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created 2006 · complexity intermediate · author Gerald Lai · version 6.0
In the GUI version of Vim (gvim
), the mapping of keys seem to work for the most part. For instance, it is easy to map Ctrl-Shift-F2
to a keystroke:
"delete all lines in the current buffer :nmap <C-S-F2> ggdG
For terminal versions of Vim (such as xterm
, rxvt
, win32's cmd.exe
, etc), mapping something like Ctrl-Shift-F2
needs some extra work. It may seem daunting to deal with archaic terminal keycodes at first, but once you understand what is going on in the right context, it is quite simple.
1a. Keycodes[]
There are two types of keycodes: terminal keycodes and Vim keycodes. Terminal keycodes look something like
is ESC
To view keycodes type
and press any keys. To exit type Ctrl-d
These are actual bytes that are sent to Vim by the terminal when we type Shift-Up
, for example (on an xterm
Vim keycodes look like
Vim needs its own representation of keycodes because it runs on a variety of platforms. Vim can act upon its own keycodes, and leave the assignment of terminal keycodes to autodetection (or to manual setup by the user, which is what this guide is for).
1b. List of usable keycodes[]
To obtain a list of terminal keycodes, look it up in the manual for that terminal.
For a list of Vim's internal keycodes, see :help t_ku. Enter :set termcap
to list the terminal keycodes (see :help terminal-options).
In addition to the Vim keycodes listed in the help section above, the keycodes for the function keys actually go up to F37
. This means, we have
<F1> to <F37> <S-F1> to <S-F37>
We can use this to our advantage to create more "responsive" mappings. More on this later in section 2b.
We can also set these Vim keycodes:
<C-Home>, <C-End> <S-Home>, <S-End> <S-a> to <S-z> <C-a> to <C-z> <A-a> to <A-z>
Be careful when setting these keycodes. See section 3a.
1c. Setting Vim keycodes[]
Vim keycodes look a lot like the keystrokes we would define in a mapping. They are easy to read, quite intuitive, and are almost treated the same by Vim. The only difference is that we can :set
internal keycodes. For example, to manually set the keycode for Shift-Down_arrow
:set <S-Down>=^[[1;2B
where ^[
is a literal ESC
special character.
The following is not allowed because the keycode is not a listed Vim keycode:
:set <C-S-Down>=^[[1;6B
Once the correct terminal keycode is assigned to the appropriate Vim keycode, the keystroke should work in terminal Vim. Shift-Down_arrow
should now work, but the Ctrl-Shift-Down_arrow
keycode can not be set in the same way. For this we need mappings (see section 2b).
1d. Entering literal characters & terminal codes[]
Either in the :command line, or in insert mode:
To enter a literal character in Vim, first type Ctrl-v
, followed by a single keystroke. Hence, typing Ctrl-v
then Esc
will produce ^[
To enter a terminal keycode in Vim, first type Ctrl-v
, followed by the keystroke we want to obtain the term keycode from. Hence, typing Ctrl-v + Shift-Down_arrow
will produce ^[[1;2B
This means that there are two ways to set the Vim keycode as shown in section 1c:
"literally enter the keycode :set <S-Down>={C-v}{Esc}[1;2B
"let the terminal send its keycode to Vim :set <S-Down>={C-v}{S-Down}
where curly brackets {..}
denote the action of typing the keystroke. For instance, when you see {C-v}
, hold down Ctrl
and hit v
. Do not type it literally as {C-v}
We shall use the curly brackets as nomenclature from now on.
Also make use of the Normal mode command ga
to inspect the resulting keycode. Place the cursor over a special character, and type ga
. This will provide you with ascii information of the character under the cursor.
See :help i_ctrl-v, :help ga.
2a. Mappings[]
The function of mappings in Vim is to map a set of keystrokes to another set of keystrokes. For more information, see :help key-mapping, :help map-modes.
2b. Mapping "fast" keycodes[]
As mentioned in section 1c, the Ctrl-Shift-Down_arrow
keycode cannot be set in the same way as the Shift-Down_arrow
keycode because it is not a listed Vim keycode. One way to get around that is to do the following:
:map <Esc>[1;6B <C-S-Down>
This maps the literal terminal keycode to a Vim keystroke (remember, not a Vim keycode).
The disadvantage of this is that Vim will "wait" everytime after the Esc
key pressed for a potential "[" + "1" + ";" + "6" + "B"
keystroke combination, just in case you meant to do <C-S-Down>
instead of a simple <Esc>
to Normal mode.
If you typed {Esc}[1;6B
fast enough, you would do a Ctrl-Shift-Down_arrow
. After all, you are mapping a keystroke, not a keycode.
A better way of mapping keycodes is to first assign the terminal keycode to an unused Vim keycode, and then map the newly used Vim keycode. This way, we can set option ttimeoutlen
to a small value to ensure that the terminal keycode can only be entered into Vim as fast as the terminal can, but will be humanly-impossible to do it manually.
This is how it is done:
:set timeout timeoutlen=1000 ttimeoutlen=100 :set <F13>=^[[1;6B :map <F13> <C-S-Down> :map! <F13> <C-S-Down>
Now, Ctrl-Shift-Down_arrow
will work, and Esc
will not pause.
Potentially unused Vim keycodes that can be used include:
<F13> to <F37> <S-F13> to <S-F37> <xF1> to <xF4> <S-xF1> to <S-xF4>
When setting any Vim keycode, exercise caution. Do some checks to see if the terminal code you're setting the Vim keycode to is set elsewhere. There must be no conflicts.
For instance, in a Win32 terminal, <F1>
to <F4>
will always be set the same as <xF1>
to <xF4>
, respectively. Therefore, you cannot use those keycodes.
See :help 'timeout', :help 'timeoutlen', :help 'ttimeoutlen'.
2c. Laying it out in vimrc[]
Here is an example of how to set up the keycodes in a vimrc file. It is highly recommended that you start Vim without any startup scripts that may interfere with keycode detection:
$ vim -Nu NONE .vimrc
set timeout timeoutlen=1000 ttimeoutlen=100 if !has("gui_running") if &term == "xterm" set <Home>=^[[H <End>=^[[F <BS>=^? set <S-Up>=^[[1;2A <S-Down>=^[[1;2B <S-Right>=^[[1;2C <S-Left>=^[[1;2D set <xF1>={C-v}{C-S-Up}^[[1;6A <xF2>=^[[1;6B <xF3>=^[[1;6C <xF4>=^[[1;6D map <xF1> <C-S-Up> map <xF2> <C-S-Down> map <xF3> <C-S-Right> map <xF4> <C-S-Left> map! <xF1> <C-S-Up> map! <xF2> <C-S-Down> map! <xF3> <C-S-Right> map! <xF4> <C-S-Left> elseif &term == "win32" ... else ... endif endif
where ^[
is a literal ESC
special character and ^?
is a literal ascii 0x7f character.
See :help 'term', :help has-patch.
You can also use a function like the following to automatically assign fast keycodes:
" MapFastKeycode: helper for fast keycode mappings " makes use of unused vim keycodes <[S-]F15> to <[S-]F37> function! <SID>MapFastKeycode(key, keycode) if s:fast_i == 46 echohl WarningMsg echomsg "Unable to map ".a:key.": out of spare keycodes" echohl None return endif let vkeycode = '<'.(s:fast_i/23==0 ? '' : 'S-').'F'.(15+s:fast_i%23).'>' exec 'set '.vkeycode.'='.a:keycode exec 'map '.vkeycode.' '.a:key let s:fast_i += 1 endfunction let s:fast_i = 0
It uses Vim keycodes <F15>
and above. If you don't have keys for <F13>
and <F14>
on your keyboard, you can also make use of those, for a total of 50 keys you can map this way.
Once defined, you can use the function to map keys like so: (example for rxvt
call <SID>MapFastKeycode('<C-F3>', "\e[13^") call <SID>MapFastKeycode('<C-F4>', "\e[14^") call <SID>MapFastKeycode('<M-j>', "\ej") call <SID>MapFastKeycode('<M-k>', "\ek") " ...
3a. Troubleshooting I[]
You only need to employ unused Vim keycodes either when
(a) there are no available Vim keycodes that match the terminal keycode, and
(b) the terminal keycode is longer than a single keystroke
(c) setting the Vim keycode that matches the terminal keycode causes weird behavior.
Example where (a) is not true:
:set <F13>=^[[1;2B :map <F13> <S-Down>
Setting the unused <F13>
is redundant, because <S-Down> is already available as a Vim keycode. Do this instead:
:set <S-Down>=^[[1;2B
Example where (b) is not true:
For a Win32 terminal, mapping Ctrl-Backspace
is done by
:map <C-{C-v}{BS}> <C-BS>
Since the terminal keycode can be represented by <C-^?>
, which is a single keystroke, there is no need to employ an unused Vim keycode.
Example where (c) is true:
For an rxvt
terminal, merely doing
:set <A-j>=^[j <A-u>=^[u <A-6>=^[6
will not make Alt-j
, Alt-u
and Alt-6
work. Reason unknown. Need to assign to unused Vim keycodes.
3b. Troubleshooting II[]
Sometimes, performing
:set <xF1>={C-v}{A-S-F1}
:set <xF1>=^[<S-F1>
where ^[
is a literal ESC
special character and <S-F1>
is literal text.
This means that you may have already set Vim's keycode <S-F1>
, and that it was part of the Alt-Shift-F1
terminal keycode that was sent to Vim. Vim processes the entire terminal keycode and noticed that it could replace part of it with its own internal representation.
To fix this and enter the full terminal keycode, backspace up to <
and do {C-v}{S-F1}
. The full action would be:
:set <xF1>={C-v}{A-S-F1}{BS 6 times}{C-v}{S-F1}
to produce
:set <xF1>=^[^[[23~
To give some perspective, here are the actual terminal keycodes for rxvt


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There are cake decorating supplies that you can use when cake decorating at home to make the task much easier. You will be surprised at how much easier it is to frost a cake when you are using the right spatula or how a turntable makes frosting all sides much simpler.
For basic cake decorating at home, most generally you will not go out and purchase most of these tools unless you are going to be cake decorating on a regular basis or plan on going into the cake decorating business. But if you like cake decorating you may start to collect some of these tools to make your efforts more enjoyable. Also, having the right cake pans is an essential part of cake decorating. You will need the right size and shape for the design you are creating and some cake decorating ideas may require a cake mold to create the shape desired.

subset: commoncrawl


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Danburiitti timanttimainen briljantti hiottuna 5,5mm
Alkuperä (todennäköinen) : Meksikko
Paino ( ct noin ) : 0,5
Mitat ( mm noin ) :5,5 x 5,5 x 3,5
Hionta : viistehiottu
Puhtaus : VVS
Erinomainen Erittäin hyvä Hyvä "kakkosluokkaa"
Hionta X
Loisto X
Väri X
Ominaista : väritön kirkas jalokivi, pyöreä briljantti hiottu
Danburite is a calcium borosilicate Ca(B2Si2O8) that was first discovered in Danbury, Connecticut. The original deposit is now buried under the city of Danbury. |
Known Facts | |
Color Key: | White, yellowish, very light pink, buff colored, very light brown. |
Pleochroism: | 1.630(+.003,-.003) - 1.636 (+.003, -.003) |
Chemical Composition: | calcium borosilicate |
Hardness: | 7 |
Density: | 3.00 |
Crystal Group: | Orthorhombic |
Ocurrence: | Danbury, Connecticut and Russell, New York, USA; Charcas, San Luis Potosi, Mexico; Kyushu Island, Japan; Mogok, Burma and Uri, Switzerland; Madagascar. |
With a hardness of 7, danburite is quite hard and suitable for any kind of jewelry. Because of it's high refractive index, well cut danburites are remarkably bright and can look something like diamonds. It is normally colorless to very light pink in color but some deposits may produce stones which can be shades of yellow or brown. Danburite handles easily and ordinarily offers no problems for lapidaries. It makes an especially brilliant gem because of its extreme clarity. The luster is vitreous, and the cleavage is poor in one direction, -basal. The fracture is uneven to conchoidal and the streak is white or colorless. Crystal habits include generally prismatic crystals with a diamond-shaped cross-section. The terminations are steeply slanted producing a wedge like look. Occurrences: Primarily in metamorphosed limestones but also in low-temperature hydrothermal veins with sulfides and calcite. Associated Minerals include quartz, feldspars, cassiterite, dolomite, corundum, fluorite, iron sulfides, and calcite. The bulk of todays danburite production is from the Charcas mineral district in the state of San Luis Potosi in Mexico. The deposit was discovered in 1574 and has been worked ever since for lead, zinc, copper and silver. The metal ore deposits are found in veins along faults in shales, limestones, volcanics, and monzonites. The danburite is a byproduct of the metal ore production. Well shaped and clean crystal terminations over twenty-five carats are rare and most pieces are average around ten carats. |


text:
Research Overview
Although the skin is our largest and perhaps most vulnerable organ, dermatological research remains one of the most underfunded areas of medicine. While one in three Americans suffers from skin disorders, the National Institutes of Health devotes less than 2% of its annual budget to discovering their cause and better methods of prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
Through its national program of grants and awards, American Skin Association has committed over $50 million to underwriting research by a new generation of scientists trained in dermatology and dedicated to overcoming the most serious forms of skin disease. Since the program's inception in 1996, funding has grown dramatically from $100,000 to over $1 million per year.
Composed of leading physicians and scientists, the organization's Medical Advisory Committee oversees grant making. Under its aegis, the program has supported the work of over 300 investigators, ranging from gifted young researchers in the earliest phases of their careers to acknowledged leaders in the field.
Grants are concentrated in five areas — melanoma, skin cancer, psoriasis & inflammatory diseases, vitiligo & pigment cell disorders, and atopic dermatitis. Although recipients have pursued investigations in subjects ranging from acne to stem cell replacement, many have chosen to focus on melanoma.
American Skin Association has long supported skin disease research and education. For over 16 years, its Research Scholars program has promoted the early careers of many talented young investigators and has had a profound positive impact on both dermatology research and clinical care of dermatologic disease. ASA awardees are still active in academics, working to build knowledge and teaching others to improve skin disease care.
Research Scholar awardees' cutting edge work in areas such as antimicrobial peptide research, skin stem cell function, wound healing, and skin cancer has laid groundwork for better treatments of infection, hair loss, and cancer. In particular, ASA supported researchers have had a broad impact on melanoma research, improving our understanding of its diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.
Through an exclusive focus on skin disease research, ASA has helped to open new frontiers in skin science, producing results that can change how we understand and treat skin disease.


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Houston TX Hotel Deals for Tonight
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Kids Running
When should you run? What should you eat? What are some secrets to running faster?
Sports Illustrated for Kids
Draft your own baseball team with Fantasy sports or watch Andy Macdonald do some extreme skateboarding tricks.
Sport Science at the Exploratorium
Find out how to do an Ollie, learn the physics of surfing, and discover what those dimples on a golf ball are for.
Street Play
(Kids Games & Rules for activities such as jacks and jump rope
Kristi Yamaguchi Web Page
Negro League
Learn the history of the league, read the Hall of Fame, and Jackie Robinson's transition to the Major Leagues
Young Masters Golf
Learn how you can get started playing golf today. Having the right
grip, making the best swing, and pitching the perfect... tent?


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Trish Stratus And Lita Discuss Their WWE RAW Main Event In 2004, Talk Other Career Moments
- Fans of TrishStratus.com recently voted for the top 10 moments between Trish Stratus and Lita. The two former Divas then commented on those moments. The #1 moment was their RAW main event in December 2004. Here's what they had to say:
"We were totally honored when we found out. We had worked our butts off to bring the level of our matches and the interest in our feud to this point, so it was like our hard work had paid off ? we worked for that main event spot and we earned it ? that felt great! We knew we had a huge responsibility to pull off something great. Thankfully, I have to say, it all came together quite easily for us considering the pressure. We had worked so many matches, we knew each other really well out there and the crowd was totally into it, which always creates a good environment to work in. One thing I do recall was our locker room was filled with a bunch of girls worrying about what to wear and Amy and I looked at each other and laughed because that was the last thing on our minds! I think we both wore the same outfit we wrestled in for the house shows that weekend! I guess what I'm saying is this is one match we knew people would be watching for more than what we were wearing."
"The timing of that match was great. Trish and I had been featured in the main event prior as a tag with Rocky and HHH, but this time was all ours. We were so thankful to be given the opportunity, but at the same time knew we could step up. We're both people that thrive on some pressure and a good challenge. So, that suicide dive... I remember Headbanger Mosh, or was it Thrasher, it was the one who was Beaver Cleavage, anyway, he was explaining to Trish that she needed to absorb me like a "venetian blind".... clear as day, right? Well let me tell you a Venetian blind at 6 plus feet and 200 plus pounds crumples a lot slower than a tiny Trish. At any rate, it was the most confused I've been after a bump. I had eyes on Trish, my feet didn't get caught on the rope, but when I landed it certainly didn't feel normal. We were on the narrow side of the ring and with her already bumping and having to aim so low it resulted in what I historically refer to as a scorpion bump. I don't recommend this, however, somehow I was totally fine. Watching it back I immediately sit straight up as in a "What the hell just happened, am I paralyzed type of thing?" I quickly realize I am not, but judging by the crowd reaction, it must have looked pretty bad. Good, that means I have an exaggerated 10 count to chill out, be thankful I am okay, and continue to rock Charlotte Coliseum as no two women have before or since."
Source: TrishStratus.com


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Hunger Plagues Haiti
And The World
By Stephen Lendman
Consumers in rich countries feel it in supermarkets but in the world's poorest ones people are starving. The reason - soaring food prices, and it's triggered riots around the world in places like Mexico, Indonesia, Yemen, the Philippines, Cambodia, Morocco, Senegal, Uzbekistan, Guinea, Mauritania, Egypt, Cameroon, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Peru, Bolivia and Haiti that was once nearly food self-sufficient but now relies on imports for most of its supply and (like other food-importing countries) is at the mercy of agribusiness.
Wheat shortages in Peru are acute enough to have the military make bread with potato flour (a native crop). In Pakistan, thousands of troops guard trucks carrying wheat and flour. In Thailand, rice farmers take shifts staying awake nights guarding their fields from thieves. The crop's price has about doubled in recent months, it's the staple for half or more of the world's population, but rising prices and fearing scarcity have prompted some of the world's largest producers to export less - Thailand (the world's largest exporter), Vietnam, India, Egypt, Cambodia with others likely to follow as world output lags demand. Producers of other grains are doing the same like Argentina, Kazakhstan and China. The less they export, the higher prices go.
Other factors are high oil prices and transportation costs, growing demand, commodity speculation, pests in southeast Asia, a 10 year Australian drought, floods in Bangladesh and elsewhere, a 45 day cold snap in China, and other natural but mostly manipulated factors like crop diversion for biofuels have combined to create a growing world crisis with more on this below. It's at the same time millions of Chinese and Indians have higher incomes, are changing their eating habits, and are consuming more meat, chicken and other animal products that place huge demands on grains to produce.
Here's a UK April 8 Times online snapshot of the situation in parts of Asia:
-- Filipino farmers caught hoarding rice risk a life in jail sentence for "economic sabotage;"
-- thousands of (Jakarta) Indonesian soya bean cake makers are striking against the destruction of their livelihood;
-- once food self-sufficient countries like Japan and South Korea are reacting "bitterly (as) the world's food stocks-to-consumption ratio plunges to an all-time low;"
-- India no longer can export millions of tons of rice; instead it's forced to have a "special strategic food reserve on top of its existing wheat and rice stockpiles;"
-- Thailand is the world's largest rice producer; its price rose 50% in the past month;
-- countries like the Philippines and Sri Lanka are scrambling for secure rice supplies; they and other Asian countries are struggling to cope with soaring prices and insufficient supply;
-- overall, rice is the staple food for three billion people; one-third of them survive on less than $1 a day and are "food insecure;" it means they may starve to death without aid.
The UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) reported that worldwide food costs rose almost 40% in 2007 while grains spiked 42% and dairy prices nearly 80%. The World Bank said food prices are up 83% since 2005. As of December, it caused 37 countries to face food crises and 20 to impose price controls in response.
It also affected aid agencies like the UN's World Food Program (WFP). Because of soaring food and energy costs, it sent an urgent appeal to donors on March 20 to help fill a $500 million resource gap for its work. Since then, food prices increased another 20% and show no signs of abating. For the world's poor, like the people of Haiti, things are desperate, people can't afford food, they scratch by any way they can, but many are starving and don't make it.
Haiti - the World Hunger Poster Child
The Haitain crisis is so extreme it forces people to eat (non-food) mud cookies (called "pica") to relieve hunger. It's a desperate Haitian remedy made from dried yellow dirt from the country's central plateau for those who can afford it. It's not free. In Cite Soleil's crowded slums, people use a combination of dirt, salt and vegetable shortening for a typical meal when it's all they can afford. A Port-au-Prince AP reporter sampled it. He said it had "a smooth consistency (but it) sucked all the moisture out of (my) mouth as soon as it touched (my) tongue. For hours (afterwards), an unpleasant taste of dirt lingered." Worse is how it harms human health. A mud cookie diet causes severe malnutrition, intestinal distress, and other deleterious effects from potentially deadly toxins and parasites.
Another problem is the cost. This stomach-filler isn't free. Haitians have to buy it, and "edible clay" prices are rising - by almost $1.50 in the past year. It now costs about $5 to make 100 cookies (about 5 cents each), it's cheaper than food, but many Haitians can't afford it:
-- 80% of them are impoverished in the hemisphere's poorest country and one of the world's poorest;
-- unemployment is rampant, and two-thirds or more of workers have only sporadic jobs; and
-- those with them earn 11 to 12 cents an hour; the country's official minimum wage is $1.80 a day, but IMF figures show 55% of employed Haitians receive only 44 cents daily, an impossible amount to live on.
Here's what it's like for poor Haitians. They have large families, live in cardboard and tin homes, there's no running water and little or no electricity, and life inside and around them is horrific. Bed sheets can be thick with flies, there's no sanitation, and outside garbage is everywhere. Children are always hungry, there's never enough food, often it's for one meal a day, illness and disease are common, life expectancy very low, and so-called Blue Helmet "peacekeeper" and gang violence plague communities like Port-au-Prince's Cite Soleil.
Now with a food crisis, Haitians are in the streets over prices for essentials that tripled in the past year and a president, prime minister and government doing practically nothing about it. For days, they were everywhere, throughout the country, and numbered in the thousands. They protested in Port-au-Prince, carried empty plates to signify their plight, smashed windows, set buildings and cars alight, looted shops, looked for food, tried to storm the presidential palace, shouted "we are hungry," and demanded President Rene Preval resign.
UN Blue Helmets (MINUSTAH) responded viciously the way they always do against peaceful or protest demonstrations. They shot and killed at least five Haitians (some reports say more), wounded many others, and that was just in downtown Port-au-Prince.
In Les Cayes (Haiti's third largest city) in the southwest, demonstrators stormed and tried to burn the local MINUSTAH offices. Others barricaded streets, looked for food, and shouted "Down with the high cost of living." Similar protests went on throughout the country:
-- in northern cities like Cap-Haitien and Gonaives;
-- Jacmel in the south;
-- Jeremie in the southwest where at least two deaths were reported; and
-- smaller towns like Petit Goave, Miragoane, Aquin, Cavaillon, Saint-Jean du Sud, Leogane, Vialet, Anse-a-Veau and Simon.
It's a familiar pattern in Haiti. Anger over injustice builds and then explodes with Haitians reacting in the streets en masse against intolerable conditions that are compounded by a repressive and hated UN occupation. It's there to protect privilege, not secure peace. It's the first time ever that the UN Security Council authorized so-called "peacekeepers" to enforce a coup d'etat against a democratically elected president (by a 92% majority).
Haiti's current president can't deal with the situation and has gone along with the state of things. He's been ineffective since his February 2006 reelection, hasn't alleviated the present crisis, instead ordered protests to stop, and here's how he put it in a shameful April 9 televised address: "The demonstrations and destruction won't make the prices go down or resolve the country's problems. On the contrary, this can make the misery grow and prevent investment in the country" that, of course, does nothing for most Haitians and Preval knows it.
After a week of protests, an uneasy calm followed, but things can break out any time without relief that's not forthcoming beyond some far too small proposed measures. Dismissively, Preval's prime minister, Jacques Edouard Alexis, blamed the problem on "global forces" and the high cost of oil saying there's no "quick fix," case closed. He also claimed the protests were manipulated by provocateurs, including angry drugs dealers reacting to a supposed closure of one of their transshipment points.
Alexis is now out, elitists debate over who'll replace him, Haitians in the meantime are starving, the IMF keeps extracting $1 million a week in mandated tribute to the rich, and only countries like Cuba (training Haitians to be doctors) and Venezuela (donating money, cheap oil, and over 600 tons of food aid sent April 13, more than first reported) seem to care. Chavez cares about all Latin America and last year donated about $8.8 billion in aid or four times the amount America provides the region.
For its part, the World Bank pathetically plans $10 million in "emergency aid" for a country with over eight million starving people. It also plans to double its African agricultural lending next year to $800 million and thus make a bad situation worse. It'll go to hugely indebted nations, unable to help feed their people as a consequence, and World Bank policy always is opposite of what these countries need.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon barely commented, made merely pro forma statements about the crisis and its seriousness, was as dismissive as Alexis, offered no remedial aid, is as uncaring as World Bank officials, and never forgets that his bosses are in Washington. Instead of doing his job and helping, he called on Haiti's leaders to restore stability because the country's security is threatened. Starving poor people aren't his concern. Let 'em eat mud cookies.
That's apparently Rene Preval's solution as well. Belatedly (on April 12), he announced a plan to cut rice prices 15%. It will do nothing to relieve the crisis, and Reuters (on April 15) reported that vendors still demand the higher price for supplies already in stock. It provoked new clashes on the streets, Haitians continue to starve, and "government officials were not immediately available for comment."
Raj Patel's new book explains the state of things today. It's titled "Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System." In an April 14 statement, he said: "What's happening in Haiti is an augury to the rest of the developing world. Haiti is the poster child of an economy that liberalized its agricultural economy and removed the social safety nets for the poor...." Two conditions create food riots:
-- "price shocks (and) modern development policies" (tariffs, corporate subsidies, grain reserve policies) make food unaffordable for many millions; and
-- "riots (then) happen when there are no other ways (to make) powerful people listen...." They'll continue to happen "with increasing frequency until governments realize that food isn't a mere commodity, it's a human right."
World Hunger - A Growing Problem for All Nations
The situation is so dire, protests may erupt anywhere, any time, and rich countries aren't immune, including America. Poverty in the world's richest country is growing, and organizations like the Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and Economic Policy Institute (EPI) document it. They report on a permanent (and growing) underclass of over 37 million people earning poverty-level wages and say that official statistics understate the problem. They note an unprecedented wealth gap between rich and poor, a dying middle class, and growing millions in extreme poverty.
It affects the unemployed as well in times of economic distress, but official government data conceals to what extent. If employment calculations were made as originally mandated, the true rate would be around 13% instead of the Department of Labor's 5.1%. The same is true for inflation that's around 12% at the retail level instead of the official 4% that's hooey.
Under conditions of duress, hunger is the clearest symptom, it's rising, and current food inflation threatens to spiral it out of control if nothing is done to address it. It's the highest in decades with 2007 signaling what's ahead - eggs up 25% last year; milk 17%; rice, bread and pasta 12%, and look at prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT):
-- grains and soy prices are at multi-year highs;
-- wheat hit an all-time high above $12 a bushel with little relief ahead in spite of a temporary pullback in price; the US Department of Agriculture forecasts that global wheat stocks this year will fall to a 30 year low of 109.7 million metric tons; USDA also projected US wheat stocks by year end 2008 at 272 million bushels - the lowest level since 1948;
-- corn and soybeans are also at record levels; soybeans are at over $15 a bushel; corn prices shot above $6 a bushel as demand for this and other crops soar in spite of US farmers planting as much of them as possible to cash in on high prices.
Growing demand, a weak dollar, but mostly another factor to be discussed below is responsible - the increased use of corn for ethanol production with farmers diverting more of their acreage from other crops to plant more of what's most in demand. Forty-three per cent of corn production is for livestock feed, but around one-fifth is for biofuels according to the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA). Other estimates are as high as 25 - 30% compared to 14% two years ago, and NCGA estimates one-third of the crop in 2009 will be for ethanol, not food. It's fueling US and world food inflation with five year forecasts of it rising even faster.
In the world's poorest countries, people starve. Here, they go on food stamps with a projected unprecedented 28 million Americans getting them this year as joblessness increases in a weak economy. However, many millions in need aren't eligible as social services are cut to finance foreign wars and tax cuts for the rich, with poor folks at home losing out as a result. A family of four only qualifies now if its net monthly income is at or below $1721 or $20,652 a year. Even then, it gets the same $542 monthly amount recipients received in 1996 to cover today's much higher prices or around $1 dollar a meal per person and falling.
This is the UN's World Food Program (WFP)'s dilemma worldwide at a time donations coming in are inadequate. Its Executive Director, Josette Sheeran, said "Our ability to reach people is going down just as needs go up....We are seeing a new face of hunger in which people (can't afford to buy food)....Situations that were previously not urgent" are now desperate. WFP's funding needs keep rising. It estimates them at $3.5 billion, they'll likely go higher, and they're for approved projects to feed 73 million people in 78 counties worldwide. WFP foresees much greater potential needs for unseen emergencies and for far greater numbers of people in need.
People (who aren't poor) in rich countries can manage with food accounting for about 10% of consumption. In ones like China, it's around 30%, but in sub-Saharan Africa and the poor in Latin America and Asia it's about 60% (or even 80%) and rising. It means food aid is vital, and without it people will starve. But as food prices rise, the amount forthcoming (when it's most needed) falls because not enough money is available and too few donors offer help.
Agencies that can are doing less with ones like USAID saying it's cutting the amount of food aid it provides but won't say why. It's mission is to help the rich, not the poor, or as it states on its web site: as a US government agency, it "receives (its) overall foreign policy guidance from the Secretary of State (and its mission is to) further America's foreign policy interests (in the areas of) economic growth, agriculture and trade...." That leaves out the poor.
Oxfam worries about what USAID ignores. It called for immediate action by donors and governments to protect the world's poor against rising food prices. One spokesperson said: "Global economic uncertainty, high food prices, drought (and other factors) all pose a serious threat to (the) vulnerable." Another added: "More and more people are going to be facing food shortages in the future. (Because of) rising food prices we need to think (of its) impact on (the world's poor) who are spending up to 80% of their incomes on food."
The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Jean Ziegler, also expressed alarm. In comments to the French daily Liberation he said: "We are heading for a very long period of rioting, conflicts (and) waves of uncontrollable regional instability marked by the despair of the most vulnerable populations." He noted that even under normal circumstances hunger plagues the world and claims the life of a child under age 10 every five seconds. Because of the present crisis, we now face "an imminent massacre."
Besides the usual factors cited, it's vital to ask why, but don't expect Brazil's Lula to explain. Biofuel production is the main culprit, but not according to him. Brazil is a major biofuels producer. Last year it signed an R&D "Ethanol Pact" with Washington to develop "next generation" technologies for even more production.
In an April 16 Reuters report, the former union leader was dismissive about the current crisis and rejected criticisms that biofuels are at fault. In spite of protests at home and around the world, he told reporters: "Don't tell me....that food is expensive because of biodiesel. (It's) expensive because" peoples' economic situation has improved and they're eating more. It's true in parts of China and India, but not in most other countries where incomes haven't kept pace with inflation.
Biofuels - A Scourge of Our Times
The idea of combustible fuels from organic material has been around since the early auto age, but only recently took off. Because they're from plant-based or animal byproduct (renewable) sources, bio or agrofuels are (falsely) touted as a solution to a growing world energy shortage with a huge claimed added benefit - the nonsensical notion that they're clean and green without all the troublesome issues connected to fossil fuels.
Biofuel is a general term to describe all fuels from organic matter. The two most common kinds are bioethanol as a substitute for gasoline, and biodiesel that serves the same purpose for that type fuel.
Bioethanol is produced from sugar-rich crops like corn, wheat and sugar cane. Most cars can burn a petroleum fuel blend with up to 10% bioethanol without any engine modifications. Some newer cars can run on pure bioethanol.
Biodiesel is produced from a variety of vegetable oils, including soybean, palm and rapeseed (canola), plus animal fats. This fuel can replace regular diesel with no engine modifications required.
Cellulosic ethanol is another variety and is made by breaking down fiber from grasses or most other kinds of plants. Biofuels of all types are renewable since crops are grown in season, harvested, then replanted for more output repeatedly.
In George Bush's 2007 State of the Union address, he announced "It's in our vital interest to diversify America's energy supply (and we) must continue investing in new methods of producing ethanol (to) reduce gasoline usage in the United States by 20% in the next 10 years. (To do it) we must (set) a mandatory fuels (target of) 35 billion gallons of renewable and alternative fuels in 2017 (to) reduce our dependence on foreign oil."
Congress earlier passed the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that mandated ethanol fuel production rise to four billion gallons in 2006 and 7.5 billion by 2012. It already reached 6.5 billion barrels last year and is heading for nine billion this year.
The 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act gave added impetus to the Bush administration scheme with plenty of agribusiness subsidies backing it. Its final version sailed through both Houses in December, and George Bush made it official on December 19. It upped the stakes over 2005 with one of its provisions calling for 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2022 to replace 15% of their equivalent in oil. It represents a nearly fivefold increase from current levels, and new goals ahead may set it higher as rising oil prices (topping $117 a barrel April 21) make a case for cheaper alternatives, and some in the environmental community claim biofuels are eco-friendly.
Hold the applause, and look at the facts. In a nutshell, organic fuels trash rainforests, deplete water reserves, kill off species, and increase greenhouse emissions when the full effects of producing them are included. At least that's what Science Magazine says on the latter point. It reviewed studies that examined how destruction of natural ecosystems (such as tropical rain forests and South American grasslands) not only releases greenhouse gases when they're burned and plowed but also deprives the planet of natural sponges to absorb carbon emissions. Cropland also absorbs less carbon than rain forests or even the scrubland it replaces.
Nature Conservancy scientist Joseph Fargione (lead author of one study) concluded that grassland clearance releases 93 times the greenhouse gases that would be saved by fuel made annually on that land. For scientists and others concerned about global warming, the research indicated that biofuel production exacerbates the problem and thus should be reconsidered. Others disagree and so far the trend continues with Europe and America both setting ambitious goals that pay little attention to the consequences they ignore.
Eric Holt-Gimenez, executive director of the Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy, pays close attention and wrote about it in an article published last June by Agencia Latinoamericana de Informacion (ALAI) and thereafter widely distributed. It's headlined "Biofuels: The Five Myths of the Agro-fuels Transition." As he puts it: "the mythic baggage of the agro-fuels transition needs to be publicly unpacked."
1. Agrofuels aren't clean and green. As cited above, they produce far greater greenhouse gas emissions than they save and also require large amounts of oil-based fertilizers that contribute even more.
2. Agrofuel production will be hugely destructive to forests in countries like Brazil where vast Amazon devastation is well documented and is currently increasing at nearly 325,000 hectares a year. By 2020 in Indonesia, "palm oil plantations for bio-diesel (will continue to be) the primary cause of forest loss (in a) country with one of the highest deforestation rates in the world."
3. Agrofuels will destroy rural development. Small farmers will be forced off their land and so will many thousands of others in communities to make way for Big Oil, Agribusiness, and Agribiotech to move in and take over for the huge profits to be extracted in the multi-billions.
4. Agrofuels increase hunger. The poor are always hurt most, the topic is covered above, and Holt-Gimenez quotes another forecast. It's the International Food Policy Research Institute's estimate that basic food staple prices will rise 30 - 33% by 2010, but that figure already undershoots based on current data. FPRI also sees the rise continuing to 2020 by another 26 to 135% that will be catastrophic for the world's poor who can't afford today's prices and are ill-equipped to raise their incomes more than marginally if at all.
5. Better "second-generation" argofuels aren't around the corner. Examples touted are eco-friendly fast-growing trees and switchgrass (a dominant warm season central North American tallgrass prairie species). Holt-Gimenez calls the argument a "bait and switch-grass shell game" to make the case for first generation production now ongoing. The same environmental problems exists, and they'll be hugely exacerbated by more extensive GMO crop plantings.
Holt-Gimenez sees agrofuels as a "genetic Trojan horse" that's letting agribusiness giants like Monsanto "colonize both our fuel and food system," do little to offset a growing demand for oil, reap huge profits from the scheme, get them at taxpayers' expense, and that's exactly what's happening with Big Oil in on it, too, as a way to diversify through large biofuel investments. More on this below.
The Ghost of Henry Kissinger
Kissinger made a chilling 1970 comment that explains a lot about what's happening now - "Control oil and you control nations; control food and you control the people." Combine it with unchallengeable military power and you control everything, and Kissinger likely said that, too.
He said plenty more in his classified 1974 memo on a secret project called National Security Study Memorandum 200 (NSSM 200) for a "world population plan of action" for drastic global population control. He meant reducing it by hundreds of millions, using food as a weapon, and overall reorganizing the global food market to destroy family farms and replace them with (agribusiness-run) factory ones. It's been ongoing for decades, backed since January 1995 by WTO muscle, and characterized now by huge agribusiness giants with monstrous vertically integrated powers over the food we eat - from research labs to plantings to processing to the supermarket and other food outlet shelves around the world.
But it's even worse than that. Today, five agribusiness behemoths, with little fanfare and enormous government backing, plan big at our expense - to control the world's food supply by making it all genetically engineered with biofuels one part of a larger scheme.
By diverting crops for fuel, prices have exploded, and five "Ag biotech" giants are exploiting it - Monsanto, DuPont, Dow Agrisciences, Syngenta and Bayer CropScience AG. Their solution - make all crops GMO, tout it as a way to increase output and reduce costs, and claim it's the solution to today's soaring prices and world hunger.
In fact, agribusiness power raises prices, controls output to keep them high, and the main factor behind today's situation is the conversion of US farmland to biofuel factories. With less crop output for food and world demand for it growing, prices are rising, and rampant commodity speculation exacerbates the problem with traders profiting hugely and loving it. It's another part of the multi-decade wealth transfer scheme from the world's majority to the elite few. While the trend continues, its momentum is self-sustaining, and it works because governments back it. They subsidize the problem, keep regulations loose, give business free reign, and maintain that markets work best so let them.
As mentioned above, about 43% of US corn output goes for animal feed, but growing amounts are for biofuels - now possibly 25 - 30% of production compared to around 14% two years ago, up 300% since 2001, and today the total exceeds what's earmarked for export, with no slowing down of this trend in sight. The result, of course, is world grain reserves are falling, prices soaring, millions starving, governments permitting it, and it's only the early innings of a long-term horrifying trend - radically transforming agriculture in humanly destructive ways:
-- letting agribusiness and Big Oil giants control it for profit at the expense of consumer health and well-being;
-- making it all genetically engineered and inflicting great potential harm to human health; and
-- producing reduced crop amounts for food, diverting greater quantities for fuel, allowing prices to soar, making food as dear as oil, ending government's responsibility for food security, and tolerating the unthinkable - putting hundreds of millions of poor around the world in jeopardy and letting them starve to death for profit.
This is the brave new world neoliberal schemers have in mind. They're well along with their plans, marginally diverted by today's economic distress, well aware that growing world protests that could prove hugely disruptive, but very focused, nonetheless, on finding clever ways to push ahead with what's worked pretty well for them so far, so they're not about to let human misery jeopardize big profits.
If they won't reform, people have to do it for them, and throughout history that's how it's always worked. Over time, the stakes keep rising as the threats become greater, and today they may be as great as they've ever been.
What better time for a new social movement like those in the past that were pivotal forces for change. Famed community organizer Saul Alinsky knew the way to beat organized money is with organized people. In combination, they've succeeded by taking to the streets, striking, boycotting, challenging authority, disrupting business, paying with their lives and ultimately prevailing by knowing change never comes from the top down. It's always from the grassroots, from the bottom up, and what better time for it than now. It's high time democracy worked for everyone, that destructive GMO and biofuels schemes won't be tolerated, and that "America the Beautiful" won't any longer just be for elites and no one else.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at email@example.com.
Also visit his blog site at sj.lendman.blogspot.com and listen to The Global Research News Hour on RepublicBroadcasting.org Mondays from 11AM to 1PM US Central time for cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests.
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10:30 PM & Midnight Cover $20 at the door
Xiomara Laugart has lived and worked in New York City for two decades. As a vocalist, she has performed Cuban nueva trova, jazz standards, and Broadway numbers on local and international stages. Xiomara has recorded over 17 albums and has collaborated with Kip Hanrahan, Roy Hargrove, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and others.
Xiomara joins her son, jazz pianist Axel Tosca, in a new duo that combines the beloved Cuban sounds of home from the 1950s to today with Tosca's eclectic take on modern jazz, swing, and bebop. Axel Tosca primarily plays with his Afro-Cuban psychedelic band Unity and has performed with The Roots, George Clinton, and Little Louie Vega.
The duo brings their fresh approach to Cubop at Greenwich Village's Zinc for a Saturday night residency beginning November 10.


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Why Big Corporations Are Putting the Brakes on Social Media Study indicates many Fortune 500 companies demonstrate a dismal attitude toward social media.
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
When it comes to the care and tending of corporate blogs, Twitter accounts and Facebook pages, a new study suggests big business social media may be suffering from neglect.
In recent report by the Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth social media use among America's largest companies is losing steam.
Specifically, less than a quarter of the nation's top 500 companies as ranked by Fortune magazine now have a public-facing blog -- the same percentage reported in last year's study. When UMass Dartmouth began counting blogs within the Fortune 500 in 2008, that figure was 16 percent, growing to 22 percent in 2009.
The use of Twitter and Facebook among Fortune 500 companies was similarly stunted. This year, 62 percent of those corporations took advantage of the Twittersphere, up just 2 percentage points over 2010. Also this year, 58 percent of firms manage Facebook pages as compared to 56 percent last year.
However the same study indicates that smaller corporations -- specifically, those included in the annual Inc. 500 listing of American's fastest-growing companies -- host twice as many blogs than their bigger, better-known brethren. And 71 percent of Inc. 500-listed companies have Facebook pages, while 59 percent use Twitter on a regular basis.
This reflects the notion that smaller companies place more importance on open communications with customers, according to the study's researchers. Or it could be a factor of the internal structure and culture of these fast-growing firms.
In my experience, very large companies like those ranked among the Fortune 500, have the most to lose by adding a fifth "P," Participation, to their traditional marketing mix of Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. Inherently risk averse and overly protective of their market positioning, corporate leaders have far too many lawyers and others spinning cautionary tales laden with drastic potential outcomes as a result of directly engaging their customers and prospects in full view of one another.
What many large company C-level executives fail to recognize and leverage is the simple fact that customer engagement occurs both with and without their blessing. By choosing to actively observe, engage, influence and measure engagement-related efforts, companies of all sizes remain top-of-mind more often than not. That leads to more favorable attitudes about the company and its brand, as well as direct and indirect word-of-mouth advertising that even the largest companies in the world can't afford on their own.
Why do you think smaller companies use social media more than bigger firms? Leave a comment and let us know.


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I'm partnering with Mercedes-Benz to share my version of Los Angeles.
I used a special MB provided App to create this slide show culled from my Instagram feed.
Hey, kids, slow it down for us OLD PEOPLE!!!!!
Here are the individual photos, which you can linger over at your leisure:
The obligatory cliche Venice Beach shot. |
Chasing a giant spool on the I-105 for my #dailytruck project. Pay no attention to my hazardous driving skillz. The App didn't "recognize" any of my Waterlogue images, so I gamed my IG and added a source image. |
Food. Had to include a food shot. These Kranse Cakes are awesome and I want one NOW! Copenhagen Pastry, Culver City. Read a detailed review on my Dessert blog. |
The Mobile Studio in the back seat of my car. I haven't been #lunchbreakfashionsketching all that much lately. I'm needing a rest period. |
That's My Instagram for you, EVERYTHING in one place.
[Nerd alert]
My Inspector SpyGirl study of what the App liked on my IG.
Did not like the new multi-image album nor the Waterlogues, among other things. Why didn't it like "BOOM!"? So sad! It liked Severo a lot, that's for sure. And my #COTDstyle shots. And all the "Good morning"s.
[I made screenshots of my IG feed. The App goes back only one month. It also loads the images in reverse chronological order. Unable to rearrange images for the slideshow].
You're welcome to click on image to see bigger. Orange √ = top App picks Red √ = all other picks There is some overlap at the top from gaming IG after I first tried the App. |
If you live in or plan on visiting NYC, LA, Chicago, Austin, Miami, or Denver, Mercedes-Benz is inviting you to share your city in a simple and artistic way on Instagram. It's easy—you create a quick (but beautiful) animated album of 5 of your best geotagged photos and upload it to Instagram. [Once I get the green light, I'll add the link to the App. You have to connect through your smart device]. Then, you share your album on your feed with the hashtag #MBsociallydriven—and your photos might be featured on the Mercedes-Benz website! Get busy, the deadline is March 5.
MB suggests these guidelines:
Because this is a Mercedes-Benz brand initiative, please avoid posting the following types of photos (as much as we love them): competing car brands, celebrities, outdoor murals and graffiti, images that primarily focus on tattoos, advertising, and profanity.
[Nerd Alert part 2]
Check out the City Colorways on the MB site --
ALL THE NYC VIDEO COVERS ARE BLACK AND WHITE! And Miami is all blue! SO WEIRD!
Also, it looks like every city got its own font. Pattern Recognition, people. Pattern Recognition.
Ready to rediscover your city?
If you DON'T live in one of those 6 cities, share your local 5-image slideshow here!
If you can think of an existing App to make the slideshow, please mention it in the comments.


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There is a world parallel to our own whose small inhabitants fret over toxic shock syndrome, swoon over Fabergé eggs, and hoard pet cats. This world is filled with objects of convincing density: a Louis Vuitton shopping bag; a crystal ball; a tutu; a telephone; a dunce cap; an igloo; and a feathered turban. Characters speak with the languorous wit of Tallulah Bankhead; the screechy frustration of the stay-at-home mother; the precociousness of a child studying vocabulary years in advance of her SATs. In many ways, this world is entirely our own with the exception of the size and, well, the chenille and pipe cleaner consistency of its occupants.
Richly detailed tableaux are filled with sassy chickens, the only actors in Sloane Tanen's four art books: Bitter with Baggage Seeks Same: The Life and Times of Some Chickens (2003); Going for the Bronze: Still Bitter, More Baggage (2005); Hatched!: The Big Push from Pregnancy to Motherhood (2007); and Appetite for Detention (2008). (The titles are satisfying in translation: Splendeurs et misérès d'une starlette de poulailler, Poussez for Hatched, and Küken im Goldrausch.) The store-bought chickens pop up as novelty items in craft and toy stores around Easter. Tanen sculpts them to reflect emaciation, obesity and plain old bad hair days. Bits and pieces from dollhouse collections, like baby strollers and polar bears, texture the dioramas. The small fuzzies seem sometimes to stagger under the weight of their emotional baggage. The word 'tizzy' comes to mind.
(Tanen laughs at the necessity of the word 'adult' in relation to some of her books and its misleading connotations: the phrase "adult chicken book" is especially intriguing. Tanen wrote another chicken-based children's series featuring naughty Coco the child chick, who learns her letters and numbers and travels the globe, ending up at every child's utopia: grandma's house.)
The chickens' world is pluralist, even multicultural. There are Orthodox Jews with curls who break fasts with hotdogs; a gay couple who fuss over their physiques; and even green Martians. Prince Charles and Camilla appear on their wedding day, Camilla Chicken wearing her distinctive agrarian-themed bridal tiara, smelling faintly of guacamole. And there are note-perfect references to popular culture, with the grim menstruation-in-the-showers scene from the horror movie Carrie. ("It was one of those scenes that was sort of iconic and traumatic to me when I was a kid," she explains on the phone from Oakland, California.)
There is also pathos and black comedy, as a tiny boy chicken, in the spelling bee's harsh spotlight, labours over the word "dissapointmint". Blue Chinese immigrant chickens splash perilously in their rowboat, trying to buck up by singing "New York, New York" in Mandarin. (The chicks are actually made in China.)
The legendary cartoon editor of the New Yorker, Robert Mankoff, once buzzed around Tanen's work as a new, avant-garde cartoon, unlike any of the magazine's past submissions. Her work is original and identifiable at a glance and is ready to appear in any setting in which cartoons are found. Its stagy, intricate settings ("little movie sets" says Tanen), are more obviously artistic than cartoonish, and ultimately maximalist where drawings are minimalist. Each image, deriving from a 3-D set, is trickily sculptural and takes up to an hour to shoot. Though Tanen refers to herself as a "3-D cartoonist", her work seems to bring a little more to the table than cartooning.
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In the end, the New Yorker did not put out a special issue of multimedia cartoons, and the project was shelved. "The editor-in-chief [David Remnick] sees the New Yorker as a traditional magazine using traditional line-drawn cartoons," explains Tanen. She calls the meeting with Mankoff a high point for the chicken series, saying "I do think that cartooning is an art form: I definitely do", and names Charles Addams a particular inspiration. In their ability to form stand-alone universes, the chickens perhaps best resemble Gary Larson's classic cartoon "The Far Side".
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A commissioned composition ("Subway Chicks") has appeared on New York City subways and billboards, as part of a series of MTA Arts for Transit subway posters. Tanen produced a tapestry of metropolitan life in this close depiction of Mayor George B. McLennan Jr.'s inaugural subway ride from City Hall Station in October 1904. For the Spring 2006 collection, The Sak, a mid-range handbag line, ran a series of chicken ads.
Sloane Tanen's life is bicoastal and bicultural. Her father, Ned Tanen, was a studio head with a massive Hollywood career (Animal House, Jaws, Fatal Attraction), which kept Sloane in LA until age 18. Her education is diverse, and she began attending a string of exclusive institutions with the private co-ed Brentwood School. She did her undergrad at Sarah Lawrence, majoring in visual art. Tanen's paintings feature black and white "architectural landscapes", and appear in corporate and private collections. Her time in Manhattan was prolific. She did two Master's degrees, one at Columbia in art history and another at NYU in literature.
She went on to University of Virginia where she began her Ph.D. with the intention of becoming a professor, but she eventually left due to a lifelong fear of public speaking. (A shy, apprehensive theme returns when she talks about reading Amazon reviews: "When you go out in public, you gotta be ready to get your head blown off.") Her reading schedule remains heavy: a list on Twitter takes in Joyce Carol Oates, Herman Kock, Donna Tartt and Tom Rachman.
She returned to California, to Berkeley for a few years, and now she resides in Oakland. ("I'm having a harder time relating to it because it's not my kind of crazy. It's nice, it's different, a good place for the kids.") The captions of Tanen's chicken images reflect her ability to toggle between two dialects: New York hipster and California flake.
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The chicken work was born in New York, at Tanen's Greenwich Village studio. Tanen's artistic career was underway, and she was showing her work in galleries. Unable to paint large-scale works after an injury, Tanen began making model houses and painting their small rooms. Tanen had bought a few of the little chenille figurines every Easter, and stuck a few in her miniature rooms, sending the resulting pictures on cards to friends. They were a hit, and Tanen soon got more inquiries for her chicks than for her serious painting. Her friends requested personal situations rendered in chickens, and Tanen discovered that any embarrassment depicted in chenille lost its power to offend, but not its power to amuse.
It takes a surgeon's dexterity and attention to detail to assemble the dioramas and pose the charismatic chenille, and some of the original sets sold at auction raising funds for a cancer charity. At first she made all of the little props used by the chicks, and then Tanen discovered that she could buy many in the strange, obsessive world of dolls and dollhouses. "I am a better painter than a line drawer and the chickens just came very easily. They were kind of an accident, as are the best things in life and art." Editor Amy Scheibe approached her to produce a book, and she soon had her choice of publishers. Tanen connected with German photographer Stefan Hagen and a deal was signed with Bloomsbury. Hagen, who worked in advertising shooting jewelry and shampoo bottles, was the first successful chicken photographer. He knew exactly how to light the dioramas, and he would collaborate with Tanen throughout the chicken period.
Tanen's chicks are tucked away in their roost for now. The publisher and editor have left, and Tanen is now separated by geography from her collaborator-photographer in New York. Though the first books sold well, the classification of her books in stores created a problem. "These are gift books, and they end up shelved in the humour section of a bookstore and nobody sees them. When they are viewed as a novelty item and the booksellers put them out, then they do sell. Otherwise they can get lost in a bookstore." Tanen was frustrated when the most accomplished chicken book, Hatched, suffered such a fate.
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An attractive, youthful brunette, Tanen is married to Gary Taubes, an award-winning science writer who has appeared on the cover of New York Times Magazine. His research into the Nobel Prizes and Cold Fusion has been followed by a predictably best-selling, controversial book called Why We Get Fat. They have two young boys, Harry and Nick, and Tanen remains close to her older sister, Tracy James.
In 2011, she published a young adult novel, Are You Going to Kiss Me Now? (Sourcebooks Fire). High School Junior, Francesca Manning, is an aspiring writer who crash lands on a desert island with five celebrities, one an obvious Perez Hilton figure and another a Lindsay Lohan. She had won the rendezvous with celebs through a Seventeen magazine biography contest, for which she falsely wrote that her father, who had just impregnated his girlfriend, was dead. This is the essential Sloane Tanen detail: small stakes, huge results. As she moves onto another literary work, Tanen hasn't forgotten the chickens what brung her to the dance.
"I'm the chicken lady. It's quite a label to carry around."


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The Government of Kenya has won the bid to host the
international open data conference in 2020, despite its recent Internet tax,
which has largely attracted condemnation due to its effect on access to data
and dissemination, reports ITREALMS.
The hosting right, ITREALMS gathered was based on the
consistency and high-level leadership of the Deputy President, Hon. William
Ruto, on Open Government and data for development over the last three years.
ITREALMS also gathered that the 6th International Open Data
Conference (IODC) will be held in Africa for the first time, in Nairobi, Kenya,
in 2020.
This was revealed at the closing ceremony of the 5th IODC
2018 held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from September 27 – 28, 2018 under the
theme "The Future is Open." This year's IODC was organized by the Government of
Argentina, the World Bank, IDRC and OD4D with the support of Google, amongst
The International Open Data Conference (IODC) is a bi-annual
premier gathering of champions of Open Data from Government, Civil Society,
Academia, innovators among others; to share, learn and collaborate on policies,
technologies, tactics, tools and platforms for making data more open,
accessible, available and interoperable in support of development priorities.
The IODC exists to accelerate collaboration and increase the
impact of open data activities globally, across different workstreams such as;
Agriculture, health, education, gender and fiscal transparency. For the last 10
years, the Government of Spain, the International Development Research Centre
(IDRC), the World Bank, and the Open Data for Development Network (OD4D) have
been the curators of the Conference.
The Government of Kenya won the bid based on the consistency
and high-level leadership of H.E the Deputy President, Hon. William Ruto, on
Open Government and data for development over the last three years.
Setting the stage for this honor, the Deputy President has
previously affirmed, "The President and I are committed to the creation of an
inclusive data ecosystem involving the government, the private sector,
academia, civil society, local communities, and development partners that
tackles the information aspects of development decision-making. We recognize
that if Kenya is to move ahead, we must deliberately pursue collaboration
between the government, academia, and entrepreneurs. It is no longer an issue
of political will, but a matter of rational economic and political choice."
In response, the Office of the Deputy President has so far
co-founded the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD) with
over 400 leading Data Companies and Governments, energized the Global Open Data
for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN) by co-hosting a Summit with the
Governments of the United States and the United Kingdom in New York, convened a
high level meeting on Data for Development in Africa with the Governments of
Ghana and Sierra Leone and signed a land-mark agreement on with the Group on
Earth Observations (GEO) and National Aeronautic Space Administration (NASA),
to release 17 Years of satellite data for free to 5 Africa Countries (Kenya,
Ghana, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Senegal).
Mr. Rudi Borrmann, Undersecretary for Public Innovation and
Open Government, Argentina's Ministry for Modernization noted that "This will
be an excellent opportunity to share lessons learnt on hosting such an
auspicious gathering with Kenya, but most importantly, a practical opportunity
to strengthen the South-South Collaboration. We look forward to advising and
working with the Government of Kenya in the successful hosting of IODC in
The theme of the International Open Data Conference in 2020
will be "Bridging Data Communities" a vision that received a resounding
endorsement by participants, noting the significance of the year 2020, that
will mark, five years after the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement (PARIS21), as well as the 5th
anniversary of the Africa Agenda 2063 and 25 years since the Beijing Platform
for Action (BPfA).
The 2020 conference is expected to bring over 3000
participants to Nairobi from over 100 countries. Additionally, over 50 tech
international tech companies are expected to participate, exhibit and hopefully
invest in Africa's burgeoning innovation spaces.
Receiving the baton to host #IODC20, on behalf of Kenya, Dr.
Korir Sing'Oei, Legal Advisor and Head of Policy, Office of the Deputy
President, said that, "We are indeed humbled and honored to be entrusted with
the next International Open Data Conference, which will be a tremendous
opportunity for the African Continent to showcase impact on how it has
harnessed the power of data, technology and innovation, to respond to the
age-old challenges of our populations. With this opportunity to host the next
IODC in 2020, we are signaling Africa's readiness to play a leading role in
bridging the different data communities to deliver the benefits of data to our
economies and leave no one behind."
Nenye Dom/GEE


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Battery Replacement
Although it is recommended to use Ninebot battery it is totally possible to use other comparable batteries. The only major difference between Ninebot battery and other after market batteries is special Ninebot software that is pre-installed at the Ninebot batteries. This software communicates with Ninebot app and allows you to see charge level on the app. Other comparable batteries will work fine except giving you reading on the app. You still will be able to see the charge level on the front display.
Taking into account high price of the Ninebot branded battery it is up to you to decide if information on the App is so critical to you.
Step 1. Power Off Segway miniPRO
Step 2. Put Segway miniPRO on a side to get easier access to the battery.
Step 3. Remove four fasteners using 3mm hex wrench.
Step 4. Remove the battery. Do not touch any internal electrical components.
Step 5. Press "Power" button on the MiniPro to discharge any remaining power.
Step 6. Please confirm that the silicone gasket is in place.
Wrong Installation
Correct Installation
Step 7. Follow steps 5 to 2 in the reverse order.
Step 8. Confirm that silicone cap is over the charging port.
Purchase Segway Replacement Battery
Purchase MoreMini Long-Range Updated Battery
Other Useful links
Even wondered what is inside Segway miniPRO battery? Check it out here.


text:
The search feature allows you to easily find people on your Workplace. Find out how you can utilize search on Workplace.
What can I search for on Workplace?
How do I remove a search from my activity log on Workplace?
How can I search in Workplace for people by team or department?
How do I search for people by skill on Workplace?


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COMSOL News Special Edition Biomedical
Biomedical applications are often multiphysics in nature. This presents unique challenges, as devices and treatments need to be able to interact with the human body, living tissue, and sensitive living cells — and medical device designs often utilize coupled physics effects. These designs are best simulated using multiphysics simulation.
In this special edition of COMSOL News, you will find insight into some of the many projects where multiphysics simulation has been used in the biomedical field. This collection of stories shows how simulation — and the use of simulation apps — enables design engineers, researchers, scientists, and students to explore and analyze biomedical designs; gain a better understanding of the physics at play; and create better, innovative, more reliable, and safer products, devices, and methods.
Topics include:
- Hearing aids
- LVAD heart pump implants
- Simulation apps for pharmaceutical processes
- Cold storage devices for vaccine transport
- Microfluidic cell sorting for blood analysis
- Release mechanisms for drug-coated stents
- Optimization of hematology analysis equipment
- MRI tracking for precise tumor treatment
- Noninvasive correction of aging eyesight
- Wearable sensors for health monitoring
- Simulation apps in pharmaceutical education
- High-precision tissue ablation
Click the button below to read the digital version.


text:
Norm Bild
U.S. Air Force
We don't have any descriptive information about this person. Do you have more information about this person that we should include here? We would sincerely appreciate if you could send us any additional information that you could provide.
View this honoree's plaque in our 3D virtual view
We don't know the location of this name on the wall. Want to help us out? We would sincerely appreciate if you would help us update this honoree's information here.


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In my humble opinion, I want four (types of) things to happen:
1. SEARCH RESULTS. First and foremost. The instant barometer of your brand. Because if you don't exist on Google, you don't exist. And ideally, you'd like people to see as many of the following hits at the highest possible ranking:
o Content demonstrating your unique expertise. Blog posts. Articles. Newsletters. Whitepapers. Ebooks. Tweets. All of which fall underneath the umbrella of your philosophy. Your unique approach. Your theory of the universe. What did you write today?
o Interviews supporting your Thought Leadership Platform. Podcasts. Television. Radio. Print. Blog interviews. All of which validate your authority by virtue of third party media reaching out to YOU. And these interviews are either about you, quoting you, or exploring your expertise. When was the last time you were interviewed?
o Videos portraying your interesting personality. You speaking on stage. You in action. You behind the scenes. You doing what you do. You being you. All of which show people (instead of "tell" people) why you're awesome. And these things help your customers get to know YOU. How much money are you losing by (not) leveraging online video?
o Testimonials confirming your perceived trustworthiness. Links to your content. Re-tweets about your awesomeness. Blogs about your products. Word of mouth about your service. All of which reinforce for potential clients, "Somebody has trusted this person before me." Who's talking about you?
o Pictures showing you in action. Ideally, doing what you do. Acting on your passion. Working with clients. Being YOU. Pictures consistent with your brand. NOT pictures of you hanging out at bars getting schnockered with your former sorority sisters. Do you want to become known for what you're about to do?
o Profiles or bios. On Google. On Social Media sites. On your own sites. On sites where you contribute content. They give people a snapshot of you. Just few bits of personal information, but presented in a way that makes the mundane memorable. How boring is your profile?
2. SILENT DIALOGUES. This comes second. This is the stuff people think when they see your name. And ideally, you'd like people to say to themselves:
o "Wow, this guy is everywhere!" Because branding is about increasing activity level. And if you want to be in the right place at the right time, then you need to be in a lot of places. How many places are YOU in?
o "Man, she sure publishes a lot of content." Because writing is the basis of all wealth. And the more you give away for free, the wealthier you will be. Is everything you know written down somewhere?
o "Looks like everyone's talking about them…" Because the only thing worse than being talked about is NOT being talked about. And if people aren't actively telling their friends about you and your company that means you're probably: Selling a stale brand, perceived as a commodity, not word of mouth worthy, boring, unremarkable and normal and (not) making the mundane memorable. Who's talking about you?
o "I can't believe I've never heard of this woman before!" Because (clearly), you're SUCH a big deal and SO ubiquitous that people assume everyone has already heard of you. And it's their fault for being in the dark. And now they have to make up for lost time. Ideally, by giving you lots of money. Who's heard of YOU?
o "I think I'm in love!" Because the secret to getting people to fall in love with you is to help them fall in love with themselves first. The secret is to become S.O.F.A.T., i.e., a person people can STUMBLE upon, become OBSESSED over, FALL in love with, become ADDICTED to and TELL their friends about. That's all that marketing is: Transferring love. Who's in love with you?
o "Oh yeah, I've heard of this guy before…" Because it's not about marketshare; it's about MIND share. And the shelf space you hold in people's minds is the most important real estate in the world. Are you the universally presumed perpetrator?
o "Whoa! That's a lot of hits for just one person…" Because your web presence is SO vast and diverse, people assume you either paid for SEO (ha!) or hired a crack team of specialists and programmers to build it for you (double ha!) Of course, neither of those are true because, with the right strategy and a WHOLE lot of content, you might not need them. Why aren't you blogging yet?
3. IMMEDIATE ACTION. That's what you want to happen next. People impelled to click and explore you and your business further. And ideally, you'd like people to:
o Read, watch or listen to something you've published. And realize how smart and creative you are. Are you a Smokin' Hot Piece of Brain Candy?
o Invite a coworker over to their desk. So they can ogle over your awesomeness. Do you pass The Cubicle Test?
o Email, call, text or tell someone about her findings. Not just because you're worth making a remark about, but also because it's EASY to remark about you. Do you pass Tell a Friend test?
o Become a part of your permission asset. By subscribing/following your blog, tweets, videos, ezines, RSS feed and the like. How many people are anticipating YOUR marketing?
o Revisitability. Another one of those words I just made up. And it's absolutely essential. It's about that addiction. It's about that "I can't get enough of this guy" attitude. It's about people who come back to your blog or website or Twitter page just to see what you've been up to. Who revisits you every day?
4. CONTACT. Here's the final step. After people have googled you, reacted and taken initial action, this is the crucial component. It's when you compound attraction with outreach. Because ideally, you'd like people to email, call or reach out to you in SOME way so they can:
o Thank you. Because something you've done, written or posted has helped them obtain more money, sex or happiness. (Oh, come on. We both know those are the ONLY three desires that drive buying behavior.) What are you the answer to?
o Tell you they're one of your new fans. Because customers are overrated. Clients are worthless. And prospects are for amateurs. You need FANS. People that are insistent upon you, your products and your service. Because the more fans you have, the less selling you do. How many do you have?
o And finally, BUY something. Because they see value in your products or services. And they're ready to give you their money. Hooray! Q.E.D! What is the reason someone is willing to give you money?
So, that's my theory. That's what I want to happen when someone googles MY name.
What about you? I'd love to hear your answers…
What do you want to happen when someone googles your name?
For the list called, "29 Pieces of Simple, Easy Advice That Will Change Your Business Forever," send an email to me, and I'll send you the list for free!
* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Author, Speaker, Coach, Entrepreneur
[email protected]
Never the same speech twice.
Always about approachability.
Watch The Nametag Guy in action here!