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30 April 2013 | News | By BioSpectrum Bureau
Singapore: Qiagen is going to make changes in the membership of the supervisory board that will be put forward for approval by shareholders at the next annual general meeting scheduled for June 26, 2013.
The proposals for the composition of the supervisory board, who are elected to one-year terms, were made by the selection and appointment committee and recommended for shareholder approval by a joint meeting of the supervisory board and the managing board.
Prof Dr Detlev H. Riesner, co-founder of Qiagen and chairman of the supervisory board, decided to stand for re-election for the last time at the annual general meeting in June 2013. The joint meeting has discussed a proposal for Dr Werner Brandt to succeed Professor Riesner as chairman of the supervisory board in 2014 after he retires from his current position as a member of the executive board of SAP.
Dr Brandt, who has more than 30 years of leadership experience in the healthcare and IT industries, joined the supervisory board in 2007, and was also appointed in the same year as chairman of the audit committee.
The two new members who have been proposed for election to the supervisory board are Mr Stéphane Bancel, president and founding CEO, Moderna Therapeutics, and Mr Lawrence A Rosen, member of the board of management and chief financial officer of Deutsche Post DHL.


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Thoughts On the World of Education, Educational Technology, and Occasional Random Topics...
Sunday, March 22, 2015
The One Where Sandy Takes a New Job
Back in January, I wrote about an opportunity I had to fill a gap while my district was looking for a new communications director. That opportunity eventually led to an offer to work under the newly hired director as a communications specialist. I accepted the position and have been working in and learning my new position for the past eight weeks.
Although not an opportunity I was directly seeking, it came along at a good time for me. I'd been experiencing a "stuck-in-a-rut" feeling for at least the past year in my previous position, as the responsibilities of it kept me in my office the majority of the time, away from the schools and classrooms where the action I love takes place.
By contrast, my short six weeks of filling in on the communications front in the fall had invigorated me. I was energized by getting out on campuses to cover events and interfacing with teachers and staff to bring the great things happening in our schools to the attention of the public. It helped, too, that I received positive feedback about my efforts from fellow staff members. And when a couple of colleagues mentioned I seemed more upbeat than I had in a long time, it did make me start to wonder if it was time for me to take new steps in my professional life.
I am not a believer in coincidence. I prefer to call it "Godincidence," when the One who is watching over me and knows my heart far better than I do orchestrates circumstances to open a door I didn't even know I needed to have open, I'd be a fool not to walk through.
I know without a doubt that I made the right decision for this time and place. I am still struggling with one thing - not calling myself a teacher. Over the past few weeks I've met tons of new people and when they ask me what I do, I stumble a bit. Not because I don't know. But because with all my heart I am a teacher. It's the way God wired me.
When I was talking about this with a good friend recently, he reminded me I am still teaching. I'm teaching people about what's going on in their schools. And I went on to reflect on the fact that I will be mentoring colleagues, and maybe even students, in communication and the importance of sharing their ideas and learning and accomplishments online and establishing a positive digital presence.
I've also been discouraged with the way educators and public education have been portrayed by politicians and in the press in recent years. Now I am officially part of the group of professionals whose job it is to publicize the learning that takes place in our schools every day.
So for this season of my professional life, however long it may last, when I'm asked what I do, I will answer that I'm a Communications Specialist for a K-12 public school district in Texas, but my hard-wired vocation of Teacher will always be the driving force behind that official title. Always.
All original work in this post by Sandy Kendell is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Please see specifics on my re-use policy in the right-hand column of my blog before re-posting/re-using any of my blog content.

subset: commoncrawl


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This exclusive design is a Dots by Donna illustration.
Donna's illustrations are made from the layering of dots. She has a unique talent for a drawing technique known as 'stippling' or 'pointillism' In basic terms, she is obsessed with drawing in dots, using only a fine liner.
Ethan the Elephant took 50+ hours to draw, dot by dot. With this purchase you will receive the original of this beautiful illustration.
Each one of Donna's illustrations are created free hand, singularly made from the layering of dots - hundreds upon thousands of tiny dots and countless hours. Donna credits her unique talent for the technique known as 'stippling' or 'pointillism' to achieving such intricate drawings using just a fine liner. Donna's pieces take on discipline, focus and a life of their own. Linda has been styled using watercolour images.
Limited edition prints are just that - a one of a kind, stand-alone piece of artwork and we create only 200 printed in each size. Each piece is hand signed by Donna, then numbered. Your number will never be reprinted and once all numbers have sold out it will never again be reprinted. You are getting something special. All limited editions come with a Certificate of Authenticity, dated, numbered and signed to confirm that your print is in fact an exclusive edition by Donna Taylor.
Artworks are all printed on top quality papers. Acid free, fade resistant with a smooth surface. 5 x 7, A4 and A3 prints are printed on 300gsm natural archival paper A2, A1 and A0 prints are printed on 300gsm Entrada cotton rag archival paper. All prints are archival and will become a family heirloom.
Note: The 2 papers mentioned are a slightly different colour.
FRAMES- All Dots by Donna frames are made from sustainably sourced Tasmanian Oak timber and framed by one of the very best framers along the Mornington Peninsula.
PRINTS-All orders are shipped within 2-3 business days, however the A0, A1 & A2 prints can take longer as they are printed once ordered. Please allow 2-3 weeks. All parcels are sent via Registered Post. Every parcel is carefully wrapped and packaged in custom designed packaging for safe shipping.
FRAMES- Please allow 3 weeks to receive your delivery. These are framed to order and as they are are handmade frames, they take time. Framed prints are also packaged with the utmost care and placed in custom designed DBD boxes for safe travel. We also only use a fragile shipping service when sending our frames, they receive royalty treatment.
You will receive tracking and be updated on your order/s every move, from dispatch to delivery.


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Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (27 February 1807 – 24 March 1882 / Portland, Maine)
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Tales Of A Wayside Inn : Part 1. The Musician's Tale; The Saga Of King Olaf Xiii. -- The Building Of The Long Serpent
Thorberg Skafting, master-builder,
In his ship-yard by the sea,
Whistling, said, 'It would bewilder
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Delicious, Vanilla Genoese sponge cake, For those of you who enjoy the decorating but not the baking, or for those in a hurry with no time to bake!
12" Round vanilla genoese sponge, Supplied in 1 layer (2.5" deep), ready to slice into 2 or 3 layers, and add a filling of your choice.
It is recommended that you order these to arrive approx. one week before, then decorate in the week leading up to, the celebration. The cake will then be in perfect condition to enjoy on the day and for some time afterwards.
Perfect for those of you who enjoy the decorating but not the baking, or for all those in a hurry with no time to bake. This sponge will also freeze well enabling you to build up a stock ready for those last minute requests.
Each cake individually packed in a strong, convenient cardboard box, for protection during transportation.
Please Note: shelf life is for undecorated sponge only – icings added do vary and may alter the keeping qualities of the whole sponge.
12" dia x 2.5" (D)
Sugar, Wheatflour (contains Gluten), Egg, Vegetable Oil, Water, Skimmed Milk Powder, Glycerine,Raising Agent (E450a, Sodium Bicarbonate), Salt, Emulsifier: E415, Preservative: E202, Vanilla Flavour.
Allergy Advice:
Contains Gluten, Egg and Milk.
May contain traces of nut and/or soya.
Suitable for Vegetarians.
Nutritional Information:


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Multifocal glasses do all the work of a distance prescription, a reading prescription and everything in-between, so there's no need to switch frames. Buh-bye, reading glasses!
Age is just a number, but with time, most of us start having trouble reading small text or seeing things up-close. Add in the glare of computer screens, tablets and mobiles, and our eyes start feeling the strain even earlier. That's where multifocals come in...
Multifocal glasses – or varifocals, if that's your thing – are designed so that the prescription gets stronger towards the bottom. Your distance prescription is at the top and your reading prescription is at the base. The middle bit is for everything else in the intermediate distance, like computer screens or dashboards.
Transitioning between prescriptions is pretty handy, but it can cause distortion or blur around the edges. The amount of blur can differ, depending on the quality of the lens. This is why multifocals are broken down into three categories; good, better, best. In a nutshell, the higher quality the lens, the less distortion there is.
Just when you thought things couldn't get any better, we've teamed up with one of the world's leading lens laboratories (seriously, they're in the top 3) and upgraded our multifocals from 'better' to 'best.' AKA fantastic to amazing. This means even less blur, even wider range and a really lovely time all-round. How about that for a fresh new outlook?
Oh, and we'll give you 30 days to try them — no questions asked.
For us lens quality is a no-brainer, but something else to think about is your prescription. If there's a big difference between your distance prescription and your reading one, then the more distortion there'll be. The solution? As soon as you start having issues with reading up-close, pop in and see one of our optometrists and they'll confirm if you need multifocals.
Heads up: our multifocal glasses are available up to a maximum sphere between -8.00 or +8.00 and up to a maximum cylinder of -4.00 or +4.00.
Already have your multifocals, now what? Check out our handy guide
Multifocal glasses start from €298. You can snag a pair online as well as in-store. Bonus.
Certains de nos magasins rouvrent leurs portes en services limités. Consultez les pages inviduelles de nos magasins pour connaître les heures d'ouverture et services disponibles actuellement.
Recevez en VIP toute l'info Ace & Tate, y compris nos dernières conceptions, éditions limitées et évènements se déroulant près de chez vous.


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1965 Oldsmobile Cutlass - Parking Lot Brawler - PHR Project Car
Our Newest Project Car Gets Ready To Dice Through The Autocross Cones With A Complete DSE Rear Suspension For '64-72 GM A-Bodies.
Avid readers will recognize the name Robert McGaffin as PHR's photographer extraordinaire. Squashing the competition like Walmart in what's left of capitalist America, Robert's endless assignments have brought him face-to-face with the hottest muscle cars featured in this magazine in recent years. Eventually, he couldn't bear standing on the sidelines any longer, and had to get a project car of his own. That itch has materialized in the form of a '65 Olds Cutlass, and he's determined to transform it into a pylon-clipping autocross beast.
While shooting Randy Johnson's LS7-powered '66 Chevelle for our November 2008 issue, McGaffin contracted an A-body fetish that he couldn't shake. Disenchanted by the astronomical price tags affixed to the typical Chevelle, McGaffin realized a change of plan was in order. "I always wanted to build an A-body due to the availability of go-fast parts, and because they have plenty of room inside for my kids. Since Chevelles were so expensive, I started looking at Skylarks and Cutlasses and was amazed by how much more car you could get for the money," he recalls. "I've always been the guy who likes oddball stuff, and I liked the idea of building something that wasn't mainstream.
I found this '65 4-4-2 clone on eBay, struck up a deal for $7,500, and a few days later it was sitting in my garage. The car had already been restored in the past, so all the metal was solid and it needed no bodywork at all."
By opting for a not-so-common body that's attached to a very common platform, McGaffin essentially purchased a solid two-door post Cutlass for the same price as a jalopied-out Chevelle. That means he can focus less on restoration and more on performance. "My goal is to build something I can beat on around an autocross course that I can also take to cruise night and enjoy with my kids," he adds. "The stock 330 small-block is going to be replaced with a 500hp 455 big-block, and the suspension and brakes will be upgraded with hardware from DSE and Baer. Above all else, this car needs to be reliable, and I want to keep it on a reasonable budget." The best part is that you'll be able to read all about it right here in PHR as the project develops.
By far, the biggest challenge in building Project Olds will be getting a two-ton A-body to deftly negotiate tight autocross courses, and the big-block plopped up front will only compound the degree of difficulty. Consequently, it only makes sense to tackle the suspension first, and for guidance, we contacted Kyle Tucker at Detroit Speed and Engineering. Although best known for its cutting-edge suspension bits for first-gen F-bodies, DSE has recently expanded its product offerings to encompass GM A-bodies, X-bodies, and Chevy IIs as well. In light of our predicament, Tucker set us up with DSE's Rear Speed Kit, which includes a set of upper and lower control arms, coilovers, an adjustable sway bar, and a chassis brace kit. Lending a huge hand in the parts installation was Brent Jarvis of Performance Restorations in Mundelein, Illinois. Jarvis is no stranger to muscle car restorations, and he's done his fair share of competitively road race A-bodies. In the months ahead, we'll cover the build of Project Olds' engine, rearend, front suspension, fuel system, and brakes, but for now, here's how to transform your A-body's antiquated rear suspension into a laterally lethal combination.
|PHR Issue:
|'65 Olds Cutlass
|January 2010
|DSE four-link suspension
|January 2010


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Call it his official homecoming: Jay-Z performed the first of eight shows at the newly built Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Friday night.
The nearly $5 billion project opened Friday night with the Brooklyn native, project backer and hip-hop legend performing the inaugural event.
"It's incredible," said Jay-Z fan Tristan Ellis, who arrived early to take in the experience. "I would never have thought in a million years you would see such an arena like this in Brooklyn."
Candice Cummings of Brooklyn echoed the sentiment, saying, "There was nothing here, and now there's a big stadium. It's the first night, we're here and we're excited."
But not everyone who showed up outside the Barclays Center Friday was excited about the opening. Protesters remain upset that the developer's promise to build housing near the arena hasn't happened.
"They promised 10,000 permanent jobs and it's not about waiting," said Daniel Goldstein, the founder of Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn. "Bruce Ratner promised within a year of building this there would be four towers of housing up."
Defenders of the arena say once the packed concerts and basketball games begin, money will flow into the community. Supporters see Friday's Jay-Z concert, which is expected to bring in 20,000 fans, as the start of a new chapter in Brooklyn's history.
"There's nothing bigger than this right now," said Randy Mobley, an excited Brooklyn concertgoer. "This is where you need to be. If you're not here, you're not where it's at right now."
And by the time the concert was underway, even some of the protesters had to admit the excitement got to them.
"I was against the arena. I might -- if the Rolling Stones come here in November, I'll go see them 'cause I'm a diehard Stones fan," said Rich Spettell before quickly adding, "But all that being said, this wasn't the place for it and how it was done is disgraceful."
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz said "all the verbal abuse and everything else, it was worth it."
The Barclays Center will rival Manhattan's Madison Square Garden for musical events. A number of acts have booked shows at the venue, including Barbra Streisand, Lady Gaga, Bob Dylan, Rihanna, Rush, The Who, Justin Bieber and Neil Young and Crazy Horse.
Jay-Z will perform at Barclays through Oct. 6 with the exception of Oct. 2.
RELATED: Gridlock Alert Near Barclays


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Emergencies can happen at any time and any place, including a
college campus. MSMC Alert is the emergency notification system for
students, faculty and staff at Mount Saint Mary College.
MSMC Alert will be used to notify you in the event of a campus
emergency, but you must be enrolled first.
Enrollment is free, simple and takes just a few minutes. You can
receive notifications via a combination of email, voice calls or
text messages. A cell phone is probably the best contact number,
but you can provide multiple contact numbers to suit your needs.
Remember, you will only be notified of a campus emergency if you
enroll in MSMC Alert.
You can enroll by logging into the College web portal, and
navigating to the Office of Security and Safety web page. Here,
you'll find the MSMC Alert
registration form, and a list of frequently
asked questions (FAQs) for you to review during the
registration process.


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Our "Spring is Here" Dinner Dance will take place on Friday, June 6. So mark your Calendars for the social event of the year. More information on this to come. There will be a free seminar by the U.S. Small Business Administration on April 15 from 9:30 to noon called "Obtaining Financing for Your Business Workshop" at 290 Broadway, 30th Floor, Room 10, in Manhattan. RSVP to firstname.lastname@example.com.
As of April 1, the New York City Paid Sick Leave bill goes into effect. It requires employers to provide one hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked by an employee, up to 40 hours of sick time leave in a calendar year.
An "employee" is anyone who works more than 80 hours in a calendar year on a
full or part time basis. This is not necessarily paid sick time.
I will explain this law fully in my next article.
If you are a senior citizen and want to enjoy a nice lunch, good company and fun activities, join our Woodhaven Senior Center. Call (718) 847-9200 ofr more information. Meetings are held at American Legion Hall, 89-02 91st Street. They need more members, so join today.
Our J line was chosen as one of two train lines for having the cleanest cars in Queens. So it not only looks good since it was painted - after the Greater Woodhaven Development Corporation and the Woodhaven Business Improvement District 25 years of pursuing it - our J line is also one of the cleanest in Queens.
Mark your calendars for next Saturday April 12, for our WBID Spring Promotion with music and clowns from 1 to 4 p.m. along the avenue and free pictures with the Easter Bunny in the Forest Parkway Plaza area with free goodies from our bunny helpers.
Also, look for our WBID staff members with their WBID hats distributing free quarters on our Woodhaven's Jamaica Avenue to parking cars thanking them for shopping here by paying for their first 15 minutes on the parking meters.
May God bless our leaders, may God bless our armed forces, may God bless our disabled veterans, and may God bless our America.


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A couple days ago a post on Duck of Minerva linked to a working paper called "I can has IR theory?" [pdf]. The title was funny, but something about the contents bothered me.
I Can Has IR Theory Appears to have tow components
1. It is an extended hit peace against "neopositivism," which appears to be a methodology (or something) disliked by the authors. It is difficult to know if this is true, however, because the authors do not bother to define their terms.
1. It includes a discussion of "scientific ontology," which likewise is never defined.
Unlike "neopositivism" though (the only thing I can tell about which is that the authors — Patrick Jackson and Daniel Nexon — dislike it, and that it appears to be related to quantitative methods), the article includes numerous descriptions of "scientific ontology." It is these descriptions that bothered me.
"Scientific ontology" appears to be synonymous for "nomological network," an antiquated and simplistic form of modeling that is prone to error.
First, some passages from Jackson and Nexon's working paper:
To be more precise, we think that international-relations theory is centrally involved with scientific ontology, which is to say, a catalog—or map—of the basic substances and processes that constitute world politics. International-relations theory as "scientific ontology†concerns:
• The actors that populate world politics, such as states, international organizations, individuals, and multinational corporations;
• Their relative significance to understanding and explaining international outcome
• How they fit together, such as parts of systems, autonomous entities, occupying locations in one or more social fields, nodes in a network, and so forth;
• What processes constitute the primary locus of scholarly analysis, e.g., decisions, actions, behaviors, relations, and practices; and
• The inter-relationship among elements of those processes, such as preferences, interests, identities, social ties, and so on.
(Note how they are measured is left out.)
And this passage (as mentioned above, "Neopositivism" is never defined and only loosely described, so focus on the passage related to "scientific ontology")
The Dominance of Neopositivism
This line of argument suggests that neopositivist hegemony, particularly in prestige US journals, undermines international-relations theorization via a number of distinct mechanisms:
• It reduces the likelihood that international-relations theory pieces will be published in "leading†journals because neopositivism devalues debate over scientific ontology in favor of moving immediately to middle-range theoretic implications; • It reduces the quality of international-relations theorization by requiring it to be conjoined to middle-range theorizing and empirical adjudication; and
• It forces derivative middle-range theories to be evaluated through neopositivist standards.
(Note that scientific ontology thus excludes "middle-range theoretical implications.)
In an earlier work, I wrote that :
As a measure of construct validity, nomothetic span is more inclusive than Cronbach and Meehl's (1955) concept of the nomological network, as nomothetic span includes not only how a construct relates to other construct, but also how measures of the same construct relate to each other (Messick, 1989).
Because the undefined concept of "scientific ontology" appears to be more or less identical to the idea of nomological network, which was described a half century ago. Without incorporating measurement into a model, it's impossible to a functional definition, a method of falsifying the model, or even a way to make useful predictions. And without this ability, it's impossible to make progress.
Operational definitions are absent from Jackson's and Nexon's piece, both from their primary terms, and their view of "scientific ontology."


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On NBC's Meet the Press Sunday, journalist Glenn Greenwald defended former government contractor Edward Snowden, who revealed to Greenwald's Guardian newspaper details of the National Security Agency data collection program.
Glenn Greenwald, columnist for The Guardian, speaks with Meet the Press about what Edward Snowden plans to do now that he has left Hong Kong.
"He apparently is headed to a democratic country that will grant him asylum from this persecution," Greenwald told NBC's David Gregory.
Snowden, whom the Obama administration has charged with espionage, arrived in Moscow Sunday after abruptly leaving Hong Kong. He may be headed to Ecuador.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., said on Meet the Press that Russian President Vladimir Putin's government has "a very aggressive intelligence operation in the United States" and "would love to have a little bit of coffee and a few conversations with Mr. Snowden. That's why this is so serious and why we need to be so aggressive about making sure that people understand the difference between someone who betrays their country" and a genuine whistleblower.
On CNN's State of the Union Sen. Charles Schumer, D- N.Y., "what's infuriating here" is Putin "aiding and abetting Snowden's escape." He added, "Allies are supposed to treat each other in decent ways, and Putin always seems almost eager to put a finger in the eye of the United States...."
"I hope we'll chase him to the ends of the earth, bring him to justice and let the Russians know there will be consequences if they harbor this guy," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R- S.C. said on Fox News Sunday.
But Greenwald said Snowden "believes that it's vital that he stay out of the clutches of the U.S. government" because he thinks the Obama administration has punished whistleblowers who try to reveal illegal actions, Greenwald said.
"There's been nothing that been revealed that been remotely endangering of national security," he contended.
Greenwald said that Snowden had uncovered evidence of a secret opinion from the Foreign Intelligence Court of Review which allegedly says that the U.S. government is engaged in unconstitutional surveillance of American citizens.
Portraying Snowden as a hero, Greenwald asked: "Why does he feel that he has to flee the United States simply because he steps forward in a very careful way" to reveal what he thinks is government misconduct.
"Do we really want to put people like that in prison for life when all they're doing is telling us as citizens what our political officials are doing in the dark?" Greenwald asked.
Snowden, he said, did not work for a foreign government. Greenwald also said Snowden had acted responsibly and cautioned him and the Guardian to "only publish what Americans should know – but don't harm national security and we have withheld the majority of things that he gave us…."
But in an interview on ABC's This Week, Gen. Keith Alexander, the head of the National Security Agency, said "what Snowden has revealed has caused irreversible and significant damage to our country and to our allies."
Asked why "alarm bells did not go off" when Snowden left Hawaii carrying classified information with him, Alexander said, "This is a key issue that we've got to work our way through. Clearly, the system did not work as it should have."
House Intelligence Chairman Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., discusses Edward Snowden's leaking of classified information and the end game of bringing him back to the United States.
Rogers said that every one of the nations that Snowden is visiting or reportedly headed to – Russia, Cuba, and Venezuela – is "hostile to the United States."
Rogers said, "He has taken information that does not belong to him – it belongs to the people of the United States – he has jeopardized our national security…. Clearly the bad guys have already changed their ways" in light of the information which Snowden revealed.
Snowden and Greenwald, he said, are essentially taking "a thousand-piece puzzle, taking three or four pieces and deciding you're now an expert on what that picture looks like. You're going to get it wrong and it's dangerous."
Rogers said that the court opinion which Snowden referred to had ordered the government to adjust its surveillance program. This is evidence, he said, of the effective oversight of the NSA program by the Foreign Intelligence Court of Review.
"There is judicial review and there was judicial pushback—and rightly so," Rogers said.
All this NSA oversight was reported to Congress, Rogers said. "We reviewed it – we agreed that they (the NSA) had over-collected and we also agreed the mitigation – the way that they used technology to make sure they weren't collecting certain bits of information – was adhered to."
On CNN's State of the Union, Sen. Rand Paul, R- Ky., favorably contrasted Snowden with Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, whom, Paul said, had lied to Congress about the NSA surveillance.
"Mr. Snowden told the truth in the name of privacy," Paul said. "So, I think there will be a judgment, because both of them broke the law, and history will have to determine."
He added, "If he (Snowden) goes to an independent third country like Iceland and if he refuses to talk to any sort of formal government about this, I think there's a chance that he'll be seen as an advocate of privacy. If he cozies up to either the Russian government, the Chinese government, or any of these governments that are perceived still as enemies of ours, I think that that will be a real problem for him in history."
The Hong Kong government said Sunday that Snowden left Hong Kong "on his own accord for a third country through a lawful and normal channel."
The statement said that the United States government requested that Hong Kong issue an arrest warrant against Snowden, but "the documents provided by the U.S. Government did not fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law," and therefore the Hong Kong government would not stop Snowden from leaving.
NBC's Pete Williams discusses what course of action the U.S. government will pursue to bring Edward Snowden back to the United States to face charges of espionage.
NBC's Pete Williams said the Obama administration was in the process of responding to Hong Kong's request for additional information when Hong Kong officials allowed Snowden to leave Hong Kong. "It's fair to say the U.S. is upset about this," Williams said. "This is quite a surprise, I think it's fair to say, to the administration."
To some degree Snowden's dramatic flight temporarily overshadowed the debate over prospects for Senate passage this week of a bipartisan bill to overhaul the nation's immigration laws.
On Monday the Senate is scheduled to vote on a 1,200-page amendment offered by Sen. Bob Corker, R- Tenn., and Sen. John Hoeven, R- N.D., which has an initial cost of $46.3 billion – money to be used hire 20,000 Border Patrol agents and to deploy them along the Mexican border, as well as building add border fencing and setting up an electronic visa entry/exit system at all air and sea ports of entry where U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers are currently deployed.
"The bill will pass," Graham said on Fox News Sunday. "I think we are on the verge of getting 70 votes. That is my goal. It's always been my goal. We are very, very close to 70 votes. The Hoeven-Corker Amendment I think gets us over the top."
This story was originally published on Sun Jun 23, 2013 11:12 AM EDT


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Following up on my last post, in which I asked why there were still no national standards for forensic science five years after the National Academy of Sciences'2009 report Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States, and with scandal after scandal in U.S. crime labs all over the country, there may be light on the horizon. On January 10, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) announced the formation of the National Commission on Forensic Science.
According to the announcement issued by DOJ and NIST:
Members of the commission will work to improve the practice of forensic science by developing guidance concerning the intersections between forensic science and the criminal justice system. The commission also will work to develop policy recommendations for the U.S. Attorney General, including uniform codes for professional responsibility and requirements for formal training and certification.
John P. Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said that the Commission "will help ensure that the forensic sciences are supported by the most rigorous standards available—a foundational requirement in a nation built on the credo of 'justice for all.' "
The formation of the Commission could be the a significant milestone in the march toward the use of real science and defensible national standards in forensic labs. But it may be limited in what it can achieve just by its creation and structure: it is not a body created by Congress with power to come up with and implement standards or to regulate anything. Rather it is a federal advisory committee, formed under the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972. (A quick primer on the Act is here.) It investigates and debate designated topics, and then reports its recommendations to the relevant federal department(s) that formed it (in this case, the DOJ and NIST). Those agencies could choose to embrace and follow, or could choose to reject, some, all, or none of the Commission's suggestions.
Still, this is a hopeful sign that we might be heading in the right direction. At the very least, we will see a national conversation between the very large number of Committee members; they come from a variety of backgrounds in government, science, the legal system, and elsewhere. See the list of more than thirty Commission members at the bottom of this announcement.
I hope readers will weigh in on the following question: realistically, what will come from the Committee? Will the government adopt these recommendations? Will the recommendations include national standards to regulate forensic testing, assure quality control, and the like? In the end, will the work that you foresee coming from the Commission improve the U.S.'s largely unregulated system?


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Perry expected to call up National Guard to Rio Grande Valley
Governor to activate 1,000 National Guardsmen amid growing wave of resistance to feds' efforts to shelter kids
Gov. Rick Perry is expected to announce Monday that he will activate up to 1,000 Texas National Guard troops to the Rio Grande Valley, state Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, confirmed Sunday night.
Perry wants these troops to bolster the work already being done with a surge of Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, said Hinojosa's spokesperson, Jennifer Saenz, who added that the governor gave the Rio Grande Valley delegation notice prior to the planned 2 p.m. announcement on border security.
"The senator understands that Perry wants this troop build-up but is not sure what kind of federal approval he needs for it. He just knows he wants to deploy 1,000 troops there," Saenz said.
The announcement comes amid a wave of growing resistance to the federal government's efforts to shelter the unprecedented 57,000 children from Central America who have crossed the border in the last nine months - double the number who made illegal border crossings last year. President Barack Obama has asked Congress to provide $3.7 billion in emergency funding to deal with the influx.
Hinojosa, an attorney who served in the military during Vietnam, opposes the deployment of these troops.
"My position is that we do not need to militarize the border," Hinojosa said, adding that the area has requested help for additional law enforcement and also resources to feed, clothe and provide health checkups for the large influx of juvenile migrants.
"The National Guard are not needed here. … They have a different mission. They have a military mission."
Hinojosa did not have full details of how Perry's plan would be carried out.
In Iowa on Sunday, Perry told a small group at a VFW hall that if President Barack Obama fails to heed his longstanding request to send 1,000 additional National Guard troops, he would use his authority as governor to do so.
"We've sent the message that if we don't get the satisfaction that the federal government's going to move and move quickly, then the state of Texas will, in fact, fill that void," Perry told the group.
Perry, who is considering a second run for president in 2016, has received a splash of national attention by confronting the Obama administration over the border security issue.
The McAllen Monitor obtained an internal memo from another state official's office that indicates that the DPS officials want to send National Guard troops into western areas of the Valley and the ranch lands farther north.
"This is not a militarization of the border," said a passage of the memo, quoted by the McAllen Monitor. "The DPS and the National Guard are working to keep any drug and human trafficking south of (U.S. Highway) 83 and with the goal of keeping any smuggling from entering major highways to transport East/West/and North."
The National Guard deployment will cost up to $12 million per month, $9.8 million for personnel and vehicle costs and another $2.4 million estimated to cover the cost of helicopters.
"It would take a month to get 1,000 troops on the ground, but they will only slowly call up the troops," the memo states.
Activating the National Guard alongside DPS personnel will bring Texas' total cost of deploying additional resources to the surge to $5 million per week.
"It is not clear where the money will come from in the budget," the memo states, adding that Perry's office has said the money will come from "non-critical" areas such as health care or transportation.
The announcement drew mixed reaction.
"The children fleeing violence in Central America are seeking out Border Patrol agents. They are not trying to evade them. Why would Rick Perry send soldiers to confront these kids?" U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, said.
Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, took to social media with his reaction, tweeting: "Glad to hear @GovernorPerry is calling up the National Guard to help secure the border and protect our state. Pray for our troops."
Tea party leaders called on Perry last week to deploy the Texas National Guard and demanded a special legislative session to address the "humanitarian crisis" at the border.
"Our state officials haven't taken care of business to protect the people of Texas," Grassroots America Executive Director JoAnn Fleming said at a news conference in Austin last week. "This is an issue of safety and security. It's not an issue of race."
She and others urged Texas' Republican leaders to invoke constitutional states' rights to declare "imminent danger."
"Governor Perry needs to stop asking Washington to come save us," Fleming said,


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Lyrical And Critical Essays
"The literary output of Albert Camus was exceptionally concentrated and well organized, so that each part of it throws light on the other parts…. Here now, for the first time in a complete English translation, we have Camus' three little volumes of essays, plus a selection of his critical comments on literature and on his own place in it. As might be expected, the main interest of these writings is that they illuminate new facets of his usual subject matter."
— John Weightman, The New York Times Book Review
"The work of Albert Camus began to achieve international recognition after World War II, and from then until his death in 1960 no author was a greater articulator of the general reevaluation of human action that took place in the best literature of this period… because those works are so intense, so occupied with the themes of a civilization, it is good to have small, sometimes rough pieces which show a great writer close to the stuff of experience he would later refine and set into parables for an age. For it was his ability to stay near the plain, uncelebrated habits of life that gave Camus' art its peculiar strength and his thought its hard humanity."
— Jack Richardson, Book World
"Some of the pieces have been translated individually before, but several of the best have not, and the complete sequence forms what is in effect a new, single work for American readers that stands among his very finest."
— Donald Lazere, The Nation


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For several years a Chicago entrepreneur has labored quietly building a company to create an alternative to batteries for powering cell phones and other small gadgets.
The company, Lattice Energy LLC, deliberately kept a low profile because its core technology, first called cold fusion 18 years ago, has long been ridiculed by mainstream scientists. Lewis Larsen, Lattice's founder, didn't want his enterprise tainted by the empty promises of unlimited cheap energy surrounding cold fusion.
Larsen, who has had careers in investment banking and consulting, has worked with many scientists doing experiments with what now is called low-energy nuclear reactions (LENR) rather than cold fusion. Even with the name change, he said, many scientists mistakenly still believe they are creating nuclear fusion in a bottle when they thrust palladium or other metals into heavy water and add energy.
"A lot of people are doing very good chemistry experiments, but they don't understand what's happening," Larsen said. "They write fine papers but then add foolish speculation."
A few years ago Larsen began collaborating with a theoretical physicist, professor Allan Widom of Northeastern University in Boston, to help him understand why LENR experiments often give off heat and charged particles.
Before taking on the assignment, Widom was a skeptic, but Larsen showed him enough experimental results from laboratories in Russia, China and Japan, as well as the U.S., to convince him that something important was happening.
The problem soon became apparent to Widom: The experimenters were convinced that atoms of a form of hydrogen called deuterium were fusing together to form helium.
"That kind of fusion requires very high temperatures," Widom said.
Rather than look for other explanations, most experimenters preferred to invent new laws of physics to account for cold fusion, Widom said. But instead of a strong nuclear force like fusion at work, he concluded that a weak force was at the core of the experimental results. Electrons were combining with protons to form neutrons, giving off energy in the process.
The entrepreneur and the professor have published their Widom-Larsen theory of low-energy nuclear reactions and have been meeting with business executives and government officials to build credibility for their ideas.
"Our model invokes no new physics," said Widom. "Everything we've done conforms to the Standard Model's predictions for weak interactions."
With advances in nanotechnology, Larsen predicts it will become practical to design devices using LENR to power cell phones that can last 500 hours. The technology also might be used to produce power in other settings, but Larsen said, "We're going for the best available market with lots of demand, and that's electronic mobile devices."
Larsen, who has competitors domestically and abroad also working on the problem, predicts that within five years there will be power sources based on LENR technology.
[email protected]
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune


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|Turkish Airlines Open
|Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
|Istanbul Marathon
Turkish Airlines Open
Since 2013, the Turkish Airlines Open has been bringing the biggest stars in golf together with fans of the sport in beautiful Antalya. With a prize fund of 7 million dollars, it's one of the most important stages of the Race to Dubai organized by PGA European Tour. Some of the world's most famous players have gathered at the Turkish Airlines Open in Belek, including Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer and Rory Mcllroy. The Frenchman Victor Dubuisson won the tournament in 2013 and 2015, while Brooks Koepka of the USA took the title in 2014. Thorbjørn Olesen from Denmark took the top spot in 2016's tournament.
Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup
The Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup (TAWGC) has been held since 2013 and is one of the world's largest amateur golf tournaments. The event is held in 100 cities across 60 countries, with the grand final for the regional champions being held in Antalya.
Turkish Airlines Challenge
As the Turkish stage of the European Challenge Tour, the Turkish Airlines Challenge brings golfers together from all over the world in the stunning city of Antalya. We've been the title sponsor for this major tournament for the last three years.
The European Challenge Tour has been running since 1987 and has seen golfers from all over Europe, Africa and Asia compete. The Challenge Tour is well known for presenting new talent, and has introduced names such as Martin Kaymer, Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson, Ian Poulter, Thomas Björn, Brooks Kepka and Byeong Hun An. In 2016, the Turkish Airlines Challenge was held at Gloria Golf Club, with 156 entrants competing for a prize fund of 175,000 euros. In 2017, the tournament will again be held at Antalya's Gloria Golf Club on April 20-23, with around 150 golfers from 60 countries taking part.
Turkey National Football Team
We've been sponsoring two of Turkey's most prolific sporting organizations, the Turkish Football Federation and the Turkish National Team since 2008.
Galatasaray SK
We are the main transport sponsor and shirt sponsor of Galatasaray Sports Club in the European Cups for the 2019-2020 season. With our support, the Galatasaray Sport Club's football, basketball and volleyball teams are on their way to victory.
We're also proud to be the lead transportation sponsor for Trabzonspor, one of Anatolia's most successful clubs. Trabzonspor always flies with Turkish Airlines to get to their next big match.
We are proud to be the shirt sponsor of Başakşehir, a shining star in the Turkish world of football, in the European Cups and continue to support them for the 2019-2020 season.
FK Sarajevo
FK Sarajevo is one of Bosnia-Herzegovina's leading clubs, and Turkish Airlines was their shirt sponsor for the 2015/2016 season.
Turkey National Basketball Team
It's with great pride that we sponsor the Turkish National Basketball Team, and we're one of the leading supporters of the sport in Turkey. The Turkish National Basketball Team continues to fly from victory to victory with Turkish Airlines.
Turkish Airlines EuroLeague
Since 2000, the EuroLeague has been one of the most competitive events in European basketball. 24 European teams take part each year and around 250 matches are played. After being the title sponsor for the Final Four event held in Paris in 2010, we then became the title sponsor of the entire EuroLeague competition. The competition is to be known as the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague until 2020.
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl, the final of the National Football League (NFL), is one of the most watched events in America's television history. Played in February of each year, the Super Bowl is viewed by around 112 million people in the USA, and around 800 million worldwide.
Brands strive to put out their most exciting advertising campaigns during this monumental sporting event. Almost considered an advertising festival, the Super Bowl ads are something of an Oscar's night for advertisers.
In 2016, we became the first Turkish brand to advertise during the Super Bowl with our Batman v Superman ad. The ad we aired during the 2017 Super Bowl starred our brand ambassador, Morgan Freeman, and drew acclaim from around the world.
Şahika Ercümen
The holder of 4 official world records in free diving as of 2013, we are the official sponsor of the national and international free diving champion Şahika Ercümen, since 1998. Şahika Ercümen holds many records in Turkey and has won over 100 medals, awards and cups in various swimming and underwater sports competitions.
CHIO Aachen World Equestrian Festival
In 2014, we sponsored the CHIO Aachen World Equestrian Festival, one of the most reputable equestrian sporting events in the world. The event has been held in Germany since 1924 and covers disciplines such as show jumping, dressage, horse racing, four-in-hand driving, and equestrian gymnastics.
IFK Helsinki - HIFK
We have been one of the main sponsors of IFK Helsinki since 2015. IFK Helsinki is one of the biggest and most traditional sports brands in Finland. The club was founded in 1897 and has played top tier ice hockey in Finland for almost 60 years. IFK Helsinki has won seven national championships, the latest one coming in 2011 and the club is one of the most popular in Finland.
In addition to Finland's national league, IFK Helsinki also competes in the international club tournament Champions Hockey League. Many famous NHL players have come through the IFK Helsinki system into professional ice hockey: Esa Tikkanen, Niklas Backstrom, Mikael Granlund and Olli Jokinen, just to name a few.
Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey
We're the lead sponsor of the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey in which over 150 cyclists take part each year, and which is broadcast live in over 100 countries around the world.
Istanbul Marathon
We're the transportation sponsor of the Istanbul Marathon, one of the most important marathon events in the world. We support this event to increase the popularity of marathon running around the world.
Cricket Ireland National Team Sponsorship
We have been the shirt sponsor of Cricket Ireland since 2017 and recently renewed for a further two years until 2021. Cricket is the second largest sport in the world and is loved by over 2.5 billion people globally. Ireland play the sport across all three formats of the game, Test, One Day International and T20 International.


text: Are you a frequent flier or making a long haul flight for business or pleasure? If you are, know that flying can age you. De-hydration, reduced oxygen, confined space, bad food and over-exposure to too many people and their germs takes its toll on your face and body. Here's what you can do to protect yourself. Continue reading


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philtron wrote:(They've also been having a lot of software/network issues lately which definitely slows things down.)
Shocktart wrote:I stopped watching their Marathon 1 playthrough when Blackstar just outright refused to go through doors leaving Narcogen to go in alone, this after 20 minutes of discussion about whether or not they're ready for what is behind said door.
ravenshining wrote:Plus now they're doing it live with chat, which distracts their attention.
ravenshining wrote:Narcogen's navigational frustrations do bring up an interesting idea in regards to elevation- polygon height filtering ala Forge. Could such a thing be done in Lua, hiding and revealing polygons from the overhead map based on height, or would that have to be programmed in?
HelviusRufus wrote:It's hard to say, but it may be this.
PerseusSpartacus wrote: I think they'll really like being able to use all the Pfhor's weapons,
Users browsing this forum: ravenshining


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text:
|Callicoon, New York
September 19, 2006 Issue
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Hubby had the Easter long weekend off and we enjoyed doing activities together as well as down time. We went to Red Robin's for Hubby's Birthday last Thursday and did some various shopping. Saturday was so beautiful and sunny so we went to home Depot Garden Center and bought another planter of flowers. Our balcony looks so pretty now, with a few planters! I certainly enjoy sitting out in the sunshine and "people-watch"!
Yesterday we drove out to Abbotsford and checked out a Meat store. We also stopped in to have a visit with our Son, at the cemetery. It's so peaceful there as well as so green, with new grass, sprouting leaves on the trees and blossoms bursting.
So, today I needed to catch up with the laundry and cleaning. It doesn't take long but it needs to be done regularly.


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Forget about Chelsea – we're thrilled by just the possibility of a "Modern Family" wedding.
We haven't even seen them kiss yet, but the actor who plays one half of the same-sex couple on the ABC breakout sitcom wants the characters to get married.
"There is no doubt that is going to happen," Eric Stonestreet, who plays Cam, told the New York Post. The show's co-producer, Christopher Lloyd, was less definitive, telling the paper he wouldn't "rule out" the nuptials.
Meanwhile, a top CBS executive announced that homosexual characters will be part of three shows in the new season: "The Good Wife," "Rules of Engagement" and "$#*! My Dad Says," which already has the Parents Television Council in boycott mode over the show's partially censored title.
"We're not happy with ourselves," Nina Tassler, CBS entertainment president, told reporters last week, referring to the scarcity of gay and lesbian characters on the network's shows.
Her comments – more of an admission, really – appears to be a response to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, which issued a report last month in which it contended CBS trailed the other networks in featuring gay-themed content.
GLAAD has praised "Modern Family" in a season that also brought us a sensitive portrayal of the gay teen Kurt on another new show, "Glee." But more than three decades after the introduction of TV's first regularly featured openly gay character – Billy Crystal's Jodie from the ABC sitcom "Soap" – there are still some who rail against any depiction of homosexual life on the tube.
Gary McCullough, of the Christian Newswire, who had predicted that Ellen DeGeneres would destroy "America Idol" because she's a "lesbian activist," did some ugly crowing after she quit last week.
"Ellen DeGeneres skied over that bull-shark and the audience she drove away will never return," he wrote, ignoring, among other things, decency and the reality that DeGeneres is one of TV's most popular figures.
Lloyd told the Post that "Modern Family" tries to avoid the "overtly political." But it's hard to skirt scrutiny when your show features TV's most prominent gay couple.
The show already has been the subject of a Facebook campaign calling for Cam and Mitchell to kiss on camera – though the producers promise the smooch is coming soon. (We just figured that uptight lawyer Mitchell is just too tightly wound for a PDA in front of the reality TV cameras that frame the action.)
A Cam-Mitchell wedding couldn't but help touch on the hot-button same-sex marriage issue, especially since the show takes place in California, home of Proposition 8. But "Modern Family," as it proved in Season One, is creative when it comes to weddings: we saw Phil and Claire's impromptu renewal of their vows in Hawaii as well as Cam throw together a wedding in his living room for his gardener.
The episodes were typical of the always funny, often touching show that deftly mixes the silly and sweet. The eccentric couples who comprise the extended, blended family have little in common on the surface, but are tied by bonds of devoted parenthood and love – old-fashioned concepts wrapped in a modern, comic cloak.
Let's hope for a two-for-one deal next season: Cam and Mitchell's wedding, sealed with a kiss.
Hester is founding director of the award-winning, multi-media NYCity News Service at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is the former City Editor of the New York Daily News, where he started as a reporter in 1992. Follow him on Twitter.


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Humanitarianism, a broad term that generally denotes thinking and action centered in humans and for the benefit of the human species. Like humanism it distinguishes itself on the one hand from the bestial and on the other from the divine. In a strict sense, humanitarian is one who promotes human welfare and social reform without reference to God or Jesus Christ. To examine humanitarianism is to take a closer look at philanthropy, the effort of promoting good will and human welfare by the will and action of humans alone.
Thus seen, humanitarianism is for some Mennonites a pejorative term when applied to relief and service efforts of the church. Other Mennonites regard any act of love as a witness to God. To reject the humanitarian component in the complex matrix of service is not without its pitfalls. All service is of necessity performed by people for people, even when the motivation is to glorify God. To negate the human element in the churches' relief and development work is to deny that "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Galatians 5:22) need flesh and blood to make them useful and real. When John says that "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us," (John 1:14) he is affirming the humanness of Jesus Christ. Recognizing the extent of inhuman behavior in society, the mischief done by ruthless dictators, the senseless battles fought over ideologies, the shameful enslaving and exploitation of the many by the few, one gains a new appreciation for the milk of human kindness. Perhaps this is what Jesus had in mind when He said that what was done "to one of the least of these my brethren, [was done] to Me" (Matthew 25:40).
On the other hand it is well to remember that men and women are not the measure of all things, that there is more to life than easing the lot for others, and that ultimately all our good works are meaningless unless they point to Him who is the source of all life.
|Peter J Dyck
|Date Published
Cite This Article
MLA style
Dyck, Peter J. "Humanitarianism." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1989. Web. 13 Aug 2020. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Humanitarianism&oldid=92055.
APA style
Dyck, Peter J. (1989). Humanitarianism. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 13 August 2020, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Humanitarianism&oldid=92055.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, p. 400. All rights reserved.
©1996-2020 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.


text:
Small business owners and their customers no longer have to rely on checks to make and accept payments thanks to new peer-to-peer payment services cropping up.
Peer-to-peer payment services, which are being offered from a slew of banks, lets business owners transfer money to a customers' accounts or vice versa using just an e-mail address or mobile phone number.
Users can conduct the transaction from their existing bank account, which means they won't have to visit a different Web site to access the service.
"Billions of dollars are transferred back and forth from one business to another via check," said Steve Shaw, Internet banking and electronic payments group director at Brookfield, Wisc.-based Fiserv (FISV), which later this month will launch ZashPay, its P2P transfer service.
Shaw said more consumers and businesses are looking for ways to make payments sans the check as their comfort level with conducting financial transactions online grows. "Either the check is put in the mail or handed to someone. It takes time and effort [to cash the check]."
According to Javelin Research, nearly 44% or 38 million of the 86 million online households made at least one online P2P fund transfer in 2009, up from 27% in 2008. Javelin is forecasting 60 million American households will use P2P transfers by 2014. The oldest and most popular form of P2P payments comes via PayPal. With the new services, however, the customer will be able to make the payment through an existing bank account.
Fiserv's product, dubbed ZashPay, will launch in late June with 100 banks committed to offering the service with more being added each week.
If a bank is offering the service, the business owner would login to the bank account, input an email address and send a message to the recipient and transfer the money. The service lets you make transfers online or via a browser-enabled mobile phone.
The recipient would then login to claim the money, which would automatically be deposited into the account as soon as the next day.
If the banks for the payee and the person receiving the money don't offer the service, Fiserv is launching a public web site atwww.zashpay.com where after signing up, people can transfer money back and forth. The banks determine the fee the sender of the money has to pay with a suggested fee of 50 cents. ZashPay.com will charge $0.75 for each payment initiated at the site.
The service is just as secure as the existing bill pay service offered by Fiserv thanks to fraud tools built in to ensure the payment is coming from a valid e-mail address and going to a verified location. If a red flag arises, the payment won't be sent.
For small business owners and their customers P2P lending may be attractive because they will no longer have to write a check, buy a stamp, mail it and then wait for the check to clear. Shaw noted small businesses can use it as a way to manage and reconcile invoices.
"It helps from a convenience and speed perspective because they can reconcile more accounts," said Shaw.
Fiserv with ZashPay isn't the only financial company launching P2P payment services. CashEdge of New York has its Popmoney P2P payment service and in May announced Bank of the West is using the service.
Like ZashPay, Popmoney lets bank customers send money from their bank account using a recipients email address, mobile phone number or bank account information. Intuit has its PaymentNetwork service that charges small businesses 50 cents per payment received. Like the other services with PaymentNetwork the small business would receive payments from anyone with an email address with the funds directly transferred into the small businesses bank account. Among the banks offering P2P payment services are PNC (PNC) and Wells Fargo (WFC), to name a couple.
Gustavo A Viera CPA


text: Powerful Computing with Saving the Earth in Mind! - Intel® P35/ICH9 chipset- Intel® Core™2 Quad / Core™2 Extreme / Core™2 Duo / Pentium® Extreme / Pentium® D / Pentium® 4 - Processors - FSB 1600/1333/1066/800 - Dual-channel DDR2 1200(O.C.)/1066/800/667 MHz - ASUS EPU (Energy Processing Unit)- ASUS 3rd Generation 8-phase Power Design- Precision Tweaker 2 Shop Modal header Powerful Computing with Saving the Earth in Mind! LGA775 Intel® Core™2 Processor ReadyThis motherboard supports the latest Intel® Core™2 processors in LGA775 package. It also can support Intel® next generation 45nm Multi-Core CPU. With new Intel® Core™ microarchitecture technology and 1600 / 1333 / 1066 / 800 MHz FSB, Intel® Core™2 processor is one of the most powerful and energy efficient CPU in the world. Intel® P35 ChipsetThe Intel® P35 Express Chipset is the latest chipset designed to support the next generation 45nm CPU; and up to 8GB of dual-channel DDR2 800/667 MHz memory architecture. It also supports 1333/1066/800 FSB (Front Side Bus), PCI Express x16 graphics and multi-core CPUs. ASUS EPUEnables the Most Energy Efficient Motherboard in the WorldThe ASUS EPU utilizes innovative technology to digitally monitor and finetune the CPU power supply with improved VR responses in heavy or light loadings. Working together with AI Gear 3, it automatically provides power for higher performance or improves efficiency by 50% when the PC is running low intensity applications - helping you attain the best possible power efficiency and energy savings of up to 80.23% to help save the environment. ASUS 3rd Generation 8-Phase Power Design Longer Life, & Higher Efficiency! With power efficiency so important to operating temperatures, ASUS´ 3rd generation 8-phase VRM design leads the industry with its 95% power efficiency. High quality power components such as low RDS (on) MOSFETs for minimum switching loss & lower temperatures, Ferrite core chokes with lower hysteresis loss, and high quality Japanese-made conductive polymer capacitors all add up to ensure longer component life and lower power loss - creating more energy efficiency. Precision Tweaker 2Super-fine Adjustments to Help Create a Brand New O.C Record!Allows the user to adjust the NB Voltage, FSB termination Voltage, CPU PLL Voltage and the DRAM Voltage in 0.02v steps to finetune voltages to achieve the most precise setting for the ultimate customized overclocking configuration. ATI CrossFire TechnologyATI´s CrossFire boosts image quality along with rendering speed, eliminating the need to scale down screen resolutions to get the high image quality you want. CrossFire ignites with the higher antialiasing, anisotropic filtering, shading, and texture settings you desire. Adjust your display configurations, experiment with your advanced 3D settings, and check the effect with a real-time 3D-rendered preview within ATI´s Catalyst™ Control Center to rule your CrossFire system. Q-Fan 2Adjusts both CPU fan and chassis fan speeds according to system loadingASUS Q-Fan2 technology intelligently adjusts both CPU fan and chassis fan speeds according to system loading to ensure quiet, cool and efficient operation. IEEE 1394a interfaceIEEE 1394a interface provides high speed digital interface for audio/video appliances such as digital television, digital video camcorders, storage peripherals & other PC portable devices. High Definition Audio Enjoy high-end sound system on your PC! The onboard 8-channel HD audio (High Definition Audio, previously codenamed Azalia) CODEC enables high-quality 192KHz/24-bit audio output, jack-sensing feature, retasking functions and multi-streaming technology that simultaneously sends different audio streams to different destinations. You can now talk to your partners on the headphone while playing a multi-channel network games. All of these are done on one computer. AI Nap Minimize noise and power consumption when temporarily away With AI Nap, users can instantly snooze your PC without terminating the tasks. System will continue operating at minimum power and noise when user is temporarily away. It keeps downloading files or running applications in quietest state while you´re sleeping. Simply click keyboard or mouse, you can swiftly wake up the system in few seconds. Q-ShieldEasy and Comfortable InstallationsThe specially designed ASUS Q-Shield does without the usual "fingers" - making it convenient and easy to install. With better electric conductivity, it ideally protects your motherboard against static electricity and shields it against Electronic Magnetic Interference (EMI). Q-Connector Make connection quick and accurate! The ASUS Q-Connector allows you to connect or disconnect chassis front panel cables in one easy step with one complete module. This unique adapter eliminates the trouble of plugging in one cable at a time, making connection quick and accurate. CrashFree BIOS 3 Simply restore corrupted BIOS data from USB flash disk The ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 allows users to restore corrupted BIOS data from a USB flash disk containing the BIOS file. This utility saves users the cost and hassle of buying a replacement BIOS chip. EZ Flash 2 Simply update BIOS from a USB flash disk before entering the OS EZ Flash 2 is a user-friendly BIOS update utility. Simply launch this tool and update BIOS from a USB flash disk before entering the OS. You can update your BIOS only in a few clicks without preparing an additional floppy diskette or using an OS-based flash utility. Noise Filter Eliminate background noise while recording This feature detects repetitive and stationary noises like computer fans, air conditioners, and other background noises then eliminates it in the incoming audio stream while recording. MyLogo3 The ASUS MyLogo3 is the new feature present in the motherboard that allows you to personalize and add style to your system with customizable and animated boot logos. S/PDIF-out on Back I/O Port This motherboard provides convenient connectivity to external home theater audio systems via coaxial and optical S/PDIF-out (SONY-PHILIPS Digital Interface) jacks. It allows to transfer digital audio without converting to analog format and keeps the best signal quality. Uses 100% All High-quality Conductive Polymer Capacitors!This motherboard uses all high-quality conductive polymer capacitors onboard for durability, improved lifespan, and enhanced thermal capacity. ASUS two-slot thermal design (ASUS exclusive) ASUS exclusive two-slot thermal design ASUS two-slot thermal design provides better air-flow and lower VGA cards temperature than other brans´ one-slot design, which also ensures better system stability and longer component life cycle. C.P.R. (CPU Parameter Recall) Protect your BIOS data when overclocking. When the system hangs due to overclocking failure, there is no need to open the case to clear CMOS data. Just simply restart the system, the BIOS would show the previous setting and then users can amend the CPU setting again. GreenASUS The motherboard and its packaging comply with the European Union´s Restriction on the use of Hazardous Substances (RoHS). This is in line with the ASUS vision of creating environment-friendly and recyclable products and packaging to safeguard consumers´ health while minimizing the impact on the environment.


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Credential Programs
The Department of Special Education offers the Education Specialist Instruction Credential in the following areas:
Mild-Moderate Disabilities Education
All candidates participating in the Mild-Moderate Disabilities Program are prepared on and evaluated with California Standards for Teaching Preparation. Disabilities in the mild-moderate category include specific learning disabilities, mild to moderate intellectual disability, other health impairment, and serious emotional disturbance.
Moderate-Severe Disabilities Education
The Moderate-Severe Disabilities Education Specialist Credential Program prepares individuals to teach students from Kindergarten through age 22 who have disabilities such as autism, deaf-blindness, moderate to severe intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, and emotional disturbances.
Coursework covers the areas of functional assessment, curriculum, instructional practices, methods for inclusive education, communication strategies, collaboration skills, and positive behavior support.
Early Childhood Special Education
The Early Childhood Special Education Credential Program is a full-time or part-time post baccalaureate graduate program which prepares credential candidates to become fully qualified to work with families and their young children with disabilities, developmental delays or those at risk for developmental delays both in home-based and infant/toddler and preschool settings.
Prospective credential students also have optional additions to the Education Specialist Instruction Credential. Please note that other requirements apply and only students that meet the requirements are eligible for these options.
Intern Option
Candidates enrolled in this option are able to complete the credential program as an intern, which allows them employment as a special education teacher while taking courses at SJSU. Eligible applicants are encouraged to attend an Intern Orientation and to visit the Intern page for more information regarding this option.
Concurrent Option
Candidates enrolled in this option are able to receive
- Education Specialist Instruction Preliminary Credential in Mild-Moderate Disabilities
- Preliminary Multiple Subject Credential OR Preliminary Single Subject Credential.
Candidates must fill out a Concurrent Application available on the Forms page of our website. Candidates must also apply to the corresponding department in which they wish to receive their second credential (Elementary Education or Secondary Education).


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Shimmer Mini Dress
SALE | The Shimmer Mini Dress in Ballet Black. This backless mini dress is decorated with black shimmering sequins. Designed with long sleeves, slit open cuffs and intricate ruffle trims on the neckline, back and cuffs. This dress has a playful silhouette with a separate slip. Make this your ultimate date-night dress.
X Small: UK 4 - 6
Small: UK 8 - 10
Medium: UK 12 - 14
Large: UK 16 - 18
- Black tulle with sequin embellishments
- 100% polyester shell and lining
- Lined with an internal camisole
- Plunging back neckline with delicate back neck tie fastening
- Made in India
- Delicate dry clean only
- Do not wash
- Do not bleach
- Do not tumble dry
- Cool iron on reverse
- Due to the delicate nature of the embellishment on this garment please handle with care
- Relaxed fitting dress
- Length finishes above the knee
- Model is 175cm / 5ft 9in and wears a Small
If you need assistance with this product, please email us at firstname.lastname@example.com .
or call us 0207 043 2363. Our Customer Care team operate between 8.30 and 5.30 in the UK.


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On thousands of furniture & home products!
The 6" Perfect Futon Mattress - A6111 by Wolf consists of 2" of block foam surrounded by a revolutionary blend of poly-cotton blend that has been specially bonded with no added chemicals. Together with the 23 lace tufts each component is locked into place and reduces shifting and lumping so that you get a perfect night's sleep or that perfect futon to sit on. The A6111 is a top rated 6" futon mattress.
Founded in 1873, the trusted and family owned Wolf Corporation has been making quality and value futon mattresses for four generations. After 130 years of manufacturing cotton cushioning, Wolf has developed new innovative processes in production and assembly to deliver the most comfortable sleep products. Each futon mattress starts with the finest raw cotton and is blended with several types of special cushioning material to provide the very best in comfort and durability. Rest assured when purchasing a Wolf futon mattress you will get a peaceful and restful night sleep.


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How did a young man from a poor farm family - who as a boy received minimal education and had little religious background - come to found a church that today boasts millions of members worldwide?
A religious leader for only 14 years until his assassination in 1844, Joseph Smith drew thousands during his lifetime to his vision of a theocratic New Jerusalem in the American heartland. Possessing what one critic called a genius for "religion making," Smith wrote new scriptures and created a complex institution that has long survived his death.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints celebrates its 175th anniversary this year, and on December 23, the 200th anniversary of Smith's birth.
In Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, historian Richard Bushman, professor emeritus at Columbia University and a practicing Mormon, fashions a fascinating, definitive biography of the rough-hewn Yankee who stirred controversy from the start.
Bushman's intimate, 740-page portrait explores all the corners of controversy but does not resolve them, suggesting that - given the nature of the man and his story - such resolution is never likely to occur. An honest yet sympathetic portrayal, the book is rich in its depiction of developing Mormonism.
During an era of revivals and religious ferment, Smith saw himself as a major prophet and revelator - a restorer of the one true church. Despite a story that appeared fantastical to many, Smith's teaching caught the interest of others in search of a faith different from that offered by the churches of the time.
As a youth, Smith engaged with family and friends in magic and treasure-digging. He also prayed to know which church to attend. He said later that he was then told by God and Jesus that the existing churches were in apostasy.
In a second vision, Smith said, an angel named Moroni directed him to buried golden plates that were to become the source for his Book of Mormon, which he translated from hieroglyphs through the use of a seer stone and spectacles that he called the Urim and Thummim. (The angel later retrieved the plates.)
The Book of Mormon is understood by Latter-day Saints to be the history of Jews who traveled to the Western hemisphere around 600 BCE, and of Jesus' visit to them after his resurrection. (The assumption that the Indians of the Americas are the descendants of the people in the book has been upset recently by DNA studies - done by Mormons - which show no connection to the ancient Hebrews.)
Smith - called simply "Joseph" by Mormons - published the book in 1830, and later published others ("The Book of Abraham" and "The Book of Moses") purporting to provide true histories that go far beyond the Bible.
It was not preaching, but his ongoing "revelations" that shaped the developing religion and its practices. They were full of biblical phrasings, and many practices derived from Old Testament teachings (such as restoration of Aaron's priesthood).
The revelations included establishment of a hierarchical priesthood in which all males participate; secret temple rites; the deeding of property to church bishops, to be distributed as appropriate to the needy and toward purchase of land; and the nature of the afterlife, which includes "plural marriage."
Some may feel the author sanitizes Smith's motives for establishing polygamy and marrying dozens of wives.
Bushman tells an engrossing tale of a charismatic leader who was egalitarian and loved working with others, yet who was sensitive to criticism or dissent.
Mormons believed the Second Coming to be imminent, and converts followed their leader from New York to Ohio to Missouri, where Joseph said New Jerusalem was to be situated. But in purchasing large amounts of land for their City of Zion, the Mormons clashed - and even went to war - with other residents.
Smith lived in a biblical world where God's laws alone were of concern; He did not acknowledge governments, the nation, or the Constitution, Bushman says, until his flock ran into trouble and needed government protection. He then turned to state governors, and later to the US Congress for aid. The Mormons' story and self-image shifted from one of revelation to persecution.
Driven out of Missouri, the Saints regrouped in Nauvoo, Ill., where they built a temple and city, drawing church members from as far away as England. Yet Joseph's polygamous practice stirred controversy even among the faithful (including his first wife, Emma), and a few dissidents were excommunicated.
After he destroyed a dissenting Nauvoo newspaper, Smith was jailed in a neighboring city, and he and his brother were killed by a mob and militiamen who were guarding them. (His successor, Brigham Young, led members west to Utah.)
Meticulously researched, the detailed nature of this biography may make it of interest mostly to Mormons. Yet Bushman also offers an intriguing exploration of a remarkable development in American religious history.
Claims that the church is the fastest growing in the US have recently been questioned (studies show that about the same number are leaving as joining). But its members are increasingly widespread in the US and more visibly influential in political circles (i.e. Senate minority leader Harry Reid (D) of Nevada, and Gov. Mitt Romney (R) of Massachusetts, who may run for president in 2008).
This is a work that offers non-Mormons a chance to gain knowledge of a church not their own. It also stirs deeper questions about American religious convictions and how they shape lives and culture.
• Jane Lampman is on the Monitor's staff.


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And of course you always want to get some kind of gift for the baby. I love it if I can get something off the registry (they registered for it, obviously they need it!). But when possible, I also love to get or make something personal and special. I stumbled across the following softie on pinterest.
|from: Sparkle Power/ (CandaceTodd.Blogspot.com)http://candacetodd.blogspot.com/2010/12/soft-baby-rattles.html
Soooooooooooooooo stinkin cute - especially for my little niece whose nursery is an orange and grey giraffe theme-, but sadly there is no tutorial because she had the pattern in a book. Hmmmm - well it looks simple enough - so I free handed a pattern, skipped the rattle element, stuffed it up, and had an adorable little giraffe to give my niece.
My Cousin and his wife are currently expecting their first child - a little girl - so my family decided to send them a shower in a box (aka: a box of gifts from all of us, since we don't live close enough to go to their shower). Their nursery is a nautical theme in blues and tans. What would be better than a cute little sea horse - and I knew I had the perfect fabric to do it in.
This time You are getting a TUTORIAL!!! (this is a simple enough project for anyone to try!!!)
-So the first thing that you need to do is figure out what animal you want to create - I of course am doing a Sea Horse, but you can use this tutorial to create any animal you want.
-Next, pick your fabric and find a template. You can free hand a template and draw it on paper, or take the easy route and print out an image. (*** Do a google search for coloring pages and you will be amazed by what great images you come up with that are free to download and print)
|image found at: http://www.hellokids.com/c_21392/coloring-page/animal-coloring-pages/sea-coloring-pages/seahorse-coloring-pages/seahorse-online-coloring?print=1
|(see the seam allowance left around your template)
-Now pick your embellishments: I like to make some sort of 'Tag' that baby can hold onto or chew on. For this project I decided to do dorsal fins and a coronet (did you know that means crown). I had 1.5 inch ribbon on hand, but you can use whatever strikes your fancy. Cut the ribbon to length (2 fins, 1 coronet)
*Top stitch the edges of your ribbon (I did a zig zag to decrease fraying, you could also use fray check)
|(finished pleated coronet)
|(angled down toward stomach)
|(folded back up and top stitched 2x)
-and finally, you are ALL DONE!!!
Now go out and spoil all those little ones in your life!
|someone approves of my handiwork!
Shared on: http://www.skiptomylou.org/2012/07/30/made-by-you-monday-112/, http://makingtheworldcuter.com/2012/07/cuter-monday/ , http://diyshowoff.com/2012/07/29/diy-linky-party/, http://www.craft-o-maniac.com/2012/07/link-party-craftomaniac-monday.html, http://www.mommybydaycrafterbynight.com/2012/07/ta-da-tuesday-link-party-49.html, http://todayscreativeblog.net/summer-food/, http://www.hopestudios.blogspot.com/2012/07/tutorial-tuesday_31.html, http://thecreativeitchboutique.blogspot.com/2012/07/sew-cute-tuesday-73112.html, , http://sarahdawndesigns.blogspot.com/2012/07/pintastic-monday-link-party-2.html#.UBkIlZ1lSjY, http://alderberryhill.blogspot.ca/2012/07/make-scene-monday-33.html, , http://somedaycrafts.blogspot.com/2012/08/whatever-goes-wednesday-128-plus-chance.html, http://www.the36thavenue.com/2012/08/best-diy-projects-and-link-party-67.html, http://thecsiproject.com/2012/08/22/time-to-link-up-for-the-pinterest-inspired-challenge/


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Ode to Scientists and Mystics; FO-Ode to Dogma
Ode to Exploration, Foe to Dogma
Descriptions of the Universe reflect the theory of a researcher more than research findings. Nonetheless, descriptions enable researchers to imagine what they might discover. Then, they invent devices able to scope out those imagined possibilities. Focus your thoughts on those devices for a moment. Those devices associated to scientific investigation extend human senses beyond human limitations. Point is this: fundamentally humans are very limited in what they can observe, but not as limited in what they can theorize.
This one truth of scientific investigation is extremely significant to this discussion. Humans utilize other tools outside their scope of experience or capacity to discover or to deduce their truths. "Duh!" you say? Before I explain why this is so important, I want to expose another tool used by scientist: mathematics.
Mathematics (at the theoretical level and less advanced) use computations, formulas, or algorithms which investigate concrete and abstract postulates. Sometimes, computations are exact in their results. Sometimes, computations measure the probability of something being factual or fictional. Sometimes, computations abstract other mathematical abstractions and derive "answers" reflective of hypotheses.
One more factor of scientific investigation I want to weave into this discussion is the "observer effect." Widely accepted now, scientists must admit that their hypotheses, their tools of observation, and the very moment of their observation, alters the results of their investigation, no matter what they are investigating.
I am a social scientist as a Clinical Psychologist. I am and was always surrounded by professionals in the fields of physics, artificial intelligence, mathematics and neurology. I esteem and respect scientific methodologies, tools and scientific efforts to discover information. I assert, nonetheless, that no scientists of integrity can assert that their conclusions are irrefutable Truths.
I am also an ethereal mystic. I practice the meditations and healing arts of Reiki, Shamanic Soul Journeys, and Pranic energy to name a few. I explore and use Astral Projection, Remote Viewing, Akashic Reading, Channeling or Mediumship to discover amazing possible domains and personalities. My experiences using each of these tools seems amazing, heart-stoppingly awesome! Yet, as with science, I could never declare my findings as irrefutable Truths.
As a scientist, I see no merit in being dogmatic. As a mystic, I see no merit in being dogmatic. Both are limited because humans are limited.
Consider these four points for another moment. Point one: Scientists and mystics are driven by the same passion to discover what this existence is all about. What is this Universe, this experience, and these complexities surrounding us? Point two: scientists and mystics both wish to use the answers to these questions to empower and evolve the human path. Point three: neither the scientist nor the mystic has full, totality of understanding and both the scientist and the mystic can only create possible interpretations of collected experiences. Neither the scientist nor the mystic — no matter how enlightened and carefully researched — can authentically embrace any "finding" as an ultimate, unchallengeable, irrefutable conclusion.
Nowadays, some scientists admit their mystical ponderings about how nature works, what consciousness might be, or what exists outside of form or beyond physical life. Clearly their useful devices, math, and "observer effects" are intrinsically limited and helpful. Likewise, nowadays, some mystics (as spiritual or religious teachers) rid themselves of dogmatic declarations. For example, there may be more than one way to interpret sacred passages or practice the law of attraction.
Scientists and mystics steered by integrity now admit experiences need to be described as discoveries or adventures but not taught as absolute irrefutable Truths. Points-of-view are simply that; views from varying points produce different eye-witness accounts.
Describing is an fine art especially when the describer refrains from jumping to definitive conclusions. Analyzing what is witnessed also is helpful until the analysis is embraced as conclusive dogma. Why?: Dogmas cause the following: 1) Researchers stop researching while they preach their dogmatic conclusions; 2) Students of researchers become passive believing no more truth need be discovered; 3) Students and colleagues refrain from challenging the dogmatized findings, fearing embarrassment and rejection by their essential communities; and 4) Dogmas become societal governing future thought, and forcing research and conclusions to be blindly focused and limited. In the presence of Dogma, descriptions and analysis of experiences can not be free to be investigated further. Progression of thought and evolution of perceptions are paralyzed when dogma reigns over scientific or mystical explorations.
So, (here's the goal of this entry) how about if each of us – as scientists and mystics in our own fashion – become open-minded explorers who learn from each other's explorations, observations and tentative conclusions. Also, how about if we also share open-mindedly our own discoveries while NONE of us become dogmatic about our exciting and meaningful discoveries.
Oh, I forgot to add, as you likely now know, I am also an optimistic idealist. I relish the image of our world of humane respect, curiosity, open-mindedness and the awe of mutual discovery. I long for conversations wherein narratives of someone's experiences are enthusiastically shared with wonder and hypotheses. It seems to me that we are each blind, insightful, limited, expanding, and passionate explorers and creators. None of us needs to become slaves to anyone's dogma, not even our own intensely convincing refutable Truths.


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Explore IYF's 28-year history through an interactive timeline.
Read and find out more about "A Future Youth Want."
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Over 300 development resources: our initiatives, approaches, and best practices.
Top-level interviews, new research, and other important updates on our youth development initiatives.
Five years ago, the forested trail leading to the most scenic waterfall in Bogotá, Colombia, was crime-ridden and awash with waste. Today, the same area is safe and well maintained. As part of the trail, a mural, depicting two swans and a human figure enveloped in a sea of tears, calls attention to mankind's imbalanced relationship with nature. While in 2010 people avoided the area over safety concerns, now the site attracts more than 1,500 visitors a month.