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Both sides, now
After George Floyd's death, we shouldn't ignore protesters' cries or looters' destruction
After George Floyd's death, we shouldn't ignore protesters' cries or looters' destruction
Protests fill the streets a day after China enacts a sweeping security law
Monday's June Medical Services opinion gives cover to abortionists
The Trump administration blames COVID-19, but a federal agency projected a $1 billion deficit in 2019
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by Mary Jackson
Buena Parks, Calif., teacher Rebecca Friedrichs is married to a college professor and has a long list of family members who are educators, including her husband's 96-year-old aunt who once taught in a Minnesota one-room schoolhouse. Even as her love for teaching runs deep, Friedrichs, 47, has voiced concern over her union's one-sided politicking, its resistance to education reform—and its forced membership dues.
Friedrichs' union, the California Teachers Association (CTA), is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year with TV advertisements that feature teachers heralding its small beginnings. But today, the labor group is arguably the state's single most powerful special interest group. Some call it California's "fourth executive branch" for its sway over candidates, ballot measures, and lobbying. State legislators and voters have mostly protected the CTA—leading Friedrichs and a small group of teachers and parents to implore the court to loosen its firm grip on Golden State politics.
As the middle child with four siblings, Friedrichs was "always the outspoken one." In her 25 years with the Savanna School District, she has watched the CTA spend millions to fund numerous ballot measures and candidates that run contrary to her Christian beliefs: "They use the face, the reputation, and the trust of teachers to pass their agenda—and they're allowed to make us pay for that agenda." For three years, she advocated as a secretary and site representative for her local union, which she calls "a lesson in futility." Then, last fall she put signs in her yard, picketed, and wrote op-ed pieces to support a ballot measure that would prohibit the CTA's political spending—but the labor group spent over $20 million to defeat the proposal.
Now, Friedrichs and nine other California teachers and the Christian Educators Association International (CEAI) have filed a federal lawsuit against the CTA and its affiliates, the National Education Association (NEA) and 10 local teachers unions. The plaintiffs hope a judge will allow them the choice of whether to join and pay dues to the unions, effectively making California a "right-to-work" state.
In 2011, teacher dues and fees yielded the CTA more than $178 million in revenue. Additionally, its influence is written into the California constitution: More than two decades ago, voters passed an initiative guaranteeing about 40 percent of the state's annual budget goes to public schools. With 325,000 members and a firm grip on the state budget, the CTA shelled out over $210 million in political contributions and lobbying expenses from 2000 to 2009—nearly twice that of the next largest spender, the Service Employees International Union, according to a state study.
The CTA has funded a wide array of causes unrelated to education, from pro-abortion and pro-gay campaigns to implementing the state's single-payer healthcare system. In the past decade, the CTA spent 89 percent of its revenue on ballot initiatives, 10 percent to help Democrats, and less than 1 percent to Republicans, according to the website followthemoney.org. Meanwhile, it has closely guarded a set of hard-won tenure rules and seniority protections for teachers. It routinely stifles attempts by education groups to improve teacher quality and introduce school vouchers.
But California lags near the bottom in quality public education, competing with Mississippi and Washington, D.C. Some blame the CTA for funneling money to liberal causes instead of education and obstructing most reform efforts, both in the legislature and at the polls. Friedrichs is one of a handful of teachers and parents who are hoping courts will deliver an even playing field—even if it means taking on the CTA, the biggest fish in the 50-state pond.
In January, the California Supreme Court will hear a different case brought by nine students and their parents from districts around the state. The suit, sponsored by the national nonprofit Students Matter, challenges the state's tenure laws that allow wide protections for teachers after only 18 months on the job and make it difficult to fire those who are ineffective.
"Parents in California should not have to worry every year that their children could be assigned to teachers who deny them the learning opportunities they deserve," parent Laurie Campbell said in a press statement. Another parent, Jose Macias, said a second-grade Los Angeles teacher berated his daughter and told her she needed a special education program: "No child ... deserves to go through that," Macias told the Los Angeles Times. The daughter is now a high-performing seventh-grader.
Last year, the CTA strongly opposed a state Senate bill that would have sped up the dismissal process of the most criminal cases. The bill, drafted in response to the Miramonte Elementary School scandal (a teacher charged with sexually molesting 23 students), never made it past committee. Legislation "isn't coming, so these students and parents feel compelled to go the courts," said Enrique Monagas, an attorney representing the plaintiffs: "I hope when we win this case, legislators across the country see that the courts defend the fundamental right of children to quality education."
As it stands, California's "agency shop" law allows teachers to opt out of about 30 percent of the union's mandatory dues that are deemed "political." But even nonunion members are required to pay annual dues up to $1,000 for the union's "collective bargaining" expenses. These expenses include, for example, the CTA's annual gay and lesbian conference this November and its monthly magazine, The California Educator, which features voting guides and other political messages.
Teachers can become "religious objectors" through a tedious application process. If approved, they can send dues to a union-OKed charity.
Friedrichs cites California's Proposition 8 as "a real wake-up call" for teachers. An NPR analysis of state data shows that the majority of public school teachers financially supported the 2008 ballot measure affirming traditional marriage. But the CTA gave $1.25 million to oppose it, running commercials with teachers disavowing the proposal.
During that time, CEAI's Finn Laursen said his Ohio-based organization had to set up an extra phone line to funnel calls from its 700 California members. The CEAI, which offers spiritual and legal guidance to 7,000 public school teachers nationwide, hears most frequently from teachers in California and other blue states with strong teachers unions. Laursen says, "Their voices are the loudest. They are fed up with the fact that they are forced to support causes that violate their personal convictions." —M.J.
by Elise Grafe
With all the educational bad news around, the growth of homeschooling continues to be good news for the vast majority of an estimated 2 million children who learn at home, a number that has doubled in the past decade. Among the beneficiaries: New Mexico's Kyle Garcia and his parents, Scott and Rose Garcia.
Kyle's older brother thrived in public school, but Kyle did not. He loved learning and exploring new ideas—from the time he was little, he'd kept a notebook filled with drawings of his new inventions—but public school wasn't challenging him academically. Scott Garcia, who worked from home as an architect and artist, was willing to become Kyle's primary teacher: Father and son shared the same love for design. They worked and learned together, and Kyle is now pursuing his college degree in engineering.
As the number of homeschoolers has grown, so has the diversity. Almost one-fourth of homeschooling families are members of minority groups. The stereotypical homeschooling family has many children, but in reality 58 percent have three or fewer. Children in single-parent homes now represent 11 percent of homeschoolers, and come from all income levels. Reasons for homeschooling vary enormously: Some are religious, some have to do with lifestyle (wanting to spend more time outdoors or traveling), some are related to the arts or to particular cultural heritages.
Brenda and Pete Cummings homeschooled two children in the 1990s and are now homeschooling two more. They chose to homeschool as a way of building good relationships in their family and helping their kids develop a solid Christian foundation. Brenda Cummings said she appreciates the ability to develop her children's unique strengths: Her daughter Hallie loves working with children and has been able to work with younger kids as part of her middle-school curriculum.
The Cummings have experienced the changes brought about by homeschooling's increased popularity. When Brenda Cummings told people she was homeschooling twenty years ago, they asked her, "What is that?" Now when she tells people she homeschools, they usually say they wish they had done the same with their children. When she taught her first two kids, she had little homeschool community. Today, her family is part of a 300-member homeschool co-op. Ten or 20 years ago, Cummings had difficulty finding great materials, but now much more is available.
Homeschooling was illegal in the United States for most of the twentieth century. Starting in the mid-1960s, advocates—primarily Christian parents—started pushing for the right to teach their own children. State by state, they gained the right. By 1993, every state had legalized home education—but it isn't free. Some homeschoolers want to be exempt from paying the portion of property taxes allocated to schools, yet others worry about opening the door for more regulation by state or local school districts.
by Angela Lu and Daniel James Devine in Seattle
It shouldn't raise a ruckus for a state university to hire an astronomer. Especially one who helped discover two extrasolar planets, published 76 peer-reviewed papers, and discovered the "Galactic Habitable Zone," the concept that only certain regions of galaxies are likely capable of supporting life.
But when Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., hired astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez in June, the Freedom From Religion Foundation warned the school's "reputation is on the line." Jerry Coyne, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Chicago, told a Muncie paper Ball State "should start hiring scientists who will teach real science and not religious apologetics."
The problem? Gonzalez, a Christian, believes in intelligent design (ID), the scientific theory that nature displays evidence of having been designed by a mind. In 2004, as a professor at Iowa State University, Gonzalez co-authored The Privileged Planet, a book that argued the Earth is ideally situated to support life and gives humans an optimal vantage point to study the universe.
The book ultimately cost Gonzalez his job. After a group of atheists complained, Iowa State denied his application for tenure, even though his credentials were impeccable and he had never taught ID in class. In July, his new employer, Ball State president Jo Ann Gora, sent all faculty a terse reminder that intelligent design was "a religious belief and not a scientific theory. Therefore, intelligent design is not appropriate content for science courses."
Gonzalez has some candid advice for ID proponents who want to work in academia: "Don't discuss your ID views publicly. If you have an idea for an ID research project, do it in your spare time."
Yet discrimination isn't stopping the ID movement: In the past 12 years, more than 800 scientists have signed the "Dissent from Darwinism" statement, publicly acknowledging their skepticism that the complexity of life emerged from random mutations and natural selection. Many more have heeded Gonzalez's advice in keeping their views to themselves for the sake of their careers.
Fresh faces are rising in the ranks: This summer, 45 students, scientists, teachers, and professors from around the world attended a closed-door seminar held by the Discovery Institute, an ID think tank in Seattle. They sat under the teaching of Gonzalez and other leading proponents of ID to learn the scientific evidence of intelligent design and the social impact of Darwinism. Despite risking discrimination and career roadblocks, the attendees are passionate about what they see as clear evidence of design in nature. For many of the American attendees, their biggest struggle is figuring out how to advocate intelligent design in hostile schools, universities, and labs without short-circuiting their careers in the process.
To protect the identities of some attendees, WORLD agreed to use pseudonyms (designated with an asterisk).
Biologist Isaac Watson* squirmed on a couch for five minutes before agreeing how he could be described in print: He's a 20-something graduate of a secular university on the East Coast who holds a Ph.D. in the biological sciences, and he said, "The minute I associate myself with the ID movement I'm crossing a kind of point of no return, in terms of career advancement."
Watson is on the verge of a lifelong dream: He loved animals as a child and remembers hoping in sixth grade to become a scientist one day. He grew up in the church learning about the Genesis creation account and, even before high school, doubted Darwinian evolution could explain the origin of species.
After studying biology at a university that preaches Darwinism, Watson's doubts haven't gone away. For one, neo-Darwinian theory has led scientists to wrong conclusions, such as the assumption DNA segments with unknown functions are leftover evolutionary "junk." Yet, Watson says, an ID proponent examining those segments would predict, "Well, if a designer created this, it probably has functionality"—and recent discoveries indicate most "junk" DNA has some biochemical function.
Watson is trying to decide how to promote intelligent design while avoiding what he calls a "career execution." If the academic world knew he was pro-ID, his name might be informally blacklisted, preventing him from publishing in scientific journals. Watson is considering keeping his views hidden until his science credentials are established—by earning tenure, for example. He's not sure when that will be.
Plant Breeder Randy Potter* works at a state university in the Midwest and makes his living tromping through fields, selecting plants with desirable traits, harvesting and planting their seeds, and raising new plants with those traits. Through this process of conventional breeding, he might be able to increase or decrease the height of a crop, or even increase its yield.
Is that Darwinian evolution in action? No, says Potter: "I have a goal in mind." The selection in this case involves intelligence–his own. He notes that Darwin said evolution proceeded "without any intelligence, [but that's] a leap. … It's not like I can turn a wheat plant into a corn plant."
Although Potter is in his 50s and already holds a Ph.D. in plant breeding, he's finishing up a master's in science and religion at Biola University. He wants to teach others about intelligent design, as he's already done at his Baptist church, and perhaps organize ID conferences.
For those outside the science field, secrecy about their beliefs is less necessary. Joshua Jones, a government major and economics minor at Houston Baptist University, sees ID as an important part of his future–as a politician. His focus is the impact that science, especially the materialistic ideas of Darwinism, has on public policy, from abortion to education to euthanasia.
Jones sees the far-reaching consequences of a Darwinian worldview: If man is merely made of matter and controlled by natural selection, then the greatest good is the survival of the fittest and the destruction of the weak. These ideas have led to eugenics in Nazi Germany and forced sterilization in the United States.
Jones believes this is why Christians should be in politics: "Christianity gives us that strong moral foundation from which to operate and even which to find consensus. People go around talking about human rights, but especially in a Darwinian context there's no real reason … for human rights outside of natural law and a lawgiver."
Even as Jones speaks up in class, his poise and delivery are reminiscent of a politician. He realizes that people may disagree with his beliefs, but his first priority is to pursue truth: "Maybe it's because I'm young, but I'm ready to take on that fight. I'm kind of an idealist in that sense as an intellectual person, I'm committed to consistency. I could never turn my back on what is true just because of persecution."
James Lopez, a senior at the California State University of Northridge, is also open about his belief in intelligent design. He says he works hard to stay at the top of his class, give solid reasons for the existence of God, and point out the scientific evidence for intelligent design: His fellow students "haven't really experienced a logical version of the Christian faith," so instead of telling his classmates to just believe what the Bible says, he questions them about their own presuppositions.
For instance in astronomy class, the professor assigned students to do a presentation on the origin of an element. Lopez chose iron and explained to the class how it was more likely that God created the element than the element resulted from exploding planets. "There I was in the middle of the big class reading Genesis 1:1 and the whole class was silent." He said most students haven't thought through origin-of-life questions, and instead mainly believe whatever their professors say.
In his free time, Lopez posts images with thought-provoking facts on Instagram and debates atheists in the comments section.
Mark Dunn,* an adjunct astronomy professor at a community college in a Rocky Mountain state, wants to influence the younger generation's view of science and design. Since he works at a publicly funded institution, he has to be subtle. As he teaches students about white dwarf stars, spiral galaxies, black holes, and the solar system, he introduces them to fine-tuning, the idea that Earth is ideally suited to support life and allow humans to study the stars.
Standing in front of his class, Dunn, an Anglican in his 50s, will explain to students that the Earth's unusual atmosphere is transparent to radio waves and visible light, but blocks other wavelengths that can be harmful. He will then ask, "Isn't it interesting that the only two transparent windows in the atmosphere allow us to see the heavens and hear the heavens?"
While the major controversy over evolution and Intelligent Design has concentrated in the United States, other countries are jumping into the discussion as well, so the Discovery Institute seminar included students from Africa, Asia, South America, and Europe.
Wearing a bright, flowing dress, 28-year-old Jediadah Chilufya of Lusaka, Zambia, quickly typed notes on her cracked tablet as science philosopher Stephen Meyer spoke. A teaching assistant of microbiology at the University of Zambia, she wasn't just learning: She was preparing for a lecture on ID she'd give at the university once she returned home.
She was surprised to hear of the persecution American scientists faced, as Zambia encourages open dialogue. Christians make up 87 percent of the population, and while some professors are atheists, they like students to debate over evolution and religion. In one class, her Christian professor pointed to the diversity of microorganisms and said, "This obviously shows that despite all these harmful effects bacteria can have, God made us in a way that we don't just die to extinction."
Chilufya first heard about ID last year from her uncle, who had previously attended the Discovery Institute seminar. Excited to see how science helped reinforce her Christian beliefs, she started an Intelligent Design and Evolution Awareness (IDEA) club at her university where students gather to discuss the origins of life.
As Chilufya applies to a master's program in microbiology, she is weighing what type of research she could do that would point to design. For instance, after hearing Gonzalez speak about fine-tuning, she's thinking about studying microorganisms that live in extreme places and how they were designed to survive those environments.
"Right now there's no threat in just speaking your view [in Zambia]," Chilufya said. "I'm not sure about 10 years from now, but I'm just thinking we should enjoy it while it lasts."
When Ali Demir* of Turkey was 12, he wondered about the origins of life and started reading scientific and religious books in Turkish. It wasn't until he learned English in college that he found an ID-related article on the internet. He spent hours reading articles and books, and watching YouTube talks of the leading ID proponents: Michael Behe, Stephen Meyer, Richard Sternberg.
During the Seattle seminar Demir looked starstruck eating meals and playing Frisbee with his heroes. "I feel like I'm in YouTube!" he exclaimed. He said he knew Behe's lecture by heart, as he's watched his videos over and over again.
Demir can't tell any of his fellow college students in Turkey why he visited Seattle this summer. While 99 percent of Turkey–including Demir–is Muslim, academia is largely controlled by atheists because most religious leaders do not engage in scientific topics. Ali said he couldn't even tell his professors that he is a Muslim, much less a proponent of ID.
Demir's goal is to keep his beliefs quiet until he's tested the scientific evidence for ID himself and becomes a professor. Once he is in that position of authority, people will take his ideas seriously even if they disagree: "I'll continue asking these kinds of questions probably all my life because in my humble opinion it's more important and interesting than any other topic, our origin is more important than any other thing."
Andreas Müller* of Switzerland said he would probably be shunned by academics in his country if they knew about his belief in ID. As a boy, he saw airplanes and engines and wanted to know how they worked. Now in his 20s, he's finishing a master's degree in biotechnology and thinking of pursuing a doctorate in the same field, perhaps at a U.S. university.
Biotechnology, he says, is about building new systems from existing ones—like taking an insecticidal gene from a bacterium and adding it to the genome of a crop. But he doesn't think scientists will ever be able to build sophisticated biological machinery like the ones that already exist in nature. For instance the flagellum, the spinning whiplike structure some cells use to propel themselves, involves multiple protein parts working in harmony.
"It looks like a motor, like an onboard motor from a boat," Müller said. "If one of these single proteins doesn't work, the whole thing doesn't work." According to the lingo of intelligent design, the flagellum is "irreducibly complex."
At school, Müller generally keeps his thoughts about intelligent design to himself. He's still questioning which career route to take. Option 1: Be open about intelligent design from the start, and take whatever limited job openings he can find. Option 2: Keep quiet about ID until his career credentials are established firmly enough to withstand withering criticism. Option 3: Never say anything, and simply use his science career for the betterment of humanity.
"I think one day I will have to reveal it. When I'm 60 or 70," he laughs. "Or when I'm dying. … One of those heroic sentences when you're dying: 'I was pro-ID! And I don't regret it!'"—A.L. & D.J.D.
by Samantha Gilman
Despite restrictions public schools place on what teachers can say, many Christians find ways to demonstrate their faith.
Kristin Silecchia, 24, tackled her first full-time teaching experience last year at Davis Middle School in Hillsdale, Mich. A Christian, she approached discipline in her class of 25 fifth-graders by always remembering Christ's forgiveness: "I try to start each day as a new day, especially if there was a behavior issue the previous day. They are going to make mistakes and I need to forgive them just as I've been forgiven."
When Silecchia hears a student swear or talk about inappropriate things, she takes a moment to step back and think of how to implement grace: "I think about what would be the best way to talk to them rather than just going up to them and scolding them for saying that."
After the Sandy Hook school shooting last December, about a third of the students in Hillsdale teacher Liz Youngman's high-school math class were absent, and the ones in class were agitated. One said, "One of the crazy people from the school is going to come and shoot us all."
Youngman discussed with her students the importance of believing in a life after death. She did not tell them to believe in God, but asked: If you don't believe in something after this life, "'does it matter if you are a good person or a bad person? If you just die and get buried in the end, what does it matter?' Kids really seemed to respond to that."
Carol Haviland was a special education teacher in Hillsdale for 35 years, and has been substitute teaching for the past 10. Her middle-school classes of about 15 "educationally impaired" and "learning disabled" students stayed with her for three straight years: "They were more like family, and you can say anything to family once you know them well."
As a Christian working in the public schools, Haviland knows the restrictions placed on teachers: "It really is doom and gloom, except there are ways you can not abandon your principles and still teach." When she substituted for a sixth-grade class many years ago, one girl told her, "I'm an atheist." Haviland stayed in touch with and prayed for the girl, who is now a junior in college and recently professed faith in Christ.
DeEtta Trainor has substitute-taught for 30 years at Hillsdale Middle School and High School. She is unashamed of her Christian faith: "I don't hide my testimony under a bushel basket; it's out there."
Trainor now teaches about once or twice per week: She does not preach, but when students come to her to talk about stress in their lives, she suggests that they pray and get connected to a church. Students she knows are Christian will sometimes sit and talk with her over lunch: "I had one student tell me, 'yeah, everybody knows you're a Christian,' and I thought that was the best compliment."
Megan Terasaki, who just gained her teaching credential last fall, sees her job as a relational ministry. Currently a substitute teacher in Torrance and Los Angeles school districts, Terasaki believes teachers can help point children in the right direction and teach them a lot through treating them right. She realizes, especially as a new teacher, that she can't afford to be overt with her faith, and oftentimes her views will be unpopular—yet she hopes to be a good steward with the job that God has given her.
"A lot of students don't have someone who loves them, so my ministry opportunity is loving my students," Terasaki said. "It's really investing in the kids and showing them that people do care about you. Even though you have nothing to give us, we have so much to give because of what Christ has done."
—with reporting by Angela Lu; Samantha Gilman is a WORLD intern
This also happened to us in Arizona. This program was orchestrated by the Fed DOE to bypass Congress and the state legislatures and go directly to each states education department. The legislature can kill the program by not authorizing the additional funding that will be required. And by a separate action, the legislature can pass legislation to abandon the Statewide Longitudinal Data Base system due to privacy violations.
I read an article in our small town paper last night saying that Ohio's Board of Education adopted it without much fanfare or input and now the legislature is going to look at it. There is going to be a turf war between the two because the Board of Ed. is saying that only they are qualified to approve it. Not the Ohio legislature who are not educators.
socialworkerHere are a couple interesting websites that discuss some aspects of Common Core. The freedoms are greatly diminished with the Feds totally controlling the curriculum and testing/assessment processes. http://www.hslda.org/commoncore/default.aspxhttp://www.utahnsagainstcommoncore.com/common-core-a-mental-health-professional-parents-perspective/
If all that Richard says is true, how far away educational freedom is in the rear view mirror.
I am curious what Common Core is beginning to do with the few freedoms Christian teachers have left in the classroom as Common Core is now being implemented nationwide. 1. Common Core is mandating the standards that dictate the curriculum. The curriculum may not be changed, but the schools are allowed to add up to 15% more information to teach. Some states have mandated some extra material to be taught. But is the teacher now bound 100% to these mandates without adding more unless authorized from above?2. Part of Common Core is the intrusive (violates every sense of privacy) data base created for each student and their family members to be used from pre-K through college. Is there a contract of silence that teachers and school administrators have to sign up to in order to retain employment and use this system?3. Testing and assessments are out of the hands of the teachers, schools, and respective state. The testing is to be done via individual computers with Obama's Dept of Education's consortiums of public/private partnership. Did the teachers have to sign a contract of silence to not divulge the contents of these tests and assessments? It is highly suspected that the assessments are specifically for changing values and behaviors of students to the central government's prescribed desires (ie. cultural Marxism) via BF Skinners Operant Conditioning methodology.


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[Brian Beckham is a contributor to Internet Cases and can be contacted at brian.beckham [at] gmail dot com.]
The New York Court of Appeals, 1st Division recently upheld a lower court ruling that a series of "signed" emails is a sufficient writing to modify a contract.
Plaintiff Stevens sold his business (L-S) to Defendant Publicis under two contracts: a stock-purchase agreement including an initial up-front payment, and an employment contract whereby Plaintiff would continue as Chairman and CEO of the new company (PDNY) for three years with additional contingent fees based on earnings. Shortly after the acquisition, problems arose, including loss of a major client and failure to meet revenue and profit targets. Approximately halfway into the three-year term, Plaintiff was removed as CEO and presented 3 options for continued employment. The then-acting CEO of PDNY (Bloom) exchanged a series of emails with Plaintiff. The culmination of this exchange was an email from Bloom on behalf of PDNY describing his understanding of the parties' terms regarding Plaintiff's new role at PDNY that Plaintiff's time would be allocated 70% towards new business development, 20% in maintaining former L-S clients, and 10% devoted to management/operations of PDNY.
Plaintiff responded the next day by email stating: "…I want to thank you again for helping me…That being said, I accept your proposal with total enthusiasm and excitement…" Bloom for PDNY replied the same day: "I am thrilled with your decision…all of us will continue to work in the spirit of partnership to achieve our mutual goal."
The bottom of each email had the typed name of the sender.
The lower court held, and the Court of Appeals sustained that the parties had agreed in writing (by their emails) to modify Plaintiff's duties under his employment contract, specifically because both sides expressed their unqualified acceptance of the modification to the contract. (Bloom's email set forth the terms of the proposed contractual modification, Plaintiff accepted those terms by his email, and Bloom's reply memorialized that acceptance). Plaintiff also confirmed his acceptance of the modified contract terms in another email to PDNY's COO.
The Court of Appeals held that Plaintiff's (and Bloom's) emails "constitute 'signed writings' within the meaning of the statute of frauds, since plaintiff's name at the end of his e-mail signified his intent to authenticate the contents." Moreover, the signed writings (the emails) satisfied a requirement of the original employment contract that any modifications must be signed by all parties, i.e., the several emails served as counter-signatures. The same result may not have been reached in a different state, but at least in NY, "signed" emails can be valid for contract purposes.
Case is: Stevens v. Publicis, S.A., 602716/03.

subset: commoncrawl


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Principled Action: Keep alive in your hearts
June 29, 2009
"Keep alive in your hearts
the feeling of confidence
that the light of knowledge
will inevitably dispel
the clouds of ignorance,
the conviction
that concern for justice
will ultimately conquer
hatred and enmity.
[… The] proper response to oppression
is neither to succumb in resignation
nor to take on the characteristics of the oppressor.
The victim of oppression
can transcend it
through an inner strength
that shields the soul
from bitterness and hatred
which sustains
consistent principled action." UHJ 2009
There is such a contrast between the use of the term "principled action" when used here for healing the human spirit and the way it is used in writings referring to doing ethics, applied ethics, ethics talk. Is it about words or deeds?
"Keep alive in your hearts" calls to all of us to sustain consistent principled action freed from bitterness and hatred even when oppressed, refuse to resign to victimization, be careful not to respond to oppression by taking on the characteristics of the oppressor, struggle to continue to believe that knowledge will overcome ignorance, that justice will conquer injustice, nurture and maintain inner strength that will sustain us through the most ethically distressing dilemmas of our lives, nurture confidence when you feel doubt, seek knowledge instead of vengeance. This far transcends concepts of ethical codes and minimal ethical standards.
"Some people confuse acting in good conscience with "doing ethics". While personal good conscience is necessary for acting ethically, it is not sufficient. There is also confusion of so-called "codes of ethics' which are really codes of professional etiquette – for instance, between physicians or between lawyers – or which define unprofessional conduct, with codes of ethics properly so-called. Just because certain conduct does not breach professional norms, does not necessarily mean that it is ethical […] "Doing ethics", especially by an ethicist, requires one to undertake an informed structured analysis that will assist in the identification and prioritisation of the full range of values relevant to, or affected by, the various decision options that are open in any given situation. It is inevitable that one's own values come into play, but they should be identified as such and the other people involved advised of this. I sometimes imagine that "doing ethics" can be compared with opening a beautiful, intricately painted fan. The struts are the different schools of ethics, or the fundamental bases of the alternative analyses that could be used. The fabric that joins the struts may display one or several scenes. When we all agree on the outcome, although we do so for different reasons, we are choosing a different location in the one scene. When we disagree on the outcome, we are identifying several scenes and arguing that one scene is fundamental and should take priority in setting the overall tone or interpretation of the painting that the artist has portrayed on the fan, and that the other scenes must be interpreted in light of this. We all need to learn how to do ethics, even if we do not always succeed in doing this. "Doing ethics" is not a simple task; it is a process, not an event; and, in many ways, no matter in which capacity or context we do ethics, it is a life-long learning experience. The most important requirement, however, is that we all engage in that process, that is, we all participate in "ethics talk" (Somerville 2006)."
Filed in Business & Finance, Economy & Finance, ethics, governance, justice, meta-ethics, My Reviews, Philosophy, philosophy and society, Political Philosophy, Power and everyday life, Public Policy, Religion, religion and politics, social cohesion, Social History Timeline, society, wealth disparities will intensify
Tags: allocating limited resources, applied ethics, corporate social responsibility, CSR, doing ethics, ethical distress, ethical imagination, ethical intelligence, ethics talk, Global Compact, human rights, minimum ethical standards, principled action


text:
MARION COTILLARD has been working as an actress since she was a teenager, but it was her Oscar-winning performance as Edith Piaf in "La Vie en Rose" that brought her to the attention of American audiences – and Hollywood filmmakers.
Since then she's worked with directors such as Michael Mann ("Public Enemies"), Woody Allen ("Midnight in Paris"), Steven Soderbergh ("Contagion") and Christopher Nolan ("Inception," "The Dark Knight Rises").
In "Rust and Bone," she returns to France for an intimate relationship movie about a whale trainer and the fighter who sort of nurses her back to health after an accident at the Sea World-like water show where she works.
The Daily News spoke with Cotillard at the Intercontinental Hotel in September during the Toronto International Film Festival.
She said her shooting schedule was so tight when "Rust and Bone" was filmed that she didn't have time for her usual amount of preparation.
"I had like three or four days of training," she said, "learning the choreography and approaching the orcas and feeding them. It was kind of easy for me, but I don't have a reference.
"I love wild animals," she added, "but it was hard to consider the whales as wild when they're in a swimming pool. But that's another subject."
After a few big movies, Cotillard was attracted to the intimacy and rawness of the "Rust and Bone" script.
"I was very moved," she said. "I thought it was a very unusual love story – a beautiful one. And I was very excited by the subject and the vision that [director] Jacques Audiard ["A Prophet"] would have of it. Because I saw all his movies, and he had never given his vision of a love story before.
"Normally, I hate to do love scenes. I don't know who loves doing them. But in this movie," Cotillard said, "it was not so hard because the flesh, the blood, the body, the love, is the subject of the movie. And it's what my character needs too. So it was actually kind of easy to do.
"I love the first love scene – it's a mix of drama and comedy and it's very moving, and at the same time you want to laugh because of the situation. And also, Matthias [Schoenaerts] is an amazing actor to work with. In a way I was so happy for my character. I know it's a little weird to talk that way about a character, but I was."
Cotillard has two more films completed and awaiting release, including "Blood Ties" with director Guillaume Canet, her longtime boyfriend and the father of her son, Marcel. At the moment, though, there are no new projects on the horizon.
After completing 11 features since 2010, Cotillard is on holiday, grateful that her career has gone so well that she has the opportunity to unwind.
"I decided to take some time off without having to think about what's next," she said, "because otherwise it's not really time off. . . . Now I'm really looking forward to finding something that will give me the desire to go back to work."


text: iOS 11 provides a streamlined way to deploy and manage iOS devices in schools and institutions of all sizes. This guide covers the steps involved to successfully deploy iPad in both one-to-one and shared devices environments. You'll learn how to prepare your infrastructure, set up and deploy iPad, and enable teachers in their classrooms.


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I recently saw this complaint on Planet Feedback:
Tri-Met Train Engineer Refused to Open Train Doors
Posted Sat February 5, 2011 3:03 pm, by John T. written to Mr. Neil McFarlane, General Manager, Tri-Met
I am writing to inform you of an unpleasant experience on the Yellow Max Line to Expo Center. This is the text of my Tri-Met website email complaint, which I sent on 1/28/2011:
Engineer refused to open the door (Train 123, 1:28 p.m., Thursday,1/27/2011 at SW 6th Ave. & Morrison), even though there was ample time to do so. I crossed the street from Pioneer Square as the Expo Center train was stopped at a red light. When my light changed to green, I immediately crossed the street and quickly walked right in front of the stopped train, so the engineer had to see me. I hurriedly pressed the yellow and blue buttons for the doors to open on the first car. The traffic light was still red (for the train). They did not, so I attempted to open the doors with my fingers. Seeing the doors were tight and unyielding, I immediately removed my hands and stepped back. A second or two after I had stopped trying to open the doors, the engineer said over the external speaker, "You better take your hands off that door or you will be arrested." Those words prove he had seen me while the train was still stopped. A few seconds later, some stranger walked up to me and said he had pushed the door open buttons too in the second car, and the doors did not open. The train was still stopped as he initially spoke to me. Both myself and the stranger were casually well-dressed and very sober. Generally speaking I like Tri-Met, but this engineer was out of line and needs retraining and/or some other appropriate sanction. I wonder how many other riders he has treated so poorly.
Please investigate the matter and the Rider Complaint procedure thoroughly, which appears to be deficient and in need of revision because of the following: The Tri-Met website did not generate a case number or any email to me with a copy of my issue after I sent it on 1/28/2011. Also, since I did not receive a timely confirmation via email or telephone after 1/28/2011, I sent an email on or about 2/3/2011. On 2/4/2011 I received an email (copy enclosed) stating that my issue was reported on 1/28/2011 to the Yellow Line Manager, and that it is a "private matter" between the manager and the employee. I am not satisfied with this closed system, as there is no real accountability to the public or myself. The public is supposed to trust what occurs behind closed doors, but we are not even informed of the outcome. This does not seem fair.
I was pleased to see the comments to the letter, where several people explained that once a train has its signal, it can't wait for more people to board. Another commenter said it's not appropriate to release disciplinary information to the public, which I also agree with. However, as for the original complaint, I know that John T is not unique in being mad that trains don't wait for him and even though I've already written about the yellow door release buttons before, now's as good a time as any to do it again, as well as explain a little bit about how the mall signals work.
First, a basic refresher on pre-empt signals – these display a yellow horizontal which means "STOP" to a train or a white vertical which means "PROCEED WITH CAUTION". Because of how the CBD is set up, there are a number of intersections where auto traffic will have a red light (STOP) but a train will have a white vertical – this will be the case in any intersection where a green light could potentially turn a car into the path of a train.
SW 6th & Yamhill – red light for cars, white vertical for an eastbound train, and walk sign for pedestrians
So don't look at the auto traffic signals to determine if a train is about to move or not, because at most intersections the train isn't following those signals. The train having a "red light" in this case is irrelevant.
Now moving on to the rest of the complaint, which is essentially "the train didn't wait for me and reopen the doors." Well, no – the mall is not a good place for that sort of thing. Sometimes an operator of a north or southbound train will release the doors – that is, turn on the external door buttons so that passengers can push them to open the doors and let themselves on – if they are waiting for an eastbound or westbound train to pass or for the way ahead to be clear, but once they're ready to call the signal, the doors are closed and it's time to go. Here's why:
Pioneer Courthouse, SW 5th & Yamhill facing south
This is a view looking south on 5th Avenue. On the top of the pole in the middle of the picture, you can see the pre-empt signal for southbound Yellow and Green trains to PSU. It's displaying a yellow horizontal in the picture which is the default aspect until a train calls it. Now look down 5th at each intersection – you can see the auto traffic lights that are red and green on the left side of 5th, and on the right side you can see the pre-empt signals for the trains (all yellow horizontals).
SW 5th & Yamhill, wider view.
The pre-empt signals may be easier to see in this picture
If you ride a train on 5th or 6th, you'll notice that ideally the train will only stop at platforms, not at the intersections between platforms. This is because those pre-empts cascade – an operator will call the signal at the platform, and then the pre-empts up through the next platform are automatically timed so that when the train gets to each intersection, the pre-empt will be displaying a permissive white vertical to proceed without the operator needing to do anything. In the event that the train has to stop (e.g. a personal auto blocking the right of way, a pedestrian running in front of a train, a car or cyclist running a red light – you know, those things that never happen) each intersection also has a secondary call loop where an operator is able to recall the signal. Under normal operating conditions, the cascading signals between platforms allows for the smoothest and fastest train movement.
South end of the mall by PSU looking north up 6th Ave. Notice the pre-empt signals on the right, the curve in the rails for the train to move to the center lane, and the bus ahead pulling away from its stop
But remember that the mall isn't just for trains. The alignment runs serpentine with buses so that the trains and buses leapfrog up and down the mall with the rails cutting over to the right every few blocks for a platform, and then back over to the center lane for the blocks that are served by buses. The auto signals on the mall are in sync with the train pre-empts, so buses will be held on a red light to let the train move through and get out of the way when the train has a permissive signal since both buses and trains share the center travel lane and cross paths to service alternating blocks.
View from above of a Yellow Line train on 5th moving into the center travel lane after servicing the Pioneer Courthouse platform in the previous block
SO – getting back to why a train can't wait "just a few more seconds" for you and reopen the doors… when an operator calls a signal at a platform on the mall, it starts the cascade of pre-empts up to the next platform. This cascade goes through even if the train stays put where it is, which can happen if the operator reopens the doors to let late runners on and then the signal in front of them times out. This delays buses unnecessarily as they are held at red lights waiting for a train that isn't there. As a result, not only will the train you wanted to get on be delayed, but so will a bunch of buses because you weren't at the platform when the train's doors were open. Preventing that from happening, quite frankly, isn't something an operator needs to be disciplined for.
And finally, I feel the need to defend the operator of that train – I know whose run that is and they're one of the last people I could think of that would threaten a passenger with an arrest. I'm hard pressed to believe that such a comment was even made by the operator, but I'm not surprised at the accusation. I have seen operators scapegoated for everything that goes wrong for passengers (classic example – a bus running exactly on time and someone on the bus calling their boss "Yeah, the stupid bus was late again so I'm going to be late for work." Hey! Not the bus operator's fault you picked a later bus than you needed. Take responsibility for your own actions.)


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employee login
How to Sign In at Deltanet Website?
By tentacles on September 26, 2016
Deltanet is an online site for workers of Delta Airlines, and also the retired one. Workers and retired one can login to gain access to and trace some information with regards to their employment and retirement. It is all online process and so long as you could have your very own internet connection, you can […]
Posted in Business | Tagged delta, delta air, delta airline, delta employee login, dlnet, dlnet delta, dlnet employee login, dlnet extranet landing, employee login | Leave a response


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In 2007, I had the privilege of becoming the first director of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. My job was to move Nixon's presidential materials from the Washington, D.C. area, where they had been kept as federal property because of the Watergate investigation, to California, where Nixon's friends and supporters had built a private library in 1990. My job involved transforming the once private library, which had a reputation for being a national center of Watergate denial, into a public, nonpartisan facility.
Sometime in 2010, I was surprised (and frankly, a little proud) when my boss at the National Archives told me that my name had been invoked in negotiations over the future George W. Bush Presidential Library. Apparently, the George W. Bush Foundation was worried "some future Naftali" would "want to put up a torture exhibit."
It's true that I had managed to anger Nixon loyalists. As part of the Nixon Library's rebranding mission, I had brought in serious critics of the former president—notably Elizabeth Drew and John Dean—to the library and vowed to have an honest exhibit on Watergate. And the Nixonians made their feelings known. In 2009, the private Nixon Foundation sent a letter to every living former president denouncing me personally—"Who is this Naftali," a puzzled President Bill Clinton is said to have asked, "and why should I care?"—for messing up the library system by trying to achieve nonpartisanship in Yorba Linda. The Bushies were apparently arguing for control of the temporary exhibit gallery to prevent it from being used by a future federal director for an exhibit that might cast Bush 43 in a negative light.
The creation of every new presidential library involves negotiations over an agreement—a treaty—between the federal government and the former president and his representatives. Called a Joint Use Agreement, the contract divides up responsibility for the space at the library between the private presidential foundation, which is usually dedicated to promoting the positive legacy of a president, and the American people. Areas controlled by the private presidential foundation, such as the impressive Air Force One Pavilion at the Reagan Library, can have partisan events such as Republican presidential debates. Those spaces controlled by the National Archives on behalf of the American people, however, are legally mandated to be nonpartisan.
In dealing with the Bush Foundation, the National Archives apparently held the line—as it did with the private Nixon Foundation—and, according to the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum website, all of the galleries that will be dedicated today are indeed controlled by all of us. If the final agreement is anything like the treaty governing the Nixon Library, the National Archives has veto power on your behalf over all exhibits and programs at this new presidential library.
That's right. Whatever you think of President George W. Bush, you control the Bush Library. And you should, since every year you will spend about $4 million on it—the same amount of public funds spent on every one of the 12 other presidential libraries.
One of the misconceptions about presidential libraries is that they are supposed to be shrines. (Don't worry if you believe that—many presidential relatives do, too.) But Congress is not interested in creating shrines to the branch of government at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. It is one of the strange outcomes of the separation of powers doctrine that one branch has to pay to archive and display the documents and trinkets of a competing branch. In recent years, Congress has shown its displeasure by trying to narrow the streams of public money that go to presidential libraries. The younger President Bush had to raise a lot more money than his father, not just because construction costs had increased in 15 years, but because Congress expects the friends of presidents to create an endowment to help shoulder the burden of maintaining the buildings forever.
There's nothing wrong with that necessarily. But in its zeal to reduce the public burden for these libraries, Congress has made them even more vulnerable to presidential friends and family. Unwilling to use public funds for these programs or exhibitions, Congress expects the library's private presidential partner to foot that bill. The effect is that the National Archives finds itself passing the tin cup to raise money for museums, exhibits, and book talks from groups that are not interested in promoting objectivity.
The National Archives is nonpartisan; it is supposed to act in the spirit of open government and transparency and be a leader in the custodianship of history. Presidential families (though there are notable exceptions like the Truman, Johnson, Ford, and Carter families, and Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg) often oppose nonpartisan programming and have often placed obstacles in the way of releasing materials.
Another misconception is that, like it or not, presidents and their loyalists deserve a watering hole. Since we Americans regularly "throw the bums out," regardless of ideology, there are almost as many Democratic presidential libraries as Republican ones. So, why not let them be? Democrats can visit the Clinton Library and Republicans the Reagan Library.
I have to admit that this was my view until I ran one. These presidential libraries, however, have an educational mission that is much more important to the country than the reputation of a former president. Depending on the location, these libraries receive between 60,000 and 400,000 visitors a year. And students and teachers around the country use these libraries' online resources in the classroom. You cannot look at the faces of the kids and their teachers that come to your museum without feeling pangs of regret if what they see is not as accurate and informative as it could be. At the Nixon Library, 12,000 school kids on formal school tours visited each year. Before the National Archives took over in 2007, nearly 200,000 students had been taught that the Democrats used Watergate to overturn the electoral result of 1972 and that Richard Nixon did nothing that presidents before him had not done; the only difference was that he got caught.
Will the George W. Bush Library echo the insecurity of the president's supporters who worried about letting the National Archives put up a future torture exhibit? The test will not just be the permanent galleries that we get a look at for the first time this week, but the tenor of the programs sponsored by the library. Will the library invite serious writers who opposed the Iraq War in the spirit of the Johnson Library's invitation to Robert Caro? Will the school tours be run with an educational or a rehabilitative mission for the reputation of the 43rd president? And what about the temporary exhibits sponsored by the library, will they be nonpartisan or just echo chambers for Bush-era White House spin?
The new Bush Library will be as nonpartisan as you want it to be. All of the libraries read the emails, letters, and social media about how they are doing their job and how they could do it better. If you are a teacher, contact the library and see what online materials they have for your students. And if you consider the materials one-sided, let them know. The Bush Library, like all other presidential libraries, will have an education specialist, paid by public funds, whose job will be to foster an inviting, "no-spin" zone. If the public wants serious discussion about No Child Left Behind, the consequences of the Iraq War, or why the government crossed the line and used torture after 9/11, there is no good reason why these discussions cannot occur in the same building as where the documents that explain those policies exist.
Academic historians long ago shifted their focus away from the White House, but for most of us American history is still heavily presidential. What we learn about these outsize individuals marks what we think about ourselves. If children are taught that truth lies solely with the presidents of one stripe or another, that no president did wrong, that all presidents were consistent in what they thought or did, and that history flows from the Oval Office, then we invite a continuation of the toxic national politics that have made this country nearly ungovernable.


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The final week of school was jam packed with events for the kids. Tuesday came and we hit the ground running and it seemed we didn't stop until Friday. With Awards Assemblies, Fun Run, Dance Festival, Lagoon Day, and everything in between it was a whirlwind week.
Luckily my school got out a week earlier so I could attend all of this...
Caleb's Awards Assembly
Blurry picture, he would NOT look at me for anything. I was in the 2nd row and he saw me but knew I had the camera and refused to look at me.
Caleb walking up to recieve his awards...I love how everything is blurry but him. Really I meant it that way!!!!
Strangely enough while at the Awards Assembly they didn't announce what awards the kids were recieving. I thought it was a silly way of doing it. Like a friend said, they could have just given them out in class. After it was over I tried to catch him in the hall, but it was like a sea of teenagers and I never saw him. Again, he knew I had a camera...he probably RAN! When he got home from school he showed me his awards. I was so proud of him. He had a great year and finished his Freshman year with straight A's!!!! I was so happy for him.
Fun Run 2011
The kids always look forward to the fun run. They also complain and talk like they aren't going to run. When the complete it they always feel great after doing it. Although they aren't the front runners...they run and complete the race and that is what I expect of them. None of this walking the laps. Drives me sort of crazy to be honest.
Zach finishing his second lap around the track...
Liberty just after finishing. I love the looks on thier faces.
Dance Festival 2011
The dance festival is always my favorite. I love watching the kids have fun dancing. This year was probably the most pleasant weather we have had in ages. Not hot and not cold.
I found Zach the day earlier with his teacher, Mr. Johnson.
Zach and Lib just after the Dance Festival
Liberty doing her dance to a Broadway tune, something like Shake, Rattle & Roll. I wasn't familiar with it, but it was one of the cutest dances this year if you ask me.
Zach's class did a dance to Footloose. I LOVED IT! It was perfect for Zach who is quite the dancer. I LOVE watching him every year. He was certainally cutting loose!
Caleb went to 9th Grade Lagoon Day...but of course with his love of the camera, there aren't any photos of that.
It was a fun week. I always love the end of the year, because I know Summer is coming. My favorite.


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We are open and ready to serve.
Vehicle drop offs welcome. After Hours key drop off available at participating locations.
Contact your local Meineke for more information.
Schedule a Tires & Wheels service today!Schedule Tires & Wheels Appointment
5323 W. 38th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46254
Phone: (317) 543-7206
M-F 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM
Sat 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM
Sun Closed
There are no coupons for Tires & Wheels services at this location.
schedule appointment


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Let us know about it here in the wishlist.
Let us know about it here in the wishlist.
Sony has published its Android Hi-Res players,and the new flagship cellphone Xperia Z2 will support Hi-Res playback as well,so if the foobar2000 mobile would support Sony's clear-bass & clear-audio et,al?
We are hoping to support hi res playback, yes.
I have some ideas that I'd like to see on Foobar2000 mobile. Maybe someone already asked for some of them or already gave a solution to it, sorry in that case.
1) Interface in which the size is easily adjustable. As I'd like to also use it on my car, bigger function buttons, and maybe font size, is helpful.
2) Gesture actions/functions: also helpful on a car environment. Things like swipe left or right with two fingers change track, up and down for volume. If it is possible to choose what gesture for each funcion would be even better as each person prefer to use specific actions.
3) Allow to add one folder from your libary to one playlist and also allow to skip folder during playback.
Thanks for this awesome initiative.
just a quickie: can we hope for wide volume range? like in windows foobar. i often have a hard time finding that sweet spot with 15-level android volume setting
simplified 2-band eq?
Plugin system to enable features such as binaural-to-stereophonic and all the great kode54 plugins (if they're not built in).
If not plugin support, audio features such as crossfeed, resampling, hard limits, silence skipping, etc. that the plugins provide. Other mp3 software/firmware such as Rockbox have crossfeed which really helps with headphones.
Support for USB-DAC audio devices, and multi-channel audio if there is a USB-DAC connected to the device.
Not so much a new feature, but please continue to support the "by folder structure" view for viewing and organizing files that Fb2k currently supports. One of the reasons I like Fb2k on PC, and Rockbox on my old mp3 player, is that both respect my folder layouts rather than requiring me to use playlists or sorting by artist, etc., which loses a lot of the organization I like to maintain.
Please please please add a generic DirectX plugin wrapper. Also, a generic effect chainer. It would be the first mobile media player to support real audio plugins. Thank you for your consideration.
Hail Eris!


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Every year Apple releases a report about its impact on the environment and how its workers are treated.
The Cupertino-based company may want to look into its business dealings in the Congo.
A Congolese activist and attorney is pushing Tim Cook and company to ensure that its products are conflict free.
Delly Mawazo's op-ed in the Guardian is provocatively titled "Apple: time to make a conflict-free iPhone" and it highlights the role that slave labor and civil strife play in building some of tech's hottest gadgets.
From the iPhone to computers to server boxes, Mawazo says minerals -- such as tungsten, tantalum, tin, and gold -- are often found in Congo and are used to power gadgets, including the iPhone.
He writes:
While minerals from the Congo have enriched your life, they have often brought violence, rape and instability to my home country. That's because those armed groups fighting for control of these mineral resources use murder, extortion and mass rape as a deliberate strategy to intimidate and control local populations, which helps them secure control of mines, trading routes and other strategic areas.
But Mawazo doesn't rip Apple for its role in the conflict. In fact he says the company "has been an industry leader in both supply chain management and making corporate social responsibility a priority."
Over the past two years, Apple has tried hard to source materials responsibly and to control the supply chain.
But Mawazo wants Apple to do more in order to encourage other tech companies to follow suit.
The full article can be read on the Guardian's website.
Apple Urged to Make Its First Conflict-Free IPhone
Every year Apple releases a report about its impact on the environment and how its workers are treated.


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given two images of the same scene taken from different viewpoints, this tool creates any intermediate view.
It is not just a morpher, but a tool to create physically real intermediate views between images of the same scene taken from different viewpoints. This includes facilities to handle occlusions and create movies.
Basic Steps:
Download example project http://www.all-in-one.ee/~dersch/examplesWin.zip
Start 'PTPicker', and open the file 'Project_interpolate' from the File menu. Alternatively, you can drop it onto PTPickers icon. In the menu 'Images' you will find a list of 2 images belonging to this project. You can open images from the list for viewing and setting control points, or triangles. For now, leave the images and points unchanged, since these have already been set.
Open the 'Project' menu and select 'Interpolate' in the 'Project' menu. You will be asked for a name of the result files. Choose a new separate folder since many images will be created. After clicking ok, PTInterpolate creates 20 frames which interpolating the two images. You can create a linear Quicktime movie from these frames using Apples free utility 'ConvertToMovie'.
current version of PTInterpolate is 18.104.22.168 2001/12/02 provided by Helmut Dersch with his last distribution of PanoTools bundle.


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Export 8 results:
Filters: Author is Gallagher, Joseph P [Clear All Filters]
"A Transcriptome Profile for Developing Seed of Polyploid Cotton", The Plant Genome, vol. 8, no. 1, 2015.,
"Reticulate evolution helps explain apparent homoplasy in floral biology and pollination in baobabs (Adansonia; Bombacoideae; Malvaceae)", Systematic biology, 2019.,
"Re-evaluating the phylogeny of allopolyploid Gossypium L.", Molecular phylogenetics and evolution, vol. 92, pp. 45-52, 2015.,
"Re-evaluating the phylogeny of allopolyploid Gossypium L", Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 2015.,
"Persistence of Subgenomes in Paleopolyploid Cotton after 60 My of Evolution", Molecular biology and evolution, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 1063-1071, 2015.,
"CenH3 evolution in diploids and polyploids of three angiosperm genera", BMC plant biology, vol. 14, no. 1, p. 383, 2014.,
"Candidate Gene Identification of Flowering Time Genes in Cotton", The Plant Genome, 2015.,
"Ancient gene duplicates in Gossypium (Cotton) exhibit near-complete expression divergence", Genome biology and evolution, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 559-571, 2014.,


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Research symposium set for Nov. 17
Graduate students and research staff members representing a broad array of disciplines will present their work in the Princeton Research Symposium from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17, in the Friend Center.
The event will include opening remarks by Kerry Walk, director of the Princeton Writing Program, at 9 a.m. and a keynote address on "Electronic Voting: Danger and Opportunity" by Edward Felten, professor of computer science and public affairs and director of the Center of Information Technology Policy, at 4 p.m. The talks will be held in 4 Friend.
Posters explaining various research projects will be displayed in the Friend Center Convocation Room during the symposium, and researchers will talk with attendees about their work. Research topics will include: secrets about a centuries-old shipwreck; valuation of employee stock options; bribery in classical Athens; the social life of bacteria; and a new type of laser.
The symposium is designed to provide local community members with access to research at Princeton and to promote dialogue across disciplines among academics at the University. The event is open to the public, but advance registration is encouraged. To register, visit www.princeton.edu/~prs.
The event is sponsored by the Association of Princeton Graduate Alumni, the Graduate School, the Graduate Student Government, the McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning, the Pace Center and the Princeton Writing Program.


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The Noir File: Young lovers on the run in 'They Live by Night'
By Michael Wilmington and Mr E Man
The Noir File is FNB's guide to classic film noir, neo-noir and pre-noir on cable TV. All movies below are from the schedule of Turner Classic Movies (TCM), which broadcasts them uncut and uninterrupted. The times are Eastern Standard and (Pacific Standard).
"They Live by Night" (1949, Nicholas Ray). Wednesday, Dec. 5, 10:30 a.m. (7:30 a.m.). "Gentle" and "romantic" might seem odd words to apply to film noir. But Nicholas Ray's "They Live By Night" is one of the gentlest, saddest and most romantic of all noirs, and an inarguable classic as well. It's the familiar but potent story of two naïve young outlaw lovers-on-the-run: Bowie, a kid with a gun and Keechie, a girl with a heart to be broken (played by Farley Granger and Cathy O'Donnell, an unusually beautiful young movie couple). Bowie and Keechie are two nice, ordinary kids who've fallen in with the crookedly paternal T-Dub (Jay C. Flippen) and his violent partner Chickamaw (Howard Da Silva) to form a gang of traveling thieves.
Ray was a famous American film outlaw romantic. He and producer John Houseman and screenwriter Charles Schnee derived their legendary gangster love story from Edward Anderson's harder-bitten Depression novel "Thieves Like Us." Robert Altman later remade "They Live By Night," in 1974, under its original title, with Keith Carradine and Shelley Duvall as Bowie and Keechie (and Louise Fletcher as the two-faced Mattie). That was one of his neo-noir '70s gems, but "They Live By Night" – often cited, with "Gun Crazy," as a direct precursor of "Bonnie and Clyde" – has a tenderness and poetic quality that are unique for the crime movie genre. And never more so than in the remarkable nocturnal wedding-on-the-run of Bowie and Keechie, with Ian Wolfe as the wily justice of the peace reeling off a ceremony, paid witnesses, and the sense of a disappointed but wildly loving heart beating beneath it all.
Tuesday, Dec. 4
4 a.m. (1 a.m.):"Night and the City" (1950, Jules Dassin). Crooked fight promoter Harry Fabian (Richard Widmark) tries to outrace the night. One of the all-time best film noirs, from Gerald Kersh's London novel. With Gene Tierney, Herbert Lom and Googie Withers.
Wednesday, Dec. 5
12:15 p.m. (9:15 a.m.): "Gun Crazy" (1949, Joseph H. Lewis).
Thursday, Dec. 6
8 p.m. (5 p.m.): "Casablanca" (1942, Michael Curtiz).
10 p.m. (7 p.m.): "The Third Man" (1949, Carol Reed).
Saturday, Dec. 8
10 p.m. (7 p.m.): "Autumn Leaves" (1956, Robert Aldrich). Cougar Joan Crawford falls for an unstable younger man (Cliff Robertson); co-starring Vera Miles.
Sunday, Dec. 9
3 p.m. (12 p.m.): "Harper" (1966, Jack Smight). Paul Newman, at his most attractively laid-back, plays one of detective literature's most celebrated private eyes, Ross MacDonald's Lew Archer, in this brainy thriller based on MacDonald's novel "The Moving Target." One catch: Archer has been renamed "Lew Harper," so Newman could have (he hoped) another hit movie with an "H" title, like "The Hustler" and "Hud." He got one. The stellar cast includes Lauren Bacall, Janet Leigh, Julie Harris, Shelley Winters, Robert Wagner, Arthur Hill, Robert Webber and Strother Martin. Scripted by William Goldman.
5:15 p.m. (2:15 p.m.): "Anatomy of a Murder" (1959, Otto Preminger).
10 p.m. (7 p.m.): "Lady in the Lake" (1947, Robert Montgomery).


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Atopic dermatitis, sometimes called eczema, is a skin problem that causes dry skin, intense itching, and a red, raised rash. Moisturizers and prescription creams are often helpful.
Last Revised:
October 9, 2012
Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:
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Vanessa VanDyke is the girl who last month refused to cut her long natural hair when her Orlando private school deemed it a "distraction." VanDyke's classmates had been teasing the 12-year-old about her hairstyle, so the administrative solution was to ask her to style it differently. VanDyke responded by saying she'd rather leave the school. That was heroic, and Vanessa and her parents should be celebrated for refusing to yield.
What's the underlying lesson when an authority figure tells a black girl that her natural hair is unacceptable for a serious environment? What's the underlying lesson when an authority figure responds to a black girl being teased for wearing her hair naturally by telling that girl, not her tormenters, that she needs to change her behavior? It is, I think, the exact same lesson at the heart of a Glamour editor saying that black working women shouldn't wear afros for fear of looking "unprofessional," that lesson being: people who look too black do not belong in the upper echelons of society.
Unfortunately, there are probably going to be many more times in Vanessa's life that she'll be asked to feel embarrassed for the color of her skin and the poof of her hair. It's wonderful that she's already learned to respond, "No."
More Gawker heroes: Ken Layne on Pope Francis, Hamilton Nolan on Subway Brie Man, Cord Jefferson on Vanessa Van Dyke, Rich Juzwiak on Kanye West, Camille Dodero on Antoinette Tuff, J.K. Trotter on Erik Wemple, Adam Weinstein on Alice Munro, Taylor Berman on Anthony Graves, Beejoli Shah on Shia LaBeouf, Caity Weaver on Beyoncé Selfie Perfect Teen, Sam Biddle on Josh Tetrick, Lacey Donohue on Wendy Davis, Tom Scocca on Ai Weiwei, Max Read on @Dril, and John Cook on Rob Ford.


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Who knows when I'll get up the nerve/time/patience/interest/huevos to post some lengthy post here again. If interested I'd suggest checking out what I'm doing at FriendFeed. It nicely pulls together my Twitter tweets, Flickr photos and whatever else I deem worthy of linking into that soup.
I was going to start piping my FriendFeed stream to this page and RSS feed but I haven't quite figured out the right blend yet.
Now back to my regularly scheduled absence of blog posts.


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Portugese chicken
By oppro2000
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon Hungarian sweet paprika
- 1 3- to 3 1/4-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
- 4 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped
- 12 cipolline onions or 1-inch-diameter pearl onions, blanched 1 minute, peeled
- 2 large roasted red peppers from jar, halved, cut into 3/4-inch-wide strips
- 6 large garlic cloves, pressed
- 4 large fresh Italian parsley sprigs
- 4 large fresh bay leaves, bruised
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup tawny Port
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon butter, room temperature (optional)
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk 1 cup flour, 1 tablespoon paprika, 11/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper in large bowl. Add chicken pieces to seasoned flour, 1 at a time, and turn to coat. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, skin side down, and sauté until brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate; reserve skillet.
Arrange chicken in single layer in large ovenproof pot. Top with tomatoes and juice, prosciutto, onions, peppers, garlic, parsley, and bay leaves; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon paprika. Add wine and Port to reserved skillet. Bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Remove from heat. Whisk in mustard and tomato paste; pour mixture over chicken and bring to boil. Cover; transfer to oven.
Braise chicken until very tender, about 11/2 hours. Discard bay leaves and parsley. Using tongs, transfer chicken and toppings to platter. Return sauce in pot to simmer. If thicker sauce is desired, stir 1 tablespoon flour and butter in small bowl until smooth paste forms. Add flour paste to sauce and whisk to blend. Simmer until sauce thickens to desired consistency, whisking often. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon over chicken and serve.


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2d Boy
Schafer: Console makers need a more open platform or risk losing indies
Double Fine's Tim Schafer believes console manufacturers should pay heed to the report 2D Boy's Ron Carmel complied last year regarding the loss of independent developers on Xbox Live.
2d Boy headlines
World of Goo downloaded 1 million times via the App Store
2D Boy has announced World of Goo has been downloaded 1 million times on iOS and through the Mac App Store since it was released 13 months ago. The firm said 29% of downloads and 17% of revenue came from the World of Goo's iPhone/iPod Touch version, and 69% of downloads and 79% of revenue […]
PSA: World of Goo now available on Android
2D Boy's puzzler World of Goo has been released on the Android Market, and from now until December 5, the game is 40% off and will only run you $2.99. 2D Boys has said the game will run on the majority of devices running Android 2.2 or newer; however, since there are devices out there […]
World of Goo for iPhone finally coming soon, priced 99 cents for first day
The long awaited iPhone debut of World of Goo is finally coming to your flash drive. Developer 2D Boy posted up word on its blog that it's sent the iPhone version of its hit arcade puzzle game to the iPhone App Store for approval and to "expect it to be out soonish".
World of Goo launching on iPad on December 16
iPad in goo shocker.
World of Goo sales produces 57,000 sales - see what people paid
Following 2D Boy deciding to offer World of Goo for any price punters wanted to pay, the game's shifted an extra 57,000 units according to this RPS piece.There's an awesome graph through there showing exactly how people people paid what. Basically, Mr Boy is now significantly better off.Must-read.
Buy World of Goo, pay whatever you want
2D Boy's celebrating the first anniversary for World of Goo by allowing gamers to purchase the Linux, Mac, and PC versions for whatever they desire. Until October 19, download your particular version for as much as 20 gazillion, one penny, or the standard $20 cost.Whatever you desire to pay is up to you, but you […]
2D Boy to make WiiWare title
World of Goo developer 2D Boy's next game will be a WiiWare title born out of its Experimental Gameplay Project, it has emerged this morning."The three of us are cooking up a new game for WiiWare, currently 'in the works'," Kyle Gabler told Nintendodpad."We haven't mentioned anything about it to anyone, but here's a clue […]
World of Goo hits UK retail tomorrow
Mastertronic's to release World of Goo at UK retail for PC tomorrow, as you can see in the press release after the break.The 2D Boy puzzler has 48 levels and is worth your money. End of story.Hit the link for more.
Mastertronic hopes to appeal to wider audience with new Indie label
Mastertronic Group has launched a new label for indie titles called Great Indie Games and the first game to make the cut is World of Goo, slated for a July release.Great Indie Games will bring independent games to retail to gain a wider audience than just through digital distribution, where most indie titles are offered."We […]
Play an early dev version of World of Goo
2DBoy is posting a seven-part series depicting the beginnings of World of Goo all the way through to the end of development. The first one posted allows you to download and play an early build. Hit the link above to do just that. Thanks, GoNintendo.
World of Goo bringing physics-based fun to Japan
The WiiWare version of World of Goo is headed to Japan.Soon, goo balls regurgitated by beastly frogs will be used to build bridges in the East as well. Praise be.Nintendo will be the distributor and Japanese gamers can expect it sometime this spring.
Updated World of Goo Linux and Mac demos released
Haven't played World of Goo yet? Linux or Mac user? You're in luck.Updated demos for both are now available here and here.Not exactly sure what "updated" entails, but it should give you something to do later at any rate.
World of Goo Linux is success for 2D Boy
The Linux version of World of Goo has been a rollicking success for 2D Boy, with the launch seeing over 40 percent more games sold via the company's website in one day than ever before.From here:It's only been 2 days since the release of the Linux version and it already accounts for 4.6% of the […]
World of Goo publisher files for bankruptcy protection
World of Goo publisher Brighter Minds Media has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.The firm made the move on January 28. Unlike Chapter 7, which means the company's to be liquidated, Chapter 11 is a step to allow the firm involved to remain in control of its assets while it reorganizes.Brighter Minds publishes a range […]
EA can learn a lot from World of Goo, says Peter Moore
Peter Moore has updated his blog to reveal that he believes a game as simple but as effective as 2D Boy's World of Goo is something EA Sports could learn a lot from."By every admission, I am more of a sports guy and this isn't my default cup of tea, but there's a ton to […]
World of Goo has 90% piracy rate, says 2D Boy
World of Goo designer Ron Carmel has claimed in this RPS thread that World of Goo has a 90 percent piracy rate.Carmel claims he's seen torrent sites with "500 seeders and 300 leechers" and has received emails from people bought the game after downloading it, although that number makes upa "very small percentage."Luckily, he said, […]
World of Goo coming to WiiWare in Europe
2DBoy's confirmed that World of Goo is to launch on WiiWare in Europe, as you can see here.The game's "most likely" to cost 1,500 Wii Points, as it does in the US, and will be exactly the same game that's already been released across the Pond.Plenty of detail through there. Thanks, Tonka!
World of Goo released for Mac
This has to be the ultimate package for office designers with sculpted facial hair and effortless haircuts – 2D Boy's World of Goo's been released for Mac.If this you? Get it here.
World of Goo demo goes live
A World of Goo demo's gone up on FileFront. At a piffling 33Mb, you don't really have much of an excuse. The indie kids are going bonkers over it at the moment, so you could do worse than have a nose.Thanks, RPS.
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2d Boy latest
Schafer: Console makers need a more open platform or risk losing indies
World of Goo for iPhone finally coming soon, priced 99 cents for first day
World of Goo sales produces 57,000 sales – see what people paid
Mastertronic hopes to appeal to wider audience with new Indie label


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Addison DJs, Disc Jockeys -
Wedding and Event Services in Addison NY
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text:
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A Saucerful of Beagle
I'm the kind of guy who can give credit where credit is due and I'm gonna start off by giving some credit to my friend, Mr. Lung. Your predictions, most of them at least, were indeed bold and I especially appreciate the Bonds prognostication. What can I say, once a Steinbrenner, always a Steinbrenner. And, if I can add in one more cliché, the apple does not fall far from the tree. Also, a dirty bird sh*ts in the nest. I'm not sure what that has to do with anything else but it reminds me of Best in Show
and that then makes me think of Uno, the cutest, most adorable little beagle in the world. Uh, what was I talking about? Oh yeah, the Steinbrenners. Yes, if anyone can foil Cashman's carefully laid out plan, it's the new face of Steinbrenner Inc. I guess that was my point.
However, I think someone might have completely missed the boat on the AL Central. Sure,the Sox will be more competitive this season. That wouldn't take much. The Royals will be their same old selves and the Twins are good for a couple end of the season spoilers but they won't make a run without Santana. That leaves us with Cleveland and Detroit and your "bold prediction" that the Tigers will not make the playoffs.
Now, I can understand why you have playoff envy since the Cardinals will be lucky to finish the season 5 games under .500 with their offseason "moves" and a much tougher NL Central. But don't be a hater. The Tigers, along with the Red Sox and the Tribe, are clearly the class of the AL. The Yankees will still be there but this is the year that their 13 year postseason streak comes to an end. Jeter isn't the same player he was earlier in his career, Posada is not going to have another career year and A-Rod will continue to be to clutch what Hillary Clinton is to well-run campaigns. The word you're looking for right now is "anathema."
So, let me make one bold prediction of my own. The proud state of Missouri will host not just one but two teams who not only set new records for divisional futility but who also manage to lead their leagues in losses. That's right, the Cardinals and Royals will end the season with identical losing records and in a tie for last place in baseball. You heard it here first.
But, other than your egregious AL Central oversight and abuse of vital internet bandwidth, I think you have a nice passel of predictions there. And I fully expect to get banned. I mean, my past speaks for itself. However, I think we'd be better off to leave all this animosity behind us and get back to what really counts. Uno!


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|Daily Prophet's main office
|Location information
The Daily Prophet's main office was where the popular wizarding newspaper The Daily Prophet was printed. It was located along South Side, Diagon Alley, next to Whizz Hard Books.[1]
Known personnelEdit
- Barnabas Cuffe, editor-in-chief
- R. Amorin, security editor
- A. Fenetre, reporter
- Andy Smudgley, reporter
- Betty Braithwaite, reporter
- M. Amerinus, reporter
- M. Carneirus, reporter
- R. Almeidus, reporter
- Rita Skeeter, reporter
- E. Limus, reporter and (presumably) advice columnist
- D. Shaman, advice columnist
- Dr. Medusa, advice columnist (possibly)
- Dempster Wiggleswade, advice columnist for legal problems
- Grizel Hurtz, advice columnist for personal problems
- Helbert Spleen, advice columnist for medical problems
- Zamira Gulch, advice columnist for magical problems
- Ginevra Potter, senior Quidditch correspondent
- Winkus Oddpick, op-ed columnist
- Bozo, photographer's assistant
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film) (First appearance)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
- Pottermore
See alsoEdit
Notes and referencesEdit
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.


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On Saturday, September 19, Harwood cross country teams traveled to Burlington to compete at the Burlington Invitational Cross Country Meet. The start and finish at North Beach provided a dramatic backdrop for the runners on a spectacular late summer day.
Harwood boys' and girls' teams were equally stunning in their performances. The Highlanders, a Division 2 team, finished fourth overall in both boys' and girls' races. The field was laden with powerhouse teams from Chittenden County.
"We beat some excellent teams from schools much larger than us today. Finishing ahead of perennial powers like CVU, Burlington and MMU was uplifting. It was a great reward for all the training we have been doing," said Coach Kerrigan.
Harwood varsity girls were led by Jill Mendes (21). She was closely followed by Olivia Nishi (28), Hannah Woodruff (39) and Kelsey Bush (43). First-year runner Mariah Eilers continues to impress her coach and teammates. Mariah finished an amazing 46th in the 111-runner field. Harwood's sixth and seventh runners, Haley Robinson (54) and Jamie Thomas (55), both finished in the top half of the competitive field.
Harwood's JV girls finished fifth. They were led by dual sport standout Sophie Lisaius (10), Kate Stevens (19), Brianna Regan (48), Kayla O'Toole (50), Yana Lotspeich (59) and Chelsea Robinson (74). Harwood placed all scoring members in the top third of the 150-runner field.
Harwood JV boys were not to be outdone by the girls. They finished an impressive fifth in the 18 team field. They were led by Patrick Markley (27), freshman Jacob Pitman (45), Simon Butler (48), Spencer Salinder (50) and freshman Sam Brodeur (52).
It was the Harwood boys' team that had the most stunning performance of the day. Harwood placed their five boys in the top half of the 130-runner field. They were led by Tim Shepard (4), Nick Wisniewski (13), Dylan Thompson (31), Nathan Cutler (34) and Zak Munro (59).
"I was very impressed with Dylan and Nathan today," said Kerrigan. "They are closing the gap with our top runners. We need one more boy up there and we will have the making of a championship team."
Harwood competed in a home meet on Tuesday, September 22. On Saturday, September 26, Coach Kerrigan will split his team. The top seven varsity runners will compete at the prestigious Nike Cross Country Classic in Manchester, NH. The JVs will compete against varsity squads from U-32, Peoples, Montpelier and other Central Vermont schools at the U-32 Invitational.
Harwood XC steps up to the plate
By John Williams
Coach Kerrigan was worried. A program that prides itself on few injuries was down two of their top girl runners for the Harwood Union Cross Country Invitational race on Tuesday, September 22.
"I told the girls that they had to suck it up and step up to the plate," said Kerrigan. They did just that, winning the invitational with five girls finishing in the top 10 led by sophomore Olivia Nishi.
Nishi of Waitsfield came in a strong third only 8 seconds behind the first-place finisher and 16 seconds ahead of her nearest competitor. "This was a big improvement for me. I trained a lot harder this summer and having some experience under my belt helped a lot," said a smiling Nishi, surrounded by teammates giving her large bear hugs at the end of the race.
Nishi, talking to her injured teammates, told them it was strange not to have them there to chase after.
"There's a lot of depth in the girls' team and I'm very proud of them," Coach Kerrigan said. "I didn't think we'd be in this position so early in the year."
Senior Tim Shepard of Fayston sprinted to first place for the boys with a time of 17:32 for the five-kilometer race, securing a first-place finish for the Harwood boys' team. "It was a good race and I like the new course," said a confident Shepard.
"We only have two returning varsity members this year. I didn't think we'd be in this position (contending for the state championship, which they have won twice in the past three years) so early in the year. We have a powerful boys' team; we just need to fill in some gaps," Kerrigan said, reflecting after the race.
The last home race will be Saturday, October 17, at Harwood.