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Bloggin' ain't easy. Doing it well takes commitment, research, accuracy and regular postings. And, of course, a knack for writing. The staff of Risk Management has a few favorite blogs that we visit on a regular basis for their insight, knowledge and timeliness. The following are 10 of our favorite risk management and insurance blogs:
- The Call: Foreign Policy magazine's blog posts are authored by Ian Bremmer, president of the global risk research and consulting firm Eurasia Group. The blog uses political science to analyze the future of politics and the global economy. When it comes to industry blogs, this one is my personal favorite.
- Terms + Conditions: The Insurance Information Institute's blog covers current disasters, risks, laws, regulations and market conditions, among other topics. Claire Wilkinson, vice president for global issues at III, has done a great job of posting timely articles first thing in the morning, and it seems she's been joined recently by James Lynch, a veteran insurance professional and blogger.
- Clear Risk: The company itself works with organizations to help improve their risk management techniques and the blog, managed by Craig Rowe, covers the various aspects of risk management and insurance in a well-organized and easy to read manner.
- Schneier on Security: Bruce Schneier, a security technologist and author, manages this blog, which focuses on security and security technology. He has testified on security before the United States Congress and has written articles for some of the worlds biggest publications. Schneier, an opinionated tech man, knows what he's talking about — and it shows in every post.
- Workers' Comp Kit Blog: This blog covers (you guessed it) everything relating to the world of workers' comp. It acts as a discussion forum for employers to learn about workers' comp cost containment, techniques and strategies. The blog is managed by Rebecca Shafer, and attorney and risk consultant, and features posts by more than 30 other professionals. Though the format of the blog can be somewhat distracting (ads galore), the content is useful.
- GC Capital Ideas: The website, a part of reinsurance intermediary Guy Carpenter, refers to itself as more of a platform from which it disseminates information that has been published through reports, briefings and bylined articles. I refer to it as a blog and its information is has proved valuable to our team on more than one occasion.
- Calculated Risk: This blog offers a sophisticated analysis of economic data, from consumer sentiment to the mortgage and housing industry to the banking industry. Managed by Bill McBride, a full-time blogger with a background in finance and economics, Calculated Risk proves successful at turning complicated technical data into useful information for the masses. McBride publishes several posts per day.
- Political Risk Explored: Brian Hasbrouck, a man with a serious interest in the international political economy, manages this blog. PRE's short and sweet posts pull from other publications or reports that the blog's readers may have never come across on their own. The blog's simple format makes it easy to navigate and read and the Twitter feed embedded on the right-hand side is an added bonus.
- Product Liability Monitor: This blog was created by attorneys in the Weil product liability practice and discusses key trends, developments and events that have shaped and are shaping the product liability landscape. The blog's clean format is something to be imitated.
- The FCPA Blog: Its simple name leaves no guesses as to what it covers — news and views about the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Managed by Richard Cassin, the multiple daily posts gives readers a grim reminder of the oft-corrupt corporate world and analysis of the FCPA's actions.
If you think we have left off an important blog related to the industry, please let us know in the comments section below.


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A funny thing happened on the way to recovery…
Isn't it funny how sometimes things just kind of sneak up on you without even noticing? It seems like I've had my head down for quite a long time now. It started out with my focusing SO HARD on trying to recover from being treated for an eating disorder, among other issues. It felt like quite a bit of work just trying to be comfortable in my own skin. This shouldn't be work – it should just be the way it is, naturally. But I know for me and I imagine, many others, it's not the case.
But as I had a major life change recently (going back to work), I couldn't help but reevaluate things. Typically, a life change is what sets bad things in motion for me. For some reason, I don't handle change very well. Moving here for instance, which I thought should be incredibly exciting, just left me in a constant battle with myself and set things in motion for a needing treatment. I expected bad things with this recent change. I waited with bated breath, constantly looking over my shoulder for the anxiety to set in, for the depression to take over like it inevitably does.
It didn't. Well, ok, it did a bit. But in a very healthy and manageable dose. And as I took stock of this weird feeling of working through the normal amount of anxiety and handling things so well, I noticed something else. My body image issues had almost completely disappeared. Yes, they are still there. I know they always will be, but there's a vast difference between feeling minor complaints compared to having the negativity consume me almost completely.
I don't think I noticed as it must have happened gradually over time. My clothes feel more comfortable and I am not sure if it's from weight loss or just the physical feeling of being more comfortable with myself. And I don't really care. I can wear shorts and tank tops with without constantly looking for imperfections. I have jiggly legs and a wee bit of cellulite. Meh.
Recently I even went to the doctor's for a physical and they wanted to weigh me. Something I haven't done in over 4 years for fear of becoming attached to a number again. I took a deep breath and said ok. And that number wasn't scary at all. I don't even really remember what it was and I no longer feel the need to focus on it.
I don't avoid the mirror anymore and I'm not terrified to wear a bathing suit this summer. I don't stress over what I eat and how much of it I eat. I don't have a panic attack if I miss a day of exercise (or two or three…).
I'm not sure when this happened, but I feel relieved it did. I know of course this doesn't mean I am "cured" of everything. Dealing with eating disorders, anxiety, depression and PTSD is something that is part of me. And I accept it. I hope from now on I can work with it instead of fighting so hard.
ps. I'm SO BEHIND on blogging. Hoping to get caught up soon!!

subset: commoncrawl


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Re: Call to Postpone the UC Regents Vote of Fee Hikes.
Dear Legislator,
The UC Board of Regents are scheduled to vote on proposed fee hikes for UC graduate and undergraduate students at their meeting in Los Angeles on Nov. 19. The proposed increase of 32% for undergraduates, coming on top of previous hikes, would mean a total increase of 40% within the last 18 months. These increases are overwhelming to large numbers of students and their families, already burdened by declining educational services at the university that threaten to prolong time to graduation. The new hike would go into immediate effect for the Spring 2010 Semester (UCB) or Winter 2010 Quarter (all other campuses). The precipitous increase of thousands of dollars is expected to force large numbers of students, some very close to graduating, to withdraw from UC or to incur further crippling financial debt.
In the meantime, significant questions have arisen concerning the use of the funds that would result from these fee hikes. We are concerned that some student fee revenue, rather than funding instruction, is diverted to debt service for university construction projects. We are concerned also that a portion of student fees from all campuses subsidize the medical centers at UCSF, UCLA and Davis. Families hard-pressed to pay for their children's university education would surely be unhappy at the prospect of paying yet more when these moneys may be inappropriately diverted from the educational mission of the university.
The fee hike as planned is an extreme measure and should not be voted upon without transparency, accountability, and fair consideration of other options. None of this has been done, and the impending vote now a week away.
The Council of UC Faculty Associations calls on you and your fellow legislators to ask the UC regents for a postponement. Your intervention will help send a powerful signal to the UC Regents that it must demonstrate fiscal transparency in its response to the budget crisis and that it must protect accessible and affordable higher education for the people of California.
Yours sincerely,
Robert Meister,
President, Council of UC Faculty Associations
Professor of Political and Social Thought, UC Santa Cruz


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EES 14 Teams/Projects
Geochemistry & Geomaterials Research Laboratories (GGRL)
Wet Chemistry Laboratory
The Wet Chemistry Laboratory specializes in the broad-spectrum inorganic analysis of water, gas, and solid samples. Several organic compounds such as water-soluble tracers and high explosives can also be determined. Examples of past and present applications include analysis of fluids for geothermal system exploration; fluid analysis and remote sensing in volcano research; environmental water and soil analysis; and studies involving organic and inorganic tracers in water and solid materials. Central to the laboratory is an Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) Atomic Emission Spectrometer and an ICP-Mass Spectrometer fitted with an auxiliary laser ablation sampler. Other instrumentation includes Atomic Absorption, Ion Chromatography (for anions in water, rock fusions, and gas caustics), High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography (organic tracers, high explosives), Gas Chromatography for non-compressible gases; and Total Carbon Analysis for organic and inorganic carbon in liquids and solids.
Contact: Mike Rearick - 505-667-1224
X-Ray Diffraction Laboratory
X-ray diffraction (XRD) is the preferred method for phase identification as it provides unambiguous solid-phase information. EES-14 has made substantial contributions to quantitative X-ray diffraction methods. The Rietveld quantitative analysis method was pioneered in our laboratory, as were other major enhancements. We also recently developed a new full-pattern quantitative XRD method that is flexible and easy to use, yet produces precise and accurate results. XRD samples can be analyzed at temperatures from liquid N2 to 300 C°, in vacuum or inert-gas atmospheres. Experiments can also be conducted under precisely controlled humidity conditions from 0-100% relative humidity using an EES-developed computer-automated humidity control system.
This system is particularly useful for analysis of hydrous phases such as clay and zeolite minerals. We have used XRD to measure structural changes of minerals during heating and water sorption/desorption, to perform crystallite size/strain measurements, and to detect trace amounts of hazardous minerals (e.g., erionite down to ~250 ppm). We have also used the lab to determine and refine several mineral crystal structures and for the identification of yoshiokaite, a new mineral obtained from the surface of the Moon.
Contact: Hongwu Xu - 505-665-9266
Thermal Analysis
The EES-14 thermal analysis capability consists of a suite of instruments including thermogravimetric analyzers (TGA, which monitors the weight of a sample as a function of a change in temperature and/or atmosphere), a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC, which monitors the heat flow from a sample as a function of temperature and/or atmosphere), and a moisture evolution analyzer (MEA, which measures the water content of a sample). In addition, the laboratory has a full suite of teflon-lined pressure vessels, including Parr vessels, for elevated-pressure experiments. A unique feature of the laboratory is a VG quadruple mass spectrometer that is linked directly to the TGA instrument to determine the composition and abundance of gases evolving while heating a sample.
Contact: Bill Carey - 505-667-5540.
The GGRL has an extensive suite of optical equipment including a fluid inclusion heating stage and microscope, a cathodoluminescence microscope, a Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer with conventional and microscope stages, and a complete suite of optical microscopes for analysis of geologic thin sections.
Light Stable Isotope Laboratory
EES-14 has a Micromass IsoPrime Continuous-Flow Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer. This instrument is a highly automated, high throughput system that represents the cutting edge in continuous-flow light stable isotope mass spectrometry. With this system, we are able to conduct various measurements on oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen isotopes in waters, carbonates, soils, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), bulk organic materials, etc.
This system fills in gaps in our current geochemical capabilities and has already been lined up to assist in studies of carbon sequestration, water cycles, and to support ocean modeling efforts. The instrument can also be used for biogeochemical studies, potentially for threat reduction, for contaminant tracing, and potentially to measure isotopically labeled compounds used in biological studies.
Contact: Toti Larson - 505-667-1110
Electron Microscopy
Our Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) is used primarily to characterize textural and chemical features of materials at the micrometer level.
Contact: Toti Larson - 505-667-1110
X-Ray Fluorescence Laboratory
X-ray fluorescence analysis is the primary method EES-14 uses for characterizing the major-, minor-, and trace-element geochemical content of bulk solids. Typical quantitative analyses include wt% of Si, Al, Fe, Mg, Mn, K, Na, Ca, P, and Ti, as well as ppm measurements for V, Cr, Ni, Zn, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Nb, and Ba.
Contact Emily Kluk at 505-665-8788.
Other Contacts
Contact: Toti Larson
Field Analysis of CO2
Manvendra Dubey - 505-665-3128


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View from corner: Six local boxers advance to junior nationals
Updated 10:27 pm, Saturday, June 2, 2012
S. Texas to send six to nationals
South Texas won the team title at the state Junior Olympic boxing tournament May 25-28 in Fort Worth. Six boxers won titles to advance to the nationals June 19-22 in Mobile, Ala.
Senior male boxers winning gold medals in For Worth were Josh Franco of Ramos Boxing Team at 101 pounds; Hector Tanajara of San Antonio Parks and Recreation at 106; and Joey Moreno-Pesina of Angel's Boxing Club at 114.
Female seniors winning gold were Noemi Ibarra of Canelo Boxing Club at 101 pounds; Kristen Leija of Leija Boxing at 110; and Akemi Collazo of Zarzamora Street Gym at 125.
Sports Channel
- Planet Futbol TV Episode 14: The Voice of FIFA 18 Fernando Palomo and MLS with Paul Tenorio Sports Illustrated
- Chris Paul Talks Acting, NBA 2K and the City of Houston Sports Illustrated
- In Memoriam Of Beloved Peruvian Soccer Announcer Daniel Peredo Sports Illustrated
- Shaq Talks All-Star Weekend, Hip-Hop, and Kevin Hart Sports Illustrated
- CrossoverTV Interviews Kevin Hart Sports Illustrated
- Grant Wahl On MLS's Chances In The CONCACAF Champions League Sports Illustrated
- Can Toronto FC Win CONCACAF Champions League? Sports Illustrated
- Louisville Basketball Vacates Championship Title Associated Press
- What would be a Successful CONCACAF Champions League for MLS? Sports Illustrated
- What's At Stake For Manchester United Vs. Chelsea Sports Illustrated
Kirkland bout off: James Kirkland's dream matchup lasted all of about 12 hours.
The Austin junior middleweight had agreed to fill in for the injured Paul Williams to take on Mexican star Saul "Canelo" Alvarez on Sept. 15. But Kirkland tweaked his injured shoulder during a workout Thursday and the next morning informed his co-managers, Cameron Dunkin and San Antonio's Michael Miller, that he didn't want to chance it.
"It would have been a perfect opportunity," Miller said. "Canelo has always been on James' radar."
The bout had been scheduled as the main event on a pay-per-view card at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Williams, originally scheduled to fight Alvarez, was paralyzed from the waist down in a motorcycle accident last Sunday.
June 23 update: At least five bouts are on tap for the June 23 pro show outdoors at La Villita's Maverick Plaza. Former world title contender Hector Camacho Jr. is scheduled to take on Bernardo Guereca in the eight-round main event.
San Antonio fighters on the schedule include Joseph Rios, Rolando Campos, Felipe Castaneda and Christina Ruiz, according to card promoter Guy Taylor of Zeferino Entertainment.
Tickets — $50 for ringside and $40 general admission — are available at Team Morones gym, 2108 Quintana Rd., or by calling 210-427-0260 and 210-387-6859.
Big turnout: About 3,000 fans attended the May 26 amateur boxing card at Traders Village. The featured match saw Carla Rendon of Angel's Boxing Club beat Janelle Leal of Alcoser Boxing Club in a junior welterweight bout.
"It's the best show we've had," said event coordinator Rex Stearns, adding that the next card is scheduled for Nov. 10.


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Consulting Specifying Engineer June 2014-CSE : Page 59
ADVER TISEMENT Don't Get Burned By Sprinkler System Freeze Ups Property managers are too familiar with auxiliary drains that become eyesores due to improper maintenance and failures. Fallen signs, broken valves, water stained walls, and mismatched replacement valves. Poorly maintained auxiliary drains negatively impact building appearance and lowers occupants trust in the buildings infrastructure. With COLLECTANDRAIN , AGF Manufacturing addresses the common problems with dry system maintenance. COLLECTANDRAINs are available in 4 models and all meet or exceed NFPA 13/25 guidelines regarding construc-tion and drainage of auxiliary drains in dry sprinkler systems. The basic Model 5300A COLLECTANDRAIN provides easy identification and a consistent appearance. Its highly visible red barrel includes NFPA signage and operating instructions helps prevent forgotten drains and incorrect operation. Models 5100A/5200A feature an Anti-Trip Plate (ATP) designed to prevent simultaneous opening of the upper and lower valves preventing accidental/malicious tripping of the dry valve. The ATP meets NFPA signage requirements features a durable red powdercoat finish with operating instructions and can be ordered with a Locking Kit. The Model 5100A includes a water sensor to create an auxiliary drain that provides visual and audible notification for servicing; the alarm can be battery or low voltage powdered. But the COLLECTANDRAIN generating the most excitement is the Model 5400A. This recent addition to the product line provides a temperature-controlled environment to prevent costly system failures due to freezing. The easily mounted, lockable steel enclosure is finished in highly visible red powdercoat with signage. Inside the insulated heated cabinet is a traditionally configured auxiliary drain with a float switch to monitor condensation accumulation. When condensation fills the drum drip the Model 5400A activates an audible alarm and red LED light and can notify the Fire Control Panel. The externally mounted Thermometer monitors internal temperatures and the integral thermostat operates the heater only when needed, reducing energy use while maintaining temperatures safely above freezing. By using COLLECTANDRAIN maintaining systems by monitoring and emptying accumulated moisture becomes a simpler process that can be accomplished by existing staff with proper training. www.testandrain.com | firstname.lastname@example.com | 610-240-4900 input #29 at www.csemag.com/information


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I saw this a couple of weeks ago but never got round to reviewing it. As I'm probably the last blogger in the world who hasn't reviewed this film, I thought I would just skip to discussion bit. I'm assuming you have already seen it.
Ok hopefully that did the trick. So. Prometheus. I was going to write a review that simply read: meh? But sadly I couldn't be bothered.
I should point out that unlike most people I work with, I didn't hate Prometheus. In fact, if the cinema had broken and I was forced to leave soon after they enter the mounds, I would have walked away thinking this is one of the best films I had seen in ages. There were lots of positives until this point. Sadly a lot of these then got ruined. Not all of them but most. Let's look at the good bits first.
It looks great.
It just looked so awesome. The spaceship, the kit, the rovers, the 3D. The scene where the ship is tiny and is seen alongside the ringed planet just looked spectacular in 3D. Probably 2D too but the third dimension tech works brilliantly. Just about everything in the movie looked great throughout and if you complain you are wrong. The blue alien guy could have done with a T-shirt though.
The characters
Up until the point they entered the domes, I was intrigued by the motley crew. They all seem to have quirks and secrets that I assumed would be resolved and expanded upon as the second half unraveled.
Fassbender's robot was by far the best character. It starts with him watching Lawrence of Arabia and watching people's dreams. Then, when he is mentioned by Guy Pierce's hologram as being the son he never had he looked proud and smiled subtly. This then disappears when virtual Pierce says he has no soul. Interesting, I thought to myself, some kind of desire to be human seems to be apparent. Androids in the Alien franchise are always intriguing and morally questionable. Will he end up like a psychotic Data from Star Trek?
Charlize Theron. I could just leave it there. She's gorgeous and any film should be happy to have her. In this film it was apparent there was something else going on with her. She didn't seem to like old man Weyland (Pierce) and was generally just sexy and strong and dominant. Mmmmm. Clearly things are going on with her.
Guy Pierce playing the old fella. Why get a young actor to play an old man? Is he going to get younger at some point? Interesting…
The two main scientists – Shaw and Holloway. They seemed likeable enough. Keen, dedicated scientists intent on discovery. What will happen to them?
An angry geologist – why is he so inexplicably annoyed? He'll probably develop in some way I wrongly thought.
Others are there to fill roles and do so well. I like Idris Elba for example, and here he plays a believable captain. That's about all really.
The Plot
Humans may come from space! Yikes! Take that all religions ever! Except not really, apparently. It's all a bit Von Daniken but who cares? Our makers are on a planet somewhere and there will eventually be aliens involved. This is going to be cool.
OK. So up until this point, I liked it. A lot. And I don't care if you disagree. Sadly it then went a bit, er, disappointing.
What I didn't like about Prometheus
Let's recap the characters.
David still remains intriguing but he is clearly badly programmed. His human desires or want of a soul seem to have just been imagined, by me at least. Maybe Lawrence of Arabia was the only film they had and that was why he had it on. David also does weird things like infect Holloway's drink and then promptly forgets about it. On the planet he is constantly jamming his fingers into holes and pressing alien buttons at random. All very odd.
Charlize Theron reveals that Guy Pierce is her dad. There has been no real character development here, so it is hard to see why we should give a shit about this. She then gets crushed by a massive falling, rolling spaceship that could have been easily avoided by dodging a bit. Her character seems a waste time really. Frowny face.
Guy Pierce is alive! Again: so what? Why the hoax exactly? Who would have cared? The only astounding part is that they used a younger guy to play an older actor for no reason at all. I can only assume this is because he will appear in the sequels. Or the prequel's prequel.
Holloway. What the balls happened here? He starts off massively excited about cave paintings but when faced by an actual alien body on another planet, he is so disappointed he immediately gets wasted. It doesn't make any sense. He is clearly a shit scientist as he hurries into the mound and removes his helmet within the first few minutes after landing, like an eager child on a dare. THEN, when he's drunk and is all 'Boohoo cave paintings were mind boggling but this trillion dollar interstellar trip with its alien craft, technology and actual dead aliens just sucks', he ingests some alien liquid. He soon sees some weird shit in his eye. This isn't a herpes sore he is trying to hide from a new girlfriend, it is a moving alien growth in his eye. When asked if he's ok, he just replies, 'Yeah nothing, let's have sex.' Logical scientist.
Shaw. She's pretty cool actually. The scene where she gives herself an abortion was pretty tense and well done. Lots of internet types have griped that she shouldn't have been running around so soon after but they are presuming a knowledge of future medicine they don't have. It seems possible that skin generation might be more advanced for example. Plus Panadol ++++++ mega ultra might be more effective by then.
Angry geologist and all other characters: never develop at all. They just die. Normally for utterly stupid or pointless reasons.
General annoying plot holes and stupid themes
Why this planet/moon? The captain explains that the planet/moon is actually an outpost where they were conducting biological experiments. This explanation seems based on nothing much at all but everyone henceforth treats it as solid fact. So when the aliens visited earth lots of times and in lots of different places, they were told: 'paint maps on their walls please, but just direct them to an outpost'. It must have been an old outpost as some of the cave paintings were tens of thousands of years old.
How did they find the mounds? When they arrive the planet seems dead. They fly through the clouds and spot the mounds straight away. How lucky was that? It's like flying to Earth at random and finding the exact town you were looking for straight away.
Why were the geologist and biologist such useless twats? The angry geologist is the guy who maps the place, which is then uploaded to a live map in the ship. How do they get lost? Also, if they are such chickenshits that they flee after seeing the alien bodies, why hide out in a room with a giant spooky head, lots of mysterious vases and then, when they see a live alien, go and pat it? 'Phew, we escaped. Something weird killed all those aliens thousands of years ago and it might still be here. Sadly we are lost and I'm too embarrassed to ask for help as that is my specialist skill but at least we escaped the dead bodies and whatever killed them. Let's hide in this huge room with all the stuff in it. Awww look at cute snake-like creature rearing up at me on this supposedly dead planet. Hello snakey…'
Why ignore gravity and inertia? Here is a tip. If a massive ship is moving up and away from you and it is destroyed in mid flight by a ship moving in the same direction don't worry. It will continue in the same direction and crash even further away from you. Apart from here. Tip two. If the ship is round and rolls down a hill toward you, dodge to the side. To the side. Or you could hide under a rock apparently.
The Captain apparently has to die but the other two? Really? By this point my pedantic mind had almost stopped working but it twitched briefly to life when this happened. 'I have to die by flying this ship at the alien one.' Other two: 'Yeah fuck it, we might as well die too. As characters we are too minor to survive anyway.'
Final point – themes in general.
There are parts of Prometheus that feel like they are just poorly edited. The whole Christmas/Christ's birth and death/Christianity thing going on didn't feel like it went where even the makers of the movie wanted. First off, it's Christmas. There's even a Christmas tree to establish this theme. Shaw is a Christian and is infertile and then has a miracle birth. It was revealed at some point that the aliens hate humanity because of a disaster or something on Earth 2000 years ago. According to an interview I read, this was Christ's death and there was going to be more about it but in the end, they couldn't be arsed.
Kings/creators are inevitably killed by their creations. Theron points out that all kings die to her ancient dad. Well spotted. This theme is further developed by Old Man Weyland being beaten to death by David's head. The Engineer alien is killed by the Xenomorph alien. If we continue this theme then Shaw will somehow kill all the Engineers in the following films. Maybe with help from the Xenomorphs. The Xenomorphs and androids will then kill all the humans. The third film will then inevitably be war between aliens and robots. I'll admit this is unlikely, but it would be cool.
If we have the exact same DNA as the Engineers why don't apes? Or all other life. Was that bit at the beginning just the creation of mammals or all life? Just humans? Did we not evolve from apes and jellyfish? What? How? Er?
I'm done now. Sorry.
I feel I may have gone on about this a bit too much. I apologize. I meant to write a brief piece then seemed to rant a bit. As I stated what feels like hours ago, I didn't hate Prometheus. I loved the first half. Some of the above plots may even be clarified in the following films. I hope so. My advice would now be to call in the Space Marines.


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Frederick Taylor and Scientific Management
Frederick Taylor is often viewed as one of the earliest management theorists, with his work on what he termed 'scientific management', having impacts throughout the twentieth century. Before Taylor, the majority of work was carried out by skilled craftsmen and operators who learned how to perform their jobs through apprenticeships and on the job training. As a result, most workers were more knowledgeable than the managers who controlled them, and hence the workers tended to make most of the decisions about how their job should be performed, how long it would take, and what materials were needed.
Taylor viewed this as being an absurd situation, with many managers unable to control their own workers due to their lack of knowledge around the job itself. As such, the main principle of scientific management was that managers should hold all the knowledge around how a job should be performed. This implied that managers should be able to determine the time and resources required for the job, as well as the best methods to train and manage their work force. Ultimately, Taylor believed that through a series of time and motion studies, managers should work out the most efficient way of performing any one task, and hence require all workers to perform the task in that way.
Taylor's initial observations around some of the working practices imposed by skilled workers came from his observations of productivity at the Bethlehem Steel Works in the United States. He believed that workers deliberately operated below their maximum capacity and efficiency, something Taylor referred to as 'soldiering' due to a three main factors:
- Firstly, workers believed that if they worked more efficiently, the task could be completed with fewer workers and hence jobs would be lost.
- Secondly, the majority of pay systems meant that workers would be paid the same no matter how much they produced, hence providing an incentive for workers to convince managers that their maximum pace for a job was much lower than it actually was. Even if employees were paid according to their productivity, they believed that if they increased their overall output, managers would set new standards and decrease the productivity bonus.
- Finally, Taylor believed that most workers used whatever method they had grown accustomed to, rather than using the most optimal method of work, which could be determined by scientific time and motion studies of the work.
Taylor believed that all these issues could be overcome if management would take responsibility for improving the productivity of workers, through a scientific study of the individual actions associated with each task, and how these actions could be most efficiently organised. He held that this was a much better method of planning working that attempting to incentivise workers, as incentives placed the responsibility on the worker to increase productivity, and hence the manager had no input. Taylor thus carried out a series of time and motion studies to determine the time taken for each action, and how the action could be performed more efficiently, or even eliminated from the task altogether.
Taylor's studies
One of Taylor's first studies concerned the amount of raw pig iron that workers could move each day. He found that, on average, workers at the yard managed to move around 12.5 tons of iron each day. By conducting time and motion studies of the workers moving the pig iron, Taylor found that, if the amount lifted, lifting method, rest periods, paths taken across the yard and other factors were optimised, workers could move 47.5 tons each day. As such, Taylor introduced a specific system for lifting and carrying the iron, and specific rest periods, to maximise the productivity of the workers.
During the course of this study, Taylor found that not all workers could reach the 47.5 tons a day target, and that only around 12% of the workers in the yard were physically capable of achieving this. As such, he also argued that not only should a job be scientifically planned and managed, but that workers should be scientifically selected depending on their capabilities and how well they performed on a particular job. Taylor referred to these workers as 'high priced workers', and claimed that they should be paid a much higher wage due to their particular capabilities, provided they were willing to carry out their job in the scientifically 'best' way.
Taylor also studied the shovels used by workers to move material around the yard. Prior to his study, workers used their own shovel, with some being large and others small. Taylor held that there was a trade off between a smaller shovel, which allowed faster movement around the yard, and a larger shovel which carried more but slowed the worker down. As such, he carried out a study which demonstrated that the optimal weight for a shovel to hold was 21 pounds, and this allowed workers to carry the most of any material across the yard of the steel works. As such, the company provided the workers with a variety of shovels which would each hold 21 pounds of a specific material. Workers using these shovels were able to vastly increase their productivity, and were similarly dubbed high price workers, and paid significantly higher wages.
Inspired by Taylor's experiments, Gilbreth performed an analysis of bricklaying, which demonstrated that most bricklayers tended to use more than ten motions to lay a single brick; when in fact only four were needed. By cutting down the number of motions to four, bricklayers were able to vastly increase their productivity, and hence compete with other more productive industries such as concrete pouring.
Principles and development of Scientific Management
Following the results of Taylor's experiments, he drafted the following four principles of scientific management:
- Managers must carry out scientific studies of all tasks they managed, to ensure that workers were performing as efficiently as possible.
- Using this knowledge, managers should scientifically select the best workers for the job, and should actively train and develop each worker to achieve maximum performance
- Managers should cooperate with the workers in ensuring that the best scientific methods are being used.
- The workload should be divided between managers and workers, with managers using scientific management to plan the work and make the workers' roles as simple and productive as possible.
Many factories and industries adopted scientific management, most notably Henry Ford, who applied the principles to his car factories, massively increasing productivity. However, Ford expanded the principles even further. Rather than have one worker perform each task, Ford split up the workload so that each worker simply performed a single action as the car moved down a conveyor belt. This Fordist approach to production became the model for modern mass production techniques.
However, whilst Taylor's original principles held that management should use the principles of scientific management to improve productivity and reward workers who performed well, Ford's development of the principles tended to reduce the level of skills required. In addition, many factory owners did not follow the principle of cooperating with workers, they simply used the first two principles to increase the productivity of workers, and decrease the skill levels needed to perform a task. As such, scientific management was often used by factory owners to reduce their workforce, as well as reduce the wages they paid to workers given that the scientifically planned jobs required much less skill that previous roles. Thus, the rise of Taylorism and Fordism can be seen as a contributor to the labour process theory argument that managers' sole aim is to deskill workers and hence increase managers' control over the labour process and the workers. Despite this controversy, scientific management has fundamentally changed the process of working and planning, and continues to be used in some forms today. For example, the McDonalds system of cooking, packaging and serving burgers and other fast food can be seen to follow some scientific management principles.
Other management sections:
Related Content
On top of our MBA help guides we also have a range of free resources covering the topic of management:


text:
Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 preorder has been started in India via Samsung eStore. Check Galaxy Grand 2 price in India at Samsung eStore.
Just like how other popular Samsung Galaxy smartphones begins their campaign, Galaxy Grand 2 campaign goes for pre-order in the same way as you are asked to pay Rs 2,000 as the pre-booking amount although the original price of the smartphone isn't known.
Samsung India is yet to fix the price of this handset when it's sold in local currency in India. We are expecting the price of this handset to be in between Rs 22,000 to Rs 24,999. Pre-booking amount Rs 2,000 will be refunded from the original cost of the handset which will be revealed when the first batch of handset for sale in India arrives.
Galaxy Grand 2 is powered with 5.25 inch HD display and quad core processor with 1.5 GB RAM. It brings 8 GB internal storage capacity and runs on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean out of box. Android 4.4 Kitkat update is expected within this quarter itself. Furthermore it has 8 MP primary, 2 mp front camera and 2600 mAh battery.
At this price tag you can find Galaxy S4 Mini, Galaxy S3, Galaxy Mega 5.8 when coming to Samsung Android phone. If you need other than Samsung, then Nexus 4, HTC Desire 500, HTC Desire 601 are the brand alternatives. Will you upgrade to Galaxy Grand 2 phone? Do let us know you view via comments.


text:
Programming with GNU Software
Authors: Mike Loukides and Andy Orem
Publisher: O'Reilly & Associates, 1997
Pages: 260
Price: $39.95; includes CD-ROM
Reviewer: Randyl Britten
Linux is built on twin pillars. The one we usually associate with Linux is the kernel developed by Linus Torvalds. And the other, the one we often take for granted, is the set of GNU tools that make up the portable software development system from the Free Software Foundation (FSF). Programming with GNU Software is a brief but thoroughly useful introduction to these tools and how to use them. The tools covered are Emacs, the C and C++ compilers gcc and g++, the gdb debugger, the make utility, the RCS revision control system and gprof, a utility for profiling and timing your programs. The CD-ROM contains the sources for these tools and compiled binaries for several popular Unix systems such as SunOS and Solaris for SPARC, HP-UX for HP9000, AIX for the RS/6000, Irix for Indigo, and DEC Unix for the Alpha.
The book and CD-ROM combination is not specifically intended for Linux users, but this is an important book for anyone who develops software for Unix or Linux. This book was described as "forthcoming" in an O'Reilly catalog over a year ago and I have been eagerly awaiting it since then. If you have a recent distribution of Linux, you probably already have most or all of the tools discussed here. Even so, nearly everything in the book, and many of the sources on the CD-ROM, can be useful to Linux beginners and experts alike. A significant additional benefit is the discussion of cross-compilation and cross-development for a wide variety of platforms. If you are interested in portable software or porting applications, embedded systems, or just a good introduction to the GNU tools, this book is a good place to start.
The libraries on the CD-ROM are not the FSF versions governed by the LGPL (a General Public License for libraries). The libraries are rewritten versions from Cygnus Support, a company that ports and supports free software for commercial use, particularly in embedded systems. Using the Cygnus libraries avoids the more impractical restrictions of the LGPL for commercial embedded systems, and Cygnus requires only that you acknowledge use of their software. If you invent the world's greatest latte maker/bagel warmer, for example, and use the FSF libraries in the controller, you either have to make the source code available or provide a way for your customers to upgrade the libraries in case of a new release. If you have any questions about the legal issues, you should contact Cygnus Support. Check out their web site at http://www.cygnus.com/.
After an introduction and discussion of free software philosophy in Chapter 1, Chapter 2 offers a brief introduction to the use of Unix and its traditional tools for software development. Then Chapter 3 gets into the heart of GNU software with Emacs. If you have been intimidated by the sheer mass of Emacs, you should find this chapter an easy way to get started.
The coverage in this book is not simply introductory, but also has depth where it counts. Even though I've used versions of Emacs for years I learned several new tricks in this chapter. For example, I like to use the original Kernighan & Ritchie indentation style in my C programs, and indent by four spaces with each press of the TAB key. Using an example in the book, I was able to add a customization to my default initialization file, .emacsrc, in my home directory. Now, whenever I edit a file that ends in .c, .cpp or .h, Emacs will automatically be in C-mode, and will indent my programs properly when I press the TAB key at the beginning of a line. Most of its features and all of its customizations are written in Emacs Lisp. Emacs itself is mostly an interpreter for this language and its many extensions. Also covered is how to run the compiler from within Emacs, so you can continue editing while compilation proceeds in the background.
The GNU software tools are integrated and work together in a variety of ways, and Emacs is at the heart of it. Here are some additional incentives for learning and using Emacs I've gleaned from the book:
bash—the default Linux shell—uses Emacs commands for basic command line and history editing.
info—the command often more helpful than man pages—is an Emacs-like hypertext application that uses a special set of commands for basic navigation plus many familiar Emacs commands.
gdb—a shell in its own right—uses Emacs commands for basic command line and history editing.
Because of the interoperability between Emacs, bash, gcc, GNU make, RCS and gdb, learning to use Emacs just makes good sense.


text:
By Kevin Howell
I was talking with a friend recently about the problems within the Evangelical church. Well, less so the problems, but rather the public perception of the church in America. I wondered if it is even possible to change the perception — that Christians are exclusive, closed-minded, homophobic, self-righteous, judgmental, right-wing Republicans.
Too much damage has been done. Too many talking heads have spewed what we're against rather than expressing what we're truly about…or at least should be about. There's been more debate than dialogue when it comes to engaging nonbelievers, particularly in public forums.
Most Christians understand this. However, what the world sees isn't the practical, reasonable, appealing aspect of the faith; it sees the negative.
If there's any hope of the perception being changed, we have to make efforts to change it. At the core, the church doesn't have to change what it's doing. For the most part, Christians are doing great work changing lives, helping the poor, serving their community, and giving to great causes throughout the world. The problem is, the majority of America sees a politician framing his/her inflaming ideology within a Christian context instead of the missionaries who are helping victims in the Philippines or believers helping fatherless children in the inner city.
It's not that we need to compromise our beliefs and the Word to change perception. Nor do we have to go on a public relations campaign to promote the more amiable aspects of Christianity. We simply do what we have been called to do: We engage. Not the church institution or your church group engaging with the community and culture, but you, as an individual, engaging with the world, the people around you. The greatest way to change the perception of a group of people is to get know someone from that group.
We all were created to connect. It's human nature. We're less drawn to ideologies and institutions and more drawn to individuals. Think about, if you like your neighborhood, your job, your church, you local coffee shop, it probably has a lot to do with the people there. You feel like you belong. You feel like you can relate to them.
Why did people flock to Jesus? Yeah, His teaching was dope, but He was also likable. Way more likable than the Pharisees. It wasn't about His personality necessarily, but His character, His heart, and His compassion. People connected with Him.
There are people who connect with you. You don't have to be charming or outgoing. There are people who just vibe with you. And you can be representative of what a Christian is to them. You can communicate without arguing. Disagree without condemning. Discuss without being disrespectful. And most of all, you can listen.
People don't trust institutions, they trust friends. It takes time to like an institution, but it takes just one conversation to like a person. You can change the perception of Christianity, one friendship at a time.
Are you in?
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text: Tim Söllick wrote: > > Does anybody know about a yeast two-hybrid system that employs > C-terminal fusion of the GAL4 DNA binding domain and the GAL4 activation > domain (not as usual: N-terminal fusions of this domain to the protein > of your interest)? > > Any references? Any vectors? > > Any idea? Yes, there is a set of vectors like that. I think there are no references, but I could get them from the lab where they were made. If you are interested, I may look their address for you. -Rafa -- Rafael Maldonado Divison of Genetics University of Alicante (Spain)


text:
The O'Farrell government says cross regional light rail links are critical to freeing up gridlock and unlocking economic and social opportunity in Western Sydney.
And a key urban development expert is pushing for that declaration to become an announcement.
With road congestion alone causing an estimated $5.1 billion in lost productivity for the city, and a lack of jobs a continuing issue in the growth areas of wider Western Sydney, 702 Mornings brought together the minister assisting the Premier on Western Sydney, Stuart Ayres, and Ed Blakely, Honorary Professor in Urban Policy and the United States Studies Centre to discuss solutions.
Stuart Ayres says the North West Rail Link is an important development and Ed Blakely agrees.
"But what we need is more links between the cities in the West, because Westerners take jobs all across the West. So we need light rail, there's no doubt about that," Professor Blakely says.
Professor Blakely says one example is linking Macquarie Park, Fairfield and Liverpool, where he notes there is already a bus route and, thus, already a right of way for potential light rail.
"So we have all the basics, we just have to put it together, and the minister's going to help me!" Professor Blakely says.
Mr Ayres declined to jump to an announcement, though he agreed cross regional links were critical.
But Professor Blakely says flexible housing options, more thoughtfully located education facilities and a conducive social environment were also important to making growth areas work better.
702 listeners also jumped in with thoughts including on rail routes, childcare, housing and jobs.


text:
ROOT: An Object-Oriented Data Analysis Framework
ROOT is a system for large scale data analysis and data mining. It is being developed for the analysis of Particle Physics data, but can be equally well used in other fields where large amounts of data need to be processed.
After many years of experience in developing interactive data analysis systems like PAW and PIAF (see Resources), we realized that the growth and maintainability of these products, written in FORTRAN and using 20-year-old libraries, had reached its limits. Although still popular in the physics community, these systems do not scale up to the challenges offered by the next generation particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), currently under construction at CERN, in Geneva, Switzerland. The expected amount of data produced by the LHC will be on the order of several petabytes (1PB = 1,000,000GB) per year. This is two to three orders of magnitude more than what is being produced by the current generation of accelerators.
Therefore, in early 1995, Rene Brun and I started developing a system, intending to overcome the deficiencies of these previous programs. One of the first decisions we made was to follow the object-oriented analysis and design methodology and to use C++ as our implementation language. Although all of our previous programming experience was in FORTRAN, we soon realized the power of OO and C++, and after some initial "throw-away" prototyping, the ROOT system began to take shape.
In November 1995, we gave the first public presentation of ROOT at CERN and, at the same time, version 0.5 was released via the Web. By then, Nenad Buncic and Valery Fine had joined our team.
Since the initial release, there has been a constantly increasing number of users. In response to comments and feedback, we've been regularly releasing new versions containing bug fixes and new features. In January 1997, version 1.0 was released and in March 1998 version 2.0. Since the release of version 1.0, more than 9,300 copies of the ROOT binaries have been downloaded from our web site, about 500 people have registered as ROOT users, and the web site gets up to 100,000 hits per month.
ROOT is currently being used in many different fields such as physics, astronomy, biology, genetics, finance, insurance, pharmaceuticals, etc.
The source and binaries for many different platforms can be downloaded from the ROOT web site (http://root.cern.ch/). The current version can be used and distributed freely as long as proper credit is given and copyright notices are maintained. For commercial use, the authors would like to be notified.
The main components of the ROOT system are:
A hierarchical object-oriented database (machine independent, highly compressed, supporting schema evolution and object versioning)
A C++ interpreter
Advanced statistical analysis tools (classes for multi-dimensional histogramming, fitting and minimization)
Visualization tools (classes for 2D and 3D graphics including an OpenGL interface)
A rich set of container classes that are fully I/O aware (list, sorted list, map, btree, hashtable, object array, etc.)
An extensive set of GUI classes (windows, buttons, combo-box, tabs, menus, item lists, icon box, tool bar, status bar and many others)
An automatic HTML documentation generation facility
Run-time object inspection capabilities
Client/server networking classes
Shared memory support
Remote database access, either via a special daemon or via the Apache web server
Ported to all known UNIX and Linux systems and also to Windows 95 and NT
The complete system consists of about 450,000 lines of C++ and 80,000 lines of C code. There are about 310 classes grouped in 24 different frameworks, each class represented by its own shared library.
One of the key components of the ROOT system is the CINT C/C++ interpreter. CINT, written by Masaharu Goto of Hewlett Packard Japan, covers 95% of ANSI C and about 85% of C++. Template support is being worked on, and exceptions are still missing. CINT is complete enough to be able to interpret its own 70,000 lines of C and to let the interpreted interpreter interpret a small program.
The advantage of a C/C++ interpreter is that it allows for fast prototyping, since it eliminates the typical time consuming edit/compile/link cycle. Once a script or program is finished, you can compile it with a standard C/C++ compiler (gcc) to machine code and enjoy full machine performance. Since CINT is very efficient (for example, for/while loops are byte-code compiled on the fly), it is quite possible to run small programs in the interpreter. In most cases, CINT outperforms other interpreters like Perl and Python.
Existing C and C++ libraries can easily be interfaced to the interpreter. This is done by generating a dictionary from the function and class definitions. The dictionary provides CINT with all necessary information to be able to call functions, create objects and call member functions. A dictionary is easily generated by the program rootcint that uses the library header files as input and produces a C++ file containing the dictionary as output. You compile the dictionary and link it with the library code into a single shared library. At run-time, you dynamically link the shared library, and then you can call the library code via the interpreter. This can be a very convenient way to quickly test some specific library functions. Instead of having to write a small test program, you just call the functions directly from the interpreter prompt.
The CINT interpreter is fully embedded into the ROOT system. It allows the ROOT command line, scripting and programming languages to be identical. The embedded interpreter dictionaries provide the necessary information to automatically create GUI elements like context pop-up menus unique for each class and for the generation of fully hyperized HTML class documentation. Furthermore, the dictionary information provides complete run-time type information (RTTI) and run-time object introspection capabilities.
I am often a little nervous when approaching a software package for the first time. This is exactly the sort of article to help me overcome my fears. From what I hear, ROOT is probably one of the most powerful databases out there - I am impressed for instance by the way in which the data can be highly compressed - but you also seem to have devoted a huge amount of effort into making it as user friendly as possible.
I have been reviewing my use of databases over the last few days because of some concern about MySQL, these concerns being prompted by the legal action being taken by Oracle against Google, and Oracle's reduction in support for OpenSolaris. I had never considered ROOT as an alternative to MySQL, until recently thinking of it as a rather specialised tool. I was pleased to note however that there are bindings for Ruby amongst other languages.
I wonder about your figures for OS shares? I have just installed ROOT, but instead of downloading it from its official site I have installed it from the Debian repository. If many people do this, then the numbers you record for Linux usage may underestimate its Linux usage.
Thank you.


text:
Jon Favreau cooks off at LA hotel
Jon Favreau has been picking up culinary tips from the chefs at a LA hotel, for his new film Chef.
The Iron Man actor and director - who will direct and star in the upcoming movie - was seen working as a temporary protege of top chef Roy Choi at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant at Hotel Bel-Air as part of his hands-on research for the indie comedy, said The Hollywood Reporter.
Jon, who donned chef whites and a black bandanna, assisted Roy with preparing seafood dishes as the rest of the kitchen staff barely batted their eyelids at the celebrity until the end of the night, when they challenged him to make an omelette.
Roy said that the director has been with him for several weeks now, "in all of my kitchens, working his way through, to see what it's really all about - the whole journey."
Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Sofia Vergara and John Leguizamo round out the ensemble cast of Chef, which is expected to be released in May 2014.
Press Association


text:
Thanks for keeping the cake for me, FG. Just don't tell OH - we've sworn off cake and biscuits. I might have fallen off the wagon a few times, though.
2,121 to 2,140 of 6,191 replies
Just to say hello and what are we going to be doing today... ?Jump to latest post
2,121 to 2,140 of 6,191 replies
24 May 2013 10:36
Thanks for keeping the cake for me, FG. Just don't tell OH - we've sworn off cake and biscuits. I might have fallen off the wagon a few times, though.
24 May 2013 10:38
P.S. My heucheras ar exactly the same size as usual.
24 May 2013 10:40
It's ok GG- if you eat it standing up it doesn't count....
Turned very cloudy here...where's this wall to wall sun the weather man promised me for today...
Will just have to eat more cake...
24 May 2013 10:49
Thanks FG, the cake was lovely and given me the energy to.. make another cup of tea!
24 May 2013 10:57
BobTheGardener wrote (see)
Thanks FG, the cake was lovely and given me the energy to.. make another cup of tea!
Might just join you Bob!
24 May 2013 11:16
Best to hold back on planting out Pennisetum Fireworks just yet. I grow this as well as Eaton Canyon and they need good warmth to grow. I grow mine on in pots in greenhouse and then plant out in mid June...hopefully much warmer then. Otherwise they just sulk and dont grow. They are late.....hot season growers....into growth as all pennisetums are but these are tender
24 May 2013 12:26
Only grass I've ever planted was Pennisetum fireworks. GC told me they were hardy, but they weren't. Died.
I was in the middle of weeding and doing the Chelsea Chop on huge rudbeckias when heavens opened. Just when I'd thought sun at ast this morning.
24 May 2013 12:40
Busy llizzie
Naughty but it's rarely mentioned that varieties of pennisetum like rubrum and fireworks are tender..they succomb in winter to 4 or 5 degrees. Even then they are difficult.
I manage to overwinter occasionally but trouble is they still need to be kept moist.
Pennisetum Villosum is beautiful....hardy here but borderline in some places..with huge white billowing flowers.
Still dry here but cold. Colder than it was few weeks back
24 May 2013 13:14
Afternoon. Trust me to pick today to go shopping. Came out of M&S, torrential rain and umbrella at the bottom of one of the bags. Would have rummaged for it had it not been for a 'Big Issue' seller going on and on like a broken record. Just wanted to get away. Perhaps I should go on the MOB thread.
Doesn't look as if anyone else is having much joy weatherwise either. Poor Dove.
24 May 2013 13:40
I didn't even wake 'till 12.30 which I think is the best thing on a day like today. Been raining and looks ready to rain again soon.
I intend to just plant out the crysant I got last weekend. Also a few weeks back I got some Fuchsia plugs from T&M but one didn't look very good a couple of days after I potted them up. Wrote with a pic and they said that they would replace it. A whole collection of all 6 plugs arrived this morning so I will get those potted up.
24 May 2013 13:56
I see you're all having the weather I had yesterday.
That's the price you pay for the cake... think it's to be better tomorrow.
Dove will be fine Tina- Verd will have had a word with the Met Office....
He won't be getting his coat...
24 May 2013 14:23
Verdun, I moved my only Heuchera some weeks ago to a shadier spot and it has taken on a new life, so much so that am considering getting more.
24 May 2013 14:41
Bev, I always know I can rely on you.
FG, tis supposed to be better tomorrow but let's wait to see if they've got it right. At least, if it's fine, I will be able to get the fork in the ground. Hope Verd carries some clout where Dove is concerned, although bad weather never kept us in when we were on holiday. Inherited that from my parents I think. Many years ago, was walking along a deserted beach in the pouring rain with a friend and came across a litttle tent made of deckchairs. Inside were my Mum and Dad eating icecreams. Bless their little cotton socks.
24 May 2013 14:42
24 May 2013 14:46
Tina I'm sure Dove won't let the weather spoil her hol.
Loved the story about your mum and dad eating icecream
24 May 2013 14:47
Thanks Verdun it's in a large pot in the greenhouse been putting it outside for the last few weeks think i might just keep it in the pot and move it around the garden do you think that would be alright. The GC very busy and am back with no money bought compost ,grow bags,and from bargain corner i got a Helleborus Walbertons Rosemary £6 and a Fritillaria William Rex £4 and treated the family to a new patio set hope to get plenty of sun this summer which was in the sale at £250 very happy with my shopping spree. Now waiting on wife coming in from work then do a food shopping so it leaves me the next 3 days for gardening as plenty to do.
24 May 2013 14:50
dark here in manchester . windy rain with the high gusts . and cold . a cheshire stew on the stove . .a winter warmer
24 May 2013 15:04
TT - lovely story! I hope my family have a few such lovely memories of me!
Pretty breezy here now, but rain has stopped and there is even a glimpse of sun. My seedlings, now hardened off, are sitting in the garden sulking and waiting for some warmth. OH will probably rig up some kind of greenhouse for next year, now that he has has first hand experience of the mess it makes when there is no dedicated place for plants and storage. (He gave away my greenhouse last year). He's no craftsman, but its surprising what he can do when he is challenged - or at least, it surprises me!
Going outside now to pot on a few plants that have actually grown large enough to need it. Just getting out my red flannel underwear.
24 May 2013 15:27
Just sitting here thinking about holiday weather and the things we have done. Used to always have a beach hut when we went to Swanage and one year weather was appalling. On one particular day, 2 of my children were playing with the sand, with 2 jumpers and a 'hoodie' on and my poor Mum and Dad were wrapped in blankets sitting in the hut. It was when my Dad's lips turned blue that it was decided OH should run him back to the cottage. This was June. In October, just happened to catch the temperature for the day which was the same as the day on the beach. Happy days.
24 May 2013 15:48
I don,t think we ever noticed if the weather was bad on our summer hols(usually Cornwall),it was the joy of having new nets to fish around in the rockpools and having your Mum & Dad to yourself all week,you don,t realise it at the time but these ae some of the happiest days of your life.
Today has been so windy it has blown the wisteria off of the trellis arch,OH and I outside wrapped up in thick coats trying to anchor it down to the posts until we can do it properly.


text:
Goulburn Murray and Riverina Rural Report Monday 09.09.2013
Audio: Goulburn Murray and Riverina Rural Report 09.09.2013(ABC Rural )
Coalition costings show regional cuts
Anna Vidot
Regional Australian seats provided some of the most interesting contests in an emphatic victory for the Liberal National Coalition in the weekend's Federal election.
The National Party did well, as did the Palmer United Party; and all eyes are on north-east Victoria to see if another rural independent can win a seat from the Coalition in 2013.
In Canberra, Anna Vidot takes a look at the washup for regional Australia.
Fruit commitment lost
Warwick Long
A major election commitment for food manufacturing was Labor's promise of $25 million for SPC Ardmona.
It wasn't a vote winner for Labor with Liberal Member for Murray Dr Sharman Stone yet again gaining over 60 per cent of the primary vote in the seat of Murray.
So what does a Coalition win mean for SPCA?
Dr Stone says Labors commitment, 'doesn't hold water,' but she will examine the grant application and push her government to help.
Trade halt in Murrumbigee
Laurissa Smith
Irrigators in the Murrumbidgee Valley have been told they can't buy any more water from other districts.
Trades between the NSW Murray and Murrumbidgee Valley have reached their limit.
Paul Simpson from the NSW Office of Water says Murrumbidgee Irrigators have been buying up water because of low general security allocations.
Murrumbidgee Irrigation says its cautioned customers to be mindful of availability and supply risks when making summer cropping decisions this summer.
While the close of trade into the Murrumbidgee Valley is to ensure already allocated water can be delivered, the imbalance in the Valleys storages remains a significant threat to peak season water supply.


text:
A folded, political road map covering Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, parts of northern Africa, and western Russia. Each country is displayed in a different color (so boundaries are easy to distinguish) with roads, place names, railroads, and car ferries indicated. The map is on one side and the index to cities is on the reverse side.
Scale = 1:3,500,000 or 1"= approx. 90 miles
Metsker email@example.com


text:
Compersion: Merged Threads, General Discussion
View Single Post
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: north america
Posts: 53
I am relieved to see that there are still some issues of jealousy among people who are poly, that it IS something that can be worked on - me NOT being poly, my bf is, I have had major struggles with feeling so hurt and jealous of his other ladies, I thought maybe there was just something wrong and immature with me.
Myself having not been with anyone else while I've been with him, he states that he is not jealous at all but that hasn't been put into practice yet. He has told me of other relationships he has been in in the past where the only thing that bothered him about a gf dating someone else was when they started to spend more and more time with another guy and eventually went mono with them, thus breaking up with him. I find it hard to believe that he is totally unjealous (or is it non-jealous?), but perhaps he really is.
This compersion thing seems to be a very enlightened, happy place to be in and I hope that one day I can achieve it (or something close to). At this point, I am far, far down on the bottom rung of that accomplishment. On the positive side, I have nowhere to go but up.
View Public Profile
Find all posts by Nyx


text:
Balloons are the universal symbol of any party or event and we have a massive selection of balloons for literally every occasion.
The most effective way of brightening up any event is by using balloons. Whether you're decorating a room, a field or using them for a balloon race; Party Plus-SM5 have every type of balloon you might need.
Choose from the bargain 'Fete Pack' of 100 balloons 10" (25.3cm) to the quality 12" (30cm) available in a range of 18 colours, pearlised or metallic.
What birthday is complete without a foil balloon? From a 1st to a 100th Birthday or many other important occasions, we have numerous designs to surprise your loved ones.
Why not visit our shop in Carshalton and see for yourself the fantastic huge range of balloons and accessories we stock.
All filled helium balloons must be collected from the shop (we do not deliver helium filled balloons).
We will no longer be filling helium balloons that not purchase from our shop.
10" Plain colour Latex: 70p filled with helium & ribbon
12" Plain colour Latex: £1.05 filled with helium & ribbon
12" Printed Latex: £1.20 filled with helium & ribbon
18" Plain Foil: £2.50 filled with helium & ribbon
18" Printed Foil £3.25 filled with helium & ribbon
18" Printed Children Licensed Character: £3.50 filled with helium & ribbon
34" Large Number Foil £7.99 Filled With Helium & Ribbon (2 for £15)
NOTE: Latex Balloon Floating time: 15 hours. We can add Hi-Float (this makes the balloon last an extra 3-4 days) & will cost an EXTRA 10p per balloon
Bob the Builder Supershape Foil Balloon£5.99
Angry Birds Supershape Foil Balloon£5.99
Cheers! Supershape Foil Balloon£5.99
It's a Boy Supershape Foil Balloon£5.99
It's a Girl Teddy Supershape Foil Balloon£5.99
Frozen Standard Happy Birthday Foil Balloon£2.50


text:
They Say, We Say
21 Mar 2009 19:30No Comments
Please click here for the full report in English.
March 21, 2009
Speech by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to a gathering at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, on the occasion of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year.
Regarding the foreign affairs of our country, I would like to mentions one point, and that is the issue between us and the United States. One of the main challenges for the Revolution, right from the beginning, was the same issue. Right from the first day of the Revolution's victory, a phase was opened for the Iranian nation, as a major test in its relations and interactions with the government of the United States of America. This major and important test continued for the past 30 years. The US Government faced this Revolution with an angry and frowning face, and opposed us from the beginning. Of course, they had the right to do so, considering their own calculations. Before the Revolution, Iran was in the hands of the United States, its vital resources were in the hands of the United States, its political decision-making centers were in the hands of the United States, decisions to appoint and depose its vital centers were in the hands of the United States, and it (Iran) was like a field for the United States, the US military, and others on which to graze. Well, this was taken away from them. They could have expressed their opposition in not such an aggressive manner. But from the beginning of the Revolution, both their Republican presidents, and the Democrats, did not behave well toward the Islamic Republic. This is not secret from anyone.
(People chant: "Death to America")
Pay attention, the first measure taken by the United States was to provoke the scattered opposition groups of the Islamic Republic, and to support terrorism and disintegration in the country. They started this right from the beginning. In any parts of the country, where there were grounds for disintegration, the United States had a hand, we noticed their money, and at times their agents. This cost our people much. Unfortunately, this continues. The bandits in the Iran-Pakistan border areas, we know that some of them -- as we have their voices (as received) -- are in touch with Americans.
They have wireless communications, and take orders from them. Bandits, terrorists, murderers, are in touch with US officers in a neighboring country. Unfortunately, this still goes on. This was the beginning of what they started. Then it was the confiscation of property and goods belonging to Iran. The former regime gave a large amount of money to the United States to buy airplanes, helicopters, and weapons from them. Some of them over there were prepared, and when the Revolution took place, they did not deliver them. They did not give back the money, which amounted to millions of dollars. And the strange point is that they kept these goods in a store, and considered storage charges for it, which they claimed from the Algeria Agreement. To take away some goods from a nation, confiscate them, and fail to deliver them, and then claim storage charges for it! This is the kind of behavior started then, which continues. Our possessions are still there. They belong to the Iranian nation. They are in the United States and also some European countries. We referred to them over the past years, and asked them to give us what belongs to us and what we paid for. They said that since they are under the license of the United States, the United States does not allow them to do so; they cannot return them to us, and they are still there.
They showed Saddam (late Iraqi president) a green light. This was another plan by the US Government to attack Iran. If Saddam did not have the green light from the United States, he would have not attacked our borders. They imposed eight years of war on our country. About 300,000 of our young people, our people, were martyred in this eight-year war. In these eight years (Iran-Iraq war), particularly in the last few years of it, the United States constantly supported Saddam and helped him financially, with ammunition, and political advice. They provided him with satellite information. They had information facilities. They recorded the movements of our forces by satellite, and transferred this information the very same day to Saddam's HQ to use against our young people and forces.
They (the United States) closed their eyes to Saddam's crimes. The Halabcheh (southern Iranian town bordering Iraq) incident took place, hitting various towns of our country with missiles. They destroyed houses, they used chemical bombs on the frontlines, they still closed their eyes. They did not object at all. They helped Saddam. This was another one of the acts of this government over the years toward our country and our nation.
(People chant)
Then, please pay attention; there is a lot of time for chanting. Toward the end of the war, a US officer hit our airplane on the Persian Gulf with a missile from a warship. Some 290, about 300, passengers were in this plane, and they were all killed. And then, instead of punishing that officer, the US President of that time awarded that officer and gave him a medal. Now, should our nation forget this? Can it forget?They supported criminal terrorists who killed men, women, people, great scholars, even little children in our country. They (the United States) allowed them (terrorists) to be active in their country. They constantly released aggressive propaganda against our country. Constantly! In the past years, US Presidents, particularly during the eight years of the former president (referring to President George W. Bush), whenever he said something against the Iranian nation, against our country, against our officials, against the Islamic Republic system, he said something absurd and nonsensical. He did not respect the Iranian nation. It was always like this over the years. They disturbed the security and peace in our region, security in the Persian Gulf, Iraq, and Afghanistan. They brought massive quantities of weapons to the regional countries, in order to stand against the Islamic Republic, in fact to fill the pockets of armaments factories.
They unconditionally supported Israel, the cruel Zionist regime. You witnessed one example of its (Israel's) cruelty in Gaza in the past two, three months. What a disaster they created. How many children they killed, how many men and women they killed. In 22 days they killed 5,000 people in Gaza with bombardments, missiles, and direct shootings. In the meanwhile they supported it. The US Government supported it until the very last moment. Whenever the Security Council wanted to issue a resolution against the Zionist regime, the United States stepped forward and defended (Israel), and did not let it happen. It (the United States) threatened our country on any occasion. It constantly said that it will attack us. They said that they had a military plan ready on the desk, they will do this, and they will do that. They constantly talked against our country and threatened our nation. Of course, these threats did not affect our nation, but they showed their enmity by doing so. They insulted the Iranian nation, the Iranian government, and the Iranian president, over and over again. Some years ago, an American said that the Iranian nation must be eradicated. In the past few years, a US official said that a nice and moderate Iranian is one that was killed, who is dead. They insulted this great and honorable nation, the nation whose only fault is to defend its identity and independence in such ways.
They imposed sanctions on our country for 30 years. Of course, these sanctions were in our benefit. With this regard, we must thank the United States.
If they had not imposed sanctions on us, we would have not reached this level of science and progress. Sanctions constantly made us aware, made us think about ourselves, and be innovative. But they did not mean to serve us like this. They wanted to be antagonist. This is how they treated the Iranian nation for 30 years, and now the new US Government says that they would like to negotiate with Iran, that we should forget the past. They say that they extended their arm towards Iran. What kind of a hand? If it is an iron hand covered with a velvet glove, then it will not make any good sense. They congratulate the Iranian nation on the occasion of the New Year (Iranian New Year started 20 March 2009), but in the same message call the Iranian nation supporters of terrorism, who seek nuclear weapons, and accuse it of such things.
I would like to say that I do not know who makes decisions for the United States, the President, the Congress, elements behind the scenes? But I would like to say that we have logic. Since the beginning, the Iranian nation moved with logic. Regarding our vital issues, we are not sentimental. We do not make decisions based on emotion. We make decisions through calculation. They tell us to negotiate, to start relations. They have the slogan of change. Where is the change? What has changed? Clarify this to us. What changed? Has your enmity toward the Iranian nation changed? What signs are there to support this? Have you released the possessions of the Iranian nation? Have you removed the cruel sanctions? Have you stopped the insults, accusations, and negative propaganda against this great nation and its officials? Have you stopped your unconditional support for the Zionist regime? What has changed? They talk of change, but there are no changes in actions. We have not seen any changes. Even the literature has not changed. The new US President, from the very moment of his official appointment as President, made a speech, and insulted Iran and the Islamic government. Why? If you tell the truth, and there are changes, where are these changes? Why can we see nothing? I would like to say this to everyone. US officials should also know that the Iranian nation cannot be fooled, or scared.
(People chant)
First of all. (Interrupted by chanting)
Changes in words are not adequate; although we have not seen much of a change there either. Change must be real. I would like to say this to US officials, that this change that you talk about is a real necessity; you have no other choice, you must change. If you do not change, then divine traditions will change you, the world will change you. You must change, but this change cannot be in words only. It should not come with unhealthy intentions. You may say that you want to change policies, but not your aims, that you will change tactics. This is not change. This is deceit. There can be true change, which should be seen in action. I advise US officials, whoever is the decision-maker in the United States, whether the President, Congress, or others, that the US Government has not worked to the benefit of the American people. Today, you are hated in the world. You should know this, if you do not already. Nations set fire to your flag. Muslim nations across the world chant "Death to America."
(People chant: "Death to America")
What is the reason behind this hatred? Have you ever studied this? Analyzed it? Have you learnt from it? The reason is, that you treat the world like a pupil, you talk snobbishly, you want to impose your own will on the world, you interfere in the affairs of other countries, and you implement double-sided criteria. When a young Palestinian is forced to perform some act of martyrdom, because of the pressure he is under, you bombard him with a mass of propaganda, and on the other hand you ignore the crimes of the Zionist regime, while it creates such a disaster in Gaza for 22 days. You call that young man a terrorist, and you say that you are committed towards the security of such a terrorist regime. These are the reasons that they hate you around the world. This is advice to you. For your own benefit, for your own good, for the future of your country, restrain from your snobbish attitude, hegemony, and your lecturing attitude. Do not interfere in the affairs of other nations. Be happy with your own rights. Do not define benefits for yourself in various parts of the world. You will see that the United States will gradually lose its hated image in the world. These deed have made you hated. Listen to these words. This is my advice to US officials, the President, and others. Listen well to these words, and have them translated for you. Of course, do not give it to the Zionists to translate for you. Consult healthy people, and seek their opinions.
If the US Government continues its same behavior, method, course, policies against us, as in the past 30 years, we are the same people, the same nation that we were for the past 30 years.
(People chant)
Please pay attention. If you go on with the slogan of discussion and pressure, saying that you will negotiate with Iran, and at the same time impose pressure, threats, and changes, then our nation will not like such words. We do not have any experience with the new US President and Government. We shall see and judge. You change, and we shall change as well. If you do not change, our people became more and more experienced, stronger, and more patient in the past 30 years.
Compiled and distributed by NTIS, US Dept. of Commerce.
March 20, 2009
Robert Wood
Acting Department Spokesman
Daily Press Briefing
Please click here for the full transcript
MR. WOOD: Happy Friday, everyone, happy spring. I'm going to start off with a couple of announcements.
QUESTION: Nowruz.
MR. WOOD: I'm sorry?
QUESTION: Happy Nowruz.
MR. WOOD: Happy Nowruz. This one is on Bosnia.
The United States supports the draft constitutional amendment on the Brcko district currently before parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
...And with that, I will take your questions.
QUESTION: What do you make so far of the Iranian reaction to the President's video message?
QUESTION: Robert, can I ask you a question about the statement on Madagascar? How much money is involved in the suspension?
MR. WOOD: Charlie, we're working to get the figures for you right now, and we'll hopefully be able to give you that a little bit later today.
QUESTION: Sorry.
MR. WOOD: No, that's a good question.
QUESTION: Now proceed to --
MR. WOOD: We're working on it.
Yes, sir.
QUESTION: Yeah, your - what do you make of the Iranian reaction thus far to the President's video message?
MR. WOOD: Well, I haven't really seen much in terms of the Iranian reaction to it. We will - I will see more as the day goes on. But I think the importance of this message was that the President said that we are going to engage in direct diplomacy with Iran. We're interested in working with the Iranian people, the Iranian Government to improve the relationship. There are still a lot of difficult issues that remain between us, but we're willing to work through them if the Iranians are willing to work with us. So, you know, I'll probably have more to say about the Iranian reaction once I have a fuller understanding of how they responded to it.
QUESTION: Do you have anything more on whether U.S. officials will meet with their Iranian counterparts either in Russia for the Shanghai grouping or the one in The Hague, the Afghanistan --
MR. WOOD: No, I don't have anything more than what I said yesterday, but we'll certainly keep you abreast if there are changes to that.
James, haven't seen you in a while. Good to see you.
QUESTION: Good to be back. Robert, is the American policy toward Israel under review?
MR. WOOD: No, our policy toward - are you talking about something specific?
QUESTION: You've talked about how the policy in Afghanistan is under review, the policy toward North Korea is under review, Iran is under review. Is the policy toward Israel under review?
MR. WOOD: No, our - look, we have a longstanding, very good relationship with the Government of Israel. We're - as I said several days ago and I think a couple weeks ago as well, we're waiting for there to be an Israeli government in place. We look forward to working with that new government on trying to move the peace process forward. And that's where we're at.
QUESTION: The reason I ask is because that was an element of the Iranian response which the spokesman for President Ahmadinejad stated specifically. The American Government, he said, should realize its previous mistakes; supporting Israel is not a friendly gesture. But you don't intend to diminish your support for Israel in any way?
MR. WOOD: Absolutely not.
QUESTION: And another element of the response I want to bring up with you: The spokesman for President Ahmadinejad said that unlimited sanctions against Iran, which still continue and have been renewed by the United States, are wrong and need to be reviewed. How was it that the Administration could make that determination about the need to extend those sanctions against Iran amid an overall policy review toward Iran that is still underway?
MR. WOOD: Well, our concerns about a number of - our concerns about Iranian behavior in a number of areas are still there and is still there. And that hasn't changed. We want to engage with the Iranians to try to resolve some of the differences between us, but those difficult issues remain. And we look to work with the Iranian Government to try to resolve them.
We're willing to reach out our hand to the Iranians, as the President and the Secretary have said. But some of those issues, like its nuclear program, it's not just a concern to the United States; it's a concern to the larger international community. Iran's behavior with regard to Iraq, with regard to Hezbollah, Hamas, remain concerns. And so that hasn't changed. The fact that we want to reach out to Iran, I don't see a contradiction there. But those concerns remain, and they need to be dealt with.
QUESTION: Robert, on that message, since public diplomacy is what this building does, did the State Department have any input into that message, and do you know who originated the idea for doing it?
MR. WOOD: I don't know who originated the idea, but obviously the President had an interest in reaching out to Iran, as he has said that he would do. The State Department certainly was aware of the fact that the President was going to, you know, give this message to the Iranian people and its government. So --
QUESTION: But did it help to craft that message, or was it strictly the White House?
MR. WOOD: Honestly, I don't know where - you know, who had a role in providing language or editing it. I don't know. But you can - certainly it's fair to state that the State Department was involved with the crafting of the message in some fashion. I just can't tell you how.
QUESTION: While reaching out to Iran, Israel still considers Iran to be a primary threat. Can that be sort of a source of friction between the U.S. and Israel?
MR. WOOD: No, I don't see any source of friction. Iran's behavior is what both the Government of the United States and the Government of Israel are concerned about. It's about Iranian behavior that all of us in the international community are concerned about. So no, I don't see any differences. We share that view. What we have said is that we want to engage the Iranians diplomatically to try to bridge some of these differences. But a lot of concerns remain.
QUESTION: As we pursue a diplomatic route with Iran, can we assume that sort of the Palestinian-Israeli issue will take on a higher priority, it will become issue number one for the U.S. Administration in the Middle East?
MR. WOOD: Well, it is a high priority. We've been working trying to bring about a two-state solution for quite some time. We're going to continue to push that. It remains a priority. We have a number of priorities in the Middle East, but certainly the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is definitely right up there at the top.
QUESTION: I'm sorry. I have a follow-up on Iran and the video. What - speaking of which, what kind of follow-up do you have planned to this? I mean, what's the next step? Okay, this is - this is a, you know, public overture, but what does that mean and what's the intent --
MR. WOOD: Well, that's a very legitimate question. I think we will be able to respond to that much more fully once the review is completed. And I do expect that that review will be completed, you know, in the very near future. And so let's wait and see. But obviously, this President is committed to direct engagement with Iran, and this is one example. There will be other examples, but I don't want to get ahead of the process right now. But I would just say stay tuned.
QUESTION: Obviously, I mean, the review didn't forestall making - taking this step.
MR. WOOD: That's right.
QUESTION: That's fairly significant.
MR. WOOD: But --
QUESTION: So what's next?
MR. WOOD: Well, certainly, I'm not going to preview it here for you. Let's see, there will be future steps, and we will certainly make all of you aware of them. But I'm not going to get ahead of the process right now.
QUESTION: Robert, the conference that's coming up on Afghanistan and the Iranians supposedly invited. They still think they're not invited. Now, could you - I know you went over this before, but could you explain exactly who issues the invitations and why they --
MR. WOOD: My understanding is that the invitations are being issued by the UN, along with the co-sponsors of the conference, meaning the Government of the Netherlands and the Government of Afghanistan.
Yes, ma'am.
QUESTION: (Inaudible) question. The U.S. Government has been saying, okay, we're waiting - we're making the overtures, we're extending our hand and we're waiting for a sign from Iran. What kind of a sign are you waiting for them to - for them to show their willingness?
MR. WOOD: Well, we're waiting for Iran to reach its hand out and, you know, express its willingness to engage with the United States.
QUESTION: They've said so in public themselves, but --
MR. WOOD: They're also - right. But you know, it's important - again, we're at the beginning of this process. The President has clearly - made it clear that we are going to engage diplomatically with Iran. We intend to do that. It will be up to the Iranians how they want to reciprocate. But I also want to emphasize that we still have some very difficult issues that divide us. And what the President has said is that we want to work with Iran on trying to deal with these differences. We're willing to diplomatically engage. It's really going to be up to Iran. I can't give you a specific thing that Iran needs to do. But certainly Iran is aware of our concerns. It's certainly aware of our willingness to engage diplomatically. And we'll just have to see what comes from that.
QUESTION: Can I follow up on the language in the message in which the President said that the process will not be advanced by threats? What is the meaning of that?
MR. WOOD: Well, I think what the President was trying to say is that, you know, threats that have been made by the Government of Iran against Israel, you know, threats against neighbors, that type of thing, doesn't advance dialogue and peace in the region.
And again, the President is extending the hand of the United States to the government and people of Iran. You know, Iran has a very proud culture, a very deep and rich culture. We obviously want to work with the people of Iran on a whole host of issues. But again, making threats, that's not the language of dialogue, and that's what he was getting at.
QUESTION: And so that language was directed toward Iran and no other party? Was it directed at the United States itself? Was it directed at any other party?
MR. WOOD: Look, the United States has not been making threats. I think you've seen threats coming from Iran on a number of subjects. And what the President was trying to say is that let's get beyond this threatening language, let's try to work together to resolve our differences, and that the United States is willing to reach out and engage.
QUESTION: Saying stop your nuclear program or we're going to proceed with sanctions is not a threat?
MR. WOOD: Look, this - Iran's nuclear program is a concern to not just the United States, it's a concern to a number of countries. We've offered Iran a package of incentives. When I say we, I mean the P-5+1. And we want Iran to take up that offer. That's not a threat. That's an offer. And that's what we've been saying to Iran for quite some time. And that package of incentives is important and should be looked at by Iran. But as I said, that's not a threat. That was an offer.
QUESTION: Isn't the package carrots and sticks? Sticks probably being a threat that if you don't follow through with what we're asking for.
MR. WOOD: Well, all I can tell you is that we have, with our partners, tried to reach out and deal with this issue diplomatically. That's what we want to do. We're not in the process of threatening Iran. But clearly, you know, this issue is not going to go away. We want Iran - if Iran is interested in peaceful nuclear energy, the international community can make provisions for that. But there are a lot of suspicions about what it's trying to do with its nuclear program. And what we're trying to do is resolve it diplomatically.
You know, Iran is under a number of Security Council resolutions, and it needs to comply with those resolutions. No secrets there. So I don't view it as the United States making threats. This is the international community calling on Iran to live up to its obligations.