text:
|Book Now
|Essendon Apartments Overview
|Essendon Apartments Map and Directions
|Essendon Apartments Photos
|Essendon Apartments Rooms
|Essendon Apartments FAQs
More Photos
Essendon Apartments1040 Mt Alexander Road Essendon Victoria Australia 3040
Essendon Apartments consists of 1 and 2 bedroom apartments all have Queen beds, lounge with LCD TV and fully equipped kitchens, with a full size fridge.
Centrally located close to public transport, cafes, restaurants and shops.
Midway between Melbourne airport and the city, ideal for business or leisure.
Most Popular Hotels In Melbourne
Milano Serviced Apartments
Serviced Apartments Melbourne
|Property Details
|Modern serviced apartments in the heart of Melbourne. Milano Serviced Apartments is the perfect place to relax and unwind. Easy access to trams, walking distance to the Queen Victoria Market and Carlton Gardens.
Milano Serviced Apartments >>
Serviced Apartment
Riverside Apartments
Serviced Apartments Melbourne
|Property Details
|Riverside & Riverside Annex Apartments are situated in "the world's most livable city". The Riverside Annex Apartments are located 50 metres away in a seperate 3 storey building.
Most Riverside Apartments features panoranamic views of the Yarra River, Port Phillip Bay and the city skyline. Riverside is conveniently located at the entertainment end of town, directly across the river from the Crown Casino and just five minutes walk to the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre, Southgate Restaurants and only minutes' walk to the Melbourne Observation Deck, Melbourne Aquarium and Telstra Dome Stadium. The free City Circle Tram stops right at our front door giving you easy access to the M
Riverside Apartments >>
Serviced Apartment
Tribeca Serviced Apartments
Serviced Apartments Melbourne
|Property Details
|From East Melbourne's tree lined streets, restaurant and shopping precinct to Melbourne's vibrant CBD, Tribeca serviced apartments are perfectly situated for the most discerning corporate or leisure traveller. Situated only 1 kilometre from the CBD, our one and two bedroom self contained boutique apartments are your home away from home. All apartments have either king or twin bedding, separate bathroom, fully equipped kitchen, separate living/dining area, reversed cycle air conditioning, DVD player, private laundry facilities and balcony.
The warehouse style serviced apartments are punctuated with dramatic red textures and polished finishes will transform your stay to a new level of sop
Tribeca Serviced Apartments >>
Serviced Apartment
Albert Heights Serviced Apartments
Serviced Apartments Melbourne
|Property Details
|FREE Wireless High Speed Internet Available In All The Apartments.
"Tranquility in the heart of the City".
Albert Heights Serviced Apartments has been transformed, into a very contemporary and stylish Apartment property. With beautifully appointed Apartments that satisfy all the requirements of todays modern traveller. Superbly located on the door step of the CBD giving you fantastic access to ALL that Melbourne can offer, including major sporting venues, restaurants, shopping and transport facilities.
We are 10 minutes' walk to the MCG and the CBD and just 15 minutes' walk to
Melbourne Tennis Centre.
Relax in our beautiful courtyard where you feel Albert Heights is truly "Tranqu
Albert Heights Serviced Apartments >>
Serviced Apartment
Apartments On Chapman
Serviced Apartments Melbourne
|Property Details
|Apartments on Chapman are self catering apartments ideally located, and specialize in hospital stays Located in Chapman Street (one street behind Flemington Rd) on the Melbourne City fringe, Apartments on Chapman are the perfect location for business or leisure. Melbourne city is only 2 km away and an easy minute tram ride. Closest accommodation to the new Children's Hospital and near Royal Melbourne and Royal Women's hospitals.
Apartments on Chapman >>
Serviced Apartment


text:
FRENCH CAMP - The San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday unveiled a smaller, more maneuverable robot than its predecessor that should prove beneficial in a number of ways, officials said.
FRENCH CAMP - The San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday unveiled a smaller, more maneuverable robot than its predecessor that should prove beneficial in a number of ways, officials said.
The Icor Technology T5 robot was purchased for $169,000 with money from a 2008 grant, said Deputy Les Garcia, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Office. The robot's size, wireless ability and other technological advancements will allow authorities to deploy the robot on planes, trains, buses and other small compartments, reducing the number of instances where bomb squad members have to physically approach a suspicious device, Garcia said.
"Law enforcement is often faced with situations that are extremely dangerous," Garcia said. "With these new technologies, and with this robot, we have so many capabilities that keep our personnel out of harm's way, and that's what's most important to us."
The San Joaquin Metropolitan Bomb Squad provided a demonstration of the robot's abilities Wednesday outside the Sheriff's Office in French Camp. Members of the bomb squad simulated a number of actions with the robot, dragging a dummy to safety, opening the door of a vehicle and removing a suspicious package, all in a matter of minutes.
"A lot of the parts are able to be changed in and out quickly, so it allows us to adapt," Sgt. Randy Johnson said. "If we have to change our approach to it, we're able to quickly adapt to that by modifying the robot in several different ways."
The robot was operated remotely from a base station that offers four camera angles, giving authorities a better view of the situations they encounter. The robot is also equipped with microphones and speakers that will allow authorities to communicate with suspects and victims, officials said.
The robot was delivered Monday with two large toolboxes filled with hooks, claws, suction cups and other gadgets that can be used for many different purposes, officials said. The robot will be used in addition to the Andros F6 robot that the Sheriff's Office has used for more than a decade, Johnson said.
"The biggest thing with this robot is going to be the wireless capability, the size and the maneuverability," Johnson said. "We can use this indoors and outdoors. It can climb and descend stairs. It can open and close doors. It can get into smaller places that the other one just wasn't able to reach because of the sheer size of it, so this is a big advancement in technology and the capabilities that we'll have with this robot."
Contact reporter Jason Anderson at (209) 546-8279 or email@example.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/crimeblog.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
|What Hurts The Most
|Life Is A Highway [Live In Concert From Nissan Live Sets]
|Bless The Broken Road
|Come Wake Me Up
|My Wish [Album Version]
Feb 2018 1 song
Feb 2018 1 song
Feb 2018 1 song
A country trio known primarily for their pleasing harmonies and Grammy-winning songcraft, Rascal Flatts comprise Gary LeVox, Jay Demarcus, and Joe Don Rooney. Cousins Demarcus and LeVox grew up in Columbus, Ohio, a town Demarcus eventually left in 1992 to pursue a music career in Nashville. Meanwhile, LeVox pursued his own musical success with a Christian group; at the behest of his cousin, however, he also relocated to Nashville toward the decade's end. Although LeVox quickly f... Read more


text:
You are here: Root > By Topic > Artificial Intelligence > PlanningView the dependency graph for this library
Planner developed at the University of Washington that operates "with actions that have conditional effects and universally quantified preconditions and effects. It accepts universally quantified goals". UCPOP Planner features a plan debugger with a CLIM GUI.
It has been superseded by the Sensory Graphplan planner.
|Web site
|Mailing list
|4.1 - Sunday, 01 January 1995
|OS compatibility
|Unix, Windows
|ASDF installable
|Official Download
|Mirrored Download
|Source code repository
Allegro Common Lisp | LispWorks
Planning | CLIM | Libraries | Unix family | Windows family
You must be logged to add a note
Old but interesting code
From the UCPOP Planner web site: "The code was written back in 1993, as such, it will require work to get it to compile with newer compilers and platforms". Despite this, it provides some interesting code to study, such as the CLIM-based plan debugger.
Submitted by amoroso 13/01/2006 22:20:39
You must be logged to add a comment


text:
You can catch both exceptions and errors by catching(Throwable)
PHP 7 changes how most errors are reported by PHP. Instead of reporting errors through the traditional error reporting mechanism used by PHP 5, most errors are now reported by throwing Error exceptions.
As with normal exceptions, these Error exceptions will bubble up until they reach the first matching catch block. If there are no matching blocks, then any default exception handler installed with set_exception_handler() will be called, and if there is no default exception handler, then the exception will be converted to a fatal error and will be handled like a traditional error.
As the Error hierarchy does not inherit from
Exception, code that uses
catch (Exception $e) { ... } blocks to handle uncaught
exceptions in PHP 5 will find that these Errors are
not caught by these blocks. Either a
catch (Error $e) { ... }
block or a set_exception_handler() handler is required.
You can catch both exceptions and errors by catching(Throwable)
Throwable does not work on PHP 5.x.
To catch both exceptions and errors in PHP 5.x and 7, add a catch block for Exception AFTER catching Throwable first.
Once PHP 5.x support is no longer needed, the block catching Exception can be removed.
// Code that may throw an Exception or Error.
catch (Throwable $t)
// Executed only in PHP 7, will not match in PHP 5
catch (Exception $e)
// Executed only in PHP 5, will not be reached in PHP 7
An excellent blog post on the difference between exceptions, throwables and how PHP 7 handles these can be found here: https://trowski.com/2015/06/24/throwable-exceptions-and-errors-in-php7/
the node said that i can get the error by catch{Error $e}block or a set_exception_handler() handler is required.
here is my code:
catch(\Throwable | \Error | \Exception $e){
echo 'hello error';
I deliberately wrote a warning code and the output is "Warning: array_key_exists() expects parameter 2 to be array, null given in"
the result i want is "hello error" but i didn't get it.
and in the other code :
catch(\Throwable | \Error | \Exception $e){
echo 'hello error';
function show_error(\Error $e){
echo "show_error:"
echo $e->getMessage();
the output is "hello error".
i don't know how the error can be caught by the catch block.
php 7.1
try {
// Code that may throw an Exception or ArithmeticError.
} catch (ArithmeticError | Exception $e) {
// pass
Maybe you want to suppress warnings in errlog? If so, then just prepend function name with @ sign.
What should I do to let the program to react to warnings? I've already tried to write try/catch construction, but it doesn't working.


text:
England captain Andrew Strauss has insisted he has no desire to rid himself of the pressure of leadership despite a poor run of form with the bat.
The Middlesex opener is all set to skipper England in the first of a three-Test series against the West Indies at his Lord's home ground on Thursday with a record of just one hundred in his last 50 Test innings behind him.
However, the 35-year-old left-hander, England's Test captain since 2009, told reporters at Lord's here on Wednesday he was a long way from feeling 'fed up' with the job of leading the side.
"Not even close," Strauss said. "There may be a situation where that has happened to England captains in the past and maybe it will to me in the future, but I'm not there at the moment yet.
"I'm excited about the challenges ahead, to come out at Lord's again and hopefully we will all show what we're capable of this summer."
South Africa arrive later in the English season for what could be a clash for the number one Test ranking and Strauss said he was looking forward to making a major contribution in both campaigns.
"The West Indies series is an important one for us and they're a vastly improved side, so it will be a big challenge.
"The big series against South Africa is round the corner as well so I'm really excited to get stuck in, hopefully score some runs myself and lead us in what we hope will be a successful summer," added Strauss, who led England to Ashes glory on home soil in 2009 and in Australia in 2010/11.
"It's always a challenge as an opener to score runs. I've felt in reasonable form the last six months but 20s and 30s aren't what we're looking for. I will hopefully get stuck in and get runs for the lads."
Meanwhile West Indies captain Darren Sammy said he did not believe Strauss to be especially vulnerable.
"I don't think it's the first time he has been under pressure and he's responded quite well in the past," Sammy said.
"Pressure could make you crumble, pressure could make you rise above your expectations and I know Strauss is a strong guy mentally. We are not only focusing on him."
England go into the series still ranked as the world's number one Test side but with question marks against them after a 3-0 series defeat by Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates and a 1-1 draw away to Sri Lanka.
"I think we're all quite excited about being back in our home conditions," said Strauss.
"The winter was a challenge and we've learned some really valuable things for the future but now it's about reconnecting with what we've done well in these conditions.
"We're a very confident side and we've got all bases covered in these conditions but the challenge is to keep performing."
England skipper Strauss in no mood to stand down
England captain Andrew Strauss has insisted he has no desire to rid himself of the pressure of leadership despite a poor run of form with the bat.


text:
Editors' note: Because the Sony Xperia P was reviewed by our companion site CNET Asia, we are publishing this review as an in-depth hands-on article without an official starred rating.
Announced in February at Mobile World Congress alongside the
Compared with the Xperia S, the slightly smaller Xperia P is much easier to hold, and the brushed metal has a solid feel. With its 4-inch display, the Xperia P is still usable with just one hand, even if it's slightly wider than the
Located above the micro-SIM card slot on the left side are the Micro-USB and Micro-HDMI ports. In a change from the Xperia S, the ports don't have plastic covers. Up top is the 3.5mm headphone jack, and on the right side are your power, volume, and camera shutter buttons. Note that the handset's speakers are located on the right side as well. That's an interesting design choice, to be sure.
The handset sports a 4-inch qHD (960x540-pixel resolution) display, which uses Sony's WhiteMagic technology to showcase images and text with great brightness. The company claims that the display is bright enough for comfortable viewing in direct sunlight. I found this to be true and had no difficulties when using the phone outdoors.
Below the display is the same opaque band that we saw on the Xperia U and Xperia S. It also lights up in various colors, which you can change, and it has the icons for Back, Home, and Menu touch controls. Yet, instead of the annoying arrangement on Xperia S where the controls are actually above the icons, Sony combined them on the Xperia P. That makes much more sense.
Weighing 4.23 ounces, the Xperia P feels light enough in my hands, though at 0.41 inch deep it's much thicker than most phones. Lastly, the handset comes with a nonremovable 1,305mAh battery.
Unlike the smaller Xperia U, the Xperia P has built-in NFC, which will allow you to make full use of the Sony Xperia SmartTags the company is touting. With the programmable tags you can quickly launch apps and services by simply tapping a tag with your Xperia P. Unfortunately, though, no SmartTags are included in the package. See our Xperia S review for more about this feature.
Other connectivity features include HSPA, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi. The handset comes with 16GB of onboard storage, though only 13GB is available for use. Unfortunately, the phone doesn't have an expandable memory slot.
Sadly, the Xperia P won't have the latest version of the Android operating system, Ice Cream Sandwich, at launch. Instead, it runs Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), but Sony has promised an update for the handset in the future.
Since that may not happen for a while, Sony has added tweaks to enhance the user experience in the meantime. As in Android 4.0, you can add notifications for messages on the lock screen, jump straight to a message from the lock screen, and create folders by dragging apps on top of another.
The 8-megapixel camera uses Sony's Exmor R backside-illuminated (BSI) sensor. There's no shutter lag and I like that you can take a quick photo from the lock screen by holding the shutter button down. I noticed, however, that the white balance didn't adjust properly when I used this feature. Shots taken in normal mode will allow the camera time to adjust properly, though the process takes more time.
Photos taken with the Xperia P's camera had lots of detail, but colors were a little washed-out. What's more, in low-light situations and with the flash turned on, there was an ample amount of noise. For a midrange handset, the Xperia P's camera is just above average, in my opinion.
While it doesn't have a quad-core processor, the Xperia P's dual-core 1GHz processor was more than sufficient to keep things running smoothly.
The battery lasted for a full day of moderate usage with two Gmail accounts, Facebook, and Twitter all set on push. Still, I'd advise carrying a battery charger since the nonremovable battery means you can't swap in a spare power cell in an emergency.
I had no problems with voice quality or call reception, but I did experience an attenuation issue when I used the Xperia P indoors. In fact, when I gripped the phone with my palm touching the back, signal strength decreased. I was able to make calls, but data speeds worsened, with load times of most Web pages slowing to a crawl. Despite its odd location, I could hear the external speaker without any problems.
Strangely, the Sony Xperia P is a more compelling device than the Xperia S, especially when it comes to build and battery life. Also, though the screen resolution is not as high as on the Xperia S, it remains bright and vibrant and you'll have no problems using it outdoors. Yet, the problem here is that I don't know what the Xperia P wants to be. It's certainly pretty, but that's not enough reason to buy the smartphone no matter how long the battery lasts. If it had Ice Cream Sandwich, sharper performance, and a better camera it could be a top Android draw. But for right now, it's just another Android smartphone.
The Xperia P is now available in Singapore from SingTel for 248 Singapore dollars ($197) with service. In the United States, the Xperia P is currently sold only as an unlocked model that will cost you at least $500. There's no word as to when or if it will be officially added to the lineup of a U.S. carrier (which would mean a lower price with contract). When and if that happens, we'll review the U.S. version of the phone.


text:
Audacity can test the tolerance of even a liberal human rights tribunal.
Adele Kafer, a long-term sales employee with Sleep Country Canada in Vancouver, had been uniformly successful over her tenure. But her interactions with one colleague, Arif Arjania, were another matter. Kafer alleged Arjania had shouted a derogatory sexual reference at her and he made verbal advances toward her. His last communication suggested she must be gay because she refused his advances.
Kafer complained to her area sales manager. The company sprang into action. Arjania was spoken to, then issued a disciplinary warning he would be fired if it happened again. He also apologized to Kafer.
Sleep Country's human resources manager urged Kafer to return to work, and suggested the company would use the issues she had raised to train staff. Rather than being reassured, Kafer felt threatened by this suggestion, believing other staff would recognize the incidents related to her. As result, Kafer left on sick leave, never to return. She then filed a complaint of sexual harassment and discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation with The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal against both her employer and Arjania.
Sleep Country candidly acknowleged Kafer had worked in stores where sexually explicit banter and innuendo between staff were considered reasonable social interaction. Significantly, she had not merely tolerated this conduct but had actively participated in and even instigated it at times. Eleven affidavits from co-workers were filed detailing vivid examples of Kafer's contribution to the crude conversations.
Arjania too was straight-up, readily admitting he had made sexual comments directed at her but claimed they were made between two friendly co-workers who historically engaged in this kind of banter. And he had immediately apologized to Kafer when he learned she had taken offence.
Kafer, in return conceded she had engaged in sexual banter with co-workers, including Arjania, and had made explicit sexual references during those discussions. However, she maintained she did not have to tolerate Arjania's emails alluding to her sexual orientation.
Arlene Tyshynski, vice-chair of the tribunal, reviewed the evidence and dismissed Kafer's complaint. In light of the overwhelming evidence that Kafer had actively participated in crude sexualized exchanges, no reasonable person would believe Arjania's comments would be unwelcome. The tribunal noted that Kafer and Arjania otherwise had gotten along well. Kafer had asked that Arjania be transferred into her store and then proceeded to confide in him her sexual interests. In the context of their relationship, sexual harassment and discrimination could not be shown.
Sleep Country's experience in avoiding the wrath of the Human Rights Tribunal, can be instructive for other Canadian employers.
Clean up your workplace It is no defence to say your workplace has a crude and sexualized bantering culture. Such an admission is usually dispositively damning. An employer has an affirmative obligation to provide a workplace free of sexual harassment.
Institute a policy Define what behaviours are prohibited; create an internal complaint mechanism; make it clear violations will not be tolerated and that repercussions include dismissal for just cause.
Promptly and effectively investigate On receipt of Kafer's complaint, Sleep Country immediately investigated the complaint; disciplined Arjania and reassured Kafer it had addressed her concerns.
Train staff Sexualized work environments are breeding grounds for lawsuits. The best antidote is to meticulously outline what type of exchanges are prohibited.
Refrain from retaliation Assure the complainant her job and status are not threatened. Although Kafer had not returned from her sick leave, the tribunal noted that her job awaited her.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.


text:
Point taken.Alobha wrote:Next, people will make fun of others who want to refrain from telling lies. "Oh, bet you already have a very long nose! haha!"
or make fun of people who don't want to eat meat anymore "Afraid of some chicken huh? Bwwaaaaaaaaaaaakkkkk!"
And what about those who want to refrain from killing animals or humans? We can make fun of them too. Maybe they are not man enough to see any blood!
You may think that this is fun or eases up things, but you just show people that you don't take them and their issues as important, that they're essentially so irrelevant that we can make fun of them. Like their concerns, their issues, their problems, their goals and their pursuit for freedom from suffering are just jokes.
I feel ashamed to see how fellow buddhists mock right effort and make fun of the endeavor to make progress on the eightfold noble path and hope that the mods will close this thread.
I actually admire the people who have contributed to this thread and have been very open about their addiction to pornography and masturbation and have indicated their desire to overcome those difficulties. Your honesty, openness and efforts are very commendable.
But I am with Tilt - no one has been intentionally making fun of anyone else. If anyone feels that way, then I offer my sincere apologies.
kind regards,


text:
Travelodge brings fans contests / savings
Toronto, ON – The Ontario Hockey League has entered into an exciting new three-year partnership with Travelodge offering fans unique contest and promotional opportunities.
Official Partner of the OHL, along with the WHL, and the MasterCard Memorial Cup, Travelodge is one of Canada's largest hotel chains with over 90 independently-owned hotels in great locations across the nation with a long history of offering warm hospitality and exceptional value.
"Travelodge Canada is extremely proud to be an official hotel partner of these outstanding Junior Hockey leagues," stated Steven Robinson, President of Travelodge Canada. "Our partnership gives us an exceptional opportunity to extend and promote our brand in communities across the country at the heart of our Canadian culture – our hockey" added Robinson.
Fan Faceoff:
Travelodge Canada will be launching a 20-week promotional campaign to kick off their partnership with the OHL. The Travelodge Fan Faceoff is a round-robin style Facebook contest that will pit rival fans against each other in order to crown the best fans in the OHL. Fans will have an opportunity to win one of two grand prize trips for four people to the MasterCard Memorial Cup in May plus weekly prizes and a special tailgate celebration for the winning fans team in each participating league at the opening of the 2013/14 season. Fans can enter to win at www.wherehockeystays.ca.
"The key for the success of our partnership is our ability to engage with fans" related Patti Hunt Director, Marketing & Communications for Travelodge Canada. "What better way to engage with fans than through their love and pride in their team – and of course, a little friendly rivalry" she added.
Click here to check out an overview video of the Fan Faceoff contest.
Special Offers:
Travelodge wants to make road trips with family and friends a little easier offering 15% off your next stay as a way of supporting team pride, fans of all ages and our favourite national pastime. Book before March 31, 2013, at participating Travelodge and Thriftlodge locations in Canada to take advantage of this tremendous offer. Click here for more information.
Travelodge will be visible in OHL rinks with in-ice logos, along with video ads and in-venue promotions in most OHL markets this season. Travelodge will also be an OHL Playoff Partner during the Conference Finals and OHL Championship Series.


text:
Nate Wolters Saves His Best for Last in Las Vegas
Former South Dakota State guard Nate Wolters' finished his first NBA Summer League season with a flourish, pouring in a team-high 20 points in a losing effort for the Milwaukee Bucks in Las Vegas.
Wolters was 8-of-13 from the floor (including his first 3-pointer of the summer) and 3-of-5 from the free throw line in the Bucks 90-80 loss to the Spurs Friday night.
In 27 minutes on the floor, Wolters pulled down 5 rebounds, dished out 3 assists, and made 1 steal.
In five games, Wolters averaged 23 minutes, 9 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists. He shot 41% from the floor, 67% from the free throw line.
Overall, Wolters led the Bucks with 14 assists. His 7 steals were second most on the team.


text:
Classic house design built in 19th century, has beautiful and like the palace for the king. The luxury residence design pictures taken from contemporary and unique San Francisco house design. On the exterior and interior designs use comfortable and elegant decorating concepts. If you are entering this classic residence design, you can get amazing experience and wonderful views. Some features in this big house design like seven bedrooms with luxury interior design ideas, a huge gaming/entertaining room, a reception foyer, and an imposing greenhouse solarium. We hope this classic, luxury and contemporary residence design can be your inspiration to build your dream house for better perfect living space. [Via]
classic bathroom design photos
contemporary interior design pictures
contemporary interior decorating


text:
Hey guys.
Apologies that I have been away for such a long time. The last two years have been spent as Props Weapon Maker for the Hobbit movies, writing books ('Burnt Ice' was published in April 2012 and is just out on the Kindle platform) living in Wellington (hated being away from home but we all do what we have too to survive and pay the bills eh) building the models etc........ yeah busy as hell!!
So this is the next build. Called 'The Maul' it is a ground support craft which is first met in the next book of the first trilogy called 'Crystal Venom' which is coming out in August.
Over the next few months I shall take you all through each step of the build.
First stage: rough dimensional drawings in the 1/20 scale.
Steve Wheeler


text:
Week 18 rankings: DCU charges
After Week 18 of MLS, the team at the top remains the same, but it's finally time to give Major League Soccer's redemption story its due. D.C. United makes a leap up the rankings, thanks to their leading position in the Eastern Conference and a road win Friday against San Jose.
Chivas USA takes a marked step up the rankings as well, thanks to a win in Vancouver over the Whitecaps and another Erick Torres goal.
1. Seattle Sounders
Getting Clint Dempsey and DeAndre Yedlin back in the lineup only makes the league's best team better. Dempsey's return from the World Cup included a goal in a 2-0 win, and though the Sounders struggled a bit to find their rhythm against the Timbers, there's no reason to think they'll slow down anytime soon.
2. D.C. United
Convincing or not, there's no arguing with United's recent results. First place in the East speaks for itself. Winning on the road, even against poor teams, is difficult in MLS. After Ben Olsen's side beat San Jose on Friday night, United has back-to-back victories away from home for the first time since 2007.
3. Colorado Rapids
Conceding three goals to the Union drops the Rapids down the rankings, but Pablo Mastroeni's team continues to be a fixture in the Western Conference playoff race. Colorado executed a strong comeback to earn a point against the Union on the road.
4. Vancouver Whitecaps
The Whitecaps couldn't stop Cubo Torres on Saturday -- it seems no one can -- but what ultimately did in Carl Robinson's team was Jordan Harvey's red card. Nigel Reo-Coker will rue a missed chance that might have salvaged something for the Caps at home.
5. Toronto FC
As Jermain Defoe goes, so go Toronto FC. The English striker scored the last two of TFC's four goals to execute a comeback over Houston at home. Going down 2-0 to the Dynamo should be troubling for Ryan Nelsen, but the comeback illustrated that this Toronto team is different from TFC teams of the past.
6. Sporting Kansas City
With the possible departure of Matt Besler looming, Sporting beat Montreal thanks to a horrific mistake at the back for the Impact. Dom Dwyer scored his 13th and 14th goals of the season in the 2-1 win and again showed the poachers instincts that have him second in the league for scoring.
7. LA Galaxy
A win, a clean sheet and a goal from Gyasi Zardes headed the list of positives from L.A.'s 1-0 win over RSL on Saturday. Although L.A. certainly needs wins to make sure of their playoff credentials, it's the clean sheet and Zardes' goal that should most encourage Bruce Arena and company.
8. Real Salt Lake
After getting back on the good side of the scoresheet this past week to end a five-game winless streak, RSL fell to L.A. on Saturday at StubHub Center. There were plenty of positive signs in the loss, and RSL remains in second in the Western Conference behind Seattle.
MLS Power Rankings
- October 27: Seattle at the Double
- October 20: Sounders surging ahead
- October 13: Down to the wire
- October 6: Revs rise up the charts
- September 29: Donovan is the man
- September 22: Galaxy are on target
- September 15: Rose-tinted Sounders win
- September 8: LA in another Galaxy
- September 1: Runaway train
9. New York Red Bulls
A four-goal explosion lifted the Red Bulls over Columbus on Saturday at Red Bull Arena. Thierry Henry dominated, and Bradley Wright-Phillips continued his rampant scoring form. The win was a window into what the Red Bulls are capable of.
10. New England Revolution
The Revolution losing streak is now at five games, after a loss Saturday to the Fire. The five losses come immediately after a run of five wins in a row. If there's a positive from the latest setback, it's that the Revs only gave up one goal. But the loss of Andy Dorman to injury, pending his status, could loom large for Jay Heaps.
11. Portland Timbers
For a half, the Timbers played toe-to-toe against the Sounders on the road. Seattle took charge in the second half, but Portland showed enough to keep alive the thought that they are still simply underachieving. Caleb Porter's side is a good team trapped in a mediocre team's body.
12. F.C. Dallas
The return of Mauro Diaz this past week lifted Dallas, who still holds on to a playoff spot in the difficult West. Oscar Pareja's team was idle this weekend ahead of a home date with the struggling Revolution next Saturday.
13. Chivas USA
Chivas USA is the hottest team in MLS. That surprising fact is built on the club's four-game winning streak, a run that did not include a multiple-goal game until Saturday's win over Vancouver. Erick Torres scored again, and aided by a Whitecaps red card, Wilmer Cabrera and company earned three points on the road for the third time this year.
14. Philadelphia Union
Whatever changes Jim Curtin made since taking over the Union, they've effected a new goal-happy mentality for the team. For the fourth time in their past five matches, the Union put a three spot up on the board. Unfortunately, two of those games ended in draws.
15. Columbus Crew
Columbus fell to the Red Bulls onslaught on Saturday for the Crew's sixth match without a win. In a battle of influential stars, Henry got the best of Columbus' Federico Higuain. The Crew desperately need a top striker to bring out the best in the skillful Argentine.
16. Chicago Fire
Finally a win for the Fire. Finally Chicago made a Mike Magee tally stand up. It required a little help from a spiraling Revolution side, and Sean Johnson saving a late penalty, but the Fire's third win of the year at least provides hope an upswing is possible.
17. Montreal Impact
A home draw against the defending champs appeared in the cards for Montreal, until a disastrous bit of play in the back gifted visiting Sporting Kansas City a winner. It's just those kinds of mistakes that have the Impact at the foot of the overall table and in last place in the Eastern Conference.
18. Houston Dynamo
So it goes for Houston, a team in a rut so deep that this past week's home draw with the Red Bulls was a step in a positive direction. This week, the Dynamo fell to Toronto 2-1 to extend their winless streak to seven and bring the number of losses in that run to six.
19. San Jose Earthquakes
Chris Wondolowski shook off his World Cup miss with a goal for the Quakes, but it wasn't enough to overcome D.C. United at Buck Shaw Stadium. San Jose looks like a team going through the motions, good enough to compete but rarely good enough to win.
Use a Facebook account to add a comment, subject to Facebook's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your Facebook name, photo & other personal information you make public on Facebook will appear with your comment, and may be used on ESPN's media platforms. Learn more.


text:
Originally slated for release on multiple platforms including the Nintendo GameCube, Microsoft Xbox, and Sony PlayStation 2, Crushed Baseball was an arcade-stylehardball title that empowered its players with superhuman abilities, crazy stunt-grabs, and other silly stuff.
Due to a legal disagreement between developers Griptonite Games and Amaze Entertainment in April of 2003, however, publisher BAM! Entertainment quietly cancelled the scheduled release of Crushed Baseball across all platforms.
Release Region: United States
Release Date: Canceled
Publisher: BAM! Entertainment
Crushed Baseball 2004 at IGN
Crushed Baseball 2004 at GameSpy
Crushed Baseball 2004 at GameStats


text:
Home > News & Events > Wayland Press Release Archives > 2006 News Releases > March 2006 > Lubbock Professor Honored by Altrusa for Teaching Contributions
Lubbock Professor Honored by Altrusa for Teaching Contributions
LUBBOCK – Altrusa International of Lubbock honored Dr. June Hogue, associate professor of education at Wayland Baptist University, as its Woman of the Year recently. Hogue was recognized at a special dinner held Thursday, March 9.
Hogue has worked at Wayland's Lubbock campus since 2003, where she also coordinates the undergraduate and graduate education programs there. The campus offers the Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies and Master of Education degrees.
Hogue began her education career in 1964 teaching at Bozeman Elementary School in Lubbock after earning her bachelor's degree from North Texas State University. In 1970, she became an instructor in education at Texas Tech University and spent ten years there. In 1980, she began working at Lubbock Independent School District, holding several positions including language arts consultant, instructional program coordinator, executive director of staff development and executive director of planning and development.
She earned a master's degree from Tech in 1967 and her doctorate in education in 1982 and has done post-graduate study at Tech, Indiana University and the University of San Diego.
Besides her professional achievements, Hogue is also an active member of her community, involved in the Athenians in Slaton for 20 years. She has been an active member of the Women's Chamber of Commerce and has supported many community school functions.
Hogue and husband Jerry are active in Southcrest Baptist Church, where they lead a Sunday school class.
Kent Brooks, dean of the Lubbock campus, said Hogue is a natural fit for the honor and her connections have been invaluable in building the education program at Wayland Lubbock for the past few years.


text:
Cruise traffic at the port of Baltimore last year dipped slightly from 2011, snapping a four-year string of increases.
Port officials said Wednesday that 240,676 people sailed on 100 cruises out of Baltimore, the second-highest count since year-round service started in 2009. In 2011, 251,889 passengers sailed on 105 cruises, a nearly 20 percent increase over the previous year.
Cruise traffic is worth about $90 million in total economic value to the state and is responsible for about 220 jobs.
The East McComas Street cruise terminal services Royal Caribbean International and Carnival Cruise Lines. Most Baltimore cruises are seven-day trips to the Bahamas and the Caribbean, although some ships travel to New England and Canada.
In May, the port will see a changing of the guard as Royal Caribbean replaces its 989-foot Enchantment of the Seas with the slightly smaller, but recently refurbished Grandeur of the Seas. Grandeur received a $48 million upgrade and has been cruising the Mediterranean. Shipboard improvements include five new restaurants, technological upgrades and stateroom renovations.


text:
Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Missy Elliot, 50 Cent, and Ll Cool J were among the stars who gathered to pay tribute to tragic hip-hop mogul Chris Lighty during a special memorial service in New York on Wednesday (05Sep12).
Combs' former manager was found dead in his Bronx, New York apartment on 30 August (12) with a gunshot wound to the head, and the New York Medical Examiner's office later confirmed Lighty's injuries were self-inflicted.
Dozens of celebrities mourned his sudden passing on Twitter.com immediately after the tragedy, and on Wednesday many turned out for his funeral at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel in Manhattan.
Q-Tip and rap mogul Russell Simmons were also spotted among the mourners, and hip-hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash addressed attendees, stating Lighty's death was "really sad".
According to the Associated Press, Lighty's casket, surrounded by white flowers, was put on display and guests watched a short slide show honouring his life.


text:
1 Jobs found in 0.001 Seconds
Sales Officer
In this role, you will be responsible for selling CLIENT OF ANTAL Healthcare products or services to and maintaining relationships with existing named accounts including large, complex, high visibility, strategic, or tactically important accounts. Specialized knowledge in breadth and/or depth, as well sales experience as an expert in the field will be necessary to execute the job (for LifeSciences – responsible selling into both Academic and Pharmaceuticals). Prospecting for new customers and business in addition to growing and maintaining the existing customer portfolio, and qualifying new leads to maintain identified business to support a balanced sales funnel for future sales Generating proposals, preparing sales quotations, planning customer meetings, and demonstrating equipment capabilities on assigned products in assigned territory Sales negotiation and deal closure at the customer, interfacing with all key buying influencers such as direct users of the product, but also department heads and CXO level personnel Expected to sell point of sale service contracts, financing and drive margin though selling value and holding price Develop and maintain a high level of product knowledge of CLIENT OF ANTAL and competitive products Achieve annual and quarterly achievement of multiple order and revenue targets through accurate monthly and quarterly forecasting, by prioritizing selling time to generate sales volume, achieve account penetration and complete territory coverage Maintaining satisfactory after-sale relationships and development of long-term customer relationships coupled with the ability to identify and capitalize on opportunities that immediately satisfy customer needs Develop account penetration strategies for key target and competitive accounts and communicating current market intelligence back to the business, along with field concerns, issues and requirements Providing leadership in market analysis and development/execution of strategies and action plans to drive productsales
- Date Posted: 11-Sep-2012
- Experience Level: 4 to 12 yrs
- Industry: Medical/Healthcare/Hospital
- Functional Area : Sales/BD
- Location: Any, Bangladesh
- Salary: Not Specified
- Job Type: Permanent
Browse by Location:
Browse by IndustrySector:
- All Sectors
- Accounting/finance Jobs
- Animation Jobs
- Auto/auto ancillary Jobs
- Banking/financial services/broking Jobs
- Construction/engineering/cement/metals Jobs
- Courier/transportation/freight Jobs
- Electricals/switchgears Jobs
- Enviornamental science regulatory Jobs
- Heat ventilation air conditioning Jobs
- Hotels/restaurants/airlines/travel Jobs
- Industrial products/heavy machinery Jobs
- It-hardware and networking Jobs
- It-software/software services Jobs
- Medical/healthcare/hospital Jobs
- Office equipment/automation Jobs
- Oil and gas/power/infrastructure/energy Jobs


text:
Mid-frequency military (1–10 kHz) sonars have been associated with lethal mass strandings of deep-diving toothed whales, but the effects on endangered baleen whale species are virtually unknown. Here, we used controlled exposure experiments with simulated military sonar and other mid-frequency sounds to measure behavioural responses of tagged blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) in feeding areas within the Southern California Bight. Despite using source levels orders of magnitude below some operational military systems, our results demonstrate that mid-frequency sound can significantly affect blue whale behaviour, especially during deep feeding modes. When a response occurred, behavioural changes varied widely from cessation of deep feeding to increased swimming speed and directed travel away from the sound source. The variability of these behavioural responses was largely influenced by a complex interaction of behavioural state, the type of mid-frequency sound and received sound level. Sonar-induced disruption of feeding and displacement from high-quality prey patches could have significant and previously undocumented impacts on baleen whale foraging ecology, individual fitness and population health.
1. Introduction
Mounting evidence suggests that anthropogenic noise can harm marine life [1–6]. The first concerns were that low-frequency anthropogenic noise could mask calling behaviour in baleen whales (Mysticeti), thereby reducing their communication range [7,8], and that intense levels of noise could also damage hearing [1]. These effects continue to be a high priority for the management and conservation of cetaceans owing to worldwide shipping traffic and resource extraction in environmentally sensitive and critical habitats such as the Arctic [9]. Recent mass stranding events and mortality of cetaceans have been linked to mid-frequency active (MFA) military sonar (i.e. range: 1–10 kHz) [3,10–13]. The strong impact of mid-frequency naval sonar is puzzling because the frequency of the sounds and best hearing of many toothed whales (Odontoceti) are much higher than mid-frequency sonar [14], and the communication band of mysticetes is generally much lower. Most environmental reviews have discounted the effects of noise outside the predominant communication band for many species, especially for baleen whales, because they are rarely represented in sonar-induced stranding events [15]. Given the lack of a comprehensive and mechanistic understanding of how mid-frequency affects different species, empirical measurements of behavioural response to these sounds are critically needed and should be directly determined across taxa [15].
Although most animals involved in mass stranding events associated with mid-frequency sonar are deep-diving beaked whales (Ziphiidae), several cases have included baleen whales [13]. In some stranded whales, there appears to be a common pattern consisting of gas-bubble lesions and fat emboli inside the body [10,16] that are thought to arise from major changes in diving behaviour and physiology [17,18]. The temporal patterns and geographical scales of most stranding events suggest that behavioural response to sound exposure plays a key role in a cascade of events leading to disorientation, injury, stranding and mortality. Previous evaluations of behavioural response have included passive acoustic monitoring to quantify changes in vocal behaviour of groups of animals during mid-frequency sonar exposure [19,20]. These studies provide strong evidence for modified behaviour during sonar exposure, but they do not assess fine-scale changes in individual whales. By using animal-borne tags that simultaneously measure body movement and the proximate acoustic environment at high-resolution, researchers have directly measured behavioural response during sound exposure [21–26]. Although these types of controlled exposure experiments (CEEs) have demonstrated that odontocetes, especially beaked whales, can be sensitive to mid-frequency sounds [21], no CEEs testing responses of baleen whales to mid-frequency sonars have, to our knowledge, yet been performed. Therefore, we conducted CEEs on tagged blue whales in the Southern California Bight to test the hypothesis that low-frequency baleen whales do not respond to mid-frequency sound.
2. Material and methods
(a) Controlled exposure experiment methodology
We assessed the response of blue whales to anthropogenic sound using CEEs. This research paradigm involved: (i) deployment of digital tags on a focal individual, (ii) pre-exposure period to obtain baseline behaviour data (30 min), (iii) exposure period (30 min), and (iv) post-exposure monitoring period (30 min) [21,23]. During summer and autumn 2010, we performed CEEs on tagged blue whales off the coast of Southern California. The research vessel configuration, sound source specifications and CEE methods are described in detail by Southall et al. [23]; they are briefly discussed here. We used a sound source deployed from a primary research vessel to project simulated military sonar (MFA sonar) signals and pseudo-random noise (PRN) with similar frequency bands and temporal patterns. As discussed by Southall et al. [23], our simulated MFA signals were intended to imitate actual operational sonar used by the United States Navy, but at significantly lower source levels. The digital tags were attached to animals from independently operating rigid-hull inflatable vessels with operations coordinated by, but not centralized on, the command and control vessel. A custom-built, hand-deployable, 15-element vertical line array of active transducers was selected as the source configuration for projecting mid-frequency experimental signals.
Tagged whales were exposed (minimum range of 200 m) to one of two stimuli: simulated MFA or PRN (both within the same approximate frequency band 3.5–4.0 kHz). Either simulated MFA or PRN signals were transmitted at a starting source level of 160 dB @ 1 m, with one transmission onset every 25 s ramped up by 3 dB per transmission to maximum output levels for each signal. We programmed the sound source to generate signals every 25 s during the 30 min CEE, ramping up, in 3 dB increments, from 160 to 210 dB re 1 µPa (r.m.s.). The MFA signal was 1.6 s in total duration, consisting of a 3.5–3.6 kHz linear FM sweep (0.5 s), then a 3.75 kHz tone (0.5 s), a 0.1 s delay and finally a 4.0 kHz tone (0.5 s); it was projected at a maximum source level of 210 dB @ 1 m. The PRN signal was 1.4 s in total duration, consisting of 3.5 to 4.05 Hz band-limited noise (1.0 s), a 0.1 s delay and finally 3.5 to 4.0 Hz band-limited noise (0.3 s); it was projected at a maximum source level of 206 dB @ 1 m. The use of a ramp-up protocol was a permit requirement and is part of several differences (notably including maximum source level and differential movement during transmissions) from some real military sources; subsequent progressions of experimental approaches should include operational source with greater contextual similarities to real operations [27].
(b) Kinematic, behavioural and environmental context analyses for tagged blue whales
In order to quantify the fine-scale movement and acoustic environment of focal individuals, we attached multi-sensor digital tags [28,29] containing a suite of sensors that allowed us to estimate body orientation [28], swimming activity, depth, speed [29] and received levels of sound [21,23]. We divided the resulting 54 kinematic, acoustic and environmental variables into three sets: dive behaviour, body orientation and horizontal movement. We used two types of suction-cup attached, multi-sensor digital tags called DTAGs [28] and Bioacoustic Probes [29,30], to study the acoustic environment and movement of blue whales during CEEs. Of the 17 CEEs performed in this study, only one whale was tagged with a Bioacoustic Probe (figure 1c). The remaining 16 CEEs involved blue whales tagged with DTAGs. The DTAGs contained a suite of sensors that included stereo hydrophones (sampling frequency, ƒ > 64 kHz), a pressure transducer and tri-axial magnetometers and accelerometers. The non-acoustic auxiliary sensors were sampled at 50 Hz and then decimated to 5 Hz for the analyses below. The Bioacoustic Probe sampled sound pressure at 8 kHz and the auxiliary sensors (dual-axis accelerometers) were sampled at 1 Hz. Owing to the limited sampling frequency of the hydrophone in the Bioacoustic Probe, the received sound levels reported in figure 1c represent minimum estimates.
A series of behavioural and environmental parameters were analysed during each blue whale dive following previously published methods [29,31–34]. The data from the suction-cup attached DTAGs were processed and calibrated following the methods of Johnson & Tyack [28]. Body orientation was estimated using the tri-axial accelerometers and magnetometers [28]. Speed was estimated using the flow noise detected by the hydrophone using the necessary calibration procedures for each tag deployment. This involved analysing the speed of the body during steep body pitch angles (vertical velocity divided by the sine of the body pitch angle) and correlating the magnitude of flow noise with the speed vector, a method that has been used to estimate speed in several studies [29,33,35]. Acoustic analyses followed the methodology of Southall et al. [23] and Tyack et al. [21]. Specifically, we measured received level of sound exposure as the maximum r.m.s. sound pressure level (in dB re 1 µPa) in any one 200 ms time period during the signal duration. Signal duration was defined as the time period during which the signal-to-noise ratio was at least 6 dB. Before level measurements were taken, the signals were filtered with a one third-octave filter spanning the CEE sound frequencies (512-point finite impulse response filter, 3300–4158 Hz).
The specific behavioural and environmental parameters in our analyses included the following: maximum depth, dive duration, descent time, bottom time, ascent time, post-dive surface time, number of lunges per dive, the proportion of the descent spent gliding, average speed during descent, average speed during ascent, average pitch during descent, greatest change in pitch during descent (Δ descent pitch), average pitch during ascent, greatest change in pitch during ascent (Δ ascent pitch), average roll during descent, greatest change in roll during descent (Δ descent roll), average roll during ascent, greatest change in roll during ascent (Δ ascent roll), average heading during descent, greatest change in heading during descent (Δ descent heading), average heading during ascent, greatest change in heading during ascent (Δ descent heading), horizontal dive speed, horizontal speed during surface series, angular trajectory (horizontal turning rate 1) and mean rotation rate (horizontal turning rate 2), number of received pings (from sound exposure), minimum received level, mean received level, maximum received level, depth of the seafloor at the location of the sound source, distance between the sound source and tagged whale at the beginning and end of each dive, photo identification, group type comprising the tagged whale (single, pair, three-way), number and group composition of other cetaceans within 1 km of the tagged whale, and behavioural state of the tagged whale at the moment of initial sound exposure. Behavioural state was determined from the tag data and took the form of one of three broad categories: deep feeding, surface feeding and non-feeding (i.e. travelling or social). The presence of a lunge feeding event was required to categorize the dive as a feeding dive and a maximum dive depth of 50 m was chosen to distinguish between surface feeding and deep feeding behavioural states. Social animals included either paired whales within several body lengths distance from one another or vocalizing whales as indicated from the tag's acoustic record.
(c) Statistical analyses
We used a combination of principal component analyses (PCAs) and generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs) to assess the effect of sonar playback on 54 categorical and continuous behavioural metrics. PCAs were conducted using 'princomp' in the stats package of the open source software R (v. 2.15.1). Behavioural metrics were assessed on a dive-by-dive basis and summarized into three categories prior to PCAs: (i) dive behaviour metrics, (ii) angular (body orientation) metrics, (iii) horizontal behaviour metrics. PCA eigenvectors with greater than 10% of variance explained were used as response variables in controlled exposure GAMMs. We fit two GAMMs per eigenvector, one assessing treatment status as a function of playback period (equation (2.1)—before playback, during playback and after playback) and one quantifying response as a function of playback type (equation (2.2)—during playback with categorical playback type—MFA or PRN). 2.1and 2.2This statistical approach allowed us to assess whether there was a behavioural response if treatment status was significant, whether there was a difference between MFA and PRN if playback type was significant and whether received level influenced behaviour. PCA results are summarized in table 1 and GAMM results are summarized in table 2 (see also the electronic supplementary material, table S1).
3. Results and discussion
The CEEs were performed on 17 blue whales that were categorized into deep feeding (MFA, n = 5; PRN, n = 4), shallow feeding (MFA, n = 3) and non-feeding (MFA, n = 4; PRN, n = 1) behavioural states. Our multivariate analyses suggest that several aspects of blue whale diving behaviour (diving, orientation and horizontal displacement metrics) were significantly affected by the exposure to mid-frequency sound (table 2; see also the electronic supplementary material). The responses varied across individuals and were strongly affected by the whale's behavioural state, with surface feeding animals typically showing no change in behaviour (figure 1a). By contrast, deep feeding and non-feeding whales were particularly affected, where responses ranged from termination of deep foraging dives (figure 1b) to prolonged mid-water dives (figure 1c). Responses also varied according to sound type (figure 2 and table 2). For example, blue whales in deep feeding modes exhibited a similar response in diving behaviour and horizontal displacement, but a fundamentally different response was observed with respect to body orientation (figure 2). However, this orientation response in deep feeding whales was transient as behaviour returned to baseline following exposure to both MFA and PRN. Nevertheless, we observed responses that did not return to baseline conditions, at least in the time frame defined by our CEE, for certain combinations of behavioural state and sound type. The overall variability observed here supports previous work demonstrating the complexity of behavioural responses to acoustic signals and its dependence on contextual and sound exposure variables [26].
At broad spatial and temporal scales, these context-dependent behavioural responses may be interpreted as brief avoidance responses, but only in particular behavioural states (figure 1). The effects of sound exposure were transient under certain conditions, namely behavioural state and sound type, in that behaviour often returned to pre-exposure conditions after playback ended (figures 1b,c and 2). The lack of discernible responses in some surface feeding individuals (figure 1a), especially in comparison with deep feeding and non-feeding behavioural modes (figure 1b,c), suggest that a combination of behavioural state and received sound level may influence behavioural response. We speculate that surface feeding does not incur sunstantial diving costs and thus blue whales in this behavioural state exhibit increased lunge feeding rates [36] and higher energetic efficiency [32]. The advantages may increase individual motivation to continue exploiting surface krill patches, so blue whale responsiveness to sound in these conditions may be decreased. Although we did find a significant effect of maximum dive received level (maxRL) on the dive response (figure 3a), neither body orientation nor horizontal displacement were influenced by maxRL (figure 3b,c). Whales near the sea surface were exposed, on average, to lower maxRL on each dive, perhaps resulting from the Lloyd's mirror effect that reduced sonar levels at shallower depths [37]. However, the maximum received sound level experienced over the entire 30 min sound exposure period, in contrast to the maxRL within a given dive, was largely independent of dive depth. These data suggest that the variation in behavioural response is probably influenced by a complex interaction between behavioural state, environmental context and individual differences that may be related to prior exposure to MFA.
These observed effects of mid-frequency sound exposure could have major ramifications for blue whale foraging energetics. For example, the CEE in figure 1b shows a blue whale terminating a foraging bout at the onset of sound exposure, followed by directed travel away from the sound source. Because blue whales rely on large aggregations of dense krill to sustain their extreme body size, they continuously dive and feed throughout the day when high-density prey patches are present [38]. Therefore, this type of behavioural response that involves cessation of feeding clearly results in reduced foraging efficiency. Using previously established methods [32], baseline behaviour of this individual prior to playback, and a conservative estimate for krill density, we calculated a feeding rate of 19 kg of krill per minute prior to sound exposure. After the onset of sound exposure, the animal stopped foraging for a total of 62 min, resulting in a loss of over one metric ton of krill during this behavioural response (see the electronic supplementary materials for details). The energy content of this loss is commensurate with the animal's daily basal metabolic demands [39] and thus will predictably decrease the overall efficiency of foraging.
For active sonar operations occurring near blue whale feeding areas, and if there is lack of habituation, repeated exposures could negatively impact individual feeding performance, body condition and ultimately fitness and potentially population health. Although we used MFA signals with temporal and spectral characteristics intended to simulate tactical military systems, operational sonar systems are significantly more intense, mobile, often used with other active sources, and typically used for longer durations. These contextual differences suggest that the effects of real sonar systems could extend for longer and over large geographical regions. Therefore, our results suggest that frequent exposures to mid-frequency anthropogenic sounds may pose significant risks to the recovery rates of endangered blue whale populations, which unlike other baleen whale populations (i.e. humpback, grey and fin whales), have not shown signs of recovery off the western coast of North America in the last 20 years [40].
Like many human activities, MFA sonars represent relatively novel stimuli to cetacean sensory systems that evolved under conditions which were different from present-day environments. Although it is difficult to understand how cetaceans interpret these anthropogenic sounds, previous researchers have invoked the predator evasion hypothesis given the frequency overlap of killer whale S-calls with military sonar signals [41]. Mammal-eating killer whales (Orcinus orca) are the only known natural predator of baleen whales [42], and the effects of predation represent a major driving force in the evolution of behaviour [43]. When killer whales attack, Balaenoptera whales exhibit a 'flight' escape response that is distinct from the 'stay and fight' response of Megaptera and Balaenidae [42]. The behavioural responses observed here were not comparable in duration to those reported during killer whale attacks on blue whales [42], however, the maximum speed measured in one CEE (figure 1c) was similar to previously observed flight speeds. Therefore, it appears that most responses may represent a generalized avoidance response of a perceived threat, rather than a stereotyped flight response. These responses could be influenced by prior exposure to real MFA sonar exercises which are relatively common in these areas off the southern California coast.
Our results provide, to our knowledge, the first experimental demonstration that individual baleen whales, specifically blue whales, respond to simulated mid-frequency sonar. We emphasize that elicitation of the response is complex, dependent on a suite of contextual (e.g. behavioural state) and sound exposure factors (e.g. maximum received level), and typically involves temporary avoidance responses that appear to abate quickly after sound exposure. Based on this evidence, we reject the hypothesis that baleen whales are not affected by military mid-frequency sonar, and in some cases they react at quite low-received levels (figure 1); given their endangered status, blue whales should thus be carefully considered in environmental assessments. Furthermore, the responses we documented were in a geographical region with a high level of naval activity and where mid-frequency sonar use is common, raising the potential for more dramatic responses in other areas if blue whales in this study have habituated. Since some of the most pronounced responses occurred near the onset of exposure but other, higher level exposures provoked no response, the data suggest that the use of received level alone in predicting responses may be problematic and that a more complex dose–response function that considers behavioural contexts will be more appropriate. Management decisions regarding baleen whales and military sonar should consider the likely contexts of exposure and the foraging ecology of animals in predicting responses and planning operations in order to minimize adverse effects.
This project was conduced under the terms of US National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) research permit no. 14534 (as well as Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary (CINMS) permit no. 2010-004 for operations within the boundaries of the CINMS).
Funding statement
Funding provided by Chief of Naval Operations Environmental Readiness Division and the Office of Naval Research.
For logistical support and assistance in field operations, we thank the captains and crew of the R/V Truth, R/V Sproul, and Todd Pusser and all scientific personnel. We also thank NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Science and Technology and the NMFS Southwest Regional Stranding Network.
- Received March 13, 2013.
- Accepted June 11, 2013.
© 2013 The Authors. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited.


text:
Untitled from Technoracle on Vimeo.
Source Code: (download)
Rants, raves and random brain dumps on Technology including Architecture, Mobile SEO, Teleriks' Sitefinity CMS for .NET, Search Engine Optimization, Ontology, Clean Energy, Software Development, Neo4J and other Graph Databases, Cypher, LiveCycle ES, Open Data, Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), Web 2.0, Music, Flex, PDF, AIR, Mobile Development, Tutorials, Technology and most importantly our own damn opinions!
Untitled from Technoracle on Vimeo.
Do not spam this blog! Google and Yahoo DO NOT follow comment links for SEO. If you post an unrelated link advertising a company or service, you will be reported immediately for spam and your link deleted within 30 minutes. If you want to sponsor a post, please let us know by reaching out to duane dot nickull at gmail dot com.


text:
National Park Blankets from Pendleton
Since the early 1900s, Pendleton has honored the story and romance of America's National Parks with their collection of beautiful and boldly-colored Park Blankets. We've all seen Pendleton textiles before, but it wasn't until NYIGF that I was reminded of their responsible manufacturing and heirloom-quality product.
Though Pendleton's National Park Blankets aren't part of their Eco-Wise product line, the blankets have much to tout: Made from the natural fiber wool, the blankets are domestically manufactured (with many of the same inputs and similar processes as Eco-Wise) by a company that values local business and tradition. What's not to love?
National Park Blankets from Pendleton, images above, details below.
1 Vintage Park Poster
2 Acadia: full ($178)
3 Crater Lake: full ($178), queen ($200)
4 Glacier: twin ($160), full ($178), queen ($200)
5 Grand Canyon: full ($178)
6 Rainier: full ($178)
7 Yellowstone: full ($178)
8 Yosemite: full ($178), queen ($200)
(Images: Pendleton)


text:
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - November 29, 2012 --The first stop on President Barack Obama's tour to promote congressional action to prevent the so-called "fiscal cliff" is a suburban Philadelphia toy factory that manufactures parts for Tinker Toys, Angry Birds, Nintendo and other product lines.
Obama will speak Friday at The Rodon Group manufacturing facility in Hatfield. The company, founded in 1956, makes toys for K'NEX Brands.
Michael Araten, president and CEO of both companies, says they moved $50 million worth of manufacturing from China to the United States at the height of the recession.
He says there are two 130,000 square-foot facilities in Hatfield, where workers make about 5 billion parts a year. Araten says business is back above pre-crash levels. There are about 200 employees at the site, up 25 percent from the recession.


text:
Bios extract
From coreboot
bios_extract is a GPL tool for extracting individual modules from proprietary BIOS/UEFI images.
This utility should work on most modern UNIX-like operating systems; it has been tested on at least Linux and FreeBSD. It is very useful for extracting PCI Expansion ROMs from onboard devices, like IGP graphics, raid controllers, nic boot roms, etc, for inclusion in a coreboot image.
Manual installation
$ git clone http://review.coreboot.org/p/bios_extract $ cd bios_extract $ make $ sudo make install
You can view sources via cgit.
Development guidelines
We use the same coding style as coreboot (which is basically the Linux kernel coding style).


text:
Come with me to a land faraway in the future, or maybe it's in the past.
Come with me to "Fall River As It Might Be."
Come with me to a land faraway in the future, or maybe it's in the past.
Come with me to "Fall River As It Might Be."
Fall River As It Might Be is an excellent place to locate a casino and I'll tell you why.
First of all, the creation of a successful arts overlay district has packed the downtown area with art studios and quaint little galleries. Casino visitors may not be known for their love of painting and sculpture but, with the vibrant arts district just a short, free trolley ride from the casino, Fall River's large resident artist community is expecting quite the boom after the casino opens.
Thank God the city had the foresight to establish artists' residences in both the old police station and the former Durfee Tech building.
And, of course, the retail and dining complex on the State Pier packs 'em in too.
It may have sounded like a dream at the time but former Mayor Robert Correia's plan to block off parts of the downtown on weekends is expected to be a major draw for people who come to stay in the new luxury hotel in the city's South End.
And it's not just that the streets are blocked off. Back when the City Council started encouraging food trucks and carts to come downtown, no one knew that hordes of casino visitors would soon be gobbling falafel, tacos and chourico sandwiches on every corner.
But the administration's vision didn't end there, oh no.
The "daylighting" of the Quequechan created a lovely series of waterfalls. Laughing waters have replaced the Chamber of Commerce.
That never would have happened if the Flanagan administration hadn't seamlessly taken up the daylighting effort after Correia left office.
Unlike other small cities in Massachusetts, Fall River has always been able to carry forward a plan from one administration to another. It's the city's greatest strength.
But it wouldn't be possible to draw casino patrons into the city if the city didn't have a central narrative, a story to tell.
In Fall River, the story has always been Lizzie Borden.
Thanks to the wisdom of city councilors back in the 1960s, the city bought both the house where Lizzie may have killed her parents and Maplecroft, the house where she lived after the deed was done.
A trust, funded by grants and donations, maintains both homes, which memorialize not just the murder, but the era in which it occurred.
Visitors to the houses often choose to visit Fall River's textile museum, where visitors can not only learn about the cotton mill era but can see a perfectly preserved portion of a 1950s sewing shop. Guides provide insight into the experience of immigrants and women in the workforce.
Back when the city started doing these things, no one had even considered a casino. Fall River did these things out of a faith in the city's worth and Fall River did these things because forward-looking leadership did more than just talk about the city's "potential."
Most importantly, these efforts continued across decades, the work passing from one mayor to the next, city councilors working together.
It's a good thing they did, too.
Imagine what might have happened if no concrete efforts had been made to promote tourism or the arts, if the river had never been daylighted, if the idea of artists' residences in old buildings had turned out to be just another cheap election year fantasy.
If that had happened, you'd have empty storefronts on Main Street and derelict old buildings all over the center city. People who went to a casino would have NO reason to explore the rest of the city.
And that's how it coulda been if we had done what we coulda done, which is why it isn't what it could be but it is what it is.
Got that?
Marc Munroe Dion is a Herald News reporter and columnist. Email email@example.com.


text:
Anyway, today I have Sinful Colors Cinderella to show you guys. It seems like this polish has taken the nail community by storm recently, I keep hearing about it everywhere. Last time I was at Walgreens I found a bottle and decided to buy it. Cinderella is a light kind of greyed out blue with a soft pinkish orange shimmer. It's gorgeous in the bottle, I totally understood the hype when I found it! On...meh. It's pretty but I'm not going crazy over it. Cinderella was pretty sheer, it looked like it was going to take more coats than I was willing to do to get opaque so I layered 2 coats of Cinderella over Illamasqua Nudge since it was the first light blue I came across in my Helmer. The shimmer was more noticeable in real life but it wasn't as amazing as I thought it would be. For the price I'm happy...just wish there was some more bang to it or something.
Sinful Colors are available at Walgreens, I've also seen them at Rite Aid (No idea if Rite Aid has this shade though). They retail for $1.99 but I got mine on sale for 99 cents! wooohoo!


text:
Sam Houston State adds 12th game
Huntsville, TX – Sam Houston State announced the addition of an Aug. 31 home game against first-year program Houston Baptist on Friday, giving the Bearkats a 12-game regular season schedule for the first time in their 97 years of football.
The game at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium will serve as the season opener for both teams.
It will give the Bearkats seven home games only one season after they played just four times on campus while advancing to the FCS national final for the second straight season. The game also pushes Houston Baptist's inaugural schedule to seven.
"We're excited to have the opportunity to play our season opener in front of our home fans," Sam Houston coach Willie Fritz said. "The support our team receives from our students and the Huntsville community has been a big factor in the program's success. Houston Baptist will be joining the Southland in football next year and we're looking forward to getting the rivalry started."
2013 Sam Houston State Football Schedule
All Times ET
Aug. 31, Houston Baptist, 7 p.m.
Sept. 7, at Texas A&M, TBA
Sept. 14, Texas Southern, 7 p.m.
Sept. 21, Incarnate Word, 7 p.m.
Sept. 28, Eastern Washington, 4 p.m.
Oct. 12, Lamar* (Homecoming), 3 p.m.
Oct. 19, at McNeese State*, TBA
Oct. 26, Northwestern State*, 3 p.m.
Nov. 2, at Stephen F. Austin* (Reliant Stadium, Houston), 4 p.m.
Nov. 9, Nicholls*, 3 p.m.
Nov. 16, at Southeastern Louisiana*, TBA
Nov. 23, at Central Arkansas*, TBA
*-Southland Conference game


text:
On "The Face of the Dam: Vivian Jones"
Shoshana Wechsler
. . . This is a lyrical recasting of the story from the point of view of a railroad man who transported silica ore from the mines. Once again we encounter incantatory repetitions of "glass""hundreds breathed value, filled their lungs full of glass / (O the gay wind the clouds the many men)"but they are served up this time with a seething poetic diction that blatantly satirizes another recent account of the technological sublime. ("O proud O white O water rolling down" (OS 15) effectively conjures Hart Crane, even if it does him serious injustice.) The artificial diction turns democratically on its own maker, as well, by calling attention to the section's literary preciosity. But when Vivian Jones's improbably mannered speech yields at last to the neutral language of federal investigation in "Praise of the Committee," the flat exposition is in turn undercut by an emotional, paranoically charged lyric that conveys an accusatory gaze: "In this man's face / family leans out from two worlds of graves/ here is a room of eyes, / a single force looks out, reading our life." The relentless seesawing of sound and image, and contradictory linguistic textures and tonalities, keeps our eyes sharply focused onand pays a referential debt tothe extratextual referents who, "reading our life," demand the payment of an explanation: "Who runs through electric wires? / Who speaks down every road? / Their hands touched mastery; now they / demand an answer" (OS 17).
The demand for accountability echoes through the dramatic monologues spoken by Mearl Blankenship, George Robinson. Juanita Tinsley, Arthur Peyton, and others. And answer is given in the deadly, luminous details of the Gauley Bridge environs, categorized simply as "the most audacious landscape. The gangster's / stance with his gun smoking and out is not so / vicious as this commercial field, its hill of glass. "
from "A Mat(t)er of Fact and Vision: The Objectivity Question and Rukeyser's 'The Book of the Dead'" in "How Shall We Tell Each Other of the Poet?": The Life and Writing of Muriel Rukeyser. Ed. Anne F. Herzog and Janet E. Kaufman. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999. Copyright © 1999 by Anne E. Herzog and Janet E. Kaufman.
Return to Muriel Rukeyser


text:
by Mike Masnick
Fri, Sep 24th 2010 3:20pm
Filed Under:
hurt locker, quashed, subpoenas
midcontinent communications, us copyright group
Last month, we noted that at least one ISP, Midcontinent Communications, was actually fighting the mass subpoenas from US Copyright Group in its attempt to demand money from people associated with IP addresses that allegedly shared the movie Hurt Locker. It looks like the judge has, indeed, quashed the subpoenas, noting a series of procedural problems with them (notably, these are mostly the same procedural problems with the subpoena recently sent to us). This doesn't mean that things are over, as US Copyright Group can try to follow the rules next time around, but it should be a reminder to companies that just because you receive a subpoena, it doesn't mean you just have to roll over and hand over information. You have every right to make sure that it's within what the law allows.
If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...
- On Speech And Subpoenas, New York Giveth And Taketh (First, The Good News On Platform Jurisdiction)
- Cops Aren't Just Submitting DNA Samples To Genealogy Services; They're Also Obtaining Customer Info
- DOJ Asks Supreme Court To Dump Microsoft Case, Let It Use New CLOUD Act To Demand Overseas Data
- Lawsuit Against First US Copyright Trolls For Extortion Ends In Victory
- Hurt Locker Producers Now Understand The Copyright Troll Shakedown Better: Sue 2,514 More Defendants
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
Anonymous Coward, 24 Sep 2010 @ 4:44pmI saw the movie through a copy somebody gave me and it is a horrible movie, how it got an Oscar I will not ever understand still I hope people bring pain and misery for the parties involved in this scam to defraud people.
Now a lot of people can use the "this is not the right venue" and quash all the others.
abc gum, 24 Sep 2010 @ 6:29pmI read that movie sucked
average_joe (profile), 25 Sep 2010 @ 7:36amIt's subpoena, singular, not subpoenas, plural.
Midcontinent listed four reasons for quashing the subpoena:
(1) invalid service of process
(2) the subpoena was not issued under the authority of a court described in Rule 45, i.e., the subpoena should be issued under the authority of the District of South Dakota under Rule 45(a)(2)
(3) the parties whose identities are sought by Voltage have not been notified of the subpoena as Rule 45 requires
(4) money was not attached to the subpoena to reimburse Midcontinent for their costs of producing the information
The judge only had to look to (1) to decide in Midcontinent's favor: "Service by facsimile transmission in not an authorized method of service under the Rule." You can't just fax a subpoena someone. Duh!
Now, I wouldn't get too excited about this. It was a simple yet stupid mistake by USCG, IMO. They could very easily fix all of these problems and resubmit the subpoena properly. Considering that the 143 defendants in question could mean hundreds of thousands of dollars in potential settlements, I will be surprised if USCG doesn't fix their mistakes and resubmit the subpoena.
Still, there is plenty of egg on USCG's face for this mistake. We should all take a moment and laugh at them. ;)
Anonymous Coward, 25 Sep 2010 @ 11:51am
Re:Is this really you? I think this is the first time I've ever read on of your posts that's accurate, and even happens to agree with mike, nice to see you've become more reasonable.
I'll bet the next time if they properly resubmit it, Midcontinent will fight it again and win. This time, it was denied on procedural grounds simply because that was far easier than fighting it on the basis of it's substance.
average_joe (profile), 25 Sep 2010 @ 12:10pm
Re: Re:I think it's hilarious that USCG just faxed this subpoena to South Dakota. What were they thinking?
If USCG does it right and resubmits it, it will not be denied. I don't care how hard Midcontinent fights it. There's just no legal basis to deny these subpoenas if they are properly submitted.
There's really no reason to think Midcontinent would even fight it if it were proper. If you read their brief you'll see that they are all to happy to play along if USCG submits a proper subpoena. They said it'll take them 3.5 hours to look up the 143 names. I'm sure USCG will be more than happy to take them up on that.
And my posts are always accurate, thank you very much. ;)
corberlaw (profile), 25 Sep 2010 @ 3:22pm
the south dakota decisionSomeone needs to post a link to the court's actual decision so that it may be used in other jurisdictions.
average_joe (profile), 25 Sep 2010 @ 3:42pm
Re: the south dakota decisionYou can read the order here: http://www.scribd.com/full/38126847?access_key=key-2j8tnlqyaro2v6j5r6co
This was a pretty unique circumstance. The issue was that Midcontinent wasn't in the D.C. court's jurisdiction. I'm pretty sure all of the other ISPs involved are in the court's jurisdiction. And for ISPs that aren't, I don't see USCG making this same mistake again in the future.
surfer, 26 Sep 2010 @ 6:00am
you can bet..you can bet it is not the last, at least until the ambulance chasers have their license to practice law revoked.
Hurting Locker, 29 Sep 2010 @ 3:15pmHow can the ISP prove you are the actual downloader if the interenet is not secure?


text:
François Cluzet doesn't have any movies playing in theaters.
If you feel like heading out, check out other movies in theaters.
The Intouchables
Little White Lies
One Deadly Summer
L'Instinct de L'ange
Tell No One
The Swindle
Wind from Wyoming
Story of Women
The Horseman on the Roof
Movies.com, the ultimate source for everything movies, is your destination for new movie trailers, reviews, photos, times, tickets + more! Stay in the know with the latest movie news and cast interviews at Movies.com.
Copyright © 2018 FANDANGO MOVIES.


text:
Survey Respondents Working More on New Products than Safe Line Extensions
Forget the economy. Respondents to our survey say theyre working more on new products than on safe line extensions.
There's a lot of talk that most fortunes are made during economic downturns. Food & beverage companies must be heeding that advice because, while we expected to paint a glum picture of product development priorities for 2009, the data from our annual R&D Survey indicate otherwise.
While last year fewer than a third of respondents indicated new product development would be the most important target of R&D efforts, this year the figure jumped to nearly half — 48 percent. In second place for 2009 is existing product improvement, at 30 percent.
When you look at the money going into R&D, the above numbers make sense. As a new question for 2009, we asked the blunt "What's happened to your R&D dept. budget this year?" Nearly three-quarters are, smartly, maintaining (58 percent) or even increasing (14 percent) R&D budgets. Only 28 percent have had their budgets cut.
Here's where food & beverage processors are far smarter in Economics 101 than any banker or broker. The best time for growth is actually during a downturn, because money and other resources are cheap and your competitors are retrenching. This shows it's not just a fluke food companies have been weathering the economic implosion better than those in almost any other industry.
Top issues impacting R&D strategy this year are food safety (No. 1 with 54 percent of respondents, with a weighted score of 5.13), manufacturing cost reduction (score of 4.29), organic/natural (3.31), preventive health (2.97), sustainable/eco-friendly (2.82) and palliative health (2.47).
Despite the above good news on new product development, a touch of caution showed up in a later, similar question. That earlier one asked "Which of the following will be most important this year?" This second question asked "Which of the following tasks is your R&D team most used for?" Last year, 90 percent said they were devoted to new product development, 84 percent to product improvement/reformulation and 50 percent to making prototypes. For 2009, the emphases are 63 percent for product improvement/reformulation, 62 percent toward new product development and 23 percent toward making prototypes.
On the flip side, devoting R&D energies to cost-cutting actually dropped — significantly — to a little more than a third (39 percent) compared to last year being greater than half (53 percent). But that's still a lot of effort going into slashing expenses.
(Note: Of all the cost-cutting strategies noted in the responses, perhaps the most unusual — and intriguing, if it works — came from a Paraguayan company connected to the Universidad Naçional de Asunción. It will try to extract phytochemicals from vegetable waste.)
Who's the decision-maker?
Once again, 70 percent of respondents to our survey report a centralized, corporate level decision-making process regarding new product development, leaving 30 percent reporting new product development decisions are the realm of individual business units or others lower on the totem pole.
Two-thirds of companies responding still have a formal product development team. That team also still is predominantly R&D, followed by Marketing, then Manufacturing and Management, with the remaining titles holding their same positions as before.
Breaking down which departments set product development goals showed but slight change over last year. Corporate brass and management (CEO/CFO/President and General Management) held the reins a little tighter, primary goal-setters for 92 percent of teams versus 89 percent last year. As a result, R&D's power slipped from 81 percent to 74 percent and Marketing/Sales from 72 to 66 percent.
In answering "Does it fit our brand?" Marketing and Top Brass divvied things up evenly, sharing 63 percent of that decision; last year Marketing was on top by a couple percentage points. Marketing still decides if a product or reformulation fits the marketing strategy, and of course the "Can we make money?" question is still the realm of the head honchos — with one odd exception: This year, outside suppliers influenced that decision for 44 percent of respondents, putting them ahead of even internal R&D and Plant Ops people. Hmmm. This is significant, implying a stronger role for suppliers in the economics of new product/formulation decisions.
Join the discussion
We welcome your thoughtful comments.
All comments will display your user name.
Want to participate in the discussion?Register for free
Log in for complete access.
No one has commented on this page yet.
RSS feed for comments on this page | RSS feed for all comments


text:
The Immigration Appeals Centre in London has denied the asylum appeal of four of the 31 Afghan asylum seekers who were on board the hijacked Afghan aircraft that arrived at Stansted airport in Essex on February 7 of this year. A 21-year-old former medical student told immigration officials, "I'm not prepared to go back to Afghanistan under any circumstances. If the worst comes to the worst you will have to kill me and send my body back to Afghanistan." He reported that he had received lashings and been imprisoned by the Taliban militia for serving women in his work at a tailor shop. The brutal gender apartheid policies of the Taliban have systematically stripped women and girls in Afghanistan of their visibility, voice, and mobility. Judge Hubert Dunn described the medical students claim to asylum as "all but non-existent." Alarmingly, one woman was among the most recent four denied asylum.
The asylum-seekers appealed Home Secretary Jack Straw's decision to deny them political asylum because they claim to fear that the Taliban militia will kill them if they are returned to Afghanistan. Those denied asylum have 10 days to make a final appeal. The verdict on the remaining appeals are expected to be handed down in the next few days.
Media Resources: Ananova 27 July 2000; BBC News 27 July 2000
© Feminist Majority Foundation, publisher of Ms. magazine
If you liked this story, consider making a tax-deductible donation to support Ms. magazine.
More Feminist News
Search Feminist Wire >>
Feminist Wire Archive >>