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The new age of news media
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Did you miss the white smoke over the Sistine Chapel announcing that there had been a new pope elected? Have no fear. The Vatican tweeted "Habemus Papam" mere seconds after the smoke began to billow. The Holy See even announced the name of the new pope, Francis, to the world via their official Twitter page.
It's all part of the changing role of media and how people gather their news, as the world becomes more connected and more technological than ever.
Here at Saint Louis University, the Billiken Readership Program is in place to reverse that trend and encourage students to pick up a physical paper and educate themselves. According to Student Government Association Vice President of Academic Affairs Richard Joubert, the slogan of the program is to "get caught reading."
The Billiken Readership Program is part of the USA Today Collegiate Readership Program, a nationwide goal of promoting civic literacy and global awareness on campus through daily exposure to the news. It offers students Monday through Friday editions of USA Today, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and The New York Times.
At SLU, students are charged $2.50 to their tuition to finance the program. Joubert said the University collects about $72,000 a year to pay for the papers delivered.
"We try to match the delivery to readership," Joubert said. "Last fall, over 54,000 papers were picked up. Of course, we'll order more for big events, like presidential elections."
Statistics show that USA Today is the most read paper on campus through the program, followed by the Post-Dispatch and The New York Times. Executives at The New York Times are hoping to increase their readership on college campuses, which has led to an expansion of the Billiken Readership Program this semester.
According to a Pew Research study, just 23 percent of Americans read a newspaper in its physical form. That's an 18 percent decrease in just 10 years, as use of digital news resources has soared. Currently, 55 percent of the readers of The New York Times do so on their computer, tablet or smart phone. To tap into that potential, SLU students now have 24-hour access to The New York Times digital edition and archives.
To access the content, students go to www.nytimes.com/academicpasses and create an account with their SLU email. Each day, 250 passes are available, and each pass gives the user 24 hours of access. They must then reapply for a new pass.
Passes cover the mobile site on the iPhone, Windows Phone, and Android. Additionally, the NYTimes app for the iPad is covered through the program. SGA is encouraging professors to use the new feature in the classroom. The program may expand, Joubert said, but "everything depends on readership."
"If more students pick up the Times each day, we will receive more passes," he said.
The decline in readership has proved a major challenge for newspapers across the nation. The Newspapers Association of America reported that advertisement revenue for print papers fell about $1.5 billion, or 7.3 percent. The advent of Twitter and Facebook has allowed people to share news more rapidly than ever – making it even more difficult for newspapers to remain relevant.
While newspapers have spent years competing with television, now writers, like Nate Latsch of stlhighschoolsports.com, must find creative ways to engage the readership. Latsch, who has also written online for Fox Sports and whose work is published in the Post-Dispatch, said the competition pushes writers to get there first, then develop the story.
"In the past, with newspapers, you would have more time to search out and develop stories," Latsch said. "Now, the time frames are shortened. You have to get the news out online as soon as you can, while also trying to develop the information and advance it for publication in the newspaper the next day."
Latsch often covers afternoon or evening sporting events as well as college recruitment stories. The nature of his job is that anyone with a blog or a Twitter can do the same thing that he does even if they are not professional journalists.
"One of the drawbacks to social media, especially Twitter, is how it kind of speeds up the 24-hour news cycle," Latsch said. "Because there are so many more media outlets online covering the same thing, you have to work to do it better than the competition and give the online consumers [something special]."


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Tomorrow is election day. I have already voted as have millions of other Americans. I am reposting a blog from 2 years ago, because I believe what it said then, stands as truth for today.
Yesterday in worship, as we celebrated All Saints, a scripture from Hebrews was read. In part it stated, "Strive for peace with all, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" spring up and cause trouble, and by it the many become defiled." (Hebrews 12: 14-15)
I can not imagine a moment when these words are not more profound. The right to vote is a gift and a privilege. The ugliness which is proceeding this election is not a gift. I believe the world needs people of faith to be striving for peace, for seeking the grace of God and that NO root of bitterness springs up and defiles so many. There will be winners and losers, but as I said yesterday, this is not the first election in the history of this country to cause conflict. The world is not coming to end because of the election of either presidential candidate. When all is said and done on Wednesday, the challenge for people of faith is to ACT with lives that are grace filled and faith filled. This quote from John Wesley is as profound now as it was when it was written:
I met those of our society who had votes in the ensuing election, and advised them, 1. To vote, without fee or reward, for the person they judged most worthy: 2. To speak no evil of the person they voted against: And 3. To take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side.
— John Wesley, October 6, 1774.
May we obtain the grace of God for the living of these days, trusting and hoping that God's love will be with us all.
I have always exercised my right to vote. The first time I voted I had turned eighteen in September and was living in Switzerland. I was sent an absentee ballot and I voted. Honestly, I was out of the country and I didn't know all the facts or who I should vote for, but I voted. I was not about to miss something I thought was important and part of being a "grown-up."
I had lived with grandparents for five years when I was younger. My grandmother took her right and privilege to vote very seriously. She was born in 1896 and knew a time when she didn't have that right. She knew people who did not believe women should or could vote responsibility (and my grandfather was probably one of them!)
It wasn't until 1920 that she cast her first ballot. Both my grandparents were Republicans, my grandfather a…
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subset: commoncrawl


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[Update: comScore changed its methods for collecting data in August, making the month-over-month comparisons invalid. The biggest change is in the combined total of Bing and Yahoo searches, as noted below.]
Google's share of the U.S. search market fell by 0.4 percentage points in the U.S. in August, while Microsoft Bing climbed by 0.2 percentage points — resulting in one of the largest changes in the search landscape in recent months … which actually isn't saying much.
The latest report from comScore Networks shows Google at 66.4 percent of the market, down from 66.8 percent in July. Bing rose to 15.9 percent, up from 15.7 in July. Meanwhile, Yahoo continued to slip, hitting 12.8 percent of the market, from 13 percent in July.
The end result was that the Microsoft+Yahoo search partnership remained steady at a combined 28.7 percent market share. [Update: ComScore says the combined total of searches "powered by Bing" was 25.3 percent using its new methods of gathering the stats. The difference is that Microsoft powers the core algorithmic search for Yahoo but not some other search features that comScore counts.]
Microsoft has been trying to differentiate its search engine by leveraging its Facebook partnership, rolling out a new Facebook photo search tool at the end of August. Last week Bing launched a "Bing it On" campaign with a related site where consumers can compare Google and Bing search results in blind "taste tests."


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تأسست الشركه في عام 2012, وهي مكوّنة منمجموعة من خبراء التداول، الإقتصاد,
والإستثمار لتلبية حاجات جميع المستثمرينفي أسواق المال.
تقدم شركة markets.fmمنصة تداول محترفه بدرجه عاليه جداً، حيث تضمن الدقه،
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والإستثمار لتلبية حاجات جميع المستثمرينفي أسواق المال.
تقدم شركة markets.fmمنصة تداول محترفه بدرجه عاليه جداً، حيث تضمن الدقه،
التنفيذ المباشر والسريع للصفقات، السهولهفي التعامل والأمان.
Compound Finance is an algorithmic, open-source protocol built on the Ethereum blockchain. This autonomous money market protocol allows users to earn interest or borrow assets against collateral without the need to rely on a counterparty.
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Colon Cancer Treatment and OstomyChanges in your diet can make the adjustment to an ostomy easier.
Colon cancer treatment can involve complex surgery that not only removes part of the colon, but also redirects the way wastes leave your body. The procedure is called an ostomy, and involves creating an opening in your abdomen that allows stool to empty into a pouch. Adjusting to this change in your body will take some time. Some lifestyle changes can make what will be an emotional as well as physical challenge easier to handle.
Preparing for Your Ostomy
You can gain a certain comfort level about your ostomy even before your colon cancer treatment and surgery.
"[Consult with] a surgeon experienced in stoma construction and management," suggests Janice Rafferty, MD, a clinical professor of surgery and chief of the Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio.
"Make sure the spot for your stoma [the opening where the bowel is attached to the abdominal wall] is marked before you have surgery, in the sitting, standing, and lying-down positions. Tell the stoma nurse what kind of clothes you wear, and where you wear your belt," says Dr. Rafferty.
"Get advice from an experienced stoma nurse about how to take care of your stoma &mdash there are many, many ways to 'pouch' and live your life with it," she advises.
Ostomy and Changes in Your Diet
In general, you can eat most of the same foods that you were able to eat comfortably before your cancer surgery. However, because your body digests foods and eliminates wastes a bit differently with an ostomy, allow yourself a transition period during which you can try various foods and see how they affect you. Foods that are difficult for you to digest — or were before your surgery — should be avoided.
Rafferty says that while there are no absolute food restrictions, some of the following foods can indeed be troublesome, causing digestion discomfort. If any of these are favorites, try them one at a time, and see how you respond. You may want to minimize your consumption — or avoid one or more altogether — once you know how each one affects you:
- Beans, "cruciferous" vegetables (cabbage, cauliflower, onions, and broccoli), beer, and carbonated drinks may cause uncomfortable gas.
- Raw veggies, fruits and vegetables eaten with skins, seeds, nuts, olives, and dried fruits may be incompletely digested.
- Very spicy foods, fruit juices, and alcohol may cause you to have loose stools or diarrhea.
- Certain foods like fish, onion, garlic, asparagus, and eggs may cause waste to have a stronger-than-usual odor. But since ostomy pouches are generally odor-proof , the only time you would notice is when you are emptying your pouch.
Additional Ostomy Strategies
If you are concerned about strong-smelling waste in your pouch, you can try increasing your fluid intake to reduce odors. Drink plenty of water each day — 8 to 10 glasses — or lots of cranberry juice or any caffeine-free drinks (caffeinated beverages can cause dehydration).
Have a positive attitude — your colon cancer treatment has offered you the opportunity to fight your cancer as well as the challenges that come along with getting used to an ostomy. Look at the ostomy as just another way for your body to do what it does naturally. "Try to adopt the attitude that having a stoma is simply a new and different way to have a bowel movement," says Rafferty.
If you are having emotional or physical trouble adjusting to your ostomy, get advice from others who have gone through the experience. Says Rafferty, "Talk to patients with a stoma, as they can alleviate a lot of the personal fears one has when faced with something so different from life as they know it." A good source for support groups is the United Ostomy Associations of America.
There's no reason that your ostomy has to slow you down or keep you from living a full and active life. You may need to make a few adjustments as you learn to care for your ostomy, but you will learn how to live with it.


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Characterised by the shimmering stainless steel and glass skyscrapers which dominate the city skyline, Dubai's Financial District is a futuristic oasis amongst the exotic desert landscape. Those interested in a premium trip to this dynamic cosmopolitan city are invited to take advantage of Hotwire's exclusive online deals, enabling discerning travellers to unlock unbeatable discounts on luxury hotel accommodation. This lavish 5* Hot Rate hotel features spacious, air-conditioned double en-suite guest rooms each furnished with the latest amenities and free high speed Wi-Fi internet. Guests are free to cool off in the indoor and outdoor pools, sample some delicious a la carte cuisine in the highly regarded restaurant or indulge any number of the other premium leisure facilities this hotel has to offer.
Formerly home to native Emirati people who worked as fishermen and pearl divers, since Dubai's development boom the city landscape has transformed dramatically into one typified by its state-of-the-art architecture and dazzling wealth. The Financial District in which this Hot Rate hotel is ideally located is now colonised by some of the tallest and most impressive skyscrapers in the world. The nearby Sheikh Zayed Road leads to the famed Palm Jumeirah and Dubai Marina, allowing guests to reach the warm waters of the Persian Gulf within a matter of minutes.
Translating to literally mean 'beautiful', the adjacent coastal area of Jumeirah is undoubtedly Dubai's most sought after location, owing to its fantastically luxurious real estate, world class restaurants, premium shopping and vast harbours filled with extravagant yachts. Hotel guests are advised to head to the pristine white sand Jumeirah Beach to enjoy the crystal clear sea and perhaps try out some water sports, such as jet skiing and paddle boarding. From here, the spectacularly impressive man-made World Islands development can be seen, the only archipelago of its kind to be constructed.
Further inland lies the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa in Downtown Dubai. Greater than even the Pyramid of Giza, the Khalifa boasts a height of an astonishing 2,722 ft and features an outdoor observation deck offering unrivalled panoramas across the city skyline and out towards the Gulf. The structure itself is surrounded by 27 acres of tranquil parkland designed to reflect the symmetry of a desert flower. Featuring 6 water features and a range of exotic gardens, the park is the perfect place in which to relax in the shade whilst admiring the awe-inspiring tower.


text: It is unlikely that you will find a better quote anywhere else. That being said, in case you do, show us a better quote with proof of available flight and we will beat it or match it. Call us within 24 hours of receiving a lower quote and provide us with a copy of the itinerary from any of our competitors which will include identical itinerary, including the fare basis and fare calculation information, we will match the price or beat it.


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There are plenty signs of aging we see all the time, like attending your baby cousins' graduation, receiving an invite to a high school reunion, and watching your 401(k) mature. And when it comes to your complexion, most of us are on the lookout for the telltale signs: forehead furrows, crows feet, and undereye bags. But according the experts, there are a few lesser-known and more subtle signs of skin aging that are good to know about. Take what follows as a friendly info session, not a stern admonishment. The more you know about taking care of your skin, the better it will look. Click here to learn what are some of the signs of aging skin.
Credit: allure.com


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12/17/12, "Preventing Another Sandy Hook," Dan Bongino, 2012 GOP nominee for US Senate from Maryland and 10+ year veteran of US Secret Service
"Friends and Supporters,
There are simply no words appropriate to describe the tragedy at Sandy Hook. As a father to two young daughters I can't help but ask, "What if it were my daughters?" I am sending you this email because there are experiences and lessons I learned while working with the Secret Service that may help assist in preventing another tragedy.
In 2002, the Secret Service, in conjunction with the Department of Education, conducted a research study on school shooting incidents called the Safe School Initiative. The study sought information about the shooters' pre-attack behaviors and communications. Their stated goal was to "identify information about a school shooting that may be identifiable or noticeable before the shooting occurs, to help inform efforts to prevent school-based attacks." Although this email is not an appropriate forum for an exhaustive list of their conclusions I have highlighted a few of the study's main conclusions below with a link to the complete report at the bottom.
According to the Secret Service website, the study highlights include the following:
- School shootings are rarely impulsive acts. Rather, they are typically thought out and planned out in advance. In addition, prior to most shootings other children knew the shooting was to occur - but did not alert an adult.
- Very few of the attackers, however, ever directed threats to their targets before the attack.
- The study findings also revealed that there is no "profile" of a school shooter; instead, the students who carried out the attacks differed from one another in numerous ways.
- Almost every attacker had engaged in behavior before the shooting that seriously concerned at least one adult - and for many, had concerned three or more different adults.
Very Respectfully,
Dan Bongino"
"Dan Bongino was the 2012 Republican Nominee for the United States Senate in Maryland. He served for over a decade in the United States Secret Service as a special agent and owns a number of small businesses with his wife Paula.
You can follow Dan Bongino's at www.bongino.com; on Facebook at facebook.com/Dan.Bongino; and on Twitter at twitter.com/DBongino."
Ed. note: I received the above via email. I'm on Dan Bongino's email list. Dan is one of two or three 2012 candidates to whom I contributed the maximum amount allowed by law. I posted the following about him on 9/30/12:
"This was my first donation to Mr. Bongino and only a few hundred dollars, but a few minutes after making the donation my phone rang and a voice said, "Hi, this is Dan Bongino." I couldn't believe what I was hearing, then I thought it might be a robo-call, but it wasn't, it was actually Dan Bongino himself! He sounded terrific. Then I read at Legal Insurrection and its comments that the establishment GOP isn't giving him money because they don't think his chances are good. Hopefully this is no longer the case but I don't waste time wondering about the GOP establishment. In any case, I will probably be giving Mr. Bongino the maximum allowed by law. Go Dan! Photo above from the candidate's website."
Here is more about Dan from Legal Insurrection:
10/14/12, "Dan Bongino — Beholden to no one but the voters," Legal Insurrection, Bryan Jacoutot
Ed. note: The establishment GOP isn't fit to shine Dan Bongino's shoes. They're not fit to shine the shoes of any of the wonderful candidates I contributed to this year.


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Revitalization's WeblogFor the curious, questioning, and wandering soul
Archive for inspiration
never forget the miracle of what you are
Be forgiving to yourself. Be forgiving, be non-judgmental, be kind.
Look at you, you miraculous being, alive, breathing, full of life, full of inspiration and creativity. Look at who you are, look at what you have, look at what you have accomplished.
Never, and I mean never, forget the miracle of what you are, of what we are as a human race, of what life is, of what being alive is. You are here, right now, in this moment- relish that and act upon it. Move, travel, explore, grow, do everything, exhaust yourself, suppress feelings of failure and REACH! Leap, take the risk…. go on, be great. There's a whole world, and a whole mind to explore, there's only everything to gain.


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You just inherited $1,000,000 from an aunt you didn't even know existed. What's the first thing you buy (or otherwise use the money for)?
Well. What to do with $1,000,000. I will say this: I'm not going to blow it on useless items. I've heard that people win the lottery and then buy stuff like a helicopter. Only reason why they buy this stuff is because of the simple fact that they have the money to. What am I gonna need a helicopter for?
If I inherit this amount of money I'm going to spend it but spend it wisely I will do. First thing I will do with my money is pay off my school expense. Then I will pay off any student loans that I have taken out so that I won't be indebt when I graduate. Afterwards I will put all that money in a place I know it will be safe.
I might go on a trip to Disney World because I've never been there before. I might buy a house that's not a mansion and isn't a shack, but just the right size for me and a family, should I have one. I definitely would get that dream wedding with a Labyrinth theme and a honeymoon in Australia. Wedding bells won't be ringing in my life any time soon but it's definitely something that all females in general think about.
I can't really think of anything specific item that I would spend money on but I'm sure ideas will come to mind. I haven't been to any wrestling matches before in my life so maybe front row tickets to Wrestlemania? One thing for sure that I would buy is a new laptop because this used one I got SUCKS!


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ARLINGTON, Texas — Bye, Josh.
It's too bad because Josh Hamilton might be the most talented baseball player who has ever run around Arlington. Josh Hamilton's relationship with baseball is as pure as anybody ever born.
It's his relationship, however, with some other stuff that muddies everything. That puts the Rangers in the no-win position of having to say, "No, thanks" when the money gets stupid, which it will when some ambitious owner gives Hamilton the years and the money he, his agent and his union collectively seek.
It has been much theorized and debated that Hamilton's next contract will be one of the most unique in baseball history because of his well-documented substance abuse problems.
One of baseball's best players is an admitted crackhead, and he is going to be a free agent in the prime of his career. Have fun with that, Nolan Ryan.
I have no interest in standing behind my Hypocrite Pulpit to judge and condemn Josh the man and his latest incident. I don't know him, and really don't care what he did at a Dallas bar last week, because it's really none of my business.
The reason the Rangers should pass on the crazy bidding war has little to do with why we are talking about Josh today, even though incidents such as this will be used as leverage in the negotiations.
If we are just talking about Josh the Addict, sign me up. Since he has become a major leaguer, Josh has never missed a game because of his addiction.
Since he has become a major leaguer, Josh has missed plenty of games because of various ailments.
Statistics show that not only will addicts use again but also that players who get hurt will get hurt again and again.
But Hamilton probably cost himself a few more million with this latest relapse with alcohol.
In front of 20 TV cameras and roughly 50 members of the media last week at the Ballpark, Hamilton took full responsibility for his relapse with alcohol. Considering the circumstances, Josh handled himself as well as can be expected. He knows he screwed up. He sounded sincere, apologetic and embarrassed.
This is not a bad guy; this is a lifelong ballplayer. Draw your own conclusions.
"It would be nice if I was sitting here talking about a contract, but we'll put that on the back-burner," Josh said before concluding his 12-minute admittance fest.
As a human, you would never hope this type of daily fight on anyone, but considering he can hit a baseball with great frequency and with much power we are far more forgiving and sympathetic for his transgressions than the guy working at the gas station.
"This is not a baseball story; this is something that is real and something that Josh deals with — an addiction," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said during a conference call on Friday afternoon. "We have separated the two issues."
That's great, only it's not possible.
"We are going to take everything into consideration," Daniels said. "When the time comes for us to have that conversation, hopefully we'll have a little bit of time and perspective."
One doesn't require time or perspective to see that since Hamilton broke into the bigs in 2007 his well-chronicled battles with addiction have never burned him or his team.
They have been embarrassing, and the way Josh talked on Friday it sounds as if there are some embarrassing photos and details from Monday night that are likely to be leaked.
Such embarrassment and shame have yet to cost Hamilton an at-bat, or the Rangers a win.
Since 2007, Hamilton's addiction has not really been a problem.
The fear, however, has been.
The Rangers need Hamilton's production to win, and he is one major slip away from a suspension.
His addiction has been a fear while the real problem have been the tears, the fractures, the breaks and the mileage.
In 2009, he played in 89 games. In 2010, it was 133 games. In 2011, it was 121 games.
No one is ever going to accuse Hamilton of mailing it in or stealing money, but only once (156 games in 2008 with Texas) in five major league seasons has he appeared in more than 133 games. This is what we call a trend.
Pro jocks soon to be 31 with a history of injury problems don't magically get healthy and are injury-free until they turn 40.
My gut tells me that this guy will never not fight this addiction.
My gut also tells me that at 31, and with a body that might have mileage way beyond his years it's best now to get used to the idea of saying, "Bye, Josh."


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Dell's pre-tax profits at Irish arm fall 50pc
PRe-tax profits at the main Irish subsidiary of US computer giant Dell last year more than halved to $6.1m (€4.8m) in spite of revenues topping $13bn.
In accounts just filed to the Companies' Office by Dell Products, they show that pre-tax profits reduced from $12.6m to $6.1m in the 53 weeks to the end of February 2012.
The drop in profits came in spite of revenues at the firm last year increasing by 5pc from $12.3bn to $13bn. The sales by the Dublin-based firm represent 20pc of Dell's worldwide revenues of $62.1bn last year.
The subsidiary's principal activity is the sale and distribution of Dell products in the European, Middle East and African markets.
According to the directors' report, "trading results for the period and the period end financial position are in line with expectation".
The directors said: "Revenue from our small and medium business and large enterprise segments increased over the prior year while our consumer and public segments experienced a decrease in revenue from the prior year."
The directors' report adds that "public customers have been challenged by budgetary constraints on government spending, particularly in western Europe. Revenue from our commercial segments overall increased year on year.
"We will remain focused on growing our revenue and profitability by continuing our efforts to provide IT solutions to our customers in areas such as enterprise solutions and services".
The filings show the company's cost of sales increased from $10.6bn to $11bn last year with distribution costs increasing from $1.4bn to $1.64bn. Administrative expenses declined from $350m to $340m.
The accounts confirmed that the company has received $6m in cumulative employment grants from the IDA, which can be revoked in certain circumstances.
Indo Business


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A burned car in the Mankoubeen area in Tripoli, Friday, Jan. 17, 2014. (The Daily Star/Antoine Amrieh)
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One person was killed and several wounded Friday as tensions rose in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli after clashes erupted following a rocket attack on the northeastern Lebanese town of Arsal that killed eight people.Clashes intensified after Assi's death as sniping and gunfire reached the Tripoli-Akkar main highway while a number of shells hit Syria Street.Following a Lebanese Army statement pertaining to the attack on Arsal, a number of gunmen from Bab al-Tabbaneh began shooting in the air in anger, after which an exchange of gunfire erupted between the Tripoli neighborhood and its rival, Jabal Mohsen.Friday, a rocket attack from Syria on Arsal killed eight people including six children.
Water and waste projects established in north Lebanon
Protests against Jerusalem move held across Lebanon
Palestinians hold 'Day of Rage' in camps across Lebanon


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PM turns to famed diplomat Jeremy Clarkson to rescue campaign
Search Driven for vehicles for sale
British Prime Minister David Cameron tried to kick his flagging referendum campaign into top gear yesterday by appearing alongside his old friend Jeremy Clarkson.
Clarkson, together with James May, met the Prime Minister at TV studios in West London where he is making his new motoring show for Amazon.
With just a week left of the referendum campaign, Mr Cameron is staring at the prospect of humiliating defeat as almost all polls show Brexit is ahead.
Clarkson, a controversial figure after his sacking from the BBC last year, surprised many by endorsing the campaign to stay in the European Union.
But he joked that staying inside the EU was one of just three things he and and fellow former Top Gear host May agreed on.
Clarkson said to the PM: 'It's an extraordinary thing that James and I only agree on three things, which is sandwich spread is delicious, the old Subaru Legacy Outback is a good car and Britain staying in.'
During an informal talk with Mr Cameron over cappuccinos in Stronger In-branded mugs and croissants, Clarkson added: 'I have not, with the greatest of respect, heard one politician say anything that's caused me to change my mind.
British Prime Minister David Cameron enlisted his old mate Jeremy Clarkson in his campaign to keep the UK in Europe. Picture/AP
'There's huge numbers that don't understand and get confused. Really, it's my gut.'
Clarkson said he felt there were 'compelling' reasons for leaving.
But, he added: 'They're not compelling enough for me to say I want to drive a Morris Oxford, which is what would happen.'
Clarkson has famously insulted many countries - on one occasion getting into hot water for suggesting the first German-built Mini had turn signals that looked like a Nazi salute.
The biggest diplomatic incident triggered by the presenter focused on Argentina when he was accused of driving a car with an offensive number plate.
Despite his frequent gaffes, Clarkson is an enthusiastic European - once hosting an entire TV series dedicated to a driving tour of the continent.
May said: 'If I'm honest, it's a gut feeling for me as well.
'There are too many people who think we will be alright... but that's just not true.'
The pair discussed the effects of Brexit on the UK car industry and Mr Cameron said manufacturers would face tariffs on exports to the continent in the event of vote to leave.
He said: 'I've spent a lot of time in different car plates in the last few years and if you look at Toyota, Nissan, Jaguar, Ford they are all doing well in Britain.
'They are all expanding, they are all making more, they are all selling more and if we were out - like America was out and with a trade deal like them - they would actually face a tariff on every single car they send to Europe.'
Clarkson added that his fellow presenter Richard Hammond was filming in France for the trio's new Amazon Prime show and was still undecided on how to vote.
'He is a don't know - he does not actually know there's a referendum on,' he joked.
In his previous declaration for Remain, Clarkson said it would be 'better to stay in and try to make the damn thing work properly'.
He wrote in the Sunday Times: 'Britain, on its own, has little influence on the world stage. I think we are all agreed on that.
'But Europe, if it were well run and had cohesive, well thought-out policies, would be a tremendous force for good.'
Mr Cameron and Clarkson live close to each in Oxfordshire and the PM offered support to his friend when he lost his job at the BBC's Top Gear for punching a producer.
Clarkson and May, together with Richard Hammond, are currently working on a new motoring show for the Amazon TV streaming service.
The trio set plans in motion for the new show following Clarkson's sacking and The Grand Tour is due to air later this year.
-Daily Mail


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This series of Blogs highlights aspects relevant in particular for payment service users ( ) transitioning to the Single Euro Payments Area ( ). Part V clarifies that the 'Regulation ( ) No 260/2012 establishing technical and business requirements for credit transfers and direct debits in euro' (the Regulation, see link below) affects not only payment service providers ( ), but also . This blog focuses on which are not consumers, i.e. corporates, small and medium sized enterprises, public administrations and government agencies. The Regulation stipulates the mandatory deadlines for compliance with its rules for euro credit transfer and direct debit transactions. In the euro area, this will be 1 February 2014, subject to certain limited exemptions mentioned in the Regulation. Effectively, this means that as of this date, existing national euro credit transfer and direct debit schemes will be replaced by Credit Transfer ( ) and Direct Debit ( ). To achieve compliance with the core provisions of the Regulation, have to implement significant changes to their operational models, including investing in system upgrades, testing and staff training.
The provisions of the Regulation that are of the greatest relevance for are set out in Articles 5, 7 and 16, as well as in the Annex to the Regulation.
Article 5 details the technical and business requirements that should be observed when carrying out euro credit transfer and direct debit transactions. It also references the data elements detailed in the Annex to the Regulation that should be provided with a credit transfer and a direct debit payment. Article 5 mandates to:
- Provide the International Bank Account Number (IBAN) of the account that should be credited or debited and, where necessary, the Business Identifier Code (BIC) of the account-holding payment service provider. The Regulation stipulates the timelines for application of the so-called 'IBAN only' rule. Article 5 (7) of the Regulation states that "after 1 February 2014 for national payment transactions and after 1 February 2016 for cross-border payment transactions, shall not require to indicate the BIC of the of a payer or of the of a payee." Article 16 (6) however, provides that European Union ( ) Member States have the option to defer application of the 'IBAN only' rule for national transactions to 1 February 2016. Therefore, after 1 February 2016 at the latest, must be able to identify the appropriate BIC to use where a customer chooses to provide the IBAN only.
- Make arrangements to adapt to the usage of ISO 20022 XML message standards in the customer-to-bank space in relation to files of payment transactions. Article 16 (5) of the Regulation allows Member States to waive the requirement to use the ISO 20022 message formats for that initiate or receive individual credit transfers or direct debits that are bundled together for transmission until 1 February 2016, except in cases where a requests such a service.
In addition, Article 5 sets out the rights of consumers with regard to direct debit collections, which are also relevant for payees (billers). Article 5 (3) (d) empowers a payer to be able to instruct its to take the following actions in respect of direct debit collections:
- To limit a direct debit collection to a certain amount and / or periodicity.
- To verify each direct debit transaction and to check whether the amount and periodicity of the submitted direct debit transaction is equal to the amount and periodicity agreed in the mandate (where the mandate under the relevant payment scheme does not provide for the right to a refund) before debiting their payment account, based on the mandate-related information.
- To block any direct debits to the payer's payment account, or to block or authorise any direct debits initiated by one or more specified payees.
Although these mandate checking obligations do not apply where neither the payer nor the payee are consumers, they may nevertheless impact on
. A consumer may instruct its
to block all direct debits to its account or to 'black list' a specified biller by blocking direct debits initiated by it. Similarly, under Article 5 (3) (d) a payer may instruct its
to only allow collections from a biller identified in a 'white list'. In the event that the biller is included on the 'black list', or excluded from the 'white list', the payment will fail. The
Regulation does not stipulate or offer any guidance as to how billers are to obtain information at a stage preceding a failed collection and what redress, if any, they could obtain in the event of erroneous failed payments.
The Regulation ensures the continued legal validity of existing direct debit mandates under the Scheme, provided that these fall within the provisions of Article 7. This facilitates the transition to for both billers and their customers.
Article 16, in an attempt to respond to a broad range of requests for flexibility articulated by various parties throughout the legislative process, has introduced several exemptions. As highlighted above, it permits individual Member States to extend the deadline for compliance with some of the provisions of the Regulation to 1 February 2016. It is arguable that this attempt at flexibility breeds confusion and risks translating into a prolonged patchwork of national variations, leaving and uncertain as to what will apply, when, where and how. The market will have more clarity by 1 February 2013, by which time Member States must notify the European Commission of the derogations that they intend to use (see Article 16 (7)).
It is strongly recommended that analyse the impact of the Regulation on their operational models now, even if Member States opt to make use of the derogations permissible under Article 16. To date, the experience of early movers on the end user side handling major payment volumes indicates that migration to Schemes and technical standards requires careful planning. The relevant actions and resources should be identified as soon as possible. For further details, refer to the Newsletter article 'The Time to Act is Now. Impact of the Regulation on Payment Service Users' (see link below). For best practice identified by bank customers who have successfully completed migration to , refer to parts I through IV of this Blog series and the case studies featured in the Newsletter (see links below).
Related links:
- EPC Newsletter (April 2012 Edition): The Time to Act is Now. Impact of the SEPA Regulation on Payment Service Users
- Regulation (EU) No 260/2012 establishing technical and business requirements for credit transfers and direct debits in euro and amending Regulation (EC) No 924/2009
- EPC Blog: Part I - Get Ready for SEPA by February 2014. Early SEPA Movers on the Customer Side Share Lessons Learnt. The Time to Act is Now
- EPC Blog: Part II - Get Ready for SEPA by February 2014. Early Movers on the Customer Side Share Lessons Learnt. Why IBAN and BIC Remain Important for Bank Customers
- EPC Blog: Part III - Get Ready for SEPA by February 2014. Early Movers on the Customer Side Share Lessons Learnt. How to Choose the Right IT Strategy
- EPC Blog Part IV - Get Ready for SEPA by February 2014. Early Movers on the Customer Side Share Lessons Learnt. ISO 20022 is the New Language of Payments!
- EPC Newsletter Series: SEPA Case Studies - Learn from the SEPA Migration Experience of Early Movers in the Business and Public Sectors
- EPC Video: SEPA for Billers: The Time to Act is Now
Your reactions
If you would like to comment on this article, please identify yourself with your first and last name. Your name will appear next to your comment. Email addresses will not be published. Please note that by accessing or contributing to the discussion you agree to abide by the EPC website conditions of use.


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Consolidated net sales rose by 2.4% to Rs 206.7 crore. It reported an EBIT of Rs 2.2 crore after reporting a loss in the previous two consecutive quarters. EBDIT, which is operating profit before considering the impact of depreciation, rose significantly by 11.9% to Rs 39.3 crore compared with the previous quarter.
The international business, which forms 78% of total revenue, grew by 2.8% sequentially after declining in the prior two quarters. Revenue from Europe grew by 3.2% from the previous quarter. Considering a higher reliance on export revenue, the company is exposed to vagaries of cross currency fluctuations.
The increased volatility in currency markets together with uneven revenue trajectory has made the company's topline rather bumpy on a sequential basis. During the previous analyst conference calls, the management indicated that its new initiatives in converged VAS segment hold a potential and are expected to help future growth.
OnMobile's stock has gained over 23% since September 7, 2015 when it hit a low of Rs 75.5 crashing all the way from Rs 113.3 on July 28. The stock's future performance will largely depend upon how quickly the company can record better growth from its new initiatives.


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Roses have quite the diva reputation — demanding hours of sunlight, well-drained soil, continual watchfulness for pests, beetles and bugs, mildew and black spot. Lots of bother, to be sure, but oh, the rewards.
Just ask gardener Chris Van Cleave, a rose authority with more than 150 rose bushes in his backyard.
"I tell folks to just enjoy roses," Van Cleave said. "People get uptight about gardening, but they don't need to be. When the roses bloom, enjoy them and share them with those around you."
Van Cleave is the author of the Redneck Rosarian blog and gardens in Birmingham, Ala., and his techniques can be used by rose gardeners all over the U.S.
The first step to becoming a rose gardener is to decide what you want from the roses, Van Cleave says.
Do you want color? Fragrance? Hybrid tea roses are florist favorites known for their perfume and brilliant colors, but require more attention than other varieties.
Floribunda roses combine the color and fragrance of tea roses in sturdy shrubs; they produce multiple blooms on each stem. Low-maintenance Knock-Out Roses are the most popular shrub rose, with prolific blooms. They are disease- and pest-resistant, but do not carry a fragrance.
There are also climbing varieties, suitable for placing in containers alongside an arbor or trellis. Miniature roses are a good choice for containers, too.
Next comes location. For maximum bloom, roses require about six hours of sunlight each day, preferably morning light. While southern and western exposures will work, an eastern exposure is ideal.
If your yard is not suited for a rose bed, consider container plantings for roses. Just remember that with the larger varieties, you need to be mindful of depth. A typical rose bed is 15 to 18 inches deep.
The Rumblestone 90-Degree Planter provides plenty of room to show off larger rose varieties such as hybrid teas or floribundas in Home Depot's Vigoro brand. Save compact floribundas and mini roses for smaller containers such as the DIY Paver Planter.
Roses play well with other plants that have the same sunlight and watering requirements. Look for low-growing plants that will shade roots, but also allow for air flow throughout the rose bush.
Van Cleave recommends planting with perennial herbs such as lavender. For annuals, choose begonias and marigolds.
Roses are sold bare root in winter, and in containers beginning in spring. When planting roses, either in beds or containers, Van Cleave recommends a soil mixture made up of equal parts composted manure, top soil and pine bark mini nuggets.
Care and maintenance of roses:
- When it's time to plant, shake loose the rose's roots, fill the container with the soil mixture, then top dress with more pine bark mini nuggets. The nuggets will disintegrate in the composted manure.
- Prune in early spring. Here, Van Cleave follows the three D's: trim all diseased, dead and damaged branches and cut all remaining branches by two-thirds.
- Fertilize regularly (about every six weeks) with a liquid 10-10-10 fertilizer. Van Cleave sometimes applies manure tea or alfalfa tea, and a top dressing of composted manure to his roses.
- Water two to three times a week. In hot, dry weather, roses may need more water.
When it's time to cut roses, keep in mind these tips from Van Cleave:
- Cut early in the day before the sun is too high.
- Use bypass pruners for clean cuts.
- Once inside, prepare containers with a mix of equal parts water and lemon-lime soda.
- Cut the stems a second time before placing in containers.
- Recut the stems every two days.
Roses will last up to 10 days using this method, Van Cleave says.
For more information about roses, check out The Home Depot's All About Roses buying guide. Read more about Chris Van Cleave's roses at the Redneck Rosarian.


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For most universities, an formidable campaign of community engagement is more likely to produce much larger reputational dividends than the quixotic quest for an advance within the rankings. College students in the 49-million-particular person republic — who're randomly assigned to non-public and public high schools — routinely rating at the prime of academic assessments: Most just lately No. 1 total, and in Instructional Attainment," in Pearson Schooling 's annual global academic performance report in addition to fifth in each reading and math on the PISA survey.
Malawi is a notable case in point – tertiary education is sort of fully subsidised by the state, but family contribute with nearly 20{68923f03e1b91b743cfdf96f22e35ef248cf5a337d81f74bb8a08d4e6754a93b} of the prices in primary training. Many would fancy US because the nation's top ranked in the education methods which is a far off thing.
However institutions in France, Italy and Spain and many parts of central and eastern Europe are shedding floor as Asia continues its ascent; the world college rankings show that Asia's improvement in larger education is actual and rising. The training is obligatory for the kids up to the age of 16. The Folkeskole" or put up-secondary schooling isn't mandatory, however 82{68923f03e1b91b743cfdf96f22e35ef248cf5a337d81f74bb8a08d4e6754a93b} of the scholars are enrolled which is a damn positive thing for the nation. The earlier visualization showed the vital progress that nations world wide have made regarding access to schooling, as measured by enrollment rates.
Rising approaches stress the significance of understanding the political financial system of the market for LCPS, specifically how relationships of power and accountability between customers, government, and personal providers can produce better education outcomes for the poor.
As traditional, these outcomes ought to be interpreted carefully, as a result of they don't indicate a causal link: it doesn't show that rising training necessarily produces democratic outcomes in all places on the earth. A mixture of a tough work ethic and expertise play a serious function in making the Japanese educational system what it's. No other nation deploys technology in schooling to the extent that Japan does.


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Aravax aims to safely revolutionise the lives of those with peanut allergy by removing the risk of life-threatening reactions to peanuts.
Aravax is an early stage biotechnology company focused on developing the first safe and rapidly effective treatment for peanut allergy. The treatment will use new technology that can reset the immune system to tolerate peanut without evoking allergic reactions during treatment.


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Literary Arts Magazine Finds Unique Ways to Blend Form & Content
Every spring, the graduate students of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Tennessee publish Grist and its accompanying digital counterpart, Grist Online. Each issue showcases fiction, nonfiction, poetry, interviews, craft essays, and—with its most recent and tenth edition—art.
Though Grist welcomes all styles, it has an appreciation for the juxtaposition of form and content. In addition to its annual Pro Forma contest, this edition of Grist introduces its first Ekphrasis Project. Ekphrasis means "description" in Greek, so it makes sense that the Ekphrasis Project is a collection of narratives inspired by art. Each writer chooses an art piece to examine. Then, from the meaning they derive, tribute something to it—in this case, either a poem or flash fiction. Though many literary journals stress language and imagery, to actually combine aspects of both art and writing into a collaborative work is uncommon. The end result is images alchemized to words in a way that is uniquely visual and provoking.
Exactly what is provoking is best described by Tony Hoagland in his interview with Katie Condon, "Poems Are the Mirror That Reminds Us of What We Have Privately Neglected"—and his message doesn't stop at poems. It weaves through the theme of stories in general: "the essence of the best [poems and stories] is the struggle and joy of the individual'." To clarify, the emphasis is the "demonstration of human nature" and "[keeping] in touch with our innerness as well as the difficulties of the shared life." However, Hoagland also notes this generation's concern with identity and representation.
This year's Pro Forma contest winner, Nicholas Gulig's "Denizen," is a long form poem that addresses the dissonance between everyday life and distant war. Grist's Pro Forma contest is the journal's "celebration of form," which has multiple meanings from experimentation to homage of traditional structure. "Denizen" is a shape-shifting poem that morphs in and out of clipped lines and text blocks, but showcases the different faces of the politics the piece discusses. Besides the form, the content also reminds us of 1) selfishness, but also, in a sense, 2) connection. In short, "Denizen" is the embodiment of what Grist emphasizes; it crosses form and content, and then braids them into the journal's thread of human experience.
The rest of Grist's pages meld burning wood, wayward paths, and weed-like love with the concepts of what it means to be young, a woman, dying, and more. In Kyle Dargan's "Generation Kindling," the narrator admits "we imagine / ourselves stewards. Keeping / our lives green by preventing fires," but that this generation wants to "burn." The imagery conveys a sense of delay—of turning away from what you don't want to see until it flames before your eyes.
In Laura Winther Galaviz's "If You Ever," the author acknowledges the way cancer "[claims] not only the remaining years, but the ones that came before, as well." However, she also brings forth the importance of relationships because we "hand [our] memory over to the people [we] spent [our] time on and hope that they do it justice."
Grist is humanist and hopeful. Even amidst tragic or troubling truths, most pieces end with a reversal that says living, human suffering, or whatever you call it, will often sprout hope in even the sparsest of fields like a dandelion in spring. The issue begins with Alan Shapiro's "Walk in Winter," where the "tip of every spike / an even tinier tip of moisture glistens / and goes dark, goes dark and glistens, as if / unable to be simply dead—unable / not to show me hope of something in it." This is not your edgy, grim-dark journal that denounces human nature and calls Hobbes up for lunch to discuss the endless follies of humankind.
In fact, I think Grist seeks to highlight the importance of people—that we are special, and perhaps we could think these stories are special, too. With Jennifer Whalen's "The Party," the narrator masks hidden interest with nonchalant flirtation, but admits to the reader, "Still, I'd by lying / if I said you could have been anyone, / that it was the night I really loved."
To summarize, Grist loves juxtaposition of form and content, often emphasizing the imagery of its content (sometimes literally). And, judging from this issue, it loves humanness and hope.


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I'm a fan of political correctness. As one wag put it, political correctness is just another word for being polite. If the citizens of Indian have renamed their city Mumbai, I'll call it Mumbai, not Bombay. I call the ni Vanuatu the ni Vanuatu, not Vanuatans. I don't refer to adult women as girls, except with permission earned through friendship.
On the other hand, I'm not a fan of euphemisms. FGM? DPs? I recently had an argument with a friend about the word "poor", versus his "under-resourced", "dis-enfranchised", or "marginalised". I pointed out that these words actually mean something other than "poor". The poor may have resources, but no opportunities; were usually not franchised to begin with; and haven't been marginalised, because they were never at the centre. "Poor" is a good, short, Anglo-Saxon word — the kind that my poetry instructor taught me to favour — and if it's good enough for the peoples of India, Vietnam and China to describe the condition of many of their own people, it's good enough for me.
This brings me to the word "corruption". Though a technical term, it has somehow drifted into the realm of euphemism. It drifts by in conversation without causing a fluster. I feel no shock when I hear it, nor any sense of dismay. I have been dulled by it.
It is not short, sharp, and Anglo-Saxon, but a Latinate word which depends for its meaning on an abstract metaphor of the government as a body. In the classical sense of rhetoric — the use of words to influence people — it is bad rhetoric.
According to the International Financial Institutions Anti-Corruption Task Force (2006), there are four types of corrupt and fraudulent practice:
A corrupt practice is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting, directly or indirectly, of anything of value to influence improperly the actions of another party.
In other words: cheating.
A fraudulent practice is any act or omission, including a misrepresentation, that knowingly or recklessly misleads, or attempts to mislead, a party to obtain a financial or other benefit or to avoid an obligation.
In other words: lying.
A coercive practice is impairing or harming, or threatening to impair or harm, directly or indirectly, any party or the property of the party to influence improperly the actions of a party.
In other words: bullying
A collusive practice is an arrangement between two or more parties designed to achieve an improper purpose, including influencing improperly the actions of another party.
In other words: gangsterism.
So perhaps we should just forget about "corruption". Let's be more poetic. Instead of:
"Government X is corrupt" (yawn)
we might say:
"Government X is full of liars, cheats, gangsters and bullies."
That would wake me up in the middle of the seminar. And it is, after all, a more accurate description of what's going on.
And instead of calling the umbrella category "corruption", what about calling it this:


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Dating back to the beginning of civilization, farming has been a large source of food. As populations rose, the demand for these agricultural goods increased dramatically, putting a high demand on farmers producing them. As it became known tilled soil was more effective for seeding and growing, early forms of plows emerged. In this post, we will go back in history and explore the evolution of the John Deere steel plow.
The First John Deere Steel Plow: 1837
In 1837, John Deere, was a typical blacksmith turning out hay forks, horseshoes, and other essentials for life on the prairie. Then one day, a broken steel sawmill blade gave him an opportunity. He knew that days in the field were difficult for farmers near his home in Grand Detour, Illinois, because they had to interrupt their work to clean the sticky prairie soil off of their cast-iron plows.
He also knew that the soil would slide easily off of a highly polished steel moldboard. Steel was scarce in the area, so Deere fashioned a moldboard out of the second-hand blade. This model opened the doors to John Deere's success in the future.
Gilpin Sulky Plow: 1875
Many variations of the original plow were sold leading up to the 1870's; an 1857 advertisement mentions nine models offered by Deere. Most were similar in design, but different in size or material. The first large change in design came in 1875 when Gilpin Moore designed the first riding plow. Other Sulky plows were on the market at the time, but Deere's two-wheel Sulky plow was the most popular among farmers.
New Deal Gang Plow: 1880's
In the mid-1880's, a few modifications were made to the Sulky plow, the main change being a third wheel being added. This model also included a "power-lift," allowing the plow bottom to come out of the ground by simple pressure of the hand on a catch which connected to the land wheel. Variations were made in the mid 1880's, as Deere offered walking and riding plows in single-bottom to six-bottom gang versions.
The six-bottom gang versions were very heavy, requiring more power than just horses. These plows evolved to become tractor compatible, but Deere was not yet involved in tractor manufacturing.
Waterloo Boy Tractor: 1918
In 1912, John Deere was public, and appeared on the New York Stock Exchange. The public availability of stock purchasing was very profitable for the Deere Company. In 1918, Deere bought the makers of the Waterloo Boy tractors, giving the company the opportunity to expand its market into the tractor operator plowing business.
The "GP" Wide-Tread: 1929
1929, a row-crop tractor enters the market. It is the first Deere tractor with a tricycle front to fit between two crop rows, and rear axle wide enough so wheels can straddle two rows. This allowed farmers to use a ride on tractor to perform with twice the width, covering two rows at once.
John Deere Model 70
1953 The Model 70 is launched as the largest row-crop tractor to date. Initially available with gasoline, all-fuel, or LP-gas engine, it will become the first diesel row-crop tractor.
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I want to know about the courses offered by the H K Centre for Professional Training – Gujarat University
H K Centre for Professional Training is affiliated to Gujarat University. it was established in 1974 year ..
Course offered:
Certificate Course in Front Office Management
Diploma in Export Import Management
Certificate Course in French
Certificate Courses in Banking Management
Certificate Courses in English Improvement
Certificate Courses in Stenography and Secretarial Practice
Certificate Course in German
Fee details:
Office Management Rs. 1500
Banking Management Rs. 1500
English Improvement Rs. 1500
Stenography and Secretarial Practice Rs. 3000
Diploma Course in Export-Import Management & International Finance
Fees : Rs. 3500/-
Facilities :-
Class rooms
Contact details :
H K Centre for Professional Traning
Gujarat University, Navrangura, Ahmedabad – 380009.
Phone : +91-79-27913159
Co-ordinator : Shri Jagdish Bhavsar


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I promised a while back that I would post a little history about the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help. I intend to do so by posting the story (hopefully on Tuesdays) in several parts throughout the rest of the Summer in preparation for the Feast of the Assumption on August 15th, and the Miracle of the Fire on October 9th. I hope the story of Our Lady of Good Help enriches your faith and increases your love for Christ through the Blessed Mother. Stay tuned!
The Story of Our Lady of Good Help (Part 1)
On December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, the most Reverend David L. Ricken, Bishop of Green Bay, issued a decree, during his homily, verifying the authenticity of the Marian apparitions of 1859 at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help. Bishop Ricken stated:
"[I] declare with moral certainty and in accord with the norms of the Church:
that the events, apparitions and locutions given to Adele Brise in October of 1859 do exhibit the substance of supernatural character, and I do hereby approve these apparitions as worthy of belief (although not obligatory) by the Christian faithful (Official Decree on Marian Apparitions, Most Reverend David Laurin Ricken, D.D., J.C.L.)."
The Bishop then added: "I encourage the faithful to frequent this holy place as a place of solace and answered prayer (Official Decree on Marian Apparitions, Most Reverend David Laurin Ricken, D.D., J.C.L.)."
I was privileged to serve as Bishop Ricken's Mitre and Crosier Bearer, and witness this hallowed event firsthand. This moment was-and still is-unique and historically significant. Never before had the Catholic Church given approval and validation to a Marian apparition in the United States.
To understand these apparitions, we must understand the visionary, Sister Adele Joseph Brise.
Adele was born in Belgium, on January 30, 1831. We know little about know her youth, except that she had a meager education and suffered the loss of an eye in a childhood accident. She was known for her simple, child-like faith and piety. Adele loved the Blessed Mother deeply and had a great devotion to the Mother of God. While she desired to enter an Ursuline Convent in Belgium, Adele was obedient to both her spiritual director and parents and left her homeland for the Green Bay Peninsula, in the United States on June 9, 1855 (The Chapel of Our Lady of Good Help, Sr. M. Dominica, O.S.F. 5).
Without complaint, Adele lived the grueling life of an immigrant pioneer on the wild Northern Wisconsin frontier. She helped to prepare and harvest the fields of her family's 240 acre farm, take the grain to the grist mill, and care for and teach her younger siblings.
Just as in Lourdes (1858), the Blessed Mother chose to reveal herself to a simple farm girl.
Adele Brise received her first apparition in early October, 1859. She was following an Indian trail to the grist mill, with a sack of grain on her head. This trail passed by the very site where the Chapel now stands. As she came near the place, Adele saw a lady all in white standing between a maple tree and a hemlock tree. Adele stood still in fright. As she looked on, the lady slowly disappeared, leaving a white cloud after her. Adele continued on to the mill. She returned home without seeing anything more. When Adele told her parents about the vision, they pondered what this might be – perhaps a poor soul in need of prayers (The Chapel of Our Lady of Good Help, Sr. M. Dominica, O.S.F. 7-8)?
– Stay Tuned, I will (hopefully) post "part 2" next Tuesday
Our Lady of Good Help – Pray for us !!!


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Description of County Grading System
- Ozone and short-term particle pollution (24-hour PM2.5)
- Year-round particle pollution (Annual PM2.5)
Calculations of Populations-at-Risk
The Air Quality Data
Data Sources
The data on air quality throughout the United States were obtained from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Air Quality System (AQS), formerly called Aerometric Information Retrieval System (AIRS) database. The American Lung Association contracted with Dr. Allen S. Lefohn, A.S.L. & Associates, Helena, Montana, to characterize the hourly averaged ozone concentration information and the 24-hour averaged PM2.5 concentration information for the 3-year period for 2008-2010 for each monitoring site.
Design values for the annual PM2.5 concentrations by county for the period 2008 - 2010 were downloaded on September 24, 2011 from EPA's website.
Ozone Data Analysis
The 2008, 2009, and 2010 AQS hourly ozone data were used to calculate the daily 8-hour maximum concentration for each ozone-monitoring site. The hourly averaged ozone data were downloaded on June 28, 2011. The data were considered for a 3-year period for the same reason that EPA uses three years of data to determine compliance with the ozone standard: to prevent a situation in any single year, where anomalies of weather or other factors create air pollution levels, which inaccurately reflect the normal conditions. The highest 8-hour daily maximum concentration in each county for 2008, 2009, and 2010, based on the EPA-defined ozone season, was identified.
The current national ambient air quality standard for ozone is 0.075 ppm measured over eight hours. EPA's Air Quality Index reflects the 0.075 ppm standard. A.S.L. & Associates prepared a table by county that summarized, for each of the three years, the number of days the ozone level was within the ranges identified by EPA based on the EPA Air Quality Index:
|8-hour Ozone Concentration
|Air Quality Index Levels
0.000 – 0.059 ppm
Good (Green)
0.060 – 0.075 ppm
Moderate (Yellow)
0.076 – 0.095 ppm
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (Orange)
0.096 – 0.115 ppm
Unhealthy (Red)
0.116 – 0.374 ppm
Very Unhealthy (Purple)
>0.374 ppm
Hazardous (Maroon)
The goal of this report was to identify the number of days that 8-hour daily maximum concentrations occurred within the defined ranges, not just those days that would fall under the requirements for attaining the national ambient air quality standards. Therefore, no data capture criteria were applied to eliminate monitoring sites or to require a number of valid days for the ozone season. All valid days of data within the ozone season were used in the analysis. However, for computing an 8-hour average, at least 75 percent of the hourly concentrations (i.e., 6-8 hours) had to be available for the 8-hour period. In addition, an 8-hour daily maximum average was identified if valid 8-hour averages were available for at least 75 percent of possible hours in the day (i.e., at least 18 of the possible 24 8-hour averages). Because the EPA includes days with inadequate data if the standard value is exceeded, our data capture methodology may result at times in underestimations of the number of 8-hour averages within the higher concentration ranges. However, our experience is that underestimates are infrequent.
Following receipt of the above information, the American Lung Association identified the number of days each county, with at least one ozone monitor, experienced air quality designated as orange (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups), red (Unhealthy), or purple (Very Unhealthy).
Short-term Particle Pollution Data Analysis
A.S.L. & Associates identified the maximum daily 24-hour AQS PM2.5 concentration for each county in 2008, 2009, and 2010 with monitoring information. The 24-hour PM2.5 data were downloaded on August 1, 2011. In addition, hourly averaged PM2.5 concentration data were characterized into 24-hour average PM2.5 values by the EPA and provided to A.S.L. & Associates. Using these results, A.S.L. & Associates prepared a table by county that summarized, for each of the 3 years, the number of days the maximum of the daily PM2.5 concentration was within the ranges identified by EPA based on the EPA Air Quality Index, adjusted by the American Lung Association as discussed below:
|24-hour PM 2.5 Concentration
|Air Quality Index Levels
0.0 µg/m3 to 15.4 µg/m3
Good (Green)
15.5 µg/m3 to 35.0 µg/m3
Moderate (Yellow)
35.1 µg/m3 to 65.4 µg/m3
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (Orange)
65.5 µg/m3 to 150.4 µg/m3
Unhealthy (Red)
150.5 µg/m3 to 250.4 µg/m3
Very Unhealthy (Purple)
greater than or equal to 250.5 µg/m3
Hazardous (Maroon)
In 2006, the EPA revised the 24-hour National Ambient Air Quality standard for PM2.5, changing the standard to 35 µg/m3 from 65 µg/m3. As of December 2011, the EPA had not announced changes to the Air Quality Index based on that standard. The Lung Association adjusted the level of the category "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" to reflect the 2006 standard, making that category range from 35.1 µg/m3 to 65.4 µg/m3.
The goal of this report was to identify the number of days that the maximum in each county of the daily PM2.5 concentration occurred within the defined ranges, not just those days that would fall under the requirements for attaining the national ambient air quality standards. Therefore, no data capture criteria were used to eliminate monitoring sites. Both 24-hour averaged PM data, as well as hourly averaged PM data averaged over 24 hours were used. Included in the analysis are data collected using only FRM and FEM methods, which reported hourly and 24-hour averaged data. As instructed by the Lung Association, A.S.L. & Associates included the exceptional and natural events that were identified in the database and identified for the Lung Association the dates and monitoring sites that experienced such events. Some data have been flagged by the state or local air pollution control agency to indicate that they had raised issues with EPA about those data.
Following receipt of the above information, the American Lung Association identified the number of days each county, with at least one PM2.5 monitor, experienced air quality designated as orange (Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups), red (Unhealthy), purple (Very Unhealthy) or maroon (Hazardous).
Description of County Grading System.
Ozone and short-term particle pollution (24-hour PM2.5)
The grades for ozone and short-term particle pollution (24-hour PM2.5) were based on a weighted average for each county. To determine the weighted average, the Lung Association followed these steps:
- First, assigned weighting factors to each category of the Air Quality Index. The number of orange days experienced by each county received a factor of 1; red days, a factor of 1.5; purple days, a factor of 2; and maroon days, a factor of 2.5. This allowed days where the air pollution levels were higher to receive greater weight.
- Next, multiplied the total number of days within each category by their assigned factor, then summed all the categories to calculate a total.
- Finally, divided the total by three to determine the weighted average, since the monitoring data were collected over a three-year period.
The weighted average determined each county's grades for ozone and 24-hour PM2.5.
- All counties with a weighted average of zero (corresponding to no exceedances of the standard over the three-year period) were given a grade of "A."
- For ozone, an "F" grade was set to generally correlate with the number of unhealthy air days that would place a county in nonattainment for the ozone standard.
- For short-term particle pollution, fewer unhealthy air days are required for an F than for nonattainment under the PM2.5 standard. The national air quality standard is set to allow two percent of the days during the three years to exceed 35 µg/m3 (called a "98th percentile" form) before violating the standard. That would be roughly 21 unhealthy days in three years. The grading used in this report would allow only about one percent of the days to be over 35 µg/m3 (called a "99th percentile" form) of the PM2.5. The American Lung Association supports using the tighter limits in a 99th percentile form as a more appropriate standard that is intended to protect the public from short-term spikes in pollution.
|Weighted Average
|Approximate Number of Allowable Orange/Red/Purple/Maroon days
0.3 to 0.9
1 to 2 orange days with no red
1.0 to 2.0
3 to 6 days over the standard: 3 to 5 orange with no more than 1 red OR 6 orange with no red
2.1 to 3.2
7 to 9 days over the standard: 7 total (including up to 2 red) to 9 orange with no red
3.3 or higher
9 days or more over the standard: 10 orange days or 9 total including at least 1 or more red, purple or maroon
Weighted averages allow comparisons to be drawn based on severity of air pollution. For example, if one county had nine orange days and no red days, it would earn a weighted average of 3.0 and a D grade. However, another county which had only eight orange days but also two red days, which signify days with more serious air pollution, would receive a F. That second county would have a weighted average of 3.7.
Note that this system differs significantly from the methodology EPA uses to determine violations of both the ozone and the 24-hour PM2.5 standards. EPA determines whether a county violates the standard based on the 4th maximum daily 8-hour ozone reading each year averaged over three years. Multiple days of unhealthy air beyond the highest four in each year are not considered. By contrast, the system used in this report recognizes when a community's air quality repeatedly results in unhealthy air throughout the three years. Consequently, some counties will receive grades of "F" in this report, showing repeated instances of unhealthy air, while still meeting EPA's 2008 ozone standard. The American Lung Association's position is that the evidence shows that the 2008 ozone standard fails to protect public health.
Counties were ranked by weighted average. Metropolitan areas were ranked by the highest weighted average among the counties within a given Metropolitan Statistical Area as of 2009 as defined by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Year-round particle pollution (Annual PM2.5)
Since no comparable Air Quality Index exists for year-round particle pollution (annual PM2.5), the grading was based on EPA's determination of the national ambient air quality standard for annual PM2.5 of 15 µg/m3. Counties that EPA listed as being at or below 15.0 µg/m3 were given grades of "Pass." Counties EPA listed as being at or above 15.1 µg/m3 were given grades of "Fail." Where insufficient data existed for EPA to determine a design value, those counties received a grade of "Incomplete."
Design value is the calculated concentration of a pollutant based on the form of the national ambient air quality standard and is used by EPA to determine whether or not the air quality in a county meets the standard. Counties were ranked by design value. Metropolitan areas were ranked by the highest design value among the counties within a given Metropolitan Statistical Area as of 2009 as defined by the OMB.
The Lung Association received critical assistance from members of the National Association of Clean Air Administrators, formerly known as the State and Territorial Air Pollution Control Administrators and the Association of Local Air Pollution Control Administrators. With their assistance, all state and local agencies were provided the opportunity to review and comment on the data in draft tabular form. The Lung Association reviewed all discrepancies with the agencies and, if needed, with Dr. Lefohn at A.S.L. and Associates. Questions about the annual PM design values were referred to Mr. Schmidt of EPA, who reviewed and had final decision on those determinations. The American Lung Association wishes to express its continued appreciation to the state and local air directors for their willingness to assist in ensuring that the characterized data used in this report are correct.
Calculations of Populations-at-Risk
Presently county-specific measurements of the number of persons with chronic conditions are not generally available. In order to assess the magnitude of chronic conditions at the state and county levels, we have employed a synthetic estimation technique originally developed by the U.S. Census Bureau. This method uses age-specific national and state estimates of self-reported conditions to project disease prevalence to the county level. The primary exception to this is poverty, for which estimates are available at the county level.
Population Estimates
Total population for each county was obtained from U.S. Census Bureau summary files of the 2010 decennial census data, which included age- and gender-specific breakdowns.
Poverty estimates came from the Census Bureau's Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) program. The program does not use direct counts or estimates from sample surveys, as these methods would not provide sufficient data for all counties. Instead, a model based on estimates of income or poverty from the Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) to the Current Population Survey (CPS) is used to develop estimates for all states and counties.
Prevalence Estimates
Chronic Bronchitis, Emphysema and Cardiovascular Disease Estimates. In 2010, the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) estimated the nationwide annual prevalence of diagnosed chronic bronchitis at 9.9 million, the nationwide lifetime prevalence of diagnosed emphysema at 4.3 million, and the nationwide lifetime prevalence of diagnosed cardiovascular disease at 74.7 million. Estimates for chronic bronchitis and emphysema should not be combined as they represent different types of prevalence estimates. Cardiovascular disease includes coronary heart disease, hypertension, stroke and heart failure.
Local area prevalence of chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and cardiovascular disease are estimated by applying age-specific national prevalence rates from the 2010 NHIS to age-specific county-level resident populations obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau web site. Prevalence estimates for chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and cardiovascular disease are calculated for those aged 18-44 years, 45-64 years and 65 years and older.
Asthma and Diabetes. In 2010, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey indicated that approximately 8.6 percent of adults residing in the United States and 9.1 percent of children from twenty-nine states and Washington, D.C. reported currently having asthma. The BRFSS indicated that 9.2 percent of adults in the United States had ever been diagnosed with diabetes in 2010.
The prevalence estimate for pediatric asthma is calculated for those younger than 18 years; adult asthma and diabetes is calculated for those aged 18-44 years, 45-64 years and 65 years and older. Local area prevalence of pediatric asthma is estimated by applying the most recent state prevalence rates, or if none are available, the national rate from the BRFSS to pediatric county-level resident populations obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau web site. Pediatric asthma data from the 2010 BRFSS were available for thirty-two states and Washington D.C., five states1 from 2009, three states2 from 2008, and one state each3 for 2007 and 2006. National data was used for the eight states4 that had no data available since 2006. Local area prevalence of adult asthma and diabetes is estimated by applying age-specific state prevalence rates from the 2010 BRFSS to age-specific county-level resident populations obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau web site.
Limitations of Estimates. Since the statistics presented by the NHIS, BRFSS and SAIPE are based on a sample, they will differ (due to random sampling variability) from figures that would be derived from a complete census or case registry of people in the U.S. with these diseases. The results are also subject to reporting, non-response and processing errors. These types of errors are kept to a minimum by methods built into the survey.
Additionally, a major limitation of both surveys is that the information collected represents self-reports of medically diagnosed conditions, which may underestimate disease prevalence since not all individuals with these conditions have been properly diagnosed. However, the NHIS is the best available source that depicts the magnitude of chronic disease on the national level and the BRFSS is the best available source for state-specific asthma and diabetes information. The conditions covered in the survey may vary considerably in the accuracy and completeness with which they are reported.
Local estimates of chronic diseases are scaled in direct proportion to the base population of the county and its age distribution. No adjustments are made for other factors that may affect local prevalence (e.g. local prevalence of cigarette smokers or occupational exposures) since the health surveys that obtain such data are rarely conducted on the county level. Because the estimates do not account for geographic differences in the prevalence of chronic and acute diseases, the sum of the estimates for each of the counties in the United States may not exactly reflect the national estimate derived by the NHIS or state estimates derived by the BRFSS.
Irwin, R. Guide to Local Area Populations. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Technical Paper Number 39 (1972).
National Center for Health Statistics. Raw Data from the National Health Interview Survey, United States, 2010. Calculations by the American Lung Association Research and Program Services Division using SPSS and SUDAAN software.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2010.
U.S. Census Bureau. 2010 Census. Summary File 1, Tables P12, P13, and PCT12.
Office of Management and Budget. Update of Statistical Areas Definitions and Guidance on Their Uses. OMB Bulletin 10-02 December 1, 2009.
U.S. Census Bureau. Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates. State and County Data, 2010.
- California, Delaware, Idaho, New York and Virginia.
- Maine, New Hampshire, and Ohio.
- Alaska for 2007 and Minnesota for 2006.
- Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Tennessee.
FACT: Breathing in particle pollution can increase the risk of early death, heart attacks, strokes and emergency room visits for people with asthma, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.


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The consortium of European Research Libraries (CERL) is currently overseeing the Security Network. For more information please go to www.cerl.org/collaboration/security.
Following a spate of serious trans-border thefts from major European libraries, a Conference on Library Security Management was held under the auspices of LIBER in the Royal Library, Copenhagen, in May 2002, which formulated and endorsed The Copenhagen Principles (14 May 2002).
With the support of the LIBER Executive Board, the Royal Library, Copenhagen, set up the LIBER Security Network in December 2002.
The LIBER Security Network is now well established and provides a forum for advice to members on protection against theft and confidential reporting of both actual theft and suspicious activity. A further service being planned is the provision of advice to member institutions who have been the victims of theft on the public relations aspects of its aftermath – how to deal with enquiries from the press, government departments, etc.
Table of Contents
On 2 July 2002, the Executive Board of LIBER, in line with the Copenhagen Principles of 14 May 2002, endorsed the establishment of a Library Security Network to facilitate the exchange of confidential security information among European national, university and other important research libraries with valuable collections. LIBER asked The Royal Library in Copenhagen to establish and run the Network
The objective is to create a safe information and communication network, based on email, for European Library Directors and Security Managers.
Membership is open only to institutions that are members of LIBER and limited to authorised representatives of European research libraries, normally Library Directors and/or Security Managers authorised by their Directors. The number of participants should normally not exceed three per institution. A copy of the Application Form should be completed by each applicant from an institution. A common ethical code, or guidelines, for the handling and transmission of information will be defined and developed in line with Principle 4 of the Copenhagen Principles.
The number of participating institutions will be limited to a total of 200. Participation must be justified on the basis of the importance or value of an individual institution's collections.
Only authorised users, namely those authorised representatives of participating institutions, will have access to the Network and the right to communicate through it to all members.
Information conveyed through the Network should primarily comprise
- Warnings of presumed crimes (thefts, mutilations etc.) committed or believed to have been committed;
- Reports on incidents of relevance or interest;
- Notices of losses from collections;
- Information on the development of security systems
When a Library wishes to apply to become a member of the Library Security Network, the Director of the Library must appoint a trusted member of staff with managerial responsibility within the Library's security organisation to act as the Library's liaison officer in the Network.
The person appointed must then complete the Application Form, giving the details listed below, and send the Application Form by email or by post to the Library Security Network administrator, Charlotte Rohde (firstname.lastname@example.com), The Royal Library, Copenhagen:
- Full name and title
- Name of institution
- Head of institution
- Name of immediate line manager
- Your job title in the institution
- Details of your responsibility for security in the institution
- Personal work e-mail
- Institution e-mail
- Website address
- Telephone
- Fax number
On receipt of these details, the Library Security Network administrator will contact the applicant's head of institution in order to check and verify the information that has been provided. After successful verification, the applicant will be assigned an ID electronically by the Library Security Network administrator, along with a password and guidelines for the use of the Network.
The applicant will then be able to use the Library Security Network.
The Royal Library, Copenhagen, has undertaken to act as administrator (i.e. operator) of the Network. This involves:
- Setting up the Network
- Preparing an online application form for membership
- Checking that unauthorised persons do not access the Network, and issuing appropriate warnings should this be attempted
- Maintaining a current email address list of authorised members.
Recognizing these developments, we have decided to set up closer co-operation among libraries with the purpose of preventing or resolving such incidents.
From the evidence it is clear that individual libraries have dealt with these matters in a rather isolated way in the past, and that co-operation between libraries has been only sporadic. On the other hand all libraries tend to involve the police authorities at the point of theft. Bodies such as Interpol and Europol also have considerable expertise in counteracting thefts of cultural assets. But Europe has a wide range of different legal systems, and this can make theft investigation more intricate and therefore rather slow.
The international criminal world is not dependent on legal and administrative restrictions, but can exploit to the full the openness of the modern communication and information society. This creates the basis of a 'crime internet'.
Interpol and national and international police authorities are, on the other hand, completely dependent on the evidence produced by the victim of the theft. Insufficient evidence weakens the case both for the police and the law. Libraries entrusted with collections of cultural value must give a high priority to their security policies and systems. They need to develop better communication and co-operation on security issues with police organisations such as Interpol and Europol and with national legal systems.
In the business world, if a company loses valuables through theft, it will normally have made arrangements in advance for compensation, either through insurance or replacement. For cultural institutions the situation is almost exactly the opposite. Libraries cannot insure their collections, because what they might lose is almost impossible to replace. One cannot insure against such things in a traditional way.
Libraries have to be open to the general public and make their collections available to the public. Librarians generally have an open mind and show a co-operative approach to users, both scholars and the general public. This very openness and co-operation can be exploited by criminals.
This is the kind of reality libraries have to face. They are no longer safe retreats. They are for better or worse an active part of society, with all that this entails.
Those of us who are entrusted with the task of preserving cultural assets must realise this fact and face up to it in order to forestall acts of criminality directed at our collections. Without surrendering our open approach, we should try to overcome the naivety with which it has from time to time been associated and act in a more professional way.
The evidence suggests that there are a number of weaknesses in the way we handle criminal attacks against our collections and in the organisation of our security arrangements. These must be addressed and eliminated if our libraries are to be in a stronger position against international criminality. Openness on the part of libraries is a crucial factor in this development. Institutional silence can only be to the benefit of the thief.
An Organisational Network for International Co-operation on Security Problems in National and Research Libraries
Principle 1
The representatives of the national and research libraries present (hereafter called the representatives) agree to establish a new security network for trans-national co-operation between libraries in order to prevent and combat criminal offences against significant library collections.
Principle 2
The representatives accept that each national or research library is responsible for setting up its own security policies and security systems, but they endorse their commitment to co-operation as part of a wider security network.
Principle 3
The representatives agree to inform and assist one another in a secure network when a library is subject to potential or actual criminal attacks against its collections.
Principle 4
The representatives agree to commit themselves to defining and developing a common ethical code of practice on security information handled and exchanged among libraries.
Principle 5
The network will co-operate with the police at an international level.
Principle 6
The representatives agree to nominate a designated member of staff as the library contact for the network.
Principle 7
The designated staff (security managers) will share experiences on security issues and best practice with one another.
Principle 8
Information about security issues is confidential to the security network.
Principle 9
The representatives encourage LIBER to establish co-operation on security issues with the book trade and with other memory institutions.
Unanimously endorsed by the delegates at the LIBER Conference on Library Security Management, Copenhagen, 12-14 May 2002.
Copenhagen, 14 May 2002
Erland Kolding Nielsen
Esko Häkli
Ann Matheson
Conference Chairmen