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Imagine you live in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.
The "City of Evil", one of the most violent places on the entire planet. Here, in the past few years, murders have reached inconceivable numbers. More than 3000 victims only in 2010 – an average of eight to nine people killed every day.
So every day, you leave your home praying you won't be caught in some score-settling fight between the over 900 pandillas (armed gangs) tied to the drug cartels. Every day, like it or not, you are a witness to the neverending slaughter that goes on in your town. It's not a metaphor. It is a real, daily, dreadful massacre.
Now imagine you live in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, and you're a woman aged between 15 and 25.
Your chances of not being subjected to violence, and of staying alive, drastically drop. In Juárez women like you are oppressed, battered, raped; they often disappear, and their bodies – if they're ever found – show signs of torture and mutilations.
If you were to be kidnapped, you already know that in all probability your disappearance wouldn't even be reported. No one would look for you anyway: the police seem to be doing anything but investigating. "She must have had something to do with the cartel – people would say – or else she somehow asked for it".
Finally, imagine you live in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, you're a woman and you're an artist.
How would you explain this hell to those who live outside Juárez? How can you address the burden of desperation and suffering this carnage places upon the hearts of the relatives? How will you be heard, in a world which is already saturated with images of violence? How are you going to convey in a palpable way all this anguish, the sense of constant loss, the waste of human life?
Teresa Margolles, born in 1963 in Culiacán, Sinaloa, was a trained pathologist before she became an artist. She now lives in Mexico City, but in the past she worked in several morgues across South America, including the one in Ciudad Juárez, that terrible mortuary where an endless river of bodies keeps flowing through four huge refrigerators (each containing up to 120 corpses).
"A morgue for me is a thermometer of a society. What happens inside a morgue is what happens outside. The way people die show me what is happening in the city."
Starting from this direct experience, Margolles oriented her whole research towards two difficult objectives: one one hand she aims at sabotaging the narrative, ubiquitous in Mexican media and society, which blames the victims (the afore-mentioned "they were asking for it"); on the other, she wants to make the consequences of violence concrete and tangible to her audience, translating the horror into a physical, universal language.
But a peculiar lucidity is needed to avoid certain traps. The easiest way would be to rely on a raw kind of shock art: subjecting the public to scenes of massacre, mutilated bodies, mangled flesh. But the effect would be counter-productive, as our society is already bombarded with such representations, and we are so used to hyperreal images that we can hardly tell them apart from fiction.
It is then necessary to bring the public in touch with death and pain, but through some kind of transfer, or translation, so that the observer is brought on the edge of the abyss by his own sensitivity.
This is the complex path Teresa Margolles chose to take. The following is a small personal selection of her works displayed around the world, in major museums and art galleries, and in several Biennials.
En el aire (2003). The public enters a room, and is immediately seized by a slight euforia upon seeing dozens of soap bubbles joyfully floating in the air: the first childish reaction is to reach out and make them burst. The bubble pops, and some drops of water fall on the skin.
What the audience soon discovers, though, is those bubbles are created with the water and soap that have been used to wash the bodies of homicide victims in the morgue. And suddenly everything changes: the water which fell on our skin created an invisible, magical connection between us and these anonymous cadavers; and each bubble becomes the symbol of a life, a fragile soul that got lost in the void.
Vaporización (2001). Here the water from the mortuary, once again collected and disinfected, is vaporized in the room by some humidifiers. Death saturates the atmosphere, and we cannot help but breathe this thick mist, where every particle bears the memory of brutally killed human beings.
Tarjetas para picar cocaina (1997-99). Margolles collected some pictures of homicide victims connected with drug wars. She then gave them to drug addicts so they could use them to cut their dose of cocaine. The nonjudgemental metaphor is clear – the dead fuel narco-trafficking, every sniff implies the violence – but at the same time these photographs become spiritual objects, invested as they are with a symbolic/magic meaning directly connected to a specific dead person.
Lote Bravo (2005). Layed out on the floor are what look like simple bricks. In fact, they have been created using the sand collected in five different spots in Juárez, where the bodies of raped and murdered women were found. Each handmade brick is the symbol of a woman who was killed in the "city of dead girls".
Trepanaciones (Sonidos de la morgue) (2003). Just some headphones, hanging from the ceiling. The visitor who decides to wear one, will hear the worldess sounds of the autopsies carried out by Margolles herself. Sounds of open bodies, bones being cut – but without any images that might give some context to these obscene noises, without the possibility of knowing exactly what they refer to. Or to whom they correspond: to what name, broken life, interrupted hopes.
Linea fronteriza (2005). The photograph of a suture, a body sewed up after the autopsy: but the detail that makes this image really powerful is the tattoo of the Virgin of Guadalupe, with its two halves that do not match anymore. Tattoos are a way to express one's own individuality: a senseless death is the border line that disrupts and shatters it.
Frontera (2011). Margolles removed two walls from Juárez and Culiacán, and exhibited them inside the gallery. Some bullet holes are clearly visible on these walls, the remnants of the execution of two policemen and four young men at the hands of the drug cartel. Facing these walls, one is left to wonder. What does it feel like to stand before a firing squad?
Furthermore, by "saving" these walls (which were quickly replaced by new ones, in the original locations) Margolles is also preserving the visual trace of an act of violence that society is eager to remove from collective memory.
Frazada/La Sombra (2016). A simple structure, installed outdoors, supports a blanket, like the tent of a peddler stand. You can sit in the shade to cool off from the sun. And yet this blanket comes from the morgue in La Paz, where it was used to wrap up the corpse of a femicide victim. The shadow stands for the code of silence surrounding these crimes – it is, once again, a conceptual stratagem to bring us closer to the woman's death. This shroud, this murder is casting its shadow on us too.
Pajharu/Sobre la sangre (2017). Ten murdered women, ten blood-stained pieces of cloth that held their corpses. Margolles enrolled seven Aymara weavers to embroider this canvas with traditional motifs. The clotted blood stains intertwine with the floreal decorations, and end up being absorbed and disguised within the patterns. This extraordinary work denounces, on one hand, how violence has become an essential part of a culture: when we think of Mexico, we often think of its most colorful traditions, without taking notice of the blood that soaks them, without realizing the painful truth hidden behind those stereotypes we tourists love so much. On the other hand, though, Sobre la sangre is an act of love and respect for those murdered women. Far from being mere ghosts, they are an actual presence; by preserving and embellishing these blood traces, Margolles is trying to subtract them from oblivion, and give them back their lost beauty.
Lengua (2000). Margolles arranged funeral services for this boy, who was killed in a drug-related feud, and in return asked his family permission to preserve and use his tonge for this installation. So that it could speak on. Like the tattoo in Linea frontizera, here the piercing is the sign of a truncated singularity.
The theoretical shift here is worthy of note: a human organ, deprived of the body that contained it and decontextualized, becomes an object in its own right, a rebel tongue, a "full" body in itself — carrying a whole new meaning. Scholar Bethany Tabor interpreted this work as mirroring the Deleuzian concept of body without organs, a body which de-organizes itself, revolting against those functions that are imparted upon it by society, by capitalism, by the established powers (all that Artaud referred to by using the term "God", and from which he whished "to have done with").
37 cuerpos (2007). The remnants of the thread used to sew up the corpses of 37 victims are tied together to form a rope which stretches across the space and divides it like a border.
¿De qué otra cosa podríamos hablar? (2009). This work, awarded at the 53rd Venice Biennial, is the one that brought Margolles in the spotlight. The floor of the room is wet with the water used to wash bodies at the Juárez morgue. On the walls, huge canvases look like abstract paintings but in reality these are sheets soaked in the victims blood.
Outside the Mexican Pavillion, on a balcony overlooking the calle, an equally blood-stained Mexico flag is hoisted. Necropolitics takes over the art spaces.
It is not easy to live in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, to be a woman, and to be an artist who directly tackles the endless, often voiceless violence. It is even more difficult to try and find that miraculous balance between rawness and sensitivity, minimalism and incisivity, while maintaining a radical and poetic approach that can upset the public but also touch their heart.
For this post I am indebted to Bethany Tabor, who at Death & The Maiden Conference presented her brilliant paper Performative Remains: The Forensic Art of Teresa Margolles, focusing on the Deleuzian implications of Margolle's works.
A couple of available essays on Margolles are What Else Could We Talk About? and Teresa Margolles and the Aesthetics of Death.

subset: commoncrawl


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Pretty Paris Pictures – Reflections
January always begins with new resolutions, or renewed goals, for many. I am not always keen on making resolutions, but I do like to reflect on the year that has passed, and the year that has just begun. I like to imagine my plans and goals, and visualize myself meeting them.
This brought me to thinking about illustrating that process of thought… And what better way than with my trusty camera and my muse : Paris.
(Comment below to let me know which one you like best!)


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Are you in the market for a steel structure – top only or a garage building? Our standard and triple wide carport garages are apt for a wide spectrum of applications including residential car garages, repair workshops, automobile canopies, and more. On this page we look at some sample 16'x40'x12′ Metal Garage with Vertical Siding pictures and discuss the features, pricing, customization options, roofing styles, loads & codes, and uses of a 16'x40'x12′ metal building.At Boss Buildings, we have choicest metal buildings and their latest updated pricing.


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WILLIAMSTOWN, Ky. — Northern Kentucky law enforcement officials are working extra hard this time of year to keep any "Grinchiness" out of their respective "Whovilles."
Before Grant County Sheriff's Deputy Scott Conrad hits the road these days, he arms himself with kindness, in the form of gift cards.
"It's part of the Sheriff's Santa Project," Conrad said.
It's an idea that was brought to the office three years ago by their chaplain.
"I really think projects like this give us a glass-half-full attitude, rather than a glass-half-empty," Grant County Sheriff's Office Chaplain Rev. Tim Polley said. "Don't we all need some joy in our lives?"
The answer for Grant County's deputies is "yes."
"We make a legit traffic stop," Conrad said. "In lieu of writing a citation, we hand out a gift card to our local businesses."
Several drivers who got a Sheriff's Santa surprise were both grateful and thankful, a nice reminder to use a turn signal.
The project does more than just promote good driving, it also drives business to local shops and restaurants who could use a customer boost during the coronavirus pandemic.
"Typically, we deal with the more negative aspects of humanity, so when we can do anything that's positive, it's a blessing to us," Conrad said. "We swore an oath to the Constitution. I got into this job 15 years ago 'cause I wanted to help people."
Now he's helping people by helping to give back to the community.
"Everybody thinks they're out to get us, but they're here to help us," said driver Justin Ost, who got a gift card to a local barbecue restaurant.
Polley sought out local businesses to donate the gift cards, or people to donate money to be exchanged into cards.
"It is just that little nudge that some people need to say there is still good in this world," he said.
The Sheriff's Santa Project runs through Christmas Eve.
This story originally reported by Kristyn Hartman on wcpo.com.


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Tragic Overture, Op. 81
Length: c. 13 minutes
About this Piece
Composed: 1880
Orchestration: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, and strings
First performance by the Los Angeles Philharmonic: November 6, 1925, with Walter Henry Rothwell conducting
Shakespeare famously asked, "what's in a name?" In relation to Brahms' Tragic Overture, one could answer that a tragic piece without that name in the title would sound just as taut and elemental. Inasmuch as Brahms' motive for writing this work was nothing more imperative than wanting to follow his relatively jolly Academic Festival Overture with an emotional antithesis, there is no reason nor need to read more into the sinewy music – something like a grim personal experience or perhaps a literary program – than meets the ear. It has been suggested, though not verified, that the Tragic was planned as a prelude to a new production of Goethe's Faust. A tantalizing idea, if out of character for Brahms, but one that probably arose because of Brahms' having written to his friend Simrock that "I could not refuse my melancholy nature the satisfaction of composing an overture to a tragedy." In describing the two overtures to another friend, he said, "One of them weeps, the other laughs."
In 1880, the year of the two near-twin overtures, Brahms, with his first two symphonies behind him, was basking in an accumulating celebrity. In fact the Academic Festival Overture represents the composer's musical appreciation to the University of Breslau for having conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Having duly conveyed his ebullient thanks by tossing a student cap into the air, Dr. Brahms donned his Philosopher's hat, furrowed his brow, and set a steely gaze on musical matters of deep seriousness.
The Tragic Overture opens with full orchestra presenting two chordal exclamations, following which, with timpani vibrating ominously, unison strings intone the austere main theme. A simple, pathetic march idea beginning with a dotted figure immediately answers the strings, and this material, plus an onward rushing triplet figure and finally a comforting major-key melody, constitute the Overture's materials. The magnificent energy that presses through the outer portions of the piece has a defiant strength whose force is heightened by a superb section in which the poignant little march idea, now at a slower tempo, defines the "Tragic" of the Overture even more potently than all the muscular thrust before and after it.
The Tragic Overture may not weep, but it does have an emotional resonance that is powerfully affecting.
— Orrin Howard served for many years as the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Director of Publications and Archives.


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The latest issue of Rain Taxi notes the my-god-can-it-be? twentieth anniversary of Neil Gaiman's Sandman comics. They solicited a shout-out to the Man on the event, and I wrote one that would have been appropriate had they garnered the twelve-to-twenty squibs, blurbs, and whimsies I was sure they would have.But when I received my contributor's copy of the zine, there were only three squibs. Possibly this was because they could only dedicate a page to them. Or maybe the editor didn't have a good idea of exactly how many he could have gotten. Or there might have been some other reason. So what I wrote came out sounding, to me at least, as if I were trying just a little too hard. As if I weren't willing to just stand up and praise the guy.
If I'd known, I would have said something along the lines of: I love Sandman, I read the comics as they came out, and I have the complete set of compilations on my shelves. Then I would've commented on which my favorite stories are (probably and predictably the Shakespeares -- I'm a writer, after all -- but I might've speculated on which I'd've liked best if I were a civilian).
Then I would've delved a little deeper into Gaiman's appeal by pointing out that his script for the Neverwhere mini-series allowed inspired actors to create unforgetable roles (the Marquise de Carabras and Vandermeer & Croup being my favorites, but I wouldn't argue with yours) while being sharp enough that the occasional flat performance (I've lost my notes, but I'm sure there were some) didn't sink the enterprise because we viewers could mentally fill in what should have been there. And I would have finished with a sharp observation about the value of plot and/or character creation.
On top of which I would have given a literal shout-out, something on the lines of: "Yo! Neil! Keep on raving!"Oh well.
But even if I wasn't note-perfect in this instance, it was a pleasure reading Rain Taxi. The reviews cover genre, poetry, non-fiction, and serious mainstream as if an intelligent reader might actually be capable of appreciating all of them! A lovely magazine.
And here, just so you know what I'm talking about, is what I wrote:
Storytelling in Chengdu
Neil and I are kindred enough spirits that I've compiled a mental list of areas where he can best me on my home turf. He's better-read than I am in early twentieth-century classic fantasy, which before meeting him I would have said was unlikely. He knows more about R. A. Lafferty's works, which I would have said was impossible. I'm not ready to concede his superior knowledge of mythology and folklore – I have lain down on the Stone of Loneliness, and I know why Weyland Smith has geese, and there are not many who can claim half as much – but given that I had to turn to him to learn what portunes are, it's well within the realm of possibility.
Not that any of this is a competition.
But here's the thing. I am a compulsive storyteller. Start me up, and I do not stop. People tell me it can be a bit much. "No more stories!" a well-known writer shouted at me once, when he was trying to organize dinner. "We've got things to accomplish here!" Nor was he the only one, over the years, to intimate I might fruitfully dial it down.
So it amazed me when I was in Chengdu last year with Neil (and Nancy Kress and Rob Sawyer, and several other very pleasant folk) to discover that he's got an even worse case of narrative-itis than I do. Everything set him off. When we'd been mobbed by young Chinese fans seeking autographs, he said, "Autographing is fun for the first two and a half hours. When I was in Brazil . . ." At the Panda Breeding and Research Center, he began, "I have a friend who got a job here harvesting panda sperm. It turns out this is done by electroshock, so . . ." There were times I could hardly get an anecdote in edgewise.
And you know what I learned? Two things. First, that my well-known friend (possibly prompted by hunger) was wrong. A compulsive storyteller is the best company in the world. Second, that given the choice, I'd rather listen to Neil's stories than tell my own, simply because I already know how mine come out. So in that respect, I guess Neil wins.
Not as I said, that it's a competition.
– Michael Swanwick


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Initial jobless claims reached their lowest level since September 1969. Continuing claims fell to 1.35 million and reached their lowest level since 1970. The labor force was half as large then as it is today. Concerns about inflation, excess demand, and uncertainty about Russia's attack on Ukraine have not stopped firms from keeping the workers they have on the payroll (Figure 1).
Key Points for the Week
- Initial jobless claims fell to 187,000 from 215,000 the prior week. That is the lowest level since 1969.
- Federal Reserve officials used speeches and interviews to suggest the odds of a half-a-percent increase was possible in the next meeting.
- Chinese economic data indicated industrial production rose 7.5% and retail sales increased 6.7%. Both beat expectations by a wide margin.
A bevy of Federal Reserve officials commented last week that a half-a-percent increase in interest rates could be appropriate. The number of speakers commenting about accelerating rate increases spurred expectations higher. The two-year yield increased 0.33% and the 10-year yield jumped 0.32%. Market expectations for a half-percent increase at the May meeting moved from 44% to 73%.
The S&P 500 continues to rally from recent lows. The index of large-cap stocks added 1.8% last week. The MSCI ACWI added 1.2%. The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index fell 0.8% as the more aggressive Fed policy pressured bonds. Key inflation and jobs data lead the data releases this week.
Figure 1
Clarifying Comments
The Federal Reserve had a lot to communicate two weeks ago when it increased the number of planned interest rate hikes and reassessed expected growth rates for the economy. This Fed has generally done very well at communicating its intentions via written signals and press conferences. Fed officials often use speeches and media appearances to reinforce key points made in the press conferences.
Last week was an exception. Rather than reinforcing all the key points, Fed officials signaled a greater openness to increasing the pace of interest rate hikes as the Fed seeks to unwind economic support provided during the early stages of COVID-19.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell spoke last week at the National Association for Business Economics and had a decidedly more hawkish tone than the previous week at the wrap-up of the Fed meeting. In the speech he mentioned the Fed is willing and able to raise rates a full 50 basis points (a basis point is 1/100 of a percent) at one or more meetings this year to fight off inflation.
Prior to the meeting, the Fed's expectation was for 25bp hikes at each meeting for the rest of the year, reaching a federal funds rate of 1.9% at the end of the year. With this more hawkish tone, the market is now pricing in a 73% likelihood of at least two 50bp hikes this year, with a year-end federal funds rate of 2.38%.
Powell cited several issues that have changed the Fed's outlook. First, the prospect of inflation returning to normal levels once the supply-chain bottlenecks correct themselves has deteriorated, mainly due to the conflict in Ukraine. If anything, the energy and commodity impacts this year have made some of those bottlenecks worse. He also indicated we may have seen the end of the push toward globalism, one of the forces that has helped to keep inflation in check. A more fragmented global economy could lead to higher overall inflation moving forward, regardless of Fed action.
When the Fed wants to signal a new course, rarely does it do so with just one person. Other Fed officials shared the same message last week. Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester said, "I think we're going to need to do some 50-basis-point moves." She also believes the economy can withstand a more rapid increase in rates to tame inflation while not pushing the economy into recession. John Williams, who serves the same role in the Federal Bank of New York, stated he was open to raising rates 50 bps if appropriate.
Bond yields adjusted to reflect the possibility of a faster increase in interest rates. Rates on two-year Treasury notes broke through the 2% level last week. Investors showed concern that the Fed may become overly restrictive and push the economy into recession. The yield on the 10-year Treasury is now below the yield for recently issued bonds maturing in three, five, or seven years. When yields are higher for a shorter-term bond than one with a longer maturity it means the market is anticipating the Federal Reserve will raise rates too high and have to cut them later.
These comments do not guarantee a more rapid rate of increase, but data is pointing in that direction. The multi-decade low in the initial unemployment claims contributed to the increased odds of a 50-basis-point hike. The employment data indicate very few workers are getting laid off and labor markets remain tight. This week's update on the U.S. employment situation will provide further information that will shape the Fed's intentions. If the jobs situation continues to remain robust, our expectation is the Fed will raise rates 50 basis points at its next meeting.
This newsletter was written and produced by CWM, LLC. Content in this material is for general information only and not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly. The views stated in this letter are not necessarily the opinion of any other named entity and should not be construed directly or indirectly as an offer to buy or sell any securities mentioned herein. Due to volatility within the markets mentioned, opinions are subject to change without notice. Information is based on sources believed to be reliable; however, their accuracy or completeness cannot be guaranteed. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index is a capitalization-weighted index of 500 stocks designed to measure performance of the broad domestic economy through changes in the aggregate market value of 500 stocks representing all major industries.
The MSCI ACWI captures large- and mid-cap representation across 23 developed markets (DM) and 23 emerging markets (EM) countries*. With 2,480 constituents, the index covers approximately 85% of the global investable equity opportunity set.
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index
The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is an index of the U.S. investment-grade fixed-rate bond market, including both government and corporate bonds.
The Russell 1000® Growth Index measures the performance of the large cap growth segment of the US equity universe. It includes those Russell 1000 companies with relatively higher price-to-book ratios, higher I/B/E/S forecast medium term (2 year) growth and higher sales per share historical growth (5 years).
Compliance Case #01317084


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Created by Jijith Nadumuri at 29 Mar 2010 17:37 and updated at 02 Apr 2010 11:54
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Section 271
CCLXXI Janamejaya said, What did those tigers among men, the Pandavas, do, after they had suffered such misery in consequence of the ravishment of Draupadi Vaisampayana said, Having defeated Jayadratha and rescued Krishna, the virtuous king Yudhishthira took his seat by the side of that best of Munis. And among those foremost of ascetics who were expressing their grief upon bearing Draupadi's misfortune, Yudhishthira, the son of Pandu, addressed Markandeya, saying, O adorable Sire, amongst the gods and the ascetics, thou art known to have the fullest knowledge of both the past as well as; the future. A doubt existeth in my mind, which I would ask thee to solve!
This lady is the daughter of Drupada; she hath issued from the sacrificial altar and hath not been begotten of the flesh; and she is highly blessed and is also the daughter-in-law of the illustrious Pandu. I incline to think that Time, and human Destiny that dependeth on our acts, and the Inevitable, are irresistible in respect of creatures. If it were not so, how could such a misfortune afflict this wife of ours so faithful and virtuous, like a false accusation of theft against an honest man? The daughter of Drupada hath never committed any sinful act, nor, hath she done anything that is not commendable: on the contrary, she hath assiduously practised the highest virtues towards Brahmanas. And yet the foolish king Jayadratha had carried her away by force. In consequence of this act of violence on her, that sinful wretch hath his hair shaved off his head and sustained also, with all his allies, defeat in battle. It is true we have rescued her after slaughtering the troops of Sindhu. But the disgrace of this ravishment of our wife during our hours of carelessness, hath stained us, to be sure. This life in the wilderness is full of miseries. We subsist by chase; and though dwelling in the woods, we are obliged to slay the denizens thereof that live with us!
This exile also that we suffer is due to the act of deceitful kinsmen! Is there any one who is more unfortunate than I am? Hath thou ever seen or heard of such a one before
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For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.
- Robert Louis Stevenson
All the pathos and irony of leaving one's youth behind is thus implicit in every joyous moment of travel: one knows that the first joy can never be recovered, and the wise traveler learns not to repeat successes but tries new places all the time.
- Paul Fussell


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Thomas Poulsom's British Bird Series explores the loveliness of the British ornithological scene, in all the glory of Lego! Even cooler, you can help these models become an official Lego model through the magic of Lego's Cuusoo platform, where amateur builders can post models, and those creations which receive enough votes actually get made. If you like Thomas's birds, visit the Cuusoo page and support it — he needs 10,000 votes for the sets to get greenlit.
Join Make: Community Today


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We're looking for Respiratory Care Therapists, Physical Therapists/Assistants, Occupational Therapists/Assistants, Speech Therapists, Audiologists, and Rehab Services Aides to join our hospital-based teams in Washington state. If you are passionate about quality patient care and are looking to join a mission-driven organization, we want to hear from you! By attending this virtual hiring event, you will get to chat directly with our recruiter.
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The Canadian Encyclopedia
The Story of The Canadian Encyclopedia
This version of The Canadian Encyclopedia, released in enhanced digital interactive form in October 2013, represents the latest incarnation of a project with a unique history. Since the first edition arrived in 1985, Canadians have held a claim few others can make: we have our own national encyclopedia. The idea of covering all branches of knowledge or aspects of a subject in one body of work dates back to 1728 in England. However, a bilingual, national edition produced by, for and about the people of a single country, charting its events, culture, history and landscape, remains rare.
The Canadian Encyclopedia plays an essential role in providing Canadians and others with accurate, updated information about our people and country. This has been the case even as the Encyclopedia has made the transition from print to CD-ROM, to its present online format. The first edition, led by Publisher Mel Hurtig and Editor-in-Chief James Marsh, was accurately described by Hurtig as "the biggest publishing project in Canadian history." It carried close to 3 million words in three separate volumes, featured more than 2,500 contributors and included more than 9,000 articles. It was an immediate, impressive success: the already-ambitious original print run of 154,000 copies had to be increased to 463,500 copies to meet demand. A second edition in 1988 included 500,000 new words; two years later, a five-volume Junior Encyclopedia was published. In 1991, Toronto-based publisher McClelland & Stewart acquired the Encyclopedia and eight years later Avie Bennett, the M&S chair and prominent philanthropist, transferred ownership to the Historica Foundation, of which he was also chair. (The Foundation was one of the forerunners of the current organization operating the Encyclopedia, now known as Historica Canada.) In 2003, the Encyclopedia incorporated the content of the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada, which included some 3,000 articles and 500 illustrations.
If culture is in fact the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves, The Canadian Encyclopedia will strive to be the most comprehensive collection of Canadian stories online.
Today, the number of articles in the Encyclopedia — more than 25,000 — is nearly three times the original total and growing (about 80 articles are revised or created every month). The list of more than 5,000 contributors includes David Suzuki, Margaret Atwood, Piers Handling, Daniel Latouche, the late Pierre Berton and Marc Laurendeau.
The move to digital, made in 2001, means the Encyclopedia is available free to anyone with internet access; it now receives more than 14.5 million visitors annually for over 34 million pageviews. The Encyclopedia contains more than 61,000 multimedia items including images, maps, games, audio and video. Multimedia is augmented through acquisition and partnerships with Maclean's magazine and The Canadian Press. Interactive features include curated content collections, interactive timelines and immediate updates of important events. The site also offers a learning centre for teachers and parents that contains classroom resources, quizzes and themed study guides.
The Encyclopedia belongs, in a sense, to all Canadians. Nevertheless, its enduring success is particularly due to several people and institutions, including: its publisher, Mel Hurtig; the generosity and commitment of Avie Bennett; the editorial leadership of James Marsh until his March 2013 retirement (he is now editor emeritus); the Alberta government of Peter Lougheed, which provided financial backing for the first edition; and the present support of the federal Canadian Heritage department. Enhanced features and content in the present edition are the work of staff and contributors led by Director of Branding & Digital Media Chantal Gagnon and Managing Editor Erin James-Abra. We welcome your thoughts, ideas and contributions.
Anthony Wilson-Smith, Publisher


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Free/Low-Cost Rehab Programs in Valley County, ID
Free/low-cost rehab in Valley county applies to a type of addiction treatment that is designed to be affordable for individuals and families who are dealing with substance abuse, over and above their homelessness, poverty, and/or unemployment.
Through free and low cost treatment, many people who cannot afford treatment, can receive the services that they require.
The Importance of Free/Low-Cost Drug Rehab
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The late Miocene Epoch (10.4-5 million years ago)
The late Miocene was a time of global drying and cooling. As ice rapidly accumulated at the poles, sea-levels fell, rainfall decreased and rainforests retreated. Many plant and animal groups died out and other forms, better adapted to a drying world, took their place.
Australia's late Miocene facts
- Australia was isolated from other landmasses but its northern edge had collided with groups of islands in South East Asia.
- From the middle Miocene, as polar ice sheets rapidly began to grow in Antarctica, Australia became progressively drier.
- In the late Miocene, sea-levels dropped. In southern Australia, the Nullarbor Plain - once the limestone bottom of an ancient sea - was exposed.
- Rainforests retreated to the wetter coastal areas of Australia. Open forests and woodlands were spreading in the drier inland areas.
- Great herds of large wombat-like marsupials roamed Australia - some had even developed trunks.
- A new group of kangaroos that hopped began to dominate over their slower four-footed walking relatives.
- Gigantic thunder birds ruled the Australian roost.
- The fiercest predators included powerful flesh-eating marsupials called thylacines and lioness-sized marsupial lions.
What was happening in the rest of the world
- Grasslands were spreading in Africa, Asia and North America.
- Ancestral forms of apes lived in Africa, Europe and Asia.
- Like Australia, South America had many marsupial groups, including the ancestors of sabre-toothed marsupials.


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by Laurence Vance, LewRockwell.com
How hard is it to position yourself to the right of Barack Obama, Harry Reid, and Nancy Pelosi?
This is all the House Republicans did recently when they released their "Pledge to America" at a Virginia hardware store on September 23.
Mimicking their 1994 "Contract with America," this new Republican proposal sets forth their legislative agenda should the American people see fit to give the Republican Party a majority in the House of Representatives in the upcoming election.
Promises, promises.
Do Republicans think we're stupid? Do they think we've forgotten the eight-year presidency of Republican George W. Bush? Do they think we've forgotten that Republicans had an absolute majority in both houses of Congress for over four years of the Bush administration? Do they think we've forgotten that the Republican Party controlled the Congress during the last six years of Clinton's presidency?
The empty promises, grandiose claims, vain assurances, and blatant lies in the Republican "Pledge to America" mean that it's not worth the paper and toner it would take to print out a copy. Republicans are clearly trying to capitalize on voter discontent with the Democratic Party, garner the support of the Tea Party movement, and sucker Americans into voting them back into power.
Promises, promises.
Before even examining the text of the "Pledge to America," I would like to point out two major practical problems. First, like the "Contract with America," this is a House Republican document. And like what happened with the "Contract with American," there is no guarantee that Senate Republicans will pass legislation proposed by the House – assuming that Republicans even regain control of the Senate. The second problem is, like what happened with the "Contract with America," we have a Democratic president with veto power. So, even if the Pledge is a good thing (it isn't), and even if the Republicans are sincere (they aren't), there is no guarantee that Republicans will accomplish anything even if they do win back control of the House. And as it was pointed back out in 2000: "The combined budgets of the 95 major programs that the Contract with America promised to eliminate have increased by 13%." Is there any doubt that things will turn out any different this time?
But what about the text of the Pledge itself? Well, the preface is a lie. The foreword is a lie. All five of the plans introduced are a lie. All six chapters are a lie. All forty-five pages are a lie. Even the cover is a lie.
Surely, Mr. Vance, you are exaggerating. You are being too hard on the Republicans. You are making baseless accusations. You couldn't possibly have carefully read the Republican's Pledge.
Is that so? We need to look no further than the cover. It says that the "Pledge to America" is "a new governing agenda built on the priorities or our nation, the principles we stand for and America's founding values." Among other things, America's founding values certainly include liberty and limited government. Is this Pledge or any other Republican agenda built on these things?
Jacob Hornberger, the founder and president of the Future of Freedom Foundation, has described American society when it was based on the "founding values" of liberty and limited government:
Let's talk about the economic system that existed in the United States from the inception of the nation to the latter part of the 19th century. The principles are simple to enumerate: No income taxation (except during the Civil War), Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, welfare, economic regulations, licensure laws, drug laws, immigration controls, or coercive transfer programs, such as farm subsidies and education grants.
There was no federal department of labor, agriculture, commerce, education, energy, health and human services, or homeland security. There was no SEC, DEA, FEMA, OSHA, or EPA.
There was no Federal Reserve System and no paper money or legal-tender laws (except during the Civil War). People used gold and silver coins as money.
There were no foreign military bases and no involvement in foreign wars. The size of the military was small.
Now, I ask you a simple question: Does that way of life resemble even in the remotest way the way of life under which Americans live today? Of course it doesn't, because the way of life under which we live today is precisely opposite to that under which our American ancestors lived. Today's Americans do live under all those programs, departments, and agencies, and principles that were absent during the first 125 years or so of American history.
Oh, the "Pledge to America" talks about Republican plans to "advance policies that promote greater liberty" and about how their plan "stands on the principles of smaller, more accountable government," but then the Republicans propose, not to cease funding any of the abovementioned programs, agencies, and policies, but – are you ready – "to roll back government spending to pre-stimulus, pre-bailout levels." My, what an ambitious plan to promote liberty and limited government!
In the preface to the Pledge, the Republicans have the audacity to complain about "an unchecked executive" as if the presidency of George W. Bush never occurred. They pledge to "honor the Constitution as constructed by its framers," and in particular "the Tenth Amendment." I've got to hand it to the Republicans. They know the right words to use to sucker conservative advocates of the government strictly following the Constitution to vote for them. Of course, if Republicans really believed in the Constitution and the Tenth Amendment, they would introduce legislation to eliminate 95 percent of what the federal government does.
The foreword to the Pledge introduces the five Republican plans:
- A plan to create jobs, end economic uncertainty, and make America more competitive
- A plan to stop out-of control spending and reduce the size of government
- A plan to repeal and replace the government takeover of health care
- A plan to reform Congress and restore trust
- A plan to keep our nation secure at home and abroad
One thing in particular in the foreword that stands out is the Republicans claim that they want to "protect our entitlement programs for seniors and future generations." This shows without a doubt that Republicans don't have the slightest intention of honoring the Constitution, following the Tenth Amendment, stopping "out-of-control spending," and reducing "the size of government."
I want to focus in particular on the first and last of the Republican plans in the "Pledge to America." I will, however, not neglect the lies in plans two, three, and four.
The Republican plan "to create jobs, end economic uncertainty, and make America more competitive" sounds good on the surface. It blasts Keynesian economics, Obama's stimulus, tax increases, federal regulations, job-killing policies, and small business mandates while promising to create jobs, end economic uncertainty, and make America more competitive by permanently stopping all job-killing tax hikes, giving small businesses a tax deduction, reining in the red tape factory in Washington, DC, and repealing job-killing small business mandates. Don't be deceived: Even Republicans sometimes look good when compared with Democrats. However, alongside the standards of liberty, limited government, and strict constitutionalism, Republican economic policies are not much better than those of Democrats. This Republican plan mentions how a Republican Congress enacted the child tax credit in the 1990s. This is a good thing, as are all tax credits. However, why is this tax credit progressive; that is, why does this tax credit begin to phase out above a certain income level and end completely at another? And even worse, if the amount of the tax credit exceeds the tax liability, the unused portion is refundable in the form of an "additional child tax credit." This means it is an income transfer program, as is the Republican-instituted earned income tax credit.
Another troubling thing about the Republican economic plan is its attitude toward business regulation:
Small businesses must have certainly that the rules won't change every few months so they can get back on their feet.
Excessive federal regulation is a de facto tax on employers and consumers that stifles job creation, hampers innovation and postpones investment in the economy.
The Republicans seem to be saying that as long as federal regulations are relatively constant and not excessive then they are okay. In fact, they give their threshold as $100 million: "To provide stability, we will require congressional approval of any new federal regulation that has an annual cost to our economy of $100 million or more." But if Republicans really wanted to "honor the Constitution," then they would require congressional approval of any new federal regulation that has an annual cost to our economy of $100 or more not $100 million or more.
The last section of this economic plan mentions a "job-killing small business mandate." Since when are Republicans against these? Is there a greater "job-killing small business mandate" thanthe minimum wage? Did not even Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell say a few years ago that "raising the minimum wage" was a good idea? Outside of Ron Paul, would a Republican member of Congress ever publicly question the concept of a federal minimum wage? What it all comes down to is this: Democratic mandates are bad; Republican mandates (or Democratic mandates they accept) are good.
The promise in plan 2 "to stop out-of control spending and reduce the size of government" is laughingly pathetic when you realize that the national debt increased under the Republicans from $5,727,776,738,304.64 at the time of Bush's first inauguration in 2001 to $10,626,877,048,913.08 on the last day of Bush's second term in 2009. Republicans speak negatively in this plan about "the bailouts of businesses and entities that force responsible taxpayers to subsidize irresponsible behavior." Yet, this is the same Republican Party that helped the Democratic Party pass the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (the first bailout bill).
The Republican plan "to repeal and replace the government takeover of health care" is only being proposed because it is a Democratic takeover of health care and not a Republican one, as I have written about here and will write more about in the future. I would like to point out, however, that the proposal to "establish a government-wide prohibition on taxpayer funding of abortion and subsidies for insurance coverage that includes abortion" is a little overdue. What were all the pro-life Republicans in the House doing when the Republican Party had an absolute majority in the House and Senate for over four years under a Republican president? They were funding Planned Parenthood, that's what.
The promise in plan 4 to "reform Congress and restore trust" is more smoke and mirrors. The Republicans lament that "for too long, Congress has ignored the proper limits imposed by the Constitution on the federal government." Their solution is to "require each bill moving through Congress to include a clause citing the specific constitutional authority upon which the bill is justified." The real truth is that Congress has sought to circumvent the Constitution almost since the day it took effect in 1789. Citing specific constitutional authority for a bill is an empty gesture. Just as Nancy Pelosicited the Constitution's "commerce clause" in defense of the health care bill so Republicans will cite the phrase "to provide for the common defense" in the Constitution's preamble to justify funding drone attacks in Pakistan.
The Republican plan "to keep our nation secure at home and abroad" is the most objectionable part of the "Pledge to America." It can be summarized as: xenophobia, war, empire: vote Republican. It consists of one lie after another followed by one bad policy after another. It promises to keep terrorists out of America by keeping foreigners locked up in Guantanamo – as if there were any connection between the two. What this really means, of course, is that Republicans are in favor of the U.S. military picking up anyone anywhere in the world and holding them indefinitely without charge or trial – or until they are killed and their deaths reported as suicides.
This plan "to keep our nation secure at home and abroad" is sure to create more terrorists, further erode civil liberties in the name of national security and fighting the war on drugs, line the pockets of the military-industrial and security-industrial complexes, further blacken the name of the United States throughout the world, provoke a war with Iran, further bankrupt the treasury, senselessly cause more U.S. troops to die in vain, and unjustly kill more foreigners.
What is tragically ironic is that a liberal group earlier this year placed an ad in the New York Review of Books condemning Obama's actions "to keep our nation secure at home and abroad" as in some respects "worse than Bush":
First, because Obama has claimed the right to assassinate American citizens whom he suspects of "terrorism," merely on the grounds of his own suspicion or that of the CIA, something Bush never claimed publicly. Second, Obama says that the government can detain you indefinitely, even if you have been exonerated in a trial, and he has publicly floated the idea of "preventive detention." Third, the Obama administration, in expanding the use of unmanned drone attacks, argues that the U.S. has the authority under international law to use extrajudicial killing in sovereign countries with which it is not at war.
Such measures by Bush were widely considered by liberals and progressives to be outrages and were roundly, and correctly, protested. But those acts which may have been construed (wishfully or not) as anomalies under the Bush regime have now been consecrated into "standard operating procedure" by Obama, who claims, as did Bush, executive privilege and state secrecy in defending the crime of aggressive war.
The most wretched lie in this fifth Republican plan is the statement that "the threat from Iranian intercontinental ballistic missiles could materialize as early as 2015." This is political fearmongering at its worse that is designed to sucker Americans into voting Republican and justify funding of provocative boondoggles like missile defense. U.S. foreign policy is already aggressive, reckless, and belligerent enough without the Republican plan "to keep our nation secure at home and abroad" making it even more so.
Promises, promises – that's all the Republican Party is good for. Promises to cut spending. Promises to cut the deficit. Promises to cut the debt. Promises to reduce federal regulations. Promises to reduce the size of government. Promises to reduce the scope of government. Promises to do better than the Democrats. Promises to follow the Constitution.
But not only does the Republican Party never deliver, it can always be counted on to increase spending, increase the deficit, increase the debt, expand federal regulations, expand the size of government, expand the scope of government, do worse than the Democrats, and make a mockery of the Constitution.
The Republican "Pledge to America" is not, as Bob Barr says, a "good and sound document." It is political propaganda, pure and simple, from a party desperate to regain power.
Promises, pledges, lies: vote Republican.
Never, ever, under any circumstances, for any reason, trust in, rely on, or put any hope in Republican promises. As night follows day, disappointment, vexation, and anger are sure to follow.
Laurence M. Vance [send him mail] writes from Pensacola, FL. He is the author of Christianity and War and Other Essays Against the Warfare State and The Revolution that Wasn't. His newest book is Rethinking the Good War. Visit his website.
Copyright © 2010 by LewRockwell.com. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.


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Located in Zhejiang Changxing, MIRO Zhejiang Co., Ltd. covers an area of 13510m2, and has 500 employees. Global export in electrical power and advanced materials, MIRO designs innovative solutions to address its clients' specific needs to enable them to optimize their manufacturing process in sectors such as energy, transportation, electronics, chemical, pharmaceutical and process industries. MIRO Electrical Power provides a comprehensive line of current-limiting fuses (low voltage, general purpose, medium voltage, semiconductor, miniature and glass, and special purpose) and accessories, fuse blocks and holders, power distribution blocks, low voltage disconnect switches, high power switches, ERCU, Fusebox, CCD, surge protective devices, heat sinks, laminated bus bars, and more.
(MIRO Zhejiang Co., Ltd. Hereinafter referred to as MIRO) started business early in China's Reform and Opening-up, thrived on the tide of China's economic surge, and was further elevated by the advanced production concepts and strong R&D and engineering expertise from MIRO Group.
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The Registrar's Office supports Truman State University's past, current, and future students by providing dependable, friendly, and efficient service in the areas of registration, records, and evaluation. We protect the integrity of the University through fair and consistent application of the academic rules and regulations established by the faculty, administration, state, and federal government.
We strive:
- to communicate information accurately and effectively,
- to implement and use available technology,
- to regularly assess and honestly evaluate the services we provide,
- to develop positive and cooperative relationships with all members of our University and professional communities, and
- to demonstrate a genuine commitment to students and student learning in all we do.
We support Truman's mission as a public liberal arts and sciences university. We actively engage in Truman's liberal arts community, embracing our roles as staff educators and life-long learners, and upholding the University's commitment to excellence.
Registrar's Office
Truman State University
McClain Hall 104
100 E. Normal
Kirksville, Missouri 63501-4221
Registrar's Office
Truman State University
McClain Hall 104
100 E. Normal
Kirksville, Missouri 63501-4221


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Cool Gender-Bending Tee from Qwertee
For all you Transgeneration fans out there: here's a cool t-shirt design on Qwertee called USBgendered "for those of us who think beyond binary." Like Qwertee the site (and "Qwertee" the name), this design perfectly combines t-shirts with geek love (i.e. the love of all things techie). Like any of their shirts, you can vote to get it printed in a limited edition for only $12 bucks a pop.
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