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Interreligious Prayer
Catholics with other Christians in the Pro-Life Movement, and
Mary in Ecumenical Perspective
Just visit the USCCB Publishing
Pursuing friendship and deeper understanding with people we encounter from other religious backgrounds is an important task. If you or others at your church, synagogue, temple or mosque are interested in ecumenical or interreligious work, we hope you will find the resources on these pages helpful.
To read topical blog posts, articles and speeches by our staff, visit Blogs and Articles.
Please visit our Documents and News Releases Page to view all of the documents and news releases which have been produced by our many dialogues.
More recent documents by topic can be found here.
Quotes from Pope Francis about dialogue and the culture of encounter.
Please visit our SEIA Newsletter Page to sign up for our monthy e-newsletter and to view past issues.
A short summary of some ecumenical and interreligious principles and resources can be found here.
Our Video Playlist features 2-3 minute clips that we welcome you to view and share with others online or at public events.
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity - January's annual international week of prayer may be observed through ecumenical services, bible studies, sermons on the current theme and more. On our page you will find links and easy downloads.
Generations of Faith - The manual below contains detailed recommendations for organizing a day-long program in which young people and more experienced participants from different religious traditions gather to learn from one another. You may also download a sample agenda and flier.
Models of an ecumenical prayer service and intercessory prayers for the Fortnight for Freedom and religious liberty events.
We recommend visiting the following organizations' websites to find materials to aid your ecumenical and interreligious efforts.
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Having heard about Carol's adventures (on Facebook - she hasn't written about them on her blog yet) in going to the Hetch-Hetchy section of the park, and never having been in that area, I thought I'd see if the drive was as harrowing as she described. I'll have to admit that, even in the mini-van, it was rather exciting with the sharp drop-offs and narrow roads. But I do believe that her trip down those roads was probably more than a little exciting - down right frightening - in that big old truck of theirs!
All photos taken on April 29, 2013
The drive back up to the main road was far more intimidating than the drive down to the dam. Yes, I tended to creep a little closer to the inside walls and away from the outer edges that seemed imminently closer than they had been!
Published under a Creative Commons License.
Becky Wiseman, "Ketch-in-up at Hetch-Hetchy," Kinexxions, posted May 10, 2013 (http://kinexxions.blogspot.com/2013/05/ketch-in-up-at-hetch-hetchy.html : accessed [access date])

subset: commoncrawl


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Sign up for our fortnightly e-newsletter to stay up to date with our latest market intelligence, partnership marketing opportunities, tourism events and news.
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Join our discussion group or follow VisitBritain for inbound tourism news and VisitEngland for England tourism news.
Contact us
To get in touch with our team, use our contact finder. Or view our network page to find addresses for our offices around the world. For Press queries only please contact Tracey Edginton 020 7578 1098.
Year three of our US Manchester Gateway Partnership goes live
Records have been set in 2015 for inbound visits with strong growth from Britain's major inbound markets including the US and Europe and double digit growth from newer markets China & the United Arab Emirates (UAE).


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The setting is a rainforest so lush and tropical that you feel like you are in the Garden of Eden. Yet it is the real deal. Flowers, colors, the sounds of birds, mysterious mist rising out of hot steaming pools of volcanic water. And above this landscape of luxury, sits the source of it all, Arenal, peaking out above the clouds. Majestic and powerful. An active volcano luring the spirits of world-wide travel seekers "home."
This is Costa Rica's jewel. Tabacon. A word that means so much to so many. It is a magical place. A mystical place. Truly a destination in itself. The management here appreciates and understands its beauty and has "built the thermal resort and grand spa into nature – rather then bringing nature into it." It is at one.
Tabacon Grand Spa Thermal Resort has echoed in my dreams for years. Luring me. Inviting. Enticing. Compelling. Calling. Beckoning. My brother and his wife frequented Tabacon as their favorite destination for the past decade while a business colleague was married here five years ago. I saw the pictures. Sold. The Tabacon website says "Paradise on Earth" for a reason. It feels like heaven.
Here is where it all happens. Where dreams really do come true. Marriages, engagements, honeymoons, anniversaries, couples' getaways, celebrity romantic retreats, birthday celebrations, family vacations (mostly by former honeymooners), and possibly even babymoons - that one last trip before…!! Tabacon is a destination in itself.
And then there is me. I went to Tabacon and stayed in the Honeymoon Suite overlooking the grandest of the grand volcanoes – Arenal - with exotic coatis (raccoon-like animals indigenous to the region and South America) outside my sliding glass doors and the view of a lifetime. It was divine. My suite had all the amenities imaginable including a Jacuzzi tube that fills with naturally volcanic-heated water and fruit platters left on my bar area daily. Not to mention, this spacious room had the most inspiring, nurturing interior design that featured a nature theme with hand-made wood sculpted light fixtures. And this is where I experienced what I profess is the new must for all – a solo honeymoon!
Yes – a solo honeymoon means I got to stay in this incredible room…by myself! Loved it. Every minute of it. Or more accurately every second. Perfection! A must. And now I am on a mission. There is no turning back.
My newfound belief is that everyone (including you) deserves a solo honeymoon at least once in her/his life at Tabacon. Where else?!
Tabacon opened in 1993 and literally started tourism in the Arenal / Fortuna region with the initial establishment of the spa and restaurant. Currently celebrating twenty years of "holistic desire," Tabacon is all about opportunities to connect with nature. Whether through the resort rooms, the spa, the restaurants, and those famous thermal mineral pools. It is a family-run business with Costa Rican roots. Its lure reads like a fairy tale. But true.
Once upon a time, the Arenal locale was isolated and difficult to get to. In the heart of Costa Rica, the area was renowned for cow pastures. Local herds were thriving. Everyone was happy. Yet one landowner had a big problem. The water on his property was not drinkable. It was too hot, with minerals, and no cows (or anyone for that matter) could quench their thirst there. He could not even farm it. The owner was distraught with his "bad" luck and had to "borrow" drinkable water to barely survive. He wanted more then anything to sell this seemingly useless land and start fresh where there was "real water." Then one day, in walks an outsider. He was passing through when he chanced upon this "undesirable" land for sale. Luckily for the world, he was a visionary designer and architect. The tale goes that when he saw the three rivers of heated water flowing over the jungle terrain, an immediate image of beauty and wonder flashed into his mind. He had found his destiny. Tabacon. Sold. Seven years later, the location flourished into what is now the premiere tourist destination in Costa Rica. And one of the top resorts of the entire world.
Tabacon Grand Spa Thermal Resort is luxury in the middle of the rainforest and a 5-star proud member of the Leading Hotels of the World (since 2006). Currently celebrating its 20th Anniversary, it customizes experiences for each guest.
Its philosophy is to give back to the community and Tabacon is the main employer in the region. It supports local schools and is involved in the La Fortuna development where everyone is treated like a big family. It is also a "carbon neutral resort" that has instituted a green recyclable program as well as a sustainability program that offers guests the opportunity to plant a tree with the idea they can come back and see the results on a return trip. Even Will Smith participated on his recent visit.
Speaking of green and nature, the hot springs is what Tabacon is world-renowned for, giving people a pan-ultimate nature experience. Twenty different pools of varying temperatures and locations are discreetly scattered throughout the lush landscaped grounds. All natural. The higher up you go, the hotter the temperatures, as the volcano that heats the water. There is also a natural process of cooling the water to get the different options. Guiding the natural river water into the different volcanic pools is an art. It is all about the flow. The movement. And Tabacon knows how to make its water dance.
At the very top of the Tabacon hot springs, there is the newly opened Shangri-La area for adults only. A beautiful and quiet oasis. Perfect for meditation. My favorite. Did I mention there are day passes to the Tabacon thermal resort? Packages include meals, spa treatments and use of the hot springs on a daily basis. This is an affordable option for all visitors to the area.
Tabacon Grand Spa is also on the premises of the hot springs. This five-star full service spa features open air bungalows where you can go for massages, body treatments, facials, bath therapies, waxing and mani-pedis. It is heaven. I am featuring the Tabacon Grand Spa in a separate Splash article in the Health & Beauty section so stay tuned.
And now for the food glorious food. Get ready for a treat. This Costa-Rican cuisine melts in your mouth. Los Tucanes at the hotel section of the resort features a scrumptious not-to-be-missed breakfast buffet as well as fine dining for dinner, while Ave del Paraiso at the hot springs features themed nightly buffets. There is also the once-in-a-lifetime option of reserving private gala dinners in a bungalow in the middle of the rainforest where anything goes. You dream it, you name it, they make it come true. Whether it is fireworks or letting a group of butterflies go at the start of your meal, your wish will come true. I am featuring Tabacon's restaurants in a separate Splash article in the Food & Beverage section so stay tuned.
All 102 rooms in the hotel have privileged views. Remodeling in 2011 created new suites, in addition to the new Shangri-La Gardens at the thermal resort. Stunning.
I have my eye on the Rainforest Suite for my next visit. Yes - I will be back…maybe even for my "real" honeymoon one day!
Visit Tabacon's website at www.tabacon.com
Read more about Tabacon's green programs and sustainable tourism - click here.
Read about Tabacon's different hotel room and suite options - click here.
Photos and Feature by Jodi Kaplan copyright 2016
Photos and Feature by Jodi Kaplan - Copyright 2016 by Jodi Kaplan
All Images are copyright 2016 by Jodi Kaplan. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. FOR VIEWING ONLY.


text: Contact Us Business Phone Line (308) 221-6041 Studio Address 721 E B St North Platte, NE 69101 Submit Your Closing or Cancellation Submit Your Event Submit A Birthday To submit a song request click the "Our Station" button at the top of the page. * Required Message Category * -- Please select -- Select One News Sports Sales General Station Selct any stations that you are inquiring about. Rock 100.7 KRNP-FM Country 93.5 KZTL-FM Title DR MISS MR MRS MS First Name * Last Name * Home Phone Number * Email Address * Comment/Question * Prove you're not a robot *


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City of Keller, TXHome Menu
City Calendar
The City Calendar offers information on upcoming meetings, regular programs and special events organized by the City of Keller. To see additional events going on in Keller hosted by nonprofit and other community organizations, please visit the
Pre-Council and Regular Council Meeting
- Date: 10/01/2019 5:00 PM
- Location: Keller Town Hall
1100 Bear Creek Pkwy.
Keller, Texas 76248
Return to full list >>
The Pre-Council Meeting begins at 5:00 p.m. in the Pre-Council Meeting Room. The Regular Council Meeting begins at 7:00 p.m. and is conducted in the Council Chamber.


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Deniz Bul - Nutrition Facts T-Shirt Men
€24,50 was €34,50
This variant is currently sold out
Tight-fitting and longer-cut eco-friendly T-shirt with rolled-up sleeves. A cool eye-catcher, reminiscent of the times of Marlon Brando and James Dean.
Material: 100% combed organic cotton.
Grammage: 155 g/m²
ATTENTION: Because this is a slim-fit Shirt we recommend a larger size for a regular fit.
David is wearing "L".


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Vassar - 3, Farmingdale State - 0 (25-11, 25-15, 25-15)
Misericordia - 3, Farmingdale State - 0 (25-21, 25-17, 26-24)
Poughkeepsie, N.Y. - The Farmingdale State women's volleyball team dropped a pair of non-conference matches at Kenyon Hall at the Vassar College Tri-Match on Saturday afternoon. The Rams fell 3-0 to both Vassar and Misericordia.
In the match versus Vassar, the Rams (11-11) were led by sophomore outside Sarah Palladino (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) who tallied a game-high 10 kills and added six digs.
Vassar's Clara Cardillo (San Francisco, Cal.) and junior Jessie Ditmore (Santa Barbara, Cal.) each had eight kills, while senior setter Hilary Koenigs (Spokane, Wash.) led the way with 20 assists.
Against Misericordia, senior outside Holly Sahner (Dix Hills, N.Y.) had a team-leading 10 kills, while Palladino added seven kills. Freshman libero Francesca Calderon (Wheatley Heights, N.Y.) had 14 digs and freshman setter Megan Pisciotta (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) had a game-high 16 assists.
Farmingdale State will close out the regular season as they travel to Old Westbury to face Skyline opponent Yeshiva University on Sunday, October 28th at noon.


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Dixon Film Studio The Sacramento Bee has recently published an investigation into the woman planning to bring a massive film studio to the small farming town of Dixon. The investigation calls into question Carrisa Carpenter's past, which is riddled checkered with debts and questionable business choices. The Sacramento Bee's Senior Writer Sam Stanton tells us about the story and why they decided to investigae Carpenter.
Listen to Dixon Film Studio
Streambed on Mars NASA scientists have found evidence that a stream once flowed on Mars. The rounded pebbles the scientists found on Mars' surface reveal traces of a planet once covered in flowing water. Joining us to explain the discovery is UC Davis Geology Professor Dawn Sumner, who is also a co-investigator for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory team.
Listen to Streambed on Mars
Alternative Ed: Summer Learning As school let out for summer recess and students go their different ways, there's one thing many of them won't be doing - learning. Well, not in the traditional sense of the word. Sacramento Unified School District has recently been commended by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson, for its educational program designed to combat "summer learning loss." Today, we'll take a look at Sac City Unified's battle against the learning doldrums of summer.
Listen to Alternative Ed: Summer Learning
Nurture in Nature The busyness and chaos of everyday life often leads to stress that is managed in unhealthy ways, if at all. The "Nurture in Nature" women's retreat this weekend in Chico Creek Canyon is nutritionist and bodyworker Anasuya Basil'splan to help women minimize this stress and focus on wellness instead. The retreat, which Anasuya and psychotherapist Suzanne Lorenz will be co-leading, promises to engage women in de-stressing nature and creativity exercises. Anasuya is here with us to talk about her holistic philosophy and her upcoming retreat.
Listen to Nurture in Nature


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by Patrick Creadon (Director) Year Published: 2008 PG
Will the United States of America go broke in your lifetime? This documentary examines the myriad reasons why such a dangerous outcome is a distinct possibility. In the opinion of some, as the baby boomer generation ages, entitlement programs will be strained to the breaking point, and an astronomical defense budget and excessive national debt threaten to hurl the country over the financial brink.
Unit = Economics


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Cobholm Primary Academy is a thriving primary school and nursery serving the community around Cobholm in Great Yarmouth, on the Norfolk coast. We encourage our pupils to think big: we want them to have the widest horizons and the greatest success.
We are part of the Inspiration Trust family, a close-knit group family of schools in East Anglia. We work particularly closely with the Trust's group of primary and secondary schools in the town.
Our nursery provides high-quality pre-school education for children from three years old.
Mill Road
Great Yarmouth
01493 602653


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Use Your Mind to Beat Arthritis
You have a hidden weapon in your battle to master arthritis pain and stress. Although they're not a substitute for medication, mindfulness therapies can help you to better cope.
Need relief from arthritis pain and stress? As a complement to medications, you can harness the power of your mind to better cope.
A recent Norwegian study followed 68 people with painful joint inflammation, half of whom participated in mindfulness training in a group setting. Over several months, they were able to reduce their emotional stress and improve overall well-being compared with the other half, who received routine medical care and simply followed along with a CD of mindfulness exercises at home.
How does this "mind over matter" approach help arthritis? "If it works, we don't understand why," says Robert Shmerling, MD, a rheumatologist and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. But dissecting the mechanics may be unimportant if the end result is a better outlook on life. "It's possible that anyone with chronic pain can be helped with some of these approaches," Dr. Shmerling says. The only caveat is that they should not be used as a substitute for medication or other therapies, including those aimed at treating joint pain. "You can get joint damage and functional disability if you stop your medications," he warns.
Mindful Therapies for Arthritis Pain
Whether you like the idea of a group structure or would rather try a technique on your own, there are many effective cognitive and behavioral therapies to choose from. Check out these possibilities:
Meditation. Meditation helps you focus your attention, reduce stress, and improve feelings of well-being. There are different types of meditation to consider. In mindfulness meditation, you concentrate on your breathing (or another physical process) without reaction or judgment. With transcendental meditation, you repeat a mantra — a word or phrase — over and over to keep any thoughts from distracting you.
A study published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research found that people with arthritis who underwent eight weeks of mindfulness-based stress reduction therapy that included meditation experienced a significant decrease in their pain intensity and achieved improved quality of life. To begin a meditation practice, ask your doctor for recommendations for a qualified instructor, book, or audio CD.
Relaxation techniques. Sometimes, taking steps to relieve the stress of arthritis can bring about positive physical changes, like decreased blood pressure and slower breathing, which in turn can lead to less discomfort from chronic joint pain. One technique, called progressive muscle relaxation, centers on purposely tightening and then relaxing each muscle group in your body while following a breathing technique. A study published in the International Journal of Nursing Practice found that a small group of people with rheumatoid arthritis who practiced relaxation techniques in addition to taking their medication had less anxiety and depression than those who only took medication. If you're interested in trying relaxation, talk to your doctor first to set realistic expectations for your efforts. "You want to make clear what the potential benefit is," Shmerling says.
Biofeedback. Biofeedback therapy involves the use of a simple machine that measures blood pressure, muscle tension, and other physical markers. By watching the measurements on the machine as you use various calming techniques, you can learn how to better control these physical functions. You can even shop for a biofeedback machine and books on the topic online.
Cognitive behavioral therapy. This form of psychotherapy helps you change negative thought and behavior patterns by replacing them with more positive behaviors. If your rheumatoid arthritis symptoms are making you tired, this approach could be particularly helpful — two British studies found that group sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy reduced the impact of fatigue.
If you're not sure which mindfulness technique to try for your arthritis, Shmerling says to keep in mind that the best therapy is one that you truly believe may help. Going into it with a lot of skepticism may reduce its effectiveness.
Keep in mind that you may need to explore more than one approach before you hit on the right one, says Shmerling: "Different people respond better to different things." But if you could use some help coping with arthritis pain, one of these methods may just work for you.


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PHP 5.4.0 will arrive soon. The PHP team is working to bring to some very nice presents to PHP developers. In the previous release of 5.3.0 they had added a few language changes. This version is no different. Some of the other changes include the ability to use DTrace for watching PHP apps in BSD variants (there is a loadable kernel module for Linux folks). This release features many speed and security improvements along with some phasing out of older language features (Y2K compliance is no longer optional). The mysql extensions for ext/mysql, mysqli, and pdo now use the MySql native driver (mysqlnd). This release also improves support for multibyte strings.
Built-in Development Server
In the past, newcomers to PHP needed to set up a server. There was no built in server like a few other languages/web frameworks already had. If developing on *nix, a server needed to be set up with the right modules and the the files to tested needed to be copied over to the document root. Now, you can just run PHP with some options to get a server:
$ php -S localhost:1337
It runs in the current directory, using index.php or index.html as the default file to serve. A different document root can be specified as either an absolute or relative path:
$ php -S localhost:1337 -t /path/to/docroot
The server will log requests directly to the console. Interestingly, this server will not serve your static files unless your script return false. Existing frameworks will need to be modified to add in functionality that is commonly in rewrite rules. This is really all that is needed:
// If we're using the built-in server, route resources
if (php_sapi_name() == 'cli-server') {
* If the request is for one of these image types, return false.
* It will serve up the requested file.
if (preg_match('/\.(?:png|jpg|jpeg|gif)$/', $_SERVER["REQUEST_URI"]))
return false;
// Process the rest of your script
One of the inconveniences of the server is lack of support for SSL. Granted, it is meant for development purposes only. However, some projects I've worked on required testing with SSL. Perhaps there will be demand for this once it's out there.
An Overview of Traits
Traits are bits of code that other objects can use. Traits allow composing objects and they promote code reuse. The Self programming language, one of the precursors to the JavaScript language, introduced them. JavaScript, strangely, does not directly implement traits; instead it allows one to extend objects directly with other objects.
In PHP (and other languages), traits cannot be instantiated, only used to compose other objects. Traits do not imply inheritance, they just add methods to classes. They can be used with inheritance and interfaces. Traits could be used as standard implementations of interfaces, then one could easily compose classes that comply with certain interfaces.
Here is an example, demonstrating a simple use of traits:
* Define a trait called runner
trait runner {
// Does all the work
public function run() {
echo "Run, ".$this->name().", run!\n";
// Gets the name of the runner
// Must be implemented by the class using the trait.
abstract public function name();
* Define a class that uses the runner trait
class runningPerson {
// Use the runner trait
use runner;
// Used to store the person's name
protected $name; // Constructor, assigns a name to the person
public function __construct($name) {
$this->name = $name;
// Retrieves the name of the person, required by runner trait
public function name() {
return $this->name;
$gump = new runningPerson("Forrest");
When a class implements a method that is also defined in a trait it uses, the method in the trait takes precedence and overrides the class method. If two traits implement the same method, the conflict needs to be resolved using the
insteadof keyword, or given a new signature (only visibility and name can be changed) using the
as keyword.
* Define traits with conflicting function names
trait A {
public function do_something(){
echo "In A::do_something():\n";
for($i = 0; $i < 10; $i++) {
echo $i." ";
echo "\n";
trait B {
public function do_something(){
echo "In B::do_something():\n";
echo "Something else.\n";
* Define a class using both traits
* Prefers one over the other
class ExampleA {
use A, B {
B::do_something insteadof A;
* Define a class using both traits
* Renames a function to use both
class ExampleB {
use A, B {
A::do_something insteadof B;
B::do_something as something_else;
//Run examples
$testA = new ExampleA();
$testB = new ExampleB();
More examples reside at the current PHP documentation for traits. If that documentation is lacking in substance, Wikipedia's article on traits links plenty of background info.
Changes to Anonymous Functions
In PHP 5.3.x, working with anonymous functions needed a work around when stored in an array. The function needed to be stored in a temporary variable before it could be called. For instance:
$functions = array();
// assign an anonymous function to an array element
$functions['anonymous'] = function () {
echo "Hello, the parser needs to make up a name for me...\n";
// to call it you had to do this:
$temp = $functions['anonymous'];
Now, anonymous functions stored in an array can be called directly without first storing them in a temporary variable:
// assume $functions[] is still around.
Closures in Classes
Closures defined inside of a class are automatically early bound to the
$this variable. If a class method returns a closure, it retains access to the original class that defined it (along with all the public member properties and methods) no matter where it is passed. If assigned to a member property and called as a method, PHP issues a warning if it was called directly. If called as a local variable or by calling the
Closure::__invoke() method (which it inherits), PHP issues no warning.
* Class that generates closures that reference a public method.
class ClosureTest {
private $value;
public function setValue($value) {
$this->value = $value;
public function getValue() {
return $this->value;
public function getCallback() {
return function() {
return $this->getValue();
* Create a class that calls a closure.
class ClosureCaller {
private $callback;
public function setCallback($callback) {
$this->callback = $callback;
public function doSomething() {
// Since this is a member variable, call Closure::__invoke().
echo $this->callback->__invoke() . "\n";
// Set up a class to generate closures that reference itself
$test = new ClosureTest();
$closure = $test->getCallback();
echo $closure() . "\n";
// Test calling a closure from another class
$testCaller = new ClosureCaller();
Closures allow changing what object scope
$this is bound to by calling the
bindTo() method and passing in the new object to use as
Currently, no consensus exists around letting closures bound to an object access the private and protected methods of that class. Additionally, PHP still needs to iron out the details around binding closures to static classes. One can find more details about closures,
$this, and
Closure::bindTo() at https://wiki.php.net/rfc/closures/object-extension
There are a lot of established projects that may not immediately start taking advantage of these features, unless the community sees an obvious benefit to drastically changing their projects. When PHP 5.3.0 was released with namespace support and anonymous functions, new frameworks sprung up like Laravel (anonymous functions), FLOW3 (namespaces), Lithium (namespaces), and Symfony2 (namespaces). After PHP 5.4.0 is released, I'm sure new frameworks (or new versions, like Symfony2 vs. Symfony) will spring up around using traits to compose functionality and using the new
$this functionality in closures defined in classes. The built in server definitely has some potential for making it easier for developers to debug their apps. It's just a matter of time before frameworks start taking advantage of it.


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"Kill ratio" down, fewer militants killed for each soldier's life
By Ajai Shukla
Business Standard, 1st Dec 16
The tactical debacle in Nagrota on Tuesday, in which four militants stormed an army unit and killed seven soldiers, is the latest example of militant fidayeen (suicide attack) teams inflicting disproportionate casualties on army units. On New Year Day, a four-militant team entered the Pathankot air base, killing seven security personnel and injuring 20. On September 18, four militants struck an army camp in Uri, killing 19 and injuring 30 army jawans. In Nagrota yesterday, four fidayeen succeeded in killing seven soldiers, including two officers, before being gunned down themselves.
This is anathema for an army that frowns on a "kill ratio" poorer than four-to-six militants killed for the loss of each soldier. This success rate was maintained even during the most violent years in J&K. In 1999, 270 soldiers were killed while 1082 militants were eliminated (1 : 4 ratio); in 2000, it was 311 killed against 1,520 militants dead (1 : 4.9) ; in 2001, a total of 408 army men laid down their lives while killing 2020 militants (1 : 4.9); in 2002, 362 soldiers died while the army gunned down 1707 militants (1 : 4.75); and in 2003, the price paid for eliminating 1,494 militants was 258 soldiers dead (1 : 5.7).
In the last three years, with militancy on the ebb and the army operating more lightly, the ratio was two-to-four militants killed for each dead soldier. In 2013, 32 soldiers died, while killing 67 militants (1 : 2 ratio); in 2014, it was 31 soldiers dead, while gunning down 110 militants (1 : 3.5); and last year, 28 soldiers laid down their lives while killing 108 militants (1 : 3.8).
With army casualties on par with militant casualties this year, there is pressure to establish what has gone wrong. Even more worrying than casualty numbers is the jihadis' success in Pathankot, Uri and Nagrota at breaching what should have been tightly guarded perimeters, and gaining access to the lightly guarded interiors of military establishments and camps. A brigade commander notes: "We were fortunate that the jihadis could do serious damage only in Uri".
A fidayeen squad, which must attack from the open against sandbagged and protected sentry posts on the perimeters of army camps, should suffer heavy casualties while forcing an entry. That the militants entered unharmed in Pathankot, Uri and Nagrota speaks of poor siting of sentry posts and careless sentries.
Even more worrisome is the tactical sloppiness on the Line of Control (LoC) that allowed the bodies of several soldiers to be mutilated by militants or Pakistani soldiers. When soldiers leave their posts for patrolling or laying ambushes, they are at least a section, i.e. ten men. While adversaries can sneak across the LoC and ambush such a patrol, even cause casualties with an initial burst of fire, trained soldiers start fighting back immediately, according to basic infantry drills.
"Only in one situation can a patrol justifiably allow its dead or injured soldiers to fall into enemy hands --- and that is when every single member of that patrol is dead or badly wounded. Good soldiers do not leave comrades behind", says a retired general.
In a healthy army, alarm bells would have rung long ago, with basic tactical standards being demanded and subordinate commanders disciplined. Instead, tactical booboos keep getting repeated.
In a vibrant military, the next level of oversight comes from its veterans who, in military culture, are custodians of tradition and professional standards. Unfortunately, veterans gloss over declining professional standards, focusing instead on demands for better pensions, salaries and status --- important issues, but secondary to professional proficiency.
On television, on Tuesday, senior officers downplayed the Nagrota fiasco. One general argued: "I think it is an admission on the part of Pakistan that the surgical strikes [of November 29] were successful." Said another, on the question of lax perimeter security: "No matter how highly secure you are, [with militants] who are determined to kill and prepared to die, there is no hundred per cent defence against it… These attacks cannot be stopped at the target end, they can only be stopped at the source end."
In fact, the truth is quite the opposite. India can do little to stop jihadis at the "source end", i.e. Pakistan. Where the military can stop them is at the "target end" --- through better perimeter security, tactical drills and higher standards of accountability.
The final level of oversight --- the political leadership --- is the quickest to abdicate responsibility. Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson, BVL Narasimha Rao, declared on television after the Nagrota attack: "I do believe that after a series of such attacks, we ought to do everything possible to secure ourselves; at least secure our military establishments. But this is not a political [responsibility]… It's the army themselves… I think they are in a position to take any decision that they need to; they don't require any government's intervention in this."
The government's disinclination to get involved is remarkable, with tactical debacles like Uri having strategic effects, and creating an imperative for escalation that impacts India-Pakistan relations. At Uri, incompetent management of a camp's perimeter defence forced the government to order "surgical strikes". This had the potential for dangerous escalation, while ultimately doing little to deter Pakistani adventurism.
Ultimately, when the Indian Army enters full crisis mode, there is no doubting its ability and resilience. Kargil was an example when, in 1999, tactical and intelligence laxity were set aside and the situation recovered, albeit bloodily. In Pathankot, Uri and Nagrota, examples of individual competence partially retrieved situations that could have played out more damagingly. Yet, the army cannot afford to gift success to militants again. There remains the possibility that a windfall jihadi "success" --- such as the destruction of Pathankot's fighter aircraft; mass casualties in Uri, or wives and children taken hostage in Nagrota --- could allow a four-man fidayeen team to take India and Pakistan to war.


text:
Drawing on the conventions of Blade Runner-style science fiction, Daniel Joseph Martinez uses tropes from the genre--particularly the language of dystopian futurism, android aesthetics, and replicated consciousness--to make social, political, and philosophical provocations. The artist's strongest work borrows strategies from performance art but substitutes an automaton for the human body. His recent installation, 'The Fully Enlightened Earth Radiates Disaster Triumphant' (2006), is a life-size animitronic doppelganger of the artist clad in sanitarium-white cloth. Lying on the floor, the figure lashes and writhes as if the semi-conscious android was attempting, but failing, to function as a human. Inspiring an uneasy mix of empathy and detached curiosity, Martinez uses the viewer's relationship to the work to draw out the social and political problems that arise from the digitalization of cognizance. Like most of his work, the installation is purely a spectacle of failure, offering no conclusion to the chaos that it proposes. Taking on a more explicit political dimension, Martinez's project will represent the United States, through January 31, at the 10th Cairo International Biennial, where the installation is likely to draw comparisons to the instability caused by American attempts to 'rewire' the political workings of the Middle East. - Bill Hanley
Digital Art Weeks call
Will Pappenheimer:
Digital Art Weeks Festival 2007 (DAW07)
July 9 - July 14, 2007
ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
The Digital Art Weeks is concerned with the application of digital technology in the arts. It consists of a symposium, workshops, and performances. The program offers insight into current research and innovations in art and technology. Artists and researchers will examine the use of electronic media in articulating the performer's presence through the possibilities of the multi-sensuality of electronic media. The possibility of blurring the divide between public and performer to bond them through the powers of dissemination and inclusion inherent within the technology used will also be considered. The organizers of the Digital Art Weeks at ETH Zurich seek papers, posters, and performances on themes specific to performance using electronic media. We seek proposals that explore a concept of the Performative Surround in terms of how computer-mediated communication and dialog takes place between performers and viewers and how it tends to aid in dissolving the divide between performer and viewer.
PERFORMANCES topics include:
Media Enhanced Artwork in the areas of Performance, Dance and Sound-Art
Mobile Art & Music that explore Performer Networking and Audience Participation
Digital Puppetry including Enhanced, Waldo, Motion Capture, and Machinima
Laptop Music including Live-Coding, Live-Cinema & Live-Re-Scoring
Installations involving Net-poetry computer mediated communication
PAPERS, POSTERS and DEMONSTRATIONS topics include:
Current Research and Innovations in Media Enhanced Artwork and Technology
Issues Concerning the Live-Electronic Re-Embodiment of the Performance Artist
Approaches to Performer Networking and Audience Participation using Technology
Technology and Aesthetics of Digital Puppetry
Approaches to Live-Coding, Live-Cinema & Live-Re-Scoring
Novel Software Paradigms for Mixed-Media Processing and Authoring
PANEL topics include:
Software Innovations in Mediated Communication and the Arts
Live Cinema, Expanded Video, and Film Rescoring
Immersive Audio and ...
Originally posted on Rhizome.org Raw by Will Pappenheimer
Culture and code
A short recap of Creative Commons-founder Lawrence Lessig's evangelization talk (or rather motivation session for the converted) at 23C3 in Berlin about the differences between culture and code.
The fundamental change is the fact that code had been used to create things like printer-drivers and such. But - since a few years, code, or rather the tools that had been coded have become a main element in the creation of culture as we use and witness it today. Especially the whole mashup-culture is heavily relying on the techniques and the mindset of digital creation and open access to other's works for sampling from and building upon, etc. Popular examples are the anime music-clip subculture like the Muppet Hunter, the Jesus Christ the Musical-clip or lots of pieces that borrow from news networks' footage to make their own suggestive edits.
So you could regard this as the pinnacle of today's tools of creativity, even the most important contemporary form of expression, probably even replacing speech and text in an American mass-media context as the main means to reach people. Having said this (and that's a bit of a rhetorical trick), he argued that threatening the freedom of this kind of usage of media equals threatening the freedom of speech itself. But, and that's a fact, the nagging question is whether this form of expression is legal or not, both in the US and elsewhere. Lessig told of a recent meeting in NYC where lawyers tried to explain the four conditions which you have to fullfill to be able to work under the law of Fair use. It took four lawyers, one hour and in the end the audience was only more confused. To him he said, it seemed a bit like the the Soviet Union ...
Originally posted on we make money not art by Rhizome
Character Reference
We're in a group show opening January 18th at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery here in NYC with a bunch of other interesting artists.
We hope that if you're in NYC that you can come out and see the show!
Character Reference
January 19 - February 24 2007
Opening Reception: January 18, 6-8pm
The Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery is pleased to present "Character Reference"" a group show featuring an international group of contemporary artists.
The portrait as a genre has enjoyed an enduring popularity throughout the history of art. As depictions of power and wealth, or socialist realist studies, through its current pervasiveness in contemporary photography, the portrait has long played a key role in creating and questioning identity. Through the works in "Character Reference" the artists Oliver Laric, MTAA, Julian Opie, Lee Walton and Marina Zurkow all mine this rich genre. These artists do not simply employ the portrait as a means to depict specific individuals but rather use the form to represent broader cultural types.
Oliver Laric's "787 Cliparts" uses as building blocks the "clip art" which can be found embedded in Microsoft Word documents and Power Point presentations world over. These prepackaged images are seamlessly streamed together in a continuous dance to convey and question how diverse cultures and activities are stereotyped in the name of convenient communication.
MTAA's "Infinite Smile" is a video portrait in which the artists' faces hold a smile in an infinitely repeating loop. Their expressions, appear to change from glee to agony and back, highlighting the artifice of the smile and its function as a seller of goods and ideology, an indicator of happiness, and how we project our own assumptions on to the ubiquitous happy face.
In Julian Opie's "Suzanne Walking in Leather Skirt" and "Sarah Walking in Bra, Pants ...
Originally posted on MTAA Reference Resource by T.Whid
Leonardo Electronic Almanac Discussion
Kathryn Yusoff + Brett Stalbaum
Leonardo Electronic Almanac Discussion (LEAD): Vol 14 No 8 Wild Nature and the Digital Life Special Issue, guest edited by Dene Grigar and Sue Thomas :: Live chat with Open University research fellow Dr. Kathryn Yusoff and San Diego-based artist Brett Stalbaum, discussing their respective works on visualizations of the earth, landscape and environments. Moderated by Marcus Bastos and Ryan Griffis.
:: Chat date: Wednesday, January 3 :: 2 pm West Coast US / 5 pm East Coast USA / 10pm UK :: LEAD is an open forum around the Wild Nature and the Digital Life special issue of Leonardo Electronic Almanac.
Chat instructions are below. The LEA website includes instructions and a complete list of upcoming chats: http://leoalmanac.org/journal/Vol_14/lea_v14_n07-08/forum.asp.
Author Biographies
Dr. Kathryn Yusoff is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Open University. Her research interests center on re-thinking visual culture in relation to extreme environments and technologies of vision (particularly in Antarctica, Iceland and other cold regions). She has recently completed her Ph.D, Arresting Visions: A Geographical Theory of Antarctic Light at Royal Holloway, University of London (2004). Currently, she is curating the Interdependence Day project, a research and communications project mapping the ethical terrain of globalization and environmental change.
Brett Stalbaum is an artist specializing in information theory, database, and software development. A serial collaborator, he was a co-founder of the Electronic Disturbance Theater in 1998, for which he co-developed software called FloodNet, which has been used on behalf of the Zapatista movement against the websites of the Presidents of Mexico and the United States, as well as the Pentagon. Recent work includes Painters Flat, projects with the painter Paula Poole in the Great Basin, and ongoing projects with C5 Corporation, of which he is a founding member. Stalbaum holds a Masters ...
Originally posted on networked_performance by jo
Cell Phone Hacking
[...] I created a NES glitch/circuit bending theme for the Razr V3m/V3c. Instructions for installing all the pieces are on that Razr hacking site.
startup animation:
shutdown animation AND background images:
back screen image:
startup sound:
shutdown sound:
cred for images and sound:
Originally posted on qotile/slocum by Luap
Wolf Vostell
Sun In Your Head (1963)
Originally posted on Expanded Cinema by Rhizome
Engaging 'Intermedia'
In the mid-sixties, Fluxus artists began using the term 'intermedia' to describe work that was both interdisciplinary and composed of multiple media. The term highlights the intersection of artistic genres and has gradually emphasized performative work and projects that employ new technologies. The exhibition 'Engaging Technology: A History and Future of Intermedia,' on view through March 11 at Muncie, Indiana's Ball State Museum of Art, offers an art-historical survey of such activity. Artists Richard Bloes, Hans Breder, Adam Brown, Gary Hill, Dick Higgins, Jenny Holzer, Golan Levin, Nam June Paik, and Alan Rath show work that explores 'intersections between electronic media and various modes of art making--video, poetry, sculpture, performance, sound, typography, music, and installation.' Organizers John Fillwalk and Tania Schuler worked to explore the etymology of the term 'intermedia,' while emphasizing the practice of artists who 'are particularly interested in the relationship between a viewer and a work of art.' Fillwalk's curatorial statement argues that, 'In encountering that threshold of engagement, the viewer can enter into a partnership with the artist in shaping the direction of the work.' The implication is that these pioneering pieces have an ongoing legacy and flexible trajectory. Meanwhile, the show is a refreshing look back at the history of new media. If you can't visit it in person, check out the online video tour. - Marisa Olson
The Best of the Web 2006
Professional Internet publishers can define virtually any activity these days as work related, which can mean significant problems for your productivity. However, once a year, we have the opportunity to tally the results of our time wasting skills, which today means recapping the best and worst things we've seen on the web in 2006.

THE BEST OF THE WEB 2006

10. The Fishyawa - Bagagaga Bop!

At the end of August the Toronto Star ran a great article (* no longer available) on Animutation a form of flash animation that embraces the nastiest of graphics, and mutates the faces of pop stars. Probably the best of the videos I've seen in this genre, Bagagaga Bop represents an art form that developed naturally as a result of working with web tools and assets. No deep meaning can be found in this work, which is completely the point. Why struggle to find thought in a McGraphic? Deface a popstar, add a few babies, aliens and boats to a video, and back it with a song written in a language you don't understand. I've heard some grumbling that this form of animation is problematic because it exotifies Japanese music, and while I can't wholly dismiss the argument, I figure if I'm not bothered by the fact that somebodies face is being disfigured in the ...
Ah, thanks, Paddy. Hey, check out our Artbase, where we do host net art, and also our online net art exhibits, like those in the Time Shares series...
Originally posted on Art Fag City by Rhizome
Share {exchange|distribute} (A) 2007.01.05 r4WB1t5 micro.Fest
UPLOAD IMAGES: http://0p3nfr4m3w0rk.org/install
UPLOAD SOUNDS: http://r4wd10pl4y84ck800m80x0r.org/play
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + (A) 2007.01.05 r4WB1t5 micro.Fest + DISTRIBUTION RELIGION ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
2007.01.05 ONE NIGHT ONLY REALTIME A/V JAMBOREE 7PM - ON PILOT LIGHT 106 E Jackson Ave Knoxville, TN 37915 http://www.thepilotlight.com
OPENING 6PM - 11PM The Art Gallery of Knoxville 317 N Gay St Knoxville, TN 37917 Gallery Hours: Friday - Saturday (3-8pm) http://www.theartgalleryofknoxville.com
Please join us this Friday Night to share, {exchange|distribute}, create crossroads of digital punk, blues musics + freak folktronics as forms of protest + resistance to current socio-economic situations + political contingencies at (A) r4WB1t5 micro.Fest.
(A) r4WB1t5 rocks digital systems @ Pilot Light, with a realtime audio and video jamboree by r4WB1t5 participants from Knoxville, Chicago and beyond with:
Curt Cloninger - lab404 (Asheville NC .US) performing realtime audio video http://lab404.com/video/francis.html
Fecal Japan (Knoxville TN .US) playing experimental noise musics http://www.myspace.com/fecaljapanolecularization
Cindy Latham (Knoxville TN .US) screening digital video http://www.cindylatham.com
Operators of E.D.E.N. (Chicago IL .US) operating a utopian switch board system http://geocities.com/operatorsofeden
AND MORE! in an open cybernated jam session including these artists as well as the r4WB1t5 micro.Fest organizers themselves, Chris Molinski, jonCates, jon.satrom and jake elliott. a folksonema screening opens the night @ Pilot Light with metatagged media from all across the global interweb super sprawl.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + (A) r4WB1t5 micro.Fest @ The Art Gallery of Knoxville + ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++ @ The Art Gallery of Knoxville, upload art to 0P3NFR4M3W0RK (images) + R4WD10PL4Y84CK800M80X0R (audio) to make a mashed up cinema machine! 0P3NFR4M3W0RK projects your digital images into an open golden frame on the Gallery wall while R4WD10PL4Y84CK800M80X0R transits your audio files on a micro.Radio station broadcasting to olde skool ...
Originally posted on Rhizome.org Raw by Chris Molinski


text:
SOMATOM Scope
"Focus on the essence" VS. "Compromise on what matters" – Second best is not an option.
- 24-row adaptive detector array
- Max. number of slices per rotation: 16 (acquired) / 32 (reconstructed)1
- 70 cm gantry with ±30° tilt
System software and applications
- SureView
- WorkStream4D
- CT Angiography
- Vessel View, with Automated Bone Removal
- Adaptive Signal Boost
- eCockpit: eStart, eMode and eSleep
- iMAR (iterative Metal Artefact Reduction)1
- Dual Spire Dual Energy1
- IVR (Interleaved Volume Reconstruction)1
CARE applications
- CARE Filter
- CARE Topo
- CARE Dose4D
- CARE Dose Configurator
- CARE Bolus CT
- IRIS (Iterative Reconstruction in Image Space)
- SAFIRE (Sinogram Affirmed Iterative Reconstruction)1
FAST applications
- FAST Positioning
- FAST Planning
- FAST kV
- FAST Wizard
- FAST Contact
- FAST Spine1
- FAST 3D Align1
Installation requirements
- Minimal system footprint: 8 m²
- Power consumption ≤ 40 kVA
UFC – leading-edge detector material
Using Siemens' proprietary Ultra Fast Ceramics (UFC), SOMATOM Scope provides excellent image detail even at low radiation doses. This industry-leading material2 – also used in our top-of-the-line scanners – achieves exceptional overall efficiency thanks to high X-ray absorption combined with extremely effective conversion of X-ray energy into visible light, reducing noise in the images.
SOMATOM Scope features the latest version of UFC, which has been continuously improved over the last years.
Thanks to the SureViewTM reconstruction algorithm, SOMATOM Scope can produce first-rate images even at higher scan speeds. This feature provides that the scanner selects the right pitch value for the defined coverage and scan time, while retaining slice thickness and image integrity. This can be particularly valuable for performing submillimeter lung scans without reducing axial image quality.
Adaptive Signal Boost
Even in the most challenging cases, SOMATOM Scope produces excellent image quality. Adaptive Signal Boost amplifies low signals when high attenuation is present – such as when imaging obese patients or patients with metal implants. This reduces
streak artifacts, ensuring correct HU values are maintained without compromising on spatial resolution. By analyzing signal quality and integrating information from neighboring detector elements into areas with low signals, it can reduce image noise by up to 50%3.
IRIS – efficient iterative reconstruction
Iterative Reconstruction in Image Space (IRIS) delivers the same image noise reduction as raw-data-model-based iterative reconstruction, but in a fraction of the time – as the raw data is reconstructed only once. This innovative technology is ideal for cost-effective scanners: it significantly enhances spatial resolution while lowering image noise by up to 25%, enabling further dose reductions across a wide range of clinical applications. This is of particular benefit to children and patients requiring multiple scans.
FAST Planning
Streamlining scan preparation is a vital factor for reducing examination time. FAST Planning automatically detects anatomic regions of interest (ROI) and sets the scan parameters accordingly. This makes CT scan set-up simple and intuitive, even for less experienced technicians. In addition, FAST Planning helps increase patient safety. The automatic parameter setting enables precise organ coverage without overscanning, and limits the need for rescans due to incorrect positioning.
FAST Spine
FAST Spine1 helps streamline: the preparation of anatomically aligned spine reconstructions. The software detects and labels vertebrae within a predetermined scan area, and calculates their position for anatomically correct image reconstruction. This delivers a complete spine reconstruction in just 30 seconds3, while reducing the risk of mislabeling associated with manual preparation.
FAST 3D Align
Even in challenging situations, such as working with uncooperative patients, in pediatrics or in trauma, you need to deliver timely clear clinical findings. FAST 3D Align1 automatically corrects misalignment of anatomic structures and aligns them to fit the selected reconstruction plane – for highly automated workflows. Moreover, it allows for side-by-side comparisons and adjusts the recon field of view selection. This eliminates manual steps and repeat reconstructions, saving effort, by delivering ready-to-read data.
The unique eCockpit suite, standard on all SOMATOM Scope scanners, enables more cost-efficient operation. The entire working day of a CT system was taken into consideration, from start-up to scanning to scan breaks. The features eStart, eMode and eSleep extend the scanner's lifespan by preventing unnecessary wear and tear, and reduce overhead costs by minimizing energy consumption. And thanks to a high degree of automation, the features can be easily integrated into everyday workflows.
Produtos relacionados, Serviços e Recursos
Os produtos/recursos aqui mencionados não estão disponíveis comercialmente em todos os países. Devido a razões regulatórias, sua disponibilidade no futuro não pode ser garantida. Entre em contato com a Siemens Healthineers da sua região para obter mais detalhes.
2Based on the number of installed systems using UFC.
3Data on file.


text:
Megan Fox probably wouldn't be the first person that would come to mind when choosing a spokesperson for a laptop. On the other hand, the Acer Aspire S7 Ultrabook isn't your ordinary tech product.
Fox, with the help of her Aspire S7, showed off her scientific side as she sought out to crack the code of dolphin communication. Pretty hefty stuff for a Hollywood starlet.
The Aspire S7 with Windows 8 features a sleek, thin body and a HD-touchscreen to boot, which helped give Megan a computer that's the best of both laptop and tablet worlds.
The 13-inch model of the S7 also comes with a Gorilla Glass 2 casing, and weighs in at 2.24 pounds. It's not only light and extremely portable, but it's also sturdy. That's important when having to deal with a 700-pound mammal every day.
The illuminated keyboard means never having to worry about typing in the dark (very helpful when writing those research notes late at night) and the Acer Twinair cooling system means no more worrying about scalding hot laptops on your legs.
But don't just take my (or Megan's) word. The Aspire S7 was recently named an International CES Innovations 2013 Design and Engineering Awards Honoree.
Watch the clip above to see Megan Fox undergo a transformation of her own.
Patrick Burns is a writer from Plano, Texas. Find him online here.


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News release from Administrative Office of the Courts:
Nashville, Tenn. – The Tennessee Supreme Court has held that a trial court erred by failing to follow appropriate procedures after learning that a juror contacted a witness via Facebook during a murder trial.:
William Darelle Smith was charged with the 2007 shooting death of Zurisaday Villanueva. During Mr. Smith's trial in 2010, Dr. Adele Lewis, an assistant medical examiner, testified about the cause of death. Following her testimony, one of the jurors, Glenn Scott Mitchell, communicated with Dr. Lewis through her Facebook account. Mr. Mitchell and Dr. Lewis were acquaintances, and Mr. Mitchell complimented Dr. Lewis on her testimony.
Dr. Lewis informed the trial judge of these communications while the trial was still underway. Rather than taking immediate action, the trial judge informed the attorneys of the communication and sentenced Mr. Smith after the jury returned a guilty verdict. The trial court also denied Mr. Smith's request to question the jury before they left the courthouse and later denied Mr. Smith's request for a new trial because of these communications. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed Mr. Smith's conviction and life sentence.
In a unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court reversed the decision of the trial court and the Court of Criminal Appeals regarding the communications between Dr. Lewis and Mr. Mitchell. The Court decided that when communications between a juror and a third party are brought to a trial court's attention, the trial court must immediately inform the parties and conduct a hearing on the record to establish the nature and extent of the improper communications and to determine whether the communications affected the outcome of the trial. The Court sent the case back to the trial court to conduct a proper hearing.
To read the State v. William Darelle Smith Opinion, authored by Justice William C. Koch, Jr., visit the Opinions section of TNCourts.gov.


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SUNY Canton's First-Year Enrollment Up 20 Percent
For the second consecutive year, SUNY Canton has reached an all-time enrollment high. More than 3,300 students are enrolled for the Fall 2009 Semester, topping last year's previous record of 3,056 students.
First-year, full-time students recorded the largest percentage increase among student categories with a new freshmen class of 972 students. That's a 20 percent increase from last year's large incoming class of 810 and a 32 percent increase for the full-time, first-year class of two years ago.
"We are strategically growing our way through the statewide SUNY budget crisis," said SUNY Canton President Joseph L. Kennedy. "We've had a remarkable response to our in-demand, career-oriented degrees, particularly our newest bachelor's degrees in Nursing and Graphic and Multimedia Design. Students are recognizing the great value of a SUNY Canton education."
While enrollments are generally up throughout the SUNY system, SUNY Canton's freshmen increase is likely among the largest. Overall College enrollment as of Wednesday morning was 3,343 students. Prior to last year, the College's record enrollment was during the 1975-76 academic year when 2,833 students were enrolled.
"We've had back-to-back extraordinary recruiting years accompanied by a steady growth of continuing and returning students," said Director of Admissions Jonathan Kent. "That has also allowed us to increase our selectivity, particularly in our most competitive programs. We denied nearly twice as many applicants this year than last year."
International and online programs have also seen dramatic growth over the past several years. More than 300 Bosnian students will be taking courses online from the American University of Bosnia-Herzegovina. They are among the total of more than 1,600 new students this year, which includes 211 full-time transfer students.
"As one of the largest businesses in this area, SUNY Canton recognizes its obligation to help the local economy battle through tough economic times," said Kennedy. "We strive to be a leader in that area. We have the ability to do that by creating desirable, modern, innovative academic programs that attract more students. Those students come to the North Country and make an immediate, significant impact on the area's businesses."
The College has experienced dramatic growth over the last several years. Enrollment is up nearly 10 percent from last year, 28 percent from two years ago, and more than 60 percent from the 1998-99 academic year, when there were a total of 2,078 students.
"Our four-day academic week and our online classes are very popular," added Kent. "They are among the many factors that explain why more and more students are choosing SUNY Canton. This year, we have also welcomed more than 50 former General Motors and Alcoa employees from Massena who are looking to transform or ignite their careers."
Applications from prospective students increased 22 percent in the last year, 37 percent from two years ago, and were 77 percent higher than the Fall 2000 semester.
Northland Associates of Syracuse, a company that employs and subcontracts numerous local workers, is currently constructing SUNY Canton's new $41 million athletic facility. The College also plans to begin building a new residence hall within the next year or two. SUNY Canton is expecting to add as many as five new bachelor's degrees within the next year, including Sports Management, Civil and Environmental Engineering Technology, and Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Technology. Renovations were recently completed on the College's nursing laboratories, and renovation work is nearly complete in Nevaldine Technology Center, home of the College's Engineering Technology programs.
SUNY Canton offers a wide variety of career-driven bachelor's, associate, and certificate programs, as well as three master's degrees in conjunction with SUNYIT, Utica. Most of SUNY Canton's new four-year programs are designed so students can take them on-campus, online, or both. SUNY Canton OnLine features more than 100 courses online each semester. The College's athletic teams belong to the NAIA's Sunrise Conference, enabling students to compete in their respective sports for four years. Construction is now underway for the College's new Convocation, Athletic, and Recreation Center.
Media inquiries should be directed to Gregory Kie, Media Relations Coordinator, or call 315/386-7528.
Tags: 20%, American University in Bosnia and Herzegovina, enrollment, four-day week, GMMD, growth, international, Jonathan Kent, Joseph Kennedy, nursing, record


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@ JPnyc:
Sure that will work, but do you need to have the contact set up first. That could be a bit limiting if you get an e-mail address from a mutual aquaintance for example? I am afraid I am rather lazy and wait for an incoming mail before setting up a contact record.
Another problem with that would be like I had down the local bar last night (why is it none of you seem surprised at that?). A friend asked me for advice on some applications for his new Windows 7 box..............this being his first PC at home, and I think he uses XP at work.
I said I would look at my Win 7 machine and get him a list of what I used and the links to it. He gave me his new (top secret) e-mail addy. Now, if he had a contacts only system and didn't realise the implications, I would send him an e-mail that he wouldn't get?...............question is: would I get a failed delivery message, or would it just fall into a black hole?
Not a great issue as I suppoose we will both be in the bar again shortly, but it could be a problem with a more sporadic or casual aquaintance?
I am more inclined towards westin's suggestion of a better spam filter. One of the mail providers I use (Yahoo!) seems to have a quite efficient one.........I end up retrieving about 90% of it, because it isn't spam as such. Sure it is "unsolicited", but is from outfits that I have dealt with or their business partners.
Hey! if I have done business with someone and they don't tell me about new deals they have going, I am not a happy bunny......customer loyalty? what about supplier loyalty?. That said, it is an account I use specifically for that sort of thing.
I guess I just don't get much true spam, if any...........but I will only give a regular e-mail addy to a personal aquaintance or an outfit I would trust enough to send money to
Which takes me back to my earlier question: have you considered why you are receiving this spam?
Not if the item was ladies panties..............pre-filled of course ...........I'd want the URLThe best we can do is, if we know anyone personally who visits or buys from a web site that spammed them, beat them senseless.
Now, to move the thread on: I really don't see a solution in the short term.
Like a lot of internet problems, it stems from the fact that it is the WWW (World Wide Web) encompasses all sorts of regimes and cultures. We really only have pretty widespread agreement on a few fundamentals such as fraud and child pr0n?
JPnyc has the fundamental answer............ if nobody bought from a spam ad then there wouldn't be a point in them, and they would stop (other than for ladies panties, as previously mentioned)
Looking at spam (other people's) I note that most of it is either sex, drugs or get rich quick. Many of them are probably totally fraudulent???
Unfortunately there are some very sad and desperate people out there, and I have read that it only takes a very minute fraction of responses to make the exercise economically viable?
I do feel that ISPs are currently shirking what I would consider to be their responsibilities in this area. To hell with the RIAA and MPAA...........they should find a business model that doesn't come from the 1960's............ the ISPs should be made to take a more proactive role in real issues.
They are quick enough to "throttle" traffic when it suits them, so they can spot a spamming zombie if they wanted to, and stop it?
Anyone got other ideas or comments?


text:
The traffic regulations describe how a road user must behave on public roads, so that traffic flows safely and smoothly. It is expected that all road users know and apply the traffic regulations. Sometimes traffic regulations will appear a bit unclear. However, all rules in the regulations have been well thought through, so it is also important to know the underlying line of thought.
Driving is a very complex skill, because you often have to perform with different actions at the same time. Here you will find the basis for safe driving.
The vehicles of the residents and their visitors, the vehicles for delivery included.
A device installed on the carriageway and intended to channel vehicles traffic. The traffic conductor consists of a road marking, either from an elevation on the carriageway or from both elements together.
A guard rail or crash barrier is a barrier placed next to roads to prevent vehicles from leaving the road in a lateral direction, tilting or traversing the central reservation. This reduces injury to occupants and damage to the car as much as possible.
A barrier is a closing mechanism that serves to control the use of a passage or access. Other names that are used are barrier, lever and barel. There are both hand-operated barriers and barriers that are moved by means of a drive.
A municipal parking card specifically intended for persons who have their main residence or domicile in the municipality, zone or street indicated on the map.
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Open play is an inclusive play session for children of all abilities to visit the centre and have a play with their grown ups! Children must be supervised at all timeFind out more »
Tiddly Boppers classes are fun movement classes for toddlers from walking to age 4. Using music, actions and a few props such as hoops, ribbons, shakers and bubbles we explore rhythm, co-ordination and have a few giggles along the way. The aim is to build the boppers confidence in an environment where they can express … ContinuedFind out more »


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Congratulations are in order for Justin Bartha and Lia Smith.
The Hangover and New Normal star, 35, and his personal trainer wife welcomed their first child – a daughter – on Sunday, April 13, Us reports.
No further information has been announced at this time.
The couple were wed in January in Oahu, Hawaii.
A-list guests such as Reese Witherspoon and her husband, agent Jim Toth, Jesse Eisenberg and Ken Jeong enjoyed a reception at Kualoa Ranch following the ceremony.


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Dinner Tonight: Mushroom 'Migas' Recipe
Your source for quick recipe every single week day.
There are two rather different dishes known as migas—there's a version from Spain, the original, which is made with leftover bread, garlic, and sometimes a little meat such as chorizo or bacon. But there's also the Tex-Mex style which replaces leftover bread with tortillas and includes eggs, making a sort of breakfast scramble. I've made Texas migas already, but finding a Spanish recipe wasn't so easy. People use "migas" rather loosely, with pretty much the only common element being bread (sometimes in crumbs, sometimes in chunks soaked in water, sometimes even calling not for bread but flour).
Eventually I got sidetracked with this recipe from Bitten, which is not really authentic, but it does have bread in it. Butter-sauteed mushrooms give the dish all the meatiness it needs, then chunks of bread are crisped up in more butter and the leftover mushroom juices, bulking out a straightforward sauteed mushroom recipe into a light dinner. A sprinkling of parsley and a splash of lemon juice balance the flavors.
- Yield:2
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 pound mushrooms, preferable a mixture, chopped
- 2 cups roughly torn chunks of bread
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- Juice of half a lemon
- Salt and pepper to taste
In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, shallot, then salt and pepper to taste. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes.
Remove the mushrooms and set aside. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in the skillet and add the bread. Cook, stirring only occasionally, until the bread is beginning to crisp but is still chewy.
Add the mushrooms back to the pan and toss to combine. Check for seasoning, then toss with the parsley and lemon juice. Serve immediately.


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There are reports out of China that tensions are flaring over Diablo III. Since the game hasn't been officially released in Mainland China yet, some Chinese players are acquiring copies of the game and then logging onto Asian servers in other regions.
This influx is apparently causing servers to lock up and give the infamous Error 37. This is, in turn, pissing off Korean players who are blaming Chinese gamers for the connection problems. That's why some Korean Diablo III players are even calling for Chinese players to be banned from the servers—something that is obviously pissing off paying players in Taiwan, who are getting lumped in with the Mainlanders.
According to Tech in Asia, the official Korean Diablo III site is becoming a multi-lingual feud with Chinese, Taiwanese, and Korean players going at it. Blizzard is looking for a workaround that will please gamers in all three countries. I know where it can start: getting rid of Error 37. Just a suggestion!
韩国暗黑3玩家向暴雪申请禁止中国IP引争议 [Sina via TechInAsia]


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Achievements since Ministerial Council 2008: Director General's review
Collective European successes in space since the 2008 Ministerial Council are many, and are the result of a sustained commitment by Member States, researchers, industry and other stakeholders.
Decisions taken years ago and supported through continuous commitment by Member States have borne their fruits, at all levels.
2008 was a particularly key year, as Ministers reinforced their trust in ESA and in its programme proposals. In a context of already dim forecasts for the economy, they agreed on a budget nearing €10 billion, showing their deeply rooted conviction that space boosts growth, innovation and knowledge for the benefit of European citizens.
As a result of this steady support to ESA, 2009–2012 is an unprecedented period marked by achievements in number, in quality and in relevance to the economy and society, by contributing to increasing knowledge, fostering innovation and competitiveness of the European industrial sector and enabling services.
Highlights 2008-2012
|Increasing knowledge
|Fostering innovation & competitiveness
|Enabling services
|Launch of Herschel and Planck missions
|Launch of Hylas-1
|Launch of Metop-B
|Launch of Goce , SMOS & Cryosat-2
|Launch of Proba-2
|Launch of MSG-3
|Rosetta pursued its flight and operations, and entered hibernation in deep space
|Satellite Automatic Identification System (AIS) programme initiated
|EGNOS became operational
|Completion of Mars500 study
|Qualification launch of Vega & 1st Soyuz launch from French Guiana
|Launch of first two Galileo satellites
|More than 100 experiments performed in Columbus lab (ISS)
|52 successful Ariane 5 launches in a row
|10 years of service for Envisat
|Selection of 6 new ESA astronauts & F. De Winne became 1st European Commander of ISS
|Technological breakthroughs achieved through Technology programmes
|A decade of effective operation of the International Charter on 'Space and Major Disasters'
|Installation of Tranquility node with Cupola on ISS
|Alphabus platform approved for launch on Alphasat in 2013
|43 feasibility studies and 19 demonstration projects initiated by IAP
|Completion of ATV-2 & ATV-3 missions
|Programmatic decisions taken on exploitation of Ariane 5, ISS and continuation of EDRS programme
|Elaboration of GMES services with the EU
|Observation & analysis of solar events with SOHO Proba-2 & Solar Weather Expert Service Centre
|ESA BICs provided opportunities and innovative ideas to use space technology in non-space fields
|Network and ground operations cross-support to China, Russia & US


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If you've already pored over the pre-season interviews, marveled at the retro fashions and doodled on a minimalist "falling Don" subway poster or two, then it's time to click on Mad Men: The Game. It's worth it.
Created by the Fine Brothers (who gave the same nostalgic treatment to Saved by the Bell), think of it as a Game Boy-era diversion for the AMC set. Beginning with a frame-by-frame conversion of the title sequence into a pixelated video game cut scene, the game finds Don Draper in his corner office doing what he does in every episode of the show: drinking scotch and pondering life's unanswerable questions.
(MORE: Mad Men Is (Almost) Back!)
From there, it morphs into "Choose Your Own Adventure" mode, but instead of turning pages you're hopping to new YouTube clips in Peggy, Pete, and Betty-themed storylines. And, finally, you're in control of Don and his dubious decision-making capabilities.
So, do you give in to Pete Campbell's demands after he blackmails you by revealing he knows you're really Dick Whitman? Do you promote Peggy after she saves an account with a sharp idea, or steal the credit? And do you take off your shoes outside of Bert Cooper's fastidiously designed office, or just barge in? These are important questions.
And, depending on how it shakes out, Don will wind up with a nice confidence-boost for the day, finding inner peace, dying a grisly death or, uh, inadvertently causing World War III. Yes, it's been too long since an actual episode of Mad Men arrived.


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Smartphone users are now finding ways to escape texting fees by using applications bypassing wireless carriers.
In the last six months of 2010, the number of texts grew only slightly -- 8.7 percent -- and the smallest amount in texting's decade of existence, the Wall Street Journal reported. The reason? More users are turning to apps that let users send message via the Internet, not their wireless carriers, and not racking up short message service fees.
However, some wireless carriers say they aren't worried about losing texting fees just yet.
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
Mark Collins, AT&T's senior vice president for data and voice products, expects high demand for texting plans to persist for a long time, because texting, unlike the Apple or BlackBerry messaging services, allows cellphone users to send instant messages to people with different devices.
Collins should be worried. Although the apps got a boost of recognition recently as Apple unveiled its iMessage, similar apps have been available for download on iTunes and the Android Market for the last year -- and BlackBerry Messenger has kept users tied to the BlackBerry platform for the better part of a decade. (The WSJ also reported that Google is working on an Android version, too.)
Our favorite independent app that provides relief from SMS fees is GroupMe, a free group chat/messaging app available on Android, iOS and BlackBerry platforms and their various app markets. It enables users to text anyone in their select group as an in-app group chat rather than SMS, even their Moms who only have a feature phone -- because it works on any phone that texts.
Both Google and Apple should be paying more attention to this innovative start-up that embraces almost all cell phones and platforms.


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Free Watershed Academy webcast is second in Clean Water Act series
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hosting the second in a free series of webcasts, "Introduction to Water Quality Standards," on the Clean Water Act (CWA) on Thursday, Sept. 10. The CWA is the cornerstone of surface water quality protection in the U.S. and sets broad goals for restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the nation's water. Water quality standards (WQS) are aimed at translating the broad goals of the CWA into water body-specific objectives.
This webcast will cover the WQS, which are the foundation of the water quality-based pollution control program mandated by the CWA. The webcast will highlight the three major components of state and tribal water quality standards—designated uses, water quality criteria and antidegradation—and will include a case study of how one state is working to strengthen its WQS program.
Future webcasts will highlight other aspects of the CWA including monitoring and assessment, total maximum daily loads, programs for managing point sources and nonpoint sources and wetland protection.
Speakers: Dr. Thomas Gardner, environmental scientist, U.S. EPA's National Water Quality Standards Branch; Heather Goss, physical scientist, U.S. EPA's National Water Quality Standards Branch; and William (Bill) Cole, research scientist, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Water Quality Standards Unit.
The Watershed Academy is offering a certificate to everyone who attends at least 1 hour and 30 minutes of the webcast. To register, visit http://www.epa.gov/watershedwebcasts.


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Before you begin
Check these things:
- Turn on Location Services. Go to Settings > Privacy, then select Location Services to turn it on.
- Make sure that Significant Locations is on. Go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services > System Services > Significant Locations, then turn on Significant Locations. You may be asked to enter your passcode.
- Turn on Show Parked Location. Go to Settings > Maps, then turn on Show Parked Location.
- Make sure that your iPhone is paired to CarPlay or Bluetooth in your car.
Find your car
When you leave your vehicle, your iPhone disconnects from Bluetooth, which lets Maps mark the location of your car. To edit your car's location, open Maps and tap the Parked Car button or add a photo of where you parked.
When you're ready to go back to your car, follow these steps:
- Open Maps.
- Tap the Search field, then choose Parked Car from the suggestions list.
- Tap Directions and choose Drive, Walk, Transit, or Ride.
- Select the route that you prefer. When you're ready, tap Go.
To remove a Parked Car pin, tap the Parked Car button on the map. Then swipe up on the menu card, and tap Remove Car. Maps won't mark your parked car if you frequently park in the same location, like at home or work.
Learn more
Use Maps to get directions with real-time traffic information, explore and find new places with Siri, and more.


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Talkie of the Week: Disney Series
USA 1964, 139 minutes, Technicolor, Walt Disney Productions, Distributed by Buena Vista Distribution. Based on Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers. Screenplay by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, Directed by: Robert Stevenson. Cast: Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson, Glynis Johns, Karen Dotrice, Matthew Garber, Hermione Baddeley, Reta Shaw, Reginald Owen, Don Barclay, Arthur Treacher, Elsa Lanchester, Marjorie Bennett, Arthur Malet, Ed Wynn, Jane Darwell.
Plot summary: Mary Poppins is the kind of nanny every child dreams of. She's lovely, adventurous and full of magic, or simply supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
Review: Who does not know her, Mary Poppins, the bewitching nanny played by Julie Andrews? Arriving with the changing wind, she knows how to make a big entrance in the lives of the Banks family at a time when they need her most. The children of the household, Jane and Michael, have made a habit out of swapping personnel. They do not wish to be handled by stiff-lipped elders, they want to explore the world instead. Mary Poppins, upon arrival, seems to be just another dragon in disguise, another grown-up determined to take the fun out of their lives. However, when she slides up the stairs and opens her bag full of wondrous magic, Jane and Michael change their mind. They open their heart to the new nanny, a lady who believes in following the rules as much as bending them. Before she appeared, from heaven or out of thin air, chores and duty killed every ounce of joy in them, but with Mary, even the dullest of tasks turns into an adventure for the Banks offspring and ultimately also for their parents.
Rewarded with an Academy Award for her performance, Julie Andrews breathed life into a character who turned childhood longings into reality. Based on P.L. Travers' first book, the silver screen version of Mary Poppins was dulcified, her story abridged to fit into 139 minutes of live action entertainment interwoven with musical numbers and animated sequences. Versatile, stage-tested and equipped with a genuinely clear voice, the Ms. Andrews gave her silver screen debut in Disney's masterpiece adaptation and proved she was the perfect choice for her first Hollywood alter ego. Although previously trumped by Audrey Hepburn for the screen version of My Fair Lady, Andrews was rewarded with the biggest laurels of industry success and thus extended her career from stage to film. Timeless in quality and style, Mary Poppins has since remained one of Julie Andrews' most memorable films, a Disney classic children love to revisit as much as adults.
An instant success upon release in 1964, the film was re-released in 1973 and rerun on television on a regular basis. Also made available on home video and DVD, Mary Poppins has managed to stay entertaining and fresh over the duration of five decades. On December 10, 2013, the motion picture has now also been announced to be released on Blu-ray as a 50th Anniversary Edition, another milestone in the history of a film that still enchants my heart and always revives my belief in the power of imagination.


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Story highlights
- The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the individual mandate
- Jill Horwitz and Helen Levy: Now it's time to focus on key goal of controlling health care costs
- Affordable Care Act contains provisions that can improve health care system, they say
- Horwitz, Levy: Court's decision opens a new chapter in our history as we try out new policy
Now that the Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the individual mandate, it's time to focus on what has always been a key goal of health reform: Controlling health care costs.
No matter how you count it, health care spending is large -- and growing at a worrisome rate. In 2011, Americans spent $2.7 trillion on health care, almost 18% of our GDP. The federal government spends more on health care than on defense, Social Security or any other single expenditure category. Investments that could have gone into important areas like education or infrastructure are instead diverted into footing our health care bills.
The individual mandate by itself will have little effect on costs. This is because the main effect of the mandate is to add a relatively small number of people, about 15 million, to the insurance rolls. The vast majority of Americans, more than 250 million, already get their health insurance on the job or from public programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. The mandate alone was never going to change their health spending patterns. However, this does not mean that the court's decision will have no effect on health spending.
The Affordable Care Act contains many provisions intended to drive the health care system toward providing greater value.
It would not be an overstatement to say that, with the exception of eliminating the tax break for employer-sponsored health insurance, the health reform law contains almost every idea that anyone, Democrat or Republican, has had in the past 10 years, about how to increase quality and efficiency in the health care system.
These ideas include accountable care organizations, patient-centered medical homes, value-based purchasing in Medicare, incentives for hospitals to provider better, safer and more efficient care, an excise tax on "Cadillac" health plans, and better information about treatment effectiveness to help patients and providers make informed decisions.
The value-based purchasing program, for example, will change the way Medicare pays hospitals for inpatient care. Instead of paying hospitals for the amount of care they provide, Medicare payments will now also depend on the quality of care provided. The idea is that by following best practices, hospitals will forgo unnecessary care, help patients recover faster and spend less.
Some of these reforms targeting the health care delivery system are novel, and experts are rightly cautious in their predictions about what they can accomplish and whether they will "bend the curve" of health care spending until it is sustainable.
There are other ideas out there on how we can reduce the federal government's obligations -- notably the plan advanced by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, which takes the brute force approach of simply shifting costs from the government to states and individuals. The Affordable Care Act is the better choice. Instead of papering over our problems by shifting ever-increasing costs to those least able to afford care or depriving people of the services they need, the health reform law applies the most creative thinking to address the roots of our spending problems.
Today, the court gave us the green light to get on with seeking solutions to the underlying problem of inefficient spending. It permitted the government to do what it should, to innovate in the face of a seemingly intractable social problem. Not everyone is happy with the decision. But no one can deny that it opens a new chapter in our history as we move forward on a bold and necessary policy experiment.
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Snooki Is Pregnant Again!
The GTL life is a thing of the past for this 'Jersey Shore' alum. Snooki, aka Nicole Polizzi, is pregnant and expecting her second child.
Dad is her fiance Jionni LaValle. They are already parents to son Lorenzo, 19 months and apparently very scared of Santa.
The Snook confirmed the news to Us, admitting that the pregnancy was very much planned and something she and LaValle have been working on since fall. They intentionally wanted their children to be close in age so Lorenzo could have a baby brother or sister sooner than later. Both she and LaValle are 26.
"Jionni and I were trying to have our second baby since November, so every month we kept taking tests," the former reality TV queen said.
Snooki confirmed that she is "due in the fall, around my wedding time. Busy year!" She also insisted that they will not be changing their wedding plans to accommodate her baby-to-be.
"I can clarify that our wedding is still on, and we are madly in love with each other," she said. Yeah, well that's obvious. That's how the baby bump happened in the first place.
She finished, "We've waited long enough and cannot wait."
A pregnancy while planning a wedding presents several unique challenges. In addition to the normal bodily changes a woman experience when preggers, including tiredness, bloating and mood swings due to hormones, Snooki also has to account for her expanding baby bump and her wedding dress.
She is remaining active and working out safely with a trainer and is "more conscious of the bad foods I eat. I refuse to be in labor again for 27 hours, and being active definitely helps that. I also want to look somewhat in shape for my wedding. So along with still being a healthy pregnant woman, I still want to be strong and fit!"
Snooki's BFF JWoww, aka Jenni Farley, is also pregnant, expecting her first child. It's a girl. So the extended 'Jersey Shore' brood will be close in age, too!


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And now, for more news about "Jersey Shore" cast recompense that makes you sad you went to college: DJ Pauly D rakes in a cool half-million a month.
The New York Daily News reports the disc jockey brings in the dough from various outlets—deejay gigs, publicity stunts, endorsements, his spin-off, and the thing that started it all, "Jersey Shore" itself.
His co-stars aren't doing too badly, either. Rutgers University paid pint-sized fist-pumper Snooki $32,000 to speak about her GTL life.
U.S. & World
We hope these kids are investing wisely, though. If the mayor of Florence, Italy is indeed insisting several harsh restrictions like no filming in clubs, and no public drunkenness, it's good to have a nest egg.
Selected Reading: NYDN, Life & Style, NBC New York


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Suing NIFA is no solution for Nassau
Nassau's new lawsuit against its financial control board is both ill-advised and dangerous to the county's fiscal health.
The county claims that the Nassau Interim Finance Authority has blocked initiatives, such as creative borrowing to cover multimillions of dollars in successful property tax appeal refunds, necessary to balance the county's books.
But too often NIFA has been the lone voice of fiscal sanity in a county that for decades has favored temporary half-fixes to making hard or politically unpopular decisions on real ones.
Nassau is hardly the only county in New York State having problems. But a control board -- even one saddled, as NIFA is, with the flawed legislation that created it -- gives officials significant advantages.
County Executive Edward Mangano himself asked NIFA to exercise one of its more potent powers: freezing salary and longevity increases for county workers. Nassau's also benefited from NIFA's refinancing of significant county debt.
Without NIFA, the county's finances, precarious as they are, would be even worse. Besides, NIFA isn't Nassau's real problem. The disintegration of the will to govern by the county's elected officials is.
The county has yet to pay off hundreds of millions of dollars in refunds owed property owners who successfully appealed their assessments. NIFA approved -- reluctantly -- a plan that would allow Nassau to borrow to make the payments.
But because of interparty bickering between Mangano and legislative Democrats, there's been no borrowing. The way to fix this would be simple: Come to an agreement. But no.
Democrats refused to bond as a way to mitigate Republican plans to decimate their caucus by combining Democratic districts in a new redistricting plan. But Republicans are not blameless in this either: Some Democratic lawmakers continue to pledge that they will not approve borrowing without enough backup for them to determine whether the payout is justified.
That should have been easy enough to provide. But no.
And so it has come to this: Nassau, which is in a cash crunch, spending money to go to court to get NIFA out of its way so that the Mangano administration can go through with more than one convoluted plan to avoid oversight from either Democrats or NIFA.
This is nuts, especially in an election year when Mangano and lawmakers Republican and Democrat alike are up for re-election.
Mangano and Republicans are trying to blame NIFA and Democrats for everything from losing the Islanders to a series of bond-rating decreases under Mangano's watch.
But Democrats, by continuing to be overly combative rather than responsibly cooperative, cannot -- and should not -- escape their passive-aggressive role in the county's deteriorating fortunes.
And the court system? Even as Nassau attempts to use it to fight NIFA, others are using it, successfully, to fight Nassau.
Over the past few weeks alone:
One judge recently ordered potential $500 a day fines against the county because Nassau -- in a 29-month-old case -- had not provided discovery materials; another ordered Mangano to appoint seven volunteers to oversee the troubled Nassau County jail within 90 days.
Meanwhile, New York's top court recently refused to hear the county's arguments against using electronic voting machines. Nassau was the only county in the state to argue against their use. And just last week came word that the district attorney had empaneled a grand jury to look into, among other things, how Nassau awarded tens of millions of dollars in contracts for Sandy-related cleanup work.
Nassau versus NIFA? Republicans versus Democrats? Those aren't the battles to watch. It's the one that Nassau's elected officials, through their own intransigence, have launched against the people they are supposed to be serving.


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Tools and toys are always fun.
Allnic Speednic Sweepstakes
According to the company:
"Its price of $399 reflects its luxurious fit and finish. You'd lust to own one for it's handsome looks but Speednic's record player speed verification at any frequency during play with it's highly visible indicator makes this tool's ownership a must."
To enter the sweepstakes, all you need is an account on this website. If you don't already have one, click on the link labeled "register" at the bottom of this announcement or "LOG IN/JOIN" in the nav bar at the right. Then, enter a username and a valid e-mail address, and click on the "Create new account" button. A message will be automatically sent to the e-mail address you specified, which will include a link to activate the account.
The final step (and only step for those who already have an account) is to log in and leave a comment right here on this announcementany comment will do, as long as it's not profane or spam. Then, when the sweepstakes closes, a lucky commenter will be chosen at random to receive the prize. So post a comment, and good luck!
For complete sweepstakes rules, click here.
[This sweepstakes is now closed.]
Just what I would like.
Would love to test some old and new turntables.
would work great with my massive vinyl collection
This will certainly be more convenient than my free VPI mat and a DIY strobe.
After some of us use this we might be on the hunt for a new table once we find out how bad our's are.
I was thinking about how to build one. This would definitely be better.
Consider me entered and interested in winning.
I have (2x) turntables...and they are slightly different speeds....would be good to check which one is right and which one is wrong.
Should work better that my paper cutout @ 60hz.
Looks attractive, and easier to use than some competitors.