text:
One problem associated with managing a healthy 24 × 7 database server is that so many maintenance activities can block access to the data. And the interference cuts both ways: Ongoing database modifications can prevent you from concurrently running system health reports, such as database consistency checks and fragmentation reports.
Related: What's a Snapshot?
SQL Server 2005's new database snapshots feature lets you create a point-in-time, read-only copy of a database. You can even create multiple snapshots of the same database at different points in time. The snapshot typically requires much less space than the original database because the snapshot stores only pages that have changed in the source database. When you read from a snapshot, pages that haven't changed since the snapshot was created are read from the source database.
You can run queries on a snapshot to your heart's content without causing problems for database users. The benefits of snapshots are clear, so let's move on and look at how they work.
Creating a Snapshot
To create a database snapshot, you simply use the CREATE DATABASE command with the AS SNAPSHOT OF option. Because no graphical equivalent to this command is available through SQL Server Management Studio Object Explorer, you must use T-SQL syntax.
In the CREATE DATABASE command, you need to include each data file in the source database, specifying the original logical name and a new physical name. You can't specify other file properties, and you can't use a log file. Listing 1 shows the syntax for creating a snapshot of the AdventureWorks database and putting the snapshot file in SQL Server 2005's default data directory.
One use for a snapshot is running DBCC SHOWCONTIG—or, in SQL Server 2005, selecting from the sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats Dynamic Management Function. (Although you might get slightly different fragmentation information from a snapshot than you'd get from the original database, the difference shouldn't be significant and the ability to run the report should make the tradeoff well worth it.) The locking behavior of SQL Server 2005 tables is much improved over SQL Server 2000, but conflicts can still occur. If you try to run a fragmentation report while an application updates a table and holds onto exclusive locks, you'll be blocked until the transaction is committed.
Snapshots help you avoid such problems. To show how, let's update a table in AdventureWorks without committing the changes, then try to run a fragmentation report in AdventureWorks and in AdventureWorks_snapshot.
First, run the command shown in Listing 1 to create a snapshot of AdventureWorks. Then run the code in Listing 2 to update the Sales.SalesOrderHeader table without committing the transaction. In another connection, use the code in Listing 3 to try to run a fragmentation report on Sales.SalesOrderHeader. The report will be blocked until you return to the connection in which you're running the UPDATE transaction and either commit the transaction or roll it back.
Now run the code in Listing 2 again, then run the fragmentation report in the snapshot database, as Listing 4 shows.You get the same output as when you first ran the report, but the report isn't blocked and the SELECT from the sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats function proceeds immediately.
You'll notice that even though the AdventureWorks database is several hundred megabytes or more in size, creating the snapshot is extremely fast. In fact, you might be able to create a new snapshot every time you need to run a fragmentation report and drop the snapshot as soon as you're finished with it.
You can determine the number of bytes that each of the snapshot's sparse files uses on disk by looking at the fn_virtualfilestats system table-valued function, which returns the current number of bytes in a file in the BytesOnDisk column. Alternatively, you can look in the new sys.dm_io_virtual_file_stats Dynamic Management Function. This function takes database_id and file_id as parameters.The database ID of the snapshot database and the file ID of each sparse file are displayed in the sys.master_files catalog view.
You can also view sparse file sizes through Windows Explorer. Right-click the filename and select Properties. The Size value in the Properties window shows the maximum size, and the Size on disk value is the same value that you see using the fn_virtualfilestats or sys.dm_io_virtual_file_stats function. The maximum size should be about the same size as the source database was when the snapshot was created; the Size column in the sysfiles view also shows the size. The code in Listing 5 uses sys.dm_io_virtual_file_stats and sys.database_files to show the current and maximum size of the sparse file for AdventureWorks_snapshot.
Hidden Snapshots
In SQL Server 2000, transactions that hold locks can also block DBCC validation commands (e.g., CHECKTABLE, CHECKDB, CHECKALLOC). SQL Server 2000 DBCC commands can't finish running until the locks are released.
In SQL Server 2005, however, all the DBCC validation commands use database snapshot technology to prevent the validation operation from interfering with ongoing database operations. The snapshot technology also lets the validation operation see the data as it was when the DBCC command was initiated, no matter how many changes are made to the data while the operation is under way. The SQL Server Database Engine creates a snapshot of the database when you initiate the CHECK command, and no locks are acquired on the objects being checked. The actual CHECK operation runs against the snapshot.
Unlike typical database snapshots, the "snapshot file" that contains the original page images isn't visible in the file system and its location is unconfigurable—it always uses space on the same volume as the database being checked. You can use internal database snapshots with DBCC validation commands only if your data directory is on an NTFS partition. If you don't use NTFS or don't want to use the space that the snapshot requires, you can prevent snapshot creation by using the WITH TABLOCK option in the DBCC command. In addition, when you use one of the REPAIR options to DBCC, no snapshot is created.
Related: Why can a database snapshot run out of space?
If you don't use the TABLOCK option, the DBCC validation commands don't interfere with other work taking place in a database and so are considered online operations. With TABLOCK, however, a Shared Table lock is acquired for each table as it's processed and blocks concurrent modification operations. Similarly, if modification operations are in progress on one or more tables, a DBCC validation command that uses the TABLOCK option is blocked until the modification transaction is completed.
Because snapshots are usually created very quickly and need minimal disk space, you might be able to create a new snapshot every time you run certain reports. However, there are always exceptions. For example, snapshots of a very heavily updated database might grow quite large. As updates occur on the source database, the original version of the page is written to the snapshot, so lots of updates could not only take lots of space, but could also incur noticeable overhead due to the extra write operation that takes place for every write in the source.
In a heavily updated database, the snapshot-might not be created instantaneously. The first thing SQL Server does when creating a snapshot is to run recovery on the source database, in case transactions are in progress when the snapshot is created. Because a snapshot comprises only committed data, in-progress transactions are effectively rolled back in the snapshot database to their earlier committed state. Not only could this recovery take time on a very busy system, but your snapshot might start out with a substantial amount of used space instead of being almost empty, as it would be if the database weren't so heavily updated.
Mirror, Mirror
An upcoming new technology in SQL Server 2005 that will increase availability is database mirroring. Although the initial release of SQL Server 2005 doesn't support mirroring, the capability should be available in the first service pack, which might be out by the time you read this.
Mirroring keeps a hot standby of a production database ready and available by duplicating all write operations to a mirror location. Every time SQL Server writes to the log of the source database, which is called the principal, it writes the same information to the mirror copy. Mirrors are meant to be used as a standby only if the principal fails and can't be accessed directly, even for reading. However, you can create and read from a snapshot of the mirror, basically turning the mirror into a reporting server. Because the principal server always maintains the mirror, creating a snapshot of the mirror puts no extra load on the principal. An extra load is put on the mirror, but because the mirror isn't being used for any other purpose, the impact might be barely noticeable.
Database snapshots aren't a solution for every read-only database need. You can't refresh the data in the snapshot, and if you want a snapshot to reflect recent changes, you must create a new snapshot. However, because snapshots are usually quick to create, they're often a nice solution when you have an immediate need for data access, can't wait for online activities to stop, and don't want to interfere with online activities.


text:
Saskatchewan is the middle of the three prairie provinces of Canada between Alberta to the west and Manitoba to the east. To the north is the Northwest Territory, and the south, the United States and Montana and North Dakota Approximately one million people call Saskatchewan home. It has 227,134 square miles of land and water surface (588,276 square kilometers). Saskatchewan started to grow when the Canadian Pacific Railway was built in the early 1880s; it was part of the Northwest Territories until 1905, when it became a province having equal status with the other provinces (which are similar to U.S. states).
The name "Saskatchewan" is derived from the Cree word kisiskâciwanisîpikikimasiy meaning swift-flowing river.
- 1 Geography
- 2 Economy
- 3 Population
- 4 Culture
- 5 Religion
- 6 Sports
- 7 History
- 8 Bibliography
- 9 External links
- 10 References
Saskatchewan's geography includes prairies, tree-covered plains, forests, and taiga. The climate is continental, characterized by large seasonal temperature ranges and low precipitation. It is one of two completely landlocked Canadian provinces.
Although it lacks the vast oil wealth of nearby Alberta, Saskatchewan has enjoyed prosperity in recent decades. In 2006, the provincial Gross Domestic Product was over $36 billion. Labour unions are moderately active in the cities and mining districts.[1]
Saskatchewan is a major agricultural producer. Although fewer than 65,000 farms remain, they are large and highly mechanized, and produce two-thirds of the nation's wheat. With soaring prices on the world market, wheat has been a major money maker. Production fluctuates widely according to the weather and rainfall.
Wheat has always been the primary farm export, but many farmers are increasing production of canola, used for cooking oil. Manufacturing, mining, petroleum also make up over 20% of the economy.
Saskatchewan is the world's largest exporter of potash, a vital ingredient in fertilizer, via the state-owned PotashCorp.[2] Mineral resources also include world-class deposits of uranium as evidenced by towns with names like Uranium City.
Saskatchewan produces 20% of Canada's oil, second only to Alberta. The main deposits are part of the vast "Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin", stretching from British Columbia to Manitoba, as well as parts of Montana and North Dakota.[3]
The first commercial oil was discovered in 1944. The province produces 17% of total Canadian oil production. Crude oil production in 2006 was a record 24.84 million cubic metres (156.3 million barrels). Remaining recoverable reserves at December 31, 2005 were estimated to be 187 million cubic metres (1.18 billion barrels).[4] Production is centered in four regions: Lloydminster, Kindersley-Kerrobert, Swift Current, and Weyburn-Estevan.[5] Most of the oil moves by pipeline to the U.S. and Ontario.
Undeveloped oil sands are located near Churchill Lake. Unlike Alberta's booming Athabasca Oil Sands, Saskatechewan's deposits are located deeper and cannot be surface-mined.[6]
Government owned SaskTel, a Crown corporation with $3.1 billion in infrastructure in place, had $1,067.4 million in revenues in 2007, with profit of $84 million. The fastest growth came in wireless, with revenues of $301.3 million in 2007 from 452,000 cellphones. Over 85% of the population have high speed internet service available, with 206,000 users.[7]
The population has hovered around one million in recent decades. The 2016 population of Saskatchewan was 1,150,600 people.[8] Its largest city is Saskatoon at 246,000, followed by Regina, the provincial capital with 215,000 people. The cities then get much smaller with only two having more than 30,000 people; Prince Albert has 34,000 people while Moose Jaw has a population of 32,000.
The Indian ("Native" or "First Nation") population is about 10%.
The Yorkton Short Film and Video Festival is North America's longest continuously running film festival.[9]
Religion Number
- Roman Catholic 305,390
- Protestant 449,195
- Christian Orthodox 14,280
- Other Christian 27,070
- Muslim 2,230
- Jewish 865
- Buddhist 3,050
- Others 6,750
- Atheist 205,865
- _______ _____
- Totals 895,992
see Canadian sports
The Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League are 1966, 1989, 2007 and 2013 Grey Cup champions.
European contact with Indian peoples occurred during the fur trade era, and increased when agricultural settlement began in the late 19th century. In the early 20th century, that settlement history produced a largely agrarian population concentrated on farms and in communities across the prairie.
National policy set by the federal government, the Canadian Pacific Railway, the Hudson's Bay Company and associated land companies encouraged immigration. Exaggerated advertising campaigns promoted the benefits of prairie living. Potential immigrants read leaflets information painted Canada as a veritable garden of Eden, and downplayed the need for agricultural expertise. Ads in The Nor'-West Farmer by the Commissioner of Immigration implied that western land was blessed with water, wood, gold, silver, iron, copper, and cheap coal for fuel, all of which were readily at hand. Reality was far harsher, especially for the first arrivals who lived in sod houses. However eastern money poured in and by 1913, long term mortgage loans to Saskatchewan farmers had reached $65 million.[11]
The dominant groups comprised British settlers from eastern Canada and Britain, who comprised about 50% of the population during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They played the leading role in establishing the basic institutions of plains society, economy and government.[12]
Gender roles were sharply defined. Men were primarily responsible for breaking the land; planting and harvesting; building the house; buying, operating and repairing machinery; and handling finances. At first there were many single men on the prairie, or husbands whose wives were still back east, but they had a hard time. They realized the need for a wife. In 1901, there were 19,200 families, but this surged to 150,300 families only 15 years later. Wives played a central role in settlement of the prairie region. Their labor, skills, and ability to adapt to the harsh environment proved decisive in meeting the challenges. Women bore the children needed to work the farm. They prepared bannock, beans and bacon, mended clothes, raised children, cleaned, tended the garden, helped at harvest time and nursed everyone back to health. While prevailing patriarchal attitudes made farming seem like man's sphere and obscured women's contributions, the flexibility exhibited by farm women in performing productive and nonproductive labor was critical to the survival of family farms, and thus to the success of the wheat economy.[13]
Province 1905-1918
When Saskatchewan became a province in 1905, political leaders at the time proclaimed its destiny was to become Canada's most powerful province. Saskatchewan embarked on an ambitious province-building program based on its Anglo-Canadian culture and wheat production for the export market. Population quintupled from 91,000 in 1901 to 492,000 to 1911, thanks to heavy immigration of farmers from the U.S., Germany and Scandinavia. Efforts were made to assimilate the newcomers to British Canadian culture and values.[14]
The long-term prosperity of the province depended on the world price of grain, which headed steadily upward from the 1880s to 1920, then plunged down. Wheat output was increased by new strains, such as the "Marquis" strain which matured 8 days sooner and yielded 7 more bushels per acre than the previous standard, "Red Fife". The national output of wheat soared from 8 million bushels in 1896, to 26 million in 1901, reaching 151 million by 1921.
In the 1905 provincial elections, Liberals won 16 of 25 seats in Saskatchewan. The Saskatchewan government bought out Bell Telephone Company in 1909, with the government owning the long-distance lines and left local service to small companies organized at the municipal level.[15] Premier Walter Scott preferred government assistance to outright ownership because he thought enterprises worked better if citizens had a stake in running them; he set up the Saskatchewan Cooperative Elevator Company in 1911. Despite pressure from farm groups for direct government involvement in the grain handling business, the Scott government opted to loan money to a farmer-owned elevator company. Saskatchewan in 1909 provided bond guarantees to railway companies for the construction of branch lines, alleviating the concerns of farmers who had trouble getting their wheat to market by wagon.
Urban reform movements in Regina in the years just prior to the start of the First World War in 1914 depended on support from business and professional groups. City planning, reform of local government, and municipal ownership of utilities were more widely supported by these two groups, often through such organizations as the Board of Trade. Protestant church-related and other altruistic organizations generally supported social welfare and housing reforms, but they were usually less successful in getting their reforms enacted.[16]
The province responded to the First World War in 1914 with patriotic enthusiasm and enjoyed the resultant economic boom. The price of wheat tripled and acreage seeded doubled. The wartime spirit of sacrifice intensified social reform movements that had predated the war and now came to fruition. Saskatchewan gave women the right to vote in 1916 and at the end 1916 passed a referendum to prohibit the sale of alcohol.
The economic crash after the war created an angry agrarian protest movement. Prairie farmers had long considered themselves the victims of powerful corporations—grain companies, banks, and railways—all based in Toronto and Montreal. Attacks on industrialists and financiers blamed high tariffs designed to protect manufacturers at the expense of farmers. During the war farmers felt doubly betrayed. The federal government first promised to exempt their sons from compulsory military service, then canceled the exemption. It imposed a ceiling on wheat prices when they were high, but removed the floor when they were low. The farmers' pent-up frustration led to the formation of the Progressive Party in several provinces; it sent 64 to Ottawa in the 1921 general election.
Eager to control the price of wheat, 46,000 farmers joined together in 1923-4 to set up the Saskatchewan Co-operative Wheat Producers, a "wheat pool" that bought the wheat and held it in elevators for the best price. The pool collapsed financially in 1931 and the federal government had to cover the losses; the coop cntinued as a network of elevators owned by the farmers. It advanced the reform agenda for agricultural development, with full-time district representatives, or fieldmen, who promoted education, demonstrations of farm equipment, community picnics and rallies, and cooperative insurance, among other programs. It continues in operation as Viterra, having taken over Agricore United (based in Manitoba) in 2007. With soaring wheat prices, Viterra's revenues in the first quarter (three months) of 2008 reached $1.3 billion, triple the total the year before.[17]
The Saskatchewan Grain Growers' Association worked with the provincial Liberals and kept them in office until 1929, when a Conservative-led coalition was elected for a term. As wheat prices recovered the late 1920s were golden years. By 1927 Saskatchewan ranked first among the provinces in the production of wheat, oats, rye, and flax, and in sundry other areas. Most important, it ranked first in per capita wealth. With a population of 922,000 in 1931 ranked third in size, behind only Ontario and Quebec.
The Great Depression hit the prairies hard. The world market for wheat collapsed and per capita money income fell 75%. Relief expenditures in the province in 1937 exceeded $40 million, dwarfing the entire 1939 provincial budget of $23 million. The hard-pressed government imposed a new 2% sales tax to cover the promissory notes that had been given to teachers in lieu of salaries.
In 1930 Saskatoon initiated a series of "work for wages" schemes designed to provide the unemployed with unskilled manual jobs. Financed from municipal, provincial, and federal sources, but operated by the city, the projects kept unemployment to manageable levels at first. Before 1932, most experts saw the depression as a temporary anomaly, a short-term emergency requiring no more than short-term emergency measures. By 1932 it was getting much worse with no end in sight. By spring 1932, the federal and provincial governments abandoned expensive public works in favor of the cheaper, more efficient direct relief of giving out cash and foot baskets.[18]
Social structure
As late as 1940, the province was heavily rural, dotted with many small service villages and towns. Two thirds of the people lived on farms. A tenth lived in towns or villages of more than 1,000 population. Another 15% lived in four small cities: Regina, the capital, with a population of 58,000; Moose Jaw, forty miles west of Regina, with 20,000; Saskatoon, the home of the university, with 43,000; and Prince Albert, in the north, with 13,000. The cities were merely larger versions of the country towns; they are primarily trading centers serving rural areas. Railroads, wholesale trade and retail trade employ most of the urban workers. Little economic decision-making power was concentrated in the cities. The small urban upper middle class was composed of professionals and branch managers of national banks and corporations or heads of small local manufacturing or trading organizations. The banks were mostly branch offices with headquarters far to the east; the leading stores were branches of national chains, especially Eaton's, Simpson's, the Hudson's Bay Company. To the farmer and urbanite alike, the names symbolize the world of eastern business that controls their fate, and became the target of political fears.[19]
A pervasive social and economic equality characterized the rural areas. Sharp variations existed between the rich south and the poor north. Farmers in districts of good soil were generally wealthier; large farms of 640 acres to 1200 acres dominated the rich Regina plains and in the Rosetown district west of Saskatoon; small farms of 160 to 320 acres typified the poor-soil regions of the north with small outputs even in years with good weather. Within the province the average assessment per acre of land varied from an index of 9 for the poorest rural municipality to 76 for the wealthiest. Within any one rural community, however, variations in the value of land are small, for the great majority of farms have the same conditions of soil and rainfall. Differences in income did exist within individual rural communities, but they were not large enough to result in the emergence of distinct social classes. There were few hired hands, and tenant farmers were mostly men under age forty who expected to eventually buy or inherit land.[20]
Tommy Douglas and CCF
A new political movement emerged, the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF); its 1933 manifesto promised to eradicate capitalism and put in place a "full program of socialized planning which will lead to the establishment in Canada of the Co-operative Commonwealth." Tommy Douglas (1904–86),[21] a Baptist minister from working class origins, led the CCF to power from 1944-61. Douglas headed the first socialist government elected in Canada, and is recognized as the father of socialized medicine and the leader who put democratic socialism in the mainstream of Canadian politics.
The CCF won in June 1944 with a "Pocket Platform" calling for home ownership and debt reduction; increased old age pensions, mother's allowances, and disability care; medical, dental, and hospital services; equal education; free speech and religion; collective bargaining; and the encouragement of economic cooperatives. The CCF, while rhetorically socialist, did not nationalize banking or industry; it sought a mixed economy, including public, private, and cooperative sectors, with a strong role for private ownership in innovation and competition. In its first term the CCF passed a farm security act, and introduced the most pro-labour trade union act in North America. Saskatchewan became the first province to allow civil servants to organize unions (1944), the first to enshrine a bill of rights prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, colour, or creed (1947), the first to implement compulsory government automobile insurance (1946), and the first to institute a hospital insurance plan (1947).
The CCF was committed to efficiency-oriented planning. Douglas set up an Economic Advisory and Planning Board (EAPB), a cabinet committee with a supporting secretariat, charged with planning economic development strategies for the province and evaluating overall policies and programs. The EAPB evolved into two new agencies: the Budget Bureau and the Government Finance Office. The former was the secretariat for the Treasury Board, the committee of cabinet in charge of allocating budgetary expenditures. In addition, the Budget Bureau had an Organization and Methods unit, which surveyed the operations of various government departments and made recommendations on how they could be managed more effectively. Budgeting became more than the mechanical exercise of allocating money; it became the meeting point of the decision-making process, where all the Douglas government's diverse priorities were integrated.
The CCF set up eleven small Crown corporations including power and telephone utilities bus and airline companies, and ventures into sodium sulfate mining, a woolen mill, and a shoe factory. By 1949 the eleven corporations employed 3,000 workers and had annual revenues of $25 million.
Prosperity returned after 1945, and the population increased gradually. More dramatic was the movement from farms to towns and cities as farming became more mechanized and capital intensive. Increased production of oil, gas, and uranium, and the beginnings of a potash industry helped diversify the economy beyond just wheat.
Native policies
Douglas brought First Nations delegates together in 1946 to form a single organization to represent Indian interests. Three existing organizations merged into the Union of Saskatchewan Indians, which later became the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN). Douglas's EAPB prepared an in-depth analysis of the demographic, social, and economic challenges facing the First Nation population. In the 21st century the FSIN is a strong policy-making and program-delivery organization, arguably one of the most effective of its kind in Canada.[22] CCF initiatives included encouraging northern aboriginals to trade their semi-nomadic lifestyles for lives in urban settings. The establishment of Kinoosao on Reindeer Lake provides an example of how CCF planners established new villages; community development processes excluded local people. Yet, in spite of considerable resistance, various incentives and coercive measures resulted in the movement of nearly all northerners to permanent settlements.
Socialized medicine
In 1959, Douglas promised universal medical care insurance, based on pre-payment, quality service and government administration, and through a scheme acceptable to both doctors and patients. The election of 1960 was fought on this issue; the doctors campaigning against it, but the CCF won.
The CCF comprised two contradictory traditions - a group aligned with a rational, bureaucratic, statist approach to government and a faction dedicated to the populist ideals of democratic participation. The struggle between these two sometimes overlapping factions ended, at least temporarily, with the resignation of Douglas and the succession of Woodrow S. Lloyd (1913–72) as premier in November 1961. Lloyd's statist approach to government dominated the CCF and its policies during the critical period of the introduction of a province-wide system of state-sponsored medical insurance. No referendum or local control through community clinics was permitted in the implementation of the medical insurance plan. The plan was presented to the public not for its approval but for its acceptance. The CCF did consider community involvement necessary. After twenty years in office, a centrist-bureaucratic ideology dominated the party and the anti-statist decentralist in the Saskatchewan CCF was in retreat.[23]
The Saskatchewan Medical Care Insurance Bill became law in November 1961, and the medical society announced doctors would refuse to participate, complaining that it would bring regimentation and would interfere with the doctor-patient relationship. The doctors did strike for a few weeks in July, 1962, but returned when new legislation allowed them to practise outside the system. Eventually the Saskatchewan plan was so popular that in 1968 the federal government extended it nationwide.
Douglas, who led the federal New Democratic Party, a formal alliance between the CCF and organized labour, was defeated in the federal election of 1962, due to the backlash against the CCF's medical care program. In 1964 the Liberal party swept to victory behind Ross Thatcher (1917–71 ),[24] ending 20 years of CCF government. The Liberals had launched a strong party membership drive and engaged in vigorous campaigning on a platform demanding more private enterprise and industrial development; it promised substantial tax cuts. The CCF's internal factionalism, together with lingering reaction to the medical care crisis of 1962 and the separate school issue, contributed to the CCF defeat.
The impact of the Douglas government on the rest of the country was profound, both in public policy and the bureaucratic machinery devised to implement it. After the defeat in 1964, the former administration's influence continued to ripple out from Regina, as senior civil servants left the province and became influential elsewhere.[25]
Recent history
Thatcher and his Liberals were reelected in 1967, but were defeated in a landslide by Allan E. Blakeney (1925- )[26] and the NDP in 1971. The NDP was reelected in 1975, as the long-dormant Progressive Conservative party made a comeback. The NDP decided to nationalize the potash industry in 1976-78 by buying out 45% of the mining interests. By 1979 the Crown Investments Corporation, the holding company for the crowns, had assets of $3.5 billion and revenues of over $1 billion. Nationalization was the central issue in the 1978 elections; the NDP held its own but the Liberals were wiped out and the Progressive Conservative party grew. Prosperity was at hand, with good prices for wheat and expansion of oil and uranium. The NDP spent resource revenues to build on the social welfare legacy of the CCF. It introduced a guaranteed income supplement for senior citizens, a family income plan for the working poor, a children's dental service, and a prescription drug plan. Saskatchewan joined Alberta against Ottawa in the fight for control of natural resources.
Voters went to the polls in 1982 as the economy started slipping, with falling prices for wheat, oil, potash and uranium. The NDP was routed after a dozen years in power, dropping from 45 seats to 9 while the Progressive Conservative party took all the other 55 seats. The new premier was 37-year-old economist Grant Devine (1944- ),[27] who won with a simple populist message: the people should share in the wealth of the province rather than watch it contribute to the expansion of the 24 Crown corporations. The new government ended the 20% tax on gasoline and lower interest rates on mortgages. It was reelected in 1986 and began selling off crown corporations. The government said the companies would operate more profitably as private businesses. The opposition NDP warned that the sales would result in loss of control over the province's key economic sectors.
After taking over balanced books in 1982, the Progressive Conservatives spent liberally on a number of voter-friendly initiatives, including tax rebates and mortgage subsidies, as well as investing millions in several money-losing megaprojects. The provincial deficit peaked at $1.2 billion in 1986-87, and the accumulated debt rose from $3.5 billion to $15 billion. The Progressive Conservatives, based in rural areas and small towns, lost many rural voters after pushing through the unpopular U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement in 1989. As a result, the NDP was returned to power in 1991.
Scandals involving top officials ruined the Progressive Conservative party, which suspended operations in 1997;[28] conservative voters moved to the new Saskatchewan party at the provincial level,[29] and to the Reform party at the national level. The NDP won reelection in 1995 and 1999, and (in coalition with the Liberals) again in 2003. Lerne Calvert (1952- ), an ordained minister,[30] served as NDP premier 2001-2007.
Brad Wall (1965- )[31] became premier as his centre-right Saskatchewan Party took over from the NDP after a landslide victory in the November 2007 election. He announced his intention to retire in August 2017.
Social and economic trends
In 2005 two-thirds of the province's population lived in urban areas, there was a diverse economic base, and citizens enjoyed a rich cultural life. The economic future based on high-priced oil and wheat looks bright. Saskatchewan is the ninth biggest supplier of oil to the U.S., shipping them more than Kuwait. The province has 1.2 billion barrels of recoverable conventional oil and an estimated 1.5 billion barrels of potential oil sands reserves (which create troublesome high carbon emissions).[32]
The rural towns have evolved from a very large number of widely dispersed grain delivery points in 1900, through a period of expansion over the first thirty years of 20th century, to a pattern of relatively concentrated population and businesses in an urban-based economy by 2000. Mechanization, especially the rapid replacement of horses by tractors after 1945, meant one family could operate a much larger farm, so some farmers bought out their neighbors, who then moved to town along with the surplus children. The rural economy diversified far beyond its exclusively agricultural base, with service employment in education and medicine important, as well as small-scale factories. Better highways, along with cell phones and internet coverage encouraged a concentration in fewer, larger centers, which drew customers and clients from a wide radius. Most rural communities declined continuously over the second half of the 20th century, but some grew in population, expanded their economic base, and experienced an increase in their market areas for a limited range of goods and services. These communities also became centers of employment for their own and surrounding (farm and nonfarm) population.[33]
Surveys and reference
- The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan: A Living Legacy. U. of Regina Canadian Plains Research Center, 2005. online 1071pp in print edition
- The Canadian Encyclopedia (2008) a very good starting point
- The Dictionary of Canadian Biography(1966-2006), scholarly biographies of every important person who died by 1930
- Archer, John H. Saskatchewan: A History (1980), a standard survey
- Barnhart, Gordon L., ed. Saskatchewan Premiers of the Twentieth Century. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Center, 2004. 418 pp.
- Bocking, D.H. Pages from the Past: Essays on Saskatchewan History (1979)
- Boswell, Randy. Province with a Heart: Celebrating 100 Years in Saskatchewan (2005) 224pp, popular excerpts and text search
- Friesen, Gerald. The Canadian Prairies: A History (2nd ed. 1987)
- Pitsula, James M. "Disparate Duo" Beaver 2005 85(4): 14-24, a comparison with Alberta, Fulltext in EBSCO
- Richards, J. Howard and K.I. Fung, eds. Atlas of Saskatchewan (1969)
- Waiser, Bill, and John Perret. Saskatchewan: A New History (2005), 563 pp. the major scholarly survey
Specialized studies
- Barnhart, Gordon L. Peace, Progress and Prosperity: A Biography of Saskatchewan's First Premier, T. Walter Scott (2000) excerpt and text search
- Biggs, L. and Stobbe, M., ed. Devine Rule in Saskatchewan: A Decade of Hope and Hardship. Saskatoon: Fifth House, 1991. 342 pp
- Eisler, Dale. Rumours of Glory: Saskatchewan and the Thatcher Years (1987). covers 1964-71 using 134 interviews with prominent figures
- Gruending, Dennis. Promises to Keep: A Political Biography of Allan Blakeney. (1990). 288 pp.
- Harding, Jim, ed. Social Policy and Social Justice: The NDP Government in Saskatchewan during the Blakeney Years. (1995). 484 pp.
- Johnson, A. W. Dream No Little Dreams: A Biography of the Douglas Government of Saskatchewan, 1944-1961. (2004). 370 pp. excerpts and text search
- Lipset, Seymour Martin. Agrarian Socialism: The Cooperative Commonwealth Federation in Saskatchewan, a Study in Political Sociology (1950) online edition, b\y a leading conservative scholar
- Laycock, David. Populism and Democratic Thought in the Canadian Prairies, 1910 to 1945. (1990). 369 pp.
- Leeson, Howard, ed. Saskatchewan Politics: Into the Twenty-First Century. Regina: Canadian Plains Researcg Center, 2001. 425 pp.
- Pitsula, James M. and Ken Rasmussen. Privatizing a Province: The New Right in Saskatchewan. (1990), an attack from the left
- Rea, J. E. "The Wheat Board & the Western Farmer." Beaver 1997 77(1): 14-23. Issn: 0005-7517 Fulltext: Ebsco
- Smith, David E. Prairie Liberalism: The Liberal Party in Saskatchewan, 1905-71 (1975) 352 pages
- Spencer, Dick. Singing the Blues: The Conservatives in Saskatchewan. (2007) 259 pp.
- Stewart, Walter. The Life and Political Times of Tommy Douglas. (2003)
- Wardhaugh, Robert A. Mackenzie King and the Prairie West. (2000). 328 pp.
- Warnock, John W. Saskatchewan: The Roots of Discontent and Protest (2004) 256 pages excerpts and text search
- Weir, Erin. Saskatchewan at a Crossroads: Fiscal Policy and Social Democratic Politics (2004) excerpts and text search
- Young, Walter D. The Anatomy of a Party: The National CCF, 1932-1961, (1969) 328 pages
Social, economic, cultural themes
- Bennett, John W. and Seena B. Kohl. Settling the Canadian-American West, 1890-1915: Pioneer Adaptation and Community Building. An Anthropological History. (1995). 311 pp. online edition
- Bliss, Jacqueline. "Seamless Lives: Pioneer Women of Saskatoon 1883-1903." Saskatchewan History 1991 43(3): 84-100
- Bowen, Dawn Suzanne. "'Forward to a Farm': The Back-to-the-Land Movement as a Relief Initiative in Saskatchewan during the Great Depression." PhD dissertation Queen's U., 1998. 279 pp. DAI 1999 59(7): 2660-A. DANQ27817 Fulltext: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
- Calder, Alison and Wardhaugh, Robert, ed. History, Literature, and the Writing of the Canadian Prairies.U. of Manitoba Press, 2005. 310 pp.
- Cottrell, Michael. "The Irish in Saskatchewan, 1850-1930: a Study of Intergenerational Ethnicity." Prairie Forum 1999 24(2): 185-209. Counting both Catholics and Protestants Irish comprised 10% of the population
- Dale-Burnett, Lisa, ed. Saskatchewan Agriculture: Lives Past and Present. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Center, (2006) 205 pp. short biographies
- Danysk, Cecilia. Hired Hands: Labour and the Development of Prairie Agriculture, 1880-1930. (1995). 231 pp.
- DeBrou, Dave and Moffatt, Aileen, eds. "Other" Voices: Historical Essays on Saskatchewan Women. (1995). 166 pp.
- DeClercy, Cristine. "Women and the Public Sphere in Saskatchewan, 1905-2005." Prairie Forum 2007 32(2): 357-382. Issn: 0317-6282
- Dick, Lyle. Farmers "Making Good": The Development of Abernethy District, Saskatchewan 1880-1920 (1989),
- Emery, George. The Methodist Church on the Prairies, 1896-1914. (2001). 259 pp.
- Fairbanks, C. and S.B. Sundberg. Farm Women on the Prairie Frontier. (1983)
- Friesen, Victor Carl. Where the Rivers Run: Stories of the Saskatchewan and the People Drawn to Its Shores. (2001.) 480 pp.
- Hayden, Michael. Seeking a Balance: The University of Saskatchewan, 1907-1982 (1983) online edition
- Hewitt, Steve. Riding to the Rescue: The Transformation of the RCMP in Alberta and Saskatchewan, 1914-1939. (2006). 205 pp. excerpt and text search
- Hodgson, Heather, ed. Saskatchewan Writers: Lives Past and Present. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Center, 2004. 247 pp. short biographies
- Jones, David C. Empire of Dust: Settling and Abandoning the Prairie Dry Belt. (1987) 316 pp.
- Jones, Harlo L. O Little Town: Remembering Life in a Prairie Village. (1995). 236 pp. memoir of the town of Dinsmore
- Keahey, Deborah. Making It Home: Place in Canadian Prairie Literature. (1998). 178 pp.
- Lalone, Meika and LaClare, Elton. Discover Saskatchewan: A Guide to Historic Sites. (1998). 206 pp.
- Langford, N. "Childbirth on the Canadian Prairies 1880-1930." Journal of Historical Sociology, 1995. Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 278–302.
- Langford, Nanci Louise. "First Generation and Lasting Impressions: The Gendered Identities of Prairie Homestead Women." PhD dissertation U. of Alberta 1994. 229 pp. DAI 1995 56(4): 1544-A. DANN95214 Fulltext: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
- Love, Ronald S. Sasktel: The Biography of a Crown Corporation and the Development of Telecommunications in Saskatchewan (2003)
- Moffatt, Aileen Catherine. "Experiencing Identity: British-Canadian Women in Rural Saskatchewan, 1880-1950." PhD dissertation U. of Manitoba 1996. 324 pp. DAI 1997 58(4): 1411-A. DANN16212 Fulltext: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
- Palmer, Howard. The Settlement of the West (1977) online edition
- McCourt, Edward. Saskatchewan (1968) travel
- Millions, Erin. "Breaking the Mould: a Historiographical Review of Saskatchewan Women's History, 1880-1930." Saskatchewan History 2002 54(2): 31-49.
- Olfert, M. Rose and Jack C. Stabler, "Rural Communities of the Saskatchewan Prairie Landscape." Prairie Forum 2000 25(1): 123-138. Issn: 0317-6282
- Parson, Edna Tyson. Land I Can Own: A Biography of Anthony Tyson and the Pioneers Who Homesteaded with Him in Neidpath, Saskatchewan (1981)
- Pitsula, James M. "Muscular Saskatchewan: Provincial Self-identity in the 1920s." Saskatchewan History 2002 54(2): 6-17.
- Rollings-Magnusson, Sandra. "Canada's Most Wanted: Pioneer Women on the Western Prairies." Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology 2000 37(2): 223-238. Issn: 0008-4948 Fulltext: Ebsco
- Taylor, Georgina M. "'Ground for Common Action': Violet McNaughton's Agrarian Feminism and the Origins of the Farm Women's Movement in Canada." PhD dissertation Carleton U. 1997. 617 pp. DAI 1998 59(4): 1300-A. DANQ26870 Fulltext: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
- Thompson, Christian, ed. Saskatchewan First Nations: Lives Past and Present (2004), short biographies excerpt and text search
- Thompson, John Herd. Forging the Prairie West. (1998)
- Wardhaugh, Robert A., ed. Toward Defining the Prairies: Region, Culture, and History. (2001). 234 pp.
- Warren, Jim and Carlisle, Kathleen, eds. On the Side of the People: A History of Labour in Saskatchewan. Regina: Coteau Books, 2005. 344 pp.
- Wurtele, Susan Elizabeth. "Nation-Building from the Ground Up: Assimilation through Domestic and Community Transformation in Inter-War Saskatchewan." PhD dissertation Queen's U., 1993. 414 pp. DAI 1994 55(1): 135-A. DANN85326 Fulltext: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
Primary sources
- Hillis, Doris, ed. Plainspeaking: Interviews with Saskatchewan Writers. (1988). 304 pp.
- Kates, Jack. Don't You Know It's Forty Below? Cypress, Calif.: Seal, 2000. 451 pp. life in Sheho
- Paget, Amelia M. People of the Plains. (1909, reprint 2004). 199 pp.
- Smith, David E., ed. Building a Province: A History of Saskatchewan in Documents. Saskatoon: Fifth House, 1993. 443 pp.
- Thomas, Lewis Herbert, and T. C. Douglas. The Making of a Socialist: The Recollections of T.C. Douglas (1984) online edition
- railway map (about 1931)
- Highways, (1926)
- political map (2001)
- Geological Atlas of Saskatchewan (2007)
External links
- ↑ Bob Russell, More with Less: Work Reorganization in the Canadian Mining Industry (1999)
- ↑ See "At a Glance" (2006)
- ↑ See "Oil Sands in Saskatchewan" (2006)
- ↑ See "Fact Sheet: Oil in Saskatchewan" (2006)
- ↑ See "Oil and Gas Industry"
- ↑ See "Oil in Saskatchewan"
- ↑ See "SaskTel Reports 2007 Net Income of $84.1 Million," April 23, 2008 and Ronald S. Love, Sasktel: The Biography of a Crown Corporation and the Development of Telecommunications in Saskatchewan (2003)
- ↑ http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/demo02a-eng.htm
- ↑ Cheryl Binning, "Yorkton looks back, pushes forward," Playback Magazine May 22, 2007 online
- ↑ updated to 2005
- ↑ Sandra Rollings-Magnusson, "Canada's Most Wanted: Pioneer Women on the Western Prairies." Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology 2000 37(2): 223-238; W. T. Easterbrook, Farm Credit in Canada 1938.
- ↑ Peter Bush, Western Challenge: The Presbyterian Church in Canada's Mission on the Prairies and North, 1885-1925. (2000); Marjory Harper, "Probing the Pioneer Questionnaires: British Settlement in Saskatchewan, 1887-1914." Saskatchewan History 2000 52(2): 28-46. Issn: 0036-4908
- ↑ Sandra Rollings-Magnusson, "Canada's Most Wanted: Pioneer Women on the Western Prairies." Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology 2000 37(2): 223-238; E. Rowles, "Bannock, beans and bacon: An investigation of pioneer diet." Saskatchewan History, 1952. Vol. V, No 1, pp. 1-16.
- ↑ James M. Pitsula, "Disparate Duo" Beaver 2005 85(4): 14-24.
- ↑ Ronald S. Love, "'A Harebrained Plan': Saskatchewan and the Formation of a Provincial Telephone Policy, 1906-1912." Saskatchewan History 2005 57(1): 15-33.
- ↑ Girard Hengen, "A Case Study in Urban Reform: Regina Before the First World War." Saskatchewan History 1988 41(1): 19-34
- ↑ Ian Macpherson, "Missionaries of Rural Development: the Fieldmen of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, 1925-1965." Agricultural History 1986 60(2): 73-96. Issn: 0002-1482; Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan
- ↑ Eric J. Strikwerda, "From Short-term Emergency to Long-term Crisis: Public Works Projects in Saskatoon, 1929-1932." Prairie Forum 2001 26(2): 169-186. Issn: 0317-6282
- ↑ Lispet, Agrarian Socialism (1971 edition) pp 49-50
- ↑ Lispet, Agrarian Socialism (1971 edition) pp. 51-2
- ↑ See Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan
- ↑ F. Laurie Barron, Walking in Indian Moccasins: The Native Policies of Tommy Douglas and the CCF (1997) online edition
- ↑ Keith Brownsey, "Policy, Bureaucracy and Personality: Woodrow Lloyd and the Introduction of Medicare in Saskatchewan." Prairie Forum 1998 23(2): 197-210; Brett Quiring, "The Social and Political Philosophy of Woodrow S. Lloyd." Saskatchewan History 2004 56(1): 5-20.
- ↑ See Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan
- ↑ Johnson, Dream No Little Dreams (2004)
- ↑ See Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan
- ↑ See Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan
- ↑ "Saskatchewan Tories in Fraud Scandal", McClean's Magazine Nov. 18, 1996
- ↑ See Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan
- ↑ See Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan
- ↑ See Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan
- ↑ Luiza Ch. Savage, "Fuelling up a New Future," Maclean's Mar. 24, 2008
- ↑ M. Rose Olfert and Jack C. Stabler, "Rural Communities of the Saskatchewan Prairie Landscape." Prairie Forum 2000 25(1): 123-138. Issn: 0317-6282
For a more detailed treatment, see [[]].

subset: commoncrawl


text:
NEW YORK (REUTERS) - A winter storm that froze the United States (US) South-east in its tracks pushed north on Thursday, with driving winds and heavy snow snarling travel and closing many schools from Washington to Connecticut, creating havoc for winter-weary parents.
More than 700,000 people, including residents of Georgia and South Carolina hit by a heavy blast of ice a day earlier, were without power as the storm made its way up the coast, closing much of Washington and threatening to drop up to 45cm of snow in some areas.
The repeated storms are taking a toll on schools and families, as snow-related cancellations left parents scrambling to find childcare options and administrators looking at making up lost days by extending classes into the summer.
New York City Public Schools, having taken only one snow day this year, proved a glaring exception and remained open.
Ms Jane Mills, a former teacher from Nashville, Tennessee, who was walking with her six-year-old granddaughter in Brooklyn, said it was "absolutely ridiculous" that public schools were open.
"It's a danger to the students travelling in buses or cars. It's a danger to teachers commuting," said Ms Mills.
About 6,349 US flights were cancelled and another 2,396 were delayed, said flight-tracking website FlightAware.com.
About 1,000 people spent the night on cots and mats at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina, the airport said. Across the state in Durham, motorists stuck in traffic that resembled the gridlock mess in Atlanta two weeks ago found refuge for the night at a mall.
The storm system, which has dumped heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain from eastern Texas to the Carolinas since Tuesday, was blamed for at least 15 deaths in the South.
In New York, a pregnant 36-year-old woman was killed by a private snow plow in a parking lot in Brooklyn, said police spokesman Sergeant Jessica McRorie. Doctors at a nearby hospital were trying to save the baby.
The decision to keep New York City schools open drew criticism from teachers and some parents, who said it was unwise to expect children to travel in dangerous conditions.
"Having students, parents and staff travelling in these conditions was unwarranted," said United Federation of Teachers president Michael Mulgrew. "It was a mistake to open schools."
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio defended the decision, saying the city was not facing the kind of overwhelming snow that would make it impossible for kids to get to school.
Many other districts around the region kept students home.
Ms Francine Fencel, of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, sent her four kids to build igloos in the yard on their sixth snow day this year, but realized the family would be losing holiday time.
"We had all these long weekends scheduled in March when the kids were supposed to be off school, but those have all been taken back because of snow days," Ms Fencel said.
As snow days backed up, school districts from Philadelphia to Charlotte, North Carolina, were considering adding days to make up for lost classes so 180-day minimums could be met.
Parents in Charlotte complained about plans to hold classes during the first two days of spring break in April.
"We understand that families and teachers and staff have made plans," said Charlotte schools spokesman Tahira Stalberte. "We're looking into additional options."
Flights were delayed and cancelled throughout the region, with Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport the hardest hit, FlightAware said.
Ms Pam Foster, 38, of Auburn, Maine, was waiting at a Philadelphia Amtrak station for a train to Portland after two of her flights were cancelled.
"How bad do I want to get home? I'm willing to sit on a train for ten hours," said Ms Foster said, adding she wanted to get home to see her son, who will head to Canada to see his grandparents for next week's winter break.
There were extensive bus service cancellations in Washington, DC, New Jersey and Philadelphia. Federal offices in Washington, and state offices in Connecticut and western Massachusetts were closed. Rhode Island's state legislature called off its sessions for the day.
Winter storm warnings were in effect from North Carolina to Maine. Some 742,603 homes and businesses were without power from Florida to New Jersey, with Georgia and South Carolina, served by utilities including Georgia Power and Duke Energy Corp hardest hit, the Energy Department said.
As the snow moved north, heavy, wet flakes clung to trees and power lines in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
"It's a wet snow," said Mr Tom Grainger, a 52-year-old police officer, as he shovelled a sidewalk. "It's hurting my back, that's for sure."


text:
The MANHART MHtronik is the easiest way to improve the performance of your BMW F8x M3 (Competition / CS) with up to 520 HP and 680 Nm.
As a simple plug and play solution, you can install the MHtronik powerbox between the original engine control unit and the engine sensors to exploit the power reserves of your vehicle. The MHtronik can be easily be installed and removed without the original engine control unit being affected.
MHtronik for the BMW F8x M3 (Competition / CS) offers an upgrade from 431/450/460 HP to 520 HP and from 550 Nm to 680 Nm.
The advantages of the MHtronik are:
- Easy installation and removal
- High quality aluminum case
- TÜV part certification
- Connected to the CAN-BUS system (petrol engine) or exhaust temperature sensor (diesel engine).
- Communication between MHtronics and vehicle happens constantly and every millisecond.
- Water, oil and exhaust gas are always controlled.
- Higher performance only if the operating temperatures are achieved.
For additional questions and specific requests, please reach out to our support team or our dealers.


text:
I'm currently in planning mode for my daughter's end-of-the-school-year class party and am going with my school of fish themed ice cream bar that was originally designed for the beginning of the school year!
It will be a great way to end this great school year! It's fun coming up with themed "school" of fish toppings for the bar.
You can view my full party and tutorials over at Fiskars here.
Or alternatively view my full "That's a Wrap!" end of year party here.
Or my teacher gift ideas and printables here. =)


text:
The Rock face of the Music Radio island is eroding away, as station after station falls into the vast digital sea. Here's a story in Radio Ink about how two FM rockers have been replaced by news and sports broadcasts that were formerly only on the AM band. (The illo for the story is a hideously discolored mug shot of the aged Mick Jagger.) But Rock isn't the only music format that's in trouble. All of them are.
For most of the last century, music and music radio were Xtreme symbiotes. To be popular, or just to be known to more than your local club or coffee house, you had to get your music on the radio. (For some great cinematic history on this, rent Coal Miner's Daughter, just to see how Loretta Lynn established herself as a singer.) That's because you also needed to sell what the radio played, which were recordings. All of those were on plastic discs.
Most music we hear is no longer on discs, or even on the radio.
Radio's biggest advantage since the beginning was being live. This is why it's still essential for talk, and especially for news and sports — the three formats that are winning on FM and keeping AM alive. Radio will remain strong as long as Internet streaming stays complicated (which it is, even on smartphones), and radios remain standard equipment in new cars. But music radio is still dying slowly. Three reasons:
- Music on radio is rarely presented by connoisseurs who know more than you do, and you're glad to learn from. This in fact has been the case for a long time. There remain a few exceptions, but none (to my knowledge) make much money. By contrast, the Net is full of music connoisseurs and connoisseur-like offerings (e.g. Pandora, LastFM, Spotify).
- You don't choose what music you want to hear. You can do that with Spotify or Rhapsody, and to a lesser extent with Pandora and LastFM.
- Advertising. We used to have no choice about enduring it. Now we do.
But music dying on the radio doesn't mean it lives on the Net. At least not in the form of radio stations as we've known them. That's because of copyright laws.
Radio has huge legacy legal advantages over all-digital alternatives on the copyright front. I won't go into the details, because they're complicated beyond endurance, but suffice it to say there is a reason why there are no podcasts of popular music. (Briefly, it's that the podcaster would have to "clear rights" with the copyright holder of every song.) All we get is "podsafe" music, and music from outfits like the ones mentioned above, which have worked their own broad licensing deals with copyright holders — and from radio stations that enjoy similar deals and happen to stream as well.
Note that radio stations pay more, per recording, to copyright holders for streaming than they do for broadcasting on the air. But they get a break on the streaming side if they're already broadcasting music over the air, because they don't have to clear rights with all the artists they play.
The key here is the term "performance." The way the law (in the U.S. at least) is set up, every play of every recording on the radio or over the Net is considered a performance, and the assumption by the copyright absolutists (the RIAA, primarily) is that copyright holders need to be paid for those performances. And they've been putting the squeeze in recent years on music radio to pay as much for performance rights as streamers on the Internet have been forced to pay. (They put those shackles on the Internet radio baby, right in the cradle.) This will also have a chilling effect on music radio.
So an irony of considering recorded music a "performance," for the purpose of extracting royalties from radio stations on the Net and over the air, is that music on both is either going away or turning toward new systems, such as Spotify, LastFM, Pandora and the rest. But no new radio stations, on either the airwaves or the Net. Not if they're going to play music of the RIAA-protected kind, which is most of what we know.
If the record industry were not immune to clues, it would find ways to open up opportunities for new music radio stations on the Net. But I doubt they will, until FM music is on its deathbed, just like it's been on AM since FM wounded it.
Bonus links: Michael Robertson's latest improvement to radio, DAR.fm.


text:
National Intelligence Estimate "Trends in Global Terrorism
As promised, the White House has declassified portions of the controversial National Intelligence Estimate that reportedly says the Iraq War has worsened the terrorist threat. The declassified portions, in their entirety:
Declassified Key Judgments of the National Intelligence Estimate "Trends in Global Terrorism: Implications for the United States"
dated April 2006
Key Judgments
United States-led counterterrorism efforts have seriously damaged the leadership of al-Qa'ida and disrupted its operations; however, we judge that al-Qa'ida will continue to pose the greatest threat to the Homeland and US interests abroad by a single terrorist organization. We also assess that the global jihadist movement—which includes al- Qa'ida, affiliated and independent terrorist groups, and emerging networks and cells—is spreading and adapting to counterterrorism efforts.
• Although we cannot measure the extent of the spread with precision, a large body of all-source reporting indicates that activists identifying themselves as jihadists, although a small percentage of Muslims, are increasing in both number and geographic dispersion.
• If this trend continues, threats to US interests at home and abroad will become more diverse, leading to increasing attacks worldwide.
• Greater pluralism and more responsive political systems in Muslim majority nations would alleviate some of the grievances jihadists exploit. Over time, such progress, together with sustained, multifaceted programs targeting the vulnerabilities of the jihadist movement and continued pressure on al-Qa'ida, could erode support for the jihadists. We assess that the global jihadist movement is decentralized, lacks a coherent global strategy, and is becoming more diffuse. New jihadist networks and cells, with anti-American agendas, are increasingly likely to emerge. The confluence of shared purpose and dispersed actors will make it harder to find and undermine jihadist groups.
• We assess that the operational threat from self-radicalized cells will grow in importance to US counterterrorism efforts, particularly abroad but also in the Homeland.
• The jihadists regard Europe as an important venue for attacking Western interests. Extremist networks inside the extensive Muslim diasporas in Europe facilitate recruitment and staging for urban attacks, as illustrated by the 2004 Madrid and 2005 London bombings. We assess that the Iraq jihad is shaping a new generation of terrorist leaders and operatives; perceived jihadist success there would inspire more fighters to continue the struggle elsewhere.
• The Iraq conflict has become the "cause celebre" for jihadists, breeding a deep resentment of US involvement in the Muslim world and cultivating supporters for the global jihadist movement. Should jihadists leaving Iraq perceive themselves, and be perceived, to have failed, we judge fewer fighters will be inspired to carry on the fight. We assess that the underlying factors fueling the spread of the movement outweigh its vulnerabilities and are likely to do so for the duration of the timeframe of this Estimate.
• Four underlying factors are fueling the spread of the jihadist movement: (1) Entrenched grievances, such as corruption, injustice, and fear of Western domination, leading to anger, humiliation, and a sense of powerlessness; (2) the Iraq "jihad;" (3) the slow pace of real and sustained economic, social, and political reforms in many Muslim majority nations; and (4) pervasive anti-US sentiment among most Muslims—all of which jihadists exploit.
Concomitant vulnerabilities in the jihadist movement have emerged that, if fully exposed and exploited, could begin to slow the spread of the movement. They include dependence on the continuation of Muslim-related conflicts, the limited appeal of the jihadists' radical ideology, the emergence of respected voices of moderation, and criticism of the violent tactics employed against mostly Muslim citizens.
• The jihadists' greatest vulnerability is that their ultimate political solution— an ultra-conservative interpretation of shari'a-based governance spanning the Muslim world— is unpopular with the vast majority of Muslims. Exposing the religious and political straitjacket that is implied by the jihadists' propaganda would help to divide them from the audiences they seek to persuade.
• Recent condemnations of violence and extremist religious interpretations by a few notable Muslim clerics signal a trend that could facilitate the growth of a constructive alternative to jihadist ideology: peaceful political activism. This also could lead to the consistent and dynamic participation of broader Muslim communities in rejecting violence, reducing the ability of radicals to capitalize on passive community support. In this way, the Muslim mainstream emerges as the most powerful weapon in the war on terror.
• Countering the spread of the jihadist movement will require coordinated multilateral efforts that go well beyond operations to capture or kill terrorist leaders.
If democratic reform efforts in Muslim majority nations progress over the next five years, political participation probably would drive a wedge between intransigent extremists and groups willing to use the political process to achieve their local objectives. Nonetheless, attendant reforms and potentially destabilizing transitions will create new opportunities for jihadists to exploit.
Al-Qa'ida, now merged with Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi's network, is exploiting the situation in Iraq to attract new recruits and donors and to maintain its leadership role.
• The loss of key leaders, particularly Usama Bin Ladin, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and al-Zarqawi, in rapid succession, probably would cause the group to fracture into smaller groups. Although like-minded individuals would endeavor to carry on the mission, the loss of these key leaders would exacerbate strains and disagreements. We assess that the resulting splinter groups would, at least for a time, pose a less serious threat to US interests than does al-Qa'ida.
• Should al-Zarqawi continue to evade capture and scale back attacks against Muslims, we assess he could broaden his popular appeal and present a global threat.
• The increased role of Iraqis in managing the operations of al-Qa'ida in Iraq might lead veteran foreign jihadists to focus their efforts on external operations. Other affiliated Sunni extremist organizations, such as Jemaah Islamiya, Ansar al-Sunnah, and several North African groups, unless countered, are likely to expand their reach and become more capable of multiple and/or mass-casualty attacks outside their traditional areas of operation.
• We assess that such groups pose less of a danger to the Homeland than does al-Qa'ida but will pose varying degrees of threat to our allies and to US interests abroad. The focus of their attacks is likely to ebb and flow between local regime targets and regional or global ones.
We judge that most jihadist groups—both well-known and newly formed—will use improvised explosive devices and suicide attacks focused primarily on soft targets to implement their asymmetric warfare strategy, and that they will attempt to conduct sustained terrorist attacks in urban environments. Fighters with experience in Iraq are a potential source of leadership for jihadists pursuing these tactics.
• CBRN capabilities will continue to be sought by jihadist groups. While Iran, and to a lesser extent Syria, remain the most active state sponsors of terrorism, many other states will be unable to prevent territory or resources from being exploited by terrorists.
Anti-US and anti-globalization sentiment is on the rise and fueling other radical ideologies. This could prompt some leftist, nationalist, or separatist groups to adopt terrorist methods to attack US interests. The radicalization process is occurring more quickly, more widely, and more anonymously in the Internet age, raising the likelihood of surprise attacks by unknown groups whose members and supporters may be difficult to pinpoint.
• We judge that groups of all stripes will increasingly use the Internet to communicate, propagandize, recruit, train, and obtain logistical and financial support.
These findings are much less controversial taken in their entirety than the "Iraq War equals more terrorists" meme seized on by the NYT and WaPo when they reported on this. Indeed, my reaction to the "key findings" is basically, "Well, yeah. We're actually paying people to come up with this?!"
UPDATE: While I frequently disagree with Hugh Hewitt, he nails it on this one: "The Times' reporters and editors that ran Sunday's stories were either chumps who got played by anti-Bush leakers, or purposefully deceptive agenda journalists from the anti-Bush fanatics division."


text:
By Anna Von Reitz
I live in Alaska. I know the men at Arco Alaska --- engineers---who developed HAARP over thirty years ago. I am in a position to tell you exactly what HAARP is and is not, why it was developed, and why it is time to stop worrying about HAARP and about nuclear weapons, too.


text:
Anders Nilsson says there isn't a quick fix for the Vancouver Canucks and their leaky defence.
After an unexpectedly bright 14-10-4 start to the season, the Canucks have surrendered an NHL-high 36 goals while suffering regulation losses in six of their last seven games.
"Everyone, including me and the whole team, hasn't played at their best level these last few weeks," said Nilsson, who allowed six goals in Tuesday's 7-5 home loss to the Montreal Canadiens. "Everyone needs to step up. Me personally, I know I can play better. I know I need to play better.
"There's no shortcuts."
It's been ugly at times, with defeats of 7-1, 6-1, 5-1 and that 7-5 setback — games where Vancouver's goalies have often been scrambling in the crease or stretching in futile attempts to stop a wide-open opponent as the club's defensive structure that's been hampered by a number of key injuries collapses around them.
"We haven't managed the puck as well … given up some odd-man rushes, some backdoor plays," said Canucks first-year head coach Travis Green. "It's hard for goalies when you're giving up east-west, grade 'A' chances. Those are tough saves to make.
"For the most part when our goalies have good sight lines and see the puck, they've done a good job saving it."
The netminders are far from innocent victims, with both Nilsson and Jacob Markstrom guilty of soft goals at key times, but Green has been loath to point a finger in their direction.
"If you're trying to get me to pin this on goaltending, I'm not going to do that," Green said Wednesday. "Our goalies are not going to sit there and say they've been standing on their head.
"They're going to sit there and say, 'We need to play a little better.'"
Heading into Wednesday's action, Vancouver had surrendered at least eight more goals than any other team since Dec. 7, with the Canucks' 5-on-5 save percentage sitting at a league-worst .876 over that span.
Since the Canucks beat the Carolina Hurricanes on Dec. 5, Nilsson's 5-on-5 save percentage stands at .891 in his four appearances, including three starts, while Markstrom's sits at .848 in his four starts.
Among goalies across the league with at least 13 appearances, Markstrom ranks 27th with an overall save percentage of .907, while Nilsson is 30th at .905.
Nilsson said it's not a coincidence the Canucks, who visit the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, and their goalies both find themselves in a funk at the same time.
"Everything is connected," said the Swede. "At the beginning of the year we played really good as a team structurally, and both me an Marky were playing really good. The team has been struggling a little bit, and both me and Markstrom have been struggling a little bit, too.
"If the team plays good, usually the goalie plays good. If the goalie has a shutout, it's not just because of the goalie — it's because the whole team has been playing good in front of us."
There's no doubt injuries have played a factor in the deluge of goals the Canucks have surrendered.
No. 1 centre Bo Horvat's broken foot has coincided with the slide, while checking centre Brandon Sutter (upper body) and top-pair defenceman Christopher Tanev (groin) are also on the sidelines.
Asked if there needs to be tweaks or changes to the Canucks' structure with so many key pieces out — perhaps pulling back on Green's aggressive system that encourages defenceman to jump up in the play — captain Henrik Sedin instead doubled down on what made the club successful early on this season.
"We're not being as aggressive as we need to be," he said. "When we play at our best, we're on our toes, our forecheck is really good. When we have that in our game it's like everything falls into place. Right now we're in between a lot of times, and we're not skating hard enough to get in on the forecheck.
"It's easy sometimes to look at what happens in our end, but it starts in their end with a good forecheck. That needs to be our focus."
Notes: Vancouver re-assigned forward Michael Chaput to the AHL's Utica Comets on Wednesday. … Green wouldn't say whether or not defenceman Ben Hutton, who was a healthy scratch against Montreal, would draw back into the lineup in San Jose. Vancouver's only victory in last seven games was Friday's 4-3 overtime win against the Sharks.
Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press


text:
Perfume Bottle Premium Nail Stickers
Perfume Bottle Premium Nail Stickers
EASY TO USE: Don't struggle with messy, water transfer nail decals! Just Peel and Stick!
VERSATILE: Works with regular polish or gel polish, as well as acrylic nails!
THIN AND STRONG: The thinnest nail stickers you will find! Thin yet hard to rip or tear and can last 1 to 2 weeks! Looks discreet like it was directly painted on!
VALUE: 5"x3" sheet with 50 to 100 stickers! (varies by design)
HIGH QUALITY: Made in KOREA - The most premium nail stickers on the market! Quality guaranteed!
The Catwalk Premium Nail Stickers are the easiest to use! Just peel and stick! Whether you want to apply them over your natural nails, artificial nails or over your favorite nail polish color (regular or gel), these stickers will make your nails look like you had a professional manicure done but without the time and money you would spend at a salon! They are thin yet extremely durable and last 1-2 weeks, depending on your top coat! Each 5"x3" sheet comes with 50 to 100 stickers (varies by design).


text:
Even by the rather lax standards of the Christian film industry, God's Not Dead is a disaster. It's an uninspired amble past a variety of Christian-email-forward boogeymen that feels far too long at just 113 minutes. Resembling a megachurch more than a movie, it's been designed not to convey any particular message, but to reinforce the stereotypes its chosen audience already holds. It weirdly fetishizes persecution, and many of its story decisions—like randomly tossing in Duck Dynasty stars Willie and Korie Robertson or concluding on an endless concert from popular Christian rock group Newsboys—seem designed to simply get butts in seats. To say God's Not Dead preaches to the choir would be an understatement. It's the pastor, staring in a mirror, preaching to himself.
The most worthwhile moments of God's Not Dead come from Kevin Sorbo, of all people, who plays the film's mustache-twirler of a villain, professor Jeffrey Radisson. Professor Radisson teaches an introduction to philosophical thought course that asks students, on the first day, to write on a sheet of paper that God is dead, then sign it for credit, so that he can move past the early stuff and get to the things he finds more fulfilling. As Radisson, Sorbo is playing a transparently awful person, but he has fun with his most villainous moments and even locates a few notes of sorrow and regret in Radisson's backstory.
That makes it all the easier to side with Radisson against the film's protagonist and supposed hero, young Josh Wheaton (Shane Harper), a freshman who ends up in Radisson's class and decides to not just refuse to write that God is dead but also take the professor up on his challenge to somehow prove the existence of God in front of the class. Josh does this mostly by arguing that maybe he can't prove God exists but Radisson can't prove he doesn't either, and by using complex computer animations of the galaxy that recall Fox's recent reboot of Cosmos, which he apparently pulled together in his spare time over a couple of days. (Josh is evidently fine with both the Big Bang theory and evolution, but only if God's behind them.) Josh, and the film that takes his viewpoint, doesn't dare actually engage with Radisson's arguments; any legitimate critiques of Christianity are ignored in favor of suggesting that all atheists are just haters who need someone to ask them to point out on the doll where organized religion touched them.
Because God's Not Dead appears to take much of its inspiration from Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia, a half-dozen other plots that have little to nothing to do with Radisson and Josh's battle are indifferently sprinkled throughout, the better to work in as many other email-forward antagonists as possible. The superfluous side characters include a woman who has converted to Christianity right under her Muslim family's nose, a liberal blogger who receives a troubling medical diagnosis, a Christian woman who fears she is "unequally yoked" to a non-believer, a hip pastor and his African missionary friend who just want to go to Disney World, a douchebag businessman who adds nothing to the film except for getting to be played by Dean Cain, and a young Chinese student who frequently calls his father back in China to tell him about God and allow the audience to stew thoughtfully over the threat of communism. The film's screenplay even finds room for a subplot involving the Newsboys, even though the band doesn't show up until the film is mostly over.
As in Magnolia, the way these storylines come together is meant is provoke contemplation of a central thesis. But the frog shower in Magnolia provided more compelling proof of God's existence than anything in God's Not Dead. The movie's deck-stacking arguments could be refuted in a matter of seconds by a pro-atheist subreddit. Sorbo leavens the film from time to time, but director Harold Cronk has absolutely no idea how to frame shots or pace scenes, and too many of them stretch on interminably and indifferently. Christian films are often done in by their need to follow a literal come-to-Jesus storyline, but at least movies like the Kirk Cameron vehicle Fireproof offer up an earnest intensity that makes them somewhat watchable. God's Not Dead reduces all of its characters to props in an object lesson.
The film's closing credits open with a lengthy list of recent court cases in which on-campus religious groups have argued their First Amendment rights have been infringed upon. There's far more drama in these cases, reduced to a series of blurbs, than in the movie's central plot. But if God's Not Dead had actually engaged with its story or characters, it wouldn't have had time for reality-star cameos and rock concerts. Cronk sort of knows what a movie looks like, but he doesn't get how hilarious it is that he concludes his own film with the rom-com cliché of someone running through the rain to profess his love—in this case, to Jesus. Even the usual Christian stakes of going to hell aren't really an issue here. Instead, the film finds its stakes in the suggestion that the greatest persecution of all isn't dying for your beliefs, but being forced to accept that other people might believe something different.


text:
Old school funky track with positive vibe and perfect beat that will blow you away and makes you feel good!
Videohive projects with our music
It's in the Cloud – Funky Positive Music Pack
Vintage Shots – Commercial Beat
Video Boxes – Building a New Tomorrow
Film Strip Memories – Crazy Fruits
Our top sellers:
We'll be very thankful if you share with us your projects! It's always nice to know how your music is beeing used.
For more info, questions, suggestions or anything else visit our website
For more tracks from us, please check out our non-exclusive profile


text:
Make a DIY Bounce Wall Using Cardboard and a Clothes Hanger
Earlier this week, we shared a funky piece of camera equipment called the Bounce-Wall, which features a large card that serves as a surface to bounce your flash off when you're out and about. While the pricing wasn't available at the time, David Hobby of Strobist has since revealed that it'll carry a $99 when it's released later this month.
If you don't have any free benjamins to drop on this product — or don't want to wait — the fine folks over at Lighting-Academy have created a ghetto do-it-yourself version you can build and use. All you'll need is an old wire clothes hanger, a piece of cardboard, some aluminum foil, a clothespin, and a tripod screw. The tutorial is in German, so you might need to use an online translater or base your build off the pictures alone.
DIY Wall Bounce for 99 cents [Lighting-Academy via Strobist]


text:
Chana Patti Kora Silk Saree15256
- ₹36,225
Chana Patti Jungla Banarasi Kora Silk Saree handwoven in lavender with silver and gold zari.
Saree length 5.5 meters Blouse 1 meter (unstitched)
Care Instructions
Dry Clean only.
Iron at minimum temperature.
Keep folded in muslin or cotton and refold regularly to allow the natural yarn to breathe.
Lighter fabrics like Organza, Kora Silk, Tissue Silk should be kept on rolls.
We recommend you avoid use of perfume directly on fabric.
Variations in yarn, weave and colour with occasional fiber migration are unique and intrinsic to this handwoven luxury textile. This is a delicate textile and requires care during use, handling and storage. Kindly Note: The original colour may vary slightly due to your device screen settings or photography.
For a more in depth academic introduction to the weave and design, we are just a click or call away.


text:
If you wake up with a headache after a night of overindulging, sometimes figuring out what painkiller to take can make the headache even worse. Taking acetaminophen (aka Tylenol) can lead to liver damage, but take note: you're also not supposed to drink while taking ibuprofen.
Ibuprofen drugs (like Advil) are part of the anti-inflammatory drug family known as NSAIDs, which can cause tears in the stomach lining if taken on an empty belly. Add alcohol to the mix, and the potential danger is heightened. If you take ibuprofen when drinking more than the recommended amount for women (about two to three drinks), you increase your risk of stomach irritation and bleeding. This is especially true for people who are prone to ulcers.
But wait! Taking Tylenol when you're hungover isn't such a good idea either, and aspirin has its downsides too. Acetaminophen can lead to liver damage if you take it in large doses for more than a couple of days. Heavy drinkers who take acetaminophen and don't eat enough can overtax their livers. According to researchers at Harvard Medical School:
If you drink a lot of alcohol – say, on a Saturday night – and take a normal dose of acetaminophen to deal with the hangover in the morning, you probably are not going to have liver problems. . . . The trouble starts when regular heavy drinkers take a lot of acetaminophen over a period of time – several days, at least, and maybe longer. (In this context, heavy drinkers are defined as people who regularly have three or more drinks a day.) A drinking habit and a poor diet often go hand in hand. Multiple high doses of acetaminophen are more dangerous for drinkers partly because their glutathione levels tend to be low because they don't eat well.
It may sound like popping a few Tylenols after a night or two of heavy drinking can't hurt, but the risks associated with taking Tylenol after recreational drinking are somewhat blurry. A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory group found in a review of its database and a large liver failure study that the median dose that led to liver failure was between 5,000 and 7,000 milligrams of acetaminophen per day – scarily close to the current daily limit of 4,000 milligrams (eight extra-strength Tylenol). The FDA group recommended lowering the daily limit to 3,250 milligrams (or 10 regular-strength Tylenol pills a day) to help prevent accidental overdose.
So what's a hungover, headache-plagued gal to do – besides not drinking so much in the first place? Since the jury is still out on the exact effects of combining Advil or Tylenol with booze, it's probably best just to tough it out. While a recent study in rats found that coffee and aspirin are the best remedies for relieving hangover symptoms, it didn't look at possible alcohol interactions – and it is known that taking aspirin with alcohol can increase your risk of stomach bleeding. If you're looking to remedy a hangover, your best bet is to go natural with options like this fresh-pressed hangover juice or a yoga sequence to relieve your symptoms. Even better, help prevent a hangover the next time with these tips.
Source: Pop Sugar


text:
Friction Quartet, recipient of the 2012 Berkeley Piano Club Emerging Artist Award, has established a reputation for edgy programming and exhilarating performance. Ever since Friction Quartet's performance at the 2012 Hot Air Music Festival, where Examiner.com's Stephen Smoliar hailed the quartet's performance of John Adams' String Quartet as "with energetic gusto" and with "no shortage of wit," Friction has been inundated with requests from composers throughout California to perform their new works for the string quartet medium. Through artistic collaboration in varied mediums, the commissioning of new works, crossing into genres outside of classical music, adding movement to performances, and incorporating mixed medias, Friction Quartet creates a progressive and inviting concert atmosphere that attracts audiences of all ages and interests.
Friction Quartet's residency at the Culver Center of the Arts includes an exciting public master class where UCR student composer works will be read and workshopped. Not only are these sessions an invaluable resource for student composers, but also offer a fascinating glimpse into the creative process for general audiences. Here, new playing techniques are tested, phrasing and dynamics evaluated, and interactive electronics, a hallmark of the UCR Music Department's digital composition program, are fine-tuned. In this environment, the group will have a direct dialogue with composers that transcend the printed notes on the page.
More info: http://www.frictionquartet.com


text:
Packing Service Grays Inn - Packers and Movers
Packing Services in Grays Inn. Professional Packing Service Makes Your Move Easier. Get Online Quote and Order Our Movers and Packers for Your Move.
- Packing and Unpacking services in Grays Inn.
- Our Packers will pack, protect and prepare your Household items for Move.
- Disassembling and protecting your furniture's for a safe move.


text:
See also: www.southasiaanalysis.org
At the end of her talks with Mr.Salman Bashir, her Pakistani counterpart, at New Delhi on February 25, 2010, Mrs.Nirupama Rao, the Indian Foreign Secretary, projected the initiative taken by India in proposing this meeting as meant to reduce the post-26/11 trust deficit between the two countries as a prelude to a wider dialogue at different levels on the various contentious issues----though not necessarily in the form of a reversion to the composite dialogue process to which Pakistan continues to be attached.
2. Her projection was positive and sought to convey two messages to the Indian audience whom she was addressing. Firstly, India had kept the focus of the meeting largely on terrorism. There were references to other issues such as Kashmir, the river waters, Pakistani allegations relating to Balochistan etc by the Pakistani Foreign Secretary, but these references did not detract from the fact that it was a meeting largely about India's expectations of Pakistani action against terrorism. Secondly, the meeting was the beginning of a process of re-building the trust between the two countries and she kept open the possibility of more such meetings to follow before there was a resumption of formal negotiations between the two countries.
3.This positive picture which emerged from her media briefing was damaged by the media briefing by Mr.Bashir in the Pakistani High Commission, which followed about two hours after her briefing. He and his Government in Islamabad knew by then the way India sought to project the meeting to its own people and to the international community and they were under an understandable compulsion to convince their people that India had not succeeded in keeping the focus of the meeting largely on terrorism as the Indian Foreign Secretary had claimed and that Pakistan had succeeded in giving the meeting a much larger content by raising various other issues.
4. In his understandable attempt to convince his own people that Pakistan had frustrated Indian attempts to keep the meeting confined to a single-issue agenda, Mr.Bashir used language, which was often sarcastic and dismissive and devoid of the politeness and diplomatic finesse which characterised Mrs. Rao's media interaction throughout. He showed a lack of sensitivity to India's concerns on terrorism-related issues except its concern regarding Pakistani action against the Pakistan-based conspirators of the 26/11 terrorist strikes. His media briefing gave an unmistakable impression that while Pakistan was somewhat serious about action against the 26/11 conspirators in Pakistan, it was not prepared to consider other Indian demands relating to action against Hafeez Mohammad Sayeed, the Amir of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET), and the Pakistan-based terrorist infrastructure directed against India. Action in specific cases such as the 26/11 terrorist strikes, yes, but action against the terrorist infrastructure, no. That was his clear message.
5. The kind of language used by Mr.Bashir and his ridiculing of many of Indian concerns relating to terrorism have given rise to two questions----Was the meeting worthwhile? Is it necessary to follow it up with more such meetings as India had intended?
6.Mr.Bashir's actions are bound to strengthen the arguments of the skeptics in India who believe in the futility of any dialogue with Pakistan and embarrass those who are arguing otherwise. Instead of contributing to a reduction of the trust deficit, he has strengthened it. The resulting dilemma could be attributed to the over-haste with which the initiative for the meeting was pushed through by the Government of India without wider consultations at the inter and intra-party levels and the failure to work for a certain convergence with Islamabad before the meeting on its format, agenda and the briefing of the media in the two countries even if it was not intended to issue a joint statement.
7. What we had was one meeting, two agendas, two media briefings disseminating two contradictory versions of what transpired and more confusion and distruct after the meeting than there was before it.
8. What are the lessons from the unfortunate experience? Lesson No.1: While anxiety for a dialogue with an adversary such as Pakistan is understandable, over-anxiety for a dialogue and over-haste in organising it could be counter-productve. Lesson No.2: Any meeting at any level---political or bureaucratic--- which is not preceded by careful preparations could prove a meaningless exercise.
9. In spite of what happened at New Delhi on February 25,2010, Mr.P.Chidambaram, our Home Minister, should go ahead with his visit to Islamabad next month to attend the SAARC Home Ministers' conference and his discussions with Mr.Rehman Malik, his Pakistani counterpart, in the margins of the conference to work out a modicum of a mechanism for mutual legal assistance in all criminal cases, including those relating to terrorism. If he succeeds, that could pave the way for a fruitful visit by our Foreign Secretasry to Pakistan in response to the invitation extended by Mr.Bashir.
10. In the meanwhile, it is important for Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh to initiate a process of wider political consulations on our relations with Pakistan in order to convince other political parties that the Government would not sacrifice our core concerns on Pakistan's continued use of terrorism against India to force a change in the status quo in Kashmir while re-starting the dialogue process. His tendency to maintain unwarranted secrecy in such matters and his habit of avoiding wider consultations continue to give rise to an impression that American interests and perceptions are playing a larger than desirable role in influencing our policies vis-a-vis Pakistan. ( 26-2-10)
The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai.
Published by i On Global Trends - Mike Hitchen Online - news, opinion, analysis
See also Sydney Irresistible and for personal comment, Mike Hitchen Unleashed
Putting principles before profits
See also Sydney Irresistible and for personal comment, Mike Hitchen Unleashed
Putting principles before profits


text:
April is National Poetry Month
Sonnets, Haiku, Free Verse... Shel Silverstein, Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost... There is a poet and style of poetry to suit you. You can sample a wide range of poetry in the juvenile nonfiction collection between 808.81 and 821.92: individual poems, collections of poems, poems to ponder silently to yourself, poems to read aloud. If you want to memorize a special poem, you might peruse a collection like: Poems to Learn by Heart, selected by author Caroline Kennedy, pictured to the left.
You can also create your own poem -- from your imagination or observation. If you look carefully enough, you can find poems all around you -- like on the spines of books at the library -- just waiting to be discovered:
Find other ideas for celebrating National Poetry Month at ReadWriteThink.


text:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Spending on veterans' health care could double in three years under the Senate's solution to the long waits experienced by thousands seeking medical care at VA hospitals and clinics, according to congressional budget experts.
Both the Senate bill and a House version also passed this past week would dramatically expand government-paid health care. They would require the Veterans Affairs Department to pay private providers to treat qualifying veterans who can't get prompt appointments at the VA's nearly 1,000 hospitals and outpatient clinics or who live at least 40 miles from one of them.
Once the program was fully in place, the budget office said it expected that veterans "would ultimately seek additional care that would cost the federal government about $50 billion a year" — double current spending.
The bills are Congress's response to a growing uproar over patients dying while awaiting VA treatment and mounting evidence that workers falsified or omitted appointment schedules to mask frequent, long delays. The resulting election-year firestorm forced VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to resign two weeks ago.
An audit released last week showed that more than 57,000 veterans have had to wait at least three months for initial appointments. An additional 64,000 veterans who asked for appointments over the past decade never got them.
The VA has confirmed that at least 35 veterans died while awaiting appointments at VA facilities in the Phoenix area, although officials say they can't say whether not getting VA treatment caused any of the deaths.
More than 8 million of the nation's 21 million veterans are now enrolled in VA health care although only about 6.5 million seek VA treatment every year. The CBO analysts said VA now covers about 30 percent, or an average $5,200, of those veterans' annual health care costs, excluding long-term care.
The Senate bill would open up VA health care to as many as 8 million veterans who now qualify for VA health care but have not enrolled, the budget office said. By making it easier to get outside care, the Senate bill and a companion measure in the House also would encourage veterans to seek VA coverage for a bigger portion of their health care, the report said.
Both bills would make it easier to fire or demote senior agency officials, and both would end bonuses to regional VA officials and other administrators based on meeting patient scheduling goals — a practice investigators say led some officials to create phony waiting lists to "game" the system.
But the Senate bill also would devote at least $1 billion to leasing 26 facilities in 17 states and Puerto Rico for use as new VA hospitals or clinics and $500 more million for hiring more VA doctors and nurses. Declaring the long appointment waits an emergency, the Senate averted having to raise taxes or find spending cuts elsewhere to cover the bill's costs.
"By resorting to abusing the emergency escape clause, Washington is once again looking for the easy way out," said Maya MacGuineas, president of the Center for a Responsible Federal Budget, a bipartisan policy group devoted to cutting federal deficits.
MacGuineas' group criticized the Senate's bill in a lengthy blog post after it passed, saying it would swell the government's debt by creating a new unfunded entitlement program bigger than Congress's expansion of Medicare in 2003 to cover prescription drugs.
"We can't just write a blank check and think it will solve these problems," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., one of three senators who voted against the bill. He said "veterans deserve better than that."
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., one of the bill's authors, lashed back, "If it is not an emergency that we have neglected the brave men and women who have served this country and keep us free, then I do not know what an emergency is."
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, said the bill was expensive, but so were the wars that veterans have served in. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan alone will have cost at least $3 trillion, he said.
"If we can spend that kind of money to go to war … surely we can spend (less than) 1 percent of that amount to take care of the men and women who fought those wars," he said.
The CBO did not provide a complete cost estimate on the House bill, which includes no provisions for new hospitals or clinics or hiring more VA doctors and nurses.
Both measures would spend billions to provide outside care for veterans, although the House would require Congress to appropriate money for it each year.
House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller, R-Fla., said Congress would have to cover the costs, but he didn't know where the money would come from.
"We'll have to find a way," he told reporters after the Senate bill passed. "It's not going to be cheap. We know it."
Miller also said there would be negotiations with the Senate over final legislation. "We're not just accepting the Senate bill," he said.
Sanders was optimistic that a quick deal could be reached. "I've worked with Jeff Miller. I think we can work things out," he said.
Associated Press writer Alan Fram contributed to this story.