text:
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) today announced five new information-technology projects providing high-tech solutions to research problems in the humanities.
Upon completion, the five projects will allow scholars to:
- collate and compare various digital versions of classical music in both audio and score notation formats,
- examine the world's major cuneiform collections at one site on the Internet,
- ascertain at the click of a mouse the meaning of each word in online ancient Chinese texts,
- locate, using an online index, individual words in digitized collections of handwritten manuscripts by American writers, and
regularly update online encyclopedia articles.
The five projects, totaling $5 million, are being developed under the Digital Libraries Initiative, a federal program conducted by the National Science Foundation in partnership with NEH and other federal agencies. Funded in part by NEH, the initiative provides national leadership and support for the next generation of digital libraries. NEH's participation ensures that the initiative addresses critical preservation and access issues posed by the digitization of humanities collections.
"The Digital Libraries Initiative is developing new applications of digital technology in a number of fields, and the National Endowment for the Humanities is delighted to be the partner that is guiding these applications in the humanities," said NEH Chairman William R. Ferris. "The initiative's humanities projects will enable scholars to study primary research materials with unprecedented ease and to share new knowledge immediately through the Internet. These cutting-edge projects will advance knowledge of history, literature, philosophy and music -- areas of the humanities that are central to our understanding of human culture and creativity."
Descriptions of the five projects are:
Indiana University, Bloomington
Digital Music Library
Project director: Michael McRobbie, (812) 856-5596
Music presents unique challenges for the design of a digital library system. A single musical work is often represented in a wide range of formats. For example, a Beethoven piano sonata may exist in several dozen audio recordings by different performers, in several editions of printed scores issued by different publishers (or by the same publisher), and in a variety of digital score notation formats. A digital music library should provide coherent access to each of these formats, editions and performances of the piece. In addition, it should offer networked services, among and within universities that provide for classroom and research use. Copyrights must be taken into account in the design of user access facilities. The applicant will meet these challenges through the creation of an inter-university digital music library system. The system will expand the university's current digital library sound recording system, called VARIATIONS; develop new applications for educational use of music materials, including software for the representation of musical scores; and devise an approach to intellectual property issues that would help ensure broad access to the digital library's contents.
University of California, Los Angeles
Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative
Project director: Robert Englund, (310) 825-8506
The invention and early development of writing is credited to inhabitants of southern Mesopotamia who in the late 4th and in the 3rd millennium B.C. recorded first administrative and economic transactions, and later literary texts, on clay tablets, using a wedge-like script called cuneiform. Between 1850 and 1990 above all, British-American, French and German archaeological expeditions in the Near East unearthed hundreds of thousands of clay tablets documenting an uninterrupted written tradition stretching over three millennia. The source materials for the study of these ancient civilizations, however, remain widely scattered in museum collections in Europe, the Middle East, Russia and the United States. This project (http://cdli.ucla.edu/) will create a database of digital copies and electronic transliterations of digital copies of clay tablets from these collections. Graphics software will be created for the digital presentation of cuneiform script directly from the clay tablets, whose rounded forms present challenges for digital capture techniques. Tools will be devised for linguistic analysis. The project's staff has formed a partnership with the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin, based on a mutual interest in the evolution of quantitative thought and its relation to the emergence and development of writing in early Babylonia, and in the use of digital technology for creating access to historical source materials. In addition, the project has secured the cooperation of the British Museum, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Louvre and the State Museum in Berlin. Subcontracts with Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania will ensure the inclusion of the largest cuneiform collections in North America. Maintenance of the collection within the California Digital Library, a comprehensive digital library under development by the University of California system, will ensure the collection's long-term accessibility. When completed, this project will offer scholars, teachers and lifelong learners an opportunity to view and study cuneiform texts on the Internet.
University of Hawai'i at Manoa
Classical Chinese Digital Database
Project directors: Roger Ames, (808) 956-7288, and Mary Tiles, (808) 956-8250
This project will develop a new tool for the translation and study of foreign languages. A team of specialists in classical Chinese language, ancient Chinese thought, distance education and computer programming will create a database of classical Chinese texts accessible on the Internet. Language students will, at the click of a mouse, be able to retrieve the meaning of every word in the texts, along with scholarly interpretations of the texts. To create the database, the project's staff will digitize copyright-free compilations of ten core works, including collected sayings of Confucius and Mencius; Daoist writings; folk songs and poetry; chronicles of Chinese sovereigns from the eighth to the fifth centuries B.C.; and texts of Chinese ritual practices and political commentary. This project's implementation will provide free access worldwide to core humanities resources in Chinese language and culture.
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Indexing Handwritten Manuscripts
Project director: Raghavan Manmatha, (413) 545-3623
This project will develop techniques for indexing digitized copies of handwritten historical manuscripts composed by a single author. Using the Library of Congress's digitized corpus of George Washington's papers, comprising 6,400 scanned manuscript pages, the project's staff will develop a fast-indexing algorithm that will locate similarities in the images of handwritten words. The project will result in a prototype to search for individual words in digitized handwritten manuscript collections.
Stanford University
Creating standards and procedures for online encyclopedias
Project directors: John Perry and Edward N. Zalta, (650) 723-0488
With previous NEH support, Stanford University has developed an online encyclopedia of philosophy with entries providing an introduction for laypersons and specialized subtopics for scholars (http://plato.stanford.edu/). Each entry includes comprehensive bibliographies with cross-references and links to related Internet resources. Now this project's staff will develop procedures enabling contributors to regularly update their entries to reflect the latest knowledge and other scholars to provide critical commentaries on the entries. Project members will codify the flow of text from authors to editors and produce specifications for encoding online reference works using the Extensible Markup Language (XML). The project will be a prototype for development of online reference works in the humanities and sciences, with built-in processes for updating, refereeing and tracking deadlines.


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Tue, 24 May 2011
The Iowa Health Care Association forms a panel to give the industry side of senior health care in Iowa. Gov Tim Pawlenty says the ethanol subsidies must come to end. A great way to begin his race in Iowa?
Direct download: mickelson-2011-05-24.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:56pm CDT

subset: commoncrawl


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A 12-year-old boy is facing several charges after he allegedly led police on a chase while intoxicated along Pleasant Valley Road before crashing Monday morning.
An officer initially tried to stop the boy, who has not been identified as of Monday evening, in the 900 block of Springdale Road when the officer saw him nearly strike a cyclist. According to police, he was driving recklessly down Pleasant Valley Road before he hit a pickup with two people inside. Nobody was injured in that crash, but police say the boy did not stop to render aid.
The boy, who was driving by himself, then slammed into a pole and flipped over at around 7:45 a.m. Monday
The boy was taken to Dell Children's with minor injuries. He faces charges that include driving while intoxicated, evading arrest and failure to stop and render aid.


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At 19-6, the New York Knicks have been just fine this year without Amar'e Stoudemire. New York runs the second most efficient offense in the NBA, scoring 110.5 points per 100 possessions. However, that doesn't mean there isn't a clear role or a need for Stoudemire in the Knicks offense. The monkey in the room looming over New York's dream season has been the issue of whether the Knicks $100 million big man would accept a role coming off the bench. Over the past few weeks, Stoudemire has indicated that he would be accepting to come off the bench. Mike Woodson has indicated he will bring Stoudemire along slowly in terms of minutes played. All signs point to Stoudemire as a bench player, which is a really good sign for the Knicks.
In today's NBA where player athleticism allows defenders to cover ground quicker than ever before, offensive spacing has become increasingly important. Teams are getting smaller and smaller with lineups, featuring more "stretch fours" (power forwards that can shoot and stretch the floor) than ever. The Knicks are no different. It is no secret that Carmelo Anthony is far more productive as a power forward, and has excelled to arguably an MVP caliber of play in New York's wide open attack. New York employs a "four out" offensive system, based around four shooters and a big man setting pick and rolls.
The 4-5 tandem of Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler is about as good as it gets in the league and offensively both players compliment each other quite well. Anthony's versatility makes him a weapon from any spot on the floor, meaning he can stretch the defense in pretty much any way that you want. Chandler is absolutely dominant in the pick and roll game as the roll man, 1.41 points per possession, ranking 1st in the NBA. Because Anthony can play above the three point line and there isn't another big on the floor, Chandler and the point guards have more than enough space to operate. When opposing defenses collapse to try and stop the Knicks pick and roll game, shooters are left open outside the arc, where the Knicks hit at a 40.4% clip, ranking 3rd in the NBA. It is a simple offensive philosophy, yet an extremely difficult one to defend. The Knicks are playing the Mike D'Antoni spread offense, but just at a much slower pace. So if they're playing D'Antoni ball, Stoudemire should be a perfect fit right? Not exactly.
Stoudemire has a perfectly carved out role on this team, but it's not playing alongside Chandler and Anthony. In this style of offense, the center is the player delegated as the roll man. The 4 man should be a guy who can stretch the floor, preferably outside the three point line. That isn't Amar'e Stoudemire's game. In Phoenix, Stoudemire made his money as the center in D'Antoni's spread attack. Because the floor was spread, he had all the room he ever needed to create havoc as the roll man. With Chandler, the defensive player of the year, in the fold, Stoudemire doesn't have that luxury. In order to play alongside Chandler and Anthony, Stoudemire needs a more refined post game and a dominant mid-range jumper. He would have to play more as a weakside offensive player. Not necessarily a role he cannot excel in, but it isn't a role for him that puts the Knicks in the best offensive situations. He needs to play center where he can get a healthy amount of pick and rolls to get him moving towards the hoop. Coming off the bench will allow him to do this.
New York's second team is well equipped to feature Stoudemire as the main cog in the offense. Waiting for him on the bench is a great pick and roll point guard in Pablo Prigioni and a plethora of floor spacers. New York's second team has been pretty decent offensively for not having a dominant offensive big. Rasheed Wallace and Kurt Thomas have been featured playing center in this scheme. Thomas is basically a non-factor on offense while Wallace is better suited as a pick and pop big who can step out and shoot the three ball.
This is the kind of offense you'll most see with Stoudemire on the floor. Stoudemire will be playing the Kurt Thomas (40) role in this play. As I discussed earlier, you see the three floor spacers with a pick and roll happening in the middle of the floor. Notice all the space in the paint area. Given how dominant Stoudemire is in these types of situations, teams will have to pick their poison with the Knicks offense. Either they'll have to collapse hard to impede Stoudemire at the rim, or they'll tend to stay with the shooters and give him ample space to operate.
So that's mostly what you'll see when Stoudemire comes off the bench. However, as Zach Lowe alluded to on the Bill Simmons podcast yesterday, there will be about 6-10 minutes a game (situation dependent) when Stoudemire will have to share the court with Chandler and Anthony. These situations will likely come at the end of games, so the Knicks do need to iron out a way for these three guys to co-exist. I think they can do it, but as I mentioned earlier, Stoudemire has to expand his game. He worked on his post game in the off-season, but how effective it will be is anybody's guess. What the Knicks really need is for Stoudemire to re-gain his mid-range jump shot.
When Stoudemire, Chandler and Anthony are on the floor, the Knicks will not be running the "four out" offense as much as we've seen them run. They'll run more set plays, featuring a lot of screens, off-ball screens and post ups. Stoudemire will be used as an off-ball screener. If you look at situations where Kurt Thomas has been in the game alongside Anthony and Chandler, you get an idea of what the Knicks will try to do. Take this play for example:
The Knicks use Thomas and Chandler as off-ball screeners, first for Anthony then Brewer. After setting the second set of screens, Chandler dives to the hoop while Thomas spaces himself along the baseline. Chandler's quick dive to the paint essentially ends up screening Thomas' man, Keiff Morris, in the paint. Brewer finds the wide open Thomas along the baseline who nails the jumper. What we can draw from this play is the idea of off-ball screening for Stoudemire. This isn't a new concept. Turn on a Knick game this season, and you'll see all sorts of screens going on. You see cross screens to get a wing player an open jump shot coming across the set, as you see twice in that video above. You see pin down screens to open up spot up shots for Novak or JR Smith. Screening is a big part of the Knicks offense. Stoudemire can excel on these kind of plays. In 2010, his first year with the Knicks, Stoudemire shot 48.3% coming off screens.
This is a great example of how Stoudemire can be used on the weak side of the offense. The play starts out with a pick and roll at the top of the screen, with Thomas at the opposite elbow and Anthony in the opposing corner. Watch Thomas' man completely leave him to collapse on Felton in the paint, thus cutting him off from shooting. Thomas gets a wide open shot and Felton does a great job to get him the ball. Don't expect Stoudemire's man to often completely leave him like we saw in that play, but that's a look Stoudemire will get and we know that is a location Stoudemire likes to operate in.
These are Stoudemire's shot charts from the past two seasons, 2010 being on the left and 2011 on the right. As you can see, apart from at the rim, that left side elbow area is Stoudemire's favorite position to work on offense. As rough a season as Stoudemire had last season, you can see that he still shot 52% from that area.
The wild card with Stoudemire's offense would be his new post up game, simply because we've never seen it in game action. In the one pre-season game Stoudemire played in, his post up game looked hit and miss. Woodson has alluded in interviews that he'd like to use Stoudemire in post, but to what degree and how that will look, we have no idea.
To reiterate, Stoudemire should see pretty limited time sharing the floor with Chandler and Anthony. Offensively the Stoudemire-Anthony front court can work, but then the Knicks will get killed on defense. Stoudemire and Chandler are a far worse fit, which is why we'll likely rarely see them on the floor together. However, Mike Woodson will have to figure out how to use all three players together because they'll likely be on the floor at the end of games.
Overall, Amar'e Stoudemire should provide a huge boost to an already great Knicks offense, provided that he comes off the bench. He should fit in seamlessly to the Knicks "four out" offense. I really like the pieces the Knicks have on their bench and how New York can create an effective second team offensive environment built around Stoudemire. They can also play more defensive minded lineups around Stoudemire, featuring Shumpert or Brewer or Wallace. Stoudemire being in the lineup will really help Pablo Prigioni reach his full efficiency. Prigioni is already a really good defensive point guard and having a great pick and roll big will help expand his offensive effectiveness. Although they won't play a large amount of minutes together, Tyson Chandler, Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire will likely play important late game minutes together. Mike Woodson will have to figure out how all three guys can excel together. If Stoudemire can come back and be the dominant force off the bench that we all believe he should be, this Knicks team can be special. As long as Stoudemire comes off the bench, I believe the risk with him is small. If he struggles or gets injured, the Knicks will be where they were in the first place which isn't so bad at 19-6. The risk comes if Stoudemire is inserted into the starting lineup and then he struggles. Mike Woodson has pushed all the right buttons this season and I think he'll continue to do so and play Stoudemire off the bench. I think STAT will be great in his new role and he truly has the potential to push this Knicks team to the next level.
Follow Taylor on Twitter @tarmosino
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text:
The thesis on Sheriffing.
The purpose of sheriffing is threefold:
The expectations on a sheriff are as follows:
At the beginning of your stint as Sheriff, please perform the following tasks:
What should I do as I prepare to end my shift?
At the end of your stint as Sheriff, please perform the following tasks:
How do I read the CI user interface?
How do I find out about build failures?
How do I deal with build failures?
When Sheriffs encounter build failures on the public Chromium OS buildbot, they should follow the following process:
Make sure the issue is fixed.
Watch the next build to make sure it completes cleanly.
What bugs do I file, and how do I assign them?
Ahh, the tree is green. ?I can go back to my work, right?
Wrong! ?When the tree is green, it's a great time to start investigating and fixing all the niggling things that make it hard to sheriff the tree.
What should I do if I see a commit-queue run that I know is doomed?
If there is a commit queue run that is known to be doomed due to a bad CL and you know which CL is bad, you can manually blame the bad CL to spare the innocent CLs from being rejected. Go to the Gerrit review page of the bad CL and set verify to -1. CQ will recognize the gesture and reject only the bad CL(s).
If the commit queue run has encountered infrastructure flake and is doomed, most of the time CQ will not reject any CLs (with chromite CLs being the exception).
In other cases where it is not necessary to wait for the full results of the run, you can save developer time and hassle by aborting the current CQ run.
How do I deal with a broken Chrome?
If a bug in Chrome does not get caught by the Chrome PFQ, you should first?engage with the Chrome gardener.? They are responsible for helping to find and fix or revert the Chrome change that caused the problem.
If the Chrome bug is serious enough to be causing failures on the canaries or the CQ, you should temporarily pin Chrome back to the last working version with this procedure:
How can I revert a commit?
If you've found a commit that broke the build, you can revert it using these steps:
Click the "Revert Change" button and fill in the dialog box.
You are not done. ?This has created an Open change for _you_ go find and submit it.
Help with specific failure catagories
How do I investigate VMTest failures?
There are several common reasons why the VMTests fail. First pull up the?stdio?link for the VMTest stage, and then check for each of the possibilities below.
Auto-test test failed
Once you've got the VMTest stage's stdio output loaded, search for 'Total PASS'. This will get you to the Autotest test summary. You'll see something like
Total PASS: 29/33 (87%)
Assuming the number is less than 100%, there was a failure in one of the autotests. Scroll backwards from 'Total PASS' to identify the specific test (or tests) that failed. You'll see something like this:
/tmp/cbuildbotXXXXXX/test_harness/all/SimpleTestUpdateAndVerify/<...>/login_CryptohomeMounted [ FAILED ] /tmp/cbuildbotXXXXXX/test_harness/all/SimpleTestUpdateAndVerify/<...>/login_CryptohomeMounted FAIL: Unhandled JSONInterfaceError: Automation call {'username': '[email protected]', 'password': 'perfsmurf', 'command': 'Login'} received empty response. Perhaps the browser crashed.
In this case Chrome failed to login for any of the 3 reasons: 1) could not find network, 2) could not get online, 3) could not show webui login prompt. Look for chrome log in /var/log/chrome/chrome, or find someone who works on UI.
(If you're annoyed by the long string before the test name, please consider working on?crbug.com/313971, when you're gardening.)
Crash detected
Sometimes, all the tests will pass, but one or more processes crashed during the test. Not all crashes are failures, as some tests are intended to test the crash system. However, if a problematic crash is detected, the VMTest stdio output will have something like this:
Crashes detected during testing: ---------------------------------------------------------- chrome sig 11 login_CryptohomeMounted
ASAN error detected
The x86-generic-asan and amd64-generic-asan builders instrument some programs (e.g. Chrome) with code to detect memory access errors. When an error is detected, ASAN prints error information, and terminates the process. Similarly to crashes, it is possible for all tests to pass even though a process terminated.
If Chrome triggers an ASAN error report, you'll see the message "Asan crash occurred. See asan_logs in Artifacts". As suggested in that message, you should download "asan_logs". See the next section,?"How to find test results/crash reports" for details on how to download those logs.
Note: in addition to Chrome, several system daemons (e.g. shill) are built with ASAN instrumentation. However, we don't yet bubble up those errors in the test report. See?crbug.com/314678?if you're interested in fixing that.
ssh failed
The test framework needs to log in to the VM, in order to do things like execute tests, and download log files. Sometimes, this fails. In these cases, we have no logs to work from, so we need the VM disk image instead.
You'll know that you're in this case if you see messages like this:
Connection timed out during banner exchange Connection timed out during banner exchange Failed to connect to virtual machine, retrying ...
When this happens, look in the build report for "vm_disk" and "vm_image" links. These should be right after the "stdio" link. For example, if you're looking at the?build report?for "lumpy nightly chrome PFQ Build #3977" :
Download the disk and memory images, and then resume the VM using kvm on your workstation.
$ tar --use-compress-program=pbzip2 -xf \
$ tar?--use-compress-program=pbzip2 -xf \
$ cros_start_vm \
You should now have a VM which has resumed at exactly the point where the test framework determined that it could not connect.
Note that, at this time, we don't have an easy way to mount the VM filesystem, without booting it. If you're interested in improving that, please see?crbug.com/313484.)
For more information about troubleshooting VMs, see how to run Chrome OS image under VMs.
How to find test results/crash reports?
The complete results from VMTest runs are available on googlestorage, by clicking the [ Artifacts ] link in-line on the waterfall display in the report section:
How do I extract stack traces manually?
Normally, you should never need to extract stack traces manually, because they will be included in the Artifacts link, as described above. However, if you need to, here's how:
If you successfully retrieve a stack trace, search for issues with a similar call stack and add the google storage link, or file a new issue.
Note that in addition to breakpad dmp files, the test_results.tgz also has raw linux core files. These can be loaded into gdb and can often produce better stack traces than minidump_stackwalk (eg. expanding all inlined frames).
A buildbot slave appears to be down (purple). What do I do?
Probably nothing. Most of the time, when a slave is purple, that just indicates that it is restarting. Try wait a few minutes and it should go green on its own.?If the slave doesn't restart on its own, contact the Deputy and ask them to fix the bot.
platform_ToolchainOptions autotest is failing. What do I do?
This test searches through all ELF binaries on the image and identifies binaries that have not been compiled with the correct hardened flags.
To find out what test is failing and how, look at the *.DEBUG log in your autotest directory. Do a grep -A10 FAILED *.DEBUG. You will find something like this:
05/08 09:23:33 DEBUG|platform_T:0083| Test Executable Stack 2 failures, 1 in whitelist, 1 in filtered, 0 new passes FAILED:
05/08 09:23:33 ERROR|platform_T:0250| Test Executable Stack 1 failures
This means that the test called "Executable Stack" reported 2 failures, there is one entry in the whitelist of this test, and after filtering the failures through the whitelist, there is still a file. The name of the file is /path/to/binary.
The "new passes" indicate files that are in the whitelist but passed this time.
To find the owner who wrote this test, do a git blame on this file: https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromiumos/third_party/autotest/+blame/master/client/site_tests/platform_ToolchainOptions/platform_ToolchainOptions.py and grep for the test name ("Executable Stack" in this case).
Find the change that added the new binary that fails the test, or changed compiler options for a package such that the test now fails, and revert it. ?File an issue on the author with the failure log, and CC the owner of the test (found by git blame above).
Who should I contact regarding ARC++ issues?
Visit go/arc++docs and see the Contact Information section.
How are sheriff rotations scheduled? How do I make changes??
Please see go/ChromeOS-Sheriff-Schedule for all details on scheduling, shift swaps, etc.?
What do I do when I see a NotEnoughDutsError??
When you see an error like:
NotEnoughDutsError: Not enough DUTs for board: <board>, pool: <pool>; required: 4, found: 3, suite: au, build: <build>?
Contact the on duty Deputy to balance the pools, Sheriffs are responsible to ensure that there aren't bad changes that continue to take out DUTs, however Deputies?are responsible for DUT allocation.
Many boards are in red but I couldn't find out exact failure reason, just "_ShutdownException", what happened?
It's possible waterfall just get restarted. Currently, waterfall will get restarted every Wednesday 11:00am, you can confirm it with deputy. It's expected.
You can setup specific settings in the buildbot frontend so that you are watching what you want and also having it refresh as you want it.
Navigate to the buildbot frontend you are watching and click on customize, in the upper left corner. From there you can select what builds to watch and how long between refreshes you want to wait.
If looking at the logs in your browser is painful, you can actually vim the log's URL and vim will wget it and put you in a vim session to view it.
Other handy links to information:
For Developers? > ?Tree Sheriffs? > ?


text:
Call for More Video Cameras Spotlights Debate on Use
Video cameras played a critical role in helping authorities track suspects in this week's Boston bombings. Now calls for increased camera surveillance in the U.S. are putting a spotlight on the technology and the debate about its use.
Authorities Thursday distributed video footage and still images of suspects in the Boston case, drawing from surveillance video from a store, restaurants and other areas. Some lawmakers think use of a better-connected system of cameras controlled or monitored by law enforcement might have helped speed the suspects' identification.
- Manhunt Ends With Capture
- WHAT WE KNOW: The Suspects, Miranda Rights, Watertown
- Miranda Laws Have Flexibility
- Life Unravels for Brothers
- A Young Officer Shot Dead, And Another Critically Hurt
- Renewed Fears About Homegrown Terror Threat
- Chechen Terror Usually Aimed at Russia
- A Father Keeps Faith In His Sons
- Uncle 'Ashamed' of Alleged Bombers
- Attacks Enter Immigration Discussion
- Before Suspect's Capture, a Day on Lockdown
- Remembering MIT's Officer Collier
"They had to piece together I don't know how many thousands of videos," said Rep. Peter King, a New York Republican who is on the House Committee on Homeland Security. "I think CCTV [closed-circuit television] cameras are much more needed in urban areas."
But privacy advocates remain concerned about pervasive, and potentially invasive, surveillance technology.
Government use of surveillance technology has expanded considerably in the past decade, amid advances in computing as well as government spending on homeland security. Such technology includes a high density of cameras in some urban centers, traffic cameras along highways, and well as the use of advanced technology such as facial recognition in airports.
New York City's surveillance effort includes about 3,000 cameras and was recently extended to midtown from downtown.
Photos: Chaos in Boston
"The Boston bombing is a terrible reminder of why we've made these investments—including camera technology that could help us deter an attack, or investigate and apprehend those involved," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said this past week. He added the network now has the ability to "alert police to abnormalities it detects on the street, such as an abandoned package that is left on a corner."
Boston also has a surveillance-camera network, although it is unclear whether cameras in that network were the ones that recorded the bombing suspects.
More Videos
- All Video on Boston Bombings
- Obama Hails Efforts Leading to Suspect's Capture
- Tip Led to Capture of Second Bombing Suspect
- Gov. Patrick Commends Efforts to Capture Suspect
- Mass. Police: 'We Have a Suspect in Custody '
- Ambulance Leaves Site of Captured Bombing Suspect
- Giuliani on the Boston Manhunt
- Suspects' Uncle Speaks Out
- State Officials Hold Press Conference
- Boston Bombings Surveillance Video
As of 2007, there were nearly 150 cameras in the Boston area's networked system, according to a public-records request filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts in 2010. Documents also showed that the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority had more than 400 security cameras in its system and was adding more.
"Over time we are finding that sophistication is improving and the costs are going down," said Bill Bratton, a consultant who also served as chief of police in Los Angeles and commissioner of Boston and New York City's police departments. "We are going to see in years ahead…more attention being placed on mounting cameras that can do multiple things," he said, such as traffic cameras that can also be used by investigators.
London has a reputation as the world's surveillance capital, but estimates of the number of cameras in the city and the rest of the U.K. are inexact. One widely quoted study claimed there were 500,000 CCTV cameras in London and four million cameras in the country, while another estimated fewer than two million in the U.K. Most of these cameras are privately owned.
"The U.S. has not just met London's standard, it has actually surpassed it," thanks to facial recognition and other technology, said Laura K. Donohue, a professor at the Georgetown University Law Center. But American law doesn't yet provide clear limits on the use of such technology, because most of it is deployed in areas that are considered public space, she said.
Some privacy advocates said the ability of investigators to track the suspects within a matter of days demonstrates that more invasive surveillance isn't needed. "It's one thing to have private closed-circuit cameras and look at feeds after the fact," said Alan Butler, a lawyer with the Electronic Privacy Information Center. "It's very different if you're talking about systems of cameras identifying and tracking people over time, all the time. Especially if you couple that with facial recognition and license-plate readers and databases."
Write to Jennifer Valentino-DeVries at email@example.com and Geoffrey A. Fowler at email@example.com
Copyright ©2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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NFF-3 is hydrolyzed rapidly by MMP-3 (kcat/Km = 218,000 s-1 M-1) and very slowly by MMP-9 (kcat/Km = 10,100 s-1 M-1), but no significant hydrolysis by MMP-1 and MMP-2. It is one of the few synthetic substrates selectively hydrolyzed by certain members of the MMP family and thus has important applications for the differentiation of MMP-3 activity from that of other MMPs. Abs/Em = 325/393 nm.


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4/18/2011 - 4/22/2011
AbilityLinks Virtual Job Fair is a week-long, online recruiting event where talented job seekers with disabilities showcase their skills and inclusive employers highlight their employment opportunities. Accessible 24 hours a day April 18-22, this easy-to-use online recruiting event is free to both job seekers and employers.
For more information, see http://www.abilitylinks.org/index.aspx?pageID=883
No events for August


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Main Content:
Women's Accessories Sale
Banana Republic Women's Accessories Sale
Let our women's accessories sale complete your wardrobe with beautifully made pieces of jewelry that will give any outfit an elegant touch. When you shop the women's accessories sale, you will find a selection of charming and classy designs at terrific prices. We have women's jewelry and accessories on sale in a collection that will give you what you need to create a style that is sophisticated and eye-catching. The women's accessories sale at Banana Republic offers you great choices for a smart look that is fun to wear.


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Photo Flash: Opening Night of A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING at Mercury Theater
A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING features over 30 songs from beloved Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals such as Carousel, Oklahoma!, The King and I, South Pacific, Cinderella and The Sound of Music, as well as lesser-known works such as Allegro, Me and Juliet, State Fair, Pipe Dream, and Flower Drum Song. A musical journey from young infatuation to the touching and funny complexities of commitment and marriage, the joys of parenthood, and the power of enduring love, A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING is a romantic songfest. From "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" to "Some Enchanted Evening," signature Rodgers and Hammerstein songs are placed in new contexts in a way that celebrates the colossal appeal of their legendary songbook.
A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING was originally presented cabaret-style at Rainbow & Stars at the top of Rockefeller Center. The Broadway production, directed by Walter Bobbie, opened in 1993 and was nominated for two 1994 Tony Awards, for Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical, and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revue.
The production stars Marya Grandy as "Victoria" (LES MISERABLES on Broadway and the Off-Broadway revival of Maltby & Shire's Closer Than Ever); Robert Hunt as "Martin" (LES MISERABLES on Broadway and Jerry Springer, the Opera at Carnegie Hall); Leah Morrow as "Allison" (The Christmas Schooner at The Mercury Theater); Stephen Schellhardt as "Jason" (National Tour of Altar Boyz, Meet Me in St. Louis at Drury Lane Theatre and Ravinia Festival's Most Happy Fella); and Heather Townsend as "Lynne" (Nine and Sunday in the Park with George at Porchlight Music Theatre and Orpheus Descending at Shattered Globe).
Distinguished director/choreographer Kevin Bellie holds 5 Jeff Awards and 15 nominations, mostly for shows at Circle Theater where he recently concluded his long tenure as Artistic Director, and helmed productions such as The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Can-Can, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Sweet Smell of Success, Nine and Rags.
A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING is backed by a live six-piece band under the musical direction of Eugene Dizon (6-time Jeff Award Winner), the scenic and lighting design is by Jason Epperson, costume design is by Katie-Sarah Phillips and sound design is by Mike Ross.The Mercury Theater is an intimate jewel-box in the heart of The Southport Corridor, a sophisticated neighborhood of restaurants and boutiques just steps from Wrigley Field. It adjoins two restaurants; Cullen's Bar and Grill and Deleece, which offer dining and libations before and after the show.
Under the leadership of Executive Director L. Walter Stearns, the Mercury is offering a season of musicals for the first time, making it the largest producer of musical theater in Chicago. A GRAND NIGHT FOR SINGING is the first of four shows in the Mercury's 2013 season, and will be followed up by the musicals BARNUM and THE COLOR PURPLE, along with the return engagement of Chicago's holiday musical THE CHRISTMAS SCHOONER. Notable past productions at the historic theater include A TWIST OF WATER (which recently closed off-Broadway), THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS (now it its 3rd year of a national tour), THE IRISH AND HOW THEY GOT THAT WAY and OVER THE TAVERN. The smash hit original production of FREUD'S LAST SESSION ended a nine-month run in November 2012, and is now headed to Los Angeles.
For tickets and information contact the Mercury Theater at 773-325-1700 or www.mercurytheaterchicago.com.
Stephen Schellhardt and Robert Hunt
Heather Townsend and Robert Hunt
Front Row left to right Jennifer Ruggieri, Laurel Humiston, Eugene Dizon, Elizabeth Doran, Lindsey Williams and Back Row left to right Anthony Parsons, Sam Filip
Heather Townsend, Robert Hunt, Marya Grandy, Stephen Schellhardt, Leah Morrow
Marya Grandy, Stephen Schellhardt, Leah Morrow
Walter Stearns and Eugene Dizon
Walter Stearns and Jason Epperson
Heather Townsend, Marya Grandy and Leah Morrow


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Yes, you're reading that right. J.Crew now has an item that requires a comma in the price. The brand's new Edie Alligator Bag, which is available only at its Madison Avenue flagship, rings in at a cool $1,500 — its first foray into such an elite price range.
Slightly less outlandish (and way more wearable) than the $2,400 Chanel hula hoop bag, the new Edie Alligator Bag is definitely J.Crew's toe-in-the-water for the luxury market. But, if Santa didn't give you a stocking full of cash for Christmas, you can opt for the python version, which will still set you back $795. What's killing us is that the Edie Alligator bag is actually really chic. We can see ourselves rocking it. We dig the sneaky blue strap. It's all so very painful.
We're happy to see J.Crew making its way into more luxe markets. The brand has always been our go-to for aspirational, yet wearable design — so, it makes sense to dabble in the high-end scene. But we want to know: Are you saving up for this reptilian masterpiece? Or has J.Crew gone J.Cray? (Purse Blog)
Image via Purse Blog


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Legislative ExternshipCarret icon
(2 cr.) This internship places students in positions with members of the Connecticut legislature, and in the offices of the governor. Successful completion of a course in legislation may be a prerequisite. Every Year, All
This course is currently not being offered. Please try again next session.


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Science & Math Teachers Full/Part Time, Middle & HS
Posted date [2018-Jul-20] (ID: 1328)
In the name of Allah the Most Merciful and the Most Beneficent.
Salam Academy is a full time Islamic School based out of Richardson TX and fully Accredited by AdavancED from Pre-K to High School.
We also have the Salam Day Care ( Infant -Toddler)/ Early Child Care in our 2nd campus.
This is a unique and one of a kind institution in the American Muslim community, not only because of its deliberately low tuition and enviable academic results, but because of the example it has set in the concept of Islamic School system which is evolving in the United States of America.
With a current a monthly tuition of $300,and an inclusive financial aid program for families who wish to send their children to Islamic Schools, but cannot afford even our low fees, thereby helping as many children and families to fulfill their dream and necessity of an Islamic School; this blessed institution is a True Community Project.
Science & Math Teachers Middle & High School (Full/Part time)
We invite energetic skilled people with a zeal to serve our community in this noble cause of education with a taste for the profession of teaching to apply.
Position Requirements:
*Practicing Muslims
*Excellent English communication and interpersonal skills.
* Proficient in computers and technology.
*A minimum of Bachelors Degree is a must, Masters will be preferred.
*Subject matter experts and Teaching experience.
*Hijab and Abaya must for female teachers.
Kindly email your detailed resumes and or contact us at the earliest.
Email: principalsalamfoundation.us
Jazakallahu Khairan Jaza
AbdulMalik Shehriyar
Executive Director & Principal
Salam Academy


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Tag Archives: uterus
Male Infertility
Infertility in general can be classified as : 1) Male Infertility 2) Female Infertility. 1) Male Infertility : The following points need to considered while studying Male Infertility : Volume of semen. Sperm count – oligospermia, azoospermia, necrospermia. Motility of sperm. Structural defects of sperms – Due to vitiated vata dosha. Any obstruction in genital tract. Erectile dysfunction. Causes of Male Infertility : Ayurveda explains following causes for male infertility : Ativyavayat – Over indulgence in sexual activity. Vyayamat – Over exertion, it may include any kind of physical exertion or strenuous mental efforts. Avyayamat – Over relaxation, laziness or spending very leisure life. Asatmyanam cha sevanat – Eating over spicy, salted, sour, frozen foods, foods with low nutrition and lack of hygiene; also behavioural habits like sleeping very late at night, hectic lifestyle leads to disparity of Rakta and Pitta Dosha, ultimately causing Shukra kshaya i.e. deficit in Shukra Dhatu qualitatively and quantitatively. Akale – It means at inappropriate time; i.e. before desirable age specifically before age of 16 in females and 18 in
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This entry was posted in Ayurveda, Infertility and tagged alcoholism, ayurveda infertility treatments, ayurvedic medicine for sperm count increase, ayurvedic medicine for sperm increase, ayurvedic medicine to improve sperm count, ayurvedic medicine to increase sperm count, ayurvedic medicine to increase sperm quality, azoospermia, causes of infertility, conception, diet, diet for treating male infertility, how to increase sperm count by ayurvedic medicine, how to increase sperm motility, indian medicine to increase sperm count, infertility, low sperm count, male infertility, medicines to increase sperm count, necrospermia, oligospermia, Panchakarma, pcod, Rejuvenation and Aphrodisiac treatment, semen, shukra dhatu, smoking, sperm, sperm count, treating infertility by ayurveda, treatment of infertility, tubal blockage, uterus, vajikaran treatment, yoga and lifestyle modifications in male infertility. Bookmark the permalink.
Infertility (Vandhyatva) and Ayurveda
GOD is a magnificient creator, He created universe, five elemental forces of Nature which governs the entire universe and many more things beyond our imagination. Admist these various innovations, is the prodigy of Procreation. Procreation in another words, is the desire to reproduce own species through sexual act. The fundamentals in nature, namely Prakriti and Purush acts as driving force, which replicates the Female and Male gender respectively in all Living creatures. This is the cause why sexual act and desire for sex is given so much importance since ages, it is nothing but a sincere Nature's call. Inability of a woman to concieve or a man to induce conception after one year of regular sexual intercourse without any contraceptive measures or retaining the foetus till the birth is termed as Infertility. The problem may be with the male or female partner, or both. Although many a times only female is held responsible, it is important to know that both man and woman are equally responsible for conception, as conception occurs only after the union
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This entry was posted in Ayurveda, Infertility, Women health and tagged alcoholism, ayurveda, ayurveda infertility treatments, ayurvedic medicine for sperm count increase, ayurvedic medicine to increase sperm count, causes of infertility, conception, female infertility, foetus, infertility, low sperm count, male infertility, ovulation, ovum, Panchakarma, pcod, pregnancy, semen, shukra dhatu, smoking, sperm, sperm count, treating infertility by ayurveda, treatment of infertility, tubal blockage, uterus, vajikaran treatment, vandhyatva. Bookmark the permalink.
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As an architect, engineer, developer or quite frankly the owner of any device with access to the internet, it is more than likely that you have been inundated with scores of articles relaying the story of Renzo Piano's latest completed project. The Shard of Glass reaches high into the clouds above London Bridge Quarter and last week celebrated its official inauguration with a light show that promised to be a dramatic climax to this record-breaking development.
WAN watched the laser show from Tower Bridge and although the air was electric in the lead up to the illuminations and it appeared that most of London had come to a standstill to cast its gaze skyward, it must be said that the effects fell slightly short of spectacular. Social media sites and trusted publications spared no time in relaying the shortcomings of the light show - which was accompanied by an impressive score from the London Philharmonic Orchestra - but it is imperative that the industry does not lose sight of the architecture for the sake of a few ill-performing lasers.
The Shard is not to everyone's taste. Some have questioned its impact on the London skyline, berating it's interjection in an otherwise largely uninterrupted low-rise area of London. Others have argued the need for a building so obviously excessive in a country where the financial crisis has negatively affected the lives of many. And some simply don't like the contemporary glass and steel design. One thing none can deny however is the skill of design and engineering that has gone into realising this colossal building.
Built both upwards and downwards at the same time, The Shard rose in an astonishing display of construction ingenuity. As the building's concrete core rose above London until it topped out in early 2011, 72 floors into the air, the basement levels were also being excavated below. This is the number of occupiable floors within The Shard, 31.4 acres of prime commercial, residential and hotel space hovering over one of the busiest stations in the city, with pilings sunken 62m into Thanet sand to support its incredible weight. Once the fit-out is complete and the tower opens in spring 2013, there will be 44 elevators and 78 habitable levels in The Shard.
So tall was the construction project (309.6m/1,016ft) that it was impossible for conventional cranes to successfully complete the task. As a result, some ingenious thinking saw what would eventually become the central lift shaft transformed into a holding device for one of the cranes. The crane was suspended in a specially-designed cradle connected to hydraulic jacks with steel rods which pushed the crane upwards as the core grew. It was the first time that this construction method was employed in the UK.
There is no faulting the delivery of Renzo Piano's vision. Whether you find its presence unnecessary or even ugly, there can be no doubt that the architect's concept was carried out to the letter. When the double envelope of 11,000 glass panels catches the light it dazzles the onlooker in a way only Piano could have imagined. We've seen this achievement of harnessing light before in Ronchamp and at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum but at The Shard the immensity of scale reaches another level. This effect is captured by employing two facades offset from square plan inclined six degrees from vertical. The envelope also acts as a triple-glass cavity-ventilated design with sun-activated automated shutters in 250mm gap.
For engineers WSP, innovative thinking was required to bring this towering beast to life. The team created a hybrid form consisting of composite steel construction at commercial levels and post-tensioned slab construction at hotel and residential levels. London is a city highly attuned to terrorist threats and tall towers of this nature are designed with a series of safety mechanisms in place as standard. For The Shard this means state-of-the-art blast protection and structural fire engineering design, whilst intelligent engineering such as the arrangement of concrete mass at the top levels to reduce the form's acceleration during high wind acts as a day-to-day safety precaution.
One publication ran a headline several days ago where an architect was berating Renzo Piano for his concept of The Shard, using the term 'monster' and suggesting that he should be 'locked up in the Tower of London'. As mentioned before, everyone has their opinion of The Shard and the effect that it will eventually have on the capital but it's worth recognising the first words out of Renzo Piano's mouth at the official press conference last Wednesday: "As the architect I should not say too much." Perhaps like Piano it's time we let the architecture speak for itself.
Sian Disson
News Editor


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Nearly 173 years after the invention of photography transformed the way we see ourselves and the world, it can be hard to understand the simple folk art portraits through which so many Americans of the late 1700s and early 1800s hoped to be remembered.
Newly affluent compared to their European peers, these middle- and sometimes even lower-class patrons commissioned countless likenesses from a host of mostly self-taught talents. Yet strict fidelity to life was seldom required in the insistent way it would be after the emergence of the camera.
Indeed, many of these artists drew upon a long-standing tradition of relatively flat, linear portraiture in which they depicted their sitters in a stylized, flattering yet not necessarily spot-on manner. And though many may have been too deficient in their understanding of anatomy and perspective to produce an accurate 3-dimensional-looking rendering, they clearly impressed thousands of clients with their powers of observation and attention to detail, not to mention their feel for abstract design and eye-catching color.
So varied were the demands of consumers and the skills of the artists who strove to meet them, in fact, that many painters — including the noted Boston limner William Matthew Prior — learned to adjust their approach depending on their customer's taste and willingness to part with a dollar.
But when you look at his 1843 portrait of Phebe Ann Carlton Hawes, there's nothing about the sweeping, fluid strokes he used to suggest her dress that detracts from her much more finely realized face — or the fact that, despite its academic faults, this is a very credible, personal and engaging likeness.
Similar examples of unorthodox painterliness can be found throughout "American Folk Portraits," a new exhibit that showcases nearly 50 works from Colonial Williamsburg's vaunted portrait collection at the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum.
And almost every one is marked by a distinctive response to such common artistic problems as depicting human anatomy, creating the illusion of space and handling line and color.
"It's difficult to say I have one favorite," says curator of paintings and sculpture Barbara Luck, describing the broad spectrum of imagination and inventiveness with which the artists worked.
"I have different reasons to love them all."
Drawn from a nationally known cache of more than 250 portraits, the exhibit features 5 new acquisitions, numerous newly cleaned works and 13 examples that boast their original frames.
It also includes such iconic images as "Baby in Red Chair," which has not been seen in several years, and a delightfully naive group portrait of the three "Hansbury Sisters" that has not been shown in decades.
Celebrated talents crop up frequently here, including such favorites as Ammi Phillips, Erastus Salisbury Field and Joshua Johnson in addition to Prior.
But the real star is the rewarding range and variety of the work, which demonstrates the full spectrum of talent in a field that stretched from the near-academic to the fully self-taught.
In his 1820 portrait of the three "Southgate Children," for example, British-born artist John James Crawley showcases his mastery of anatomy and perspective as well as his familiarity with such mainstream background elements as drapes, columns and distant landscape vistas. He also compensates for some slight awkwardness in the modeling of the Norfolk children's unusually round faces by his careful attention to such clothing details as lace collars and gold buttons.
Hanging alongside these accomplished likenesses, however, is the far-less tutored yet visually exuberant portrait of the Hansbury girls, whose figures are curiously strung out in space rather than overlapping.
Though their faces and hairdos are neatly done — conjuring up convincing likenesses that teem with individual character — their figures are reduced to such stylized, 2-dimensional forms that they convey barely more flesh and blood than a line of paper dolls.
"You can see that this composition really taxed his abilities," Luck says.
"Just look at the way those girls are strung out across the canvas."
Erickson can be reached at email@example.com or 757-247-4783. Find him at dailypress.com/entertainment/arts and Facebook.com/dpentertaintment
Want to go?
"American Folk Portraits"
Where: Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, accessed through the Public Hospital of 1773, Francis and Henry streets, Williamsburg
When: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. daily
Cost: $9.95 adults, $4.95 children 6-12
Info: 757-229-1000; http://www.history.org/museums
Online: Go to dailypress.com/folkartportraits to see a selection of work from the show.


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Build 2013, Microsoft's big developer conference, will take place June 26 to 28 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.
The first two Build conferences—2011 in Anaheim, 2012 in Redmond—were autumnal affairs. This worked fine in 2011 when Microsoft did its grand Windows 8 reveal, but that meant the 2012 event was in the awkward position of coming just after the company released its phone and PC operating systems. With the next update to Windows, codenamed "Blue," expected to arrive in the second half of this year, having the developer conference in June makes a lot more sense.
It's been a long time since Microsoft held its major developer event in San Francisco. The first ever PDC (Professional Developer's Conference, the precursor event to Build) back in 1992 was in San Francisco, as was the 1996 event. It hasn't been back since.
Registration for the conference will open at 9am PDT on Tuesday, April 2, at www.buildwindows.com.


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The Trondheim and Oslo based architects of Pir II Arkitektkontor realised this partly subterranean holiday apartments located on one of Noways finest sandy beach in Stokkøya. In order to minimise the environmental impact the appartments where partly build into the slope.
Stokkøya Sjøsenter, Torild Langklopp and Roar Svenning
Project partners:
Main contractor: Stjern Entreprenør AS, Åfjord
Sub contractors: Haugsnes VVS, Åfjord, Nortek Elektro AS, Åfjord
to the Pir II Arkitektkontor profile @ Architonic


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Abreu's MLB-best 30th HR leads White Sox
MINNEAPOLIS -- For the second straight night, the White Sox followed a winning formula perfectly, and for the second straight night they looked like more than also-rans in the American League Central.
John Danks worked seven strong innings, Dayan Viciedo had four hits and Jose Abreu hit his Major League-leading 30th home run Friday night as the White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 9-5, at Target Field.View Full Game Coverage
MINNEAPOLIS -- For the second straight night, the White Sox followed a winning formula perfectly, and for the second straight night they looked like more than also-rans in the American League Central.
John Danks worked seven strong innings, Dayan Viciedo had four hits and Jose Abreu hit his Major League-leading 30th home run Friday night as the White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 9-5, at Target Field.View Full Game Coverage
Alexei Ramirez and Tyler Flowers also homered, part of a 17-hit attack for the White Sox, who have won the first two games in the series with ace Chris Sale set to start on Saturday night.
Danks was coming off his shortest start of the season, lasting just 4 1/3 innings against the Astros on Sunday. But he bounced back strong, at one point retiring 12 straight Twins in the middle innings.
"I did put a little extra pressure on myself this time, coming off that one," Danks said. "I didn't want that to turn my season around. I didn't think it would, but I certainly wanted to get back out there."
On Friday, Danks gave up four earned runs on six hits, walking nobody and striking out five to reach nine wins for the first time since 2010. But instead of focusing on the past, or worrying about trade rumors of the present, he's happy to look to the future.
"We don't want to stop there," Danks said. "We're just going to keep grinding. We've got a long season ahead of us and we don't feel like we're out of it. We're going to try to win as many games as we can and hopefully creep back up in the Central and see what happens."
The offense took a lot of pressure off with seven runs in the first four innings, allowing Danks to focus on throwing strikes, getting ahead of hitters and letting his defense take care of the rest. It's a pattern that worked well for him when he won 40 games from 2008-10. And after an injury-plagued stretch, it seems to be working for him again.
"It's certainly a humbling game," Danks said. "There was a day when I felt like if I didn't get to certain plateaus it would be a bad season, and now I'm excited to get back to where I think I was."
Abreu got the White Sox off to a quick start with a three-run blast in the top of the first. Adam Eaton and Ramirez led off the inning with singles against Twins starter Kevin Correia. Abreu then crushed a 1-2 curveball 427 feet to left-center that landed in the Twins' bullpen. Just like that, three batters in, the Sox led, 3-0.
The long ball snapped a seven-game streak without a home run for Abreu, who extended his current hitting streak to 15 games. In his last 34 games, Abreu has been held hitless once.
"You just expect him to be in the middle of things when it's happening," manager Robin Ventura said. "If he's hitting well, it seems like we're doing well. There's a lot of good things that happen when we get guys on base and he's up there."
The Twins got one back on Kurt Suzuki's sacrifice fly in the second, but Ramirez restored the three-run cushion by blasting one off the facing of the second deck in left leading off the third.
Chicago's hits weren't all highlight-quality, however. For example, picture this two-run rally: Ramirez drew a one-out walk in the fourth and moved to second on Correia's errant pickoff attempt. Adam Dunn drove him in with a bloop single to left, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on Viciedo's bloop single to right.
"We were hitting chalk lines and dribblers out front," Ventura said. "You don't see that very often, that kind of stuff happening. It makes you feel good. You feel optimistic going to the plate. You feel like you're going to score some runs and you feel like you've got a little luck on your side too."
Given the state of the White Sox starters -- who as a group have the second-best ERA in the American League since June 23 -- a breakout night like this on offense could serve as a springboard for a playoff run in August and September.
"A lot of it has to do with our offense," Dunn said. "We pretty much get consistent pitching each and every night. If we can go put up five, six runs a game, I definitely like our chances."
Patrick Donnelly is a contributor to MLB.com.


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Blog Posts
On Reports that WellPoint is Targeting Breast Cancer Patients
April 22, 2010
Reuters is reporting that the insurance company WellPoint is singling out breast cancer patients and "rescinding" their coverage after policyholders become ill:
One after another, shortly after a diagnosis of breast cancer, each of the women learned that her health insurance had been canceled. First there was Yenny Hsu, who lived and worked in Los Angeles. Later, Robin Beaton, a registered nurse from Texas. And then, most recently, there was Patricia Relling, a successful art gallery owner and interior designer from Louisville, Kentucky.
None of the women knew about the others. But besides their similar narratives, they had something else in common: Their health insurance carriers were subsidiaries of WellPoint, which has 33.7 million policyholders — more than any other health insurance company in the United States.
The women all paid their premiums on time. Before they fell ill, none had any problems with their insurance. Initially, they believed their policies had been canceled by mistake.
They had no idea that WellPoint was using a computer algorithm that automatically targeted them and every other policyholder recently diagnosed with breast cancer. The software triggered an immediate fraud investigation, as the company searched for some pretext to drop their policies, according to government regulators and investigators.
Once the women were singled out, they say, the insurer then canceled their policies based on either erroneous or flimsy information. WellPoint declined to comment on the women's specific cases without a signed waiver from them, citing privacy laws.
That tens of thousands of Americans lost their health insurance shortly after being diagnosed with life-threatening, expensive medical conditions has been well documented by law enforcement agencies, state regulators and a congressional committee. Insurance companies have used the practice, known as "rescission," for years. And a congressional committee last year said WellPoint was one of the worst offenders.
But WellPoint also has specifically targeted women with breast cancer for aggressive investigation with the intent to cancel their policies, federal investigators told Reuters. The revelation is especially striking for a company whose CEO and president, Angela Braly, has earned plaudits for how her company improved the medical care and treatment of other policyholders with breast cancer.
The disclosures come to light after a recent investigation by Reuters showed that another health insurance company, Assurant Health, similarly targeted HIV-positive policyholders for rescission. That company was ordered by courts to pay millions of dollars in settlements.
Last year, the Energy and Commerce Committee conducted an investigation into problems with the individual health insurance market and found, among other alarming issues, that in the last five years 20,000 individual insurance policyholders have had their policies rescinded by just three insurance companies (Assurant, UnitedHealth Group, and WellPoint). The investigation also uncovered that at least one insurance company, WellPoint, evaluated employee performance based in part on the amount of money its employees saved the company through retroactive rescissions of health insurance policies. Read more findings from the Committee»
One of the breast cancer survivors highlighted in the Reuters article above, Robin Beaton, testified before Congress explaining "the sad thing is Blue Cross gladly took my high premiums and the first time I filed a claim and was suspected of having cancer they searched high and low for a reason to cancel me":
Americans who are fighting for their lives should not have to fight for their health insurance, which is why the health insurance legislation signed into law last month bans health plans from dropping coverage when people get sick. Speaker Pelosi on today's news report:
WellPoint's practice of dropping anyone's coverage when they get sick — whether a woman with breast cancer or any other patient — is exactly the kind of insurance company abuse our new health care law prohibits.
Soon every American can be secure knowing that their insurance companies cannot cancel their coverage because of an illness.
And when Republican leaders call for repeal of the health reform law, they are endorsing a return to these abusive policies that have no place in our medical system.
Learn more about the health insurance industry's practice of rescissions from the Gavel's coverage of the oversight hearing last year»
Learn more about the insurance reforms, like banning recissions, that take effect this year»


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Parfait Mousse Recipes
View All | View Summaries
Mango Mousse
12.16.09 by Jackie
After making mango lassi, I add some leftover mango pulp and I had a tin full of ginger snaps from yesterday. I knew I was onto something decadent. I ran to the grocery store and got some heavy cream and some white chocolate. At the store, it occurred to me that the lemon apeels (lemon-flavored chocolate chips) would give the dessert more flavor than plain white chocolate.
So what could I make with all these lovely ingredients? The answer is an egg-free mango mousse flavored with lemon apeels and garnished with homemade ginger snap cookies.
Full Recipe...


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Louis Vuitton Epi Black Alma Bag Pre-owned
This item is no longer available
Authenticity code: Louis Vuitton MII928
Authentic: Preowned
This authentic Louis Vuitton Alma Epi Black handbag is gorgeous. It features classy details with the golden studs throughout the leather trim. It features Epi Black with top handles in color black and golden hardware, Cross grain Lined. A timeless LV look and spacious interior, this gorgeous bag will be a show stopper everywhere you go!
- Exterior: Very Good
- Interior: Very Good
- Description of Interior: Suede Lined
- Interior Pockets: One open pocket
- Color: Black
- Hardware Description: Gold Hardware
- Material: Epi
- Width: 12.06 in.
- Length: 6.03 in.
- Height: 9.04 in.
- Handle Drop: 3 in.
Product Code: 2227007
Read more about Louis Vuitton Date Code here.
All photos are of actual item being sold. © 2007-2019 LuxeDH.
This Louis Vuitton® item is guaranteed to be authentic. Louis Vuitton is a registered trademark of Louis Vuitton. LuxeDH is not affiliated with or represents Louis Vuitton in any way or form.


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Available languages: English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese & Spanish
Managers should be able to understand the financial documents that reflect the financial health of their company. It is equally important that you can assess the impact of your activities on these documents and recognise what drives the financial success of your company.
This course will enable you to learn the basics and establish best practices in the creation of value, with the aid of attractive visual displays and a clear presentation of the balance sheet and income statement.
This e-learning course contains the following:


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November 25, 1997
Mr. Jonathan Talisman
Tax Legislative Counsel
Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Room 1334
Washington, DC 20220
Mr. Stuart Brown
Chief Counsel
Internal Revenue Service
1111 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20224
Dear Mr. Talisman and Mr. Brown:
This letter responds to your request for an opinion regarding the applicability of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) to the reporting requirements of the Hope Scholarship Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit provisions of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (the "Act"). Pub. L. No. 105-34, § 25A(c), 111 Stat. 788, 804 (1997). Specifically, on October 21, representatives of my Office and the Department's Office of General Counsel met with Ms. Catherine Livingston of the Department of the Treasury to discuss whether FERPA would prohibit educational agencies and institutions from complying with 26 U.S.C. § 6050S. This section amends the tax code and requires disclosure of certain information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). As discussed below, although the Act does not explicitly exempt institutions from complying with FERPA, we believe that Congress intended for institutions to disclose information from student education records, as required by the Act, without first obtaining the consent of the students in question.
Section 25A(c) of the Act states the following:
(c) Returns Relating to Tuition and Related Expenses
(1) In General -- Subpart B of part III of subchapter A of chapter 61 . . . is amended by inserting after section 6050R the following new section:
Sec. 6050S. Returns Relating to Higher Education Tuition and Related Expenses.
(a) In General -- Any person--
(1) which is an eligible educational institution which receives payments for qualified tuition and related expenses with respect to any individual for any calendar year, or
(2) which is engaged in a trade or business and which, in the course of such trade or business, makes payments during any calendar year to any individual which constitute reimbursements or refunds (or similar amounts) of qualified tuition and related expenses of such individual,
shall make the return described in subsection (b) with respect to the individual at such time as the Secretary may by regulations prescribe.
(b) Form and Manner of Returns -- A return is described in this subsection if such return --
(1) is in such form as the Secretary may prescribe,
(2) contains --
(A) the name, address, and [Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN)] of the individual with respect to whom payments described in subsection (a) were received from (or were paid to),
(B) the name, address, and TIN of any individual certified by the individual described in subparagraph (A) as the taxpayer who will claim the individual as a dependent for purposes of the deduction allowable under section 151 for any taxable year ending with or within the calendar year, and
(C) the --
(I) aggregate amount of payments for qualified tuition and related expenses received with respect to the individual described in subparagraph (A) during the calendar year, and
(ii) aggregate amount of reimbursements or refunds (or similar amounts) paid to such individual during the calendar year, and
(D) such other information as the Secretary may prescribe.
(Emphasis added.) Thus, the Act requires postsecondary institutions to collect information on any individual who has paid tuition or related expenses to the institution. Therefore, the Act's reporting requirements apply to all students who have paid tuition or related expenses to a postsecondary institution, and whether a student has applied to receive a tax credit under the Hope Scholarship Credit or the Lifetime Learning Credit provisions of the Act is not a consideration in our analysis of this issue as it relates to FERPA.
Additionally, Ms. Livingston explained that the "other information as the Secretary [of the Treasury] may prescribe" will include:
- whether the student "is carrying at least 1/2 the normal full-time work load for the course of study the student is pursuing" (See § 25A(b)(3)(B));
- whether the student "has completed (before the beginning of such taxable year) the first 2 years of postsecondary education at an eligible educational institution" (See § 25A(b)(3)(C)); and
- the name and employment identification number of the institution.
FERPA protects the privacy interests of parents in their children's "education records," and generally prohibits the disclosure of education records without the consent of the parent. When a student reaches the age of 18 or attends an institution of postsecondary education, the student is considered an "eligible student" under FERPA and all of the rights afforded by FERPA transfer from the parents to the student. The term "education records" is broadly defined as all records, files, documents and other materials which: contain information directly related to a student; and are maintained by the educational agency or institution or by a person acting for such agency or institution.
20 U.S.C. § 1232g(a)(4)(A); See also 34 CFR § 99.3 "Education Records." Accordingly, information directly related to the student and maintained by the institution such as his or her TIN is information from an education record and is subject to FERPA.
FERPA generally provides that education records, or personally identifiable information from such records, may be disclosed by institutions of postsecondary education to third parties only after obtaining the prior written consent of the student. 20 U.S.C. § 1232g(b)(1) and (b)(2)(A). See also 34 CFR § 99.30. Although there are 13 exceptions to the prohibition that personally identifiable information from education records may not be released without the students' consent, none of those exceptions are applicable here.
In short, the Act conflicts with FERPA because the Act requires postsecondary institutions to disclose information from education records to the IRS and, in some cases, to the parent(s) of students, and because FERPA generally prohibits a postsecondary institution from releasing educational records or personally identifiable information from those records without the consent of the student. See 20 U.S.C. § 1232g(b)(1) and Pub. L. No. 105-34, § 25A(c), 111 Stat. 788, 804 (1997).
In determining which of two conflicting federal laws controls, the United States Supreme Court has stated that it "must read the statutes to give effect to each if [it] can do so while preserving their sense of purpose." Watt v. Alaska, 451 U.S. 259, 266 (1981). If the statutes are in irreconcilable conflict, then the more recently enacted statute governs. Id. at 267, citing 2A C. Sands, Sutherland on Statutes and Statutory Construction § 51.02 (4th ed. 1973). See also Detweiler v. Pena, 38 F.3d 591, 594 (D.C. Cir. 1994). The Department believes that, as the later enacted and more specific statute, the Act reflects congressional intent that the information specified in 26 U.S.C. § 6050S be reported to the IRS notwithstanding FERPA's privacy provisions.
In addition, please note that FERPA limits the redisclosure of information from education records by third parties that receive such information. We do not believe that these provisions are superseded by the Act. Therefore, information from an education record that the IRS receives from an institution cannot generally be redisclosed without the student's prior written consent. Section 99.33 of the FERPA regulations outlines the limitations that apply to the redisclosure of education records. Section 99.33(a)(1) states:
An educational agency or institution may disclose personally identifiable information from an education record only on the condition that the party to whom the information is disclosed will not disclose the information to any other party without the prior consent of the parent or eligible student.
FERPA was amended in 1994 to include sanctions against a postsecondary institution should an improper redisclosure of information from education records occur. The statute states:
If a third party outside the educational agency or institution permits access to information in violation of paragraph (2)(A), or fails to destroy information in violation of paragraph (1)(F), the educational agency or institution shall be prohibited from permitting access to information from education records to that third party for a period of not less than five years.
20 U.S.C. § 1232g(b)(4)(B). Therefore, if the IRS improperly redisclosed information from a student's education record that it received from a particular institution, that institution could be precluded by FERPA from making further disclosures to the IRS for a period of at least five years.
Further, FERPA establishes certain recordkeeping requirements regarding requests for access to and disclosures of education records. In this regard, FERPA states:
Each educational agency or institution shall maintain a record, kept with the education records of each student, which will indicate all individuals [except as provided below], agencies, or organizations which have requested or obtained access to a student's education records maintained by such educational agency or institution, and which will indicate specifically the legitimate interest that each such person, agency, or organization has in obtaining this information. . . .
20 U.S.C. § 1232g(b)(4)(A). See 34 CFR § 99.32. FERPA also provides that an educational agency or institution does not have to keep a record if the request was from or the disclosure was to: 1) the parent or eligible student; 2) a school official within the educational agency or institution who is determined to have a legitimate educational interest; 3) a party with written consent; 4) a party seeking directory information; or 5) a party requesting or receiving the records as directed by a Federal grand jury or other law enforcement subpoena when the issuing court or agency has ordered that the existence or the contents of the subpoena or the information furnished in response to the subpoena not be disclosed. 34 CFR § 99.32(d).
It is our understanding that students will be notified of the disclosure to the IRS. In most cases, students will be asked to provide certain information on a form prepared by the IRS, and submit the form to the institution. The school will then forward information collected on the form to the IRS, as well as the student and, in some cases, the parent(s). The evident purpose of § 99.32 is to ensure that parents and eligible students will be able to learn about disclosures made from the student's education records. In this circumstance, the IRS' procedures will satisfy that purpose because the student will be provided actual notice of the release of information to the IRS.
Accordingly, and to reduce any burden on the public, we have determined that postsecondary institutions will not have to separately keep a record of the disclosure of the information from student education records to the IRS.
I trust that the above information is responsive to your inquiry. Should you have additional questions regarding FERPA or this matter, you may contact this Office again.
LeRoy S. Rooker
Family Policy Compliance Office
cc: Catherine Livingston
Department of the Treasury
cc: Jasper Howard
Internal Revenue Service


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Hizbu'llah: Politics and Religion
Pluto Press, Dec 20, 2001 - History - 264 pages
Hizbu'llah is the largest and most prominent political party in Lebanon, and one of the most renowned Islamist movements in the world. In this volume, Amal Saad-Ghorayeb examines the organisation's understanding of jihad and how this, together with its belief in martyrdom, brought about the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from Lebanese territory in May 2000. Saad-Ghorayeb explores the nature of the party's struggle against the West by studying, among other issues, its views on the use of violence against Westerners. Crucially, she also addresses the question of whether Hizbu'llah depicts this struggle in purely political or civilisational terms. The existential nature of the movement's conflict with Israel is analysed and the Islamic roots of its anti-Judaism is unearthed. The author explores the mechanics and rationale behind the party's integration into the Lebanese political system, and sheds light on how it has reconciled its national idenitity with its solidarity with the Muslim umma.
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The Politicisation of the Lebanese Shiites and Subsequent
Political Accommodation and Violence
The Islamic State and Democracy
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15 August 17 March 21 August 9 March According Al-'Ahd al-Awwal al-Manar TV Al-Maokif Al-Sayyid Hassan Nasru'llah Amal Amiru'l-Zakira anti-Judaism anti-Semitism Arab Assal ath-Thani Beirut believe Christians civilisation concept cultural defensive jihad democracy existential Fadlu'llah Faqih Fayyad February Fnaysh God's Hizballah Hizbu'llah Hizbu'llah's political Husayn al-Mussawi Ibid Ibrahim al-Amin ideological Imam insofar Iran Iranian Islamic identity Islamic Republic Islamic Resistance Islamists Israel Israel's occupation Israeli civilians Israeli occupation Israeli society Israeli withdrawal Jaber Jerusalem Day Jewish Jews Judaism Khomeini Khumayni killing Lebanese liberation Martin Kramer martyrdom Meri Middle East military moral Muhammad Muharram Muhsin Muslim Nasru'llah negotiations Open Letter oppression Orbit TV organisation Palestine Palestinian pan-Islamic participation party party's peace perceived political system principle quoted Qur'anic Ra'id Rabi regime rejection religious role Safar sectarian secular Shaykh Shi'ite South Lebanon southern suburbs struggle suburbs of Beirut Syria umma Verse violence West Western Wilayat al-Faqih Zionist


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Zorua is a brand new Dark-type Pokemon that made it's debut on the Pokemon anime show about a week or so ago. The new Pokemon games, Pokemon Black and White, will feature Zorua when they release in the US in 2011. Well, there isn't mush that anybody knows about Zorua besides the fact that it is a dark-type Pokemon, so I don't have much to tell you! Just, have fun drawing!
DragoArt members upload artwork and drawing tutorials! They are also allowed to leave comments on tutorials, profiles, etc. Many more features, as well; it's way better than just being a boring guest! Register Now!


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There are two types of bad games. Those that try for something great and simply miss the mark, and those that just didn't care at all and end up being the exact sum of their efforts. While "Lost Planet 3" is an example of the former, which is normally the better way to go, here it's a frustrating case of a game with incredible potential not making the most of it.
Let's back up a bit. "Lost Planet 3" is the return of a series that had its 15 minutes of fame during the Xbox 360 launch for featuring an impressive snow world that proved to be one of the initial examples of things that the 360 could do that wasn't possible before.
Those amazing graphics, and some lightning fast gameplay, made the series stand out for a time, but its star faded only months after its release, and a 2010 follow-up did little to improve its standing, as it only emphasized the same elements and gameplay that by then had more than worn out their welcome.
That's where new developer Spark Unlimited takes over for this third installment, and their designs to turn the series into something relevant are immediately apparent. A prequel to the initial games, renewed focused has now been placed on the plot, which may borrow liberally from movies like "Alien," "The Thing," "Starship Troopers" and other classic sci-fi staples, but is actually really, really good. Told through found audio and text logs, along with traditional cut scenes and environmental clues, it revolves largely around a new energy source on a hostile (and still very snowy) planet, and the trials your blue collar protagonist endures in his pursuit of it as a contract worker for a shady organization.
Like I said, it's not an entirely original tale, but the way it's presented is incredibly effective, as nearly every part of the game serves to advance the plot in some way, whether leading you to the next act, or just letting the large cast of characters spout some entertaining dialogue. You may see many of its moves coming, but going through the various twists and turns is truly a thrill.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the gameplay, which simply falls short. The once frantic action has been slowed to a crawl in terms of pacing, and combat that only serves to bridge the gap between story bits, leading to an experience that recreates the fun of mowing the lawn to earn money for a movie ticket. It doesn't help that the game's many attempts at tension and fright are usually undercut by the fact your character is a bit of an overpowered smart ass, and that there are only a few constantly repeating enemy types throughout the entire game. Even if those lesser issues weren't present, though, the wonky targeting system and bad camerawork that fuels most of the action would still send the entertainment factor plummeting.
The developers tried to implement a few different gameplay diversions like mech suit segments and a multiplayer mode to try to help liven up the broken shooting mechanics, but unfortunately, the damage to the core game goes too deep and prevents them from being anything more than victims to the same issues.
"Lost Planet 3" is like that sci-fi movie sequel that fans of the series will eventually trumpet as being underrated, but most ultimately couldn't really care about either way. While the effort put into turning this game into an intriguing and franchise-saving installment is evident, the way it sets your expectations so high in the early moments, only makes the fall back to reality brought on by the gameplay that much harder. All things taken into account, "Lost Planet 3" is not a horrible weekend rental, or discounted used pick up, but its uneven design keeps it far away from any greater status.
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If New England's win over Denver back in Week 12 was a narrative-busting epic with more storylines than a Tarantino film, Sunday's game had but one clear theme: pure domination at the line of scrimmage.
One week after New England ground the Indianapolis Colts into dust with 234 rushing yards off 46 attempts, the run attack of the Patriots never got out of the gate in a 26-16 loss to the Broncos, who now surge on to Super Bowl XLVIII as the unquestioned class of the AFC.
Denver controlled the game from wire to wire with a suffocating defensive front and a clock-chewing, Peyton Manning-led offense that kept Tom Brady and the Patriots at bay until the contest was far out of reach.
The Broncos scored their first touchdown of the game on a 15-play, 93-yard march that swallowed up 7:01 of the second quarter. It was Denver's longest drive of the year in terms of yardage and snaps, and representative of an attack that, midway through the third period, had nearly as many first downs (21) as New England had plays (24).
NFL Replay
will re-air the Denver Broncos' 26-16 win over the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game on Tuesday, Jan. 21, at midnight ET.
» NFL Network schedule
With Patriots cornerback Aqib Talib lost to a knee injury, Manning -- who finished with a clean 400 yards -- had his way with a short-handed secondary, terrorizing New England's man coverage with a storm of chunk passing plays. Denver came out throwing seven straight times on first down and the Broncos were never slowed behind an offensive line that held New England to zero sacks and no quarterback hits.
Denver's line gave up a league-low 20 sacks this season, but never looked better than Sunday, dominating New England at both guard positions and containing the edges as the Broncos scored on six straight drives -- including marches of 73, 93, 63, 80 and 60 yards -- before whittling away the game clock to zero on a seventh.
Denver's defensive front deserves equal credit, holding the Patriots to 16 yards rushing on eight attempts at the half while dropping a hammer on last week's hero, LeGarrette Blount, who finished with a measly six yards. The Broncos pass rush got at Brady in key spots, chasing down the Patriots star passer for a pair of crushing sacks -- one on third down and another on fourth -- that kept New England out of the end zone.
The second sack belonged to behemoth nose tackle Terrance "Pot Roast" Knighton, our X-factor coming into the game and fully worthy of the hype after a performance that also included a quarterback hit, two tackles for a loss and his fifth straight dominant performance as a run-stopper.
Put it all together and New England didn't have a shot Sunday. To the naked eye, it felt like eons between each Patriots drive as Manning sucked minutes off the clock, only to give way to a defense that badgered Brady, closed down passing lanes and put New England's once-promising season to bed.
We previewed Championship Sunday and sat down with Rams star Robert Quinn in the latest "Around The League Podcast."


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25 June 2009
San José, Costa Rica
FLACSO (Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales) Campus
Download the final agenda of the event.
Download the list of participants.
Here is a link to the workshop on FLACSO's website (in Spanish).
The objective of the workshop is to discuss migration issues in Central America, focusing on the themes of governance of migration and the links between migration and labour markets. Based on research papers dealing with these issues in the region, the sessions aim at sharing experiences and perspectives in frank, engaged and critical dialogue, among researchers and policy makers, leading towards a discussion of policy options for Central American countries.
The one-day workshop will be structured around the following sessions:
Session 1 – Governance of Migration in Central America
Migration from Central America is largely directed towards the United States and as a consequence, its governance may seem largely dependent on United States national immigration policy. Countries such as Costa Rica and Mexico however, have received an increasing inflow of immigrants over the past few years. Policies towards migration in Central American countries as well as their regional coordination are therefore likely to become more important and, as a consequence, the options available for migration policy may be modified. This session will highlight and compare migration policies available to Central American countries by examining national and regional migration policies in Central America, including broad agreements such as DR-CAFTA.
The session will feature and discuss the following presentations:
1. CAFTA and Migration in Central America - Susan M. Richter (presentation) and CAFTA and Migration in Central America - Susan Materer-Richter, paper
2. Migration Policies and Social Actors in Mexico and Central America - Manuel Ángel Castillo García Migration Policies and Social Actors in Mexico and Central America, Manuel Ángel Castillo García presentation, paper 1 and paper 2
Session 2 – Migration and Labour Markets
Examining the literature on migration, two important gaps emerge. The first gap pertains to the impact of emigration on labour markets. While the impact of immigration on labour markets in the North has received tremendous attention, the impact of emigration on the sending countries' labour markets has been scarcely studied. The second gap pertains to South-South migration, which has started to receive more attention only over the past few years. This session will highlight some of the mechanisms linking migration and labour markets. First, through the sensitivity of wages to foreign exchange shocks when labour mobility is high. Second, through the impact of remittances on the labour supply of rural recipient households, which has received very little attention in comparison with the impact of remittances on other household decisions, such as schooling or housing. Lastly, the impact of immigration in Costa Rica will be examined, shedding light on an important example of South-South migration.
The session will feature and discuss the following presentations:
1. Exchange Rates and Wages in an Integrated World - Antonio Spilimbergo (presentation) and Exchange Rates and Wages in an integrated World - Antonio Spilimbergo
2. International Migration, Remittances and Labor Market Effects: The Case of El Salvador - Amy Damon International Migration, Remittances and Labor Market Effects: The Case of El Salvador - Amy Damon - presentation and paper
3. South-South Migration: The Impact of Nicaraguan Immigrants on Earnings, Inequality and Poverty in Costa Rica - Tim Gindling South-South Migration: The Impact of Nicaraguan Immigrants on Earnings, Inequality and Poverty in Costa Rica - Tim Gindling - presentation and paper
Session 3 – Policy Conclusions
This session will consist of a roundtable discussion lead by policy-makers sharing the lessons they have learned throughout the meeting. The panel will wrap-up the workshop to structure and lead into a discussion with all the participants.
1. Wrap-up Session: Policy Conclusions - Luis Alonso Serrano Echeverría (presentation)
2. Forma Migratoria de Trabajador Fronterizo (Migration Forms for Border Workers) - Tonatiuh García Castillo (presentation) - in Spanish
For more details, please contact Abla Safir (email@example.com) or Jason Gagnon (email@example.com).
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