. NOT 25!
Sorry. I took a detour on this one. Moral of the story is, I will not support the youth quota amendment, nor will I support any other quota amendments. You want more say? Go get a membership and your say shall be equal to everyone else's in the party.
42 comments:
- Woman at Mile 0 said...
I agree, the concept put us right back where we were...without OMOV.
- Apr 5, 2009, 12:47:00 PM
- Mike said...
Jim since you didn't adress this at Jeff's I post here hoping you'll respond. It's long I know, but this is an important issue worth having a REAL debate on. I think you would agree.
It's just a fact that individuals 25 and under have less time, money and resources at their disposal to sign up members than do older individuals.
What's the average income of someone 25 and under Jeff and Jim?
How many are earning over $50,000K a year?
The YLC only has one paid staffer in the party, whereas leadership campaigns have dozens you shouldn't be surprised to know that leadership campaigns have a MUCH greater power to sign up members during a campaign than would the YLC.
So if the youth quota is gone WHY IN THE WORLD would leadership campaign have ANY incentive to sign up or listen to youth? Or Women or Aboriginals?
I agree with Jason here - I would like to see something on gender and maybe a few extra points for Aboriginals. But I'm not sure those amendments are going but I will support the youth amendment (as a convention delegate myself)regardless for the reasons above.
But Jeff your math is faulty on how too many quotas would add up to 100%. Polling companies use weights all the time where women and minorities get "double or triple counted" it's not that difficult:
So the vote could apportioned the following way:
7% Aboriginals
12.5% for male youth, 12.5% for female youth
That leaves 68% which is the SAME for adults as in the 2006 leadership race.
So let's say in a riding there are 400 voters:
85 are youth, within that 38 are female, 47 are male
15 are Aboriginal (right now I don't believe they classify Aboriginal delegates by age or gender)
300 are non-youth - within them 135are female, 165 are male
So that would translate exactly to:
12.5 points for female youth
12.5 points for male youth
34 points for non-youth women
34 points for non-youth men
7 points for Aboriginals (regardless of their gender or age)
Is that really so horrible given the REAL barriers that do exist to youth and women's participation (you know women are the primary child care givers and all might just leave them with less time to go join a party like men)? Especially since you want to give QUOTAS to ridings with memberships under 100 that could have their votes counted 10 TIMES more than riding is Toronto?
So a member in rural Quebec or Alberta matters much more than in Toronto, I'm still not getting why rural Quebec or Alberta matters more than women or youth or Aboriginals Jeff. There are WELL OVER 100 RIDINGS where their votes will count much more than others, that's just a fact. I'm ok with that and so are you, so I'm not getting why you don't admit that's also a pretty big quota for rural ridings.
This party has long established constituencies that OMOV would diminish, if you really want OMOV to pass shouldn't you COMPROMISE with those constituencies to ensure it does?
And Jeff it's INSULTING to hear you say the youth and women didn't EARN their representation! They fought hard to have it established by getting a constitutional amendment passed over 20 years ago that gave them enshrined representation in the delegated system. Now you want to take away their representation that they FOUGHT HARD for!
For instance, the Women's Commission's mandate is to exist until gender equality is established in the party and in candidates, the delegate system was set up for the same way. We're a long way from gender equality I think we'd all agree (well Stephen Harper wouldn't but I don't think any Liberal agrees with him...)
It's just a simple fact that fewer youth will vote for the overall package if the amendment doesn't pass (especially since it passed last time youth would have cause to be upset it didn't this time when it's the same amendment to the same proposal), there's no way you could argue otherwise.
It's a long way to 2/3 especially since it didn't even get 50% last time - ALL OMOV SUPPORTERS might want to think about that more.
Ok so this was like a blog post rather than a comment, sorry, but this a complex issue that can't be dealt with in anywhere near 2-3 line responses.
- Apr 5, 2009, 4:05:00 PM
- Mike said...
Sorry that should say "Jim your math is faulty" rather than Jeff, but Jeff made the same mistake. This is proposing to keep representation of the various groups roughly where it is now, in fact it's actually an 8% decline in youth representation from where it is now.
- Apr 5, 2009, 4:07:00 PM
- Mike said...
I also had this post. Address all these points and then maybe you can convince me and others that this amendment is the horrible injustice you make it out to be, but from my view I just don't get how you can be PERFECTLY OK with rural Alberta getting 10x the vote of Toronto, but youth, women and Aboriginals LOSING THEIR HARD FOUGHT REPRESENTATION.
The fee for youth to join the party just doubled from $5 per member to $10 per member as of April 1st. Is that not another barrier that will make it harder for youth to increase their membership?
$10 may be nothing to you, but again what's the average income of individuals 25 and under, many of whom have lots of student debt?
I still am waiting to hear from James Curran how it's somehow easier for youth to sign up members with less money and less resources than it is for lawyers to sign up their all their colleagues (who many lawyers are 25and under James?)
There's a good reason why I think if you looked at all 308 MPs you'd find lawyer is the most common occupation, they have the easiest time signing up members and winning nominations.
If the youth membership doubled which perhaps it will, I'm sure other groups with more resources at their disposal will triple, so then they are actually at less than the 13% they are now. When you have less resources at your disposal how can you keep up? It's like expecting someone running a campaign with $1000 to beat the person who has $1 million. Doesn't matter how energetic you are, money and time matters.
- Apr 5, 2009, 4:11:00 PM
- James Curran said...
1. the average income in Canada for a single male is 37K. So, nobody is making over 50k as you claim.
2. Aborignals will get 7%. interesting. My two ridings don't have more than 4 Aboriginal members combined. So, those 4 people will get 7%? I see.
3. With the exception of maybe Trinity Spadina, and a nomination race witin a riding, you will never ever see the youth with 25% of a riding total. Even the example you use is slightly over 20%. I can also guarantee that those 85 youth members are not Victory, Chequemate or Laurier members. Most wouldn't donate a dime. Thereby, 0-5% of the money the riding raised. Yet you insist they should recieve 25%.
3. this primary caregiver shit has to stop. I was a single father for 9 years, raising 2 children fulltime. It never hindered me from being active in the party.
4. Your argument does not even ever, on any blog, mention seniors and their contribution. The babyboomers are the largest segment and demographic in Canada. They also give the most money to the party. Yet you give them absolutely zero in you quota scenario.
5. You KNOW why the rural areas have to be weighted. Geographically, they make up most of Canada. And NO, we don't need to be identified as the Liberal Party of TVM.
6. Yes women and youth fought hard to get their voices heard. Now, they have the opportunity to join up and vote with a push of a button or a mail in ballot instead of missing a delegate selection meeting because of family obligations and whatever other fact of life that tends to come along. Nobody will be able to sifle their voices because their membership carries the SAME weight as everyone elses.
7. So the youth will hold the entire party up as hostages if we don't pass their amendment? I say bring it on. You'll never get a dime from me for a single solitary youth event or election. Period.
8. It's a longer way to 2/3s with the youth amendment than it is without it my friend.
- Apr 5, 2009, 8:48:00 PM
- James Curran said...
The fee for youth to join the party just doubled from $5 per member to $10 per member as of April 1st. Is that not another barrier that will make it harder for youth to increase their membership?
-I don't know Mike. Maybe they can have the youth give up a month of their Ipod downloads, blackberrys, cell phones and Iphones and they could get the 10 bucks. They all seem to have one. If those that have graduated and are between 21 and 25 can't find a job and cough up 10 bucks, they're in trouble.
$10 may be nothing to you, but again what's the average income of individuals 25 and under, many of whom have lots of student debt?
-I'm gonna bet they can afford a pint though.
I still am waiting to hear from James Curran how it's somehow easier for youth to sign up members with less money and less resources than it is for lawyers to sign up their all their colleagues (who many lawyers are 25and under James?)
-Um, i still have no clue why you are harping on this. I don't know many lawyers in this party that are capable of organizing memberships. They find organizers to do it for them. They can, however raise a shitload of cash to help support the hundreds of youth functions they sponsor.
There's a good reason why I think if you looked at all 308 MPs you'd find lawyer is the most common occupation, they have the easiest time signing up members and winning nominations.
-REally? How about because an MP's job is to make laws. Therefore, being a lawyer may be an asset on Parliament Hill. If it makes you feel any better though, the Conservatives don't have hardly any sitting MPs that are lawyers. Don't believe me? Look it up. Look up the Bloc too. Oh, and the NDP. The Liberals have the most amount of lawyers per capita.
If the youth membership doubled which perhaps it will, I'm sure other groups with more resources at their disposal will triple, so then they are actually at less than the 13% they are now. When you have less resources at your disposal how can you keep up? It's like expecting someone running a campaign with $1000 to beat the person who has $1 million. Doesn't matter how energetic you are, money and time matters.
- I see, so the members that grow the party, donate the most money to the party and help the youth at every turn are the bad guys. Nice.
- Apr 5, 2009, 9:07:00 PM
- Justin Tetreault said...
"8. It's a longer way to 2/3s with the youth amendment than it is without it my friend."
I'm wondering how you came up with this. In 2006, over 50% of delegates supported the YLC amendment, but OMOV did not receive the 67% necessary. If more than half of the delegates supported the amendment, how do you think it would have been easier for OMOV to pass without it?
Also, Young Liberals make up about 30% of the delegates in Vancouver. Let's say the YLC amendment fails. If all 30% vote against OMOV, you then need 95% of the rest of the delegates to support it (67% of the remaining 70%).
Even if half of the youth voted against OMOV, you would still need 79% of the remaining delegates to vote for it (67% of the remaining 85%).
It seems a lot easier to pass OMOV if you have the YLC on board.
- Apr 6, 2009, 1:57:00 AM
- James Curran said...
So, again, you fully intend to hold the rest of the party hostage and take your ball home if you don't get your own way? That's very mature of all of you.
- Apr 6, 2009, 2:00:00 AM
- Justin Tetreault said...
Also, your post on the side about people who have donated the max to the Liberal Party paying for your fee under the table through Pay Pal looks like a violation of the Elections Act to me.
It's considered a political donation to pay for someone else's fee. You can't accept the money under the table and use it for that purpose if they are already at the limit and unable to donate to the Party directly for you.
- Apr 6, 2009, 2:05:00 AM
- Justin Tetreault said...
How would we be holding the party hostage? A majority of delegates supported the resolution in 2006. Using your reasoning, didn't the people who voted no to OMOV hold the party hostage?
- Apr 6, 2009, 2:07:00 AM
- James Curran said...
What are ya trying to be a smartass now!
Lot's of people have fundraiser's to cover their expenses. Maybe you're not familiar with the concept. Has nothing to do with the fees. Mahy delegates have paypal accounts for donations.
- Apr 6, 2009, 2:08:00 AM
- James Curran said...
You're now suggesting the youth will run from OMOV if their amendment doesn't pass. Your suggestion not mine. Have fun with that. I'm ceratin the grassroots will be really happy if OMOV fails again.
- Apr 6, 2009, 2:10:00 AM
- Mike said...
James I'll give you credit for one thing: You are honest about what you want to see - You WANT to see the influence the youth and women CURRENTLY have DRAMATICALLY DIMINISHED.
You think they both have too much influence as it is. At least you are consistent, I'll give you that bc OMOV without the YLC amendment would achieve just what you want.
Others dance around it and say "oh the young Liberals and women will still be just as strong, it will be lollipopos for everyone if we just pass OMOV vote!" No one will come out and say they to decrease the role of the YLC and NWLC but you will so kudos to you for that.
The YLC won't vote as a bloc if the amendment doesn't pass but far fewer will vote for it than if the amendment passed, that's just a fact and Justin proved that you were flat out wrong in saying that the overall package is easier to pass without the YLC amendment.
Honestly if you KNEW IN YOUR HEART somehting would DESTROY a group you hold dear, would you vote for it James? Honestly?
So why do you expect ANY youth to do different? Who votes for their own extinction, especially when they believe (I think justifiably so) their organization has been instrumental in getting previous leaders to take progressive stands on issues such as anti-ballistic missile defence, same-sex marriage and aid to Africa?
- Apr 6, 2009, 2:12:00 AM
- Justin Tetreault said...
I'm not suggesting it. It is a hypothetical. But why would it be running from OMOV? Obviously the YLC is not happy with it as it is propsed, which is why they proposed an amendment to it.
I was just asking you for clarification about why you think it would be harder to pass OMOV with the YLC amendment given those numbers, including the fact that over 50% of people supported the amendment in 2006 (which you didn't answer).
As well, you're the one who made it about Liberal Party donation limits. You basically said if you're at the limit and can't donate on my donation page to my delegate fee, then pay me the money under the table to my Pay Pal. If it was just for normal expenses, then what does it matter if people are at their donation limit or not?
- Apr 6, 2009, 2:18:00 AM
- Mike said...
And if there are no barriers to youth, women and Aboriginal representation to go out to sign why are they so DRAMATICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED in the party relative to their population numbers right now?
You know very well their representation will decline even further with OMOV as it becomes easier to sign up members of other groups (if it's NOT easier to sign up members of other groups, why are other groups OVER REPRESENTED relative to the population in our party) but that's what you want I guess you said.
I guess you don't mind if you end up sending youth and women in droves to the NDP instead, who needs them right?
That certainly doesn't apply to me, but you can count on it happening in droves as they start to notice they don't have the voice they once had. But I guess we didn't have a problem with our party losing our share of BOTH the women's and youth vote to the NDP in the last election.
- Apr 6, 2009, 2:18:00 AM
- James Curran said...
Nobody's diminishing anything. If anyone wanted to do that, they'd disband the Women's Commissions and Youth Clubs.
OMOV allows anyone in the country to vote from anywhere that happen to be regardles of age, gender and race. ALL MEMBERS VOTE. Instead the youth, that currently represent a mere 13% of the membership want to influence 25% of the vote. Well that's grand.
Fine. We would like 33% of the votes in all youth events since none of the party over 25 can vote on a damn thing youth does.
Funny that we are all good enough to fundraise and organize for the youth, but god forbid we disagree with them.
I learned long ago not to bite the hand that feeds you. But hey, what do I know anyway.
- Apr 6, 2009, 2:19:00 AM
- James Curran said...
Well that's the lawyer in you alright Justin. Twist a fundraising tool into an election violation. Nice.
As for the OMOV part. Don't you get the feeling that there are a lot more people that think the youth amendment is a deal killer? I mean, I'm no genius, but when the some of the biggest bloggers in the party are all on the same page, well....
Oh well. Whatever. As I said, go ahead and make your point at the convention.
- Apr 6, 2009, 2:24:00 AM
- James Curran said...
Well Mike. Perhaps they can't break into the party apparatus like those who are entitled to their entitlements. Maybe they can't break into the clique of the clubs as they exist. You think? I do.
Actually we didn't lose the votes to the NDP Mike. We lost them to the Greens and to those that sat on their hands at home and didn't vote. All 900,000 of them. By the way, there's only 68000 Liberal members. A far cry form the 900000 that we lost. Also a far cry form the 200000 we had in the last days of Chretien.
But, like I said, you can go ahead and make your point.
- Apr 6, 2009, 2:30:00 AM
- Mike said...
"We would like 33% of the votes in all youth events since none of the party over 25 can vote on a damn thing youth does."
LOL! James you're not a member of the Young Liberals, you may be joking but since when do NON-MEMBERS of a group get to vote for anything? The LPC Constitution defined quite some time ago who was to be Young Liberals, it's pretty well established, virtually no one debates it, but it's a pretty iron clad rule that you have to be a member of a group to be able to vote for its leadership. You know I'd like a say in the U.S. President, hell even the British PM too, but I'm not a citizen, those are the rules.
The leader of the LPC should be made to have to care about youth, women, and Aboriginal Liberal party members (I don't mention seniors because if I'm not mistaken they are actually OVERREPRESENTED in the party relative to their population numbers) and that's what the quota system you want to abolish accomplishes. As you say it's just just the leader of Toronto, they should represent the whole country, but they should also represent the major constituencies in the party as well.
"when the some of the biggest bloggers in the party are all on the same page"
James c'mon! How many of those people are actually going to be voting delegates at the convention? Yourself and Jeff Jedras I'm guessing are the only ones!
Ok so you are saying "no one is calling to diminish anything", except you know taht voting for OMOV without the YLC amendment would do just that, how convenient.
Do you really believe there will NO negative side effects of passing OMOV or that our share of youth and women members (not to mention our election vote share from those groups) won't actually decline as a result?
- Apr 6, 2009, 2:35:00 AM
- Mike said...
James I'd also challenge you to find me a SINGLE youth who has said CLEARLY (not implied, but said "I don't support the YLC amendment" they will vote AGAINST this amendment? Just one will suffice.
So if you can't find one you can assume then that there's 30% base to start for this amendment they only need to win over 20% of the other 70% to pass this thing. So what will you do if it passes, if OMOV is so important aren't you the one killing it?
Right now we have quotas AND you have to go to the convention to vote.
Is it not still an improvement to have quotas but allow EVERYONE to vote?
If you don't see the latter as an improvement you are really holding out for the ideal here, an ideal that is very hard to pass when you need 2/3 of convention delegates, and 1/3 are youth.
- Apr 6, 2009, 2:39:00 AM
- James Curran said...
So what if I'm not a YLC member. I'm a Liberal. I want a say in who the youth reps are. Oh, I see, you don't like that. It's a closed club is it. Kind of like all the yoth that have been intimidated to quit over the last 4 years because they just can't break into that clique.
Again, if the party wanted to diminish these groups, they'd get rid of all the commissions.
Lastly, I will repeat this, the largest group in the population is the baby boomers, yet you and Justin don't care is seniors get a quota too. The largest donors to the party. Why not give everyone a 25% quota. YOuth, Seniors, women, aboriginals. Heck then the rest of us don't even have to vote. Perfect.
- Apr 6, 2009, 2:43:00 AM
- Mike said...
The constitution of the NWLC says their commission gets abolished when gender equality is achieved, I think seniors are represented beyond their quota now so it no longer becomes necessary, women are ocnstitutionally mandated to give up their entire commission when gender equality in the party is achieved so seems fair to say seniors no longer need a quota.
You'll note Ontario doesn't recognize the senior's commission either.
But James seriously is it not an improvement to KEEP the quotas as they are (and I'm already shown matehically how men like you would keep 34% of the vote AS YOU HAVE NOW and have had for over two decades), but give the votes to the entire membership instead of just convention goeers?
It sounds like actually you are the one being more stubborn here because you will accept rural Alberta getting 10x the vote of you, but not youth getting 1.5 times the vote or whatever.
Youth honestly believe OMOV without the amendment will destroy their organization, why do you REFUSE to compromise with them when they know what the likely consequences would be for the YLC of OMOV better than you do?
- Apr 6, 2009, 2:56:00 AM
- Justin Tetreault said...
"So what if I'm not a YLC member. I'm a Liberal. I want a say in who the youth reps are."
Senior Liberals are not Young Liberals. Young Liberals are still members of the Young Liberals. That argument is such a stretch and makes you look pretty desperate.
If the YLC amendment passes are you going to "take your ball and go home" as you say?
- Apr 6, 2009, 3:24:00 AM
- Justin Tetreault said...
That should say that Young Liberals are still Liberals. It doesn't work both ways. Didn't you ever take philosphy?
All Young Liberals are Liberals.
Not all Liberals are Young Liberals.
- Apr 6, 2009, 3:26:00 AM
- James Curran said...
While the two of you are fighting this great injustice, can you share with us, other than Elyse Banham, how many female youth are running for the president and various vice president positions at YLC? Let's see if the female equality thing matters at YLC. I'll start you off. Two males are running for president. A male is acclaimed at the VP-Communication spot.
In looking at your existing executive http://www.ylc-jlc.ca/executive_e.aspx, it wouldn't appear that the youth wing is all that female friendly. Oh the old double standard.
- Apr 6, 2009, 8:09:00 AM
- A BCer in Toronto said...
Something that no one has explained to me yet is how the YLC arrived at the figure of 25%? What metrics and background is that number based on?
While I'm on the record as opposing quotas for any group, if you were to argue for a, say, 50% quota for women you would at least have some grounds to base that argument on: their percentage of the Canadian population.
As for the youth amendment, however, where do they get 25% from? It seems like an arbitrary number to me, unless you can tell me that people aged 14-25 (the YL age group) make up 25% of the Canadian population. I'd stand to be corrected if I'm wrong, but I really don't think they do.
Someone earlier here mentioned people being entitled to their entitlements. Well, I ask the YLC that is asking delegates to support their amendment, why 25%? Why a figure that is not only roughly double their membership in the party, but substantially more than their percentage of the Canadian population.
And when you ask for more votes than you would get based on sheer numbers or population, that means you're taking votes away from other groups. I'd like to understand why it's a good idea to disadvantage some groups in favour of others, rather than having a level playing field: one member, one vote, with the only barrier to entry a $10 membership fee.
- Apr 6, 2009, 9:20:00 AM
- roblaw said...
Welcome to the inherent problem with the leftish side of the Liberal party.
People are all equal.. except when they are not.
We have one member one vote in the PC party in Alberta.. and have significant involvement of our youth, of women and of visible minorities.. not because we set quotas, and not even because we are completely altruistic.. but because as a party, we understand that we have to speak to all members of our population.
I suspect, if left well enough alone, a OMOV move would still result in a significant effort in the Liberal party to assure than women, youth, seniors, aboriginal people.. and other interst groups are all represented.
The problem isn't solve by setting a quota on votes. The problem is solved by making the constituencies friendly to those groups. If your constituency is dominated by closed-minded white guys, well, voting by quota isn't going to encourage youth, women and visible minorities to step up and get involved..
What about homosexuals?
What about the physically handicapped?
What about atheists?
What about transexuals?
What about quotas for visible minorities generally - why limit quotas to aboriginals, youth and women? In fact, I think there should be a quota for Hungarian-Canadians..
James - keep up the good fight, the Liberal party needs you and others like you to keep them grounded in reality. In the (small) chance that Iggy actually wins, I'd prefer to have my country controlled by the sensible rather than the senseless.
- Apr 6, 2009, 10:10:00 AM
- Justin said...
How many females ran for LPC President James? That is not even the issue here. Nice distraction (what does female involvement in LPC have to do with Youth influence within the senior party) but once again you are wrong.
There was a women who threw her hat in the ring for YLC President:
Danielle Keenan of Manitoba (who recently dropped out) to support Sam Lavoie
- Apr 6, 2009, 10:27:00 AM
- Justin said...
"Something that no one has explained to me yet is how the YLC arrived at the figure of 25%? What metrics and background is that number based on?"
Given the fact that Young Liberals make up about 30% of delegates to conventions currently, I don't think 25% is an unreasonable number. It's actually a bit of a step back from our current position in the party.
- Apr 6, 2009, 10:28:00 AM
- James Curran said...
Justin, go back the BCers blog and answer his question there, not here.
The Big Boy PARTY is well represented by women on the executive. And if Senator Poulin didn't take ill, she'd still be president.
As I said. Go ahead and make your bed. You already have my vote to your amendment...NAY
- Apr 6, 2009, 10:36:00 AM
- Justin said...
You still haven't stated whether or not you would vote against OMOV if the YLC amendment was passed (like it was in 2006).
- Apr 6, 2009, 10:52:00 AM
- James Curran said...
Your amendment won't pass. And OMOV is the most important issue. See, we adults aren't as self-centred and insecure as the youth appear to be.
- Apr 6, 2009, 10:55:00 AM
- Don't Tase Me, Bro! said...
F@#k the amendment.
That's all I'm gonna say.
- Apr 6, 2009, 11:36:00 AM
- Mike said...
Kerry Nelson is running for YLC President as well James:
Not to make apologies for the bad record of the YLC in gender representation, just thought it was fair to point that out.
But don't just look at LPC James, LPC(O) is JUST AS BAD as the YLC, you can't just pick and choose what suits your argument.
- Apr 6, 2009, 11:44:00 AM
- James Curran said...
LPC(0)? What are you talking about. It has a female Executive Director and 3 of the 7 table officers are women. How's that for an argument.
- Apr 6, 2009, 11:48:00 AM
- David-Paul said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- Apr 6, 2009, 1:41:00 PM
- David-Paul said...
This has been an interesting read. What has struck me in particular here is the general tone. The ammendment being proposed by the Young Liberals is extremely self-serving and the objective here appears to be proven "right" rather than making membership relevant.
If we choose to continue focussing on our "differences" (aka weighting votes) then the inevitable outcome is division. The differences between us (whether they be race, religion, age, or sexual orientation) are truly irrelevant. Discussing our differences will not attract people to our party. Most people don't desire preferential treatment or to be more equal than anyone else. They just want to have a voice.
What this means right now is ensuring that every member has a voice so that we can attact Canadians to the party, not just to increase our potential base of donors, but so that Canadians will feel they can become influential in charting our country's course regardless of who they are, how they got here, or how old they are.
OUR party is faced with some very serious challenges but that challenge isn't Stephen Harper - it's ourselves. The party believes that the majority of Canadians do not support the Conservative vision of Canada and yet it can't manage to compete with the Conservative fundraising apparatus. Why is that?
It isn't Monsieur Dion's fault. It's because membership in the Liberal Party carries little, if any intrinsic value. The Vancouver Coronation is the only evidence the needs to be provided of this.
What I don't understand is how the Young Liberal ammendment is part of a solution that helps increase and broaden the appeal of the Liberal Party so that it can 1) build it's membership/donor base and 2) allow every member a voice that isn't limited to attendance at a convention?
Granted, our party is somewhat of a "slow learner". The "new" membership cards are a great example of this. They are an improvement to the previous process, but this was originally proposed at the LPCO AGM back in 2004 and its only taken 4 years to become a reality.
How long will it be before the players understand that a pure OMOV system will not only make membership relevant but allow the Party to sell itself and broaden it's donor base? Time may not be so kind if this party doesn't adapt and evolve soon and get out of its own way.
- Apr 6, 2009, 1:42:00 PM
- Mike said...
I count precisely 1 regional director on LPC(O) that is female, so you are being selective with your numbers. If you took the whole exec (which is what you did the YLC) that's 5 women on the entire executive out of 17.
(See here)
Pure OMOV isn't going to the floor.
What you say sounds nice, but so would be a world with gender equality and where youth were actively involved in political parties.
James why do you think the amendment passed with a fair bit over 50% last time?
Why do you believe it won't this time?
If it does pass will you torpedo OMOV and encourage others to do the same?
Why are you ok with someone in rural Alberta getting 10x the voice you do, but it's such a travesy for youth to possible get 1.5x more?
Can you point to past posts made by yourself and other bloggers from more than a year ago that say that it's the quotas that are the problem in leadership selection and not the delegated aspect?
Why was there no outrage against the YLC amendment in 2006 which passed with flying colours?
Why don't you just admit that a side effect of OMOV is decreased women's and youth voice in the party? Stop tip-toeing around it, you KNOW it's true. And why don't you just say that you personally believe that it's necessary to give the rest of the party a bigger voice over those groups.
I really believe the quotas we've had for over 20 years aren't the problem it's the conventions that deny 99% of the party a voice in leadership, but I guess you want to have EVERYTHING you want and will settle for nothing less, damned the consequences for other groups that you don't belong to, how mature of YOU!
- Apr 6, 2009, 3:09:00 PM
- David-Paul said...
Within a delegate system the use of quotas are certainly appropriate, but continuing their use within OMOV is ill-conceived. Quotas exist to level the playing field and ensure that specific segments within the party's membership are represented AT CONVENTIONS.
Introducing quotas under OMOV would tip the scale in the favour of these under-represented segments resulting in an inequitable system where certain groups would yield more influence with fewer votes. We certainly would not advocate for implementing quotas in our electoral system because every eligible citizen is equal and has the right to vote for their preferred candidate. A vote is a vote, period!
OMOV is a significant change to how our party elects future leaders and is looooong overdue. In my opinion quotas are simply not applicable within this type of system where EVERY member has a DIRECT vote in the leadership.
- Apr 7, 2009, 9:11:00 AM
- Mike said...
David Paul are there are some common talking points being passed around?
What you posted seems pretty similar to what Scott Templeton posted elsewhere.
(see here)
Scott Templeton (Toronto, ON) wrote
at 8:44am
Within a delegate system the use of quotas are certainly appropriate, but continuing their use within OMOV is ill-conceived. Quotas exist to level the playing field and ensure that specific segments within the party's membership are represented AT CONVENTIONS.
Introducing quotas under OMOV would tip the scale in the favour of these under-represented segments resulting in an inequitable system where certain groups would yield more influence with fewer votes. We certainly would not advocate for implementing quotas in our electoral system because every eligible citizen is equal and has the right to vote for their preferred candidate. A vote is a vote, period!
OMOV is a significant change to how our party elects future leaders and is looooong overdue. In my opinion quotas are simply not applicable within this type of system where EVERY member has a DIRECT vote in the leadership.
Curious no?
Oh well this debate is going around in circles, James for whatever reason you don't want to admit that it's mathematically impossible for OMOV to pass without the YLC amendment (Justin already layed out the math for you but you ignored it).
And you make claims the YLC amendment will fail based on NO EVIDENCE (given that more than 50% supported it last time, have you found a SINGLE delegate who supported it last time who will vote AGAINST this time? I'm guessing not).
So I guess you'd rather keep the delegated conventions than deal with those awful quotas that would help retain the INFLUENCE of a youth bloc in YLC races.
And what you seem blind to is the quota does make it mandatory for leadership campaigns to recruit dramatically more youth (to supplement the increased recruitment efforts and published membership targets that VP Org Elyse Banham has promised), so the quota DOES help the YLC with RECRUITMENT (and can credibly say they have a strong influential voice in deciding leaderships).
There is NO QUESTION that the youth membership was MUCH MUCH higher than 10% of the party membership in 2006, it was a failure of both the LPC and YLC that it dropped back to 10% since. The LPC AND YLC must do better to RETAIN them next time (which is no different than saying we must do better in the next election, everyone learns from past mistakes), but you can bet neither the LPC nor leadership campaigns will have any intrinsic interest to sign up youth without the quota.
James, you know that OMOV is purely a numbers game, and neither you NOR ANYONE ELSE has presented ANY reason to believe leadership campaigns would make anything more than token efforts to recruit youth if there were no quota.
So that is precisely why OMOV can't succeed without the amendment.
- Apr 7, 2009, 7:22:00 PM
- David-Paul said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- Apr 8, 2009, 9:35:00 AM
- David-Paul said...
Talking points Mike? It appears to be more of a "screen scrape" which isn't difficult to do.
Mr. Templeton may be circulating my post as I noticed he did by sharing at least one other email I know of. FYI, I have submitted my post in numerous groups and will continue to do so but the conspiracy theory you're alluding to doesn't exist Mike.
- Apr 8, 2009, 9:42:00 AM


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NASA's twin Grail spacecraft will crash into the lunar surface intentionally next week, bringing their gravity-mapping mission to a spectacular end.
The probes, known as Ebb and Flow, will be commanded to slam into the moon on Dec. 17, NASA officials said Monday. The agency will hold a press conference Thursday at 1:30 p.m. EST to discuss the impact and the events leading up to it.
The $496 million Grail mission — short for Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory — launched in September 2011 to map the moon's gravity field in unprecedented detail. Ebb and Flow arrived in orbit around the moon about one year ago — on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, respectively.
The washing-machine-size spacecraft were originally tasked with 90-day science missions, which ran from March to May. But NASA extended Grail, allowing the two probes to gather a trove of additional data.
Ebb and Flow have been flying in formation around the moon, detecting the tiny changes in the distance between them caused by lunar mountains, craters and subsurface mass concentrations. Scientists used these ultra-precise measurements to construct an incredibly accurate map of the lunar gravity field.
This map, unveiled last week at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, reveals that the moon's crust is almost completely pulverized. The surprising find suggests that the moon and other rocky bodies in the inner solar system were pounded by long-ago impacts far more violently than previously believed, researchers said.
Space news from NBCNews.com
Teen's space mission fueled by social media
Science editor Alan Boyle's blog: "Astronaut Abby" is at the controls of a social-media machine that is launching the 15-year-old from Minnesota to Kazakhstan this month for the liftoff of the International Space Station's next crew.
- Buzz Aldrin's vision for journey to Mars
- Giant black hole may be cooking up meals
- Watch a 'ring of fire' solar eclipse online
- Teen's space mission fueled by social media
The new map was based on data gathered during Grail's original science mission; scientists expect to upgrade it based on measurements the spacecraft made during their extended mission, which brought them even closer to the lunar surface — an average altitude of 14 miles (23 km) as opposed to 34 miles (55 km).
Ebb and Flow are now running low on fuel as expected, NASA officials said, so the end is near for the probes. Mission managers will ensure that they go out in style on Dec. 17.
Follow Space.com senior writer Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall or Space.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and Google+.
- Holy GRAIL! Photos From NASA's Moon Gravity Mission
- 20 Most Marvelous Moon Missions
- Lumpy Gravity Has The Moon - GRAIL to Learn Luna
© 2013 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com.

subset: commoncrawl


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copyright, Alex Prager.
Alex Prager is hot stuff right now. If you haven't heard of her (shame on you—less telly), you surely will. Her fine art work is brilliantly cinematic. She's a sort of modern-day Cindy Sherman and has been exhibited at little museums like the MoMA and Whitney in New York City. When Bottega Veneta asked her to shoot their latest advertising campaign, they were rewarded with truly provocative imagery that doesn't look like all the other current fashion ads. This particular execution (with a not-so-subtle nod to Hitchcock) was created with 2 HMI lights.
Camera: Contax 645 with 80mm lens and Kodak Portra 160NC film, handheld 12 feet back. Shot at 1/60, f8, ISO 100.
Lighting: To mimic and blend with the midday sunlight, Alex has set an Arri 12,000 watt fresnel HMI fifteen feet to camera right, up high and slightly behind the model. A one-stop silk in front helps to soften the light just a touch and create the attractive highlight on his face. An Arri 6,000 watt fresnel HMI with barn doors sits twelve feet to camera left and is positioned in front of the model and lower to help fill the shadows. To achieve this dynamic, upward angle, Alex must have built a stage for the model to stand on.
Comments: Shoot with live birds and you chance the occasional pooping. These pigeons possessed an almost supernatural aim. When the poor model was nicked three times within an hour, Alex told him it was good luck. He had his reservations until he won the local Pick 3 lottery the following day.


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Deckadance 2 Out Now!
We are excited to announce Deckadance 2 is now available for your PC or MAC. Deckadance 2 is perfectly suited to todays evolving remix-style DJ performances and works as a stand-alone application or VST plugin in your favorite host. Deckadance 2 is a free update for existing customers. Click the image above to learn more.
FL Studio 64 Bit Beta
The FL Studio 64 Bit beta is ready for testing. This includes FL Studio and most plugins now running in native 64 Bit mode. Click above for more details.
Musikmesse 2013 Thank you!
Thanks to everyone who made Musikmesse 2013 a huge success. We featured FL Studio 11, Deckadance 2, FL Studio Mobile for Android and more. Click above for details.
ZGameEditor Visualizer Competition!
Create a YouTube video with ZGameEditor Visualizer using your own backing track or a project from the Cool Stuff folder. Entries will be judged on their audio-visual appeal. Click the image above for more details.
Oldschool Breakbeats Sample Library
The Oldschool Breakbeats library contains a fresh set of funky drum loops in the style often sampled from 60s and 70s records for use in modern music. The library includes FL Studio project sources ready to re-mix and re-edit.


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In a holy crap stat o' the week, AT&T sold a record setting 9.4 million smartphones in the fourth quarter of 2011. 7.6 million of that 9.4 million were iPhones. 7.6 MILLION. That's a ridiculous 81 percent of all AT&T smartphones sold! That's only 1.8 million phones left to split between Android, Windows Phone and BlackBerry (ha!). That is freaking nuts.
AT&T said that "the majority" of the 7.6 million iPhones sold were iPhone 4S and that they sold 3.3 million more iPhones than Verizon. It's not that Android is doing terribly—AT&T just had its best Android sales quarter with Android sales twice as much as they were last year—it's just that the iPhone is a relentlessly dominating beast of a phone that just won't stop selling. [AT&T]


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Beyonce's Dad Hints That Elevator Fight Was a PR Stunt [VIDEO]by Michelle McGahan | PopCrush
Beyonce's dad, Mathew Knowles, has basically just come out and said that the Beyonce/Jay Z divorce rumors and the nasty elevator fight that went down between Jay and Solange was all a PR stunt.
"It's called a Jedi Mind Trick," he told radio station 104.1 KRBE passionately. "The Jedi Mind Trick fools you a lot of times."
When one of the hosts straight-up asked him if he thought that the trio knew that the elevator fight was being recorded and that they wanted the video to leak, Knowles once again used the Force.
"All I know is the Jedi Mind Trick," he repeated. "Everybody is talking about it, ticket sales went up, Solange's album sales went up 200 percent."
Knowles also attempted to hint at a possible Destiny's Child reunion, claiming he is still the manager of the group — but we're not so sure we buy it.
Watch Mathew Knowles discuss his opinions (and constantly repeat the phase "Jedi Mind Trick") in the video above.
See Beyonce + More Celebs' Yearbook Photos


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Al Gore Is Not Giving Up
A rare, frank conversation with the former vice president and climate-change activist.
Al Gore is richer and skinnier than ever, 14 years out of the White House, a tech titan with elder statesman clout, whose disdain for politics in the capital where he lived most of his life has only grown with each year he's lived away from it. Sure, this new Gore has a great life, what with a net worth well over the $200 million mark following the sale of his Current TV network to Al Jazeera last year, that seat on the Apple board and his starring roles with two investment companies that tout their environmentally friendly business styles: London-based Generation Investment Management and Silicon Valley's Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. He lives well too, between his 20-room, $4 million home in Nashville's tony Belle Meade neighborhood and a separate apartment in San Francisco's St. Regis luxury hotel residences.
But even in his fabulously wealthy, I'm-not-a-Washingtonian-anymore phase, Gore is still a policy wonk, of course. He may be a trendy, 50-pound-lighter vegan these days, and wear the all-black uniform of the Silicon Valley gurus who have become his peers. But the former vice president still geeks out when talking about the "cost-down curve for photovoltaic electricity," his solar-powered houseboat and the infuriating refusal of the news media and the Republican Party to acknowledge the climate change gorilla in the room.
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And the new Al Gore is just as steamed as the old Al Gore about the lack of clear progress in combating global warming, a failure that clearly eats at him. When I ask Gore in a two-hour interview in his Nashville office—the longest he's given since last summer—how he would describe his job, he says, "I want to catalyze the emergence of a solution to the climate crisis as quickly as possible. Period."
Perhaps not surprisingly, he is much less eager to discuss the disappointments of why that is so during the presidency of a fellow Democrat who subscribes to Gore's views on the urgency of the climate crisis – never mind his own failure to galvanize more action despite the recognition of a Nobel Prize and even an Oscar award for his climate proselytizing. And then there's the awkward fact of his current low profile, which even Gore friends and allies tell me is very much by design.
If the old rap on Gore was that he was too boring, too stiff to succeed at the highest levels of politics—at one point, it was hard to find a mention of the former vice president's name without the word "wooden" closely nearby—the new complaint, even from Gore's ostensible allies, is that he's too polarizing a figure to lead the movement against climate change, a lament I've heard in numerous recent interviews.
"I don't think he's taken seriously as the spokesman, certainly by no one in the middle," a former House Democrat with battle scars from the last decade's climate change debates told me. "He's preaching to the choir. He's a common scold." Claire McCaskill, the Missouri Democratic senator, says any politician with a background like Gore's is bound to be a problematic face of the climate fight. "I'd vote for a scientist," she said in an interview. "He may be a statesman, but I think once a politician, always a politician in the eyes of many."
The charge leaves him cold. "It's not about me. And I've never tried to make it about me," Gore, who turned 66 last month, insists. "I think that whoever puts his head up above the trenches and says 'We've got to do this' is going to attract the ire of people who don't want to do it," he says. "And there are plenty of them."
"I think that's a big statement about who he is," says Carol Browner, the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, who is close to Gore. "Lots of people in our business would care a lot more about being on the front page."
Whether by choice or design, Gore is clearly working hard to not make it about him. He rarely grants interviews, preferring to lobby President Obama and world leaders in private (he tells me he has "no complaints about any lack of access" to the White House). When Senate Democrats invited Gore to brief them last December, he did it behind closed doors at one of their weekly luncheons in the Capitol, rather than in televised committee hearings, like the ones he headlined in 2007 and 2009. He skipped the 2012 Democratic National Convention altogether. And much of his attention these days is clearly on his booming business (though conservatives love to bash him for that too, taunting him for getting rich off going green).
"I think he's channeled some of his political instincts into business now," says Jon Meacham, the former Newsweek editor who published Gore's most recent book. As for the complaint that Gore's monetizing his climate fight for personal gain, Bill Daley, the former White House chief of staff, responds: "The fact that Al Gore invests in companies that may be able to help with climate change is somehow evil? In every other format those people would cheer someone who did that."
But it is also indisputably true that Gore's global warming quest has produced few clear successes. Public opinion polls show Americans repeatedly rank climate change near the bottom of their list of priorities for the country. Greenhouse gas emissions have continued their upward march, interrupted only by the 2008 recession. Repeated legislative defeats in Washington and more than two decades of largely fruitless international negotiations have left many in the environmental movement searching for new strategies, and new leaders. And now the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the same U.N.-backed group that shared Gore's 2007 Nobel Prize, says the planet won't be nearly as habitable by the end of this century if significant changes aren't made – and soon – in how we get our energy.


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So you're ready to ditch the elliptical for a fat burning, metabolism boosting, dare we say soul-crushing circuit training regimen.
We don't blame you. As we covered in our last post, circuit training is a great way to cram a full-body workout guaranteed to send your heart rate through the roof while shredding your muscles. Oh, and it also takes about half the time of traditional workouts. We're big fans if you couldn't tell.
Circuit training is simple. There are three rules you must follow. The first is basically no rest between exercises, only between "circuits." The next rule: give it your all. Circuit training is all about intensity. The more effort you put in, the better your results. The last rule: build your circuit training around YOU. Modify your exercises to match your age, skill level, and industry history. While you want to be true to rule number two, you also don't want to hurt yourself.
Getting started can sometimes be overwhelming, so we put together a simple guide to help you get started.
Think of circuit training as a set number of "stations" that you repeat over and over until your time runs out (or in our case, until your muscles scream for mercy). Knowing how much time you have helps determine how many circuits you'll need to complete and also how hard you're going to have to work to get there. Pro tip: the shorter your workout, the harder you're going to have to work to get the results you want. So set your time. We recommend anywhere from 10-30 minutes. For example, five stations at one minute apiece repeated for six circuits will add up to a 30-minute workout.
Now it's time to pick your individual exercises. You're going to want to mix it up here to get a full body workout. There is no "Leg Day" in circuit training. Choose exercises according to the equipment you have handy.
Choose an Upper Body Workout
- Shoulder Presses
- Push Ups
- Burpees
- Triceps Dips
- Dumbbell Curls
Choose a Lower Body Workout
- Walking Lunges
- Sumo Squats
- Deadlifts
- Overhead Lunges
Add a Compound Movement
- Mountain Climbers
- Thrusters (Not for the faint of heart)
- Cleans
- Snatches
- Jumping Lunges
Mix in a Sprint
- Run
- Jump Rope
- Row
- Cycle
After you're done, rest for one minute. After all you've earned it. After that minute is up, repeat your circuit until you reach your time limit.
If you want to increase your results, simply dial up your intensity or shorten your workout time. There are also many online resources available that offer incredible workouts. Several CrossFit gyms post their daily workouts (WODs) online. We also highly recommend looking into circuit training at your local gym or joining a CrossFit gym if you're looking for more structure, some friendly competition, or motivation from a personal trainer.


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Natures Plus - Source of Life Men Iron-Free - 120 Tablets Natures Plus Source of Life Men Iron-Free supplies precisely crafted levels of key nutrients known to support the health and well-being of men in every age category. This gender specific supplement includes zinc, saw palmetto, alpha lipoic acid and pumpkin seed. Part of the winning Source of Life line, this targeted whole food based multi-vitamin and mineral supplement features bioflavonoids, lipids, plant pigments, amino acids, nucleic acids and herbs for synergistic nutritional support. Source of Life Organic Vitamins and Supplements Source of Life premium natural vitamins and supplements from Natures Plus are the first mega-potency whole food-based multivitamins, and the first supplements to unleash a Guaranteed Burst of Energy! Source of Life's unparalleled formulations draw vitality from natural sources to give you the ultimate power of pure natural vitamins and supplements. Every Source of Life product is enhanced with Source of Life proprietary blends, designed to deliver revitalizing results that you can feel! Source of Life natural vitamins and supplements designed to custom-fit your life: Source of Life shattered the barriers of traditional multivitamins... and just kept on evolving. Today, you can choose from nearly 100 Source of Life proprietary blends of natural vitamins, supplements, protein shakes and energy drinks for men and women. How do you prefer your natural vitamins and supplements? Tablets? Capsules? Liquids? Protein shakes? Source of Life has them all. Just select the Source of Life formulation that best meets your own personal health and nutrition goals. 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Document Type
- Habilitation (3) (remove)
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- continuum mechanics (2)
- Biomechanik (1)
- Finite-Elemente-Methode (1)
- Kontinuumsmechanik (1)
- Offene Systeme (1)
- Thermodynamik (1)
- anisotropic plasticity (1)
- biomechanics (1)
- configurational mechanics (1)
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The main goal of this work is to examine various aspects of `inelastic continuum mechanics': first, fundamental aspects of a general finite deformation theory based on a multiplicative decomposition of the deformation gradient with special emphasis on the incompatibility of the so-called intermediate configuration are discussed in detail. Moreover, various balance of linear momentum representations together with the corresponding volume forces are derived in a configurational mechanics context. Subsequent chapters are consequently based on these elaborations so that the applied multiplicative decomposition generally serves as a fundamental modelling concept in this work; after generalised strain measures are introduced, a kinematic hardening model coupled with anisotropic damage, a substructure evolution framework as well as two different growth and remodelling formulations for biological tissues are presented.
The primary objective of this work is the development of robust, accurate and efficient simulation methods for the optimal control of mechanical systems, in particular of constrained mechanical systems as they appear in the context of multibody dynamics. The focus is on the development of new numerical methods that meet the demand of structure preservation, i.e. the approximate numerical solution inherits certain characteristic properties from the real dynamical process. This task includes three main challenges. First of all, a kinematic description of multibody systems is required that treats rigid bodies and spatially discretised elastic structures in a uniform way and takes their interconnection by joints into account. This kinematic description must not be subject to singularities when the system performs large nonlinear dynamics. Here, a holonomically constrained formulation that completely circumvents the use of rotational parameters has proved to perform very well. The arising constrained equations of motion are suitable for an easy temporal discretisation in a structure preserving way. In the temporal discrete setting, the equations can be reduced to minimal dimension by elimination of the constraint forces. Structure preserving integration is the second important ingredient. Computational methods that are designed to inherit system specific characteristics – like consistency in energy, momentum maps or symplecticity – often show superior numerical performance regarding stability and accuracy compared to standard methods. In addition to that, they provide a more meaningful picture of the behaviour of the systems they approximate. The third step is to take the previ- ously addressed points into the context of optimal control, where differential equation and inequality constrained optimisation problems with boundary values arise. To obtain meaningful results from optimal control simulations, wherein energy expenditure or the control effort of a motion are often part of the optimisation goal, it is crucial to approxi- mate the underlying dynamics in a structure preserving way, i.e. in a way that does not numerically, thus artificially, dissipate energy and in which momentum maps change only and exactly according to the applied loads. The excellent numerical performance of the newly developed simulation method for optimal control problems is demonstrated by various examples dealing with robotic systems and a biomotion problem. Furthermore, the method is extended to uncertain systems where the goal is to minimise a probability of failure upper bound and to problems with contacts arising for example in bipedal walking.
A general framework for the thermodynamics of open systems is developed in the spatial and the material setting. Special emphasis is placed on the balance of mass which is enhanced by additional source and flux terms. Different solution strategies within the finite element technique are derived and compared. A number of numerical examples illustrates the features of the proposed approach.


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Overhead Hood-Style Ventilating System
Improvements in its popular, low-cost, bench mounted, overhead hood-style ventilating system are announced by the Vent-A-Fume Division of Vent-A-Kiln Corporation, Buffalo, NY. According to Brian Brandon, Vice-President of Engineering, "We changed from a 2-speed to a single-speed motor which runs cooler and is more efficient. We also designed a new support stand which simplifies installation and makes height adjustments of the overhead hood easier. And, of course, our 3-year warranty applies to all Vent-A-Fume systems."
The energy-saving, table-top Vent-A-Fume systems are said to be ideal for removing both toxic fumes and heat that usually escape from such applications as heat-treating furnaces & ovens and work-bench area welding & soldering operations. Since the Vent-A-Fume's design enables fumes and heat to be captured immediately at their source, any process emissions can be exhausted quickly and efficiently to the outside of the work area or into any existing ductwork venting system. The extremely low-cost of Vent-A-Fume's Bench-Mounted Ventilator, starting at $395.00, makes it a far-more efficient answer to work-area ventilation than costly stationary, overhead ventilation hoods. Furthermore, the ease of installation makes relocating the Vent-A-Fume a simple job for in-house personnel.
The bench-mounted Vent-A-Fume is available in three hood diameters (27", 32" and 37") and exhaust blowers of 250 or 450 CFM. Standard hoods are fabricated from .063 gauge aluminum. Hoods are also available in stainless steel or polypropylene and in square or rectangular shapes. Each unit is supplied with a unique, adjustable height, bench-mounting bracket which enables easy positioning directly over a small oven, furnace, kiln or encaustic paint palette, and an outside hose kit with all necessary hardware for installation. Optional wall or ceiling mounting brackets are available.
- new support stand
- removes both toxic fumes and heat
- three hood diameters


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The Caring Use Respond (CUA) is undoubtedly an respond that legalizes the application of weed solely for restorative functions and that act was passed in 1996 legalizing the residents of the condition of California to use and develop marijuana as being an more treatment method choice for their health issues. The California state cannabis increasing legal guidelines approves the developing and harvesting of your plant for personal use. It really is nonetheless limited to only six plants and flowers per household with an entitled patient. This is the only declare that can develop weed on the list of 14 states in the United States as of early spring 2009. mmmp
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Made a trip up to The Guggenheim last week and was wowed by the show "Asterisms" by the Mexican-born artist Gabriel Orozco. He has created sculptural and photographic installations from rubble he gathered on two sites in New York and in Baja California, Mexico. Got me thinking about something amazing I had encountered years ago while living in Australia– the lair of a male blue Satin Bowerbird .
Long story, but while living in Sydney, my sister (an avid bird-watcher) visited and arranged a day-long excursion with an ornithologist. In a quiet little patch of urban park land we came upon the most bizarre work of nature I have ever encountered– a field of blue "stuff" scattered in a large circle with an elaborate thatch structure in the middle (think Blair Witch Project for birds).
Bowerbird males are masters of seduction who lure their females into elaborately built bowers where mating will take place. Their favored color is blue and they collect and decorate their "pads" with all sorts of blue colored detritus– most of it, small found objects of plastic like bottle caps, clothes pins, straws. If you are dying to know more, tune into this little video "Bower Bird".
Which brings me to the Gabriel Orozco Asterisms exhibit at The Guggenheim– similar to the Bower Bird "show" but a bit more organized. The artist actually found these tiny bits of detritus in the astroturf of a field near Pier 44 in NYC. The ~beauty~ is in the arrangement– objects carefully spaced and organized by size and color.
No purposeful "mating" motive here, but seductive nonetheless.
And on to the display of objects found in the waters of Baja Mexico (photos below). Again, Orozco has placed the objects in a large field decreasing with size and organized by color– an amazing collection of driftwood, stones, floats, lightbulbs, bottles and even toilet paper rolls encased in plastic.
And there are other artists who work with "found" objects and "everyday trash" . Take a look at the work of Portia Munson:
What do you think of this aesthetic? Heaps of rubble… found objects…litter…lovely trash? Or as Ken Johnson, in his review of Asterisms in the New York Times remarked, "The idea is that something greater than the sum of its parts will emerge."


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Apparently, as evidenced by this example, Google's new Social Media darling, Google+ loves to censor photos based upon certain keywords.
I posted a picture on September 1st titled "Full-Frontal Hummingbird: Yesterday's best capture." A few days later it was replaced with this black graphic and an international no-entry symbol. The only thing I can conclude from this is that Google+ is censoring photographs based upon keywords in the metadata or the description or both. Certainly the picture isn't offensive and no reasonable person would report it as inappropriate.
Now, I have listened to pundits-especially in the photography world- proclaiming Google Plus to be the best image experience in the social media realm. Scott Kelby has been ballyhooing this on his many media outlets. Read a blog entry or two by him and you will see (and rightfully so to many points) that there is high regard for the new sharing site. Watch an episode of The Grid and you will hear and see much more about the greatness (or aptness) of Google+ (or Google Plus if you prefer).
Many prominent photographers are jumping on the Plus bandwagon as a salvation from the sins committed upon their images by Facebook and the like. Even I wrote about Facebook's horrid thumbnail cropping on the Holy Crop! blog recently. But there is still this one nagging problem: Google appears to censor your images…
… even this harmless frontal image of a hummingbird. A few quick refreshes and playing around and eventually Google Plus will reveal the benign image. I hope you covered your child's eyes if they were near the screen.
You might say, "Rikk, why not just rename it?"
I might reply, "Why? Does it not describe the shot? Is the shot not 'G-rated'?" I chose this name because after a couple of days getting profiles, I finally got a front-on shot. Perhaps, I also thought it clever. When I shared it with non-public circles and not the general public, its content should be irrelevant in any case. To date, I've found no setting that will repair this erroneous designation.
As long as this type of oops is possible, can Google+ really be considered a photographer's social medial alternative to Facebook ?
Rikk Flohr © 2011


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Simon-Kucher is led by the CEO, Dr. Georg Tacke, and its Board. The Board consists of nine Partners from diverse offices and countries.
Our firm is privately owned by its more than 100 Partners. They are responsible for the economic success and future development of our company – and that of our clients. Our Partners come from diverse educational backgrounds and have broad experience across industries, functions, countries and cultures.


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It's been 80 years since a New Jersey auto-parts store manager named Richard Hollingshead Jr. hit upon the idea of a drive-in theater. The wonder of Hollingshead's concept, of course — as with all of the world's greatest, most inspired, most life-affirming inventions — is that, despite how obvious it seems in retrospect, no one had thought of it before. Or, if anyone did think of it before, they hadn't bothered to get a patent on the idea, as Hollingshead did on May 16, 1933. And no one had the wherewithal to actually envision, build and then open to the public this modern marvel, as Hollingshead and three other investors did when they cut the ribbon on the world's first drive-in movie theater in Camden, New Jersey, on June 6, 1933.
[See LIFE's love letter to the movies, "In Praise of Sitting in the Dark With Strangers."]
Here, 80 years after the drive-in's first appearance on the American landscape, LIFE.com offers a series of photos celebrating the ingenious confluence of two of America's abiding obsessions: movies and cars. At the height of their popularity in the 1950s and '60s, there were roughly 4,000 drive-in theaters across the U.S.; today, that number is closer to 400, with more closing every year. Thanks in large part to digital technology, there's been a resurgence, of sorts, in outdoor movie-watching in recent years, with individuals and groups showing films in parks, on rooftops, in alleyways and on buildings in small towns and big cities around the country.
But the classic, old-school drive-in theater is most assuredly an endangered species. Here's hoping the pictures in this gallery will stir fond memories in those lucky enough to have enjoyed a night out at the drive-in, or inspire those less fortunate to go, go now, to the nearest drive-in you can find, and experience what all the fuss is about firsthand. Before it's too late.
Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizabethronk.


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TriZPUG September 2010 Meeting: DjangoCon Recap
Join us for a night of lighting talks where we will relive moments of DjanjoCon and learn about the great presentations and festivities that occurred there. As always, lightning talks of ten minutes or less on other topics are also welcome. Anything you've learned about Python, no matter how trivial, can be a lightning talk. Mike Revoir hosts at the spacious Duke University North Pavillion (http://trizpug.org/Members/mrevoir/duke_lllh_logistics) where there is plenty of directly adjacent free parking. Read the article for more information.
For more information, visit
- What
- Meeting
- When
- 2010-09-23 from 19:00 to 21:00
- Where
- Duke University, North Pavillion, 2400 Pratt St, Durham, NC 27705
- Name
- Mike Revoir
- Contact Email
- email@example.com
- Contact Phone
- 919/668-8517


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I am interested in finding web applications that enable editing and downloading of pixel images. It should be focused on icons or retro-style video game sprites with sizes ranging from 8x8 to 256x256 or so.
I'm looking for a pixel manipulation oriented app, not a full featured photo or image editor.


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Fifth Avenue's Eye-Popping Rents
The cost of retail real estate and store rents is hitting a record high along New York's Fifth Avenue, a sign that the high-end market remains strong despite the weakness of the broader economy. Dana Mattioli has details on Lunch Break. Photo: Mark Abramson for The Wall Street Journal.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
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Ok, because I think it's funny to pull crap like this, I'm announcing the title of my next project here, just to see how long it takes for someone to notice it.
Drumroll, please.
My next project, a superhero comic, will be titled "Lithia City Knights" and will follow the exploits of several of Lithia City's superheroes. The action will focus on two, the male and female I've been drawing lately, as a crime fighting duo in the vein of Batman and Robin, without all the homoeroticism. I'll announce other things in this thread, should I remember to, as I feel it is appropriate.


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Data Soft
We are planning to revolutionize the Mobile Industry with Continuous Innovation. Our strategy is based on fail fast and fail often, promoting continuous innovation. We have students, we have experienced developers. We have members from Software Development, from Communications, from Creative Arts & Crafts and also from a ton of other disciplines. One other revolution, we are delegating. We are learning to delegate and we are pioneering in empowerment with authority. We are branding Bangladesh as the Global Leader in Mobile Application Development. We welcome everyone to join our team.


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NOTE: These are a very slim fit.
Our organic merino wool long sleeve crew is one of our absolute favorite pieces. It is so soft and comforting and perfect it even gets its own fan mail! Yes it's that good. Parents have told us more than once that when they dress their kids in our thermal crews they feel like they have just wrapped them in some special magic protective force field layer.
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In a djvu file, it has two book pages in one djvu page. I would like to split it so that one book page per djvu page. For example,
I was wondering if this can be done by some software, preferably command line utilities? Thanks and regards!
PS: This is a file that can be used for test.


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Busy Busy
I get home from a nice long weekend in Chicago, where I was visiting family for the U.S. Thanksgiving, and the Jays hold press conferences on consecutive days. Needless to say, I've been a bit busy lately.
Here's some news from the last few days:
- Toronto is thinking about keeping Aaron Hill at second base after all. The Jays are interested in Royce Clayton for shortstop and are also considering going with more than one player at the position.
- John McDonald is part of the plans for next season, but as the utility player — not as the starting shortstop. Jason Phillips is also in the plans as the backup at catcher and at first base. Both are arbitration eligible.
- GM J.P. Ricciardi said he didn't think Toronto would be in the running for Vicente Padilla or Mark Mulder. He said Tony Armas Jr. was a "backburner guy," so there is some limited interest there. Other than that, he acknowledges that there's a few things going, but won't get into specifics yet.
- Toronto had Gil Meche up for a visit on Tuesday. Frank Thomas and Pat Hentgen both met with him to pitch the city and the team. Ricciardi went to a Maple Leafs' game with Meche during his stay. Meche and Lilly appear to be Toronto's top two targets.
- The Jays don't plan on going after any bullpen help. Brandon League, Jason Frasor and Jeremy Accardo will get the chance to replace Justin Speier, who signed with the Angels.
- Toronto will be in the market for a fourth outfielder and Ricciardi said he'll be looking for a cheap solution at the Winter Meetings. The Jays would like to keep rookie Adam Lind at Triple-A so he can get regular playing time.
- Blue Jays president and CEO Paul Godfrey said the club hopes to make the payroll figure public before Christmas. The Jays have an idea what the number is, but it has to be approved by the Rogers Communication board of directors first.
- According to Ricciardi, free-agent catcher Rod Barajas signed a terms sheet before backing out of a two-year deal with the Jays. After he signed the agreement, Barajas only needed to pass a physical to complete the deal. The Jays had a press conference planned and were going to fly Barajas' family to Toronto before the catcher backed out of the agreed deal.
15 Comments
Im glad to see Zaun back. I think he is a much better option than Barajas. Zaun is much more patient, he works well with our pitching staff, and his offensive numbers seem to get be getting better every year. Im still not counting out Russ Adams this year. He still has potential to be a decent 2nd Baseman, he is just going to have to prove himself. Lots of guys are late bloomers. I look at Zaun he has worked hard to make himself into a good catcher, Gary Mattews Jr. had a breakout year at age 31. For us to really compete this year, we are going to have to have some of these guys step up. A 5th pitcher wether it be Marcum or McGowan or even Towers, is going to have to come in and pitch some good innings for us.
Those intentions sound good.
Right now, Clayton seems to be signed unless he pulls a Barajas on the Blue Jays. Good to keep Hill at 2B. Not as flashy as O-Dog on D, but solid with more potential and a better bat.
I think both Lilly and Meche sound good. But in this market, I think Jays will be very happy to have at least one of them better than none. Lots of competition for both though. Both would mean one of the best rotations in the league.
Mulder, 15 teams interested? Might not even start the season? High-risk, high-payoff?
Extra OF? Hopefully someone with some speed for pinch running too.
I like the idea of a speedy 4th outfielder. Kenny Lofton would be a good option, but he would probably be too exspensive. The Jays might be looking more along the lines of Willie Harris.
Clayton isnt a terrible signing, but his fielding isnt what it used to be. According to FOXsports.com, he ranked 3rd to last in fielding range in the NL last year. I still think Johnny Mac is a good SS, but Clayton will hit better (.258 opposed to .225).
Anybody else tired of the revolving door at shortstop? I wonder if J.P. is hoping Russ Adams will finally emerge as an everyday shortstop? It's possible I guess. Look at Alex Rios last season. He was pegged as platooning in right with Hinske or possibly being traded before emerging as an All-Star right fielder.
What do people think about Matt Stairs as a 4th outfeilder? I think it would be a perfect fit. It would be nice to add another left bat, he is a veteran who will bring some leadership. Plus he's Canadian!
I like the Royce Clayton signing but it appears as if the revolving door at the middle infield positions isn't going to be stopping anytime soon. With Clayton signed to only a 1 year contract the Jays will be in the same situation next year. Aaron Hill is here to stay but MacDonald and Clayton aren't getting any younger. I guess a lot will depend on the kind of year Russ Adams has in AAA, although you can't assume a whole lot based on his performance last season.
With Royce being signed to just a one-year deal, it looks like they are waiting for Russ Adams to make his mark. I think if Russ has a good year in the minors that it won't be long until he's a full-time Jays shortstop. The guys has a lot of potential, and he'll break out of the funk he's in.
4th outfielder should be a speedy veteran. Hopefully someone with playoff experience. I think the only World Series who played in the playoffs in that year is Zaun, and he was backup.
Thomas and Burnett won but they were hurt.
All the other Jays have no playoff experience. Playoff experience is valuable for the home stretch and in the playoffs.
Zaun has playoff experience. He won World Series rings with Florida, and Arizona
Sorry he didn't actually see any action in the Arizona Series but he did in the Florida ('97) one.
Whoops…I assumed that you had mentioned Glaus' playoff experience in the paragraph and neglected Zaun's when in fact it was the other way around.
So Glaus and Zaun as the only ones with playoff experience. I think Thomas has some too.
I think playoff experience is overrated, I will agree it may play a small role. But really when it comes down to it, whether a player can handle the pressure has as much to do with the individual as it does with their experience. A guy with 20 playoff games under his belt may not be able to handle the pressure any better than a guy without any. I don't think playoff experience will play any role in who J.P. wants in his lineup and it shouldn't. You find the best player possible to fill the need.
thats right, its all in the player and about going out every game to win. I am sure most players do that on a regular basis. In the end, it truly comes down to who the best team is. Its all about how the players gel as a team. Thos guys with the playoff experiance will be able to help the others anyway. I think regardless of who the Jays come out of the meetings with, they will make an impact on the season.
Agreed. Every player goes out there every game to win- playoff experience or not. The Jays already have a solid group of players, lead by an outstanding veteran core. I don't feel adding a fourth outfielder with playoff experience will help out that much in the end. But hey, it can't hurt either. To me the Jays are looking for a cheap backup who can play some good defense and hit a little. Kenny Lofton and players of his calliber are probably out of the question. A few guys that seem more reasonable are Jerry Hairston, Terrance Long and Todd Hollandsworth. Now these guys are not going to wow anyone but they are solid major leaguers. More importantly they are cheap so we can go out and get those two starters we need.


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Exercise is a very effective way to reduce risk factors
coronary artery disease (CAD) and
high cholesterol. Regular exercise:
Added benefits of regular exercise include:
To get and stay healthy, do activity at a level that is right for you—moderate or vigorous. Try to do:
It's fine to be active in blocks of 10 minutes or more
throughout your day and week.
Customize your exercise program
according to your fitness level, the health of your heart, and your personal
preferences. Aerobic exercise (brisk walking, jogging, swimming, bicycling,) is
Some people, especially those who have a history of CAD,
should discuss their exercise plans with their doctors before starting a
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Last Revised:
June 29, 2012
Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:
Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine & Robert A. Kloner, MD, PhD - Cardiology & Rakesh K. Pai, MD, FACC - Cardiology, Electrophysiology
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