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Press Release
State to File Amicus Brief in Support of Fairbanks North Star Borough
March 23, 2009
Juneau, Alaska - At the direction of Governor Sarah Palin, Acting Attorney General Richard Svobodny today filed an amicus brief on behalf of the state supporting the Fairbanks North Star Borough's request to the United States Supreme Court to reverse a decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The issue in the case, Fairbanks North Star Borough v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is whether the borough can appeal a decision by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers -- that a parcel of land is "wetlands," subject to its jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act -- without first going through a long and costly permitting process.
The case arose from a decision by the Corps that a 2.1 acre tract of land in Fairbanks, underlain by permafrost in places, contained "waters of the United States" and was within the jurisdiction of the Corps. The borough, which owns the land, seeks to build a playground and athletic field on it. If the parcel is considered "wetlands" under the Corps' jurisdiction, the borough cannot develop it without a permit from the Corps. Rather than incur the substantial costs and delays involved with filing for and waiting for an ultimate decision on the permit, Fairbanks filed an administrative appeal of the Corps' jurisdictional determination. The Corps ruled against it; the borough then appealed to the federal courts, and the Ninth Circuit ruled that the Corps' decision was not final and, therefore, could not be appealed. Fairbanks has now petitioned the Supreme Court to hear the case.
"Federal 'wetlands' jurisdiction is a classic example of property owners' constant struggle with the federal government to determine their own destiny," Governor Palin said. "I'm hopeful that our intervention will result in a streamlined process in which would-be developers know where they stand from the beginning."
"The Corps uses a definition of 'wetlands' that is so broad and vague that millions of acres of state, private, and community land may be considered 'wetlands,' " Svobodny said. "Property owners seeking to use their land cannot, in many instances, be sure of the land's wetland status and need a way to quickly and finally resolve that issue so that the time and money required to go through the permitting process are not unnecessarily wasted or do not become cause for the project to be abandoned. The State's amicus brief supports the Fairbanks North Star Borough's arguments by providing a statewide context for this issue and should help the Supreme Court in understanding why it is important to accept the case for review."
In the amicus brief, the state will argue that a landowner should be able to immediately appeal a Corps decision that a parcel of land is within its jurisdiction, rather than being forced to first spend substantial time and money on permits. This issue is particularly important in Alaska where approximately 43 percent of all land is potentially subject to a Corps' wetlands determination.
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Clinical Evaluation of MDT-2111 in Subjects With Small Aortic Annuli and Symptomatic Severe Aortic Stenosis
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01634269
Recruitment Status : Active, not recruiting
First Posted : July 6, 2012
Last Update Posted : October 30, 2015
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- Results Submitted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
|Condition or disease
|Aortic Valve Stenosis
|Device: MDT-2111 TAVI 23 mm
|Not Applicable
|Study Type :
|Interventional (Clinical Trial)
|Estimated Enrollment :
|25 participants
|Intervention Model:
|Single Group Assignment
|None (Open Label)
|Primary Purpose:
|Study Start Date :
|July 2012
|Actual Primary Completion Date :
|April 2015
|Estimated Study Completion Date :
|September 2019
|Experimental: MDT-2111 TAVI 23 mm
Device: MDT-2111 TAVI 23 mm
Device: 23 mm MDT-2111 System for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) using the 23 mm MDT-2111 system.
- Change in composite score of New York Heart Association (NYHA) Class and effective orifice area (EOA). [ Time Frame: baseline and 6 months ]
- Change in NYHA classification from baseline [ Time Frame: baseline and 30 days, 6 months, 12 months, and annually thereafter up to five years ]
- The occurrence of individual Major Adverse Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Event (MACCE) components [ Time Frame: 5 Years ]
MACCE is defined as a composite of:
- all-cause death
- myocardial infarction (MI)
- all stroke, and
- reintervention (defined as any cardiac surgery or percutaneous reintervention catheter procedure that repairs, otherwise alters or adjusts, or replaces a previously implanted valve)
- Device success as defined in the description. [ Time Frame: from admission for procedure to discharge, on average less than 1 week ]
- successful vascular access, delivery and deployment of the device, and successful retrieval of the delivery system
- correct position of the device in the proper anatomical location (placement in the annulus with no impedance on device function)
- Intended performance of the prosthetic valve (aortic valve area >1.2 cm2 (by echocardiography using the continuity equation) and mean aortic valve gradient < 20 mmHg or peak velocity < 3 m/sec, without moderate or severe prosthetic valve AR)
- Only one valve implanted in the proper anatomical location
- Procedural success, defined as device success and absence of in-hospital MACCE [ Time Frame: from admission for procedure to discharge, on average less than 1 week ]
- Echocardiographic assessment of prosthetic valve performance [ Time Frame: 5 Years ]Measured by transvalvular mean gradient, effective orifice area, degree of aortic valve regurgitation (transvalvular and paravalvular), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).
- Repeat hospitalization [ Time Frame: 5 Years ]
- Valve-related deaths [ Time Frame: 5 Years ]
- All adverse events [ Time Frame: 5 Years ]
- Quality of Life assessment using SF-36 questionnaire [ Time Frame: 5 Years ]
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|Child, Adult, Older Adult
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- Subject must have co-morbidities such that one cardiologist and one cardiac surgeons agree that medical factors preclude operation, based on a conclusion that the probability of death or serious morbidity exceeds the probability of meaningful improvement.
Subject has senile degenerative aortic valve stenosis with:
mean gradient > 40 mmHg or jet velocity greater than 4.0 m/s by either resting or dobutamine stress echocardiogram, or simultaneous pressure recordings at cardiac catheterization (either resting or dobutamine stress), AND an initial aortic valve area of ≤ 0.8 cm2 (or aortic valve area index ≤ 0.5 cm2/m2) by resting echocardiogram.
- Subject is symptomatic from his/her aortic valve stenosis, as demonstrated by NYHA Functional Class Class III or greater. If screening committee agrees the eligibility of a patient with class II , based on medical factors, he/she can be enrolled.
- Patient has been informed of the nature of the trial and has signed an Informed Consent Form.
- Patient agrees to comply with specified follow-up evaluations and to return to the same investigational site where the procedure was performed.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Evidence of an acute myocardial infarction ≤ 30 days prior to the intended treatment.
- Any percutaneous coronary or peripheral interventional procedure performed within 30 days prior to the procedure.
Blood dyscrasias as defined:
- Leukopenia (WBC count < 1,000 cells/mm3)
- Thrombocytopenia (platelet count <50,000 cells/mm3)
- History of bleeding diathesis or coagulopathy
- Hypercoagulable states
- Untreated clinically significant coronary artery disease requiring revascularization.
- Cardiogenic shock manifested by low cardiac output, vasopressor dependence, or mechanical hemodynamic support.
- Need for emergency surgery for any reason.
- Severe ventricular dysfunction with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) < 20% as measured by resting echocardiogram.
- Recent (within 6 months) cerebrovascular accident (CVA) or transient ischemic attack(TIA).
- End stage renal disease requiring chronic dialysis.
- GI bleeding within the past 3 months.
A known hypersensitivity or contraindication to any of the following which cannot be adequately pre-medicated:
- Aspirin
- Ticlopidine
- Heparin
- Contrast media
- Nitinol (titanium and nickel alloy)
- Ongoing sepsis, including active endocarditis.
- Subject refuses a blood transfusion.
- Life expectancy < 12 months due to associated non-cardiac co-morbid conditions.
- Other medical, social, or psychological conditions that in the opinion of an Investigator precludes the subject from appropriate consent.
- Severe dementia (resulting in either inability to provide informed consent for the trial/procedure, prevents independent lifestyle outside of a chronic care facility, or will fundamentally complicate rehabilitation from the procedure or compliance with follow-up visits).
- Currently participating in an investigational drug or another device trial. Note: Trials requiring extended follow-up for products that were investigational, but have since become commercially available, are not considered investigational trials.
- Symptomatic carotid or vertebral artery disease.
- Native aortic annulus size < 18 mm or > 20 mm per the screening diagnostic imaging.
- Pre-existing prosthetic heart valve in any position.
- Mixed aortic valve disease (aortic stenosis and aortic regurgitation with predominant aortic regurgitation).
- Mitral regurgitation (moderate to severe) or severe tricuspid regurgitation.
- Moderate to severe mitral stenosis.
- Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy.
- Echocardiographic evidence of intracardiac mass, thrombus or vegetation.
- Severe basal septal hypertrophy with an outflow gradient.
- Ascending aorta diameter > 34 mm
- Congenital bicuspid or unicuspid valve verified by echocardiography.
For patients with native coronary artery dependent circulation:
- Sinus of valsalva width < 25 mm OR
- Height of the left or right coronary sinus of valsalva (to the tubular aorta) < 15mm.
Femoral or iliac artery of the first choice corresponding to any one of the followings:
- Angle at aortic root (the angle between aortic valve annulus plane and horizontal plane/vertebra) exceeds 70°.
- Vessel diameter of femoral or iliac artery is less than 6 mm.
- Aorta has severe calcification, excess tortuosity or severe atherosclerosis.
- Transarterial access not able to accommodate an 18Fr sheath.
Subclavian artery of the second choice corresponding to any one of the followings:
- Angle at aortic root (the angle between aortic valve annulus plane and horizontal plane/vertebra) exceeds 70° (in the case of left subclavian artery) and 30° (in the case of right subclavian artery).
- Vessel diameter of subclavian artery is less than 6 mm.
- Transarterial access not able to accommodate an 18Fr sheath.
Direct Aortic Artery as third line choice of access. Patients are excluded from Direct Aortic access if:
- Access site is less than 6 cm from the aortic valve basal plane
- Access site has calcification or porcelain aorta
- Access site and delivery trajectory contain RIMA or patent RIMA graft
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT01634269
|Shonan Kamakura General Hospital
|Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan
|National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center
|Suita-shi, Osaka, Japan
|Osaka University Hospital
|Suita-Shi, Osaka, Japan
|Saitama Medical University
|Hidaka-shi, Saitama, Japan
Publications automatically indexed to this study by ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier (NCT Number):
|Responsible Party:
|Medtronic Cardiovascular
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT01634269 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
MDT-2111 23 mm trial
|First Posted:
|July 6, 2012 Key Record Dates
|Last Update Posted:
|October 30, 2015
|Last Verified:
|October 2015
Keywords provided by Medtronic Cardiovascular:
Valvular Heart Disease
Severe Aortic Stenosis
Aortic Valve Replacement
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Constriction, Pathologic
Aortic Valve Stenosis
Pathological Conditions, Anatomical
Heart Valve Diseases
Heart Diseases
Cardiovascular Diseases
Ventricular Outflow Obstruction

subset: commoncrawl


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McKim Observatory Seen on Magazine Cover
March 7, 2013
DePauw University's McKim Observatory is pictured on the cover of the latest issue of Indiana Preservationist magazine, published by Indiana Landmarks. Inside, the feature on domed structures notes, "When it was built in 1884, (the observatory) was in the country, well outside Greencastle. Today, houses and community development surround the landmark, but the University's astronomy students still use the facility."
Howard Brooks, Paul B. Kissinger Professor of Physics and Astronomy, is quoted in the publication, which adds, "The University renovated the observatory in the '70s, when the landmark won listing in the National Register ... McKim Observatory is open to the public on select nights in the fall through early spring."
Access the story online here. Also available is this previous article.Back


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This product is currently out of stock. We may be able to make/procure it on request.
Click on the Green button to the left that says "EMAIL WHEN AVAILABLE".
A delicate shape, shining Swiss Marcasite and the glow of silver combine to make the Aurora earrings attractive. A small pearl in the center adds a touch of elegance.These are lightweight earrings perfect for office/ throughout-the-day wear.
Product Details
Measurements :Height: 0.8 inches, Width: 0.6 inches
Gemstones used: Swiss Marcasite, cultured Pearl.
Made of: Sterling Silver (92.5%)
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Pretty and petite, the Taranga earrings are crafted in pure silver and adorned with pink Zircon, Emerald and Cultured Pearl. The design consists of a triangle at the top and an oval at the bottom. These are small and lightweight earrings perfect for throughout-the-day wear. Available in four variants - pink Zircon, Green (Emerald), Red and White (pink Zircon& Pearl), Green and White (Emerald& Pearl). Product Measurements:Width: 0.2 inch;Height: 1 inch Gemstones used: pink Zircon, Cultured Pearl (white), Emerald (green) Place of Origin: Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. Made of: Sterling Silver (92.5%) Note: This picture has been shot in natural light. Product Code:...
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The Ameya ear-studs use enamel colours on silver to present a refreshing contrast . Lightweight earrings, they are just right for daywear.The intricate detailing in silver is handmade. Available in two combinations - White & blue ; Red Shape: Round Product Measurements : Width: 0.6 inches Height: 0.6 inches Gemstones used: Cultured Pearl. Place of Origin: Karwar Ornaments, Karwar (Karnataka) Made of: Sterling Silver (92.5%) Product Code: kes237
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Indulge your child's imagination by gifting her the Airplane pendant set. The soothing colours (enamel on silver) and unusual shape will keep her interested. Product details Measurements- Height of pendant: 0.6 inches; Height of earring: 0.25 inches Gemstones used: None Made of: Sterling Silver (92.5%) Note: This picture has been shot in natural light. Product Code : bnps021


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The good news is that California's property and excise taxes are lower than the nation's average, according to a new report by the Tax Foundation.
The bad news is that the state's personal and corporate income taxes as well as its sales taxes are in the top 10 countrywide.
When you balance it all out, Californians' federal, state and local taxes in 2012 equaled their income from Jan. 1 to April 20, putting us in 11th place for heaviest tax burden by that measure, according to the Tax Foundation's Tax Freedom Day calculation.
The national average Tax Freedom Day was April 17. Topping the list was Connecticut, where residents on the average worked until May 5 to pay all their taxes for the year.
This year, California has the highest sales taxes in the country at 7.5 percent. When you tally the state by combined state and average local sales tax, the amount is 8.38 percent, a mere ninth highest nationwide. Highest is Tennessee at 9.44 percent.
Other California rankings:
- State personal income tax per capita in 2011 was $1,346, sixth highest. The national average was $835. New York topped the list at $1,864.
- State corporate income tax collections per capita in 2011 was $256, fifth highest. The national average was $129. Alaska topped the list at $1,003.
- Average homeowner property tax as a percentage of a home's value was 0.8 percent in 2011, 33rd highest. New Jersey topped the list at 1.98 percent.
- Combined excise taxes – including those for gas, alcohol, cigarettes and phones – were $325 per capita, 45th highest. The national average was $475. Vermont topped the list at $866.
The Tax Foundation sends copies of the annual report to each of the nation's state legislators and governors. It advocates for "simplicity, transparency, stability, broad bases and low rates" for taxes. It tends to lean right of center in its analysis and advocacy, while the Tax Policy Center tends to lean left of center. Both groups are nonpartisan, and while their interpretation of data can vary, their statistics are usually virtually identical.
Regarding the state's property taxes, you may be interested in my story about nine pending bills that would tweak aspects of Proposition 13's protections.


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From Parameters, Spring 1996, pp. 43-50. .
The future of warfare lies in the streets, sewers, high-rise buildings, industrial parks, and the sprawl of houses, shacks, and shelters that form the broken cities of our world. We will fight elsewhere, but not so often, rarely as reluctantly, and never so brutally. Our recent military history is punctuated with city names--Tuzla, Mogadishu, Los Angeles, Beirut, Panama City, Hue, Saigon, Santo Domingo--but these encounters have been but a prologue, with the real drama still to come.
We declare that only fools fight in cities and shut our eyes against the future. But in the next century, in an uncontrollably urbanizing world, we will not be able to avoid urban deployments short of war and even full-scale city combat. Cities always have been centers of gravity, but they are now more magnetic than ever before. Once the gatherers of wealth, then the processors of wealth, cities and their satellite communities have become the ultimate creators of wealth. They concentrate people and power, communications and control, knowledge and capability, rendering all else peripheral. They are also the post-modern equivalent of jungles and mountains--citadels of the dispossessed and irreconcilable. A military unprepared for urban operations across a broad spectrum is unprepared for tomorrow.
The US military, otherwise magnificently capable, is an extremely inefficient tool for combat in urban environments. We are not doctrinally, organizationally, or psychologically prepared, nor are we properly trained or equipped, for a serious urban battle, and we must task organize radically even to conduct peacekeeping operations in cities. Romantic and spiritually reactionary, we long for gallant struggles in green fields, while the likeliest "battlefields" are cityscapes where human waste goes undisposed, the air is appalling, and mankind is rotting.
Poor state or rich, disintegrating society or robust culture, a global commonality is that more of the population, in absolute numbers and in percentage, lives in cities. Control of cities always has been vital to military success, practically and symbolically, but in our post-modern environment, in which the wealth of poor regions as well as the defining capabilities of rich states are concentrated in capitals and clusters of production-center cities, the relevance of non-urban terrain is diminishing in strategic, operational, and even tactical importance--except where the countryside harbors critical natural resources. But even when warfare is about resource control, as in America's Gulf War, simply controlling the oil fields satisfies neither side.
The relevant urban centers draw armies for a stew of reasons, from providing legitimacy and infrastructural capabilities, to a magnetic attraction that is more instinctive than rational (perhaps even genetically absorbed at this point in the history of mankind), and on to the fundamental need to control indigenous populations--which cannot be done without mastering their urban centers. We may be entering a new age of siege warfare, but one in which the military techniques would be largely unrecognizable to Mehmet the Conqueror or Vauban, or even our to own greatest soldiers and conquerors of cities, Ulysses S. Grant and Winfield Scott.
Consider just a few of the potential trouble spots where US military intervention or assistance could prove necessary in the next century: Mexico, Egypt, the sub-continent with an expansionist India, the Arabian Peninsula, Brazil, or the urbanizing Pacific Rim. Even though each of these states or regions contains tremendous rural, desert, or jungle expanses, the key to each is control of an archipelago of cities. The largest of these cities have populations in excess of 20 million today--more specific figures are generally unavailable as beleaguered governments lose control of their own backyards. Confronted with an armed and hostile population in such an environment, the US Army as presently structured would find it difficult to muster the dismount strength necessary to control a single center as simultaneously dense and sprawling as Mexico City.
Step down from the level of strategic rhetoric about the future, where anyone with self-confidence can make a convincing case for his or her agenda. Survey instead the blunt, practical ways in which urban combat in today's major cities would differ from a sanitary anomaly such as Desert Storm or the never-to-be-fought Third European Civil War in the German countryside (where we pretended urban combat could be avoided) for which so much of the equipment presently in our inventory was designed.
At the broadest level, there is a profound spatial difference. "Conventional" warfare has been horizontal, with an increasing vertical dimension. In fully urbanized terrain, however, warfare becomes profoundly vertical, reaching up into towers of steel and cement, and downward into sewers, subway lines, road tunnels, communications tunnels, and the like. Even with the "emptying" of the modern battlefield, organizational behavior in the field strives for lateral contiguity and organizational integrity. But the broken spatial qualities of urban terrain fragments units and compartmentalizes encounters, engagements, and even battles. The leader's span of control can easily collapse, and it is very, very hard to gain and maintain an accurate picture of the multidimensional "battlefield."
Noncombatants, without the least hostile intent, can overwhelm the force, and there are multiple players beyond the purely military, from criminal gangs to the media, vigilante and paramilitary factions within militaries, and factions within those factions. The enemy knows the terrain better than the visiting army, and it can be debilitatingly difficult to tell friend from foe from the disinterested. Local combat situations can change with bewildering speed. Atrocity is close-up and commonplace, whether intentional or incidental. The stresses on the soldier are incalculable. The urban combat environment is, above all, disintegrative.
The modern and post-modern trend in Western militaries has been to increase the proportion of tasks executed by machines while reducing the number of soldiers in our establishments. We seek to build machines that enable us to win while protecting or distancing the human operator from the effects of combat. At present, however, urban combat remains extremely manpower intensive--and it is a casualty producer. Although a redirection of research and development efforts toward addressing the requirements of urban combat could eventually raise our efficiency and reduce casualties, machines probably will not dominate urban combat in our lifetimes and the soldier will remain the supreme weapon. In any case, urban warfare will not require substantial numbers of glamorous big-ticket systems but great multiples of small durables and disposables whose production would offer less fungible profit margins and whose relatively simple construction would open acquisition to genuinely competitive bidding.
Casualties can soar in urban environments. Beyond those inflicted by enemy action, urban operations result in broken bones, concussions, traumatic-impact deaths and, with the appalling sanitation in many urban environments, in a broad range of septic threats. Given the untempered immune systems of many of our soldiers, even patrol operations in sewer systems that did not encounter an enemy could produce debilitating, even fatal, illnesses. One of many potential items of soldier equipment for urban warfare might be antiseptic bio-sheathing that coats the soldier's body and closes over cuts and abrasions, as well as wounds. Any means of boosting the soldier's immune system could prove a critical "weapon of war."
Urban warfare differs even in how "minor" items such as medical kits and litters should be structured. Soldiers need new forms of "armor;" equipment as simple as layered-compound knee and elbow pads could dramatically reduce the sort of injuries that, while not life-threatening, can remove soldiers from combat for hours, days, weeks, or even months. Eye protection is essential, given the splintering effects of firefights in masonry and wood environments, and protective headgear should focus as much on accidental blows from falls or collapsing structures as on enemy fire, on preserving the body's structural integrity as much as on ballistic threats.
Communications requirements differ, too. Soldiers need more comms distributed to lower levels--down to the individual soldier in some cases. Further, because of loss rates in the give and take of urban combat, low-level comms gear should not be part of the encrypted command and control network. Radios or other means of communication do not need extended range, but they must deal with terrible reception anomalies. Even a "digitized" soldier, whose every movement can be monitored, will require different display structures in the observing command center. This is the classic three-dimensional chessboard at the tactical level.
On the subject of command and control, the individual soldier must be even better-trained than at present. He will face human and material distractions everywhere--it will be hard to maintain concentration on the core mission. Soldiers will die simply because they were looking the wrong way, and even disciplined and morally sound soldiers disinclined to rape can lose focus in the presence of female or other civilians whom they feel obliged to protect or who merely add to the human "noise level." The leader-to-led ratio must increase in favor of rigorously prepared low-level leaders. While higher-level command structures may flatten, tactical units must become webs of pyramidal cells capable of extended autonomous behavior in a combat environment where multiple engagements can occur simultaneously and in relative isolation in the same building. Nonsensical arguments about the Wehrmacht making do without so many NCOs and officers on the battlefield must be buried forever; not only is the German military of the last European civil war ancient history, but it lost decisively. Our challenge is to shape the US Army of the 21st century.
Personal weapons must be compact and robust, with a high rate of fire and very lightweight ammunition, but there is also a place for shotgun-like weapons at the squad level. Overall, soldier loads must be reduced dramatically at the edge of combat, since fighting in tall buildings requires agility that a soldier unbalanced by a heavy pack cannot attain; further, vertical fighting is utterly exhausting and requires specialized mobility tools. Soldiers will need more upper body strength and will generally need to be more fit--and this includes support soldiers, as well.
Ideally, each infantry soldier would have a thermal or post-thermal imaging capability--since systems that require ambient light are not much good 30 meters below the surface of the earth. Also, an enhanced ability to detect and define sounds could benefit the soldier--although he would have to be very well-trained to be able to transcend the distracting quality of such systems. Eventually, we may have individual-soldier tactical equipment that can differentiate between male and female body heat distributions and that will even be able to register hostility and intent from smells and sweat. But such devices will not be available for the next several interventions, and we shall have to make do for a long time to come with soldiers who are smart, tough, and disciplined.
The roles of traditional arms will shift. Field artillery, so valuable elsewhere, will be of reduced utility--unless the US military were to degenerate to the level of atrocity in which the Russians indulged themselves in Grozniy. Until artillery further enhances accuracy, innovates warheads, and overcomes the laws of ballistic trajectories, it will not have a significant role in urban combat divisions. Because of attack angles and the capabilities of precision munitions, air power will prove much more valuable and will function as flying artillery. Mortars, however, may often be of great use, given their steep trajectories. More accurate and versatile next-generation mortars could be a very powerful urban warfare tool.
The bulk of tactical firepower will need to come from large-caliber, protected, direct-fire weapons. This means tanks, or future systems descended from the tank. While today's tanks are death traps in urban combat--as the Russians were recently reminded--the need for protected, pinpoint firepower is critical. Instead of concentrating entirely on obsolescent rural warfare, armor officers should be asking themselves how the tank should evolve to fight in tomorrow's premier military environment, the city. First, the "tank" will need more protection, and that protection will need to be differently distributed--perhaps evolving to tuned electronic armor that flows over the vehicle to the threatened spot. Main guns will need to be large caliber, yet, ideally, would be able to fire reduced-caliber ammunition, as well, through a "caliber-tailoring" system. Crew visibility will need to be greater. The tank will not need to sustain high speeds, but will need a sprint capability. Further, the tank will need to be better integrated into local intelligence awareness.
While the need for plentiful dismounted infantry will endure, those soldiers will intermittently need means for rapid, protected movement. But this does not necessarily mean mechanized infantry--rather, it may demand armored transport centralized at the division level on which the infantry trains, but which does not rob the infantry of manpower in peacetime or in combat.
Engineers will be absolutely critical to urban combat, but they, too, will need evolved tools and skills. The vertical dimension is only part of the challenge. Engineers will need to develop expanded skills, from enabling movement in developed downtown areas to firefighting. Demolition skills will be essential, but will be a long way from blowing road craters. Tomorrow's combat engineers may have to drop 20-story buildings on minimal notice under fire while minimizing collateral damage.
Aviation is vital to mobility, intelligence, and the delivery of focused firepower in urban environments, but, as Mogadishu warned us, present systems and tactics leave us highly vulnerable. Rotary-wing aviation for urban combat does not need great range or speed, but demands a richer defensive suite, great agility, and increased stealthiness.
Military intelligence must be profoundly reordered to cope with the demands of urban combat. From mapping to target acquisition, from collection to analysis, and from battle damage assessment to the prediction of the enemy's future intent, intelligence requirements in urban environments are far tougher to meet than they are on traditional battlefields. The utility of the systems that paid off so richly in Desert Storm collapses in urban warfare, and the importance of human intelligence (HUMINT) and regional expertise soars. From language skills to a knowledge of urban planning (or the lack thereof), many of the abilities essential to combat in cities are given low, if any, priority in today's intelligence architecture. While leaders are aware of these shortfalls, military intelligence is perhaps more a prisoner of inherited Cold War structures than is any other branch--although field artillery and armor are competitive in their unpreparedness for the future.
Military intelligence is at a crossroads today and must decide whether to continue doing the often-irrelevant things it does so well or to embrace a realistic future which will demand a better balance between systems and soldiers in a branch particularly susceptible to the lure of dazzling machines. Try templating a semi-regular enemy unit in urban combat in the center of Lagos after 24 hours of contact. This does not mean that high-tech gear and analytical methodologies are useless in urban environments. On the contrary, innovative technologies and organizational principles could make a profound difference in how military intelligence supports urban combat operations. But we would need to shift focus and explore radical departures from the systems we currently embrace.
Military police and civil affairs troops will continue to play the important roles they played in urban interventions during the 20th century, but psychological operations (PSYOPS) units, long a step-child, will surge in importance, and may ultimately merge fully with military intelligence to enhance synergy and efficiency. Especially given the potential for electronic population control systems in the next century, PSYOPS may function as a combat arm, even if not credited as such.
Even supply is different. While deliveries do not need to be made over great distances, soft vehicles are extremely vulnerable in an environment where it is hard to define a front line and where the enemy can repeatedly emerge in the rear. All soldiers will be fighters, and force and resource protection will be physically and psychologically draining. Urban environments can upset traditional balances between classes of supply. There may be less of a requirement for bulk fuel, but an intervention force may find itself required to feed an urban population, or to supply epidemic-control efforts. Artillery and ATGM expenditures might be minimal, while main gun and infantry systems ammunition consumption could be heated. Urban combat breaks individual and crew-served weapons and gear, from rifles to radios, and masonry buildings are even harder on uniforms than on human bones. Soldiers will need replacement uniforms far more often than during more traditional operations. Unfortunately, we also will need more replacement soldiers, and all combat support and combat service support troops are more apt to find themselves shooting back during an urban battle than in any other combat environment.
Where do we begin to prepare for this immediate and growing challenge? There are two powerful steps we ought to take. First, the US Army should designate two active and at least one of our National Guard divisions as urban combat divisions and should begin variable restructurings to get the right component mix. Rule one should be that the active divisions are not "experimental" in the sense of nondeployable, but remain subject to short-notice deployment to threatened urban environments. This would put an incredible stress on the unit and, especially, on the chain of command. But today's US Army cannot afford to have any divisions "on ice," and, further, this pressure would drive competence. Two such divisions is the irreducible initial number, since one urban combat division would be rapidly exhausted by the pace of deployments.
Most of the divisional artillery would be shifted to corps-level, while engineers at all levels would be increased and restructured--including the addition of organic sapper platoons to infantry battalions. Composite armor and mechanized elements would be added to light forces at a ratio of one battalion (brigade) to four, with a longer-term goal of developing more appropriate and readily deployable means of delivering direct firepower and protecting the forward movement of troops. Innovative protection of general transport would be another goal. Military intelligence units would have to restructure radically, and would need to develop habitual relationships with reserve component linguists and area specialists. Aviation would work closely with other arms to develop more survivable tactics, while each division would gain an active-duty PSYOPS company. Signalers would need to experiment with low-cost, off-the-shelf tools for communicating in dense urban environments, and an overarching effort would need to be made to create interdisciplinary maps, both paper and electronic, that could better portray the complexity of urban warfare. The divisions' experience would determine future acquisition requirements.
But none of the sample measures cited above is as important as revolutionizing training for urban combat. The present approach, though worthwhile on its own terms, trains soldiers to fight in villages or small towns, not in cities. Building realistic "cities" in which to train would be prohibitively expensive. The answer is innovation. Why build that which already exists? In many of our own blighted cities, massive housing projects have become uninhabitable and industrial plants unusable. Yet they would be nearly ideal for combat-in-cities training. While we could not engage in live-fire training (even if the locals do), we could experiment and train in virtually every other regard. Development costs would be a fraction of the price of building a "city" from scratch, and city and state governments would likely compete to gain a US Army (and Marine) presence, since it would bring money, jobs, and development--as well as a measure of social discipline. A mutually beneficial relationship could help at least one of our worst-off cities, while offering the military a realistic training environment. The training center could be at least partially administered by the local National Guard to bind it to the community. We genuinely need a National Training Center for Urban Combat, and it cannot be another half-measure. Such a facility would address the most glaring and dangerous gap in our otherwise superb military training program. We need to develop it soon.
In summary, an urbanizing world means combat in cities, whether we like it or not. Any officer who states categorically that the US Army will never let itself be drawn into urban warfare is indulging in wishful thinking. Urban combat is conceptually and practically different from other modes of warfare. Although mankind has engaged in urban combat from the sack of Troy down to the siege of Sarajevo, Western militaries currently resist the practical, emotional, moral, and ethical challenges of city fighting. Additional contemporary players, such as the media, and international and nongovernmental organizations, further complicate contemporary urban combat. We do not want to touch this problem. But we have no choice. The problem is already touching us, with skeletal, infected fingers. The US military must stop preparing for its dream war and get down to the reality of the fractured and ugly world in which we live--a world that lives in cities. We must begin judicious restructuring for urban combat in order to gain both efficiency and maximum effectiveness--as well as to preserve the lives of our soldiers. We must equip, train, and fight innovatively. We must seize the future before the future seizes us.
Reviewed 28 August 1997. Please send comments or corrections to firstname.lastname@example.com


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Learn How to Play the Ring of Fire Drinking Game
Here are the official Ring of Fire rules, or as it is also known, King's Cup and Circle of Death.
Ring of Fire Official Rules:
- First to set up the game, clear off a table and set a cup in the middle with the deck of cards placed around the cup in a circle.
- Now get a group of friends to gather around the table, each person having a cup/bottle of alcohol to themselves.
- Before you start the game you must know what each card stands for:
A- Waterfall – Everyone must keep drinking until the person who picked the card stops. So who knows how long you will be going for!
2- is Choose – You can choose someone to drink
3- is Me – You must drink
4- is Whore – All girls drink
5- Thumb Master- When you put your thumb on the table everyone must follow and whomever is last must drink. you are the thumb master till someone else picks a five.
6- is Dicks – All guys drink
7- is Heaven – Point your finger in the sky, whoever is last must drink
8- is Mate – Choose someone to drink with you
9- Rhyme – Pick a word such a dog and the person next to you must rhyme with dog, like log, and it goes to the next person and the next, in a circle, until someone messes up and he or she will have to drink
10- Categories- Pick a category such a football and you go in a circle and everyone has to say a word that fits with football such as: touchdown, field goal, USC. Whoever messes up, drinks.
Jack- Make a Rule – You can make up any rule that everyone has to follow, such as you can only drink with your right hand. Everyone (including you) must follow this rule for the whole entire game and if you disobey you must drink.
Queen- Questions – Go around in a circle and you have to keep asking questions to each other. Doesn't matter what the question is, as long as its a question. Whoever messes up and does not say a question, drinks.
King- Pour!- You must pour a little of your drink into the cup that is in the middle of the table. Whomever picks up the LAST king must drink the whole cup, which could be filled with different drinks, so who knows how bad it could taste!
- Now that you know the rules. One person starts off by picking up a card, and whatever the card may be, follow the rule. Go in a circle and keep picking a card till the last King is picked!


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Monday, October 4, 2010
& Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Oberlin College Library
Welcome & Introduction -- Ray English
Google Scholar -- Megan Mitchell
Google Books -- Jennifer Starkey
Legal Battles & the Proposed Settlement -- Ray English [PowerPoint Presentation]
Magazines -- Eboni Francis
Public Data Explorer -- Cynthia Comer
Magazines included in Google Books (list available in Excel spreadsheet)
American Library Association. Google Book Settlement: An Informational Site for the Library Community.
Boutin, Paul. "Google sexes up stats with Public Data Explorer â€" 10 live demos." VentureBeat. 8 March 2010.
Falagas, Matthew, Eleni Pitsouni, George Malietzis, Georgios Pappas. "Comparison of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar: Strengths and Weaknesses." FASEB Journal. 22. (2008): 338-342.
Howland, Jared L., Thomas C. Wright, Rebecca A. Boughan, and Brian C. Roberts. "How Scholarly Is Google Scholar? A Comparison to Library Databases." College & Research Libraries. 70.3 (2009): 227-234.
Hyde, Lewis. "Advantage
Google." New York Times. 4 Oct 2009.
Jacso, Peter. "Metadata Mega Mess in Google Scholar." Online Information Review. 34.1 (2010): 175-191.
Jacso, Peter. "Google Scholar Revisited." Online Information Review. 32.1 (2008): 102-114.
Manuel, Kate M. The Google Library Project: Is Digitization for Purposes of Online Indexing Fair Use Under Copyright Law? CRS Report for Congress. 27 November 2009.
Martell, Charles. "A Citation Analysis of College & Research Libraries Comparing Yahoo, Google, Google Scholar, and ISI Web of Knowledge with Implications for Promotion and Tenure." College & Research Libraries. 70.5 (2009): 469-472.
Miller, Laura. "The Trouble with Google books: How Rampant Errors Threaten the Scholarly Mission of the Vast Digital Library." Salon 9 Sept 2010.
Nunberg, Geoffrey. "Google's
Book Search: A Disaster for Scholars." Chronicle Review 31
Aug 2009.
Walters, William H. "Google Scholar Search Performance: Comparative Recall and Precision." portal: Libraries & the Academy. 9.1(2009): 5-24.


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SecondsOut breaks down the matchup and figures out who will win
By:Mike Sloan: Not many people are expecting "Sugar" Shane Mosley to walk out of the MGM Grand with his hand raised in victory on Saturday night. He's 40 years old and has clearly seen better days. The future Hall of Famer hasn't looked dominant in years and his opponent is a young, unbeaten superstar in the making in Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (39-0-1, 29KOs). Mosley is a prohibitive underdog going into the contest but it's possible that he can shock the world.
Mosley's been around the block for quite some time and he's fought the absolute best opposition there has been in his career. He's capable of pulling off the unthinkable; he did so in January 2009 when most thought he was beyond shopworn and Antonio Margarito was thought to be invincible. Mosley (46-7-1, 39KOs) tore him up. Mosley finds himself in a similar position and he is confident that he can once again pull a rabbit out of his hat and resurrect a career that is on its last legs.
Can Mosley do it? Can he topple the young lion in Alvarez? Or will the red-headed, freckle-faced Mexican be too young, too fast, too strong and too good for Old Man Mosley? SecondsOut.com knows exactly what will happen and knows who will win on Saturday night. If you want to know the result of the fight before it even starts, read on:
Punching power: Mosley has a ton of fights on his professional ledger that didn't go the distance and he's scored some impressive knockouts along the way. However, aside from the one-punch destructions of Adrian Stone and Manuel Gomez, Mosley isn't really a massive puncher. The vast majority of his knockouts came courtesy of accumulative beatings and only has four total knockouts since 2002, or in his last 17 bouts. Similar to Mosley, Alvarez isn't a huge puncher, either, and like Mosley, his knockouts usually come via systematic beating. Alvarez hasn't really shown crushing one-punch power, either. Advantage: Mosley
Speed: Back in his glory days, Mosley was flashy with blistering speed. At 130 and 135, virtually nobody threw faster, more accurate combos and he did it with ferocity. He kept his speed throughout his career, but he's been slowing down with each passing battle. He looked very sluggish against Floyd Mayweather towards the end and he appeared to be stuck in syrup against Manny Pacquiao. Alvarez has some great speed behind his fists, but nobody is going to confuse him with a prime Roy Jones. Still, his youth is a major factor and he should be a step or two ahead of Mosley in terms of speed. Advantage: Alvarez
Size: Canelo is the larger man but it's not by a ton. He's half an inch taller and has an identical reach. Mosley has fought at lower weights for much of his career, though he has been flip-flopping between welterweight and junior middleweight for years. He's comfortable at 154, which is Alvarez' natural weight. Alvarez will eventually move up to 160 but it won't be for another year or two. Since "size advantage" is the biggest myth in boxing history, this category for this particular matchup is virtually moot. Still, one man is more natural at 154 than the other. Advantage: Alvarez
Age factor: Mosley has looked shopworn for years and it's not getting any better. He's slower and slower each time out and he's been getting hit much more than he used to. Alvarez is as fresh as a spring chick and is entering his prime as a fighter. It's one thing if Mosley was still dominant/competitive like 47-year old Bernard Hopkins, but that's nowhere near the case. He's a very old 40 and Alvarez is young and hungry. Advantage: Alvarez
Chin: Mosley has been knocked down only a few times in his life and he's never been stopped. Pacquiao came close, so did Vernon Forrest, but they couldn't put him away. Alvarez has shown terrific whiskers as well. Out of all the categories aside from size, this one is as big a wash as they come. Since Alvarez hasn't fought the same sort of competition as Mosley has over the years and he's still in the building stages (see: hand-picked opponents most of the time), he's still a bit untested. Mosley's chin has stood the test of time and this one hinges on who could take the other's best punch better than the other. Advantage: Mosley
Experience: Easily the biggest mismatch of all categories, Mosley's experience compared to Canelo's is like man versus mouse. Mosley has taken them all on: Oscar De la Hoya, Mayweather, Pacquiao, Margarito, Winky Wright, Forrest, Miguel Cotto, Fernando Vargas. The list goes on and on. The best opponent Alvarez fought wouldn't even crack Mosley's top ten. This one's not even fair. Advantage: Mosley
Intangibles: Mosley's experience in some of the biggest fights of this past generation will certainly be helpful for him but it will only go as far as his well-rode legs will take him. He knows every trick in the book by now and if things get hairy, he'll know what to do. There shouldn't be a ton of pressure on him because most expect him to lose to Alvarez, but he does want to prove the naysayers wrong. Alvarez still hasn't tasted defeat and this is hands down the biggest fight of his still-blossoming career. He knows a mega fight against the likes of Mayweather or Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. loom in the near future if he dispatches of Mosley so he wants to look sensational. Still, Alvarez' speed advantage and youth should get him through the more grueling encounters and Mosley has faded late in recent fights. That trend should continue on Saturday. Advantage: Alvarez
The bottom line: Mosley will make things interesting for young Canelo with his early aggression and he'll tie up the kid every chance he gets. It'll be a dirty, ugly fight but Alvarez seems like a cool cucumber inside the ring. Eventually Alvarez will start to land some stinging shots and back Mosley up. Alvarez has that great killer instinct and when he knows his opponent is withering, he pounces. Mosley will begin to tire out and his 40-year old body will begin to betray him. He'll see the punches coming but he'll be a step slower than normal, unable to avoid the punishment. Late in the fight Alvarez will start digging to the body even more, sapping the energy from Mosley and he'll score a knockdown around the ninth or tenth round. Mosley will be too tough for his own good and will begin getting hammered on the outside. Alvarez will close out the show and force either a referee stoppage or the towel to be tossed in after Mosley is being battered after the second knockdown. Alvarez will become the first man in history to stop Mosley as a professional and he'll do it in the 11th round. Bank on it.
You can also contact Mike Sloan at www.facebook.com/mikesloan19 or follow him on Twitter @mikesloan19
May 3, 2012


text:
These high quality black balloons are perfect for any party or celebration.
Why not group them together to make a big impact or scatter them around to decorate your venue.
Pack of 10 balloons, supplied un-inflated.
When inflated the maximum size of one balloon is approximately 28cm. Please see our Balloon FAQs for more information on inflating your balloons.
Allergy Information: Balloon is made from natural rubber latex.


text: Wheat intolerance generally affects children under the age of 3, but adults can have a wheat allergy, too. Someone who has a wheat allergy has an allergy to a protein in wheat. THE MODERN WHEAT Modern wheat differs from its origins as the result of intense cross-breeding. It has turned the crop into something neitherRead More


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London: Britain`s prime minister has warned newspaper editors they must act quickly to set up an independent press regulator in the wake of a media ethics scandal.
David Cameron spoke days after a report he commissioned on press wrongdoing proposed that the press should be regulated by an independent body enshrined in law.
Cameron has expressed misgivings about that and today participated in a summit to hear proposals for a new system not backed by law.
He told the BBC that he`d said there that "the clock is ticking" for the industry to implement changes outlined in the report from Lord Justice Brian Leveson, which made recommendations to root out a subculture of unethical behavior that led to Britain`s phone-hacking scandal.


text:
On a recent thread over on wai-xtech, T.V. Raman brought up the notion of talking about capabilities instead of disabilities. I like this. I'm reminded of my old post which played with the definition of disability.
Furthermore, a request for adaptation should never have to be a statement about the physical individual. It should be a statement about a preference in context. I want captions when watching television with the volume down, and I want a ramp when pushing a stroller.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Posted by David Bolter at 9:34 PM
Labels: accessibility, disability
4 comments:
- Steve Lee said...
a big fat +1 from me David
- October 16, 2008 at 6:05:00 AM EDT
- David Bolter said...
@steve, thanks for that :)
- October 16, 2008 at 1:32:00 PM EDT
- elvis said...
I was going to say "OMG how PC do we have to be?!" but then I realized how absolutely right your are :)
- October 16, 2008 at 1:38:00 PM EDT
- Fastbet said...
Great blog! I really love how it is easy on my eyes and the information are well written. I am wondering how I might be notified whenever a new post has been made. I have subscribed to your rss feed which really should do the trick! Have a nice day! Judi Bola Online
- January 8, 2014 at 9:06:00 PM EST
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Join the Nation's Conversation
To find out more about Facebook commenting please read the Conversation Guidelines and FAQs
What's next for Idol's Angie Miller?
Sure, Angie Miller was shocked when she got eliminated from American Idol Thursday.
But the biggest surprise of the night? Learning Randy Jackson was leaving the show, too.
"I didn't find out till press later that night," says the 19-year-old third-place-finisher from Beverly, Mass.. "I didn't hear a word about it until after the show."
Miller could have a few more surprises up her sleeve as she moves into the next phase of her career. She hopes to sing an original song on this summer's American Idols Live tour, and the girl who was known for her earnest piano performances doesn't rule out an element of the hard-rock music she loves finding its way into the album she plans to make.
"My brother's in a hardcore band," says Miller, adding that she grew up with metal and screamo as part of her listening mix. "I think that's why I like an edge to things. I also like the sound of a real band."
Miller says her former roommate, country singer Kree Harrison, has a hidden musical side, as well. "Kree is secretly into rap music," she says. "It's the funniest thing ever."
Miller ended her run on Idol with a teary farewell performance of Colton Dixon's Never Gone. Her first cover of the song came even before Idol, after she saw Dixon perform it on last summer Idols Live tour then posted her own YouTube cover.
"I listened to it in my room, and I wanted to make a cover of it," she says. "I learned it, and then he commented on it. I started talking to him, his band and some of his friends. They had no idea I was trying out for Idol. Then it just happened, and that was the connection."
Miller says Dixon and his friends have offered to show her around Nashville -- perhaps when this year's Idols Live tour ends there August 31.
"They offered that a while ago, just to say, 'Hey, if you're ever in the area, we'll hang out with you and show you around,'" she says. "I would love to see them and meet them there."
Miller says she hasn't decided where she'll settle long term, though. "I want to be wherever is best for my music career. I want to get signed and have an album. I just want to be wherever is best for that, to make my music and get it out as fast as possible.
"I've heard different people saying, 'Come to Nashville!' and 'Come to L.A.!' I guess we'll see."


text: Anywone here who is running Red5 on a Debian Squeeze server? I'm having problems with admin.jsp, and creating an admin user! The error that I get is: Any Howtoforge user here who can help me getting it to work? Please note again! This is a Debian Squeeze server. All fixes that I found (till now) are for another OS.


text:
Holiday Inn Poughkeepsie properties are listed below. Search for cheap and discount Holiday Inn hotel prices in Poughkeepsie, NY for your personal or business trip. We list the best Holiday Inn Poughkeepsie lodging so you can review the Poughkeepsie Holiday Inn hotel list below to find the perfect place.
Our search will also provide discounted Poughkeepsie, NY hotels/lodging that have similar quality of Holiday Inn.Need a group/meeting discount? Request a group rate for Poughkeepsie NY
How should we direct your call?


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Wich players need to get upgrades or possible downgrades this season? Post what you guys think, the player 's name, his former ratings, his new ratings and wich categorie.
Trying to make my roster a little bit more realistic.
Thanks anyway.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


text:
[login to view URL]
Presupuesto $10-30 USD
We are reconstructing our website so we need to make many pages to our website
52 freelancers están ofertando el promedio de $92 para este trabajo
Hi - My Name is Nitin Gupta. I've read your project brief and can see that you need to make pages to your website. I have 8 years experience in designing and developing websites. I am highly qualified for this project Más
Hey! Here is Rao, i see job description but i have some question's about job, please let me know further details about job then we will finalize about time and budget. thanks
Greetings from Webs Cybernetics!! We read your project description very carefully however it was not that long. :) Take a look to my last work: [login to view URL] [login to view URL] http:/ Más
Hi Let's clarify the requirement in details also if you want us to share our previous work let us [login to view URL] have a few questions about your project, please send us message so that we can discuss more. Thanks & regar Más
hi Greeting, I saw your requirement carefully & I am very much interested to work on this project. The website will be completely manageable from the backend which will allow you to make the changes and add con Más
I have 4 year experience in web development field. we have a team experienced developers. We want long term relation that's why working at very good prices. Hope you will give us a chance to prove ourselves.
Thanks for taking a minute , I have 6+ year experience in Magento, Wordpress, PHP. In my team there are 15 members and all are experienced in respective platform. We have huge experience of creation custom module, Mage Más
I am ready to start your project right now . I have some questions regarding the project. Let me know if you have some time to discuss the details further . Looking forward to hear from you. Navjoot#
Hello sir, I have readout your requirements of website and Pages Me I am the UI & UX Team Leader at WDQ Pvt. Ltd India. On Upwork, we are ranked among the top 10% of Website Designers and we are in the top Más
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Hi, Respected sir / madam You can give me chance to work on your project . I have review your project description. I can design all types of graphics photoshop illustrator animation and website design for y Más


text: A Video Review Of The Epiphone Ultra-339 By Paul Riario at Guitar World 01.08.2013 Paul Riario just completed a great video review of the Epiphone Ultra-339 for Guitar World. First introduced in the late '50s at our legendary Kalamazoo factory, the ES series became an instant rock classic, bringing the look and feel of an archtop to a generation of players who had grown up playing solid body guitars like the Les Paul. The ES-335, the first in the ES series, was an instant success. But for many players who were used to smaller solid body guitars, the ES-335 felt too bulky to play on stage. The new Epiphone Ultra-339 is the perfect remedy, featuring smaller body dimensions while still retaining the bell-like tone the ES series is famous for. And best of all, the Ultra-339 is loaded with Ultra technology!


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Photos: Pride, passion, music and fireworks at Paralympic...
The Games are over and the athletes and ...
Sam Roberts, David Usher to play at free 'Olympic celebration' events
Sam Roberts
Photograph by: Stuart Davis , Vancouver Sun
Five Canadian cities will host free, one-day "festival-style events" in February, in celebration of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, with performances by musical acts including Sam Roberts Band, David Usher, Barenaked Ladies, and Simple Plan.
Starting in Calgary and Winnipeg on Feb. 13, before moving on to Toronto, St. John's, N.L., and Quebec City, each outdoor event will feature "interactive Olympic- and Paralympic-themed sport zones, cultural pavilions, hospitality zones, and large video screens showcasing CTV's and RDS's live coverage of the 2010 Winter Games," reads a news release.
Simple Plan will play in Calgary; The Waking Eyes will play in Winnipeg; Barenaked Ladies will be in Toronto; Sam Roberts Band will play in St. John's; and, on the bill in Quebec City are David Usher, Trois Accords and Annie Villeneuve.
"This is a unique endeavour that extends the Olympic Games experience beyond traditional media, while simultaneously bringing communities together to cheer on Canada's Olympians as they go for gold," Keith Pelley, president of Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium, said in the release.


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Wow... It was a great experience to scrap someone else's photo, and I loved the colorful and fun picture Beckie sent me for the photo swap. But have I ever felt more pressure doing a page? Never in my entire life... I'm still nervous to hear how she feels about his one...
Supplies to come (all DD)
Katie Pertiet
Worth Repeating Brushes and Stamps No. 11
Drop Shadow Styles Collection
Assorted Messy Stitches: White No. 01
Clean Stitched Banners: White No. 01
Ali Edwards
Photography Hand Drawn Brushes (word art in title)
Andrea Victoria
Happy Day Paper Pack (patterned paper)
Happy Day Solid Paper Pack (used on the banner)
Pattie Knox
Getting There Kit (white paper)


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Ingrid's "Cool Blue " Room
Like this entry? Favorite it below!
- Name:
- Ingrid
- Location:
- Montreal Canada
- Division:
- International
- Inspiration for my palette:
- Living in a cookie-cutter townhouse I wanted to do something drastically different so when we renovated our main floor last October we installed new dark brown floors and I wanted all our existing furniture pieces to stand out. I've always loved the color blue and this was a great opportunity to integrate it into my decor in a bold way.
- Colors used in my room:
- Blue, white, black, orange, grey and gold.
- Tips for using color successfully:
- Don't be afraid to be bold by adding a splash of color through your accessories. Try to keep your big pieces of furniture neutral. Be creative, make your own art, this would make your space feel like your own and your family and friends will feel welcomed. Try to add some black elements in every space.
- Palette:
- Cool Blue


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Really? Are they gone too??? Any link?peterheirman wrote:Spleene is gone too (Spleene mainly known by the Door)
Spleene has new owners, not gone as far as I know.john a wrote:Really? Are they gone too??? Any link?peterheirman wrote:Spleene is gone too (Spleene mainly known by the Door)
Really Underground? How do you know? I mean if you don't have proof it could be very damaging for them if you say they went under. Anyways. :-peterheirman wrote:GIN kites, Spleene and Underground are all gone.
Spleene and Underground have tried to restart but failed.
I guess more brands will stop their business.
I see two types of markets:
- the brands - expensive and cool (don't know what is cool about - got the same problem with German cars)
- the online discounters - low cost - value for money: Switch - Blade (a few other brands show jump to this market)
Never forget it's the kitesurfer (= YOU) that makes the difference - not so much the gear ($$$)
Wow. it amazes me how little you know about kite design and build quality for someone who owned and operated a kite repair business. Heavy does not necessarily = no low end. Clearly you have never flown an old C kite.eightsmileys wrote: We all know the Liquid Force, Cabrinha (they used to, i have not seen one of their latest kites), North maybe are the only brands that really use high end materials and a clever construction...i have repaired many kites and these are the brands i would say have very good quality and construction...and Naish although they are very heavily build = no low end! Lighter kites have better low end so it is a balance between weight vs quality.
Users browsing this forum: billybob and 10 guests


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Event: Bollywood beauties Sushmita Sen, Neha Dhupia, Shriya Saran and others walk the ramp for Manish Malhotra and Lilavati Hospital's Save & Empower Girl Child initiative.
Guest List: Sushmita Sen, Shriya Saran, Neha Dhupia, Dipannita Sharma, Mandira Bedi, Shaina NC, Tejaswini Kolhapure, Deepshikha, Maria Goretti, Pallavi Joshi, Mini Mathur, Poonam Dhillon, Manish Malhotra, Alka Yagnik, Padmini Kolhapure, Krishika Lulla
Bollywood celeb Aamir Khan along with wife Kiran Rao were spotted at PVR.
Bollywood producers-directors Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Krishan Kumar, Ravi Bahl, Divya Khosla Kumar, Sajid Nadiadwala, Wardha Nadiadwala celebrate diwali with Bhushan Kumar
Bollywood celebs Kareena Kapoor Khan, Malaika Arora, Sonali Bendre, Nimrat Kaur among others were snapped by paparazzi.Bebo looked super cool in a casual look. She wore a white t-shirt with yoga pants...
Bollywood actress Shama Sikander celebrated Diwali festival at her residence.
Bollywood celebs Aamir Khan, Zaira Wasim, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sanya Malhotra, Anil Kapoor, Nitesh Tiwari, Aparshakti Khurrana, Bhushan Kumar, Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Sachin Tendulkar, Rajkumar Hir...


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Police Department
Because one size doesn't fit all, please use the zoom feature of your browser to increase or decrease the text size.
The Des Moines Police Department is located at 25 E. First Street. The non-emergency general information phone number is 515-283-4824.
The Guardian Project
The City of Des Moines is a great place to locate or expand your businesses. The Des Moines Office of Economic Development office is dedicated to helping you meet your existing and future development needs.
More Info
The Records Section provides valuable information to various public entities and private businesses by making available public records maintained by the Des Moines Police Department.
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For inquiries regarding motor vehicles that have been impounded by the Des Moines Police Department use the following phone numbers; Monday through Friday, from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM call (515) 283-4850 after hours and on weekends call (515) 283-4824.
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Justin Bieber's mum learned of latest drama on the Internet
Pattie Mallette reveals she was relaxing at home on Tuesday (26Mar13) when news broke that police officers had been called to her son's Calabasas, California house to investigate a battery report.
The Baby singer allegedly fought with a neighbour outside his home after the local came to complain about the noise Bieber and his friends were creating.
Reports suggest the neighbour was particularly upset by the delivery of a new Ferrari, which Bieber and his buddies drove up and down the street.
Mallette admits she found out about the drama as she was surfing the web.
She tells U.S. news show Access Hollywood Live, "It's crazy... Sometimes I learn things on the Internet just like everybody else and that was the story... I just got back from being on tour with him."
And she still can't believe her son got into trouble on his day off: "He's only been here 24 hours. He's back on tour now."
Bieber's mum admits it's tough reading all the negative stories about her son in the media, revealing. "I've gotta let go a little and let him make some of his own decisions and I'm sure you can appreciate how, as a mom, I feel when I read some of these stories.
"He's growing up. He's 19 and he's not my baby and I wanna be able to take away free will sometimes and be able to do everything for him."


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LONDON - The exterior of Westminster Abbey is imposing and grandiose.
Our plan was simple: Pay the admission, stick our heads inside to see what it looked like, and then quickly duck out and move on to a museum.
The museum never happened.
That because expatriate Geoff Auerbach, my wife, Pat, and I were all dazzled by the thousand-year-old church where England's kings and queens have been crowned since 1066. That is a lot of history.
Iconic Westminster Abbey is, quite frankly, a lot of church with its architecture, chapels, crypts, paintings, stained glass and textiles. Many of the decorations go back to the 13th and 14th centuries.
It was the most...


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Article – BusinessDesk
Jan 18 (BusinessDesk) – The New Zealand dollar shed more than half a US cent on weaker than expected consumer price index (CPI) data on Friday.
NZ dollar plunges on report of low inflation
Jan 18 (BusinessDesk) – The New Zealand dollar shed more than half a US cent on weaker than expected consumer price index (CPI) data on Friday.
The kiwi fell about 60 basis points to 83.46 US cents but recovered to be 83.54 cents at 5pm. That compared to 84.10 cents at 8am and 83.93 US cents at 5pm on Thursday.
The trigger was news that the CPI fell 0.2 percent in the December quarter when the market consensus was for a 0.1 percent rise.
"Financial markets seemed to react to the fact that annual inflation was outside the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's (RBNZ's) 1 to 3 percent target range for a second quarter," Westpac economists said.
The two-year swap rate fell three basis points to 2.79 percent.
The data confused the outlook for interest rates because the RBNZ had been expected to hold the official cash rate at 2.5 percent for most of this year before raising it. Weak inflation data raised the prospect of a rate cut.
"We view an official cash rate reduction as a risk scenario rather than a likelihood. The RBNZ's target is framed in terms of its inflation forecast, which will still be lingering close to 2 percent on average after today's CPI data," Westpac said.
Interest turned to offshore influences in the afternoon with the release of a slew of Chinese economic data.
The kiwi firmed on news that China's Gross domestic product increased by 7.8 percent in 2012, down from 9.3 percent in 2011 as the data also showed that the economy picked up pace in the last three months of the year.
The kiwi was at 79.42 Australian cents at 5pm, slightly down from the 79.86 cents at 5pm on Thursday.
It was at 75.18 yen from 74.11 yen at 5pm on Thursday, and was 62.41 euro from 63.19 euro and 52.27 British pence from 52.48 pence.
The trade-weighted index was at 75.25 from 75.40.
Content Sourced from scoop.co.nz [1]
Original url [2]


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This should make for some lively discussion. I see streaming to a TV screen via Netflix/TV as a very "personal" kind of thing, linked to your personal Netflix account and your personal Tivo account. Not probably designed for academic institutions or public libraries to take advantage of.
We were discussing this here this morning, wondering if this new relationship between Netflix and Tivo affects our intention to collect videos in the future. We don't think it does. I believe what will be offered are feature films, not educational titles, most indies, documentaries, etc.
I really don't understand Farhad's comment "What I'm not convinced yet is the difference between "face-to-face" traditional classrooms with the instructor present vs. a log-in protected online classroom (access by
students registered for that class only)"
I think there is a huge difference, namely that face-to-face in a traditional classroom is 100% legal and restricted access streaming an entire audiovisual work to students in an online classroom is not 100% legal. It's just not. It's not fair use, it's not face to face, it's not covered by TEACH, so what makes you think it's okay?
I recently read something from a librarian at an academic institution (not mine) that has the capability to stream an (entire) video to one student at a time. She contended that because they were streaming to one user at a time, it was no different from having a video in the library that one student could look at. WHAT IS UP WITH THAT????? Does anyone on this list BELIEVE THAT?
Here's another story I have to add. Our School of Ed. conducts seminars that all students have to take to receive their teacher certification, such as fire safety and school violence. They are converting these seminars to the Blackboard environment, and wanted to use an entire (17 minute) video on school violence. Of course they tried to tell me they could do it without getting rights, and I said no, you can't, let me see about getting those rights for you. So I called up the company, who said this was their first such request but they were delighted to give me a quote. They wanted $1500/year or $5000 perpetual to stream this video. The School of Ed. has decided to make their own videos instead, because of this price for the streaming rights. I thought this cost was WAY out of line, but as I said, this was the first request the company had for something like that, and so I can't really blame them for just pulling a number out of ... well, you know.
But when Films Media Group has such a reasonable model for the price of streaming, it makes it hard to stomach the thought of paying $1500/year or $5000 for a video from 2001 on school violence, which will probably be outdated in about the next, say, 10 minutes.
My 2 cents for the day.
Sarah E. McCleskey
Head of Access Services
Acting Director, Film and Media Library
112 Axinn Library
123 Hofstra University
Hempstead, NY 11549
516-463-5076 (o)
516-463-4309 (f)
VIDEOLIB is intended to encourage the broad and lively discussion of issues relating to the selection, evaluation, acquisition,bibliographic control, preservation, and use of current and evolving video formats in libraries and related institutions. It is hoped that the list will serve as an effective working tool for video librarians, as well as a channel of communication between libraries,educational institutions, and video producers and distributors.


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Gap, Wal-Mart Under Pressure on Bangladesh Clothing Industry Safety Pact
Nearly three weeks after a factory collapse killed more than 1,100 people, the world's biggest clothing companies are committing to safety standards that could play a key role in policing the country's main industry. Andria Cheng reports.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... the the ... all major clothing ... was committed to a five-year safety of course the factories in Bangladesh ... the move comes in response to a factory collapse that killed eleven hundred people ... will have the D tells right here right now on the New Saab good afternoon and welcome I'm Simon Constable ... MarketWatch's Andria Cheng joins us now with that style sup Andria this all this isn't ... a whole bowl ... or will Factory Collapse our ... beloved alcove more than eleven hundred people ... tell some of the phones that I've gotten satisfy the record ... okay so this this isn't a seller HNNA which is the largest ... apparel my and and and that's using eighty Median Osmond they're going to Siam to this I five-year agreement to kind of like ... the big ... deal with this agreement is that these companies now who have signed now working on a hot cup showed in me out that the leaking kind of repairs since the renovation costs selling on Saturday there were a year the license clearing that change the sunny side up on not find em on the CEO ... and now we have likened him to Texas with Iraq there like the feel of watches that you know one of the largest apparel company singer while ... some may also find out on the steering them into our their European retailers are centering on this recall and then ... it is only add to that foreign retailers on PVH which owns like Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger ... me actually or even what was one of the first ones to sign up on to endorse the green light last year class and that this is actually a monumental that this is this huge thing ... now there are other companies like a damper ... on Wal Mart's well what they will buy clothes ... aam are they being pressured to join in with us when if that link and I'm really races like another for the lot the pressure these companies so basically ... we have lying on ... his RIN Chan them and Wal-Mart near the largest and the three largest purifiers in pension gap is also a key player ... signed reach out to these companies and and Wal-Mart maybe tell me like the one slightly stiff don't enter and they are ... like talking to a lot of these costs the corridors of August IPO ... and aam I'd talk to worker rights consortium their liking to conventional ... later monitoring group with a re telling me that know some of these companies that ... everybody is having some tech inspection program but ... the problem is that nobody's clicking on those companies and refuse to sign our clean and they don't want to be ... kind of sound in the quarter that would like to be legally binding and make them kind of like encapsulate ... pay for the site cos I'm and I guess now was the time for anyone to read push for this because they did it's much easier to get some agreements and put in place while it's in the news on whether it's a you know when some of the news may be people forgot about it right with these companies yet so so deftly and I like honesty like every child to a lot of the company's focus on to see their response and ... and phrases and then they are simply Center a complicated ... like different Michael region inside J C Penney presenting tell me that ... they're waking on the Micra giving him the use of paper that closing the meeting might not Ideas noting ... and then they also studied like various proposals presented U S based like ... tree to like the National Retail Federation and American parent awareness or see a show ... their support for iOS upcoming Albertsons or plan on their own so ... these companies are telling me there was a time to time to study what ... if the plans and then to pick out which one they want and ... I guess that the gentle fame is that people are concerned about this but the company's an ANA Bangladeshi people and make it seem to settle federal consent ... there will be something done it sounds like and some companies already done something ... when he ran much Andria Cheng MarketWatch ... many can read mall man story on MarketWatch talk calm and cool so ... we all day don't come


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Privacy experts, though, question whether CVS is complying with state law.
"California's privacy law is stricter than federal law," said Charles Googooian, a La Canada Flintridge lawyer who specializes in medical-privacy issues. "It doesn't seem like CVS is complying with either the spirit or the letter of state law."
CVS has been scrambling to defend its ExtraCare Pharmacy & Health Rewards program since I recently reported that customers are being required to give up important federal privacy safeguards in return for up to $50 a year in store credits.
CVS maintains that people must relinquish medical-privacy protections under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, if they want their drug purchases to be applied to the rewards program.
This isn't a small thing being asked of consumers. HIPAA "gives you rights over your health information and sets rules and limits on who can look at and receive your health information," according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
Insurers, hospitals, doctors, dentists and pharmacies face civil and criminal penalties, including prison terms and fines of up to $1.5 million, for violating the federal law.
In response to my earlier column, CVS sent talking points to its store managers and pharmacists nationwide "to address any customer concerns" and to convey the message that "we do not 're-disclose' patients' personal information."
Patients might have been left with that impression because the enrollment process for the rewards program includes a warning that "my health information may potentially be re-disclosed and thus is no longer protected by the federal Privacy Rule."
Mike DeAngelis, a CVS spokesman, said HIPAA specifies that any privacy waiver must notify people of "the potential" for their information to be shared with others.
Googooian responded that this notice would apply only if a medical business foresees the possibility of such sharing.
"If they're not going to redisclose it, they're duty-bound to keep it private," he said. "That's the basic assumption of the law. You would not be required to include this language unless you wanted to open the door to disclosing people's information."
Walgreens and Rite-Aid have their own prescription-drug rewards programs. But neither company requires customers to forgo their HIPAA rights.
Paul Stephens, director of policy and advocacy for the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse in San Diego, said it's fair for consumers to ask what makes CVS' program so special that it needs a waiver.
"The company seems to be saying that your information is leaving CVS or may leave CVS in the future for marketing purposes," he said.
CVS' DeAngelis acknowledged that the pharmacy sends customers' information to an entity not covered under HIPAA. But he said that simply means the info is going to CVS' retail division, which oversees the ExtraCare program.
"A HIPAA authorization is required to permit ExtraCare to receive identifiable information in order to reward patients based on the number of prescriptions they fill," DeAngelis said.
Under Section 56.11 of the California civil code, any authorization for the release of medical information must specify "the name or functions of the persons or entities authorized to receive the medical information."
The privacy waiver also must state "the specific uses … of the medical information by the persons or entities authorized to receive the medical information."
CVS' waiver authorizes "CVS/pharmacy and its affiliates to share my prescription and other health service records, including my email address, with the ExtraCare program to enroll me in and administer the ExtraCare Pharmacy & Health Rewards program, and to inform me of new programs I may be interested in."
By Googooian's reckoning, this language doesn't make clear that customers' information is moving from a part of the company covered by HIPAA to a part of the company lacking HIPAA protections.
Nor does it spell out the "specific uses" of the information, he said.
For example, what does it take to administer the program, and who does the administering?
It's also questionable whether the waiver adequately informs people that their names and contact information may be shared with "outside companies as contractors or agents of CVS/pharmacy to help deliver promotional information and offers," as permitted under the privacy policy of CVS' ExtraCare program.
CVS says customers' medical information is safe.
"We are committed to protecting the privacy of our customers, and we do not share any of their personal information, which remains protected under consumer privacy laws," DeAngelis said.
That didn't carry much weight for Googooian. Without HIPAA, he noted, customers only have CVS' word that the company isn't sharing their information with others.
"The only reason you would ask people to waive their rights is if you want to open the door to giving their drug information away," he said. "Otherwise, there's no reason."
Lynda Gledhill, a spokeswoman for California Atty. Gen.
David Lazarus' column runs Tuesdays and Fridays. He also can be seen daily on KTLA-TV Channel 5 and followed on Twitter @Davidlaz. Send your tips or feedback to email@example.com.


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Rhodes is a national, highly selective college committed to the liberal arts and sciences. Our highest priorities are intellectual engagement, service to others and honor among ourselves. We enjoy one of the country′s most beautiful campuses in the heart of Memphis, an economic, political and cultural center, making Rhodes one of a handful of prominent liberal arts colleges in a major metropolitan area.
Rhodes has been named America's #1 Service-Oriented College by Newsweek, and has garnered accolades from The Princeton Review, U.S. News, Fiske Guide to Colleges and Forbes. Rhodes is also profiled in the prestigious Colleges That Change Lives and The Princeton Review's new Colleges That Create Futures: 50 Schools That Launch Careers By Going Beyond the Classroom.
As you explore our website, we especially encourage you to take time to read our Faces of Rhodes spotlights, check out our Viewbook and other admission publications, and to go to our Facebook and Twitter sites. We want you to get a good feel for the opportunities Rhodes offers. Most importantly, we invite you to visit campus and attend classes, meet faculty and students, and learn more about the college. If you are ready, learn more about applying for admission.


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JUBA, South Sudan (AP) – The U.N.'s top aid official in South Sudan watched helplessly as armed men in uniform stole a car from an aid group. Thugs took $50,000 of goods from Mercy Corps. Tons of food have been stolen, and $500,000 taken from a bank.
With renewed warfare reverberating throughout the world's newest country, wholesale looting of vehicles, equipment and supplies belonging to aid groups is crippling humanitarians' abilities to help. There is much work to do: Even before the fighting broke out last month, the people of South Sudan, one of the world's poorest countries, were suffering from dismal health care and little education.
Now it's much worse, and they need even more help: Thousands of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced by a month of fighting in South Sudan between factions of the military, as well as ethnic militias.
Armed men on Thursday looted the Doctors Without Borders office in the city of Malakal, said Louisa Markering, the group's emergency coordinator. Computers and phones were taken.
"It's getting more and more difficult," said Markering, who noted that this was the second mass theft against the group since the conflict broke out. "If they steal our assets, it's going to be more difficult to do our work. ... It makes our life difficult, if not impossible, if our security cannot be guaranteed."
The thefts have been particularly widespread in Bentiu, the capital of the oil-rich Unity State, which was in rebel hands for much of the last month before government troops retook the city.
Toby Lanzer, the U.N.'s top humanitarian official in the country, watched men in uniform steal a car from an unnamed international aid group last week.
"Our efforts to stop it did not succeed," Lanzer wrote on Twitter, where he noted that it wasn't worth risking lives to save a car. "Looting of aid agencies' property in #Bentiu will result in less aid reaching civilians who need the most help."
Mercy Corps plans to return to Bentiu on Monday. The group had been delivering water and sanitation to refugees at the U.N. camp there. Then it lost $50,000 in office equipment and a motorbike.
"Now our assets are gone and it affects our work in the region," country director Mathieu Rouquett said.
Doctors Without Borders' compound in Bentiu was also hit, with virtually everything stolen, said Ines Hake, the group's medical coordinator in Juba.
Hake urged all sides to respect the integrity of medical facilities and allow all ethnic groups to seek medical care.
Even as the risk of hunger increases, particularly among displaced people, looters have taken at least 3,000 metric tons of food from the World Food Program, roughly 10 percent of the group's food in the country. That's enough to feed 180,000 people for a month.
The International Committee of the Red Cross reported looting at its facilities in Bor and Bentiu.
South Sudan's military spokesman, Col. Philip Aguer, blamed rebels loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar for the thefts in Bentiu.
"They blew up the ammunition. They looted. They robbed the bank. They stole nearly $500,000 dollars," he said. After government forces retook the control of Bentiu last weekend, Machar said, "there was nothing left."
But government troops are also allegedly involved in the looting.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon this week condemned "the commandeering of humanitarian vehicles and the theft of food stocks and other relief items by both government and anti-government forces."
The U.N estimates at least 20 cars have been commandeered by rebels in Bor and Bentiu. The top U.N. official in the country, Hilde Johnsons, called on Machar to instruct his forces to return looted goods.
An Associated Press reporter who visited Bentiu last weekend after South Sudanese government troops retook the town, saw a mud-caked U.N. SUV being driven by some of the soldiers.
In the conflict, ethnically motivated attacks have been frequent over the last month, and officials in South Sudan say the U.N. has gathered evidence of gruesome assaults. Some victims have been bound and others beheaded, the officials said. Victims have also told AP that attackers have forced them to participate in sex acts with family members.
The U.N.'s assistant secretary-general for human rights, Ivan Simonoviae, is scheduled to give a news conference Friday. The two officials who detailed the violence insisted on anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information.
Human Rights Watch, in a report Thursday, said the worst ethnic-based attack took place in mid-December, when 200 to 300 men from the Nuer ethnic group were jammed into a room that gunmen fired into, killing nearly everyone.
Straziuso reported from Nairobi, Kenya.


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Students Build Cosmic Ray Detector
Published on August 03, 2009
by OfficialWire NewsDesk
Four Miami-area high school students have an unusual summer job on their resumes: building a cosmic ray detector alongside nuclear physicists.
The four participated in a six-week paid internship with Florida International University's physics department, selected from a pool of top student applicants, The Miami Herald reported Monday.
"It was a little overwhelming at first," Alyssa Indart, 17, told the Herald. "But we learned not to be intimidated by anything -- not even particle physics."
The program is just one of many the university had begun in recent years to grow South Florida's physics community.
"We chose the best of the best," physics Professor David Jones said. "These kids have a real aptitude for the sciences."
"When we first started, we didn't know anything about cosmic rays or muons (energetic charged particles at sea level)," Dennis Prieto, 17, said. "We just had to go with the flow."
The university's physics department also offers workshops for high school physics teachers and has a program to encourage physics majors to consider teaching careers, the newspaper said.
"We want to push the envelope," said Laird Kramer, a professor leading the effort to reform FIU's physics education. "We want to empower students to become scientists and educators."
OfficialWire: Students Build Cosmic Ray Detector
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marinmomma wrote:Comedian wrote:Oh no... Raining this morning.
Bugger, we pulled the pin on Coottha this morning because of the rain
That gives me 658 miles/1058 k's for January, given that I lost out on two weekends of riding I'm pretty happy with that....I more than doubled my 2012 total
I managed to get my 800 mile badge this morning. My goal for this year was 8000 kms. Achieving the 800mile badge means I could exceed it easily. I'm not sure I'll keep up the large number of kms per day from now on though.