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Sad news all around: The weekend brought one tragic story after another about people dying in travel accidents.
Homicide charges after train derails in Spain
The driver of the train that careened around a curve and derailed in northwestern Spain last week now faces homicide charges.
Authorities charged him Sunday with 79 counts of homicide — one for each life lost.
Over the weekend, relatives of victims embarked on the grim but necessary task of picking up the luggage left behind.
A solemn parade of mourners wheeled bags away from the police station in Santiago de Compostela. The suitcases had been recovered from the wreckage scene, their owners either dead or badly injured.
Somber organ music filled the city's cathedral Monday night at a memorial for the passengers who perished.
On church trip, bus flips in Indiana
A youth pastor, his pregnant wife and a chaperone were killed on a church trip when their bus flipped over in Indiana on Saturday.
The driver told witnesses that the vehicle's brakes failed as he was trying to make a left turn, an Indianapolis Fire Department spokeswoman said.
The bus ended up on its side on a concrete road barrier, with luggage and other debris strewn on the roadway.
"I saw bodies everywhere, kids in shock and disbelief," said John Murphy, who had stopped along the northern Indianapolis road where the bus crashed.
The bus was returning from a camp in Michigan, Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard said.
Bus packed with pilgrims plunges off bridge in Italy
A bus returning pilgrims from a weekend visit to a Catholic shrine in southern Italy plunged off a bridge into a wooded area, leaving at least 38 dead.
The bus was traveling east of Naples in Avellino province, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.
Avellino police official Pasquale Picone said the bus struck 11 cars on the road before falling off the bridge, leading police to suspect the bus had brake problems. But the exact cause of the accident remains unknown.
Photos from the scene showed a broken guardrail and the bus lying on its side.
New York boat crash kills bride, best man
In New York, wedding plans turned to funeral arrangements after a power boat carrying a wedding party crashed into a barge on the Hudson River late Friday. Two people died.
Lindsey Stewart, the bride-to-be, and Mark Lennon, who was to have been the best man in the wedding party, and disappeared late Friday when a 21-foot Stingray power boat they were passengers on slammed into one of three construction barges strapped together near the Tappan Zee Bridge, 25 miles north of Manhattan.
New York authorities are trying to piece together what went wrong.
"We're looking into every single thing," Rockland County, New York, Sheriff Louis Falco said. "What we're going to do is bring in an accident reconstruction team."
Pennsylvania helicopter crash kills 5
A day after a helicopter went missing during bad weather, search crews spotted the wreckage Sunday in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania.
Five people, including a child, died in the crash, the county's coroner said.
The Robinson 66 chopper departed from Tri-Cities Airport in Endicott, New York, and was headed to Jake Arner Memorial Airport in Lehighton, Pennsylvania. Federal officials said earlier it had come from Greater Binghamton Airport.
Federal authorities are investigating.
Switzerland: Commuter trains collide
Two commuter trains collided head-on in western Switzerland Monday evening, between the cities of Moudon and Payerne.
Dozens were injured, several of them seriously, Swiss Railways spokesman Reto Schaerli said.
"We don't know why this crash happened," he said.
Floodwater sweeps tour bus downstream in Arizona
The driver of a tour bus loaded with passengers attempted to cross through floodwater that was at least 6 feet deep and 100 feet wide in northern Arizona on Sunday,
When fire department crews arrived, the bus had rolled onto its side and floated 300 yards downstream.
No one was injured or killed, but authorities didn't mince words when they described the situation Sunday.
"The occupants were extremely lucky to have survived," Northern Arizona Consolidated Fire District Chief Patrick Moore said.
"When you think of how much water it takes to float a bus 300 yards," he said, "you don't have to be a rocket scientist to know you shouldn't drive there."
CNN's Holly Yan, Karl Penhaul, Barbie Nadeau, Livia Borghese, Janet DiGiacomo, Ed Payne, Alina Cho, Greg Botelho, Mark Morgenstein, Sho Wills, Dave Alsup and Stefan Simons contributed to this report.
Steve Almasy and Catherine E. Shoichet | CNN


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subset: commoncrawl


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- Home
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Historic Dundee
Passed By
A few years ago, Dundee was not so much a town as it was a potential "stop" for the many drivers zipping along US23. It was a place to fill up with gas and/or fast food when necessary, a place to ignore otherwise.A handful of the curious, or those who got lost trying to find the McDonald's, sometimes stumbled upon the historic downtown, with its unique Triangle Park. Some admired the faded Italianate architecture through their windshields but, seeing nothing tempting in drab storefronts, drove on. Some would comment on the shame of it all, these little towns dying for the lack of employment and shopping. Dying for the lack of the things that keep the young ones down in the village after they'd seen Ann Arbor, Toledo, or even Detroit. Few remembered their accidental visit to Dundee, or thought to comment on it to friends and relatives.
Dundee's easy-off, easy-on freeway exit was all that came to mind when most travelers heard the name.
Now, the "handful of the curious" are in the millions. They come from everywhere to be in Dundee. Throughout Michigan the phrase, "I'm from Dundee" evokes a smile of recognition from nearly all. Then, typically, comes a remark along these lines, "I hear you guys are really booming."Yes, actually, we are booming. Beautifully restored historic buildings, housing, interesting dining, and shopping experiences are all available. Hotels and restaurants, both big and new, are on one edge of town. A "new urbanist" subdivision, under development on the other edge, brings a variety of additional new housing about to sprout both from farm fields and downtown.
Unique Features
A muscular industrial park attracts worldwide attention along with a beautiful new high school. A new water supply system was built bringing ample water in from Lake Erie. There are plans underway for the expansion of the sewage disposal system. There are also many new streets and sidewalks, including an extra wide walk connecting downtown with the nation's largest outdoor outfitting store. This store is a great building only slightly larger than the artificial mountain it contains within. Last year, in this village of 3,500, more than 3 million persons gazed up at that indoor mountain.Quite of few of these millions of visitors wondered, "Why Dundee? Why did Dundee suddenly go from no place to "the place?"
Like most success stories, this one has many fathers (and mothers). What those who blasted by on the freeway years ago didn't see was the spirit of the people. These people, quiet and unassuming, with all the small town virtues that are so mythologized in America, had a vision. Call it a, "build it and they will come" vision if you will, or simply call it a wish to make a little town a better place in which to live.
The city fathers (and mothers) mostly focused on their downtown and the area along the river. They had the area declared a historic district. They scrapped together the money to put in streetscapes and a stunning river walk. They worked to attract more retail downtown that was improved as well as worked in better and more prevalent employment opportunities elsewhere in the village.They jealously guarded their border. They knew development was inevitable on the farmland just outside the village limits. They knew they had to control that development or it would strangle them, so they brought the land inside the village limits. The village even purchased some of the land as it was determined to control what happened there.
Momentum & Results
In the late 1990's, the efforts started to pay off when two significant retailers, Swan Creek Candle Co. and Tiffany's Pizza, opened downtown. Even more activity stirred in the industrial park and momentum continued to build.In March of 1999, Cabela's announced that it would construct the nation's largest outdoor outfitting store here in Dundee. The rest, as they say, is history.
By the time Cabela's opened in autumn of 2000, a host of national firms had announced plans to come to Dundee, or had already begun to build. More are on the way.
These have been exciting times in Dundee but, as "they" also say, "the more things change the more they stay the same." We are still a small town, with small town values. We are still determined visionaries working hard to ensure that Dundee, for all its booming, remains a quaint, quiet, and wonderful place to settle down and raise a family.
And we are still succeeding!


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LONDON (Reuters) - A man who claims to have defaced a major painting by Mark Rothko over the weekend in London said on Monday that Marcel Duchamp, the French artist most famous for his 1917 urinal that shocked the art establishment, would be "happy" at what he had done.
Police are investigating the incident on Sunday at Tate Modern gallery on the River Thames, where witnesses saw a man approach Rothko's 1958 canvas "Black on Maroon" and inscribe it with black ink in the lower right-hand corner.
Although the ink had run down the canvas, a photograph posted by a witness on the Twitter website showed the words: "VLADIMIR UMANETS '12, A POTENTIAL PIECE OF YELLOWISM."
A man answering a mobile phone number provided via a link on the website of the "Yellowism" movement (www.thisisyellowism.com) answered to the name of Vladimir Umanets and told Reuters he had carried out the attack.
"I'm aware they (the police) will come at some point and arrest me," he said, speaking in an eastern European accent.
"It was an artistic statement, but it was more about having the opportunity to speak about galleries and art," he added, explaining his actions.
"Marcel Duchamp, when he made 'readymades' (art), everyone was shocked. I don't want to be considered a vandal or someone who wants to destroy something, especially such a valuable painting.
"It's more about to change perception of things, of spectators. It's more about an idea."
Duchamp's iconoclastic urinal, entitled "Fountain" and featuring the words "R.Mutt", is considered one of the most influential works of the 20th century by challenging people's understanding of what constitutes art.
"What I do believe is the most creative thing left to do in contemporary art today is to abandon this (art) and Marcel Duchamp was trying to do this," Umanets said.
"I'm not saying I'm another Marcel Duchamp. I'm not a tag-maker. I'm doing my own thing ... After Duchamp, nothing actually happened. I definitely believe that Marcel Duchamp would be really happy."
In its online manifesto, "Yellowism" is described as neither art nor anti-art and that the "context for works of art is already art".
The Metropolitan Police said the suspect was a white man believed to be in his late-20s. No arrest has been made.
A Tate Modern spokeswoman said the painting would be repaired by an in-house team of experts. Asked whether the gallery, one of the world's most popular, was considering beefing up its security, she replied in a statement:
"Tate has strong security systems in place including physical barriers, security officers in the galleries, alarms and CCTV."
In the case of the Rothkos, which are hanging on Level 3 of the converted power station, the barrier is a low wire.
The damaged work was one of the "Seagram Murals" the Russian-American artist was commissioned to paint in the 1950s for the new Four Seasons restaurant in New York.
Several ended up in the Tate collection after they were given as gifts before Rothko took his life, and Tate describes the famous series of soft-edged rectangles as "iconic".
No one knows why the artist abandoned the bright, intense colors of his earlier canvases and painted in dark maroons, reds and black, but one theory is that he said he wanted to "ruin the appetite of every son of a bitch who ever eats in that room."
Rothko is considered one of the 20th century's most important artists, and in May, his "Orange, Red, Yellow" sold for $86.9 million, a new auction record for the artist, at Christie's in New York.
Tim Wright, who witnessed Sunday's attack, wrote on Twitter: "This guy calmly walked up, took out a marker pen and tagged it. Surreal ... Very bizarre, he sat there for a while then just went for it and made a quick exit."
(Reporting by Mike Collett-White)


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I like this post. It is give more information
- California Assembly OKs highest minimum wage in nation
- S. Korea unveils first graphic cigarette warnings
- US joins with South Korea, Japan in bid to deter North Korea
- LPGA golfer Chun In-gee finally back in action
- S. Korea won't be top seed in final World Cup qualification round
- US men's soccer misses 2nd straight Olympics
- US back on track in qualifying with 4-0 win over Guatemala
- High-intensity workout injuries spawn cottage industry
- CDC expands range of Zika mosquitoes into parts of Northeast
- Who knew? 'The Walking Dead' is helping families connect
Political scandal overshadows South Korea 2018 Olympic prep
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — When Pyeongchang was awarded the 2018 Olympics six years ago, many South Koreans felt that the first Winter Games on home snow would herald their entry into the top tier of rich nations.
One year before the Olympics, however, the country is in political disarray, and winter sports are the last thing on many people's minds. To say that South Koreans are distracted from what had been billed as a crowning sports achievement is an understatement.
After protests that saw millions take to the streets, South Korea's president, toppled from power, languishes in her mountainside palace as a court ponders whether to approve her impeachment and trigger early elections. A toothless prime minister, thrust into leadership by the country's biggest corruption scandal in recent memory, struggles with huge economic, social and diplomatic tensions.
And then there's rival North Korea, which relishes the chance to insert itself into the picture – often with missile tests and threats of annihilation – whenever global attention turns to its southern rival.
This is not the atmosphere jubilant organizers thought they'd face when Pyeongchang, an alpine ski resort town of 43,000 people about 180 kilometers (110 miles) east of Seoul, closed in on its moment of glory.
Despite the political turmoil, the Pyeongchang Olympics will likely be well-organized and ready to go, especially when compared with the recent games in Rio de Janeiro and Sochi, Russia, which saw swirling human rights, environmental and political crises.
Still, the upheaval in government will likely dominate headlines throughout the year and add to worries about Pyeongchang's preparations, enormous costs and a lack of public buzz.
A look at some of the major issues facing the country, and the state of its Olympic dreams, a year ahead of the Pyeongchang Games, which are set for Feb. 9-25, 2018:
Even with the political mess, there are still high hopes for the second Olympics to be held in South Korea, whose capital, Seoul, hosted the 1988 Summer Games.
South Korea used the Seoul Olympics to highlight its economic rise from the rubble of the 1950-53 Korean War. The country has since staged two Asian Games, co-hosted the soccer World Cup in 2002 with Japan and held other high-profile international events, including the 2010 Group of 20 economic summit.
"The Winter Olympics will let us show that we have reached the level of an advanced nation," said Choi Kwang-shik, a former minister of culture, sports and tourism who teaches at Korea University.
Pyeongchang supporters say the 2018 Games will boost South Korea's image because only advanced, rich countries usually host Winter Olympics.
Critics, however, question the need to host costly international events and waste taxpayers' money when many South Koreans are struggling economically.
The Pyeongchang Olympics, like much else in South Korea, have been drawn into the country's biggest political scandal in decades.
Prosecutors say President Park Geun-hye and her longtime friend Choi Soon-sil plotted to pressure businesses to donate tens of millions of dollars to two nonprofit foundations controlled by Choi, one of them sports-related.
As investigations widened over the scandal, officials arrested and indicted several top sports and culture ministry officials, including Cho Yoon-sun, who resigned as minister after her arrest. Media have speculated that a jailed senior sports official aided Choi – who is jailed and currently on trial – in alleged attempts to land Olympic construction deals.
Lee Hee-beom, head of the Pyeongchang organizing committee, told reporters recently that comprehensive reviews of all Olympic-related contracts found that none has been found "contaminated."
Some of the companies implicated in the political scandal were reluctant to sponsor the Olympics, according to local media reports. Still, organizers say they collected about 90 percent of their domestic sponsorship target of 940 billion won ($826 million) by the end of last year.
Spending for the Pyeongchang Games will likely be about 14.2 trillion won ($12.4 billion), with 11.4 trillion ($10 billion) of that for building competition venues, roads and a new high-speed rail line designed to link the country's main gateway of Incheon International Airport with Pyeongchang in about 90 minutes.
Organizers say the infrastructure will help promote Gangwon province, which governs Pyeongchang and shares a border with North Korea. The goal is to use the Olympics to turn the region into a new Asian hub for winter sports.
There have been worries about construction delays. Organizers say the main Olympic stadium, where the opening and closing ceremonies will be held, is about 40 percent complete. They promise completion by September.
They also say the construction of the 12 competition venues is about 96 percent complete on average.
The winter sports industry in South Korea is relatively young and searching for star athletes after the retirement of beloved Olympic figure skating champion Yuna Kim.
About 6,500 athletes, coaches and sports officials from about 95 countries are expected to attend the Pyeongchang Games. Foreigners will also be streaming in to watch, but organizers hope that 70 percent of ticket sales will be local. That means creating buzz at home is crucial.
But there's worry about low ticket sales, which are set to start in South Korea on Thursday.
To attract locals, popular South Korean athletes are needed. "But many people don't know any local athletes, so they won't go" to Pyeongchang, said Jung Moon-hyun, a sports science professor at Chungnam National University in South Korea.
A series of test events that began in November will continue until April. Among them are the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships and the Ski Jumping World Cup, both this month.
North Korea's participation in the 2018 Games would certainly bring attention. Pyeongchang was partially sold to the world as a way to perhaps prod North Korea into reaching out more to the international community.
But nothing is ever easy between the rival Koreas.
The North boycotted the 1986 Asian Games and the 1988 Olympics, both held in Seoul. Then it attended South Korea-hosted events in recent years, including the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon. Athletes from the two Koreas also marched together in the opening ceremonies of several major international sports events, including the 2000 and 2004 Olympics.
Current ties between the Koreas are extremely bad after Pyongyang conducted two nuclear weapons tests last year. Analysts say the North's participation at Pyeongchang will likely hinge on what kind of overture Seoul might offer the North.
But with the presidency in limbo, that, like much else in South Korea, is up in the air.
President Park, whose single five-year term was to last until Feb. 24, 2018, was originally supposed to oversee the Olympics' opening ceremony. Her successor was to then attend the Feb. 25 closing ceremony.
If the country's Constitutional Court approves Park's parliamentary impeachment – a ruling that could come by March – she'd be permanently driven from office. A presidential by-election would then follow within two months. Even if Park stays in office, presidential elections will happen in December.
Come February 2018, regardless of who's in charge, many here will look to the Olympics for a fresh start.
2 Comments
Great post. It is an amazing to read such a wonderful article.


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HoneyPitch is web based application that makes developing and collaborating on presentations and sharing documents that are designed for one thing. Getting business.
But it goes past collaboration by providing prospects a way to interact, see video messages and most importantly review and approve agreements.
HoneyPitch makes it easy for nomadic teams to work together, but more importantly, to get the business in an easy to use and collaborative way.


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University of Notre Dame Professor of Physics Mitchell Wayne of the High Energy Physics group has received a $4.3 million award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support work on the Phase I upgrade of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector at the Large Hadron Collider, located at the CERN laboratory near Geneva, Switzerland.
CMS is one of two giant, all-purpose detectors that image the proton collisions created at the 16 mile circumference LHC. The CMS and ATLAS collaborations shared in the discovery of the Higgs Boson in 2012.
The Phase I upgrade is the first of two major initiatives that the CMS collaboration will undertake to improve the detector over the next several years. These upgrades will enable CMS to take full advantage of the planned increases in both the energy and intensity of the colliding beams at the LHC.
Under Wayne's direction, Notre Dame has responsibility for two important parts of the overall upgrade project, both involving the readout of the Hadronic Calorimeter (HCAL). All of the photo detectors in the HCAL will be replaced with approximately 16,000 silicon photomultipliers, new technology for photon detection. Notre Dame personnel based at CERN will complete much of this work.
About 350 optical decoder units will be fabricated and tested at the Notre Dame High Energy Physics laboratory, and then shipped to CERN for installation in the upgraded detector. These units bring the light coming from particles interacting in the HCAL to the silicon photomultipliers.
This award is a significant development for the High Energy Physics group at the University of Notre Dame. In addition to having major responsibilities and visibility in the Phase I CMS upgrade project, it also provides support for two members of the Notre Dame team based at CERN and a number of technical staff on the Notre Dame campus. This work builds upon earlier work on CMS and previous experiments, including pioneering work on scintillating fibers done by Randy Ruchti, professor of physics at Notre Dame. The program will complement the ongoing efforts of the entire CMS High Energy Physics group at Notre Dame, including Michael Hildreth, Colin Jessop and Kevin Lannon.
This award is part of an $11.5 million cooperative agreement led by the University of Nebraska that includes eight U.S. universities.
Originally published by news.nd.edu on September 03, 2014.


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Even if you've overcome your fear diddling about with tiny SMD components, applying solder paste – especially if you're populating more than one board at a time – is still a chore. The pros use very expensive laser cut stainless steel solder paste stencils, something still a bit out of reach to the casual hobbyist. [Felix] solved this problem by making his own solder paste stencils very cheaply using empty soda cans.
The process begins just like any other home etching tutorial by lightly sanding the un-bent aluminum can and applying the etch resist via the toner transfer method. Etching is done with off-the-shelf HCl and hydrogen peroxide, resulting in an amazingly clean stencil comparable in quality with a professional stencil.
Sure, going through a dozen-step process to make a solder paste stencil may not be as convienent as [Cnlohr]'s toothpick and tweezers method, but [Felix]' method is just about up to par with extraordinarily expensive laser cut stainless steel stencils. Not bad for something that came from the recycling bin.


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Looking at the list of sites created using django, it seems there are no major web sites that are written using the framework.
Why is this? Is django not suited to scalable web sites, or is it in fact that Python loses out to PHP because more developers know it or there are more OSS components available while enterprise favours .NET or Java?
How suitable is Python compared to PHP for instance? I saw some benchmarks recently that put Python way faster than PHP.
I'm looking for answers a little more in-depth than "anything can be made to work/use what you know" etc please.
-- edit --
Thanks for the answers everyone.


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Schnaitmann, Fellbacher Lämmler, Lemberger GG, 2009
Württemberg is not one of the wine regions the average wine drinker will know much about; most likely they will not even have heard about it. Now, I could tell you a that it is a rather interesting area - a red wine making region dominated by a plethora of growers associations and rivers - but the main reason I like to drink wines made by the local tribe of the Swabians is that I was born there. In fact, as a child I played not far from Rainer Schnaitmann's Lämmler vineyard.
So every now and then I need to go back, to check what my homies are up to.


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- Home
- Business/Development
- Demographics
- Community
Mission Statement
The Village in partnership with our citizens, schools, employees, and businesses, is dedicated to providing a foundation which enhances the quality of life throughout the community. This will be achieved through trust, honesty, integrity and commitment.
Community Growth
We continue to make great strides to ensure that our residents and visitors have a positive, lasting impression of our community. This is done through enhanced beautification efforts, superior public infrastructure, residential and business opportunities and quality facilities to meet the needs of our growing population.
No progress is possible without collaboration and cooperation between the government, businesses, schools and citizens. Whether you are a resident or business, you will see that the values in Romeoville remain consistent: to go above and beyond to meet the community needs, caring for our fellow neighbor, and providing quality, friendly and open door service. These values are what shape Romeoville.
Recreation Center
The award winning Romeoville Recreation Department exists to provide quality recreational services to the Romeoville community.
The 55,000 square foot Recreation Center features two full court gymnasiums, various program/meeting rooms, preschool classrooms, gymnastics area, an indoor playground, a senior/teen center and a fitness center. Click here for more information.
Fit 4 Life Fitness Center
The 3,000 square foot facility features state-of-the-art cardio and strength training equipment and locker rooms with showers. A variety of membership packages are available as well as personal training and aerobics classes. Click here for more information.
Recreation Programs & Events
The Recreation Department offers exciting events and programs to the community. Click here for programs. Click here for events.
The Romeoville Recreation Department owns and maintains over 357 acres of park land with 8 community parks and 32 neighborhood parks. Click here for more information on our parks.


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Obama Administration Announces Commitments to Focus on Health Protections for Every American
Agencies publish environmental justice strategies designed to ensure that all communities are protected from environmental harm and benefit from federal programs
Today, federal agencies, led by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), released environmental justice strategies, implementation plans and progress reports, outlining steps agencies will take to protect communities facing greater health and environmental risks. These strategies represent a significant step forward in the Administration's commitment to integrating environmental justice into federal decision-making and programs in areas such as transportation, labor, health services, housing and others.
"Working together we have been able to make environmental justice a focus not just for EPA, but for agencies across the administration. Each of our federal partners plays a unique role in serving the American people, and each has a unique opportunity to ensure that our communities get the health and environmental protections they deserve," said U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. "If we aspire to build an economy and a society that works for every American, we can't allow the heaviest burdens of pollution and health threats to fall on our poorest citizens. Bringing together our federal partners to tackle these challenges is a major step toward health, environmental and economic benefits in communities across the nation."
"We know that all too often, low-income and minority families live in the shadows of some of the worst pollution, leading to higher rates of diseases and threatening the economic potential of their communities," said Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. "With these environmental justice strategies, Federal agencies are following through on the Obama Administration's commitment to reduce public health threats."
The Administration believes that all Americans should be able to live in healthy communities, share in the benefits of federal programs and initiatives, and have a voice in the federal decision-making process. Yet too often that is not the case, particularly for low-income, minority and tribal populations. To make progress toward addressing these inequities, federal agencies have reviewed their portfolios, to assess how their programs, policies, and activities may have disproportionately adverse health and environmental effects. Through this review, they have identified overarching strategies, as well as specific programs and initiatives, to reduce environmental or health hazards, ensure access to beneficial programs, and increase community participation in agency decision-making. For example:
- The Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Transit Administration is finalizing an environmental justice circular to help grantees determine whether there are any minority or low-income populations that may be adversely affected by a transit project or decision. DOT's Federal Highway Administration is working with the National Highway Institute to revamp their course on environmental justice and Title VI.
- The U.S. Department of Labor is translating educational materials and hazard alerts into Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese to ensure that minority workers have access to information they need to avoid environmental hazards on the job.
- The U.S. Department of Energy's Pueblo Project in Los Alamos, N.M., provides four tribal governments the opportunity to run pollution monitoring programs and provide technical input on National Nuclear Security Administration decisions.
- The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is helping to provide green jobs and workforce development opportunities for veterans in minority and low-income communities.
- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working with communities to use Health Impact Assessments, to help proactively address the potential impacts a policy or project might have on minority and low income populations. For example, in Baltimore, MD, work is under way to evaluate the human health impact of a vacant property redevelopment program.
"Communities that have historically been the reluctant hosts to the country's environmental burdens have endured the consequence of poor public health, housing, employment and education inequities to name a few," said Elizabeth C. Yeampierre, Executive Director of the United Puerto Rican Organization of Sunset Park and chair of EPA's National Environmental Justice Advisory Council."The Administration deserves praise for recognizing that these complex problems require a holistic approach."
"The newly revived Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice holds enormous promise to find direct and efficient ways to provide resources to the communities most in need," said Sue Briggum, Vice President for Federal Public Affairs at Waste Management. "Moreover, its participants welcome public private partnerships that bring government, communities and businesses together in efforts for the common good."
"At the Department of Transportation, we are committed to working directly with disadvantaged groups to choose, plan, and build transportation projects that will create jobs and spur economic growth," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "When we talk about environmental justice, we don't just mean avoiding harm to disadvantaged communities: we want to invest in projects that will create healthy, vibrant neighborhoods, revitalize communities, and connect all Americans to jobs, housing, schools, and medical care."
"The Department of Labor's environmental justice strategy demonstrates our commitment to ensuring safe and healthy workplaces, and vibrant communities for the American workforce to call home," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L.Solis. "Environmental justice is a key component of my vision of Good Jobs for Everyone, and means making sure that the department's programs and policies foster health, safety and adequate training for all people, including minority, low-income, and tribal workers."
"At the Department of Health & Human Services we understand the important connection between our environment and our country's health but we also know that our department cannot do this work alone." said Secretary Sebelius. "We look forward to our continued collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency and others to focus on building safe and healthy communities."
The release of these strategies, implementation plans, and progress reports is a part of a broad effort the Administration has undertaken to reinvigorate the federal commitment to environmental justice. After more than a decade of inaction, the Administration reconvened the Environmental Justice Interagency Working Group and engaged more than 100 environmental justice leaders at a White House Forum on Environmental Justice. Throughout 2011, federal agencies participated in more than 15 listening sessions across the country to learn from stakeholders how the federal government can better partner with overburdened communities to reduce environmental and health burdens. Then, in August 2011, 16 federal agencies committed to finalizing environmental justice strategies and releasing annual implementation progress reports.
Federal agencies releasing new environmental justice strategies by February 2012 include: the Department of Agriculture, Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Transportation, Department of Interior, Department of Veterans Affairs, and General Services Administration. The EPA and the Department of Energy published new strategies in 2011 and 2008, respectively, and released annual implementation plans last year. They both continue to take public comment on their strategies and will update each strategy, as appropriate. The U.S. Department of Justice recently released its annual implementation progress report. The Department of Defense released its strategy in 1995 and this year will be releasing an annual implementation progress report. The Department of Education, Department of Homeland Security and Department of Commerce have taken public comment on their draft strategies and are working to finalize their strategies and implementation reports.
More about agency strategies and implementation plans: http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/interagency/iwg-compendium.html


text: Sorry if you receive this mail twice, but Mike told me that the list server has some problems today. On 13/02, james hopper wrote: | Both os x and linux. what i was doing was passing real time radar | images from our sim code on the server to the display app on another | computer. the difference was quite dramatic. i could get 60 hz with | AdaSockets, but only about 10hz with gnat sockets. i was in a bit of | a rush and never really went into what was causing the difference. I made the following tests. Send and Recv 10000 times a message of 2**15 bytes Send and Recv 10000 times a message of 2**18 bytes using AdaSockets (AS) and GNAT.Sockets (GS) Linux/Debian/GNAT 3.16w I got the following results. 10000 2**15 as_recv 14.836 total gs_recv 6.463 total 10000 2**18 as_recv 1:07.14 total gs_recv 34.968 total I got quite different results from J. Hopper. GNAT.Sockets is twice faster than AdaSockets. Probably because I used a binary version of GNAT and a dynamic library for AdaSockets. Anyway, I don't think the differences observed are due to the sockets library, but most probably to differences in the implementation of the tested application. It seems to me reading the code of the two implementations that there is no significant difference of efficiency on the basic routines. However, both libraries have their own specific features. BTW, the buffered mode is only used in string-oriented routines like Get_Line, Get_Char and Get (to avoid reading characters one by one). It seems to me that the difference observed on images exchange cannot come from this. -- -- Laurent


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You may not be 100 percent sure what you think about Vladimir Putin's maneuvers in Ukraine, Burger King's tax inversion, the indictment of Texas Governor Rick Perry, or Scotland's independence referendum. But you know exactly where you come down on the Great Airline Reclining Seat Controversy, don't you?
Everyone has an opinion on the passenger in Row 12 who caused an uproar on a United flight from Newark to Denver when he used a plastic bracket called the "Knee Defender" to block the woman in front of him from reclining her seat. When a flight attendant told the man to remove the gadget — which United, like most airlines, prohibits — he refused. The infuriated woman in Row 11, reported the Associated Press, "then stood up, turned around, and threw a cup of water at him." Whereupon the plane was diverted to Chicago, and the two passengers were ejected.
Three days later, another passenger was booted from another flight because of another struggle over legroom. American Airlines diverted a Miami-to-Paris flight to Boston, where Edmond Alexandre was arrested on charges of "interfering with a flight crew" after fighting when the seat in front him was reclined.
Small wonder these stories have struck a nerve. You don't have to be a frequent flyer to know how cramped air travel has become, or how maddening — not to mention kneecap- and laptop-endangering — it can be when the already minuscule space between you and the seat-back in front of you suddenly shrinks further because a passenger one row up leans back without warning. Nor is it hard to understand the frustration of a passenger with an aching back or a need to sleep who presses the recline button, only to discover that the seat has been deliberately immobilized by a fellow traveler.
RELATED | Christopher Muther: In defense of the Knee Defender
But how did the battle between knee defenders and recliners turn into an all-or-nothing clash of rights?
"I own the right to recline, and if my reclining bothers you, you can pay me to stop," asserts economics reporter Josh Barro in The Upshot, a New York Times politics and policy website. "If sitting behind my reclined seat was such misery . . . someone would have opened his wallet and paid me by now."
Conversely, the Times's international business editor, Damon Darlin, is just as adamant in defense of his right — not his wish or preference, mind you, but his right — to attach a disabling clamp to the seat in front of him.
"The real problem is undefined property rights over the same four or five inches of space," Darlin maintains. "The person with the recliner button holds an advantage. The Knee Defender reallocates the rights."
Au contraire, argues the Financial Times in an editorial. An airplane ticket "is a contract that guarantees very few things, but the right to recline your seat at cruising altitude is one of them."
A plane ticket, of course, guarantees no such thing. Just as a concert ticket doesn't guarantee the right to view the stage unobstructed by a tall person right in front of you. Just as a hotel room reservation doesn't guarantee the right not to be disturbed by sounds from guests in the adjacent room or the corridor.
You can't always get what you want, to coin a phrase. That's routinely true of public accommodations, where our experiences — travel, dining, lodging, entertainment — must be shared with other human beings, in all their not-always-congenial variety. It makes life worse for all of us when people become so obsessed with their own satisfaction that they convince themselves they have a guaranteed right to it. Common courtesy and self-control used to be esteemed as indispensable to a healthy society. But the more we rely on law and regulation to maintain social order, the less we seem to emphasize good character and values.
Most air travelers, most of the time, don't descend into rudeness and selfishness. But as the obnoxious "I-have-a-right" mindset grows ever more entrenched, clashes like the one involving the Knee Defender are apt to proliferate. Barro wants to be paid not to recline into the lap of Darlin, sitting behind him. Darlin claims the freedom to "reallocate" Barro's ability to move his seat. Compromise? Consideration? Thoughtfulness? Nothing doing. For some people, the right to be a jerk trumps all.
Related coverage:
• Another flight diverted after dispute over reclining seat
• Common courtesy in recline on airplanes
• Police called after fliers fight over reclining seat
• Christopher Muther: In defense of the Knee Defender
Jeff Jacoby can be reached at email@example.com. Follow him on Twitter @jeff_jacoby.


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Fresh from its UK debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, SEAT has confirmed the price of the 'Sub8 Performance Pack' for its Leon CUPRA 280 flagship.
Fitted to the storming Leon CUPRA 280 which became the first front-wheel-drive car to dip under the elusive eight-minute Nürburgring Nordschleife lap time, the optional pack includes even more substantial brakes, specially-designed 19-inch alloy wheels in either black or orange and body-coloured side skirts for £2,025 including VAT.
Providing stopping power in keeping with the car's potency, the brake discs, at 370mm, are 30mm larger than on the standard car and include Brembo four piston callipers.
The CUPRA 280's VAQ electronically-controlled limited slip differential, already delivers impressive levels of grip. But, for those discerning owners seeking the ultimate, especially on track, semi-slick Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres, which also featured on SEAT's fastest production car to date, are available for £460. Notably, £540 less than those available on hot hatch rival Mégane Renaultsport 275 Trophy.
Striking, with a high-quality interior and impressive levels of equipment, the Leon CUPRA 280 is effectively two cars in one. One minute, it's a docile, easy to live with coupé (SC), or practical five-door family car, capable of up to 44.1 mpg. The next, in CUPRA mode, it becomes a force to be reckoned with, hitting 62 mph from rest in just 5.7 seconds (DSG version).
As well as the eagerly-awaited Sub8 Performance Pack, SEAT also debuted its new CUPRA colour exterior packs at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Designed to add an extra dose of Latin flair to the already eye-catching lines of its Leon flagship, two shades will be available initially, labelled Black-Line and White-Line.
Costing £500 including VAT, the embellishments are available to order now, and include CUPRA 19-inch alloy wheels, door mirrors, CUPRA tailgate lettering and front grille surround all picked out in either hue, according to the chosen pack. Black rear side spoilers also feature, regardless of the pack colour. A further pack, Orange-Line, launches in SEAT dealers in December.
Rounding off the array of option additions for the Leon CUPRA 280, is the arrival of figure-hugging CUPRA bucket seats. Sought-after by trackday aficionados in particular, the new front seats, priced at £1,250, feature a one-piece head restraint and come clad in black Alcantara with simil leather bolsters and white accents, with embossed CUPRA logo. The price also includes Winter Pack (heated front seats and headlight washer system with heated front washer nozzles).


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Activists of all ages and from all corners of the planet demanded concrete action Friday against climate change from leaders and negotiators at a global summit in Madrid.
A march was led by dozens of representatives of Latin America's indigenous peoples — a mark of deference after anti-government protests in Chile, the original host of the summit, resulted in the talks suddenly being moved to Europe for the third year in a row.
Teen climate activist Greta Thunberg declared from a stage that change is not going to come from the people in power, it's going to come from the masses." A crowd of thousands responded, chanting,
Greta! Greta!"
Organizers said 500,000 people turned out for the march, but authorities in Madrid put the number at 15,000 without an immediate explanation for the disparity in the count.
The Swedish teen was followed on her first day in Madrid by a swarm of cameras and reporters, as well as curious members of the public wanting to take video of her on their smartphones, from the very first step she took out of an overnight train from Lisbon.
Critical banner
Two young activists earned cheers as they abseiled from a bridge and strung out a banner saying: "Just 8 years till 1.5 degrees C. HOW DARE YOU?" — a reference to scientists' forecasts of rising temperatures and what activists complain is a lack of a convincing political response to the threat.
The crush as people tried to get a glimpse of Thunberg led her to pull out shortly after the start of the march, saying police had advised her to leave for safety's sake, and she climbed into an electric car.
A Madrid police spokeswoman who spoke on condition of anonymity because she wasn't authorized to be named in media reports said that it had only been suggested'' that Thunberg leave after she appeared
overwhelmed" by the attention and that police never ordered the activist to abandon on safety grounds.
Earlier in the day, the 16-year-old had said at a press conference that calls for real action against climate change were still being ignored
by political leaders despite their continuous praise of the global environmental youth movement she helped create.
Thunberg hoped the COP25 summit would lead to something concrete'' and
increasing awareness among people in general," but she said that after more than one year of student strikes, still basically nothing has happened.
"The climate crisis is still being ignored by those in power," she added.
Carbon market rules, compensation
During the December 2-13 talks, nearly 200 countries are meant to streamline the rules on global carbon markets and agree on how poor countries should be compensated for destruction largely caused by emissions from rich nations.
An official directly involved in the negotiations said that despite a few setbacks, the technical negotiations were progressing, although many issues were being left for ministerial-level meetings in the summit's second and final week.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the discussions, added that a political declaration on greater ambition
— a buzzword at the summit — was shaping up to be "difficult to achieve."
"A summit that doesn't end with enhanced ambition would be something that nobody would understand if we take into account what the streets and science are telling us," the official said.
The talks came as evidence mounts about disasters that could ensue from further global warming, including a study published Friday predicting that unchecked climate change could devastate fishery industries and coral reef tourism.
The study commissioned by 14 nations whose economies rely heavily on the sea says climate change could cause hundreds of billions of dollars in losses by 2050, adding that limiting global warming would lessen the economic impact for coastal countries, but that they also need to adapt to ocean changes.
Leaders 'afraid of the change'
Demands for greater action by nongovernmental organizations and a whole new generation of environment-minded activists were expected to take the spotlight with the presence of Thunberg in Madrid.
Past appearances have won her plaudits from some leaders and criticism from others who've taken offense at the angry tone of her speeches.
Asked about the skepticism on global efforts to fight the warming temperatures expressed by some world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump and Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro, she said: Some people want everything to continue like now. They are afraid of the change that we, the youth, are bringing.
"They try so desperately to silence us," she added.
Next to her, Vanessa Nakate, a 22-year-old member of Uganda's chapter of Fridays for Future, said that young activists don't want more promises.
We are tired of the praises that you keep giving the activists,'' she said. ''We want you to act.
During a brief visit to the summit venue earlier Friday, Thunberg did not appear unsettled by the commotion surrounding her presence.
It's absurd. I laugh at it. I do not understand why it has become like this,
she was quoted as saying by Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.
I don't like being at the center of the focus all the time, but this is a good thing,'' she told Aftonbladet.
As soon as the media writes about me, they also have to write about the climate crisis. If this is a way to write about the climate crisis, then I guess it is good."
American participation
Separately Friday, an alliance of American states, cities, academic institutions and companies opened its own venue at the U.N. climate talks, aiming to show that despite the federal administration's decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris accord, many Americans remain committed to the treaty's goal of curbing global warming.
Elan Strait, who manages the We Are Still In
initiative for the environmental group World Wildlife Fund, said the movement is "a short-term band-aid not only to get those carbon dioxide emissions down but also to encourage policymakers to lay the ground for further achievements.
Over 3,800 organizations and corporations representing 70% of U.S. economic output have joined the coalition, organizers claim, amounting to roughly half of the country's emissions.
Credit : Voice of America (VOA)


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Amgen Tour of California organizers have selected 16 teams from among the best international and domestic squads to compete in the country's largest professional road cycling stage race May 12-19, 2013. With full rosters yet to be announced, the field will include Olympic medalists, Tour de France competitors and the reigning world champion.
This year's event will be headlined by eight of the world's top ranking Pro Teams along with UCI Pro Continental and Continental squads, collectively representing nine countries. Included among the American teams are the top two U.S. Pro Teams: BMC Racing Team of Santa Rosa, Calif., whose roster includes current world road champion Philippe Gilbert of Belgium, and eight-time* participant Team Garmin-Sharp of Denver, which will be defending its record-setting three Overall Team Standings wins.
Returning for their sixth year of California competition are Belgium's top team Omega Pharma – Quick-Step Cycling Team, who has confirmed Tom Boonen, who last year became the first rider to win all four "cobbled classics" in Europe, for the race; and Italy's top professional team Cannondale Pro Cycling. Other top World Tour teams selected include perennial powerhouse RadioShack Leopard TREK of Luxembourg, whose roster includes 2011 Amgen Tour of California champion Chris Horner of Bend, Ore., Australia's top team ORICA-GreenEDGE, Denmark's top professional club Team Saxo-Tinkoff, and Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team from the Netherlands.
"The Amgen Tour of California consistently attracts the world's elite teams and riders, and has become one of the most important races on the international calendar," said Kristin Bachochin, executive director of the race and senior vice president of AEG Sports. "With our eighth edition this year, we are honored to again host one of the top fields ever assembled in a spectacular showcase for cycling fans in California and around the world."
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team of Oakland, Calif., the top American-based Pro Continental team, will compete alongside Germany's Team NetApp – Endura and China's top squad Champion System Pro Cycling Team in their Amgen Tour of California debut. Also announced to the lineup are some of the United States' top Continental squads: BISSELL Pro Cycling, the winningest team in the National Racing Calendar (NRC) in 2012; Optum Pro Cycling presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies; Team Jamis – Hagens Berman; Bontrager Cycling Team; and 5-hour Energy presented by Kenda Racing.
"This year's Amgen Tour of California will be awesome," said Peter Sagan, Cannondale Pro Cycling, winner of five stages at the 2012 Amgen Tour of California. "I had an amazing experience last year and from the looks of the route this year, there are some incredible stages and sprints I can't wait to take on." Several teams returning this year have made many prior appearances, including seven-time participant BMC Racing Team, which in addition to Gilbert, will race Tejay van Garderen, the top American finisher in the 2012 Tour de France (5th overall).
"The Amgen Tour of California is a big objective of mine because it's not very often that we get to race in front of a home crowd. So I'm really going to relish that," said Tejay van Garderen, BMC Racing Team. "If we can go into the hometown of the BMC Racing Team (Santa Rosa) on the last day in the leader's jersey, that would be a special feeling. I'd love to be able to do that and to pay back the team for the support it's given to me. To get the reception of the crowd in a situation like that would definitely be a career highlight."
The race will wind through some of California's most demanding – and scenic – roads and serve as a preview of key contests, including the Tour de France. This year, worldwide fans will get a new perspective on nearly 750-mile course. In February, organizers announced that for the first time, the 2013 Amgen Tour of California will run from south to north and provide new challenges for the athletes.
"As the biggest stage race in the U.S., the Amgen Tour of California continues to provide our cyclists with a challenging and exciting competition, and our North American and Asian athletes are looking forward to the test," said Ed Beamon, General Manager, Champion System Pro Cycling Team. "This year will be over-the-top, literally, with several grueling climbs and a mountaintop finish at Mount Diablo."
The race will begin in Escondido on May 12, north of San Diego proper, and will conclude on May 19 in Santa Rosa in the San Francisco Bay Area. Teams will cover a full range of challenging terrain as they speed through some of California's most majestic and iconic highways, bridges, roadways and coastlines to claim stages in 12 official host cities.
"Every year the organizers of the Amgen Tour of California take it up a notch with a route that challenges cyclists and gives fans an incredible event," said Team Garmin-Sharp's Tyler Farrar, an elite cyclist who has won stages at all three Grand Tours. "I'm really looking forward to racing again on the West Coast with some of the best riders in the world, and I'm excited about this year's route, especially the Santa Barbara stage and the final stage in Santa Rosa."
"The Amgen Tour of California is the jewel of U.S. racing. I'm very excited that the 5-hr Energy presented by Kenda Racing Team will compete in this year's race," said Frankie Andreu, the team's Director Sportif. "The new route will be challenging and should be great for the fans. We look forward to taking our shot at winning one of the stages or a coveted jersey."
Also this year, the third annual Amgen Tour of California Women's Time Trial Race, presented by SRAM, will take place in San Jose on Friday, May 17, just prior to the men's Stage 6 individual time trial. The invitation-only women's time trial will use the same course as the men and will offer a $10,000 prize.
The 2013 Amgen Tour of California roster includes:
UCI ProTeams:
BMC Racing Team, USA
Cannondale Pro Cycling, Italy
Omega Pharma – Quick-Step Cycling Team, Belgium
ORICA GreenEDGE, Australia
RadioShack Leopard Trek, Luxembourg
Team Garmin-Sharp, USA
Team Saxo-Tinkoff, Denmark
Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team, The Netherlands
UCI Professional Continental Teams:
Champion System Pro Cycling Team, China
Team NetApp-Endura, Germany
UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team, USA
UCI Continental Teams:
5-hour ENERGY presented by Kenda Racing Team, USA
BISSELL Pro Cycling, USA
Bontrager Cycling Team, USA
Optum Pro Cycling presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies, USA
Team Jamis – Hagens Berman, USA
Photo © Christy Nicholson / EchelonDesignPhoto.com


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Ido Aharoni, Consul General of Israel in New York, an imposing figure in a serious gray suit, sauntered onto the stage of the Event Oval at The Diana Center and smiled. Before he began his far-ranging lecture, "Israel & Its Neighbors," about Israel's quest for peace amid raging regional changes, he asked a question. "Hands up if you know who Ido was?" he demanded, with a discernible twinkle in his eye. "Ido of the Bible was a seer, not a prophet. A seer is an unsuccessful prophet, so take everything I say today with a grain of salt." The audience chuckled. The crowd included a sprinkling of alumnae of every age group and a sizeable contingent of students who participate in one of the four Israel groups at Barnard-Columbia and who came despite the crush of midterms.
The consul called this a pivotal moment in Israel's history, but stressed that it's not the first. "If you google the phrase, 'Israel at crossroads,'" he said, "you'll find multiple references from the 1940s through today. Yet, here we are again with Israel at a crossroads. I can't tell you how many challenges Israel is facing today."
Israeli views toward negotiations with the Palestinians shifted sharply 12 years ago, according to Aharoni. At the time, Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasir Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak failed to agree on a two-state plan proposed at Camp David by then President Bill Clinton. "It was an ambitious, far-reaching plan for both sides to consider," said Aharoni. "And despite the fact that he was taking a considerable risk, Prime Minister Ehud Barak said yes to 97 percent of the territorial concessions. The Palestinians, headed by Arafat said, no."
"Shortly thereafter," he continued, "the Palestinians waged war ... known as the Second Intifada.... [and] made a strategic decision to target Israeli citizens." Aharoni explained that in reaction to the sharp increase in suicide attacks against civilians earlier in this century, the Israeli government developed several strategies. The tactics included building the controversial security fence between Israel and the West Bank, and disengaging from Gaza. Aharoni said that Israel told the Palestinians: "Your dream is a reality. Here's Gaza. Turn it into an oasis." Instead, Gaza served as a launching pad for attacks on Israel.
This response, coupled with the Palestinian rejection of Clinton's proposal in 2000 and the rejection of another peace proposal by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in 2008, "had a profound psychological effect on Israel," according to Aharoni. "Israelis care deeply about peace, but with the current Palestinian leadership, there is no deal," he said. "It would be accurate to say that the majority of Israelis believe that the unfinished business between Israelis and Palestinians is not the Six-Day War. The unfinished business is the 1948 war. It's not a war about land; it's a war about the right to exist."
Aharoni dived into the second subject of the evening: the sweeping political transformations of many Arab neighbors. "The media has defined it as an Arab Spring," said Aharoni. "I feel very uncomfortable with that term. It implies that it's seasonal, and I'm not so sure. I'm fairly confident that we're looking at a major political shift."
The revolutions need to be assessed on a country-by-country basis, he asserted. In Egypt, where the median age is young and the illiteracy rate is fairly high, "we are looking at deeper problems than elections," he said.
On the possibility of a nuclear Iran, and the Israeli strategy to prevent that scenario, he commented, "You don't need a PhD in psychology to understand Ahmadinejad. He means what he says. And this is what he says: 'Israel should be wiped off the map.'"
"So, I ask the world: What will happen if Iran acquires nuclear capabilities?" he queried in a bracing tone. "One thing is for sure. It will inspire a nuclear arms race, and some will end up in terrorist hands." A nuclear Iran, contended Aharoni, would "pose a threat to everything we value." Aharoni grew even more animated, asserting, "It's not Iran versus Israel. It is Iran versus the West."


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Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more.
There may be special permits or licenses necessary for your business. In general, all businesses should check the zoning in their area. In addition, it is important to file a personal property rendition with the County Appraiser's Office for all business-related property. Sales tax questions should be directed to the Kansas Department of Revenue at 785-368-8222 or via email.
Show All Answers
The Coffey County Clerk is the Freedom of Information Officer for the County. Contact the County Clerk for any public information you are seeking.
All job postings will be published in the Official County newspaper, The Coffey County Republican.
The Coffey County Clerk's Office can help you prepare the forms that you must file with the Kansas Department of Revenue to receive the Homestead tax refund.
To find out if you qualify for these refunds, please inquire at the Coffey County Clerk's Office.
Contact the Clerk of the District Court at 620-364-8628.
Kansas birth certificate forms are available in the County Clerk's office. Kansas birth certificates are available at the Department of Vital Statistic's at 785-296-1400, at:1000 SW Jackson StreetNumber 120Topeka, KS 66612
You will need to pick up an application for Certificate of Number Kansas Boating Act Form from the County Clerk's Office. Complete the application and send it to the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism and they will register your boat and issue you your KA number.
For additional information, contact the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism at 620-672-5911 or visit the Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism website.
Hunting and Fishing licenses are available through the County Clerk's Office.


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Joe Sestak on War & PeaceDemocrat | |
Congressional Summary: Resolved, That President George W. Bush be impeached for committing the following abuses of power:
Rep. Wasserman-Schultz: Impeachment is a lengthy process which would divide Congress and this nation even more deeply than we are divided right now. Referring this resolution to the House Judiciary Committee is the constitutionally appropriate process that should be pursued.
Rep. Ron Paul: I rise, reluctantly, in favor of referring that resolution to the House Judiciary Committee for full consideration, which essentially directs the committee to examine the issue more closely than it has done to this point.
Proponents support voting YES because:
This war is a terrible tragedy, and it is time to bring it to an end. This is a straightforward bill to redeploy our military forces from Iraq and to end the war in Iraq. This bill does not walk away from the Iraqi people. It specifically continues diplomatic, social, economic, and reconstruction aid. Finally, this bill leaves all the decisions on the locations outside of Iraq to which our troops will be redeployed wholly in the hands of our military commanders.
Opponents support voting NO because:
This legislation embraces surrender and defeat. This legislation undermines our troops and the authority of the President as commander in chief. Opponents express concern about the effects of an ill-conceived military withdrawal, and about any legislation that places military decisions in the hands of politicians rather than the military commanders in the field. The enemy we face in Iraq view this bill as a sign of weakness. Now is not the time to signal retreat and surrender. It is absolutely essential that America, the last remaining superpower on earth, continue to be a voice for peace and a beacon for freedom in our shrinking world.
A bill to strengthen sanctions against the Government of Syria, to enhance multilateral commitment to address the Government of Syria's threatening policies, to establish a program to support a transition to a democratically-elected government in Syria.
Faith2Action.org is "the nation's largest network of pro-family groups." They provide election resources for each state, including Voter Guides and Congressional Scorecards excerpted here. The Faith2Action survey summarizes candidate stances on the following topic: 'Set a timetable for withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan '


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The Iceberg
From WikiFur, the furry encyclopedia.
This article does not cite its references or sources. You can help WikiFur by adding references. For specifics, check the edit history and talk page. Consult the Furry Book of Style for editing help. |
The Iceberg was a furry house in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was located on the south side of the Brisbane river in Upper Mount Gravatt.
The Iceberg was founded by Iceleron however it was named by Koneko and was to be in theme with Iceleron's habitat. Other possible names were The Chilly Scratching-Post and Fish Pit.
Current furs[edit]
In order of moving in, the Iceberg's furries were Koneko, Iceleron, Jagafeh and Blitz.
Global Warming[edit]
In October 2010 the Iceberg 'melted' due to its inhabitants requiring a larger house. That, and the crazy landlady had repeatedly threatened to evict the housemates over the matter of the lawns reaching over 8cm in height. The new sharehouse is yet to be named.
Furry houses | ||
49 Abingdon · The Asylum · The Burrows · The BamFox Lounge · Castle Xy-Gel · The Den · Furry Arms · Furry Home at Squirrel Hill · Heart's Dream · House of Were · The Iceberg · Quarantine · Sanctuary · The Treehouse


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Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have discovered that a molecule critical to the development and plasticity of nerve cells – brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) – is severely lacking in brainstem neurons in mutations leading to Rett syndrome, a neurological developmental disorder. The finding has implications for the treatment of neurological disorders, including Rett syndrome that affects one in 10,000 baby girls.
The new discovery is published online in Neuroscience and is expected in the print issue of Neuroscience in March.
Using a mouse model of Rett syndrome, the OHSU team found that mutant neurons in the brainstem fail miserably at making BDNF. When normal neurons are faced with a respiratory challenge, such as low oxygen, they dramatically increase the production of BDNF, whereas mutant neurons do not.
According to the National Institutes of Health, Rett syndrome is estimated to affect one in every 10,000 to 15,000 live births and almost exclusively girls because it is caused by an X-linked gene mutation. In addition to severe problems with motor function, other symptoms of Rett syndrome may include breathing difficulties while awake.
"The new finding, coupled with our previously published data that show BDNF is involved in normal maturation of neuronal pathways controlling cardiorespiratory function, could play a significant role in the development of a treatment for Rett syndrome," said Agnieszka Balkowiec, M.D., Ph.D., principal investigator and associate professor of integrative biosciences in the OHSU School of Dentistry; and adjunct assistant professor of physiology and pharmacology in the OHSU School of Medicine. To conduct this research, Balkowiec partnered with John M. Bissonnette, M.D., professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and cell and developmental biology in the OHSU School of Medicine.
Additional study authors include: Anke Vermehren-Schmaedick, Ph.D., OHSU Department of Biomedical Engineering; Victoria K. Jenkins, B.A., who is currently pursuing her doctorate at Boston University; and Sharon J. Knopp, a research assistant in Bissonnette's lab.
The study was supported by grants from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health; March of Dimes; and International Rett Syndrome Foundation.


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By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press
JOHANNESBURG (AP) _ Inside a Catholic church that once served as a major rallying point for anti-apartheid activists, the image of a gray-suited Nelson Mandela appears in stained-glass window that also features angels and the cross.
Worshippers here prayed Sunday for the hospitalized 94-year-old former president, who remains almost a secular saint and a father figure to many in South Africa, a nation of 50 million people that has Africa's top economy.
Mandela's admission to the hospital this weekend for unspecified medical tests sparked screaming newspapers headlines and ripples of fear in the public that the frail leader is fading further away.
And as his African National Congress political party stands ready to pick its leader who likely will be the nation's next president, some believe governing party politicians have abandoned Mandela's integrity and magnanimity in a seemingly unending string of corruption scandals. That leaves many wondering who can lead the country the way the ailing Mandela once did.
"When you have someone that's willing to lead by example like he did, it makes things easier for people to follow," said Thabile Manana, who worshipped Sunday at Soweto's Regina Mundi Catholic church. "Lately, the examples are not so nice. It's hard. I'm scared for the country."
Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison for fighting racist white rule, became South Africa's first black president in 1994 and served one five-year term. The Nobel laureate later retired from public life to live in his remote village of Qunu, in the Eastern Cape area, and last made a public appearance when his country hosted the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament.
On Saturday, the office of President Jacob Zuma announced Mandela had been admitted to a Pretoria hospital for medical tests and care that was "consistent for his age." Zuma visited Mandela on Sunday morning at the hospital and found the former leader to be "comfortable and in good care," presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said in a statement. Maharaj offered no other details about Mandela, nor what medical tests he had undergone since entering the hospital.
In February, Mandela spent a night in a hospital for a minor diagnostic surgery to determine the cause of an abdominal complaint. In January 2011, Mandela was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital for what officials initially described as tests but what turned out to be an acute respiratory infection.
Mandela has had other health problems. He contracted tuberculosis during his years in prison and had surgery for an enlarged prostate gland in 1985. In 2001, Mandela underwent seven weeks of radiation therapy for prostate cancer, ultimately beating the disease.
While South Africa's government has offered no details about where Mandela is receiving treatment, the military has taken over his medical care since the 2011 respiratory infection. At 1 Military Hospital in Pretoria on Sunday, the facility that previously cared for Mandela in February, soldiers set up a checkpoint to search vehicles heading into the hospital's grounds. A convoy of cars with flashing lights and sirens entered the hospital grounds Sunday afternoon.
Mandela's hospitalization quickly dominated news coverage in South Africa, where most have been focused on the upcoming ANC national convention later this month in Mangaung. There, the party that has governed South Africa since Mandela's election will pick either pick a new leader or re-elect Zuma to helm the organization. Becoming leader of the ANC means a nearly automatic ticket to becoming the president in post-apartheid South Africa.
Zuma, 70, faces increasing criticism as the nation's poor blacks, who believed the end of apartheid would bring economic prosperity, face the same poverty as before while politicians and the elite get richer. Meanwhile the economy continues to struggle amid slow growth and the aftermath of violent unrest in the country's mining industry.
Zuma also faces criticism over millions of dollars of government-paid improvements made at his private homestead. But that's merely the tip of the corruption allegations swirling around the party, which critics say is increasingly tarnished. Textbooks have gone undelivered to rural schools, while local ANC officials have been arrested and convicted of corruption charges. Others have been attacked or killed in politically tinged violence as the party's convention draws closer.
"It's becoming corrupt every day … and it's growing worse," said Sidney Matlana, a worshipper at Regina Mundi. "Things are getting worse than it was before."
Yet Zuma remains a charismatic leader and still gets widespread support from Zulus, South Africa's largest ethnic group. He appears likely to hold onto power as provincial nominations ahead of the national meeting largely have supported him.
Despite that, those leaving worship Sunday at Regina Mundi stressed the need for South Africa's politicians to follow Mandela's example.
It was here that anti-apartheid crusaders gathered to plan, pray and to mourn their dead, a church Mandela himself once called a "battlefield between forces of democracy and those who did not hesitate to violate a place of religion with tear gas, dogs and guns."
Mandela's stained-glass image stands just right of another portraying a man carrying the corpse of 13-year-old Hector Pieterson, who was gunned down by police in Soweto in a peaceful 1976 student protest.
Worshippers acknowledged Sunday they didn't know which politician would be able to live up to Mandela's legacy.
"Every person has got his time," churchgoer Lerato Mhlala said. "Someone must come in and take his place as well."
Jon Gambrell can be reached at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP


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Success-focused blog Study Hacks notes a study which examined the differences between elite violinists and average players, and found that one of the biggest differences for achievement isn't the amount of time you practice, but how you delegate your time.
The study, published in Psychological Review, took a look at two tiers of violin players (as identified by the school's professors). The elite group didn't spend any more time practicing than the average group, but the elite group did schedule their work very differently, in large chunks of time:
The average players, [researchers] discovered, spread their work throughout the day. A graph included in the paper, which shows the average time spent working versus the waking hours of the day, is essentially flat.
The elite players, by contrast, consolidated their work into two well-defined periods. When you plot the average time spent working versus the hours of the day for these players, there are two prominent peaks: one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
In fact, the more elite the player, the more pronounced the peaks. For the best of the best - the subset of the elites who the professors thought would go on to play in one of Germany's two best professional orchestras - there was essentially no deviation from a rigid two-sessions a day schedule.
This isolation of work from leisure had pronounced effects in other areas of the players' lives.
Moral of the study: As with working only your "good hours," you might be able to increase how productive, creative, or skilled you are by carefully blocking your time.
Photo by Peter Kaminski.
If You're Busy, You're Doing Something Wrong: The Surprisingly Relaxed Lives of Elite Achievers | Study Hacks
You can follow or contact Melanie Pinola, the author of this post, on Twitter or Google+.


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text: Behind the iPhone musicStanley Sigman, CEO of AT&T's wireless operations, talks with Fortune's Stephanie Mehta about the decision not to sell the iPhone online, what he thinks about all the excitement, and more.(Fortune Magazine) -- Apple CEO Steve Jobs isn't the only executive girding himself for the iPhone's release June 29. Stanley Sigman, CEO of AT&T Mobility, has been getting his team ready for iPhone mania for months. Sigman, a wireless industry veteran who is credited with turning around Cingular (as AT&T's wireless unit was previously was known) five years ago, recently spoke with FORTUNE's Stephanie N. Mehta about his company's hot new device, AT&T's partnership with Apple (Charts, Fortune 500) -- and why the iPhone could be bigger than Caller ID. Here are excerpts from their conversation: Q. You've worked in the U.S. wireless industry since its inception. Has there been an event that has generated as much consumer excitement as the iPhone launch? A. I've never before experienced the kind of excitement that we have around this device. We've had other milestones in the industry that, looking back on them, were significant milestones, like the StarTac phone from Motorola (Charts, Fortune 500), the first small analog phone. I think of the RAZR phone, I think of the excitement that's been around the (Samsung) BlackJack, but I've never enjoyed the consumer excitement that we've seen around the iPhone. Q. So it is bigger than the launch of Caller ID, which AT&T's predecessor company, SBC, got a huge percentage of its residential customers to buy. A. Caller ID wasn't a big thing. A long time after it was launched, 99.5% of the customers still didn't know what it was. It wasn't until we started pushing it and word-of-mouth started getting around that it started to take off. Obviously, we don't have that issue with the iPhone. It isn't something that's going to slowly take off. Q. How are you getting AT&T stores ready for June 29? A. We saw this as a real opportunity to accelerate our brand transition from Cingular to AT&T (AT&T (Charts, Fortune 500) is phasing out the Cingular brand). We've spent hundreds and hundreds of hours in training in preparation of this, and we've hired thousands of incremental summer hires to handle the load. Q. Are people going to be able to buy iPhones via the AT&T wireless website. Or is this a device they have to come into the stores to purchase? A. Initially it won't be on the AT&T website. It will be in our 2,200 stores, in the Apple stores and on the Apple website. Q. What was the thinking behind not putting it on the AT&T website immediately? A. We eventually want to put it on our website, but we thought it would be a better experience to come in and touch it, feel it. And it would also give us an opportunity to showcase all of our other products. Q. How do you feel about Apple's marketing of the iPhone: Some of the ads seem to suggest it is a multimedia player first and a communications device second. Does that chafe? A. The intent of the advertising is just to show the breadth of products that's on the device. First and foremost, it's the best iPod that Apple has ever put out. It's an iPod that allows you to load your library of music from your iTunes to your phone. It is a great phone with great contact lists. It is a great Web browser experience. Its Google Maps capabilities are phenomenal. And there's the Visual Voicemail we developed with Apple: It will be the first where you pick the order in which you retrieve voicemail. I hope the advertising is depicting that it is more than a phone. Q. What has AT&T influenced, if anything, on the iPhone: Where are your fingerprints on the device? A. It was approaching three years ago when I first received a call from Steve and he shared with me what his vision was. I had not seen a phone and Steve had not held a phone. He had a vision of the phone at that time, and this (contractually obligating AT&T to deploy the iPhone) was in some respects a difficult decision to make because it required me to make a commitment to a device that I had not tested. At the end of the day, I had confidence that Steve and his team had the capability to design hardware and develop software that would nail it, and I had confidence in our ability to work with them on the radio side and the technical side. We're not going to take credit for the concept, the hardware or the software. He did that. But we worked with them hand in hand in the testing process to make sure it was what he wanted it to be and what we wanted it to be. Watch for part two of the Mehta's interview with Sigman, in which he talks about how other phone makers are reacting to AT&T's deal with Apple, and how his personal 30-day trial of the iPhone is going. |


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- Home
- Your Government
- Departments A - O
- County Clerk
- Document Recording
- Deeds
- Deed of Correction
Deed of Correction
"A deed of correction may be prepared to clear up a defect in title or to correct a mistake. An example may be the number of acres, or a source of title. A deed of correction does not convey interest in land. It is important to note that the original grantor and grantee must be the same in a deed of correction. One cannot add, remove or change a grantor or grantee in a deed of correction. If the deed includes any other parties it is NOT a deed of correction.
Recording of deeds, KRS 382.110
The document must have:
Full names of grantor and grantee (KRS 382.135 (1)(a)) Effective July 15, 2016
First party (seller, grantor) and their mailing address (KRS 382.135, KRS 382.200)
Second party (buyer, grantee) and their mailing address (KRS 382.135, KRS 382.200)
Legal description (Common Law) and OAG 81-100
Source of title (KRS 382.110)
Preparation Statement (KRS 382.335)
Return mail address (KRS 382.335 and KRS 382.240)
The document must state that it is a deed of correction and must refer to the deed it is correcting.
A deed of correction does not require a Consideration Certificate if the deed corrects errors in previous deed conveying the same property from the same grantor to the same grantee.(KRS 382.135(2)(e).
A deed of correction does not require an In Care Of Tax Address if the deed corrects errors in previous deed conveying the same property from the same grantor to the same grantee.(KRS 382.135).
The grantor must sign the deed and the signatures must be acknowledged (notarized). (KRS 382.130) The document must be filed in the county clerk's office of the county where the property is located (or the greater part). KRS 382.110.
Transfer tax would only be collected if the consideration amount has been changed. Transfer tax is collected on the consideration in the deed per KRS 142.050. If the consideration has changed a Consideration Certificate is required and the grantor and grantee must sign with signatures notarized."


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More Online Resources
The following resources are intended to aid you in your research with historical materials. We hope to provide avenues for exploring the historical context of FDR's presidency and to offer assistance in approaching archival research.
To search for primary source materials in the FDR Library's Archives, please visit Search Our Collections. Resources geared toward educators and school-age students are available through the Education portion of this website.
Historical and Biographical:
Search FDR's Calendar"Day by Day" is an interactive timeline of the Roosevelt presidency, featuring digital versions of FDR's original White House schedules and many additional archival resources. |
Special Topics -- Online features about important topics presenting materials from the FDR Library's rich historical collections
Roosevelt Facts and Figures -- A quick reference for learning about the life and times of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt
Search FDR's Calendar -- "Day by Day:" An interactive chronology of the Franklin D. Roosevelt presidency
Roosevelt Genealogy -- Family history of both
Franklin Delano and Anna Eleanor Roosevelt
Public Papers of FDR -- Full text online versions of fireside chats, public messages, news conferences, and more hosted by the American Presidency Project
The New Deal in Action -- Listings of public works projects sponsored by the New Deal
Guide to New Deal Resources at the FDR Library -- Describes the various historical manuscript collections available for research on the topic of the New Deal
Eleanor Roosevelt Project -- Search Eleanor Roosevelt's writings and media commentary on democracy and human rights
Foreign Relations of the US (FRUS) -- Fully digitized version of this extensive publication of selected US State Department records
Social Media
Keep up with current events at the Library and learn about featured historical collections by following our blog. You can also follow us on Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr.
About Research at the FDR Library:
Research Services -- Information on research support, reproduction policies, and more
Citation and Copyright -- Information on legal use restrictions for materials in the FDRL Archives
Plan a Research Visit -- Prepare for your trip to the FDR Presidential Library
FAQs — Research at the FDR Library -- Where to go, what to bring, all your questions answered
Research Grants -- Financial assistance provided by the Roosevelt Institute
Guide to Federal Records -- at the US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
ARC Database -- Research catalog of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
Collections at Other Repositories -- Find Roosevelt era manuscripts housed at other institutions
Contact the Archives --Contact the archives staff with your research question or to inquire about our holdings


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Git - fast, scalable, distributed revision control system
Git is a fast, scalable, distributed revision control system with an unusually rich command set that provides both high-level operations and full access to internals.
Git is an Open Source project covered by the GNU General Public License version 2 (some parts of it are under different licenses, compatible with the GPLv2). It was originally written by Linus Torvalds with help of a group of hackers around the net.
Please read the file INSTALL for installation instructions.
Many Git online resources are accessible from https://git-scm.com/ including full documentation and Git related tools.
See Documentation/gittutorial.txt to get started, then see
Documentation/giteveryday.txt for a useful minimum set of commands, and
for documentation of each command.
If git has been correctly installed, then the tutorial can also be
read with man gittutorial
or git help tutorial
, and the
documentation of each command with man git-<commandname>
or git help
CVS users may also want to read Documentation/gitcvs-migration.txt
(man gitcvs-migration
or git help cvs-migration
if git is
The user discussion and development of Git take place on the Git mailing list -- everyone is welcome to post bug reports, feature requests, comments and patches to email@example.com (read Documentation/SubmittingPatches for instructions on patch submission). To subscribe to the list, send an email with just "subscribe git" in the body to firstname.lastname@example.com. The mailing list archives are available at https://lore.kernel.org/git/, http://marc.info/?l=git and other archival sites.
Issues which are security relevant should be disclosed privately to the Git Security mailing list email@example.com.
The maintainer frequently sends the "What's cooking" reports that list the current status of various development topics to the mailing list. The discussion following them give a good reference for project status, development direction and remaining tasks.
The name "git" was given by Linus Torvalds when he wrote the very first version. He described the tool as "the stupid content tracker" and the name as (depending on your mood):
- random three-letter combination that is pronounceable, and not actually used by any common UNIX command. The fact that it is a mispronunciation of "get" may or may not be relevant.
- stupid. contemptible and despicable. simple. Take your pick from the dictionary of slang.
- "global information tracker": you're in a good mood, and it actually works for you. Angels sing, and a light suddenly fills the room.
- "goddamn idiotic truckload of sh*t": when it breaks