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Come along and join in the fun at the annual Christmas Market being held in Picton Street, Montpelier on Saturday the 13th of December, 2014.
The excitement starts at 11.00 am and finish around 7.00.
Among other things you'll find:
Lots of effort has gone into making a fabulous event and EVERYONE is welcome.
Join us at Picton St Bristol, City of Bristol BS6 5QA on Saturday the 13th of December for a great day out.
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Sunday, July 25, 2010
Evil Eye
There's an adage that says "It's better to apologize than ask permission." Or maybe it's "Shoot first and ask questions later." Either applies with this tribal elder who was none too pleased with this shot. It's a good thing there were 200mm of glass between us.
Posted by Steve Immel at 3:05 PM 2 comments:
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Exit Wound
This pick-up truck north of Taos has been photographed countless times and it's a challenge to capture it a fresh way. Focusing on the hole left by an apparent bullet seems to do this but begs the question, where did it enter?
Posted by Steve Immel at 12:28 PM 2 comments:
Monday, July 12, 2010
Shades of Brown
This shallow focus detail of barb wire before a blurred sea of grass and dirt creates an elegant design from the most mundane of subjects.
Posted by Steve Immel at 9:31 AM No comments:
Monday, July 05, 2010
After Stieglitz
Rose crossed her hands over her breasts in a pose reminiscent of Georgia O'Keefe as photographed by Alfred Stieglitz. Was it modesty or an homage to the photographer and his muse?
Posted by Steve Immel at 9:39 AM 7 comments:
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subset: commoncrawl


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In this tutorial we complete the implementation of the camera by enabling direction control using the mouse. There are various levels of freedom which are associated with the design of the camera. We are going to enable the level of control you come to expect in a first person game (shooter or otherwise). This means we will be able to turn the camera 360 degrees (around the positive Y axis), which corresponds to turning your head left or right and completing a full circle with your body. In addition, we will be able to tilt the camera up and down to get a better view above or below. We won't be able to turn the camera up until we complete a full circle or tilt it in a way a plane fuselage tilts during a turn. These levels of freedom are in the domain of flight simulators which is out of scope for this tutorial. At any rate, we will have a camera that will allow us to conveniently explore the 3D world will are going to develop in the coming tutorials.
The following world war 2 anti aircraft gun demonstrates the kind of camera we are going to build:
The gun has two control axis:
- It can turn 360 degrees around the vector (0,1,0). This angle is called the 'horizontal angle' and the vector is the 'vertical axis'.
- It can tilt up and down around a vector which is parallel to the ground. This movement is somewhat limited and the gun cannot complete a full circle. This angle is called the 'vertical angle' and the vector is the 'horizontal axis'. Note that while the vertical axis is constant (0,1,0) the horizontal axis turns around with the gun and is always perpendicular to the target of the gun. This is a key point to understand in order to get the math correctly.
The plan is to follow the movement of the mouse and change the horizontal angle when the mouse moves left and right and the vertical angle when the mouse moves up and down. Given these two angles we want to calculate the target and up vectors.
Turning the target vector by the horizontal angle is pretty straightforward. Using basic trigonometry we can see that the Z component of the target vector is the sine of the horizontal angle and the X component is the cosine of the horizontal angle (at this stage the camera looks straight ahead so the Y is zero). Revisit tutorial 7 to see a diagram of that.
Turning the target vector by the vertical angle is more complex since the horizontal axis turns along with the camera. The horizontal axis can be calculated using a cross product between the vertical axis and the target vector after is was turned by the horizontal angle, but turning around an arbitrary vector (lifting the gun up and down) can be tricky.
Luckily, we have an extremely useful mathematical tool for that problem - the quaternion. Quaternions were discovered in 1843 by Sir Willilam Rowan Hamilton, an irish mathematician, and are based on the complex number system. The quaternion 'Q' is defined as:
Where i, j and k are complex numbers and the following equation holds true:
In practice, we specify a quaternion as the 4-vector (x, y, z, w). The conjugate of quaternion 'Q' is defined as:
Normalizing a quaternion is the same as normalizing a vector. I'm going to describe the steps required to rotate a vector around an arbitrary vector using a quaternion. More details about the mathematical proof behind the steps can be found on the web.
The general function to calculate a quaternion 'W' that represents the rotated vector 'V' by the angle 'a' is:
Where Q is the rotation quaternion which is defined as:
After calculating 'W' the rotated vector is simply (W.x,W.y,W.z). An important point to note in the calculation of 'W' is that first we need to multiple 'Q' by 'V' which is a quaternion-by-vector multiplication that results in a quaternion, and then we need to do a quaternion-by-quaternion multiplication (the result of Q*V multiplied by the conjugate of 'Q'). The two types of multiplications are not the same. The file math_3d.cpp includes the implementations of these multiplication types.
We will need to keep the horizontal and vertical angles updated all the time as the user moves the mouse around the screen and we need to decide how to initialize them. The logical choice is to initialize them according to the target vector that is supplied to the constructor of the camera. Let's start with the horizontal angle. Take a look at the following diagram which looks down the XZ plane from above:
The target vector is (x,z) and we want to find the horizontal angle which is represented by the letter alpha (the Y component is relevant only for the vertical angle). Since the length of the radius of the circle is 1 it is very easy to see that the sine function of alpha is exactly z. Therefore, calculating the asine of z will provide alpha. Are we done? - not yet. Since z can be in the range [-1,1], the result of asine is -90 degrees to +90 degrees. But the range of the horizontal angle is 360 degrees. In addition, our quaternion does rotation clockwise. This means that when we rotate 90 degrees with the quaternion we end up with -1 on the Z axis which is opposite to the actual sine of 90 degrees (which is 1). IMHO, the easiest way to get this right is to always calculate the asine function using the positive value of Z and combine the result with the specific quarter of the circle where the vector is located. For example, when our target vector is (0,1) we calculate the asine of 1 which is 90 and substract it from 360. The result is 270. The asine range of 0 to 1 is 0 to 90 degrees. Combine that with the specific quarter of the circle and you get the final horizontal angle.
Calculating the vertical angle is a bit simpler. We are going to limit the range of movement to -90 degrees (equal to 270 degrees - looking straight up) to +90 degrees (looking straight down). This means we only need the negative value of the asine function of the Y component in the target vector. When Y equals 1 (looking straight up) the asine is 90 so we just need to reverse the sign. When Y equals -1 (looking straight down) the asine is -90 and reversing the sign gets us to 90. If you are confused check the diagram again and simply replace Z with Y and X with Z.
Source walkthru
Camera::Camera(int WindowWidth, int WindowHeight, const Vector3f& Pos, const Vector3f& Target, const Vector3f& Up)
m_windowWidth = WindowWidth;
m_windowHeight = WindowHeight;
m_pos = Pos;
m_target = Target;
m_up = Up;
The constructor of the camera now gets the dimensions of the window. We need it in order to move the mouse to the center of the screen. In addition, note the call to Init() which sets up the internal camera attributes.
void Camera::Init()
Vector3f HTarget(m_target.x, 0.0, m_target.z);
if (HTarget.z >= 0.0f)
if (HTarget.x >= 0.0f)
m_AngleH = 360.0f - ToDegree(asin(HTarget.z));
m_AngleH = 180.0f + ToDegree(asin(HTarget.z));
if (HTarget.x >= 0.0f)
m_AngleH = ToDegree(asin(-HTarget.z));
m_AngleH = 180.0f - ToDegree(asin(-HTarget.z));
m_AngleV = -ToDegree(asin(m_target.y));
m_OnUpperEdge = false;
m_OnLowerEdge = false;
m_OnLeftEdge = false;
m_OnRightEdge = false;
m_mousePos.x = m_windowWidth / 2;
m_mousePos.y = m_windowHeight / 2;
glutWarpPointer(m_mousePos.x, m_mousePos.y);
In the Init() function we start by calculating the horizontal angle. We create a new target vector called HTarget (horizontal target) which is a projection of the original target vector on the XZ plane. Next we normalize it (since the math that was described earlier assumes a unit vector on the XZ plane). Then we check which quarter the target vector belongs to and calculate the final angle based on the positive value of the Z component. Next we calculate the vertical angle which is much simpler.
The camera has 4 new flags to indicate whether the mouse is positioned on one of the edges of the screen. We are going to implement an automatic turn in the corresponding direction when that happens. This will allow us to turn 360 degrees. We initialize the flags to FALSE since the mouse starts at the center of the screen. The next two lines of code calculate where the center of the screen is (based on the window dimension) and the new function glutWarpPointer actually moves the mouse. Starting with the mouse at the center of the screen makes life much simpler.
void Camera::OnMouse(int x, int y)
const int DeltaX = x - m_mousePos.x;
const int DeltaY = y - m_mousePos.y;
m_mousePos.x = x;
m_mousePos.y = y;
m_AngleH += (float)DeltaX / 20.0f;
m_AngleV += (float)DeltaY / 20.0f;
if (DeltaX == 0) {
if (x <= MARGIN) {
m_OnLeftEdge = true;
else if (x >= (m_windowWidth - MARGIN)) {
m_OnRightEdge = true;
else {
m_OnLeftEdge = false;
m_OnRightEdge = false;
if (DeltaY == 0) {
if (y <= MARGIN) {
m_OnUpperEdge = true;
else if (y >= (m_windowHeight - MARGIN)) {
m_OnLowerEdge = true;
else {
m_OnUpperEdge = false;
m_OnLowerEdge = false;
This function is used to notify the camera that the mouse moved. The parameters are the new screen position of the mouse. We start by calculating the delta from the previous location on both the X and Y axis. Next we store the new values for the next call to the function. We update the current horizontal and vertical angles by scaling down the deltas. I'm using a scaling value which works fine for me but on different computers you may want different scaling values. We are going to improve this in a future tutorial when we add the frame rate of the application as a factor.
The next set of tests update the 'm_On*Edge' flags according to the location of the mouse. There is a margin which is by default 10 pixels that triggers the "edge" behavior when the mouse gets close to one of the edges of the screen. Finally, we call Update() to recalculate the target and up vectors based on the new horizontal and vertical angles.
void Camera::OnRender()
bool ShouldUpdate = false;
if (m_OnLeftEdge) {
m_AngleH -= 0.1f;
ShouldUpdate = true;
else if (m_OnRightEdge) {
m_AngleH += 0.1f;
ShouldUpdate = true;
if (m_OnUpperEdge) {
if (m_AngleV > -90.0f) {
m_AngleV -= 0.1f;
ShouldUpdate = true;
else if (m_OnLowerEdge) {
if (m_AngleV < 90.0f) {
m_AngleV += 0.1f;
ShouldUpdate = true;
if (ShouldUpdate) {
This function is called from the main render loop. We need it for cases where the mouse is located on one of the edges of the screen and is not moving. In this case there are no mouse events but we still want the camera to continuously move (until the mouse moves away from the edge). We check if one of the flags is set and update the corresponding angle accordingly. If there was a change in one of the angles we call Update() to update the target and up vectors. When the mouse moves aways from the screen we detect it in the mouse event handler and clear the flag. Note the way the vertical angle is limited between the ranges -90 degrees and +90 degrees. This is to prevent a full circle when looking up or down.
void Camera::Update()
const Vector3f Vaxis(0.0f, 1.0f, 0.0f);
// Rotate the view vector by the horizontal angle around the vertical axis
Vector3f View(1.0f, 0.0f, 0.0f);
View.Rotate(m_AngleH, Vaxis);
// Rotate the view vector by the vertical angle around the horizontal axis
Vector3f Haxis = Vaxis.Cross(View);
View.Rotate(m_AngleV, Haxis);
m_target = View;
m_up = m_target.Cross(Haxis);
This function updates the target and up vector according to the horizontal and vertical angles. We start with the view vector in a "reset" state. This means it is parallel to the gound (vertical angle is zero) and looking directly to the right (horizontal angle is zero - see the diagram above). We set the vertical axis to point straight up and then rotate the view vector around it by the horizontal angle. The result is a vector which points in the general direction of the intended target but not necessarily in the correct height (i.e. it is on the XZ plane). By doing a cross product of this vector with the vertical axis we get another vector on the XZ plane which is perpendicular to the plane created by the view vector and the vertical axis. This is our new horizontal axis and now it is time to rotate the vector up or down around it according to the vertical angle. The result is the final target vector and we set it into the corresponding member attribute. Now we must fix the up vector. For example, if the camera is looking up, the up vector must tilt back to compensate (it must be 90 degrees in respect to the target vector). This is similar to the way the back of your head tilts back when you look up to the sky. The new up vector is calculated by simply doing another cross product between the final target vector and the horizontal axis. If the vertical angle is still zero then the target vector remains on the XZ plane and the up vector remains (0,1,0). If the target vector is tilted up or down the up vector will tilt backward or forward, respectively.
These glut functions enable our application to run full screen in the so called high performance 'game mode'. It makes turning the camera 360 degrees simpler because all you need to do is pull the mouse towards one of the edges of the screen. Note the resolution and the bits per pixel that are configured via the game mode string. 32 bits per pixel provides the maximum number of colors for rendering.
pGameCamera = new Camera(WINDOW_WIDTH, WINDOW_HEIGHT);
The camera is now allocated dynamically at this location because it performs a glut call (glutWarpPointer). This call will fail if glut has not yet been initialized.
We register two new glut callback functions here. One is for the mouse and the other for regular keyboard clicks (the special keyboard callback traps directional and function keys). Passive motion means that the mouse moves without any of its buttons pressed.
static void KeyboardCB(unsigned char Key, int x, int y)
switch (Key) {
case 'q':
static void PassiveMouseCB(int x, int y)
pGameCamera->OnMouse(x, y);
Now that we are using a full screen mode it is more difficult to exit the application. The keyboard callback traps the 'q' key and exits. The mouse callback simply transfers the location of the mouse to the camera.
static void RenderSceneCB()
Whenever we are in the main render loop we must notify the camera. This gives the camera a chance to turn when the mouse is not moving and is on one of the screen edges.
For more information on this subject check out the following video tutorial by Frahaan Hussain.Next tutorial


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Eight years after that survey, however, at the 1996 Conference for the International Association for Feminist Economists, Yasmeen Mohiuddin, from The University of the South in Tennessee, challenged it. She argued that the assumptions under which the survey was conducted were flawed, and that they wrongly made Muslim countries look bad. Arguing for a different and fairer set of premises, she jimmied the data to create an "Alternative Composite" (AC) index, which yielded rather different results. In particular, as she pointed out, the status of women dropped dramatically in the United States on her index. The country that came out on top this time was the Soviet Union, which had however, disappeared from the real world in the interim. In fact, the USSR turned out to be the ONLY country where the status of women ranked as "very good." Despite the tweaking, Muslim countries still came out pretty poorly.
What should we make of Dr. Mohiuddin's complaints? Was the UN study in fact flawed? Was the status of women really "poor" in the United States in 1988 -- well below Vietnam and Puerto Rico - and "very good" only in the USSR?
If so, does that undermine my argument? Maybe Christianity hasn't had such a great effect, and if we love our mothers and sisters, we should become communists instead?
Let's take a look.
Mohiuddin began with an overview, which in part highlighted how American and Soviet positions altered under the new regime:
Out of the seven overall rankings of `excellent', `very good', `good', `fair', `poor', `very poor', `and `extremely poor', the U.S. ranks poor in the AC index compared to very good in the PCC index, the U.S.S.R. ranks very good in the AC index compared to good in the PCC index, the Nordic countries generally rank fair in the AC index compared to very good in the PCC index, while South Asian countries rank extremely poor, and the eastern European countries good, in both indices. Similarly, all Muslim countries do not rank the worst, neither do all Nordic countries the best. In fact, several Latin American countries and a few African and Asian countries rank fair alongside some western European countries.
It will be interesting to see how Mohiuddin arrives at such conclusions.
Mohiuddin begins by offering a series of generalizations, such as "Everywhere in the world women are accorded a lower status than men." She claims that in "developed" countries (whatever they are), this lower status is manifest in "women being paid considerably less than men in all occupational fields and industry categories," being "confined" to low-paying jobs, and in "greater family responsibilities due to divorce, abandonment, single motherhood, etc."
I don't much believe the first part of this. Mohiuddin does not seem to allow for the fact that pay is just one good, and that women may choose different fields because they offer more flexibility or other advantages.
But this latter point seems well-taken. The UN survey made too little allowance for the harm single motherhood and divorce cause women (not to mention children).
The most serious shortcoming of the PCC index is that it is heavily influenced by the extent of poverty or per capita income of a country. Consequently, the PCC index almost invariably assigns a high rank to high income countries and a low rank to low income countries. This is because it does not distinguish between the absolute status of women and the relative status of women vis-a-vis men. An index of women's status should measure, as it does in the case of the U.S., for example, the status of women relative to men, and comparisons between countries should focus on women's status relative to men's in one country compared to another. It should not compare the absolute position of women in one country to their position in the other.
This seems deeply dubious. Is the status of women higher in Russia than in Japan, because women live 12 years longer than men in Russian (76 to 64), while they live only seven years longer than men in Japan (86 to 79)? Is it an advantage to Russian women if their fathers get drunk and freeze to death in the streets? And does that advantage really make up for living ten years less long, themselves?
That would take the War of the Sexes a little too seriously.
Thus the comparison of female literacy rates in two countries would be a poorer measure of women's status relative to men's than a comparison of the gender gap in literacy because the former is more a reflection of the income level of the two countries rather than of women's status per se. In a poor country, literacy rates are low both for poor men and poor women; the gender gap measures the relatively greater disadvantage for women. The PCC index uses several such poverty-biased indicators of women's health (such as female mortality rates, female life expectancy, adolescent marriages) and of education (such as female literacy rates, enrollments rates) which lead to the predicted result that women's status is positively related to income. But high income or growth does not guarantee high status for women any more than markets do, unless an enabling environment is in place. Thus only gender gap variables are relevant in constructing an index measuring the status of women relative to men, and only such variables are included in the new AC index.
Again, while it is true that status does often imply a comparison, and the UN study does also compare men and women in many of its questions, it also seems highly legitimate that other questions zero in on the far more important question of absolute well-being. We should not compare men and women as if ours were a zero-sum game: a loss for men is a gain for women, and vice-versa. If Christianity can help both men and women improve their lives, that is ideal. It would be bizarre to say that Abeerah has a higher status than Anna, because neither Abeerah nor her husband can read, while Anna has an MA, but her husband has a PhD.
Mohiuddin then points out that in developing countries, women often work without pay on farms, or in the "urban informal sector," whatever that means. (Maids in Hong Kong? Prostitutes in Pattaya?) She continues:
It has been argued that countries with a traditional Chinese culture or predominantly Hindu or Muslim populations have more restrictive attitudes towards women's participation in sales and clerical jobs than elsewhere. In Muslim countries, there is no restriction on women's employment per se, but there is a sort of a social censure on work done outside the home or the family farm.
This is the sort of strange pattern of words you sometimes see in articles written about life surveyed from the level of satellites orbiting the Earth.
Chinese women work in sales by the millions. That may not be true of Muslim and Hindu cultures, but let's not get them mixed up.
And how strange that last sentence is, kind of like the doctor telling you, "Yes, you may climb as many mountains as you like, provided you hop on one foot." There are no restrictions on employment, so long as you don't leave the property? That'll be great comfort to all those female Saudi farmers who sell their goods from roadside stands.
Several indicators within and between sectors in the PCC index reflect similar phenomenon, and are thus redundant. Worse still, they increase the weight on certain indicators. Thus female infant mortality, female life expectancy at birth, and gender gap in life expectancy at birth all measure more or less similar variables: the health gender gap variable should suffice.
Well, no, since how long one lives is disproportionally important. It should carry special weight.
Similarly, female mortality rate (listed as a health indicator), and total fertility rate, contraceptive prevalence, adolescent marriages (all 3 listed as marriage and childbearing indicators) measure, in fact, women's health and so could be combined into one variable. All together, there are seven indicators on health out of a total of 20, making the PCC index largely a health index which not surprisingly is highly correlated to poverty.
Marriage and childbirth are not just "health issues," that's rather narcissistic in effect if not intent. But having one fourth to one third of variables relate to health and life-expectancy does not seem out of line to me.
Shortly after, Mohiuddin gives the PCC results, which I list again here:
Table I : Country Rankings Of Women's Status By Old PCC Index
Very Good Peru 57.5
Sweden 87 Thailand 57.5
Finland 85 Dominican Republic 57
United States 82.5 Paraguay 57
Germany, East 82 El Slavador 55.5
Norway 81.5 Brazil 54.5
Canada 80.5 Nicaragua 54.5
Denmark 80 Botswana 53
South Africa 52.5
Good Turkey 52.5
Australia 79.5 Honduras 52
Bulgaria 78 Jordan 50
Jamaica 77.5
Belgium 77 Very Poor
Czecholslovakia 77 Kuwait 49.5
Hungary 77 Tunisia 49
USSR 77 Algeria 47.5
New Zealand 76.5 Bolivia 47
France 76 Iraq 47
Germany, West 76 Zimbabwe 47
Austria 75.5 Indonesia 46.5
Poland 75.5 Guatemala 46
Netherlands 75 Lesotho 45.5
United Kingdom 74.5 Kenya 45
Barbados 74 Mozambique 44.5
Italy 74 Haiti 43.5
Switzerland 73 India 43.5
Yugoslavia 72 United Arab Emirates 43
Portugal 71.5 Zambia 42
Israel 71 Cameroon 40
Greece 70 Syria 40
Spain 70
Uruguay 70 Extremely Poor
Tanzania 39.5
Fair Morocco 39
Costa Rica 69.5 Rwanda 38.5
Hong Kong 69.5 Benin 38
Cuba 69 Egypt 38
Japan 68.5 Nepal 37
Argentina 68 Libya 36.5
Romania 68 Liberia 34
Trinidad & Tobago 68 Senegal 33
Panama 67.5 Malawi 32
Taiwan 67 Sudan 31.5
Venezuela 67 Saudi Arabia 29.5
Singapore 66.5 Nigeria 29
Ireland 66 Pakistan 28
Philippines 64 Yemen, North 26.5
Korea, South 62 Afghanistan 26
Mexico 61.5 Mali 26
Ecuador 61 Bangladesh 21.5
Colombia 60
Sri Lanka 60
Chile 59.5
Guyana 59.5
China 58.5
Malaysia 58
The PCC index also fails to incorporate some indicators which reflect women's high esteem in some Third World countries, particularly Muslim countries. These include the informal safety net in developing countries, the protection guarantee which ensures that women are not left alone to fend for themselves, the relatively lower rates of crimes against women, the overrepresentation of women in the professions, the relatively lower percentage of women-headed households, etc. Conversely, the PCC index fails to incorporate some indicators which capture the plight of women workers in developed countries such as the gender wage gap and occupational segregation, as well as the tremendous increase in women-headed households due to divorce, abandonment, single motherhood, and a general breakdown in the family system.
This it seems to me, includes a mixture of good points and bad. Note that none of them actually bare strongly on the comparative status of women, which Mohiuddin emphasized earlier -- maybe women aren't robbed because they don't have much money, for instance. Some of them are ambiguous. Women don't head many households in the Muslim world -- is that a good thing, or a bad thing? I don't know if you can call it either, in the abstract. But if it means you can't drive to work or make a living, that seems pretty hard.
Eight Factors in the Alternative Composite (AC)
Mohiuddin then explains her alternative ranking. I will cite parts of her argument.
To remedy these defects while still using the PCC index as the reference point, the paper presents an alternative composite (AC) index based on several indicators in eight sectors: health, schooling, adult education, labor force participation, conditions of employment, domestic life, political representation, and legal rights . . . The following is a description of the indicators in different sectors.
1. The Health Sector.
We have used two indicators to compare women's health status to men's within each country: the gender gap in life expectancy at birth (measured as female minus male life expectancy), and the sex ratio (measured as the number of women per 100 men).
I explained above why focusing on gaps is problematic. Mohiuddin points out that in some South Asian countries, women have less access to health care and nutrition, and also face widow burning, female infanticide, and selective abortion. Certainly that does strongly indicate that the status of women is extremely low in countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Iran, Afghanistan, Malawi, and Tunisia, which she mentions. But the fact that men kill themselves off at inordinate rates does not mean the status of women is especially high in former communist countries.
2. The Schooling Sector.
We have used gender gap in primary school enrollments (measured as the ratio of female to male enrollment at this level * 100) and the gender gap in secondary school enrollments (measured as the ratio of female to male enrollment at this level * 100) as measures of women's status as far as education in early years is concerned.
3. The Adult Education Sector.
The two indicators used to compare adult women's education status to adult men's within each country are the gender gap in adult illiteracy (measured as the percentage of illiterate females in the 25 years and above age group minus the percentage of illiterate males in the same age group), and the gender gap in university and college enrollments (measured as the ratio of female to male enrollment at this level * 100).
In university and college enrollments, the numbers of women and men have become nearly equal in the developed regions, western Asia, some countries of Southern Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean, with women outnumbering men in 21 out of 98 countries for which such data are reported (9 in developed countries, 7 in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 5 in Asia and the Pacific), with Puerto Rico and Qatar having more than 150 women enrolled in colleges and universities for every 100 men . . . A higher ratio of female to male enrollment indicates a higher status for women relative to men because of the greater competitive edge it provides.
Generally, this seems reasonable, but it is also based on zero-sum thinking, and brings up another issue. Mohiuddin has claimed, rather dogmatically, that the status of women is always lower than it is for men. So how does one explain it when almost 60% of college students are female, as in the United States? Can't that be called gender discrimination against men? And what is ideal? What if some men get good blue collar jobs, while young women waste time and money on acquiring degrees which don't pay? And what if they know that, and go to college anyway, for reasons other than to get rich?
In Japan, almost all my students in cultural studies and nursing were girls. The boys tended to go to engineering, science, or (I suppose) business schools, though I didn't teach any of those. There was little question in my mind which was going to make the real money on graduation.
4. The Labor Force Participation Sector.
The two indicators of women's labor force status used in this study are the gender gap in the economic activity rate (measured as the percentage of adult (15 years and over) women who are economically active minus the percentage of adult men who are economically active) and women's share of the labor force (measured as the percentage of the economically active population that is female). Higher values of both these indicators reflect higher status of women since work is associated with earning power, mobility, etc.
This seems so confused and simplistic, one is tempted to jettison Mohiuddin's analysis entirely at this point. What matters is what kind of work is being done. Planting rice on a farm, which is what this means for many women, does not give those who plant it much "earning power," still less "mobility." This index seems to deprecate the work of housewives. It also seems to penalize developed countries for the fact that women live long enough to retire, which is bizarre.
5. The Employment Conditions Sector.
In Cyprus, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, women's wages are the lowest in relation to men's (50%) among those countries for which data are available. Only a few countries report women's wages as high as 75-90% of men's -- such as Iceland, France, Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, and Netherlands among the developed regions, Tanzania and Kenya in Africa, and Jordan and Sri Lanka in Asia. One of the reasons for women's lower wages is that they are concentrated in low-paying jobs, the female `ghettos', in every economy . . .
The low paying job ratio varies from a maximum of 542 women per 100 men in these jobs (sales, clerical, and service) in Haiti, to a minimum of 7 in Syria . . . The advantage of using this index is that it would capture the plight of women workers in the developed countries since the `low-paying job ratio' would be higher in these countries meaning a lower status of women.
Again, this analysis seems driven more by ideology than good sense. So is it bad that there are lots of saleswomen in Haiti, but good that women are excluded even from selling t-shirts in a department store in Syria? Both would seem to be problems for different reasons, and it is hard to say, a priori, which is worse. One needs to study the conditions on the ground to sort things out.
6. The Domestic Life Sector.
We initially used two indicators to compare women's household characteristics to men's within each country: the ratio of women-headed households ( measured as a percentage of total households), and the ratio of divorced women (measured as percentage of 25-44 year old women who are currently divorced). Both these indicators reflect the economic burden on women since they have to fend for themselves, and possibly their children . . . On the other hand, however, divorce rights also represent the freedom to choose for women, and in many countries, women do not have that freedom which lowers their status. Therefore, the divorce variable was dropped from subsequent analysis.
Women-headed households are a growing worldwide phenomenon, although the primary reason varies from widowhood and abandonment in Asia and Africa to single motherhood and divorce in developed countries. Such households make up over 20% of all households in Africa, the developed regions, and Latin America and the Caribbean, and 14% in Asia. There are marked inter-regional variations too: women head 45% of households in Botswana, 38% in Norway, 31% in the U.S., 17% in Bangladesh, and 4% in Pakistan. The women-headed households are generally poorer than those headed by men because such households often have one working-age provider, and they generally have to support children or other dependents.
I don't think this is completely irrational, and it was probably wise to drop divorce. But what remains -- and therefore gains twice the weight -- is again confused, because of Mohuiddin's insistence on evaluating the lives of men and women in a zero-sum manner.
If poverty is the issue, why not just compare incomes? But of course, a Welfare Queen in the United States makes, and spends, vastly more income than the Pakistani lady who never sets foot outside her home, and cooks dinner for her husband and children. And living longer than your husband seems, again, to oddly appear on the "loss" column in the battle of the sexes.
But for peculiar, the seventh criteria on Dr. Mohuiddin's ledger wins the cake:
7. Public Life and Leadership.
The two indicators used to compare women's relative to men's representation in government within each country are the political participation of women (measured as the percentage of parliamentary seats occupied by women), and women decision makers in government (measured as percentage of decision making positions held by women in all ministries including executive offices, economic, political and legal affairs, social affairs, and ministerial level).
In most countries, women still play a very minor role in high-level political and economic decision-making . . . Of the 159 member States of the United Nations, only six (3.8%) were headed by women at the end of 1990: Iceland, Ireland, Nicaragua, Norway, Dominica, and the Philippines. Two more can be added after that period: Pakistan and Bangladesh. The percentage of parliamentary seats occupied by women is a good indicator of women in public life. The strength of parliamentary representation by women varies by political system and historical period. It varies from 34.5 in U.S.S.R. to 0.7 in Sudan . . . The highest consistent parliamentary representation by women has been in the Nordic countries . . .
The myopia and apparent self-delusion of these comments is astounding. Was Dr. Mohiuddin unaware of the fact that the Soviet Union was a communist dictatorship?
Communists asserted that women should be accorded equal status, so they made sure lots of women "occupied seats" in their parliaments. But so what? It was a sham parliament, there to fool the naive, not to decide what direction the state should go.
8. The Legal Protection Sector.
The two indicators of the governments commitment to equal political and economic rights are the gender gap in the right to vote (measured as the difference in years between men and women getting the right to vote), and commitment to legal protection against sex discrimination . . .
Well, OK, but doesn't it matter if votes actually count for something? In sham elections, I don' think the "right to vote" means anything. You might as well give your dog the vote (as I attempted to give mine in the last election.)
Mohiuddin then explained the difficulties the study presented (data was missing from some countries, so she made various adjustments), and why her study was better than its rival. She then summarized some of her (to me rather incredible) findings, though the full table comes later:
"On the whole, the USSR and the eastern European countries (the former socialist countries) rank higher on the AC than the PCC scale. There are two reasons for this: very high female labor force participation rates in these countries and women's representation in parliament increases rankings whereas the plight of women workers in these countries in terms of long working hours at work and home without help from husbands or modern appliances which would have decreased rankings is not captured because of non-availability of such data for most countries. Thus the USSR has the highest rank, topping the world in terms of percentage of parliamentary seats occupied by women, their advantage over men in life expectancy, and their proportion in the labor force."
Which for any scholar with sense, would cause him or her to scoff, toss the whole study, and try again with some meaningful figures.
The communists get high marks because lots of women are seated in parliaments that are a rubber stamps for the party? And the real decisions are made where? How many important Soviet leaders were women? Besides "none?"
The communists also get extra marks because Soviet men drank themselves to death, and more marks again for "proportion in the labor force."
On the Soviet ship I worked on, out of 100 people, there were maybe two women, both cooks.
Then the Soviet Union broke up, and flocks of Soviet women expressed the satisfaction they felt with their high-status lives by moving to Turkey, Japan, and China to sell their bodies to the highest bidders. The Russian mafia bosses who facilitated this sort of tourism, meanwhile, tended to be male, one band even calling itself "The Brothers."
Education, obviously, does not always give a woman, anymore than a man, a whole lot of sense.
But, anyway, here are her results:
Table II: Status of Women Index
Extremely Poor 45 Bolivia 48.89 Fair
1 Yemen 16.50 46 Sri Lanka 49.25 88 Canada 59.69
2 Afganistan 16.63 47 Ghana 49.50 89 Philippines 59.75
3 Nepal 19.90 90 Italy 60.15
4 Pakistan 20.73 Poor 91 Viet Nam 61.00
5 Saudi Arabia 23.25 48 Mauritius 50.00 92 France 61.54
6 Mauritania 27.38 49 Haiti 50.30 93 FRG-Fed Rep Germany 61.58
7 Iran 27.82 50 Indonesia 50.50 94 Burkina Faso 61.70
8 Sudan 28.55 51 Hong Kong 50.82 95 Bulgaria 61.83
9 Bangladesh 30.23 52 Mexico 50.83 96 Portugal 62.62
10 Jordan 30.80 53 El Salvador 50.85 97 Barbados 63.46
11 Papua New Guinea 31.33 54 Congo 50.91 98 Puerto Rico 63.56
12 India 32.82 55 Panama 51.08 99 Iceland 64.80
13 Morocco 33.00 56 China 51.50 100 United Rep. Tanzania 64.89
14 United Arab Em. 33.55 57 Senegal 51.60 101 Jamaica 64.92
15 Egypt 35.00 58 Spain 51.62 102 Denmark 65.58
16 Iraq 37.40 59 Cyprus 51.92 103 Trinidad and Tobago 65.92
17 Syrian Arab Rep. 37.54 60 Switzerland 51.92 104 Norway 67.08
18 Mali 38.09 61 Israel 52.00 105 Poland 68.91
19 Qatar 38.75 62 Ireland 52.08
20 Ecuador 38.91 63 Costa Rica 52.50 Good
64 Venezuela 52.75 106 Hungary 69.91
Very Poor 65 Luxemburg 53.23 107 GDR-German Dem Rep 72.00
21 Central African Rep 39.67 66 Japan 53.31 108 Sweden 72.08
22 Fiji 39.73 67 Rwanda 53.45 109 Czechoslovakia 73.36
23 Cote d'Ivoire 40.33 68 Cameroon 53.58 110 Finland 74.42
24 Comoros 40.36 69 Netherlands 53.83 111 Romania 74.90
25 Bahrain 40.60 70 Madagascar 54.60
26 Zambia 42.15 71 Brazil 54.90 Very Good
27 Malaysia 42.42 72 Greece 54.92 112 USSR 85.00
28 Myanmar 42.71 73 Guyana 55.00
29 Liberia 43.82 74 Australia 55.23
30 Mozambique 43.90 75 Chile 55.75
31 Paraguay 43.90 76 New Zealand 56.31
32 Zimbabwe 44.00 77 Argentina 56.55
33 South Africa 44.33 78 Burundi 56.60
34 Kuwait 45.18 79 Belgium 56.92
35 Peru 45.31 80 Cape Verde 57.00
36 Singapore 45.62 81 United Kingdom 57.00
37 Guatemala 46.18 82 Uruguay 57.46
38 Korea, Rep 46.25 83 United States 57.77
39 Botswana 46.77 84 Yugoslavia 58.25
40 Turkey 46.77 85 Cuba 58.27
41 Tunisia 47.08 86 Austria 58.54
42 Honduras 47.09 87 Thailand 58.55
43 Malawi 47.20
44 Ethiopia 48.25
Notice that the top 20 countries, with the weird exception of Burkina Faso (more later), all still have a largely Christian heritage. The bottom 20, with the exceptions of Papua New Guinea and Ecuador, are all still either Muslim or Hindu.
Dr. Mohiuddin explains that Latin countries do better here, because Catholic nations discourage divorce. But the biggest change is with the United States:
The greatest difference between our rankings and the PCC rankings is for countries like the U.S. which rank Poor in our index compared to Very Good in the PCC index. As mentioned earlier, this is because our index includes the percentage of woman-headed households as a measure of the extent of economic burden on women. The U.S. has the fifth highest percentage of woman-headed households (and the second highest of divorced women) in the world. This together with poor performance (below its average score of 57.8) in women's secondary and university enrollments, and their underrepresentation in seats in parliament (13th lowest rank) explains its overall low rank.
This, again, is a remarkable a monument to anal thinking, utterly disconnected from reality.
America has "poor performance" in university enrollment for women? Huh? 57% of American college students are female!
At the time of this study, most countries in the world were not democracies. So how does it count against America to have some female representatives, because America actually had a democracy? Is it not possible that fewer women want to enter politics in the United States? If so, why should we prejudge their choices, or assume this reflects a "lower status" for women? What does my sister or mother gain by having Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin run for president?
The issue of households headed by women is, again, complicated. Partly this probably reflects the longer lives that women tend to lead, and the fact that many American widows live alone by choice. This probably also reflects the fact that many young women live on their own and marry late, which can be either good or bad. .Divorce, as Mohiuddin has admitted, is ambiguous: sometimes it provides a needed outlet from an abusive marriage, but certainly it is not ideal.
Meanwhile, the life expectancy of women in Burkina Faso, ranked 11 spots higher than the US, is just 52 years, compared to 50 for men. (Mohiuddin downgraded the importance of life expectancy, but one suspects the women of Burkina Faso might find a use for those 30 extra years? Or should American women be lining up at the Burkina Faso embassy?) Most women in that country also suffer genital mutilation. The country was ruled by a series of strong men (no women, sorry), deposing and then murdering one another, with the last however holding power since 1987, becoming wealthy in the process. Along with the high rank of communist countries, this seems good reason to ask Dr. Mohiuddin to kindly dunk her head in a bucket of cold water a few times. But her shuffling of the data does not seem to undermine my thesis.
So given all these ambiguities, are both studies worthless?
Well no. It is noteworthy that despite Mohiuddin's concerns on behalf of Muslim countries, 16 of the countries among the bottom 20 in her survey are still Muslim. Two are Hindu -- the only Hindu countries in the world. Also appear Papua New Guinea, 11, with a Stone Age folk religious background, recently converted largely to Christianity, and Ecuador, which is mostly Mestizo and Catholic, no doubt the usual Christo-paganism, with a side of evangelicals, and another side of indigenous religionists.
All top 20 countries in this study also have Christian backgrounds, with the embarrassing exception of Burkina Faso.
In fact, given Mohiuddin's biases, her results rather reinforce the strength of my thesis. Clearly, mix the data as you may, even mix it up, and the status of women is still higher where the Gospel has more influence. Of course my argument is not just based on this "view from space," but on more finely-grained historical study of how Christianity helped women down through history. But the view from space, while a bit shaky, still roughly reveals the same general picture.


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Natural Ayurvedic Home Remedies for Weight Loss and Obesity!
Obesity: Obesity is main headache of modern age, many people's suffered with obesity and expense more money from their pocket for weight loss treatment. Ayurvedic medicine is providing natural way to loss weight without spending any more money from your pocket. so ayurvedic home remedies is best treatment for losing weight fast!
Five Hundred of years back, most of all the disease ayurvedic medicine is practitioners and have believed on herbs for as problems includes weight loss, Ayurvedic medicine is so good to compare all other medicine which is getting from market like drugs or medication.
Ayurvedic medicine rely on herbs for boosting weight loss, Here some of the ayurvedic medicine helps to burn fat and restore the innate metabolism rate of the body.
Being overweight is one's self regard and other it is harmful for our health condition. Obesity relate many serious illness including diabetes and high blood pressure.
Cause of Obesity :
- Getting more depression or stress
- For more angry
- Bored
- Incorrect lifestyle
- Daily taking absurd diet
- In a relaxed environment
- Hypothyroidism
- Lack of exercise
Best Popular Ingredients in Ayurvedic Medicine for weight loss:
Ayurvedic Home Remedies for Losing Weight Super Fast: Garcinia Cambogia ( Vrikshamla):
Garcinia Cambogia is pop ingredient medicine for weight loss or obesity in ayurvedic. It boast more hydroxycitric acid, which can help to curb fat congestion. Some of the studies suggest that Garcinia Cambogia might regulate the activities of genes included with fat synthesis. When received with a high fat diet, Garcinia Cambogia can prevent development of visceral fat tissues well.
Ayurvedic Home Remedies for Losing Weight Super Fast: Commiphora Mukul Resin (Guggul):
It is generally called as Guggul, This Commiphora Mukul Resin is a powerful fat burner, and specifically it could mend lipid disorders and treat obesity or weight loss well. It could form lower cholesterol, low density bad cholesterol or lipoprotein and triglycerides.
High Cholesterol and Obesity:
Just understand why some of the people suffer high Cholesterol and some of why don't has a such a Cholesterol with the interplay of your genes couple up in your environment, in this case how much are you doing exercise and what do you eat your daily basis? Just now combine to dispose a baseline risk for developing high cholesterol, if you eat some of diet that is high in fat like fried foods, high fat-meats, high-fat cheeses and drinks (beer), whoever taking all of these diets food they are increasing their risk of both cholesterol and obesity.
Natural Home Remedies for Obesity: Using Black Pepper Powder, Honey and Lemon Juice
Making Procedure:
- Take one cup of hot water
- Add one tablespoon of black pepper powder in that hot water.
- Add again four tablespoon lemon juice and one table spoon honey in that mixer.
- Blend it well and drink it, daily once or twice.
Natural Home Remedies for Obesity: Using Lemon Juice and Honey
- Take one cup of hot water
- Add four table spoon lemon juice and add honey here also
- Drink every morning on empty stomach, it works amazing to reduce cholesterol and gives better feeling looks, within three month you can see the results. Green tea also works amazing to moderate obesity as well!
My Final Tips:
Do daily some of exercise which is mostly effected on weight loss. Exercise can reduce your cholesterol effectively, even you can take cabbage as a good diet in your food, it is also effective in burning body fat, just consume 1 bowl of cabbage everyday.
To Get Ride of Obesity or Weight Loss, There is Three Things Must be Kept in Mind.
- Always eating your food with control
- You should avoid the causes of weight gain
- Regular exercises.
Diet is so Recommended to Lose Weight: 100% Can Decrease Your Weight to Following
Early Morning :
Every day Morning take half of lemon juice in a glass of water and mix a teaspoon of honey with it.
Mung bean sprouts (offset) or wheat and a cup of skimmed milk
Take one cup of carrot juice, pineapple or orange juice.
Salad of raw vegetables such as cucumber, tomatoes, carrot, green coriander leaves, roasted cumin seeds, a little salt and some of grafted ginger mixed in the buttermilk. Steamed or boiled vegetables whole food grain bread or Indian bread (wheat chapattis) and glass of buttermilk.
Dry fruits, lemon tea, coconut water, fresh vegetable soup.
Chapatis and steamed vegetables, whole grain bread, seasonal fruits except banana and apple.
Follow above my tips, 100% you can see your weight losing within three month as well.
Rate this article (click stars to rate)
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Is the Nail Rubbing Exercise Effective Technique for Hair Growth ?


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The Game In the age of ego-shooters, susigames reduces the principle of the "frag" to a field with five holes. Referencing a fair game from the 18th century, you have to smack down as many opponents as possible for every single level. Your reactions will be really put to the test with consecutive levels. Longtime fun is guaranteed by multiple foes, new items, minigames and new animations, that can all be seen in the later levels. The characteristic animation style of G5H emphasizes the actual gameplay.
The MoviesWindows (.wmv, 1.95Mb)
MAC (.mov, 8.05Mb)
Flash Movie


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Read about particular code requirements and zoning ordinances common to the Planning and Zoning Department.
The City of Waconia, like all municipalities in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, is required by the Metropolitan Land Use Planning Act to prepare a Comprehensive Plan and Land Use Controls that are consistent with planned, orderly and staged development, Metropolitan System Plans and the regional blueprint.
Locate information on the two topics of electrical work and sump pumps.
Read through some planning and zoning issues that pertain to building permits, general permits, and construction.
To ensure safety of tenants, the city requires that all residential rental dwellings be properly inspected and licensed by the city prior to occupancy by tenants.
Learn more about setbacks, hardcover and variances.


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Marbella Club Offers
By Design Holidays | October 6, 2015 | Posted in: Holidays in Marbella
Design Holidays are delighted to launch our Marbella resort portfolio for 2016 to include the fabulous Marbella Club.
What we say : 'Imagine a boutique hotel on the best beach in Marbella, 5 star luxury meets family friendly'.
Uniquely designed among stunning botanical gardens to afford the ultimate privacy, the accommodation ranges from double rooms, suites to villas with their own pools.
Family of 4 (2 adults / 2 children) staying in inter connecting deluxe double rooms for 7 nights during May Half Term was £4772 now £4294
Family of 4 (2 adults / 2 children) staying in a 2 bedroom villa with pool in July / August for 7 nights was £13,926 now £12,534
Book in advance and save 10% plus receive 1 free round of golf per stay, and enjoy free gym access – exclusive to Design Holidays guests.
For more information please visit our website or contact our Marbella Club booking team on 01444 87 2200.


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December 4th, 2022 6pm Stage 1
Rucosea is a New York performance artist, born in sapporo, Japan. She sings and play percussion and drum. Her soul for music is all about how she feels through it. Delivering energy for the stage with word, music. she also perform and produce and collaborate some pop, ambient, funk, R&B progressive rock, experimental music etc) with lots great singer and musicians from Japan, New York and all over the world.
Rucosea (vocal)
Nicky Valente (bass)
Jonathan Frits (guitar)
Benji Coroson (guitar)
Kenny Grohowski (drums)


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At Leeward Community Church we take very seriously the Biblical mandate to care for the poor, the widows, and those on the margins of society. The program services and outreach of our church for our neighborhoods is called "Komo Mai Community Services". We are called to love and serve the community God has placed us and we strive to live up to our name as a true community church. Check out some of the different ways that we serve the community below.
Seniors (Kupuna)
Senior activities, monthly Car Wash, Fall prevention class, field trips
Common Grace, Good News Club, Youth Sports
River of Life, Family Promise
Community Support
Meals on Wheels, Community Service Sundays, Joyful Singers
Health & Welfare
Celebrate Recovery, Grief Share
Computer assistance, job skills, takeaway meals


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Why Trump's Pa. trip was really about the president's favorite topic: Himself | Tuesday Morning Coffee
Good Tuesday Morning, Fellow Seekers.
Fresh off President Donald Trump's trip to Lycoming, GOP primary voters across the 12th Congressional District will head to the polls today to pick a replacement for former U.S. Rep. Tom Marino.
But Trump's trip to northern Pennsylvania also was as much about securing the 45th president's 2016 fortunes as it was about shoring up the chances for Republican hopeful Fred Keller.
With Air Force One as a backdrop, Trump told a crowd at Williamsport Regional Airport that he was wavering between the 2016 campaign slogan that put him in the White House ("Make America Great Again") and one he trotted out on the campaign trail during last year's midterm election ("Keep America Great Again").
"It's the cheapest poll in the world," Trump said, as the crowd offered lukewarm applause between the two choices. The wavering cheers could be a metaphor for Trump's own chances in a state he carried by barely a percentage point in 2016.
For a guy who's all about brand, he should know better than to go messing with a successful formula (New Coke, anyone?). That only happens when there's a fly in the special sauce. So with that in mind, here's three things to think about in the wake of that presidential visit and what it could portend for 2020.
1. Was Trumpism an aberration?
Trump loves to spend time on the stump talking about his Pennsylvania win, the first Republican victory in Pennsylvania in a presidential year in three decades. But more than two years into his first term, there's plenty of evidence to suggest that Trump's win might have been more situational than it was evidence of any great partisan shift within the Keystone State electorate.
While more than seven in 10 Pennsylvanians are happy with the state's economy, a Quinnipiac University poll released last week showed a clear majority of state voters (54 percent) disapproved of Trump's job performance.
Last year's midterm campaign showed that so-called Trump triers, particularly in southwestern Pennsylvania, could be lured back to the Democrats' column by the right kind of Democrat. They got one in the form of U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, a Second Amendment-supporting former Marine, who ran opposed Nancy Pelosi for House speaker, and who has spent most of his five months on Capitol Hill going out of his way to avoid any kind of controversy whatsoever.
And in northeastern Pennsylvania, where voters in Luzerne County went for Trump in 2016, resulting in them being studied with Jane Goodall-like intensity by all manner of pundits and political scientists for the last two years, a special election for a vacant state House seat saw mainline Democrat Bridget Malloy Kosierowski stomping Frank Scavo, a Trump-style Republican with a hankering for anti-Muslim social media posts, 62-38 percent.
So while it's too soon to conclude that 2016 was a one-off (we still don't know which of the roughly 5,147 Democrats seeking the nomination will win the party's nod), the early signs strongly suggest that Trump is in for seriously tough sledding (witness the heavy presence on the ground by the White House's campaign apparatus).
2. The Biden Factor:
That Quinnipiac poll showed Trump trailing the former Veep 53-42 percent in a theoretical, head-to-head match up. In a stop in Philadelphia on Saturday, Biden positioned himself as the antidote to Trump's politics of division, and as the Democrat best able to defeat Trump in 2020. Polling data suggests that Democrats want a candidate who can beat Trump above all else.
But Biden isn't the only one. U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., leads Trump 50-43 percent in that Q-Poll. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., beats Trump by a within-the-margin 47-44 percent; U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif, ties Trump at 45-45 percent, and South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttegieg leads Trump 45-44 percent. You have to get down to former Texas U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke before you find a Democrat losing to Trump, but even then by a margin-bothering 46-44 percent in Trump's favor.
All of that goes a long way toward suggesting that Trump's trip to Montoursville, likely to be the first of many before the polls close in November 2020, is about keeping his base engaged and energized — but not necessarily expanding it beyond the 48 percent he claimed in 2016. And he won't be running against Hillary Clinton and Democrats won't be taking the state for granted.
3. Women are angry … again.
Women voters both turned out at the polls, and as candidates, in force in 2016, helping Democrats to recapture the House. The major factor driving it: Trump's conduct and what they justifiably saw as a Republican majority and White House hostile to the interests of 52 percent of the population.
Evangelicals who made a Faustian bargain with Trump in 2016, holding their collective noses at his personal failings in exchange for a conservative Supreme Court, may be energized by restrictive anti-abortion bills passed and signed into law in Alabama and elsewhere.
But so too are progressive women, who, joined by allies, will take part in a national day of action to protest those bills.
If Republicans were looking to gift-wrap an issue guaranteed to honk off and motivate voters in key suburbs, like those in Philadelphia who came out in the mid-terms in force last fall, it's hard to imagine one more perfectly suited to the cause.
Republicans in the state Senate, where the GOP is hanging onto its majority by its fingernails, and where at least one southeastern moderate has been targeted for defeat, may well be sweating the down ballot effect of the culture war being waged at the national level.
And think about this: We're still months away from Iowa and New Hampshire. It's only going to get more interesting and dramatic from here.
Our Stuff:
Stephen Caruso bravely journeyed to Montoursville for the Trump show. He has this report.
Caruso also wrote this ridiculously useful voters' guide to Tuesday's primary election. Don't leave home without it.
Sarah Anne Hughes chatted with LG John Fetterman about his 67-county recreational marijuana listening tour, which has now wrapped up after 98 days.
Veteran journalist and activist Mark Segal, the founder and publisher of the Philly Gay News, reflected on the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots during an appearance in Harrisburg on Monday.
On our Commentary Page, Carol Kuniholm of Fair Districts PA says a recent study about Pennsylvania's livability points to the need to reform the General Assembly. Because there's nothing that drives down property values like 253 underemployed layabouts.
And state Rep. Jennifer O'Mara, D-Delaware, says a generation of college students is being crushed under the boot of heavy student debt. She has some ideas how to fix it.
The Inquirer has its take on the Trump rally in Williamsport on Monday night.
Auditor General Eugene DePasquale has some questions for the Pittsburgh schools amid controversy over a Cuba trip, The Post-Gazette reports.
PennLive has your guide to voting during Tuesday's primary elections.
Allentown's former police chief has been fired from his job in Fort Worth, Texas, The Morning Call reports.
Here's your #Pittsburgh Instagram of the Day:
WHYY-FM has your Philly voters' guide to Tuesday's primary election.
Politico has the story on Nancy Pelosi's closed-door clash with House Dems over impeachment.
What Goes On.
Nothing – it's Primary Day. Go vote already.
Gov. Tom Wolf starts his day with a 10:30 a.m. event in Horsham, Montgomery County, to talk water contamination. By afternoon, he'll make the metaphoric trip from King's Landing to Winterfell, heading to Jim Thorpe for a 2 p.m. event at the Glen Onoko Falls trail.
Heavy Rotation.
Here's one from the legendary Aussie songwriter Robert Forster, it's 'Inferno (Brisbane in Summer)' from his new solo LP, also called 'Inferno,' helpfully enough.
Tuesday's Gratuitous Baseball Link.
Baltimore dropped a 10-7 decision to the Yankees on Monday night.
And now you're up to date.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics.


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Directed & Edited by Denholm Hewlett
Footage by Mantas Kvedaravicius & Mariano Chavez.
Following 2020's acclaimed self-titled debut album, Metal Preyers take the left hand path into a gloomy backwater filled with haunted creatures and fraught with peril. "Shadow Swamps" again finds London-based Jesse Hackett handling the music and Chicago's Mariano Chavez fashioning the album's visual identity, which this time includes a short film and book for a fully immersive experience.
"Shadow Swamps" is the soundtrack to a pitch-black fairy tale about a father and daughter as they journey through a swamp avoiding gremlins, red swines and crater creatures. Musically, it pivots between the clattering Czech new wave experimentation of "Valerie and her Week of Wonders" composer Luboš Fišer, or the magical, eccentric lounge of Birmingham's Broadcast, and the grinding industrial grot of Italian pioneer Maurizio Bianchi.
This time around, Hackett has roped in production assists from his six year-old-daughter Wonder - who used phone memos to record herself singing - veteran Metal Preyers collaborator Lord TusK, and Manchester-based painter, DJ and producer Richard Harris, aka Sockethead. The crew inks an unsettling, richly textured sonic landscape, with claws of rhythmic smoke curling around chiming otherworldly xylophone, disembodied fiddle drones echoing over screwed 'n chopped beatbox dirt and half-heard magical vocals buried under clouds of white noise.
It's an eerie experience from beginning to end, somewhere between 1980s DIY tape music and the quirky soundtracks to the Quay Brothers' cult stop-motion animated shorts.


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Welcome to Illustrators Illustrated.Illustrators Illustrated is an online space for critical discussion and exploration of illustration - based in Wellington, NZ, and Berlin, DE. We feature in-depth interviews, articles, studio visits, book and exhibition reviews, as well as special projects, all illustrated!
Chimène Henriquez finds out more about the work of French illustrator and comic artist Sandrine Martin…
Beyond the current popular use of illustration in digital media (as part of website design, onboarding for apps, instagram ads…), how are illustrators creating innovative story-led work in this new ocean of digital possibility? We explore the work of illustrators who are utilising the strength of narrative illustration and structures inherent to specific digital platforms to create new forms of visual storytelling.
Go behind the scenes and learn about curating illustration in this in-depth interview with Olivia Ahmad, Curator at the House of Illustration in London, UK.
Drawn Together – Wellington illustration meet-up
Drawn Together is the new illustration meet-up for illustrators in Wellington!read more
INTERVIEW // Sandrine Martin
Chimène Henriquez finds out more about the work of French illustrator and comic artist Sandrine Martin…read more
Beyond the current popular use of narrative illustration in digital media, how are illustrators creating innovative narrative-led work in the new ocean of digital possibility?
Kia ora, illustrators of the Southern Hemisphere!
Exciting update! Illustrators Illustrated is going even more international…read more
Illustrator Yuliya Gwilym pins down the itinerant illustrator and comic artist Valentin Seiche a.k.a. Airfortress and asks him all about his creation of imaginary, fantastical worlds and dark yet adorable characters – as part of our illustrators portrait chain!read more
Illustrator Rosie Brand interviews fellow illustrator Yuliya Gwilym as part of our portrait chain project! Gain insight into Yuliya's vibrant, texture-filled work and read about the inspiration she finds in working with kids.read more
Illustrator David McMillan asks LA-based illustrator and ceramic artist Rosie Brand all about her move to the USA and the development of her work in this in-depth interview, as part of our portrait chain!read more
'Sketching in Berlin' course
Hey guys! I, Judith, illustrator and founder of Illustrators Illustrated, am excited to be teaching a Summer School course at the design akademie berlin!read more
INTERVIEW // Olivia Ahmad, Curator of the House of Illustration
Go behind the scenes and learn about curating illustration in this in-depth interview with Olivia Ahmad, Curator at the House of Illustration in London, UK.read more
ARAB COMICS: 90 Years of Visual Culture
ARAB COMICS, currently showing in Berlin, is a travelling exhibition curated by Nadim Damluji and Mona Damluji that explores the question of what, if anything, is distinctly "Arab" about this popular visual medium through three threads of original and translated comics in Arab countries, spanning from 1920s until today.read more
Jo Brocklehurst: Nobodies and Somebodies
For the next two weeks you can explore late-20th century subcultures of Berlin, London and New York through the striking, bold drawings of Jo Brocklehurst – in the first major retrospective of the artist's work at the House of Illustration in London.read more
REVIEW / Cloth Lullaby: The Woven Life of Louise Bourgeois
Amy Novesky's nuanced text paired with Isabelle Arsenault's rich illustrations are a stunning way of introducing children to the distinct visual vocabulary of French-born artist Louise Bourgeois. Review by Anna Ridleyread more
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Thermoformed Clamshell Blister Packaging provides the convenience of perfect opening and closing for demonstration and display purposes.
Clamshell Blister Packaging
A clamshell package features a full plastic shell which can include an insert card with graphics, delivers high visibility design and custom eye-catching shelf appeal.
All our production waste is recycled on site and re-extruded for industrial thermoforming applications - making us an eco-friendly choice
Large range of standard clamshells allowing customers to enter the market place with no tooling costs. Standard clamshells can also be customised to suit the customer's product at a very low tooling cost.


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Different servers do different jobs, from serving email and video to protecting internal networks and hosting Web sites. Learn about the many types of servers used today.
Servers are often dedicated, meaning that they perform no other tasks besides their server tasks. Different servers do different jobs, from serving email and video to protecting internal networks and hosting Web sites.
Server Types
This list categorizes the many different types of servers used in the marketplace today.
Proxy Server
A proxy server sits between a client program (typically a Web browser) and an external server (typically another server on the Web) to filter requests, improve performance, and share connections.
Mail Server
Almost as ubiquitous and crucial as Web servers, mail servers move and store mail over corporate networks (via LANs and WANs) and across the Internet.
Server Platforms
A term often used synonymously with operating system, a platform is the underlying hardware or software for a system and is thus the engine that drives the server.
Web Server
At its core, a Web server serves static content to a Web browser by loading a file from a disk and serving it across the network to a user's Web browser. This entire exchange is mediated by the browser and server talking to each other using HTTP.
Application Server
Sometimes referred to as a type of middleware, application servers occupy a large chunk of computing territory between database servers and the end user, and they often connect the two.
Real-Time Communication Server
Real-time communication servers, formerly known as chat servers or IRC Servers, and still sometimes referred to as instant messaging (IM) servers, enable large numbers users to exchange information near instantaneously.
FTP Server
One of the oldest of the Internet services, File Transfer Protocol makes it possible to move one or more files securely between computers while providing file security and organization as well as transfer control.
Collaboration Server
In many ways, collaboration software, once called 'groupware,' demonstrates the original power of the Web. Collaboration software designed to enable users to collaborate, regardless of location, via the Internet or a corporate intranet and to work together in a virtual atmosphere.
List Server
List servers offer a way to better manage mailing lists, whether they be interactive discussions open to the public or one-way lists that deliver announcements, newsletters or advertising.
Telnet Server
A Telnet server enables users to log on to a host computer and perform tasks as if they're working on the remote computer itself.
Open Source Server
From your underlying open source server operating system to the server software that help you get your job done, open source software is a critical part of many IT infrastructures.
Virtual Server
In 2009, the number of virtual servers deployed exceeded the number of physical servers. Today, server virtualization has become near ubiquitous in the data center.
This article was originally published on February 10, 2011


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Gizmondo relaunch slips to late 2008
Freer admits being over-optimistic.
Gizmondo boss Carl Freer has admitted that maybe he was a little over optimistic when he promised to relaunch the fabled handheld this May.
His fresh and rather more sober prediction is the end of 2008, according to Swedish site Realtid.se (translated by GameSpot). But he wants us to know it's definitely still coming.
The Gizmondo was originally released back in 2005, but sold abysmally and racked up enormous debts that resulted in bankruptcy a year later.
It was more famous for its executives crashing Ferraris and throwing lavish parties than it was for being a successful gadget.
The Gizmondo featured a GPS, a 0.3 Megapixel camera, a music and video player, some rubbish games, and could send text or mixed-media messages. It couldn't do phone calls, though.
It cost GBP 229.99, a figure you could knock down to GBP 129.99 if you wanted "Smart Ads": up to three adverts shown to you a day.
However, none of this is the reason why it failed to grab our attention. No, it simply "wasn't fully brought into the market", according to new owner Plextek.
We're confident it will fair much better this time around, especially with the PSP taking on many of its functions as well as the new stable of mobile phones.