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June 19, 2012
Of all the foreign policy luminaries still silent on the 2012 race, Henry Kissinger has stood out most to political watchers. He was the lead of a recent Times story about whether people were waiting out the presidential race to see where Mitt Romney stands.
But a reader forwards this invitation featuring Kissinger as the headliner for Romney, along with the candidate's brother, in Connecticut next month.
The event is, of all places, at Trump Tower in Stamford, Conn., on July 12.
Our Christmas in July sale is now live! Get up to 60% off on our hottest products today!


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The North American book tour for Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War by Robin Yassin-Kassab and Leila Al-Shami comes to Los Angeles this Friday and Saturday.
Friday April 1 at 3:00 PM
UCLA, Bunche Hall, Room 10383 (10th floor)
315 Portola Plaza—Los Angeles
Saturday April 2 at 7:30 PM
The Markaz, Arts Center for the Greater Middle East
5998 W. Pico Blvd.—Los Angeles
Complete North American Tour Details
Here is an excerpt published by the Daily Beast:
How the Syrian Revolt Became Armed
The Bashar al-Assad regime has burned Syria with artillery, Scud missiles, barrel bombs and sarin gas. According to the United Nations Human Rights Council, it has committed "the crimes against humanity of extermination; murder; rape or other forms of sexual violence; torture; imprisonment; enforced disappearance and other inhuman acts." Assad is responsible for the lion's share of the violence, but criminal and authoritarian elements in the opposition's Free Army and Islamic Front have contributed to the terror too. And the third force—the transnational Sunni jihadists, particularly ISIS—has murdered surrendered soldiers, opposition activists, journalists and gays, while subjecting religious minorities to forcible conversion or sexual slavery. Syria's ancient heritage—most famously Palmyra—has been pulverized. Somewhere between 300,000 and half a million Syrians are dead. Almost twelve million have been displaced. None of this is pretty.
At the same time, coexistent with the horror, some Syrian communities are practicing democracy, organizing themselves for practical rather than ideological purposes, debating everything, publishing independent newspapers, running independent radio stations, and producing art, music and writing on a massive scale. This much more positive story is largely unknown outside the country. And that's one reason why I, a British-Syrian novelist, and Leila al-Shami, a British-Syrian activist, wrote our book Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War.
One of the supposed reasons for the American and British invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003 was to bring democracy to the Arabs. In Syria in 2016 there are over 400 local councils, most of them democratically elected, and most of us in the West have never heard of them.
Revolutionary Syrian voices have been drowned by war noise, inaccurate grand narratives and simplistic assumptions. Currently under full-scale Russian and Iranian military assault, they are now in danger of elimination. We may well end up with Putin's preferred choice—only Assad and the jihadists left standing. So for the historical record, we should know that another alternative existed, and one of rare intelligence and courage. And for our children's sake, we need to better understand the escalating Syrian tragedy, and to encourage our leaders to do better.
The extract below is excerpted from the chapter "Militarization and Liberation":
In the months and years that followed… militarization—more specifically the scramble for weapons and funds—transformed the revolution from a leaderless movement into a cacophony of a thousand competing leaders, from horizontalism to a jostle of hierarchies—though horizontally organized committees and councils continued to work, and their work, increasingly focussed on basic community survival, became even more crucial in the absence not only of the state but sometimes of any infrastructure whatsoever. Furthermore, women's role in the revolution was increasingly marginalized. Although women—particularly Kurds—did sometimes take up arms, they were largely excluded from the military struggle—a male hegemonic domain—and the civil struggle became much less visible, although no less important. As indiscipline and opportunist criminality tainted the resistance, and later as jihadism flourished, the regime found an excuse for its already steadily escalating violence, and gradually persuaded many at home and abroad that its survival was the least worst option for Syria and the region.
Still, abstract criticisms of the revolution's militarization miss the point. Syria's revolutionaries didn't make a formal collective decision to pick up arms—quite the opposite; rather, a million individual decisions were made under fire. Yassin Swehat puts it like this: "It wasn't a choice. Look at Homs. When thousands are praying in a square, peaceful, unarmed, and they are shot at, murdered—What do you expect to happen next?"
Violence has its own inevitable momentum. When residential areas are subjected to military attack, when neighborhoods experience the horror of children tortured to death, when young men are randomly rounded up and beaten, soon they will respond. Before moving on to media work, Ziad Homsi, a thin man with an intellectual demeanor, fought in Douma, in the Damascus suburbs: "It was a matter of self-defense. Everyone defended his own home, his own alley. Brigades were formed by the residents of one neighborhood, or by a group of men who worked together. It was a spontaneous process."
According to Assaad al-Achi, the threat of sexual violence in particular pushed people towards arms. "Syria is very much a conservative, traditional society. Rape is something that will outrage the people. It is very emotional for them… By December 2011 rape had become a standard practice not only in prisons but by the army as well. When it went into towns, the first thing [soldiers] did was go into homes and start raping women in front of their fathers, brothers and husbands."
But perhaps the greatest of all motivators for the armed struggle were traumatization and the thirst for vengeance. When AbdulRahman al-Jalloud left prison he continued to pursue civil revolutionary activities, but he puts this down to his prior political awareness and contacts. Those young men without such a background responded to their torments in a more concrete manner: "Ninety per cent of detainees picked up arms as soon as they were released. They had very personal reasons. The fighters I know, their houses were burned, their relatives killed, they were on the run."
In this sense, the militarization was inevitable, and once it had become an undeniable reality, most civil revolutionaries sought to adapt. Some, in the face of the regime's persistence, rethought their non-violent principles. One was Basel al-Junaidi, living in Aleppo: "We all expected death. I was scared to shower naked in case a bomb dropped. I saw massacres myself. For example, I saw the aftermath of a barrel bomb. I saw human remains scattered in the street; I heard the screaming. I'm trained as a doctor, but I was unable to act. I just stood there, petrified. The West thinks we're used to this, but we aren't of course. We're like anyone else—we use computers and cars, not camels and tents. Look, I'm a secularist, an atheist… A religious person who saw this would want to blow himself up. Even me, if a close family member had been murdered like this, I'd certainly have taken up arms. At the start I was totally against militarization. Now I support it. I realize the regime can't be toppled by peaceful means."
In other words, militarization was not solely a natural human response to regime brutality; it also grew from the logical realization that civil resistance was not enough, that the regime would only go if forced. For after months of struggle, not only had sections of the populace failed to mobilize against the regime, some—most of the Alawi community, and the professional/sectarian core of the army—were prepared to actively support it, even to fight and die for it, no matter what atrocities it committed.
Marcell Shehwaro reports: "The violence was more than the people could bear. We couldn't answer the question how civil resistance would bring down the regime. 'OK,' they said, 'we can stick to the Dignity Strikes, but Bashaar's being funded from outside. We can't bring down the Iranian and Russian economies!' We were offering them nice stories from Egypt while they were burying their dead. They asked, 'Do you stick to selmiyyeh (peaceful) tactics because they'll bring us victory, or for the sake of the selmiyyeh tactics?' We could tell them that the West would see us in a brighter way if we were peaceful, but we couldn't tell them this would bring victory. We couldn't tell them, for instance, how civil resistance would free the detainees. Our stand, therefore, didn't succeed. Every day people died, every single day. So the people armed themselves; they became used to weapons as they'd become used to civil resistance before."
So the first—and seldom mentioned—component of the armed resistance was civilian. Every adult Syrian male had undergone compulsory military training; it wasn't difficult, therefore, for terrorized "farmers and dentists" (as US President Barack Obama would call them) to organize defensive militias.
Alongside these volunteers—although volunteer is not the word—army defectors formed the core of the growing anti-Assad force. Very often they acted as the civilians did—they returned to their home towns, where they organized with their neighbors. These soldiers had been ordered to shoot protestors, and very often did, lest they themselves were shot by the intelligence officers at their rear. A combination of guilt, horror and fury propelled many to escape when they could, but perhaps most were killed in the attempt or hunted down in the following days. Usually they took only one weapon with them; sometimes they managed to break weapons out of stores. In every case they had to be prepared to fight to resist capture. Those who sheltered them had to face the fury too. Zaid Muhammad, a Palestinian-Syrian photographer from Aleppo, expresses the existential urgency of the situation: "Soldiers were ordered to kill their compatriots or be killed themselves. It was natural that those who were able to would defect, and the defectors had a right to defend themselves. Should the people have turned these men over to the regime? Of course not. That means the people had to prepare for battle." More...
Syria is the Paris Commune of the 21st Century!

subset: commoncrawl


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A Conversation with John Colonna – Levi's XX Senior Director of Merchandising and Design
At the global unveiling of all the Levi's Spring/Summer 2013 collections in London last week, we had a preview to their more creatively elevated labels both under the Levi's XX division, Levi's Made & Crafted and Levi's Vintage Clothing. From them, strong product was wonderfully displayed such as the revered 501 through the ages. Various outfits were modelled with print pattern shirts giving a nod to the brand's heritage particularly caught our eye. There we also we had the chance to have a good chat with John Colonna, Levi's XX Senior Director of Merchandising and Design, who's previously worked for the likes of Burton Snowboards and Nike Sportswear, giving us sound insight on matters regarding the brands' identity, innovation and his favourite 501s.
Read our full interview here below.
What exactly is Levi's Made & Crafted's role in the Levi's family? How does it differ from Levi's Vintage Clothing?
Made & Crafted was basically set up as a premium collection, both men's and women's for the brand. It's role is to look for inspiration from historical reference, our archives and our heritage, and collide them with new current things going on in the market place to get more modern expressions. So it's a collection based on premium materials, details, and construction with the essence of craft at its core. Its role in Levi's is to bring that new modern interpretation into the brand – a collision of the old and the new and bring it into a current place.
Who brought Maurizio Donadi (from RRL) into the fold? He's able to work pretty well in both of the Levi's XX directions i.e. vintage and modern…
I'm not sure if you guys are aware, but he's not currently with the brand anymore. He was brought in to ignite and start both of those brands, and to give the brands a really strong premium position, and he has recently moved onto other things. But right now, we are managing from a different perspective – a few different leaders are involved, still supportive of a premium perspective and still balancing the heritage part and obviously the modernity of Made & Crafted.
Having worked for sports brands prior to Levi's, and as Made & Crafted applies a forward approach, do you ever consider to incorporate sportswear innovation to the brand?
That's a good question. Maybe not sportswear innovation, but innovation, yes. I think with the brand you may experience in both Levi's Red Tab and within LVC (Levi's Vintage Clothing), most importantly Made & Crafted, is innovation for us really comes down to fabric, fit, function and finish. When we say we're obsessed on details, we're also obsessed with the normal or the foundation processes to produce product. That's how I would sum it up as that.
Sustainability is an important issue with brands nowadays, how does the Levi's XX division plan to carry that out?
It's absolutely an important issue. We don't communicate it as broadly to our consumer base at that pinnacle level as Red Tab, but we are partnered on the same mission – it's the same brand mission for sustainability. So we implement or incorporate as much into the construction into our materials, our product and our sourcing as we possibly can.
How does a product become a Levi's Made & Crafted product?
We have a different product team. We have some of the most imaginative and creative designers working on Made & Crafted. They're also working on the heritage aspect of the line. Their fundamental mindset or foundation to where they get their insight is really rooted in the brand. So as they begin to develop and come up with concepts into the future, it's basically developed by understanding where the brand wants to go and making sure we're current in the marketplace as far as trend goes for both men and women.
It's said that Levi's XX is about customers finding about the brand and not the other way around. Can you explain this a little bit more?
I think the original intent of both LVC and Made & Crafted was to sort position and to build some awareness through the really focused consumer target and really strong distribution strategy. As move forward, you'll probably get more communication from each one of the brands, so we really, really targeted a focussed consumer base and from that we keep the conversation with them authentic and sincere, and also just broadening our exposure of both of the brands in the future.
The 501 is the prize piece for Levi's Vintage, evolving from its inception through World War II until the 1970's. Which is your favourite variation and why?
That's a good question again. I'm torn between two right now; the '54 and the '44. I have to say the 501 1954 is my favourite because it's got a nice tapered fit; it's the only time the 501 came with a zipper and it was a really interesting time – if you look at culture it was a really interesting moment, so it had a lot of affect on styling and stuff like that, it has an interesting story behind it.
Is Levi's Made & Crafted a testing ground of sorts that could trickle down in-line?
It's not its intent. I think what we have Made & Crafted positioned as is a modern premium expression of Levi's. It allows our Levi's consumer that has become more sophisticated in their interests in product or insights around them to grow with the brand. And most importantly it brings in new consumers to experience the brand. It allows people who haven't experienced Levi's in a long time to experience a fresh modern perspective of it and just kind of reenergises the whole brand of Levi's.
Interview: Denis Yong
Photography: Magdi Fernandes


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Late-season storm dumps heavy snow, prompts school delays and closures
Snow piled up before dawn and kept coming, as a spring storm delivered slick roads that slowed the Monday morning commute and brought scores of school delays across the Pittsburgh region.
"Here we go again. Can't get a break this year," said Bill Roadway, of Scott Township, with a laugh. "Not really free of it yet, but we're getting there."
A winter storm warning from the National Weather Service was in effect until 8 p.m. in the ridges; Somerset County; Garrett County, Md.; and Preston and Tucker counties in West Virginia. A winter weather advisory in Allegheny and surrounding counties expired in the afternoon.
Cheryl Berko, of North Versailles, said this isn't how she wanted to start the spring. "Easter's in seven days, and we've got four to six inches of snow," she said.
"It wasn't too bad. It was more slushy than anything," said James Lewis, of Trafford. "They did a good job of keeping the roads clear."
But Glen Neace, of Murrysville, said road conditions were "pretty sloppy" earlier in the morning. "Hopefully, it's the last one."
Lisa Berardi was a passenger, not a driver, so the North Huntingdon woman had a different point of view. "I love it," she said. "Snow some more. I like the white stuff."
Mobile App Users: Click on the following links for Weather Alerts, Interactive RADAR, Closings & Delays, Traffic Center.


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The World's Most Dangerous BodyGuard [Street DVD Documentary Trailer]
All Access reports "A Brand New Movie/Documentary Written and produced By James Kraze Billings. Grim Reaper Q, has Been Shot for R.KELLY, Called Suge Knight a PUSSY, and Killed 9 Men while he protected your favorite celebrity. We have captured a real life Story of Murder, Music and Mayhem. The Grim Reaper Q story is a bonafide BLOCKBUSTER. As we document the lifetime of events that took place behind the scenes of the Music most respect Bodyguard in Hiphop Drop in 2009 "
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
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The Tiny b. She originally painted it for Evans' second birthday party but it's perfect next to his new bed.
After a small debate (my mother didn't think it was a good idea) we moved Evans' train table into his room from the play room next door. I partially made the decision because I think that the table makes the room and partially because we need the space in the playroom to set up the single bed that will be Evans' temporary home while we have guests. Either way, he loves it and hardly ever wants to come downstairs these days.
The last great part of the new room are these vintage train posters that I found on ebay. They look awesome on what would otherwise be a big blank wall. They are train line advertisement for different lines in Europe. I love them! The huge wooden choo-choo from Buddy and Susie for E's 2nd birthday also has a home on top of the armoire.
Yes, that is our new "eye in the sky". Otherwise known as the new video monitor we finally broke down and bought. With Evans being on a different floor than us and not caged into a crib anymore, we need to make sure there is no night wandering going on.


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Two questions. 1. Why do short weeks always feel like the longest? 2. Can somebody, anybody, please tell us how it is already June? June 1! This is madness.
Some weekend reads!
- Check out our favorite new artist and this great album: Rebecca Ferguson's Heaven on Spotify or via iTunes!
- 24 Survival Tips for Living Alone – seriously awesome. The toothpaste photo-hanging tip? How have we lived so long without figuring this out?
- The lovely Erika is in the running to be a contributing editor for HomeMint – check out her awesome vintage eclectic home on Pinterest and repin for her to win!
- For our Chicago friends, workout in the park this weekend with SELF Magazine!
- We will be making these spot prawns with lime and cilantro as soon as we have a minute to Google what on earth a spot prawn is. (PS – best food blog ever!)
- Why are celebrities on Instagram so fascinating?
Whether you'll be having lots of fun this weekend or getting lots of R&R – enjoy! 🙂


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The incidence of melanoma appears higher in non-Hispanic white adolescent girls and young women living in higher socioeconomic neighborhoods than those living in lower socioeconomic areas, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the July print issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
"Melanoma is the most lethal form of skin cancer and represents a substantial cause of productive years of life lost to cancer, especially when occurring in young persons," the authors write as background information in the study. "Among non-Hispanic white girls and women aged 15 to 39 years in the United States, age-adjusted incidence rates of cutaneous melanoma among adolescents have more than doubled during a 3-decade period (1973-2004), with a 2.7 percent increase annually since 1992."
To assess the relationship between the incidence of melanoma and socioeconomic status and UV-radiation exposure, Amelia K. Hausauer, B.A., of the Cancer Prevention Institute of California and the School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, and colleagues examined data from the California Cancer Registry. The authors focused on melanoma diagnoses that occurred January 1, 1988 through December 31, 1992 and January 1, 1998 through December 31, 2002.
Data were included from a total of 3,800 non-Hispanic white girls and women between the ages of 15 and 39, in whom 3,842 melanomas were diagnosed. Regardless of the year of diagnosis, adolescent girls and young women living neighborhoods with the highest socioeconomic status were nearly 6-fold more likely to be diagnosed with malignant melanoma than those living in the lowest socioeconomic status.
When examining melanoma incidence by socioeconomic status, diagnosis increased over time in all groups, however these changes were only significant among adolescent girls and young women in the highest three levels of socioeconomic status. Increasing levels of socioeconomic status were positively correlated with higher risks of developing melanoma. Additionally, higher rates of UV-radiation exposure were associated with increased rates of melanoma only among adolescent girls and young women in the highest two levels of socioeconomic status.
Girls and women living in neighborhoods with the highest socioeconomic status and highest UV-radiation exposure experienced 73 percent greater melanoma incidence relative to those from neighborhoods with the lowest socioeconomic status and highest UV-radiation, and an 80 percent greater melanoma incidence relative to those living in neighborhoods with the lowest socioeconomic status and lowest UV-radiation exposure.
"Understanding the ways that socioeconomic status and UV-radiation exposure work together to influence melanoma incidence is important for planning effective prevention and education efforts," the authors conclude. "Interventions should target adolescent girls and young women living in high socioeconomic status and high UV-radiation neighborhoods because they have experienced a significantly greater increase in disease burden."
Source: JAMA and Archives Journals


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#5 CHEMO AFTERMATH: barfing, passing out, bed pan emergencies, sponge baths
I'll be recapping my full stem cell transplant in a series of posts....
#5 CHEMO AFTERMATH: barfing, passing out, bed pan emergencies, sponge baths
Several days after the transplant the chemo began to catch up with me. First it was the nausea. I had expected to feel seasick for a week, but it was only nasty for an hour or two total spread out over several days; indeed, cookies were tossed only a few times thanks to meds (Ive had the stomach flu far worse).
But there was one wave of nausea that came on so suddenly it apparently triggered a reaction that caused me to pass out. Naturally I was sitting in a chair at the time, so Laura was left with a husband teetering off to one side with rolling eyeballs. Thankfully she sprung into action, swearing at the half dozen nurse call buttons in the room that suddenly werent summoning a soul as she flung open the door to yell I need a nurse NOW! I had the whole wing in my room in seconds. Now I was the rabbit guy who faints when he pukes. I played it up, of course (PIC).
With only mild nausea and no dreaded mouth sores, chemos nastiest was behind me. Um, literally. The chemo-induced loose stools kicked in with a vengeance. See, those couple of days also corresponded with a chemo-induced fever. And when I get a fever, I dont have the strength to stand because of my MS. I could not get out of bed for four days. Lets just say Ive never had so many sponge baths in my life, nor had that many women touching and scrubbing every part of me (NO PIC).
At one point, after a two-hour session (bathe, grab the bedpan too late, repeat) Laura started laughing so hard she was crying. I laughed so hard I peed meaning another bath. Eventually my temperature dropped and I was finally able to leave the room on my own power for the first time in four days.
Dave Bexfield
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Brand Assets Manager
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James Killough. (Chairman, CEO)
Chairman, Image Information Technologies
Advisor, Morgan Stanley Technology Services
CEO. Hunting & Killough
Director, Saatchi-Compton
Account Management, Procter & Gamble
BA. Wesleyan. MBA. Harvard Business School
Philip Meese (Engagement Manager)
CEO. Mercury Technologies
Developer. Merrill Lynch, Lehman
BA, Computer Science, SUNY
Robert Matsuoka. (Founder, CTO)
Technical Director, Institute for Learning.
Architect and Principal Designer. NYC technology project (Tishman Fund).
Adjunct Professor, Multimedia and web-database applications, Columbia University.
BA. Colorado College MA. Instructional Technology, Columbia University.
Igor Kopeykin. (Senior Developer)
Document Specialist, IKON Office Solutions
BA, Computer Science, Hunter College
Artem Kolotilkin (Project Manager)
Project Manager, ArcherSoft
BS, MS, Computer Science. Dnepropetrovsk University
Oleg Shpak (IT Support)
IT Director. Alkar Teleport
IT Manager. Design Implementation
MS, Applied Mathematics and MS, Computer Sciences. Dnepropetrovsk University
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System Administrator, ArcherSoft
BS, Computer Science
Alexey Tulin (Outsourcing Partnership: 115 Developers / Project Managers)
CEO. ArcherSoft
BA, MA Dnepropetrovsk University.
Gregory Waldron (Board Director and Finance Committee Chairman)
Vice President for College Advancement, Connecticut College.
Associate Director. University Relations, Wesleyan University
Morgan Stanley
BA, Wesleyan. MBA in Finance, New York University
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Note: Windows XP End of Support -- What you need to know (PDF)
- Date: Aug 20, 2004
- Version: 3.7.xx/3.8.xx
- Size: 2.2 MB
- Format: EXE
Xerox Customized PostScript & PCL Drivers (with Job Ticket)
DescriptionThese drivers are utilized by applications (i.e. MS Word or Adobe Acrobat) to print directly to the printer.Note: When installing these drivers for DocuPrint 525 and DocuPrint 1050 printers use the "Xerox DT1900" product selection.
- PostScript
- Date: Aug 19, 2004
- Version: 3.7.xx/3.8.xx
- Size: 1.2 MB
- Format: EXE
PPD and INF Files
DescriptionPPD and INF files to support installing either Microsoft PostScript or Adobe printer drivers.Note: These drivers provide only basic functionality. For complete functionality download Xerox Customized Drivers When installing these drivers for DocuPrint 525 and DocuPrint 1050 printers use the "Xerox DT1900" product selection.
Utilities & Applications
- Date: Jan 7, 2005
- Version: December 2004
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XDS/XDS Plus Upgrade NotificationDescriptionInformation on the new Xerox FreeFlow™ Print Manager
FirmwareNote: It is highly recommended to consult with your Network or System Administrator before performing any software (firmware) update. Some updates may cause the machine to become non-compliant and cease to work as intended with the environment in which it is installed.


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The nonintuitve part of "Increase attack speed by x%" is, it also increases your CAST speed.
There are a fair few different type of skills in Diablo3, in addition to the generic "nuke":
How does increased attack speed interact with the aforementioned list of skill types?
This is a followup on Is resource cost adjusted with weapon speed in diablo 3?, which answers the weapon speed aspect of channelling spells but does not comprehensively cover other spell types.


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Thu 3 Feb 2011
Disciplinary history and theory are useful II: Understanding the MVP's enduring popularity
Posted by Ed under Delivering Development, development, policy, research, Uncategorized
1 Comment
In my guest post on Aid Watch yesterday, I argued that a basic familiarity with the history and philosophy of development, and some training in critical approaches to development, might have averted at least one of the problems currently associated with the Millennium Village Project (a conflict of interest for project workers when the stated goals and interventions of the project and the needs of MVP communities do not align) before it happened.
A failure of background knowledge also lies at the heart of the MVP's enduring popularity, even in the face of mounting empirical evidence that it is not working. It is one thing to ignore the predictions of a lone academic (or a few academics). It is another to overlook evidence of problems trickling in from around the world. If the MVP is so flawed, why do so many continue to support it?
I argue that the MVP drew its popularity from two sources: its theoretical eclecticism, and from the ways in which it resonated with conventional understandings of development and development practice in the major agencies. If one goes through the literature on the MVP, one will find echoes of many different bodies of development theory (I say "echoes" purposefully: the MVP has never overtly referenced any bodies of development theory in its publications, forcing critics to read between the lines). For example, various authors (e.g. here and here) have found in the MVP the influence of "big push" theories with their foundations in the 1950s, while others hear the reverberations of Reagan-era privatization and deregulation.
While drawing upon many bodies of theory to build something new is not a problem in and of itself, doing so productively requires an understanding of each theory from which one is drawing. The framing of the MVP shows no sign of such familiarity. Instead, it appears to pluck "useful" bits and pieces of these theories that support the project's larger political agenda and justifications for its technical interventions. It adopts the language of "big push" theories when it argues for a concentrated injection of capital across sectors of a village economy to get them all moving simultaneously. At the same time, it turns to the governance focus with echoes in modernization theory. As I argued in my article on the MVP:
This focus, insofar as it does not consider the ways in which existing processes do function and places a priori weight on Western modes of administration and governance, echoes earlier, often ethnocentric, tenets of modernization theory, such as the need to convince societies to embrace new, Western forms of administration on their path to 'development'. (338)
The problem is that these "useful bits" were parts of larger theories that, on the whole, often contradicted one another.
For example, as Cabral et al. (2006) have observed, 'big push' theories of development that see a coordinated injection of capital across all sectors of an economy as a productive means of driving economic 'take off ' and development (for example, Rostow 1959) run contrary to the claims of modernization theorists like Lewis (1954), who saw unbalanced growth in different sectors of the economy as a key to stimulating the overall economy. (338)
The result was a project that on one hand had something for every development perspective. However, this came at the cost of internal coherence, and the ability to reflect upon or address the well-known historical problems encountered by those who employed the larger theories from which these bits were taken. A reasonable familiarity with the history and philosophy of development would have made these issues apparent long before there was a need to gather empirical evidence on the performance of the MVP.
But this sort of eclecticism only goes so far in explaining the popularity of a project – after all, most people do not worry much about the underlying assumptions of a given project or program. What policymakers certainly do notice are the ways in which the MVP nicely aligns itself with conventional understandings of development policy and practice. For example, there are broad similarities in approach and assumptions between the MVP and Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) which suggest that the MVP is not only nothing new, it is nothing revolutionary (or, in fact, even that different from what is already being done by the mainstream development community):
Like the MVP, PRSPs tend to deal with development issues sectorally, without addressing either the tradeoffs or the synergies between different sectors – this is particularly true in the context of sustainable development planning. PRSPs also tend to conceive of solutions to sectoral problems without reference to local conditions. For example, lagging agricultural production is often addressed through the introduction of more inputs, which on its surface might seem like the 'common sense' application of 'tested and true methods'. Such a set of solutions and rhetoric is nearly identical to that seen in the MVP. Finally, PRSPs, like the MVP, do not consider the social context and processes through which problems are identified and solutions shaped at the national or local level. Yet, national politics may influence the identification of a particular harvest as 'insufficient' or 'sufficient', a label that shapeshow people view that harvest and the needs of those who are dependent on it for their livelihoods. In short, the MVP and the PSRPs are mutually reinforcing – there is no challenge to the development status quo in the MVP, except perhaps in the form of a call for more money to fund the 'big push' (Cabral et al. 2006) needed to 'kick-start' development in these villages. (338-339)
Again, a familiarity with the conceptual literature in development studies would have allowed those who touted this project as something new to recognize its fundamentally conservative approach to development.
All of this goes to deepen an underlying point in the Aid Watch post: more practitioner training in the history and philosophy of development, and a wider exposure to critical approaches to development, are critical first steps toward the creation of (or simply the recognition of) truly revolutionary, coherent and ultimately successful projects.
One Response to " Disciplinary history and theory are useful II: Understanding the MVP's enduring popularity "
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Jockey Rosie Napravnik (Hereford) closed out a career-best season Dec. 31, securing the highest spot ever for a female jockey on the North American leader board.
Finishing the year with $12,451,713 in purse earnings and 193 wins with 191 seconds and 167 thirds in 1,200 starts, Napravnik finished eighth among the top jockeys in the nation in the year-end standings. Hall of Fame jockey Julie Krone set the record in 1988 when she finished the year with a ninth-place finish. She finished ninth again in 1992, and the record stood for the past 20 years.
Napravnik won her second consecutive meet title at New Orleans' Fair Grounds Race Course in March and made history in May when she won the coveted Kentucky Oaks, becoming the first female rider in the race's 138-year history to do so. She won the race aboard the aptly named filly Believe You Can, bringing home the garland of lilies for trainer Larry Jones and owner and former Kentucky Gov. Brereton Jones.
"It is pretty obvious that Rosie lays down the numbers," Krone said. "What fun it has been to watch her year unfold. ... She is in new territory, being one of the top 10 jockeys in the USA. My heart gets to racing at the thought of her winning the Kentucky Derby. I live vicariously through many of her racing moments, then the others, I just enjoy.
"Her tactical savvy in a race is as good as they come. Her gift of the feel or touch for the thoroughbred is remarkable. As a rider, one of the best compliments I got in the 1980s was a valet that said, 'You look like a man on a horse.' This has been said of Rosie many times as well. Her talents are only second to her determination. I suspect this won't be her last visit to the top 10 list. She has all the qualities of a champion."
Napravnik rode the 2-year-old colt Shanghai Bobby to five straight victories for trainer Todd Pletcher and owner Starlight Racing. The colt's fifth win in as many starts came in the Grade I Breeders' Cup Juvenile, a victory that made him a shoo-in for the Eclipse Award for Champion Two-Year-Old Colt and marked him as the early favorite for this year's Kentucky Derby.
"Rosie rides as good as any male jockey out there," said Pletcher, who finished the year as North America's leading trainer. "She's a fierce competitor and wants to win every time she goes out to the track. She's a great communicator and always does her best to put her horses in a spot to win."
Added Napravnik: "This year has been unbelievable. I'm very grateful to my supporters and to all of the people who have given me the opportunities to get to this level. I have continued to learn and have grown as a rider and I thrive on the challenges that come from competing against the best in the game. I've had the chance to work with some of the best horsemen in the business and I feel privileged to have ridden some incredibly talented horses in 2012. I'm excitedly looking forward to what's to come in the New Year."
Napravnik is currently leading the recently opened Fair Grounds meet with 33 wins.
McCarthy wins 4 at Laurel
Mike McCarthy won 2,907 races as a jockey before retiring in 2002. His 18-year-old son, Trevor, is now 2,891 victories behind after a four-win afternoon Tuesday at Laurel Park to ring in the new year.
McCarthy visited the winner's circle aboard Kincaid ($3.20-second for trainer Dale Capuano), Merryland Moon ($5.60-fourth for trainer Mike Trombetta), Bluegrass Kopp ($24.80-fifth for trainer Ferris Allen) and Proud Daddy ($18.20-seventh for trainer Linda Albert).
"I had never won more than one a day so to win four is really exciting. What a great way to start the new year," said McCarthy, who galloped horses for trainer Graham Motion at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton while in high school.
Mike McCarthy had six consecutive 200-win seasons from 1995 to 2000 while riding at Delaware Park.
After graduating from high school last spring, Trevor McCarthy began riding at Parx Racing before relocating to Maryland last month. He had two wins from 31 mounts during the Laurel fall meeting, which ended Monday.
Marshua Stakes canceled
Latest Sports
Saturday's Laurel Park card will not have a stakes race after the $100,000 Marshua Stakes did not fill. Only three of the 10 3-year-old fillies entered, according to Maryland Jockey Club assistant racing secretary Jillian Sofarelli. The nine-race program will be headlined instead by a $47,000 optional claimer allowance sprint for fillies and mares.


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Tuesday, February 26, 2013
A New Mandatory "Option": An Interlock System for Alcohol
2 comments:
- Ten Mile Island said...
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Publications Archive
Three Things Employers Need To Know About: Intergenerational Relations — Quick Insight 12
December 2016— Although some employers are concerned about the potential for generational conflict in the workplace, evidence suggests that these fears are overestimated. Employers can readily support positive intergenerational relations in the workplace using a range of policies and practices. Many of these policies and practices overlap with other areas, such as training and development.
Three Things Employers Need To Know About: Compensation and Benefits For 50+ Workers — Quick Insight 11
December 2016— Employers know that competitive compensation and benefits are a key factor in helping them attract, engage, and retain the best talent, but there is less agreement about the best mix of these factors for the retainment of older members in a multigenerational workforce.
Three Things Employers Need To Know About: Training and Development For Workers 50+ — Quick Insight 10
October 2016— Employers can provide employees with training and development opportunities via a wide range of policies and practices, including on-the-job training, job transfers and rotations, coaching and mentoring, and planning.
Three Things Employers Need To Know About: Options for Continued Work or Retirement For Workers 50+ — Quick Insight 9
October 2016— There are a wide range of employer policies and practices that support employees whether they decide to retire or continue working.
Three Things Employers Need To Know About: Flexible Work Options For Workers 50+ — Quick Insight 8
March 2106—You can provide employees with workplace flexibility via a wide range of policies and practices, including where they work, when they work, how much they work, and the chance to take career breaks and leaves.
Phased Retirement: Employee and Employer Perspectives — Fact Sheet
August 2014—The majority of current workers of all ages view retirement as a gradual process and regard opportunities for phased retirement as important or very important.
Health and Wellness Programs in the Workplace — Fact Sheet
July 2014—The findings of recent national surveys on employer-sponsored wellness programs show that 50-80% of employers offer some type of workplace wellness programs.
Insights Into Time & Place Management — Quick Insight 7 | TPM
June 2014—How do the effects of Human Resource Management (HRM) practices differ by age and gender? And, how do the effects of Time & Place Management (TPM) policies compare with those of other HRM policies?
Insights Into Time & Place Management — Quick Insight 6 | TPM
May 2014—Does the influence of Time & Place Management (TPM) policies differ by worker family care responsibilities?
Insights Into Time & Place Management — Quick Insight 5 | TPM
April 2014—Does the influence of Time & Place Management (TPM) policies on job performance differ by worker age?
Insights Into Time & Place Management — Quick Insight 4 | TPM
March 2014—Health is a critical issue for the aging workforce, in part because age is correlated with the onset and worsening of some health conditions. Can TPM policies help older workers in poor health maintain their levels of work engagement?
Health and the Older Worker — Fact Sheet
February 2014—While many older workers rate their health status as good to excellent, many also report that they have chronic conditions that affect well-being.
Been a Long Time Coming: Social Entrepreneurship in Later Life—Issue Brief
January 2014—Encore.org (formerly Civic Ventures) took a bold step and began public conversations that challenged assumptions about the experience of aging and the productive capacities of older adults.
Occasional Flexibility: Small Request; Big Impact—Issue Brief
November 2013—In 2012, the Copenhagen Consensus Center organized a panel of leading economists to list in order of priority the most cost-effective ways to advance global welfare.
Older Women in the Workforce — Fact Sheet
October 2013—More older women are in the workforce than ever before.
What Do Managers Really Think about Flexibility?—Issue Brief
September 2013—Descriptive findings from a study conducted in collaboration with a large employer in the finance and insurance super-sector
Retirement Prospects for the Racially and Ethnically Diverse Older Adult Labor Force — Fact Sheet
July 2013—The older adult labor force is racially and ethnically diverse; about one quarter of workers aged 50-64 are African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, both native- and foreign-born.
Supervisor Supportiveness: Global Perspectives — Quick Insights
June 2013—Supportive supervisors care about employees' career goals, give credit for work well done, and help employees develop job-relevant skills and competencies. A supervisor like this can make all the difference in employees' everyday work experiences.
Reverse Mentoring Project Results in Corporate Career Development Success Model; Multi-Generational Employee Transfer of Knowledge About Social Media
May 2013— A new published report from the Sloan Center on Aging & Work in collaboration with the Center for Work & Family, both at Boston College, on The Hartford's reverse mentoring program revealed a new strategy in corporate success models.
Schedule Flexibility in the Workplace—a Pair of Fact Sheets
April 2013—Several recent surveys show that the availability of many flexible scheduling options has increased in recent years.
Business Strategies for the Age-diverse Workforce—Fact Sheet
March 2013—Business leaders recognize that older workers will make up a larger share of their workforce in the future.
Flexibility at Work: Employee Perceptions — Quick Insights
February 2013—Workplace flexibility is no longer just an innovative policy option for managing employees
Encore Careers and Bridge Jobs—Fact Sheet
December 2012—Many adults would like to delay retirement, while others who retire prematurely for various reasons.
A Woman's Place? A Cross National Exploration of Gender Role Perspectives — Quick Insights
November 2012—A Cross-National Exploration of Gender Role Perspectives
Aging Today: Working Longer, Retiring Later – Fact Sheet
September 2012—Labor force participation among older adults has increased, compared to earlier times.
Through a Different Looking Glass: The Prism of Age
August 2012—A new research brief by the Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College finds that employers need a way to think about the different aspects of the aging experience ... more »
Workplace Action Steps for Leveraging Mature Talent: Findings from the Talent Management Study
July 2012—The analysis draws a direct link between employers' lack of prior human resources planning and today's skills shortage.
Aging Today: Some Questions About Health – Fact Sheet
June 2012—Older adults today will live longer than those of previous generations, and a greater proportion of older adults rate their overall health status as good to excellent.
Aging Today: Family Caregiving & the Older Worker – Fact Sheet
May 2012—Some find that they need to cut back on their hours or or retire prematurely in order to provide caregiving
Aging Today: Educational Attainment – Fact Sheet
April 2012—Higher educational status provides older workers with greater employability and flexibility.
Flex Strategies to Attract, Engage & Retain Older Workers—Executive Case Report
March 2012—A new research paper by the Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College finds that workplace flexibility initiatives, when properly matched to employee needs can provide strategic benefits to older workers and their employers.
Insights on Activity in Later Life from the Life & Times in an Aging Society Study—Engaged as We Age
January 2012—New report finds older adults' well-being tied to active engagement
Flexible Thinking & Flexible Options—Generations of Talent Study
December 2011—New report examines the effects of flexible practices and flexible thinking on employee outcomes
Effects of "Old-Developed" versus "Young-Developing" Country Type and Age-Related Factors on Work Engagement, Job Satisfaction, & Organizational Commitment—Generations of Talent Study
December 2011—To gather information from a global perspective about the work experiences of employees of diverse ages, the Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College conducted a study titled "Generations of Talent" (GOT)
Age: A 21st Century Diversity Imperative—Executive Case Report
September 2011—The case study provides the first systemic look at age diversity in the American workplace and includes in-depth interviews with human resource managers and business case summaries of age-related diversity strategies.
Mexico—Mind the Gap—Employer Perspectives
January 2011—Decreasing salary gap and increased engagement in Mexican industry sectors
Nigeria—Public Policy
January 2011—Workplace equity, literacy and poverty challenge Nigerian government
Mexico—Public Policy
January 2011—Mexico in need of pension system to cover half of population by 2050
Brazil—Mind the Gap—Employer Perspectives
December 2010—Supplemental benefits from employers assist Brazilian workers with food, housing, education
Germany—Public Policy
December 2010—Creating opportunities for older worker re-integration into the labor force
Brazil—Public Policy
December 2010—Employment opportunities for vulnerable youth a priority of Brazillian government
The Netherlands—Country Workforce Profile
November 2010—For Dutch, fewer work hours + more family time = less misery
The New Unemployables—Issue Brief
November 2010—Low optimism, financial strain and sacrifice characteristic of older job seekers
Talent Pressures and the Aging Workforce: Transportation & Warehousing Sector
November 2010—Recruiting for basic skills and anticipating staffing needs challenging for US transportation and warehousing
Spain—Mind the Gap—Employer Perspectives
October 2010—Contradictions in Spanish business
Ireland—Mind the Gap—Employer Perspectives
October 2010—Irish combat significant pressures of labor costs with employee development
Talent Pressures and the Aging Workforce: Wholesale Sector
October 2010—Wholesale trade survival could hinge on job redesign
Ireland—Mind the Gap—Employee Perspectives
October 2010—Flexicurity central to Danish economic success
Denmark—Public Policy
October 2010—Flexicurity central to Danish economic success
MetLife Study of Global Health and Wellness—Executive Case Reports
September 2010—Highlighting practices of four leading, multinational corporations—American Express, CEMEX, GlaxoSmithKline and PPG Industries.
Racial & Ethnic Diversity in the US Older Adult Labor Force—Fact Sheet
September 2010—Access to benefits, impact of recession vary by ethnicity
Brazil—Mind the Gap—Employee Perspectives
September 2010—Low educated Brazilians caught between exclusion and an unregulated, informal economy
Greece—Mind the Gap—Employee Perspectives
September 2010—Greek employees stressed and dissatisfied with pay ... but not bored
Talent Pressures and the Aging Workforce: Finance & Insurance Sector
August 2010—Finance Sector Better Prepared than Most for Aging Workforce
Part-Time Work: Flexible Option or Underemployment—Fact Sheet
August 2010—Older workers desire choice, but need more income
Talent Pressures and the Aging Workforce: Prof/Sci/Tech Services
August 2010—Professionals flexed and satisfied, but vulnerable
Mexico—Mind the Gap—Employee Perspectives
August 2010—Mexican workers relatively satisfied amidst country's low productivity
Ireland—Public Policy
August 2010—Strategies for combating the Celtic Tiger's agism
Italy—Mind the Gap—Employee Perspectives
July 2010—Italians find work physically demanding, stressful, yet a good match
Talent Pressures and the Aging Workforce: Construction Sector
July 2010—Flexibility ubiquitous, work-family conflict infrequent in US construction
Brazil—Country Workforce Profile
July 2010—Economic growth in Brazil offers more opportunity for women
Nigeria—Country Workforce Profile
July 2010—Oil export revenues overshadow Nigerian gender workforce inequalities
Talent Pressures and the Aging Workforce: Accommodation and Food Services Sector
June 2010—Low skills, little training, unwanted turnover hallmarks of US accommodation and food services sector
Talent Pressures and the Aging Workforce: Retail Trade Sector
June 2010—Fewer career development opportunities bode poorly for US retail sector
Talent Pressures and the Aging Workforce: Health Care & Social Assistance Sector
June 2010—Diminished talent resources could have large implications for health care delivery
Talent Pressures and the Aging Workforce: Manufacturing Sector
June 2010—More hardship ahead for US manufacturing
Italy—Public Policy
May 2010—Outflow of Intellectuals Limits Italian Talent Prospects
France—Mind the Gap—Employee Perspectives
May 2010—More Leisure, Less Opportunity for Older French Workers
Spain—Mind the Gap—Employee Perspectives
May 2010—Flexibility, Safety, Stress Are Issues for Spanish
South Africa—Public Policy
May 2010—South Africa's Informal Economy Poses Dangerous Challenge
India—Public Policy
April 2010—Child labor in India fueled by demands from informal sectors
UK—Mind the Gap—Employee Perspectives
April 2010—Young UK employees focus on earning, staying employed. Older UK employees focus on contributing
Talent Management and The Prism of Age—Executive Case Reports
March 2010—For this study Deloitte, Fidelity and St. Luke's Hospital, among others, shared their talent management strategies and programs through the lens of age.
Mexico—Country Workforce Profile
March 2010—Mexican men employed, but not women or older adults
Sweden—Public Policy
March 2010—High Employment, Unionization under Swedish Model
Ireland—Country Workforce Profile
March 2010—More Irish working part-time, dying sooner than EU counterparts
Engaged as We Age—Issue Brief
February 2010—The End of "Retirement" as We Know It?
Entrepreneurship and the Older Worker—Fact Sheet
February 2010—Workers aged 50+ more likely to be self-employed
Trends in Volunteerism Among Older Adults—Fact Sheet
January 2010—Professional Skill Contribution and Flexible Schedules Key to Boomer Volunteering
The UK—Country Workforce Profile
January 2010—Mix of High Growth and Job Vacancies Mark UK Economy
China—Public Policy
January 2010—Changes in Labor Laws Empower Employees, Protect Worker's Rights
Spain—Country Workforce Profile
January 2010—Spanish Women Living Longer But Not Working
Denmark—Mind the Gap—Employer Perspectives
January 2010—Danish employers lead Europe in worker health benefits
The UK—Public Policy
January 2010—Light Touch to Regulation Aims to Promote Employer-Employee Partnerships
South Korea—Public Policy
December 2009—South Korea Faces Dual Pressures of Aging Population
Sweden—Country Workforce Profile
December 2009—Gender Equality Serious Focus of Swedish Employers
France—Country Workforce Profile
December 2009—Freedom, Equality and Fraternity Key Values in France's Welfare State
United States—Public Policy
November 2009—Legislation emphasizes employee rights, minimizes age discrimination
Australia—Country Workforce Profile
November 2009—Australian unemployment low despite global economic crisis
Denmark—Mind the Gap—Employee Perspectives
November 2009—High compensation, low career advancement for Denmark's workers
Australia—Mind the Gap—Employer Perspectives
November 2009—90% of Australian workforces employ policies to ensure no discrimination
Older Workers' Preferences for Work and Employment—Fact Sheet
October 2009—Financial security prompts older workers to consider working indefinitely
Multigenerational Unemployment and the Economic Crisis—Fact Sheet
October 2009—Youngest workers hit hardest by crisis, re-employment harder for older cohorts
Singapore—Global Policy Brief
October 2009—Aging workforce forces change in Singapore—work-life policies promoted
The Pressures of Talent Management—Issue Brief
October 2009—US Companies Unprepared for Baby Boom Exodus
Kenya—Country Workforce Profile
September 2009—Kenya's struggles with 40% unemployment, life expectancy of 53
Singapore—Mind the Gap—Employer Perspectives
September 2009—Shrinking, aging workforce imminent complication for Singapore
India—Country Workforce Profile
September 2009—Agriculture sets India on precarious balance—1/2 labor force but only 1/6 GDP
Retirement and the Economic Crisis
August 2009—27% of adults 55-64 have postponed plans to retire
South Africa—Country Workforce Profile
August 2009—Struggling South Africa impaired by shocking unemployment of 23%
Denmark—Country Workforce Profile
August 2009—Denmark mix of odd lows—unemployment, self-employment, life expectancy
Singapore—Country Workforce Profile
July 2009—Overdepency on global market hits Singapore's economy hard
Japan—Public Policy Brief
July 2009—Japanese policies encourage employers to make room for older workers
Educational Training in the Multi-generational Workforce—Fact Sheet
July 2009—Late-career employees left out of opportunities for job training
Attitudes Toward Workers of Different Career Stages–Displacement Trends—State Issue Brief
July 2009—Older workers viewed as loyal to company, resistant to change
UK—Mind the Gap—Employer Perspectives
June 2009—UK employers—ahead on growth opportunities- adjust practices for older workers
Minding the Gap—South Korea Employer Perspectives
June 2009—Quality of Employment depends on more than pay for South Korean Employees
State Agencies—Flexible Work Options—State Issue Brief
June 2009—Employees value flexible work options, even if not utilized
Armenia—Country Workforce Profile
June 2009—Armenian unemployment measured at 27%
The Effect of the Economic Crisis on Worker Employment Experience—Issue Brief
June 2009—Downturn effects job security, employee engagement, work overload
Comparing the Priorities of State Agencies and the Private Sector— States Issue Brief
June 2009—Comparing the Priorities of State Agencies and the Private Sector
Health Behaviors and Costs in Multi-generational Workforce—Fact Sheet
June 2009—Employee health management increasingly important to employers
China Employee Perspectives—Mind the Gap
May 2009—Older Chinese workers value respect, younger employees value meaningful work
Part-Time or Reduced-Hour Work Legislation—Comparative Policy Summary
April 2009—21 countries show variations in treatment of part-time employees
Age Management Positions of French Employers—Global Issue Brief
March 2009—French employers divided over age management issue
When is Too Young or Too Old to Work—Global Issue Brief
March 2009—How "old" you are depends on your gender and nationality
States as Employers-of-Choice—State Research Highlight
March 2009—Public workforce aging more quickly than private workforce
Engaging the Multi-Generational Workforce—Issue Brief
March 2009—Workplace flexibility contributes to workplace effectiveness and employee satisfaction.
Older Women in the Workforce—Fact Sheet
March 2009—Older female employees have lower household income than male counterparts
Understanding Workplace Experiences—Research Highlight
March 2009—Generation, career tenure define employee workplace experience
Recruitment and Retention of Older Workers—Fact Sheet
January 2009—25% of organizations reluctant to hire older workers
Workplace Flexibility—Issue Brief
January 2009—Business success keeps fit with flexibility
Time Use Across the Lifecourse—Issue Brief
November 2008—Studies show that employees seldom work at work.
China—Country Workforce Profile
November 2008—Unprecedented economic growth in the Chinese communist economy
Citisales studies Older Workers—Research Highlight
November 2008—Older workers more engaged, more diverse, than younger cohorts
South Korea—Country Workforce Profile
October 2008—Life expectancy, employment rates and economic development in South Korea
State Leadership for Older Workers—State Profile Comparisons
October 2008—Facts Not Equal to Reality—Older Workers Need State Support for Employment, Retirement
Older and Out of Work–Assistance—Issue Brief
October 2008—Few resources available to out-of-work older adults
Older and Out of Work–Displacement Trends—Issue Brief
September 2008—Older Worker Options Limited by Current Economy
Self-Employment as a Step in the Retirement Process—Issue Brief
September 2008—Self-Employed Workers Stay in Workforce Longer
Rights to Alternative Work Arrangements—Global Policy Summary
August 2008—Alternative work opportunities limited in the US, comparatively
State Unemployment Rates by Age—State Fact Sheet
June 2008—Public sector focuses on marketing for staffing, private on marketing products
Injury and Productivity—Fact Sheet
April 2008—Relationship Between Age and Injury Rates Debatable
Health and Productivity—Fact Sheet
April 2008—Older Adults Have More Workplace Limitations- Lose Productivity
Interlocking Careers of Older Workers and their Children—Issue Brief
April 2008—Intergenerational Resource Transfer Challenges Employers, Social Policy


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Scirocco 16 valve


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The ACOPAL Grand Prize Winners and Finalists have been announced and as usual we found out the results from better informed third-parties over facebook. Dave's "Trapper" piece was given one of the three Grand Prize awards and will be making an appearance in China. He was away visiting family on Thanksgiving, and on the phone the other day before we got the results he was all like, "Psshh, yah, I wasn't going to enter, but then I thought what the heck, and entered in like the last twenty minutes before the competition closed, and my painting's not even dry yet, and after entering I emailed Paul McCormack and asked him to reject my entry, but meh, whatever, it's not like I'll get anything."
Because Dave's painting is just too fresh to ship and needs to cure for several months in a meat locker to reach full potency, it will not be appearing at the Butler Institute in Ohio; it will be included for exhibit in the World Art Museum in China in 2012.


text: WWE Championship Belt History Every wrestler has a dream to won a championship belt. According to some wrestling fans winning a WWE championship belt is the reason which leads to fight. Every superstar wrestler has a dream to hold the belt, it could be world championship, intercontinental or team tag championship belts. According to WWE championship belt history, over the ...Read More »


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Carbon black in tires, quantum dots in LEDs or titanium nitride in PET bottles ...
Our knowledge base provides information on products and applications of nanomaterials, illuminates health and environmental aspects.
The European Unions' Observatory for Nanomaterials (EUON) is a new initiative, funded by the European Commission (EC), which aims to provide better access to relevant and understandable information about nanomaterials both for European citizens and experts. The EUON was concluded to be the best tool to increase transparency on nanomaterials on the EU market. The EUON website is hosted and maintained by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). The EUON website provides information about existing nanomaterials on the EU market and offers interesting reading about the safety, innovation, research and uses of nanomaterials and is available in 26 different languages.
Information on the sponsorship programmes of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research on nanotechnologies for humans and the environment.
A database with important and generally understandable aspects on health and environment of applied nanomaterials as well as facts on the safety of manufactured nanomaterials.
The chapters on release, exposure, uptake and behavior of nanomaterials in the human body and in the environment as well as the risk assessment will give you a first overview.
|Mon Oct 26 @12:00AM
Industrial Technologies 2020
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This was my last trip...Mom and I went to *Tirol* in Austria :)
The milk cows go in June on the Alps and come down end of September...the people in this village have a tradition...the decorate their cows with flowers and walk them from the Alps through the town...afterwards they had a big fest going on...I posted pictures of people they are showing how things were done in the old days...very interesting!
The cows were so tired...they walked for 5 hours...they looked exhausted! I hope you enjoyed my pictures :) I'm back in the States now...Mom and I had a good time...we only took day trips...we wanted to sleep in our own beds :)
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
This was my last trip...Mom and I went to *Tirol* in Austria :)
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Friday, September 19, 2008
I downloaded some images from the internet...this showes the inside of the castle...it was beautiful...but you are not allowed to take pictures :(
Posted by The Crackling Crows Banners at 4:16 PM 2 comments
Ludwig II acquired the Augustine monastery in 1873 and had the rooms converted for his own private use. This later became known as the Old Palace. In 1948, the Constitutional Convention of West Germany met here to prepare the work for the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The New Palace was designed by Christian Jank, Franz Seitz, and Georg Dollman and built between 1878 and 1885. Between 1863 and 1886 a total of 16,579,674 Marks[1] was spent constructing Herrenchiemsee. An 1890 '20 Mark' gold coin contained 0.2304 troy ounce (7.171 g) of gold. Therefore, 16,579,674 Marks would equate to 190,998 oz of gold, which at recent gold prices (March 2007) is worth approximately £70,500,000GBP or (August 2007) $125,400,000USD. The Grundgesetz (Constitution) of postwar Germany was largely drafted here in August 1948. Herrenchiemsee was one of the featured locations in the 1995 computer game The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery, set in Bavaria with a storyline heavily involving Ludwig II and Wagner.
Front of the New Palace
The New Palace is, in a sense, a monument to Ludwig's adoration of Louis XIV. In the great hall of mirrors of the palace the ceiling is painted with 25 tableaux showing Louis XIV at his best. (Some texts refer to the main building as Herrenchiemsee, forgetting the other smaller buildings on the island.)
It was to have been an equivalent to the Palace of Versailles, but only the central portion was built before the king died, leaving 50 of the 70 rooms of the palace unfinished. It was never meant to be a perfectly exact replica of Versailles and in several places surpasses it. The great hall of mirrors is longer than its equivalent in Versailles, and the dining room has a huge chandelier of Meissen porcelain, the largest in the world. The building also benefits from nearly two centuries of technological progress. The original Versailles palace did not have a single toilet. The only running water was outside in the fountains. King Ludwig's "copy" has more modern facilities, with a toilet and a large heated bathtub. Also, unlike Versailles, it was built on an island and is now only accessible by a small ferry. It is because of this that Herrenchiemsee and the Neues Palais are not as accessible or as famous as Neuschwanstein castle, becoming a secondary castle in their country.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
*Trip to Dinkelsbuehl*
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*Dinkelsbuehl* had a Fest...they showed people how they lived in the early days...it was wonderful!
The first picture shows how they ironed their cloth...the second picture showes how they made paper and last one is the picture of the *Major of Dinkelsbuehl* he was signing a document that I was at the Fest :)
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11-06-2019 – Moondru Mudichu Serial polimer TV Today show watch online | 11.06.2019 Today Moondru Mudichu Serial
Today Latest Episode – 1927
Yesterday Story in this episode :
meenu get to know that rohini is the girl who was danced in disco club. and she was shocked.
Today Story in this episode :
Rohini was found by bharatwaj family in disco club. her husband scold him and feel irritated. Rohini's sister asked him about the matter, but rohini avoid him and went away from the place.


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Cash Transactions Banned by Louisiana: Government Takes Private Property Without Due Process
Thad D. Ackel, Jr. Esq.
Ackel and Associates L.L.C.
Tue, 11 Oct 2011 18:30 CDT
This summer, the State Legislature and Governor of Louisiana passed a law that bans individuals and businesses from transacting in cash if they are considered a "secondhand dealer". House Bill 195 of the 2011 Regular Session (Act 389) broadly defines a secondhand dealer to include "... Anyone, other than a non-profit entity, who buys, sells, trades in or otherwise acquires or disposes of junk or used or secondhand property more frequently than once per month from any other person, other than a non-profit entity, shall be deemed as being in the business of a secondhand dealer. " The law then states that "A secondhand dealer shall not enter into any cash transactions in payment for the purchase of junk or used or secondhand property. Payment shall be made in the form of check, electronic transfers, or money order issued to the seller of the junk or used or secondhand property..." The broad scope of this definition can essentially encompass everyone; from your local flea market vendors and buyers to a housewife purchasing goods on ebay or craigslist, to a group of guys trading baseball cards, they could all be considered secondhand dealers. Lawmakers in Louisiana have effectively banned its citizens from freely using United States legal tender.
The law goes further to require secondhand dealers to turn over a valuable business asset, namely, their business' proprietary client information. For every transaction a secondhand dealer must obtain the seller's personal information such as their name, address, driver's license number and the license plate number of the vehicle in which the goods were delivered. They must also make a detailed description of the item(s) purchased and submit this with the personal identification information of every transaction to the local policing authorities through electronic daily reports. If a seller cannot or refuses to produce to the secondhand dealer any of the required forms of identification, the secondhand dealer is prohibited from completing the transaction.
This legislation amounts to a public taking of private property without compensation. Regardless of whether or not the transaction information is connected with, or law enforcement is investigating a crime, individuals and businesses are forced to report routine business activity to the police. Can law enforcement not accomplish its goal of identifying potential thieves and locating stolen items in a far less intrusive manner? And of course, there are already laws that prohibit stealing, buying or selling stolen goods, laws that require businesses to account for transactions and laws that penalize individuals and businesses that transact in stolen property. Why does the Louisiana State Legislature need to enact more laws infringing on personal privacy, liberties and freedom?
Motivating the introduction of this legislation was an increase in criminal activity, necessitating law enforcement to develop additional tools in tracking potential criminals. Thefts of copper and other precious metals have risen recently with higher commodity prices and mounting pressures from the economic downturn. The added restrictions under this recent legislation have come about under the pretense of cracking down on crime and helping the government take care of you, all at the cost of your individual privacy, economic, civil liberty and freedom.
Interestingly enough, although Pawnshops are still required to obtain clients personal information and transmit their client database information to law enforcement, they are exempt from the restriction of cash payments. A jeweler next door to a pawnshop cannot offer clients the same payment method offered by its competing pawnshop neighbor.
Act 389 passed by unanimous consent of the Louisiana House of Representatives and only mustered one nay vote (Senator Neil Riser) from the State Senate. The governor signed legislation into law on July 1, 2011.


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An international trailer for Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters has gone online, and gives us our first look at the movie. The action-fantasy flick stars the eponymous fairy tale characters all grown up (played by Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton), and looking to take down witches everywhere. Part of me really wants to give this movie the benefit of the doubt and hope it will be some goofy dumb fun, but the trailer just makes it look dumb minus the fun. The film was supposed to come out this past March, but was delayed to January 2013, and this trailer kind of explains why. The effects look shoddy, the dialogue is cringeworthy, the story sounds rote, and it just seems like it's trying way too hard to be cool. Yeah, your movie has gatling guns even though it takes place before gatling guns were invented. My mind remains intact.
Hit the jump to check out the trailer. The film also stars Famke Janssen and Peter Stormare. Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters opens in 3D on January 11, 2013.
[Update: The film's official U.S. trailer is also now online along with a poster, both of which are now included after the jump.]
Here's the U.S. trailer followed by the international trailer. Click over to Apple to watch in HD.
Here's the synopsis for Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters.
Catching up with Hansel (Renner) and Gretel (Arterton) 15 years after the traumatic incident involving a gingerbread house, the siblings have evolved into vengeful bounty hunters dedicated to exterminating witches. Over the years, the siblings became expert hunters, famous for their proficiency at tracking and taking down their prey. Although still recovering from their ordeal, their work is relatively easy as for an unknown reason harmful spells and curses do not work well against them.
The Mayor of Augsburg recruits them to rid the town and nearby forests of an evil sorceress (Janssen) who is planning to sacrifice many local children at the witches' gathering during the upcoming 'Blood Moon' night in two days time. To make things worse, the duo also has to deal with the brutal Sheriff Berringer (Stormare) who has taken power in Augsburg and conducts a very indiscriminate witch-hunt of his own.


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Campout begins along lakefront for July 3 fireworks
By sunrise Tuesday, fireworks fans were already getting their front row seat along the lakefront.
As the first stakes were hammered and placed into the ground at Veterans Park, there was no place the Levine sisters would rather be.
"We woke up early. We wanted to make sure we got a spot," Gabbie Levine said.
McKayla, 12, has been going to the fireworks here since she was a baby, and her older sister Gabbie, since she was a kid. It's a family tradition.
They don't mind being more than a day early for the lakefront show.
"We get to meet a lot of really cool people, and it's just a really great opportunity for all our friends and family to come together and celebrate," Gabbie Levine said.
Just a few spots over, a football toss had already started.
Joshua Schulz arrived at 6:30 a.m. and said he plans well in advance.
"(I take) the whole week to plan for this thing," Schulz said.
"You take off the whole week?" WISN 12 News reporter Hillary Mintz asked.
"Yep, all the shopping that's involved, all the planning to make sure you don't forget anything," Schulz said.
As the early birds come to get their front row seat for the fireworks, and they get their supplies out, one thing everybody's packing this year is sweatshirts, which is very unlike last year.
"I got heat stroke, and I ended up having to sit in the car in the air conditioning because it was so hot," Levine said.
Temperatures are expected to be in the 60s when the first fireworks blast off.
The lakefront fireworks begin at 9 p.m. Wednesday.


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Ding dong!
The door bell sounded around noon this crisp Sunday buy our friend Gunna. (Gunna travels from Norway two or three times a year to visit our neighbor Gloria). This day in his best Lake Woebegon accent, he wanted a ride to the waterfront to take some pictures. He has been asking Gloria and for three years she has been promising to take him, "maybe tomorrow".
Gunna is a former Norwegian Navy man. Following his military tour, he spent time in the Merchant Marines of his homeland before signing on to work ocean tugs out of Brooklyn. Gunna spent most of his life on the ocean and during his tug boat days visited the port of New Bedford.
The holidays bring most of the fleet of over 400 vessles home to the two ports of New Bedford and Fairhaven. Fairhaven is on the east side of the Acushnet River. New Bedford is the setting for the book, "Moby Dick", and Gunna spent some time in the local watering hole "Pequod" lounge, named after the ship in that novel. It's now Freestones City Grill
Whale watching boats in harbor.
The Mayflower
FV Westport
Lobster Pots
Gunnar and the Five Princesses
Rust Bucket
Dino getting ready to ship out
Gunnar overlooking the harbor
Nationa Whaling Historic Park, New Bedford Ma.


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Improved software algorithm enables more efficient modeling and development of computer hard drives of the future
Operating a hard disk drive is as complex as keeping a superfast car on the road. Read/write heads within the hard disk must process a huge amount of data at high speed. Controlling the motion of the slider housing these heads is crucial: if the slider crashes, it could destroy the hard disk.
Researchers at the A*STAR Data Storage Institute (DSI) in Singapore have now developed a computational algorithm for studying the properties of the slider in a hard drive that is faster than existing algorithms. Instead of taking days to finish, dynamic simulations using the new algorithm take only an hour, notes Wei Hua from the research team. "It greatly improves our simulation and research abilities," he adds.
A read head typically moves across the disk surface of a hard drive at more than 7,000 revolutions per minute. The flying height of this fast-moving head is as low as 2 nanometers from the surface of the disk, some 50,000 times less than the width of a human hair. Controlling this motion is not easy, notes Hua. "The slider housing the read/write head flies on the fast-rotating hard drive disk, owing to a very thin layer of air. This air bearing pushes the slider upward, while a suspension bearing pushes the slider down toward the disk."
Thermal effects control the distance of the head to the surface when it is being pushed down. To understand these effects, and other factors that control disk and head movements at high speed, fine-grained computer simulations are necessary.
Hua and co-workers expanded the DSI's ABSolution air bearing simulation software for faster and more precise modeling. Instead of dividing the hard drive slider into a structured rectangular mesh typically used to aid calculations, the researchers used an unstructured triangular mesh that accurately captures the geometry of the read/write head (see image). Moreover, the algorithm better implements the dynamic effects that occur in drive heads, meaning that overall the code works faster and more efficiently.
This modeling software should prove useful in the future development of drive heads, Hua notes. Modeling the interaction between the slider and the rest of the drive is also important. "Influences such as those from the air suspension and disk effects are now being considered," he explains. Hua and co-workers will use the improved algorithm to model slider properties that were almost impossible to simulate using the previous versions.
More information: Hua, W., et al. A fast implicit algorithm for time-dependent dynamic simulations of air bearing sliders, Journal of Tribology 134, 031901 (2012). tribology.asmedigitalcollectio … px?articleid=1469093
Provided by Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore


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Wyndham Grand Regency Doha, Wyndham Hotel Group's flagship property in the Middle East, was celebrated this week as one of the region's leading hotels at the annual World Travel Awards in Dubai.
Receiving an award for the third year running, the property was named Qatar's Leading Conference Hotel, reflecting the extensive meetings and events facilities offered at the property.
The hotel's General Manager, Ayman Lotfy, said:
This is a great honour for our hotel and I'm delighted to accept this award on behalf of our entire team…their unwavering commitment and dedication, combined with our best-in-class facilities, really set us apart in a highly competitive marketplace. We're proud to be able to offer our guests a true five-star experience and, in doing so, aim to remain one of the region's leading hotels for many years to come.'
As well as the spectacular 600-square-metre Al Qasr Ballroom which can host up to 550 guests at a cocktail party or 650 theatre-style, the Wyndham Grand Regency Doha offers 246 luxurious guest rooms, including single, double and suite accommodations. An effortless blend of traditional architecture and contemporary design, the hotel also offers three restaurants, an Angsana Spa, gym and swimming pool.
Located near both the Exhibition Centre and Corniche waterfront promenade, the hotel's 36 suites and penthouses all offer high-speed Internet access, a safe and complimentary breakfast, as well as a spacious sitting room. The Al Asmakh Royal Suite, which commands impressive views across the city, boasts a bedroom, living room, two televisions, dining or boardroom accommodating up to 10 people and two bathrooms, each with separate shower and Jacuzzi.
The Wyndham Grand Collection is an ensemble of distinguished hotels within the Wyndham Hotels and Resorts brand that represent one-of-a-kind experiences in key destinations with refined accommodation, attentive service and relaxed surroundings.
The World Travel Awards are acknowledged across the globe as the ultimate travel accolade and celebrate those brands that are pushing the boundaries of industry excellence.
For more information or to book, contact 4434 3333.


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"Context" is generally defined as "… the part of a text or statement that surrounds a particular word or passage and determines its meaning." (see thefreedictionary.com/context) Taking something out of context often changes a meaning entirely or it can cause one to form opinions that are sometimes not justified. Failing to consider historical or setting context can do just that. Two examples of context came to me this morning.
The first appeared in a Kindle sample book , Jar City, A Reykjavik Thriller, authored by Arnaldur Indridason and Bernard Scudder. In one scene, the main character, a detective, slaps his daughter in the face. I almost deleted the sample at that moment because I consider that to be an offensive and unacceptable in today's world. But I was not reading about today's world, and it was not a novel set in the United States. I read on and considered the context. The daughter was an adult and was on drugs. I'm not saying that she deserved to be slapped, but a father slapping his daughter in the face needs to be set in context. And yes, I bought the book and am enjoying it. I discovered it by way of a Schumpeter blog in The Economist entitled Those Bloody Scandinavians – What the Nordic crime-writing boom says about globaliatiosn.
The second thought about context appeared when I went to the grocery store for a bottle of Aunt Jemima's syrup for the pancakes that I cook for my wife on Sunday mornings. The image of Aunt Jemima has changed with the context of the times. From racial stereotype to "modern homemaker," depending on the context.
If you really want to get into a discussion about context, just bring up the Bible. There are numerous instances of traditions, customs and practices that are mentioned that cause consternation today. For example, should women cover their heads in worship? Read 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 for reference. Some may say that women should cover their heads, while others say look at the context. I have no interest in getting into a conversation about the subject, but I believe it is a good illustration of context.
In short, when considering controversial statements and issues, consider the context.