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Joined: 09 Jul 2006
Posts: 9718
Location: I have to be somewhere? ::runs around frantically::
Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 2:20 pm
Post subject: News Filter Bubble
Eli Pariser TED speech on Filter Bubbles
This is very interesting and about 9 minutes.
The Telegraph
The 'filter bubble' is a sinister phenomenon. But Eli Pariser's alternative sounds even worse
Eli Pariser was looking at Facebook one day when he noticed something peculiar. On his news feed, where he usually enjoyed reading through his friends comments and links, there was something missing. Ive always gone out of my way to meet conservatives, says Pariser, a liberal tech entrepreneur from New York. So I was kind of surprised when I noticed that the conservatives had disappeared from my Facebook feed.
Facebook had quietly scrubbed the feed clean of anything Right-wing nothing Republican, nothing anti-Obama, was getting through. So what was going on?
It turns out, says Pariser, that Facebook was looking at which links I clicked on. And it noticed that I was clicking more on my liberal friends links than on my conservative friends links. And without consulting me about it, it had edited them out. They disappeared.
In other words, Facebook decided that Parisers conservative friends werent relevant. It didnt matter that he liked to hear their point of view occasionally; because he clicked on their links less frequently, they had been exiled from his online world.
In his new book, it is this world that Eli Pariser names the filter bubble a place where a hidden code decides what you can and cant see.
Pariser speaks matter-of-factly about this sinister phenomenon. Theres a shift in how information is flowing online, he told the TED conference in California in May. Its invisible. And it if we dont pay attention to it, it could be a real problem.
It is not always a problem though. On some websites, algorithmic editing the hidden code at work is reasonably harmless. You might be shopping on Amazon, looking at books written by Malcolm Gladwell and then a few biographies of Mozart.
At this point, Amazons algorithm decides that you might enjoy Alex Rosss books, and it suggests them in the more items to consider section. Why? Because Ross writes about the history of music and like Gladwell also writes for the New Yorker. Amazon joins the dots so you dont have to.
But take a different example. Lets say you run a Google search for Egypt on your PC and a friend of yours does exactly the same, using their MacBook in Edinburgh. Youll get the same results, wont you?
Well, surprisingly no. Google can tell where you are, what internet browser youre using, and the make of your computer. The website picks up dozens of signals that you dont even know youre sending and it engineers what it thinks is the best result.
When Pariser compared the results from two friends who entered the Egypt Google search, he was staggered. One saw information about the political crisis and the protests in Tahrir Square. The other, a list of travel agents and factbooks about the country.
It is here in the political sphere that invisible algorithms have disturbing implications. Websites like Yahoo News are already personalising their coverage, and others like the Huffington Post are flirting with similar technology. Imagine this: you search for David Cameron on a supposedly impartial news site. But it knows you have just been browsing LabourList.org, so the results though you may not realise it are massively biased. The website knows what you want to read, so it spoon-feeds you more of the same.
It might spoon-feed you some junk, too, just for the fun of it. Your future aspirational self, as Pariser calls it, may want to learn about David Camerons health policy. But the website knows your impulsive present self would like to read about Justin Bieber. So it diverts your attention to his latest interview. More Bieber, less Cameron thats the filter bubble at work.
So is there a solution to the filter bubble? Pariser thinks so. But his solution is perhaps more sinister than the phenomenon itself.
The problem, he thinks, is that weve removed the gatekeepers to the worlds information and news. Before the invention of the internet, we had human editors with embedded ethics. Now weve passed the torch from human gatekeepers to algorithmic ones but they, of course, lack the ethics.
But here is his proposed solution (aimed directly at Google at Facebook):
to make sure that these algorithms have encoded in them a sense of the public life. A sense of civic responsibility. We need you to make sure that theyre transparent enough that we can see what the rules are that determine what gets through our filters. And we need you to give us some control so that we can decide what gets through and what doesnt.
Along with relevant, then, the hidden codes must also focus on whats important, uncomfortable, challenging, other points of view.
Pariser received a roar of approval and a standing ovation from his Californian audience when he concluded with these thoughts in May. But though his plea for transparency is commendable, is there not something deeply troubling about the notion of ethical algorithms? Whose duty would it be embed civic responsibility in these codes? And exactly whose idea of civic responsibility would be imposed? It shrieks thought police to me.
Arguably, Facebook, Google and others deserve Parisers thorough treatment. And their online consumers should demand more transparency. But if the alternative to the filter bubble is an internet edited by the New York Times, you can count me out.
So, where do the sinfesters get their news? Where do you get your news that will disagree with your preferred news? I really thought Google News would be enough to give me a fairly rounded viewpoint but I guess not. How should on combat that?
How should editors, both human and virtual, handle this problem in the future?
Before God created Las he pondered on all the aspects a woman might have, he considered which ones would look good super-inflated and which ones to leave alone.
After much deliberation he gave her a giant comfort zone. - Michael
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Joined: 09 Jul 2006
Posts: 6306
Location: wasteland style
Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 2:53 pm
Post subject:
I basically cycle between the Guardian, Al Jazeera English and De Morgen (for Belgian news) - as far as news sites go.
Other than that, I get a lot of my news from the Something Awful forums. The advantage of this is that there's never a topic that doesn't have several views represented in the threads. And there's always someone that's an expert on the subject, willing to share that info. It also has the tendency to shed light on topics I'm fairly unfamiliar with or which don't get any attention from other sites or news sources. (see: their excellent thread on the US prison system or the various effort-threads in GBS/D&D)
That said, I have no idea where I'm supposed to get decent coverage on sub-Saharan Africa, Russia/Kaukasus-region, Latin-America, South-East Asia, ... The other sites touch upon the subjects, but not as much as I'd like.
More on this subject: I doubt there's a lot that can be done about it. Maybe an international news-site, but you obviously can't crowd-source it unless you want to run into the same problems Wikipedia has. Then there's the problem of ideology...
attitude of a street punk, only cutting selected words out of context to get onself excuse to let one's dirty mouth loose
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Joined: 10 Jul 2006
Posts: 21333
Location: under the bed
Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 3:19 pm
Post subject:
i don't get a lot of news online- i read the nytimes on the web, but mostly the opinion section. i get my news primarily from npr.
and it seems to me that virtual editors, at any rate, _shouldn't_ handle it. i mean the unseen "editors" in google and facebook. because that is where the censoring is coming in - the news you want may be out there, but if google doesn't let you see it, what good is it?
this is pretty outrageous, although it once again confirms my determination to have nothing to do with facebook.
aka: neverscared!
a flux of vibrant matter
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Joined: 09 Jul 2006
Posts: 11072
Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 3:33 pm
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I just make stuff up when I'm drunk and then read it in the morning
the comics aren't very good though, and one or two employers have complained when I came in smelling of stale beer and newspaper print again
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Joined: 09 Jul 2006
Posts: 10880
Location: hiding the decline.
Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 5:33 pm
Post subject:
I get my news exclusively from "this bloke I met at the bar".
He is a fountain of information.
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Mini J
Joined: 09 Jul 2006
Posts: 1184
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 8:12 pm
Post subject:
And I get all my news from Snorri. It's double-reliable!
Who needs a signature?
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Thy Brilliance
Joined: 09 Jul 2006
Posts: 3661
Location: Relative
Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 8:25 pm
Post subject: Translating languages is the only real obstacle
Why are you using Google to look for your news when it is far simpler to collect a rss feed from every possible news organization around the world, and filter it yourself?
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Sam the Eagle
Joined: 01 Oct 2006
Posts: 2709
Location: 192.168.0.1
Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2011 7:35 am
Post subject:
Like Willem, I read various online newspapers editions (French, English, sometimes Japanese) for my daily needs; sometime I dig in a bit if the piece looks too much one sided or if I need to find a piece equivalent to one found in French that I want to post in here. Aside from that, one weekly newspaper.
The sticky point of online edition is how to confirm/validate a bit of news. I've seen various people arguing that information validated a posteriori is almost as valid as one checked a priori. I beg to differ; if you're fluent enough to read various languages, it'll be easy enough to find that Wikipedia alone is a mountain of various views each of which edited many times as the "proper" way to look at things. In other words, our respective viewpoints doesn't meet eye to eye.
I can't think of an answer to that problem. Best option would be to remember, or be aware of, that each and every time you read something, the data included is manipulated/edited.
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We've narrowed down the name submissions from students, faculty and staff to three (3) choices. Using the survey link below, choose the best name for the LaGuardia athletics team.
Before you pick a name, here are a few things to keep in mind.
On your marks! Get set! Go Name Our Team.Click here to survey

subset: commoncrawl


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world awareness
The Universe Is Structured to Have Inequalities
The universe is structured to have inequalities. However, instead of accepting these inequalities, most of us resist the inequalities and fight against them. The act of fighting against the inequalities consumes energy, makes us unhappy, and ultimately...Filed under Featured, Life Lessons 8 Comments
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Career Advice
Too many people approach their job searches from the perspective of their own needs. They need a job, they need to make more money, they need flexible working hours and benefits. This is not the way to get a job. In fact, this "me-too" method of job seeking is unlikely to get you anywhere.
In this article Harrison discusses the importance of using association websites in your job search. One of the best places to track down jobs which (1) few people know about and (2) you stand good odds of getting an interview if you apply, is association websites. Associations are not experts in advertising themselves, and so the jobs on their websites are far less likely to be found by people looking for jobs online. The people you are competing with in the job market generally are not researching association websites for job opportunities and leads. Employers typically like posting jobs on association sites because applicants from association sites tend to be serious about their profession. If you are in the job market, using association sites for research is highly recommended.
Your résumé is an extremely important document. There are entire books written about how to craft them. I have written at least one myself. There are scores of résumé consultants, companies, and others that will work on your résumé for a fee. Hiring one of these services can be useful and can improve your résumé. Nevertheless, most résumés can improve dramatically by following the below advice.
Job Market
Why Aren't There More American Day Laborers, Doctors, Engineers and Textile Workers?By Harrison Barnes on Jun 16,2018
recent posts
Plan to be happy rather than sad, and plan for greatness rather than simply attempting once and giving up in the face of failure. Plan to overcome negative trends or precedents in your life. Plan for the best possible outcome, and ignore the negative voices of others in favor of positive, inspirational messages.
In this article Harrison discusses that you need to protect your ability to earn a living at all costs, and you need to make sure that no one is going to slow you down. The sooner you understand that your career is not as important to anyone else as it is to you, the better. The fact of the matter is that virtually no one is going to work as hard for your career as you. If you depend on others to do your work, you are likely to be sorely disappointed. Even if it appears like you have no options, you need to be very careful about the people with whom you cast your lot. You are never going to find the answers to your success and what you need in someone else. It has to come from you.
Russell Conwell's fantastic Acres of Diamonds speech argues that the means for success do not require extensive searching, but are all around us. Opportunity is everywhere if you know where to look. Many times we miss opportunities that are right in front of us because we are looking in the wrong places.
Regardless of your other talents and qualifications, a healthy environment is necessary for your success. Do not associate with people who support a negative outlook when you are discouraged in your job search or think you cannot do something, or you will prove them right and go nowhere. Instead, associate yourself with people who push you to do better and improve. Surround yourself with those who think big and motivate you to be the best that you can be.
Building an "unassailable network" is the key to business success; seek out companies are either building such networks or already have them in place. Such networks help establish businesses, and make it more difficult for competitors to overtake them. If you are in a business that is unassailable by its competitors, then both you and the business can look forward to a positive long-term future.
In this article Harrison discusses the power of unifying force in any organization. The success of your career will largely be determined by your ability to be a unifying force rather than a divisive force in the organization you work for, or lead. The world wants people who unify rather than do the opposite. People who succeed are those who bring together rather than drive apart. In your life and career, the ability to bring together and unify is one of the strongest possible skills you can have. The greatest companies, leaders, and others bring people together and do not drive them apart. You should ask yourself what you can do to bring people together at work and in your job. You should lessen friction rather than create friction. You should do everything you can to make the people around you get along together.
In this article Harrison discusses that in order to experience the greatest level of success in your career and life, you don't necessarily have to look for answers outside; you just need to rely on yourself. Most people put their hopes and dreams for happiness on people, religions and things that are outside of themselves. In order to do your best work it is important that you always keep your mind focused. You need to focus on the here and now, and to believe that you can achieve the things you set out to do. You need to believe you are already complete. You need to realize that you can accomplish things on your own, and that you do not necessarily need to rely on other people, or some big change within yourself. You should accept things the way they are. You do not necessarily need a new reality
Remain calm at all times, and stay focused on the world around you to make considered decisions before acting. You must remain calm in order to fully understand people and situations around you, and in turn make better decisions. Being calm leaves you in greater control than those around you, and empowers you to react in a level-headed way.
You must have access to complete information for success in your life. In life and business, many people will try to take advantage of your lack of pertinent information about a certain issue. Whenever you are making an important life decision, in any area of your life, make sure you have all of the available information; you can only succeed when you have all of the facts.
Recent immigrants exemplify the benefits of willpower, passion, and excitement in the way that they work so much harder for their goals than the people who have been here for most or all of their lives. Like most Americans, you need to rekindle the spirit of your immigrant ancestors and become hungry for what you want. The entrepreneurial spirit that brought people to America has often faded over time; adopt the fire and work ethic of new immigrants in order to achieve your goals.
Arrogance is a trait of the weak and insecure; one of the biggest career mistakes you can make is to act as though you are better than those around you, broadcasting to the world that you are afraid for people to see you as you actually are. Instead, try to hone the skill of making people empathize with you and want to help you. Empathy is a much more beneficial quality to instill in your peers than anger or resentment.
In the legal recruiting realm, a recruiter typically needs to introduce a candidate to more than one law firm in order to get the candidate an interview. You could have a candidate at the top of their class from Harvard Law School practicing at one of the ten largest firms in the United States and they could be rejected by numerous law firms. Why?
Having a goal or vision will propel you towards greater career success and happiness. Without a purpose, you will find yourself depressed and ultimately fail to achieve your goals. Do not subscribe to the unrealistic problem that you should never have problems, but instead regard problems as part of your overall growth strategy.
Too many people approach their job searches from the perspective of their own needs. They need a job, they need to make more money, they need flexible working hours and benefits. This is not the way to get a job. In fact, this "me-too" method of job seeking is unlikely to get you anywhere.
If you want to rise to the top, you need to create as much value as possible. The message is also pretty simple: the more value you create, generally, the greater your fall will ultimately be when you stop creating value.
Most people are afraid of exposing themselves to failure, and therefore settle for less than what they want or are capable of achieving. Failure to take action due to your fear is itself the biggest failure of all; few people ever reach any degree of success without consistent failure. You must use failure as an inspiration to try harder in the future, and manage your emotions so as not to fear failure and let that fear preclude action.
Your perceptions can make you either happy or unhappy. Most peoples' perceptions, however, are clouded by assumptions that frequently aren't even true. To change your life, change your assumptions about the world around you; suffering lies in the perception of the fact, not the fact itself.
You have the power to become the person you are capable of being. Although you will face external obstacles in the process of becoming this person, but your biggest challenges will be internal. Do not allow others to keep you down, but instead decide to excel on your own; in order to achieve your goals, direct all of your energies towards being the best person of which you are capable.
It is better to be known for something than nothing at all; make yourself known as having a skill that others value. Become known among your peers for being friendly, a hard worker, a perfectionist, or something else positive. Your success will grow as you become known for something and continue to work at it. Standing and being known for one thing is always preferable to being unknown.
The universe is structured to have inequalities, and it is important for you to accept them where most people resist or fight against them. Fighting against inequalities only wastes energy and causes unnecessary stress that you could channel into something more productive. Accept the world's inequalities and experience them for what they are, and you will free yourself to live the life you choose.
Two fundamental laws of the universe are that order leads to disorder, and disorder leads to order. Since disorder always leads to order, you must always view disorder as a positive rather than a negative; disorder in your life is an opportunity to reorganize your life and career into something better. Making both order and disorder work for you will enhance your chances of success in career and life.
People succeed by taking risks in their job search, potentially exposing themselves to pain and rejection. Despite the need for a job, most people would rather avoid risk instead of facing the pain of an in-person rejection. You must realize that risk and pain are inherent in a successful job search, will make you stronger, and ultimately lead you to a better life.
In this article Harrison explains how your beliefs are controlling what is happening to you. Due to our early life experiences, almost all of us develop beliefs about who we are and our relationship to the world. These beliefs end up controlling how we evaluate ourselves in relation to the world. Most of us are acting and going through life largely unconscious to what we believe about ourselves. People want their experience of the world to be consistent with what they believe. The drive for this is so strong that people will do almost everything to be right about their beliefs. The key to a successful career and life is to start choosing what to believe about the world and about yourself. You need to manage your mind and understand how your beliefs about yourself, the world and the people around you are controlling your destiny.
Your life is shaped by the reference points through which you experience the world, which you establish based on your own past experiences. You must learn to take these experiences, and frame them in a way that makes you stronger. Your experiences create the filters through which you see the world, so you must avoid letting negative past experiences hurt you in the present. Instead, focus on references that empower you and interpret the world for your benefit.
People owe their success to concentrating their energies and taking prompt action; they understand the importance of maintaining a positive attitude. People notice and gravitate towards those with a positive approach to their work, just as they notice – and do not respect – indifference and half-hearted work. A positive attitude, therefore, is your greatest asset.
Many people fall prey to the false attractiveness of the ego, allowing it to dominate their lives and hinder their progress. To conquer your ego you must establish a sense of what is and is not correct, and introduce discipline to your business and personal lives. This means your work will result from true effort rather than cutting corners, and you will be respected for the ethics that govern your actions.
At least once every three to four weeks, my telephone rings with a call from someone I know looking to make money selling something on the Internet. For the most part, these calls are from people looking to sell books, courses, personal membership sites, horoscopes, mortgages, credit cards and other associated products. Some of these people are well known, others are not.
Harrison Barnes:
Getting Ahead:
The Role of Jobs in Today's World:
© 2018 HB.org All Rights Reserved


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February 01, 2013 13:51 ET
MARKHAM, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb. 1, 2013) - iFabric Corp ("IFA.V") (TSX VENTURE:IFA), hereinafter referred to as "iFabric" or the "Company", today announced its financial results for the year ended 30th September 2012.
In 2012 revenues increased to $5,981,070 compared to $5,557,574 in 2011, an increase of $423,496 or 7.6%. Gross profit in 2012 was $3,202,612 compared to $2,795,375 in 2011. Gross profit margins increased to 54% in 2012 compared to 50% in 2011, attributable to favorable product mix and savings in warehouse costs from establishing higher minimum customer order levels.
Net loss for the year ended 30th September 2012 was $214,349 or $0.01 per share, compared to a profit of $485,519 or $0.04c per share for the year ended 30th September 2011, on a fully diluted basis. The loss in 2012 is largely attributable to listing expenses of $572,170 incurred in connection with the company's public listing via reverse takeover of a capital pool corporation, as well as selling and design costs of approximately $400,000 relating to new sales programs which have been expensed ahead of initial sales of product from these programs, which are anticipated to commence shipping in the Company's January to March 2013 quarter.
The Company's balance sheet continues to improve. With working capital of $4,011,541and no operating debt, the Company is well capitalized to fund its operations. Shareholders' Equity increased to $4,772,563 an increase of $823,651 or 21% resulting from net proceeds of funds raised via private placement as part of the going public process in June 2012.
"The Company achieved sales growth in a very difficult year for retailers, especially in our key UK market" said Hylton Karon, president and CEO of iFabric. "With a strong order book on hand for our core products in the ladies intimate apparel division, the 2013 outlook for this division is encouraging. Sales are expected to show significant growth commencing in the quarter January to March. In addition, Cliniweave, a key technology in our intelligent fabrics division, received EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) registrations for its anti-bacterial and anti-viral versions in October and December 2012 respectively, now allowing the Company to sell Cliniweave technologies into the USA market. We are working with some key customers to integrate Cliniweave into their production schedules," added Mr. Karon.
Complete Financial Statements are available on www.sedar.com
ABOUT iFABRIC CORP:
iFABRIC CORP currently has 25.2 million shares issued and outstanding. iFABRIC is a manufacturer, distributor, licensor and licensee of ladies intimate apparel products and accessories as well proprietary chemical compounds that render fabrics intelligent, thereby improving the safety and well-being of the wearer.
Forward-looking statements provide an opinion as to the effect of certain events and trends on the business. Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward looking statements. The use of any words such as "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and various estimates, factors and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the development potential of the Company's products.
Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these statements as the Company's actual results, performance, or achievements may differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements if known or unknown risks, uncertainties or other factors affect the Company's business, or if the Company's estimates or assumptions prove inaccurate. Therefore, the Company cannot provide any assurance that forward-looking statements will materialize. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or any other reason except as required by applicable securities laws.
Any financial outlook or future oriented financial information in this news release, as defined by applicable securities legislation, has been approved by management of iFabric. Such financial outlook or future oriented financial information is provided for the purpose of providing information about management's reasonable expectations as to the anticipated results of its proposed business activities. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulations Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
iFabric Corp.Hilton PriceCFO905 email@example.com://www.ifabriccorp.com/
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April Newsbits
April 30, 2008
Ooh la la: French iPhone sales are sluggish; Opera delivers Mini browser for Google's phone platform; Sharp ships wireless HDTV; Meru names new VP of operations; Bluesocket releases new 802.11n Draft 2 dual-radio AP; Billions and billions served? Wayport reaches 10,000 McDonalds mark; and more.
April 30, 2008
Orange France is the sole provider if the iPhone to the people of France. According to the carrier, 96,000 have been sold since last November. In order to meet its goal of selling 400,000-500,000 iPhones this year, sales will need to pick up. James Alan Miller of iPhoneGuide.com speculates that the iPhone is more popular in the U.S. because Wi-Fi hotspots are more prevalent. For more, read "Orange Sell Over 95K iPhones, T-Mobile Germany Cuts 8GB Price Drastically."
Opera made the Android version of Opera Mini available now--long before any so-called gPhone is supposed to become commercially available--so as to give developers time to test and share feedback with the company, which says a beta edition is forthcoming. Developers can obtain Opera Mini for Android at labs.opera.com.
For more details, visit PDAStreet.com.
Sharp announced today it has begun shipping a wireless HDTV based on Amimons WHDI chipset. Currently available to Japanese consumers, Sharp says it will be available in the U.S. soon.
Amimons WHDI technology uses a video-modem approach to deliver wireless uncompressed HDTV. With a range of over 100 feet (30 meters), through multiple walls and with latency of less than one millisecond, WHDI technology offers universal wireless whole-home HD connectivity with quality equivalent to that achieved with HDMI.
According to Amimon, 802.11b/g WLANs should not interfere with the WHDI signal. 802.11a\n networks utilize the 5GHz bandas does WHDIbut, says Amimon, The WHDI system will automatically identify other 5GHz transmissions and will switch frequencies seamlessly in order to avoid disturbance and interference with the Wi-Fi system.
The new ultra-thin TVs are part Sharps new X-series line, which come in 37-, 42- and 46-inch screen sizes and are only 3.44 cm thick (at their thinnest part).
Meru Networks announced today that it has named a new vice president of operations. Keith Matasci will be reporting to Meru CEO Ihab Abu-Hakima and will be responsible for the company's supply chain, order fulfillment, planning, forecasting, and facilities. He was previously vice president of operations at TerayonCommunications (acquired by Motorola in 2007) and he served as vice president of operations for CoSineCommunications and vice president of customer service at Silicon Graphics. He holds a B.S. degree in engineering technology/mechanical engineering and an honorary M.S. in engineering management from California Polytechnic StateUniversity in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
April 29, 2008
At Interop today, Bluesocket announced the availability of its Wi-Fi Alliance-certified 802.11n Draft 2 Acess Point. The BlueSecure Access Point 1800 (BSAP-1800) supports Bluesockets existing 802.11n-ready BlueSecure Controller family and Edge-to-Edge direct forwarding architecture.
Bluesockets WLAN solution can manage both Bluesocket APs and a wide variety of third-party access points. Designed to support secure enterprise voice applications, Bluesockets 802.11n solution is also certified interoperable with products from leading voice solution providers Avaya, Spectralink, and Vocera.
The BSAP-1800 ($1295) uses a single 802.3af compliant PoE connector and supports advanced RF management software, secure fast roaming, and full RF-IDS support.
The dual radio BSAP-1800 includes a custom embedded antenna array supporting 802.11a/n and 802.11b/g/n. Another AP, to be available later this year, provides external antenna options and a/b/g/n/ support on both radios. Both models are configurable to support 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz bands, allowing customers to segment data, voice, and other applications based on their individual business requirements.
Bluesocket also announced today that Anglia Ruskin University (England) is deploying Bluesocket for a campus-wide wireless expansion and transition to a next-generation 802.11n environment. (See Big WLAN on Campus for more on that.)
After almost exactly four years, Wayport announced today that it has reached a significant milestone in its McDonalds Wi-Fi deployments. As of today, more than 10,000 McDonalds restaurants in the U.S. are equipped with Wayports Wi-Fi. 9,300 of the venues offer public Wi-Fi. The WLANs are also used for multiple private-side applications, including back office processing and network failover services.
April 24, 2008
This week the National Security Agency (NSA) is leading teams from each of the service academies--Air Force, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine, Naval Academy, and West Point--in cyber war games. Each academy's team will set up secure networks with sophisticated, layered defenses. A "Red Team" of NSA experts will then throw "an increasingly frenzied and intricate series of attacks at the academies' networks," in an attempt to hack them. An NSA "White Team" will keep score by tracking each team's success at defending against the virtual attacks.
This year, West Point is defending its 2007 championship title and Commander's Trophy.
April 23, 2008
Aruba Networks announced yesterday that it has partnered with Psion Teklogix in an attempt to achieve greater penetration into the industrial market. Psion Teklogix specializes in ruggedized Wi-Fi-based mobile solutions for extreme industrial environments, such as oil rigs and factories. Under the agreement, Psion Teklogix will resell Aruba's secure mobility solutions as part of its industrial solution suite.
"Arubas AP-85 industrial access point family allows our products to operate at exceptional range, in the harshest environments. Running Psion Teklogix devices on an Aruba wireless LAN is an excellent way to highlight the many advanced features we build into our products, said Ron Caines, Psion Teklogix's President of the Americas in a press release Tuesday.
The release of Amazon's Kindle last year dew a lot of welcome attention to the ever-fledgling electronic word industry, which PDA and smartphone' users have been well aware of for years. Mobipocket Reader, a popular application for a number of different mobile-device platforms, has just gained a very Kindle-like feature for BlackBerry users, Over The Air (OTA) downloads.
Download and installing the free Mobipocket Reader 6.0 upgrade now gives BlackBerry owners the ability to not read e-books, but peruse, buy and download e-books from Mobiepockets over 65,000-title strong catalogue as well. Users can also download free samples and reader reviews written by other Mobipocket users. For more, of the story, click here.
Verizon Wireless is now offering an unlimited data plan for smartphones. Initially available for the SMT5800, the XV6800 and the MOTO Q music 9m, the new data package promises to lower the cost and simplify the management of using your smartphone--by taking away the worry of overage fees--for sending and receiving e-mail and surfing the Web
Hence, the name of the plan: E-mail and Web for Smartphone.
For $29.99 per month with a qualifying voice plan, E-mail and Web for Smartphone (the name gets to the point but isn't very catchy), supports unlimited Web browsing and up to 10 e-mail accounts, including Yahoo! Mail, AOL, Windows Live and Verizon.net.
Verizon says other devices will be added to E-mail and Web for Smartphone within the next few months. Additional smartphones offered by the carrier today include the Palm Treo 700p, 755p & 700wx and Samsung SCH-i760.
A $29.99 E-mail and Web for BlackBerry unlimited data plan is already available. As with the one for smartphones, it requires a qualifying voice plan. If you just want to use your BlackBerry for data (sans voice plan), it'll cost you $34.99 per month.
As of today, Verizon offers the BlackBerry Pearl 8130 (in both pink and white), the BlackBerry 8703e, and the BlackBerry 8830 World Edition Smartphone (in both red and white).
Verizon will soon launch some new smartphones, including the BlackBerry Curve 8330, the Motorola Q9c, and the XV6900, its version of the HTC Touch.
News courtesy of PDAStreet.com.
April 21, 2008
iPhone users who long for Palm-style Graffiti input may be pleased to learn that a new iPhone keyboard plug-in might be the answer they've been looking for. Called HWPen, the native applicationso jailbroken iPhones need applyis the first software to bring handwriting recognition to the iPhone, reports PDAStreet.
Created by Chinese developer iPhone Cake, HWPen adds a button to the iPhone keyboard that, when tapped, allows you to use your finger to write letters and words on the screen. For those of us with fat fingers, an alternative option is to get one of the specially-designed Pogo or TapRight styli that, unlike traditional styli, is compatible with the iPhone display. Read the full story here.
Ruckus today announced a new SmartMesh technology, as well as the ZoneDirector 3000, a line of scalable, easy-to-use enterprise WLAN controllers for Ruckus ZoneFlex APs, and the Ruckus FlexMaster remote Wi-Fi management system for centralized management of ZoneFlex APs and/or WLANs over a wide area IP network. For more details read, "Can Ruckus Redefine How Enterprise WLANs are Deployed?"
April 17, 2008
Will we see a gPhone this spring? Rumor has it that HTC may introduce the first Android-run smartphone on May 6th. PDAStreet.com has more details.
April 16, 2008
The Corpus Christi City Council last night voted unanimously to take back its network from Earthlink. Read the story here.
April 15, 2008
The Corpus Christi, Texas City Council will meet tonight to decide the fate of its Wi-Fi network. Originally deployed at a cost of roughly $7 million in 2004, the network was created as part of a pilot plan to implement SmartMeter reading. The project grew to include a handful of hotzones, access for government employees, and dreams of ubiquitious city-wide access for everyone. In March 2007, the city sold its WLAN to EarthLink, but just a few months later, EarthLink's leadership decided to go in a different direciton, leaving the city and its network in Wi-Fi limbo.
The City Council is expected to recommend that the city resume control of the network by letting EarthLink out of its contract, with some concessions from EarthLink related to already scheduled improvements and equipment.
April 11, 2008
Microsoft announced this week its plans to expand its free commuter bus service for employees. The Wi-Fi-equipped regional bus service will add new routes and significantly expand its seats-per-day capacity. The Connector service, which launched last September, is part of a recruiting and retention strategy, according to a report from the Seattle Post Intelligencer.
To date, the Post Intelligencer reports, the Connector system has been used by 4,300 employees, more than 2,500 of whom had been driving to work alone. Microsoft reportedly estimates that taking these commuters out of their cars has saved more than 1.3 million pounds of carbon emissions, the equivalent of turning off electrical power to Microsoft's Building 17, which holds 650 employees, for six months.
PDAStreet.com reported this week that a recent study of Chinese consumers by PearlResearch showed that 68% of those sampled had heard of the Wi-Fi-enabled iPhone. Currently, the iPhone is not available through any Chinese carriers. However, 88% of Chinese iPod owners who were surveyed said they would consider buying an iPhone, even though the $500 price tag is steep. For more, read the full story at PDAStreet.
April 10, 2008
Cyber Storm II was an international exercise, conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 10 through 14 in Washington, D.C. It simulated attacks via control systems, networks, software, and social engineering to disrupt transportation and energy infrastructure elements of state, federal, and international government agencies.
This week, high-level participants provided some general comments about what they learned in a panel discussion held at the RSA Conference. For the full story, read An Imperfect (Cyber) Storm at InternetNews.com.
April 9, 2008
Motorola said today that it has elected David Dorman (former AT&T CEO) as nonexecutive chairman to succeed Ed Zander, who will retire on May 5. For more read the Reuters report at InternetNews.com.
April 8, 2008
TRITTON Technologies today announced the availability of its new AX Micro Bluetooth headset ($59.99). Available with two size attachments, the AX Micro incorporates a new design with flexible finger grips that rest on the inner rim of the ear, to help improve ease of wear and stability.
The AX Micro is Bluetooth V1.2, 2.0-compliant and is equipped with multi-colored LED indications for Bluetooth connection, low battery, and charging, and it offers up to five hours of talk time.
iPass announced yesterday that it has added the municipal wireless network encircled by Tokyo's Yamanote Line Tokyo's busiest and most important commuter lineto its global network. The Yamanote Line connects most of Tokyo's major stations and urban centers including the Ginza area, Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Ikebukuro and is used by more than 3.6 million commuters every day. With more than 2,000 access points spanning over 23-square miles, the Tokyo network is one of the largest in the world.
The world's tenth largest city by population, Tokyo ranked as the world's third busiest city in terms of Wi-Fi use, according to the iPass Mobile Broadband Index. (London and New York are busier.)
For more on Wi-Fi and commuters, read Taking it to the Rails: WiMAX on Trains and Greyhound Launches In-Bus Wi-Fi. For more on international deployments, read Around the World in 80 Nodes.
April 7, 2008
InternetNews.com's David Needle reports that, at CTIA, Everex announced that its ultra-mobile Cloudbook Max will include an integrated Mobile WiMAX solution from GCT Semiconductor for use with Sprint's high-speed VIA Technologies. The Cloudbook is powered by VIA's 1.6GHz VIA C7-M ULV processor coupled with the VIA VX800 digital media IGP chipset and supports Microsoft Windows Vista operating system. Not due out for about a year, the Cloudbook weighs a bit more than half a pound. Read the full story here.
Over the weekend, Yahoo! unveiled its plans for its new Web advertising management system. The much-anticipated system, known as AMP, hopes to simplify the process of buying and selling online ads for advertisers, ad agencies, ad trading networks, and Web site publishers. For more, read "Yahoo Unveils Online Ad Network."
April 4, 2008
InternetNews.com reports that iPhone users in the U.S. are making heavy use of their iPhones, but are talking on them significantly less than other Americans using traditional mobile phones.
The study, from iSuppli showed that iPhone users spend just 46.5 percent of their time making voice phone calls from their devices versus traditional mobile users who use their phones for voice calls 71.7 percent of the time. For more details, read the full story here.
SpinVox, known for its Voice-to-Screen messaging technology, announced this week that it has been selected into the Avaya DevConnect program.
SpinVoxs voicemail-to-text service is an application that captures the content of a spoken message, converts it to text and then sends it as an e-mail or text message to PCs, mobile phones, or PDAs.
The Avaya DevConnect program promotes the development, compliance-testing, and co-marketing of innovative third-party products that are compatible with standards-based Avaya solutions.
Membership in Avayas developer community will help us build our business by expanding the availability and application of our voice-to-text services, said Christina Domecq, CEO of SpinVox in a press release Tuesday.
The Avaya DevConnect program currently includes thousands of software and hardware developer companies, integrators, service providers, and customers. (Related story: Save the Planet, Work Remotely.)
TRITTON Technologies announced its new AX Visor Universal Bluetooth car kit ($119.99) this week. The AX Visor features auto-connect, speaker phone with caller ID display (OLED), both unidirectional and omni-directional microphones, and two hands-free modes, car (unidirectional microphone) and speakerphone (omni-directional microphone).
Users can expect up to 15 hours of talk time and 400 hours of standby time, thanks in part to the low-power consumption of the OLED. The unit can be re-charged either in the car, at a traditional outlet, or by USB.
The auto-connect feature spares users from re-pairing their phones by sensing the vibration of the vehicle and automatically pairing the Bluetooth phone to the AX Visor.
Aapril 3, 2008
Reuters reported yesterday that iPhones are becoming harder to find in stores, which could indicate a component shortage or a clearing of shelves for a new model, according to analysts. To read the full story, click here.
At CTIA Wireless this week, Yahoo announced version 2.0 of its oneSearch mobile search service and enhancements designed to improve search on mobile devices. For more, read Yahoo's Mobile Search, Take Two at InternetNews.com.
Slacker, the Internet radio company and maker of the Slacker Portable Player, and Devicescape announced a partnership yesterday to incorporate Devicescape Connect into the Slacker Portable Player.
Devicescape automates the process of accessing Wi-Fi hotspots, which allows Slacker Portable users to more quickly refresh their Personal Radio stations at hotspots.
Slacker Personal Radio enables listeners to create, edit, and share their own online music stations or personalize over 100 professionally programmed stations, either over the Web or using the Wi-Fi-enabled portable device. (Stay tuned for a review of the Slacker Portable Player.)
Devicescape enables users to add home networks as well as commercially operated hotspots. It works on more than 100 different devices running on ten different operating systems and supports supports over 1000 public networks, including T-Mobile, British Telecom, and AT&T, for access via millions of hotspots worldwide. Devicescape also supports more than 100 university networks worldwide.
Firetide announced yesterday that it will offer tri-band (2.4, 4.9, 5 GHz) capability on its HotPoint access points and HotClient client premises equipment (CPE). Firetide had previously announced tri-band functionality for its HotPort mesh nodes.
The Firetide tri-band HotPoint access points ($695 for indoor; $995 for outdoor) and HotClient CPEs ($295 for indoor; $595 for outdoor) will begin shipping in May.
Wireless video surveillance over the licensed 4.9 GHz public safety bandthe availability of which is one of the advantages of using a tri-radio set-up--is growing rapidly in the U.S. Stay tuned for more details (in May at Wi-FiPlanet) on these and other tools that are helping public safety agencies do their jobs more effectively using Wi-Fi. Til then, read Wi-Fi to the Rescue, Carpe Diem: BelAir Seizes New Opportunities in Muni Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi Protects Visitors During SuperBowl XLII.
April 1, 2008
In the opening keynote presentation today at the CTIA WIRELESS 2008 tradeshow in Las Vegas, Lowell McAdam, President and CEO of Verizon Wireless and this years CTIA chairman, called the wireless industry a great American success story and emphasized the market value of competition, using strong language to argue against regulation.
Our industry is at a critical crossroads as we enter our next 25 years, he said. We cannot allow ourselves to be made into a 21st century version of a regulated utility. I believe this is a clear and present dangerif our public policy leaders interfere and if our industry permits them to.
To tamper with the formula that built this economic growth engine is very dangerous. Even as the economy has worsened in recent months, the wireless industry has continued as one of the few bright spots, creating jobs, investing in infrastructure, and launching exciting new products and services.
He also spoke about the potential of 4G technology, which he said, will take the industry to new heights.
The full text of McAdams speech is available at the Verizon Wireless Web site.
Other keynote speakers scheduled to appear at CTIA this week include: former Presidential candidates John Edwards and Fred Thompson; Kevin Martin, Chairman of the FCC; and Sir Richard Branson, Founder and Chairman of Virgin Group and Virgin Mobil USA.
SmallBusinessComputing.com reported today that Microsoft will be offering seminars to help women succeed in business. Women are starting businesses at twice the rate of men, but they are not as quick to develop a Web presence, or to develop a strong Internet-related strategy.
Building a larger organization takes a strategic plan; one that [Susan Wilson] Solovic [author of the Girls Guide to Building a Million-Dollar Business and co-founder of SBTV.com] said involves technology and a strong Web presence. She recalled her recent involvement with a group of businesswomen who owned local yarn shopsand 90 percent of them did not have a Web site, reports SmallBusinessComputing.com.
The seminar series, which starts tomorrow in St. Louis, will be offered in five major U.S. cities. To read the full article, click here.
Naomi Graychase is Managing Editor at Wi-FiPlanet.com.


text:
1. Three separate numbering systems are used
in this Report to designate European Union documents.
Numbers in brackets are the Committee's own reference
Numbers in the form 5467/97 are Council of Ministers
reference numbers; this system is also employed by United Kingdom
Government Departments and the Vote Office and for the purpose
of proceedings in the House.
Numbers preceded by the letters COM or SEC are Commission
reference numbers; this style is also employed by the European
The absence of both a Council of Ministers and Commission
reference number usually indicates that at the time of the Report
only an unnumbered Explanatory Memorandum from the responsible
Government Department was deposited in the House.
2. Details of the progress of European Union Documents
recommended by the Committee for further consideration may
be found in the European Union Documents List which is circulated
every sitting Monday in the Vote Bundle.
3. The financial data in European Union Documents
are normally expressed in euros. Conversions into sterling relating
to present and future years included in the Government's Explanatory
Memoranda are normally made at the market rate for the last working
day of the previous month. For Explanatory Memoranda submitted
in February 2002, the conversion rate is £1 = 1.6364 Euros
1 Euro = £0.6111. For Explanatory Memoranda submitted in
March 2002, the conversion rate is £1 = 1.6363 Euros 1Euro
= £0.61115.
4. The following terms and abbreviations are
used regularly in Reports from the Committee:


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BANGALORE, India, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Canada is optimistic the United States will approve TransCanada Corp's controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Thursday.
Speaking during a visit to India, Harper said a majority of U.S. companies and unions favoured the $7 billion Canada-to-Texas oil sands pipeline. President Barack Obama said in January he would postpone a decision until 2013 on whether to approve the pipeline, which has drawn fire from environmentalists.
"The president has told me several times that he hasn't yet made a decision, that he will follow the regulatory process in the United States, and evidently the next steps will be very soon, and I remain optimistic," Harper told reporters.
After the United States blocked the project in January, Harper and other officials said it underscored Canada's need to diversify oil exports to markets such as Asia.
Environmental groups loathe the idea of increasing the flow of oil sands crude from Canada because of its bigger carbon footprint in the mining process.
Harper also said Canada had contingency plans to deal with the economic fallout if the United States were to go over a so-called fiscal cliff, which refers to a package of spending cuts and tax increases due to take effect in 2013.
"The government, as best we can, does always look at contingency plans for these things," he said. "Obviously we encourage President Obama to work to bring Congress together on a resolution of this issue."
On Wednesday, Canadian policymakers warned that Canada would fall into recession if Washington does not reach a deal by year-end to avert the $600 billion tax and cuts package. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said the Canadian government and central bank could provide extra stimulus if necessary.


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Marchex`s Adhere is Here Ad Last
Lately, more and more national entities and small businesses have been trying to capitalize on local online advertising and Marchex, a company that has been devoted to local search for years now, wants to help. They recently created an exclusive platform, called Adhere, to help facilitate ad placement on hundreds of publisher websites and its own vertical search engine.
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On August 21 I am planning to perform a major update to the site. I can't give a specific time in which the update will happen other than probably sometime between 6:30 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. (Central Time, USA). There is a very small chance that a prior commitment will interfere with this and if so the update will be rescheduled for a later date.
I have spent the better part of the last year or so rebuilding the site from the ground up and the result should (hopefully) lead to quicker load times for the pages and for a better experience on mobile platforms. For the most part the update should be seamless for you with a couple of potential exceptions. I have tried to set things up so that there should be next to no down time on the site. However, if you are the site right as the update happens there is a small possibility that you will get a "server not found" type of error for a few seconds before the new site starts being served. In addition, the first couple of pages will take some time to load as the site comes online. Page load time should decrease significantly once things get up and running however.
Evaluate each of the following integrals.


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(318) 212-7841
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Cynthia M. Johnson, MA
A meniscal tear is a tear in the meniscus. The meniscus is cartilage, which acts as a shock-absorbing structure in the knee. There are 2 menisci in each knee, a medial one on the inside, and a lateral one on the outside.
There are different types of tears depending on the location and how they look. Treatment depends on the severity of the tear.
Most injuries to the meniscus are caused by trauma. This usually includes compression and twisting of the knee. Because the aging process breaks down the inner tissues of the meniscus, minor trauma can injure the meniscus in an older adult.
Older adults and men are at increased risk. Factors that may increase your risk of:
Symptoms may include:
You will be asked about your symptoms and medical history. A physical exam will be done.
Your knee may need to be viewed. This can be done with:
Talk with your doctor about the best treatment plan for you. Recovery time ranges depend on the severity of your injury. Treatment steps may include:
The knee will need time to heal. Supportive care may include:
Over-the-counter or prescription medication may be advised to reduce pain.
A physical therapist will assess the knee. An exercise program will be created to help recovery and to stretch and strengthen the muscles.
Repair or removal of all or part of the damaged meniscus may by done. This is usually done through small incisions of the skin. A camera and special tools are inserted through the incisions.
To reduce your chances of a meniscal tear, take these steps:
American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine
Ortho Info—American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
Canadian Orthopaedic Association
Canadian Orthopaedic Foundation
Knee sprains and meniscal tears. Merck Manual for Health Care Professionals. Available at:
http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/injuries_poisoning/fractures_dislocations_and_sprains/knee_sprains_and_meniscal_injuries.html. Updated August 2017. Accessed March 27, 2018.
Meniscal tears. Ortho Info—American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons website. Available at:
Updated March 2014. Accessed March 27, 2018.
Meniscus tears. EBSCO DynaMed Plus website. Available at: http://www.dynamed.com/topics/dmp~AN~T116776/Meniscus-tears. Updated June 19, 2017. Accessed March 27, 2018
Torn meniscus. Johns Hopkins Medicine website. Available at:
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/orthopaedic_disorders/torn_meniscus_85,P00945. Accessed March 27, 2018.
04/24/2014 DynaMed Plus Systematic Literature Surveillance. http://www.dynamed.com/topics/dmp~AN~T116776/Meniscus-tears: Snoeker BA, Bakker EW, et al. Risk factors for meniscal tears: a systematic review including meta-analysis. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2013; 43(6):352-367.
Last reviewed March 2018 by
EBSCO Medical Review Board Teresa Briedwell, PT, DPT
Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
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Analysts await unemployment data
Britain's surprisingly resilient jobs market is set to come under scrutiny when the latest official unemployment figures are released.
Experts will be scouring the data for signs of weakness as the economy remains mired in recession.
Recent employment trends in the UK have been far better than expected, with last month's figures from the Office for National Statistics showing unemployment falling to its lowest level for a year after a big jump in the number of people in work.
It is thought the Olympic Games were a major driver behind the 46,000 fall in the jobless total in the quarter to June, to 2.56 million. Most of the quarterly fall in unemployment was recorded in London which hosted the Olympics and Paralympics over the summer.
Last month's figures also showed the number claiming jobseeker's allowance in July was 1.59 million, down by 5,900 on June, while almost 30 million people were in work, up by 201,000.
Economists believe that some of the Olympics-related hiring will start to drop out in the latest report, with Investec Securities forecasting that unemployment will fall by a less impressive 34,000 in the quarter to July and that the jobseeker's claimant count will remain unchanged.
The overall trend remains surprisingly positive and there are suspicions over the figures, which come against a grim economic background in the UK. The country is suffering its longest double-dip recession since the 1950s, with gross domestic product - a broad measure of the economy's value - falling 0.5% between April and June.
Philip Shaw at Investec said that while jobs market trends are "remarkable", there were two possible reasons why unemployment is not rising: self-employment has increased by 218,000 over the past year and firms are keeping hold of staff, albeit by offering more modest pay increases.
IHS Global Insight economist Howard Archer is forecasting an even rosier picture for the latest jobs figures, pencilling in a 49,000 fall in unemployment in the quarter to 2.55 million. He said he believes unemployment will start to rise again later this year.
"Unless the economy starts showing sustained decent underlying improvement, pressure will increase on firms to release some of the workers that they have been holding on to. We suspect that the number of unemployed will reach a peak of 2.8 million in 2013 which would see the unemployment rate reach 8.7%," he said.
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July 15, 2010
NASCAR's Gordon to lead Sanofi campaign
In an effort to throttle up awareness of whooping cough, or pertussis, Sanofi Pasteur and the March of Dimes enlisted NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon to lead their ongoing Sounds of Pertussis campaign. Jennifer Lopez was previously the celebrity face of the campaign.
Pertussis, which can be deadly in young children, is known for the whooping cough sound created by air being drawn through excess mucus in the body. This year through June 5, over 4,000 cases have been reported.
PSAs starring Gordon will launch on national TV and radio outlets in August, according to Lori Lukus, a Sanofi Pasteur spokesperson, and will encourage parents to protect themselves by getting a pertussis booster shot. Print, online and patient education materials are also being used, according to a statement. Agencies working on the campaign include Burson-Marsteller, Victory Management Group, Kaplan Thaler Group, Publicis Modem and Optimedia, according to Lukus.Other campaign elements include a website (SoundsofPertussis.com) and Facebook page. By texting "SOUNDS" to 292929, participants will receive a text message five days later reminding them to get vaccinated. From the campaign website, visitors can check out Jeff Gordon's "favorite road tunes," and download the songs from iTunes. For every song downloaded (selections run the musical gamut, from U2, Sheryl Crow and Rascal Flatts, to Rihanna, Ke$ha and Disney movie scores), 5% of the proceeds will go to the March of Dimes for pertussis education, according to the statement.
Sanofi Pasteur is donating $0.10 for each of the first 50,000 new people who "like" the Sounds of Pertussis page on Facebook. At press time, nearly 14,000 people "liked" the page.Sanofi Pasteur markets Adacel, know as a "Tdap" vaccine (an acronym for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis). Lukus said all Sounds of Pertussis campaign elements are unbranded, and the March of Dimes "does not endorse specific products or brands," according to the statement.
Pertussis, which can be deadly in young children, is known for the whooping cough sound created by air being drawn through excess mucus in the body. This year through June 5, over 4,000 cases have been reported.


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In the spring of 1963, when I was a student at the U.S. Army's Judge Advocate General Corps School in Charlottesville, Va., the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. came to town to speak to the student body of the University of Virginia.
At the time, my brother, Henry Floyd Johnson, was studying at UVA while also serving as the pastor of a church in Charlottesville. He had known King for some time, and took me to meet him on the evening that he was scheduled to speak.
King greeted me warmly, and we chatted for about 15 minutes. He was smaller than I had imagined, and he exuded a warm and peaceful spirit.
In his speech, which he titled "The Future of Integration," he said something that I have never forgotten: "Non-cooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperating with good."
The following day, a nearly incoherent editorial in the UVA student newspaper roundly criticized King, suggesting that he and his allies pay more attention to "Negro maladjustment" than to integration.
Shortly after that speech, top civil rights leaders notified President John F. Kennedy that they intended to carry out a March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on Aug. 28.
President Kennedy urged against the march, feeling that if violence should erupt, Congress would reject a comprehensive civil rights bill that he had just proposed. Northern senators shared the president's concern.
But Southern senators secretly hoped that violence would occur, believing that it would help to defeat the proposed law. In an attempt to discredit the leadership of the march, Southern senators publicized the fact that Bayard Rustin, its chief organizer, was a gay man.
The civil rights leadership ignored the entreaties to call off the march, and the attempted smear of Bayard Rustin was met with disdainful contempt.
On Aug. 28, the day that the March began, I was an Army first lieutenant stationed at Fort Belvoir in Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington. I was assigned as legal adviser to a staff headed by a major general, with 500 soldiers under his command. Our duty was to protect the marchers and the city of Washington in case there was violence that the city police could not control.
The Army made unusual preparations. To ensure that no one got shot, the Army provided us only with unloaded handguns and rifles, although the rifles did have bayonets.
At about 9 a.m., little groups of marchers began to gather on the Washington Mall at the Lincoln Memorial. By early afternoon, the demonstrators had reached more than 250,000.
Movie stars and singers gathered on the steps of the memorial and provided entertainment. These included Mahalia Jackson, Odetta, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Harry Belafonte, Marlon Brando, Sidney Poitier and Sam Cooke, who sang a song that he had written, "A Change is Gonna Come."
A. Philip Randolph, the president of the International Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, and his assistant Bayard Rustin were on the podium along with King, Whitney Young of the Urban League, James Farmer of the Congress of Racial Equality, John Lewis of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and Roy Wilkins of the NAACP.
Randolph spoke first. At the urging of the march leadership, John Lewis toned down his speech, but what remained was more than a little fiery.
Over the course of the march, our command staff hovered over the mall in helicopters. Viewing the march from the air, I saw a mighty mass of humanity. Their mere presence was a shout for jobs and freedom — now.
Their demands elevated my spirit beyond words. Proud to be black, proud to see my people saying freedom "now"! No more would we live under the roost of Jim Crow! A young black Army captain flew with us. He sat beside me, looking down upon the energetic and determined demonstrators. With tears in his eyes, he nudged me and said, "Are you feeling like I feel?" I nodded with enthusiasm.
A few minutes after we returned to our base, King came to the podium. We sat glued to a black and white television, listening to his immortal words. He spoke of a dream, no doubt born of the nightmare that all blacks had experienced living under Jim Crow, white supremacy, and racial discrimination. He dreamed of a time when black Americans would be judged by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin.
As we observe the 50th anniversary of the Great March, I feel especially blessed to have been there and played a small role in the historic event.
Kenneth Lavon Johnson was an associate judge on the Circuit Court for Baltimore City and was a captain in the US JAG corps. He can be reached at email@example.com.


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In Tempe Beach Park, a flag is flying for each person who perished in the attacks of September 11, 2001. So too in Battery Park, New York — where stripes on the flags have been replaced by the names of those killed, and people gathered Saturday morning to form a human chain of solidarity and remembrance.
Candlelight vigils in Scottsdale and countless cities throughout the world are honoring those lost, as well as those who remain. A beam from the World Trade Center is being installed at a Gilbert memorial, and a sculpture crafted of three sections of WTC buildings has been unveiled in London's Battersea Park — a tribute to the 67 Britons lost that day.
But it's a trio of tributes, our country's permanent memorials to 9/11, that most will visit in coming days, decades and beyond. One in Pennsylvania. One in New York. One in Washington, D.C.
I was particularly moved while watching a live C-SPAN broadcast of the dedication ceremony Saturday morning for the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania, where the heroism of everyday Americans was honored by dignitaries, artists, family members and others.
Poet Robert Pinsky read two works — "Souvenir of the Ancient World" by Carlos Drummond de Andrade and "Incantation" by Czeslaw Milosz. The second was interrupted at our house by a call from the National Republican Party. The timing made my stomach turn.
I heard an interview with George Packer, who has a piece titled "Coming Apart" in the Sept 12, 2011 issue of New Yorker magazine, on NPR today. He noted that two things he'd hoped might change about America in the aftermath of 9/11 are much the same. Our partisan politics and the growing gap between America's rich and poor.
I hope our national 9/11 memorials will help to change that. Reminding us of what we have in common. Reminding us that every person matters. Reminding us to volunteer in service to others. Reminding us to be grateful.
During the "New York Says Thank You" documentary broadcast on local FOX affiliates Saturday evening, several people involved with the "I Will" campaign shared ways they'll be honoring those directly affected by 9/11.
Actor Mariska Hargitay plans to volunteer at her local domestic violence shelter. A teen girl says she'll "clean up my room." A middle-aged man plans to plant a tree at the Flight 93 National Memorial. And a woman about my age says simply, "I will forgive."
The Friends of Flight 93 and the National Parks Service (which operates the Flight 93 National Memorial) are partnering with the Fred M. Rogers Center at Saint Vincent's College in Pennsylvania for an October event titled "9/11 Forum: Impact on Young Children." And folks far and wide have started discussions about incorporating 9/11 into school curriculum materials.
My "I Will" is following the developments of the trio of tributes best known to Americans and sharing them with our readers, not just on 9/11 but throughout the year. But also the everyday stories of children, families, teachers, artists and others working to make September 12 and every day that follows a day of healing, humility and hope.
— Lynn
Note: Learn more about the Flight 93 National Memorial at www.npca.org and www.honorflight93.org, the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial at www.pentagonmemorial.org and the 9/11 Memorial in NYC at www.911memorial.org. All three appreciate gifts of time and money as they move forward honoring those affected by 9/11. Learn about "I Will" at www.911day.org. Watch eight artists "talk about how that day and its aftermath have informed their work and lives" at www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/09/02/us/sept-11-reckoning/artists.html?ref=arts.
Coming up: A photo tour of memorials at Phoenix's Wesley Bolin Plaza


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La Monte, MO
Financial Assistance
Everyone needs a little help sometimes. Whether you need some free food, diapers for your baby, a quick cash loan, assistance with your rent and utilities, some fresh clothing or a homeless shelter, you'll find the resources in and near La Monte, MO here to help you now.
Food Pantries
Food pantries give free food to local residents. There are 3 food pantries in the La Monte, MO area.
Utility & Rental Assistance
When you need money to pay your rent, utility bills or get through a difficult time, there are 7 utility payment and rental assistance programs in the La Monte, MO area.
Homeless Shelters
Temporary free housing for people in need. There are 2 homeless shelters in the La Monte, Missouri area.
Programs for free and reduced cost clothes and household goods. There are 0 programs in the La Monte area that offer clothing and other necessities.
Child Care
Free diapers, clothing and free or reduced cost daycare services for children of families in need. There are 1 child care programs in La Monte, Missouri.
Payday Loans
Payday Loans are quick easy loans for people in financial distress. There are 43 cash loan programs available to residents in the La Monte, Missouri area.


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Promises to keep
Barack Obama's election was historic, but can his presidency be great?
At a time of historic economic, social, and strategic challenges, the election of Barack Obama offers Americans the hope that we can rise above the many forces pulling us down, but more, that we can even rise above the worst of ourselves—the original sin of racism and the lingering structural toxins of prejudice and discrimination.
As Mr. Obama prepares to go to Washington, we find ourselves at a "Now what?" moment. The obstacles before us are historic, and the pressure on this new administration to deliver on its theme of change is enormous. Here are some agenda items to consider in these first 100 days:
On health care: Obama has targeted the deplorable state of our health care system for reform, but his strategy for healing it relies on some of the same free-market mechanisms that are already driving U.S. health care into the ground. Surely we can be more imaginative, more bold in addressing this chronic structural dysfunction.
Finding a way to take the profit hounds out of the delivery of health services in America should be part of the discussion toward building a rational system. Perhaps before locking into a new approach, it is time to open this matter up to a real, transparent debate rather than continuing to hash out a fix among the system's competing and self-serving health sector interests.
On the federal budget: All bets should be off as we confront growing budget deficits in balance against U.S. social needs. Defense spending cannot be sacrosanct while basic services and the future of our children are put on the budget block. Why? Ask bank robber Willie Sutton: "Because that's where the money is."
On Iraq: Obama has promised to wind down America's intervention in Iraq. How can he conduct a strategic withdrawal that protects American service members and overall security without further imperiling the people of Iraq?
On abortion: Many pro-life Catholics put their careers and reputations on the line to argue for a vote for Obama. How can he begin to work past the rhetoric to build a social structure that encourages those facing an unplanned pregnancy to choose life instead of death? How can the church help?
On the threat of global terrorism: Obama understands that America's comprehensive security concerns cannot be resolved through the application of brute military force alone. Can he convince the public and Congress that soft-power solutions to blunt the threat of Islamist maximalists are also essential to long-term success against this amorphous, evolving threat?
On energy independence: As the price of oil declines, the sense of urgency on alternative energy threatens to diminish even as new voices and lobbying campaigns promote retrograde and dangerous solutions. Will Obama be able to stay his focus on rational, sustainable energy solutions?
On the economy: The Catholic Church has long advocated an economic structure built in service to humanity—all humanity—not the other way around. We have recently experienced the latest reminder of the wisdom of that injunction.
How will Obama craft a just economic order out of the latest dust pile generated by America's faith in liberalism's free-market wonderworks. There will be powerful forces seeking to recreate an order that protects the special interests and comfort of the few against the crying needs of the many.
Can we begin to build a new, sustainable economic order that offers opportunity and advancement to all Americans while stewarding the gifts of creation and lifting up our brothers and sisters in the developing world?
Obama has proven that he can see clearly, think critically, and move effectively, but running a crisp campaign is one thing, surviving the murky realities of Foggy Bottom and its hazardous environs something else entirely.
It's nice to believe in change, but in this life you have to work hard for it, too. Can Obama's be a great presidency? Maybe. We just need to apply some of the same yes-we-can-do spirit that brought this unlikely candidate from the streets of Chicago all the way to Pennsylvania Avenue.
This article appeared in the January 2009 issue of U.S. Catholic (Vol. 74, No. 1, page 46).


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Poteau boys Coal Miners Classic champions; Heavener beats Eufaula to win consolation title
WILBURTON — The Poteau Pirates made it 2-for-2 in winning tournaments on the weekend.After winning the 32nd LeFlore County Tournament on April 7 in Cameron, the Pirates won the Coal Miners Classic 3-1 over the Muldrow Bulldogs in Saturday's title game.The Pirates reached the title game with an 8-0 shutout of the co-host Hartshorne Miners on Friday in Hartshorne.The Pirates weren't the only LeFlore County team to bring home some hardware. The Heavener Wolves won the consolation championship with a 2-1 win in eight innings over the Eufaula Ironheads on Saturday afternoon. They won their consolation semifinal 6-5 over the co-host Wilburton Diggers on Friday.


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Wage and Hour Division (WHD)
Davis-Bacon and Related Acts Frequently Asked Questions
Quick Links
II. Obtaining Davis-Bacon Wage Determinations
Where can I obtain a copy of the General Wage Determination needed for a covered federal project?
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In a previous post I discussed Google Patents and discovering one entered by my husband's great-great grandfather, Martin Steffy. After further research yet another patent was located for a distant ancestor. The "new" and "useful" floodgate was filed by a distant cousin named Steven G. Hindsley. How exciting finding another treasure to add to our families history!
This also, explains our son's desire to "tinker" with everything in sight. Looks like he came by the "inventors curiosity" honestly.
Here is how Google Patents describes their site :
All patents available through Google Patent Search come from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Patents issued in the United States are public domain government information, and images of the entire database of U.S. patents are readily available online via the USPTO website.
Google Patent Search covers the entire collection of issued patents and millions of patent application made available by the USPTO'from patents issued in the 1790s through those most recently issued in the past few months. We don't currently include international patents, but we look forward to expanding our coverage in the future.
To date, the USPTO has made available approximately 7 million patents and over a million patent applications.
A great place to start is Google Patent Search Help. There you will find an overview about the site.
Good luck finding patents for your ancestors!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Treasure Chest Thursday - Google Patents
2 comments:
Wow! This is such a cool website. I've lots of inventors in the family, and I've already found all their patents and drawings. Thanks so much for posting this. I won't even tell you how laborious the process used to be for getting copies of these patent applications. YUCK! If I blog about the old way, I'll let you know so you can compare and see how much things have changed. THANKS! THANKS!ReplyDelete
You are most welcome. Glad you enjoyed the post. Shame this site wasn't around to help with your research!
Interested in your blogging about the "old way" and how things have changed. Always good to see how things have improved.
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