text:
Thelazia callipaeda ocular infection in two dogs in Belgium
Article first published online: 21 DEC 2012
DOI: 10.1111/jsap.12003
© 2012 British Small Animal Veterinary Association
Journal of Small Animal Practice
Volume 54, Issue 4, pages 205–208, April 2013
Additional Information
How to Cite
Caron, Y., Premont, J., Losson, B. and Grauwels, M. (2013), Thelazia callipaeda ocular infection in two dogs in Belgium. Journal of Small Animal Practice, 54: 205–208. doi: 10.1111/jsap.12003
Publication History
- Issue published online: 17 MAR 2013
- Article first published online: 21 DEC 2012
- Accepted: 2 November 2012
- Abstract
- Article
- References
- Cited By
Nematode worms were retrieved from the left eyes of two dogs presented for unilateral ocular discharge in Belgium. Morphological and molecular identification were performed and the parasites were identified as Thelazia callipaeda. The history suggested that the infection had been acquired in south-western France and southern Italy where the disease has been observed regularly for the last 6 and 12 years, respectively. In these two regions, the disease is considered endemic and spreading. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first case report of canine thelaziosis in Belgium.


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HKS Lands Corporate HQ at Patriot Tower
Learn the latest in retail, multi-use and much more at RealShare NET LEASE WEST on November 11-12 in Los Angeles.
DALLAS-HKS Inc. of Dallas has leased 142,000 square feet at Patriot Tower, a 600,000-square-foot office tower in downtown Dallas. The lease deal was announced after Midland-based Moriah Real Estate Co. and Dallas-based Todd Interests closed on the 30-story skyscraper on Wednesday.
Developer Shawn Todd said that he is planning to begin construction on the building immediately. The building is being rebranded as One Dallas Center. Dallas-based Greyhound Lines Inc. also signed a 97,500-square-foot lease at the building. Encore Enterprises is the landlord. For the full story, go to Dallas Business Journal .
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text: Jim Nantz Become a Fan × BECOME A FAN Get updates about Jim Nantz and recommended reads from Simon & Schuster. Plus, get a FREE eBook when you sign up! Email Address Free eBook available to NEW subscribers only. Offer redeemable at Bookshout.com. Code expires 12/31/2015. See full terms and conditions. By clicking SIGN UP, I acknowledge that I have read and agreed to the Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use. Books by this Author The Leaderboard By Amy Alcott By Amy Alcott The Leaderboard Golf legend Amy Alcott talks with twenty-seven celebrated individuals about the one thing they have in common—the game they love. In this entertaining and fascinating collection of candid conversations, Amy Alcott offers a rare look at the personal lives and experiences—both on and off the golf course—of prominent entertainers, athletes, political leaders, and other influential figures. A fierce love of the game connects them all, but their varied anecdotes show how this magical... Read more about this book Read more Get a FREE eBook when you join our mailing list. Plus, receive updates about Jim Nantz,recommended reads and more from Simon & Schuster. Email Address Free eBook available to NEW subscribers only. Offer redeemable at Bookshout.com. Code expires 12/31/2015.See full terms and conditions and this month's choices.


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Not all fun and games: Playground bullies will always find new, secret ways to hurt and go on hurting. Adults are no match for them
There was a small, friendly café among the shops near where we lived when I was growing up. It was called Edward's, it was family-run and my mother liked to go there for coffee and a cake and sometimes for lunch. I liked it but once I had eaten I was bored so I used to ask if I could help. Being a waitress was a glamorous thing to a nine-year-old and I was allowed to bring out plates of toasted tea cakes or iced fancies. The owner's son, Michael, three years older than me, always sulked and scowled at me if he was around when I was "waitressing" but one day, he asked if I would like to go out with him to buy sweets. My mother was quite happy-Michael was older, and sensible about crossing the road.
But we did not go to the sweet shop. Instead, he pulled me roughly by the wrist into the side door of the café, and into the stock room. He turned on the light, locked the door, and pinned me to the wall.
"I've got a warning for you," he said. I was mystified and not really frightened because this was someone I knew and I did not fully understand him.
"I don't like the way you behave when you come to the café. You're getting a mite too cocky. I don't like the way you make yourself at home and help at the tables. You don't have any right to do that so I'm telling you not to do it again. If you ever do, there's be trouble. Something bad will happen to you." And to give me a sample of it, he picked up my hand, and gave my wrist a Chinese burn. It hurt. Then he took a matchbox off the shelf, lit one, blew it out and laid the hot end on my arm. It hurt.
"Now you know what else I'm going to say, don't you? If you tell anyone about this, your Mum or your Dad or anyone at school, then I shall find out because I have ways, and it'll be a lot worse than today. Right?"
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So far this decade the Philadelphia Eagles, under Andy Reid have managed to get to the NFC Championship game five times. They have managed to get to the Super Bowl only once. I have been an Eagles fan all of my life and have seen disappointment after disappointment, and I have to tell you, it's really getting to me and eating me up inside. I don't know if I'm more dissapointed that they lost, or more disappointed about who they lost to. They have managed to lose to the St. Louis Rams, Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and now the Arizona Cardinals. The Eagles only managed to beat the Atlanta Falcons in 2005.
Nothing against those teams, but the odd thing about it all is that the Eagles have been the 3rd winningest franchise this decade and yet have not won a Super Bowl. They have been favored to win in four of the five championship games and managed to win only one. Each time the Eagles get to the Championship Game I start dreaming about the Eagles parade down Broad Street and how nuts this city would get, but then the Eagles come out and lay an egg. They always seem to forget what got them to the big game and start playing back on their heels.
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Since the early 70's Iowa B.A.S.S. Nation has provided a Grassroots connection to Bass Anglers Sportsman Society. With clubs across the state of Iowa we provide many avenues to compete in bass fishing tournaments throughout the state of Iowa. With an opportunity to advance on to regional and national tournaments run B.A.S.S. Our members have the opportunity to advance to the highest level of the tournament ranks as the professionals and compete with the pros on the biggest stage in bass fishing, the Bassmasters Classic.
1st Place Chris Aswegan 34.34 #s 10 Fish
2nd Place Dan Mohn 27.89#s
3rd Mike Leuenberger 26.59
4th Dan Parker 26.02
5th Trent Beier 25.73
6th Trevor Kettles 25.38
7th Greg Vance 25.32
8th Weston Krug 25.32
9th Scott Wailes 24.18
10th Harry Heins 24.03
1st Kyle Coffman 23.48
2nd Cyle Grow 21.10
3rd Dennis Sellers 20.27
4th Jerry Dunklee 19.47
5th Roger Corley 18.79
6th Pat Soppe 17.34
7th Kyle Wegmann 16.91
8th Tommy Little 16.09
9th Ben Harman 15.82
10th Isiah Minton 14.95
Tentative until permits granted
June 11th Savanna
July 9th Lansing
Aug 6 Lacrosse
Sept 24 Dubuque
SPRING STATE OKOBOJI May 14th and 15th
FALL STATE PDC Sept 17th and 18th
IBN 10K Tournament Aug 20th
June 11th Savanna
July 9th Lansing
Aug 6th Lacrosse
Sept 24th Dubuque
IBN 2016 Spring State Qualifier will be held May 14th and 15th at Okoboji. Headquarters will be the Arrowwood, more info to follow.
Thanks to The Arrowood, The RITZ, and the BOONDOCKS Gas Station helping to sponsor this event along with Okoboji Tourism Council!
We would love to fish with you!!! If you would like to join Iowa Bass Nation all you need to do is find a club you would like to join and contact one of their representatives. Many of our Iowa BASS Nation (IBN) affiliated clubs are listed on the Clubs Page. Please feel free to follow their links.
If you are member of a club that would like to affiliate with IBN send an email to IBN President Bob Garmin firstname.lastname@example.com and he can help get you club affiliated with IBN and B.A.S.S. This will allow anyone in your club to participate and compete in State tournaments and gain points to advance to Regional, and National tournament.


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Hilton Hotels & Resorts Opens New Hotel In Shenzhen
Friday December 20th, 2013 - 9:32AM
These are shortcuts to your favorite social networking and bookmark sites. Add this story to your Facebook page, del.icio.us, DiggIt, and many others!
SHENZHEN, CHINA—Hilton Hotels & Resorts recently opened Hilton Shenzhen Shekou Nanhai in Guangdong province located here.
The 16-story hotel features 323 guestrooms, including 16 suites, six restaurants and meeting space. Hilton Shenzhen Shekou Nanhai is operated by Hilton Worldwide and owned by China Merchants Property Development Co., Ltd.
"We are very excited to introduce Hilton Hotels & Resorts to Shenzhen, one of the fastest developing cities in China, and a key tourist, business and commercial hub in the Pearl River Delta," stated Rob Palleschi, global head, Hilton Hotel & Resorts. "The opening of Hilton Shenzhen Shekou Nanhai reinforces the continued success of the Hilton brand throughout the country, and demonstrates our commitment to offering an unparalleled level of service to travelers visiting the important gateway of China."
Hilton Shenzhen Shekou Nanhai is situated Shenzhen's western coastal city belt, on the Shenzhen Nantou Peninsula. The hotel faces Shenzhen Bay on the west, Pearl River Estuary on the east and Hong Kong across the sea.
Designed to resemble the sail of a ship overlooking the Shenzhen Bay, Hilton Shenzhen Shekou Nanhai features a broad range of modern amenities, including Hilton Serenity Beds and Shenzhen Bay views.
Tags: Hilton • Hospitality • Brands • Openings •
From lifestyle choices to luxury decisions. Back in January, when we unveiled the newly redesigned Hotel Business, Eric Danziger was the subject of our cover story for the ALIS issue. He had recently joined Hampshire Hotels Management as president and CEO, and had just transformed the operator into a full-fledged brand company, Début Hotel Group, which would become the umbrella for five brands (Augustus Hotels & Resorts, Dream Hotels, Time Hotels, Unscripted Hotels and Night Hotels).
First Curio – A Collection by Hilton in U.K. Set for London's Canary Wharf »
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New WoodSpring Suites Design Package Debuts
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Buy flats in Brondesbury Villas, London NW6 - 5 bedrooms
Keywords and filters like garden and parking live here
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Belsize Road, South Hampstead, London NW6Flat for sale - 5 bedrooms
(2426 sq. Ft. Or 225 sq. M.) A semi-detached freehold house arranged over three floors and offering 2392 sq. Ft. Of flexible accommodation. The house offers generous reception and entertaining areas, off-street parking for two cars, an integrated ... More details
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text: More from SI Report: Dodgers release pitcher Freddy Garcia Report: Dodgers release pitcher Freddy Garcia Marshawn Lynch sports gold cleats for Super Bowl Marshawn Lynch sports gold cleats for Super Bowl Louisville vs. FIU: Game time, live stream, TV coverage Louisville vs. FIU: Game time, live stream, TV coverage Pittsburgh-area high school football player dies after... Pittsburgh-area high school football player dies after... Close Tweet0 Share0 Comment0 Share0 Share0 Stumble It0 Print0 More SI Wire Jets linebacker Calvin Pace says Pats run "borderline illegal" offense by Erin Weaver Email Posted: Thu Oct. 18, 2012 Patriot's QB Tom Brady leads a fast-paced offense that Jets linebacker Calvin Pace called "borderline illegal."Calvin Pace says the Pats' fast paced offense has always been a challenge, and now stopping it is even tougher."It's borderline illegal because sometimes the guys aren't always set when they snap the ball," Pace said Wednesday. "But it's smart. Why not hurry a team up? I wish we would do it. For a defense, it just puts pressure on you."The Patriot's no-huddle tactic kicks the offense tempo up a notch, leaving some teams scrambling. The Patriots have run 473 plays, 39 more than the next."It's very difficult," linebacker David Harris said. "You'll see defenses not even lined up and they're already running a play. They get a lot of extra yardage because of it. It causes guys to lose their mind. You can see it on film."Going into Sunday's game against the Patriots, the Jets defense needs to communicate and move quickly to keep up. Promoted Stories Comments


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Reviews - Farington Lodge Hotel4
Stanifield Lane,Farington, Preston, PR25 4QR
Price From £94View Rooms
Customer Reviews
Our reviews are from genuine LateRooms.com customers. We verify that the customer has stayed before leaving a review.
100% would recommend it to a friend
Customer service
Food quality
Room quality
Afternoon tea and hotel stay
What a beautiful hotel and wonderful happy staff .
Our whole experience was a five star affair. The afternoon tea was one of the best I had encountered. Nicely presented and excellent value for money. We were well looked after for the entire duration of the afternoon tea. The hotel and staff are warm and welcoming and always smiling. The grounds are tranquil and so peaceful . Plenty to do and see in the surrounding areas. I would recommend the hotel and afternoon tea. I
Read More Less
What a place.
Very nice and highly recommended.
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absolutly nothing to complain about
Lovely as always
Second overnight stay here.
Big sized classical room. Stayed in room 10. Shower too weak for my liking but that's my only problem. Lovely hotel, excellent customer service. Good location, close to motorway systems.
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One night stay over
Hotel and staff very nice and helpful when I needed something for the bike.
I had steak for dinner which was fine. I wouldn't say it was the best steak I have ever eaten but it was still good. The only dissapointment was the room. The living area looked and smelt a bit run down. The bathroom was lovely and the soaps were great but the bed section smelt like an ex smokers room and there were marks on the head board which was obviously where other people had rested there head in the past. Apart from that is was a very enjoyable stay. Thanks.
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Quiet country retreat for business
Arriving later than planned, the staff we're welcoming and professional.
Breakfast was very pleasant.
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Great Hotel experience
Great hotel with spacious and well furnished rooms, comfortable beds and excellent cooking with particular regard to the eggs benedict
Pleasant hotel, but would upgrade next time.
This was a one night stay to break a long journey, which we regularly have to undertake.
The hotel is pleasant and interesting, but the rooms would benefit from some improvement and especially so the bathroom. We would spend a little extra and go for a better room next time, although if we had paid in the region of £140 for the night, advertised as the usual rate, we would have felt it was very overpriced. Little things require more attention; the light bulbs ( 3 were out) and the linen although very clean is looking a bit grey. Overall though, we would stay again.
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Very comfortable accommodation.
Quiet location with lovely views over the grounds and only minutes from the main motorway links. Staff friendly and helpful, good choice of menu at affordable prices so there's no need to go elsewhere to dine. Will definitely use again.
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text:
Mad PACS: Money Road
"The road to the White House is not just any road. It is longer than you'd think and a special fuel must be burned to ride it. The bones of those who ran out of fuel are scattered along it. What do they call it? They call it 'money road.' Only the mad ride that road. The mad or the rich."
-Mad PACs
While some countries have limited campaign seasons and restrictions on political spending, the United States follows its usual exceptionalism. That is, the campaign seasons are exceptionally long and exceptional sums of money are required to properly engage in such campaigning. The presidential campaign, not surprisingly, is both the longest and the most costly. The time and money requirements put rather severe restrictions on who can run a viable campaign for the office of President.
While the 2016 Presidential election takes place in November of that year, as of the May of 2015 a sizable number of candidates have declared that they are running. Campaigning for President is a full-time job and this means that person who is running must either have no job (or other comparable restrictions on her time) or have a job that permits her to campaign full time.
It is not uncommon for candidates to have no actual job. For example, Mitt Romney did not have a job when he ran in 2012. Hilary Clinton also does not seem to have a job in 2015, aside from running for President. Not having a job does, obviously, provide a person with considerable time in which to run for office. Those people who do have full-time jobs and cannot leave them cannot, obviously enough, make an effective run for President. This certainly restricts who can make an effective run for President.
It is very common for candidates to have a job in politics (such as being in Congress, being a mayor or being a governor) or in punditry. Unlike most jobs, these jobs apparently give a person considerable freedom to run for President. Someone more cynical than I might suspect that such jobs do not require much effort or that the person running is showing he is willing to shirk his responsibilities.
On the face of it, it seems that only those who do not have actual jobs or do not have jobs involving serious time commitments can effectively run for President. Those who have such jobs would have to make a choice—leave the job or not run. If a person did decide to leave her job to run would need to have some means of support for the duration of the campaign—which runs over a year. Those who are not independent of job income, such as Mitt Romney or Hilary Clinton, would have a rather hard time doing this—a year is a long time to go without pay.
As such, the length of the campaign places very clear restrictions on who can make an effective bid for the Presidency. As such, it is hardly surprising that only the wealthy and professional politicians (who are usually also wealthy) can run for office. A shorter campaign period, such as the six weeks some countries have, would certainly open up the campaign to people of far less wealth and who do not belong to the class of professional politicians. It might be suspected that the very long campaign period is quite intentional: it serves to limit the campaign to certain sorts of people. In addition to time, there is also the matter of money.
While running for President has long been rather expensive, it has been estimated that the 2016 campaign will run in the billions of dollars. Hilary Clinton alone is expected to spend at least $1 billion and perhaps go up to $2 billion. Or even more. The Republicans will, of course, need to spend a comparable amount of money.
While some candidates have, in the past, endeavored to use their own money to run a campaign, the number of billionaires is rather limited (although there are, obviously, some people who could fund their own billion dollar run). Candidates who are not billionaires must, obviously, find outside sources of money. Since money is now speech, candidates can avail themselves of big money donations and can be aided by PACs and SuperPACs. There are also various other clever ways of funneling dark money into the election process.
Since people generally do not hand out large sums of money for nothing, it should be evident that a candidate must be sold, to some degree, to those who are making it rain money. While a candidate can seek small donations from large numbers of people, the reality of modern American politics is that it is big money rather than the small donors that matter. As such, a candidate must be such that the folks with the big money believe that he is worth bankrolling—and this presumably means that they think he will act in their interest if he is elected. This means that these candidates are sold to those who provide the money. This requires a certain sort of person, namely one who will not refuse to accept such money and thus tacitly agree to act in the interests of those providing the money.
It might be claimed that a person can accept this money and still be her own woman—that is, use the big money to get into office and then act in accord with her true principles and contrary to the interests of those who bankrolled her. While not impossible, this seems unlikely. As such, what should be expected is candidates who are willing to accept such money and repay this support once in office.
The high cost of campaigning seems to be no accident. While I certainly do not want to embrace conspiracy theories, the high cost of campaigning does ensure that only certain types of people can run and that they will need to attract backers. As noted above, the wealthy rarely just hand politicians money as free gifts—unless they are fools, they expect a return on that investment.
In light of the above, it seems that Money Road is well designed in terms of its length and the money required to drive it. These two factors serve to ensure that only certain candidates can run—and it is worth considering that these are not the best candidates.
Since I have a job and am unwilling to be bought, I obviously cannot run for President. However, I am a declared uncandidate—my failure is assured.
Secrecy and Lawmaking
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has generated considerable controversy, mostly over what people think it might do. While making prediction about such complex matters is always difficult, there is a somewhat unusual challenge in making such prediction about the TPP. This challenge is that it is being kept secret from the public.
While senators are allowed to read the text of the TPP, it is being treated like an ultra-secret document. To gaze upon it, a senator must go to a secure basement room, hand over all electronics and then leave behind any notes he (or she) has written. An official from the US Trade Representative's office watches them. After reading the document, the senator is not allowed to discuss the matter with the public, experts or lawyers.
While members of congress typically do not read the legislation the lobbyists have written for them to pass and the public usually has little interest in the text of bills, there is obviously still the question of justifying such secrecy. After all, the United States is supposed to be a democratic state and President Obama made all the right noises about transparency in government.
Robert Mnookin, of Harvard Law, has put forth stock justifications for such secrecy. The first justification is that having such matters open to the public is damaging to the process: "The representatives of the parties have to be able to explore a variety of options just to see what might be feasible before they ultimately make a deal. That kind of exploration becomes next to impossible if you have to do it in public."
The second stock justification is that secrecy enables deals to be negotiated. As he says, "In private, people can explore and tentatively make concessions, which if they publicly made, would get shot down before you really had a chance to explore what you might be given in return for some compromise."
In support of Mnookin, public exposure does have its disadvantages and secrecy does have its advantages. As he noted, if the negotiating parties have to operate in public, this can potentially limit their options. To use the obvious analogy, if a person is negotiating for a raise, then having to do so in front of his colleagues would certainly limit her options. In the case of trade deals, if the public knew about the details of the deals, then there might be backlash for proposals that anger the public.
Secrecy does, of course, confer many advantages. By being able to work out the exploration in secret, the public remains ignorant and thus cannot be upset about specific proposals. Going with the salary analogy, if I can negotiate my salary in complete secrecy, then I can say things I would not say publicly and explore deals that I would not make in public. This is obviously advantageous to the deal makers.
Obviously, the same sort of reasoning can be applied to all aspects of government: if the ruling officials are required to operate in the public eye, then they cannot explore things without fear that the public would be upset by what they are doing. For example, if the local government wanted to install red-light cameras to improve revenues and had to discuss this matter openly, then the public might oppose this. As another example, if the state legislature wanted to cut a special deal for a company, discussing the payoff openly could be problematic.
Secrecy would, in all such cases, allow the ruling officials to work out various compromises without the troubling impact of public scrutiny. The advantages to the ruling officials and their allies are quite evident—so much so, it is no wonder that governments have long pushed for secrecy.
Naturally, there are some minor concerns that need to be addressed. One is that secrecy allows for deals that, while advantageous for those making the deals, are harmful to other members of the population. Those who think that government should consider the general welfare would probably find this sort of thing problematic.
Another trivial point of concern is the possibility of corruption. After all, secrecy certainly serves as an enabler for corruption, while transparency tends to reduce corruption. The easy reply is that corruption is only of concern to those who think that corruption is a bad thing, as opposed to an opportunity for enhanced revenue for select individuals. Put that way, it sounds delightful.
A third matter is that such secrecy bypasses the ideal of the democratic system: that government is open and that matters of state are publicly discussed by the representatives so that the people have an opportunity to be aware of what is occurring and have a role in the process. This is obviously only of concern to those misguided few who value the ideals of such a system. Those realists and pragmatists who know the value of secrecy know that involving the people is a path to trouble. Best to keep such matters away from them, to allow their betters to settle matters behind closed doors.
A fourth minor concern is that making rational decisions about secret deals is rather difficult. When asked what I think about TPP, all I can say is that I am concerned that it is secret, but cannot say anything about the content—because I have no idea what is in it. While those who wrote it know what is in there (as do the few senators who have seen it), discussion of its content is not possible—which makes deciding about the matter problematic. The easy answer is that since we do not matter, we do not need to know.
Bulk Data Collection
A federal appeals court ruled in May, 2015 that the NSA's bulk collection of domestic calling data is illegal. While such bulk data collection would strike many as blatantly unconstitutional, this matter has not been addressed, though that is perhaps just a matter of time. My intent is to address the general issue of bulk domestic data collection by the state in a principled way.
When it comes to the state (or, more accurately, the people who compose the state) using its compulsive force against its citizens, there are three main areas of concern: practicality, morality and legality. I will addressing this matter within the context of the state using its power to impose on the rights and liberties of the citizens for the purported purpose of protecting them. This is, of course, the stock problem of liberty versus security.
In the case of practicality, the main question is whether or not the law, policy or process is effective in achieving its goals. This, obviously, needs to be balanced against the practical costs in terms of such things as time and resources (such as money).
In the United States, this illegal bulk data collection has been going on for years. To date, there seems to be but one public claim of success involving the program, which certainly indicates that the program is not effective. When the cost of the program is considered, the level of failure is appalling.
In defense of the program, some proponents have claimed that there have been many successes, but these cannot be reported because they must be kept secret. In fairness, it is certainly worth considering that there have been such secret successes that must remain secret for security reasons. However, this defense can easily be countered.
In order to accept this alleged secret evidence, those making the claim that it exists would need to be trustworthy. However, those making the claim have a vested interest in this matter, which certainly lowers their credibility. To use an analogy, if I was receiving huge sums of money for a special teaching program and could only show one success, but said there were many secret successes, you would certainly be wise to be skeptical of my claims. There is also the fact that thanks to Snowden, it is known that the people involved have no compunctions about lying about this matter, which certainly lowers their credibility.
One obvious solution would be for credible, trusted people with security clearance to be provided with the secret evidence. These people could then speak in defense of the bulk data collection without mentioning the secret specifics. Of course, given that everyone knows about the bulk data collection, it is not clear what relevant secrets could remain that the public simply cannot know about (except, perhaps, the secret that the program does not work).
Given the available evidence, the reasonable conclusion is that the bulk data collection is ineffective. While it is possible that there is some secret evidence, there is no compelling reason to believe this claim, given the lack of credibility on the part of those making this claim. This alone would suffice as grounds for ceasing this wasteful and ineffective approach.
In the case of morality, there are two main stock approaches. The first is a utilitarian approach in which the harms of achieving the security are weighed against the benefits provided by the security. The basic idea is that the state is warranted in infringing on the rights and liberties of the citizens on the condition that the imposition is outweighed by the wellbeing gained by the citizens—either in terms of positive gains or harms avoided. This principle applies beyond matters of security. For example, people justify such things as government mandated health care and limits on soda sizes on the same grounds that others justify domestic spying: these things are supposed to protect citizens.
Bulk data collection is, obviously enough, an imposition on the moral right to privacy—though it could be argued that this harm is fairly minimal. There are, of course, also the practical costs in terms of resources that could be used elsewhere, such as in health care or other security programs. Weighing the one alleged success against these costs, it seems evident that the bulk data collection is immoral on utilitarian grounds—it does not do enough good to outweigh its moral cost.
Another stock approach to such matters is to forgo utilitarianism and argue the ethics in another manner, such as appealing to rights. In the case of bulk data collection, it can be argued that it violates the right to privacy and is thus wrong—its success or failure in practical terms is irrelevant. In the United States people often argue this way when it comes to gun rights—the right outweighs utilitarian considerations about the well-being of the public.
Rights are, of course, not absolute—everyone knows the example of how the right to free expression does not warrant slander or yelling "fire" in a crowded theater when there is no fire. So, it could be argued that the right of privacy can be imposed upon. Many stock arguments exist to justify such impositions and these typical rest either on utilitarian arguments or arguments showing that the right to privacy does not apply. For example, it is commonly argued that criminals lack a right to privacy in regards to their wicked deeds—that is, there is no moral right to secrecy in order to conceal immoral deeds. While these arguments can be used to morally justify collecting data from specific suspects, they do not seem to justify bulk data collection—unless it can be shown that all Americans have forfeited their right to privacy.
It would thus seem that the bulk data collection cannot be justified on moral grounds. As a general rule, I favor the view that there is a presumption in favor of the citizen: the state needs a moral justification to impose on the citizen and it should not be assumed the state has a right to act unless the citizen can prove differently. This is, obviously enough, analogous to the presumption of innocence in the American legal system.
In regards to the legality of the matter, the specific law in question has been addressed. In terms of bulk data collection in general, the answer seems quite obvious. While I am obviously not a constitutional scholar, bulk data collection seems to be a clear and egregious violation of the 4th Amendment: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
The easy and obvious counter is to point out that I, as I said, am not a constitutional scholar or even a lawyer. As such, my assessment of the 4th Amendment is lacking the needed professional authority. This is, of course, true—which is why this matter needs to be addressed by the Supreme Court.
In sum, there seems to be no practical, moral or legal justification for such bulk data collection by the state and hence it should not be permitted. This is my position as a philosopher and the 2016 Uncandidate.
Voter Apathy
The recent midterm election was marked by numerous Republican victories, so apparently the voters believed that the solution to Republican obstructionism in congress was to elect more Republicans. That should work well. Interestingly, the Republican leadership has asserted how they want to get work done and expressed their willingness to work with Obama. Of course, they also warned him about "poisoning the well" by striking off on his own in regards to immigration reform. I am not sure which well Boehner is referring to; perhaps it is that poison well that has been filling up since 2008.
I am, of course, a Democrat. But, my political views are based on ethical arguments rather than ideology and I took the crushing defeat of the Democratic party in stride. Which is fortunate, because someone had to be in good enough shape to console my friends who are devoted Democrats.
While I would have preferred a Democratic victory, I was reasonably sure what the outcome would be. While some might point to the vast sums spent by Republican backers, one must also point to the vast sums spent by Democratic backers. While some might point to voter suppression, one must also point to voter self-suppression. That is, voters simply deciding not to vote despite it being easy and convenient (in most states you can get a mail-in ballot with almost no effort).
While I do not discuss my own politics in class nor encourage students to support any particular candidate, I do discuss voting in general. While some students have been enthusiastic about voting, most express the same enthusiasm for voting as they do for class (that is, very little). Not surprisingly, students express many of the same reasons as other voters for their apathy. One reason is the belief that elections are settled in the shadows by those with the money and political influence–that is, that elections are essentially shams. The second reason is that people often find the candidates for both parties unappealing and regard them both as politicians who will just serve the interest of whoever paid for their campaign. For example, many folks saw the election in Florida as a matter of picking between the lesser evils. The majority of those who voted, voted for Rick Scott. A third reason is sort of a vague and general apathy about politics that seems fueled by the negative ads and the toxicity of American politics. That is, politics is seen as nasty and awful and people would rather think about something else.
This apathy seems to be widespread. Voter turnout on 11/4/2014 was about 44% (exact numbers vary). The worst turnout was apparently 36% for a state and the best was about 60% (which was my home state of Maine). Many elections were close (Scott beat Crist 48% to 47%) so many winners were elected by a minority of voters (but a majority of those who actually voted).
The stock view presented by the pundits is that the Democrats are hurt the most by low turnout, primarily because the solid supporters of the Republicans (old white folks) vote reliably. In contrast, many of those who would probably vote Democrat if they voted, are unreliable and generally do not turn out for midterm elections. Sadly, many of these people still complain very loudly about the results of the election they did not participate in. While they obviously do have the legal right to complain and perhaps even a moral right, they should probably either vote or shut up.
Those who like conspiracy theories do like to claim that the Republicans have long been engaged in manufacturing voter apathy among the key demographics of the Democrats (the young, minorities, and women). People who like the facts do like to point out that gerrymandering has all but locked in most incumbents and that the Republicans have been masters of this.
The cynical view is, of course, that even if this is all true, the Republicans have proven better at politics than the Democrats, at least for now. If the Democrats want to win, they will need to figure out what the Republicans have been doing right and what they have been doing wrong and work out a strategy.
Oddly enough, I am inclined to favor the idea that a Democrat will win the presidential election in 2016. The trend in politics seems to be that people accumulate a negative view of the party in power (no doubt due partially to negativity bias-that the negative is given more weight than the positive) and then vote angry. Or apathetic. But, the Republicans might be able to ride the fall of Obama to victory in 2016.
Republicans at Work Part I
In honor of the Republican party taking over the Senate, Republicans at Work has joined Democrats at Work.
Democrats at Work Part V
By popular request, a fifth post to bear the weight of comments about Democrats at work.
How You Should Vote
As I write this in early October, Election Day in the United States is about a month away. While most Americans do not vote, there is still in question of how a voter should vote.
While I do have definite opinions about the candidates and issues on the current ballot in my part of Florida, this essay is not aimed at convincing you to vote as I did (via my mail-in ballot). Rather, my goal is to discuss how you should vote in general.
The answer to the question of how you should vote is easy: if you are rational, then you should vote in your self-interest. In the case of a specific candidate, you should vote for the candidate you believe will act in your self-interest. In the case of such things as ballot measures, you should vote for or against based on how you believe it will impact your self-interest. So, roughly put, you should vote for what is best for you.
While this is rather obvious advice, it does bring up two often overlooked concerns. The first is the matter of determining what is actually in your self-interest. The second is determining whether or not your voting decision is in your self-interest. In the case of a candidate, the concern is whether or not the candidate will act in your self-interest. In the case of things like ballot measures, the question is whether or not the measure will be advantageous to your interests or not.
It might be thought that a person just knows what is in her self-interest. Unfortunately, people can be wrong about this. In most cases people just assume that if they want or like something, then it is in their self-interest. But, what a person likes or wants need not be what is best for him. For example, a person might like the idea of cutting school funding without considering how it will impact her family. In contrast, what people do not want or dislike is assumed to be against their self-interest. Obviously, what a person dislikes or does not want might not be bad for her. For example, a person might dislike the idea of an increased minimum wage and vote against it without considering whether it would actually be in their self-interest or not. The take-away is that a person needs to look beyond what he likes or dislikes, wants or does not want in order to determine her actual self-interest.
It is natural to think that of what is in a person's self interest in rather selfish terms. That is, in terms of what seems to benefit just the person without considering the interests of others. While this is one way to look at self-interest, it is worth considering what might seem to be in the person's selfish interest could actually be against her self-interest. For example, a business owner might see paying taxes to fund public education as being against her self-interest because it seems to have no direct, selfish benefit to her. However, having educated fellow citizens would seem to be in her self-interest and even in her selfish interest. For example, having the state pay for the education of her workers is advantageous to her—even if she has to contribute a little. As another example, a person might see paying taxes for public health programs and medical aid to foreign countries as against her self-interest because she has her own medical coverage and does not travel to those countries. However, as has been shown with Ebola, public and even world health is in her interest—unless she lives in total isolation. As such, even the selfish should consider whether or not their selfishness in a matter is actually in their self-interest.
It is also worth considering a view of self-interest that is more altruistic. That is, that a person's interest is not just in her individual advantages but also in the general good. For this sort of person, providing for the common defense and securing the general welfare would be in her self-interest because her self-interest goes beyond just her self.
So, a person should sort out her self-interest and consider that it might not just be a matter of what she likes, wants or sees as in her selfish advantage. The next step is to determine which candidate is most likely to act in her self-interest and which vote on a ballot measure is most likely to serve her self-interest.
Political candidates, obviously enough, try very hard to convince their target voters that they will act in their interest. Those backing ballot measures also do their best to convince voters that voting a certain way is in their self-interest.
However, the evidence is that politicians do not act in the interest of the majority of those who voted for them. Researchers at Princeton and Northwestern conducted a study, "Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens", to determine whether or not politicians acted based on the preferences of the majority. The researchers examined about 1,800 policies and matched them against the preferences expressed by three classes: the average American (50th income percentile), the affluent American (the 90th percentile of income) and the large special interest groups.
The results are hardly surprising: "The central point that emerges from our research is that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on US government policy, while mass-based interest groups and average citizens have little or no independent influence." This suggests that voters are rather poor at selecting candidates who will act in their interest (or perhaps that there are no candidates who will do so).
It can be countered that the study just shows that politicians generally act contrary to the preferences of the majority but not that they act contrary to their self-interest. After all, I made the point that what people want (prefer) might not be what is in their self-interest. But, on the face of it, unless what is in the interest of the majority is that the affluent get their way, then it seems that the politicians voters choose generally do not act in the best interest of the voters. This would indicate that voters should pick different candidates.
ISIS (or ISIL) got America's attention and now the war of rhetoric has begun in ernest. While the Republicans seem generally pleased that we are saddling up again, they have raised some criticism against President Obama's strategy. Interestingly, many of these criticisms have been aimed at Obama's word choices.
I recently heard an interview with Senator Marco Rubio on NPR. Rubio's main criticism seemed to be that Obama was unwilling to commit to destroying ISIS completely. The interviewer pointed out that such groups tend to reform or create spin-off groups rather than be destroyed. When the interviewer asked him if that goal was realistic or not, Rubio responded by saying that it could be done and gave an example of how the group that became ISIS had been destroyed previously. The interviewer politely noted that Rubio had actually supported his (the interviewer's) point, but let Rubio ignore his own example and switch quickly to another issue.
As a general rule, it seems difficult to bomb such groups out of existence, mainly because the groups are defined by ideas and killing old members tends to merely attract new members. Obviously, this method could work-with enough killing a group would run out of possible members. However, the history of radicalism and America's attempts to kill its way out of a problem show that destroying a group by bombing seems unrealistic. After all, we are still fighting Al Qaeda and ISIS can be plausibly seen as a new brand of Al Qaeda.
Another common criticism of Obama's words is that he did not say that he would do whatever it takes to destroy ISIS. He merely said he would do what it takes to do so. On the one hand, this could be seen as a petty semantic point, a mere whining about words. On the other hand, this could be taken as a more substantial point. After struggling to end the Afghanistan and Iraq wars that he inherited, Obama has been reluctant to get the United States into yet another costly, protracted and likely futile ground war in the Middle East. As such, when he has acted, he has done so with limited goals and minimal engagement. Interestingly, the results have been somewhat similar: we dumped billions into Iraq and ended up with a chaotic mess. We dumped far less into Libya and ended up with a chaotic mess. I suppose that it is better to get a mess on the cheap than for a high price.
Obama, I think, is wise to keep American involvement limited. The hawks crying for war seem to have amnesia regarding our last few adventures since Viet Nam. Unfortunately, escalating involvement (trying to do whatever it takes) has never paid off. It seems unlikely that this time will be the charm.
The obvious reply is that we have to do something, we cannot just let ISIS behead Americans and establish a state. I agree. My concern is the obvious one: doing something is not a good strategy and neither is doing whatever it takes. We should be honest and admit that we have not gotten it right in the past and that doing the same damn thing will not result in different results.
I am not going to tell McCain or Cheney to shut up-they have every right to express their views. However, they have no credibility left. So, they should talk-but it would be unwise to listen.
Ethics, Children & Immigration
While children, accompanied or not, have been immigrating to the United States from Central America for quite some time, this matter has attracted considerable attention as the number of children has increased (although not as dramatically as some media coverage would suggest). Not surprisingly, this has become a political issue within the larger context of the immigration policy debate and both Republicans and Democrats are struggling to figure out how to best exploit the opportunity (or best avoid disaster).
To focus the moral discussion, I will narrow the subject considerably and focus on young children who are arriving from Central America and who are not gang-members or other sorts of criminals. One reason for this is that the issue of allowing criminals to come to the United States is easy enough to address: they should not be allowed to come here for the purpose of committing crimes.
Since many Americans claim that the United States is a Christian nation, it is certainly tempting to apply Christian ethics to this matter. The bible is rather clear about this issue: "Thus has the LORD of hosts said, 'Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.'" The bible also enjoins people to "not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt." Given these clear statements, it would seem to follow that those who which to practice Christian ethics would be morally (and religiously) obligated to show compassion and kindness to the children who are strangers and foreigners.
There are, of course, people who do take these injunctions seriously and act in accord with them. However, there are others who profess the religion but have reacted quite differently to these words: "But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from hearing.…" Perhaps such folks believe that following Christian ethics is merely a matter of being opposed to birth control, abortion and equal rights for women.
Alternatively, a person could profess the principles and content that they are overridden by other concerns. One possible line of argumentation is to point out that the children are here illegally and this entails that they should not be given the full measure of compassion but rather shipped back to their point of origin immediately. Another possible line of argumentation is utilitarian: though extending kindness and compassion to the children would be laudable, to do so would require resources that are either unavailable or would be better used elsewhere (such as helping poor Americans). On this view, utilitarian ethics or practical concerns would trump the religious based ethics.
There are, obviously enough, people who are not Christians and people who, though professing to be Christians, reject the specific principles mentioned above. As such, other reasons would be needed to show that the children in question should be treated with suitable compassion and kindness.
One fruitful avenue is to appeal to a principle of moral debt: that is, when someone has been harmed or wronged, the wrongdoer has an obligation to set matters right. In the matter at hand, it has been claimed that some of the children have been sent from Central America to escape the terrible violence that plagues the region. This, of course, can be challenged—one could argue that the children are being sent to the United States for other reasons, such as better economic opportunities (or to become parasites on the American taxpayer). These arguments are not without merit and must be given due consideration. After all, if the children are coming to the United States illegally to escape danger and death, then that is a rather different matter than if they are coming to have a better life (perhaps at the expense of the taxpayer).
That said, let it be supposed that some of the children are, in fact, fleeing danger and the risk of death. The obvious concern is why this might obligate the United States to allow them to stay. One answer, as noted above, is to appeal to a moral debt owed by the United States (that is the people of the United States as a collective political body). Some might wonder what the foundation of such a debt might be. There are two easy and obvious answers to this.
The first is that the United States has a well-documented history of political and economic machinations in the region and these include toppling governments, supporting death squads, and other such nefarious deeds. In short, the United States has significantly contributed to the conditions that threaten the children of the area with death and danger. Fairness does, of course, require noting that the United States has not been alone in its adventures in the region (the Cold War helped shape much of the current situation) and some of the instability and chaos is self-inflicted. Given the United States' role in creating the current situation, it would seem that we owe a collective debt and this would obligate us to addressing the consequences of these past actions.
The second is that a significant cause of violence in the region is drugs, specifically the production and distribution of drugs. While there is obviously local consumption, the people of the United States are a primary market for the drugs produced in this region and the war on drugs pursued by the United States has been even more disastrous in Central America than it has been in the United States. Given our role as drug consumers and our war on drugs, the United States is thus a major contributor to the violence and danger of the region. Since we are doing wrong, this would certainly seem to create an obligation on our part in regards to the children that are fleeing this situation.
To use an obvious analogy, if affluent outsiders wreck a neighborhood and serve as the prime customers for the drug industry that arises there, then these outsiders have a significant degree of moral accountability. If children try to flee the ruins of that neighborhood and head into the affluent neighborhood, it would certainly be wicked of those people to insist on sending them back into the mess they themselves worked so hard to create and maintain.


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Mega Events
Olympic Park Design Wind Turbine Feasibility Report
The East Marsh site, to be used as a temporary coach park during Games, also contains two feasible locations for a further turbine (only one turbine is possible due to limitations on turbine proximity with respect to other turbines), subject to flood risk assessment. Figure 2 shows a constraints diagram for this area produced by Ecotricity. BH/EDAW have identified two specific locations within this area which are suitable for wind turbines
Submitted by Steve Dowding on Tue, 25/05/2010 - 10:25.
Document Archive | FoI Response | 2012 Legacy | 2012 Sustainability | Displacement | Environment | Hackney | Hackney Marsh User Group | Sustainability
A Bangladeshi view of the Olympics
Submitted by Martin Slavin on Wed, 05/05/2010 - 14:49.
Olympic Sports, Spirits and Stories - Hilary Powell
"With every large scale master-planning exercise comes a grand narrative of
regeneration, with every Olympics comes the weight of the 'Olympic Story' and with
every map or plan comes a legend. As 2012 approaches and the increasingly
Submitted by Charles Batsworth on Sat, 01/05/2010 - 11:42.
Olympic Park Energy Centre contractor wrecking Amazon rainforest
London's Olympic Park Energy Centre, flagship of its sustainability claims, is being built by a company described as "one of the worst and most violent companies in Brazil in terms of its social and environmental record". It will form part of a profitable portfolio of energy projects including massive dams in the Amazon rainforest that are being widely condemned for their ecological damage and social injustice.
Submitted by Charles Batsworth on Mon, 19/04/2010 - 14:26.
Article | 2012 Sustainability | Environment | Sustainability
London 2012: one big party or one big prison?
By Mike Wells
Security precautions for London 2012 include the construction of a 17.5 km, 5,000volt electric fence, topped with 900 daylight and night vision surveillance cameras spaced at 50 metre intervals. On first sight of the fence you could be forgiven for thinking you had slipped through a wormhole in the space-time continuum to find yourself on the perimeter of a Soviet era Gulag.
Submitted by Mike Wells on Mon, 12/04/2010 - 13:03.
Article | 2012 Business | Crime | Finance | Funding | Government | Human Rights | London | Protest | Security | Sponsors
Only one Hackney apprentice on Olympics site
The Hackney Citizen reports:
Only one Hackney apprentice on Olympics site: MP Diane Abbott slams low numbers of opportunities for local people
After discovering that only one apprentice working on the Olympics site comes from Hackney, local MP Diane Abbott has called on the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) to address the low numbers of apprentices on the Olympic site as a matter of urgency.
Submitted by Steve Dowding on Mon, 15/03/2010 - 16:17.
Article | 2012 Construction | 2012 Jobs | 2012 Legacy | Jobs | Legacy | London 2012
Planning Displacement: The Real Legacy of Major Sporting Events
Three Games, three eviction stories. In September 2009 Planning Theory and Practice Magazine published, in its Interface section, three articles on displacement caused by three different mega-events, the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The publication is attached.
Submitted by Julian Cheyne on Thu, 11/03/2010 - 21:18.
Article | Clays Lane | Compulsory Purchase | Displacement | Human Rights | London 2012 | Mega Events | Olympics Studies | Planning & Development | Vancouver 2010
After the Games: Report from the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver
In the Shadow of the Olympic Flame: A Report from the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, the Poorest Neighborhood in Canada
Submitted by Julian Cheyne on Thu, 04/03/2010 - 23:12.
Prescott/Three-Mills Lock not delivering
A sizeable proportion of the Games' massive budget has been spent dredging waterways, to help move materials to the Olympic site. The plan was for up to a thousand tonnes a day to go by barge. But the amount of business so far is only a trickle compared with what was promised.
Submitted by Martin Slavin on Tue, 23/02/2010 - 11:50.
Article | 2012 Construction | 2012 Sustainability | 2012 Transport | Legacy | Planning & Development | Politics
The Poor Olympics
It would seem that the key concept for the 'actually existing Olympics' is signified by the word poor
Submitted by Martin Slavin on Wed, 17/02/2010 - 16:32.
Article | Protest | Sport | Vancouver 2010


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Cold mornings, short days.......I am starting to feel the effect of a long season already and am sure my guys are as well. Any advice to get the boys jump started and enthused about the next month and a half before snow flies?? I have learned that monetary incentives work for the short run (first check they get) and then back to their old ways. It has definately been a good year and I don' t want to "cruise" through the end of the year. This is our time to put it in overdrive and make the money. Thanks in advance. Ryan
perhaps talk to them about the motivation by taking them out to breakfast. Explain to them the importance of the end of the year and tell them that you would appreciate them if they would take a little more pride in their work. Because by proving their loyality to the company ensures them an employment spot come next year.
In one of my prior lives, I used to be involved in contracting with outside HR consultants (you know, consultants....they're the people who sell company mgt the newest flavor of the month, collect their big consulting fee, and then run like hellll to catch the first flight out of town before you realize they just sold you the same old stuff in a new shiny wrapper.)
Anyway, we surveyed over a thousand employees about what motivates them...and money, was way down the list...consistently in all the surveys. The number one motivating factor was RECOGNITION... followed by respect for their immediate manager. No magic bullet to meet these 2 criteria. Motivation is directly related to how effective you are as a leader. Only you can judge how good a leader you are. Its not easy, but thats why you are paid the big bucks and they're only getting $10/hour...if they're lucky. Go back and think about the most motivating coach or person you have worked or played for....I'll bet that person pushed you, kicked you, but also made you feel like you mattered in the scheme of things....I know this sounds like alot of bs...but I only know how being aware of these factors has improved my employee retention and motivation.
You are onto something there.....Most polls show that motivation and employee retention is monetary only to a point,after that it is recognition and feeling more "equal and neccessary to the operation." (recognition)
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California governor faces final call on right-to-die bill
(RNS) "Death with dignity" or "legalized suicide"? Gov. Jerry Brown could sign a bill making his the most populous state to allow physician-assisted dying — or veto it.
(RNS) "Death with dignity" or "legalized suicide"? Gov. Jerry Brown could sign a bill making his the most populous state to allow physician-assisted dying — or veto it.
The "Every Living Thing" initiative will begin a yearlong effort to engage Christians in dialogue around the biblical mandate to care for animals.
(RNS) The Bible and "Fifty Shades of Grey" share more than a few raunchy sex scenes. For Banned Books Week and International Blasphemy Rights Day (Sept. 30), these eight titles are still too hot to handle.
LUCY, Tenn. (RNS) After learning of her Stage IV lung cancer diagnosis last spring, the renowned spirituality author said: "Am I grateful for this? Not exactly. But I'm not unhappy about it. And that's very difficult for people to understand."
(RNS) His book "How's Your Faith?" shares his path to a deeper sense of his Jewish spiritual life.
(RNS) Kentucky clerk Kim Davis has hindered the public debate about religious liberty for traditionalist believers at a time when it needs serious arguments, not circus-tent theatrics.
(RNS) The request comes less than a month after a coalition of religious and secular organizations sent Obama a letter saying the current policy will tarnish his legacy of fair and equal treatment for all Americans.
(RNS) The young, hip pastor, who married Kanye West and Kim Kardashian last year, has made a career of pastoring some of the biggest celebrities in America. But what does being "cool" have to do with being a Christian?
I'm not a Christian. But one of the grooms I married was raised Catholic, so I spent weeks thinking about how to weave God's word into the ceremony.
WASHINGTON — The first in a series of GOP hearings aims to make the case that the organization is illegally harvesting and selling tissue from aborted fetuses, a claim it vehemently denies.


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2 resorts in North Truro
Azimut Hotel Berlin KurfuerstendammJoachimsthaler Str. 39-40, Berlin | 3 star hotelfrom $70
Horizons Beach Resort190 Shore Rd, North Truro | Resortfrom $69
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Open Government
A new White House directive on making scientific findings available responds to We the People petition, builds on NIH dissemination policies. (Stock image)
A new White House directive orders major government agencies to make taxpayer-funded research freely available to the public within 12 months after publication.
The directive, authored by Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John Holdren, orders agencies that spend more than $100 million on research and development to develop formal plans and standards by which to release research papers and data within a year's time.
Holdren also penned an official response to a "We The People" online petition launched last year that requested free online access to journal articles arising from taxpayer-funded research, in which Holdren pointed out the "great success" of the public access policy adopted five years ago by the National Institutes of Health to disseminate research in biomedical science.
White House directive
Response to We The People pettition
NIH public access policy
Bill: Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act
PubMed Central
"The Administration is committed to ensuring that, to the greatest extent and with the fewest constraints possible... the direct results of federally-funded scientific research are made available to and useful for the public, industry, and the scientific community," the directive states.
Agencies affected by the memorandum include NASA and the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Energy, Agriculture, Commerce, and Homeland Security – each of which spend around $1 billion or more – as well as several other agencies that eclipse the $100 million marker.
Interagency collaboration to achieve plans for the timely release of scientific publications and digital scientific data is expected, and plans will have to meet a series of objectives developed with input from the National Science and Technology Council and public consultation. Draft policies are due to OSTP by August, must contain measurable metrics, and must identify resources within existing agency budgets to implement the plan.
Standards include:
• A strategy for leveraging existing archives, where appropriate, and fostering public-private partnerships with scientific journals relevant to the agency's research;
• A strategy for improving the public's ability to locate and access digital data resulting from federally funded scientific research
• An approach for optimizing search, archival, and dissemination features that encourages innovation in accessibility and interoperability, while ensuring long-term stewardship of the results of federally funded research.
Exactly how agencies will comply with the directive remains unclear, but NIH public access program manager Neil Thakur said his agency is standing by to collaborate with other agencies.
"We are ready to support other federal agencies in the development of their public access policies," said Thakur, who added that collaboration with NIH may save agencies from "starting from scratch." Such collaboration might make it easier for research awardees to get their papers published on a singular database, too.
NIH made public access to information a requirement in 2008, three years after the agency came up with a voluntary policy for its researchers on the matter. NIH had to make a few changes to accommodate their public access policies, but Thakur, who arrived at NIH in 2005, said the agency was able to keep costs low by leveraging existing resources, like its online archive or journal articles called PubMed Central.
NIH now posts research papers online to PubMed Central, a free digital database developed more than ten years ago by the National Library of Medicine that contains about 2.6 million papers, though most are not NIH-supported.
"For us, it hasn't been very expensive," Thakur said. "It was challenging in that we have a lot of authors who need to do things differently to comply with policy, but they have been doing that and lots of publishers have stepped forward. We certainly appreciate what OSTP is doing, and think it's helpful to science at the economy to make peer-reviewed publications more accessible."
A big step for the Open Access movement
Outside the public sector, the White House directive was viewed favorably by those in the "open access" movement – those who argue against a pay wall standing between taxpayers and the work they've already funded. Their efforts have picked up steam and generated attention recently, with the White House petition and the suicide of open data activist Aaron Swartz in January putting transparency in the spotlight. Some members of Congress have responded, too, introducing the Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act (FASTR) bill that proposes many similar policies.
Cameron Neylon, Advocacy Director for the Public Library of Science, a nonprofit publisher and advocacy organization that promotes immediate access to research, said the directive is "definitely a step in the right direction," though he cautioned that the directive alone is not enough.
"Our view is research should be free to read immediately on publication and free to review for any purpose, but we are still some distance away from that." Neylon said.
Yet Neylon said "governments all over the world" are beginning to put in place policies, legislation and systems designed to make the research they fund and collect more accessible, and he thinks the combination of a White House directive and pending congressional legislation has huge potential to rewrite how federally-funded research is done.
"Those two (the legislation and directive) are complimentary to each other," Neylon said. "There is a strong public interest in the issue at the moment, and we are always happy to see government taking the right steps."
Neylon said he thought it would make sense if agencies collaborated with NIH, since the "infrastructure is already there to support agencies," though he said each agency would have to use the flexibility they have to "think about what is best for their communities."
About the Author
Frank Konkel is a former staff writer for FCW.
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The memo is now available in StratML format at http://xml.fido.gov/stratml/drybridge/index.htm#FedAgencies or, more specifically, http://xml.fido.gov/stratml/carmel/IARFFSRwStyle.xml
Don't know much about this initiative but I'm wondering how that affects publications in journals that generally require a subscription. Not sure how happy they would be making their publications open to the public for no fee.
This is a great initiative. It is good to see something positive for a change.
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Polar Bowler
Quick Specs
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Date Added:Aug. 31, 2006
Price:Free to try (30-minute trial); $19.99 to buy
File Size:12.27MB
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From WildTangent: Join this cool, loveable bear in a winter wonderland of Arctic fun. Send Polar Bowler tubing through snowflakes and stalagmites. Align his tube with arrows on icy lanes and watch him plunge headfirst into pins. Steer him into spares and strikes. Unlock six cool, whimsical friends with your high score. Version 2006 may include unspecified updates, enhancements, and bug fixes.
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Upplýsingar og tækifæri fyrir ungt fólk vítt og breitt í Evrópu.
The EU's activities on Youth Health aim to help your country's government, NGOs and other actors take action to improve your and your friends' health. But it's also time you get involved by making responsible lifestyle choices.
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