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društvo Humanitas
Ajda Pistotnik
Rene Suša
Slovenia has had the sharpest decline in GDP since 2008 of any euro-zone member apart from Greece, although it has so far avoided having to ask for external aid owing to having entered the crisis with a far lower sovereign debt burden. The new Government has indicated that it will continue to avoid a bailout by driving through changes including bank restructuring, privatizations, and pension and labour reforms. However, poverty has increased and many people are no longer able to meet basic needs; without state assistance, the poverty rate is estimated to rise to 24%. Those who can't find work have dropped out of the labour force. As a result, Slovenia has joined countries where people have taken to the streets to call for a more just and balanced economy, more participatory democracy and the rule of law.
At the end of 2011, Slovenia's shaky centre-left coalition of Social Democrats (SDs) and their partners led by Prime Minister Borut Pahor collapsed and after the elections in early 2012 a new right wing governing coalition was formed, led by the Slovene Democratic Party (SDS) with Prime Minister Janez Janša. The post-election bargaining began rather surprisingly as the largest party, Positive Slovenia (PS), led by the mayor of Ljubljana Zoran Janković, failed to assemble a coalition. The new Government quickly began to show its leanings towards a more aggressive, neoliberal economics. Prime Minister Janša cited Slovakia's neo-liberal Dzurinda governments (1998-2006) as a model to follow and has stuck to his word. However, the proposed structural adjustments are facing stiff resistance from many sides.
Apart from Greece, Slovenia has had the sharpest decline in GDP since 2008 of any euro-zone member, although it has so far avoided having to ask for external aid owing to having entered the crisis with a far lower sovereign debt burden. Moreover, the country's finance minister, Janez Susteršič, told CNN that Slovenia will be able to avoid a bailout despite the shrinking economy by driving through changes including bank restructuring, privatizations, and pension and labour reforms. Similar policy reforms were suggested to the Slovenian Government by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in their annual visit in early October. Yet Slovenia, an EU member that is believed to be even "more radical than the IMF when it comes to imposing cuts in public spending, lowering wages and reducing worker's rights, can hardly be considered a guardian of the welfare state."
At the end of 2012, Borut Pahor, the former Prime Minister, was elected President. Interestingly, the turnout was a record low (only 41.5%), while public protests against the political eliteas well as corruption and austerity measures, have been very strong, not only in the capital of Ljubljana, but also in smaller towns, particularly Maribor.
Family law referendum
On 25 March 2012 a referendum was held on a new family law that would represent the first comprehensive overhaul of family law. Rather than focusing on measures involving the protection of children's rights, the opposition campaign focused on the rights of same-sex couples, to which many groups connected with the Catholic Church and the political right were opposed. The Archbishop of Ljubljana spoke about the "irreplaceable role of the family" and others argued that the law was against traditional family values and that gay couples should not be allowed adoption rights. As Slovenia had allowed the official registration of same-sex relationships in 2006, the negative outcome of the referendum was a definite step backwards in terms of protecting the human rights of vulnerable groups.
Increasing levels of poverty
According to the Statistical Office of Slovenia, in 2011 273,000 people, or 13.6% of the population, lived below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold, an increase of 19,000 over the previous year. Their net monthly disposable income was less than EUR 600 per adult household member. Moreover, the material deprivation indicator showed that many could not afford some basic needs, such as adequate heating, or were late paying mortgages, rent, bills and so on or had inadequate resources to cope with unexpected expenses. The material deprivation rate was 9% higher than the year before. Without the redistributive function of the welfare state, which through social transfers mitigates the distress of low-income households, the at-risk-of-poverty rate would grow to 24.2%. Moreover, 32% of households already face difficulties making ends meet. Generally speaking, the main reasons for poverty and social exclusion are lack of jobs and low income.
Erasing the unemployed
In midst of a global questioning of current social, political and economic paradigms, Slovenia has joined the many countries where people have taken to the streets to call for a more just and balanced economy, more participatory democracy and the rule of law. It is currently difficult to measure the actual health of the country's economy as many of the official statistics present a highly biased view, especially when it comes to employment figures. A stark example is the fact that in 2011 there were 936,000 active workers and 111,000 registered unemployed. In November 2012 the number of registered unemployed remained more or less the same, but the active workforce shrank to 807,000! This means that within a period of just one year close to 130,000 people (more than the entire registered unemployed workforce) were deleted from the public register of employment seekers. About 40,000 of those may be accounted for by unpaid housework, which is no longer counted as it was previously, but this still leaves up to 90,000 unaccounted for. This is significant as it represents about 10% of the entire workforce.
Corruption of high-ranking politicians
At the beginning of 2013, the Slovenian Independent Commission for the Prevention of Corruption (CPC) announced the findings of a year-long investigation into the heads of parliamentary parties in relation to their declarations of assets and financial disclosure laws. The investigation revealed that two party leaders – Prime Minister Janša (head of the ruling SDs) and the Mayor of Ljubljana Zoran Janković (head of the main opposition party – PS), had systematically and repeatedly violated the law by failing to properly report their assets to the CPC. The investigation uncovered private expenses and use of funds from unknown origins (Janša) and potential channelling of public resources through private companies (Janković) that exceed their official income and savings. Prime Minister Janša then launched a political counter-attack, discrediting the staff and the work of the CPC. It is clear that in Slovenia politicians and officials are unwilling to accept any responsibility for their actions and try to shift the blame elsewhere.
Protests, protests, protests
High levels of corruption and the fraudulent behaviour of key figures of the economic and political elite, combined with declining quality of life for the majority of the population have led to mounting discontent that was just waiting for a final spark. Resentment and outrage first exploded in Maribor, where a combination of national and local factors contributed to massive protests against the mayor and members of the town council. Inspired by the sheer force and scale of protests other towns quickly followed suit. There are several dimensions to this popular uprising. The protest banners and public statements from various groups that formed during the final months of the year carry divergent, yet clear messages. The revolt is both local (after the first uprising in Maribor, revolts took place in 27 other towns) and national, systemic and personal (against mayors and the current Government). A minor yet important component was the international dimension with some demands for withdrawal from NATO and protests against the EU.
While the revolt against key political figures, joined under the common slogan "Gotof je!" (You are finished!) was the predominant mobilizing factor, protestors also called for systemic change – such as the end of party politics, corruption, theft of common goods, casino capitalism and exploitation of workers. The response from the political elite was not surprising. The ruling party went on twitter to call the protestors zombies from the socialist regime, mercenaries of the opposition and marionettes of "godfathers in the background." The opposition tried to capitalize on the uprisings but has not endorsed the movement beyond affirming the right to protest. The message of the uprisings was clear – the revolt is much more than just a protest against the current government and mayors, it is a revolt against the entire establishment.
A common criticism expressed by the Government and frequently repeated in the subservient mass media was that the protests have no clear message and offer no solutions. While the demonstrations themselves were more contra than pro anything in particular the parallel insurgence of people's initiatives and civic movements has introduced a plethora of highly constructive proposals spanning the full spectrum of needed shifts in orientation. Several newspapers (including the mainstream media) and other web portals have opened up special websites where these proposals are gathered and discussed in the public arena. At the time of writing, the website of the main national newspaper Delo offers 53 articles on the transformation of the political system, 26 on the economy, 14 on the legal system and 26 on other topics. Many authors from very different professional and social backgrounds have shared their suggestions and analyses. And this is only one of the many forums where such an exchange is taking place: an ever increasing number of legal proposals are being put forth – mostly calling for anti-corruption measures, public control mechanisms and for participatory democracy. Some proposals go as far as the level of constitutional amendments and drafts of a completely new constitution are even being introduced.
Maribor – an exercise in participative democracy
The protests in Maribor were the first example of a successful self-organized popular movement that began on Facebook. The Facebook group called "Franc Kangler should resign as Mayor of Maribor," which mobilized the first massive protests, currently has more than 40,000 supporters, not all of them residents of Maribor (the town has a population of 95,000). While the group has distanced itself from any other official demands or a political programme, other social networks quickly began to form, where people organized themselves in order to prevent the future corrupt conduct of municipal officials and their stooges. Some of these groups may in future form political parties or local alliances for elections and provide their own candidates for the position of mayor, while others seek to reform the system itself, looking for ways to bypass party political representation and reground political decision-making in town and district assemblies. The first such assemblies should start in the spring of 2013.
The impetus for this action came from one of the groups called "iniciativa Mestni zbor" (Town Assembly Initiative). Its membership is fluid and in a press releasethe group called for residents to organize themselves in local/district initiatives. Two parallel processes are happening at same time – the first are the protests against the town council, corruption and nepotism in the municipality and its subsidiaries which are assuming different, yet creative forms of dissent. Complementary to all that is a more deliberative, strategic process where members of the initiative are analysing the current state of affairs (reviewing existing/planned projects, the municipal budget deficit, social and communal issues, and topics related to the potential for locally based economic activities) and possibilities for empowerment of local citizens.
The idea behind both of these processes is to facilitate a grassroots approach to municipal self-governance and self-reliance. The general level of political participation is very low, which indicates disenchantment with existing 'democratic' models and a need for new ways of more direct democratic participation. While it is too early to tell whether these efforts will have a long-term impact, at least the first symbolic victory was achieved on 31 December 2012, when the mayor of Maribor resigned, thus becoming the first politician in Slovenia ever to step down due to a people's uprising.
CNN Wire Staff, "Minister: Slovenia can avoid bailout despite shrinking economy,"20 November 2012. Available at: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/20/business/slovenia-finance-minister-sustersic/index.html (accessed 12. February 2013).
Marja Novak, "IMF says planned Slovenia reforms can avert bailout," Reuters, 2 October 2012. Available at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/02/us-slovenia-imf-idUSBRE8910MS20121002 (accessed 12 February 2013).
Mirovni inštitut, "The Double Crisis of European Integration." Available at: http://dpu.mirovni-institut.si/index-e.php (accessed 10 February 2013).
Joachim Becker, "Social protests and electoral apathy in Slovenia." Available at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/116306748/Joachim-Becker-Social-Protests-and-Electoral-Apathy-in-Slovenia (accessed 12 February 2013).
"Family Law Struck Down," STA, 26 March 2012. Available at: http://www.sloveniatimes.com/family-law-struck-down (accessed 12 February 2013); "Slovenians reject gay adoption law in referendum," The independent, 26 March 2012. Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/slovenians-reject-gay-adoption-law-in-referendum-7585060.html (accessed 10 February 2013).
SURS – Statistical office of the Republic of Slovenia, "International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 2012." Available at: http://www.stat.si/eng/novica_prikazi.aspx?id=5070 (accessed 10 February 2013).
SURS, "Statistične informacije št.13, 16.oktober 2012." Available at: http://www.stat.si/doc/statinf/07-si-008-1204.pdf (accessed 10 February 2013).
SURS, "Aktivno prebivalstvo, Slovenija, november 2012 – končni podatki." Available at: http://www.stat.si/novica_prikazi.aspx?ID=5263 (accessed 10 February 2013).
A change in the retirement legislation that entered into force on 1 January2013 (higher age/work years limit) has led to some earlier retirements, but the figures of retired people from November 2011 (594,000) and November 2012 (598,000) show only a modest increase as evidenced by ZPIZ (Institute of pension and invalidity insurance) database. See: http://www.zpiz.si/wps/portal/cognos/msp/upokojenci/prejemniki_pokojnin (accessed 10. February 2013).
KPK – Commission for the prevention of corruption, "Slovenian commission for the prevention of corruption found a number of violations of financial disclosures obligations by the prime minister and the head of the opposition." Available at: https://www.kpk-rs.si/en/the-commission/news/-/01/2013/slovenian-commission-for-the-prevention-of-corruption-found-a-number-of-violations-of-financial-disclosures-obligations-by-the-prime-minister-and-the-head-of-the-opposition (accessed 10 February 2013).
Društvo Integriteta - Transparency International Slovenia, "Zero integrity in Slovenian politics." Available at: http://www.integriteta.si/gradiva/clanki/271-zero-integrity-in-slovenian-politics (accessed 15 January 2013).
In addition to the cases mentioned above, several MPs were found to possess fake diplomas and degrees and there are on-going investigations of international arms dealing by several high level people.
Delo, "Protesti,"2012. Available at: http://www.delo.si/zgodbe/interaktivno/protesti (accessed 10 February 2013).
The slogan »Gotof je!« is a slang transliteration of the slogan »Gotov je!« used in Serbia during the Milošević regime.
See Delo, "Revolt,"2012. Available at: http://www.delo.si/revolt/ (accessed 10 February 2013).
It should be noted that the existing constitution was never approved by a people's referendum and is in fact heavily based on the German original.
Iniciativa mestni zbor, "Da nam znova ne ukradejo Maribora," Pekarna Magdalenske Mreže, 10 December 2012. Available at: http://www.pekarna.org/web/index.php?page=novice&subpage=novica&id=1284 (accessed 10 February 2013).


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Roughly speaking, there are two kinds of Web sites: those with static content and those with dynamically generated content. These are also called static Web sites and dynamic Web sites, or Web sites with static pages versus Web sites with dynamic pages.
What is Web content? Content is everything that can appear on a Web page: text, graphics, form fields, hyperlinks to other pages, navigation buttons, menus, etc. Please note that static and dynamic content has nothing to do with page animation.
Standard or Static Web site:
A static web site is a web site that was developed using a basic web development programming code such as HTML. Like any printed advertisement or magazine article, once it has been printed it can no longer be changed. Changes can only be made at the next print run. Similarly, once a static web site has been published it too will not change until the next edition; whenever we receive a request to edit the content from our client. Static web sites can only really be updated by someone with knowledge of web site development. Static web sites are the cheapest to develop and host, and many smaller companies still use these to get a web presence.
Advantages of static web sites:
- Quick to develop
- Cheap to develop
- Cheap to host
Disadvantages of static web sites
- Requires web development expertise to update site
- Site not as useful for the user
- Content can get stagnant
- Can't be optimized for search engines (since you can't update it easily)
- Usually can't be more than 10 pages
Static web pages are created one by one and each page is physically present on the web server. Each page contains the source code the web server will send to your visitors to view in their web browser. If you are the webmaster yourself and the only one adding and maintaining content this solution should work just fine. It is also the preferred solution for small web sites but can be used also for bigger sites.
Dynamic or Database-driven Web site Development:
Dynamic sites on the other hand can be more expensive to develop initially, but the advantages are numerous. At a basic level, a dynamic web site can give the web site owner the ability to simply update and add new content to the site. For example, news and events could be posted to the site through a simple browser interface. Dynamic features of a site are only limited by imagination. Some examples of dynamic web site features could be:
- content management system,
- Job boards
- Blogs
- Client relationship management
- Help desks
- E-commerce system,
- Forum / discussion boards
- Intranet or extranet facilities.
A dynamic web site uses programming in addition to the layout to not only allow the flow of data in and out of the site but to make meaningful relationships with the data. Dynamic web sites empower their owners with the ability to upload / update information on their own, preferably through password protected administrative interfaces. One does not require knowledge about HTML or web sites design to update or maintain such a site.
Advantages of dynamic web sites
- Much more functional web site for the client
- Much easier to update, edit or delete content
- New content brings people back to the site and helps in the search engines
- Can work as a system to allow staff or users to collaborate
Disadvantages of dynamic web sites
- Takes more time to develop
- more expensive to develop
- Hosting costs a little more expensive
While a dynamic web site typically cost more because of its complexity, it can be a more cost effective solution in the long run. A dynamic web site is the most effective solution for sites with content requiring frequent updates and/or interaction with the visitors.
Does my company web site need to be static or a dynamic?
Dynamic websites empower their owners with the ability to upload information on their own, preferably through a password protected CMS (Content Management Systems) GUI (graphic user interface). The real beauty and power of a dynamic web site is the client does not require any programming knowledge to update or maintain their company website.
In addition to the budget there are several other factors that will determine if you need a static or dynamic site. What purpose will your site serve? If you are a relatively small business or the products and services that you provide need few updates or amendments, then a static website could suffice your needs. On the other hand if you have a large inventory of products and/or services or you frequently need your company website to be updated with new product information, news or special offers then you will require a dynamic database-driven website.
In addition, a web application that is driven by a database, whether it be a web site, intranet, extranet or online shop can empower your customers with the ability to search your website and store visitor and customer details.
Many sites from the last decade are static, but more and more people are realizing the advantages of having a dynamic website. Dynamic websites can make the most of your site and either use it as a tool or create a professional, interesting experience for your visitors.

subset: commoncrawl


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Justices rule states can bind presidential electors' votes
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that states can require presidential electors to back their states' popular vote winner in the Electoral College.
The ruling, in cases in Washington state and Colorado just under four months before the 2020 election, leaves in place laws in 32 states and the District of Columbia that bind electors to vote for the popular-vote winner, as electors almost always do anyway.
So-called faithless electors have not been critical to the outcome of a presidential election, but that could change in a race decided by just a few electoral votes. It takes 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.
A state may instruct "electors that they have no ground for reversing the vote of millions of its citizens," Justice Elena Kagan wrote in her majority opinion that walked through American political history and contained pop culture references to "Veep" and "Hamilton."
"That direction accords with the Constitution — as well as with the trust of a Nation that here, We the People rule," Kagan wrote.
President Donald Trump has argued both sides of the issue.
In 2012, he tweeted, "The electoral college is a disaster for a democracy." In November 2016 after he won he presidency despite losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton, he tweeted, "The Electoral College is actually genius in that it brings all states, including the smaller ones, into play."
RELATED: Supreme Court strikes down Louisiana abortion clinic law
The justices scheduled arguments for last spring so they could resolve the issue before this year's presidential election, rather than amid a potential political crisis after the country votes.
Kagan recounted how the Constitution's original rules for presidential electors sowed confusion because there was no distinction between votes for president and vice president, noting that the results of the 1796 election gave President John Adams his political rival, Thomas Jefferson, as vice president. Kagan called the situation "fodder for a new season of Veep."
Things got worse four years later when Jefferson and Aaron Burr finished in an Electoral College tie, sending the election to the House of Representatives. It took 36 ballots and the influence of Alexander Hamilton to elect Jefferson as president, Kagan wrote.
"Alexander Hamilton secured his place on the Broadway stage—but possibly in the cemetery too—by lobbying Federalists in the House to tip the election to Jefferson, whom he loathed but viewed as less of an existential threat to the Republic," she said.
Those two elections led to the adoption of the Twelfth Amendment, which produced the Electoral College rules in use today, with separate ballots for president and vice president. "By then, everyone had had enough of the Electoral College's original voting rules," Kagan wrote.
The closest Electoral College margin in recent years was in 2000, when Republican George W. Bush received 271 votes to 266 for Democrat Al Gore. One elector from Washington, D.C., left her ballot blank.
When the court heard arguments by telephone in May because of the coronavirus outbreak, justices invoked fears of bribery and chaos if electors could cast their ballots regardless of the popular vote outcome in their states.
The issue arose in lawsuits filed by three Hillary Clinton electors in Washington state and one in Colorado who refused to vote for her despite her popular vote win in both states in 2016. In so doing, they hoped to persuade enough electors in states won by Trump to choose someone else and deny him the presidency.
The federal appeals court in Denver ruled that electors can vote as they please, rejecting arguments that they must choose the popular-vote winner. In Washington, the state Supreme Court upheld $1,000 fines against the three electors and rejected their claims.
The Supreme Court affirmed the Washington decision and reversed the ruling from Colorado.
RELATED: Supreme Court refuses to block upcoming federal executions scheduled for July and August
In all, there were 10 faithless electors in 2016, including a fourth in Washington, a Democratic elector in Hawaii and two Republican electors in Texas. In addition, Democratic electors who said they would not vote for Clinton were replaced in Maine and Minnesota.
The closest Electoral College margin in recent years was in 2000, when Republican George W. Bush received 271 votes to 266 for Democrat Al Gore. One elector from Washington, D.C., left her ballot blank.
The Supreme Court played a decisive role in that election, ending a recount in Florida, where Bush held a 537-vote margin out of 6 million ballots cast.
The justices scheduled separate arguments in the Washington and Colorado cases after Justice Sonia Sotomayor belatedly removed herself from the Colorado case because she knows one of the plaintiffs.
In asking the Supreme Court to rule that states can require electors to vote for the state winner, Colorado had urged the justices not to wait until "the heat of a close presidential election."
Reacting to the decision Monday, the lawyer for the electors who challenged the state rules said he's glad the court acted now. "Obviously, we don't believe the Court has interpreted the Constitution correctly. But we are happy that we have achieved our primary objective — this uncertainty has been removed. That is progress," lawyer Lawrence Lessig said.


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Manor House Builders – New Homes Near Hagerstown, Maryland
Manor House Builders in Maryland has been a leader in the home building industry since 1992. We offer a variety of quality homes that can be built at our communities in Washington County and Frederick County to meet your needs and complement your lifestyle. We can also build you one of our homes on the lot of your choosing, in any development. Our communities near Hagerstown were all selected because of their combination of quality schools, lower taxes and other benefits. If you are looking for new homes near Hagerstown, or near Falling Waters we have something for you!
Our experience as home builders gives us the experience and knowledge to provide custom floor plans with standard features to suit your individual needs and lifestyle. By expanding the space in key living areas in your new home, we will give you more room in the places you and your family use most often. Don't settle for less; tour our homes to see the quality and value that Manor House Builders offers.
We will serve you throughout the entire process — from start to finish. Our dedication to your complete satisfaction sets us apart from other customer-centric home builders in Maryland. We stay committed to you long after your home is finished; our 10-year Quality Builder's Warranty program provides you with long-term peace of mind.
Thank you for allowing us to be a part of planning and building your new home. We look forward to working with you.
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Sometimes when people hear obvious arguments regarding emotive topics, they just tentatively accept the conclusion instead of defending against it until they find some half satisfactory reason to dismiss it. Eliezer Yudkowsky calls this 'clicking', and wants to know what causes it:
My best guess is that clickiness has something to do with failure to compartmentalize – missing, or failing to use, the mental gear that lets human beings believe two contradictory things at the same time. Clicky people would tend to be people who take all of their beliefs at face value.
The Hansonian explanation (not necessarily endorsed by Robin Hanson) would say something about clicky people tending to operate in Near mode. (Why?)
pjeby remarks (with 96 upvotes),
One of the things that I've noticed about this is that most people do not expect to understand things. For most people, the universe is a mysterious place filled with random events beyond their ability to comprehend or control. Think "guessing the teacher's password", but not just in school or knowledge, but about everything.
Such people have no problem with the idea of magic, because everything is magic to them, even science….
Hypothesis: people expect reality to make sense roughly in proportion to how personally responsible for manipulating it they feel. If you think of yourself as in charge of strategically doing something, you are eager to understand how doing that thing works, and automatically expect understanding to be possible. If you are driving a car, you insist the streets fit intuitive geometry. If you are engaging in office politics, you feel there must be some reason Gina said that thing.
If you feel like some vague 'they' is responsible for most things, and is meant to give you stuff that you have a right to, and that you are meant to be a good person in the mean time, you won't automatically try to understand things or think of them as understandable. Modeling how things work isn't something you are 'meant' to do, unless you are some kind of scientist. If you do dabble in that kind of thing, you enjoy the pretty ideas rather than feel any desperate urge for them to be sound or complete. Other people are meant to look after those things.
A usual observation is that understanding things properly allows you to manipulate them. I posit that thinking of them as something you might manipulate automatically makes you understand them better. This isn't particularly new either. It's related to 'learned blankness', and searching vs. chasing, and near mode vs. far mode. The followup point is that chasing the one correct model of reality, which has to make sense, straight-forwardly leads to 'clicking' when you hear a sensible argument.
According to this hypothesis, the people who feel most personally responsible for everything a la Methods Harry Potter would also be the people who are most notice whether things make sense. The people who less trust doctors and churches to look after them on the way to their afterlives are the ones who notice that cryonics makes sense.
To see something as manipulable is to see it in the same light that science does, rather than as wallpaper. This is expensive, not just because a detailed model is costly to entertain, but because it interferes with saying socially advantageous things about the wallpaper. So you quite sensibly only do it when you actually want to manipulate a thing and feel potentially empowered to do so, i.e. when you hold yourself responsible for it.


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Tue, 16 January 2007
Happy New Year to Zed Heads around the world! Welcome to the first Zedcast of 2007. I'm your host, Bruce Murray, and I'm heavily medicated AGAIN! This is becoming an annual event, the post Holiday flu. This podcast was supposed to out before Jan 1, but my throat was in no shape to record for the past two weeks.
On the show today, some funny stories from Kora, who you'll remember from the Drillcasts of 2005. We'll hear about her childhood Christmas in Newfoundland, tree hunting, Cocktail Weiners, Mummers, and bottled moose. Some feedback from North America, Europe and... The Faroe Islands! Some of the wonderful shows mentioned on today's Zedcast: The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd... Journey Inside My Mind... Podquiz... Ask Lyndon... Cinefolle... Purl Diving... Barry from Barrie... Quirky Nomads... Sunday Sundown... Podvarpid from the Faroe Islands... The AndyCast Music in this episode: "Watchstar" by 3 Blind Mice.."In the Bleak Mid-Winter" by Doug Boldt..."Parsley" by Dave from Chub Creek..."I Feel Fantastic" by Jonathan Coulton..."Auld Lang Syne" by Friction Bailey You can vote for The Zedcast on Podcast Alley Add The Zedcast as a Favourite on Podcast Pickle Subscribe to The Zedcast for "free" in iTunes |


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Computers Piece Together Scattered Medieval Scrolls
It's like something out of "The Da Vinci Code": Hundreds of thousands of fragments from medieval religious scrolls are scattered across the globe. How will scholars put them back together?
The answer, according to scientists at Tel Aviv University, is to use computer software based on facial recognition technology. But instead of recognizing faces, this software recognizes fragments thought to be part of the same work. Then, the program virtually "glues" the pieces back together.
This enables researchers to digitally join a collection of more than 200,000 fragmentary Jewish texts, called the Cairo Genizah, found in the late 1800s in the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo. The Cairo Genizah texts date from the ninth to the 19th centuries, and they're dispersed amongst more than 70 libraries worldwide. Researchers will report on their progress in digitally reuniting the Cairo Genizah during the second week in November at the 2011 IEEE International Conference on Computer Vision in Barcelona.
Genizahs are storerooms for holy texts, which under Jewish law cannot be simply tossed in the garbage when they're worn out. The Cairo Genizah, however, also contains merchants' lists, divorce documents and even personal letters, a firsthand look at hundreds of years of history in the Middle East.
A non-profit organization, the Friedberg Genizah Project, is working to digitize the fragments of the Cairo Genizah. Meanwhile, Tel Aviv University computer scientists Lior Wolf and Nachum Dershowitz have the difficult task of joining the fragments into a continuous whole.
To do so, they developed a computer program that analyzes document handwriting, physical properties of the page, and even spacing between the lines of writing.
"Its big advantage is that it doesn't tire after examining thousands of fragments," Wolf said in a statement. The program has made 1,000 confirmed connections between fragments of the Cairo Genizah in the span of a few months, almost the same amount made in 100 years of human scholarship.
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The researchers are now applying the same technology to fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of hundreds of text found along the Dead Sea in the 1950s.
"It's a more complicated challenge," Wolf said, referring to the Dead Sea Scrolls. "The fragments are for the most part much smaller, and many of the texts are very unique. These texts shed light on the beginnings of Christianity."
Wolf and Dershowitz's effort is part of a Google project using high-resolution photographs of the Dead Sea Scrolls in order to put these biblical texts online.
You can follow LiveScience senior writer Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.
Stephanie Pappas is a contributing writer for Live Science, covering topics ranging from geoscience to archaeology to the human brain and behavior. She was previously a senior writer for Live Science but is now a freelancer based in Denver, Colorado, and regularly contributes to Scientific American and The Monitor, the monthly magazine of the American Psychological Association. Stephanie received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.


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Fire Element Juniper Berry Crystal Chip Candle
Fire Element Juniper Berry Crystal Chip Candle
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7 countries you'll explore on the Danube River
In Central and Eastern Europe, you'll find some of the most spectacular landscapes, architecture—castles, churches and war memorials—as well as some of the most colorful, inviting cultures in the world. But what's the best way to see it all? A cruise down the Danube River, of course.
Germany - The journey begins with a guided tour through the beautiful medieval city of Nuremberg where you'll see the Imperial Castle, the famous town wall and the legendary fountain of the Market Square. For history buffs, there's a guided tour of the city's most significant WWII sites, including the Documentation Center Nazi Party Rally Grounds, and the Nuremberg Trials Memoriam and Courtroom 600 (if the courtroom is not in session). Next, you can savor traditional Franconian specialties including Nuremburger bratwurst, rotbier (red beer) and lebkuchen (gingerbread). While en route to the next destination, Regensburg, you'll cruise through the man-made Main-Danube Canal. At Regensburg, you'll be treated to a guided walking tour through one of Germany's best-preserved medieval cities. In Regensburg, you'll see all the city's architectural highlights, including the Old Town Hall and the Porta Praetoria. And if all that walking makes you hungry, there's the old Bavarian specialties to satisfy you—beer, sausage, and pretzels. Next, take a bike tour to Walhalla where you will see the neoclassical white marble temple inspired by the Parthenon in Athens. The journey continues as you cruise to lower Bavaria's city of Passau, where you'll enjoy a walking tour along cobblestone streets and see Gothic and Italian Baroque architecture as well as St. Stephen's Cathedral. If you're looking to work in a little exercise, choose between a guided bike tour along the Danube, or a guided hike up to the Veste Oberhaus Fortress. Austria - Continuing down the Danube, you'll next stop at the scenic town of Melk, which is celebrated for its magnificent Benedictine Abbey. The abbey contains the tomb of Saint Coloman of Stockerau and the remains of several members of the House of Babenberg, Austria's first ruling dynasty. If you'd like something more active to do, you can join a guided bike tour that takes you through the UNESCO-designated Wachau Valley; or go on a walking tour along Dürnstein's cobblestone streets to the famed Baroque church tower, Stiftskirche. Later in the day, set sail through the vineyard rich Wachau Valley. No trip to Austria would be complete without a stop in Vienna, "The City of Waltzes." Vienna is a treasure trove and your tour showcases its regal splendors, including the majestic Opera House and the former Imperial Palace of the Habsburgs. Conclude your tour in the designated historic city center and visit St. Stephen's Cathedral. For a more active exploration, take a guided bike ride to Klosterneuburg Monastery. Hungary - The city of Budapest is known as the Queen of the Danube, and your tour begins with a visit to the Great Market Hall. The remainder of this tour takes you to both the Buda (hilly) and the Pest (flat) sides of the river. Alternatively, hike up to Castle Hill for breathtaking views of the city. Cap the day off with an illumination cruise. Continue your trek through Hungary with a pitstop in Puszta. Known as the Great Hungarian Plain, tour a genuine Hungarian csárda (farm) run by world-champion carriage-drivers. Afterward, be treated to an unforgettable performance of horsemanship and then experience the Hungarians' warm hospitality, along with a traditional lunch complete with authentic goulash. From Puszta, set sail to Mohács where you'll enjoy a scenic morning cruise past a town sprinkled with magnificent churches, including the 18th-century Baroque Protestant church, the Roman Catholic church (1776), the Serbian Greek Orthodox church, the votive church (1926), and the Avas church with its bell tower. Next, you'll cruise to Pécs, a city founded more than 2,000 years ago by the Romans. In Pécs, you'll find a city filled with historic architecture including the Christian Necropolis; St. Peter's Basilica, the city's main Catholic cathedral along with its catacombs; and Széchenyi Square, the heart of Old Town Pécs. For wine connoisseurs, there's the Szekszárd wine region, one of the oldest red-wine-growing areas in Hungary, established more than 2,000 years ago. Croatia - The beautiful Baroque Croatian city of Vukovar is situated at the banks of the Vuka and Danube Rivers in the region of Srijem/Syrmia. Known as the "hero town" for the valor of brave Croatian civilians and volunteers during the 1991 war with Serbia, your city tour will include important war landmarks such as Ovčara Memorial and Eltz Castle. Or, you can opt to go wine tasting in Ilok, a center of wine production since Roman times, where you'll sample its famous Grasevina, Traminac and Frankovka wines. Back on board, cruise to Novi Sad, sometimes called the "Serbian Athens." Discover Novi Sad on a walking tour to Dunavski Park and through Stari Grad, the Old Town center. If you prefer a more active exploration, join a guided biking or hiking tour. During the evening, visit Petrovaradin Fortress. Serbia - Explore Serbia's capital, Belgrade, on a city tour that includes the Kalemegdan Fortress and the Serbian Orthodox Temple of St. Sava. Later, choose from three intriguing excursions. Visit the Royal Palace, the official residence of the Serbian Royal Family; and then tour the House of Flowers, the mausoleum of Marshal Tito, who became the first President of Yugoslavia. Or enjoy a taste of the region by sampling Serbian plum brandy, Šlivovitz, and delicious local delights at the Quburich Distillery. For those wishing a more active adventure, join a guided bike tour. Romania - Enjoy a full day of scenic cruising as you pass through the Iron Gates, one of Europe's most awe-inspiring natural wonders. At the Iron Gates, the Danube narrows as it winds through a series of magnificent gorges between the Carpathian and Balkan Mountains. Bulgaria – Explore Vidin, one of Bulgaria's oldest cities, and surrounding areas with a choice of excursions. Discover Baba Vida Fortress, the largest preserved medieval castle in Bulgaria. Continue on to Belogradchik, one of Bulgaria's natural wonders, where you can hike around its most spectacular rock formations. Alternatively, visit a local home for a demonstration of traditional Bulgarian yogurt and Banitsa, a pastry you will also get to make. You also have the choice to bike through Vidin and to the castle. Visit Bulgaria's ancient capital, Veliko Tarnovo, with its medieval fortress and multiple orthodox temples. You can opt instead to go to Rousse, known for its 19th- and 20th-century Neo-Baroque and Neo-Rococo architecture, and then afterward visit the Rock-Hewn Churches of Ivanovo with frescos revealing exceptional artistry of 14th-century paintings.


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ORGANIZATION: Citizens' Climate Lobby
Please visit the new page to apply.
- A group opportunity. Invite your friends.
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Volunteer working on the environment and climate change with our grassroots climate group!
CCL volunteers work with their community and members of Congress on climate change solutions. We are organized into more than 450 local chapters across the U.S.
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Duke of Edinburgh announces he will stand down from public engagements
Her majesty had summoned her most senior aides and the entire household to an emergency meeting at Buckingham Palace this morning to make the announcement.
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Hide AdIn a statement, the Palace confirmed: "His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh has decided that he will no longer carry out public engagements from the autumn of this year. In taking this decision, The Duke has the full support of The Queen.
"Prince Philip will attend previously scheduled engagements between now and August, both individually and accompanying The Queen. Thereafter, The Duke will not be accepting new invitations for visits and engagements, although he may still choose to attend certain public events from time to time.
"The Duke of Edinburgh is Patron, President or a member of over 780 organisations, with which he will continue to be associated, although he will no longer play an active role by attending engagements.
"Her Majesty will continue to carry out a full programme of official engagements with the support of members of the Royal Family."
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Hide AdThe Lord Chamberlain, the most senior officer of the Royal Household, and Sir Christopher Geidt, Private Secretary, were thought to have addressed staff from royal residences as far afield as Balmoral.
Reports of the emergency meeting send social media into overdrive, speculating about the death of a senior royal or an abdication. However, palace insiders claimed neither scenario was likely, with sources warning there was "no cause for concern" or hysteria.
The Queen, who had been suffering ill health over Christmas, was seen on the gallops at Newmarket Wednesday morning with trainer William Haggas before hosting an audience with Prime Minister Theresa May at Buckingham Palace to confirm the dissolution of Parliament.
The Duke of Edinburgh, meanwhile, unveiled a new stand at Lord's Cricket Ground where he joked about being one of the most 'experienced unveiler of plaques in the world'.
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Hide AdHer Majesty turned 91 last month and Prince Philip will celebrate his 96th birthday in June.
In recent years the Queen has, slowly but surely, been handing over a number of her more onerous duties including long-haul travel to her heir, the Prince of Wales, and other senior royals.
Last year Buckingham Palace also announced that she would step down as patron of around 25 national organisations - including the NSPCC and Wimbledon tennis - after she turned 90 in April.
Many have expressed concern, however, that she still conducts well over 300 engagements every year.
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Hide AdRecently the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge announced they would be finally moving back to London from Norfolk, where Prince William works as an air ambulance pilot, in order to help shoulder the burden more.
The Duke of Edinburgh has also been curtailing his commitments, having stepped down from a number of patronages when he turned 90.
This story will be updated as we get more news.


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Broker Disclosure Document
This notice states the Broker Value and Disclosure practices for redrockfran.com and its franchise consultants.
The Value of the Franchise Consultant to Candidates:
There is significant value when it comes to working with a franchise consultant in finding a franchise and/or business opportunity.
- There is only so much time in a day. A franchise consultant listens, qualifies, understands you, and focuses on alignment of your goals to franchise opportunities. A win-win for all!
- Which is better; one concept or a few hundred? Franchise consultants represent several hundred franchises brands and/or business opportunities. They are not focused on one brand or one industry. They are focused on you and your goals. They come from an unbiased perspective.
- Relationships matter. The franchise consultant will develop a relationship with you to understand YOU. They will show you franchise companies or industries you may or may not have thought of, or concepts they believe may be of interest to you. The results can lead to you selecting a franchise that meets YOUR goals and needs. Now that is measurable!
- The candidate does NOT pay anything additional to work with a franchise consultant. The franchise company pays the consultant if it results in an executed franchise agreement. Cost for the brand is the same price if they worked directly with the franchise company.
- The franchise consultant has professional resources that are experts in the franchise industry that you may use if you desire.
The Franchise Consultant's Value to the Franchise Company (franchisor and/or business opportunity):
- The franchise consultant qualifies the candidate to insure they meet the qualifications required by the franchisor and/or business opportunity.
- Qualifying the candidate will include the territory being available, insuring they are financially qualified which may include pre-qualification with a funding provider, an understanding of their background and goals.
- The franchise consultant helps to educate the candidate about franchising and encourages the candidate to do extensive research during their discovery.
The Candidate's Responsibility in the Franchise Ownership Discovery Process:
The choice is YOURS and yours alone. The franchise consultant's role is to help guide you through a methodical process for your due diligence, but the investigation and ultimate selection of the franchise brand is yours alone. Once you enter into a franchise agreement, the relationship is governed by the contract between you and the franchise company. We strongly suggest you consult legal and financial advisors before you enter into a franchise agreement. The franchise consultant may provide professional resources that you can choose to employ if you so desire.
Disclosure Provided to the Prospective Franchise Buyer
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Strategy has been saved
Grow with confidence
Your organization's strategies for pressing issues like growth and innovation, talent and technology, regulations and risk are shaping its future. How well are they working? Deloitte's Strategy practice helps the most influential organizations around the world generate measurable outcomes by making winning choices on their most significant strategic issues. We build long-term relationships with senior executives and work together to create effective strategies that cover a broad spectrum of issues.
From defining corporate and business unit strategy, to identifying new growth opportunities, to designing commercial pricing models, digital prototyping and innovation, and more, we use cutting-edge approaches embedded with deep industry knowledge and experience to develop and execute integrated, tailored strategies to meet the future with confidence.
Strategy consulting tailored to your business
The key to sustained value growth today is a virtuous growth cycle in which you identify where to play, how to win, and how to future-proof your business model. To solve complex problems, we apply many methodologies, wielded by strategy consulting specialists with deep industry, and functional knowledge.
We work with chief executives and their teams to create effective corporate and business unit strategies and to secure alignment across the enterprise. When senior executives face conflicting mandates of developing long-term strategies while delivering short-term results, we design and deliver integrated growth programs in their enterprises. As one of the few strategy consulting firms with a dedicated innovation and design practice, we help companies seize new growth opportunities by building, and launching new offerings and businesses.
Targeted pricing initiatives can drive substantial revenue and margin growth. We help clients develop commercial pricing strategies and processes in alignment with the organization's strategies. To help businesses become more intuitive enterprises, we show senior executives how to take an enterprise approach to digital strategy so it becomes integral to their business strategy. And, having been with chief marketing officers on their journey through the evolution of their role, we bring world-class capabilities to help accelerate growth, and define and deliver marketing excellence.
From strategy through execution, we help you deliver improved performance by increasing growth and de-risking strategic choices.
Trends: Business ecosystems come of age
The notion of business ecosystems is now a crucial focal point for innovation, analysis, and strategic planning. Explore how organizations can thrive in a world of ecosystems.
Exceptional performance: A nonrenewable resource
What happens when a company achieves the summit? Is there nowhere to go but down? Superior performance, research shows, is neither quite as fragile nor robust as many believe—rather, it's an attainable albeit slippery plateau. The key is to focus on profitability rather than revenue growth or value creation
A measured approach to retail growth
Pricing challenges and intense competition in retail markets have only increased in the emerging age of omnichannel retail and price transparency. To be successful in these conditions, pricing strategy needs to become more creative, differentiated, and based in a scientific test and measurement approach. Explore why retailers should implement a culture of scientific measurement.


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Suddenly, I can only sell my StarDesign items. What happened?
For the protection of our members, their accounts and items, we have now added security features to Stardoll.
If you purchase an item in StarBazaar, you must wait 48 hours from the time of purchase in order to sell it again. Also if you change your email or password, your Recycling and Gift Shop will be locked for 48 hours. In StarBazaar you will be able to sell only designed items. If you change your password and have a verified email on Stardoll, you will receive an email with a link that will remove the quarantine (security feature).
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text: NEWS CENTER News Headlines| Archived Press Releases| CCOnline Archive| E-News Sign Up Archives 2010 NCCCO Publishes Definitive Guide to New OSHA Rule July 28, 2010 – The National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) has published what it calls "the definitive guide to the personnel qualification requirements" of the new OSHA rule, 29 CFR 1926, Subpart CC. "Although this final rule is based on a document that has been circulating since 2004, many employers are not aware of the new responsibilities that OSHA has placed upon them," said NCCCO Executive Director, Graham Brent. "Whether employers choose to certify their operators through NCCCO, another organization, or even in-house, NCCCO is pleased to provide this guide as a public service to the industry that has supported it since work began on the CCO national crane operator standard over a quarter century ago," Brent added. "It is vitally important that these key provisions are known and responded to by all responsible parties in the industry." NCCCO has posted its document as a series of questions and answers based on its careful reading of the published rule . These FAQs will be continually updated as questions arise, Brent noted. Visitors to the NCCCO website at www.nccco.org are invited to submit questions on personnel qualifications issues. Each question will be responded to personally and may also be posted in the FAQ section.


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Pet Sando Camouflage Green and Brown (Small) Perfect Fit for Dogs and Cats
Pet Sando Camouflage Green and Brown (Small) Perfect Fit for Dogs and Cats
Regular price
Regular price
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- High quality
- Pet sando
- Pet clothing
- Pet apparel
- Size chart
- Size: Length, Neck, Chest, Arm hole
- Small: 26cm - 13cm - 19cm - 9cm
- Medium: 30cm - 14cm - 22cm - 10cm
- Large: 34cm - 19cm - 25cm - 11cm
- XL: 38cm - 23cm - 28cm - 12cm
- This pet sando has eye-catching colors and designs, looks super cute and stands out, suitable for both indoors and outdoor.
- It's suitable for every days wear, pet gathering, party, photograph taking, etc.
- Made of high quality cotton materials, soft and comfortable to wear.
- Reminders:
- Kindly note that actual product color may vary from the images shown.
- Lighting conditions at the time the photo was taken can also affect an image's color.
- For more questions about this product, please don't hesitate to message us.
- Thank you and happy shopping!


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Supreme Court Committee Seeks Public Comment
Cathal Conneely, 415-865-7738
October 31, 2012
Public Comment Sought on Draft Judicial Ethics Advisory Opinion
Supreme Court Committee on Judicial Ethics Opinions invites comment on a draft opinion providing guidance to judges on requesting assistance from attorneys in pursuit of the improvement of the administration of justice
SAN FRANCISCO—The California Supreme Court Committee on Judicial Ethics Opinion (CJEO) today announced it invites the public to comment on a draft judicial ethics advisory opinion authorized by the committee. The draft opinion answers questions posed to the committee about the scope of permissible conduct when judges request assistance from attorneys concerning court budget cuts. The draft opinion provides guidance to judges under the California Code of Judicial Ethics, which establishes standards for ethical conduct for state judges on and off the bench and for candidates for judicial office.
The draft opinion and invitation to comment are posted on the California Courts website at http://www.courts.ca.gov/policyadmin-invitationstocomment.htm. The deadline for comment is December 19, 2012.
The committee was established by the Supreme Court to provide judicial ethics advisory opinions on topics of interest to the judiciary and members of the public (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 9.80(a)). The committee is authorized by the court to issue formal written opinions, informal written opinions, and oral advice on proper judicial conduct under the California Code of Judicial Ethics and other relevant sources (rule 9.80(e)(1)). In providing its advice and opinions, the committee acts independently of the Supreme Court, the Commission on Judicial Performance, the Judicial Council, the Administrative Office of the Courts, and all other entities (rule 9.80(b)).
After considering the public's comments on the draft opinion, the committee will decide whether or not to publish an opinion in final form. Comments are due by December 19, 2012, and may be submitted in any of the following ways:
• Online at http://www.courts.ca.gov/policyadmin-invitationstocomment.htm;
• By email to email@example.com; or
• In writing to Ms. Nancy Black, Committee Counsel, The California Supreme Court Committee on Judicial Ethics Opinions, 350 McAllister Street, San Francisco, California 94102.
The members of the Supreme Court Committee on Judicial Ethics Opinions are Justice Ronald B. Robie of the Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District (chair); Justice Douglas P. Miller of the Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division Two (vice-chair); Justice Maria Rivera of the Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, Division Four; Judge John S. Wiley, Jr. of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County; Presiding Judge Suzanne N. Kingsbury of the Superior Court of El Dorado County; Judge Kenneth K. So of the Superior Court of San Diego County; Judge George J. Abdallah, Jr. of the Superior Court of San Joaquin County; Commissioner Robert L. Broughton of the Superior Court of Contra Costa County; Justice Judith Ashmann-Gerst of the Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Two; Judge Joanne B. O'Donnell of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County; and Judge Michael Garcia (Ret.) of the Superior Court of Sacramento County.


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Host genetic variants near the PAX5 gene locus associate with susceptibility to invasive group A streptococcal disease
Parks T., Auckland K., Lamagni TL., Mentzer A., Elliott K., Guy R., Cartledge D., Strakova L., O'Connor D., Pollard AJ., Chapman SJ., Thomas M., Brodlie M., Colot J., D'Ortenzio E., Baroux N., Mirabel M., Gilchrist JJ., Scott JAG., Williams TN., Knight J., Steer AC., Hill AVS., Sriskandan S.
AbstractWe undertook a genome-wide association study of susceptibility to invasive group A streptococcal (GAS) disease combining data from distinct clinical manifestations and ancestral populations. Amongst other signals, we identified a susceptibility locus located 18kb from PAX5, an essential B-cell gene, which conferred a nearly two-fold increased risk of disease (rs1176842, odds ratio 1.8, 95% confidence intervals 1.5-2.3, P=3.2×10−7). While further studies are needed, this locus could plausibly explain some inter-individual differences in antibody-mediated immunity to GAS, perhaps providing insight into the effects of intravenous immunoglobulin in streptococcal toxic shock.


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The www.AUGI.com has the largest number of discrete page views of any Autodesk user site in the world. We regularly received nearly 1,000,000 page views per month. It is this exposure and variety that can lead to real results from web placement advertisement. Not only are our members many of the movers and shakers in their respective industries, they often are leaders at home in their own firms.
Now add to that a true user group, with an independent voice of the best and brightest architects, engineers, and designers in the world. They have enough love of the organization to seriously consider those companies who advertise with AUGI. They will take the time and make the point to actually see and evaluate what you have to offer. These are not empty click throughs, but rather real engagement with AUGI members on your site.


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Oremus pro invicem!
Update Of you charity please pray for the repose of the soul of my father, Dr Arthur Norman Edward Delsart Schofield, who died at home on Monday 9th March, aged 83. Born in Rochdale in 1925, he studied at the School of Slavonic Studies, University of London, and worked as Curator in the Department of Manuscripts at the British Library, until his retirement in 1987. His Requiem will be celebrated at 12.30pm on Friday 20th March at St John the Evangelist, Berry Lane, Rickmansworth. Requiescat in pace.
Labels: Blogging


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The key to building trust in government is to show deep understanding of the difference between effective and ineffective government — putting our tax dollars into what works, scrapping or revamping programs that don't work.
Thankfully, some ineffective government may soon be kicked to the curb. According to CQ Today, House leaders plan to let expire the $50 million in annual federal funds supporting abstinence-only education.
Putting aside philosophical arguments about sex ed, the simple fact is abstinence-only education has been proven a failure at getting teenagers to abstain, by a Bush administration-funded study no less. (The release of study was delayed for years.) Earlier, a report from Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chronicled the dangerous misinformation these programs are giving teens.
CQ reports that congressional leaders, spooked by the "tricky" politics of sex ed, plan the let funding expire without "calling attention" to it.
That's a mistake. To help build trust in Congress to invest taxpayer money wisely into addressing big problems, it's worth highlighting when Congress is saving taxpayer money from wasteful boondoggles.


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Mahasivaratri Talk Part 1 Siva and Muruga
Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami , 2002-03-18
Many devoted pilgrims are coming lately. One who came was focused entirely on the worship of Lord Murugan and doesn't worship Siva. Apparently some Saivites only worship Murugan. Why is that? How is Murugan worship different from Siva worship? Saiva Siddhanta only works when the focus is on Siva, as with Siva worship there is both theism and monism, we worship Siva in the temple and we are Siva within ourselves. Through the progressive padas, or margas, we get closer to Siva as we experience him first as a servant to master in the dasa marga, son to father in the satputra marga, friend to friend in the sakha marga and finally oneness, Self, in the jnana marga.
Unedited Transcript:
A number of very fine, devoted Hindu pilgrims visited us the last few days and I have been talking to them. One of them comes from a very traditional Saivite family. His father was a very strict Saiva Siddhantin from Jaffna, who moved to Malaysia and Australia. He focused on the worship of Murugan and focused his children on it too, very explicitly like an Ishta Devata, focusing on Murugan. This man was talking to me and asking about the difference between Murugan and Siva worship, Saivites worshipping Murugan so exclusively and how common that is in Malaysia where he spent many years.
So, I was thinking about that. What is the essential difference between the worship of Murugan and the worship of Siva?
The worship of Muruga of course is very important in our tradition and it is one of the factors that distinguishes the South Indian Saiva Siddhanta form of Saivism. It is not just Siva, Murugan is there too and is very important. But of course Siva is the Supreme Being.
I came up with one major difference and that is the worship of all Deities who are not Siva, is always dualistic. In our tradition, we just have Ganesha and Murugan. It is like, "There is the Deity. Here I am. I am worshipping, I am getting blessed."
This is good and it is something we all need to master. But our tradition isn't dualism or theism, it is monistic theism. So there is a monistic side there that is missing when it comes to the worship of Murugan, which is not missing in the worship of Siva. In other words, we start worshiping Siva as we worship any Deity and there is a dualism, there is a separation. We are there beseeching the Deity to bless us. But when we get to a certain point, when those blessings get intense enough we cross over the line into monism. So we are not getting blessed, we are Siva who is blessing. That only happens with the worship of Siva. The Siva worship leads you from separation into unity, from dualism into monism.
Therefore, in Saiva Siddhanta particularly we need to worship Siva. Saiva Siddhanta only works when the focus is on Siva. Some examples of that are how the padas and the margas are described. Of course, we all know them by heart.
The charya pada or the dasa marga, we are quite a distance from Siva. Siva is like the master and we are the servant. We are just getting to know Him. We don't feel very close in that relationship.
When we go deeper to the kriya pada, temple worship, puja we are closer, we are in the satputra marga, as a son is to a father. So we are a lot closer. The relationship between a son and a father is a lot closer than a servant and a master. We have come that much closer to Siva in understanding, feeling and loving Him.
Next is yoga. Yoga pada is the sakha marga where we are friends. Being friends may seem strange, it seems a little too informal to consider God a friend. Certainly that kind of approach is in many of the traditional Tamil scriptures. Gurudeva himself, would often joke about the Deities and talk about them as His best friends. So it is quite well established in the tradition and it shows the closeness, a real closeness. If someone is a friend, you are very close to them, you share a lot. They are much closer to you than other people.
Of course, in the jnana pada or the San Marga, we are identical, we are Siva. That is our monism in the jnana pada, San Marga. There is no difference between us and Siva in that stage of Siva worship.
There is a beautiful verse, I was hoping someone who can read Tamil in the dark, can read this verse. Any of the stapathis or silpis, can you read it?
uyirrukkuyirai nittral onngnana pujai
uyirrukkoliyai nokkal mahayoga pujai
uyirperum aavaaganam purappujai
seyirkadainesagn sivapujaiyaame
There, that explained it. It is a famous verse. We have used it often. It is in 'Dancing with Siva'. It talks about each of the padas and what we experience in them. The language is so beautiful, the English just doesn't catch it. To go along with what we have been talking about, I am going to explain the verse from the end of the verse to the beginning because the verse starts with jnana and then yoga, kriya and charya. We are talking charya, kriya, yoga and jnana. It fits in better when we explain it backwards.
"Expressing adoration is charya." Attending a puja, expressing adoration is charya.
"Giving life by invocation is external worship of kriya." This means actually doing the puja. It is like invocation. We are invoking the presence of the Deity in the Murthi. That is giving life. Keep using the word life, it is something you give to the murthi.
"Beholding the Light of life is great yoga worship." So, we are seeing the inner light just like we were talking about in our Shum meditation. 'eef tyay', we call it in the Shum language, seeing the light at the top of the head. It was interesting that Thondunatha translated it as 'olhi'. This is using the same word 'uyirukkolhi', the Light of life is what we behold.
"Being the Life of life is splendorous jnana worship." That is the Life of life. "God Siva is the Life of your life," Gurudeva's phrase. So, there is a separate word in Tamil, with that one meaning, 'uyirrukkuyir'. God is the Life of your life.
This of course is talking about monism. We are not beholding something. We are not seeing something that is separate from us. "Beholding the light" implies it is separate from us, we are seeing it. We are the awareness seeing the light. We are beholding the light. But here, in "Being the Life of life is splendorous jnana worship", we are not separate from it. We are just being Siva as the Life of life.
It is a very beautiful verse which shows the whole idea of how our consciousness changes, how our relationship to Siva changes as we progress through charya, kriya, yoga and jnana just in this one verse and it is very beautiful poetry as well.


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Kanye West 'White Dress' Drops, Raps of Mystery Woman Dissing Him
Is it Amber Rose? Kim Kardashian? Who is the woman Kanye West raps about on his new track "White Dress"? After a preview of the song popped up earlier this week, the full effort is finally here.
Appearing on the soundtrack inspired by the forthcoming martial arts film directed by RZA, "The Man With the Iron Fists," Yeezy details a romance where he was ditched and deserted on th


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One of the senior courts in the U.K. says WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can be extradited to the United States. The high court overturned a lower ruling. Assange is wanted by U.S. authorities over the publication of thousands of classified documents.
And we're going to discuss this with London-based journalist Willem Marx. Welcome to the program, sir.
WILLEM MARX: Good morning, Steve.
INSKEEP: This has gone on - the Assange story has gone on for so many years that I feel we should remind people who he is and why he's important.
MARX: Yeah - no - understandably so. It's been more than a decade since he first kind of came into public consciousness as the founder of this organization, WikiLeaks, that set out to increase transparency around government behavior. And very famously, in 2010, 2011, the group was responsible for releasing thousands of classified documents that proved both damaging to the U.S., as well as to its allies, some of its adversaries, some of its partners, and, of course, therefore damaging the relationship between the U.S. and some of those other nations.
INSKEEP: And he has, of course, been abroad in - for quite some time - hiding out in embassies, finally out of an embassy and now wanted by U.S. authorities. Why did a - or he has been wanted all along by U.S. authorities - why did a lower court rule that he should be able to stay in the U.K.? And then why did the high court say he should go?
MARX: The lower court ruling earlier this year, back in January, essentially decided that he was at risk of deteriorating mental health were he to be taken to the U.S. under extradition and held in highly restrictive conditions inside the U.S. penal system. His lawyers argued that this could lead to his mental health worsening, potentially to suicide attempts. And so it was decided by the judge in that particular case that he should be allowed to stay inside the U.K., and the U.S. should not be able to extradite him. What's changed now is that following some pretty unprecedented assurances from U.S. authorities about the way he will be held in detention once he arrives in the U.S. - if he arrives in the U.S. - the high court judges here in London have ruled that because of those assurances, they no longer have the concerns of that lower court from earlier this year. And they therefore see no reason why they should not allow the U.S. to extradite him.
INSKEEP: Unprecedented assurances, you said - the U.S. must really want to put him on trial.
MARX: That does seem to be the case. You know, he's essentially been promised that he will not be kept in solitary confinement. He will not be moved to a supermax facility, like some of the ones you have in places like Colorado. And what they're looking to try and prosecute him on - 17 counts of espionage, one charge of computer misuse - all related, of course, to those publications of those thousands of leaked military and diplomatic documents that were so embarrassing. The charges, Steve - they carry a maximum sentence of around 175 years in prison. But authorities in the U.S. have said that were he to be convicted, he could serve out that prison sentence - again, unusually - in his native Australia.
INSKEEP: Interesting - nevertheless, we have the possibility of a rather spectacular trial that touches on questions of press freedom and transparency and also what it means to be an agent of a foreign power.
MARX: Absolutely. And of course, that's why many of the organizations involved in those issues have fought vociferously on behalf of Mr. Assange over the last decade and continue to do so - some of them calling this a miscarriage of justice today.
INSKEEP: Journalist Willem Marx - thanks for your insights - really appreciate it.
MARX: Thanks, Steve. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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During character generation, after determining why they want vengeance against the common enemy called Quandos Vorn, Gaean Reach players specify why catching up with him will prove a task of epic difficulty. Each supplies a reason of particular relevance to his own motivations and backstory. In the in-house playtest, it was determined that Quandos Vorn:
maintains a troop of elite cloned bodyguards
constantly disguises himself and is constantly on the move
controls, through corruption, resources even within the IPCC (interstellar police force)
can track one of the PCs' movements and can't be surprised
constructs elaborate schemes which repeatedly ensnare another of the PCs
This not only further defines their nemesis, but again proves that, given a measure of narrative control, players will screw themselves over in ways they would never permit were a mere GM doing it.


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Ballou became a minister in Rhode Island in 1821, serving a Christian Connexion church. His sect, like many at the time, hearkened back to the "pure Christianity of the first century. They rejected the Trinity, making them evangelical Unitarians of a sort; they also believed that God simply annihilates the souls of the damned. Ballou began debating with Universalists (including his distant cousin Hosea Ballou), who held that every soul will be saved—and became a Universalist minister himself in 1823.
In 1831 he broke with the main body of Universalists, arguing that some souls would be punished prior to their ultimate "restoration," and lost his pulpit. He then served a Unitarian church from 1831 to 1842.
In the late 1830s, Ballou embraced "nonresistance," believing Christians must always "turn the other cheek" (see Matthew 5:39). He and several friends decided to base their lives on this idea. Social progress, they believed, would happen only through the conversion of individuals to the gospel of nonresistance. In 1839 they pledged themselves to a "Standard of Practical Christianity"; it was a comprehensive and demanding ideal (see excerpt below). They rejected military service, lawsuits, politics, taxes, even voting. Finding the Standard hard to live in isolation, in 1841 the "practical Christians" established Hopedale, a utopian village in Milford, Massachusetts.
After ten years the village had 200 inhabitants, thirty-one homes, and several businesses. Women participated fully in its civic life. But the experiment came to an end because of too few converts and a fiscal crisis. In 1860, the society was reestablished as a Practical Christian church. Nonresistance was unpopular during the Civil War; by 1861 only thirty-eight members remained.
Hopedale remains a charming New England town. The Hopedale Unitarian Church is heir to Ballou's religious society—though membership today is much less arduous. His spiritual legacy, however, lives on among contemporary nonresisters. And through the Russian novelist and idealist Leo Tolstoy, who corresponded with Ballou in 1889 and described Ballou's philosophy in The Kingdom of God Is within You, Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. drew inspiration for their active nonviolence campaigns.
An excerpt from the Hopedale Community's covenant, The Standard of Practical Christianity (1841):
"I believe in the religion of Jesus Christ, as he taught and exemplified it, according to the Scriptures of the New Testament. I acknowledge myself a bounden subject of all its moral obligations. Especially do I hold myself bound by all its holy requirements: Never, under any pretext whatsoever, to kill, assault, beat, torture, enslave, rob, oppress, persecute, defraud; corrupt, slander, revile, injure, envy or hate any human being—even my worst enemy; never, in any manner, to violate the dictates of pure chastity; never to take or administer an oath; never to manufacture, buy, sell, deal out, or use any intoxicating liquor as a beverage; never to serve in the army, navy, or militia of any nation, state, or chieftain; never to bring an action at law, hold office, vote, join a legal posse, petition a legislature, or ask governmental interposition, in any case involving a final authorized resort to physical violence; never to indulge self-will, bigotry, love of preeminence, covetousness, deceit, profanity, idleness, or an unruly tongue; never to participate in lotteries, games of chance, betting, or pernicious amusements; never to resent reproof, or justify myself in a known wrong; never to aid, abet, or approve others in any thing sinful; but, through divine assistance, always to recommend and promote, with my entire influence, the holiness and happiness of all mankind."
Related Resources
- Adin Ballou.By Peter Hughes. (Dictionary of Unitarian Universalist Biography)
- Christian Non-Resistance. By Adin Ballou. [1846] Blackstone, 2003. (UUA Bookstore)
- Practical Christianity: An Epitome of Practical Christian Socialism. By Adin Ballou. [1854] Blackstone, 2002. (Amazon.com)


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One of the players he would get to manage would become his replacement as Cardinals manager after the 1964 season. Red Schoendienst turns 93 today and the Hall of Fame second baseman has the distinction of having five World Series rings. Schoendienst won his first as a player with the Cardinals in 1946, then with the Milwaukee Braves in 1957. The third World Series Championship Schoendienst would be part of was in 1964. The final month of the 1964 season would go down as one of the most interesting in the history of the sport.
Keane was the manager of the Cardinals that season, the team's first in 18 years without winning a National League Pennant. It was also the team's first in years without their franchise icon Stan Musial, who retired following the 1963 season. Outside of the 1945 season that Musial did not play in due to his service in the US Navy, the Cardinals were losing their franchise player for the past 23 seasons. With Musial retiring, it meant saying good-bye to the last remaining player to appear in each of the Cardinals last four World Series (1942-1944, 1946).
Though the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers were the cream of the National League, the Cincinnati Reds were expected to give them some competition. The Cardinals had finished in second place the season before so it was expected to be a four team race. However, the surprise of the National League came from the city of Philadelphia, where the Phillies seemed to be a team of destiny. An underwhelming offensive team, the Phillies relied on strong starting pitching and small ball- a trait of manager Gene Mauch. The Phillies did have the MVP of the All Star Game in Johnny Callison, known for his walk-off three-run home run that won it for the NL at Shea Stadium that season. Third baseman Richie "Dick" Allen was on his way to winning the NL Rookie of the Year Award for the season. The Phillies led the National League by 6 1/2 games with 12 games to play on the 20th of September.
Meanwhile, it St Louis, it was the Cardinals who were looking to go in a different direction. Branch Rickey had been hired as a consultant to owner August Busch. His recommendations were to replace just about the entire front office, led by General Manager Bing Devine. Though nothing was official, it was expected that Keane himself was going to be replaced after the season. New GM Bob Howsam was in contact with Dodger third base coach Leo Durocher about the possibility of managing the team.
Though no team should ever give up, it was obvious the Cardinals were planning for 1965. Looking at their second straight winning season and second place finish, the organization needed to figure out how to take their game to the next level. They did add outfielder Lou Brock from the Cubs and he responded by hitting .348 the rest of the way. Bob Gibson gave them an ace that could compete with anybody's number one pitcher. Even so, if it was not for the Phillies epic collapse, the Cardinals may have been in for some dramatic changes going into the next season.
The Phillies would lose their next ten games, including the last three to the Cardinals. This put St Louis in first place with three games to go. Though they lost the next two games against the pitiful New York Mets, the Cardinals managed to clinch the pennant on the last game of the season. The Cardinals came into the World Series as underdogs against the New York Yankees. The series went seven games even though the Cardinals had lost their last two home games. The Cardinals won games four and five in New York before losing game six in St Louis. Gibson out pitched Mel Stottlemyre as the Cardinals took their seventh World Series Championship 7-5, winning the series four games to three.
In one of the most bizarre press conferences the game has ever seen, Keane would announce his resignation after the World Series victory. He handed Howsam over a letter he had written while the season was going on, long before the Cardinals won the Pennant and the World Series. In New York, first year manager and baseball icon Yogi Berra was fired after just one season- one in which he led the Yankees to the World Series. His replacement... Johnny Keane, hired just after he announced his resignation from the Cardinals. Schoendienst was named Cardinals manager for the 1965 season after serving as one of Keane's coaches in 1964.
Keane never got much out of the Yankees in 1965. His distant demeanor did not seem to work well with the players and the Yankees finished in 6th place in 1965, well off the pace of the first place Minnesota Twins. After a 4-16 start in 1966, Keane was fired by GM Ralph Houk, who would take over as manager himself. While Keane took a lot of the heat for the Yankees performance, it is well understood that the Yankees were not the same team that had owned baseball for the past 20 seasons. The Cardinals, however, sustained some success winning the World Series in 1967 over the Boston Red Sox and the National League Pennant in 1968, dropping a seven game World Series to the Detroit Tigers. Ironically, the Cardinals had by that time acquired outfielder Roger Maris from the Yankees, a team that was headed in the opposite direction.
Keane would not be around to see the Cardinals win another World Series. Sadly, Johnny Keane died on January 6, 1967 of a heart attack at the age of 55. Just a month prior to his death, he had accepted a scouting position with the California Angels. In Jim Bouton's book, "I managed good but boy did they play bad," Jim claims that the pressure of winning in New York and the expectation to sustain success as the manager of the Yankees could have led to Keane's death.
Johnny Keane remains an interesting figure and should be given credit for his place in returning the Cardinals to prominence. During his four seasons in St Louis, Keane compiled a 317-247 record as manager and never had a losing season. The Cardinals had previous suffered through losing seasons in five of the past seven years. Keane had a rapport with a lot of the players that had come through the system because of his time in the organization as a manager. In hindsight, he probably should have stayed in St Louis. It is understood that the Cardinals were going through a change in front office and there was a chance that Keane's time was numbered. He certainly left his comfort zone to enter his danger zone. That is the best way to describe Johnny Keane's six seasons as a big league manager.